Have we all forgotten Reagan's 11th Commandment?

Official portrait, 1981

Having grown weary of internecine clashes within the Republican Party, I recently had an exchange with a local GOP leader.  Here's what I wrote....

"Thanks for your response.  You mention I should share my thoughts with the State GOP.  Fair point. Reagan’s “Eleventh Commandment” applies to all Republicans. 

I’m approaching retirement which will free up my time to learn, but right now, I won’t pretend to be steeped in state politics.  I know Vos is controversial to say the least and I have much to learn about the influences of the lobbies in your message.  I have no reason to doubt the veracity of your claims about who’s ruling the roost and those special interests concern me. 

Now, for added context on where I’m coming from, bear with me…. 

I’m a lifelong Wisconsinite who’s voted Republican at state and federal levels for 42 years.  That’s right.  I’ve not cast a single vote for a Democrat and never regretted it -- but these days -- my party is at war with itself and we’re fighting Dems with one arm tied behind our backs.  Two Republicans at odds with each other often forget they both have more in common with each other, than either person will ever have with Democrats. 

I’m a pragmatist because without victory in key elections, we improve little.  You write about good quality candidates vs. establishment types.  I’m not sure what constitutes an establishment candidate, but I’ve seen GOP candidates, who say the right things, but prove to be ineffective campaigners:  Tim Michels for Governor (Rebecca Kleefisch would’ve been better), Tommy Thompson (as much as I admire all that he did in his prime as Governor, his effort for a US Senate seat against Baldwin was miserable), Sarah Palin (she almost single-handedly sunk McCain) etc.  Were these candidates establishment, or non-establishment types?  I’m not sure the label matters.  They all lost. 

Either way, we need to allow room for debate within the GOP without destroying each other.  For example, I’ve long admired Paul Ryan for his fiscal sanity and unflappable temperament in the DC cesspool, but I totally disagree with him about his choice to not vote for Trump.  It’s a binary choice in November.  If one does NOT vote for Trump, one is by definition helping Harris. 

On the other hand, Trump’s ridiculous remarks about Ryan being the worst Speaker of the House in American history and all the compost Trump hurls at other decent Republicans needs to be countered and freely debated within the party.  If it isn’t, then Ryan becomes correct about Trump being a Non-Conservative Populist requiring total fealty from the rest of us. 

There’s a common theme here--I see few conservative voices on college campuses, little balance in the mainstream media, and little to no tolerance for disagreement within Republican caucuses whenever Trump comes up.  Conservatives must get together, allow reasoned debate among us and run GOP candidates who can win in Madison and up ballot.

 Respectfully,

John J. Maddente"

They say life is a journey

They say life is a journey not a destination, but today I want a destination.  Written while in a somewhat foul mood, what follows are 25 randomly itemized things I don't care for (Mother taught me that it's better to put it that way instead of saying, "I hate" such and such).  

Some of these items are mere dislikes, others do indeed involve deep loathing.  You decide which is which. 😇 (freepik image at right)

THINGS I DON'T CARE FOR:

1. Merging traffic.

2. Political posturing at non-political events I pay to attend and political posturing at non-political events that I don't pay to attend.

3.  Any sort of fruit placed on a pizza.  (Yes, technically tomato is a fruit but let's forget that).

4.  Most reality TV shows.

5.  Shiny, spherical orbs placed on pedestals to adorn a front yard (or fake deer).

6.  People who prey on the weak or disadvantaged.

7.  People who covet criminals' rights over victims' rights.    

8.  Several MSNBC commentators.

9.  The short-lived customer satisfaction that comes from driveway asphalt sealing.

10. Small plates dining.

11.  Diet Coke.

12.  Insects, snakes and cats.

13.  Aggressive, unleashed dogs.

14.  Our border controls (or lack thereof).

15.  More than 3 consecutive days without sunshine.

16.  Lawn and garden weeds.

17.  Loud bars or restaurants where one can't hear a companion's voice.

18.   Democrats' party leadership.

19.  Potholes.

20.  School bullies, car jackers, muggers, rapists and the lot.

21.  Indifferent customer service representatives.

22.  Marshmallows.

23.  Dirty public restrooms.

24.  Drivers who don't use their directionals.

25.  Excessive undulation on greens. (in heaven, all greens must be perfectly level).

        

Baseball is (already) for everyone

Image by Racool_studio on Freepik

To attend a major league baseball game, is to participate in a thoroughly American experience.  It's a classic sport with something to delight everyone.  As spectators, we usually can forget about life's problems for a few innings.  Or, at least we could.

Now, the MLB, its franchise owners, the players union, or some combination thereof, have joined the ranks of those in the NFL who thought it was a great idea to radiate political messages in giant letters in the endzone.  (And even allow messaging on the back of player helmets).

I hadn't noticed anything similar in professional baseball until recently.  Just beyond the center field wall at Target Field in Minneapolis, one can see, one actually must see, a large sign blaring two words: "END RACISM". 

Who are proponents of the Target Field signage going to influence?  Put another way, who besides actual racists, would advocate for preserving racism?  This practice of adorning stadiums with political messages could beckon all comers for equal expression.  One day will we see a large "END WOKEISM" or "BACK THE BADGE" sign in the right field bleachers?  I hope not, because overt political posturing -- whether Conservative or Progressive in nature -- does not belong at sporting events.

All forms of injustice, including racism, are abhorrent.  We all salute those who fight injustice, but every citizen has a right to pay for and receive the pleasurable escapism of attendance at a sporting event (or a "Hamilton" performance) without political messaging.  

Now, other changes to the game of baseball have been welcome and they involve no political expression whatever, so let's go there....  

Many games were simply too long, but by adding the pitch clock, limiting trips to the mound for pitcher chats and implementing other measures for extra inning play, the MLB has effectively shortened average game time, while preserving the experience for fans.  

Many unnecessary delays involve the pitcher in some way, shape, or form. Relief pitchers warm up in the bullpen, so why not reduce the amount of time they can burn after taking the mound before they face their first batter?  

If the manager is going to call for that relief pitcher, why can't he just signal that from the dugout.  His slow walk to the mound followed by on field discussion with the manager, catcher and a friendly pat on the back of the outgoing pitcher--is followed by more mound chat.  Just zip Joe Reliever in a golf cart directly to the mound and play ball! 

Finally, a personal wish.  Let's keep home plate umpires, but use technology to perfectly call balls and strikes.  Way too many strikes are called balls and vise versa.  Allowing technology to decide how an umpire calls a pitch, would avoid disputes over poor calls and limit fan and player aggravation over all of those truly God awful calls. 

Traditionalists may bristle, but the technology could be implemented without removing home plate umpires from the sport. Aside from the benefits of accurate officiating and stress reduction, the change would equate to another timesaver.

Baseball fans vigorously debate changes like these, but they do so in the context of what's good for this sport that's lasted over 180 years.  Such debates don't involve political ideology today.  I hope they never do. 

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is superficial

Check out my latest  post on LinkedIn if you are interested in the common question designed to tell an organization something useful about customer satisfaction and loyalty.  

"On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to reccomend us to a friend or colleague?"

Aside from leading marketers to easy conclusions, singular use of the NPS question is annoying to me.  For some of us, it's simply not the question we want to answer, nor do we want our views confined to a Likert Scale for marketing purposes.  

I suspect some NPS devotees just don't want to deal with unstructured data.  Perhaps more marketing heads will require their surveymonkeys to leverage AI and mine that data that tells them so much more than a checkbox.

Image by upklyak on Freepik

Priceless clips from five of the funniest films ever made

 

Film titles in alphabetical order...

• Airplane! (1980) clip here.

• It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) clip here.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) clip here.

• My Favorite Year (1982) clip here.

• Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) clip here.

(Image above by freepik)

Reviewing products and services online

Who doesn't read consumer reviews on the Internet?  I take them seriously when making purchase decisions and while drafting them.

Many of my reactions as a consumer come in oral rather than written form.  For example, a couple of months ago I left a voice message for a service manager about outstanding service I received from one of his auto technicians.  Last month, I spoke directly with the restaurant chef to compliment his dish, after telling his manager about it.

In essence, the majority of my reactions as a consumer -- whether published online, or spoken, are positive.  This past week was abnormal in that I published two reviews of healthcare professionals: one an Orthodontist (positive) and the other an Optometrist (negative).  

The hyperlink to the Orthodontist will take you to the website associated with this business that dispenses superb care and service; in my view.  I issued a glowing, albeit brief, "5 star" , Google review for them.  

The hyperlink to the Optometrist, will take you to a one star review I wrote on Yelp, which reveals my poor experience.

Note to the gentleman in the Philippines emailing me about online safety and a shared desire to root out fake reviews: thanks for your messages, but I haven't been able to confirm your identity and your website is not functional.

(Image above by freepik)

   

Hashbrowns and physics

By George Webb Corporation - http://www.georgewebb.com







1. For three consecutive mornings, I've happily eaten breakfast at George Webb, a Wisconsin chain of some 30+ counter and booth style restaurants which first opened for business in 1948.  I've been enjoying them -- and particularly their cheese hash browns -- since the Seventies.  However, I'm ordering their free water as my beverage for the foreseeable future.  I recognize the ill effects of inflation, but $3.30 for their small size glass of institutional orange juice?  Ridiculous.  

John Maddente photo

2. I'm guessing few of my seven readers are familiar with Luckbox magazine.  Its stated focus on "Life, Money, Probability" is geared toward Traders and other professional investors.  I do not belong to that group, but a copy of this magazine at an airport lounge with its snappy graphics and offbeat topics, drew me in.  

The latest issue has an interesting article on the high stakes fight to preserve, or slowly kill, AM radio.  The piece reminds readers that AM radio remains relevant to 82 million American listeners and also government officials that rely upon it as a medium for public emergency alerts.  What's more, AM radio defenders in Congress are remarkably bipartisan.  

I close with a friendly jab at the Luckbox editor of this article.  

Dear Madam or Sir, Re: the copy of "Night Radio" --  I believe your columnist intended to cite the laws of physics not "psychics".   Your oversight reminds me of a M*A*S*H episode whereupon Col. Potter exclaims, "We order rectal thermometers, we get spark plugs. Both useful articles, but hardly interchangeable."