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.