Gongol.com Archives: November 2016
November 10, 2016
"No problem comes to the president unless it is fiendishly complicated"
The Economist weighs in on the election of Donald Trump with a sobering analysis. Virtually every word should be in boldface and underlined. This is no time for mistakes.
Does the incoming administration threaten national security?
The military seems to have bristled under micromanagement by the Obama administration, and while some think that a Trump administration will bring relief, that's not a hope supported by evidence. This is, after all, an incoming President who is known to micromanage his own businesses and who said -- without apparent irony -- that he knew more than the nation's defense leadership. But there's also a story buried in the details: If Trump truly intends to do an end-run around the "Washington establishment", then he's going to have grave difficulties finding people qualified to direct the processes of diplomacy, strategic planning, and military action. There are rules to all of this -- including things like obtaining security clearances. If the machinery of government isn't lubricated by capable actors, then we could in fact find ourselves in a vulnerable state.
Milwaukee sheriff's idle threats against demonstrators should be scorned
The First Amendment is crystal-clear: Peaceable assembly is a right the government cannot dispute. Period. End of story. To tweet, "There is no legitimate reason to protest the will of the people" is to spit in the faces of the Founders. Peaceful protests -- even stupid ones -- are an absolute right.
The times call for more journalists like Scott Pelley
The CBS anchor is about as sober as they come. His words on the election are sensible. And he's both smart and tough on his interview subjects.
Don't fear workers overseas -- it's automation that takes a real toll on jobs
A local TV weather forecaster jokes that Facebook is "trying to do my job again" by automatically inserting a forecast into his news feed. But it's true: If the forecast is delivered automatically and updated instantly and integrated seamlessly into the rest of your stream of consciousness, then that undoubtedly diminishes the demand for a conventional local TV weather forecast. Maybe imperceptibly at first. Maybe unquantifiably for now. But over the long term, habits can change -- in big ways. Lots and lots of people are insufficiently aware of the impact that automation will have (or is having) on their industries. They'd better get wise.
