tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33200872024-03-15T21:10:23.623-04:00Lionel Deimel’s Web LogRandom quick takes by
Lionel DeimelLionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.comBlogger1575125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-76288504922968978982024-03-07T09:07:00.001-05:002024-03-07T09:08:24.472-05:00Solar Eclipse<p>There is much excitement in Clifton Springs, N.Y., and nearby communities about the total eclipse of the sun that will be visible here on April 8. How visible is yet to be determined. April 8 is often cloudy, though an eclipse is an extraordinary and rare event even on an overcast day. Many organizations are planning viewing and celebratory events. I plan to attend the day-long program sponsored by the Clifton Springs Library in the park across the street from the library and a block from my apartment. The program ends with dinner and dancing.</p><p>The other day, I walked a block down Main Street to visit Main Street Arts, whose current exhibition is called “Path of Totality.” Although I wasn’t looking for inspiration, the exhibition perhaps had me thinking about the eclipse as I worked on some new curve-stitch designs for my <a href="https://deimel.org/rec_math/curve_stitch.htm" target="_blank">Web site</a>. I don’t normally name my designs, but I decided that the image below should be called “Solar Eclipse.” The design was one of a family of related images I was treating as simple abstractions. When I saw this design, however, it was impossible not to think of the coming eclipse. I thought readers would like to see it.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HfEkWotW9SXn2d3LnAq9UInsQuTLMwH3LbmLLSOz6Hp1C8eI-_LOX9C3xy5nQAQZtFoHrX1cP_XEkItkVsKTSPFuwko3qAXCwQNN1_vvT9yQnuvF30oSdWQDv_ZSGKi9xTLl98KSGd62xsNw1MpyjqEJBTk7vH2Vk87I3hGm0CRQSrCGTLNH/s510/15-3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Solar Eclipse" border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HfEkWotW9SXn2d3LnAq9UInsQuTLMwH3LbmLLSOz6Hp1C8eI-_LOX9C3xy5nQAQZtFoHrX1cP_XEkItkVsKTSPFuwko3qAXCwQNN1_vvT9yQnuvF30oSdWQDv_ZSGKi9xTLl98KSGd62xsNw1MpyjqEJBTk7vH2Vk87I3hGm0CRQSrCGTLNH/s16000/15-3.png" title="Solar Eclipse" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solar Eclipse</td></tr></tbody></table><p>A scalable version of “Solar Eclipse” can be seen <a href="https://deimel.org/rec_math/15-3.svg">here</a>. I considered several similar designs, by the way, which had a smaller dark center. I could change my mind, but the image here is my current favorite.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-48327725837735943192024-03-05T10:56:00.002-05:002024-03-05T10:56:29.407-05:00The Supreme Court Deprecates the Fourteenth Amendment<p>To the suprise of few Supreme Court watchers, the high court ruled on March 4 in <i><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-719_19m2.pdf" target="_blank">Trump v. Anderson</a></i> that Colorado did not have the power to remove Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot on the basis of <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment#:~:text=Section%203" target="_blank">Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment</a>. The court did not consider whether Trump “having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.” The court declared that “responsibility for enforcing Section
3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States.”</p><p>Upholding Colorado’s right to remove Trump’s name from the primary ballot would, according to Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson “create a chaotic state-by-state patchwork,
at odds with our Nation’s federalism principles.” In separate concurring opinions, Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson; and Justice Barrett complain that the court should have gone no further than overturning the Colorado action. Instead, the majority decided matters not at issue in the case and insisted that only Congress can disqualify a candidate under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment.</p><p>As an aside, I offer my own view of what the court should have done. It should have observed that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to the Colorado case, as the matter at hand was Trump’s seeking his party’s nomination, not his ascension to federal office. It should have further observed that an actual candidate cannot run for an office he or she cannot hold or, at the very least, cannot hold the office sought irrespective of the election outcome. In a perfect world, this would discourage the Republican Party, by whatever mechanism, from making Trump its nominee. In our imperfect world, such a decision would likely kick the can down the road. If Trump became the GOP nominee, some federal decision would need to be made that he could not run. This decision, which would surely be challenged in court, could be made by the Attorney General. Ultimately, the real question would then have to be dealt with, likely by the Supreme Court: was Donald Trump indeed an oathbreaking insurrectionist.</p><p>Unfortunately, the Supreme Court appears to have made it virtually impossible to derail Trump’s attempt to again become president on the basis of the Constitution. It is inconceivable that the current Congress will disqualify Trump if only Congress can disqualify him under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Constitution does not require an act of Congress to disqualify a presidential candidate not born in the United States or under the age of 35. Why should it require an act of Congress to disqualify an oathbreaking insurrectionist?</p><p>Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson point out the ludicrousness of the court’s requiring Congress to determine disqualification based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment:</p><p></p><blockquote>Section 3 provides that when an oathbreaking insurrectionist is disqualified, “Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” It is hard to
understand why the Constitution would require a congressional supermajority to remove a disqualification if a simple
majority could nullify Section 3’s operation by repealing or
declining to pass implementing legislation. </blockquote><p></p><p>I fear that the hope that the Fourteenth Amendment can save us from a second Trump term has been dashed. Whether Donald Trump or the Supreme Court is the greater threat to the Republic is an open question.<br /></p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-38501140158292940772024-03-03T13:34:00.003-05:002024-03-03T13:35:28.244-05:00Republicans Are Not Conservatives<p>I am tired of the media characterizing the Republican Party or Republican politicians as <i>conservative</i>. The party is not interested in conserving anything other than white supremacy and the unconstrained ability of corporations and billionaires to act as they see fit. It would be more proper to characterize Republicanism as <i>anti-woke</i> rather than <i>conservative</i>, where <i>woke</i> entails freedom of speech, freedom to read, freedom to demonstrate, freedom to vote, freedom over one’s own body, equal justice under law, nondiscriminatory treatment regarding race, creed, sex, or sexual identity, and the ability of the government to seek the common good.</p><p>Reporters should insist that nearly all Republicans are not <i>conservatives</i>, but <i>reactionaries</i> or <i>regressives</i>. Moreover, Republicans who are not the most radical of right-wingers—Nikki Haley comes most readily to mind—are not <i>moderates</i>. They, too, are reactionaries. Being a conservative, leaving things as they are, is a moderate position. Wanting to dismantle recent innovations and return to earlier times is reactionary. Wanting to change society to increase personal liberty and protect citizens from misfortune and the rapaciousness of their fellow citizens is a liberal position. Conservatives can be found in both parties, but, in 2024, are rare in each. Republicans are by-and-large reactions, and Democrats are by-and-large liberals.</p><p>Vote for liberals, or, if you must, for moderates. That means voting for Democrats to restore sanity to the Republic.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpV_0ybhLJKTs4mqGwWoGTfSnlVIgFKveeCLOImiX870pIF5xkRTqQQshfoaM196elKjKddBzu_RKSy4aTsIfHij73M_1O6mHYH8kEl-SVaUoIpIoopoWQPvZXPkTT1UZZUJRT2vpa28pXFi0ESbw4RD4okTrrFvTFo0bD2XZ4wBFDYdTAM5B/s1000/back-to-the-past.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="1000" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpV_0ybhLJKTs4mqGwWoGTfSnlVIgFKveeCLOImiX870pIF5xkRTqQQshfoaM196elKjKddBzu_RKSy4aTsIfHij73M_1O6mHYH8kEl-SVaUoIpIoopoWQPvZXPkTT1UZZUJRT2vpa28pXFi0ESbw4RD4okTrrFvTFo0bD2XZ4wBFDYdTAM5B/s320/back-to-the-past.png" width="320" /></a></div>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-65777233051005335342024-02-29T13:13:00.000-05:002024-02-29T13:13:10.701-05:00Government Inefficiency<p>As I <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2024/02/moving-woes.html">wrote</a> on February 8, I found my misplaced passport and immediately realized it had expired. The next day, I had a new passport photo taken and filled out an application on line for a renewal. The Web site for filing my application was well-designed, but it took me a couple of tries to enter all the information correctly. (I made the mistake of declaring that I was done, printed the application, and caught my errors when I looked it over. My fault!) When I finally had a proper application in hand, I mailed it, along with my old passport that afternoon, at 3:54 pm, February 9, to be exact. That was on a Friday. The Postal Service indicated that my envelope was delivered to the addressed post office box on Sunday. I didn’t expect to see a new passport anytime soon.</p><p>Imagine my surprise and delight when I received my new passport in this morning’s mail. The passport, with impressive new security features, is valid through February 25, 2034. The last time I renewed my passport, my old one was returned to me voided. Apparently, that practice has been discontinued.</p><p>Much has been said about government delay and inefficiency—don’t get me started about the Supreme Court—but both the Postal Service and State Department far exceeded my expectations. My application was turned around in just over two weeks. The horror stories I had been hearing about how long it takes to get a passport were apparently overblown. Now if only American justice could be as efficient!</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-52200560803248528452024-02-21T21:19:00.001-05:002024-02-21T21:19:23.470-05:00Alabama and Frozen Embryo Personhood<p>The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that an embryo created via in vitro fertilization (IVF) is a person, a child, and its destruction can result in a wrongful-death lawsuit under Alabama law. The court seems to have been either ignorant or indifferent to the consequences of this decision, which was clearly influenced by the “Christian” anti-abortion movement. Predictably, IVF in Alabama has come to an immediate standstill, as everyone is trying to figure out the implications of the Supreme Court decision.</p><p>IVF is most often used by couples who have had difficulty achieving a pregnancy in the usual fashion. IVF can be unpleasant, expensive, and frustrating. Those who embark on their IVF journey must be highly motivated to have a child. Using drugs and minor surgery, multiple eggs are typically harvested from the woman. They are then fertilized by sperm in the laboratory and are allowed to grow briefly into embryos. The embryos can be screened for genetic abnormalities at this point. An immediate attempt can be made to implant an embryo to produce a pregnancy, or embryos can be frozen for future use. Implantation is often unsuccessful, so having multiple embryos in reserve provides a necessary backup. It is not uncommon for several implantations to fail before a pregnancy is achieved. Unused embryos are either dedicated to research or discarded.</p><p>The Alabama case involved the accidental destruction of embryos. In a “normal” state—a state not controlled by far-right Republicans—a couple owning unused embryos destroyed by another party without permission would have a cause of action against that party, but not one involving wrongful death. Notice, however, since Alabama now views a frozen embryo as a person, the couple cannot be said to <i>own</i> it. Of greater concern, also growing out of the person status of the embryo, is the question of whether a prosecutor could indict the destroying party for murder. I see no reason why not! This is a serious concern for IVF providers who are repeatedly responsible for destroying embryos.</p><p>If a couple using IVF has no further use for their (see above) frozen embryos, it would seem that those embryos need to be preserved forever, since the state disapproves of killing children. This is, I suggest, insane. Can the embryos be taken out of state and disposed of? Who knows? The state of Alabama may assert that killing your children out of state is the same as killing them in Alabama.<br /></p><p>Until these issues are clarified (or the state of Alabama comes to its senses), IVF in Alabama is pretty much impossible. Couples wanting to employ IVF may have to move to another state.</p><p>There may be other consequences of embryos becoming people. Will embryos result in tax deductions or gain other government benefits because of their personhood?</p><p>Anti-abortion militants have applauded the Alabama decision. There is at least some irony here. The militants pretend to want to protect children, yet the decision will prevent highly motivated couples from having children to begin with. Well, those couples can love their embryos, who neither requite their love nor ever develop into real human beings, only into a perpetual obligations.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-64523963254594085452024-02-13T22:11:00.003-05:002024-02-15T10:16:26.947-05:00Thoughts on Mardi Gras Parades<p>Today is Mardi Gras. Both Sunday and today (Tuesday, of course), I’ve watched New Orleans Mardi Gras parades on the Web. I have not been in New Orleans for Mardi Gras for a very long time, but, in many ways, parades have not changed all that much.</p><p>There certainly have been improvements over the years. There are more krewes (and correspondingly more parades), and membership in a krewe is no longer limited to the New Orleans elite. Night parades are lit by electric lights rather than by the slightly scary flambeaux. (A flambeau was once dropped on the ground in front of me. Fortunately, I was old enough that the incident didn’t leave me with a permanent emotional scar.) Throws have become more varied and interesting. In addition to the classic strings of beads, there are sunglasses, neck pillows, illuminated caps, socks unique to particular floats, and other imaginative trinkets.</p><p>Some changes would be welcome. Parade units—floats, bands, mounted riders, etc.—tend to become separated from one another, often producing long delays between the arrival of units at a given location. In an era of easy wireless communication, there is no excuse for all units not halting or moving in unison.</p><p>The other aspect of parades that has remained unchanged for as long as I can remember is having floats pulled by tractors. Floats in the Rose Parade are self-propelled, a more complex but more visually attractive technology. A positive innovation is the arrival of tandem floats, essentially trains of two or more wagons pulled by a single tractor.</p><p>I got to see the Zulu parade for the first time today. Zulu has an all-black krewe. Whereas riders on the floats of most parades are masked, most riders in Zulu appear in blackface. Zulu has always been known for its unique throws—hand-painted small coconuts. </p><p>I also saw members of the Half-Fast Walking Club, a group founded by the late clarinetist Pete Fountain. The walkers are part of no parade.</p><p>As a former Army bandsman, I pay particular attention to bands in the parades. High school, college, and military bands march during the Mardi Gras season. Even without identifying banners, the three types of bands are easily distinguished. Military bands, for example, march in perfectly straight ranks and are led by drum majors who know how to use a mace to telegraph smartly everything the band needs to know.</p><p>Near all high school bands do a poor job of keeping their lines straight. They often have multiple drum majors, none of whom seem to understand what can be done with a mace other than dance around with it. I suspect that high school band directors are reluctant to designate a single drum major and teach him—it always seems to be a him—how to do his job in high style. Drummers, who used to provide a straightforward cadence for marching, now seem to have become bands of their own, often providing more interesting music than the full band. On the other hand, I would not like to march to them. Oh, and band members need to know that marching is not just walking.</p><p>College bands, the largest groups, tend to be more disciplined than high school bands but less regimented than military bands. Among college bands, I saw coördinated movements of band members—I’m tempted to call them dance movements—that were not my cup of tea, but which were well-executed.</p><p>Finally, I have to say that I would have liked to see more military bands. And I would have liked to have heard more classic military marches (by Sousa, Alford, Fillmore, etc.) played by any of the bands.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCj4Q3Rh03A87vP2BwkzKDPtz4ciEjvq9obKf9Z74hjByn4oIS086jfZMdkjIxQ-XtubPsRwuPJuhyphenhyphenw7Nyql12Pz2ZawVVH4bviKKOilAoqB5z391aKlNAnnXsqMuox2NZjMj8tEASmdd544dK-ae_nSz2Eq-g6LRgL7jJftHixbTIYpVHnW4/s800/happy_mardi_gras.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Happy Mardi Gras" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSCj4Q3Rh03A87vP2BwkzKDPtz4ciEjvq9obKf9Z74hjByn4oIS086jfZMdkjIxQ-XtubPsRwuPJuhyphenhyphenw7Nyql12Pz2ZawVVH4bviKKOilAoqB5z391aKlNAnnXsqMuox2NZjMj8tEASmdd544dK-ae_nSz2Eq-g6LRgL7jJftHixbTIYpVHnW4/w320-h180/happy_mardi_gras.jpg" title="Happy Mardi Gras" width="320" /></a></div>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-20700194116790249192024-02-08T21:09:00.000-05:002024-02-08T21:09:53.648-05:00Who Owns the Train?<p>I have recently heard several radio stories relating to rail safety. The stories were mostly occasioned by the anniversary of the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment at East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3, 2023. More often than not, these stories identify the train involved in the accident as being <i>owned </i>by Norfolk Southern.</p><p>Seldom is any train <i>owned </i>by a single railroad in the sense that the locomotive(s) and all the railcars of the train belong to the same railroad, and the train is operated by employees of that railroad. More commonly, a train is <i>operated</i> and <i>dispatched </i>by employees of a given railroad. The locomotives may be owned by that railroad and may be running on that railroad’s tracks, but the railcars making up the train are generally owned by a variety of railroads and other entities, shippers and car lessors. There are many variations on this arrangement—motive power may be supplied by locomotives from multiple railroads, for example—but one railroad is responsible for operating the train, and the cars behind the locomotives have a variety of owners.</p><p>The train involved in the East Palestine accident was a Norfolk Southern train, but the train was not owned by Norfolk Southern. Alternatively, it can be said that it was Norfolk Southern’s train or was a train operated by Norfolk Southern. Journalists, take note.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-80946287478615249712024-02-08T15:27:00.000-05:002024-02-08T15:27:31.467-05:00Moving Woes<p>All kinds of things can go wrong when moving to a new home. Belongings can get lost, broken, or misplaced. You can also move things you wish you had left behind or fail to move things you want to use. In many ways, my move from Indiana, Pa., to Clifton Springs, N.Y., went smoothly. Since I was moving to a one-bedroom apartment, many of my belongings, particularly furniture, could not come along with me. I was fortunate in having an auctioneer (Mike Charnego) who would sell off manny of those left-behind objects for me. This didn’t earn me a boatload of money, but it simplified my move and helped me avoid extra work and anxiety.</p><p>My movers (McNaughton Moving and Storage, agent for Allied Van Lines) did a fine job. I did some packing but left the hard packing to them. (I didn’t touch the kitchen, for example.) The movers had to make three stops in Indiana, one in Geneva, N.Y., and one in Clifton Springs. Everything happened on schedule and without loss or damage.</p><p>It wasn’t long after my move that I realized that I was missing the pendulum of my Howard-Miller wall clock. The clock, weights, and pendulum had been packed separately when the clock was stored. Not only had Howard-Miller been unhelpful in my attempt to replace the pendulum, but it even denied any knowledge of my clock’s model. Howard-Miller did, however, give me the name of a clockmaker (No-Time Clock Service) in nearby Penn-Yan. No-Time assured me that the pendulum could be replaced and put me on a waiting list for complete clock service. Eventually, I was contacted by Mr. Charnego, who questioned why he was in possession of a clock pendulum. This solved the mystery of the missing component, and he agreed to send the pendulum to me.</p><p>My clock was on the waiting list for service for about a year, but I took it to Penn-Yan a couple of weeks ago. I’m waiting to hear when servicing the clock will have been completed. The clock problem, in principle, is on the way to being solved.</p><p>I have an extensive library, but I was to have limited shelf space in the new apartment. I discarded many books, particularly computer science textbooks. My railroading and church-related books were slated to come to Clifton Springs, along with a miscellaneous collection of books on other topics. The remaining books went to my son’s garage in Geneva. (The house contains many bookshelves, all of which are pretty much filled.) Every so often I find that I want to see one of the books in the garage, but, to date, I have not begun to examine those books systematically.</p><p>I have experienced a good deal of anxiety about not having found my passport. I used to keep it in the top drawer of a chest of drawers. My long-expired passport is there, but my most recent one is not. I have looked all over for the passport to no avail. I simply could not think where it might be. I was sure that it had arrived in Clifton Springs, as I had taken it to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Canandaigua when I registered my car and applied for my New York driver’s license shortly after my move. I’m not planning to do a lot of foreign travel, but I am now close to Canada and may again want to visit some Ontario wineries, a trip that will require a passport.</p><p>Last night, either asleep or awake, I remembered that had taken both my Honda file folder and my Army records file folder to the DMV. I had already looked in the Honda folder without finding the passport. This morning, however, I found the passport in the Army records folder. Apparently, I brought the folder home with the passport inside and put the folder into my file cabinet without removing the passport.</p><p>The good news is that my passport has at last been found. The bad news is that it expired last month. Now I have to renew it. </p><p><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaGo6w3T9AUK_JN4QhmR4A3-Yf36gmKMbUKrVLG7EFEcs0a7tucoLYDU4pdbxJ7-YHOOHTvQvNK5bQMzzi3V7ciFCGKsvFubrE9i54iJd9l7GHMdg4ZOrpfy97vHy-kUAHTuqGPC0G40Q_3igGAGAV0qkMM-Vu3ARq--D7u-_1G7lMc67VBz9J" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Passport" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="1059" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaGo6w3T9AUK_JN4QhmR4A3-Yf36gmKMbUKrVLG7EFEcs0a7tucoLYDU4pdbxJ7-YHOOHTvQvNK5bQMzzi3V7ciFCGKsvFubrE9i54iJd9l7GHMdg4ZOrpfy97vHy-kUAHTuqGPC0G40Q_3igGAGAV0qkMM-Vu3ARq--D7u-_1G7lMc67VBz9J" title="The Passport" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Passport</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-112653305097602672024-02-03T09:23:00.000-05:002024-02-03T09:23:16.024-05:00Trump and the Border<p>House Republicans have successfully engineered a legislative crisis by refusing to authorize aid for Israel and Ukraine without also including what some would consider draconian changes to how we deal with migrants on our southern border. Pressed for action by big-city Democratic mayors dealing with busloads of migrants, the Biden administration has acknowledged that the crisis on our border is real and has indicated its willingness to employ tools devised by Congress to address it. Senate Democrats and Republicans are putting final touches on legislation that would provide aid for Israel and Ukraine combined with immigration reforms.</p><p>Just when the legislative logjam seemed about to be resolved, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has declared that Republicans should not sign on to the Senate bill. Apparently, Trump wants to ensure that he can use the border crisis as a campaign issue in the coming 2024 presential race. House Speaker Mike Johnson seems willing to do Trump’s bidding by not allowing the House to take up the Senate bill. Of course, at this point, no one, presumably including Trump himself, knows what is in that bill, which is still being written.</p><p>Trump is making a big mistake. That is understandable, since we know that Trump is not a deep thinker about policy issues. If he prevents legislation from being passed on foreign aid and border reform, his argument that only he can solve border problems will be countered by the Democratic argument that Trump is the person who torpedoed effective immigration reform that Congress has been unable to pass for decades. He will also be blamed for failing to support Israel and, heaven forbid, allowing Russia to defeat Ukraine. One can imagine major elements of the electorate that will resonate to the Democratic anti-Trump argument.</p><p>Trump is actually taking a page from the Richard Nixon playbook. Candidate Nixon worked to head off a resolution of the Vietnam war, so that he could preserve it as a campaign issue. The difference between Nixon and Trump, however, is that Nixon pursued his nefarious scheme in secret, whereas Trump’s self-serving machinations are being exposed for all the world to see. Trump has missed the subtlety here.</p><p>What should Trump do? How can he salvage a situation threatening to turn what he thinks will be a powerful campaign issue into an even more powerful campaign issue for Biden, Harris, and other Democratic candidates? Trump should emphasize the seriousness of the border crisis. He should assert that he dealt with it better when he was in office and that his focus on the border has been responsible for finally motivating both the current administration and Congress to act. He can, though probably won’t, portray himself as a powerful, positive force in governance rather than a negative one derailing reforms he ostensively supports.</p><p>The best outcome, of course, would be if Johnson is pressured to bring the Senate bill to the floor and passage resolves the current impasse. House Republicans are in a bind, however, as long as Trump persists in his opposition. Defying Trump’s wishes will clearly be a blow to the Trump campaign and likely one to the campaigns of Republican House candidates as well. Failure to pass a bill may be equally damaging.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-4296012981115846672024-01-19T12:49:00.000-05:002024-01-19T12:49:09.581-05:00The U.S. Should Play Hardball with Israel<p>Israel has long given the U.S. government reasons to be unhappy with its actions (in the West Bank, for instance). President Biden is clearly unhappy with Israel’s current war in Gaza, and his quiet diplomacy is having no discernable effect.</p><p>The reality is that the Israeli military cannot continue its prosecution of the Gaza war without American support and weaponry. Isn’t it time to play hardball? We should tell Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. will suspend all aid to Israel until his war on Gaza stops. If we fail to do that, living conditions in Gaza will continue to deteriorate for whoever the IDF has failed to kill, and the desire of Palestinians to wipe Israel off the map will only intensify.</p><p>U.S. tough love applied to Israel will not only benefit Palestinians but will also be in Israel’s interest. It may not, however, be in Netanyahu’s interest, who needs to remain in power to avoid legal jeopardy in his own country for his evident corruption. That, of course, is not America’s problem,.<br /></p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-67966544106434830202024-01-15T12:41:00.000-05:002024-01-15T12:41:43.345-05:00All Comments Are Welcome<p>A reader complained recently about being unable to leave a comment on this blog because a Google account was necessary to do so. As it happens, I had mistakenly configured the blog to require a Google account to comment. This was a mistake that has now been corrected. Anyone can leave a comment.</p><p>I expect those commenting to use a name, preferably their own, but it is OK to make up a name. The main reason for this is to associate all the comments from a given person. In general, I do not allow anonymous comments, although I have on occasion allowed an anonymous post when I have thought the comment important enough.</p><p>All comments are subject to approval. Comments containing profanity or links to sites with irrelevant content are instantly rejected.</p><p>I apologize for past inconveniences.</p><p>These days, most visitors arrive here from Facebook. It is tempting to comment on a post on <b>Lionel Deimel’s Web Log</b> on Facebook. My preference, however, is that you comment here, where the comment will forever be associated with the essay that elicited it. You can, of course, send me e-mail.</p><p>Thanks for reading.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-86964952782466569412024-01-15T12:22:00.000-05:002024-01-15T12:22:14.636-05:00Why Trump Followers Follow Trump<p>Every day brings a new essay attempting to explain the popularity of Donald Trump. There is no single reason why citizens not only approve of this faux real-estate tycoon turned politician but support him with a passion both perplexing and alarming. Alas, pundits have yet to identify an intervention likely to rescue the misbegotten from the clutches of the Trump cult. Certainly, I don’t know how to eliminate or even diminish the influence of Donald Trump, but I want to offer my own thoughts about his popularity.</p><p>The United States, almost more than any other country, has a strong tradition of freedom of speech, albeit a tradition being challenged by certain Republican governors of late. We have embraced the theory that bad or evil speech can be countered by good or righteous speech. The theory seemed validated at a time when this country hosted myriad newspapers, magazines, and newsletters of every imaginable stripe. That time, however, has largely passed. All too many Americans rely on social media and Fox News for their view of the larger world. If someone is always watching Fox News and other far-right “news” outlets, they are unlikely to be watching MSNBC, CNN, or even NBC, ABC, or CBS. Nor are they reading <i>The New York Times</i> or <i>The Washington Post</i>. These people are constantly exposed to Trump and far-right propaganda. Opposing speech has no way to reach them. Consumers of more mainstream media, on the other hand, get a fair taste of right-wing ideas even though they are being reported secondhand. Even if the Trump media world does not grow larger, its acolytes of the Trump “base” daily grow more zealous.</p><p>Although this is surely not true of all Trump supporters, many followers like Trump because they are like and identify with him. This is probably even more distressing than the disjoint media universes in which citizens find themselves. Trump is a detestable human being, possessing a combination of traits traditionally viewed negatively, particularly by major religions. He is mean, boastful, self-centered, dishonest, mendacious, vulgar, hateful, litigious, racist, misogynistic, hypocritical, and ignorant. And he appeals to people who share many of these traits, particularly those who are misogynistic racists. Such supporters will not abandon Trump as long as they are not themselves reformed. Democrats can write off this group.</p><p>Some support Trump because they mistake braggadocio for strength and competence. These people believe the country needs a strongman to take hold of the reins of government. They were not paying attention during civics class or had no civics education at all. They love their country for all the wrong reasons. And they may believe, mistakenly, that the country is best run by a “businessman.” The government is not a business, however, and cannot afford to be run like one. Moreover, Trump is an excellent con man but a poor businessman, who has been plagued by bankruptcies and lawsuits. He is not a good businessman, even though he has played one on TV.</p><p>No doubt, some voters, unhappy with their lives or their view of the government, are taken in by Trump’s assertion that “I am your retribution.” Trump does not give a damn about such people. The only retribution of interest to him is his own. And he has an elaborate plan for extracting that retribution from his opponents should he again be elected president.</p><p>It is often overlooked that a Trump speech is surprisingly short on policy ideas. (Significantly, the GOP didn’t even bother to offer a platform in the 2000 election.) Trump may talk about his wall, of course, but most of his speeches are devoted to ad hominem attacks on the government or on Joe Biden. His speeches are all about how wonderful he is and how terrible everyone else is. In a sense, this is a clever strategy. It is difficult to criticize his policy positions, as they are almost nonexistent. Instead, his followers can read into a Trump speech whatever they like. Thus, Trump can appeal to an audience holding a variety of grievances. The lack of true substance is obscured by Trump’s folksy, repetitious style.</p><p>One hopes that, should Trump become the GOP nominee, he will be unable to appeal successfully to a general electorate by avoiding taking a stand on anything other than the qualification of Joe Biden. Democrats will have a hard time pinning down Trump on anything and will, in any case, find it difficult to persuade the Trump faithful to abandon their cult leader. Instead, this election is likely to depend principally on turnout. We probably cannot throw Trump into prison fast enough to be able to argue that governing from federal prison is a bad idea.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-87692453944043658182024-01-11T13:06:00.002-05:002024-01-11T13:06:39.356-05:00There Really Is a Border Crisis<p>I admit that I was dismissive, contemptuous even, of President Trump’s animosity toward immigrants. His opposition to immigration seemed a cynical campaign issue and his border wall a boondoggle. Ironically, both Democrats and Republicans have declared our immigration system dysfunctional, but for years, they have been unable to agree on a reform of it. Republicans have been especially reluctant to tackle the issue in a way likely to produce legislative agreement, as it has proven such an effective campaign issue.</p><p>Although the phrase “border crisis” has been thrown about a lot in the past few years, we do indeed seem to be experiencing a border crisis in 2024. Border cities are being overwhelmed by immigrants from the south and now, with those immigrants being shipped north by Republican politicians, northern cities are likewise seeing their resources taxed by the new arrivals. And people allowed to stay in the United States with an asylum claim are told that their case will be adjudicated years from now. Not only is this situation untenable, but it represents a serious cloud over the re-election prospects of President Biden. Democrats need to improve this situation, at least somewhat, soon. Republicans, on the other hand, have an incentive to ensure that doesn’t happen.</p><p>I wish I knew what the Biden administration could do in the short term to address what really is a border crisis. What is most needed is money for more judges to handle not only new asylum claims but also the backlog of such claims. We likely also need more agents patrolling the border, which also costs money. At the very least, the administration needs to acknowledge that border problems are not simply a figment of Republican imagination. It also needs to declare a willingness to address it.</p><p>At the moment, of course, House Republicans are demanding border concessions from the administration in exchange for aid to Ukraine. Although I fear what the administration might give up in response to this blackmail, it is important to note that any concessions could be modified in the future. No likely concessions will “solve” the border crisis. If, on the other hand, Russia is allowed to win in Ukraine, the victory will not only be more or less permanent for our ally but will threaten all of Western Europe. </p><p>Lacking immediate solutions to the border crisis, I can at least offer what I hope are useful observations. The first of these is that immigration has always been and continues to be useful. We seem to have a neverending supply of jobs that are unattractive to current citizens. We are producing fewer babies that will become future workers, and our population is becoming older, with increasing numbers of retirees. It is unclear whether increased border security and prompt adjudication of asylum claims could reduce the flood of humanity seeking to enter this country to a level adequate to meet employment needs without undue increases in social spending or depression of the overall wage level. (This latter concern is beloved of Republicans but largely dismissed by economists.)</p><p>Why, we must ask, are so many people seeking to enter the United States? Obviously, one’s prospects for a good life are better in the U.S. than, say Panama or Mexico. Asylum seekers are assumed to be fleeing untenable conditions in their home country, yet they typically pass through several countries assuredly capable of offering better living conditions than those in the ones they are fleeing. Why do they not seek asylum in those countries? The answer is twofold. First, if you are going to risk your life for a better existence, why settle for a marginally better life? Why not reach for the gold ring of an American lifestyle? Second, countries such as Mexico, for whatever reason, are not interested in adding migrants headed to the U.S. to their own populations.</p><p>We tend to think of asylum as designed for individuals and their families facing persecution from their government or hostility from criminals or criminal groups. Unfortunately, whole countries can become terrible places to live, thereby sending hoards of immigrants toward the United States. We have to recognize, however, that we cannot accommodate every persecuted person in the world, which would entail almost entire populations of certain countries. In our own defense, we must be discriminating about who we can allow to enter the country.</p><p>Finally, it is worth noting that walls, historically, have been of limited use in keeping foreigners at bay, a lesson recently learned by Israel. Whereas walls may be of some use on our southern border, they create problems not always obvious to legislators. In particular, a southern border wall can prevent the movement of animals across the border, which may be necessary for their livelihood.</p><p>To Joe Biden and his administration, all I can say is “good luck!”</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-20005175077759823772024-01-08T08:54:00.000-05:002024-01-08T08:54:13.130-05:00Trump and the Fourteenth Amendment<p>The Supreme Court has chosen to consider Donald Trump’s appeal from the Colorado decision that his name should not appear on the Republican primary ballot. There is much speculation about what the court will do in this case. Many would argue that Trump is indeed ineligible to again hold the office of president under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although that philosophy has been applied with a healthy dose of hypocrisy, the court’s embrace of originalism would seem to incline it to ratify the Colorado decision, possibly leading to Trump’s being removed from all ballots involving federal office.</p><p>The consensus seems to be that the court will not do that, partly because a third of the justices owe their appointment to a President Trump and because such a decision would upset Trump supporters and lead to civil unrest. The former argument is illegitimate and the latter argument seems weak, given that the <i>Dobbs</i> decision suggests that the justices do not give a damn about public reaction to their rulings. It is probably fair to say, however, that there will be significant public disgust resulting from whatever the court decides.</p><p>It is widely believed that the court will somehow duck the issue at hand. Many tactics for doing this have been suggested, most of which seem farfetched. I do think the court has an out that, at the very least, buys time for the country and the court. The court could simply say that the Constitution only suggests that Trump cannot <i>be</i> president but says nothing about his <i>running</i> for president. Winning the Colorado primary, after all, only advances Trump’s chances of becoming a candidate for office. The court could therefore rule that Trump cannot be barred from running in presidential primaries.</p><p>If the court adopts this strategy, it is only likely to be forced to allow or not allow Trump to seek the presidency if Trump actually wins the Republican nomination. Alas, that situation seems likely.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-17617100912752922862024-01-05T21:23:00.000-05:002024-01-05T21:23:13.080-05:00A New Lullaby<p>For whatever reason, I haven’t written much poetry lately. Since I moved to Clifton Springs, however, I have had opportunities to read some of my poems, and this is providing some incentive to become more productive. The 5/18/2023 birth of my grandson has also provided inspiration. I wrote an acrostic poem based on his name “Tobias,” but the poem requires too much explanation to make posting it worthwhile.</p><p>I’m a big fan of The Seekers, and their song “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U02chTrnU6w&list=RDU02chTrnU6w" target="_blank">Morningtown Ride</a>” gave me the idea of writing a lullaby for Tobias René Deimel Flum Wagner. Two opening lines occurred to me walking home from church last Sunday, and, in a few days, I had both lyrics and music. My lullaby, cleverly titled “Lullaby,” lacks the clever imagery of the Seekers song—this seems to be a common feature of so many lullabies—and it can reasonably be song to any infant, not only my grandson. The lines are very short, which presented difficulties in devising a tune for the lyrics. You can read my effort and listen to my first and second try at finding a tune <a href="https://deimel.org/poetry/lullaby.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-89845163674881418552023-12-04T15:53:00.000-05:002023-12-04T15:53:13.396-05:00Terri Schiavo, Revisited<p>Anyone in the habit of recording one’s thoughts risks future embarrassment when those remarks are revisited years later. For a time when I was a young professor, I wrote short essays every morning and posted them on my office door. Some of those efforts I would not write today.</p><p>These thoughts were occasioned by my having watched the MSNBC documentary <i>Between Life & Death: Terri Schiavo’s Story</i> last night. The film caused me to reread my own <a href="https://deimel.org/commentary/schiavo.htm" target="_blank">commentary</a> on the Terri Schiavo episode on my Web site. Happily, I found that “What’s It All About, Terri?” fairly describes the Schiavo affair and offers a viewpoint I can continue to support today. The facts presented in <i>Between Life & Death</i> are consistent with what I wrote nearly two decades ago.</p><p>If you are not familiar with the Terri Schiavo affair, you should know that this woman, in a persistent vegetative state, became the focus of a long-running contest between her husband, who wanted to remove her feeding tube and let her die, and her parents, who seemingly wanted to keep her alive indefinitely in the irrational hope that she could eventually recover. Schiavo’s brain, however, had essentially turned to mush. A court ultimately allowed the feeding tube to be removed, but the case became a national cause célèbre engaging myriad advocacy groups and self-serving politicians. Congress even passed a law signed by President Bush to address Schiavo’s situation.</p><p>Terri suffered cardiac arrest in 1990 and, without ever regaining consciousness, was allowed to die 15 years later.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-4113476591957913932023-11-07T17:33:00.000-05:002023-11-07T17:33:42.225-05:00Fisk Jubilee Singers<p>I attended a concert of the Fisk Jubilee Singers at the Smith Opera House in Geneva, New York, last Saturday night. The concert was something of a homecoming, as the singers had once before performed at the Smith. That performance was in 1895, when the Smith was less than a year old. As the performance was marvelous, we can hope that the singing group does not wait another 128 years to perform in the Finger Lakes.</p><p> I was not quite sure what to expect, though I knew that the group sang Negro spirituals. In fact, there were 15 black Fisk students singing acapella. There was no director and no risers. The students came from across the country, but only one was from the South. (That one was from Austin.) I found this surprising. Many, though not all, were music majors.</p><p>Fisk was established after the Civil War to provide a liberal arts education to the recently emancipated. In 1871, it was on the verge of bankruptcy but was saved by sending a chorus around the country singing slave songs that were not well-known within the general population. The Fisk Jubilee Singers sang at the White House, toured Europe, and sang for Queen Victoria.</p><p>The group sang what are referred to as concert spirituals. I expected the usual, somewhat raucous, gospel music I associate with the black church. Instead, I was treated to the velvety smooth sound of sophisticated arrangements of mostly familial gospel tunes delivered at a leisurely pace. The house was nearly full, and the audience was enthusiastic.</p><p>If you have a chance to hear this group, do take advantage of the opportunity.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-25335341226024481932023-10-14T14:34:00.004-04:002023-10-14T14:34:55.167-04:00No Eclipse<p> The last time I experienced a partial eclipse of the sun was <a href="http://blog.deimel.org/2017/08/anticipating-eclipse.html">August 21, 2017</a>. Although my track record for seeing astronomical phenomena unobscured by clouds is poor, I actually saw a diminished sun on that date.</p><p>I had hoped to see a bit of an eclipse today. In my neck of the woods, only 20 or 30 percent of the sun was to be obscured, but any eclipse is worth seeing. Unfortunately, in my move to Clifton Springs, I seem to have lost or misplaced my eclipse glasses, but I had a backup plan involving a white surface and a large magnifier.</p><p>I was outside at the appointed time, but the day was so overcast—it was raining, in fact—that I couldn’t even tell in what direction the sun was, much less see it. Nevertheless, I thought I might see everything get darker. Well, I didn’t. Had I not known that an eclipse was taking place, I would have been blissfully unaware of it.</p><p>I’ll be in the path of a total eclipse next April. I’m hoping for better weather.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-10023302937550875272023-09-18T15:12:00.006-04:002023-09-18T15:20:03.683-04:00Terrible Customer Support: Nu Skin Edition<p>At the suggestion of my former eye doctor, I have been taking Pharmanex LifePak anti-aging packets, each of which contains four capsules. The packets come in a box of 60—essentially a two month’s supply—sent to me every two months by Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. My most recent shipment was on August 21. When that shipment arrived, I still had nearly a month’s worth of packets left. I wasn’t sure how shipments and usage had gotten out of sync, but I put the package in the pantry and thought no more about it.</p><p>On September 16, I received e-mail indicating that my next shipment would be on September 21. This was clearly inappropriate, and I telephoned Nu Skin today with the intention of changing the shipment date to November 21. The call did not go well. First, I dialed the telephone number listed on the September 16 message. This resulted in my hearing a recorded message to the effect that the Nu Skin number had been changed as of August 1.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dzizKKX55uzlqzs1Oa7V9wM76oN2bXHCNQD_OjZan1tu7w1pqUJy1qBG3OYMnmejU0GOrW8Pyw2i2AeqfR9MNbCBD5aYuUcmXMzEODz7V7tjGYk0Ik0YmjdaCSgPRQhJiruptxNOr_3CCEoQRyP5VxAhsV6fEfJmvX6Oax77DVuKK01VCuue/s2311/LifePak.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1863" data-original-width="2311" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2dzizKKX55uzlqzs1Oa7V9wM76oN2bXHCNQD_OjZan1tu7w1pqUJy1qBG3OYMnmejU0GOrW8Pyw2i2AeqfR9MNbCBD5aYuUcmXMzEODz7V7tjGYk0Ik0YmjdaCSgPRQhJiruptxNOr_3CCEoQRyP5VxAhsV6fEfJmvX6Oax77DVuKK01VCuue/w320-h258/LifePak.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I then called the new number. (Happily, there <i>was </i>a number to call, and my call was answered after a brief delay.) I explained my consternation over the September 16 message. I was told that, in fact, my next shipment would be on October 21. I received no explanation for the message that occasioned the call. October 21 was actually the expected shipping date given that the last shipment was on August 21. I explained, however, that I had not yet opened my last package, and I asked for the next shipment to be on November 21.<p></p><p>Incredibly, I was told that the computer system did not allow that change to be made today. To make the change, I would have to call back after October 1. I remarked on the failures of the IT department, noting also the outdated telephone number on the September 16 message. I was told that changing references to the former telephone number was in progress. I somehow managed not to scream at the agent, something I could do after the call. Instead, I asked that my standing order be canceled, so that I would never receive another shipment. I was assured that this would be done.</p><p>After the call, I was asked to complete a four-question survey about my telephone experience. I indicated that the call did not resolve my problem and that I was unhappy with the outcome. A few minutes later, I received an e-mail message confirming the cancellation. Rather than screaming after concluding the telephone call, I decided to write this essay.</p><p>Complaints about poor customer service are legion. Often, it is difficult even to figure out how to contact a representative of a company. (I have often failed to find a telephone number on a company Web site but found one through a Google search. I highly recommend this strategy.) Nu Skin deserves credit for publishing a customer service number and actually answering the number promptly. I’m not sure if the representative was a native speaker of English, but she spoke well enough that I had no trouble understanding her.</p><p>That said, what Nu Skin did was unforgivable. Why did I get the apparently erroneous September 16 message? Why did a message carry an outdated telephone number a month and a half after the number was changed? Why is the Nu Skin order tracking software so inflexible? Why did the agent make no effort to save an account from being canceled over such a simple problem?</p><p>There is no excuse for customer service such as I experienced today. I have a standing order for cat food from Chewy, Inc. Changing a shipping date for that order has been a snap. Perhaps Nu Skin can figure out how to operate as competently as Chewy.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-50246575089074006282023-09-11T10:04:00.002-04:002023-09-11T10:05:09.201-04:00Digital Invariants Discussion Revised<p>My treatment of PPDIs/Armstrong numbers on <b>Lionel Deimel’s Farrago</b> has been checked and revised. I have added a new theorem and revised a corollary that it affects. Although it remains to be proven that all bases above 2 contain non-trivial PPDIs, I can now confidently assert that {302}{1208}<sub>5130</sub> is a PPDI. I’m sure my readers were eager to learn this. The discussion on my Web site begins <a href="https://deimel.org/rec_math/DI_0.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://deimel.org/images/numbers.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="399" height="362" src="https://deimel.org/images/numbers.gif" width="399" /></a></div>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-76949387441609029152023-09-04T14:42:00.001-04:002023-09-04T14:42:51.080-04:00A Meditation on Donald Trump and Juries<p> That Donald Trump may soon find himself in a courtroom at the defendant’s table has led me to think about juries generally and juries that may stand in judgment of the former president in particular.</p><p>I have never served on a jury, although I once came close to being selected. (I made a first cut, but was not included in the final selection.) Conventional wisdom declares that the more education one has the less likely you are to be chosen to be on a jury. My chance of ever being on a jury is likely slight.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://deimel.org/images/justice.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="108" data-original-width="110" height="108" src="https://deimel.org/images/justice.gif" width="110" /></a></div>It is sometimes argued that jury selection is the most critical aspect of a trial. Attorneys on each side want to select jurors likely to favor their side of the case. The task is difficult, as conspicuous indicators of bias regularly result in the dismissal of potential jurors. If the defendant is accused of killing a policeman, for example, relatives of police officers will surely be excluded from the jury pool.<p></p><p>In a criminal case, prosecutors look for people likely to possess strong law-and-order sentiments. Defense attorneys, on the other hand, seek sympathetic souls, particularly if the defense’s case is weak. An empathetic juror who doesn’t have the fortitude to stand up for his or her opinion, however, will likely be ineffective as an advocate for the defendant.</p><p>In principle, a jury should be objective and unbiased. Our adversarial judicial system, however, does not directly seek such a jury, instead relying on the interests of competing parties to select a panel likely to render a just verdict. This system works surprisingly well. Juries make news when they render verdicts widely thought to be incorrect, but such news is uncommon. Nevertheless, the time a jury spends deliberating is a time of great anxiety for all concerned.</p><p>Again in principle, the ideal juror should be capable of understanding both the law and the evidence and be able to relate one to the other. Potential jurors are typically given a questionnaire to rule out certain disqualifying characteristics. They are then questioned by attorneys on both sides. This process attempts to weed out the prejudiced and mentally unsuitable.</p><p>What potential jurors are not generally filtered for is logical thinking. It is easy for jurors to be led astray by emotion or to reach conclusions that do not strictly follow from the evidence, the law, and the charge of the judge. Being a juror is unlike nearly every other role one is likely to experience in life. One must take into account material presented in the courtroom and exclude from consideration everything else. Jurors are expected to use their common sense yet introduce into consideration no knowledge obtained outside the courtroom. This is, in a sense, contradictory, but it usually seems to work out in practice. For instance, a juror may appeal to his or her own experience but cannot introduce something heard on a television newscast about the defendant. It is difficult to know how strictly logical jury deliberations are in practice.</p><p>Because I have a doctorate in computer science with a minor in mathematics, I believe I can reason about evidence and the law particularly well. I believe this would make me an excellent juror, but attorneys on either side might consider me either unpredictable or an actual threat.</p><p>This brings us to the matter of Donald Trump. Although I believe that, as a juror in almost any criminal case, I could logically reach an objective, proper verdict, I am less certain in any case involving the former president. I would almost certainly believe Trump to be guilty going into the trial, whatever the charge. I think I could weigh the evidence fairly. If, however, I found the evidence wanting, I just might be tempted to vote guilty for the sake of the country. Although I doubt that situation would arise, I could become, legally speaking, a loose cannon. Defense attorneys will try to filter out anyone with proclivities such as mine. I wonder how hard that will be to do. How my Americans would, given the right circumstances, be tempted to engage in jury nullification?</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-26608086782187852632023-08-26T16:58:00.004-04:002023-08-26T17:02:07.927-04:00Observations on the Recent GOP Debate<p>The GOP debate of presidential hopefuls on August 23 was mildly useful, though it illustrated again that the mechanics of these events are all wrong. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDiuzeN-BPY_M0LE2oPyeCMsF3m-YpkqBKIs5-ELQBpe220RHSwE_iqitASIdKq_MWfteexpbNGWZsDEoR8DvmnFzCoeeyyDsRuRQDY5o4UHwwUwoGfj2Fzyyd8HuUcyZurH7J6bmW-HHNLYUiKgQExSBDASuY5Bt-BJ9AWGhgoGkT3PTRoyX/s1475/2023-08-23_gop_debate.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1475" height="180" hspace="5px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDiuzeN-BPY_M0LE2oPyeCMsF3m-YpkqBKIs5-ELQBpe220RHSwE_iqitASIdKq_MWfteexpbNGWZsDEoR8DvmnFzCoeeyyDsRuRQDY5o4UHwwUwoGfj2Fzyyd8HuUcyZurH7J6bmW-HHNLYUiKgQExSBDASuY5Bt-BJ9AWGhgoGkT3PTRoyX/s320/2023-08-23_gop_debate.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Candidates at August 23, 2023 GOP Debate</td></tr></tbody></table>First, let me offer a few quick observations.<p></p><p>The most animated participant, Vivek Ramaswamy, was insufferable and pretty much acted as a stand-in for the former president. He was born into a Hindu Brahmin family and appears to think that this automatically makes him a member of the highest caste in the United States. He is a businessman, and we have ample reason to believe that is a disastrous qualification for high office. Besides, he is barely old enough to be president. He will not go far, at least anytime soon.</p><p>Ron DeSantis, the personality-challenged Florida governor was unimpressive. Enough said.</p><p>The remaining candidates, except for Nikki Haley, were unremarkable. The former U.N. ambassador displayed a realization that the policy positions needed to obtain the GOP nomination are the same ones that will doom the standard bearer in the general election. She is clearly the strongest candidate and will therefore fail to be nominated.</p><p>Now, as to the debate mechanics. I should begin by saying that the moderators, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum of Fox News, largely asked reasonable and relevant questions. (The UFO question asked of Chris Christie was the exception.) They were hampered by two ongoing problems: the presence of an audience, and the lack of an adequate mechanism to enforce the agreed-upon rules of engagement.</p><p>I don’t know how the audience was selected, but it clearly favored the Republican Party in general and Donald Trump in particular. Reactions of the local audience cannot but influence the remote audience and perhaps even the candidates themselves. Moreover, the audience interrupted the debate. It was unsurprising that Bret Baier felt the need to turn around and admonish the crowd, which was becoming unruly. (In my more mischievous moments, I’ve thought that it would be interesting to have a Democratic audience for a Republican debate.)</p><p>Disruptive audience reaction is not a new problem but is one that is easily ameliorated: eliminate the audience. Put them in another room with a remote feed, but remove them as a factor in debates. I suspect that getting a ticket to a debate is a perk offered by the network or the candidates. (As I said, I don’t know how the audience is selected.) Fine, give them a comfortable auditorium with a big TV screen and generous hors d’oeuvres. They can cheer and boo to their hearts’ content. Meanwhile, the debate can be held in a much smaller venue, perhaps in a television studio.</p><p>Then there is the matter of controlling the candidates themselves. It is clear that the rules for who can speak and in what circumstances are not self-enforcing. The moderators ringing a bell to indicate that a speaker’s time has expired was conspicuously useless in shutting anyone up. If candidates perceive that they can gain a rhetorical advantage by flouting the rules, they will do so. This has been shown to be true time and time again. The solution to uncontrolled debate is also simple: mute the microphone as soon as a candidate speaks beyond his or her allotted time. No one will be able to speak out of turn if an active microphone is not available. If a speaker is in the middle of a sentence, it may be appropriate to allow a three-second grace period before a microphone is cut off. This more aggressive timekeeping is probably best done by a technician. Not only do moderators already have enough to think about, but it is best not to give a candidate reason to be angry with a moderator, either during the debate or later.</p><p>My suggestions are not rocket science, and I surely am not the first person to think of them. Why haven’t they been implemented? As long as a debate is staged by a television network, there is an incentive to make the event as entertaining as possible. Audience reactions—to a point, anyway—and verbal fireworks among the participants are audience magnets, at least among those more interested in entertainment than politics. Nothing leads to changing the channel faster than a boring discussion. I suspect that even participants appreciate a certain anarchy in political debates. They are not above stealing more time than they deserve, and they want to display their passion or machismo. (Can a woman show machismo or is there another non-sexist word I could use?)</p><p>Of course, my suggestions will not be implemented. None of the participants seems to have an incentive to participate in a thoughtful, polite discussion.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-64943416185086347992023-08-14T21:52:00.000-04:002023-08-14T21:52:05.734-04:00Lock Him Up!<p>This evening, Rachel Maddow and Hillary Clinton are having a discussion as we await information about the just-issued indictment in Georgia. One of the matters they have spoken about is a proper sentence for Donald Trump. Clinton seems reluctant to say that Trump should go to prison.</p><p>I don’t remember when first I said I wanted to see Trump in prison, but it was a long time ago. I feel even stronger about the matter today. There are two reasons for desiring that result. First, it is important to make it clear that the undermining of the Republic that was the program of Donald Trump must never happen again and that the punishment for such behavior is sure and harsh. In addition, however, putting Trump in prison is a way to shut him up, to remove his poisonous influence from the body politic.</p><p>A say, as I have said before, “Lock him up!”</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-30266709660494171532023-08-14T15:59:00.005-04:002023-08-14T16:10:52.758-04:00Meteor Hunting<p>This past weekend, I went meteor hunting. August, of course, is the month in which the Perseid Meteor Shower can be seen, and the celestial show was supposed to be at its zenith Saturday and Sunday. I have fond memories of my first encounter with the Perseids. I was attending family camp at Sheldon Calvary Camp, an Episcopal Church retreat on Lake Erie. I lay on the grass and watched one meteor after another one memorable night. I have been trying to duplicate that evening of wonder ever since.</p><p>To view the Perseids, one needs three things: the right timing, darkness, and a clear sky. I could generally get the timing right, but finding a place away from urban lights has always been a problem. And clear skies always seemed a big problem in southwestern Pennsylvania. Last year, on the condominium deck in a dimly lit development, I did see a handful of meteors, one of which was dramatic.</p><p>Having lived in Clifton Springs, New York, for less than a year, I wasn’t sure where I might find a good spot to view meteors. According to <i>The New York Times</i>, the best time to see meteors is between midnight and dawn. I am not such an astrology freak that I was willing to lose a major chunk of sleep to view the sky at the ideal hour. I thought I might have a fair shot of finding darkness at an earlier hour, and I hoped that the weather would coöperate.</p><p>Saturday afternoon had seen showers—the watery kind—and I wasn’t sure whether the cloud cover would prevent me from seeing anything in the sky. Nonetheless, I set out after 10 o’clock to have a look. There are two parks a block from my apartment, and I suspected that in one of those, it would be dark enough for meteor viewing. What I discovered is that this small village has a lot of illumination at night. There are streetlamps on Spring Street, lights from the apartments on Main Street, and, much to my surprise, bright lighting at the large pavilion in one of the parks. Nevertheless, I lay down on a paved path in the park near the pavilion and looked up at the sky. I saw some sky, but, mostly, I saw clouds. After 20 minutes or so, I gave up my search.</p><p>I decided to try my luck on Sunday. After 10 o’clock, I set out with water bottle and exercise mat. I walked around a bit looking for a dark spot and ended up on a pickleball court in the other park. I decided this position was dark enough. Moreover, lying on my exercise mat was considerably more comfortable than lying on concrete, as I had the night before. I lay on the pickleball court for about an hour. The sky was mostly clear, although some clouds drifted by from time to time.</p><p>I am happy to report that I did see meteors. I saw one really good one. There were others that I think I saw but cannot be sure about. They were faint, were not where I had been looking, and were visible for but a brief moment. Watching the sky was like an eye test I’ve been subjected to in which I had to press a button when I saw a flash but was often unsure whether I had seen something or not.</p><p>Although I had not duplicated my experience of 30 years earlier, I returned home. At least I had seen <i>some</i> meteors. Perhaps I will be more ambitious and lucky next year.</p>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3320087.post-69330000750460020282023-08-12T09:24:00.003-04:002023-08-12T09:27:05.547-04:00A Delightful Organ Concert<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXGto7CXTbrAYpH70W55H2OMZxdzvUxp7v4GTBXPt_Pl_bXG180S5A4AatfShwGNclJG4nanN1Zq3W7Z65dTorpWw0OoDkDnebX80lZlYQwPqd1CgBYnIntnhhtWrJqCySpczPGUP5dX6uMplIZRgK3c89v9Op7f7yhphGc3JINKNgEJHaN_3/s1109/Lodi%20Organ.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1109" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXGto7CXTbrAYpH70W55H2OMZxdzvUxp7v4GTBXPt_Pl_bXG180S5A4AatfShwGNclJG4nanN1Zq3W7Z65dTorpWw0OoDkDnebX80lZlYQwPqd1CgBYnIntnhhtWrJqCySpczPGUP5dX6uMplIZRgK3c89v9Op7f7yhphGc3JINKNgEJHaN_3/s320/Lodi%20Organ.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organ in its present home,<br />the former Methodist Episcopal Church</td></tr></tbody></table>On August 6, I attended an organ concert in Lodi, New York, some 36 miles from where I now live. A friend had made me aware of the concert; my usual sources of event information were silent on the matter. I am a fan of organs generally, but what attracted me to the recent concert was that the instrument being played was an 1852 instrument made by E. & G. G. Hook. (The instrument is Hook Opus 140. The Hook firm built more than 2500 organs over its lifetime.) The concert was sponsored by the <a href="http://www.lodihistoricalsociety.com/home.html" target="_blank">Lodi Historical Society</a>. The Historical Society owns the former church in which the organ is installed. Opus 140 was erected originally in Canandaigua, New York. The organ remains substantially as built, though the decoration on the visible pipes is a later addition.<p></p><p>The musicians are all members of the Sears family. Both Father David F. Sears and daughter Rebecca A. Sears hold doctoral degrees. Mother Permelia S. Sears has a master’s degree in organ performance. The entire program involved the organ. David played organ and piano; Permelia played organ and viola; and Rebecca played violin and piano. The concert was the only organ concert I can remember that included no music from any member of the Bach family. The music was from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The Sears family is apparently dedicated to playing old tracker-action organs, and they do a fine job of it.</p><p>The organ is a two-manual affair of 14 ranks. I am told it is tuned to a pitch of A=444 Hz using unequal temperament. Since it lacks the ability to choose a desired collection of ranks at the push of a button, the organ was often being played by one person while two other people were pulling and pushing stops. The <br />Searses were resourceful in playing music intended for a larger instrument. There were occasionally two people at the console and, in a transcription of the Grand March from <i>Aida</i>, Rebecca played on the grand piano to compensate for the fact that the organ’s 16-foot pedal stop has only 13 pipes. The <i>Aida</i> March was surprisingly effective.</p><p>If you ever have an opportunity to hear these musicians in concert, be sure to avail yourself of it.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb_7StazDcCiTm5a0Rn50nR7g-9QaOYun_NZbWi8Zu2mDG4GR1QjEfXHWRbPEa9UkpxXnCh86M1yUCpcVQHBiObrkiCPjTRAvnxQ75EzgksRlcjJRcGbibMVk8TER_g4nn6YCN-uWrD1O5Us5gw2OC-jSZ6ie1wcjJd9KRqxcIolPYzGJ_0o9/s2425/pre_concert.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2425" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb_7StazDcCiTm5a0Rn50nR7g-9QaOYun_NZbWi8Zu2mDG4GR1QjEfXHWRbPEa9UkpxXnCh86M1yUCpcVQHBiObrkiCPjTRAvnxQ75EzgksRlcjJRcGbibMVk8TER_g4nn6YCN-uWrD1O5Us5gw2OC-jSZ6ie1wcjJd9KRqxcIolPYzGJ_0o9/w477-h640/pre_concert.jpg" width="477" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organ and instrumentalists before concert<br />L to R: David, Permelia, Rebecca</td></tr></tbody></table>Lionel Deimelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08363018512775944659noreply@blogger.com0