Telling It Like It Is

THE ENTERPRISE--WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS AND WHAT WE SHOULD LEARN FROM THE PAST AND PRESENT

 

 

WHAT IF TRUMP IS RIGHT AND THERE IS NO  COLLUSION:

This is not from a Trump sympathizer, and it does raise an interesting issue, one which the Congressional Committee investigating this also believed to be true. Did Russia meddle. yes—a lot. Were some inappropriate conversations held? Hell yes. Was it collusion and/or illegal, maybe not! In fact, expect Robert Mueller to dig deep into innuendo and questionable fact finding to find or manufacture illegal acts. Of course he will. Every special prosecutor must. Too bad.The time and money could be better spent on fixing America’s problems. Of course the Democrats (demagogues) love it, and the mainstream media will make a mountain out of every molehill. Too bad some of these commentators can’t be prosecuted for their misbehaviors. Ditto leakers. Catch them and hammer them hard if/when we do…even then, the “Deep State” goes really deep.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/commentary-what-if-trump-is-right-and-there-is-no-collusion/

 

THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY DUE FOR A SHAKE UP

News that amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase were teaming up in a health care company for their employees rocked the corporate health care and benefit industries. These three huge companies, with their technology knowhow and financial power could remake how things work and serve as a model or a nucleus for similar ventures. If ever an industry needed a shake up, it is health care. Right now large entities all have developed “portals” for communicating with their “members.” Do any of these allow cross portal communication or file sharing? Of course not. Will this entity be able to save money buying drugs. Absolutely. 

 

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

When I was at Huffy Bikes (in the 1980’s), we had 2000 employees working near two Northeastern Ohio small towns, with only a couple of hospitals. We created our own “Preferred Provider Network” in which we used economic incentives (rapid payment of bills—slow payment is a big problem for small medical providers) for bundling of expenses into per diem pricing for stays in the hospital. No more $10 aspirins, or "ala carte" pricing for all the small things needed in a hospital stay. We had the full support of our Union (the United Steelworkers) because they understood it would mean more, and better care for less out of pocket costs, regardless of who paid them—company, “insurance," or the employee. For a few years we arrested the run up in medical costs, until circumstances and the industry "changed the ball game” so we couldn’t do it as effectively any more. With three behemoths behind this venture—it just might work—and change everything.

 

WHEN DOES TECHNOLOGY TAKE THE NEXT STEP?

My iPhone, with a few attachments and some modest changes,(and new Apps), can provide my doctor with most of what she needs to “see me” for a problem. And she can “see me” via FaceTime (or equivalent). Meanwhile technology does all those preliminary things her nurse does: pulse, respiration, blood pressure, height, weight, confirming current medications, answering standard questions about allergies to drugs or treatment (latex gloves, for example), symptoms and so forth. The technology is not far away that allows scanners can scan certain body parts (eyes, internal organs) to learn a lot. Ditto doing standard lab tests. What’s holding it back? Regulations, paranoia, insurance risk (lawsuits), and the inability for medical groups to compete and cooperate simultaneously. It’s time. Now. But not via the government. It can’t run anything efficiently and effectively—including itself. Coalitions of interested, motivated and involved private sector companies CAN do it.

 

I HAVE TO STAND UP NOW, AND KEEP MY WEIGHT UNDER CONTROL

OK…That’s what I said. in 96 studies involving 1000 people, it was discovered that standing actually burns 0.15 calories more per minute than sitting. Six hours/day of standing vs. sitting would thus burn 54 more calories in a day, and over the course of a year, that could translate to a loss of 22 lbs. Really?! Wow. I have to get up and not just sit here writing this, when I could be losing weight. One detail: I’d need a different setup for my computer. That’s OK, because I get all creaky if I sit and type at it for too long. Back to you later, gotta stand up a while!

 

"RUB SOME DIRT ON IT…” WAS WHAT WE WERE TOLD  IN MY YOUTH, WHEN WE GOT HURT PLAYING BASEBALL 

Scientists have since theorized that the heat from the friction of rubbing might actually have helped. However, it was not very sanitary. Now it turns out there might have been some other benefits we could never have imagined. This is too good to ignore. A new antibiotic, lurking down there in the dirt?

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-new-antibiotic-soil-20180213-story.html

 

ARE CUSTOM MADE TO ORDER RUNNING SHOES IN YOUR FUTURE?

Show maker Brooks and computer company HP, with its “FitStation” system are testing that premise in a dozen locations. Maybe?

Check it out: http://fortune.com/2018/01/22/brooks-running-shoes-hp/

 

PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES, NEED TO WATCH OUT

Apple’s new headquarters has created vexing problem. Plate glass walls and doors are so transparent that people are injuring themselves running into them. Apple will certainly find a high tech solution, like downlighting them, or applying fake fingerprints to make them more visible. And for goodness sake, "don’t throw stones."

 

MILITARY STRUGGLES TO FIND RECRUITS WHO ARE “FIT” FOR SERVICE

A think-tank study (no idea which one) found that three quarters of Americans age 17-24 are ineligible for military service because they are either too fat, have criminal records, or didn’t graduate form high school. If true, that’s a sobering fact, and a sad commentary on our times. This happens while the largest hurdle employers face in hiring new help is finding people who can pass the drug test!

 

GUN CONTROL WILL ONLY INHIBIT THESE AWFUL SCHOOL SHOOTINGS, AND PUBLIC MASSACRES A LITTLE BIT.

There is no easy way to regulate the “nut cases,” people whose mental condition has distorted the persons sense of right and wrong. Screening theme out is difficult too, because sometimes, if they are on their meds, they seem quite normal and harmless. Other times they become murder machines. With 15 million AR type rapid fire rifles in the USA already, there is no practical way to confiscate them. There are ways to make buying more of them harder—much harder—but Second Amendment advocates, led by the NRA fear that an unarmed citizenry is in danger of being ruled and abused by figures in authority—with all the requisite weaponry. Justice Scalia wrote. “...that the Second Amendment does NOT confer the right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever.” 

 

A DIFFERENT TIME AND A DIFFERENT NEED FOR RULES AND LAWS

The Founders lived in and envisioned a very different time, in which armed revolutions were much more common. Thus the 2nd Amendment. Also, rifles only account for 2% of gun homicides, compared to 65% for handguns. Similarly, police commit a tiny minority (under 1%) of all shootings, whether black or whites were shot. Many more shootings are  “blacks shooting blacks.” Just as the majority of terrorist attacks involve Muslims, the majority of shootings involve people who should not be able to buy guns at all, and certainly not so feely—but on the black market—money talks, and guns are available. Stop the leaks. Tighten all current rules on screening, selling and licensing guns. Prohibit anyone with any trace of  mental health issues from being able to legally get a gun, which won’t stop determined mass murders much, but every little bit helps. Crack down on gun shows/sales, hard. There’s way too much leeway for trading in illegal weapons, and only the most stringent controls will impact that—and then only “some.” If looking for a single collusion, this is an unsolvable problem. Like immigration, it will take an interwoven series of steps to rein in gun deaths. (And arming teachers is not one of them.)

 

SURPRISES I FOUND THIS MONTH—RETAILING’S SPREADING CONVERGENCE

I walked into a new Dollar General store in Marco Island, FL, and found a very compact, but surprisingly effective small grocery store—with good prices and decent assortment—and not of cheap private label or closeouts. This is a grocery market dominated by Publix, served secondarily by Winn-Dixie, CVS, and Walgreens. The nearest Walmart is 8 miles away. As the American grocery market is invaded by Euro-grocers (Aldi, and Lidl), and dominated by major players like Kroger and Walmart, with strong regional grocers (Giant-Eagle and Meijer in OH, Publix and Winn-Dixie in FL), competition is heating up. Usually that is good news for consumers. Will it be this time? 

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HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT AUTOMATIC UPDATES TO YOUR SOFTWARE, WHERE YOU NEVER GET A CHANCE TO DECLINE THEM?

Amazon, Google (Alphabet), Apple, and even Tesla are increasingly taking the position that they know what’s best, and it’s usually their newest idea, and not yours. I’ve always hated “auto-renewal “ of subscriptions, because it flies under the radar of my consciousness. I figure out it happened when the charge hits my statement—maybe—or maybe much, much later. It’s an easy way for providers to sneak in a price increase too. Not all updates work seamlessly, and many of them are not friendly with the prior features you may have become accustomed to using. Beware…”Big Brother is watching, had he knows what’s best for you (or maybe for him?)."

 

IS THE TIME FOR A THIRD MAJOR PARTY COMING SOON?

This was the topic raised to me about two years ago, by terrific lady, Michelle Boasten, who passed away far too young this past year. Her premise was that most Americans are actually Centrists, and are not happy with either the extreme left or right wings of the two major parties. I discouraged her idea because of the way our elections and electoral processes work. The two mainstream parties are entrenched even though both of them have more factions, branches and ideologies than a political science major on LSD. Now I wonder. She was ahead of her time in her profession—as a nurse, she rose from the ranks to do great things. Perhaps her unworkable idea is not so far fetched.

 

So what do you think? Is a third major party, I’ll call it the "Centrist Party," read to rise in America and take over the middle where the current parties are unable/unwilling to compromise, to find middle of the road solutions and move forward to do what’s best for the country?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/centrist-incumbents-tested-in-illinois-primaries-1521583137?mod=djem10point

 

REIN IN THE OPIOD EPIDEMIC—A SMALL STEP...FROM A CORRESPONDENT I USED TO WORK WITH: 

"I know of one problem that Dr.s are causing. My wife recently had surgery and the Dr. told us she could expect some pain for probably no more than a couple of days. She gave her a prescription for pain meds. The prescription was for 60 tablets. My wife ended up using less than a half dozen and then went to OTC pain reliever." 

"I had a similar experience a few years ago when I had knee surgery. Not only does it inflate medical costs, it leaves a lot of excess drugs out there to fall into the wrong hands. Our local Sherriff’s dept allows us to drop unused drugs off for disposal so it was not a problem for us. But, how many people hang on to the extras—or even sell them to someone—it’s too temping for people of less sense of responsibility. My point is those prescriptions need to be limited to maybe 10 or 15 instead of 60. To prescribe so many more than needed is just stupid. 

NOTE: My experience in FL with my wife’s injuries a few years back was the opposite. I spent hours waiting for refills of opiods, because I could only get her a one week supply—once per week. Still, it was a sensible and practical way to control the excessive drugs floating around out them

 

FROM THE WSJ, The 10 Point by Gerard Baker, March 21, 2018

Breaking China? 
The Trump administration is set to unveil a package of proposed punitive measuresThursday aimed at China, including at least $30 billion in import tariffs. The White House is seeking to clamp down on what it says are improper Chinese trade practices by making it significantly more difficult for the country’s companies to acquire advanced U.S. technology or invest in American companies. However, the tariffs won’t be imposed immediately, giving U.S. industry an opportunity to comment on which products should be subject to the duties. Final details of the plan, including the amount of imports to be hit by tariffs, remain in flux. 

The effort stems from a months-long investigation by the administration into Chinese intellectual-property practices that found the damage to U.S. companies from forced technology transfer is $30 billion annually. Chinese officials have said they are improving their protection of intellectual property and liberalizing their economy. They also complain that the U.S. hasn’t given them a specific list of demands that they need to meet to head off tariffs.

 

THAT’S IT FOLKS…THE FUTURE IS COMING AT YOU FASTER THAN EVER. LEARN,  OR GET LEFT BEHIND.

BEST,

JOHN

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ROCKETSHIPS & PARACHUTES—What’s that? It’s coming soon; you’ll see!

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THE ENTERPRISE—FINDING OBJECTIVE “TRUTH" IS TOUGH ANYMORE--BUT ITS WORTH THE EFFORT—TO STAY WELL INFORMED

THE ENTERPRISE—FINDING OBJECTIVE “TRUTH" IS TOUGH ANYMORE--BUT ITS WORTH THE EFFORT—TO STAY WELL INFORMED

 

LOTS TO COVER

 

BIGGEST LOOMING DANGER: HOUSE RETIREMENTS (gridlock frustrations) AND TRUMP-RELATED ISSUES COULD CAUSE GOP TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE HOUSE IN 2018—SENATE IS A LONGER SHOT, LOSING EITHER ONE WOULD BE A BIG PROBLEM, BOTH WOULD BE A DISASTROUS

Find out who’s running where you live. Study the candidates, and choose the best, then support them and tell your family and friends.

 

GUN CONTROL AND MASS KILLINGS VS. SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS

There’s no easy answer. The framers of the Constitution were revolutionaries in different times and the right to bear arms was critical. I pray that it doesn’t become that way again—but that’s why the NRA is so vehement about gun rights. Guns don’t kill people, people using guns kill people, but it is far too easy to get military style automatic, rapid fire guns.That needs fixing. Reinstall the “assault rifle bans” of the past. Make it harder. Stop the sale of weapons to anyone with any hint of mental issues or past problems. Profiling does work—use it. Make gun sellers equally liable for the actions of mass murders like these school shooters. That will dampen the lax sales to just anybody.

OPIOD ABUSE IS RAMPANT—START WITH DOCS, AND PHARMA COMPANIES THAT CREATE A NEW CLASS OF CRIME TO PUNISH CHRONIC ABUSERS.

Opioid deaths now exceeding car deaths & still growing. What to do & how to limit use to restricted medical places and usesIllegal drugs like fentanyl are so lethal anyone pushing those without proper rigorous licensing should be punished severely. Regular opioids need the tighter possible controls, and disincentives for prescribing and selling them.

IMMIGRATION—A COMPREHENSIVE LAW WILL NEVER PASS. TOO MANY DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES

Take the problem apart and go after it piece by piece. FIX Border control. Secure the borders...more than a wall.. Start ID control. Use Employer impact. Enforce limits on chain migration that are currently in the law. We need immigrants in the USA—but we want good ones. Figure out how to profile those and screen the bad ones out. Pass DACA...no more political football…but with a rigorous path to full citizenship in a reasonable time (5 yrs.).   Using profiling constructively to enhance border security. (Israel model). Tracking visa overstays hard. Strictly limit benefits offered & paid by government for illegal immigrants. Wipe out sanctuary cities (and states). 

CRACK DOWN HARD ON NCAA SPORTS—AGENTS, COACHES, ETC.

Paying Goodell $50mm is insane. Somebody needs to say so ...and do something about it. Many NCAA (Basketball and Football) changes needed now: eliminate "one & done.” Go to school or go pro. Insist NBA to cooperate with a 3 year rule like the NFL uses.  Create a "no-contact rule" for proven abusers, and a ban for coaches and corporate sponsors when proven involved. Blame the adult abusers not the youthful offenders, but punish them too if egregious violations discovered. Mandate use of latest technology in football helmets too.

 

FACTOID—HEARD ON A (SEEMINGLY) RELIABLE NEWS REPORT—CHICAGO SHOOTINGS

In half a year in Chicago, over 2000 people (heavily minorities) were shot and killed. The number shot by police was 12, less than 1%. (So much for the myth that police kill so many people.)

SCOTUS PUBLIC SECTOR UINON DECISION COMING WILL IMPACT MANY THINGS.
Upcoming SCOTUS decision on whether public employee unions can charge dues to workers who do not wish to belong, will have a huge influence on the power of these unions. The power was shown in the uprising against OH SB 5 a few years ago, but that law, repealed by referendum, was an overreach. It went too far by including police, fire, emergency workers and teachers, and those groups slapped it down. The principle that matters is whether public employees and their unions can assess fees, collect them whether the employees want to belong or not, and use those fees in political contests to elect sympathetic legislators. If it sounds incestuous, that’s because it is. 

 

RIGHT TO WORK VS. UNIONS

I’m a open right to work advocate and these public unions fly in the face of my beliefs.  Unions were formed to protect workers against unfair or overly powerful employers' bad behavior, and give groups of employees, collective power to bargain (regardless of whether that agenda is doing good or bad things for its members and in the case of public employees, for the general population. One of the most egregious outcomes of public employee union clout is the negotiation of outsized and unaffordable pension plans sinking the economies of several states, notably CA and IL saddling those citizens with crushing obligations that simply cannot be funded and sustained.

CHINA’S GLOBAL DOMINANCE CONTINUES TO GROW

China is the global behemoth trying to take over the USA’s dominate position in most areas.  Sometimes China’s way of doing it is successful. At others its not. After poisoning its people for decades it is trying to clean up its air, water and land—but with only modest success. Now China’s Orwellian society is growing thanks to networks and all sorts of recognition—facial, information, and human, which now allows the central government to accumulate ratings of people who are for or especially against government preferred policies and actions. Who they know and associate with can blackball people and punish offenders who barely realized they did anything wrong. “Big Brother is watching—everywhere—but most of all in China!  US worries: China’s control positions in raw materials for electronics (rare earth metals), computer chips, and the South China Sea, and Space?

 

WATCH FOR LOTS OF NEWS ABOUT A NEW SPACE RACE, COMING SOON…

US vs. China. Many innovations came from the decades old space race. The same will likely happen again.

 

E-MEDICINE IS COMING ON FAST. GO ONLINE TO “SEE THE DOCTOR.”

As sensors on smartphones get better, you can almost take a complete physical with a sensor laden iPhone and FaceTime. Makes sense. Quality can be maintained. Ease of use is better. You no longer go to a travel agent or the airport to plan and ticket a trip involving air travel…and many other things…like ATMs, etc. etc.

 

BUT FIRST, FIX THE DAMN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE USA, AND GET THE NAVY SHIPS (AND SAILORS) THAT WORK!

American roads and bridges, power grid and water (critical to life) delivery systems are decades old. Raise gas taxes, to keep from running up the insane defect even further. 

So are the controls on our Nuclear arsenal outdated, as are the scientists who know how they work..

 

DO YOU KNOW WHO RAY KURZWEIL IS? IF YOU DON’T, GOOGLE HIM. (HE WORKS THERE, TOO)

He’s one of the most brilliant futurists/scientist/inventors alive. He coined the term “the singularity” which is the point where machine intelligence (computers, etc.) surpass human intelligence. He offers a lot of cautionary notes, but believes that the growth and power of robotics, social networks, computing power and AI (artificial intelligence) will actually make the world a better—but very different place. That’s why we all need to understand more than we do about today’s technology. It’s also why cyber threats are so scary. Go Here and click through this: https://securityplanner.org/#/

 

THE PATH TO POSITIVE CHANGE = CHANGING SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE & THEN ENABLING THEM TO ACT DECISIVELY, EVEN IN THE FACE OF HUGE MEDIA BIAS. Written in response to a friend’s great concern: 

 

CHANGING THE DIRECTION OF AMERICA AND ITS ELECTED LEADERSHIP WITH PERVASIVE MEDIA BIAS AND MISINFORMATION

We have a problem; many of us we know too much, many of us know too little and many more know things that aren’t so, thanks to ignorance, misinformation, disinformation and outright propaganda. Thus different factions (political parties, especially, and minorities of all sorts too, believe and consider things from much different perspective, which only increases anxiety about the direction things are going—whichever way that is. 

 

As in any situation, the only way to change it is to change the people in charge.  (However as appointed head of the VA have learned, a deeply entrench contingent of the old miscreant, do all they can to subvert or undermine or resist the new leader’s initiatives.)I wish I knew a good way to change what’s happening, but its very difficult to alter such a huge movement—mainstream media + liberal Democrats + post Obama influence. The intrigue Newt Gingrich’s novels (Treason, Duplicity and Vengeance—read them in order) depict probably contains more truth and realistic scenarios than many other things we read. They are scary. 

 

Real change still depends on who’s in power. 

Redistricting is coming up and will change things, but perhaps not for the better for conservative beliefs. 

House turnover: Over 40 GOP members of Congress resigning/retiring will make holding onto the House dicey. 

Senate is only a little better, because Dems have 2 dozen seats up for reelection and GOP only has 10—but several of those incumbents are leaving (McCain, Corker, & others) 

 

Remember,  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead  and  "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

 

The question is whether incumbent president Trump’s coattails are positive or negative for the 2018 mid-terms (seems more negative than positive) because the mainstream media focuses on the most negative possible way to report anything Trump or his administration does and blows it out of proportion. Nothing good that he does gets much coverage. And he’s his own worst enemy, providing a target rich environment for a loaf/liberal, socialist press.

 

I worry a lot about the activist liberal bias in college faculties and even in high school teachers). I’ve been told by students that they just keep their head down and don’t disagree for fear of reprisals or worse. The senior school administration is about as bad, having come from mostly faculty ranks. This is as worrisome as the media issue, but way under  most folks radar.

AN EXCELLENT SUMMARY OF A TROUBLING SITUATION (From The Week Magazine 23 Feb. 2018)

The campus takeover of our culture Andrew Sullivan NYMag.com

Whenever I bemoan the culture of “safe spaces” and “micro-aggressions” on college campuses, said Andrew Sullivan, people argue that “the real world isn’t like that.” But that’s no longer true. More and more of our public discourse is now shaped by the neo-Marxist Left’s “identity-based, ‘social justice’” worldview, in which all interactions are defined by a hierarchy of power and oppression. Free speech itself is falling into disrepute, as a tool of the patriarchy. When some feminists recently got wind of a forthcoming Harper’s essay criticizing the #MeToo movement, they not only personally vilified author Katie Roiphe, they also tried to force the magazine to drop the piece before publication—a “real-world echo” of students shouting down speakers. Writers, like students, now know that one “incorrect” opinion on sensitive issues of race and gender can result in “instant social ostracism” and demands they be fired—so they remain silent. Men cannot discuss sexual harassment; whites cannot talk about racism. The goal of our society is not “the emancipation of the individual,” but permanent placement of the individual in the proper identity group: white, black, brown, female, gay, etc. “We used to call that bigotry. Now we call it being woke.”

 

THERE’S JOBS AND THERE ARE JOBS

In the sharing economy which is exploding with growth  (think UBER, ETSY, AIRBNB, LYFT) employ lots of people who make not much money (under $500/mo.) This distorts all the economic ideas about job growth, income/earnings and work in the USA—and elsewhere.

 

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE CHICKENSHIT CLUB? AND WHY EXECUTIVES DON’T GO TO PRISON ANYMORE!

Go read about it here: http://fortune.com/2017/06/27/executives-prison-financial-crisis-criminal-justice/  You will be astounded and appalled.

 

WHAT TO DEERE TRACTORS AND IPHONES HAVE IN COMMON?

The rights of owners to repair them is severely restricted. There’s a lawsuit in Nebraska challenging this idea. it might make a big different in future trends.

 

DOES EVERYTHING CHANGE SO MUCH AFTER ALL?  CONSIDER TOYS.

The top selling US Toy Properties in 2017 and the year they were launched says, NO! Here’s the ranking. Surprise!

Pokemon (1998), Nerf (1969), Star Wars (1979), Barbie (1968), Batman (1966), Hot Wheels (1968), Little Tikes (1970), Shopkins (2014), Paw Patrol (2014), Lego Star Wars (1999)

 

THAT’S PLENTY FOR THIS ISSUE

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT, CHALLENGE OR OFFER NEW INFO

 

JOHN

 

PS: ON TH4E SUBJECT OF FAKE NEWS, I RECENTLY MET A MAN AT A “FAKE NEWS" CONFERENCE. HERE ARE HIS CREDENTIALS AND WHAT HE’D DOING.

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Disaster Avoidance Expert and Science Communicator

- Speaker and Consultant, for businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities on avoiding disasters through decision-making science and emotional and social intelligence

- Author, of the Amazon bestseller The Truth-Seeker's Handbook: A Science-Based Guide and several other books, with bylines in Time, Scientific American, CNBC, and Newsweek 

- President and Co-Founder, at Intentional Insights, a nonprofit advocating truth-seeking, rational thinking, and wise decision-making

- Co-Founder, of the Pro-Truth Pledge, an initiative to fight misinformation and advocate for truth

- Assistant Professor, at the Decision Sciences Collaborative and History Department, Ohio State University

 

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