Burt Janz

Burt Janz is a past candidate for office in Nashua and a past BOD member of Gift of Life New England. He uses his engineering background and training to analyze political issues on both sides of the aisle – and usually ends up slowly shaking his head in disbelief.”

JANZ: Are Protests Actually The Instinct to Protect?

I know I’m going to annoy a lot of people with this, but here goes: If you have noticed, the overwhelming majority of anti-ICE and anti-US protesters here in the US are… white females. My bet is that a majority are single. We know there are also some lesbian couples at these protests as well. … Read more

Hemp crop

JANZ: Now We Know Who Actually Runs the Senate…

After the recent debacle in the Senate, with Democrats refusing to pass a “clean” continuing resolution, and with Republicans having to create a special bill containing both the “clean” CR and a few spending bills that passed the house, we know who actually has the power in the Senate. And it isn’t the Republicans. The … Read more

JANZ: I reluctantly agree that the filibuster should be ‘nuked’

After some long and hard thought, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the US Senate needs to suspend the filibuster until after the 2026 election, and then reestablish it as the last action before the Senate adjourns for this session. It took me several days and several discussions with others whom I respect … Read more

citizenship certificate

JANZ: No “Birthright” Citizenship for Non-Citizen Aliens

For the purposes of this discussion, I will not use the term “illegal alien” to indicate someone who is currently in the US through illegal means. Instead, I will refer to them, and those who have been granted visitor status (which including “green card” holders), as “noncitizen aliens”. One of the questions before the SCOTUS … Read more

radio_antenna

JANZ: Are We LISTENING To Ourselves?

I recently posted an article on mental illness, and the bottom of the article made reference to crimes committed by those with mental illness. More important is the current discussion over the 1st Amendment and whether there are any restrictions on it, as well as what those restrictions might be. Also, whether the government does … Read more

syringe vial liquid injection vaccination

JANZ: When Will We Care for the Dangerously Mentally Ill?

In the 1960s, the ACLU and other human rights organizations examined the state of mental health care in the US and came to the conclusion that it was ineffective and possibly unconstitutional. Two seminal events cause the eventual reduction and almost total elimination of mental health facilities in the US. The first was the Community … Read more

Prison jail cells

JANZ: Can gun crimes be cured?

No, I don’t know. I have no solution. But I do know one thing: The problem is not firearms. Firearms are tools, nothing more. They cannot perform a task independent of a human being. They are, in essence, “slaves” to the human that owns them. The problem is not whether a firearm shoots a small … Read more

US Constitution FI

The Constitution is silent on “preemptive pardons”

The Constitution of the United States, Article 2 Section 2, states “The President…shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States.” Let’s analyze this for a moment. In this case, an “Offense” is either a misdemeanor or a felony that has a basis in federal law. A presidential pardon can … Read more

LA fires

The Costs To “Save The Planet”

And now comes the last two stages of an avoidable political catastrophe: the “search for the guilty parties” and “the reward of non-contributors.” (Adopted from the six stages of an engineering project – it’s on the web.) We don’t know how the fires started. It could have been lightning: it’s been dry in California lately. … Read more

The Problem Isn’t H1B…

I have been a high-tech worker since I taught myself programming back in the 1970’s after building a computer kit in the Navy. At that time, I was an electronics technician, maintaining and repairing communications and radar systems aboard ship. After reading articles in magazines about “microcomputers”, I decided to purchase one and see what … Read more

classroom empty desks original Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

We Need an American Oidashibeya

In Japan, lifetime employment is almost a given. Employees are protected by law and custom, so a wide scale RIF rarely happens. The company does not want to incur embarrassment or admit that they have excess personnel, which could mean unnecessary expenses that reduce profitability and thus affect the company’s stock price. Japan has a … Read more

Not Deportation: Call It “Eviction”

As several commenters here and in other blogs have noted, a problem situation only exists if you continue to feed it. It is time to stop feeding it. Nonviolent deportation… um, eviction… is possible. All it takes is a reversal of the federal policies that “invited” millions of people to illegally enter the US. The … Read more

Crack asphault band aid original Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash

Are We Really Under Threat?

There have been innumerable editorials in various publications and opinion show broadcasts about a possible “civil war”. These comments have been made by both sides in reference to the other side, and are supposed to reflect a possible reaction to the election of either candidate. I find this rhetoric to be misleading and somewhat horrifying, … Read more

Ignore The Polls — Concentrate On Truth

Lots of articles about polls, who’s ahead, whose behind, which groups, which areas, which states are on whose side. The polls change almost daily, based on who is asking the questions and how they’re phrased. And the polls are “samples”, usually no more than a couple of thousand people in a country where over 200 … Read more

US Constitution FI

Has America “Bottomed Out”?

I remember reading the columns and editorials of several conservative and Republican pundits who were hoping that Trump would lose in 2020.  They based their hopes on hatred of Trump’s personality and his disregard for “the norms of Presidential behavior.”  They called themselves “NeverTrumpers” and were proud of it.

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Context is… Nothing.

The current in-vogue spin-room phrase is “context is everything.”  That phrase is used to provide an excuse for every unethical action, from teachers who are caught reading pornography to grade-school children, to politicians who vote to support “gender-affirming” surgery without their parent’s permission or knowledge.

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Uman Brain Original Photo by Fakurian Design on Unsplash

It Ain’t AI if it Don’t Learn.

You read that right: you can’t call it Artificial Intelligence if it doesn’t fully imitate Human Intelligence. I used to teach this stuff at a local college in their 400-level computer science curriculum. The book was Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig. It’s considered the book to teach first-level concepts … Read more

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