Pufferfish . . .

. . . etc.


(from https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-civil-war-tweet-whistleblower-attacks-are-designed-create-ncna1061011)

". . . It’s past time to get a grip. Now impeachment is provoking concern that Trump's extreme (and armed) supporters will be moved to public violence. That perception of menace, however false, has likely propped up Trump for a long time. . . In the animal kingdom, there is a fascinating biological mechanism known as deimatic display. The mechanism developed to help weaker animals defend themselves through optical illusion and sleight of hand. The word “deimatic” comes from the Greek word "to frighten.” Animals with deimatic defenses include the Australian frilled lizard, the octopus and other soft or fragile creatures that make themselves look more dangerous and powerful than they really are. These bluffing displays and behavior include looking bigger than one is — like the pufferfish. . . we should be thinking of Trump as less Mussolini and more the little fat man behind the curtain. An “Oz-ness” may well be the open secret about Trump and Trumpism. Deimatic display is just part of his playbook. . . His daughter, female avatar and senior White House adviser, Ivanka, encapsulated the strategy in her 2009 book, “The Trump Card: Playing to Win in Work and Life.” “Perception is more important than reality,” she wrote, “If someone perceives something to be true, it is more important than if it is in fact true. This doesn't mean you should be duplicitous or deceitful, but don't go out of your way to correct a false assumption if it plays to your advantage.”. . ."

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(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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Before . . .

. . . you panic. . .

. . . read . . .



(from http://www.nber.org/papers/w13229.pdf by Kristin F. Butcher, Department of Economics, Wellesley College & Anne Morrison Piehl, Department of Economics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
The perception that immigration adversely affects crime rates led to legislation in the 1990s that particularly increased punishment of criminal aliens. In fact, immigrants have much lower institutionalization (incarceration) rates than the native born - on the order of one-fifth the rate of natives. More recently arrived immigrants have the lowest relative incarceration rates, and this difference increased from 1980 to 2000. We examine whether the improvement in immigrants' relative incarceration rates over the last three decades is linked to increased deportation, immigrant self-selection, or deterrence. Our evidence suggests that deportation does not drive the results. Rather, the process of migration selects individuals who either have lower criminal propensities or are more responsive to deterrent effects than the average native. Immigrants who were already in the country reduced their relative institutionalization probability over the decades; and the newly arrived immigrants in the 1980s and 1990s seem to be particularly unlikely to be involved in criminal activity, consistent with increasingly positive selection along this dimension.

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My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

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Get your copy of OHO's  Where Words Do Not Reach now!
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Also, be sure to visit: www.rayjozwiak.com and www.ohomusic.com

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Perception . . .

(https://www.change.org/p/president-jimmy-carter-to-have-an-emergency-meeting-of-the-democratic-national-committee-called?recruiter=415438634&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=des-lg-share_petition-reason_msg)
". . . In politics, perception is reality, and both Caesar and his wife must be above suspicion. The perception is out there that despite clear language in the Democratic National Charter Article 5, the DNC and its chair have been trying to influence the outcome of the primary process. "SECTION 4. The National Chairperson shall serve full time and shall receive such compensation as may be determined by agreement between the Chairperson and the Democratic National Committee. In the conduct and management of the a airs and procedures of the Democratic National Committee, particularly as they apply to the preparation and conduct of the Presidential nomination process, the Chairperson shall exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns. The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and evenhandedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process. . . And yet despite this the DNC has been involved in:
1. Scheduling primary debates to garner as few viewers as possible.
2. Grassroots Clinton field offices being co-located at DNC offices.
3. The attempted dismantling of Bernie Sanders’ campaign over one staffer’s mistake.
4. The DNC finance chair caught raising money for Clinton.
5. The DNC lining up super delegates for Clinton before first debate.
6. Created a hostile work environment that forced Rep Gabbard to resign as Vice Chair.
7. Using the press and their own private agitprop machine to keep the super delegate myth going. "Unpledged delegates exist, really, to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don’t have to be in a position where they are running against grassroots activists,” according to Chairperson, Debbie Wasserman Shultz.
8. Either thru negligence or conspiracy has allowed wide spread voter suppression and fraud affect numerous states, the most egregious being what played out in Arizona.
9. Painted New Democrats and independents looking to join the party, as outsiders and interlopers. Whether true or not, Debbie Wasserman Schultz has allowed the impression that the primaries are rigged, and that they have already hand picked their nominee. This has led not only to impugning the integrity of the process, but the possibility of fracturing the party beyond repair. Therefore we the undersigned Democrats, Independents looking to join a Democratic Party, and progressive Americans; ask that you, as Distinguished Leaders of the Party, call an emergency meeting of the Democratic National Committee, investigate these and any other charges, and if warranted remove Ms Wasserman-Schultz as Chair. In what may be the most important election of our lifetime, we cannot afford to go limping into battle. We need the Party to unite, not around a candidate; but around the principles that made our party great. This year we need a candidate not mired in the scandal of perceived political cronyism; and with the current leadership that seems impossible. For the good of our party, please help us save it. . . "

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 

Get your copy of OHO's  Where Words Do Not Reach now!

The Ocean City Ditty Video is now on YouTube

My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
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Faulty. . .

. . . perception

(from http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/most-millionaires-think-they-are-middle-class-cnbc-poll-shows-n354766)
". . . A majority of millionaires polled describe themselves as middle class or upper middle class despite being among the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, according to the results of the third CNBC Millionaire Survey. Fully 44 percent described themselves as middle class, and 40 percent said they were upper middle class. Only 4 percent described themselves as wealthy or rich, and 5 percent described themselves as upper class. Even those Americans worth $5 million or more—among the wealthiest 5 percent—still think of themselves as more middle class than wealthy. According to the survey, 49 percent of those worth $5 million or more define themselves as upper middle class, while 23 percent define themselves as middle class. Only 11 percent of the $5-million-plus millionaires define themselves as rich or wealthy. Wealth experts say the findings stem partly from the psychology of today's wealthy and partly from the growing economic divide between the super rich and the merely wealthy. . ."

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


My latest solo offering, Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak, featuring original, instrumental piano music is now available at - Just More Music by Ray Jozwiak

(To Access all Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano music you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/RayJozwiak)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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Perception . . .

As I approach the finale of the old television series Frasier on Netflicks (which it seems I've been watching sporadically for at least two years and running), the actress Laura Linney is now a major character (Frasier's new love interest). Laura Linney has always reminded me of my tenth-grade biology teacher in high school.  That, of course, got my mind pondering my youth (adolescence to be precise) and the whereabouts of some of the friends and acquaintances from those days which led to thinking about perception, life, philosophy and much more.

One of my more cogent observations from this, my mature vantage point, is that when I was in high school there was very little boredom during my daytime, committed, serious hours (those spent at school). Conversely, now that I am older and know very well the nature of my true passion(s), my daytime, committed, serious hours (those spent at my economic livelihood) can frequently become boring.  The one constant however is, I do (and have for a long, long time) fully, constructively and joyfully occupy those hours that are my own. And the one pastime with which I fill this time is the truest and most wonderful passion one can imagine . . . making music!

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html 

OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)

My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)

Also, be sure to visit:
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Friendship. . .

I have never 'unfriended' a person in my life.  Well, never intentionally anyway. . . until now.  And I've got to say it has been an emotional experience.  Why did I do it?  Quite simply the 'friend' in question was totally unwilling to be reasonable. More specifically, the 'friend' chose to continuously post personal testimonials for Rush Limbaugh, gushing about the vast amounts of knowledge that were imparted through his radio broadcasts.

Now we certainly all possess our own personal quirks, preferences, tastes, likes and dislikes, and that I can accept and live with.  Certainly my friends should be entitled to all these things and my perception (or acceptance of them) is most certainly totally irrelevant.

But no matter how much I agree or disagree with a friend on ANY matter, one  factor that determines just how good or desirable a friendship really is, is how one chooses to address (or not address) these matters.

Furthermore, in this digital day and age, it is quite inconceivable that anyone would accept, let alone forcefully evangelize armed with items which are at the very least shall we say, "suspect"? 

Maybe it's simply a matter of discretion.  Anyway, in the future, one quality for which I will heretofore assess any potential new friends, will most certainly be discretion.

What do you think?
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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
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