The Fulcrum
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
Blogging Help
Anyone out there know an easy way to alphabetize my blogroll? I'm kind of anal about that sort of stuff (and yet lazy about putting out too much effort) and it bugs me that I haven't been able to find a truly easy method.
Any assistance would be appreciated!
UPDATE 01/07/03: Thanks for the suggestions on how to get this done. I've added "Blogroller" to my template and it appears to be working well.
Any assistance would be appreciated!
UPDATE 01/07/03: Thanks for the suggestions on how to get this done. I've added "Blogroller" to my template and it appears to be working well.
Creative Destruction
Most people would call that headline an oxymoron - and in this specific case, they'd likely be correct. In this morning's Wall Street Journal, there's an editorial piece (subscription required) discussing outsourcing of service jobs to India or China.
As you'd expect, the editor is all in favor of outsourcing. He quotes Joseph Schumpeter, calling such outsourcing "creative destruction." The idea being that as such jobs are outsourced, saving companies about 58 cents for each dollar in wages moved off-shore, the money saved is then used for innovation and future job creation; "creating new jobs we often can't imagine."
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Think tax cuts for corporations and the rich that create massive deficits which will be erased by future revenues "we often can't imagine."
The WSJ's answer? Well, you'll recognize most of them - warmed over as they are:
Even if we could depend on aWol to implement such schemes fairly, it would only do the next generation of workers good. Those whose jobs move to India or China today are stuck with shrinking unemployment benefits, loss of medical insurance and a shredded social safety net.
But of course, you can always depend on conservatives to be compassionate, no? When it comes right down to it, here's the money quote from the WSJ article, the one that really says how our compassionate conservative politicians think. When discussing some state laws requiring call centers to re-route calls to an American location if the caller requests, the editor says: "We doubt someone from South Dakota finds it any easier than someone from Delhi to understand a New Jersey accent."
In other words, suck it up.
I wonder if we could outsource the government?
As you'd expect, the editor is all in favor of outsourcing. He quotes Joseph Schumpeter, calling such outsourcing "creative destruction." The idea being that as such jobs are outsourced, saving companies about 58 cents for each dollar in wages moved off-shore, the money saved is then used for innovation and future job creation; "creating new jobs we often can't imagine."
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Think tax cuts for corporations and the rich that create massive deficits which will be erased by future revenues "we often can't imagine."
The WSJ's answer? Well, you'll recognize most of them - warmed over as they are:
"The alternative is to do what it takes for Americans to remain innovative and create the next wave of wealth-creating technology and ideas. Improve K-12 education, especially in the inner city, maintain an open immigration policy so the world's brains can live in the U.S., reform the tax code and fix the legal system."We already know about BushCo's commitment to education: No Child Left Behind is woefully underfunded and is now basically just lip service. And just how open an immigration policy we have - or can have - is wide-open to debate given the ever tightening scrutiny of immigrants. Tax code reform under Bush is reform only from the point of view of the very rich. And fixing the legal system basically means protecting business from all forms of civil action.
Even if we could depend on aWol to implement such schemes fairly, it would only do the next generation of workers good. Those whose jobs move to India or China today are stuck with shrinking unemployment benefits, loss of medical insurance and a shredded social safety net.
But of course, you can always depend on conservatives to be compassionate, no? When it comes right down to it, here's the money quote from the WSJ article, the one that really says how our compassionate conservative politicians think. When discussing some state laws requiring call centers to re-route calls to an American location if the caller requests, the editor says: "We doubt someone from South Dakota finds it any easier than someone from Delhi to understand a New Jersey accent."
In other words, suck it up.
I wonder if we could outsource the government?
Monday, January 05, 2004
Smile for the Camera - While We Fight the Last Battle
The military - and governments in general - almost always prepare to fight the next war like they should have fought the last one. Unfortunately, the world and our enemies do not remain static. They evolve, change. So nearly always, militaries must learn on-the-fly during a war how to fight this evolved enemy. We are seeing this clearly in the aftermath of the latest Gulf War; we went in thinking we were in for a tank-on-tank, division-on-division open territory battle like Gulf War I. Instead, the Iraqi army faded into the population in the cities and, along with insurgents and a few foreigners, are fighting a guerilla type warfare.
We are also seeing this failure to learn and adapt by the Department of Homeland Security. Today began their latest program of photographing and fingerprinting visitors to the US (only from certain countries) in the hope of catching someone on the terrorist watch list coming in through major international airports and cruise ports. In the details there are concerns about privacy, but in general this is probably not a horrible idea if executed correctly and fairly. Most importantly, though, is that this is how the last group of successful terrorists made it into the country to perpetrate 9-11. It is unlikely they will use this method again.
While Secretary Ridge screws around with taking care of the last threat, the most likely avenue for a future threat remains woefully unprotected: our major cargo ports of entry. With incoming cargo ships loaded with almost uncountable containers inspected at a rate in the low single digits (if I remember the last report correctly), this remains our most vulnerable spot. But because it is nearly unseen by most Americans it is nearly ignored in favor of more visible actions.
But we shouldn't be surprised at this; this administration is all about the appearance of action. Appearances can be deceiving, but only if you're not paying attention. And I guarantee you: al Qaeda is paying attention. You remember al Qaeda, don't you? They were the ones really responsible for 9-11. Of course with BushCo. paying so little attention to them, you could be forgiven for not remembering.
That's my job - to remind.
Don't be fooled; we are not safer since the capture of Saddam, hiding incommunicado in his hole. Al Qaeda remains a potent foe dedicated to doing our country harm.
Remember.
We are also seeing this failure to learn and adapt by the Department of Homeland Security. Today began their latest program of photographing and fingerprinting visitors to the US (only from certain countries) in the hope of catching someone on the terrorist watch list coming in through major international airports and cruise ports. In the details there are concerns about privacy, but in general this is probably not a horrible idea if executed correctly and fairly. Most importantly, though, is that this is how the last group of successful terrorists made it into the country to perpetrate 9-11. It is unlikely they will use this method again.
While Secretary Ridge screws around with taking care of the last threat, the most likely avenue for a future threat remains woefully unprotected: our major cargo ports of entry. With incoming cargo ships loaded with almost uncountable containers inspected at a rate in the low single digits (if I remember the last report correctly), this remains our most vulnerable spot. But because it is nearly unseen by most Americans it is nearly ignored in favor of more visible actions.
But we shouldn't be surprised at this; this administration is all about the appearance of action. Appearances can be deceiving, but only if you're not paying attention. And I guarantee you: al Qaeda is paying attention. You remember al Qaeda, don't you? They were the ones really responsible for 9-11. Of course with BushCo. paying so little attention to them, you could be forgiven for not remembering.
That's my job - to remind.
Don't be fooled; we are not safer since the capture of Saddam, hiding incommunicado in his hole. Al Qaeda remains a potent foe dedicated to doing our country harm.
Remember.
Sunday, January 04, 2004
Spirit on Mars!
After recent failures (and apparent failures - Beagle), NASA seemed to be preparing the world for the worst; just in case. But last night, after a series of complex maneuvers and a bouncy landing, Spirit signaled that all was well and that it was ready to begin its search for signs of life.
Since our ancestors first looked to the sky, Mars' red hue has caught our interest. The color of blood, it has long stood as the god of war, the bringer of doom. Until the late 19th century when H.G. Wells put some of the first aliens on Mars. Ever since it's been the home of little green men, flying saucers and other, assorted boojums.
Since the Viking landings of the early 1970's Mars has seemed our best hope of finding life - or signs of past life - in the Solar System outside of Earth. The more photographs we saw of the surface, the more convinced scientists became that there was once liquid water on the surface; the most necessary ingredient for life. Follow-on missions were inconclusive at best on whether there was life there, so now Spirit, a larger, more capable rover is there. It offers our best chance so far to begin putting an answer to that ancient question; "Are we alone?"
Since our ancestors first looked to the sky, Mars' red hue has caught our interest. The color of blood, it has long stood as the god of war, the bringer of doom. Until the late 19th century when H.G. Wells put some of the first aliens on Mars. Ever since it's been the home of little green men, flying saucers and other, assorted boojums.
Since the Viking landings of the early 1970's Mars has seemed our best hope of finding life - or signs of past life - in the Solar System outside of Earth. The more photographs we saw of the surface, the more convinced scientists became that there was once liquid water on the surface; the most necessary ingredient for life. Follow-on missions were inconclusive at best on whether there was life there, so now Spirit, a larger, more capable rover is there. It offers our best chance so far to begin putting an answer to that ancient question; "Are we alone?"
Friday, January 02, 2004
Back by Popular Demand
It's hard to believe that when I put up a picture of my wife's Yellow Lab - in joking response to several blogs' Friday Cat blogging - that I actually got some positive response. Now I have to admit that I've never had a dog before I married Kim - and I still don't think I'd ever get one on my own. But, you know, if it brings comments and visitors, then who am I to deny my public what they want?
Okay, stop snickering over there... "my public," right.
Anyway, here's Baylea on Christmas morning, doing what she does best: making sure she's the center of attention regardless of what else is going on.
Okay, stop snickering over there... "my public," right.
Anyway, here's Baylea on Christmas morning, doing what she does best: making sure she's the center of attention regardless of what else is going on.
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Relativity and Time Dilation
Just kidding... sort of.
I really thought I'd spend some good on-line time during my two weeks vacation - reading the news and blogging about everything and anything. Hasn't happened. My blogging desire was there - no doubt - but so many other things came along to fill up the time. Last minute Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, drinking eggnog, family, reading (ah... the joy!!), a little television, baking, cooking. Everything but blogging.
Somehow, in the swirl of the holidays and family and other crises (maybe I'll blog about that later), getting on-line and getting my thoughts and opinions written just seemed to take a back seat.
I hope those few regular readers will forgive me a little indulgence.
In that same vein, I'm off to a New Years Eve party this evening with my wife. The weather is supposed to be cold and clear. It will be a nice way to end the year and start the new one.
Happy New Years to all of you who drop by here. Health and happiness to you all!
I really thought I'd spend some good on-line time during my two weeks vacation - reading the news and blogging about everything and anything. Hasn't happened. My blogging desire was there - no doubt - but so many other things came along to fill up the time. Last minute Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, drinking eggnog, family, reading (ah... the joy!!), a little television, baking, cooking. Everything but blogging.
Somehow, in the swirl of the holidays and family and other crises (maybe I'll blog about that later), getting on-line and getting my thoughts and opinions written just seemed to take a back seat.
I hope those few regular readers will forgive me a little indulgence.
In that same vein, I'm off to a New Years Eve party this evening with my wife. The weather is supposed to be cold and clear. It will be a nice way to end the year and start the new one.
Happy New Years to all of you who drop by here. Health and happiness to you all!
Sunday, December 28, 2003
A Steak in the Heart
Normally a "stake in the heart" gets you thinking about vampires and young, vulnerable women in low-cut lingerie screaming in old, black and white horror movies. Lately, though, the horror has been at the thought of BSE infected beef making its way into the American food system.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is a brain wasting disease in cows that can, on rare occasions, be passed on to humans in the variant Creutzfeld-Jacobs disease (vCJD). This disease basically eats holes in your brain - causing it to appear, in later autopsies to appear like Swiss cheese - until you lose all sense of self. And then you die. Nice, huh?
But we were told our meat supply was safe.
Earlier this week, when BSE, better known as "Mad Cow Disease," was discovered in a single cow in Washington state, the government at first said that the animal had been restricted in its eventual distribution; that it had all been recalled. And yet, many in the blogosphere had wondered whether the Bush administration - already shown to be rabidly averse to telling the truth about anything - might be understating the case. After all, only one tenth of one percent of beef is inspected... if one case had been found, how many others might be out there awaiting discovery? But no, the president was still eating beef in the White House.
Again, we were told our meat supply was safe.
Now we know that the original story was not complete. Of course, these stories take time to develop. The FDA had to try to trace the beef back to its source. But the cattle and beef industry had long ago decided that laws requiring traceabilty back to birth herds were too cumbersome and restrictive. So there was no easy way to determine where this one cow - then said to be a heifer (no offspring) - had come from. Then they said it was from Canada. Now we know that this cow had had at least two calves and its meat had been distributed far beyond what was originally stated.
And still we are told that our meat supply is safe.
I've always had great confidence in government agencies like the FDA. Sure they were over extended (much like our military), but they'd always done a masterful job of keeping our food supply among the safest in the world. But this maladministration has shown itself to be not beyond trying to spin even scientific evidence to fit its predetermined agenda - witness the disappearance of global warming from its reports and web sites, despite the fact that it has become "truth" in the scientific sense.
So, I have to wonder, what of the safety of our food supply under Shrubby and company? Surely everything they eat is well tested. The same with the new aristocracy of the well-moneyed. Why should they concern themselves overly with the slop left for the peasants? Keep the rest of us - including those overseas - from questioning the one thing that would likely get us all up in arms - food - and we will all remain, literally, fat, dumb and happy.
Until we begin to see cases of vCJD among the general public. And then it will be too late.
Is this just paranoia? It's hard to say from this point. It could be a general unease about such a horrible disease. It could be BushCo's past record of dissembling and outright lying. It could be the two glasses of wine I had with dinner. Regardless... you just have to wonder.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy is a brain wasting disease in cows that can, on rare occasions, be passed on to humans in the variant Creutzfeld-Jacobs disease (vCJD). This disease basically eats holes in your brain - causing it to appear, in later autopsies to appear like Swiss cheese - until you lose all sense of self. And then you die. Nice, huh?
But we were told our meat supply was safe.
Earlier this week, when BSE, better known as "Mad Cow Disease," was discovered in a single cow in Washington state, the government at first said that the animal had been restricted in its eventual distribution; that it had all been recalled. And yet, many in the blogosphere had wondered whether the Bush administration - already shown to be rabidly averse to telling the truth about anything - might be understating the case. After all, only one tenth of one percent of beef is inspected... if one case had been found, how many others might be out there awaiting discovery? But no, the president was still eating beef in the White House.
Again, we were told our meat supply was safe.
Now we know that the original story was not complete. Of course, these stories take time to develop. The FDA had to try to trace the beef back to its source. But the cattle and beef industry had long ago decided that laws requiring traceabilty back to birth herds were too cumbersome and restrictive. So there was no easy way to determine where this one cow - then said to be a heifer (no offspring) - had come from. Then they said it was from Canada. Now we know that this cow had had at least two calves and its meat had been distributed far beyond what was originally stated.
And still we are told that our meat supply is safe.
I've always had great confidence in government agencies like the FDA. Sure they were over extended (much like our military), but they'd always done a masterful job of keeping our food supply among the safest in the world. But this maladministration has shown itself to be not beyond trying to spin even scientific evidence to fit its predetermined agenda - witness the disappearance of global warming from its reports and web sites, despite the fact that it has become "truth" in the scientific sense.
So, I have to wonder, what of the safety of our food supply under Shrubby and company? Surely everything they eat is well tested. The same with the new aristocracy of the well-moneyed. Why should they concern themselves overly with the slop left for the peasants? Keep the rest of us - including those overseas - from questioning the one thing that would likely get us all up in arms - food - and we will all remain, literally, fat, dumb and happy.
Until we begin to see cases of vCJD among the general public. And then it will be too late.
Is this just paranoia? It's hard to say from this point. It could be a general unease about such a horrible disease. It could be BushCo's past record of dissembling and outright lying. It could be the two glasses of wine I had with dinner. Regardless... you just have to wonder.
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Merry Christmas/Happy NODWISH
Whoever happens to do a little blogabout today, I hope that you are well, safe and happy in your holiday celebrations.
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
1,000 Visitors!
Sometime last night I got my 1,000th visitor to "The Fulcrum!"
It took a while to get there - since the end of July when I added a site meter - but there it is. Thanks to everyone who's visited and especially to those who've left their comments; like applause to an actor, it's what has kept me blogging all this (short) time.
I hope I've at least gotten some of you to think about things in a different way or to see a slightly different viewpoint. I know that I've learned lots from all of you.
What a great NODWISH present!
It took a while to get there - since the end of July when I added a site meter - but there it is. Thanks to everyone who's visited and especially to those who've left their comments; like applause to an actor, it's what has kept me blogging all this (short) time.
I hope I've at least gotten some of you to think about things in a different way or to see a slightly different viewpoint. I know that I've learned lots from all of you.
What a great NODWISH present!
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
More Flying
Here's a photo of the helicopter I used to fly. It's not much to look at; the usual military olive drab, no weapons of any sort, it was underpowered and demanded a deft touch to keep out of trouble. But I loved every minute I spent with it strapped to my back!
U.S. Army OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopter.
U.S. Army OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopter.
Monday, December 22, 2003
Shopping Alert Level Orange
On my way back from Canada yesterday, the border guards had us open the back of our SUV to have a look inside. "Odd," I thought, "they don't usually do that." It wasn't until much later, when we'd lost the Canadian radio station we were listening to, did my wife and I discover that we'd come back to the US during an "Orange" threat level. But there was no more than that, just a quick look in the back window, the usual innocuous questions, and we were waved through. There didn't seem to be more than the usual number of cars pulled over for further inspection. But there it was; Orange Alert.
When I got home, we turned on the news to see if there had been something in particular that had caused the change - but all we saw was the mayor of New York City doing his, apparently standard, civic duty: Christmas shopping. Tom Ridge and Rummy have their vacations interrupted, they talk about al Qaeda pilots potentially flying for foreign airlines, and attacks as big as 9/11 - but their only advice to us is to shop, to go about our business. Apparently they have it all under control.
Of course, they still don't know where Osam bin Laden is. They won't say exactly what kinds of threats they are taking care of for us. But they do know that we should be shopping. We're no longer concerned citizens, no longer voters in a democracy; no, we are now strictly consumers. The engine of our economy. To be protected - to a certain point. To work as hard as we can - as long as we're needed.
But under no circumstances are we to be told any real information.
If you haven't listened to the Bare Naked Ladies latest CD (this really isn't off topic) you should. There's a great song on it called "Shopping." It was written with their typically wry humor specifically about Shrubby's exhortation since 9/11 that "everything will be alright, when we go shopping."
So, I'm back. Back to earthquakes in California. Back to Libya being our friend (didn't we just celebrate 10 years since Lockerbie?). Back to an Orange alert.
Back to shopping.
When I got home, we turned on the news to see if there had been something in particular that had caused the change - but all we saw was the mayor of New York City doing his, apparently standard, civic duty: Christmas shopping. Tom Ridge and Rummy have their vacations interrupted, they talk about al Qaeda pilots potentially flying for foreign airlines, and attacks as big as 9/11 - but their only advice to us is to shop, to go about our business. Apparently they have it all under control.
Of course, they still don't know where Osam bin Laden is. They won't say exactly what kinds of threats they are taking care of for us. But they do know that we should be shopping. We're no longer concerned citizens, no longer voters in a democracy; no, we are now strictly consumers. The engine of our economy. To be protected - to a certain point. To work as hard as we can - as long as we're needed.
But under no circumstances are we to be told any real information.
If you haven't listened to the Bare Naked Ladies latest CD (this really isn't off topic) you should. There's a great song on it called "Shopping." It was written with their typically wry humor specifically about Shrubby's exhortation since 9/11 that "everything will be alright, when we go shopping."
So, I'm back. Back to earthquakes in California. Back to Libya being our friend (didn't we just celebrate 10 years since Lockerbie?). Back to an Orange alert.
Back to shopping.
Friday, December 19, 2003
Minimal Blogging
We're heading up to Canada tomorrow morning - way too early for a weekend - to visit my wife's parents. There'll be no blogging until I get back; probably Sunday evening or Monday. The good thing is that today was my last day of work for the rest of the year. Until January 5, in fact!!
Everyone out there have a great weekend!!
See you when I get back!
P.S. In celebration of getting upgraded and to counter all the Friday Cat Blogging, here's a picture of my wife's Yellow Lab, Baylea, during warmer days here.
Everyone out there have a great weekend!!
See you when I get back!
P.S. In celebration of getting upgraded and to counter all the Friday Cat Blogging, here's a picture of my wife's Yellow Lab, Baylea, during warmer days here.
Thursday, December 18, 2003
The Wrights and Me
It's been 11 years since I last strapped myself into a helicopter; but I can close my eyes and it all comes back to me.
These were, of course, Night Vision Goggles; NVGs we used to also call them. Fabulous little tubes stuffed with high-tech stuck to the front of our flight helmets that turned night into a green-tinted ghost of day. With them on, I could fly, not through the clouds, but through the trees. Rotors spinning only feet or inches away from branches and leaves, rock and earth. My adrenaline would be pumping, sharpening my reflexes and my sight; my head would turn from side to side while my eyes picked out the least dangerous way.
And I was completely and absolutely alive.
Unless you've flown - and despite all the various kinds of pilots out there, there aren't really that many of us - you will never know that feeling. It's a feeling that I think about every day. Many times a day. Nothing can take its place, nothing will make it go away. (I won't go into all the reason here that I haven't flown in so long - although I will say that within the next year or so I will start again.)
This feeling, this love, for it is that, is what connects me to the Wright Brothers. And to every person who has ever left the solid earth in controlled, powered flight since that day, 100 years ago. More than any other group of people (save astronauts, gods to us mere demi-gods), pilots feel a sense of brotherhood. These are bonds formed between even people who have never met; forged in rigorous training, in self-discipline in the pure joy of flight. And that brotherhood, that camaraderie extends, in an unbroken line, from Wilbur and Orville to me.
If you've ever taken the controls of an aircraft, you know what I mean. If you never have you are poorer for that.
The smell of jet fuel and of hydraulic fluid. The smell of the plastic and metal inside the cockpit. I can still feel the smooth leather of my flight gloves, worn so often that they fit more like my skin than a piece of clothing. With my eyes closed I can reach out and know just where certain instruments and radios would have been, switches and knobs and circuit breakers. My hands know where to go to start the engine, to lightly hold the controls.When most people think of flying their impressions are born of trips on an airliner; lumbering up through the clouds into the blazing blue and white of the stratosphere. When I think of flying, I see everything in shades of green. My favorite time to fly was at night; little or no moon was best - with just the stars bouncing their feeble light off the landscape and into those incredible, almost magical, bits of technology we used to call merely "goggles."
If I sit very still, I can hear how the turbine engine used to spin up in a high-pitched whine before roaring to life when I opened the throttle. And I can remember the exact cadence the aircraft used to bounce while the blades spun up to idle.The smell of burned jet fuel brings a smile to my face.
Finally - and most heart wrenching of all, even after so many years - my limbs and my brain still remember the tiny, coordinated movements it took to make the small helicopter I used to fly lift gently from the ground. I remember what it felt like to hang there, suspended below the main rotor, totally in control of a machine trying desperately to go in a hundred different directions; held there in one piece seemingly by main force of will. My will.
With the merest thought (or so it seemed after 1,200 hours of flight time) I could make 3,500 lbs of metal and plastic dance.
These were, of course, Night Vision Goggles; NVGs we used to also call them. Fabulous little tubes stuffed with high-tech stuck to the front of our flight helmets that turned night into a green-tinted ghost of day. With them on, I could fly, not through the clouds, but through the trees. Rotors spinning only feet or inches away from branches and leaves, rock and earth. My adrenaline would be pumping, sharpening my reflexes and my sight; my head would turn from side to side while my eyes picked out the least dangerous way.
And I was completely and absolutely alive.
Unless you've flown - and despite all the various kinds of pilots out there, there aren't really that many of us - you will never know that feeling. It's a feeling that I think about every day. Many times a day. Nothing can take its place, nothing will make it go away. (I won't go into all the reason here that I haven't flown in so long - although I will say that within the next year or so I will start again.)
This feeling, this love, for it is that, is what connects me to the Wright Brothers. And to every person who has ever left the solid earth in controlled, powered flight since that day, 100 years ago. More than any other group of people (save astronauts, gods to us mere demi-gods), pilots feel a sense of brotherhood. These are bonds formed between even people who have never met; forged in rigorous training, in self-discipline in the pure joy of flight. And that brotherhood, that camaraderie extends, in an unbroken line, from Wilbur and Orville to me.
If you've ever taken the controls of an aircraft, you know what I mean. If you never have you are poorer for that.
Bring Your Hardhat
If you visit here regularly - not that there are that many of you - you'll notice some changes happening. I'm making some minor adjustments to my blog; making sure that it stays "clean" and visually appealing.
I haven't decided whether to upgrade my account to allow me to upload pictures and graphics, so for now it's going to stay pretty basic. If anyone sees this blog doing anything odd, please let me know - I'm viewing it with both IE and Netscape (and probably pretty soon with one or more Mac-only browsers as well) and it looks okay; but you never know.
So, watch the dust and all the heavy equipment; and continue to visit and comment.
I haven't decided whether to upgrade my account to allow me to upload pictures and graphics, so for now it's going to stay pretty basic. If anyone sees this blog doing anything odd, please let me know - I'm viewing it with both IE and Netscape (and probably pretty soon with one or more Mac-only browsers as well) and it looks okay; but you never know.
So, watch the dust and all the heavy equipment; and continue to visit and comment.
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
The Sock Puppet Speaks
I got to see a little bit of Diane Sawyer's interview with aWol this morning. Three things struck me about his "performance."
I came away from the segment of interview that I watched more convinced than ever that this man has been an absolute disaster for the US and that there is nothing more important than ensuring that he is voted out - along with his coterie of ass-kissers, boot-lickers, handlers, snake oil salesmen and puppet-masters - next year.
1.That damned smirk; when it wasn't actually on his face it seemed he was having a hard time keeping it in check. Either he can't control himself or he really is an arrogant, uncaring bastard.Of the three, the last is the most serious in terms of implications for the future of our country. But the other two, to me, indicate that we really are, all partisan BS aside, saddled with an incurious, unintelligent, born with a silver spoon mamma's boy. He barely hides his contempt for the average person - not only in his smirking demeanor but in the policies he allows to be promulgated in his name. And he is so unintelligent that he can only parrot those key phrases that are placed in his head by his handlers; any attempt to speak off-the-cuff are consistently disastrous and only serve to make him look even less intelligent.
2. He sounds like there's a little tape recorder inside him, or a pull string on his back; he keeps repeating the same thing over and over - in exactly the same tone of voice, in the same order and seemingly without knowing what was coming out of his mouth. Saddam was bad, the world's better off without him, rape rooms. And it's his always including the "rape rooms" accusation that is the scariest - like it's the one thing he can definitely remember.
3. He admitted he lied. Not quite so baldly, but Diane asked him about the WMD claims and tried to get Shrubbie to distinguish between Hussein actually having had WMDs and there being the threat that he might acquire them. Bush said something that just chilled me:"What's the difference?" Now, either he really doesn't know the difference - a possibility I'm increasing likely to believe - or he does and is unwilling, in the context of the reason for invasion, to admit to there being a difference. I'm not sure which is worse.
I came away from the segment of interview that I watched more convinced than ever that this man has been an absolute disaster for the US and that there is nothing more important than ensuring that he is voted out - along with his coterie of ass-kissers, boot-lickers, handlers, snake oil salesmen and puppet-masters - next year.
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Star Spangled Wingnuttery
Would you eat ice cream with names like these?
Now these are all worthy things to give to. But the flavor names; even if the company claims that they are targeted at Adults (which I don't know if they do), ice cream is eaten by kids primarily. What kind of ideas are they promoting to the next generation? Well, the company's web site carries the tag line: "Ice cream with a conservative flavor" (no link-love from me on this one). So that would be: hate people who give you good advice, rape and pillage the environment, government can do no good, guns are sacred.
Well, we are talking serious wingnuts here.
Have another ice cream cone.
My head hurts.
I Hate the French VanillaA small ice cream manufacturer in Washington, DC makes these flavors. The last of which, "Gun Nut" was developed in "concert" with Ted Nugent and the company, Star Spangled Ice Cream Co. promises to donated a dollar for every quart sold to the Gun Owners Foundation Gun Safety Project. Some proceeds from the other flavors are donated to charities that help soldiers.
Nutty Environmentalist
Iraqi Road
Smaller Gevernmint
Gun Nut
Now these are all worthy things to give to. But the flavor names; even if the company claims that they are targeted at Adults (which I don't know if they do), ice cream is eaten by kids primarily. What kind of ideas are they promoting to the next generation? Well, the company's web site carries the tag line: "Ice cream with a conservative flavor" (no link-love from me on this one). So that would be: hate people who give you good advice, rape and pillage the environment, government can do no good, guns are sacred.
Well, we are talking serious wingnuts here.
Have another ice cream cone.
My head hurts.
A Quick Bite of Apple
Just this (from the WSJ):
Apple also made their iPod mp3 player Windows compatible. These are truly drool-worthy gadgets; with the largest capacity player holding 40 Gb or 10,000 songs in a very small package.
Ah... every day brings another reason I'm so glad to be using a Mac. Now if only I could use one at work!
In a sign of strong demand for online music and related gadgets this holiday season, Apple Computer Inc. says it has sold more than 25 million songs through its iTunes Music Store, and some retailers are having a hard time keeping Apple's hot iPod portable music player stocked on store shelves.While others are still trying, Apple has done what other on-line music stores and computer makers have failed to do: make buying music on-line easy and fun while giving the music buyer very good rights-to-use. It also didn't hurt that Apple made a version of its iTunes jukebox-and-music store-in-one for Windows. Not only does this enable Windows users to access the music store, but it also shows off Apples excellent software and graphic design as well.
Apple also made their iPod mp3 player Windows compatible. These are truly drool-worthy gadgets; with the largest capacity player holding 40 Gb or 10,000 songs in a very small package.
Ah... every day brings another reason I'm so glad to be using a Mac. Now if only I could use one at work!
Koufax Awards
I wasn't really familiar with the Koufax Awards over at Wampum so I was quite surprised when I received an e-mail from Dwight Merideth of Wampum. He let me know that I'd been nominated for Best New Blog and that he needed some representative posts.
When I went to Wampum to see who had nominated me, there was a name and an e-mail (but no web site) of the person who nominated me. I didn't recognize either bits of identification; so all I can say is thank you to Rod. I have no illusions about getting the nod for this award as I'm up against some really good blogs, but I have to admit that it was great being nominated.
Additionally, The Liberal Coalition was nominated for Best Group Blog.
So, while I really have no hope of winning this, it was very cool to get the nomination. Sort of makes all this writing seem just a little more worthwhile if someone I don't know thinks this blog is worth the award.
When I went to Wampum to see who had nominated me, there was a name and an e-mail (but no web site) of the person who nominated me. I didn't recognize either bits of identification; so all I can say is thank you to Rod. I have no illusions about getting the nod for this award as I'm up against some really good blogs, but I have to admit that it was great being nominated.
Additionally, The Liberal Coalition was nominated for Best Group Blog.
So, while I really have no hope of winning this, it was very cool to get the nomination. Sort of makes all this writing seem just a little more worthwhile if someone I don't know thinks this blog is worth the award.
Now... Where Was I?
I took a bit of an unplanned break from blogging this past weekend. Other than my Sunday morning post about the capture of Saddam I just didn't get the chance to do any serious writing.
My wife and I had a great time at our company NODWISH party on Friday night, Saturday was spent in a mostly fruitless search of the mall for good NODWISH presents, and then Sunday... Sunday. Sunday we got about 14 - 16 inches of snow and it was one of those days where it was just much more fun to do a lot of nothing than it would have been to do anything in particular.
Anyway, Monday I spent catching up at work from being sort of unmotivated last week.
So.
Back to hopefully more blogging for a while. At least until this weekend when we'll be heading to Canada to visit my wife's parents. I probably won't get to do any blogging there; they have a computer, but it's old and slow and connected via 56k modem. I think I'll skip it.
Time to go have a look around the world and around my blogroll to see what's happening. Time to get motivated and inspired.
Time to blog!
My wife and I had a great time at our company NODWISH party on Friday night, Saturday was spent in a mostly fruitless search of the mall for good NODWISH presents, and then Sunday... Sunday. Sunday we got about 14 - 16 inches of snow and it was one of those days where it was just much more fun to do a lot of nothing than it would have been to do anything in particular.
Anyway, Monday I spent catching up at work from being sort of unmotivated last week.
So.
Back to hopefully more blogging for a while. At least until this weekend when we'll be heading to Canada to visit my wife's parents. I probably won't get to do any blogging there; they have a computer, but it's old and slow and connected via 56k modem. I think I'll skip it.
Time to go have a look around the world and around my blogroll to see what's happening. Time to get motivated and inspired.
Time to blog!
Sunday, December 14, 2003
"We Got Him!"
All the majors are reporting that Saddam Hussein has been captured in a basement on a small farm outside of Tikrit.
This is excellent news. Iraqis who were fearful of participating in the new government because they were afraid of Hussein coming back to power will no longer have that to fear. Those who were fighting the "coalition" because they wanted to reinstall Hussein at some future point no longer have that possibility; those who fought just because they didn't want to be on the wrong side when he returned are also free of that threat.
It remains to see how BushCo treats this momentous event. If they have learned anything from their experiences in the Middle East - doubtful from their actions so far - they will treat Hussein with dignity and ensure that he is not roughed up by soldiers nor paraded before Iraqis in a humiliating way. Then they must - against all desire, I'm sure - put him before The Hague to be tried by an international court with as little American "taint" (to the Arab street) as possible.
A plan of action like that would go a long way to restoring all the good that could have come from aWol's excellent adventure. To do otherwise would be a further disaster.
This is excellent news. Iraqis who were fearful of participating in the new government because they were afraid of Hussein coming back to power will no longer have that to fear. Those who were fighting the "coalition" because they wanted to reinstall Hussein at some future point no longer have that possibility; those who fought just because they didn't want to be on the wrong side when he returned are also free of that threat.
It remains to see how BushCo treats this momentous event. If they have learned anything from their experiences in the Middle East - doubtful from their actions so far - they will treat Hussein with dignity and ensure that he is not roughed up by soldiers nor paraded before Iraqis in a humiliating way. Then they must - against all desire, I'm sure - put him before The Hague to be tried by an international court with as little American "taint" (to the Arab street) as possible.
A plan of action like that would go a long way to restoring all the good that could have come from aWol's excellent adventure. To do otherwise would be a further disaster.
Just a Reminder
If you're a non-Liberal Coalition member and you're reading this, I'd like to ask you to do me a favor.
It's very easy; no shopping through an Amazon link, no donations to anyone. I'd just ask you to check out a fellow member's blog: It's Craptastic! and his entry "What is the Point?" If you like the entry, please write a short post with a link to that entry so that it will be counted as a vote in the New Weblog Showcase at Truth Laid Bear. This post is just one vote out from first place - he could use the help.
Thank you for your support.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
It's very easy; no shopping through an Amazon link, no donations to anyone. I'd just ask you to check out a fellow member's blog: It's Craptastic! and his entry "What is the Point?" If you like the entry, please write a short post with a link to that entry so that it will be counted as a vote in the New Weblog Showcase at Truth Laid Bear. This post is just one vote out from first place - he could use the help.
Thank you for your support.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Friday, December 12, 2003
The Big Dog is in the House!
Okay, not that Big Dog...
If you like the commentary and the doggerel of Steven Bates over at the Yellow Doggerel Democrat, then this is great news.
Steven has joined the Liberal Coalition as a part-time contributor!
He will bring a lot of class to what is surely a motley band of blogging liberals. Seriously though, make sure to check in with the Coalition as we have a growing group of very talented writers with some divergent and often pointed views all of which serve to further the liberal and progressive voice on the web.
We look forward to having the YDD joining our adventure.
If you like the commentary and the doggerel of Steven Bates over at the Yellow Doggerel Democrat, then this is great news.
Steven has joined the Liberal Coalition as a part-time contributor!
He will bring a lot of class to what is surely a motley band of blogging liberals. Seriously though, make sure to check in with the Coalition as we have a growing group of very talented writers with some divergent and often pointed views all of which serve to further the liberal and progressive voice on the web.
We look forward to having the YDD joining our adventure.
What Planet Is the Wall Street Journal On?
Here's the headline from one of the WSJ opinion pieces today:
Did I miss something?
WTF?
Keeping the Bush Boom AliveBush boom?
Did I miss something?
WTF?
Halliburton Gouging the Government
Please, tell me it isn't so! [mock horror]
I blogged about this more than a month ago but it seems the Pentagon and congress is just now figuring it all out(WSJ link, subscription required).
I blogged about this more than a month ago but it seems the Pentagon and congress is just now figuring it all out(WSJ link, subscription required).
The Pentagon has launched a sweeping investigation of Halliburton Co. activities in Iraq and found evidence of "substantial overcharging" in $1.2 billion of fuel sales by the company once run by Vice President Dick Cheney.While these allegations have been out in the open for quite a while, with the Pentagon and congress involved, the story may just get more traction in the press and in the public mind. Some of the Democratic presidential hopefuls are already making political hay from this - hopefully to good effect.
An audit of fuel costs, which still isn't complete, found that the company may have overcharged by as much as $61 million for gasoline in Iraq, a claim that Halliburton denies.
In a foreshadowing of the political uproar likely to erupt around the Halliburton allegations, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean accused President Bush of standing by as "campaign contributors ... continue to overcharge the American taxpayers." Halliburton gave $708,770 in political contributions between 1999 and 2002, 95% of it to Republicans, according to the contributions monitoring group OpenSecrets.org. Of that, $17,677 went to support President Bush.It is issues like this that those hoping to oust aWol from the Whitehouse have got to use, to get into the voters' minds. The deep rooted cronyism and wide ranging corporate connections inside the administration, the constant lies about everything from WMDs in Iraq to just how great the so-called Medicare drug coverage will be for seniors. These are issues that will resonate with voters, but they have to be put out there by the candidates in a forceful manner. The usual soft peddling will not work - the right has become too loud, too shrill for that to work.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, another presidential contender, said "Vice President Cheney's former employer ... proceeded to bilk the American taxpayer for tens of millions of dollars."
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Blogabout
The farmer, at Corrente, has had enough of the Democrats' love of circular firing squads. Haven't we all?
Republican "astroturf" has got NTodd up in arms at Dohiyi Mir. Just above this post is an appeal from Dean's campaign to help negate said astroturf. Check it out.
Speedkill's Jeff has a hard time swallowing the fact that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are training US soldiers on tactics to use to put down the revolt in Iraq. These happen to be the same tactics IDF are using on the Palestinians. Seems to have worked for them, no?
And finally (I really should get back to work) is the by-now almost-famous "Stranger's Law" from blah3:
Republican "astroturf" has got NTodd up in arms at Dohiyi Mir. Just above this post is an appeal from Dean's campaign to help negate said astroturf. Check it out.
Speedkill's Jeff has a hard time swallowing the fact that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are training US soldiers on tactics to use to put down the revolt in Iraq. These happen to be the same tactics IDF are using on the Palestinians. Seems to have worked for them, no?
And finally (I really should get back to work) is the by-now almost-famous "Stranger's Law" from blah3:
"As a discussion of US politics grows longer, the probability of a liberal or progressive being called a 'Bush-Hater' approaches one. Once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever called someone a Bush Hater has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress."And so ends my first - but not last Blogabout!
And renato's corollary (from the discussion thread):
"As a discussion of US domestic and foreign policy grows longer, the probability of a right-winger saying, '9/11 changed everything!' or otherwise using 9/11 as an excuse for the US to do anything it damn well pleases including killing thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, approaches one. Once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever used 9/11 as an excuse for the Bush regime's innumerable lies, civil rights violations, and war crimes has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress."
Atrios is On Fire!
If you haven't read Atrios' rant from yesterday, go now. Read it. Spread it around.
Just a sample:
Just a sample:
...and another thing. Stop ceding the goddamn debate. Who here thinks Howard Dean can beat Bush? Why Ted, you ignorant slut, Fred Flintstone could take Bush with Barney Rubble as his campaign manager. Wesley Clark should stop saying that he needs to be the nominee because someone needs to be able to match Bush at foreign policy. What Clark should say is that Joey Tribiani could match Bush at foreign policy, though he, Clark, has the most experience. Stop acknowledging that Bush is strong on anything. He's a big loser. He's a miserable failure. He's lost 3 million jobs. He got us into a screwed up war. Our soldiers are being killed by terrorists. The Middle East is a mess. Afghanistan is a mess. OBL is alive. Hussein is alive.Now get out of here! Go read the whole thing.
Rude, Crude and Socially Unacceptable
It seems that BushCo just can't help themselves. Is there such a thing as being congenitally rude?
The administration continued its apparent policy of pissing off anyone and everyone they can yesterday when the Pentagon announced that countries who didn't or won't send troops or lots of cash to Iraq are ineligible to bid on reconstruction contracts there. Even the Wall Street Journal, normally prostrate before aWol have had to admit that this is not the best move:
Apparently the leaders of these countries, Russia, France, Germany and Canada, among others were none too pleased about the situation.
This administration has hurt the US in so many ways. Their fiscal insanity has resulted in long term deficits that will take generations to pay down - if they can ever be completely paid off. Their divisive social policies have further opened the divide between the rich and the poor. An unprovoked war has forever stained the relatively unsullied history of our foreign policy and threatened to stretch our great military beyond the breaking point. The bullying way that they have ridden roughshod over our allies and international treaties and norms has fostered an anti-Americanism that threatens to linger long after Bush is a forgotten, doddering old man and that will endanger us at home and abroad for decades if not generations.
Whoever replaces him will have his work cut out for him. We can only hope that the replacement happens next year when the damage can more easily be repaired and before too many more Americans are killed or maimed in an unjust and illegal pre-emptive war.
The administration continued its apparent policy of pissing off anyone and everyone they can yesterday when the Pentagon announced that countries who didn't or won't send troops or lots of cash to Iraq are ineligible to bid on reconstruction contracts there. Even the Wall Street Journal, normally prostrate before aWol have had to admit that this is not the best move:
The Bush administration says it wants help in Iraq, but somehow it can't stop infuriating the countries that could shoulder more of the load.To add insult to injury, the same day that the bidding policy was announced, Shrubby-boy was on the phone to some of the same countries his administration had just told to go pound sand asking for them to cancel the debts owed them by Iraq.
Apparently the leaders of these countries, Russia, France, Germany and Canada, among others were none too pleased about the situation.
President Bush heard the complaints first hand when he called the leaders of France, Germany and Russia to ask them to forgive Iraq's official debt. Speaking privately, officials said that the timing and tone was disastrous and certain to make it much harder to pry troops, aid or debt-forgiveness out of furious allies. But they said that the president had decided that the policy would stand.Foreign leaders were not the only ones steamed by the decision, apparently plenty of Washington insiders were incensed as well.
This administration has hurt the US in so many ways. Their fiscal insanity has resulted in long term deficits that will take generations to pay down - if they can ever be completely paid off. Their divisive social policies have further opened the divide between the rich and the poor. An unprovoked war has forever stained the relatively unsullied history of our foreign policy and threatened to stretch our great military beyond the breaking point. The bullying way that they have ridden roughshod over our allies and international treaties and norms has fostered an anti-Americanism that threatens to linger long after Bush is a forgotten, doddering old man and that will endanger us at home and abroad for decades if not generations.
Whoever replaces him will have his work cut out for him. We can only hope that the replacement happens next year when the damage can more easily be repaired and before too many more Americans are killed or maimed in an unjust and illegal pre-emptive war.
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
My Life Should be on Cable
I'm not sure why, but here's my results from the "What is Your Life Rated" quiz.
My life is rated NC-17.
What is your life rated?
Put the kids to bed...
My life is rated NC-17.
What is your life rated?
Put the kids to bed...
The Cause of the Decline of American Morality
Every once in a while, the Right lets its true self show. It's not always pretty, in fact it's downright nasty at times.
I found this letter to the editor in the Opinion Pages this morning, and had to read it three times to make sure that I understood the point that the writer was trying to get across. I didn't have to re-read it because it was unclear, but because I couldn't believe that a modern, civilized person would make such a point. The letter was under the heading, "The Denial of Freedom to be Discriminatory," see if this makes your head hurt as much as it did mine:
Of course this kind of thinking shouldn't surprise us - and yet it continually does - because the Right's not-so-hidden secret is that they have to appeal to the mouth-breathing hordes of racists and fundamentalists which comprise their base. Every once in a while, one of them figures out how to take pen (or keyboard) in hand and exposes that base for what it really is.
I found this letter to the editor in the Opinion Pages this morning, and had to read it three times to make sure that I understood the point that the writer was trying to get across. I didn't have to re-read it because it was unclear, but because I couldn't believe that a modern, civilized person would make such a point. The letter was under the heading, "The Denial of Freedom to be Discriminatory," see if this makes your head hurt as much as it did mine:
Patrick Guerriero is certainly right that the Constitution was "designed to protect and ensure equal treatment for all Americans" ("'Til Death Do Us Part," editorial page, Dec. 4). But surely that referred to the principle of equal treatment as a matter of government policy. The reason that the social issues, such as gay marriage, are becoming so intractable is that equal treatment has been misread to require that individuals, too, be nondiscriminating. If they own businesses or apartment buildings, for example, they are no longer allowed to exclude those of whom they disapprove. Since it is through the personal freedom to make such discriminatory choices that morality-based institutions like marriage are formed, defined and enforced, the denial of such freedom has led inevitably to the confused moral morass we see today.Just focusing on the passage I've bolded above (I wanted to re-post the entire letter so I couldn't be accused of a lack of context), if I read Mr. Wunsch correctly, the reason for our supposed moral decrepitude is that we are no longer allowed to discriminate against people we don't like (especially if we have a business). And that such discrimination is the basis of morality-based institutions? Could I possible have read that correctly?
The reason we are now faced with having to decide as a matter of national policy what constitutes marriage, is that we have lost the freedom to make personal decisions on the subject. It is unclear if Mr. Guerriero considers our nation's Founders "real conservatives," but it is certain that all of them would be turning in their graves to hear that their Constitution requires acceptance of gay marriage.
Steve Wunsch
New York
Of course this kind of thinking shouldn't surprise us - and yet it continually does - because the Right's not-so-hidden secret is that they have to appeal to the mouth-breathing hordes of racists and fundamentalists which comprise their base. Every once in a while, one of them figures out how to take pen (or keyboard) in hand and exposes that base for what it really is.
Bait and Switch - Part 3,457
Actually I'm not sure exactly how many times this administration has used the old bait n' switch, but I do know that the press has touted the bait and buried the switch every single time.
This time it's funds for AIDS and poverty. While able to find over $100 billion (and counting) for his boondoggle in Iraq, aWol can't see his way to ask for the money to fully fund his widely touted "Millennium Challenge Account."
Here's what the Wall Street Journal had to say this morning:
This time it's funds for AIDS and poverty. While able to find over $100 billion (and counting) for his boondoggle in Iraq, aWol can't see his way to ask for the money to fully fund his widely touted "Millennium Challenge Account."
Here's what the Wall Street Journal had to say this morning:
With the federal budget stretched to pay for the war in Iraq, tax cuts and homeland security projects, the White House has warned cabinet departments that the president's fiscal 2005 budget proposal will include $2.5 billion in new money for his Millennium Challenge Account -- an initiative to reward well-run nations in Africa and elsewhere -- and $1.1 billion in increased spending for international AIDS projects, according to people familiar with the president's proposals.Just like the federal deficit, BushCo is effectively putting off paying the bills until "later." Whenever later happens to be. Our grandchildren will get to pay off the huge debts racked up by tax cuts and spending increases on corporate interests. So to will our children and grandchildren be forced to finally - and realistically - deal with AIDS and poverty.
Combined with appropriations still awaiting final congressional action for fiscal 2004, those amounts represent just 18% of the $30 billion in spending increases that the administration has promised would take place by 2008. Should Congress fund Mr. Bush's request, it would effectively put off the vast majority of the promised spending until after next year's presidential election.
"Seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many," Mr. Bush said in the State of the Union address.Like other potentially historic opportunities presented to Bush, he has squandered this one.
"They aren't quite willing to put the money out there to match the rhetoric of the president's speech," said Steve Radelet, formerly the top Africa hand in both the Clinton and Bush Treasury departments.Bait and switch has become the modus operandi of this administration. Trumpeting the first and burying the second has become the modus operandi of the press.
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
NTodd Seen With Bill Clinton
Maybe the title caught your attention - good!
Somehow, NTodd over at Dohiyi Mir, is getting some "deep background" information that Al Gore's former boss, the Big Dog himself, will endorse Howard Dean soon. I had posted some time ago on somebody's comments that whoever was endorsed by Gore and (maybe or) Clinton would pretty much be able to sew up the nomination for the Democrats. I wish I had posted a copy here... I would have seemed so prescient.
So, NTodd, just who is your "deep throat?"
Whoever it is, I'm really hoping that NTodd is right and that we'll be hearing from Bill Clinton very soon, on a dais next to Dean.
Somehow, NTodd over at Dohiyi Mir, is getting some "deep background" information that Al Gore's former boss, the Big Dog himself, will endorse Howard Dean soon. I had posted some time ago on somebody's comments that whoever was endorsed by Gore and (maybe or) Clinton would pretty much be able to sew up the nomination for the Democrats. I wish I had posted a copy here... I would have seemed so prescient.
So, NTodd, just who is your "deep throat?"
Whoever it is, I'm really hoping that NTodd is right and that we'll be hearing from Bill Clinton very soon, on a dais next to Dean.
Guilty Unless They Say So
In the down-side-up world of BushCo and Ashcroft, you are guilty until they say otherwise. Proof? Look no further than in the case of the former Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo's Camp X-ray, CPT James Yee.
Security at his re-entry point into the US was warned in advance to search him and his belongings carefully for unsecured classified documents. Something was found - supposedly - and CPT Yee was imprisoned for three months during the government's extensive investigation into the matter.
If there is one thing the government, and especially the military, take seriously, it's security. That doesn't mean they always do it well, but they do take it seriously. When I was still in the Army and had a Secret clearance, we had instruction yearly, I think, on ensuring the security of classified knowledge, papers and equipment. So I'm sure that the investigators looking into CPT Yee's transgressions were thorough.
So, was he tried on espionage charges? Was he tried on breach of security charges? No.
The government's case in Yee's court martial centered on charges of keeping pornography on his government issued computer and adultery.
Both of these are, indeed, infractions against the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). However, the definition of pornography is pretty broad; my guess is that it could have been no worse than you could download from Webshots to use as the wallpaper for your desktop. I have no proof of that, but given the rest of the government's actions, it wouldn't surprise me. And as for the adultery charge:
So, why prosecute CPT Yee? Maybe this gives a clue:
Security at his re-entry point into the US was warned in advance to search him and his belongings carefully for unsecured classified documents. Something was found - supposedly - and CPT Yee was imprisoned for three months during the government's extensive investigation into the matter.
If there is one thing the government, and especially the military, take seriously, it's security. That doesn't mean they always do it well, but they do take it seriously. When I was still in the Army and had a Secret clearance, we had instruction yearly, I think, on ensuring the security of classified knowledge, papers and equipment. So I'm sure that the investigators looking into CPT Yee's transgressions were thorough.
So, was he tried on espionage charges? Was he tried on breach of security charges? No.
The government's case in Yee's court martial centered on charges of keeping pornography on his government issued computer and adultery.
Both of these are, indeed, infractions against the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). However, the definition of pornography is pretty broad; my guess is that it could have been no worse than you could download from Webshots to use as the wallpaper for your desktop. I have no proof of that, but given the rest of the government's actions, it wouldn't surprise me. And as for the adultery charge:
Army officials said there had been about 60 cases of adultery prosecuted in the last two years, always as part of some larger set of criminal charges, like rape. The military, in guidelines to commanders, suggests that adultery is principally a problem when it affects discipline and order as in cases where it involves people who are in a subordinate-commander relationship.The emphasis above is mine and, as you might guess, CPT Yee and the lieutenant with whom he had an affair were not in a subordinate-commander relationship.
So, why prosecute CPT Yee? Maybe this gives a clue:
The military does not contend that either of those offenses is related to any security breaches but that they were violations discovered in the course of the investigation. But Captain Yee's civilian defense lawyer, Eugene R. Fidell, has said the charges were added vindictively as part of an effort to cover up the military's mistake and overreaction.If they want you to be guilty, you will be guilty. Of something.
Collective Responsibility
Clonecone at It's Craptastic! provides a heartfelt and moving glimpse of how the loss of a single soldier from a small town should have us all contemplating our own culpability in what is done in our name. He's also my vote in this weeks New Weblog Showcase at Truth Laid Bear.
As members of a democracy - one still thriving almost despite ourselves - we have not only rights but also duties and responsibilities. No matter who you voted for the last time the polls were open (or even if you didn't' vote), our government represents all of us; you and me. As citizens we have the responsibility to ensure that our representatives hear from us, hear how we feel about what they do in our names.
Clonecone's post, "What is the Point?" makes this exact point in terms of the loss of a single soldier's life and the impact it has on him, even though he never knew Iowa National Guard Spc. Aaron J. Sissel.
Even though Clonecone didn't know him, even though I didn't know him, and I'm pretty sure that nobody reading this knew him, we all are responsible for his fate. No matter how small a part any one of us played in the death of this young man, an iota of responsibility in such a fate is almost too much to bear.
As members of a democracy - one still thriving almost despite ourselves - we have not only rights but also duties and responsibilities. No matter who you voted for the last time the polls were open (or even if you didn't' vote), our government represents all of us; you and me. As citizens we have the responsibility to ensure that our representatives hear from us, hear how we feel about what they do in our names.
Clonecone's post, "What is the Point?" makes this exact point in terms of the loss of a single soldier's life and the impact it has on him, even though he never knew Iowa National Guard Spc. Aaron J. Sissel.
Even though Clonecone didn't know him, even though I didn't know him, and I'm pretty sure that nobody reading this knew him, we all are responsible for his fate. No matter how small a part any one of us played in the death of this young man, an iota of responsibility in such a fate is almost too much to bear.
Monday, December 08, 2003
Conflicted Shopping
This weekend I finally got started on my Christmas shopping - NODWISH shopping per MercuryX23.
I love Christmas. I'm not at all religious, but I love the idea of a season devoted to doing nice things for people, giving gifts, spending time with family and/or friends. So my wife and I braved the cold yesterday and headed out to the mall.
As we walked around, chatting about who was on our list and what we thought they might like, we, of course, also talked about our budget for this year. Unfortunately, because we bought a new house this year (and this new house was bigger than our small, two-bedroom apartment and we had to furnish it), our budget is a little smaller than last year's. So there is definite pressure to keep the cost of individual gifts down as well as to limit the number of people who actually make the list.
That got me to thinking about how a family with a couple of kids and only one income or two smaller incomes might try to get through the same conundrum. Unfortunately, I know that they will be tempted - and in fact will likely give in to that temptation - to shop at Wal*Mart. I've posted about my feelings for Wal*Mart before, and I have a link in my sidebar "Boycott Wal*Mart." I know how it feels to be in that position. I know the pressure parents feel to provide the best Christmas they can for their children. I also know that they are in a trap. Not much money to spend on Christmas, no place to go to save money and get as much as they can for the kids except the execrable grey, big-box store.
What it gets them in the end, the reason it's a trap can be found in two great articles I found via Pen-Elayne. Both from the New York Times, one article talks about how the Ohio Art Co., maker of everyone's favorite toy - Etch-A-Sketch - had to move production to China in order to cut costs. Why was pressure on costs so high? They wanted to keep their product on the shelves of the largest toy seller in the country.
Toys R' Us? Nope.
Wal*Mart.
The other article discusses how the Chinese workers making Etch-A-Sketch are paid below the legal minimum wage in China (23 cents a day) and get below the legal overtime wages during their up-to 84 hour work weeks.
So what is the pressure that forces American companies to shut down production and lay off thousands of workers and forces Chinese assembly plants to treat their workers even worse than normal? This paragraph says a lot:
So the family that cannot afford to shop elsewhere is, unknowingly, contributing to the growing population of families unable to afford to shop anywhere else. Contributing, in fact, to the growing population of families that cannot shop at all for Christmas.
So as we made our way home with our bags, to our warm new house, my wife and I were happy that we were able to get gifts for our friends and family. We were happy that we were able to figure out a way to keep within our budget, without contributing to the further Walmart-ization of the U.S. We were glad that we weren't presented with such a choice.
I love Christmas. I'm not at all religious, but I love the idea of a season devoted to doing nice things for people, giving gifts, spending time with family and/or friends. So my wife and I braved the cold yesterday and headed out to the mall.
As we walked around, chatting about who was on our list and what we thought they might like, we, of course, also talked about our budget for this year. Unfortunately, because we bought a new house this year (and this new house was bigger than our small, two-bedroom apartment and we had to furnish it), our budget is a little smaller than last year's. So there is definite pressure to keep the cost of individual gifts down as well as to limit the number of people who actually make the list.
That got me to thinking about how a family with a couple of kids and only one income or two smaller incomes might try to get through the same conundrum. Unfortunately, I know that they will be tempted - and in fact will likely give in to that temptation - to shop at Wal*Mart. I've posted about my feelings for Wal*Mart before, and I have a link in my sidebar "Boycott Wal*Mart." I know how it feels to be in that position. I know the pressure parents feel to provide the best Christmas they can for their children. I also know that they are in a trap. Not much money to spend on Christmas, no place to go to save money and get as much as they can for the kids except the execrable grey, big-box store.
What it gets them in the end, the reason it's a trap can be found in two great articles I found via Pen-Elayne. Both from the New York Times, one article talks about how the Ohio Art Co., maker of everyone's favorite toy - Etch-A-Sketch - had to move production to China in order to cut costs. Why was pressure on costs so high? They wanted to keep their product on the shelves of the largest toy seller in the country.
Toys R' Us? Nope.
Wal*Mart.
The other article discusses how the Chinese workers making Etch-A-Sketch are paid below the legal minimum wage in China (23 cents a day) and get below the legal overtime wages during their up-to 84 hour work weeks.
So what is the pressure that forces American companies to shut down production and lay off thousands of workers and forces Chinese assembly plants to treat their workers even worse than normal? This paragraph says a lot:
The toy survived into the electronic age because of nostalgia and clever promotions. But its appeal has continued, in part, because it keeps getting cheaper to own. It sold for $3.99 when it was introduced. If it had kept pace with the consumer price index over its 43 years, it would retail for $23.69 today instead of $9.99.Wal*Mart: The retailer that goes back to its suppliers every year and asks "how much cheaper can I get your product this year?" The company that does not care that raw materials to make the product have gone up. The company that does not care that health care costs for the people that make the product have gone up. The company that only wants to "roll back" the prices every year. The company that offers "low prices, every day."
So the family that cannot afford to shop elsewhere is, unknowingly, contributing to the growing population of families unable to afford to shop anywhere else. Contributing, in fact, to the growing population of families that cannot shop at all for Christmas.
So as we made our way home with our bags, to our warm new house, my wife and I were happy that we were able to get gifts for our friends and family. We were happy that we were able to figure out a way to keep within our budget, without contributing to the further Walmart-ization of the U.S. We were glad that we weren't presented with such a choice.
Monday, Monday...
I was totally cut off from any news - good or bad - this weekend. No, I didn't lose power in the big Nor'easter this weekend, although thousands did. No, my cable wasn't down. I even got my newspapers this weekend on schedule.
My wife and I had some friends over on Saturday evening for dessert, drinks and some holiday cheer so Friday and Saturday were spent preparing; cleaning, baking, arranging, more baking, and Sunday was spent sleeping in and Christmas shopping. With all of that going on I didn't' have a chance to sit down to see what was happening, to take a quick spin around my blogroll. So I'm feeling a little out of touch this morning.
After months of perusing the news so assiduously, it actually was sort of nice not worrying about the next disaster or foul-up from BushCo.
After months of perusing the news so assiduously, it actually was sort of strange not knowing what the hell was going on in the world.
So it's back to work, back to the news, back to the real world!
Back to my diet.
My wife and I had some friends over on Saturday evening for dessert, drinks and some holiday cheer so Friday and Saturday were spent preparing; cleaning, baking, arranging, more baking, and Sunday was spent sleeping in and Christmas shopping. With all of that going on I didn't' have a chance to sit down to see what was happening, to take a quick spin around my blogroll. So I'm feeling a little out of touch this morning.
After months of perusing the news so assiduously, it actually was sort of nice not worrying about the next disaster or foul-up from BushCo.
After months of perusing the news so assiduously, it actually was sort of strange not knowing what the hell was going on in the world.
So it's back to work, back to the news, back to the real world!
Back to my diet.
