All I want for Christmas is NO Biden and NO Trump

All I want for Christmas is NO Biden and NO Trump. Santa should give both families full pardons if they would just go away. 

Oh yeah, Santa - this bitch pack and squad of Peaches can also go away!!

and...

I wish to thank them all for making me an Independent Voter.

“What do you think is the most important process in any organization?

I have a Label on the side of this Blog called "The Demise of American Management." There are over 50+ posts about this topic. Over the past five years another demise has taken hold and it's called "identity or equity hiring." Normally processes like this take years to have effects on the systems they impact. In today's environment they are having immediate consequences to the overall quality of the workplace in two areas - education and government. 

This past week three college presidents from Harvard, Penn and MIT displayed ignorant and irresponsible behavior while being questioned by congress. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/billionaire-bill-ackman-says-harvard-122930576.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

Who hired these people? What Hiring/Venting process (DEI) was used?

I have always been in favor of the best person for the job and providing opportunities for those people in the past who were denied a chance because of societies flaws. With this comes a responsibility to mentor and sufficiently train people so they are equipped with the tools and the know-how to succeed. To circumvent this responsibility causes chaos, poor quality and long-term negative effects for the organization/institution and more importantly the person who was left to fend for themselves in a hostile environment. 

Updated December 11,2023 - https://news.yahoo.com/mit-harvard-face-mounting-pressure-165810032.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

Updated January 2nd, 2024 - https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/harvard-president-claudine-gay-resigns-amid-plagiarism-claims-106051588

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/09/penn-president-resigns-00130961

This reminded me of a post I wrote in 2007 called " The Hiring Process is the most important process."

Years ago, I was asked by a business friend,

“What do you think is the most important process in a company?

Years ago (1980's), I gave the standard quality response “the most important process that any company has is the process (es) that adds value to the customer.” About fifteen years ago I changed my answer and still believe the “hiring” process is the most important process in the company. Many people have debated me on that answer and there is truth to their arguments. So, if it’s not the most important I say it is the most important “undervalued” process in a company.

We all know most American Management spout employees are the most important assets to a company. Then why are they considered an expense that needs to be reduced to make up for debt or loss of revenue (because it’s easy)? Human Resources don’t carry much weight when it comes to being considered a critical department within an organization. However, when you stop looking through narrow eyes and open yourself to systems thinking (end-to-end), the HR department is at the beginning and the end of an employee's process. HR hires and HR conducts your exit review and papers.

Now, think in terms of process control and understand that most problems occur early on in a process, and they intern cause multiple downstream problems and bottlenecks. Quality Experts and Process Improvement Teams will attack and try to correct all the “symptoms” downstream (often blaming a person and not the system). The process originated by placing employees in jobs they are not qualified for or can no longer do the job as technology increases and more skills are required (just a few examples). Maybe the HR representatives are not qualified or have the tools to do their jobs.

Management owns the hiring system. It is not a worker’s fault if placed in a job where failure is guaranteed. It is not the worker’s fault if a company slashes training and education that is required as new technology is implemented. It is Management’s job to replace the worker if they are not performing and place them in a job where they can take pride of their work (do we really think people want to fail).

I suppose that is why I have always bought Berkshire Stock. 

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/why-charlie-munger-warren-buffett-204416063.html

US Congress must work through Christmas...

 Note to - Mike Johnson - Speaker of the House - 

You need to work through Christmas to keep the government open. Send out the letter now to the House of Representatives. Please do not do a CR (Continuing Resolution) to extend what work needs to be done now so that the government stays open. How about a greeting from Grinch Gaetz? 

You just had three weeks off (Playing Games) and the summer break too. Show some guts! Show some Leadership!!

Mr. Sub-Optimizer - Matt Gaetz

Systems Optimization: It’s about interdependencies, we must realize that change cannot occur in one part without affecting the performance and outcome in all other parts of the primary system (i.e., politics, education, business etc.) the system as a whole, and ultimately all other systems by which the primary system operates.

Congress is unbelievable. It is amazing that we vote in people like Matt Gaetz and the stupid seven (Which means McCarthy had a 96% approval rating among Republicans), the Squad, and a host of others on BOTH sides of the aisle. The approval ratings for congress and the people running for President are dismal. https://qualityg.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-fool-s-on-hill-gop.html

Not one Democrat (208) voted against their party. That's not being strong. It's weak and cowardly and you will get what you sow and all of us have to pay for your gutless and spineless behavior. 

To you Republicans who went home because you wanted to diffuse your tempers - GROW-UP!

Over the years I have written about Sub-Optimization and the dangers it presents in any process or system. Matt Gaetz is a sub-optimizer. This is nothing a but a personal vendetta and his personal dislike for Kevin McCarthy. What a PUNK!

There it is folks the number one problem I am always referring to when it comes to improvement opportunities. – SUB-OPTIMIZATION, as long as political groups and committees are involved (Fed, State and Local) there will be sub-optimization. The irony is they don’t even realize the damage they do by not having one common money purse, one aim, one plan and one mission for all. Sub-Optimization is found in all our major problems. The United States is the whole and congress work for themselves and their party.

I also nominate Matt Gaetz for: 

P/S - Trump is not the Savior.

https://qualityg.blogspot.com/2023/06/take-your-documents-and-go-home.html

Start off a student with a greeting and a smile! And What Makes a Great Teacher?

School has already started in many school districts with the majority starting after Labor Day. I wanted to repost a few articles from the past that are so relevant now since the Covid Pandemic continues to affect our school aged children, especially the younger ones. Our education system is broken and under attack by many who do not have the children's best interest at heart, especially the younger ones.

In 2015 I started working as an educational team leader for grades K-2. I chose those grade levels because it provides me the opportunity to help mold and create young students as they begin their educational journeys.  I have found how important and “simple” it is to start their day out with a smile/greeting. 

K-2 Educational Team Leader Credo

I believe it is very important to greet students with a smile and kind word first thing in the morning in the grade school cafeteria (This is where they get dropped off for school before the bell rings) as they start their school day. In many situations it might be the only greeting/smile they receive all day. Students appreciate and respond to settings where they feel welcome. Students who feel more welcome are more likely to seek out my help or others when needed (In today’s dysfunctional families this happens frequently). 

By greeting students (Added plus – learn their names) at the door, I can see and prevent potential problems. Correcting potential problems in the cafeteria before school starts may help a student enter their first class free of stress or take out frustrated energy in the gym or even carry it all day to their home. Recognizing a potential problem and preventing it is critical to the overall success of the student, their teachers, fellow classmates and the school.

I'm very lucky to be working with some truly remarkable teachers. Their dedication and passion for what they do is outstanding. 

Note: To a “Systems Thinker” this is building/designing quality upfront in the process. It is where the potential for failure and defects are their most dangerous (If unchecked continue to grow) but they are almost always the easiest (Cheapest) way to prevent/fix problems.

Also...

Over the years I always try and observe and learn what makes a good teacher. One of the measures by which I make my conclusion is how well the class learns and just as important how well it behaves and respects all (Teacher, Students) within the room.

If I find that 95% of the students follow this conclusion, I know there is a good teacher at the helm. I know when I have found a “Great” teacher when there is a substitute teacher and 90% of the students follow my conclusion because their regular teacher has instilled the pride and learning so that whoever is in the room, they give their attention out of respect for their regular teacher.

The Quality Guru (NOT) is now running for President

Perry Johnson is now running for President. Michigan businessman Perry Johnson, who has loaned his longshot campaign for president more than $8 million and in July offered donors a $10 gas card as a thank you for a $1 donation, has failed to qualify for Wednesday's first Republican presidential debate, officials said, despite his extraordinary efforts to do so. He says he will be on stage for the 2nd GOP Debate.

Johnson, a self-described “quality guru” who made millions as a consultant on quality control standards, has so far loaned his presidential campaign more than $8 million.

Johnson spent more than $7 million of his own money on a run for Michigan governor last year only to be disqualified before the primary election after signature collectors his campaign and other campaigns hired presented fraudulent signatures.

What follows are posts from 2022:

Being a student of Quality Management, Process and Systems since 1978 I was surprised at the Super Bowl ad that introduced Perry Johnson as a candidate for Michigan Governor. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/01/27/republican-businessman-perry-johnson-joining-race-michigan-governor/9241033002/

The ad specifies Mr. Johnson as a Quality Guru. Mr. Johnson is best known for his work on the ISO 9000 Standards.

In 1994, I read his initial book on ISO 9000: Meeting the International Standards. I actually was certified as an ISO 9000 auditor back in the day of the 1980s and 1990s when I was certified in just about every Quality System that was known. I have written on this subject over the years and many posts are included in this Blog. http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search?q=iso+9000.

I will watch Mr. Johnson's candidacy with interest. I take the meaning (Title) of Quality Guru very seriously and it is usually bestowed upon someone who is a legend in their field and the title given by others. 

https://www.bizmanualz.com/improve-quality/who-are-the-top-quality-gurus.html

https://www.encyclopedia.com/management/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/quality-gurus

I could supply list after list and the same names will appear as being known as a true Quality Guru. Interestingly, I have read, witnessed and studied every name on these lists, and I have never once seen or heard any of them call themselves a Guru. In fact, most were very humble.

 The only name I would add that is not on many lists is Dr. Russel. Ackoff. https://management.curiouscat.net/articles/955-Interview-of-and-by-Dr-Ackoff-and-Dr-Deming

Sorry - I do not see Mr. Johnson's name on any of the lists.

Updated March 16, 2022

https://www.theballengerreport.com/whos-ahead-whos-a-flop-mirs-michigan-poll-tells-all/

Updated June 12, 2022, Quality 101 - Preventive Maintenance (PM)

It seems preventive maintenance (PM) was not part of Perry Johnson's campaign strategy. Basically, a sound "Quality" PM system must take in to account every step of the planning process from beginning to end to make sure all interdependent pasts are controlled and identified for possible problems or breakdowns.

A Republican candidate for Michigan governor lost a bid to get on the Aug. 2 primary ballot Wednesday in the first key court decision since election officials found campaign petitions rife with fraudulent signatures.

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/perry-johnson-gop-candidate-for-michigan-governor-loses-key-ballot-ruling

Updated July 23, 2022 - Now What?

Perry Johnson is undecided about continuing as a write-in candidate after the courts refuse to let his name on the ballot. Wow! What a "Process" Breakdown. A "Systemic" Nightmare for a quality professional.

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/perry-johnson-undecided-on-launching-write-in-campaign-for-governor-after-signature-snafu

Now What? - PUNT.... this game is over.

Too many kids are absent in school - DUH!

People love built-in excuses. The most popular one used now is COVID-19. Everything can be blamed on the pandemic and the lockdowns. I am not denying the problem it has caused but when it comes education all these problems existed prior to the pandemic, and they were at a critical stage then too. 

I just read the following on-line article Too many kids are chronically absent. How can schools bring them back? https://www.yahoo.com/news/too-many-kids-are-chronically-absent-how-can-schools-bring-them-back-153547903.html. It’s interesting to read this in this article and find there are NO CONSQUENCES for being absent. Geez, just like the rising level of crime we have today. There is a correlation. No one accountable and everyone has an excuse. 

I spent 10+ years in the educational field in grades K-18. I also spent many years 10+ in corporate training where we constantly had to teach basic math classes and reading classes prior to the “Real” training that we needed to implement the latest processes and systems. Most were high school graduates but 20% were college graduates.

In 2016, the Michigan Legislature passed a law that requires schools to identify learners who are struggling with reading and writing and to provide additional help. The consequence for not being at 3^rd grade reading level was retention. 

In theory this was a good law to identify student early on if they were behind because it would only het worse as they moved to higher grades.

In 2021 a report released by researchers at Michigan State University found that Michigan schools planned to retain just 229 Michigan third graders out of 3,477 students who scored poorly on the reading portion of the state’s standardized test, the M-STEP. Like most laws there were wide exceptions to the rules with little or no enforcement if a parent were to challenge the findings.

In 2023 the law is now up for vote to repeal because it is considered to be punitive, inequitable and ineffective. https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2023/3/7/23629746/michigan-third-grade-retention-reading-repeal-gov-gretchen-whitmer-house. Aha, here is another excuse that is now used for everything “INEQUITABLE.”

The number one solution for years has been to throw more money at the problem. This has proven to be ineffective in most instances. Other failed solutions are the many standardized State-run tests (Every 3-5 years they change) that require teachers to teach to inept guidelines for passing as opposed to testing situationally for each struggling student.

The amount of money like most government run program never reaches down to the level it was intended to reach to correct the problem. The classroom must have qualified teachers and in-classroom support so that each student can be identified and helped. We do it now for all Special Education students (The numbers and categories have increased beyond control over the past 20 years.). Education like most government run programs are top heavy in administrative personnel who sit back and make rules and then create armies of assessors to tell you that schools are filing. All the money is spent at the end instead of upfront where it belongs.

Another huge problem is summer school. Years ago, there would be a teacher in the classroom giving individual and group support to students who needed help to catch-up. For the past 20 years you may get a teacher/adult who sits at the front of the room while students sit at a computer using grade level learning lessons (many are home and don’t have to come to the building - guess what? Many parents are finishing the lessons). Don't worry all you have to do is finish the lesson. You won't be held back). Oh yes, much like the learning that took place during the pandemic. And we wonder WHY we are in the mess we are in now.

Look basic educational fundamentals must have face to face instruction. It’s the same in athletics, arts and just about everything in life.

Student Debt - Biden Student Debt Plan CANCELLED! - Updated 07/13/23 - Here we go again

I'm really tired of this subject and the continuous push to remove student debt. I have blogged/ written about this subject for over 10 years. 

http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search?q=student+debt

I also put a search in on Yahoo and the following hits came up covering a wide range of subjects except ONE (The Cause)!!

https://search.yahoo.com/search?p=student+debt&fr=yfp-t&fr2=p%3Afp%2Cm%3Asb&ei=UTF-8&fp=1

The root cause is the continuous increase in college costs and there is no end in sight. College costs outpaced inflation by 28 percent at public institutions and 19 percent at private nonprofit ones in the decade preceding the pandemic, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. You want student debt to stop then force colleges to stop increasing tuition without some oversight and make a guarantee that if one does not get a job that will pay off student loans within a stated timeframe, then the college must pay it off as a means of a contract. 

The cost of college over time has risen dramatically. Since 1980, the price has increased 175%, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Solution - Each college should pay off the student debt of their past students who are still paying debt after 10 years. It's not the taxpayer's responsibility for their greed. Each State should withhold monetary aid from universities that continue to raise tuition with excess endowment dollars.

Ask these two questions or research on your own - What colleges lowered tuition and or housing costs during the pandemic? And, why has not the Biden administration cancelled the Student Aid Program if it is so bad?

Nothing makes me happier than to see manufacturing and tech jobs coming back that do not require a college degree. I am also ecstatic over the fact that many high schools and community colleges are bring back technical vocational programs.

Updated 6/23/22

I am so tired of Senator Warren and her Student Debt forgiveness rants about paying off debt for student loans. 

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren believes policy is to blame for the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis.

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the student debt crisis was caused by "deliberate policy decision." She wants $50,000 in debt relief for each student with Federal Loans.
• Even before Warren became a lawmaker, she was looking into the student-loan industry as she helped establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and as a senator, she worked with the agency to uncover abuses by student-loan companies that pushed borrowers into taking on more debt than they could afford to pay off. 

Warren does make a good point about student-loan companies and abuses. SO, go after them to pay off the student loan debt and I will applaud your determination. My two children had student debt; I refinanced my home twice to help them through college (Master's Degrees). I'm not complaining it was my choice and my responsibility. 

She says Americans want the debt erased. If that is so put it on the ballot and let Americans vote. She will get as many votes as she does when she runs for President in the primaries. Better yet, why don't the good people of Massachusetts pay off the debt.

Updated 6/24/22

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-cancel-6-billion-student-163552392.html

Pay off my home mortgage or buy me an electrical vehicle and I will vote for you in 2022, 2023, 2024 and Infinity...

Updated 7/18/22

Time is running out. If President Biden does not act by the end of August those people with student loans will have to start paying their monthly loans again after two years of not paying.

SO far over 25 billion dollars in student loans have been forgiven. I'm still waiting for my home mortgage loan and car loan to be forgiven.

https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/loans/millions-of-americans-have-had-25b-in-student-loan-debt-forgiven-who-why-and-how/

Updated 8/16/22

Here we go again. This time anyone (200,000) who attended ITT will have all their loans forgiven totaling 3.9 billion Dollars. That's a lot of votes.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/president-biden-forgives-nearly-4-200000606.html

So, are the people who ran this institution paying any money back? Are they in jail? Who are they?

Updated 8/24/22

So, how many votes are the young people going to give you in November? Guess how many people who paid their loans back the correct way will vote for you. Guess how many people will vote for you who did not go to college.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-announces-student-loan-debt-forgiveness-153845682.html

Where is all the money going to come from to pay for this insane decision? This will wipe out any gains from the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This will add to inflation in a very subtle long-term way that we will be paying for a long time.

https://taxfoundation.org/inflation-reduction-act/

So, when do all these colleges with Billion and Million dollars in "Endowment" money chip in to pay for the debt? When will they lower tuition (Not just charge more)? Colleges have no accountability for the product they produce.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment

I thought it was Congress job to pass this type of law. Give those who have a student loan an Earned Income Tax Credit so they will get something back each year on their interest paid. This will help them and not affect the rest of us.

Updated 9/26/22

The Biden administration's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for millions of Americans will cost the U.S. about $400 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) a nonpartisan agency that conducts economic analyses of government policies. 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/student-debt-relief-will-cost-400-billion-over-a-decade-cbo/

Updated 10/18/22 and 10/22/22

Biden’s Department of Education released its loan-forgiveness application a few days ago, which is incredibly simple. Applicants must state their annual income to determine eligibility, and most will not be required to verify their income with tax returns or other supporting documents. Biden’s distribution plan lacks adequate protections against fraud. People who make $129,000 a year may falsely claim they make less than $125,000 to receive $10,000 in debt relief.

This disaster will rate right up there with the Covid Pandemic unemployment insurance fraud that costs taxpayers Billions of dollars.

10/22 - A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from moving forward with its student debt relief program aiming to forgive billions of dollars in federal student loans.

The court action comes as six states argue that President Joe Biden has no grounds to cancel debt for millions of borrowers. 

Updated 12/12/22

President Joe Biden's student debt forgiveness plan has been blocked. Hooray! A Federal district court in Texas issued a ruling calling the plan "unconstitutional," which the Department of Justice has already appealed on Biden's behalf. 

Updated 06/30/23

The US Supreme Court shot down the Biden administration’s controversial plan to forgive billions of dollars in federally backed student loan debt. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-strikes-down-bidens-plan-to-forgive-student-loan-debt-154017599.html

Even the Senate and the House passed a bill in June 2023 to block President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/01/politics/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-senate-vote/index.html

The President will now try numerous end-runs to still get this program passed and pass the half-trillion dollars it will cost to taxpayers. This is wrong and illegal (Only Congress has the power to provide these kind of funds). He only wants to buy votes from a particular voting bloc.

Side Note - 

A 28-year-old graphic designer who graduated from Arizona State University with $33,000 in student-loan debt, told The Washington Post that though she consistently made payments toward her loans, it was still difficult to make a dent in the balance.

"Now that the Supreme Court has rejected the student-loan forgiveness, I have no hope," she told The Post.

I’m sorry you have not learned howe to pay back a loan and I’m sorry Arizona State did not provide you with an education that would afford you the opportunity to pay your loan. Have you blamed them. What about the bank or institution that provided you the loans, have you blamed them? What about yourself?

I have three degrees and numerous certifications. The GI Bill paid for much of my education and then the company I worked for paid 75 percent of my education as long as I maintained a “C” average. My children have student loans and are paying them back with sacrificing other things in their lives. I’m sorry, but it is their responsibility to pay their loans, just as it is yours.

Updated 07/13/23 - Here we go again.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/800-000-student-borrowers-39-124129466.html

800,000 student borrowers to get $39 billion in debt forgiveness. Please read the comments following the on-line article. Here are a couple examples:

• There is no debt forgiveness, it’s just being transferred from those who borrowed and gained from it, to the taxpayers at large.
• Buying votes, with our money.
• Please send 48K for me to apply to my mortgage, since I already paid my student loans.

This is unbelievable. It's about buying votes for a broken system. Again, where are the schools and colleges held accountable. Why are they allowed to just keep raising prices? Because people will pay, and financial institutions will keep lending money. The cycle continues because there are votes to gather in 2024.

 

Border Crisis needs "Systems Thinking."

Vice President Harris and Secretary Mayorkas need to apply “Systems Thinking” to their Border Crisis Strategy.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) guidelines it is the Federal Government’s responsibility to protect the nation's borders—land, air, and sea—from the illegal entry of people, weapons, drugs, and contraband is vital to our homeland security, as well as economic prosperity. 

The USA Border Process continues to get worse, and everyone blames everyone else and like everything today it is mostly based on Partisan Political Agendas. Unfortunately, most people just want the problem solved and expect our political leaders to do their job. “The Border Process works within a System. The Federal Government owns the System.”

A system is a whole consisting of two or more parts, (1) each of which can affect the performance or properties of the whole, (2) none of which can have an independent effect on the whole, and (3) no subgroup of which can have independent effect on the whole. In short, then, a system is a whole that cannot be divided into independent parts or subgroups of parts.

Basically, this means you must look at the Broder System from an end-to-end perspective and involve all participating people, places and processes in order to make lasting and change and improvement.

As I have said in many posts, without using “systems thinking” and involving all groups (interdependencies) from beginning to end you will only continue to band aid (tamper) the system.

Think of the 1 as one dollar, the 10 as ten dollars and the 100 as one hundred dollars. The concept is simple when you realize that most problems originate at the beginning of a process/system and grow much larger and complex as they move through the process.

Below is a graphic example. Please note the measures and feedback points that must be established along the system. Remember when Automobile companies checked for defects after the car was built? It took years to figure out that we need to build quality in at the design stage way up front as well as all throughout the selling and manufacture processes that made up the system. The key is “UPFRONT” so you won’t experience the “UNKOWN.”

Click on PIC to Enlarge

I use dollars (you can also use "Degrees of Complexity") because that is what gets everyone's attention (Plus, it's true). If we practice prevention and institute requirements or standards at the beginning of the process (Diplomatic Reasoning/Power with the sending countries and continue to set and monitor them as we progress through the Border System, we can save many dollars and pain upfront in the system the cost (1$) will be minimal as opposed to downstream (more importantly people). When the people are in Mexico and we discover problems, it will cost 10 times as much to solve and correct the problem. In the United States it will be 100 times more costly and complex to identify the problems and to solve them.

By far the biggest problem is the unknown, those illegals that go undetected and are never accounted for will costs an unknow amount of dollars that result in system failures that will have devastating effects to our society and economic well-being. I don't have a problem with legal immigration to the United States, but illegals are not vetted for health diseases or past criminal activities so instead of remaining the problem of the foreign country they become the problem of the U.S.

Political Insider Trading Must Stop - Pelosi Act - Updated April 20, 2023

So many people turn a blind eye to how rich politicians in Washington D.C. become after a few years serving in Congress. One of the ways many get rich is by trading stocks. I do realize some are rich prior to coming into congress but the amount that is accumulated while they serve is disgusting. 

The worst are those politicians who buy and sell stocks prior to major announcements from governmental committees or laws being established. 

The most recent suspicious move was done by the Pelosi's. 

Josh Hawley the GOP senator from Missouri (The Show Me State) announced the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act on Jan. 24, 2023 - after news broke that Pelosi’s venture capitalist husband sold 30,000 shares of Google stock just one month before the tech giant was sued over alleged antitrust violations.

https://www.barchart.com/investing-ideas/politician-insider-trading

Pelosi also received harsh criticism when her husband sold up to $5 million worth of shares in Nvidia, a computer chipmaker, just days before Congress approved a mega stimulus package to boost the semiconductor industry.

It's not a Republican or Democrat issue its moral issue that must be addressed. For example, four US senators, including Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina and Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California, sold hundreds of thousands of stocks in major companies after they were given a secret briefing on coronavirus.

I guess this fact says it all - Congress has outperformed the market and beat the SPY index in 2021 and 2022. Here is a good article explaining the problem and solutions for correcting this problem. https://clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2022/03/15/time-for-a-broad-prophylactic-against-congressional-insider-trading/

Updated - February 25, 2023

Stop getting frustrated with politicians who make millions by investing in stocks.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/able-same-stop-getting-frustrated-140000978.html

Updated - April 20, 2023 - Here We Go Again

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fears-banking-crisis-surged-members-114128107.html

April is Autism Acceptance Month

April 2023

Autism Acceptance Month, previously named Autism Awareness Month, in April aims to celebrate and promote acceptance for the condition that occurs in one in every 54 children as of 2020 in the United States.

Why April Is Autism Acceptance Month, Not Autism Awareness

Acceptance vs. Awareness

“Acceptance is about moving beyond this idea of awareness, which has been medicalized and has been used to spread ideas of autism that are stigmatizing,” says Zoe Gross, Director of Advocacy at ASAN. “[Autism] makes life harder, but it’s part of our experience of the world. It’s not something to be scared of.” 

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t&ei=UTF-8&p=April+is+autism+awarens+month#id=3&vid=f537484a81236db2e300515d90bff8f2&action=click

April 2022

 A Proclamation on World Autism Awareness Day, 2022

A nice message from the White House - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/04/01/a-proclamation-on-world-autism-awareness-day-2022/

P/S - Update on the Good Doctor - Much better than 2021 season with the focus returned to ASD in most of the episodes.

April 2021

With the Global Covid 19 virus I can't help but wonder about all the routine movements, processes and help that is now so fragmented for people on the spectrum. Perhaps, others can now learn what it is like to have your "normal" life in such a disarray. Autism people have known this kind of stress their whole lives.

While sitting at home with the rest of the world I found this movie that was really good about an English lad who has autism. Check it out!

https://agoodmovietowatch.com/brilliant-young-mind-2014/

And of course, I really like the Good Doctor. However, the 2021 season has lost its gusto. Too many social issues and political correctness is ruining the show about ASD.

April 23 - Update

I was sent (Thank you Matthew) this link
https://www.wizcase.com/blog/internet-safety-guide-for-people-with-autism-spectrum-disorders/
that provides valuable information about internet safety for people with ASD.

Click link below for all my posts on Autism over the years. http://qualityg.blogspot.com/search/label/ASD%20-%20Autism%20Spectrum%20Disorders

or on the ASD Label (Left Sidebar) for more of my posts on Autism.

I was throwing away some old papers today when I came across this poem, I wrote 25 years ago...

SHINE!

At 11:45 we start to get antsy while he smiles like an old gray fox
At noon we go to our lockers and get our Sponge Bob lunch box
He then checks our shoelaces and pulls up our socks.

Then it’s back to class and get called in to line
We shuffle to the back because he said that’s where we shine
He walks with us quietly and whispers all will be fine.

As we walk quietly in line headed to the lunchroom we go
We then search for a place at a table where a friend might show
While the man who is with us sits across the room laying low.

Often times we don’t eat, and we just play with our food
Then the lunch lady turns and signal to the man that we are being crude
He then stands where we can see; and gives us the “Look” we best eat before he gets in a mood.

After we eat, we go to recess, sometimes it’s in, but we hope it’s out
It all depends if the flags are green hanging about
Yellow means stay inside then we groan and pout.
Today we go outside and play on the playground equipment
We hope a friend will stop and play even if for a minute
But most of the time we play alone and it seems to be infinite.

At 12:35 the whistle blows loud and sometimes we cover our ears
You see the decibel and noise level brings out some fears
But we know we are safe because our guardian is always near.

Another lunch has come and another has gone by
Sometimes we get into trouble and sometimes we cry
But mostly we wonder about friends and ask him WHY?

After we line up we will try not to talk and to stay in line
Then our teacher meets us and says you all look fine
And the man who walks behind smiles and says we SHINE!