Posts Made By: James Lacey

Originally Posted by James Brown

I had to look up "North Central Schools" accreditation.  Not sure I got the right hits.  Did you mean "Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)?"  If so, they accredit universities and colleges, and appear to be legit.  They do not appear to accredit programs, engineering programs in particular.  

According to my recollection, which could be shaky, the accreditation of a competent undergrad engineering program is granted by ABET:  https://www.abet.org/accreditation/  

All of the engineering degree programs at my engineering alma mater (Mines) are ABET accredited, and I recall it is a big deal that must be carefully maintained with academic excellence and rigorous programs.

I thought it was odd to mention the accreditation authority but not the school itself, so I looked it up. The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) was one of six regional accrediting bodies in the U.S. until it was dissolved in 2014, at which point the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) assumed the work. I decided to find out which universities accredited by the NCA in the relevant timeframe had BME programs or something similar, and there were only a dozen or so. You can probably eliminate some of them, like Purdue, for example. So, it only leaves a few. I'm not going any further with this, though. I only looked it up because I was genuinely curious. As I've said many times, Rich's credibility crisis is his alone, and it's his to solve.

Louisiana Tech University, Louisiana, 1972 (BS & PhD established)
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, 1972 (BS program active in the 1990s)
Marquette University, Wisconsin, 1983 (BS)
UIC, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1976 (BS)
Northwestern University, Illinois, 1982 (BS)

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

It would be as easy as naming the four year university Davis says he has a BME degree from and what year. The fact that he doesn't and the puts up a wildly stupid $10K challenge that no one in his right mind would ever accept (he knows this) and then only names the accreditation body, it's shows what a fraud he is. He buried himself with his self proclamations and now has no way out of it. His response? To throw out more insults and dodge the question. Typical Davis and while it's fun, and fitting, to mock him he did this to himself with his diarrhea of his mouth, his boasting, and his legendary TOTAL LACK OF SELF AWARENESS. This whole 'I have a BME degree" debacle has been amusing to say the least. If any of his "lady friends" ever witnessed this this level of douchebaggery, well, he wouldn't have any "lady friends", something I doubt as much as his made up BME degree.

The thing about the $10,000 challenge is that you know he would never admit to not having provided definitive proof. At this point, I would not accept anything less than a letter that came directly from the university's registrar verifying the degree. He's changed his story so many times and provided so much contradictory information that it's impossible to sort it out anymore. That's probably part of the narcissist strategy, though; flood the field with bullshit and gaslight everyone until they don't care anymore.

You are absolutely right that he never takes accountability for what he does to himself. According to him, it's our fault that he has acted the way he does, which is a classic from the narcissist playbook. For example, I've seen JimB have some pretty serious disagreements with RodK and DavidC in the past, mostly revolving around left-leaning narratives that JimB takes issue with, and do you know what has never happened? They have never attacked each other personally. Rich is always at the center of all the ugliness and unpleasantness here, but according to him, we made him do it. What a crock.

Originally Posted by Jim Moscheck

BTW. Do you like my new avatar?

Guys! Please stop making fun of Rich's name-calling! You are going to force him to misbehave! Haha.

Actually, Jim, I was inspired.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

I explained to James L. above.  I don't subscribe to any DEMANDS by the left here, although One single time I did post a photo of myself, when all the radical leftists here and you yourself, kept berating me into posting a photo of myself. 

They can demand anything they like.  

Plus it pisses off to the maximum level, those like James Lacey who thinks that if he continues berating me, in his feeble attempts to beat me down, that I will submit to His demands.

That will NEVER happen.  James Lacey doesn't Give me orders to do anything.  He obviously thinks that his tactic will work but I can assure you it will not.  

Enjoy your day!  

I'm not here to take you to task, but I want to be crystal clear about something that you never seem to understand. The credibility crisis you are experiencing is one that you created. It's not something you can shift onto us. As long as I'm part of this discussion, I won't let you make this about us instead of taking responsibility yourself. If you want to take that as berating, then so be it, but I'll be damned if I'll let you blame the problem you created on us.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

I'm simply saying that I am not experiencing some sort of credibility crisis.  

Of course you are. The fact that you can’t see it is just another clear example of your lack of self-awareness. Your tough-guy persona, uncompromising stance, and denialism might give you a sense of control, but they don’t change the reality that you’ve destroyed your own credibility.

Originally Posted by Rod Kaufman

"Yes, I graduated 31 years ago, and since I was always self-employed I didn't rely on my degree to further my business products."

"As I worked for Hitachi Medical for 6 years and designed on my own a number of different medical carts that I sold throughout the country, with several companies reselling them worldwide, I didn't need to use my degree for any purposes aside from when I repaired their ultrasound equipment."


Just for a point of clarification, you state you were "always self-employed" while also stating, "As I worked for Hitachi and designed on my own a number of different medical carts..." so which is it? Were you always self employed as you state? Or have you actually "worked for Hitachi" as you've also stated? Or were you actually a subcontractor for Hitachi while you simultaneously "designed on my own a number of different medical carts"? If so, you're quite a multi-tasker, aren't you?...

Contradiction, upon contradiction, upon contradiction. And he wonders why we say he has a credibility problem. The problem with lying is that you have to remember all your lies and keep them consistent, and as time goes on, that becomes almost impossible.

Originally Posted by James Brown

I've been thinking about credibility for the last few minutes.  Credibility as a concept involves honesty, integrity, and expertise of course, but the word credibility further requires that third parties recognize the credible person's honesty, integrity, and expertise.  Conceptually, unlike honesty and other virtues, credibility can not exist in a vacuum.  Credibility is earned from a third party who recognizes another's honesty, integrity, and expertise.  

Why does this matter?  I'm trying to figure out why Richard would say what I bolded above.  Everyone who has read this thread now believes he lied about his academic achievements.  In addition, Richard has made it abundantly clear that he does not care what we think.  

Ok, I have no problem believing Richard does not care what anyone else thinks.   How could he post what he does if he cared what readers thought of him?  So from Richard's point of view, I guess it is reasonable to say that he is not experiencing a credibility crisis, because for him credibility is meaningless and unimportant.  As noted above, credibility is something earned from third parties, and if one's ego is so huge that he literally does not care what any third parties may think, why fuss with values like credibility?

This sort of extreme narcissism is reflected in the White House of course.  Trump has no credibility with anyone because he lies and exaggerates constantly, reflexively, and unnecessarily.  Trump also does not give a damn what other people think.  In his ego-fueled daily mania, credibility is simply not a concept he acknowledges.   Valuing credibility requires that one care what other people think.

My musing is not particularly profound, but it has helped me sort out why Richard would deny that he has a credibility crisis.  Richard's stance, which is either laughable or tragic to those of us who value credibility, would make perfect sense to Trump or others who truly and completely do not care what other people think.

There are times when not caring about what other thinks is the healthy emotional response. However, as you have stated so well, what Rich does is not that! It truly is amazing how much he acts like Trump. He's like the mini-Trump. Haha.

Originally Posted by Richard Davis

Regardless of Whether or not I care what you and the leftist TDS suffering Liberals and leftists here think, that has no bearing on whether my statements are credible. 

Simply put, you and the rest of the biased TDS suffering leftists here, asserting that you are some sort of unbiased arbiters of what is credible is a statement of either
 
A) Your leftist arrogance or 

B) Your TDS.

Because you have anointed yourself as being an objective arbiter doesn't amount to proof of any assertion that you make.  

The entire notion that you have some sort of credibility is in itself fallacious.

Assuming that you are capable of judging statements, facts, or occurrences in the world as being real or imagined just shows what unenlightened arrogance you possess now and always.  

And that is something I would always expect from You, unbridled swelled head arrogance.  

Jim doesn't need my help, but I don't think anyone here would agree that Jim's credibility is self-anointed. His credibility stems from the fact that his contributions are consistently thoughtful, well-reasoned, and supported by evidence. What may appear to you as arrogance is, in fact, the confidence that comes from years of rigorous academic training and professional discipline. Something you know nothing about.

Originally Posted by James Brown

Hi Dave: The headline is a little over-blown for sure. American science is proceeding, I can assure you. Government funding cuts are a problem, and cuts have hit my wife’s industry (renewable energy) particularly hard. But this is not the “end“.  Far from it. Look at the NASDAQ performance recently. The people investing in those tech companies sure don’t think the end of US exceptionalism in research, development, science, technology, engineering, and medicine are behind us.

I have personally and recently had very good experiences with the American healthcare system. Me, my wife, our extended family, and especially our elderly parents have received care in the past year. 

My wife’s father passed peacefully yesterday in a lovely hospice setting at the age of 95.   He passed after receiving years of exemplary healthcare, his first of a couple heart attacks was in the 1970s. He also passed after several weeks of loving and expertly rendered end of life care. I’m not sure how all of that is handled in Canada, but my wife and I are sad, but extremely happy with the US system right now.

I fully understand that other people may not be so fortunate, of course. Also, I’m not wanting to say that no healthcare system exists that cannot be improved. Similarly no system exists, which cannot be set back by crappy governance. But these setbacks are not “the end.”

How about that Time cover though! That is really nasty.  J

The AI-tech bros are mainly driving the current market bubble. The "Magnificent Seven," as they are known, including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and others, account for one-third of the S& 500's market capitalization. The Federal Reserve's rate cut expectations added more fuel to the fire, and record-breaking stock buybacks are currently underway, which also boost company valuations. I'm not complaining; my portfolio is looking sweeter than ever, but oh boy, is the inevitable market correction going to hurt!

The American healthcare system has treated us well, too, but we were always in the sweet spot of Employee-sponsored healthcare before getting on Medicare with a supplement. We have some friends who cannot afford healthcare because they are self-employed and earn too much money to qualify for a tax credit to help with premiums on the Health marketplaces. Without that help, they can't afford the $1,000+ premium for just a single person. And catastrophic coverage is not an option either, since in most states, including Texas, it is only available if you are 30 years of age or younger or you qualify for an exemption, which typically requires being destitute to qualify. So, not "the end," but as you said, other people are not as fortunate.

I still think the anti-science MAGA crowd has definitely taken its toll. RFK is cancelling mRNA research funding right when researchers are starting to achieve amazing things with it, such as curing four patients of glioblastoma. And all the false claims he makes, such as the assertion that mRNA vaccines are not safe. They fail to protect effectively, and the notion that they encourage new mutations in respiratory viruses is outright nonsense that fuels anti-vaxxer rhetoric and impacts mRNA research. Consider the recent CDC leadership resignations in protest of political interference in the CDC's scientific work. From what I've read, those leaders have decades of experience and have been the backbone of the CDC. Probably not "the end," but it sure looks like a lot of people are going to suffer and die needlessly over this nonsense.

Originally Posted by David Cotterell

Doesn't this guy scare the shite out of you?

Dave

RFK Jr. is probably one of the most uniquely unqualified people to be in charge of the HHS. I would say that I hope he will have to quit, given the recent senior CDC leadership that resigned due to political interference in the CDC's scientific research. However, I'm sure that Trump would find someone even worse than RFK Jr. to put in charge. Therefore, it may be better to stick with the devil we know and hope that a future administration can undo all the harm being done quickly.