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Immigration policy is ‘beyond inhumane’

Absorbing the news about the brutal treatment of detainees, to say nothing of the outright murder of “suspected” drug runners in the Caribbean, I think back to a conversation I had in February of this year. My interlocutor was a Trump voter who had just had a friendly encounter with an African immigrant striver — the kind who came from poverty and had started a successful business here. I recall saying, “I hope he has his documents in order.” The Trump voter scoffed: “They’re not going after people like him. They’re only going after the criminals.” Eleven months ...

They’ve lost the plot

On the day the Justice Department arrested several men for trying to smuggle NVIDIA chips into China, the president announced the United States would permit NVIDIA to sell its advanced graphics processing units to China. The United States, by most estimates, right now has a computing advantage over China of 32 to 1. Giving China these chips will reduce the advantage to 1.3 to 1. When the Justice Department announced the arrests, the lawyers made the point that this is a national security issue. Whoever controls AI development will control the future. China has more power plants and ...

Recognize the shift

Probably the best indicator of how MAGA has reverted to traditional Republican orthodoxy from Populism is Scott Bessent’s remark on how people could approach the affordability crisis. He suggested they move from a blue state to a red state. It is reminiscent of Ohio Senator Robert Taft’s observation in 1946 when he recommended that food prices could be ameliorated by reducing their consumption — “eat less,” which would bring expenses down. Trump’s economic team is divided between hard-line conservative Republicans and the MAGA right. Bessent follows the lead of Elon Musk ...

Trees event will help teach math

Santa will be at Kump Education Center for a Centennial Celebration with a curious collection of 100 Christmas trees on Sunday, Dec. 21 from 1-3 p.m. at the 100-year-old brick house across from Kroger in Elkins. The next Sunday on Dec. 28 everyone is welcome to visit without Mr. Claus, to again enjoy tea with holiday treats, watch a magical toy train, and make a silent auction bid on one of ten Christmas trees. This event was inspired by two needs in our community. One is the need for a better landscape plan to help manage water at Kump Education Center owned by the City of ...

Low turnover, high engagement not the same

Top leaders often say their company is about people. They may believe their focus on people is felt throughout the company. But do the frontline people feel the same way the top leader feels? And how does one measure this? Is it enough to say, We have a good culture because our employee turnover is low? Maybe yes and maybe no. In healthcare, certain areas have higher employee turnover than others. Some of these areas employ certified nursing assistants and food and environmental services workers. In these situations, lower turnover speaks highly about the effectiveness of the ...

Highly biased information

Wikipedia is “Wokepedia,” complains Elon Musk. That’s because it’s become so left-wing. “It’s designed to push an ideological agenda that you can’t see,” says journalist Ashley Rindsberg in my new video. He runs “Neutral Point of View,” a Substack publication that exposes Wikipedia bias. “So what if it’s biased?” I ask. “It’s just one website.” “Wikipedia’s information spreads into everything online,” he replies, “ChatGPT, ... Siri, Alexa. Ask a question, it is all Wikipedia.” As a result, “a few thousand powerful editors determine ...