Would you like to know where all of this great thinking takes place? No? Well, I am going to show you anyhow! Double click the photo for a larger view. This is my equivalent of a man cave. A well padded desk chair sits between two desks and a couple of file cabinets. I have three computers (one Macbook Pro and two PCs) going most of the time hooked up to 5 display screens. On my wooden desk I have the “Wizard” wood carving done by my 
talented wife, Marcia. He is the link between the seen and unseen worlds. You see pens vertical in a Plexiglas base. This base held glass laboratory test tubes during my Ph.D. research days. They were typically filled with fish blood. On the right you see a Day Lilly in bloom and behind it just peeking out is a Christmas Cactus, a plant that has been with us for decades. It was Marcia’s mother’s cactus. CDs and DVDs on the wall rack. Then there are three printers: one laser and two ink jet. These take care of both Marcia and me, although Marcia’s computer work is done way at the other end of the house. There is also a Fujitsu ScanSnap scanner that is very valuable. All appraiser records and field notes are scanned for saving. You cannot see one computer, a HP laptop, which is behind the copy holder left of the chair. The Mac and accessory monitor for the Mac are on the wooden desk. The equipment is rounded out by the two black 4-drawer cabinets that house general files and 5-drawers of family history records.
That is it except for the wall hangings. The photos directly in front are of two inspirations to me: Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla. Both were dreamers whose imaginations brought forth a plethora of technology and theories about energy and matter. Above them is a frame of a photo of a work of art showing God touching mankind.
On the left wall (not visible) there are several frames holding my four Purdue diplomas, a pix of my Culver Horsemanship class, one of me about 2-3 years old, one of my first experience in a newsroom on a typewriter, another of me receiving my PhD diploma from the Purdue President, and finally a graphic of my discovery in PhD research concerning DNA in Sturgeon and the evolution of the Sturgeon genome.
This rounds out my man cave. I both work and enjoy creative time here. My fingers dance with joy on the computer keyboards!
New Year 2016
Thought I should take a shot at the first blog entry for 2016.
I was looking at some very old newspapers I have. Most are from days around the ending of WWII, but there was one of particular interest to me. It is a copy of the “Kokomo Telegraph” [February 8, 1946 issue]. I don’t remember seeing this one before. From the masthead, it says it includes the “Russiaville Observer”. I am thinking the Telegraph was a successor of the Observer. The Business Manager named was Harry Fawcett, a long-time staunch Democrat. The paper says it is a Democrat paper.
Later this paper became the Howard County News, a weekly based in Greentown. Somewhere along the line there was also the Greentown Gem. I don’t know what happened to it. The ownership of the Howard County News eventually was in the hands of the partners that owned the Kokomo Tribune. The Tribune was the Republican newspaper in the county and the Howard County News was the Democrat one. This was important because state law required publication of legal advertising in both a Republican and Democrat newspaper in each county. Advertising equals revenue. The Howard County News was operated unfettered by its editor, Deke Noble, a staunch Democrat. Tribune partnership ownership was kept secret. That is until one Midge Janner from Kokomo uncovered this. She published the Kokomo Herald paper which was/is Democrat. She was successful in securing the legal advertising away from the News. It supports that paper even today as a free distribution weekly. The Howard County News was buried by the Thomson group after it purchased the Kokomo Tribune in 1981.
The News location in Greentown was the place the Tribune used for training for photocomposition and offset press skills in the 1960’s. A Goss Community offset press was installed there along with a large “process” camera and photocomposition equipment. This was in 1964. The Kokomo Tribune’s first paper from the Goss Metro offset press in Kokomo did not come until October 1967. It took that long for training and installation of the required equipment for the Tribune daily newspaper. Dick Isham was eventually hired as the Tribune’s Production Manager, a position I held before him. He was at a smaller newspaper in California at the time. Dick is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and was one of a few in the county at the time with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to help make a transition for the Kokomo Tribune successful. I became mostly involved with computer applications and development in composing processes in addition to computer business applications. One achievement was the development of the “Delco Justifier”, a low cost computer for the creation of punched paper tape that operated Linotype and photocomposition typesetting equipment.
Before that, I remember many nights in Greentown sleeping on rolls of newsprint. At Greentown, I did everything from keyboarding to page paste-up to process camera work to functioning as a pressman.
I could go on. Together, we made the Kokomo Tribune a leader in its class. It was on the cutting edge of production technology and had a skilled and professional cadre of journalists in its news operation. Content and production resulted in the Tribune being named as the “Highest in the Nation” for circulation penetration of its metro market for a run of 8 of a 10 year period. The two we missed, we were second. Great days.
Ken Ferries Column
In his Kokomo Tribune column on December 31st, Ken Ferries attempts to ridicule and insult the field of Republican candidates for the Presidency of the United States. It was not funny. It is not time for “funny”. The country is in trouble with an incompetent Democrat President in office for another year and yes, a do-nothing Republican Congress.
In his last paragraph, Ferries states he is hopeful someone will emerge as an adult in this presidential race. He further states…. “maybe from the other side of the political fence”. That got me. Ferries does not take on the Democratic Party candidates for the Presidency of which there is really only one viable one, Ms. Hillary Clinton. He does not point out Ms. Clinton was an incompetent Secretary of State that did little except to fly all over the planet. Certainly her efforts, in concert with President Obama, in the Middle East produced nothing but continuing disaster including the murdering of our Ambassador at Benghazi. Then there are all sorts of questions emerging about the Clinton Foundation: how it is financed, who are the contributors, what might be expected by contributors, and on and on. And Ms. Clinton is still being investigated by the FBI for her actions with a private email server in her home over which she had complete control in violation of law regarding certain federal government communications. I hope Ferries does not believe Ms. Clinton qualifies as the “adult” from the other side of the political spectrum. Ms. Clinton has tons of dark baggage including who would become the “First Gentleman” if she became President.
"The Week" Commentary
Letter to the Editor, The Week Magazine…
Your Editor-in-Chief, William Falk, has his bias really showing. He really dislikes Donald Trump… and the sky, may, indeed really be falling. The world is a total mess thanks to Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and others. Then came Obama. The Democrats have landed on a liar, incompetent, and murderer (think Benghazi) for a candidate for President. The field of GOP is terrible with two less-than-one term Senators who (like Obama) have managed nothing, another Bush, a doctor who is a nice guy, a New Jersey governor who cozies up to Islam, a minister who is “fundamental”, and more. Then there is Trump. Yes, he is brash, boisterous, and uncouth. What you cannot deny is that he is successful. He knows the players and the skeletons and the dirty tricks. He employs thousands from all sorts of backgrounds. And he knows the direction of this country must change. We are, indeed, well on our way down the tube. The people in the heart of the country know this. Yes, they are afraid. Justifiably so. Trump is a risk, but one many of us believe must be taken if the USA is to survive.
Here ya go..
Welcome to his world!
Any doubt?
I just read two articles in “The Week” magazine I want to share, then you be the judge.
The first: dateline Abha, Saudi Arabia…
“Poet sentenced to death: Writers around the world are asking Saudi Arabia to release a poet and artist sentenced to death for his poetry. Ashraf Fayadh, 32, a Palestinian born and raised in Saudi Arabia, was condemned on charges of apostasy (an abandonment or breach of faith) for poems that prosecutors said insult the Prophet Mohammad and encouraged atheism, an apparent reference to the lines “Prophets have retired/ So do not wait for your to come to you.” The arrest stemmed from an argument that broke out with another man while they were watching a soccer match at a cafe; the man complained to Saudi Arabia’s religious police, accusing Fayadh of renouncing his Islamic faith.”
How would you like to be a Christian or Buddhist or of another religious tradition and live in Saudi Arabia???????
The second: Arab nations that ignore the refugees….
“As the US and Europe debate how many Syrian refugees they can absorb, little attention is being paid “to the region where the refugees could best start life anew,” said Douglas Feith (in the Wall Street Journal). That’s “the Arabian Peninsula and its Arabic-speaking, oil-rich countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.” About 4.3 million Syrians now await resettlement in the vast, squalid camps in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt. But right next door, the oil-rich nations of the Arabian Peninsula are simply ignoring this desperate mass of humanity, even though they are mostly fellow Sunnis. Now, there’s no doubt that some of the opposition in the US and Europe to accepting the refugees has been racist. “But it isn’t bigoted to question the wisdom of trying to incorporate hundreds of thousands — and perhaps several million — refugees in the West.” Adapting to new culture and language is very hard, and refugees often can’t practice professions they had at home because their degrees and licenses don’t transfer. They’d have a far easier adjustment if accepted by Arab nations with abundant wealth. It’s time for the West to “shame” these nations into sharing this responsibility.”
My conclusion is we are suckers. You be the judge.
It is about Islam!
It is all about Islam! Deny as you may, but the truth will not go away.
At the extreme end of Islam, we have ISIS who kidnaps, tortures, decapitates, and kills any who do not believe their view of the Koran. Followers even go to the ultimate in suicide attacks on “infidels”. No one in the Western world believes this religion as proclaimed by ISIS is anything but crude, barbaric, Medieval, and a throw back to the worst of humanity. ISIS wants to conquer the world to establish the Caliphate they claim is God’s will.
At the more “moderate” end of Islam dominated countries, we see societies where women are treated as chattel or worse. We see societies where sex slavery is common. We see societies where stoning to death for alleged religious offenses is carried out. We see societies where chopping off of hands is considered suitable punishment for some offenses. We see societies where women are to be totally covered and are not allowed out of the house without accompaniment by a male. We see societies were women are not allowed to drive a car or exercise independence in a variety of ways. We see societies where Sharia law is the law of the land. And this, supposedly, is Islam at its most modern.
My conclusion is that most of Islam is not compatible with the United States Constitution even in its most moderate incarnation let alone that of the ISIS barbarians. Take a look at communities where Islam is practiced by the majority of residents; even in the United States.
We are at the point in the United States where radical Islamic terrorists want to kill as many innocent but “infidel” people as they can as often as they can. They will sneak in the front door, back door, side door and recruit home grown terrorists whenever possible. This is where the attention of national security institutions are focused. They will never be able to stop it all. More terrorism and death will happen. It cannot be completely stopped.
What is not recognized is culture creep. As the population of Islam believing people increases in the United States, so does the influence of the belief system they practice become entrenched. There are already many Muslims who prefer Sharia law in the United States over the Constitution. They openly say so. We see women treated as second class citizens in Muslim dominated communities in spite of US laws. What we don’t see is public outrage in the American Muslim community about the atrocities in the Middle East nor open, strong, and clear support of the United States Constitution.
For now, there should be a moratorium on immigration of any from Islam dominated countries until we have a national debate on what is happening and what direction we want the United States to take. If we let influence of fundamental Islam into our way of life, the road is backwards and dangerous. If you want to see this in action, just take a look at what has happened in Europe. They are in deep trouble. And do you wonder why about every picture we see of “refuges” is overwhelmingly dominated by military age males. Women and children are a small minority. And do you ever wonder why every picture of the inside of a mosque shows only men present. Where are women and children or is it only men who count.
We are in a religious war, like it or not. And we have a President who is a closet Muslim or at least a sympathizer. After all, he was brought up in earlier years as a Muslim, then spent years listening to the teachings of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a twisted “Christian” minister who has little or no use for the United States or its Constitution.
We must wake up if the Unites States of America is to survive. We are a country of laws, the first and ultimate being the Constitution. Most of Islam is diametrically opposed to all the Constitution stands for.
Van wreck and poverty
There was a column in the September 30th Kokomo Tribune written by Jon Webb of the Evansville Courier & Press. It was the story of 22 immigrants in a 1994 Dodge 16-passenger van who were traveling from Washington, IN, to a temporary employment center some miles away. The van was in very poor state of repair including bald tires. A tire blew. The van crashed killing two and injuring all others aboard. Jon’s column is the story of poverty and what it does to people who are desperate. I wrote to Jon……..
“Jon… thank you for your column about the 22 people in the van. Personally, I believe there to be no excuse for any in the United States to go hungry or not have a proper place to lay their head at night….. or for that matter not to be able to find a job that pays a living wage. That might sound strange from a life long Republican given the crop of do-nothing “Republicans” in Congress now; particularly the extreme religious right wing variety.
We send billions to other countries when not taking care of our own. We send millions of jobs overseas that once were the economic engine for our country. We poke our nose militarily into places or conflicts that pose no threat to the USA. And we are on the way to economic catastrophe with spending out of control.
Then there is immigration. You mention that the 22 in the van mostly were Haitian immigrants. The thought that immediately flashed into mind was whether they were in the USA legally or illegally…. not that that would make any difference as to the tragedy that befell them. Then thoughts wandered to what is happening in Europe with the mass migration of people from the Middle East and Africa and what, clearly, is the case with our own southern border. It all ties together.
I think unless we have the will to take bold action, this country will be in deep trouble…. already is. Our political class has sold us down the river for their own personal gain. I find that I have become a fan of one who once was a politician, Pat Buchanan. He was a proponent of “fortress America”…. America first. First with a healthy America; then reaching out into the world. We are not healthy. Again, I find it appalling that any in the USA are hungry or without shelter. Shame on us. “
GMO labeling — again!
In a Tribune “Sound Off” letter on September 24, the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana Corn Growers Association came out as strong advocates of HR 1599 (now in the Senate), the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act”. It is anything but that. These groups repeated almost word for word the message by the Indiana Farm Bureau in the Tribune on August 14. The message could well have been crafted by the same public relations department of any of several large chemical/seed companies, processed food producers or corporate agriculture. The message is misleading at best and lies at worst
They claim the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences and over 2,000 peer-reviewed studies, have concluded that “genetically modified foods are safe for human consumption”. They have done no such thing. There have been no long term human health studies conducted by independent researchers. Studies with research animals, mostly in other countries, have shown results for concern.
The Soybean Alliance and the Corn Growers go on to talk about the altering of crops and livestock over thousands of years in an attempt to lull us into the belief genetic engineering is no different than improvement by selection of the best plants or by hybridization. I assure you genetic engineering is nothing like either of these. Neither selection nor hybridization violates biological barriers that have existed since the origin of life. There is risk in doing that.
Then, pesticides. I challenge you to look at the use of the primary pesticide used on genetically engineered crops: glyphosate (commonly, Roundup). They claim pesticide use is down when it has skyrocketed. The World Health Organization has declared glyphosate to be a carcinogen (causes cancer). We spray that chemical all over the place on corn, soy beans, and more. In the near future, we are to be blessed with crops that can withstand 2,4,D and dicamba; even more toxic chemicals that follow the crop to the dinner table. A primary component of Agent Orange was 2,4,D. We know what that did to thousands of veterans.
The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act would void all action taken by any state to require labeling. It puts all authority into the hands of the Federal Drug Administration that has failed us already. To our detriment, decisions about genetically engineered crops and foods have been made by political appointees rather than FDA scientists. No food currently on the market would be required to be labeled. Labeling is required in 64 other countries, so it can be done. And there does not have to be a patchwork of food labeling laws. What is needed is for the federal government to require labeling of GMOs uniformly across the United States. It is the right of people to know what is in food and how it is produced. Secrecy is not the answer.
It is not the anti-GMO groups that are waging a misinformation campaign. It is big chemical/seed, corporate agriculture, and large food processors. Those that till the land will someday come to realize that.
Pathetic SAT Scores
Last week, the Tribune reported only 38.3 percent of Indiana’s Class of 2015 met college and career readiness benchmarks set by SAT. Further, they reported local educators say there are other factors besides SAT test scores that predict students’ post-secondary (that’s after high school) success. Nice try, but no prize.
There is only one word to describe Indiana student performance on the SAT and that is, “PATHETIC”. The responsibility for this horrible performance must rest at the feet of the teachers and administrators of our Indiana education system. Personally, I believe they have lost focus. The result is students are not ready for college or technical schools. Remedial classes, sometimes for no credit and always at some cost to the student, are required to get students ready for even introductory college level studies.
Why aren’t students prepared with math, language, and science skills? Maybe there has been too much time, money, and energy spent on things other than academics. Things like building new buildings and establishing “International Schools”. Things like huge, elaborate athletic complexes and untold hours practicing band and sports skills.
And, maybe, there are not enough hours in the classroom learning. I see students being dropped off of buses at 2:30 in the afternoon. Seems awfully early to me. I observe many school vacations during the year and months off in the summer. It appears that there are some students that spend way too many hours riding a bus rather than in class.
The result of the lack of success of students on SAT testing is that the can is kicked down the road. Universities and Trade Schools have to pick up the slack. Our high schools can say, “Oh, well. We tried”. This is unacceptable. This incredible near collapse of education is what has fueled the fires for Charter schools, other private schools, and home schooling. Those are not the answer. The answer is to take steps to cut away the chaff and bring focus back to the old “reading, writing, and arithmetic” of days gone by, then throw in science to top it off.
It is no wonder that many industries want to promote additional immigration of highly educated, highly skilled people. Our early education system is failing to produce enough graduates that go on to excel at the university level. Local educators can dance around all over the place, but the game of musical chairs stops with them still standing.