Blogs

Department of Veterans Affairs built perhaps the most important medical computer system in history. click to vist article 

The above link is to an article which describes how the office of Veterans Affairs built a superior data system from collaborative grass roots activities.  

Maybe you have heard of the for want of a nail proverb, which explains how overlooking fundamental aspects of a larger project can cause catastrophic failure. You may have also heard the statement "data is the new oil" that describes how important data is in today's economy.

Data is far more important than most business people understand. Business may thinks that by purchasing software they can solve the issue of data management. Purchasing software solutions, is similar to solving a literacy issue by hiring someone to read for you. If you purchased a set of manuals to will run your business, but they are in written Latin, and you don´t know how to read Latin, so you hire a specialist to read them for you. Then when you need to make changes, you must to go to these experts, and ask if they will make these changes.

The want of the nail, the nail you lack is the database, it is the fact that your business does not have full control of the most significant and fundamental aspect of what you do.  Your business has overlooked how important data is,  and has given up - the knowledge, and ability to freely make changes or understand the fundamental structure behind management. 

Introduction, a brief history and proposal... 

Source: Congressional Budget Office, “Trends in Family Wealth, 1989-2013”

We don't notice the disappearance of the marketplace. Central banks can print money, deficits expand, government jobs are created, and we provide social outreach. Nothing ever completely falls apart because technology provides may social benefits. Profits become bigger and bigger, but mostly for corporations that can participate, not for many of the small business components of your community. All this is what is giving us an increasing wealth separation between the 1% and the 99%.  

Game theory is "the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers"

 PLAY THE GAME    A computer game that creates conditions of social interaction 

Institutions are the tools we we use to  connect, exchange value and lower uncertainty. The blockchain is a system where data can be verified, and security is guaranteed. Business or government institutions using this technology could be run algorithms that would have a competitive advantage, provide transparency, verify transactions, and increase privacy. Imagine no corruption.

This is driven by bill SB386 in the Georgia State Legislature that's already passed the Senate and has been favorably reported by the House Transportation Committee.  The bill provides for the imposition of a transit special purpose local option sales and use tax for a 30 year period to be voted on by referendum. It creates 159 special districts (i.e. 159 Georgia counties) and a new governance authority entitled "Atlanta-region Transit Link "ATL" Commission" which consists of numerous appointed positions that are not accountable to the people. The commission will have sole authority to determine expenditure of federal funds for transit purposes within the jurisdiction of the authority.  Even if you don't live in Cobb County, this bill impacts every county in the state and every taxpayer.
 

You can't hide, the only solution is to take control!  

“There are two things that are important in politics,” Mark Hanna, the great Republican kingmaker of the late 19th century, once said. “The first thing is money, and I can’t remember what the second one is.”

What was true in Hanna’s century remained true in the next, and since the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, Congress has imposed stricter regulations on money in politics. Advocates of those rules argue that they rein in corruption and increase public trust in government.

From  Business Insider      Retailers are bracing for a fresh wave of store closings in 2018 that is expected to eclipse the rash of closings that rocked the industry last year. "Landlords are panicking," said Larry Perkins, the CEO and founder of the advisory firm SierraConstellation Partners. "The last year was pretty apocalyptic from a retail standpoint, and the macro issues haven't changed. There will continue to be a high degree of bankruptcies and store closures." 2017 was a record year for both store closings and retail bankruptcies. Dozens of retailers including Macy's, Sears, and J.C. Penney shuttered an estimated 9,000 stores — far exceeding recessionary levels — and 50 chains filed for bankruptcy. But there's still a glut of retail space in the US, and the fallout is far from over.

From The Economist

Facebook acknowledged that before and after last year’s American election, between January 2015 and August this year, 146m users may have seen Russian misinformation on its platform. Google’s YouTube admitted to 1,108 Russian-linked videos and Twitter to 36,746 accounts. Far from bringing enlightenment, social media have been spreading poison.

From KDKA-TV      Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. At the KDKA-TV studios on Tuesday, Shapiro told KDKA money editor Jon Delano that everyone who has internet service should care about the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to repeal net neutrality. Delano: “What exactly is net neutrality, and why should I care?” Shapiro: “So when a Pittsburgher goes to turn the internet on in their home, they get an internet service provider. That’s Comcast, or someone like that provides internet to your home.”

 From   The Telegraph  

The Devil is more intelligent than mere mortals and should never be argued with, Pope Francis has warned. Satan is not a metaphor or a nebulous concept but a real person armed with dark powers, the Pope said in forthright remarks made during a television interview.

From The Daily Pennsylvanian The Vanguard Group, one of the world's largest asset management firms, has been indirectly linked to the weapon used in last month's Texas shooting — and Pehttp://www.thedp.com/article/2017/12/vanguard-amy-gutmann-upenn-retirement-plan-philadelphiann President Amy Gutmann sits on its board.

From marketplace.org..  As the House and Senate consider their respective tax bills, both proposals raise questions about 401(k) savings accounts. As we've reported on Marketplace Weekend, one third of Americans have nothing put aside for retirement. Even so, it turns out, millions of dollars are being left unclaimed in abandoned 401(k) accounts. For more on why people are doing this, Lizzie O'Leary spoke with Charles Thorngren, CEO of investment firm Noble Gold. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation, which started with a question about why people are leaving retirement funds behind.

Listen to audio    See more at marketplace.org

A Democratic victory in Georgia's state Senate election on Tuesday put an end to the Republican's two-thirds supermajority. Democrat Jen Jordan beat out fellow Democrat Jaha Howard in a runoff election for Georgia's 6th state Senate district Tuesday night, according to the Cobb County Courier.   BY MAX GREENWOOD - 12/06/17 09:33 AM EST

FAIRFAX, Va. — The recount in Virginia’s 40th House District, representing parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties, will be held Dec. 13 and 14 at the Fairfax County Courthouse, a special judicial panel ruled Wednesday morning.

By Max Smith | @amaxsmith December 6, 2017 1:21 pm

Penncrm is more than just a directory, it is the only social media tool that you control. The local newspaper you edit ...  learn to use it.

This Republic will become a criminal organization if the voters are incorrectly informed. The key to a functional democracy is the individual, that is you!  Yet, as a voter you most likely are misinformed, do nothing, and complain about your govenment. 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke 

Neiman Marcus... three consecutive quarters of sales dips. 

Dallas Business Journal Reports ... "Last week, North Texas' fourth-largest private company by revenue reported third-quarter fiscal year 2016 sales of $1.17 billion, a 4.2 percent decrease "

New York Post Reports ... "Struggling under a toxic combination of a staggering $5 billion debt load and flagging sales, Chief Executive Karen Katz traveled recently to China to meet with potential buyers, according to a source familiar with the situation. 

USATODAY-Cincinnati Reports ... "Online spending for Thanksgiving and black Friday increased about 18 percent from last year.  Spending in brick-and-mortar stores dropped about 10 percent for the same period.  That has been a continuing trend for many years."

Civilsocialmedia help you understand how your small business can use technology to stay ahead. Small local business has particular opportunities to build stronger customer relations than a comparitable online compeditor.