Society

The lines from Simon and Garfunkel’s song 59th Street Bridge:

Slow down, you move too fast
You’ve got to make the morning last
Just kickin’ down the cobble stones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da-da da da, feelin’ groovy

Hello lamppost, what’cha knowin’?
I’ve come to watch your flowers growin’
Ain’tcha got no rhymes for me?
Do-in do do, feelin’ groovy
Ba da-da-da da da, feelin’ groovy

I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning-time drop all its petals on me
Life I love you, all is groovy
Ba da da da da da da da
Ba da da da da da da da
Ba da da da da da da da

Slowing down in this society is usually met with chagrin. This is a fast-paced, career-driven world and things are moving by quickly. Sometime go back and read the lyrics to “Cats in the Cradle” and realize it does work that way.

We get comfortable with a routine and a schedule. Sometimes we need that to get motivated at the beginning but soon we become a slave to it. Take time to breathe and reflect on your life and experiences that you have been fortunate to have in your daily life.

Society tells us we must know every decision that we are going to make in this life and always have the next three steps planned out. Yes, I will admit, this mindset has been great. I didn’t really have to think about what I was doing next, it was already planned out for me; school, work, school, kids, practices, church, and more of the same steps. . But as each day passes and I inevitably grow closer to “the next chapter” in my life, I find myself taking a step back and wondering why I have to know what I’m doing tomorrow. For heavens sake I am retired and still find myself worrying about what I am going to do today.

I am aware that everyone is a different personality type, and there are people who enjoy being busy. I commend those people. I am not campaigning that everyone stop being productive and twiddle their thumbs for the rest of the life. I am merely suggesting we take a second to look back on experiences and ponder the possibilities of tomorrow.

So, sleep in an hour later, drink an extra cup of tea, read a book, meditate or do whatever it is that you haven’t had time to do because your every move has been planned out. Take that time to remember why it is that you have been working so hard, and then decide what your next move is going to be.

Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

This will be a war like none other. It’s not about people dying. In World War I and World War II they fought over resources, territory and ideology and tens of millions died. I envision World War III to be about economics and a cyber war will replace the troops, tanks and bombers of earlier wars. It would be virtually bloodless.

Jacques Gansler, former Pentagon undersecretary for technology and security said,  “Nowadays it’s hard to separate warfare from cyberwarfare, or even economic warfare.  The three are interrelated.”

With the Ukraine becoming more and more important for Russia and led by Vladmir Putin, the economic buffer is even more important and it represents and important buffer between them and Europe.

Cyber-attacks are “bound to be part of any future engagements,” Gansler said. “We also have economic concerns about cyber having impact on industry or messing up power grids or communications systems. These are the things we are worrying about for the 21st century.”

Infrastructure will be crippled much as railroads, telegraph lines and radio stations were to previous wars. Think about this. Energy supplies, water supplies and power grids are all linked digitally and would be advantageous to take down with a virus.

But other experts believe nationalism and power is behind Russia’s moves.

“War comes from a mixture of motives,” said Charles Maier, history professor at Harvard University. “That was true of World War II and whatever conflicts exist today. Putin would like to believe he can reconstruct the influence the Soviet Union had during the Cold War. Ukraine was part of Russia for a long time; he’s trying to show it won’t be easily absorbed by the West. This is as much as power politics as economics.”

I get irritated when my computer gets slow…. sheesh.

This blog was written by Tom Knuppel

Let’s not base our education system in this country on whether the parents can or can’t afford to send their child. Let’s make it for everyone. Let’s not make our college tuition a means to make money for the college. Let’s follow Germany and make higher education free.

Sixty-two percent of students are unable to afford college in the U.S. today, according to a Huffington Post poll. An annual 8 percent increase in tuition costs makes matters worse, meaning college education costs double every nine years.

“For a baby born today, this means that college costs will be more than three times current rates when the child matriculates in college,” according to the Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid, a website that helps students with financial aid information.

“Tuition fees are unjust. They discourage young people who do not have a traditional academic family background from taking up study,” Stapelfeldt said. “It is a core task of politics to ensure that young women and men can study with a high quality standard free of charge in Germany.”

“We got rid of tuition fees because we do not want higher education which depends on the wealth of the parents,” said Gabrielle Heinen-Kjajic, the minister for the science and culture in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Germany is the most recent nation to hop on the free tuition bandwagon, others include Malta, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Cyprus and Norway. Many countries have out-of-country tuition for foreign exchange students as well, lowering hopes of free foreign exchange for American students. Germany announced on Oct. 9 it would extend free tuition to American students. American exchange students only need to pay their home tuition.

America does not care for its students as it should, and students are instead treated as cash cows.

America treats colleges as an institution to make money instead of institution for higher education. They charge outlandish prices for tuition and for books that they get very cheaply. If America were to treat their students and colleges like the European nations treat theirs, we would have a higher rate of educated population and, as a result, a lower rate of poverty and crime.

So when will America follow this free tuition trend? Likely answer:  “Never.”

Sensationalism. IS that what it truly has become? Such a simple thing a few years ago as people want to know the weather forecast so they can make plans. Now it has become an event. It really isn’t the fact that the storms are more violent or more frequent.

It seems that, much like the rest of the news and media, that weather has become as sensationalized as anything else. And it’s really becoming pretty annoying, and I think could have a detrimental effect on how people perceive the warnings given out by weather outlets.

You’ve heard it. It isn’t the weather report, it is STORM TRACKER NEWS.  Doesn’t matter whether the sun is out or not. Think about this. Go online or the television weather and they are touting a strong storm for Saturday and it is Wednesday. Really is that necessary?

According to the National Weather service, forecasters have reduced the tornado death rate by 95 percent, almost completely reduced plane crashes caused by micro-burst downdrafts and have saved ten of thousands of lives from hurricanes. All thanks to technology. Without the Doppler radar we couldn’t see what was going on inside the thunderstorm. Before the invention of the Doppler radar people only had between five and 10 minutes to prepare for approaching severe weather.

I get that, I really do.

Look back at recent forecasts and now the tornado tracking has appeared to basically eliminate the tornado watches and they use the tornado warning so much more. They are relying on storm chasers that see some rotation and it is report first here at the station. They want to be first.

Of course I think that people need to be warned of bad weather coming…it’s the only reason the death rate from severe storms has dropped so much in the last century. But if you keep making apocalyptic claims for every storm that blows through, people will stop listening after a while. And then we are right back where we started.

Weather reporting should not be a ratings grab.

This blog is the opinion of Tom Knuppel

Why is Buying a Car A Horrible Experience?

Let me get one thing out first. Not everyone has a bad experience. But research states that buying a car is one of the top horrible experiences that happen to people. Even worse than cellphone companies.

We are deluged with car ads on TV and in the print media. They show people walking up to a car and saying things like “I’ll take it.” Seriously? Nobody does that. But let’s go back a bit and try to fix the car buying experience instead of the bombardment of advertising. Fix it.

Researchers have stated that according to advertising dollars in the U.S., there will be over $20 billion spent on ads for vehicles.

Dealerships need to adhere to the old adage that you only get one chance to make a first impression. Use it, don’t abuse it. Oh and a side note, if you find tackier chairs and furniture somewhere other than a dealership, you have made a discovery.

When you walk into a dealership it is an unfriendly looking place. Most the salespeople we encountered were sitting around looking dour when we arrived and, I’m sad to say, our arrival didn’t seem to cheer them up. One’s enthusiasm soon falls by the wayside in the presence of people with low energy, negative affect, and few conversational skills.

I have a thought for the sales department. Why not treat customers with respect and it wouldn’t hurt to flatter their intelligence instead of telling them what they don’t know or care about. While you are at it, let’s get new sales techniques.

Why do they have to make the visit longer. They prolong it by asking un-needed questions and look at things were are not interested in. According to research, if we are there a longer period of time we are more likely to buy from the dealer as we have invested time and they are escalating our commitment and now we feel vested to buy there. This is known as “establishing control”.

Hello. Customers tend to rebel against this attempt to limit their behavior. It is a real battle and the dealerships are digging in.

Simple fat….the more the salespeople tried to get us to do what they wanted, the more we got irritated and started to leave.

According to an article written in CBS News:

A better approach would be to use the influence tactics of liking and reciprocity, nicely described in social psychologist Robert Cialdini’s book on Influence. Reciprocity entails doing a favor for someone so they will reciprocate — which, in the car buying experience, involves more than just offering coffee or water, but also trying to accommodate customers’ schedules and requests. People are more likely to comply with requests from someone they like, and people tend to like people who flatter them, smile, and are pleasant — not people who try to bully and intimidate.

Car dealers do seem to have one thing going for them — in our many visits to dealers of various makes and models, we had virtually uniformly horrible experiences. I guess the companies figure if you’re going to buy a car and the dealers are all equally bad, one of them will get your business.

It would be interesting to know if a better car buying experience might help perk up car sales. Meanwhile, fixing these problems wouldn’t take much. And it would be a lot less expensive than the massive advertising designed to get you to go to a car dealer only to soon wish you hadn’t.

Let me share a few of mine over the years.

Many years ago I went to a dealer without my wife as an exploratory mission to look for a new vehicle. I was going to rule out certain makes and models which included their price tag. A salesman dogged me around the lot trying to get information from me as to “what is your price?” and how many miles and things like that… and of course my address and phone number.

Then I found a car I was interested in and asked him for a price. He was stunned. He gave me a ballpark figure and I asked for something concrete. He stammered and asked me “who else has to share in this decision?”. I told him it would be my wife and I and the price would be discussed by both of us. He shook his head and said that he couldn’t give me a price without my wife. Then I told him she was busy and couldn’t he proceeded in re-stating he wouldn’t give me a price in that case. I countered with just give me a price. His line was “I won’t give you a price without your wife seeing it” to which I replied she can’t. He just shook his head and said”she has to see it and be here with you.” Then I dropped the false line that ws said in a raised voice…..  “look buddy, she can’t see it. My wife is blind.” My brother was with me and he just about lost it as the salesperson said… “Oh.”

I walked out.

Another time my wife and I were together and found one we liked and inquired to price. Here is what the salesman said, “ Just sign these papers and I will bring back the best price I can.” Uh, no.

I have heard of salesmen getting your keys to drive your trade in and then refusing to give them back until they have had you there for hours in an attempt to sell a car.

Just a few weeks ago I drove through a car lot real slow looking at pickups and lo and behold a sales guy steps out in the center of the lane with both hands up to stop me. I thought about not seeing him but I stopped and he asked me questions and wanted my phone number. No thanks.

Why can’t this experience get better?

This blog written by Tom Knuppel

With the things that are currently going on across America we have discovered an ugly side to our society. People are not willing to wait for peaceful talk, elections to initiate change or other avenues that lead to non-violence. They turn to the streets and face the police head on with rocks, bottles and guns. They march their home turf with baseball bats and clubs to smash the windows of the businesses of their neighbors in the attempt to solidify their point.

It doesn’t appear civil disobedience is the trendy thing

The United States has a long history of civil disobedience as a means to protest injustice. Sometimes civil disobedience takes the form of a peaceful protest. Other times, it takes the form of disobeying an unjust law. The right to civil disobedience has been acknowledged by prominent thinkers in every generation:

• “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.

• “It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.”
  • Aristotle

• “Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”
  • Albert Einstein

• “It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.”
  • Voltaire

One of the earliest and most iconic acts of civil disobedience in America was the Boston Tea Party. On 16 Dec. 1773, “a group of Massachusetts Patriots, protesting the monopoly on American tea importation recently granted by Parliament to the East India Company, seized 342 chests of tea in a midnight raid on three tea ships and threw them into the harbor.”  The action was illegal, but essentially peaceful. It was a protest of unjust taxes and of restrictions on commerce imposed on the colonies by the British government.

Change isn’t change if they have to get it done through force and violence. It is breaking the law.

The old expression “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game” is flat out wrong. Winning matters. It matters for an obvious reason—because you achieve something important. But it matters for a much bigger reason also.

It drives growth—personal, professional and later in life revenue. 

When you have to find a way to stretch yourself and win, it changes you. It makes you realize what you’re capable of and builds your confidence. That doesn’t happen when you merely play the game well.

Of course—you can’t win all the time—and how you play the game does matter too. But it will never take the place of defining a stretch goal, digging down, and figuring out how to win when the going gets tough.

This blog belongs to Tom Knuppel

(This was written last year and I am re-printing it ….)

Daylight saving time will end at 2:00 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014, and it will be time to set the clocks back an hour.

History of Daylight Saving Time (from Accuweather)

The Standard Time Act was passed in 1918, which officially established time zones and incorporated daylight saving months into federal law. This was during World War I when national efforts were made to conserve materials for the war effort. It was believed that if daytime hours could correspond better with natural light, fewer tasks would need to be done at night. Homes would need to use less energy to stay lit.

After the war, daylight saving time was revoked. When food conservation became mandatory in the United States during World War II (rather than just being encouraged as it was in WWI), daylight saving time was once again instated. Referred to as “War Time,” it spanned from early February until the end of September.

Conservation, from fuel to food to silver, was stressed by Entente and Associated power governments during WWI, as seen in this poster from the Canadian Food Board. (Photo/Wikimedia Commons)

After the war, “Peace Time” was back in effect and the issue of daylight saving time was handled on a local level. This led to a great deal of confusion as different locations were constantly operating at different times. The Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966 to solve the problem. States were given the option to opt out of daylight saving time if they passed proper ordinances.

With daylight saving no longer a federal mandate, some states have chosen not to observe it. Among the states that don’t currently participate in daylight saving are Arizona and Hawaii, with several U.S. territories choosing not to follow it as well. Arizona has such intense heat in daylight hours that it’s not considered a benefit for its residents to be out for as much of it as possible.

As for Hawaii, its location closer to the equator gives them more consistent days year round. They wouldn’t be gaining or losing, many daylight hours by observing the clock change.

Daylight saving time is observed in many countries all over the world, though the time frame for it varies. In the United States, it ran from the last Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October until the Energy Policy Act was passed in 2005. As of 2007, daylight saving now runs from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November.

Is Energy Being Saved?

It doesn’t appear to be needed anymore. I am sure that if it was discussed in Congress or at the state level people would “rail on them” that they have more important things to do. Well, sometimes the daily deeds must be dealt with.

Let’s get rid of Daylight Savings Time.

The opinions expressed in this blog belong to Tom Knuppel.

The title may be a bit misleading as the real premise here is the fact that the 2nd Amendment has trampled the 1st Amendment. Where and how you ask? In Utah.

I am not writing this to debate the merits of Anita Sarkeesian, who is a feminist that is challenging the stereotypes of women in video games. But that caught my attention was the fact she was going to give a speech at Utah State University until the police got an email telling them that if she gave her speech they would commit the largest mass murder ever seen.

When administrators told Sarkeesian that Utah law explicitly forbade them from having the campus police stop people with guns from attending her talk, Sarkeesian had little choice but to cancel.

Isn’t it a incomprehensibly idiotic Utah gun law that keeps police from barring gun-toters from attending events where a gun massacre has been threatened. As the state of Utah’s Department of Public Safety website makes clear, people (other than law enforcement) can’t carry firearms in courthouses, prisons, airports and “churches if posted.” But that completes the list of places where guns can’t be brought. Anyplace else, anyone can carry a firearm openly so long as a bullet is not in the firing chamber or, in a semi-automatic firearm, if the magazine is at least “one mechanical action” away from firing. Utah law expressly forbids public schools or universities from enforcing any rule pertaining to firearms.

She had no choice but to cancel her speaking engagement. This law now allows for people to “bully” their agenda but threatening harm with firearms until the other side submits. This is dumb.

The elevation of the Second Amendment into a super-right has now diminished others—including those that the founders quite deliberately put first.

There is no doubt that crony Capitalism exists. There is little doubt that it is a detriment to our economy and that if left to live it will cripple the American economy. How did this happen?

1. First, the government has become a more dominant player in the economy, greatly expanding the potential for special interest groups to exert their influence over the economy to their advantage. The government has become more important both through its taxation and spending policy as well as through its increased regulatory reach. As recently as the mid-1960s, total US federal and local government spending amounted to less than 25 percent of GDP. Over the past three years, that ratio has been in excess of 35 percent. This large increase in public spending has been dwarfed by the explosion in government regulation. Whereas in 1950 there were fewer than 20,000 pages of federal regulations, today there are in excess of 165,000 pages, and the economic cost of these rules runs into the hundreds of billion dollars.
2. A second factor contributing to the rise of crony capitalism has been the rapid rate of increase in the cost of election campaigns, which has made politicians particularly dependent on fundraising and forced them into a permanent campaign mode. In 2000, the total cost of the presidential and congressional campaigns was a little more than $3 billion; by 2012 the total cost had more than doubled to almost $7 billion. By 2012, the estimated average cost of winning an election to the House of Representatives had increased to $1.5 million, while the average cost of a successful Senate race had increased to almost $9 million.
3. A third factor in crony capitalism’s rise has been a marked increase in lobbying activity as a channel by which large vested interests and deep pockets can legally influence the legislative process to their favor. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, over the past 15 years the amount of money spent on lobbying has more than doubled to its present level of around $3.2 billion. Equally disturbing has been the acceleration of the revolving-door between Congress and K Street. Prior to 1973, barely 3 percent of former members of Congress took up employment on K Street upon leaving the Hill; today around 40 percent of former US representatives and 50 percent of former senators lobby after stepping down from the Hill.

The roots of crony capitalism are undoubtedly deep. Any real solution must reduce the size of government. The smaller the government and the less involved it is in the functioning of the economy, the less leverage there is for crony capitalism to undermine the proper functioning of the free market. In addition, basic electoral campaign finance reform should be undertaken to free elected officials from their dependence on fundraising. Finally, the lobbying system itself might be reformed to reduce the excessive influence lobbyists presently exercise over the legislative process.

If left unchecked, crony capitalism will continue to sap vitality out of the US economy and to undermine public support for the American model of capitalism. In an increasingly competitive global economy, that is something that America can ill afford. This adds urgency to the task of finding ways to combat cronyism if America’s special brand of capitalism, which has made it the most prosperous and free nation on earth, is to endure.