I have visited the Rust Belt many times. I drove through Youngstown, Ohio, in 1970 and 2005. I have seen whole neighborhoods bulldozed. The same thing happened in Michigan and other Rust Belt states. I understand the pain and the loss. So, what happened? America still produces lots of mechanical and industrial engineers. We still…
Author: Netcoder
Everyone Believes What They Want to Believe
Beliefs about Artificial Intelligence How does everyone feel about artificial intelligence (AI)? AI has been around since the mid-1950s. I asked my tech guru in the 1970s to define AI, and he responded, “It’s using a computer to do things we haven’t done before.” In the beginning, one of the goals of AI was to…
It Is Impossible To Make This Up
The Ultimate Fighting Championship will host an event on the White House lawn on July 4, 2026, to honor the sacrifices of founding fathers like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and John Madison. The fights will be conducted inside an octagon-shaped metal chain-link fence. The cage will be about thirty feet in diameter and…
The Twilight of American Capitalism
Instead of “firing up” or improving American capitalism, President Trump is firing or humbling America’s CEOs. Instead of continuing or improving the capitalism that energized America for 250 years, Trump is transforming it into some version of state capitalism. Wikipedia defines state capitalism as “An economic system in which the state acts as a dominant…
Seward’s Folly in Reverse?
UPDATE ON AUGUST 12, 2025: When I posted this article, I was drawing attention to the fact that we have a delusional, unprepared man meeting with the most evil, dangerous man in the world. Little did I know that my “humor” would hit so close to the truth. Many will say Trump’s misstatements are simple…
Following the Crowd or the Fear of Missing Out
This is another iteration in the use of short videos to address or comment on the craziness of our times. Please let me know if you enjoy these videos and if you prefer videos over longer posts with more detailed analysis and discussion.
When Confusion is Someone’s Goal
Many people do not have the time or inclination to read posts. So, I am adding short videos in place of or in addition to my posts that contain text and images. The following is a video about how confusion becomes the norm, which is posted on YouTube.
Selecting an Political Identity
Many people do not have the time or inclination to read posts. So, I am adding short videos in place of or in addition to my posts that contain text and images. The following is a video about political identity now posted on YouTube.
Political Identity
The Caterpillar and Alice looked at each other for some time in silence: At last the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and addressed Alice in a languid, sleepy voice. “Who are you?” said the Caterpillar. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was…
Will it be déjà vu all over again for Democrats?
Will the ghost of Adlai Stevenson run in 2028? For those who care about the past, the Democratic Party was the dominant party in the US Congress from 1948 until 1980. The weaker Republican Party gained small advantages in both houses only once in Eisenhower’s first election in 1952. In the other 15 Congressional elections,…









