Book Recommendation - Lucifer's Hammer

A comet comes dropping into our solar system from the reaches of space between the stars.  Astronomers and physicists believe it will pass close to the Earth.

But exactly how close?

"Lucifer's Hammer" is the tale of a comet that travels around our sun and then sprays the surface of the earth with disastrous results for humanity.  It is the tale of the humanity that survives...barely...the impact of several mountains upon the earth, the earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis hundreds of feet tall, fires, floods, famine, and humanity itself.

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle tell their story from several different perspectives; one of the discoverers of the comet, the producer/director that prepares a documentary series on the comet, a couple government scientists, a US Senator, a thug/community activist, an Army sergeant, a postal carrier, an engineer in charge of building a nuclear power plant, four astronauts, and the friends, family, and co-workers that surround them.  Some survive.  Most don't.  Most of the survival isn't pleasant.  Some isn't too bad.

I'd rather have electricity, modern medicine, technology, and all that entails. 

For the first half of the book, I was pretty certain that this book wouldn't make my book recommendation series.  Due to the number of characters, the book jumps quite a bit from scene to scene.  While I have read many books that use the same plot device, in this case it was a bit difficult to mentally separate the people and scenes so that the context of the progressing story would remain intact.

By comparison, the books of George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Fire and Ice" series unfold in a dozen locations across two different continents.  The characters and locations are described in sufficient detail and exist with sufficient diversity that jumping from scene to scene and character to character does not detract from the story.

And then the comet struck.  After that point, I behaved in a most disreputable fashion; reading until way past midnight when I clearly should not.

Imagine a world where a diabetic scientist chooses to manufactures mustard gas and catapults instead of developing a means of manufacturing insulin.  And is considered a hero for his fatal choices.

Imagine a world without technology.  A world where a simple lathe would be a miracle.  A world where either your moral calculus shifts, or you die.  A world where an eight hour work day and a five day work week are luxuries.


I'd rather not.  But for 629 pages, I did.

Buckley And Allen

A humorous exchange between two most unlikely people; William F. Buckley and Woody Allen.

Turn down the sound on your speakers.  The audio is quite loud.

Arming 12 Year Olds

In the news this past week was the story of a 12 year old girl that shot an intruder to her home in self defense.

A day off for fall break was anything but relaxing for a 12-year old Bryan County girl, when an intruder broke into her home on Michael Avenue.

Deputies say, the girl was home alone when a man she'd never seen before, rang the front doorbell. They say when no one answered the door, the man went around to the back of the house and kicked a door open. That's when authorities say, the girl grabbed a gun and hid in a bathroom closet.

The right person came out on top in this instance.  One should shudder at the possibilities after an grown man gets hold of an unarmed 12 year old girl.

While no one should wish for such a young girl to find herself in such a position, everyone should be glad that she was able to fend off her attacker.

[a day or so later]

Call this another one where a few moments of reflection would be wise.

I'm not suggesting that we arm 12 year olds.  I also wonder about parents that leave guns loose where 12 year olds can find them.  I believe the phrase "it just ain't right" was invented for such things.

However, we don't know....

• the girl
• her family (were they among the working poor?  did they spend the babysitting money on drugs?)
• the neighborhood where they live (leaving the home may not have been a good option)
• their access to decent childcare/supervision ($3 an hour for childcare is a killer if you only make $11 an hour.
• if something unusual happened where she was left alone (she expect to be met by an adult and wasn't)
• if she was taught firearms safety (that's good parenting)
• if she was taught firearms usage (also good parenting)
• if her folks were ordinary, law abiding citizens
• if her folks were drug dealers
• or anything else about the circumstances

My sole point is to indicate that guns are used for legitimate self defense purposes.  More frequently than the ideologues that want to curtail gun rights will admit.  Absent evidence that this little girl was a criminal, this was such a legitimate self defense use.

Infuriating Muslims

Recent news suggests that while terrorist jihadis are a problem, they are not the only problem.  Perhaps they are not the biggest problem.

While China remains a communist nation, that government does not practice the brutal form of communism used by Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Castro, and similarly "enlightened intellectuals".  Yet those government apparatchiks still cling to the notion that individual belief is a suitable subject for government interference and direction.

Muslims living in China's western provinces have long been brutalized by China's government despite being overwhelmingly peaceful.  While they cling to the idea of an independent state, they do not act on this belief in any meaningful way.

But Beijing insists that there can be but one thought on this subject; subservience and acceptance of China's rule.  Their way of dealing with peaceful Muslims?

They burn the Muslim's mosque to the ground.  As with the Buddhists of Tibet, the Muslims of the western reaches of China have an absolute right of conscience; to believe in their religion without interference from the state.  The reaction of those Muslims was predictable and justified.

While an American government indebted to the Chinese government may find it tough to criticize such savagery, I do not. Communism....a slightly less brutal form of communism....is still alive in the world and a threat to any who profess a love of individual liberty.

Changing The Game

Terrorism has long been funded by petro-dollars.  Ironically or otherwise, the oil barons of the Middle East have sold us oil and then funneled a portion of those profits into organizations like Al Qaida.

Now we find that the recent energy boom in the U.S. due to new technologies for recovering shale oil have caused us to increase production.  The increase is enough that we may surpass Saudi oil production before the decade is over.

It is possible that other nations with significant shale reserves may follow in our footsteps.

Which would leave the Saudis with far fewer oil consumers and far more oil exporting competitors.

Good.  Let 'em eat sand for a while.

Who Is Jerome Silberman?

Gene Wilder.

A great interview of Gene by Ernie Manouse.

Professionalize! Federalize?

I don't know much about this chap, Alex Jones.  But it appears as though he has poked the TSA one too many times.  As a result, he is harassed by TSA agents every time he flies.

I seem to recall that some Democrats were making the assertion that "when you federalize, you professionalize" during the debates over the formation of the TSA.

This is apparently what the TSA considers to be "professional" conduct.  They are doing it wrong.  Trust me.

Book Anti-Recommendation - Why We Suck

If you read about a book here, then you should assume that I found reading it to be reasonably enjoyable.  I read a lot of things that are not necessarily very satisfying to me.  I don't talk about those disappointing reads because someone else might find them to be very enjoyable.

There are good reasons for different literary genres.

I picked up Denis Leary's "Why We Suck" at a used book store.  I like Mr. Leary's comedy.  I enjoy most of his television and movie roles.  He tends to be fairly libertarian in his outlook, so I figured that there would be moments of intense enjoyment and perhaps some modest validation.

And there were a some of both inside.  There were other sections that came from a more challenging perspective.  None of us ever agrees on everything.  So onward I read.

Until he started taking potshots at kids with mental and developmental handicaps.  There are somethings I just can't do.  Cracking wise about kids with those kinds of challenges is one of them.

I understand the larger point he was trying to make.  There are some kids...hell, even some adults...that have never had to learn the sort of self control needed to successfully operate in a cooperative society.  Some folks have other social difficulties.  The "Revenge of the Nerds" franchise is a pretty good example of otherwise normal people that have some social issues.

But Mr. Leary distinctly does not differentiate the target of his criticism from kids with some more serious issues.  The word "retard" is frowned upon for school aged kids.  Adults should simply know better.

And so his book is due to presently join the rest of the refuse in my garbage can.  I can think of no more appropriate disposition for it.

At least I bought it used.

The Record

I try to keep the titles for each entry by turns entertaining, obscure, and tempting in case that is all someone gets before they visit.  By the time some folks are done, I image that some will think of "record" as in a "broken record" that skips will think of a "record" as in a "broken record" that skips will think of a "record" as in a "broken record" that skip.

Ahem.  Where was I?

My digital basket of interesting items includes some things from before the election.  With Mr. Obama's second inauguration barely a day a way, I thought this might be an interesting time to look at his justification for re-election.

An article from Investor's Business Daily lays it out pretty well.  In summary:

1) He claims that Bush era tax cuts and deregulation caused the 2008 recession.

The record would suggest otherwise.

2)  His policies stopped another Great Depression.

Again, the data suggests that the recovery started before his policies were enacted.  Heck, the worst of the damage occurred before he was sworn into office!

3)  His policies are working.

Except, they aren't.  The economy is still sluggish.  His policies discourage investment in the U.S. that is needed to get us going full tilt again.  I talk to business owners and managers all the time and hear how they could be doing more, but won't until the current tax and spend environment ends.

4)  A slow recovery was inevitable.

Except that historically, the deeper the recession, the quicker the recovery.  Given how deep the recession was....and it was very deep....we should have zoomed out of it by now.  It is hard to zoom when you have an anchor shackled to your ankles.

5)  Nobody could have done better.

See item 4.  Every President coming out of a recession has done better.

One hopes that Presidential hubris will not delay a strong recovery any further.  That would represent real change, and progress to move us....forward, Mr. President.

Real World Translation

While this might seem like political "red meat", I do think this is a great summary of Mr. Obama's recent pronouncements on executive orders regarding gun sales.  I could summarize the summary as being multiple instances of:

• Tell government officials and agencies to do their jobs
• Waste money doing things that private agencies already do, and do better than government agencies.
• Spend money, sometimes without an obvious benefit
• Pretend that the ACA doesn't say what it actually says

The first one on the list is really very frustrating.  We have plenty of gun laws.  But they are not enforced.  We have plenty of policies.  But government agencies elect not to follow them.

Yet when a tragedy occurs, all we hear is a hue and cry for more gun regulations.  Why?

Or better yet, why not try using the current regulations and laws to do what we said needed to be done after the previous incidents?

One of the tools that federal prosecutors have is the ability to get felons convicted of gun crimes sentenced to facilities that are no where near their families.  I read about a prosecutor in either West Virginia or Virginia (I think) that was making full use of that law.  As as result, crimes committed with guns were down in this individual's area.

It seems that while the criminals were willing to commit crimes, they were unwilling to commit crimes that would keep them far from their families for extended periods of time.

Which might also suggest that we inconvenience them in other ways while they are incarcerated, but that is probably a discussion for another day.

So What Happens When...

...you take your boyfriend home to meet the family.

In Utah.  Where your family are Mormons.  And also Mexicans.

You might lose your cell phone on the way home from the airport with your boyfriend.  After announcing the loss to a couple of family members, you find the phone.

And when a family member calls hoping that someone will have found the phone, you might impetuously thrust your phone into your boyfriend's hands and tell him to pretend that he is a homeless person that has found this phone and that he lives at the end of the alley behind Arby's, behind a dumpster.

You might think that this sort of hijinks would end well.  But no.

Getting to the end is pretty damned funny though.

Head on over to The Moth and hear Elna Baker fill in the details.

Weather Vs. Climate

The news has infrequently indicated that our friends in Europe and Asia are having a brisk winter this year.  This is in stark contrast with the constant news reports about 2012 being the warmest year on record for the continental United States.

Since late November the country has shivered at an average of minus 3.8 degrees Celsius, 1.3 degrees colder than the previous average, and the chilliest in 28 years, state news agency Xinhua said on Saturday, citing the China Meteorological Administration.

So what is my point?  Simply that our media tends to focus on weather stories that support their general narrative.  In this case, stories that support the narrative that human activity are the primary force behind increasing global temperatures get pushed to the top of the heap.  These stories are prominently placed regardless of whether or not the weather they report really has anything to do with the larger issues of climate science.

Conversely, those that undermine the narrative are pushed aside.

What does it mean when the U.S. has the warmest year on record, but Asia and Europe go through a colder than normal winter?  Beats me.  We had a warm one.  They are in the midst of a cold one.  You suppose they might cancel one another out on a global basis?  I suppose they might.

But the better conclusion is that it is far more important to get news in a complete context.

You Mean Walter Is A Girl?

At least in this case:

A Georgia mother hid her two 9-year-old twins and shot an intruder, Paul Ali Slater, several times during a home invasion on Friday, according to multiple media reports.

The deaths of all those kids in Newtown, CT were a stark tragedy.

The deaths of that young woman and her twin children would have been no less of a tragedy.  It was averted by a woman with modest skills needed to defend her family from a committed and experienced criminal.

Fortunately, she also possessed the only tool that would have enabled her to put those skills into action.

It is regrettable that the many lives saved by guns each year are not weight weighed equally in the balance when the folks that want to ban guns get busy waving bloody shirts to justify curtailing our civil rights.

Book Recommendation - In The Name Of Rome

Adrian Goldworthy wrote "In The Name Of Rome" in 2003.  This tome presents the history of Roman military leaders that built and maintained the Roman Empire.

He tells the stories of political intrigue surrounding the selection of consuls that led the Roman army.  He presents the movement, battle skills and maneuvers they developed on their way to victory.

From a military history as well as a general military perspective, the book was a pleasant read.  The details were not so fascinating as to remain glued in my mind, so we are all lucky to be spared a longer recitation of those details.

However, the book did present one overarching narrative that I think is relevant to modern America.

At the beginning of the Roman Empire, serving in the army was considered to be a duty of every Roman citizen.  It was considered to be a near qualifying duty for those that wanted to hold power back in Rome.

This perspective changed over the course of the Empire.  Eventually, the military was formed with significant numbers from the outlying provinces.  Rome's leading citizens were too busy generating and consuming wealth to spend any significant portion of their lives defending the source of their relative liberty.

That sort of thing was farmed out to lesser men and foreigners.

This condition was one of the factors that led to the eventual demise of the Roman Empire.

When a nation can no longer persuade not only her citizens, but specifically her leading citizens to invest of themselves in that nation's defense, then that nation will shortly cease to exist.  Or at least it will cease to have the power and influence that it once enjoyed.

Robert Heinlein has suggested that there is a link between rights and responsibility as well as a link between responsibility and authority.  Each cannot exist unless it is in balance with the other.  Before one assumes political authority over others, one must submit completely to that same authority.  Where else can such complete submission occur but in the military?


In modern America, the trend for service in our military is for people from the central and southern states to serve.  Those from the seats of power....New York, LA, the New England areas...serve at a far lower rate.  Those that seek civilian and corporate leadership rarely send their children to serve as well.  We also routinely recruit from pools of immigrants as well as foreigners that apply to serve at our embassies around the world.

What will our future be if we cannot inspire future generations to see our nation as being worthy of the sacrifice of military service?  History does not suggest a positive outcome.

For those with an appreciation of military history, western civilization, and military tactics, "In The Name Of Rome" is a splendid book.

So What Happens When...

...your credit card gets stolen.

Well you hope the bank will stop the continuing theft.  Banks are pretty good about that these days.

And you might find some online purchases.  Unusual purchases.  Surprisingly, these unusual purchases had been shipped to someplace reasonably nearby.

Suddenly, it occurs to you that the last transaction where you gave someone your card number (as opposed to swiping it in person) was when you ordered pizza over the phone.  Putting two and two together, you visit the pizzeria with the intent of tracking down the miscreant that had just wrecked your life.

Instead you end up talking to the manager during the middle of the afternoon.  Then the mother of all coincidences occurs; the manager has to answer the phone to take a delivery order.  And the caller is using your credit card number to pay for your pizza.

Head on over to The Moth's website and listen to the rest of the story from Tristan Jimerson.

It just gets better and better.

They Never Attacked Us!

Flash! NY Times Discovers Germans Did Not Attack Pearl Harbor 

New York Times headline September 4, 1946:

Nothing to add.  Give it a go if you have a head for history.

A Great Beer

Or at least a bunch of great beer commercials.

Misogyny on parade in some cases....but pretty funny nonetheless.

A Christmas Qulting

2012 was a pretty busy quilting year for me.  And the pay off, such as it was, came on Christmas.  I have made many quilts for friends and family, but I had not made any for my immediate, immediate family, other than for my beloved bride.

Four family members received quilts this year on Christmas Day.  I'll be posting individual entries for each quilt shortly.

Media Antics - NPR Edition

I was listening to the Diane Rehm show last Friday.  There was a discussion about defense priorities and relations in the Middle East and southern Asia.  There was a part of the discussion where the panelists were discussing future troop strength in Afghanistan and a number of options were presented.

One of the panelists suggested that Mr. Obama would probably work towards the middle option.

The asshat of the panel chimed in with "As he does on every issue."  A classic example of why Ms. Rehm needs a staff "truth detector" for her program.  Whenever things get a little....thick, shall we say....the "truth detector" would fire off a klaxon or two to let the audience know that the discussion has significantly deviated from reality.

'Cause the reality is that while Mr. Obama has taken a centrist position on some issues, he has taken some pretty leftist positions on others.  Health care comes to mind.  Deficit spending and taxation are also areas where he is well left of the center of American political opinion.

I genuinely enjoy listening to NPR.  Mostly.

But it is instances like this that make me not only want to end federal subsidies for NPR, but to levy confiscatory taxes on the organization so we can recoup the money wasted on them in years past.

My Nickel Done Shrunk

Perhaps to be subtitled "A Modest Victory Over Procrastination".

A few months ago I posted an item about the arrest of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula; the film maker who produced the noted anti-Islam video.

The short version is that I saw that act as being potentially one of censorship.  The longer version...well we'll get to that in due course.

A Champion Redux - Almost!

As we approach kick off for tonight's BCS football championship, it might be a good idea to recall the history between these two teams.  Specifically, the 1966 Notre Dame 9-0-1 championship season where Alabama finished the season undefeated.

The lone tie for Notre Dame came against Michigan State University.  MSU was using a talented athlete courtesy of the recommendation of Paul "Bear" Bryant, coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

As was the case for all football championships of the era, the 1966 championship was decided by sports writers and coaches rather than on the field.  It was a beauty contest.

This year we have a live football game to determine the outcome.  The coach for Alabama is Nick Saban.  Nick coached at Michigan State University for several years. 

Ironic, no?

Also consider this, there were two undefeated teams in college football this year.  One was Notre Dame.  The other was Ohio State.  If Alabama defeats Notre Dame tonight, then Ohio State will be the only undefeated team this year.  And there is one national championship award that is not obligated to go to the BCS game winner. 

It could...realistically....be awarded to Ohio State.

Enjoy the game!

Wire Suppliers Rejoice

This is being written on the 30th of December, 2012.

On this morning's talking heads show on CBS, Peggy Noonan offered the following observation.  Paraphrasing, she was a bit disappointed that Mr. Obama has not shown any interest in building bridges with the Republicans in Congress.  She indicated that Mitch McConnell, a leader of the GOP in the U.S. Senate had spoken with the President a few days prior and that this was the first conversation between the two since late November.

Ms. Noonan suggested that this is part of a larger pattern of behavior by Mr. Obama to prefer brinksmanship over building relationships that permit cooperation.  Other panelists largely agreed with that perspective.

I hope that as you are reading this, we have some sort of real solution that includes much needed spending cuts.

However, given Mr. Obama's lengthy history, I am sure that wire suppliers have no need to doubt their profitability for the next four years.  We will be "down to the wire" on some other issue in short order.  Courtesy of an intransigent President.

They Just Are Not Serious

Recently, Mr. Obama signed a presidential order ending a current presidential order that freezes pay for all federal civilian employees.  As a result, federal wages will go up in April.  The cost per year is roughly US$1 billion.

And yet our federal deficit is running well past US$900 billion per year.

Apparently he is still not serious about solving our nation's deficit spending problems.  I'll start to take his proposals more seriously when he starts addressing the problem in a serious manner.

Laying The Groundwork

Glenn Reynolds had a recent column in the NY Post where he suggested that GOP backers could spend their political dollars more wisely by investing in women's magazines and websites.

For $150 million, you could buy or start a lot of women’s Web sites. And I’d hardly change a thing in the formula. The nine articles on sex, shopping and exercise could stay the same. The 10th would just be the reverse of what’s there now.

For the pro-Republican stuff, well, just visit the “Real Mitt Romney” page at snopes.com, or look up the time Mitt Romney rescued a 14-year-old kidnap victim, to see the kind of feel-good stories that could have been running. For the others, well, it would run articles on whether Bill Clinton should get a pass on his affairs, whether it’s right that the Obama White House pays women less than men, and reports on how the tax system punishes women.

This stuff writes itself, probably more easily than the Spin Sisters’ pabulum. And opening up a major beachhead in this section of the media is probably a lot cheaper than challenging major newspapers and TV networks head on.

The only losers will be the political consultants who ate up so much of the GOP’s cash this time around.

Are rich Republican donors smart enough to do something like this? Well, we’ll find out.

One of the frustrations that keep me from absorbing too much of the main stream media is precisely the sort of unbalanced reporting that Glenn suggests is going on.  Society and cultural stories that highlight the "cool" factor of everyone on the left.  Stories that suggest that everyone on the right is an old, white guy with no sense of humour.

NPR became unlistenable in the months leading up to last fall's election.  The one bright note is that NPR is survivable now that the election is over and there isn't a need to sell their left leaning audience on a left leaning Presidency.  Auditory comfort food for the left is apparently now a lower priority.

As Glenn suggests, engaging low information voters in the media format that they currently enjoy should become a priority if we are ever to recover our Constitutionally limited government.

She Likes To Screw

Stolen from someone, passed along to me via email.  I'm gonna use this one until it breaks!

Dating in 1960

You need to be able to remember the era to really enjoy this ... But even if your not old enough, this is funny, anyway!

It was a hot Saturday evening in the summer of 1957 and Fred had a date with Peggy Sue. He arrived at her house and rang the bell.

"Oh, come on in!" Peggy Sue's mother said as she welcomed Fred in.

"Have a seat in the living room. Would you like something to drink? Lemonade? Iced tea?"

"Iced tea, please," Fred said.

Mom brought the iced tea.

"So, what are you and Peggy planning to do tonight?" she asked.

"Oh, probably catch a movie, and then maybe grab a bite to eat at the malt shop, maybe take a walk on the beach..."

"Peggy likes to screw, you know," Mom informed him.

"Uh...(gulp) really?" Fred replied, with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, yes!" the mother continued. "When she goes out with her friends, that's all they do!"

"Is that so?" asked Fred, incredulous.

"Yes," said the mother.

"As a matter of fact, she'd screw all night if we let her!"

"Well, thanks for the tip," Fred said as he began thinking about alternate plans for the evening.

A moment later, Peggy Sue came down the stairs looking pretty as a picture wearing a pink blouse and full circle skirt, and with her hair tied back in a bouncy ponytail.

She greeted Fred.

"Have fun, kids," the mother said as they left.

Half an hour later, a completely dishevelled Peggy Sue burst into the house and slammed the front door behind her.

"The Twist, Mom!" she angrily yelled at her mother.

"The damned dance is called the Twist!"

Etta James

No additional comment is needed when an incomparable performer of Etta James' caliber is involved.  Enjoy!




Cover of "Take It To The Limit" by The Eagles



"At Last" an Etta James signature song

Found via this list of five classic Etta James performances.

Pay To Play?

As we get ready for a day of parades and collegiate football, this might be a good time to reflect on the real cost of all this frivolity.

Brad Flory, a local newspaper fixture, had a recent column where he points out that going Bowling is largely a money losing proposition for colleges.  Brad is a pretty credible guy, so I do not doubt that these bowls can end up costing colleges money for their teams to participate.

This is another story of having too much of a good thing.  We went from having a handful of bowls presenting a few high caliber teams to having 35 "bowls" that include teams with losing records.

Collegiate football programs generally make money over the course of a season.  In fact, they make enough to significantly subsidize other sports in many programs.

But does it really make any sense to spend some of those profits to send a team with a losing record to a bowl that the fans will not attend?  Much less watch?

Does anyone know about the New Era Pinstripe Bowl?  Does anyone really care?

This development seems to be yet another sign of the times where everyone gets a trophy for participating.  It is also another sign of excess marketing.  In the process, we have diluted the accomplishment of a truly high caliber team making a bowl appearance while simultaneously lining the pockets of those that promote this excessive number of events at the expense of students.

Brad closes his column with:

Sanity demands this must stop. At minimum, public universities should take a stand by refusing to participate if their money must guarantee ticket sales to marginal games.

Football coaches and bowl promoters may not like that stand, but it is simple financial prudence. We still demand that from public institutions, don’t we?

Brad hasn't been paying much attention to Washington D.C. lately...

Making The Cut

This editorial cartoon was in our local rag recently.  I think it covers the issue nicely.  Have a look.

But I Am Sure He Did Not Mean Me

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently suggested that we need national election standards.

Election officials across the county should “be striving to administer elections more efficiently and more fairly,” Holder said, according to the remarks.

“This means taking steps to address long lines at polling places — and ensuring that every polling place has an adequate number of voting machines,” Holder said. “We must acknowledge that giving our fellow citizens access to the voting booth for longer hours and over additional days will enable more of them to cast their ballots without unduly interfering with the work or family obligations that so many have.”

Holder also said that the “ordinary citizens who, just last month, endured long lines, biting temperatures, and blazing sun to make certain that their votes would be counted” were continuing the legacy of Americans who have fought for the right to vote.

The snow drifts in hell must be eight feet deep at this point.  I agree with Mr. Holder.

Although I would include elements like ensuring that voters are citizens of the U.S. before they are registered, and ensuring that felons/prisoners that are ineligible to vote under state laws are in fact prevented from voting.  I also want to see voter ID requirements strengthened; especially in the case of same day registration/voting.  We have had far too many instances where people are voting without being properly identified as qualified voters, or voting in multiple jurisdictions.

A comprehensive set of national election standards would resolve many questions about our current elections practices.  It would, theoretically, secure the right to vote by not only establishing common voting conditions and methods for reviewing voter rolls, but by also clamping down on fraudulent registration and voting.

I am more than a little skeptical about Mr. Holder's ability to be truly comprehensive.  I am willing to bet that the electoral issues that concern me do not concern him in the slightest.

Who Owns You?

On the international front, socialism is on the rise in France.  Socialists recently won control of most of the government and immediate set to work solving their deficit problems by raising taxes on the rich.  Those taxes were one factor for Johnny Depp's decision to return to the U.S.  There have been other reports of France's elite moving to the U.K., Belgium, and other countries to avoid those confiscatory tax rates. 

Recently, France's Prime Minister had a hissy fit over several high profile actors, and others that took similar precautions to preserve their earnings.

I find the bureaucratic outrage to be more than a little amusing.  It is as if these socialists believe that those people are the property of the state rather than being individuals who have the freedom to choose the conditions in which they live.  Why should they be surprised when those individuals exercise that freedom in the face of an overly bureaucratic government that is imposing an intolerable level of taxation?

The exodus is predictable, as is the socialist response.  Sadly.

In THAT Pocket!

I just found this interesting....and thought you might as well.

Reading The Rule Book

One reason why I lean towards the GOP is that they attempt to maintain the pretense of have read and understood our Constitution at some point in the recent past.

Each member of the House has had to attach a Constitutional Authority Statement (CAS) to every proposed bill since Jan. 5, 2011.

However, one group of Republicans is unimpressed by the offered justifications for constitutionality.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) analyzes each statement—3,865 in the first year alone—and in response to some of the more questionable justifications began emailing every congressional office a “Questionable Constitutional Authority Statement of the Week.”

“We started highlighting horrible Constitutional Authority Statements because there were so many of them,” said Brian Straessle, RSC spokesman. “Think of it as a shaming mechanism to get people to think seriously and carefully about the intended limits of the federal government’s power.”

Newt Gingrich, for all of his flaws, had at least one redeeming quality.  He thought that members of Congress should read the Constitution as well as the works of the founders so that they would have some sort of familiarity with what the words in the Constitution mean.

The Democratic leadership abandoned that idea a long, long time ago.

Christmas Perspective

Via the outstanding men and women at BlackFive:




A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I  gazed round the room  and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door  just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled  here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's  freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the  snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every  night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from  the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's  a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,'
And now it is my turn  and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But  my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a  foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my  sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that  this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting  and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I  asked, "or prepare you a feast?"
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from  your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love  us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

- written by Michael Marks in 2000

Merry Christmas 2012

All of the best this season to my many valued readers.  As a Christmas treat, please enjoy this unique Christmas tale.  And always remember why being away in a manger may not be the most sanitary condition in the world.

Unreal Reality TV

One of the few "reality" TV shows that we watch from time to time at Casa de Todd is "Storage Wars".  The premise of the show is that people compete at auctions for the contents of storage containers.  The folks on the show are given a limited opportunity to view the container from an aisle way (no touching/entering please) before bidding on the contents.  What they see is what they get.

In theory.

A recent story suggests that the show's producers were juicing some of the containers that were won by the show's paid participants.  One of the participants, Dave Hester, had a spine and a conscience and protested the deceitful practice.  As a result, they stopped juicing his containers.  And then they fired him from the show.

David Hester's suit claims producers have added a BMW Mini and newspapers chronicling Elvis Presley's death to lockers in order to build drama for the show and that his complaints about the practices led to his firing.

Hester is seeking more than $750,000 in his wrongful termination, breach of contract and unfair business practices lawsuit. A&E Television Network declined comment, citing the pending lawsuit.

"Storage Wars" follows buyers who bid for abandoned storage lockers hoping to find valuables tucked inside.

"A&E regularly plants valuable items or memorabilia," the lawsuit states. Hester's suit claims he was fired from participating in the series' fourth season after expressing concerns that manipulating the storage lockers for the sake of the show was illegal.

What is interesting is that on the show, Mr. Hester is presented as a bit of a self-centered ass.  Perhaps he was just covering his.  Or perhaps reality TV really isn't all that real to begin with.  In either case, it is good to see someone doing the right thing for a change.

Twitter Classic

Via the Blogfather comes a pointer to:

"being democratically elected doesn't mean everything you do thereafter is by definition democratic"

Indeed.....

Setting Em Up And Knocking Them Down

I Hate Spammers

And I work hard not to hate anyone.

My recent post, "Nefarious", resulted in 19 hits.  Oh man was I excited!

Until I saw that they call came from one website and that it had nothing to do with anything.  Just someone looking for a trackback.

I Am Definitely Going To Hell For This One

Need I say more?

Nefarious

The Blogfather has this precisely correct.  If this had been done by some people/groups on the right, then the media would be screaming bloody murder and calling for new regulations.

More than 4 million people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 did not vote this year. But by applying new voter science, Obama nudged enough replacements in key states — many who were rare or first-time voters — to give him his margin of victory (leveraged even larger by the Electoral College).

Years of stealthy multimillion-dollar efforts paid off forAmerica’s left in the 2008 and 2012 victories by President Barack Obama. Using new voter science to get rare and first-time voters to go to the polls, the races have changedAmerica’s electorate — those who make the country’s decisions by showing up and voting.

Aided by $5 million minimum from George Soros, plus millions more from others, at least two secretive institutions were created to enable this effort by focused research on behavioral science. Their results are made available only to liberals and their causes.

Just imagine if the Koch brothers had been involved....

How Far Will This Go?

Much further...I hope.

State Rep. Mike Fleck (R-Huntingdon) publicly acknowledged Saturday that he is gay, making him the first openly gay lawmaker in Pa. and the only* currently sitting openly gay Republican state legislator in the entire country.

A GOP that has abandoned the culture wars can only be a progressive step for our country.

Book Review - The Missing Ring

It was not my original intent to visit this year's college football national championship game, but it seems that circumstances have led us back to a repeat of the 1966 season where Notre Dame edged out Alabama.  The controversy surrounding the selection of Notre Dame that year is documented in "The Missing Ring", written by Keith Dunnavant.

So my recent reading of this book is certainly timely.

I think it is fair to put the weakest part of this book up front.  The author is a "homer"; a graduate of the University of Alabama.  A man who received some modest assistance during his time at Alabama from Paul "Bear" Bryant.  He writes about the 1966 Crimson Tide team that narrowly missed achieving a phenomenal three national collegiate football championships in a row.  While I think it is obvious that his relationship with Alabama fueled his passion for researching this book, I think it is also fair to note that his history with Coach Bryant and his time at Alabama may...or may not...have affected his perspective.

"The Missing Ring" arrived in my book pile a few years ago for no discernible reason.  Such was the sales job performed by whoever prepared the book cover.  The fact that it was in a bargain books bin probably helped.

Mr. Dunnavant begins his story with the training camps and recruiting efforts of 1965.  The image he creates of training camp is one of a crucible where boys are forged into men via discipline and rigorous exercise.  It is a place where one imagines "character" as oozing from the walls and seeping into the skin.  The garbage cans kept in the team's gym as receptacles for athletically induced regurgitation served double duty establishing the mood for the facility as well as yet another bonding experience for the athletes.

The theme that Mr. Dunnavant reiterates time and again are how Coach Bryant expected effort, achievement, and unswerving loyalty to the program which in turn produced the sort of young men that he could then mold into national championship caliber teams.  The sole weakness of "The Missing Ring" is the persistent return to this theme after it had been adequately addressed in the initial chapters of the book.

The story continues with views into the personal lives of various Alabama players of that era.  Imagine my surprise to discover that Kenny Stabler had played for the Tide.  I watched many of his professional football performances on Sunday afternoons as a young lad.  The story of his youth and his time at Alabama was quite interesting.  See the book for details.

When it gets down to it, Mr. Dunnavant's case on behalf of the 1966 Crimson Tide comes down to two essential elements; the reaction to racism in the state of Alabama and disproportionate enthusiasm within the sports media for Notre Dame.

The civil rights struggles in Alabama were deep and bloody.  Anyone with a passing sense of American history understands that the white political leadership was in the middle of making their last stand against progress for everyone in general and black Alabamans specifically.

The continuing specter of segregation caused many across the country to take a rather dim view of southern states in general and Alabama in particular.  This presence of this perspective created a situation where the sports writers only needed the flimsiest of excuses to justify their national champion votes for another team; any other team.

The Notre Dame football program has been the long time beneficiary of positive press coverage.  This is a bit ironic given that during the 2012 season, the media constantly underestimated and dismissed Notre Dame's achievements on the field.  And yet the Irish will play for the national championship this year against...Alabama.

Mr. Dunnavant suggests that Coach Bryant was not pleased with segregation at Alabama.  He also suggests that the coach felt that opposing segregation at the university would harm his football program.  Coach Bryant's critics may justly criticize that stance as defending the comparatively unimportant health of a football program while sacrificing the far more important issue of civil rights for oppressed Americans.

Mr. Dunnavant suggests that the coach envisioned blacks playing at Alabama "some day".  In lieu of developing such valuable additions to his program, Coach Bryant apparently steered young black men to integrated programs where they could be successful.  In another small irony, one such young man ended up playing a role in the 1966 tie between Michigan State University and Notre Dame that year.

In any case, Mr. Dunnavant suggests that the media used the heightened racial tensions as an excuse to under-rate the 1966 Crimson Tide.

MSU nearly beat Notre Dame that year.  Perhaps the most controversial game on Notre Dame's schedule that year.  At the end, with time running out, Notre Dame elected to control the ball in pursuit of a tie rather than to play for the win; and potentially lose the game as well.  Notre Dame's coach apparently felt that the media would not penalize his team for a tie with the then #2 ranked team.  But they would penalize him for the loss.  He wanted the national championship more than he wanted to win that game.

The combination of the negative perspective of Alabama and the optimistic perspective granted to Notre Dame cost Alabama a third straight national championship;  their "missing ring".

The final piece of the puzzle in the story is the absence of any sort of playoff requirement at the end of the year.  At the time, the AP and UPI polls ruled the championship race.  A split between the polls resulted in co-championships.  One poll or the other may decide to declare a champion before the college bowl games or after.

It is one of the most compelling arguments for the current BCS system.  It remains a strong argument for a real, multi-game playoff system today.

I am unprepared to unquestioningly accept Mr. Dunnavant's narrative as the definitive truth.  But it is an interesting and well told perspective.

There are many golden nuggets of collegiate football history to be found within the pages of "The Missing Ring".  Enjoy.

Predictable Results From Obamacare

It seems that Walmart has decided that future new hires that do not work at least 30 hours a week will no longer be eligible for the company's health care plan.  Currently that is not the case.

Instead, those people will have to apply to the newly expanded Medicaid program.

Anyone that has watched the last 80+ years of American history should not be surprised.

We passed Social Security.  Employer pensions steadily declined.

We passed Medicare.  Employer paid health care for retirees is now nearly non-existent.

At each step of the way we have separated those with money from their moral obligation to assist others.  They figure that having paid their taxes, that they have have discharged their civic duties.

Why should anyone be surprised that CEO salaries have skyrocketed in the wake of the government assuming (illegitimately) the civic responsibilities of corporations?

Never Trust 'Em

Yet another cautionary tale about the capricious winds of government devastating private business owners.  The short version appears to be that a couple asked their local township if they could use their residential driveway to access land they owned that was zoned for commercial purposes.  The township agreed.

After a few years of rapid grown, the couple's new neighbors complained.  The township reversed itself and decided to start enforcing zoning restrictions on the couple without compensating them for effectively taking their established businesses.

News Flash - West Point Still Stands...

...even after a lesbian couple gets married there.  Congratulations to the newlyweds!

The U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel at West Point hosted its first same-sex marriage Saturday
Penelope Gnesin and Brenda Sue Fulton, a West Point graduate, exchanged vows in the regal church in a ceremony conducted by a senior Army chaplain.

The ceremony comes a little more than a year after President Obama ended the military policy banning openly gay people from serving.

The two have been together for 17 years. They had a civil commitment ceremony that didn't carry any legal force in 1999 but had longed to formally tie the knot.

The couple live in New Jersey and would have preferred to have the wedding there, but the state doesn't allow gay marriage.

"We just couldn't wait any longer," Fulton said.

Paying The Bills

Having been following trends in education for some time, I was particularly surprised to find that the theoretic economic benefits of a college education that are sold to high school students fell so short.

We cannot continue subsidizing educations that do not make economic sense.  Students cannot continue to sign up for a lifetime of indebtedness.  Like every other economic bubble in the world, this one will break eventually.

Wouldn't we be better off by not having our government create them in the first place?

The obvious...to me....solution is to put colleges on the hook for the debt if students are not able to find fiscally rewarding employment within their field of study.  And to require colleges to advertise the benefits of what they are offering on a "by field of study" basis.

Most kids are smart enough to avoid a train wreck, if they can see it coming.

The Change Is A Comin'

Or at least we will have it if Congress decides to the smart thing instead of the popular thing.  Recent history isn't encouraging on that perspective.

In any case, we really need to do away with the paper dollar and replace it with coins.  I'd even go so far as to suggest that we copy Canada and establish a $2 variant.

I know a lot of people don't like the current $1 coins due to size issues that make is slightly similar to the current quarter.  We have managed do deal with pennies and dimes that similar in size, so I'm not sure why this is such a big deal.

However, the government might consider making two-tone coins for easier visual recognition.  They might also consider using other features (scalloped edges, a hole in the middle, etc.) that will make it easier to tactilely differentiate the $1 coins from their $0.25 cousins.

The GAO's Lorelei St. James told the House Financial Services panel it would take several years for the benefits of switching from paper bills to dollar coins to catch up with the cost of making the change. Equipment would have to be bought or overhauled and more coins would have to be produced upfront to replace bills as they are taken out of circulation.

But over the years, the savings would begin to accrue, she said, largely because a $1 coin could stay in circulation for 30 years while paper bills have to be replaced every four or five years on average.

"We continue to believe that replacing the note with a coin is likely to provide a financial benefit to the government," said St. James, who added that such a change would work only if the note was completely eliminated and the public educated about the benefits of the switch.

Even the $1 coin's most ardent supporters recognize that they haven't been popular. Philip Diehl, former director of the Mint, said there was a huge demand for the Sacagawea dollar coin when production began in 2001, but as time wore on, people stayed with what they knew best.

 The sooner the better.

Just Piss On That!

You may have heard about Glenn Beck's recent kerfuffle.  It seems that he took a figuring depicting Barack Obama as Jesus Christ and put in in a jar.  He then filled the jar with urine.  It turns out that the fluid was actually beer, which is pretty humourous for what should be obvious reasons.

Now I don't watch or listen to Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.  Primarily because I find some of their attempts at sarcastic criticism to cross lines that I am unwilling to cross.

But this particular stunt is perfect.

A few years back, an artist by the name of  Andres Serrano created a bit of a kerfuffle with his "art" image of a plastic figurine of Jesus on the cross submerged in a yellow fluid that Mr. Serrano claimed to be his own urine.  The piece won an award that was funded in part by the National Endowment of the Arts and became yet another in a series of incidents that suggest that the NEA is wasting our tax dollars.

Fast foward to today, and we have folks that are supportive of Mr. Obama's agenda making favorable comparisons between Jesus and the President.

Mr. Beck then takes that near-religious fervor and criticizes it a way that mimics that of Mr. Serrano's artistic criticism of Christianity.

We end up with the folks that thought that Mr. Serrano and the NEA had done nothing wrong now being outraged when similar contempt is expressed towards one of their icons.  Apparently, do as they say, but not as they do?

It most certainly is not a step in the right direction with respect to comity and tolerance between different points of view.  But it a timely reminder that if one expects a certain amount of deference toward one's icons, then perhaps one should demonstrate a certain amount of deference towards the icons that are important to others.

Book Recommendation - Old Man's War

Courtesy of the Blogfather, I have been reading about John Scalzi for several years.  I just didn't have a chance to read any of his work due to the already sizable pile of my reading list.

As fortune would have it, I have been reading Mr. Scalzi's blog for longer than I have been reading his fiction.  He is overly enamored with sarcasm like so many others.  Regrettably.  His writing there is otherwise most enjoyable.

His first science fiction book is called "Old Man's War".  Many have favorably comparied Mr. Scalzi's style to that of the late Robert A. Heinlein.  The closest of Mr. Heinlein's books that is comparable with "Old Man's War" is "Starship Troopers".  As I have observed before, the movie is nothing like the book.

I was reading a review of "Old Man's War" that described the plot as a cheat when compared with the plot of "Starship Troopers".  I find the two plots to be reasonably similar.

In "Starship Troopers", the protagonist joins the military.  During basic, he he learns how to wear an operating powered armor.  The reason for the armor is to make the soldier stronger, faster, better than the alien hordes that humanity is fighting.

Mr. Scalzi takes a little different approach, but the result is the same.  Part of that approach is a personal computer that is integrated with the user.  It operates something like Apple's Siri.  Except most folks call it "Asshole".

I will leave that aspect of the book there so as to not ruin the book for you.

I was most impressed with Mr. Scalzi's ability to create very human characters.  Our protagonist is John Perry; a 75 year old retiree that has decided to enter the Colonial Defense Forces.  Earth is well protected from conflict with the aliens.  Earth colonies....not so much.  So people living on Earth, like John Perry, are recruited to leave the Earth and join the CDF.

One of the reasons why John Perry is willing to leave the planet is that he really has little left to live for on Earth.  His wife had died of a stroke a couple years prior.

He didn't want to live out his days as a man who lives for nothing more than his next visit to his wife's grave.  It is a portrait of a man who hurts so deeply.  I hope I never hurt like that.

I hate visiting here.  I hate that my wife of forty-two years is dead, that one minute one Saturday morning she was in the kitchen, mixing a bowl of waffle batter and talking to me about the dustup at the library board meeting the night before, and the next minute she was on the floor, twitching as the stroke tore through here brain.  I hate that her last words were "Where the hell did I put the vanilla."

I hate that I've become on of those old men who visits a cemetery to be with his dead wife.  When I was (much) younger I used to ask Kathy what the point would be.  A pile of rotting mean and bones that used to be a person isn't a person anymore; it's just a pile of rotting mean and bones.  The person is gone -- off to heaven or hell or where ever or nowhere.  You might as well visit a side of beef.  When you get older you realize this is still the case.  You just don't care.  It's what you have.

For as much as I hate the cemetery,  I've been grateful it's here, too.  I miss my wife.  It's easier to miss here at a cemetery, where she's never been anything but dead,  that to miss her in all the places where she was alive.

I didn't stay long; I never do.  Just long enough to feel the stab that's still fresh enough after most of eight years, the one that also serves to remind me that I've got other things to do than to stand around in a cemetery like an old, damned fool.  Once I felt it, I turned around and left and didn't bother looking around.  This was the last time I would ever visit the cemetery or my wife's grave, but I didn't wan to expend too much effort in trying to remember it.  As I said, this is the place where she's never been anything but dead.  There's not much value in remembering that.

Part of the process of joining the CDF requires tests and evaluations.  One of those evaluations is designed to evoke an emotional response.

A little later in the afternoon, I got pissed off.

I've been reading your file," said the Colonial, a thin young man who looked like a strong wind would sail him off like a kite.

"Okay," I said.

"It says you were married."

"I was."

"Did you like it? Being married."

"Sure.  It bests the alternative."

He smirked.  "So what happened?  Divorce?  Fuck around one time too many?"

Whatever obnoxiously amusing qualities this guy had were fading fast.  "She's dead," I said.

"Yeah?  How did that happen?"

"She had a stroke."

"Gotta love a stroke," he said.  "Bam, your brain's skull pudding, just like that.  Good that she didn't survive.  She'd be this fat, bedridden turnip, you know.  You'd just have to feed her through a straw or something."  He made slurping noises.

After missing his wife so terribly, he ends up having his memory of her terribly abused.  But all is not lost.  He gets to see her again....sort of.  It's complicated.

"Old Man's War" accurately expresses a military experience.  He nails the camaraderie and esprit de corps that is part of any successful military experience.

I particularly appreciated that he spelled "Marines" correctly; capitalized.  It was a back-handed reference to the earth bound USMC, but it was accurate nonetheless.  His use of the Corps' Rifleman's Creed also demonstrated a depth of knowledge on the subject of military relationships and practices.

Another example would be the military treatment of race.  Marine Drill Instructors teach that there is no such thing as white, or black, or brown, or anything other than "green".  The intent is to break down any sense of individuality and to build a common perspective.  Mr. Scalzi's CDF does something similar, but with a twist.

Given the many comparisons with "Starship Troopers", I think it is worthwhile to note the dissimilarities between the two works.

As I suggested in my review of "Revolt in 2100", Mr. Heinlein's characters never used coarse language outright.  But it was readily implied.  The That goes for sexual activity as well.

Mr. Scalzi is a bit more expressive in these two areas.

A deeper difference is the deeper sense of analysis and purpose within the plot.  At a deeper level "Starship Troopers" seeks to express a successful social framework for human progress and expansion.  It explores issues of individual rights and responsibilities.  It explores the unbreakable bond between authority and responsibility.  It also explores how all of those issues affect successful governance.

By contrast, "Old Man's War" is just a ride that takes the reader along.  It presents some very interesting technology.  It certainly presents an intriguing and engaging narrative.  But it only explores what exists.  It does not explore why those conditions exist.  It is the difference between a trip to the African savannah and taking a safari ride in a zoo.  Both can be entertaining and enjoyable experiences.  But only the former is enlightening.

As Mr. Scalzi acknowledges the influence of Mr. Heinlein's work on his own, I think it is fair to observe where he falls a bit short of that comparison.

"Old Man's War" was an enjoyable read.  It was also successful enough that I bought and read "The Ghost Brigades"; Mr. Scalzi's follow up to "Old Man's War".

Leash That Woman, Would Ya?

From that bastion of feminist thought that is Saudi Arabia comes news that the kingdom had created a policy where by the movements of the female chattel of that country...that would be all of them...are automatically reported to their male owners.  Anytime a woman crosses the Saudi border, a text is sent to "her man"; whether or not he requests such service.

The couple who alerted al-Sharif was travelling toegether (sic). As they did, the husband received a text message from immigration authorities informing him that his wife had left the international airport in Riyadh.

While details are sketchy, it sounds like the service is not opt-in. Since the husband in the couple above was surprised by the SMS, he didn't have to "sign up" to get the message.

It doesn't seem like the tracking is carried out using a tracking device on the person of the woman, at least. Instead, it seems that the immigration authorities simply text the "guardian male" on record when a woman leaves the country, manually.

In the article, someone sarcastically asks why they just don't install RFID chips in their women and be done with it.

Never give advice to oppressive regimes.  They don't understand sarcasm and just might do as you suggest.

How Did We Get Here?

I have been mulling a longer piece on the causes of the 2008 fiscal meltdown, but really haven't been able to motivate myself to get it done.  But this piece in the Washington Examiner lays out a couple of the causes that have been largely neglected in the media.

The media narrative has been that the 2008 meltdown was caused by greed; specifically corporate greed.  I happen to agree that corporate greed played a huge role in the collapse of the housing market.  Companies like Countrywide created mortgages where there was a significantly reduced probability of repayment.  Companies like Goldman Sachs....primarily Goldman Sachs...monetized those loans and then created worthless derivatives based on those loans.  When the fiscal house of cards collapsed, they were left holding all the money.

A nice deal....if you are Goldman Sachs.

I also think that individual greed played a role.  Specifically, the individual desire to have more than you can reasonably justify based on your income.  It isn't enough to just be able to "make the payments".

I can recall discussing mortgages back in the early 2000s with a friend.  Someone in his family had just taken out a mortgage where they would not be required to repay any principle.  They just had to make the interest payments.  We both thought they were nuts.

How did the market develop loans for which there was no expectation that the principle would ever be repaid?

It turns out that there was a program created during the Carter administration called the Community Reinvestment Act.  It was designed to help some folks obtain mortgage financing that might not otherwise be able to do so.   A big deal to those that qualified, but not really a big deal in the larger home finance market.

The Clinton administration took that program and put it on fiscal steroids with his National Homeownership Strategy.  The Bush administration changed the name, but otherwise kept the same program in place.  This program broadened the pool beyond otherwise credit worthy poor people to include people who had no rational expectation of repaying those loans.

I don't have the video, but I do recall seeing Mr. Clinton on TV in the fall of 2008 saying that perhaps his administration had been a little too aggressive when it came to boosting home ownership.

With more people buying homes, the price of homes went up.  Speculative investments were made on speculative investments.  Leveraging of debt occurred.

You would still think that the private risk incurred in creating such debts would cause financial institutions to shy away from the so-called "sub-prime" mortgages.  Here is where the government doubled down on a bad idea.

The amount of private risk was minimized by the federal government.  At the time of the meltdown, the U.S. government was almost the sole purchaser of sub-prime mortgages due to the efforts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Essentially, the government created the mandate for the loans and then created a market that would offer the loans.  The net result is a tale that should have grown old by now; privatized profits and public risk.

From the article linked above:

"All of us participated in the destructive behavior -- government, lenders, borrowers, the media, rating agencies," said Warren Buffett. "At the core of the folly was the almost universal belief that the value of houses was bound to increase."

There are naturally other elements to the saga.  The influence peddling between members of Congress and companies like Countrywide that prevented the Bush administration from limiting the number of risky mortgages that Fannie and Freddie were snapping up.  The lax enforcement of investment laws by the SEC during the Bush administration.  The gutting of the Glass-Steagall Act (passed by a GOP led congress, signed by a Democrat President) may have also played a role.

It is corporatism...government imposed policies that favor certain corporate interests...writ large.

And the results were unsurprising to anyone that has spent more than a few moments studying American history.

All Things In Their Own Time

I had set aside today's entry thinking that I would put a little something together in honor of Pearl Harbor Day.  But then nothing unusual or interesting came to me.

Until earlier this week when we lost a great American.  An icon.  A legend.

Master jazz musician; Dave Brubeck.  He passed away this week a day before he was to turn 92 years old.

Given the season of the year, perhaps this little Brubeck gem is appropriate:

Mr. Brubeck was also a U.S. Army veteran who served with Patton's 3rd Army.  He ended up playing the piano for some of the other soldiers stationed in Europe and was asked to put together a band to keep the guys entertained.  Which he did.

Aside from his visionary piano performances, Mr. Brubeck was also a leader in the area of civil rights.  His quartet was one of the first racially integrated bands in the Army.  He maintained that sort of integration after leaving the Army which caused no small bit of trouble on some college campuses where they played.

 Some musicians and critics openly resented his success, and others questioned his prominence in a form of music that was created primarily by black musicians.

But Mr. Brubeck was an outspoken advocate of racial harmony and often used his music as a platform for cross-cultural understanding. He once canceled 23 of 25 concerts in the South when local officials would not allow his African American bass player, Eugene Wright, to appear with the rest of the group.

On a tour in the Netherlands in the 1950s, the African American pianist Willie “The Lion” Smith was asked, in Mr. Brubeck’s presence, “Isn’t it true that no white man can play jazz?”

Without answering at first, Smith gestured toward Mr. Brubeck and said to the reporter, “I’d like you to meet my son.”

His gifts to the uniquely American world of jazz music were many.  His creations have inspired generations of musicians as well as simple jazz enthusiasts like me.

And while Europe isn't the Pacific...and it sure isn't Pearl Harbor...there is at least a modest tie with the day and those that served.  As someone that opened up new perspectives in American culture, I'm sure that Dave Brubeck would appreciate the attempt.

You can listen to NPR's remembrance of Mr. Brubeck here.

The title of this entry is a bit of a pun.  Dave Brubeck innovated with unique musical time signatures based on his travels around the world .  It ain't much of a pun, but it works.  Again, I think Mr. Brubeck would get it and appreciate it.

Getting Better All On Our Own

There has been a modest amount of buzz about recent reports that the U.S. has reduced carbon emissions more than any other country.  I think it is important to keep in mind that we lead the world in carbon emissions.

At least until China catches up in a few years.

So it should be the easiest for us to make reductions.  Sort of like when an obese person goes on a diet.  Those first few pounds are pretty easy to lose.

Most of the reductions came due to recent progress in natural gas mining and recovery.  Natural gas produces far less CO2 when compared with other fossil fuels.

Where The Killing Is

In all the hubbub over guns and deaths, there is a lot of number fiddling that goes on.  Take for example this piece that accurately points out that 62 school aged children were killed by guns in Chicago this year.  It also accurately points out that 442 school aged children were shot this year in Chicago.

The underlying point that this piece makes is that Chicago is some of the most draconian anti-gun laws in the country.  And still, these kids are dying by the wagon load.

Here is the deception.  While the vast majority of those kids were certainly "school aged", my bet is that they were not in school.  My bet is that the vast majority of those kids were killed willfully taking part in drug deals when they were shot and/or killed.

Which brings to mind a salient point that if we really wanted to cut the number of deaths due to guns in the U.S., we would legalize drugs immediately.  It would have the salutatory effect of also cutting other rates of crime as well.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with the tragedy in Connecticut last month.

The underlying point that kids are dying in Chicago under some of the most onerous anti-gun laws in the country is a fact.  Adopting those kinds of laws on a national level will do nothing to cut gun deaths in the U.S.  We will instead become a nation of unarmed victims amidst armed brigands.

Establishing public policy based on unusual circumstances seems to be counterproductive to me.  The dominant problem causing gun deaths in America is our failed War on Drugs.  The dominant problem causing mass shootings is people with untreated mental health issues.  Addressing both of those problems would be of far greater service to progress than making life easier for the criminals that walk in our midst.

Person Of The Year Fluke

Literally.

It appears that Time magazine has included Sandra Fluke in their list of candidates for 'Person of the Year'.  for those that may not recall, Ms. Fluke is the college student that was subjected to the rather boorish behavior of Rush Limbaugh after she announced that she wanted her contraceptives covered by her university insurance program.  The university in question is associated with the Roman Catholic church.  For better or worse, those Catholic folks have a problem with contraceptives and objected to being forced to pay for something that they oppose as a matter of faith.

Now before anyone gets all het up, I am well aware that Ms. Fluke's testimony included the fact that some contraceptives have very serious uses for other medical conditions.  And I happen to agree with her that if someone has one of those conditions, then it isn't exactly unreasonable to expect your health insurance program to exclude include the appropriate medication from in the available treatment options.

That being said, I can't think of a single reason to include her on any list of important people.  Michael Graham of the Boston Herald agrees.  I think his take is worth reading for the larger social commentary.

Can you think of anyone who better represents the America of 2012 than Ms. Fluke? I can’t.
She’s got it all: The “Generation Cupcake” inadequacy (“So what if she didn’t earn the award — give it to her, anyway!); the “Occupod” sense of entitlement (“Somebody should be buying my condoms, and it ain’t gonna be me!”); and, of course, the liberal detachment from reality (“There’s a war on women! We’re being oppressed! Just ask Hillary Clinton, Condi Rice and Oprah!”).

Then there’s the economic angle. One could argue that the icon of the failing Obama economy is the college grad with a worthless degree under his arm and a bed in his mom’s basement.

Time magazine gives us Sandra Fluke, with a bachelor’s degree in (no joke) Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, no marketable skills, and still on the academic track, living on the largess of others.

I’m not trying to be mean to Sandra Fluke. Unlike Rush Limbaugh I make no comment on her personal life or sexual proclivities.

But I also didn’t — and would never — put this unaccomplished 30-something on the “Person of the Year” list for publicly whining about paying her own bills.

He pretty well sums up America in 2012.  Whatever it is, someone else is responsible.  Ms. Fluke is a perfect fit.

edited 12-6-2012

It Takes All Kinds - Local Edition

The following actually was scheduled for 11/12/2011.  I have no idea why it was not published.  Blogger must have hiccuped.

It still applies.

...

I saw something last week that gave me a bit of pause.

Stationed in front of the local Post Office were a pair of young ladies with an obvious political message.  It was a pretty cold day for early November and you had to respect their passion even if you disagreed with their politics.

One of the young ladies was white; perhaps 'European' in today's vernacular.  The other was definitely of African extraction, although I have no doubt that she is every bit the American that I am.

The posters on display showed our President, Mr. Obama.  Bearing the 'toothbrush' style mustache once popularized by Charlie Chaplin.

And Adolph Hitler.

The accompanying text suggested that these young ladies support impeaching Mr. Obama for some reason.

I am pretty adamant about opposing that sort of hyperbolic imagery.  I thought it compromised civil debate when it was applied to Mr. Bush.  The same is true now that Mr. Obama is the subject of such criticism.  Neither one was/is even close to being in Adolph Hitler's league.  People with legitimate public policy disagreements should be able to agree on that much.

I suppose the other option was the young ladies were conducting a social science experiment to see how people would react.

I didn't stop to find out which was the case.

Spending Cuts Vs. Tax Hikes Explained

link

This pretty well encapsulates the current "negotiations" on our deficit spending problem.

Book Recommendation - Revolt in 2100

Throughout Robert Heinlein's literary life, he created an alternate world that embraced technology and an individualist perspective on the world.  Mr. Heinlein is credited with predicting the impact of future technologies on society even though his predictions were errant with respect to the specifics of those technologies.  He was an avowed anti-Communist, a veteran, and a visionary.

Robert Heinlein is one of my favorite authors.  His book "Starship Troopers" should be required reading for every high school student.  Ignore the movie for anything more than titillation and explosions.

I happened across his book "Revolt in 2100" in the library.  In reality, this is one modest length book with a few short stories tacked onto the end.

Robert Heinlein has always impressed me for a variety of reasons.  His repeated treatments of the themes of individual liberty and individual responsibility are thought provoking.  His outright advocacy for equality of any dimension continues to be relevant to current events.

One aspect of Mr. Heinlein's writing is his ability to allow the reader to infer language and actions.  His books never contain profanities, yet you know when someone is using them.  His books never include overtly salacious content, yet almost everyone is having sex and characters wander around au naturale at some point in many of his stories.

Apparently, Mr. Heinlein was an infrequent nudist.

"Revolt in 2100" takes place in an America dominated by a theocracy.  The protagonist, and a few other characters, undertake an accidental journey where they discover some of the dirty secrets about how the theocrats maintain their power, how they justify actions that are antithetic to their professed faith, and how tenuous their hold on power truly is.

Our protagonist is John Lyle, member of the personal guard of the Prophet Incarnate.  This guard is known as the Angels of the Lord.  Also he is an officer and graduate of West Point, his duties are the sort that are more typically performed by an ordinary soldier.

Mr. Heinlein frequently uses military characters or characters that are veterans in his stories.  Being a veteran of the U.S. Navy, Mr. Heinlein believed that military service was a virtuous experience.  Call me biased, but I generally agree!

John Lyle has grown up accepting the version of history taught by the church/state that presented the religious leadership as being divinely endorsed.  Religious instruction and monitoring of the population being the "will of God".

John graduates from West Point and eventually joins the elite guardians of the church/state leader.  A position where his commission earns him the lowest rung on the ladder.

As a part of this elite unit, he learns that the government expects him to have human failings.  It plans to use those failings later on to obtain either leverage on his future behavior, or as justification to terminate his military career if it should ever become an inconvenience to the church/state.  The 'wise' officer being the one that is monitored to commit a few lesser failings in order to better hide the greater failings that they enthusiastically enjoy.

Such failings inevitably involve women.  Imagine that!

John then meets one of the Sisters that "minister" to the leader of the church/state.  And, yes, the scare quotes imply just what you think.  But she didn't know what she was agreeing to do when she joined the Sisters.  Imagine her surprise when the moment of truth arrived.

The story proceeds from there as John and his paramour join the resistance. 

The short stories include a cautionary tale about wishing for real anarchy.  (i.e. the total lack of government as opposed to the socialist state that our modern "anarchists" promote)  Also included is a story about space exploration in the asteroid belt.

"Revolt in 2100" is solid work by Mr. Heinlein, even if it is not his best work.  It was a reasonably enjoyable read.

Larry Hagman

Like most folks my age, I've seen Larry Hagman in a lot of roles over the years.  "I Dream of Jeannie" is the obvious first exposure, but he's a pretty good actor and got around, theatrically speaking.

I am also known for having to tell you one story just so the story I tell afterwards will make sense.

I recently found one tribute to Mr. Hagman that includes:

End of that story. Here's the sequel...

Go read them both.  You won't be sorry.