Friday, September 16, 2011
Freedom Comes With High Price Indeed
Never forget. National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
We are exceedingly fortunate that we have only one MIA in the current War on Terror suspected to still be alive. We are exceedingly unfortunate to have had our other MIA service-members be killed by their captors.
Some people never hear the words "welcome home".
- World War II - 74,074 MIA
- Korean War - 8,177 MIA
- Vietnam War - 1,713 MIA
- Cold War - 165 MIA
- War On Terror - 2 MIA
- 1 in Iraq, currently presumed dead and not recovered
- 1 in Afghanistan, presumed alive and in the custody of his captors
No Coincidences Revisited - POW/MIA Day 2011
I posted this on my original "Dain Bramage" blog back on 9 September 2006. I offer it again in recognition of National POW/MIA Day.
And in honor of Scott D. Ketchie. A son of Alabama who has yet to return home. I remain honored to wear a bracelet bearing his name.
And in honor of Scott D. Ketchie. A son of Alabama who has yet to return home. I remain honored to wear a bracelet bearing his name.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Worst Day Of His Life
Dakota Meyer readily identifies the worst day of his life. It is the day four of his friend died. And regardless of what he did, Dakota couldn't stop them from dying.
I am willing to bet that he can identify the second worst day of his life. The day they hung a medal on him for what he did while those friends were dying.
Reading the coverage (scroll down for the links), Sgt. Meyer sounds like the prototypical U.S. Marine. Decent, focused, hardworking. The best friend a person could ever hope to have.
A class act, he agreed to accept the Medal of Honor as a memorial to his friends that died that day. He asked that members of his unit be present so that they too could be honored.
Watch the presentation ceremony...
Seeing all of the past Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, I hope that they offer him the support and advice he needs the most. They are the voice of the nearly singular experience that they have in common.
While he would gladly trade that bit of gold and ribbon to have his four friends back with him, he should never forget the thirty-six lives that he did save. And he should never forget the thirty-seventh life he saved that day; his own. For Sgt. Dakota Meyer is loved, respected, and honored for being who he is. He is the quintessential American hero. And we should be humbled to have him walk among us.
Kudos to President Obama for his presentation speech.
I am willing to bet that he can identify the second worst day of his life. The day they hung a medal on him for what he did while those friends were dying.
Hours before receiving the nation's highest award for military valor, a humble Marine from Kentucky wonders, why he's being honored for "the worst day of my life." 23-year old Sergeant Dakota Meyer told CBS Radio News, "it's going to be a hard time" when President Obama presents the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony.
...
"If I was a hero I would have brought them out alive that day. That's a hero. I was just doing my job," he told CBS News.
...
Asked about a message to future Marines, Meyer said, "You got to do what's right." His voice choking with emotion, he added, "Leave no marine behind."
Reading the coverage (scroll down for the links), Sgt. Meyer sounds like the prototypical U.S. Marine. Decent, focused, hardworking. The best friend a person could ever hope to have.
A class act, he agreed to accept the Medal of Honor as a memorial to his friends that died that day. He asked that members of his unit be present so that they too could be honored.
Watch the presentation ceremony...
Seeing all of the past Medal of Honor recipients in attendance, I hope that they offer him the support and advice he needs the most. They are the voice of the nearly singular experience that they have in common.
While he would gladly trade that bit of gold and ribbon to have his four friends back with him, he should never forget the thirty-six lives that he did save. And he should never forget the thirty-seventh life he saved that day; his own. For Sgt. Dakota Meyer is loved, respected, and honored for being who he is. He is the quintessential American hero. And we should be humbled to have him walk among us.
Kudos to President Obama for his presentation speech.
A Status Check On Your Activities...
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Internet. Have a nice day!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
My Most Successful Post?
One of the features in the new Blogger interface is a statistics page. It shows you all sorts of interesting things like how many times people have visited your blog and what entries they viewed.
My number one post? The one about the National Geographic diving photos.
I expect the number of page views to that entry to bump up a little more now.
This is a little disappointing in a way. I hope to bring you something mildly interesting to read whenever I create a new post. Given that I do tend to lean towards politically oriented entries, I had hoped that one of those would create the most interest.
My number one post? The one about the National Geographic diving photos.
I expect the number of page views to that entry to bump up a little more now.
This is a little disappointing in a way. I hope to bring you something mildly interesting to read whenever I create a new post. Given that I do tend to lean towards politically oriented entries, I had hoped that one of those would create the most interest.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
And The Counter Argument Is?
Simon over at Classical Values is taking a look at response to a recent Sarah Palin speech.
I would gladly entertain a logical counter-argument for eliminating the corporate income tax.
That is all explained rather reasonably by what Palin said,“We have the highest federal corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. Did you know our rates are higher than China and Communist Cuba?”Ahem....me, too!
The essence of the plan is to attract businesses to America by making America the best place in the world to do business. It seems like a good idea to me.
I would gladly entertain a logical counter-argument for eliminating the corporate income tax.
Monday, September 12, 2011
What Media Bias? - NPR Edition
I expect better from NPR's news reporting staff.
In his most recent speech, Mr. Obama claimed that Abraham Lincoln founded the GOP. He didn't. He joined the GOP two years after it the first convention.
Not a huge gaffe in the larger scheme of things. But similar, inconsequential gaffes have been committed...and sometimes were not committed but where inferred by the media....by contenders within the GOP and resulted in all sorts of tongue clicking, tsking, and other forms of disapproval by the media.
In this case? NPR simply omits the gaffe from their transcript.
But let's not get sidetracked by issues of media bias. I am 100% certain that the media has no way of influencing any portion of the electorate.
Sure. Right.
In his most recent speech, Mr. Obama claimed that Abraham Lincoln founded the GOP. He didn't. He joined the GOP two years after it the first convention.
Not a huge gaffe in the larger scheme of things. But similar, inconsequential gaffes have been committed...and sometimes were not committed but where inferred by the media....by contenders within the GOP and resulted in all sorts of tongue clicking, tsking, and other forms of disapproval by the media.
In this case? NPR simply omits the gaffe from their transcript.
But let's not get sidetracked by issues of media bias. I am 100% certain that the media has no way of influencing any portion of the electorate.
Sure. Right.
Shoot The Bastards Instead
The NYTimes has this recent report indicating that the government will....finally....press charges of fraud against some of the architects of the 2008 fiscal meltdown.
It is now patently clear that the size and scope of the meltdown would have been far less were it not for outright fraud on the part of elements of the banking industry. I read a piece in Vanity Fair a couple years back that made it clear that Goldman Sachs, innovator of the credit default swap form of securities, had the internal position that those securities were bad risks while simultaneously selling those same securities [to] investors.
Were I of a less temperate nature, I might suggest that stringing Goldman Sachs executives and managers up by the balls and letting the crows feast on their rotting flesh is a fit punishment. Similarly, I might suggest that distaff Goldman Sachs executives and managers be subjected to forcible sex change operations so that they can be strung up by their balls so that crows might feast on their rotting flesh.
I am too much of a lesbian to ever want to hurt a vagina.
Unfortunately, securities fraud cases are notoriously hard to prove. The second difficulty is that many of the more obviously instances of potential fraud were committed by companies that no longer exist. Via Megan McArdle:
The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation.I have been contemplating a much larger essay on the causes of the 2008 meltdown. There were many.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter.
It is now patently clear that the size and scope of the meltdown would have been far less were it not for outright fraud on the part of elements of the banking industry. I read a piece in Vanity Fair a couple years back that made it clear that Goldman Sachs, innovator of the credit default swap form of securities, had the internal position that those securities were bad risks while simultaneously selling those same securities [to] investors.
Were I of a less temperate nature, I might suggest that stringing Goldman Sachs executives and managers up by the balls and letting the crows feast on their rotting flesh is a fit punishment. Similarly, I might suggest that distaff Goldman Sachs executives and managers be subjected to forcible sex change operations so that they can be strung up by their balls so that crows might feast on their rotting flesh.
I am too much of a lesbian to ever want to hurt a vagina.
Unfortunately, securities fraud cases are notoriously hard to prove. The second difficulty is that many of the more obviously instances of potential fraud were committed by companies that no longer exist. Via Megan McArdle:
Shooting them where they stand seems a cleaner solution. I am open to suggestions involving tar and feathers.Securities cases are hard to prove in the best of circumstances--even Eliot Spitzers' famous crusade against Wall Street consisted of getting fairly minor settlements from most of the big fish he went after . . . and losing every case he took to court. The first mortgage securities case to go to trial, with two Bear Stearns bankers, likewise returned a "not guilty" verdict. Many of these same banks got themselves in serious financial trouble by gorging on their own toxic mortgage securities, which dims the fraud angle. Unfortunately, being arrogant idiots with the risk appetite of a coked-up skydiver is not a crime.On the issuance side, most of the knowing, obviously provable fraud seems to have been at the mortgage broker level, or in mortgage mills that are now out of business. Proving that someone ought to have known that they were being scammed is harder--especially since they can argue that if they ought to have known, so should the GSEs.
In The Wake Of Chaos
I found the following while digging around on my hard drive. I believe that this was eventually published by the local paper; the Jackson Citizen Patriot. The then editorial page editor, Ken Wyatt, was generous with his space whenever I had something to share with his readers.
This was written in the wake of 9/11/2001, when we had so many questions, and so few answers. Little has changed. So much has changed.
This was written in the wake of 9/11/2001, when we had so many questions, and so few answers. Little has changed. So much has changed.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A Classy Tribute - Video
Budweiser apparently did not run this commercial for very long. But I think it was a classy way to acknowledge the tragedy without being overtly commercial about it.
Edit: I believe this commercial was made explicitly for today's games. The full ad includes a reference to a 9/11 charity at the end. The myth running around Facebook is that they made it in 2001 and didn't run it more than a few times to avoid the appearance of trading on the tragedy for corporate gain.
Cynics will say they still are realizing some sort of corporate gain. Perhaps. But it is a classy tribute, and they are promoting a valid charity as well.
Edit: I believe this commercial was made explicitly for today's games. The full ad includes a reference to a 9/11 charity at the end. The myth running around Facebook is that they made it in 2001 and didn't run it more than a few times to avoid the appearance of trading on the tragedy for corporate gain.
Cynics will say they still are realizing some sort of corporate gain. Perhaps. But it is a classy tribute, and they are promoting a valid charity as well.
Ten Years On...
I am not usually taken with overly passionate remembrances. I participate in a few only due to my membership in a veteran's organization; the VFW. While I have been known to 'wave the bloody shirt' infrequently, I am not terribly fascinated with such activities.
Yet here we are; ten years after.
Yet here we are; ten years after.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Keynesian? Really?
Nick Gillespie over at Reason makes the salient point that current federal spending is not really what John Maynard Keynes had in mind when he suggested that government spending in a down cycle might spur growth.
A big part of the problem with the sluggish economy is that business owners can see current government spending, and future spending obligations as being capable of turning a sour economy into a really dismal economy. Greco-Japanese dismal.
When they are convinced that their sidelined capital could be safely invested with the reasonable expectation of making a profit in the bargain, then they will begin investing.
All this talk of raising taxes on "the rich" and passing behemoth federal programs does nothing more than reinforce the idea that they are better off sitting on their cash.
But Whalen isn't simply dumping on Keynesianism, he's bent on pointing out that even its latter-day adherents are straying far from their master's theory. And in this, he's surely correct. As Allen Meltzer has argued, Keynes was against the very sort of large structural deficits that characterize contemporary federal budgets and policy, believing instead that deficits should be "temporary and self-liquidating." And Keynes believed that any sort of counter-cyclical spending by government should be directed toward increasing private investment, not simply spending current and future tax dollars on public works projects.Nick quotes Mike Whalen in an article posted at The Washington Times. Mike suggests...
Which is a point that the current Administration and their supporters keep passing over as if it did not exist.If the federal government announced a real road map to fiscal soundness, the impact would be truly stimulating. If American businesses and consumers saw that Washington was really cutting, not just reducing future increases, there would be tremendous relief and an increase in confidence across the country. Job creators would sing “hallelujah”; they would get off their wallets, start hiring, and then you’d see that Keynesian multiplier kick in.
A big part of the problem with the sluggish economy is that business owners can see current government spending, and future spending obligations as being capable of turning a sour economy into a really dismal economy. Greco-Japanese dismal.
When they are convinced that their sidelined capital could be safely invested with the reasonable expectation of making a profit in the bargain, then they will begin investing.
All this talk of raising taxes on "the rich" and passing behemoth federal programs does nothing more than reinforce the idea that they are better off sitting on their cash.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Incivility
The talking heads are all agog over James Hoffa Jr.'s Labor Day pronouncement where he offered the services of organized labor to 'take these son of bitches out.' The 'son of bitches' being the Tea Party and other fiscally responsible people.
This is Jimmy Hoffa's son! Is anyone really surprised that he would threaten violence to those that hinder his agenda?
What is disappointing this lack....thus far....of comment from Mr. Obama's administration. It wasn't terribly long ago when a terrible rampage that resulted in several deaths and serious harm to U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords prompted the same people to lecture the nation...and the right in specific...on the idea of civility and rhetorical restraint. A simple image using a set of crosshairs within a partisan exhortation to organize voters to vote was deemed too 'extreme' for civil discourse.
One wonders what they think of 'take these son of bitches out.'
Or is this more of the 'do as I say, but not as I do' that has long been the rage among the political class.
More via the Blogfather.
This response from Sarah Palin is spot on:
Government continually works on behalf of big business while expecting small businesses to foot the bill. It is all about using political power in support of large....nowhere near 'majority' large....groups at the expense of the individual.
This is Jimmy Hoffa's son! Is anyone really surprised that he would threaten violence to those that hinder his agenda?
What is disappointing this lack....thus far....of comment from Mr. Obama's administration. It wasn't terribly long ago when a terrible rampage that resulted in several deaths and serious harm to U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords prompted the same people to lecture the nation...and the right in specific...on the idea of civility and rhetorical restraint. A simple image using a set of crosshairs within a partisan exhortation to organize voters to vote was deemed too 'extreme' for civil discourse.
One wonders what they think of 'take these son of bitches out.'
Or is this more of the 'do as I say, but not as I do' that has long been the rage among the political class.
More via the Blogfather.
This response from Sarah Palin is spot on:
When big government, big business, and big union bosses collude together, they get government to maximize their own interests against those of the rest of the country.When she talks about small business owners that create 70% of our jobs, I can't help but think about Mitt Romney's attempt at socialized medicine in Massachusetts. They allowed big business to opt out of the statewide plan. Big businesses get huge healthcare discounts. Small businesses need not apply.
...
This collusion is at the heart of Obama’s economic vision for America. In practice it is socialism for the very rich and the very poor, but a brutal form of capitalism for the rest of us. It is socialism for the very poor who are reduced to a degrading perpetual dependence on a near-bankrupt centralized government to provide their every need, while at the same time robbing them of that which brings fulfillment and success - the life-affirming pride that comes from taking responsibility for your own destiny and building a better life through self-initiative and work ethic. And Obama’s vision is socialism via crony capitalism for the very rich who continue to get bailouts, debt-ridden "stimulus" funds, and special favors that allow them to waive off or help draft the burdensome regulations that act as a boot on the neck to small business owners who don’t have the same friends in high places. And where does this collusion leave working class Americans and the small business owners who create 70% of the jobs in this country? Out in the cold. It’s you and your children who are left paying for the cronyism of Obama and our permanent political class in DC.
Government continually works on behalf of big business while expecting small businesses to foot the bill. It is all about using political power in support of large....nowhere near 'majority' large....groups at the expense of the individual.
Freedom Of Speech Or Religious Intolerance
From the National Review comes this report about a United Nations initiative to create a framework for limiting any criticism of Islam.
Will there be any reciprocity? Will Muslim majority countries stop persecuting those of other faiths? Will those countries pass laws to protect those that exercise their right to leave Islam, or even convert to another faith, instead of the current practice of prison...or worse?
Will the synagogues that used to exist before the re-creation of Isreal be rebuilt? Will there the Saudis reform their education curriculum that teaches that polytheists are to be killed, that Christians are enemies, and that Islam should be spread via 'jihad'?
I'm not holding my breath.
The UN is no friend of liberty. It places freedom of speech in second place to the "purposes and principles" of global governance.
An unprecedented collaboration between the Obama administration and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC, formerly called the Organization of the Islamic Conference) to combat “Islamophobia” may soon result in the delegitimization of freedom of expression as a human right.
...
But thanks to a puzzling U.S. diplomatic initiative that was unveiled in July, Resolution 16/18 is poised to become a springboard for a greatly reinvigorated international effort to criminalize speech against Islam, the very thing it was designed to quash.
Citing a need to “move to implementation” of Resolution 16/18, the Obama administration has inexplicably decided to launch a major international effort against Islamophobia in partnership with the Saudi-based OIC. This is being voluntarily assumed at American expense, outside the U.N. framework, and is not required by the resolution itself.
Will there be any reciprocity? Will Muslim majority countries stop persecuting those of other faiths? Will those countries pass laws to protect those that exercise their right to leave Islam, or even convert to another faith, instead of the current practice of prison...or worse?
Will the synagogues that used to exist before the re-creation of Isreal be rebuilt? Will there the Saudis reform their education curriculum that teaches that polytheists are to be killed, that Christians are enemies, and that Islam should be spread via 'jihad'?
I'm not holding my breath.
This initiative is shaping up to be one-sided. As Akram said, “The Resolution 16/18 was driven more by the kind of discrimination in Europe and the West in general against Muslims.” He added: “I don’t think any country in the Muslim world is deliberately discriminating against minorities.” Ihsanoglu took a similar tack, writing that “the Islamic faith is based on tolerance and acceptance of other religions. It does not condone discrimination of human beings on the basis of caste, creed, color, or faith.”To be clear, my position is that every person retains the individual right to be criticize every religion that exists, has existed, or ever will exist. That right greatly supersedes the sensitivities of any religious community.
The UN is no friend of liberty. It places freedom of speech in second place to the "purposes and principles" of global governance.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Happy Birthday, Freddy
You are sorely missed.
Don't miss the thoughts of Dr. Brian May regarding his old friend on what should have been Freddy Mercury's 65th birthday.
Yes?
Yes, Brian is a doctor. Astrophysics. "A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud"
Welcome To My Blogroll
Mike Peterson!
Wait. He was already on there. And now he is on there twice??
Ayuh.
Mike has been writing a couple of different blogs. I read them from time to time. His Comic Strip Of The Day continues his habit of insightful and inciting writing. I have added to this blog to my Google Reader list and anticipate great things in the days to come.
Wait. He was already on there. And now he is on there twice??
Ayuh.
Mike has been writing a couple of different blogs. I read them from time to time. His Comic Strip Of The Day continues his habit of insightful and inciting writing. I have added to this blog to my Google Reader list and anticipate great things in the days to come.
Monday, September 5, 2011
New Blogger Interface
If you blog via Blogger, you may have noticed an offer to use the new Blogger interface. I did.
Veeerrry interesting! I can now see how many hits I get per day and who is my biggest referrer.
Speaking of my biggest referrer, thanks Ruth!
And the new interface appears to have all the old publishing features. I'll stick with it for a while.
Veeerrry interesting! I can now see how many hits I get per day and who is my biggest referrer.
Speaking of my biggest referrer, thanks Ruth!
And the new interface appears to have all the old publishing features. I'll stick with it for a while.
Silly Ira!
Don't ever become a pessimist, Ira; a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.
-Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein
-Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Leftists Back Cutting Corporate Income Taxes
Which is a bit of a milestone. But given how little we collect and how much gets spent enforcing and complying with those laws, isn't better to just eliminate the corporate income tax?
That would make the US a tax haven. Just think of all the money that would be parked here!
That would make the US a tax haven. Just think of all the money that would be parked here!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
NASCAR And Mr. Obama
The Intertubes have been all atwitter over the apparent snub of Mr. Obama by five of NASCAR's best drivers.
NASCAR said Thursday that five drivers – Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart – will not be attending the White House visit due to "schedule conflicts."I'm not so sure that a snub was intended. As is frequently the case, an instant response is not necessarily the best response. Some of those accused of snubbing Mr. Obama have been there before and would like to go back again. They really do have events schedules months in advance that cannot be changed.
They must be very busy people. Regardless of one's political views, the president is still the president – and an opportunity to speak with the leader of the free world is a rare and special one.
Some media outlets reported that Kurt Busch wouldn't be going to the White House, either. Not so. His team rescheduled an important photo shoot for next year's merchandise and marketing campaigns, a session that must be done by the end of the month to get everything ready before the team heads to Daytona for the start of the 2012 season.Jeff Burton, scheduled to attend from the beginning of this kerfuffle, had an interesting thought.
"All along, it was my intention to go," Busch said. "Who's going to turn down an opportunity to go to the White House? For me, it's an honor and a privilege. I have met both Bush and Obama. To be a Chase driver and go to the White House, that's an important visit. You might not make the Chase every year and miss out on those opportunities."
Burton said all the debate about NASCAR's visit to the White House symbolizes a larger divide within the country.
"Ten years ago, after 9-11, this country was unified. This country was together," he said. "Today, we're sitting here talking as if someone, for political reasons, is going or not going to the White House. And we wonder why this country is in trouble. We can point the finger and blame all the people in Washington. Well, maybe we need to look in the damn mirror a little bit. Really. It's our country."
Calvin And Hobbes Mashups
Forever Geek has a set of twenty mashups of Calvin and Hobbes with various themes. One of the more ironic was "John Calvin & Thomas Hobbes".
My personal favorite?
This one...
It doesn't hurt that I'm reading that series right now. Although I foolishly started with the second book. It took nearly half the book before I could get into it.
My personal favorite?
This one...
It doesn't hurt that I'm reading that series right now. Although I foolishly started with the second book. It took nearly half the book before I could get into it.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Bea Authur
Reportedly, her last public appearance/performance. A reading of great literature.
"Great" being liberally defined.
"Liberally" being used in the original, non-political sense.
"Great" being liberally defined.
"Liberally" being used in the original, non-political sense.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Quoting Heinlein
The first in a series of posts presenting the wisdom or of Robert A. Heinlein.
Me too. Although I would include the Mekong Delta, the Euphrates, and the Arghandab as appropriate substitutes for the Yalu.
I am not going to talk about religious beliefs, but about matters so obvious that it has gone out of style to mention them.
I believe in my neighbors.
I know their faults and I know that their virtues far outweigh their faults. Take Father Michael down our road a piece --I'm not of his creed, but I know the goodness and charity and lovingkindness that shine in his daily actions. I believe in Father Mike; if I'm in trouble, I'll go to him. My next-door neighbor is a veterinary doctor. Doc will get out of bed after a hard day to help a stray cat. No fee -- no prospect of a fee. I believe in Doc.
I believe in my townspeople. You can knock on any door in our town say, 'I'm hungry,' and you will be fed. Our town is no exception; I've found the same ready charity everywhere. For the one who says, 'To heck with you -- I got mine,' there are a hundred, a thousand, who will say, 'Sure, pal, sit down.'
I know that, despite all warnings against hitchhikers, I can step to the highway, thumb for a ride and in a few minutes a car or a truck will stop and someone will say, 'Climb in, Mac. How how far you going?'
I believe in my fellow citizens. Our headlines are splashed with crime, yet for every criminal there are 10,000 honest decent kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up, business could not go on from day to day. Decency is not news; it is buried in the obituaries --but it is a force stronger than crime.
I believe in the patient gallantry of nurses...in the tedious sacrifices of teachers. I believe in the unseen and unending fight against desperate odds that goes on quietly in almost every home in the land.
I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.
I believe that almost all politicians are honest. For every bribed alderman there are hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all, doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true, we would never have gotten past the thirteen colonies.
I believe in Rodger Young. You and I are free today because of endless unnamed heroes from Valley Forge to the Yalu River.
I believe in -- I am proud to belong to -- the United States. Despite shortcomings, from lynchings to bad faith in high places, our nation has had the most decent and kindly internal practices and foreign policies to be found anywhere in history.
And finally, I believe in my whole race. Yellow, white, black, red, brown --in the honesty, courage, intelligence, durability....and goodness.....of the overwhelming majority of my brothers and sisters everywhere on this planet. I am proud to be a human being. I believe that we have come this far by the skin of our teeth, that we always make it just by the skin of our teeth --but that we will always make it....survive....endure. I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes, will endure --will endure longer than his home planet, will spread out to the other planets, to the stars, and beyond, carrying with him his honesty, his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage --and his noble essential decency.
This I believe with all my heart.
- This I Believe, Robert Heinlein, for the Edward R. Murrow project of the same name.
Me too. Although I would include the Mekong Delta, the Euphrates, and the Arghandab as appropriate substitutes for the Yalu.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
NYTimes Identifies Media Bias...
...and says "fine by us!"
Shocking news via the NYTimes. MSNBC is a bastion of leftist opinion. And not much else.
And that may be the problem with Mr. Sharpton’s cable news pulpit: what he means to say is in lockstep with every other MSNBC evening program, making the stretch between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. a nonstop lecture on liberal values and what is wrong with the Republican Party.
...
There is almost no real debate on any of these evening shows: a conservative is brought on and put on the spot, then in a different segment two people who agree with the host on a given issue answer the host’s questions, usually, with words like "you’re so right."
...
And in the evening at least, MSNBC is less a news provider than a carousel of liberal opinion - potential conflicts of interest are swept aside in the swirl of excitable guests.
Emphasis added.
Aaaaand then they start covering for him.
Others complain that nowadays Mr. Sharpton is a little too cozy with the powers that be: last year, Comcast enlisted Mr. Sharpton to help lobby for its bid to buy NBC Universal, which owns MSNBC. Both Mr. Sharpton and Comcast deny any quid pro quo, and it’s hard to believe Mr. Sharpton’s support would be worth the risk to ratings - besides, back then he was untried, and MSNBC had no vacancies.
More important, in a cable universe in which former Gov. Eliot Spitzer can get his own cable show on CNN (however briefly) some two years after having to leave office because he hired prostitutes, it’s hard to quibble over Mr. Sharpton’s reputation 20 years ago.
I'm not sure which part is more shocking. That the NYTimes would publish anything suggesting that MSNBC is biased, or that they conclude the story by papering over Mr. Sharpton's many faults.
Perhaps it is the oblique suggestion that Mr. Sharpton do the electric slide.
Any low frequency hum that you hear may be safely ignored. It's just my head spinning.
This Promises To Be Good
One of my favorite strips is Sinfest. His take on religion is one of the most thought provoking that I have every seen. And I am a reformed Christian/modern skeptic!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Our New Religion
Environmentalism.
Via the National Review comes this story from the NYTimes about how schools "encourage" students and parents to use reusable lunch packing materials.
I am all for using reusable materials. I am not so hot on recycling because it is a pain in the ass where I live. We do use the reusable plastic/fiber shopping bags in lieu of the "plastic or paper" conundrum.
And schools do have a role to play when it comes to reinforcing morals.
However, morality begins and ends at home. If mom and/or dad decide that plastic baggies and paper bags are what you get, then it is up to the schools to adapt. Not the parents.
Perhaps they should consider having one bin for food, one for plastic, and one for paper so that little Timmy and Tammy can practice recycling at school and skip the sermons.
'Cause..yeah....it has become a religion in some corners of the country.
Via the National Review comes this story from the NYTimes about how schools "encourage" students and parents to use reusable lunch packing materials.
I am all for using reusable materials. I am not so hot on recycling because it is a pain in the ass where I live. We do use the reusable plastic/fiber shopping bags in lieu of the "plastic or paper" conundrum.
And schools do have a role to play when it comes to reinforcing morals.
However, morality begins and ends at home. If mom and/or dad decide that plastic baggies and paper bags are what you get, then it is up to the schools to adapt. Not the parents.
Perhaps they should consider having one bin for food, one for plastic, and one for paper so that little Timmy and Tammy can practice recycling at school and skip the sermons.
'Cause..yeah....it has become a religion in some corners of the country.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Book Recommendation - Desert Spear
I picked up "The Warded Man" by Peter Brett some time ago. It was one of those deals where you buy so many books and you get one free. Not wanting to waste a free book....well, there you go.
"The Desert Spear" is the second book in what promises to be a five book series. We met Jardir in "The Warded Man". We learn his story in "The Desert Spear".
Jardir is a prince of the desert; sworn to lead his men as they kill the demons that rise from the earth each night while the women and children are kept safe deep within the city. We follow his life from his beginning as a son of a father that had died without honor. His tenacity and drive let him excel in the combat school where boys are sorted into either men that fight demons or khaffit; an honor less class held in the same low esteem as women and children.
Protected...not a protector...as is Jardir.
And now Jardir leads his people to invade the people of the north-lands seeking to unite humanity against the demons in the coming final conflict.
After his duplicity in the first book, I was unsurprised to find that I liked Jardir less after reading more about him in the second book. I was surprised to find that I also liked him more.
Read the first book...then read this one.
"The Desert Spear" is the second book in what promises to be a five book series. We met Jardir in "The Warded Man". We learn his story in "The Desert Spear".
Jardir is a prince of the desert; sworn to lead his men as they kill the demons that rise from the earth each night while the women and children are kept safe deep within the city. We follow his life from his beginning as a son of a father that had died without honor. His tenacity and drive let him excel in the combat school where boys are sorted into either men that fight demons or khaffit; an honor less class held in the same low esteem as women and children.
Protected...not a protector...as is Jardir.
And now Jardir leads his people to invade the people of the north-lands seeking to unite humanity against the demons in the coming final conflict.
After his duplicity in the first book, I was unsurprised to find that I liked Jardir less after reading more about him in the second book. I was surprised to find that I also liked him more.
Read the first book...then read this one.
Raiding The Music Makers
It was recently reported that federal agents have raided the Gibson guitar company. This is the second such raid. The purported justification for the raids is that it is against Indian (the ones in Asia, not in North America) law for Indian wood to be harvested and not finished by an Indian. Importing unfinished wood from India is a violation of their laws and as a result, it is also a violation of the amended Lacey Act.
The Lacey Act makes it a federal crime to import wood in a manner that is not compliant with the laws of the exporting country.
It was also reported that the government of India did not initiate a complaint with the U.S. government. Federal agents were acting of their own volition.
Ordinarily, I would chalk this episode up to the sort of predictable lunacy that results from our leviathan federal government. Granting government agents power to enforce vague or poorly written laws inevitably results in some agent somewhere doing something really, really stupid.
Like raiding an American manufacturing company and seizing their inventory without any complaint from the country of origin of a legally imported material.
If Gibson had openly purchased the wood from Indian companies and exported it in an open and documented fashion, then the government of India had an opportunity to stop the process on their side of the ocean. The fact that they did nothing to halt the shipment suggests that their enforcement policies differ from their laws in some way. In any case, the government of India made their choice. Who are our government agents to suggest that the purchase and exportation of the wood was in violation Indian law if Indian government agents permitted the purchase and exportation to move forward?
Unless Gibson smuggled the wood out of India, I don't see the problem. This is not a rare species of wood. The importation of the wood did not create any environmental risk in the United States.
So why do such a thing? Aren't we focused on creating (or 'saving') American jobs?
Ordinarily I am loathe to turn to a cynical explanation. Via Instapundit:
The next time someone suggests that we can't eliminate any federal jobs, I will promptly remind them of this episode of government gone wild.
The Lacey Act makes it a federal crime to import wood in a manner that is not compliant with the laws of the exporting country.
It was also reported that the government of India did not initiate a complaint with the U.S. government. Federal agents were acting of their own volition.
Ordinarily, I would chalk this episode up to the sort of predictable lunacy that results from our leviathan federal government. Granting government agents power to enforce vague or poorly written laws inevitably results in some agent somewhere doing something really, really stupid.
Like raiding an American manufacturing company and seizing their inventory without any complaint from the country of origin of a legally imported material.
If Gibson had openly purchased the wood from Indian companies and exported it in an open and documented fashion, then the government of India had an opportunity to stop the process on their side of the ocean. The fact that they did nothing to halt the shipment suggests that their enforcement policies differ from their laws in some way. In any case, the government of India made their choice. Who are our government agents to suggest that the purchase and exportation of the wood was in violation Indian law if Indian government agents permitted the purchase and exportation to move forward?
Unless Gibson smuggled the wood out of India, I don't see the problem. This is not a rare species of wood. The importation of the wood did not create any environmental risk in the United States.
So why do such a thing? Aren't we focused on creating (or 'saving') American jobs?
Ordinarily I am loathe to turn to a cynical explanation. Via Instapundit:
UPDATE: What a coincidence! CEO of Gibson Guitar a Republican Donor. And their Democratic-donating competitor, Martin, uses the same wood but wasn’t raided. Well, when you’ve got a President who jokes about tax audits as revenge for a personal slight, it’s hard not to be suspicious, isn’t it?Rather Nixonian behavior if you ask me. And most certainly disappointing.
The next time someone suggests that we can't eliminate any federal jobs, I will promptly remind them of this episode of government gone wild.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Fixing Teeth With "Paint"
One of the primary reasons why I follow Glenn Reynolds' Instapundit is that he has an eclectic range of interests. One of those interests is the advancements in medical knowledge and the application of that knowledge in new treatments, therapies, and procedures.
Recently, Glenn pointed out a link at FuturePundit about dental researchers discovering a substance that can be painted on teeth that will arrest decay and may even cause the damaged tooth to regrow itself.
Fascinating.
As Glenn would say...."Faster, please!"
Recently, Glenn pointed out a link at FuturePundit about dental researchers discovering a substance that can be painted on teeth that will arrest decay and may even cause the damaged tooth to regrow itself.
Fascinating.
As Glenn would say...."Faster, please!"
Book Recommendation - The Warded Man
Demons rise for a nightly feast of human flesh. All that protects the humans are their ability to create signs, wards, that keep the demons from getting close enough to feed.
Arlen is a boy living in a small hamlet. He lives with the suspicion that humanity could do more than hide behind their wards. They could fight.
His last night at home is the night when he watches demons rip his mother to pieces while his father remains safely protected. After that night, he roams the world learning to paint wards and eventually meeting the people of the desert that take the fight to the demons instead of hiding behind warded walls.
We also meet Rojer and Leesha who are kindred spirits that see themselves as capable of more than the limited expectations of the friends and families. People who want something better, even if they do not know how to achieve it.
Eventually, Arlen learns the long forgotten secrets that enabled men to hunt demons instead of being hunted by demons. He uses those secrets to become....something else.
Worth your time.
Arlen is a boy living in a small hamlet. He lives with the suspicion that humanity could do more than hide behind their wards. They could fight.
His last night at home is the night when he watches demons rip his mother to pieces while his father remains safely protected. After that night, he roams the world learning to paint wards and eventually meeting the people of the desert that take the fight to the demons instead of hiding behind warded walls.
We also meet Rojer and Leesha who are kindred spirits that see themselves as capable of more than the limited expectations of the friends and families. People who want something better, even if they do not know how to achieve it.
Eventually, Arlen learns the long forgotten secrets that enabled men to hunt demons instead of being hunted by demons. He uses those secrets to become....something else.
Worth your time.
More From Me
What's not to love?
I've added a new gadget on the right. The new gadget shows you my Google Reader "shared" items. Sometimes I'll have a little something extra to add as a comment. Other things just look interesting enough to me that I'd like to share it with you.
If you are using Google's Reader....which I highly recommend....you can follow my feed directly there. Or you can check in here every once in a while to see what I see that might be worth your time.
Good reading to all!
I've added a new gadget on the right. The new gadget shows you my Google Reader "shared" items. Sometimes I'll have a little something extra to add as a comment. Other things just look interesting enough to me that I'd like to share it with you.
If you are using Google's Reader....which I highly recommend....you can follow my feed directly there. Or you can check in here every once in a while to see what I see that might be worth your time.
Good reading to all!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Frustrating Journalists
The New York Times is my windmill. I am your Don Quixote. They drive me mad!
Not really, but they are a source of vexation.
The most recent example was a photo that accompanied a story about labeling those serving in the military as "heroes". It was an interesting story with a few decent points.
The photo was insulting. The link for the original photo is here. I have saved the image and stored it on Google's Picasa...just in case.
You may find this military awards information and this US Army uniform information from Wikipedia to be useful for the ensuing discussion.
The first problem is where should I begin?
First, the US Army has two different service uniforms. The old, out-dated service uniform is green. It is typically worn with a light green dress shirt. The new service uniform is blue. It is typically worn with a white shirt. The green uniform hasn't been issued since 2009 and will be obsolete in 2014.
The model in the photo above is wearing a white shirt with a green blouse.
Then take a look at the rank insignia. I cannot recall when the US Army last put the rank insignia on the lapels of the blouse. To add insult to injury, the insignia is just slapped on the lapels in an uneven and non-symmetric fashion. If the rank insignia did belong on the blouse lapels, they would be worn so that they were pointed along the bisector of the lapel.
And I fully realize that the illustration in that last link is from the US Marine Corps. It was the best illustration that I could quickly locate.
Now look at the right side of the uniform. That would be the left side of the photo. See that badge? Care to guess what it signifies?
That badge signifies that Corporal Schmuckatelli here is also a bonafide Naval Aviator. Think "Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun'. "
Now can you imagine the set of circumstances that would have permitted the good Corporal to fall from the heights of a commissioned US naval officer and Naval Aviator to lowly US Army Corporal? Nor can I.
Finally, look at the left side of the uniform. It is important to know that ribbons are worn in a specific manner and in a specific order. Ribbons are typically mounted using a ribbon bar. They look like this.
Ribbons are worn in a very particular order. The most common ribbons are organized with personal decorations on the top row and towards the right of the person wearing the ribbons. That would be left as you are looking at the photo.
Next would come unit awards, followed by campaign awards and service awards.
Beginning at the top/inboard position, we have
An awful lot of Navy medals for a Corporal in the US Army, no? Methinks that grandpa's old uniforms got raided for this photo.
In the correct order:
I think the obvious conclusion is that some photographer slapped together something that looked "military-ish" and took a picture. They had probably watched too much Star Trek with Captain Kirk's splatter of oddments, buttons, and colored wig-wags to understand that, 300 years before the voyages of the the good Captain and his crew, the tradition was to wear one's awards in a specific order and arrangement.
Quite frankly, the photographer didn't care. They didn't think the proper display of a US military uniform was important enough to warrant their time and attention.
While that is disappointing, it is certainly forgivable.
What is unforgivable is for the New York friggin' Times to use such obviously poor photography as an illustration with any story associated with their name. Do they think that our military and military veterans do not read their work? Do they not understand that their "brand" is already suspect because of some the stereotypes that they create and/or propagate? Do they not have military veterans on their writing and photography staff?
Do they not care?
While they obviously do not care enough to get it right the first time, I do have to acknowledge that they changed the image associated with the story. They even included a correction. The old image was still on their server. No harm in an unused image.
That is a reasonable course of events if we were talking about the Quad City Times. Not quite so reasonable if we are talking aboutAmerican's America's self professed "newspaper of record". The worst part is that while I would not think it unreasonable for the Quad City Times to make such a mistake, I also expect that the QC Times would care enough about this issue to get put extra effort into getting it right the first time. The NY Times has the resources to get it right the first time without extra effort, and the bungled it.
Not really, but they are a source of vexation.
The most recent example was a photo that accompanied a story about labeling those serving in the military as "heroes". It was an interesting story with a few decent points.
The photo was insulting. The link for the original photo is here. I have saved the image and stored it on Google's Picasa...just in case.
You may find this military awards information and this US Army uniform information from Wikipedia to be useful for the ensuing discussion.
The first problem is where should I begin?
First, the US Army has two different service uniforms. The old, out-dated service uniform is green. It is typically worn with a light green dress shirt. The new service uniform is blue. It is typically worn with a white shirt. The green uniform hasn't been issued since 2009 and will be obsolete in 2014.
The model in the photo above is wearing a white shirt with a green blouse.
Then take a look at the rank insignia. I cannot recall when the US Army last put the rank insignia on the lapels of the blouse. To add insult to injury, the insignia is just slapped on the lapels in an uneven and non-symmetric fashion. If the rank insignia did belong on the blouse lapels, they would be worn so that they were pointed along the bisector of the lapel.
And I fully realize that the illustration in that last link is from the US Marine Corps. It was the best illustration that I could quickly locate.
Now look at the right side of the uniform. That would be the left side of the photo. See that badge? Care to guess what it signifies?
That badge signifies that Corporal Schmuckatelli here is also a bonafide Naval Aviator. Think "Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun'. "
Now can you imagine the set of circumstances that would have permitted the good Corporal to fall from the heights of a commissioned US naval officer and Naval Aviator to lowly US Army Corporal? Nor can I.
Finally, look at the left side of the uniform. It is important to know that ribbons are worn in a specific manner and in a specific order. Ribbons are typically mounted using a ribbon bar. They look like this.
Ribbons are worn in a very particular order. The most common ribbons are organized with personal decorations on the top row and towards the right of the person wearing the ribbons. That would be left as you are looking at the photo.
Next would come unit awards, followed by campaign awards and service awards.
Beginning at the top/inboard position, we have
- Vietnam Service Medal, with 2 stars indicating 3 awards
- Navy/Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation, with 1 star indicating 2 awards
- National Defense Service Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal
- Navy Unit Commendation
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal
- Soldier's Medal
- Distinguished Service Medal (Army) (typically awarded to senior officers for unusual and extraordinary service, not NCOs)
An awful lot of Navy medals for a Corporal in the US Army, no? Methinks that grandpa's old uniforms got raided for this photo.
In the correct order:
- Distinguished Service Medal (Army) (odd that the most significant one was placed last, no?)
- Soldier's Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
- Navy & Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation
- Navy Unit Commendation
- National Defense Service Medal
- Vietnam Service Medal
- Armed Forces Reserve Medal
I think the obvious conclusion is that some photographer slapped together something that looked "military-ish" and took a picture. They had probably watched too much Star Trek with Captain Kirk's splatter of oddments, buttons, and colored wig-wags to understand that, 300 years before the voyages of the the good Captain and his crew, the tradition was to wear one's awards in a specific order and arrangement.
Quite frankly, the photographer didn't care. They didn't think the proper display of a US military uniform was important enough to warrant their time and attention.
While that is disappointing, it is certainly forgivable.
What is unforgivable is for the New York friggin' Times to use such obviously poor photography as an illustration with any story associated with their name. Do they think that our military and military veterans do not read their work? Do they not understand that their "brand" is already suspect because of some the stereotypes that they create and/or propagate? Do they not have military veterans on their writing and photography staff?
Do they not care?
While they obviously do not care enough to get it right the first time, I do have to acknowledge that they changed the image associated with the story. They even included a correction. The old image was still on their server. No harm in an unused image.
That is a reasonable course of events if we were talking about the Quad City Times. Not quite so reasonable if we are talking about
We Learned Something New
It is no large secret that I am a skeptic regarding the theory that human activity is the sole/primary/major force behind the changes in our climate over the last 150 years.
Any fool looking at the data can see that things have gotten warmer over that time frame. What few elect to recall is that a miniature ice age that correlates with the Maunder Minimum ended about 150 years ago. In reality, we have been warming from an unusually cold condition back towards a more usual climate.
In any case, one of the primary reasons for my skepticism is the non-scientific manner used to express theories concerning the influence of human activity in that general warming trend. The science of those theories has been "settled". Or so they tell us.
But that isn't science. Scientific theories take not just decades, but often centuries before we know enough to call them anything close to "settled".
Albert Einstein presented his general theory of relativity in 1916. Since then there have been many discoveries and refinements. There continue to be hypotheses about exceptions to Mr. Einstein's theory that have yet to be proved or disproved. It may take a while before we know all we can know about the implications of the theory of relativity.
Sir Isaac Newton presented his theory of gravity in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica which was published in 1687. It wasn't until 350 years later that we began to understand that gravity throughout the universe was not constant. And it took almost another 50 years before that understanding was fully developed.
So what is new in the field of climatology? We have a report from CERN regarding the link between cosmic rays emanating from the sun being closely tied with the formation of clouds in the atmosphere.
Another source of my skepticism is the rather simplistic manner in which some individuals have presumed a direct, primary, causal relationship between CO2 and climate change to the near total exclusion of other reasonable factors. It is my opinion that solar forcings have been understated in climate models in favor of anthropogenicy. The one true fact is that we do not know what we know. We do not know what we do not know either. We do not fully understand all of the intricacies associated with how the climate changes over time.
We have learned a few things over the years. And we are developing a better understanding of the various factors involved in our climate. Responsible scientists qualify their remarks to point out the wide range of predicted future temperatures. They also suggest that there are significant factors beyond human activity that are at work.
As we move forward, I am confident that our understanding will be revised and refined again and again. My opinion is that along with learning more about our climate, we will probably discover that we have an over-sized collective ego. The earth has been around for a very long time. While humanity is able to affect significant micro-scale changes, our impact on something as massive and complicated as the atmosphere is less significant than some alarmist pseudo-scientists would have us believe.
Any fool looking at the data can see that things have gotten warmer over that time frame. What few elect to recall is that a miniature ice age that correlates with the Maunder Minimum ended about 150 years ago. In reality, we have been warming from an unusually cold condition back towards a more usual climate.
In any case, one of the primary reasons for my skepticism is the non-scientific manner used to express theories concerning the influence of human activity in that general warming trend. The science of those theories has been "settled". Or so they tell us.
But that isn't science. Scientific theories take not just decades, but often centuries before we know enough to call them anything close to "settled".
Albert Einstein presented his general theory of relativity in 1916. Since then there have been many discoveries and refinements. There continue to be hypotheses about exceptions to Mr. Einstein's theory that have yet to be proved or disproved. It may take a while before we know all we can know about the implications of the theory of relativity.
Sir Isaac Newton presented his theory of gravity in Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica which was published in 1687. It wasn't until 350 years later that we began to understand that gravity throughout the universe was not constant. And it took almost another 50 years before that understanding was fully developed.
So what is new in the field of climatology? We have a report from CERN regarding the link between cosmic rays emanating from the sun being closely tied with the formation of clouds in the atmosphere.
Another source of my skepticism is the rather simplistic manner in which some individuals have presumed a direct, primary, causal relationship between CO2 and climate change to the near total exclusion of other reasonable factors. It is my opinion that solar forcings have been understated in climate models in favor of anthropogenicy. The one true fact is that we do not know what we know. We do not know what we do not know either. We do not fully understand all of the intricacies associated with how the climate changes over time.
We have learned a few things over the years. And we are developing a better understanding of the various factors involved in our climate. Responsible scientists qualify their remarks to point out the wide range of predicted future temperatures. They also suggest that there are significant factors beyond human activity that are at work.
As we move forward, I am confident that our understanding will be revised and refined again and again. My opinion is that along with learning more about our climate, we will probably discover that we have an over-sized collective ego. The earth has been around for a very long time. While humanity is able to affect significant micro-scale changes, our impact on something as massive and complicated as the atmosphere is less significant than some alarmist pseudo-scientists would have us believe.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Decline of American Manufacturing
I found this story about Amazon and their utter inability to manufacture the Kindle on this side of the Pacific to be most depressing.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Jazz It Up, Golden Smog!
On of my favorite episodes of The Flintstones. The music faaaannntastic!
Check out the second half. Skiddly-wah-wah-wah.....CONTACT!
Check out the second half. Skiddly-wah-wah-wah.....CONTACT!
A Hysterical Return?
After my modestly extended absence from blogging, I can think of no more pleasurable method of celebrating my return than to offer my esteemed and valued readership a smile.
Some more than others...apparently.
Some more than others...apparently.
Monday, August 8, 2011
In Which I Agree With Barney Frank.
It doesn't happen very often. Mr. Frank is someone that I generally hold in low regard. But from time-to-time, he is right. A stopped clock and all that.
Anyone that has taken a serious look at our spending issues will tell you that are defense spending is going to need to be cut to some extent. A much smaller force is really needed to "guard" Europe. There are other obvious cuts to be made as well.
The problem with Mr. Frank is that he is attempting to divert attention from the larger problem of ever expanding social spending. We are currently experiencing deficits to the tune of $1.4 trillion annually with future projected deficits to dip briefly towards $1 trillion before expanding ever upwards. That trend is being driven by Social Security and Medicare.
While $200 billion in spending cuts is a good start, where does Mr. Frank plan on finding the other $1.2 trillion? I have a few suggestions that would "break the mold" as well.
The senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee says the biggest reason the United States is seeing its credit downgraded is that it spends too much money being "the military policemen of the world."
...
The liberal Massachusetts Democrat says $200 billion could be saved "without in any way endangering our security" by dialing back U.S. military involvement in the world, including operations in Western Europe.
Anyone that has taken a serious look at our spending issues will tell you that are defense spending is going to need to be cut to some extent. A much smaller force is really needed to "guard" Europe. There are other obvious cuts to be made as well.
The problem with Mr. Frank is that he is attempting to divert attention from the larger problem of ever expanding social spending. We are currently experiencing deficits to the tune of $1.4 trillion annually with future projected deficits to dip briefly towards $1 trillion before expanding ever upwards. That trend is being driven by Social Security and Medicare.
While $200 billion in spending cuts is a good start, where does Mr. Frank plan on finding the other $1.2 trillion? I have a few suggestions that would "break the mold" as well.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Dog Bites Shark!
Here in the US, someone would be placing a panicked call to the ASPCA over this episode.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Not Guilty Is Not Necessarily Innocent
Courtesy of Day by Day Cartoon comes this appropriate observation.
As others have pointed out, the difficulty of having a witness of poor character is the difficulty in presenting a credible case. It does not mean that she wasn't raped in the first place.
The law can indeed be a bitch. So can karma. At the very least, it seems to me that karma paid a timely call on Mr. Strauss-Kahn.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Great Song - Great Video
From a band that really understands what it means to serve in the American military. Watch the whole thing.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Are You Kidding Me?
A couple of caveats before we proceed.
First, I am overweight. I'm working on it, but things are what they are. If this story makes me a hypocrite, then so be it.
Second, I ride a motorcycle....with all of the additional risks that entails. I always wear a helmet even though I support efforts to repeal our helmet laws so that others can make a different choice.
Third, I generally believe in leaving people alone to make decisions about how to run their lives. I'd prefer not to be judged incapable of running my own life, so I try not to judge the capacity of others to run their lives.
Fourth, I long for the day when robotic implants are as common as candy corn. If that was the case today, then my 1080p HD eyeball camera could have taken a snap shot of this guy that was travelling in the opposite direction across a bridge. And you would be able to see what I saw. I probably would have uploaded the picture to Facebook while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
This one is hard to believe.
There I was riding my bike across a two lane bridge today. Traffic was backed up and I was stopped in the middle of the span. But traffic was moving well in the other direction.
Along comes this guy headed in the other direction. For the moment, why don't we call him "Guy".
Guy weighs an easy 300 lbs. He may weigh closer to 350, but it was hard to know. And it was pretty obvious that he didn't get that heavy going to the gym.
Guy was riding the sort of little scooter that has become popular due to recent gas price increases. I'm pretty sure that he weighed more than his scooter.
Here in Michigan, scooter riders are not required to wear a helmet. So he wasn't. He also only had a thin, Hawaiian style shirt. No coat. He did have some awesome glasses, so at least his eyes were covered.
Guy has trouble breathing. At least, I suspect that he carries some sort of air/oxygen tank with him. He had one of those flexible plastic tubes running from between his legs, up over each ear, and around to his nose. So this isn't a wild inference on my part.
Assuming he was connected to his tank, one might reasonably wonder about the consequences of his tank sliding out from between his feet while he is motoring along. Alternatively, the tank might have been tied tightly to the scooter which opens up the question of what happens if he gets into an accident where is bike goes one direction and his body goes another.
The cherry on top of this modest vignette?
The cigarette dangling from his lips as his scooter went putt-putting on by!!
First, I am overweight. I'm working on it, but things are what they are. If this story makes me a hypocrite, then so be it.
Second, I ride a motorcycle....with all of the additional risks that entails. I always wear a helmet even though I support efforts to repeal our helmet laws so that others can make a different choice.
Third, I generally believe in leaving people alone to make decisions about how to run their lives. I'd prefer not to be judged incapable of running my own life, so I try not to judge the capacity of others to run their lives.
Fourth, I long for the day when robotic implants are as common as candy corn. If that was the case today, then my 1080p HD eyeball camera could have taken a snap shot of this guy that was travelling in the opposite direction across a bridge. And you would be able to see what I saw. I probably would have uploaded the picture to Facebook while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
This one is hard to believe.
There I was riding my bike across a two lane bridge today. Traffic was backed up and I was stopped in the middle of the span. But traffic was moving well in the other direction.
Along comes this guy headed in the other direction. For the moment, why don't we call him "Guy".
Guy weighs an easy 300 lbs. He may weigh closer to 350, but it was hard to know. And it was pretty obvious that he didn't get that heavy going to the gym.
Guy was riding the sort of little scooter that has become popular due to recent gas price increases. I'm pretty sure that he weighed more than his scooter.
Here in Michigan, scooter riders are not required to wear a helmet. So he wasn't. He also only had a thin, Hawaiian style shirt. No coat. He did have some awesome glasses, so at least his eyes were covered.
Guy has trouble breathing. At least, I suspect that he carries some sort of air/oxygen tank with him. He had one of those flexible plastic tubes running from between his legs, up over each ear, and around to his nose. So this isn't a wild inference on my part.
Assuming he was connected to his tank, one might reasonably wonder about the consequences of his tank sliding out from between his feet while he is motoring along. Alternatively, the tank might have been tied tightly to the scooter which opens up the question of what happens if he gets into an accident where is bike goes one direction and his body goes another.
The cherry on top of this modest vignette?
The cigarette dangling from his lips as his scooter went putt-putting on by!!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Why Economic Freedom Matters
And yes...I did see who sponsored the video. That does nothing to undermine the argument being made.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Police Have Got The Choke-Hold....
Even worse, judges have it too! Maybe.
Megan McArdle has the latest on that little tempest in a teapot.
Megan McArdle has the latest on that little tempest in a teapot.
Liberals are probably going to be disposed to believe that Abrahamson and Bradley are pursuing a legitimate grievance against Prosser, a self-admitted hothead who called Abrahamson a "bitch" and threatened to destroy her, and that the conservative justices are covering up for their abusive colleague. Conservatives will be likely to take the view that Bradley is a vengeful self-dramatist who inflates petty conflicts into savage attacks for political purposes.
...
Frankly, whatever way you look at it, someone has behaved in behavior so extraordinarily unbecoming a justice that I find it difficult to believe either way.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Albert Gore Jr. - Hypocrite
Questionable science aside, my first objection to proposed carbon emission limitations, and other "global warming" associated policies is the behavior of those that stridently urge those policy changes.
It's way past time for Mr. Gore to get religion.But you cannot be a leading environmentalist who hopes to lead the general public into a long and difficult struggle for sacrifice and fundamental change if your own conduct is so flagrantly inconsistent with the green gospel you profess. If the heart of your message is that the peril of climate change is so imminent and so overwhelming that the entire political and social system of the world must change, now, you cannot fly on private jets. You cannot own multiple mansions. You cannot even become enormously rich investing in companies that will profit if the policies you advocate are put into place.
It is not enough to buy carbon offsets (aka “indulgences”) with your vast wealth, not enough to power your luxurious mansions with exotic low impact energy sources the average person could not afford, not enough to argue that you only needed the jet so that you could promote your earth-saving film.
You are asking billions of people, the overwhelming majority of whom lack many of the basic life amenities you take for granted, people who can’t afford Whole Foods environmentalism, to slash their meager living standards. You may well be right, and those changes may be necessary — the more shame on you that with your superior insight and knowledge you refuse to live a modest life. There’s a gospel hymn some people in Tennessee still sing that makes the point: “You can’t be a beacon if your light don’t shine.”
St. Francis of Assisi understood the point well. Taken by the Pope on a tour to see the treasures of the Vatican, St. Francis was notably unimpressed. “Peter can no longer say, ‘silver and gold have I none,’” smiled the Pontiff, referring to the story in the Book of Acts that recounts what St. Peter said to a crippled beggar asking him for alms.
“Neither can he say, ‘rise up and walk.’” replied St. Francis — quoting what St. Peter said as he miraculously cured the beggar of his affliction.You can sit on ivory chairs with kings in their halls of gold, participating in the world of politics as usual, or you can live with the prophets and visionaries in the wilderness, voices of a greater truth and higher meaning that challenge the smug certainties and false assumptions of the comfortable, business as usual elites. You cannot do both.
Al Gore cannot say “silver and gold have I none and no excess carbon do I spew,” and neither can he say to the paralyzed global green movement “rise up and walk.” He speaks, he writes, he speaks again, and the movement lies on the ground, crippled and inert.
...
What this tells the skeptics is that Vice President Gore doesn’t really believe the gospel he proclaims. That profits from his environmental advocacy enable his affluent lifestyle only deepens their skepticism of the messenger and therefore of the message. And when they see that the rest of the environmental movement accepts this flagrant contradiction, they conclude, naturally enough, that the other green leaders aren’t as worried as they claim to be. Al Gore’s lifestyle is a test case for the credibility of his gospel — and it fails. The tolerance of Al Gore’s lifestyle by the environmental leadership is a further test — and that test, too, the greens fail.
The average citizen is all too likely to conclude that if Mr. Gore can keep his lifestyle, the average American family can keep its SUV and incandescent bulbs. If Gore can take a charter flight, I don’t have to take the bus. If Gore can have many mansions, I can use the old fashioned kind of shower heads that actually clean and toilets that actually flush. Al Gore looks to the average American the way American greens look to poor people in the third world: hypocritically demanding that others accept permanently lower standards of living than those the activists propose for themselves.
Michelle Bachmann
If you don't know much about her....or have consumed a few too many of the main stream Palinesque profiles...then this article may be of some use.
I'm not prepared to throw my meager support behind her candidacy. She seems far too comfortable with religious opinion being enforced by the strength of government.
At the same time, she seems prepared to come to a federal government trimming party bearing the proper equipment; a chainsaw rather than tweezers.
I'm not prepared to throw my meager support behind her candidacy. She seems far too comfortable with religious opinion being enforced by the strength of government.
At the same time, she seems prepared to come to a federal government trimming party bearing the proper equipment; a chainsaw rather than tweezers.
What Is the Fracking Difference?
Some facts to keep in mind as the controversy over fracking for oil and natural gas continues.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Having Something In Common
While reading a bit about the more recent Roger Ebert kerfuffle, I came across this brief essay on a recently uncovered E.E. Cummings poem. At the time it was being suggested that the use in the poem of one of the coarsest words in the English language would naturally result in the undoing of E.E. Cummings' reputation as an important writer and poet.
I had more than a passing fascination with the re
markable
mind bending acts of linguistic
ɯsıuoıʇɹoʇuoɔ that were the hallmarks
of E.E. Cummings.
While Mr. Ebert's thoughts have ceased to be relevant to me, I was pleasantly surprised to find him an aficionado of Mr. Cummings' work. His thoughtful defense of the "troublesome" poem in question was marred only by the repetition of the assertion that poems are not supposed to have meaning; they are simply supposed to exist.
Hogwash.
Regardless, I find that I share an enthusiasm with Mr. Ebert. And perhaps it is better to focus more on that which we share in common with one another than to focus on our disagreements.
At least from time
to
t
i
m
e.
I had more than a passing fascination with the re
markable
mind bending acts of linguistic
ɯsıuoıʇɹoʇuoɔ that were the hallmarks
of E.E. Cummings.
While Mr. Ebert's thoughts have ceased to be relevant to me, I was pleasantly surprised to find him an aficionado of Mr. Cummings' work. His thoughtful defense of the "troublesome" poem in question was marred only by the repetition of the assertion that poems are not supposed to have meaning; they are simply supposed to exist.
Hogwash.
Regardless, I find that I share an enthusiasm with Mr. Ebert. And perhaps it is better to focus more on that which we share in common with one another than to focus on our disagreements.
At least from time
to
t
i
m
e.
[link to the essay updated 1/10/2022]
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Short Of Biblical Proportions....
In some parts of the world, a lack of water is a serious problem. In others, the reverse is true.
"One of the biggest problems we'll experience with this is that it is far and above and beyond any previous experience as far as cfs," remarked Schlag. "Rating curves just don't apply anymore. A person is left to their own devices to come up with numbers."
Mad Magazine Government - Gun Control Edition
Why you should never, ever, ever, ever trust the government.
Ever.
Eric Holder is destined to become the first U.S. Attorney General since John Mitchell to go prison due to his serial crimes committed while in office. At least, if there is any justice in the world, then prison would be Mr. Holder's next "duty station".
Ever.
This operation could not have taken place without the cooperation of the Department of Homeland Security — DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano should bear responsibility for her agency’s actions. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has apparently lied to Congress about when he knew of Gunwalker, and considering the scope of the operation it is implausible that he was not involved in its implementation.
Eric Holder is destined to become the first U.S. Attorney General since John Mitchell to go prison due to his serial crimes committed while in office. At least, if there is any justice in the world, then prison would be Mr. Holder's next "duty station".
Presidential Positions On Government Interference
“The proposition that the government is always right is manifested either in corruption or benefits to ‘preferred’ companies,” he said. “My choice is different. The… economy ought to be dominated by private businesses and private investors. The government must protect the choice and property of those who willingly risk their money and reputation.”The only way this news could be better is if it were Mr. Obama speaking...instead of it being the President of Russia.
…
[He] said that the country must begin to attack the problem immediately to avoid “the point of no return from the (economic) models that are moving the country backwards.”
“Corruption, hostility to investment, excessive government role in the economy and the excessive centralization of power are the taxes on the future that we must and will scrap,” he said.
News From Muslim Lands
War? Infidels? Beating up women for driving cars?
Nope.
This time the news, via the WaPo's Jennifer Rubin, is of a proposal from the King of Morocco that his country adopt a new constitution. One that would grant far greater authority to elected officeholders, create a judiciary, enshrine rights for women and minorities, and establish the King of Morocco as the guarantor of the right of people of all faiths to worship freely.
Nope.
This time the news, via the WaPo's Jennifer Rubin, is of a proposal from the King of Morocco that his country adopt a new constitution. One that would grant far greater authority to elected officeholders, create a judiciary, enshrine rights for women and minorities, and establish the King of Morocco as the guarantor of the right of people of all faiths to worship freely.
On Friday Bashar al-Assad was slaughtering his own people. Iran continued to hold two Americans in prison. Moammar Gaddafi remained in power while the House of Representatives and President Obama bickered about the War Powers Act. And in Morocco a new “landmark” constitution guaranteeing equality for women, empowering an elected parliament and chief executive, and mandating an independent judiciary was rolled out. It’s a measure of just how much the squeaky wheel dominates the media and the U.S. government that there was virtually no U.S. coverage of the historic event, and that as of Sunday night the State Department had not issued a statement.Why our nation's leaders have not seen fit to recognize this historic proposal is a mystery.
...
The constitution and the speech explode several myths: diversity isn’t possible in a Muslim country; tribal and ethnic divisions make a nation state problematic if not ungovernable; Islam and the secular rule of law are incompatible; and human rights will inevitably be sacrificed if democratic reforms expand in a Muslim country.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Why "Too Big To Fail"...Ensures Failure
Why is an excess of government a bad idea? Because it fosters failure and stifles progress.
That would be the lesson learned by the leader of the Tea Party while he visited Poland.
Read the whole thing.
That would be the lesson learned by the leader of the Tea Party while he visited Poland.
Read the whole thing.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Why Hiding The Truth Hurts
James Taranto makes the the point in a recent "Best of the Web" column that the media does us a grave disservice when they hide facts from the public that do not fit the media's narrative.
The case in point is the story of the US Marine Corps reservist that was found near Arlington Cemetery with a backpack carrying explosive components. It doesn't appear that he had a finished device, but he did have a laptop that contained words that were at the least suggestive of his mal-intent.
This particular Marine was born in Ethiopia and apparently is muslim.
The problem with the reporting is that only one media outlet deemed this Marine's faith to be worthy of reporting. All of the other media sources either didn't know, or didn't think it was relevant.
The media source that revealed his faith? FoxNews.
Those that didn't? Everyone else.
The obvious harm is that by withholding certain types of information, the media encourages speculation regarding other crimes where that information is irrelevant. One example would be the mass shooting in Orlando a while back. People were speculating that the killer was muslim when in fact the killer was a disgruntled former employee. His faith had nothing to do with motivating his crimes.
Everything relevant to a crime must be reported. A black kid beats up a white kid while shouting racist epithets? Then the race and the epithets had better be reported. Reverse the races? The same information needs to be reported.
In failing to do their job, the media harms us all.
The case in point is the story of the US Marine Corps reservist that was found near Arlington Cemetery with a backpack carrying explosive components. It doesn't appear that he had a finished device, but he did have a laptop that contained words that were at the least suggestive of his mal-intent.
This particular Marine was born in Ethiopia and apparently is muslim.
The problem with the reporting is that only one media outlet deemed this Marine's faith to be worthy of reporting. All of the other media sources either didn't know, or didn't think it was relevant.
The media source that revealed his faith? FoxNews.
Those that didn't? Everyone else.
The obvious harm is that by withholding certain types of information, the media encourages speculation regarding other crimes where that information is irrelevant. One example would be the mass shooting in Orlando a while back. People were speculating that the killer was muslim when in fact the killer was a disgruntled former employee. His faith had nothing to do with motivating his crimes.
Everything relevant to a crime must be reported. A black kid beats up a white kid while shouting racist epithets? Then the race and the epithets had better be reported. Reverse the races? The same information needs to be reported.
In failing to do their job, the media harms us all.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
A Case For Gun Control
At least, a gun in the hand of a New York Times editor seems like a dangerous thing given his propensity for aiming his mouth in one direction and shooting himself in the foot as a result.
What Bill Keller doesn't know, apparently, could fill up an entire op-ed piece. Or a newsroom.The NYT editorial that inspired the above is here. I still think it would be good for Mr. Keller to get out of New York and see how the rest of the country lives for a while. Perhaps his inventory of persons of hay is too large to justify such an adventure.
Google Reader - Update
I am in love with Google Reader. I've cut my blog reading time by at least a third because of it.
Right now I am following (12) data sources with the Reader. Four of them are blogs that you see to the right. (Ronnie, Sherwood, Ruth, and Mike) I also follow the rec.arts.comics.strips newsgroup using the reader. I never ever miss a single post. On top of that I follow Al Jazeera's English feed, Instapundit, Drudge, Classical Values, Black Five, Megan McArdle, and Memeorandum.
And I never miss any of their posts. If it sounds interesting, I can "star" it for later reading. If I find something not on one of those lists, I can add it to the Reader's saved items for later review and blog activity.
I've got tons of stuff saved and it only too moments!
Don't y'all feel lucky!??!
Right now I am following (12) data sources with the Reader. Four of them are blogs that you see to the right. (Ronnie, Sherwood, Ruth, and Mike) I also follow the rec.arts.comics.strips newsgroup using the reader. I never ever miss a single post. On top of that I follow Al Jazeera's English feed, Instapundit, Drudge, Classical Values, Black Five, Megan McArdle, and Memeorandum.
And I never miss any of their posts. If it sounds interesting, I can "star" it for later reading. If I find something not on one of those lists, I can add it to the Reader's saved items for later review and blog activity.
I've got tons of stuff saved and it only too moments!
Don't y'all feel lucky!??!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Down The Grammatic Sewer - I Say Sorry
A pet peeve of mine was recently irritated by a series of stories regarding the fake "lesbian" blogger from Syria.
Misogyny? Nope. I'm not in favor of it, but that ain't it.
The spectre of anti-homosexuality? Again...nope. I'm not in favor of gay bashing...quite the opposite actually....but that ain't it either.
My peeve? "Say sorry".
News stories about the fake "lesbian blogger" use some variant of "Blogger says sorry" either as a title or within the body of the story.
Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Friends, Romans, Countrypersons! Hear me! The English language has developed a single word that covers this action. One need not ever use the phrase "say sorry" again.
That word is "apologize".
"I apologize."
"He apologized."
"She offered an apology."
"You should apologize."
not....
"You should 'say sorry'."
Misogyny? Nope. I'm not in favor of it, but that ain't it.
The spectre of anti-homosexuality? Again...nope. I'm not in favor of gay bashing...quite the opposite actually....but that ain't it either.
My peeve? "Say sorry".
News stories about the fake "lesbian blogger" use some variant of "Blogger says sorry" either as a title or within the body of the story.
Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Friends, Romans, Countrypersons! Hear me! The English language has developed a single word that covers this action. One need not ever use the phrase "say sorry" again.
That word is "apologize".
"I apologize."
"He apologized."
"She offered an apology."
"You should apologize."
not....
"You should 'say sorry'."
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What Media Bias?
LA Times Won’t Release Obama-Khalidi Tape But Posts 24,000 Sarah Palin Emails | The Gateway Pundit
Update: From Glenn Reynolds: "Will we ever get to see that tape, and if so, how best to shake it loose?” Er, convince ‘em it would be bad for Sarah Palin?"
Update: From Glenn Reynolds: "Will we ever get to see that tape, and if so, how best to shake it loose?” Er, convince ‘em it would be bad for Sarah Palin?"
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Chris Matthews' Arrogant Display
Matthews: Weiner in Trouble Because His Behavior Offends 'Culturally Backward' Christian Conservatives | NewsBusters.org: "They never get the Speakership back because the people in the rural areas of this country who are Christian conservative culturally - you can say backward if you want - but they don't like this kind of stuff at all. They're not part of that 56 percent in Brooklyn and Queens who say, 'okay, we can live with this guy.'" - Chris Matthews
But 56% of Brooklyn and Queens doesn't even come close to being a significant minority of the entire country. Life exists well beyond the five boroughs.
Maybe Chris ought to try getting out of the city for a while.
But 56% of Brooklyn and Queens doesn't even come close to being a significant minority of the entire country. Life exists well beyond the five boroughs.
Maybe Chris ought to try getting out of the city for a while.
Friday, June 10, 2011
It Backfired
I was reading an article a couple days ago by a guy that decided to de-Google his life. He is a tech writer, so he's a pretty tech savvy guy. Part of his reasoning in making the change is that he didn't want one company to have so much data about him. Another part of his reasoning was to test his ability to recover his data from Google without a lot of hassles.
The process worked mostly well for him. The important stuff [Gmail, Google Docs, etc.] were exported almost effortlessly. Some of Google's more obscure services required more hoop jumpery.
In reading the article, I was inspired....
....to try yet another Google service/feature. This time I engaged the Google Reader service. Reader is a service that allows you to follow RSS feeds from a variety of sources. It is incredibly handy for blogs that don't get a lot of updates [ahem MIKE!!!!!!!! SHERWOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!] as I no longer have to visit those sites to see when they have posted something new. It will just show up as an unread post in the Reader.
It is also handy for higher volume sites such as Instapundit and The Drudge Report. I can flip through the new entries in a few seconds, mark any that might be interesting for later reading, and move on with my day.
The ability to mark articles is handy for blogging as well. Previously, I had emailed from one Hotmail account to another Hotmail account whenever I found an article worth blogging about. The list is long. My email account is filled to the brim with fascinating stuff. Most of which you never see.
Be thankful.
Now I can simply make a list in one place throughout the day and use...or more likely ignore...that information later on.
I am still new to the Reader, so I'm not sure if there is a way to link directly from Reader into Blogger or not. If so, then perhaps y'all are doomed.
Reader also lets you follow RSS feeds from Usenet groups in the same way that you follow blogs and other sites with an RSS feed. It is a handy tool for keeping up with all the RACSals. You know who you are.
In any case, my brief experience with Google's Reader service has been quite enjoyable. If you don't mind surrendering another piece of your digital life to the leviathan that is Google, then I heartily recommend Reader as a tool worth your time.
The process worked mostly well for him. The important stuff [Gmail, Google Docs, etc.] were exported almost effortlessly. Some of Google's more obscure services required more hoop jumpery.
In reading the article, I was inspired....
....to try yet another Google service/feature. This time I engaged the Google Reader service. Reader is a service that allows you to follow RSS feeds from a variety of sources. It is incredibly handy for blogs that don't get a lot of updates [ahem MIKE!!!!!!!! SHERWOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!] as I no longer have to visit those sites to see when they have posted something new. It will just show up as an unread post in the Reader.
It is also handy for higher volume sites such as Instapundit and The Drudge Report. I can flip through the new entries in a few seconds, mark any that might be interesting for later reading, and move on with my day.
The ability to mark articles is handy for blogging as well. Previously, I had emailed from one Hotmail account to another Hotmail account whenever I found an article worth blogging about. The list is long. My email account is filled to the brim with fascinating stuff. Most of which you never see.
Be thankful.
Now I can simply make a list in one place throughout the day and use...or more likely ignore...that information later on.
I am still new to the Reader, so I'm not sure if there is a way to link directly from Reader into Blogger or not. If so, then perhaps y'all are doomed.
Reader also lets you follow RSS feeds from Usenet groups in the same way that you follow blogs and other sites with an RSS feed. It is a handy tool for keeping up with all the RACSals. You know who you are.
In any case, my brief experience with Google's Reader service has been quite enjoyable. If you don't mind surrendering another piece of your digital life to the leviathan that is Google, then I heartily recommend Reader as a tool worth your time.
Jaw Droppingly Stupid.
I infrequently engage in partisan phrases like "Smart Diplomacy!" and "The country is in the very best of hands!". That sort of thing feels good, but it isn't really the sort of substantive criticism that I prefer to offer.
The last time I checked, most people prefer ice cream and cake to brussel sprouts and liver pate.
In this case, both bits are partisan fluff seem most appropriate. The Obama administration has supported a call by the OAS for Britain to engage in discussions with Argentina regarding the sovereignty dispute over the Falklands.
Again!
For the people of the Falklands, there is no dispute. They are British. For the UK, there is no dispute. The Falklands are British and have been British for roughly 178 years. The Falklands have been British for longer than Argentina has had its current constitution.
In adopting this position, Mr. Obama's administration is siding with anti-American dictators like Hugo Chavez along with other anti-American leaders such as Daniel Ortega. Obviously, his administration is also siding against our long and close ally, Great Britain. Somehow this is the sort of 'smart diplomacy' that we were promised during the campaign?
From the comments comes the non-sequitur that sums this fiasco up most appropriately:
The mind, it boggles.
The last time I checked, most people prefer ice cream and cake to brussel sprouts and liver pate.
In this case, both bits are partisan fluff seem most appropriate. The Obama administration has supported a call by the OAS for Britain to engage in discussions with Argentina regarding the sovereignty dispute over the Falklands.
Again!
For the people of the Falklands, there is no dispute. They are British. For the UK, there is no dispute. The Falklands are British and have been British for roughly 178 years. The Falklands have been British for longer than Argentina has had its current constitution.
In adopting this position, Mr. Obama's administration is siding with anti-American dictators like Hugo Chavez along with other anti-American leaders such as Daniel Ortega. Obviously, his administration is also siding against our long and close ally, Great Britain. Somehow this is the sort of 'smart diplomacy' that we were promised during the campaign?
From the comments comes the non-sequitur that sums this fiasco up most appropriately:
The next president is going to have to engage in a serious apology tour.
The mind, it boggles.
Monday, June 6, 2011
And Then Some...
Facts don't matter.....
Like a number of famous faux gaffes in American politics, the facts of the situation no longer really matter.
The initial impression was eagerly grabbed by so many, starting with the reporter and millions of others gleefully sharing the story that reinforced their beliefs and/or desires.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
It Is The Little Things That Count
I maintain that the American media is biased towards the political left. Given a choice, they will always choose to be less aggressive towards a politician that is left of center.
The most recent example comes via my close personal friend[1], Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame.
It seems that Mr. Obama recently made a visit to Rudy's Hot Dog in Toledo. While there he sampled the local cuisine. And by "sampled" I mean that he stuffed two chili dogs down his pie hole.
That is what chili dogs were made for, so I hope he enjoyed them without any post-meal difficulties. Us older dudes gotta stick together when it comes to chili dogs. That is especially true when it comes to the women in our lives constantly telling us what we should or shouldn't eat.
Which brings us to Mr. Obama's lovely wife Michelle. It seems that she unveiled new dietary guidelines for America within the last few days. I haven't read them all, but thus far I cannot find "two huge chili dogs in one meal" anywhere in them.
Which brings us to the British media. They promptly pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of Presidential consumption of two chili dogs given the recent national dietary hectoring provided by the First Lady. With photos of said consumption.
Which brings us to the American media who said in a tersely worded statement, "Who us?" The New York Times omitted all mention of the deeeelicious dogs. The Washington Post mentioned the dogs, but offered no photographic evidence. Nor did they mention the recently issued dietary guidelines.
A quick search via Google's News feature suggests that only a few obscure media outlets and non-leftist polemicists, such as yerz truly, have mentioned this crucial issue.
A Bing search includes a full blown USA Today story on the event, with photos, without mention of the dietary guidelines.
How might we rekindle the sort of carefree and open reporting practiced overseas? Elect someone named George W. Bush?
[1] Not really. But when one longs for an Instalanche, one does what one must.
The most recent example comes via my close personal friend[1], Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame.
It seems that Mr. Obama recently made a visit to Rudy's Hot Dog in Toledo. While there he sampled the local cuisine. And by "sampled" I mean that he stuffed two chili dogs down his pie hole.
That is what chili dogs were made for, so I hope he enjoyed them without any post-meal difficulties. Us older dudes gotta stick together when it comes to chili dogs. That is especially true when it comes to the women in our lives constantly telling us what we should or shouldn't eat.
Which brings us to Mr. Obama's lovely wife Michelle. It seems that she unveiled new dietary guidelines for America within the last few days. I haven't read them all, but thus far I cannot find "two huge chili dogs in one meal" anywhere in them.
Which brings us to the British media. They promptly pointed out the apparent hypocrisy of Presidential consumption of two chili dogs given the recent national dietary hectoring provided by the First Lady. With photos of said consumption.
Which brings us to the American media who said in a tersely worded statement, "Who us?" The New York Times omitted all mention of the deeeelicious dogs. The Washington Post mentioned the dogs, but offered no photographic evidence. Nor did they mention the recently issued dietary guidelines.
A quick search via Google's News feature suggests that only a few obscure media outlets and non-leftist polemicists, such as yerz truly, have mentioned this crucial issue.
A Bing search includes a full blown USA Today story on the event, with photos, without mention of the dietary guidelines.
How might we rekindle the sort of carefree and open reporting practiced overseas? Elect someone named George W. Bush?
[1] Not really. But when one longs for an Instalanche, one does what one must.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Glenn Reynolds For President!
It was recently suggested that UT law professor and blogger Glenn Reynolds be drafted as a candidate for President of the United States. His qualifications? Well the whole use of two "nn's" thing is weirdly attractive to me in a candidate.
But as Stacy McCain pointed out, the fact that he doesn't crave all that power is a second point in his favor. Those that do crave such power?
At least, I can't imagine him doing any worse than the last guy we elected President that had a stint teaching college law classes on his resume.
But as Stacy McCain pointed out, the fact that he doesn't crave all that power is a second point in his favor. Those that do crave such power?
Outside of politics, we recognize that a desire to run other peoples’ lives — to boss them around — is the manifestation of a sadistic personality. Nobody likes a bully in real life and yet, in politics, we see how people acquire power by proclaiming that the rest of us are not competent to run our own lives and therefore need government to tell us what to do for our own good.Sadly, the Blogfather has indicated his unwillingness to serve. What a pity.
At least, I can't imagine him doing any worse than the last guy we elected President that had a stint teaching college law classes on his resume.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Experience - The Greatest Teacher
Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal Constitution talks about being wrong about the Voting Rights Act of 1982.
Unfortunately — like so many measures designed to provide redress for historic wrongs — those racially gerrymandered districts also come with a significant downside: They discourage moderation. Politicians seeking office in majority-black or –brown districts found that they could indulge in crude racial gamesmanship and left-wing histrionics.I think what she is reaching for [are] the positive benefits of assimilation.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
The Dogs Of War
 |
| From Liberty At All Costs |
h/t to Blackfive for the image.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Baiting The Hook With Stars
A few years ago, Sherwood treated us to a spectacular image of the Milky Way.
I would like to return the favor. While this video is supposed to be a time lapse of four telescopes in operation, your eye will be continually drawn to the passing astral scene in the back ground. This is the coolest thing you will see today.
Watching the telescopes is fun as well. I demonstrated a fair amount of ignorance in my now defunct blog over the use of lasers to aid in viewing stars. The time lapse shows one of the telescopes using that technology on several occasions. Also, you will see the doors open and close, panels will be raised and lowered in the open doorways, and other ports/windows/doors will open and close as well.
Quite the interesting display!
I would like to return the favor. While this video is supposed to be a time lapse of four telescopes in operation, your eye will be continually drawn to the passing astral scene in the back ground. This is the coolest thing you will see today.
Watching the telescopes is fun as well. I demonstrated a fair amount of ignorance in my now defunct blog over the use of lasers to aid in viewing stars. The time lapse shows one of the telescopes using that technology on several occasions. Also, you will see the doors open and close, panels will be raised and lowered in the open doorways, and other ports/windows/doors will open and close as well.
Quite the interesting display!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Trouble With Socialists
Yup.
Actually I’d say it’s fairly typical. The more they talk about equality, the more they implement aristocracy.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Political Media Survey
Being done by one of Glenn Reynold's colleagues. It takes about 15 minutes to complete.
If you have the time, I'm sure they would be glad to have your answers.
If you have the time, I'm sure they would be glad to have your answers.
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