the voice of humility

Who Cares? Tim Tebow and Class Warfare

2011-12-22T07:19:00.002-05:00

The holy war is over. God lost as the secularist Patriots won.

Who cares about Tim Tebow and God? One heck of a lot of people in this country do. It should not have become all that important. In our ongoing class struggle, however, how one thinks on an issue marks one's position in society.

First, a wee primer on class warfare in modern, or, postmodern America if you will. In prior centuries, class was marked on you at birth. King at the top, then nobles and after that commoners. Commoners were either bourgeoisie or peasants at the bottom. Guess what, your ancestors were peasants. Yeah, maybe you can get a slight connection to Lord So and So on Ancestry.com, but the pre-modern world was often on the edge of famine. Producing food occupied the time of most of the world's population. Nobody really cared what the peasants thought.

Today, in a "First World" with a stable food supply, class is not assigned at birth. That does not mean we don't have markers. Some are blatant such as income and occupation. An internist is considered higher on the scale than a plumber, even if the plumber might make a little more.

Some are more subtle. In this sense, class can be considered cooties for adults. The question becomes who is cool and who is not. What is cool is a detached, above it all persona, except when it's not. If someone does not play the game, it's inquisition time. This explains why people got bent out of shape over Sarah Palin. The lass never said anything profound. What politician does? Just being flyover girl was a problem.

Actually, she had a greater sin than that. It is one that Tim shares. He doesn't care what the cool people think. This bugs the chattering classes. Consider the words of über-cool guy, Bill Press:

Jesus said a lot of strong things. But one of the strongest things he ever said was: When you pray, don't be like those hypocrites who like to stand on a street corner and pray, so everybody can see them.

Somebody ought to tell that to Tim Tebow.

Broncos quarterback Tebow's not only a Christian. He wants everybody to know he's a Christian. He brags about it, constantly. He wears Bible verses on his face. He kneels in prayer after every touchdown. And he thanks his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for every win.

There's only one thing wrong with that. By dragging God into every football game, Tebow makes a mockery of Christianity - and trivializes religion. The truth is, God doesn't care who wins an election, a bingo game, or a football game. Sorry, Tebow, Jesus is not a Broncos fan.

That first paragraph is true. Press is correct. Time and place is everything. Of course, when the déclassé stand up and display their faith, it can be a powerful thing. When all the Polish Solidarity members publicly went to confession in the Gdansk shipyard, the atheist regime got antsy. Press is really saying, "Stay in the closet, don't be uncool." Bill is a Catholic layman. He forgets how, at least a few decades ago, all us Papist little leaguers would cross ourselves coming up to bat.

Tebow himself has made it clear that God does not care about football. Is he sincere? Maybe Bill Press has a window into his soul. You can be sure Press was a New England fan yesterday.

Press also said, Now, if you're one of the silly millions of Americans who loves Tebow's in-your-face kind of Christianity, consider this. What if he were a devout Muslim, who bowed to Mecca after every touchdown and shouted "Allahu Akbar?"

Somehow, I don't think we'd be celebrating him as a national hero.

That's my parting shot for today.

One would not be surprised if when that happened, Bill would find a Moslem standing for his faith refreshing.

Moi, I hope God, no matter how he is perceived, does not care. Football is boring. That's why they need cheerleaders.

What a Journolist meeting would look like if they actually got together

2010-07-23T19:56:00.002-04:00

They are workers at a virtual Ministry of Truth.

Chilean border patrol braces for onslaught of American Evangelicals coming to smuggle children for adoption in US

2010-02-28T08:37:00.001-05:00

Maybe not.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Survey

2010-01-18T17:22:00.002-05:00

Actually, it was the survey last week. I asked people do you get Monday off? They mostly said yes. I then asked why? I would say about 80% knew it was MLKJr. Day. Then I would ask, who was Martin Luther. Though some would say the Lutheran founder, most would say something along the lines of the civil rights leader. I would then tell them I was asking about Martin Luther King, Jr., but Martin Luther. A few had not at first been paying attention and corrected themselves.

The great majority had no idea. Now these were not janitorial staff. They were anything from an IT guy to finance pros to grant writers. Many were the type Mr. Lander writes about at SWPL.

Several years ago, my sister was at a function for staff at the bank she works at. All attending were above her and high up on the chain of command. They did a trivia game. Everyone knew the popular culture questions. Then they asked questions like what happened in 1066. When my baby sister said the Battle of Hastings, one of the mucky mucks said disdainfully, "I bet you're good at trivial pursuit." Herself was smart enough to hold her peace, but I know she does not think such ignorance is good for the body politic among people who have so much money.

So for all of you who think we don't let children vote, here are again the words of the old Marcus Tullius,

“To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child. For what is man's lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?”

For the record, the person who knew the most about Martin Luther was a mixed race fellow.

Holding My Nose

2010-01-16T18:40:00.007-05:00

Jim Hightower and I are not ideologically in tune. I do like the title of one of his books, If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote, They'd Have Given Us Candidates. Here in the Peoples Republic, folks are getting excited about Scott Brown. There is really not much there. He is a chickenhawk who touts his service in the JAG arm of the National Guard. Do they give Purple Hearts for an injury suffered in a food fight at the officer's club? When he is elected, it will be status quo ante with more young men sent to die for our eventual withdrawl. Of course that is true of his opponent.

Brown also supported Romneycare. That debacle is going to cost a lot here in Massachusetts. Still, he will probably be the deciding vote to kill the healthcare bill.

But, in the long run, he won't be all that different. I don't think it matters as we are going to collapse a la the Soviet Union and for some of the same reasons (Afghan war, bloated bureacracy, debt) no matter who is Senator.

No, I shall vote against Coakley because she is, even by Massachusetts* standards, beyond vile. Nothing illustrates this more than the Fells Acre Daycare witch hunt. The case had collapsed and no one believed a shred of it. Martha did not have a big part of that case, but when Gerald Amirault should have been freed, she lobbied Acting Governor Jane Swift to keep an innocent and tragically brave man** in the slammer. There is also the Souza case of state torture of the elderly in the name of protecting the children. Would Martha admit that was wrong? I apologize for that last sentence. It was superfluous.

Though Martha is unworthy of being dogcatcher, if only because the dogs she would catch are, at least morally, her betters, that is not why she may lose. Martha hoped she would not have to say anything in this campaign and just get by because she is the Democrat and that would be enough. Unfortunately for her, her party has taken over the bad economy formerly owned by George Bush. Enough people even here in this political Disneyworld have doubts about Obamacare. Brown, with his macho frat boy looks and personal energy is wowing them. He handles himself well. The silly David Gergen asked him, Are you willing to derail reform for fifteen more years (logic alert! but let it pass) — are you willing to say “I’m going to sit in Ted Kennedy’s seat and I’m going to be the person who is going to block [health reform] for another fifteen years?

Downtown Brown didn't miss a beat, With all due respect,it’s not the Kennedy seat, it’s not the Democrat’s seat, it’s the people’s seat, and they have a chance to send somebody down who is going to be an independent voter and an independent thinker.

The idea that Coakley could have answered as well never entered anyone's mind.

So maybe your man will be elected. My celebration of La Coaks defeat will be treasured. Usually, after a Dem vs. Rep race my reaction is the bad news is so and so won. The good news is so and so lost. On Wednesday morn, if all goes right, my reaction will be, The bad news is Brown won. The great news is Coakley lost.***

*Our last several house speakers are either felons or indicted. Nobody bets the incumbent is pure as the driven snow.

**If Amirault had acquiesced in admitting his guilt, he would he would have been freed much earlier. He is the greatest gentleman in this state.

***The Libertarian appears a decent chap, but nothing special. Still, I feel guilty not giving him a chance.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T08:11:00.000-05:00

he voice of humility wishes everyone a happy and politically incorrect 2010 Anno Domini.

Case closed, Economists say close your eyes and ears and don't audit the fed.

2009-12-10T06:57:00.002-05:00

In an article titled Academics Spar With Populists Over Fed Audits at Jon Hilsenrath at a Wall Street Journal blog a whole slew of economists are saying don't audit the fed. Well, that, according to the author is not it, rather they are , dialing up its call for lawmakers to drop plans to subject the Federal Reserve to more scrutiny by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress. Your man does not use the A word.

The pedants say, to let the GAO review Fed monetary policy would do “serious harm to the economy.” They warn increased congressional oversight would harm the Fed’s independence and ability to fight inflation.

Far be it for me to gainsay their wisdom as our golden age of fed watchdoggedness continues. Most impressive on the list of geniuses are nobel prizewinners.

One of them, Myron Scholes, is mentioned prominently. This is the savant who was a founder of that great success story, Long Term Capital Management.

Case closed. We must heed the warnings of the priesthood, I mean profession.

Reductio ad absurdam

2009-07-23T12:27:00.003-04:00

"He should beg my forgiveness."

What Henry Louis Gates, Jr. wants from the Cambridge Cop who arrested him.

Non-obsequiousness is the new lynching.

History's shrewdest move

2009-07-17T07:35:00.001-04:00

"We Have to Go Spend Money to Keep From Going Bankrupt"

The latest comment from Joe Biden.

Even people who think little of President Obama must be praying for his health and safety.

Great News!

2009-07-14T18:16:00.001-04:00

Bernanke Sees Chance of Jobless Recovery

And how is this a recovery in real terms?

Additions to Our Short Dictionary of Politics Project

2009-07-02T16:47:00.005-04:00

We have not updated our dictionary for quite awhile. Well, we haven't done much of anything. Still, we have a few additions.

The first two are due to our spectatorship as two administrations have "solved" the ongoing financial crisis more than once.

Public Private Partnership: Crony Capitalism

Crony Capitalism: Public Private Partnership

The next one came from listening to my fellow countrymen and women explain why they were voting for a candidate.

Charisma: In politics, a manipulative charm used to convince people to vote, often against their own interest. Similar to a jedi mind trick.

As we have nothing else to do we shall repost the dictionary with the updates. This was published 2006 with a few additions since. Below is the updated version.

Please note, this is not exhaustive list. Readers are invited to submit suggestions for further installments.

Also, there are no claims to originality. I do not want to be part of the company of Ambrose and Kearns-Goodwin (non sum dignus), so some of the ideas I assimilated (e.g. the civil rights entry), I just don't remember from where.

Assisted Suicide: The ultimate reform of the Social Security System. If senior citizens utilize assisted suicide en masse, the system's solvency can be greatly enhanced.

Bombing: Diplomatic method preferred by US Government policy makers pioneered during the Clinton administration.

British Royal Family: Founder of the family, William, started out as Capo di Tutti Capi of Norman Mafia. Descendants and others built the organization into a successful franchise over centuries, despite family infighting. Today, family has no real role as they have been kicked upstairs to mainly ceremonial positions. Currently undergoing branding crisis as members are not terribly appealing as celebrity material. Family should consider new ways of appealing to public. Should seek the assistance of Mr. Frank McCourt who turned a stupid and unappealing childhood into an industry.

Change: 1. Old, To transform or convert. 2. New, Politically, whatever you want it to mean.

Charisma: In politics, a manipulative charm used to convince people to vote, often against their own interest. Similar to a jedi mind trick.

Civil Rights: In truth, there can only be three: Life, Liberty and Property. Anything else is the attempt of one group to secure privileges at the expense of another group or society itself. Of the three above, Property is the most important. If the individual's property is secure, there is little reason for anyone to take his life or liberty.

Communism: Natural religious progression wherein lower caste man is made into his own god and enslaved in his own name. Lasted far longer than could possibly have been expected. Still claims believers in the professorate.

Crony Capitalism: Public Private Partnership

Democratic Party: American cargo cult masquerading as a political association.

Demagogue: Person who appeals to the emotions to gain power or fame. See also: Politician.

Department of Education: American cabinet secretariat responsible for extracting money from the public while convincing them that the decline in public education is being arrested. Judging from the department's growth amidst continuing school failure, policy is an unmitigated success.

Election: Auction in advance of stolen goods. (With thanks to H.L. Mencken)

Equality: In nature, an impossibility among the human species, which despite evidence is almost universally desired.

Feminism: Formerly a movement to secure women rights to opportunities not generally open to them. Today, the movement exists to secure power for women who attend highly selective institutions. Practical effect has been disastrous for less highly placed women who now have access to the same stupid and boring occupations men have had to do for eons. Current philosophy is heavy on misandry. The religious aspect of the cult has one sacrament.

Green Party: So far, only significant role has been vehicle for Ralph Nader, Ross Perot of the left.

Her Majesty's Government: Political wing of the British Army.

Iron Law of government: Everything eventually reduces to its absurd. If this is an actual law of physics that exists in nature is not known. In politics and government, it cannot be denied. Whereas in business a company can go bankrupt (unless it is publicly favored), in the realm of government, if (actually, when is more appropriate) a program attains absolute failure, it becomes a candidate for increased funding (e.g. DARE,).

Nazi: Common smoke screen name for National Socialist German Workers Party, the German variant of socialism. The success of this party in bringing ruin to most of Europe, its own population, as well as racial enemies cannot be gainsaid. Its accomplishment was so complete that the whole enterprise collapsed after only thirteen years of operation, whereas the Soviet version started decades earlier and met its demise several decades later. Impresario of German Socialism was Adolph Hitler, a man with the soul of a ward boss who nevertheless was able to foist his program on a nation with near universal literacy and a very high degree of advanced education. The success of the program, along with golf, argues against the continued progress of evolution. Despite the socialist nature of the ideology, other socialists have had amazing success in making sure National Socialism is not identified as the philosophical soul brother it is.

Political Correctness: A fear of knowledge. Under the regime of political correctness as practiced in the United States and some other nations, any evidence disproving accepted doctrine must be denied, if not suppressed. (via Steve Sailer)

Politician: In the American democracy, generally a person who lies in seeking election to public office because there is ample evidence of little profit in speaking the truth (e.g. would Woodrow Wilson have been reelected if his slogan had been "He's hasn't got us into war yet, but, he intends to"?). See also demagogue.

Populist: Highest form of demagogue.

Public Private Partnership: Crony Capitalism

Reform: Word has no real meaning yet is impossible to oppose. The question, "Are you against x reform?" can never be answered negatively without destroying politically one who so answers no matter the actual value of the reform proposed. The word's greatest value is that it is as an accurate marker for poseurs (e.g. John McCain).

Republican Party: American political association with no other permanent purpose than to secure executive positions, legislative posts and patronage emoluments.

Reverend: 1. Title marking certain persons who after serious study and piety are ordained as suitable to lead and instruct the faithful. 2. Honorific applied to certain class of charlatans (examples: Rev. Paisley, Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson)

Revolution: A method by which one elite manipulates the masses to transfer power from another elite due to real or perceived oppression. The success or failure of the revolutionary party, once the ancien regime is overthrown, depends on how well they manage their transition from belief in ideology to practical management of the entity they have stolen.

Self-esteem: the psychological notion used to justify rampant egotism (with help from Theodore Dalrymple)

Social Security: The perfection of a system discovered by a Signor Ponzi wherein early "investors" are paid off by the subscriptions of later participants. System requires ever more contributors to stave off inevitable collapse. Due to the default of Ponzi's path breaking enterprise, he eventually suffered incarceration. Managers of our Social Security system expect no such problems as they have tools to deal with eventualities such as invisible default (i.e. one can start collecting at age 105) or monetization.

Soviet Union: Several countries that were controlled by an apparatus known as the Communist Party. For approximately seven decades said apparatus was able to rob the people in their own name. Went out of business when there was no more to rob.

Tolerance: 1. Old, permitting free expression of views one does not share. 2. New, suppression of thought, or speech found uncomfortable by favored groups.

Transgender operations: Current form of approved ritual mutilation.

University - public: A public university is mainly a large scale day care provider. Most do some practical scientific research.

University - private: Private universities are generally smaller scale day care providers. Very selective establishments exist mainly to mark the children of a certain class or wealth as members of an elite.

War on Drugs: Growth industry whose constituency is well served by the government regulations that propel it.

War on Terrorism: Campaign that will utilizing all the lessons of the drug war while also inventing its own.

Overheard in a South Carolina Karaoke Bar

2009-06-27T14:56:00.001-04:00

Jenny Sanford singing, Stand by your man, not.

It's Official

2009-06-19T09:55:00.002-04:00

Barbara Boxer wins Gold in Jerk Olympics!

Gunther lays an egg

2009-02-15T16:04:00.005-05:00

Dennis Mangan has a post about white folks and having an interest in classical music,

My brother the classical music critic posts his take on Stuff White People Like #108: Appearing to enjoy Classical Music. It jibes with my experience; you've got to hang with some really pretentious people before you see anyone even attempt appearing to enjoy classical music. In the circles in which I move,you're doing well if you know what an orchestra is. Quoth Tim:

Admitting that you like classical music these days is to confirm to others that you are either a) a nerd, b) gay, or c) hopelessly beyond help. If you ever want to stop a conversation, just mention Stravinsky.

One of his commenters, Dave in Hackensack wrote,

A few years ago, my girlfriend won a free trip for two to Boston to see the symphony there. We got the VIP treatment because my girlfriend's employer at the time was a major corporate sponsor. The first piece the symphony presented that night was something old and enjoyable, which was followed by a cacophonous piece of noise -- an excerpt from some forgotten opera written in the second half of the 20th Century.

At intermission, in the bar area for the big donors, I asked the symphony employee who had been chaperoning us about that horrible piece. She sort of acknowledged that it was rough on the ears, but said that the symphony had to get its patrons used to that sort of thing so it could become part of the cannon. That sort of attitude can't be making classical music any more popular.

This afternoon, I turned on the BSO from Symphony Hall on WGBH and Dave's experience was replicated. Two Mozart Arias began the program. Then a work the BSO commissioned by Gunther Schuller titled Where the World Ends was premiered. It did not come close to mediocrity. I don't know how the training program DinH mentioned is going, but the applause was tepid.

Hey, I hardly rise to the level of dilettante. Still, with confidence I claim to have better taste than James Levine. After all, he took up his post proclaiming devotion to the works of Arnold Schoenberg.

Supposedly, a lot of Bostonians have lost gobs of money in the current downturn. In the foreseeable future I doubt torturing the subscribers will be a good business plan.

Go Hypocrites!

2009-02-09T12:34:00.004-05:00

In this post, as usual, we stand behind nothing that you will read. We have no special knowledge, so we are just guessing. Still the voice of humility economics department makes its offical statement.

The financial establishment has, through various mistakes, played itself out. Therefore, it needs a bailout. It needs this for two reasons.

1. it needs the money.

2. One very important and overlooked reason is because the money it uses to keep Congress in its pocket is gone, so it needs more money to keep Congress in its pocket.

Now, I'm sure there are those of you out there who touchingly believe our national legislature full of gentlemen and ladies (or that absurd construction, "gentleladies") who could never be bought. There are some, but they are few and far between.

The Republican, aka "the Stupid Party," are as horrible as the Dems. For the last eight years they have acquiesced in all the foolish spending of the prior administration. I would never appeal to their sense of honor as it would be foolish to call on something that does not exist.

No, the appeal is to their self interest. Any support of the current plan to save the nation will make failure bipartisan, but not success. This is no win.

So you must think I have no goodwill and wish for the plan's failure. Yes. Again, there is no claim to authority. Our guess is that the plan will not work and any success will be coincidental. Sooner or later every penny will have to be paid and even if the stars in their courses conspire to bring us out of our current downward spiral, it will just be postponement. Everything that has caused our problems must eventually be liquidated. whether it's all the goods on the docks or the social theories that lead us to believe that physics professorships not in proportion to every race and gender group is injustice.

If the Elephants can brave being called ractionaries and every other epithet until it starts to smell good because of the failure of the progressive model, maybe there would be some hope. There would be more if they actually came to believe.

In truth, we are not optimistic.

Moi, il faut cultiver notre jardin.

Is there anything to miss?

2009-01-20T08:15:00.005-05:00

Today, George W. Bush says au revoir. His reign has been, well, squalid. Still, one has to admit a grudging admiration. He was, maybe, the least Conservative president since Coolidge, yet he kept the loyalty of a majority of self identified Conservatives until the end. There are two reasons for this. Most self identified Cons wouldn't know what Conservatism really is if it bit them on the nose. Also, where could they go. Well, to the Paulistas, but they would have to do some thinking and reevaluating.

A Fox headline blares, Pelosi Open to Prosecution of Bush Administration Officials. That's understandable. He had his way with La Nancy more times than she would like to admit. As hated as he was at the end, his popularity dwarfed that of Congress.

It is easy to dismiss someone who appears as dumb as your man, but the class that loves to make jokes about how dumb he is, should think again. He may have done nothing for the country, but that does not mean he did not serve well a constituency. It just wasn't the constituency that voted for him.

George was as shrewd as all the folks who laugh at him in Harvard Square. They just never got the joke. They like to think it was all Rove or Cheney pulling strings. Maybe, maybe not. Keeping in mind that, I am going to repost , er, in the spirit of the age, recycle an old bit about the outgoing maximum leader from October, 2006.

The Dirty Little Secret is ....Dubya is a lot smarter than you think! Probably smarter than you.

No, he is no genius, but so what. De Tocqueville made the point that it is the second rate men (and now women) who go into politcs anyway. No, George is just smarter than anyone thinks he is. Now, I didn't vote for the man. I disagree with his foreign policy and most of his domestic agenda. So why am I on a crusade to defend his intellectual prowess?

I am not so much standing up for the man as observing the blindness of those who belittle his mind, which is just about everybody in the country who voted against him and thinks they are far brighter than he. Which is just about everyone in the country who voted against him. In fact, a lot of the people who voted for him figure they could give him a queen and two rooks and beat him in three moves.

Typical of the feelings of superiority expressed is this ancient entry in the old gnxp blogspot from 2002 by a very smart man who calls himself Godless Capitalist and is a scientist to boot:

"Not only is he inarticulate, he is neither well read nor curious to find out what he's missing. The man quoted "Jesus" as his favorite philosopher. Jesus! Now, perhaps my atheist bias may be showing, but I doubt that Bush would have been able to fill spots two through five on that list of the all time philosophical greats. Whether you believe that Jesus was really Bush's favorite philosopher or not, such a remark is equivalent to answering "E=mc^2" to "what's your favorite equation?" or "Einstein" to "who's your favorite scientist?". It's not that it's impossible that these are indeed the favorite equation or scientist, but rather that there is immediate doubt as to whether the questioned individual has any knowledge of science beyond popular culture."

Of course, he was referring to el Presidente and he was logically proving your man to be a babbling idiot. Certainly, his logic was complete. Christ never opined on the problems of existence in the manner of a philospher. Bush has never given any indication he is conversant with the tenets of any school of philosophy.

Sorry, but Monsieur Godless was wrong as are all of you who laughed your heads off. Bush gave the right answer. Yeah, all you geniuses, GWB was dead on. It may have been the wrong answer if it had been given in an oral exam for honors students majoring in philosophy, though the question of favorite lover of wisdom would not have been asked in such a test. It was certainly the smart choice in a nationally televised debate when the question was asked by some smarmy little inquisitor who was hoping the candidate would fall flat on his face.

Just what would go through your head when asked who your fave wise man is before a nation who would decide between you and another pol they would be stuck with for four years. Would you have thought, "Let me dazzle them. I wrote a great paper on Kant and the categorical imperative* sophmore year and if I can expound on it for two minutes the American people will be so taken with me that the election will be called off and even Gore will support my elevation." In the words of one of my favorite philosphers, Jon Lovitz, "Yeah, that's the ticket."

Now I know this is tough, but let us assume something did go on in the then governor's mind when the question was asked. Let us assume, from a political point of view, that it was as follows, "What kind of question is this? The people don't know from Aristotle to Wittgenstein and neither do I. Okay, what is my best choice, assuming the prejudices of the American people?"

Good job, George. If you had named any philospher, there would have been constant analysis all night of what a fool you were for your choice. The fact that the commentators couldn't say anything more than, "Of course Jesus was not actually a philosopher," was all to your advantage. Your born again base loved it and it did not hurt you at all with the three dozen Latinos and seven African American who actually voted for you.

Now let us contrast dumb ol' George with a man everyone in my home state acclaimed as a stone genius. Michael Stanley Dukakis. In his first gubernatorial campaign, the bumper stickers read "Mike Dukakis Should Be Governor." He was thought of as a messiah (even so, GW was smart enough not to choose him). Everybody respected the brain power of Dukakis.

How did he show it off when he had the big question tossed at him? Time has not been kind to my memory, but I believe it was Bernard Shaw who asked how he would react if his wife had been raped and murdered as he had the squishy liberal rep on the subject of crime. Well, our governor did reflect on the question and a national audience was treated to his reflection. And, it was treated to some more of his reflection. And, then a little more. Sleep eze sales had to suffer.

The Duke's answer was honest and stupid. He did not get it that he was talking to real people out there. What I don't get is how he stayed alive. Most married men who had answered the way he did and had gone home would have had a frosty reception. The wife would be thinking along these lines, "Oh, so I get raped and murdered and all he can think about is understanding the perp." Me, I'd stay up all night figuring I did not want to take a chance on being stabbed in my sleep. Maybe Mike spent the night in the famous tank.

The correct answer, had he really wanted the presidency, should have started with, "If someone did that to my wife I would want to cut off their balls and watch them bleed to death." The desire for revenge is a natural emotion and being so philosophic about everything tells people Dukakis was (still is, probably) on another planet and could care less about their very real concerns.

Bush the Father was easily able to triumph over Dukakis with "read my lips, no new taxes." Dad would get his comeuppance when he exposed himself as a liar on the subject. I am no admirer of the American electorate and it hardly makes us all out to be geniuses that when we turned our back on someone who so blatantly lied to us, we elected twice a man who never told us the truth, but the Old Man did get what was coming to him.

His son led us into a war we did not need and his "Compassionate Conservatism" is little more than social democracy lite (albeit an expensive sd lite). With gas prices starting to skyrocket before the last election, I thought he would lose. Is his maladministration going to take his party down in flames in November? Who knows? Still, on one night he beat the world. Whether he did because he was smart or lucky is no matter. He did it and the people who make fun of his intellect don't get it.

*Full disclosure, I was required to take four semesters of philosophy. Like our president, I took the gentleman's C. However, as I was not to the manor born and was doing it at a backwater papist college, it was a foolish thing. My method of attaining a C grade was to ask a friend majoring in philosophy, the minimum I needed to study to attain my goal. It worked, and there is not much at this late date I can tell you about the Categorical Imperative.

Will the new Divine Augustus have as good a run as George? Hard to say. George kept the expectations low. That Obama has been all but anointed makes the expectations unreal. Especially with the mess that Bush has left him. Hmmmm. Did W do that on purpose?

Don't Just Do Something, Stand There. Always.

2009-01-17T19:08:00.004-05:00

Over at Dennis Mangan’s blog they are discussing a weighty subject, reaction. They might even call it Reactionism. It may not be the first annual Carnival of Reaction, but there is a lot of firepower with Mencius and Auster chiming in and de Maistre harked back to as an eponymous hero. He's even set up a totem. One post and I might have stayed afloat, but Dennis and friends have gone on a tear and I’m awash.

With that in mind, I will give you the bit of literature that turned me into a reactionary.

‘Very well,’ I said quietly, ‘Why do you always answer no?’
He stirred perceptible in his chair and filled the teacup up again before he spoke. He seemed to have some difficulty in finding the words.
‘ “No” is, generally speaking, a better answer than “Yes”,’ he said at last. He seemed to speak eagerly, his word coming out as if they had been imprisoned in his mouth for a thousand years. He seemed relieved that I had found a way to make him speak. I thought he even smiled slightly at me but this was doubtless the trickery of the bad morning light or a mischief worked by the shadows of the lamp. He swalloed a long draught of tea and sat waiting, looking at me with his queer eyes. They were now bright and active and moved restlessly in their yellow wrinkled sockets.
‘Do you refuse to tell me why you say that?’ I asked
‘No,’ he said. ‘When I was a young man I led an unsatisfactory life and devoted most of my time to excesses of one kind or another, my principal weakness being Number One. I was also party to the formation of an artificial manure-ring.’
My mind went back at once to John Diviney, to the farm and the public house and on from that to the horrible afternoon we had spent on the wet lonely road. As if to interrupt my unhappy thoughts I heard Joe’s voice again, this time severe:
No need to ask him what Number One is, we do not want lurid descriptions of vice or anything at all in that line. Use your imagination. Ask him what all this has to do with Yes and No.
‘What has that got to do with Yes and No?’
‘After a time,’ said old Mathers disregarding me, ‘I mercifully perceived the error of my ways and the unhappy destination I would reach unless I mended them. I retired from the world in order to try to comprehend it and to find out why it becomes more unsavoury as the years accumulate on a man’s body. What do you think I discovered at the end of my meditations?’
I felt please again. He was now questioning me.
‘What?’
‘That No is a better word than Yes’ he replied.
This seemed to leave us where we were, I thought.
On the contrary, very far from it. I am beginning to agree with him. There is a lot to be said for No as a General Principle. Ask him what he means.
‘What do you mean?’ I inquired.
‘When I was meditating,’ said old Mathers, ‘I took all my sins out and put them on the table, so to speak. I need not tell you it was a big table.’
He seemed to give a very dry smile at his own joke. I chuckled to encourage him.
‘I gave them all a strict examination, weighed them and viewed them from all angles of the compass. I asked mysef how I came to commit them, where I was and whom I was with when I came to do them.’
This is very wholesome stuff, every word a sermon in itself. Listen very carefully. Ask him to continue.
‘Continue,’ I said.
I confess I felt a click inside me very near my stomach as if Joe had put a finger to his lip and pricked up a pair of limp spaniel ears to make sure that no syllable of the wisdom escaped him.
‘I discovered’,’ he said, ‘that everything you do is in response to a request or a suggestion made to you by some other party either inside you or outside. Some of these suggestions are good and praiseworthy and some of them are undoubtedly delightful. But the majority of them are definitely bad and are pretty considerable sins as sins go. Do you understand me?’
‘Perfectly.’
‘I would say that the bad ones outnumber the good ones by three to one.’
Six to one if you ask me.
‘I therefore decided to say No henceforth to every suggestion, request or inquiry whether inward or outward. It was the only simple formula which was sure and safe. It was difficult to practise at first and often called for heroism but I persevered and hardly ever broke down completely. It is now many yeas since I said Yes. I have refused more requests and negatived more statements than any man living or dead. I have rejected, reneged, disagreed, refused and denied to an estent that is unbelievable.’
An excellent and original régime. This is all extremely interesting and salutary, ivery syllable a sermon in itself. Very, very wholesome.
‘Extremely interesting,’ I said to old Mathers.
‘The system leads to peace and contentment,’ he said. ‘People do not trouble to ask you questions if they know the answer is a foregone conclusion. Thoughts which have no chance of succeeding do ont take the trouble to come into your head at all.’
‘You must find it irksome in some ways,’ I suggested. ‘If for instance I were to offer you a glass of whiskey...’
‘Such few friends as I have,’ he answered, ‘are usually good enough to arrange such invitations in a way that will enable me to adhere to my system and also accept the whiskey. More than once I have been asked whether I would refuse such things.’
‘And the answer is still no?’
‘Certainly,’

From Flann O’Briens The Third Policeman.

Just remember, not every idea is wrong, but the number that are right is statistically insignificant.

Okay, I admit, I’m glad they improved hernia surgery.

Genius Will Out, as buffoonery

2009-01-12T12:12:00.006-05:00

TV Magazine 60 Minutes thinks they have the goods. They are sure oil prices defied the law of supply and deman so that evil investment banks could profiteer. Steve Kroft is clueless as usual. Supply and demand does not mean everything is always in balance depending on what that balance is. Maybe at certain points markets reflect an oversupply of stupidity.

Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence

The Bonaparte quote is overused and I’m late to the game with it. Still, we can employ it to start. The big boys at the Morgan and Goldman Deutsche Bank thought they knew everything about everything as did all the hotshots throughout the financial world. They took positions in a commodity that few can do without. Were they trying to go all Nelson Bunker Hunt on the world. Beats me, but the results were the same.

How much of their activities caused the run up in oil prices, I would guess a lot. It’s as if someone in the office came in on a Monday and said, “Hey, I read this great book last weekend called “The Long Emergency” and there’s almost no oil left. If we can get it all, we can, “Dare I say it, rule the world.”*

Actually, they started their quest in 2004 before Kunstler published his book. In May of 2008, well before prices collapsed, someone noticed. The blog Peak Oil Debunked (PO) posted about how Morgan, Goldman and others were putting the stuff by to make a killing. He wrote when prices were $130 and were poised up ever up until $147 and then the Masters of the Universe had us all in the palm of their hands.

Er, no. We have seen what has happened to the price those stone geniuses were betting on. They must have lost big. I just wonder how much of the bailout, if any of it, was to cover stupid bets that if there Hahvud Economics Doctorates or (across the Charles) the B School MBAs should have figured out was bound to happen.

On commenter on the PO site mentioned a 15 May 2008 Reuters article,

"JPMorgan to start physical oil trade, eyes $200 oil"

As they say on the Guinness commercial, Brilliant.

Our family only gets gas stingy cars and so my mantra became is this trip necessary. Other folks sold the SUV and boom, demand collapsed enough to kill the game. Supply and demand came back into balance, not. The geniuses still can’t get rid of the stuff.

That still doesn’t stop Kunstler from being a doomer, but I don’t feel all that well about the economy either.

I should mention as an aside, back in May, when PO posted, some commentters called him an idiot. In the words of Brenda Lee, "Who's sorry now?"

*Apologies to Victor Spinetti and the Beatles movie, Help!.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T08:58:00.001-05:00

he voice of humility wishes everyone a happy and politically incorrect 2009 Anno Domini.

Convergence

2008-12-14T08:15:00.002-05:00

So a congressman from the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts shepherds the auto bailout bill though the lower house and it dies in the Senate. Then the Pres from the party of fiscal responsibility says he'll use already approved funds to do it.

the question is, is Barney Frank a George Bush Democrat or is George Bush a Barney Frank Republican?

I felt better about myself after reading it.

2008-12-01T11:34:00.004-05:00

I'm not all that wild about City Journal. It seems to be a bit too Neoconnish. Still, I do enjoy the articles written by Theodore Dalrymple. I especially enjoyed his The Quivering Upper Lip, The British character: from self-restraint to self-indulgence if only because I can steal from it.

Here is a couple of paragraphs extolling Brit character.

His piece praises the old Brits of all classes as models of class, but contrasts them today as people of no class.

No culture changes suddenly, and the elderly often retained the attitudes of their youth. I remember working for a short time in a general practice in a small country town where an old man called me to his house. I found him very weak from chronic blood loss, unable to rise from his bed, and asked him why he had not called me earlier. “I didn’t like to disturb you, Doctor,” he said. “I know you are a very busy man.”

From a rational point of view, this was absurd. What could I possibly need to do that was more important than attending to such an ill man? But I found his self-effacement deeply moving. It was not the product of a lack of self-esteem, that psychological notion used to justify rampant egotism; nor was it the result of having been downtrodden by a tyrannical government that accorded no worth to its citizens. It was instead an existential, almost religious, modesty, an awareness that he was far from being all-important.

Shallow fellow that I am, all I wish to use this for is another entry in The Short Dictionary of Politics. We shall take, self-esteem, that psychological notion used to justify rampant egotism and appropriate it with a slight change.

In this country, I knew we were going to end up homeschooling our kids when in First Grade the Dare officer gave out teddy bears in a self esteem raising exercise.

So how does it all work out among Les Anglais. According to Ted

Certainly, many Britons under the age of 30 or even 40 now embrace a kind of sub-psychotherapeutic theory that desires, if not unleashed, will fester within and eventually manifest themselves in dangerous ways. To control oneself for the sake of the social order, let alone for dignity or decorum (a word that would either mean nothing to the British these days, or provoke peals of laughter), is thus both personally and socially harmful.

I have spoken with young British people who regularly drink themselves into oblivion, passing first through a prolonged phase of public nuisance. To a man (and woman), they believe that by doing so, they are getting rid of inhibitions that might otherwise do them psychological and even physical harm. The same belief seems universal among those who spend hours at soccer games screaming abuse and making threatening gestures (whose meaning many would put into practice, were those events not policed in military fashion).

You dress ‘em up, send ‘em to the finest schools, and they rip the covers off the books every time.

2008-11-28T09:31:00.003-05:00

Dan Kennedy of Media Nation has a post praising Mark Lilla’s anti Palin Screed at WSJ. La Palin must be the most powerful person in Dan’s world as he seems obsessed by her. I’m not above schadenfreude so I take a certain pleasure in your man’s discomfiture. Dan’s called Mr. Lilla’s column “brilliant.” Moi, I found it shallow.

Lilla posits a lumpen Republican America that hates “intellectuals.” He sees it as a problem that they don’t look to their betters. He has no problem that a lot of Republicans stayed home on John because they saw him as betraying the tradition of small government while Black Americans voted in vast numbers for his opponent and wherever they could, voted against same sex marriage. Now voting against ssm is considered fundamentalist yahooism. The spin in Cali is that it was the Mormons that deep sixed it. It is not the done thing to accuse our African American citizenry of being anything but enlightened.

So just what is it that makes someone an intellectual. True to my deficient character, I took the easy way out and went to dictionary.com for a definition:

a person of superior intellect.
a person who places a high value on or pursues things of interest to the intellect or the more complex forms and fields of knowledge, as aesthetic or philosophical matters, esp. on an abstract and general level.
an extremely rational person; a person who relies on intellect rather than on emotions or feelings.
a person professionally engaged in mental labor, as a writer or teacher.

Gee, doesn’t say anything about attending the Kennedy School or being a professor at Columbia or a journalism teacher at a middling school in the Athens of America.

Anyway, Dan quoted this paragraph,

They mock the advice of Nobel Prize-winning economists and praise the financial acumen of plumbers and builders. They ridicule ambassadors and diplomats while promoting jingoistic journalists who have never lived abroad and speak no foreign languages. And with the rise of shock radio and television, they have found a large, popular audience that eagerly absorbs their contempt for intellectual elites. They hoped to shape that audience, but the truth is that their audience has now shaped them.

Maybe Dan nodded his head as he read it as he closely reads the advice of Nobel Prize winners in economics, but it has not been uniformly good. If his personal economic gurus had been the two that had guided LTCM he would have looked horribly foolish.

As to that praise of plumbers and builders, well I don’t think anyone was suggesting Joe be Treasury Secretary, but he did have his folk hero minute and he did not do so badly in his brief fame when he was confronted by Obama.

I’m not a Republican so I don’t know who Lilla is talking about for the journalists. He does not give instances of the exact ridicule that was dished out to diplomats so we can’t tell if it is warranted. I hope ambassadors are not above critique unless the critic speaks another dialect.

He embarrasses himself with the shock jock stuff. Imus is a shock jock but no Repub and ditto Stern. I’m not a Limbaugh or Hannity fan, but to call them shock jocks is buffoonery.

He mentions Buckley with reverence, but does not mention WFB’s judgement of the better government. Bill preferred the unwashed out of the phone book to the Harvard Faculty.

Moi, I kinda like the judgment of an intellectual, Camille Paglia,

How dare Palin not embrace abortion as the ultimate civilized ideal of modern culture? How tacky that she speaks in a vivacious regional accent indistinguishable from that of Western Canada! How risible that she graduated from the University of Idaho and not one of those plush, pampered commodes of received opinion whose graduates, in their rush to believe the worst about her, have demonstrated that, when it comes to sifting evidence, they don't know their asses from their elbows.

Liberal Democrats are going to wake up from their sadomasochistic, anti-Palin orgy with a very big hangover. The evil genie released during this sorry episode will not so easily go back into its bottle. A shocking level of irrational emotionalism and at times infantile rage was exposed at the heart of current Democratic ideology -- contradicting Democratic core principles of compassion, tolerance and independent thought. One would have to look back to the Eisenhower 1950s for parallels to this grotesque lock-step parade of bourgeois provincialism, shallow groupthink and blind prejudice.

C’est vous, Dan.

If the cool people don’t want to accept Camille, maybe they would be okay with George Orwell’s take on intellectuals of his time,

These people look towards the U.S.S.R. and see in it, or think they see, a system which eliminates the upper class, keeps the working class in its place, and hands unlimited power to people very similar to themselves. It was only after the Soviet régime became unmistakably totalitarian that English intellectuals, in large numbers, began to show an interest in it.*

The situation is different now, but not so different that the bullying of Sarah is not despicable.

Maybe not all intellectuals, but there is no lack of shoddy practitioners. As a class they are not due homage. Only so far as he profers something of real value is a professor’s opinion of worth.

All in all Mr. Lilla gave us a faux intellectual rant. When you have fundamentalism of the left, it oft comes with a Ph.D. attached.

*Orwell, The Dollected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 4, In Front of Your Nose 1945-1950. Page 212, James Burnham and the Managerial Revolution.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

2008-11-19T08:27:00.003-05:00

So we have Clinton retread Holder at Justice.

La Pasionara herself at State.

Rahm Emmanuel, Chicago neocon hack as Chief of Staff.

Now, Obama and the Dem leadership have made peace with Department of Fatherland Security Committee Chairman Lieberman. Notice they did not take away the chairmanship of the committee where he can be as neoconnish as he likes.

So now exposed for the world to see is the meaning of change, Obama style. It is not in the sense of the management of a losing ball team firing the coach and obtaining different players. No, it is change in the sense of the purchase of new and more stylish uniforms for the same sad team.

Yes we can get ready for the Bush-Obama Administration.

The Case for Optimism

2008-11-14T08:28:00.002-05:00

Over at Parapundit there is a doom and gloom post that a new depression is starting. True, the tone is depressing, but I take only solace.

All the people quoted as saying the end is nigh are the from companies that were wrong in their business decisions before the current debacle so what should one expect from that track record.

People quoted:

Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO
Former Goldman Sachs Chairman
JP Morgan Chase CEO
A survey of economists
A Goldman Sachs economist

There was one discordant note. The chief of Britain's Central Bank saw nothing worse than what happened thirty years ago, whatever that was. Still, as most of the old rosy scenario crowd are now down in the mouth, I'm thinking only happy thoughts.

Unfortunately, I shall be hors de combat in the coming prosperity. As the Polish American Major who was my instructor at intel school used to say, "I have all my money in cash." In my case, change cash to coins jingling in my pocket.

That didn't last long.

2008-11-12T10:02:00.002-05:00

The Obama Revolution is over. Instead of vast change, there will be management of the ongoing enterprise and a few big ticket cosmetic papering overs. Maybe a few new minority friendly scholarships or some other bauble.

the voice of humility believes this is the way of big movements anyway. In our Short Dictionary of Politics we defined Revolution as

A method by which one elite manipulates the masses to transfer power from another elite due to real or perceived oppression. The success or failure of the revolutionary party, once the ancien regime is overthrown, depends on how well they manage their transition from belief in ideology to practical management of the entity they have stolen.

Now, I'm not sure this was a revolution at all, maybe just a different lineup for the same team, but no matter. The Obama transition is distancing itself from its agenda.

How do we know this. The vaunted involuntary servitude national service proposals have lost the stick and the carrot has been enhanced.

I was actually shocked at the quick abandonment of the force aspect of the proposal. That was nothing compared to the disappearance of the whole agenda as reported by Veritas over at Daily Burkeman1. Obama's Change.gov website's agenda items have all been removed and just a two paragraph statement saying how cool the changes are gonna be remains. It's worth a trip over to the Daily Burkeman1 to check it out.

NBSAOB*

*New Boss Same As Old Boss.

It's Over

2008-11-05T14:58:00.002-05:00

and I'm glad.

My usual saying on the day after is the good news is one of them lost, the bad, one of them won. In truth, I was a little less scared of Obama than the bomber. Of course, I voted third party.

I think anyone would have to be crazy to want to be president now. Coming into office in the current situation of an endless war and a broke country does not augur well for the newly anointed. Obama's messiah message also is a problem. To date, no one has seen him walk on water. It's easier to advertise yourself as a god than be one. Let down time in the real world.

Still, I wish the President-elect good fortune if only because I wish it for myself.

What will redistribution mean?

2008-11-02T19:59:00.002-05:00

So segments of the press are atwitter with statements by Obama that suggest he wants to take the earnings of people who make a few pesos more and scatter them amongst the folks who make less. The polls seem to imply the fear mongering is not working.

It does appear from the evidence that the great Himself once annointed would love to give a few farthings to his constituency. Nothing new there, it is warmed over New Deal which the children of light think to be change.

I suppose one should quake with fear, but as a man who believes everything reduces to its absurd in government, I've long thought the tension in the springs of the machine would eventually snap. I do not know the day nor the hour. And for all of my poor powers of cognition, the president apparent may even usher in a golden age.

Of course, this is the Democratic Party we're talking about here. They are ruthless about attaining power. Once in, they can be a bit incompetent about its exercise. I suspect a redistribution program will go something like this:

Mr. Disingenuous

2008-10-21T12:45:00.002-04:00

As mentioned before, Dan Kennedy's Medianation blog is not a bad source for Boston media news and some national stuff as well, Were it were a boat, You would notice a definite list to port. Fair enough, no one should have a problem with that.

When I saw the comment he left on the SaveWrko site, I almost fell off my chair,

Brian: I am not an Obama "supporter." If you guessed whom I plan to vote for, I'm sure you'd get it right. But that doesn't make me a supporter. I vote, but I support no one.

Posted by: Dan Kennedy at October 15, 2008 09:36 AM

The man might not endorse Obama on his blog, but he has dug up every bit of dirt he could find on McCain Palin and run with it as fast as he could.

To then claim he does not support the team is embarrassing and a bit shameful. He might excue it by saying gee, I wish someone else was the nominee but lesser of two evils. Still, you don't put out that much effort to blacken the other side and say I'm not a supporter.

After all, is there nothing he could report a little negative about Obama. Nah.

I don't really see how any thinking person can back either cargo cult, but Dan is a man of no balance and to me that equals support.

From the voice of humility business and finance desk-This just in, Iceland purchased out of bankruptcy

2008-10-16T12:28:00.002-04:00

The Republic of Zimbabwe has purchased the nation of Iceland out of bankruptcy. There were no other bidders.

When asked to comment, the Zimbabwean Finance Minister said there was a natural synergy. "We have much experience dealing with hyper inflation, getting banknotes printed quickly and all that. Our people know how to cope, a skill those Nordics are going to need. We know many rat recipes and how to make poisonous roots palatable. Trading on those skills, we could use Icelandic foods to vary our diets. Still, I don't know if I'm ready for pickled herring.

You Have to Fight for Your Right to be Apathetic

2008-10-10T10:52:00.005-04:00

I have no grand philosophy of life. I wish I did, but at the end of the day, all I can deal with is simple concepts like "ownlife" as expressed by George Orwell,

In Principle a Party member had no spare time, and was never alone except in bed. It was assumed that when he was not working, eating, or sleeping he would be taking part in some kind of communal recreations; to do anything that suggested a taste for solitude, even to go for a walk by yourself, was always slightly dangerous. There was a word for it in Newspeak: ownlife, it was called, meaning individualism.

1984 page 82

Yeah, go ahead and hit me with concepts like how horrible atomistic life is. Sorry, kids. If you are thinking for yourself, then a certain amount of the atomistic life is inescapable. This does not mean I'm in some ashram by myself. I get on with people, not many. There is a family I'm happily part of. I have served my time in unpaid community work. Still, at the end of the day, it's all part of ownlife if I can choose or reject it.

Ah, but there are people out there who believe the idea of being a separate independent person is pernicious. John McCain wants you to participate in "a cause greater than yourself." Gee, nothing he has ever expounded has grabbed me as a cause greater than myself, humble and worthless wretch that I am.

Obama is worse. While McCain was once for a military draft, he is smart enough to realize that whatever chance he has to be El Jefe Maximo would be gone if he uttered such sentiments now. Obama would also never give voice to the idea that he wishes to compel people to serve. No, he is smart enough to put it in terms such that you lose if you don't submit.

Per J.D. Tuccille

In fact, Obama's national service plan is "voluntary" in a technical sense -- nobody will be arrested for declining to participate. But non-participants also won't be allowed to graduate from high school, and without those diplomas, life could get a bit rough.

Obama's national service plan (PDF) says:

Schools that require service as part of the educational experience create improved learning environments and serve as resources for their communities. The Obama-Biden plan sets a goal for all students to engage in service, with middle and high school students performing 50 hours of service each year, and college students performing 100 hours of service each year. Under this plan, students would graduate college with as many as 17 weeks of public service experience under their belts.

But schools set their own policies, don't they? Well ... sort of. You see, as the saying goes, "he who takes the king's coin becomes the king's man." And most public schools depend on federal dollars. As Obama elaborated in a speech last December, "At the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities."

I know that the word fascism is overused when accusing others of something you don't like. Heck, I do it (only in the right way, of course). Still, what else can one call the forced service of youth.

Let's use the words of Benito,

everything within the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State.

We can quibble about whether the above quote is applicable, but a state that will reach down to compel its citizens to service comes close enough for government work.

Both candidates, as J.D. puts it,

seem to think that donating your time to a soup kitchen, a clinic or a church is less valuable than participation in a grand-scale scheme managed by the state.

We all know how it will work out. Brad and Brooke, just out of Amherst will get some chi chi gig that will resemble a policy internship and Tyrone and Crystal will be handed mops.

One of the reasons I homeschooled my kids was the clicque that ran our region were for mandatory service. There are not many ways to resist this, but you should if you can.

In the end, the lesson any kid should get out of this is might makes right. Being forced to do good is extortion.

Il faut cultiver notre jardin. Not Holy Mother State's.

Have a look at national service as it has been practiced elsewhere.

Why am I always so behind?

2008-10-03T14:56:00.002-04:00

I just can't keep up, I just can't keep up. I feel less than because of it.

Here I thought Fair Market Value was what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller.

I wasn't paying attention. There is a new definition,

FMV is what a willing government department is willing to pay a willing well connected less than competently run financial institution.

The Dems are giving the Republicans the election. Will they take it? Nah

2008-10-01T18:37:00.002-04:00

I do not have a dog in this race. Still, just for fun, I'd like to see something interesting happen in this race. Most of the things that are happening have been done before. A national savior? Germany pioneered that in the Thirties. A war hero come to fight special interests, that also happened amongst the Deutchies in 1932.

It's gotta be something different. Not really different, that not going to happen. Even if it's a contrived diff, let's have it.

Therefore, a message to Sarah's handlers; let Sarah be Sarah. No, I mean really.

Here's the scenario,

The handlers say to La Sarah, "Mrs. Palin, what do you think about the bailout. Not as a candidate, but as the real human being you were a few weeks ago.

Her reply, "Scam"

"Okay, Sarah you can tell America that, if you can just bring yourself to say I love and respect John McCain, but."

Outside of Washington, no one thinks this not a scam. If the Republicans let her go off the reservation and the next day say something like the disagree but respect her independence and candor blah blah blah, it could work.

After all, one out of four actually appearing real could work.

This campaign season has been so ridiculous, I have not feared the Large Hadron Collider would cause a black hole. I was looking forward to it.

Something I don't get?

2008-10-01T10:18:00.003-04:00

Up until the bailout vote, stocks were plunging.

The bailout looked sure to pass.

The bailout vote fails.

The next day stocks rise.

They are said (saw the headline on bloomberg.com)to be rising because there was hope the bailout plan that saw stocks tanking in anticipation of it passing would be resubmitted.

Now, the voice of humility claims no special knowledge and his life's financial success is reason enough for him to continue in the modesty he is so justly proud of. Still, something here does not seem to follow. We are grateful to anyone who can set us straight.

Also, Upon the demise of the proposed legislation, the Fed injected 600+ Billion to little comment in our free press, the tribunes of the people. What's up with that.

Actually, I've found someone to instruct me in the intricacies of current financial news. Darn the Brits. I don't think anyone in this country could have done this. Maybe Colbert, but I doubt it.

Hat tip to the Ambler.

Man Bites Dog, well not really

2008-09-30T10:51:00.002-04:00

Sixty percent of the party of the working man voted to protect the perks of Wall Streeters.

The rich man's party voted to not take the money of working class Americans.

I could come to some conclusions, but let's just quote the words of Lily Tomlin, "No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up."

The World is Out to Lunch

2008-09-29T10:30:00.006-04:00

In the movie, Men in Black, Tim Meadow's character, in a strac bemedaled uniform is asked why he is in a room taking a test he does not know the purpose of. Meadows pompously shouts in a drill field manner, "Because we're the best of the best of the best, Sir." Will Smith's starts uncontrollably giggling. Smith is asked why and reply's that Captain America "Has no clue why we're here."

So you've got Dan Kennedy, Medianation and The Guardian writing about about who thinks it was a tie and the comments of other pundits. Where Kennedy became Captain America was in the Guardian article title, "McCain's style undermines substance." Dan, there was no substance.

Full disclosure, I listened on the radio as long as I could take it. We don't have TV, so the next night, on youtube, I watched talking heads on Fox and CNN talking around everything. Colmes was much less goofy than Hannity, if only because it's impossible to be more. Hannity's McCain cheerleading was mentally aberrant.

Here's the take away; about the bailout, these guys don't have a clue. They can repeat a few facts and a few bullets someone wrote for them on how it will work out, but a real understanding, clueless. It's like my knowing, say the formula for gunpowder. I may be able to tell you the ingredients and maybe even a text book explanation of the process, but understand it, no. My brother-in-law, Professor Dave does, but he's drunk deep at the Pierian Spring with post docs in chemistry related subjects.

A hundred pages plus, the ecomomic version of the Patriot Act is about to be passed and for the same reason. They scared everybody.

We're too Humble to Claim We Called It

2008-09-23T07:53:00.003-04:00

the voice of humility is too modest to claim to have called the meltdown over six years ago. In truth, it wasn't a prediction with precision. Rather a general pronouncement on the progression of government action,

The Iron Law of government: Everything eventually reduces to its absurd. If this is an actual law of physics that exists in nature is not known. In politics and government, it cannot be denied. Whereas in business a company can go bankrupt (unless it is publicly favored), in the realm of government, if (actually, when is more appropriate) a program attains absolute failure, it becomes a candidate for increased funding (e.g. DARE,).

This was first posted in our Short Dictionary of Politics in the old Spintech and reposted here.

Now there are some people who blame deregulation for all of our problems. Were there a few rules that were loosened so the high financiers could go to town? Possibly, if not probably. There were certainly rules like Community Reinvestment that denied reality. I knew when I heard ads for no doc mortgages that this could not end well, as the saying goes.

So what if a few regulations were let go. No one in our nation can say, "You know what, I'm getting scared we are in danger of a regulation shortage." If the current crisis doesn't get us, we've got a trillion dollar war, social security, medicaid, medicare. Sooner or later the denouement.

So I would take my chances and not support this bailout. You need other reasons?

1. Nobody can prove it will work.
2. It has all the flavor of a late night commercial,"Act now, before this valuable offer disappears forever!!!!!!"
3. The people who will most benefit are the people who screwed up.
4. Almost nobody in congress voting on it will understand what they are voting on.

Are those good reasons for opposing the bailout? Don't know. I am willing to change my mind if Messrs. Bernanke and Paulson are willing to bet all the assets they own against all I own that the plan will solve the problem for good.

Update: Commenter Gavin Andresen referenced an article by Tyler Cowen, Too Few Regulations? No, Just Ineffective Ones. As suspected, there was no dearth of regulations, but "with a growing loss of accountability and effectiveness."

This Will Be My Last Sarah Palin Post, maybe

2008-09-09T07:03:00.006-04:00

The convention is over, "But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed ... when the roar of the crowd fades away ... when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot " just what is it I like about Sarah Palin?

I liked her speech, even though it was twaddle. I like her, sort of, even though I won't vote for her.

She starts becoming likeable due to her enemies. A local NPR (which now stands for National Palin Radio) station, WBUR, does the tag team thing on their mid day show, Here and Now. Hostess Robin Young and Ellen Goodman* try to work over a Republican woman. How open minded is Ellen Goodman? She equates not believing in Global Warming with Holocaust Denial. Now maybe Ellen understands climatology or maybe she has just chosen whom to believe. The fact that she won't allow for honest disagreement is maybe a tad, oh, naziish, if we are going to throw around the rhetoric.

At the end of the interrogation, Robin thanked the Republican woman and then gushed that Ellen would have to come back again for her valued thoughts. Surprise, surprise. Of course, we need the fairness doctrine, don't we?

Through the day, NPR and CNN (The lefty version of Fox) radio news are constant in their revelations that Sarah is the closest thing to the antichrist for unbelievers. Waking up the next morning when the dog nuzzles me to let him out, I turn on a radio set to WFCR in Amherst and guess who they're talking about?

Sunday afternoon, All Things Considered or is it Weekend Edition, we've got a woman historian talking about whether and how Palin fits into feminism. An historian of feminism, somehow, I don't expect she will be as read as Herodotus.

I've mentioned Dan Kennedy's Medianation before. Great man for the Boston media scene, but obsessed with herself and not in a healthy way. His blog is all Palin all the time. Of course he has put Obama under the microscope for Rezko in the same manner. Surrrre.

The drumbeat is delicious because the smarmy who live a life of white privilege are scared. Charisma is okay when it's the post racial guy inspiring middle class ivies to chant the politically correct version of sieg heil. When it's babe from lumpen whitey state, well, such heresy cannot be allowed. The effect of the ad nauseum attacks makes her even more attractive in comparison.

So at the end of it all, I think one can put one's finger on it. Would you rather be stuck hanging out with Sarah Palin or discussing gender theory with someone from Smith.

*A quote from Ellen, "You can teach someone who cares to write columns, but you can’t teach someone who writes columns to care." Is this woman profound or what?

Prediction!

2008-09-03T07:57:00.002-04:00

With our vast social knowledge of the American People that we are properly humble about, the voice of humility predicts that nine months hence, maternity wards and birthing center will report a large upswing in the number of babies named Bristol.

The phenomenon will not appear in all Socio Economic Groups in the same numbers (hint, there will be less among NYT readers and more in the People Mag demographic).

Heck, if we were having another kid, I'd name her that just to annoy my lace curtain relatives.

Does Biden Palin Comparison?

2008-09-02T10:13:00.002-04:00

Gee, it’s only been a few days and I know almost as much about Sarah Palin as I do my own wife. Well, I know what some might call the dodgy stuff about the Guv because an army of snoops want to discover it. So far, they haven’t laid a glove on her. There are legions of voters out there in Third Millennium America who have had to deal with similar stuff and think no less of the lass for the revelations.

But, enough of that. Most of America has to think about one party’s veep choice versus the other side’s. Pas moi. I live in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts. Everyone here knows who is going to win the state. Even if George Wallace was wrong and it’s a quarter or even a fifty cent piece, the difference is not enough to drive me to the polls for the major parties. As we have a foregone conclusion, it is the obligation of every intelligent citizen in the Commonwealth to vote third party. Generally, all three of us do.

Still, to the point, I’m here to help. What can one say in favor of Biden. There, assume I’ve said it. On a drive home from New York State yesterday, some talker said he “connected” with the man because of how kind he was to his mom. I grant that a fellow who savagely beat mother might not be vice presidential timber, but kindness to the old lady doesn’t speak to governance.

Joe is a goof ball. From the Kinnock theft to walking around with hair plugs for years, he’s a space cadet. He voted to go to war with Iraq and for bills that are unreadable. If doing the wrong thing and doing the wrong thing and then doing it again is “experience,” then the quality is overrated.

I wish to announce, I have enough experience to be POTUS or VPOTUS. You do too. Well, let’s give a caveat, assuming you’ve lived long enough making your way in the world. Everyone gains experience, some do not profit from it. Right off the bat, we can agree, the sixty year old in front of you in the convenience store line trying to make a choice among scratch tickets has not gained from his life’s lessons. Look closely at him for a hair transplant. You never know who you’re behind.

Let me confess, I’m not impressed with La Palin’s choice of hairdressers. Other than that, I’m not finding it easy to prove her goofier than Biden. Granted, that’s a task. The question has caused me to think about women as heads of state.

In most of history, head of state has meant king, and on occasion, queen. Queenie was rare, but the lasses that made it were often spectacularly successful. Why. Maybe it was the winnowing process. The girls who couldn’t handle it ended up in the convent or the nut house or worse. Those who made it, had proven at least an ability for political fancy footwork.

When they came into their own, the survivors had skills. Arguably, the most important is the hallmark of a truly intelligent woman, the ability to choose among men. Catherine of Russia was no slouch, and she chose for many different abilities. Elizabeth I was a women who knew her men, even if she never knew a man.

Do we extrapolate a successful reign in the event of Sarah I. I would hire her for an important job before Joey, but predicting the future is not possible. I wouldn’t have hired Liz based on her experience. Mrs. Palin seems to be able to handle the Alaskan guys with some ability, turfing out a few of them. That state trooper thingy shows some ruthlessness

The Palin choice is a shot in the dark. Biden, looks bad even if you get the lighting right. Forced to choose, I’ll fall back on women leaders of big countries in the last century. You don’t get much tougher cookies than Thatcher and Ghandi. Even if Thatcher’s hair was weirder than Joe’s.

Inauthentic is the New Authentic

2008-08-30T13:02:00.006-04:00

Dan Kennedy is a veteran journalist covering the Boston area. When he sticks to that mission he's good.

To say he is a partisan of the Democrat Party is understatement at gold medal level if there were an Olympic event for that. When the Palin announcement came out, he was Johnny on the spot. I'm going out on a limb and say I have slight doubts that he said to himself, "Hmmmm, I'm going to research her and I do hope I only find good."

But it is older post that we are concerned with now.

On August 26 he wrote,

A presidential makeover

In my latest for the Guardian, I argue that two contrasting speeches by Michelle Obama show she understands what works in Chicago doesn't work on the national stage. Unfortunately for Democrats, the Obamas' efforts to reinvent themselves risk making them seem inauthentic and leave them vulnerable to Republican attack. (italics mine)

When the Obamas say something and get jittery, they change it and Dan is worried that mean spirited folks might notice. Noticing a contradiction in his eyes is bad form and I would not be shocked if he thinks it hate speech. He certainly feels it "wrong think" anyway.

Get over it Dan, "politics ain't bean bag."

So I commented

I don't understand the word "seem" here. Are you implying that the Obama's reinvention is genuine or only "seems" inauthentic?

Are not reinventers ipso facto inauthentic?

If that is so, then yes they are vulnerable to "genuine" attacks even from hacks like Severin*.

Another comment appeared,

Neil said....

A week or so ago Tom Ashbrook had as his On Point guest Richard Todd, the author of The Thing Itself, a kind of meditation on authenticity. I haven't read the book yet, I think it'll be on the fall pile, but he was quite witty about the slippery, even ineffable notion of what's "authentic". One caller mentioned that some Europeans come here specifically to experience "authentic" American kitsch of the sort we dismiss as worthless trash. Another talked about taking his students to Central America, where they searched for locally-made trinkets, and Indian souvenir shops selling items from China.

Last week in Montreal I nearly bought a hollow wooden frog that comes with a stick you clack across its back. For some reason I figured it was locally made. Label on the bottom: Made in Thailand. Uck no thanks, inauthentic! Had I been in Bangkok though, such a product of a local sweatshop would have been just the thing.

In short I think it's nearly impossible and maybe pointless to pick through the layers of the global economy in the search for "authentic" objects. And even more pointless to look for it in politicians who by nature must arrange themselves into configurations that the public can accept. How authentic is Ranchman Bush, or McCain and his "cabin"? The answer isn't that they are inauthentic, it's that to even imagine that authenticity can exist among such people, is absurd.

Republicans will of course attack Obama and his wife no matter how they behave, so hewing to some imaginary line of authenticity to avoid such attacks is pointless.

Et voilà, Inauthentic is the new authentic.

*Jay Severin is a goofy Boston talk show host whose buffoonery is chronicled here.

A speech for the ages, The Dark Ages

2008-08-27T09:44:00.007-04:00

Hilary's vapid promise of everything for everybody is still reaping the plaudits of the msm and will be pilloried by talk radio today. I want to discuss what is, in our nation ancient history, the night before.

Ted Kennedy appeared before the faithful and gave maybe his last speech. I have dealt with the man and his illness before and see no need to here. Suffice it to say, the man could not put two words together on his own and has always been the creature of his staff.

The other night, he was ill served. Granted, I did not pay attention, the radio was background noise. What jarred me were the words, "To change America, to restore its future."

The lad or lass who wrote those words no doubt had a lot of high priced schooling. His mom and dad should get there money back. A future cannot be restored.

FDR said he never aimed a speech higher than the level of a thirteen year old. Aim high was not the motto the other night.

You never hear something like, "We are called to leave alone those who want to be left alone." Pity.

O Canada

2008-08-08T08:58:00.004-04:00

Mr. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister
Dominion of Canada

Dear Mr. Harper,

I write in the spirit of brotherhood that exists between Canada and the United States. A CBC radio program that airs here in the states unintentionally embarassed your nation. I quote the offending segment aired on August 6 of 2008,

"DATELINE: HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS
Duration: 00:01:26

Dateline: Huntsville, TexasThe message to the international community was pretty clear. Don't mess with Texas.

Last week, As It Happens brought you the story of a Mexican death row inmate who was due to be executed within days. José Medellín was convicted in the rape and murder of two teenage girls - a conviction he never contested. Nevertheless, his case became something of an international cause célèbre. For although Mr Medellín was a Mexican national, it seems that he was never informed of his right to consular assistance. Foreigners were granted that right under the 1963 Vienna Convention - something to which both the U-S and Mexico are signatories.

Mr Medellín's lawyers and the Mexican government argued that his execution should be put off until a hearing could be held to determine whether or not his original trial was fair. And the International Court of Justice in the Hague agreed. The court ordered the United States not to execute Mr Medellín while it was reviewing his case. Even President Bush - who could not exactly be described as being soft on crime - urged Texas prosecutors to stay the execution and reopen the case.

But yesterday, the state's Republican governor, Rick Perry, offered his definitive response to their pleas. Jose Medellín died just before 10pm after being given a lethal injection. A spokesman for the governor said "the world court has no standing in Texas". For the sake of Americans living abroad, let's hope that the justice systems in other countries are more inclined to follow international law."

Is he saying that if an American commits kid murder in another country and they execute him, it will be a horrible injustice if he does not see the consul? Somehow, as dumbed down as many of my countrmen are, I hope they do not see this as a problem. Is he implying that law abiding US Americans (as Miss SC calls us) are now in trouble because other countries will rise up to avenge the noble Mr. Medellin? The implication of international barbarism is a slander on the rest of the world.

Really, Mr. Harper, tell the CBC to get a grip.

With brotherly love,

the voice of humility

Plus ça change, all over again

2008-08-04T21:59:00.004-04:00

That stimulus check you got from the government got more than eaten up by inflation according to Marketwatch.

I'll be glad when the Dems win the White House and we can get some fiscal sanity.

Oh, wait. Isn't the O Man planning on a stimulus packages.

Change you can, oh never mind.

How Black People Became Irish

2008-08-01T09:54:00.003-04:00

It is 1960 and morning at Parochial School. The normal orderly routine of prayer then lessons has been suspended. We are in celebration. An Irish Catholic American has been elected president. There has always been an undercurrent of "We are the better Americans, first to serve in war, yet not really accepted." Now, the validation.

Never mind that a Mick mayor and WASP Texan had done a bit of fancy footwork. That won't come out until it is irrelevant. Forget that Kennedy is not the rosary saying family man as portrayed. That also can wait till it does not matter. Nous sommes arrivé.

Sister Lucille, our teacher had been given a bit of tchotchkes as a gift. A little letter holder in the shape of a dachsund. Gushing, she told us that in celebration of the day, she would call it JFK.

Now, in 2008, in our current quadrennial search for a fuhrer, another ethnic group has their man in the battle for chief executive. And it is their man. They had plighted their troth to another family and it had been expected their support would descend on that pretender. The crown princess had been pandering for years. Yet, when someone entered the fray who bore at least superficial similarities, they abandoned their old patrons in a trice.

There is no praise high enough for Obama. The man is being likened to a deity. Yes, it's silly, but no sillier than JFKmania of my childhood. James Collier of the blog Acting White is pretty level headed even for someone who has an affinity for Nascar and weird bounty hunters, still extrapolates, "It may be that because he was born of two ancestries, one black, one white, he reached a harmony of the two that aides his leadership ability, and just maybe the country's too." Wow, the man is one with the gods. Hey, maybe he is right, maybe not.

When Kennedy won, we celebrated in the burbs, not inner city "Dawchestah"* where I was born. Our postwar dads had moved up a lot of ladders. Vatican II was making the Catholic Church into, "Unitarianism with a Pope."** Assimilation is complete enough to make the whole thing irrelevant.

So will an Obama election change things. Don't know. Is the Black American population on the verge of assimilation? Living in exurbia in self employed and under employed Swamp Yankeeness, I would not be able to say. It is over twenty years since I had any connection to an urban professional environment. People in professions tend to get along because the consequences of non cooperation are obvious. When I was mispending my youth and driving a cab, I would observe a sea of black faces and though not universally unfriendly, hardly palsy walsy. To be fair, in the old white neighborhoods, there was oft a left behind by life ambience. How much has changed?

I doubt the cleansing effect of an Obama presidency. Yeat's line at the beginning of Easter 1916, "Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart" may not have the same import as for Israel/Palestine, Sunni/Shia, or Hutu/Tutsi, but maybe it's close enough for government work.

If he wins, he has one thing going for him. Coming after GWB is not the hardest act to follow.

*English translation, Dorchester.

**D. Keith Mano

If you want to know what President Obama will do, Study Candidate McCain

2008-07-30T07:30:00.006-04:00

A lot of people to the right of, oh, say Hilary Clinton are trying to scare everybody by fear mongering about what a commie Barack Obama is.

Moi, as always, I'd rather worry about life's important questions like, who wrote the book of love. Still, the need to soothe my nervous nellie countrymen and women weighs heavily on me. I shall do what I can, because I shall do what I must with all the humility I can muster.

An Investors Business Daily editorial is in a tizzy because we are about to see Barack Obama's Stealth Socialism if your man is elected. The last guy to institute socialist policies in this country called it "Compassionate Conservatism."

Anyway, IBD accuses Barry of using code words. Oh, that's never happened before. Under the rubric, "economic justice," we have a wish list,

• "Universal," "guaranteed" health care.
• "Free" college tuition.
• "Universal national service" (a la Havana).
• "Universal 401(k)s" (in which the government would match contributions made by "low- and moderate-income families").
• "Free" job training (even for criminals).
• "Wage insurance" (to supplement dislocated union workers' old income levels).
• "Free" child care and "universal" preschool.
• More subsidized public housing.
• A fatter earned income tax credit for "working poor."
• And even a Global Poverty Act that amounts to a Marshall Plan for the Third World, first and foremost Africa.

He also wants a $10 minimum wage. The shocking thing is that he didn't suggest free braces and whitening for senior citizens. If they are going to have drug induced smiles, they should at least be on straight, bright teeth.

Now, as the Democrat Party is merely a cargo cult, there is little different from what any other Dem would propose. He was talking to a black audience and was trying to get some racial cred at the time. If you think, as Mencken did of an election as an auction in advance of stolen goods, what does one expect?

So what is actually going to happen when the O man ascends to the throne? If past is prologue we know pretty well what will happen. We know because someone has figured it out.

Howard Katz, The Gold Bug has looked into the matter and it is clear how presidents act,

A study of politicians from JFK on shows that most of them fulfill the campaign promises of their enemies and violate their own promises. The left still does not want to admit that it was their beloved JFK who got us into Vietnam with a carefully planned dance of two steps forward (toward war), one step back (toward peace). LBJ followed (what he thought was) Barry Goldwater’s program for war in Vietnam. The Republicans promised no price and wage controls in 1968 and enacted them in 1971. Ditto, ditto “peace with honor” in 1972. Ronald Reagan promised that he would not negotiate with terrorists and that he would follow Milton Friedman’s prescription to limit growth in the money supply to 2%-6%. 1986 saw an 18% increase in the money supply. George Bush, Sr. said, “Read my lips; no new taxes.” Then he enacted new taxes.

Clinton said he was the “woman’s candidate,” and women voted for him in large numbers. It turned out he was the woman’s candidate, but not in the way that people thought. Instead he fulfilled the conservative program of cutting back welfare, reducing the size of the Federal Government and balancing the budget.

So, President Obama will turn out to be ......President McCain. Oh joy. Start your office pool now as to what countries Obama will bomb.

Mr. Katz makes the case for voting third party.

So to answer our original question, how to vote in 2008, voting for the major party candidate closest to one’s position is not a good option because, if elected, he will betray his promises. However, voting for the major party candidate farthest from one’s position does not work either. All politicians, from whatever party, study the results of each election carefully and estimate what each vote means. If you vote for a candidate you do not support, then your vote will be estimated by these people to stand for the exact opposite of what you believe.

Therefore, if your vote is to count for anything, you must vote for the minor party closest to your position. That is, you must vote for a man who stands up for his ideology, and in this case it is an advantage that he cannot win. These minor party candidates are men of principle, but even if one of them weren’t, he could not betray you because he is not going to get elected. The major party candidate who wins then “steals” the minority candidate’s position, and your vote for him is a winner. For example, in 1932 the 3 far-left candidates together gathered a million votes (2½%), and F.D.R. “stole” their position (as Norman Thomas later complained).

Right now there are two minor party candidates, Ralph Nader running on the program of returning society to the Middle Ages and Bob Barr running on the program of increasing the amount of liberty in our society. Both are polling about 6% in this early part of the race. Barr has never run for President before, and it will be interesting to see how he does. He has already far outpolled any previous Libertarian Party presidential candidate.

I'm not convinced. Mr. Katz rails against the Federal Reserve. His logic is convincing, but there are just too much in powerful special interests that support American central banking. Barr could get 25% of the vote and it would not change anything. The system has to completely crash for things to change and it is not certain at that point the gold standard nirvana would come.

Still, even though I agree with Loren Lomasky, that voting is like cheering, I shall duly cast my vote for Mr. Barr, despite my reservations about him.

Some People See a Problem, We See Opportunity

2008-07-22T10:08:00.004-04:00

Over at Defense and the National Interest they note that the no fly list is at a million no flyers. It appears Bill Lind and his crew are not amused. To quote those skeptics,

Your first reaction might be that if the number of terrorists is into seven figures we are truly doomed — it only took 19 plus a support organization of perhaps a few dozen to carry out 9/11.

We say why fight the progression. It is foolish to do things piecemeal. Let's go for it and put everyone in the country on the no fly list. Look at the problems we take care of.

1. The oil crisis is solved.

2. We can finally stop shaking in our boots. A nation on lockdown is a safe nation.

3. It'll probably happen anyway. Better we do it at one fell swoop then taking years.

4. There will be no more problems with the frisky friskers at airports having their passionate desire to do a good job being mistaken for passionate desire.

This list of benefits is surely not exhaustive, but we at the voice of humility have only so much time to spend saving the nation.

Still, if the Department of Fatherland Security, wishes to call on us, we are here for them.

Fit to be Tied

2008-07-15T11:50:00.003-04:00

Steve Sailer has a post about a New York Times article that notes violent criminals tend to be fit. Duh. Do you think someone will attack you unless he possesses force majeur?

A Libertarian Party presidential candidate once had the idea that criminals should spend the first month in jail in bed. That way, they would be less physically fit and easier to control. A riot by 90 lb. weaklings is not to be greatly feared.

There should be no physical training equipment in prisons. The diet and exercise program should be tailored to make sure the lads (and it is mostly lads) come out unfit.

Eric Nagourney, the author cites a Dr. Walker that “Those who are fit may have personalities that are more likely to make them violent.” Even if we can't expunge the propensity, I would much rather be threatened with mugging by someone who is wheezing from the effort.

Vive La France

2008-07-13T21:24:00.004-04:00

July is here. We’ve had the fireworks and barbecues to celebrate our national holiday. Our sister republic, without whose assistance our fourth of July would have come to nothing, also celebrates its national day this month. Actually, Bastille Day est maintenant and my thoughts stray to the the glories of La Belle France. They are many and despite what some neocons might say, eating cheese has never caused them to surrender and les jeunes filles do not look like monkeys.

Much of our punditry loves to trash the French. Men who have organized their lives to be certain they never got near a battlefield, make fun of France’s Twentieth Century military record. It is true that the hundred years before the new millennium were not the epoch of La Gloire. France did have that. Les Polius were the bad boys of the late Eighteen and early Nineteen Hundreds. They ended up looking like the drunk in a bar, offering to take on the house. It ended predictably as it did for Les Boches approximately a century and a half later. It is premature to suggest that our current trajectory bears comparison, but only premature.

One thing Les Gaulles do not have going for them is their national slogan. For a nation that prides itself on logic, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité is about the dumbest and least well thought out statement in world history.

How can liberty and equality coexist. If a man possesses liberty, than he is free to rise or fall. If he can, then he can rise above his fellows or fall below them. His freedom or his neighbor's must be curtailed if equality is the goal to be maintained.

Now the Fraternity stuff. When someone uses that word, like most Americans who never belonged to TKE, I think of Animal House. That is not what they had in mind during the Revo. That Liberty thingee, is again the problem. If I am free, I am free to not be your brother, or for that matter, your sister. Heck, a brotha is free to not be a brotha, considering black on black crime statistics. Brothers, I have none, but my sisters were glad to see the last of me, as they lack the revolutionary spirit.

So how do we stack up against the frogs. Hmmm, that Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness* thing seems okay, but the last part has a narcissistic sound to it. Anyway, it’s already contained in the liberty part except someone might scream at me, “You don’t know the difference between libertine and liberty. Ah non, mon cher. True, there are a lot of words I do not have the exact meaning of even at my advanced age. I, having attended college in this country, do know the meaning of libertine and have looked up liberty so no one could call me on it.

Thomas Jefferson supposedly changed it in the Declaration of Independence. I like the other way better, as the Civil Rights entry in our Short Dictionary of Politics has it:

Civil Rights: In truth, there can only be three: Life, Liberty and Property. Anything else is the attempt of one group to secure privileges at the expense of another group or society itself. Of the three above, Property is the most important. If the individual's property is secure, there is little reason for anyone to take his life or liberty.

*I know that’s not our official motto, but I would be okay with Life, Liberty and Property. Of course property seems a bit of Yankee conniving. So thanks to Jeff, Southern love crept into it.

I wish I thought of that

2008-07-12T15:02:00.004-04:00

Quoted below is a post on the Parapundit blog in its entirety:

Stop Calling Elected Officials Leaders

Modest proposal: We should stop calling our elected officials "leaders". We should stop referring to the "national leadership". We should stop calling for "strong leadership". We should stop seeking to be led.

I agree we should stop though I don't remember ever having called an elected official my leader.

One of the comments intelligently, if depressingly, explained the phenomenon:

Unfortunately, it is the genetic nature of the majority of the human species to need leaders, especially when there is a confusing situation that threatens the usual way of life.

For example, the 9/11 event that was an unexpected and difficult to understand situation, made the majority of the nation far more submissive and obedient to the leadership, and the nation became willing to do things that were against its best interests, without thinking.

Similar situations have occurred every time a nation suffered a major military-economic setback like Germany after WW I, of Japan facing a terrible economic collapse before WW II. The list is endless.

But the fascinating question is how exactly leaders whose IQ scores are only slightly above average, can gain so much power during crisis. It must be a combination of factors, such as charisma and intensity of personality of the leaders that easily influence the masses that are desperate to be told what to do during crisis, and also the fact that behind these leaders, there are some very intelligent people who do the calculations (always so).

This phenomenon of mass servility during crisis, is an area of psychology that must be studied more seriously and thoroughly, because history repeats itself without duplicating itself, and it is difficult to discern when and how exactly the mass servility phenomenon will spontaneously manifest itself.

A few observations,

I think "fuhrer" means leader.

If the commenter Wolf-Dog is correct, most of us are Aristotle's natural slaves. Except of course you and I.

It exists at all levels. Even Ralph Adams Cram supported FDR.

Can we as a species overcome this? Let's say together, "Yes We can!"

Change You Can Believe In

2008-07-10T13:57:00.000-04:00

I believe. Yes, I believe that when Barack Obama says he is for change you can believe in, because when he was told to jump your man said how high,

And,

changed his mind on foreign policy.

How can anyone not believe that change.

Anyway, as regarding his followers, anyone who would chant "Yes we can" would just as readily chant "Sieg heil."

Note to Governor Patrick, there appears to be a flaw in the State Police examination process!!

2008-07-03T09:52:00.002-04:00

Your Excellency,

Last evening, July 2, 2008 at 8:27 Pm two Massachusetts State Policeman were stopped at the light at the intersection of Route 148 and Route 20. When the light turned green they lingered. I beeped my horn after the one in the right lane left. Instead of moving, the fellow in the cruiser in front of me jumped out and yelled, “Are you beeping at me?”

I do hope this is an anomaly and the fellow slipped through the cracks as It can only have been moi who beeped. If the examination system is allowing this to happen, I am worried.

The fellow excoriated me for not being patient as they were on police business. He said someone had been beaten up using the past tense. How his not moving along after he had finished speaking with the other officer helped the victim's situation is an excellent question, but he seemed not to be in a question answering mood.

I did mention I paid his salary, he told me not to go there implying he makes so much that I hardly covered his pay. Duh. His powers of cognition leave one to wonder if he might be overpaid.

As he walked back to the cruiser, I asked his badge number, but he ignored me. Not behavior one would expect from a public servant. No matter, his plate was either 894 or 984.

As he drove off, he did not put on his left turn signal. Not merely bad form to add to bad manners, but a ticketable offense. As the man who enforces the law should be held to the same or higher standard, I hope you will look into this.

To be fair, I’ve met many very professional state troopers and have been generally treated fairly. The bad apples need to be made aware they work for the citizens.

Thank you, Governor, for your attention.

Un Citoyen

WWSNS?

2008-06-30T22:59:00.000-04:00

What Would Sam Neil Say?

I'm not a Tom Clancy fan. As a Mick, I think he goes overboard in making his hero Hibernian, but he also did too much in making the man a tool of the Brits in his anti IRA screed. Still in the movie, The Hunt for Red October, There is a small scene where Sam Neill's character is talking with Sean Connery's. Neill talks about how he is going to travel from state to state in his recreational vehicle. At one point he says, "No papers?" and Connery affirms, "No Papers." I loved that.

That was of course in the old Evil Empire days. Nowadays, we are scared of everything. I saw a post at Squirmelicious detailing the decline in our privacy and the increase in our surveillance.

Kids, we're all going to die. Hate to break it to you. Get out from under the bed and face the day. After all, when you sneak out of the house, you have a greater chance of dying for your country going to the 7-eleven and getting in a car crash than being attacked by Achmed. Got a swimming pool? An undertaker wife told mine that her husband had a lot of business from his affluent clientele's drowning children. Never said international terrorism got one.

Oh, speaking about "The Troubles," they said instituting surveillance cameras in the Six Counties was just to watch "terrorists." Gee, guess what's all over Britland now. I guess your Lumpen Limeys are all terrorists, or so HMG thinks.

I don't think as Squirmelicious does that Obama is the answer as he's flipped the flop on the Mid East. I think the people are the problem. If we did not see a bogeyman at every turn, the powers that be would not run with it.

Not The Meaning of Life, but Not Without Meaning

2008-06-27T22:59:00.004-04:00

Linked from the resurrected Ilkka is a blog post about Tim Russert. Of course, by now it should be Tim Russert who? The import of the article is that Tim was fat, but he had no trouble getting on the case of deceased smokers. People talking about him are tiptoeing around his weight. Rest his soul, but he was hefty and did nothing about it and felt very good about being a non smoker.

When I was a kid, pre civil rights, there was a story told in Black American dialect that I thought contained a lot of wisdom. I suppose it might offend someone, but it is apropos and I'll recount it.

Preacher engages a ferryman to take him across a river. As ferryman is rowing the preacher asks him, "Son, do you smoke?" Ferryman answers, "Yes Rev, I does." "Son, one fourth of your life is over."

Little while later, preacher asks, "Son do you drink?" Ferryman, "Yes, Rev." "Son two fourth of your life is over."

Later, "Son, do you chase women?" "Yes." "Son, three fourths of your life is over."

The ferryman is now very nervous. So nervous and shakey, he forgets his skill on the river and hits a rock. The boat crashes and the ferryman swims to shore.

From shore he shouts to the preacher, "Hey Rev does you swim?" The preacher answers, "No son, I do not." The ferryman shouts, "Well Rev, four fourths of your life is over."

Death Conditioning

2008-06-22T22:01:00.002-04:00

The Black Sea left the following comment on my last post.

On a more personal level, I can attest to the power of this phenomenon. Three years ago, a colleague whom I barely knew, and considered fairly odd, died in his mid-50s of leukemia. Although his death naturally received no media hype, I was surprised at how much it saddened me. I'd only ever spoken to the guy a couple of times, but still, in his mid 50s . . . (I was in my 40s, and at this point ten years passes rather quickly, so perhaps I was really premeptively lamenting my own demise).

Yep, that's us.

Contrast that with my old man. In Huxley's Brave New World there is death conditioning where kids are socialized to not worry about death. I think that happened in the world pre WWII society. My dad's brother was killed by a trolley at seven years of age. There was a lot of that in inner city neighborhoods in those days. Of the six kids my grandmother gave birth to, I only knew three.

That was a less safety conscious world. Also, it was pre antibiotic. Calvin Coolidge's son, who would have had the best treatment available died of a simple infection. Penicillin would have cured it with ease.

One of my dad's favorite entertainments was going to wakes. I have never seen the man more at ease than when conversing with friends a few feet away from a stiff.* Not for nothing do they call the obituaries the Irish Sports Pages where I come from.

His reaction to hearing about the situation Black Sea mentions. "Hey, yah hear about Mikey. Leukemia. Only 55. Got the paper? Gotta see when the wake is." He would have a hard time not appearing exhuberant.

Himself went at 93. A respectable wake, but nothing like the old days. He had been to the wake of just about everyone he knew. Other than his best friend from childhood, there was no one left.

Moi, I almost never get the paper and I never check the obituaries, if only for fear I might be in there.

*I never saw anyone partake of alcohol. Just had to get the stereotype thing out of the way.

Another Blogger Notices Tim Is Dead

2008-06-19T10:56:00.004-04:00

Tim Russert's passing affected me personally. No, I did not connect with him because he represented me on the TV in some way. It affected me because we are or were the same age. Mr. Russert was on a few different drugs for maladies that I associate with older people. Could he have saved his life by leaving his job and taking up like moi the life of the self-employed, under-employed swamp yankee? Don't know. I could keel over tomorrow, so today is lucky.

My lifestyle is the anti-Russert. I do self-medicate. A couple of cups of coffee in the morning. A glass (well, closer to two) of red wine with dinner. I follow a strict dietary regimen of using bacon fat as a cooking medium for eggs (lots of 'em). Bacon fat is the olive oil of the north and those of us melanin challenged people from colder climes ignore its healing properties at our peril.

As to Tim himself. Like Princess Di, I had no connection with him other than hearing his voice simulcast over the radio on Sunday evenings once or twice. That people say nice things about him is okay, but the deification is a bit over the top. The biggest reason he had his job, and you would realize this if you only heard him on radio, is his pleasant voice. He could savage Ron Paul and still seem a nice guy. TV is a "soft medium," he was kind of a drug. That nice guy persona helped him even if he used it in the service of a bitter partisanship.

On a newscast they played at his memorial some bit of rock noise that had been on his ipod. My first thought was why did they embarrass the man by playing his guilty pleasure of low music. Ah, but this is the Republic of Bad Taste and he was his country.

I quote the best comment about him and his class,

...professionally, he was not a "great journalist," because a great journalist searches for the truth and asks fundamental questions about the status-quo. He was successful at rebuilding Meet the Press into the highest-rated Sunday morning news program. He was successful at becoming a celebrity and making a lot of money. In short, he was a successful media animal. But his very tenure at an establishment mouthpiece like Meet the Press is de facto evidence of his real professional legacy, of which this article’s transcript, and the gushing tributes this week from establishment politicians and journalists, are further proof: Tim Russert was a shill for the state and the power elite who control it.*

Oh well, we are only supposed to get 15 minutes. He had a half hour. After the canonization is done, he will be forgotten.

*Johnny Kramer at LRC

**Justin Raimondo probably has the best titled article, Enough Already!

Prospects Dim

2008-06-10T10:38:00.005-04:00

Third quarter earnings for Clinton Inc. are expected to nosedive. The company, founded in 2001 to take advantage of the earnings prospects of William J. Clinton who was leaving a chief executive position due to the legal limitation of length of service. He was continuing his association with Hilary Clinton. It had been a tumultuous period of service for both.

Clinton Inc. had positioned itself as a major player in the influence peddling sector and had steady growth since operations began. Hilary Clinton, however, has been rejected as the next holder of her husband's old ceo position. This is expected to cause growth to, in the words of Monty Python, "not so much fly, as plummet."

The rumors that Ms. Clinton will now separate from Clinton Inc. to found Rodham Partners as a new company are probably untrue as interest appears nil. A breaking apart of the entity, due to the different outlooks, if not incompatabilty of the two senior staff is not ruled out.

Okay, is it time to panic yet?

2008-06-07T13:11:00.004-04:00

A few days ago, oil drops a fiver, and I'm thinking an overbought market. Yesterday, up near $11 on war rumors. It's like getting whiplash watching a tennis match, except the trend is one way.

So, if an attack happens, and the Strait of Hormuz gets blocked, we shall see if the center can hold. We'll see if we can even have a center.

A few years ago, through a friend, I sort of had a writing audition for a small Western Massachusetts newspaper. I was to review a book on the then new subject of peak oil. I flunked the assignment as the editor thought I was trying to bring a tad too much humor to the task.

Now, peak oil is out there as a subject, but like global warming, how much can a non expert know. The book, Out of Gas by David Goodstein is a few years old now, but if you are a non science geek, it is a good read. Mr. Goodstein explains it so we non nerds can comprehend it.

I liked his book, but I can't say I've learned enough to make a judgment. My doubts about peak oil are not related to science, I still don't know enough to be confident one way or the other. It's a human thing. Everybody is jumping on the peak oil band wagon. Usually, that means the crowd has joined at the wrong time in my life's experience.

Out of Gas, by David Goodstein

Repent, the end is nigh. No, this time we really mean it. Sort of. You see, the world is running out of the stuff that makes it spin. Ah, but it started running out of that stuff on the day of the first gusher in 1859. Now, however, we really do have a gasoline crisis.

According to David Goodstein, author of Out of Gas, we have used up or are about to have used up half of all the petroleum that ever will be available on this planet. In a world where demand for black gold only increases, a declining supply being fought over by nations, not to mention individuals, reminds one of the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” Life may get interesting indeed.

Yeah, but some might say, we had those long gas lines in the seventies and a few years later, gasoline prices were lower, adjusted for inflation than ever. Still. I occasionally like to get my paranoa juices flowing. After all, I haven’t had so much fun since before the y2k scare fizzled. Who is this Dave Goodstein, another crank? Would that he were. Dr. David L. Goodstein, Ph.D is a physics prof at Caltech, which is not a school advertised on matchbook covers. His biography is a lengthy list of accomplishments. He is the real thing who, lucky for me, has the ability to communicate to primitives with an entertaining style of writing.

Doctor Dave, lays out the problem well. He recaps the now well discussed Hubberts Peak. For those who have not heard about it, geophysicist M King Hubbert predicted in 1960 that oil production in the lower 48 would peak around 1970. He was right. It has been downhill ever since. Recently, other geologists have been using Hubbert’s methods. Brace yourself. Peak is coming within this decade. It may even have already occurred.

What does this mean? It means more people competing for less oil, forever. The crisis does not begin when the last drop is pumped, but when the half way point is reached. And, what happens when such a competition begins. One thing is, the price starts to rise. Now the author avers that a steep inflation will occur as we all compete for all the various petrochemical products. I tend to agree with him, but for a different reason. Inflation does not occur when the price of one commodity, or even a set of commodities become scarce and prices rise, for in a system where the central bank could actually control itself, the prices of other commodities must decline. If past is prologue, don’t expect the fed to exercise restraint.

So, how do we replace the missing energy? Do we go to a methane economy, making up the shortfall with natural gas products? Will we actually be better off when spurred by higher energy prices, less polluting forms of enegy come into production? Goodstein looks at a lot of alternatives.

About that methane economy. The use of natural gas as an alternative for Texas Tea could be done, with some effort. The problem is that peak natural gas will come just a couple of decades after peak oil.

Okay, scratch that. What else? Well the author notes there is a lot of elemental carbon buried beneath our planet’s surface. The stuff is coal. You can even liquefy it for driving in a process that is energy intensive and expensive. Oh, there are a few drawbacks. It is very dirty and gives off a lot of waste such that if we go over to a coal economy and you eat a lot of tuna, you may be able to take your own temperature.

The good doctor also looks at nuclear. He actually likes it. As mentioned above, I am a primitive and that may explain a fear of nuclear power. I would not wish to live next to an atomic plant, nor would I wish that fate for someone else. Reality, however, causes me to realize that when the bulbs start to flicker, my countrymen and women will look at things in a different light, so to speak. Of course, I would not like to live next to a coal fired plant either. It is a dilemma we may be forced to choose, assuming we are even asked. The greenhouse gas spewing chimneys or a potential mountain of spent fuel.

There is even a peak uranium problem as if we go full bore on nuclear we have only a twenty five year supply tops. That little problem can be circumvented by building breeder reactors to change a form of uranium into plutonium and providing a lot of fuel and fissile material for electricity and bombs. Anyway, whatever help nuclear provides, it won’t work in you car.

There is a clean form of atomic power. It’s called fusion. The author discusses it and its arrival is devoutly to be wished. His comment on it and another hope, shale oil, is all we need mention, “It has been said of both nuclear fusion and shale oil that they are the energy of the future, and always will be.”

As to hydropower, been there, done that, at least as much as we can on this planet. Wind? It’s great stuff, and it has a place. Unfortunately, it does not have enough places. Photovoltaics gets a “needs improvement” on the prof’s report card. He has a lot of suggestions on space based solar and improving what already exists. All of them good ideas, but of limited utility if peak is occurring now.

Obviously, the poor man spends way to much time in the classroom and needs to get out more. Just doing a little sociology led me to an energy solution that will be cheaper than any Manhattan Project . You see, I watched the movie Super Size Me wherein Morgan Spurlock eats only at McDonalds and almost becomes poster child for save the whales. Well, Professor Chazz Weaver, an economist went on the McDiet for a month, but exercised an hour a day and lost weight. Morgan’s movie spent a good deal of time on the epidemic of obesity. He had statistics and a lot of visual evidence to prove there is a big (pun intended) problem in our homeland. actually, I kind of relished (I can’t believe I did that) his scenes of people whom the Good Lord should have never given tee shirts and shorts. My love handles don’t feel so bad.

Still, there is an energy crisis to solve, Anybody with a McDonald’s jones that shows within certain guidelines should be required to exercise on a stationary bicycle attached to a generator that is plugged into the electrical grid. The bike would measure the amount of effort necessary to use up enough calories to be of benefit to the rider. Business loves to tout the win/win solution to a problem. Heck here we have a win/win/win/win/win. MickeyD’s wins because its customers are now svelte. The environment wins because other than some panting much less CO2 is belched into the air to produce electricity. The health care system wins as there will be fewer ambulances rushing to emergency rooms. Big Mac lovers win as they will feel and be (sort of) healthier. I’ll win as I’ll be on my way to Stockholm to pick up my Nobel. Or maybe this paragraph explains why Doc Goodstein teaches Physics and I’m just hacking around here in hillbilly Massachusetts.

The question does remain, is David Goodstein right or wrong. If he is right, and we don’t have adequate fixes in place, our world, as we know it will come crashing down on us. His worst case is that 95% of us are superfluous. Volunteers? His best case is we go to methane as a bridge while working on newer technologies.

One bit of anecdotal evidence that we are responding to peak oil here in Nova Anglia is the increased sales of outdoor wood stoves. Recently, friends of mine have mentioned their purchases and have related it to getting out from under fuel bills. Now this may not be a response to declining energy supplies. It could be a reaction to the possibility that Mr. Greenspan might no longer be able to work his magic in restraining inflation. No matter. If either becomes a crisis our Saudi Arabia of wood here in the Northeast will be gone in short order. A logger friend of mine related a couplet that described Massachusetts in the 19th Century,

From Pittsfield to the sea
Nary a tree you could see.

So it could be again.

I have been reading about the peak oil crisis for awhile now. So far, most of the press has gone to people who are believers. It has taken a small effort, but I have found some who disagree. The best of the lot appears to be Michael Lynch, President, Strategic Energy and Economic Research, Inc., and Research Affiliate, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lynch is cited in the footnotes of Dr. Goodstein’s book. Mr. Lynch attacks the Hubbert Model as being inadequate and has fun pointing out that the peak crowd have been crying wolf for a while now. Most famously, he tells about Colin Campbell, one of the movement Gurus, prediciting imminent peak since 1989. From what I have read, I tend to agree more with Mr. Lynch. That is, up to point. The demand pressure is great what with the new Chinese and Indian middle classes wanting to join the ranks of car owners, but if the oil industry can react to demand by exploration and research, they may push the day of reckoning off for a few decades. If their efforts gradually reach a point of diminishing returns, that other technologies (some we may not be all that pleased with) will almost seamlessly take up the slack.

I would guess, if we are going to have a real life changing twenty-first century energy crisis, it will have a big political aspect to it. An invasion of Iran could do that trick.

For me, the most enjoyable aspect of this book was the review of junior high school science. Actually, it was science put in terms simple enough that an eighth grader could understand. Thanks Doc for coming down to my level. I know you had to travel.

Some biographical info below:
Dr. David L. Goodstein, Ph.D., is Vice Provost and Professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Caltech, where he has been on the faculty for more than 35 years. In 1995, he was named the Frank J. Gilloon Distinguished Teaching and Service Professor. In 1999, Dr. Goodstein was awarded the Oersted Medal of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and in 2000, the John P. McGovern Medal of the Sigma Xi Society. He has served on and chaired numerous scientific and academic panels, including the National Advisory Committee to the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the California Council on Science and Technology. His books include States of Matter (Prentice Hall, 1975, Dover, 1985) and Feynman’s Lost Lecture (Norton, 1996), written with his wife, Dr. Judith Goodstein. In the 1980’s he was Director and host of The Mechanical Universe, an educational television series that has been used by millions of students all over the world.

In recent times, while continuing to teach and conduct research in experimental Condensed Matter Physics, Dr. Goodstein has turned his attention to issues related to science and society. In articles, speeches and colloquia he has addressed conduct and misconduct in science, the end of exponential growth of the scientific enterprise, and issues related to fossil fuel and the climate of Planet Earth.

Dr. Goodstein has been Caltech’s Vice Provost since 1988.

Edward Moore Kennedy

2008-05-27T18:44:00.004-04:00

When Ronald Reagan was shot, not a few left wingers made remarks about how fortuitous it might be if the man bought the farm. I remember the girlfriend of a friend making such a remark. I called her on it and she "cleaned it up" by saying, no, it would be wrong to wish for his death, but okay if he were incapacitated.

WTKK replayed the Jim and Margery show from the day after the announcement of Ted Kennedy's illness. I have mentioned Jim Braude and Margery Egan before. She center left and he, off the charts de la gauche. In Massachusetts, center left and out there lefty are terms much different than say, in Kansas.

Anyway, there were mostly encomia about what a wonderful man our senior senator is. There were also comments that even the right wingers were fulsome in praise. One might surmise that they take the high road because they are better or because they are too scared. We do not speculate as to motive.

I am glad there no comments wishing he were dead after horrible suffering. There are few in this country who have not had a family member who has gone through it. My family, has been mostly immune despite irresponsible dietary choices. A dear family friend, however, went through years of the battle and one knew that no matter the treatment torture, death would be the reward. For those years, my reaction was a heaving sigh of resignation. The cheerful smile became suffering and was then no more. Sad the person who would wish it on another as was my friend's girl's death wish for Reagan.

That out of the way, the praise of Senator Kennedy is, in itself sad. People go out of the way to praise him as the friend of the working man, the poor. He stood against this or that, ad infinitum.

Margery said of him that he dedicated his life to public service, and opined that she had not. The suggestion being this made him a great man. For all that time in the Senate, a seat he was anointed to. he received a salary. There is no record that I know of his refusing to cash paychecks out of noblesse oblige. While working so hard for us in the Senate, he had a staff paid by us. He supported laws that took taxpayer money to help those he favored. In these endeavors, he did not expend his own substantial fortune. Put aside whether or not his father made the money honestly or not, Ted earned none of his wealth. While serving us, he lived a life of privilege, not going without in the least for his office. If you think about it, his tenure kind of reminds one of Evita Peron whose praise was in the same vein.

As to an example of the vaunted public service we have the No Child Left Behind boondoggle. It has changed nothing for the better for the nation’s kids, but the educrats have done well out of it. If nothing, the senator has been an effective toady of teacher unions. The voice of humility has dealt with the oppression of the taxpayer due to the condominium of government worker unions and government. Ted is part of this ongoing civil war.

We’ll give him his opposition to Iraq. Was it principled or just political? Don’t know, but we concede the benefit of the doubt as to motive.

Margery's colleague Jim was as effusive in praise. He at one time mentioned a possible memoir that would address the elephant in the room. Chappaquiddick was mentioned less as a tragedy for the Kopechne Family, but more as a burden for Ted. The import being how all he achieved outweighed what happened on Martha's Vineyard.

Of course, who is the voice of humility to gainsay such sentiments. Churlish we would be to point out the numerous folk who opine in his favor, have not lost a child in that situation. We would pose a question to the callers and pundits who feel the value of his service outweighs a young lady's drowning. If you believe it so, and could bring back Mary Joe, would you be willing to drown your daughter for the greater good?

Mr. Braude used to excoriate Cardinal Law, the prelate who shifted pedophiles for his role in the church scandal. Though Jim seemed to take pleasure in it, he was right. Law, evaded legal problems by artful methods and escaped to Rome. Kennedy used legal means to keep Chappaquiddick from being fully disclosed. Law was abetted by the Massachusetts legal apparatus and so was Kennedy. I have to beg Jim to answer, why one should get away from the full legal treatment and one deserve it?

Cardinal Law should come back to his archdiocese and present the district attorney a full report of all he did during his reign and suffer the consequences and regain a tad of honor. Ted should release every fact of the night his passenger drowned. Whether it was an error in judgment or manslaughter, I'm under no illusions that it will make a difference to the electorate here, but it is the right thing. Whaddya think, Jim?

After all,

"Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law?
Or is there one system for the average citizen
and another for the high and mighty?"
- Senator Ted Kennedy, 1973 -

Res ipsa loquitur.

Can she control this?

2008-05-23T21:45:00.002-04:00

In her husband's first administration she channeled Eleanor Roosevelt. It appears in this campaign, she is now channeling Tonya Harding.

Please, I beg of the Secret Service to provide sufficient protection for the frontrunner. I am already picturing him whining "Why me, why me?"

It's bad enough she has her TH moment, Barrack as Nancy Kerrigan would be the end.

Touché, Rev.

2008-04-28T17:24:00.002-04:00

I served six years in the military.. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?

I'm still not joining your church, Rev. but that was delicious.

I don't mean to insult the Black Church, but the only time I like to listen to a sermon is to cure insomnia...

There is one black church I would have loved to be part of, Rev. Leroy's Church of What's Happenin" Now. I would say with everyone, "Make it crawl, Rev., make it crawl" at the collection.

Here's to you, Pastor Flip, wherever you are.

It Wasn't All That Depressing

2008-04-25T10:30:00.005-04:00

The end of the world is coming. Real Estate prices are in the tank and Walmart won't sell you more than a few grains of rice. Should we panic now, or when the depression actually hits and how will we know when it does?

Mr. Howard Katz in a blog post titled Reality has a different take.

The things in reality which are generally called recessions are credit contractions; they are periods when wealth flows from the paper aristocracy back to the ordinary American. During a credit contraction about 95% of the American people get richer. (During the Great Depression real wages rose, per capita meat consumption also rose, the nation ate less margarine and more butter and gave more [per capita] to charity.) The periods designated as depressions and recessions were such for the paper aristocracy but not for the average American. And the idea was to convince the average American that he was getting poorer when in fact he was getting richer (and vice versa). This is why after two decades of “economic growth” under the leadership of someone the media described as a “miracle man,” the people of the world are rioting and killing each other for food. This does not quite fit my definition of economic growth.

I am no economist, but am the son of people who lived through the depression. I can only inflict family narratives on my few readers.

My father, at the beginning of the depression had a bit of a hard time. When he got a job with a large enterprise, through some nepotism I suspect, things changed. He had a paycheck and some relative wealth. He would speak wistfully of how low prices were during the depression.

My mom's family did not have such a good time. With her dad out of work, it was tough. Oh, her dad's loss of work was injury related not economy related.

The 95% figure sounds high as I've heard unemployment figure that were persistently high. Still, the increase in meat consumed make it hard to argue the point. After all, how many steaks can a Rockefeller eat?

I feel much better.

Not that seeing you on TV would be special, Justice K.

2008-04-22T09:37:00.003-04:00

As someone living in a small Massachusetts town and who is afflicted with a minor elected position, I get to see collegiality at work. It ain't pretty. At our annual town meeting, every adult has a vote, yet it is poorly attended. The Woody Allen comment about showing up being eighty percent of success is evident. The members of the town boards are there and everything is adopted rather than rock the boat. If the highway department opposed a salary increase for the cops then collegiality would be shattered and no one wants that so the heck with the taxpayer.

And, of course, we see the curse of collegiality in the church abuse scandals. "Father Tom might be diddling some kid. Let's call him in to warn him and move him to Saint Swithin's. He is really wonderful except for that problem. He was in my seminary class. Quality of mercy, you know."

So it goes.

But, to some, collegiality is a virtue. The Skeptical CPA reports on an article by Nat Hentoff on Anthony Kennedy's defense of his warm relations with his fellow justices.

Y'all remember Tony. He's the guy who read into his oath of office that the constitution isn't enough and that foreign law needs to be cited. Maybe if there is a disputed election he will quote Salic Law to disqualify Hillary.

Well, Tony is worried that if Supreme court sessions are televised, things may not be cosy among the brethren and sistern of the bench.

"We teach that we're judged by what we write and by what we decide... I do not want an insidious dynamic introduced into my court that would affect the relations that I have with my colleagues.

"It would be unhelpful for the collegial relations... I don't want to think that one of my colleagues asked a question because he or she was on TV. And I don't want that temptation to exist... We (justices) think that we should be entitled to at least a presumption of correctness and to some deference in determining how best to preserve the dynamic of the wonderful proceeding that we know as oral argument."

Yeah, I guess Nino saying to Justice Bader Ginsburg, "Ruth, you’re an ignorant slut, by the way, did you get us tickets to Daughter of the Regiment?" on TV might ruin their off bench friendship.

Some points for Big Tony,

1. It is not your court. You seem to forget who pays your salary. Everybody in government does, but this is a bit of a reminder.

2. I take “I don't want to think that one of my colleagues asked a question because he or she was on TV. And I don't want that temptation to exist...” as an admission that there may be some losers on the court that need to grandstand. Not yourself, of course. Anymore of those foreign law citations coming along?

3. "It would be unhelpful for the collegial relations...” Tony, your relationship to the constitution is more important than your relationship with the other functionaries. Next time, join a seminary if it’s collegiality you want, though Benny seems to be cleaning up that act.

4. "We (justices) think that we should be entitled to at least a presumption of correctness and to some deference in determining how best to preserve the dynamic of the wonderful proceeding that we know as oral argument." Maybe your being overly presumptuous there, Tone.

Anyway, Mr. Justice, if you don't think you can hack it, maybe that Judy woman is available.

The Question is the Wrong Answer

2008-04-11T12:28:00.002-04:00

Over Market Watch from Dow Jones I saw the following poll question,

Who do you think has the right cure for the looming Social Security Crisis?

John McCain

Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama

Yeah, okay. It is a question as useful as, say, Which would make a better conversationalist, an amoeba or a spirochete?

Some will tell you to vote for a nominee because if you vote third party as they cannot win.

It does not matter, whichever of the above wins, you lose.

Good Point, Ron

2008-04-08T08:17:00.004-04:00

In Ron Paul's April 7, 2008 weekly column about the amended the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the congressman states,

We have been told that this power to listen in on communications is legal and only targets terrorists. But if what these companies are being compelled to do is legal, why is it necessary to grant them immunity? If what they did in the past was legal and proper, why is it necessary to grant them retroactive immunity?

Why is he one of the few to use commonsense?

It is like the fact that we needed a constitutional amendment to take away drink, but not to take away someone's nickle bag (are they still called "nickle bags?") If you are reading this from prison and are righteously indignant because you are spending valuable time as a state guest because of some nasal ingestion, don't bother calling your lawyer. Nothing is going to happen.

Oh, and the law Ron Paul opposes, it is going to probably pass. Ronnie is one of the few who reads the laws and he is also one of the fewer who even understands them.

That is why the voice of humility proposed The Second Grand Reform based on the words of Jonathan Swift

No Law of that Country must exceed in Words the Number of Letters in their Alphabet, which consists only of two and twenty. But, indeed, few of them extend even to that Length. They are expressed in the most plain and simple Terms, wherein those People are not mercurial enough to discover above one Interpretation: And to write a Comment upon any Law is a capital Crime. As to the Decision of civil Causes, or Proceedings against Criminals, their Precedents are so few, that they have little Reason to boast of any extraordinary Skill in either.

Like our friends in prison, let us not hold our collective breath. Of course, if it ever did become law, it would not mean our solons understood the legislation they voted on. They would, however, lose the excuse that they had not read it.

Fitna and a decent respect to the opinions of mankind

2008-03-30T22:58:00.008-04:00

Okay, Geert Wilders puts out a film and it is aimed at Muslims.

So his queen says, "free speech doesn't allow one the right to offend." Now, is the European Royalty so inbred that they do not understand language. (from Reason) Of course, Her Majesty is a state functionary with little personal discretion to say what she may truly feel. Still, one would hope she would think a figure head crown was not worth having if it required saying things that are silly. Just in case the genes are too close, Queenie, I'm going to explain it to you. If speech must not offend, it is not free. So, just say you are against free speech and be honest or tell your PM to go to hell and accept the consequences.

Geert's prime minister "sighed that in Holland such statements (Wilders) were indeed legal, "but there is the possibility, once the film is released, that there will be a court case."" (also Reason) What was the point of getting rid of Seyss-Inquart?

Intent on proving Wilders' right, threats from Islamic groups caused Liveleak to stop the video on its website.

So it goes.

the voice of humility viewed Fitna and has some observations.

First of all, the film has some power. More for me as the music, Grieg's Asa's Tod from Peer Gynt was practiced for a long time by one of my children as he prepared for a concert with an ensemble he was part of. It is not overpowering, but it is serious music for a serious subject.

Second, it consists of many quotes from the Koran. Now I have a rule. If you quote someone and their first reaction is that you are quoting them out of context, then generally, they are either guilty or are bad stylists. When you write, say what you mean and mean what you say. Religious texts get a pass from me on this one, as they were written long ago and because so much is at stake, they are serious stuff and listening to a rebuttal is in order.

The quote that is the title of this post is from the declaration of independence. The colonists felt if they were going to rebel, they had to make known their reasons. I believe that we all have an obligation to make the reasons for our positions known within in that spirit of a decent respect for the opinions of others.

Did Mr. Wilders do this. If you watch the video, he is quoting the Koran and showing videos of Muslims speaking and acting. Other than the picture of Mohammed and the fuse, I don't think he is being unfair unless he is doing the out of context thing. That beheading video, there is some "splainin to do."

If he had a lot of ranting text, it would not have had much power and he could be dismissed as a crank. No, this is spare and eloquent, but it may be wrong.

Therefore, in the spirit of "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind" the voice of humility looked for a reasoned rebuttal. As to the verses quoted, Rupee News does what appears to my uneducated eyes a very good job. He calls it a first pass. I hope the second pass deals with the vicious statements that are the words of various speakers. It is not enough to say these fellows are not representative. There a lot of them and they are speaking to sizeable followings.

Rupee news disgraces himself by throwing around the word "Nazi." Socialism of the national variety is too often used instead of argument. Mr. Wilders is an enemy of Islam, no doubt, but that does not make him a National Socialist. Come up with actual totalitarian statements of Mr. Wilders if you can.

Having said that Rupee News has presented the verses in context that make them understandable, they do not do much for the cause of religion. Let me explain. Raised in the faith of my ancestors, many years ago, I read the bible, OT and NT, over a year or two. My goal was to ascertain if a person who knew nothing of religion were given the book and read it without comment from a teacher or proselytizer, would they find it converted them? My conclusion was probably not. I have purchased a Koran and started to read it. I can't. It is not a page turner. Now the voice of humility does not claim to be a scholar, so we do not assume it is the fault of the book.

The problem is, having read the verses in context that Rupee News presents, though they make clear what he intends, repel me. They give me the same feeling I got upon reading the bible, i.e. not much.

Most Christians or Moslems have not read their texts. In sermons, they get the best parts presented by persuasive speakers. I usually ask people why they believe. I never do it with a sarcastic attitude. If someone could present it so I could really think this is it, I'd be on the team without delay. Alas, it has never happened.

This is not to say, I did not find some lovely stuff in the bible, but it just did not say, this is it.

I suspect Moinsari's (I believe the writer of Rupee News)belief is a feeling as I've found from most people of other religions.

If I had to say there was someone's attitude I came closest to agreeing with it would be this.

Having written this, one would think I've had done with religion. Not so fast. I like the faith of my ancestors. Okay, I can't say I've had the conversion experience. I reason thusly, the voice of humility does not think himself all that bright and the religion has produced many of the great lights of Western Civilization. There is also the family thing. My family would not shun me if I said I was no longer a member of the religion, but I would feel less about myself. My ancestors kept the faith under horrible persecution. Also, the unbeliever, John Derbyshire helped. In his review of the works of J.F. Powers, he quotes Powers as saying, "There isn't anything the Church can do that it hasn't already done to disillusion me," he sighed in a 1988 interview, "but I still think it's it." I don't know that there is an it, but if there is,"it's it."

My family is fun. Maybe not big fat Greek wedding fun, but fun. I'd hate not to be part of it in the fullest sense.

So, Hassan, you are a better man than I. Still, if you're ever in town for Christmas, stop by for some cognac. You too, Moinsari. We can scare up some lemonade if you can't do the brandy.

The Race is Not Always to the Swift(boat)

2008-03-26T23:14:00.007-04:00

it was Antony, Caesar, who set me on the throne, and I freely admit that to Antony I have rendered every possible service. Nor do I hesitate to say that you would certainly have found me fighting loyally by his side if the Arabs had not prevented it. As it was I sent him all the reinforcements I could and many thousand sacks of corn; and not even after his defeat at Actium did I desert my benefactor - I gave him the best possible advice, as it was no use sending any more soldiers; I told him there was only one way of retrieving his disasters - Cleopatra's death. If he would kill her I promised money, protecting walls, an army, and my active participation in the war against you. But there it is! His ears were stopped by his insane passion for Cleopatra - and by God who has given victory to you. I am defeated with Antony and with his fall I lay aside my crown. I have come to you placing my hope and safety in my unblemished character, and believing that you will wish to know not whose friend, but what sort of friend I have been.

Thus, Herod, by demonstrating that when he became one's friend, whatever his personal defects, like perpetrating a massacre of innocents, his loyalty was enduring as reported by Flavius Josephus.

Somehow, nuancing his friendship with Reverend Wright in his speech tells more about Obama than will be recognized. He has proved himself eminently suited to be president of this nation. He is in the mold of the last few successful and unsuccessful candidates.

Had he said something like, Whatever this country thinks of Revered Wright, he has been my friend and I explain nothing about that other than, my friendship, once given is never taken back, he would have shown himself a gentleman and thus not in the mold of president. As it was, he did what it was thought he had to do.

I'm a loyalty type of guy. It can be considered a character defect, for if given to the undeserving, obligates one to do wrong. Once given for good reason, to abandon, or worse, to nuance it, for the bauble that is the presidency makes one laughable. Of course, it is the view of a tiny minority, the CEOUSA position being considered important and serious.

People are attacking Obama for having thrown his grandmother under the bus. The words "thrown under the bus" have been overused to the point the voice of humility deems them to have jumped the shark. We also deem "jumped the shark" to have jumped the shark as well. My problem with your man is the same as I have with Jay Severin. A lack of chivalry is a capital offense in my book.

Still and all, I would not have had much of a reaction to all this if it were not for his white supporters. Barack is just a normal garden variety presidential aspirant who happens to be black. Okay, he has sold himself as something more and the melanin impaired cool people have gone gaga over it. Now the intelligent reaction to the Reverend White kerfluffle would be to say, well, okay, he's just another guy, maybe it's time I paid attention to substance and see if I can support him on that. Nah, he's still a god. Below are the words of Dan Kennedy, a Boston area media guy.

Barack Obama's speech was first-rate — passionate yet subdued, easy to grasp yet complex in Obama's implied demand that his listeners hold a number of contradictory views simultaneously.

Yeah Dan, the man's a god.

He goes on to whine, The point is that it's all too easy to imagine some "independent" Republican group making a devastating ad out of the Obama-Wright connection this fall. Ya think, Dan. They wouldn't be making it up out of whole cloth, Dan. Hey, Dan, catch yourself on. What they said about the Duke and Willie Horton worked because it was true.

Udolpho does better on it.

Of the three candidates standing, I shall vote for none of them. Still, of the group, Obama is the least worst and Your Lying Eyes tells the truth on this one.

As to the bogeyman, ya know, I've been kinda wondering about himself. After all, all you get to see about him are the short clips of "GDA". David Henderson over at antiwar.com fleshes things out. My Ma always said, Son, no matter wherever you go, do something religious every day." So, I try to take up a collection whenever possible, but I won't be joining the Rev's church anytime soon even though there may have been a national overreaction to the man.

Speaking of Rev. Wright, in the movie The Commitments, there are a bunch of Dubliners whose leader is trying to transform them into a soul band. One of them says to him, "Don't you think we're a bit white?" William of Cork (liamascorcaigh) from the same island has noticed that though your man may not be named Swede of the Year, he is probably not in the running for the Hutu Pride 2008 award either. Hat tip Steve Sailer

Our First Ever Presidential Rankings

2008-03-24T21:20:00.002-04:00

I am moved to set up our Presidential Rankings after watching Jim Rogers on Youtube suggest closing down the Fed and firing Bernanke.

Mr. Rogers is entertaining, but that is not the real reason for including the video. Dear CNBC, I am available as a commentator. I can put on a fake downmarket Brit accent and sound as stupid as the commentators (their accents aren't fake, but they do sound stupid). Granted, I don't look as good as Maria, but she doesn't look as good as she used to.

But I digress. Rogers is decrying the socialization of the losses. I was wondering if we really do need a fed. I did some imperfect research. According to a goldbug, Howard Katz, the Fed is our third national bank. We have done without a Fed before. Mr. Katz opines that the Fed serves not our interests, but those of a few.

I am not an expert in economics. As a Polish American major at a reserve intelligence school I attended (don't laugh) used to say, "I have all my money in cash." In the next few years, I expect to be getting a W-2 from the blood bank as I shall have to find tuition resources for my kids.

Still, I have some opinions about the Fed. One rationale for its existence was to make sure we did not have those old panics and crashes. How did that work out from 1929 to WWII?

Thus to our ranking. Two prezzies who go up in value are Andrew Jackson and US Grant. Jackson for vetoing the National Bank Charter extension and Grant because he vetoed the Inflation Bill which would have been the 19th Century equivalent of Helicopter Ben throwing money out the window. Grant had the excesses to deal with of a war he did not start but did more than anyone other than Sherman to end.

I specifically put these men above Madison, Polk, Lincoln, McKinley, Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Bush and Bush. Why? If these lads were so great, they would have been smart enough to figure out how to avoid a war. J&G were at least not warmongers.

In our rankings, avoiding war gets you extra points.

To be fair

2008-03-17T22:06:00.002-04:00

Rev. Wright is problemo for Obama. There is a bit of selectivity. Romney had to explain himself, Ron Paul had to deny he wrote the protocols. Hey, here is a whack job who isn't even that good a speaker.

I'm not going to vote for any of the three who are still standing, but fair is fair. Up til now, the Obama candidacy has been a running joke that his silly supporters don't get is on them. Now, he is going to have to get serious and say something about race quickly. Why is McCain getting a free pass for his wingnut?

Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if you and I were going to be hanged.

2008-03-13T23:19:00.004-04:00

So spoke Oliver Cromwell to his lieutenants as he was heading north to fight the Scots. I am no Ollie fan, but he was not such a fool as to be swayed by the fawning crowd.

The former governor of New York was. The fickle Empire Staters turned on him fast. I thought him a thug before his fall and did not have to change opinion. I am reminded of the Massachusetts politician who was told by FDR that he never aimed a speech over the head of a thirteen year old. FDR was a New Yorker. I am not surprised they turned on him in an instant, and I'm not surprised they bought his politics of envy to begin with.

I heard a Boston talk show host, Jim Braude, upset about Spitzer because it would lead people to become unjustly cynical about government. Ya think, Jim.

I stumbled upon this.

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

- 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
- 7 have been arrested for fraud
- 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
- 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
- 3 have done time for assault
- 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
- 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
- 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
- 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
- 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?

It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

Gee, Jim, that restores my faith. Our political class is pure as the driven slush.

To be fair, I first saw this at the Irish Savant and decided to see if I could verify it. As of yet, I am not dead certain of it though I suspect it understates if, anything.

Let Him Who is Without Sin Cast the First Stink Bomb

2008-03-02T09:32:00.005-05:00

After the English Revolution had spent itself and Cromwell had died in his bed, England decided it wanted to be Merrie Old instead of a nation of saints. Charles II was invited home. Chuck 2 wasn't all that jolly about his dad's execution so he went about getting even with the regicides. One guy he could not kill, he dug up and hanged anyway. I doubt Ollie felt too much as he hung on the gibbet, but if it made Chucky Junior feel better then that was okay.

William F. Buckley, Jr. has passed on. There are mostly encomiums even from conservatives who had disagreed with him. They are of the, "I disagreed with him, but he wasn't all that bad," stripe. That is how ladies and gents observe the passing of anyone who at least did not kill Dumbledore. I never knew the man and have nothing to say other than we were not on the same wavelength but good luck in whatever dimension awaits you.

There is a website that I am ambivalent about. I favor immigration control for a number of reasons, partly because 911 was an immigration system failure more than anything else. I am more nuanced in my views on restriction. Still, I have found it interesting to read. The editor, Peter Brimelow, published his eulogy on the passing of Buckley and gave it the title of William F. Buckley, Jr., RIP—Sort Of. That "sort of" business says it all. Reading the article, one almost feels Mr. Brimelow feels bad he can't put the man on the gibbet before the body get too cold.

Undoubtedly, there will be many books out that will praise or pillory WFB. That would be the time to honorably stick the knife in with a review. Heck, I'm sure Mr. Brimelow could write one of those books.

Mr. Brimelow has put his character on display and it is not pretty. As the voice of humility, I've done the same. Mostly in my youth, I never passed up the chance to be less than gentlemanly and I regret it. I hope Mr. Brimelow figures it out.

The man more than anyone else who might have reason to write a mean spirited bit on Buckley's passing didn't to my knowledge. He did write a piece about the man over a year ago that viciously got back at his former boss. Actually, no. He wrote kindly about the man as Buckley started his battle with emphysema. Peter, Joe Sobran has a lesson for you on how to be a gentleman.

Say what? David Gelernter

2008-03-01T13:50:00.005-05:00

How can I teach my students to write decently when the English language has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Academic-Industrial Complex? Our language used to belong to all its speakers and readers and writers. But in the 1970s and '80s, arrogant ideologues began recasting English into heavy artillery to defend the borders of the New Feminist state. In consequence we have all got used to sentences where puffed-up words like "chairperson" and "humankind" strut and preen, where he-or-she's keep bashing into surrounding phrases like bumper cars and related deformities blossom like blisters;

Thus David Gelernter begins his article titled Feminism and the English Language. I don’t know if he called it that reflecting Orwell’s Politics and the English Language. Not bad, though as I guess we shall always have some would be caste wanting to appropriate control of lingusitic expression.

In 1984, Newspeak would be a language of as simple expression as possible in order to limit rebellious thought. I guess it is always thought control.

Men and women should be fighting any group that wishes to control minds. They talk about “liberation.” No mind can be liberated that is controlled by an ideology, no matter how well meaning.

Now, I will never be considered an exemplar of good grammar, but the official controlling authority of the voice of humility is by our decree, Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, 1962 edition, even if I never open my copy again.

Mr. Gelernter is somewhat neoconnish and this article was found at an AEI site. No matter, it is a good job. I’m not going to be controlled by ideology.

Here in Massachusetts the speech police are ever busy. In the Peoples' Republic of Amherst, the elected officials are called the Select Board instead of the Board of Selectmen. The writ of the Correctarians is not absolute. My town still prefers the old usage even though the ablest members that have ever served that I know of were two women.

The ne plus ultra of feminist inspired speech was the construct used by Marty Sender on WBZ-TV Boston's Evening Magazine. He commended someone for showing great showpersonship. What is amazing is that happened way back in the seventies.

Proof that Communism is dumb

2008-02-29T11:13:00.004-05:00

The Israeli Water Guy has picture after picture of Maria Sharapova. He seems to have an interest in, if not obsession for La Femme Russe. Like Cromwell, "I meddle with no man's conscience,"* so that is not my business.

My interest in all this is how it proves the silliness of Marxism. When I was in elementary school there was a series of geography books through the grades. The one with a section on the Soviet Union had pictures of women laborers. None of them would be on a Paris runway, though they might have replaced a few NFL linebackers.

Nowadays, it seems like all the Russian women we see can't take a bad picture. What I deduce from this is communism produces ugly women or the Russians have better cameras under capitalism.

Or does communism produce bad cameras and capitalism, beautiful women?

*Unlike Cromwell, I don't slaughter the wrongly conscienced.

Note; If you share your man's interest, you have to scroll down and through old pages for the whole series of pics. He is not uninteresting in his other posts, though his neoconnish tendencies are apparent.

Message to you dreamers, wake up!

2008-02-28T09:22:00.002-05:00

When I was a stripling, the adoration of "charisma" was starting to be a big thing. People would gush about how someone had it. Bobby Kennedy was thought to be a big charisma guy. Things he said would be taken as some holy writ not due to any inherent value, but because the cool guy said it.

One of his oft quoted statements, "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were and ask why not." is repeated Ad nauseam. It is not his actually, but no matter, if he had said, "The law of gravity is a mere construct," people would take it as an ex cathedra utterance and say we merely have to will it to fly.

The problem with the statement is that there are often good reasons why our dreams can't happen. Even worse, if we give into our dreams, it may even be disastrous. Serious reflection is not the strong suit of our national legislature and they might be on the way to one big screw up.

Some of the rent seekers who have achieved the title of congressmen and senators have not asked "why," or "why not." They appear to want to "Just do it." What is, "it" It is giving judges the right to reset mortgage rates.

It has in a sense happened before. One of the great charisma guys of the previous century, Adolph "I got Germany moving again" Hitler tried to avoid reality in his mortgage crisis.

According to Jude Wanniski, the fuhrer's policies had led to foreclosures on farm mortgages. Hitler "solved" the crisis by prohibiting foreclosure. As no one would want to invest in agriculture under such conditions, productivity declined. "By late 1935, Germany had been advanced 500 million marks wory of foodstuffs and raw materials which had yet to be redeemed in finished goods."*

Something had to give, and it did, Poland. The Lebensraum idea became inevitable.

Now, our august solons do not contemplate a blanket end to foreclosure, just relief for the folks who suckered themselves into the subprime mortgages. This will not lead to slogans like "Manitoba is historically a part of North Dakota," but it will make it harder to raise funds for mortgages going forward. Just a little more sand in the gears.

Jude Wanniski, The way the World Works (New York: Touchstone, 1979) p.147

Choose Obfuscation

2008-02-24T11:04:00.003-05:00

Now Hilarycare is going to be mandatory if Mrs. Clinton is elected and can get it passed.

Hilary claims to be pro-choice.

Is there not a contradiction here.

I remember when the term pro-choice was first used. Choice was posited as the value rather than abortion as a right in and of itself because pro-abortion was not as easy to sell.

So much for the value of choice.

Then again, this is a country where English is spoken, but not understood.

No you can't and don't change on my account

2008-02-23T14:50:00.005-05:00

When I was a kid I had a gofer gig on my way home from school. I would get coffee for the men who worked at a gas station and their friends who would gather at the mechanics' break and talk. Like a lot of Boston area Micks, the discussion would be political.

These men were high school grads at most. All of them voted Democrat. The arguments they had were on a higher level than anything I've heard from college grads, whether in person or on radio or TV in the last couple of decades. I suspect this is because the parochial school system of that day was superior to the winter camp that college has become now.

Most of the current campaign, whether Democrat or Republican has been the retailing of twaddle to the American people. The most embarrassing thing I've seen has been the Will.i.am silliness. Just keep chanting "change" and "yes we can" that will give it some meaning. Om me padme om. All the people who appeared in that are not sharp enough to realize they marked themselves as primitives.

Reflecting on all this, I've come to the conclusion that the only purpose to elections is that unlike some other countries we don't change governments violently. We select candidates with little rhyme or reason and then vote and go on.

The current campaign has caused an addition to the Short Dictionary of Politics.

Change: 1. Old, To transform or convert. 2. New, Politically, whatever you want it to mean.

Now more on elections and how they are sold by the candidates. If you saw Mrs. Clinton's Christmas message (see below in case you missed it), where she promised everything except a Merlot Maintenance Program for those of us who don't need methadone (and she might have hooked me with that) you can see the justice of our dictionaries definition of her party.

Democratic Party: American cargo cult masquerading as a political association.

Mrs. Clinton has inspired us to steal from H.L. Mencken, "Every Election is a Sort of Advance Auction Sale of Stolen Goods" and we distill it thus

Election: Auction in advance of stolen goods.

H.L. wrote this in either the twenties or thirties of the last century. Plus ca change and you finish it.

There's one good thing to say about the policy of de-instituionalization.

2008-02-22T22:35:00.004-05:00

Those who read a previous post on Jay Severin realize his limiltless capacity for hyperbole. Not the least his claim to have been awarded a masters in journalism at Boston University.

Well, Jay almost killed me last night. I only get to listen to him while driving due to reception issues here in the exurbs. About 4:08 PM, after the news he opened by stating "When I pursued my masters at BU." I almost hit a tree, I could not see as I was laughing so hard. I guess it's no longer. "When I took my masters."

Rich Aucoin of The Truth About Jay Severin also "noticed Jay's not-so-subtle-yet-somehow-seamless switch from "took" to "pursued."" and cautioned me "to leave several car lengths between you and the car in front of you between the hours of 3 and 7."

Of course he was leading into a discussion of the lack of ethics of the grey lady.

There is speculation that one area talk host told a blooper on his resume and will pay for it. Some have guessed it might be Jay. Nah, his cv is all whoppers. If they haven't sent him packing by now, he's safe.

And, I'd hate to see him go. He's nuts, but it's great schtick.

You think that's funny

2008-02-15T21:35:00.002-05:00

Mangan and Sailer are posting about stuffwhitepeoplelike and it is funny. they ask for suggestions and I sent in grey haired guys with pony tales, not to mention bald grey haired guys with pony tails.

Thinking to impress my son with how cool the old man is, I told him about it. Believe me, you can't outdo your kid about the net. He told me about failblog which is another chronicle of stupidity. My favorite in the era of supposed peak oil, a guy holding up a sign saying "who needs oil, I take the bus" which runs on whatever I guess.

Not so beautiful but useless.

2008-02-15T19:21:00.004-05:00

Jane Fonda started a flap by showing the country she possesses a sophisticated vocabulary. A local talk show made up of a woman reporter, Margery Eagan, and a liberal guy, Jim Braude, talked around it all day. Braude was not upset and Eagan was.

She finally asked him, did he talk like that around his kids and then callers had him on the run from other positions.

I'm old before my time, but I do not find the coarsening of language a happy occurrence. It is not good that most of the women in this country would be turned down by the navy because their language would curdle the blood of old salts. O tempora, O mores.

Jay Severin, hors de combat

2008-02-14T19:14:00.003-05:00

I'm worried. Jay Severin, whom I posted about the other day was not on the radio today. It may be a coincidence but his show today took place during the abdication announcement by Mitt Romney.

I was very hard on him. but as mom used to say, "Tell the truth and shame the devil." The truth is, your man is delusional or he is missing medication.

Over at The Truth About Jay Severin website, if you scroll down, you will find a bit about how Jay Severin has pledged never to vote for "Juan McCain." In the end, however, he always gives over and votes for the Republican squish no matter what. They end by writing,

"Jay Severin is a wolf in sheeps' clothing."

No lads, you have it all wrong.

Jay Severin is a sheep in wolves' clothing.

We are all Miss Teen South Carolina now!

2008-02-12T11:41:00.001-05:00

The camcorder was just coming into vogue when my wife and I were houseparents in a girls' dorm. I was grateful to have been a college student before that invention and even more fortunate to have been able to destroy the still photos (I think I got them all). I had no idea that youtube would come someday and now, more than literally, nothing is sacred.

Anyway, we round on poor Miss Teen SC when all she was trying to do was win a beauty contest. Let's hear from some smart, hip politically involved folks.

Lest you think it is limited to supporters,

I am making the voice of humility corollary to Adam Smith's "There is a lot of ruin in a nation."

"There is a lot of stupid in a political class."

Of course, there is Dana Perino,

C'mon lads, you were never interested in Miss SC for her mind to begin with. Just look at her. What she does well, she really does well. Dana was probably a cute perky teenager once too.

Stick a fork in him, He's dog food.

2008-02-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

a Madison Avenue fable from Ben Wattenberg.

Seeking to produce a new dog food, a big corporation set market researchers, food chemists and advertising agencies to work. The experts came up with a new product they were proud of. The dog food sold well, for a while. Then it slumped. Puzzled, the corporate executives commissioned a public opinion firm to see what was wrong.

Soon, the answer came back: "The dogs don't like it."

This is a fair enough analysis of the Mitt Romney campaign.

I've been hard on the Mitt. I did not vote for him. Take Ron Paul out of the mix and he was, however, the least unsavory of the lot.

Policy wise, he was as bad as the rest. If you were looking for someone to just keep the trains running on time, He was your man.

One disagreement about the coverage of the man was that he was plastic. I'm not completely sure what people mean by this. Sure, when he was "jivin" on MLK day he looked like he was trying too hard. So what. That he could not overcome his natural reserve hardly means he was "plastic." Just the opposite. The plasticity of Hilary Clinton wherein she can mimic a black woman and then go teary eyed is the standard.

Plastic, whitebread, racist terms for not being a complete public jerk.

Now This is Spin

2008-01-10T08:57:00.000-05:00

In the current season we are going to hear a lot of after primary comments from candidates about how an abysmal finish presages inevitable victory. We laugh about our times and such behavior. Come, come mes amis, the Nineteenth Century gives us an example of positive thinking that puts all our fuhrer wannabees to shame.

Relieved from the necessity of guarding cities and particular points, important but not vital to our defense, with an army free to move from point to point and strike in detail the detachments and garrisons of the enemy, operating on the interior of our own country, where supplies are more accessible, and where the foe will be far removed from his own base and cut off from all succor in case of reverse, nothing is now needed to render our triumph certain but the exhibition of our own unquenchable resolve. Let us but will it, and we are free; and who, in the light of the past, dare doubt your purpose in the future?

Jeff Davis penned those lines just after the evacuation of Richmond and before Appomattox. To be fair, he expected a guerilla campaign that would have probably drained the Union coffers and might have succeeded, or not.

He specifically ordered Joe Johnston to execute the plan. Joe ignored him. I can understand Joe's attitude, "I was holding off the superior forces of Sherman before Atlanta and frustrating Billy no end and you relieved me for that dope, Hood. Hey, you want to sleep outside with the lice for a few years, be my guest." I don't think your man was spinning as much as he was delusional. This is the question we may want to ask about the candidates.

the voice of humility gives the all time Spin Award to the late Emperor of Japan,

...Despite the best that has been done by everyone — the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of Our servants of the State, and the devoted service of Our one hundred million people — the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.
Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.
Such being the case, how are We to save the millions of Our subjects, or to atone Ourselves before the hallowed spirits of Our Imperial Ancestors? This is the reason why We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers.
...
The hardships and sufferings to which Our nation is to be subjected hereafter will be certainly great. We are keenly aware of the inmost feelings of all of you, Our subjects. However, it is according to the dictates of time and fate that We have resolved to pave the way for a grand peace for all the generations to come by enduring the unendurable and suffering what is unsufferable.

That, "not necessarily to Japan's advantage" stuff May be histories greatest understatement. Although the words don't express anything good is happening to Japan, the word surrender is nowhere. The "We have ordered the acceptance of the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Powers" when you did not have much choice is worthy of honorable mention.

No, I think our species is devolving, our spinability is not keeping up.

Wicked Smaht

2008-01-05T11:19:00.001-05:00

Here in Los Angeles, the more dismal murders -- such as one teenager shooting another over graffiti-tagging rights to an alley -- are committed mostly by the usual suspects. In contrast, the colorful capers that Quentin Tarantino or the Coen Brothers would find cool, the seemingly brilliant schemes that somehow go awry and end in a bloodbath, are perpetrated primarily by white newcomers from either the Middle East or the ex-Soviet Union: Armenians, Israelis, Persians, and the like.

Yet, Hollywood seems instead to be falling in love with an ethnic group that has been here even longer than the Italians: the Irish. Working class white Boston, where killings, while rare, frequently remain unsolved, has been the setting for the recent Oscar-winners "The Departed" and "Mystic River."

Steve Sailer wrote the lines above. He may be right, now, but not too long ago, there were two Irish* gangs one (The Winter Hill Gang) that was attritted by government action and morphed into its successor run by a very cool customer, Whitey Bulger who, when the government was close, took off and is still at large. You can see his picture just below OBL's on the FBI's ten most wanted list.

Anyway, one of Bulger's minions, John Martorano (don't let the name fool you), is going to be on Sixty Minutes this Sunday. John confessed to around twenty murders. He was one of a number of prolific killers. Things may have calmed down and I've been away for a long time, but contrary to what Steve thinks, there is enough material for several novels and exposés, documentaries. You could get hundreds of movies and a few operas.

In the nineties, I had a business interaction with one of the gang members. Nothing sordid or illegal. Be assured, I limited this to the minimum possible. This was not a higher ranking guy, but he was scary.

The area is changing. East Boston, once heavily Italian has large swaths where MS 13 is big.

I live now in near as rural an area of the Bay State as you can find East of the Connecticut River. I go rarely to the Boston area. Last year I went to a family funeral. My extended family members are almost all college graduates and live away from Boston and its neighborhoods where less than a generation ago we all spent time. We have done what we could to, at least unconsciously, lose the "accent." As we were talking, someone brought up the movie, "The Departed" and everyone fell to discussing the stars and their attempts at mimicking the patois. As the conversation proceeded, I noticed that everyone had slipped back into the accent.

Below is a video of comedian Steve Sweeney. I think it is funny and worth watching to see how you do not want your kids to grow up talking.

Note, Sweeney mentions the number and the Herald. That paper is the direct descendant of the Record American that came out in several editions every day. On the sports page would be the US Treasury Balance. I always wondered why that was so. Before the state lottery started picking the number the last three digits of the treasury balance was it. Just putting that out there if anyone had so much time out to wonder about that.

*One could even say Italo-Irish as the gangs included some Italian footsoldiers, but, hey even the local Mafia chief was half Irish.

Comedian Steve Sweeney

Posted Jun 21, 2006

Boston Comedian Steve Sweeney performs at the Marriott Hotel

The Short Dictionary of Politics

2008-01-02T11:34:00.002-05:00

This was published 2006 with a few additions since. Below is the updated version.

Please note, this is not exhaustive list. Readers are invited to submit suggestions for further installments.

Also, there are no claims to originality. I do not want to be part of the company of Ambrose and Kearns-Goodwin (non sum dignus), so some of the ideas I assimilated (e.g. the civil rights entry), I just don't remember from where.

Assisted Suicide: The ultimate reform of the Social Security System. If senior citizens utilize assisted suicide en masse, the system's solvency can be greatly enhanced.

Bombing: Diplomatic method preferred by US Government policy makers pioneered during the Clinton administration.

British Royal Family: Founder of the family, William, started out as Capo di Tutti Capi of Norman Mafia. Descendants and others built the organization into a successful franchise over centuries, despite family infighting. Today, family has no real role as they have been kicked upstairs to mainly ceremonial positions. Currently undergoing branding crisis as members are not terribly appealing as celebrity material. Family should consider new ways of appealing to public. Should seek the assistance of Mr. Frank McCourt who turned a stupid and unappealing childhood into an industry.

Change: 1. Old, To transform or convert. 2. New, Politically, whatever you want it to mean.

Civil Rights: In truth, there can only be three: Life, Liberty and Property. Anything else is the attempt of one group to secure privileges at the expense of another group or society itself. Of the three above, Property is the most important. If the individual's property is secure, there is little reason for anyone to take his life or liberty.

Communism: Natural religious progression wherein lower caste man is made into his own god and enslaved in his own name. Lasted far longer than could possibly have been expected. Still claims believers in the professorate.

Democratic Party: American cargo cult masquerading as a political association.

Demagogue: Person who appeals to the emotions to gain power or fame. See also: Politician.

Department of Education: American cabinet secretariat responsible for extracting money from the public while convincing them that the decline in public education is being arrested. Judging from the department's growth amidst continuing school failure, policy is an unmitigated success.

Election: Auction in advance of stolen goods. (With thanks to H.L. Mencken)

Equality: In nature, an impossibility among the human species, which despite evidence is almost universally desired.

Feminism: Formerly a movement to secure women rights to opportunities not generally open to them. Today, the movement exists to secure power for women who attend highly selective institutions. Practical effect has been disastrous for less highly placed women who now have access to the same stupid and boring occupations men have had to do for eons. Current philosophy is heavy on misandry. The religious aspect of the cult has one sacrament.

Green Party: So far, only significant role has been vehicle for Ralph Nader, Ross Perot of the left.

Her Majesty's Government: Political wing of the British Army.

Iron Law of government: Everything eventually reduces to its absurd. If this is an actual law of physics that exists in nature is not known. In politics and government, it cannot be denied. Whereas in business a company can go bankrupt (unless it is publicly favored), in the realm of government, if (actually, when is more appropriate) a program attains absolute failure, it becomes a candidate for increased funding (e.g. DARE,).

Nazi: Common smoke screen name for National Socialist German Workers Party, the German variant of socialism. The success of this party in bringing ruin to most of Europe, its own population, as well as racial enemies cannot be gainsaid. Its accomplishment was so complete that the whole enterprise collapsed after only thirteen years of operation, whereas the Soviet version started decades earlier and met its demise several decades later. Impresario of German Socialism was Adolph Hitler, a man with the soul of a ward boss who nevertheless was able to foist his program on a nation with near universal literacy and a very high degree of advanced education. The success of the program, along with golf, argues against the continued progress of evolution. Despite the socialist nature of the ideology, other socialists have had amazing success in making sure National Socialism is not identified as the philosophical soul brother it is.

Political Correctness: A fear of knowledge. Under the regime of political correctness as practiced in the United States and some other nations, any evidence disproving accepted doctrine must be denied, if not suppressed. (via Steve Sailer)

Politician: In the American democracy, generally a person who lies in seeking election to public office because there is ample evidence of little profit in speaking the truth (e.g. would Woodrow Wilson have been reelected if his slogan had been "He's hasn't got us into war yet, but, he intends to"?). See also demagogue.

Populist: Highest form of demagogue.

Reform: Word has no real meaning yet is impossible to oppose. The question, "Are you against x reform?" can never be answered negatively without destroying politically one who so answers no matter the actual value of the reform proposed. The word's greatest value is that it is as an accurate marker for poseurs (e.g. John McCain).

Republican Party: American political association with no other permanent purpose than to secure executive positions, legislative posts and patronage emoluments.

Reverend: 1. Title marking certain persons who after serious study and piety are ordained as suitable to lead and instruct the faithful. 2. Honorific applied to certain class of charlatans (examples: Rev. Paisley, Rev. Sharpton, Rev. Jackson)

Revolution: A method by which one elite manipulates the masses to transfer power from another elite due to real or perceived oppression. The success or failure of the revolutionary party, once the ancien regime is overthrown, depends on how well they manage their transition from belief in ideology to practical management of the entity they have stolen.

Self-esteem: the psychological notion used to justify rampant egotism (with help from Theodore Dalrymple)

Social Security: The perfection of a system discovered by a Signor Ponzi wherein early "investors" are paid off by the subscriptions of later participants. System requires ever more contributors to stave off inevitable collapse. Due to the default of Ponzi's path breaking enterprise, he eventually suffered incarceration. Managers of our Social Security system expect no such problems as they have tools to deal with eventualities such as invisible default (i.e. one can start collecting at age 105) or monetization.

Soviet Union: Several countries that were controlled by an apparatus known as the Communist Party. For approximately seven decades said apparatus was able to rob the people in their own name. Went out of business when there was no more to rob.

Tolerance: 1. Old, permitting free expression of views one does not share. 2. New, suppression of thought, or speech found uncomfortable by favored groups.

Transgender operations: Current form of approved ritual mutilation.

University - public: A public university is mainly a large scale day care provider. Most do some practical scientific research.

University - private: Private universities are generally smaller scale day care providers. Very selective establishments exist mainly to mark the children of a certain class or wealth as members of an elite.

War on Drugs: Growth industry whose constituency is well served by the government regulations that propel it.

War on Terrorism: Campaign that will utilizing all the lessons of the drug war while also inventing its own.

Wyoming is the Answer

2008-01-02T11:30:00.001-05:00

This is the First Grand Reform we proposed. To move the nation's capital to an unpleasant clime.

"No man's liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session"
Attributed to Abraham Lincoln

the voice of humility has, in its own modest way, decided to do what it can to stop the endless scandals that occur amongst the governing class in the nation's capital. This last debacle, the Foley emails and IMs does not seem as horrible as a lot of the others as it was all talk, albeit of a digital variety. I mean, Gerry Studds actually consummated his affair and got re-elected several times. Then again, it is a different in the People's Republic of Massachusetts. The goofiness of a Mark Foley is ridiculed but the contretemps of Barney Frank is seen as a mere diversion from the high seriousness of his progressive statesmanship. What that high seriousness entails, well, that might be a bit of a mystery, but no matter.

After all, were always told that we should not watch the making of sausage or laws but I've never had to endure the personal lives of people who make salami or knockwurst. Why, oh why must I endure knowing about the foibles of the people who put together such masterpieces as No Child Left Behind or all the non declarations of war for the many conflicts we have engaged in since WWII. I'd chance knowing the affairs of Luigi at the pepperoni factory as they can't be worse and he makes a better product.

Howie Carr, a newspaperman and journalist from Boston noticed in visiting Congress that most of the members looked like middle market news anchors. When I saw the Foley pictures, it was just another validation. The voters put in Congress the type of person they are comfortable watching read a script written by someone else. People love to go to Washington. because life is good there. The climate is mild enough, the parties often enough that if offered the opportunity, I would run too and enjoy it in spite of my noble disdain for the class who infest the banks of the Potomac.

So what can be done. With no deep thought or great effort, I have come up with a solution. Several decades ago, upon separation from the serious work of defending the nation, I embarked upon a trip across country with a friend in late spring to visit all the comrades who frivolously invited me to stop by once I got out. Having not the money to stay at motels when not sponging, we camped. It was for the most part not unpleasant. Then we came to Wyoming. I have not spent a worse night. Unlike the recently resigned congressman, snuggling up to my tent mate was for neither of us an option. Getting up in the morning was hell as we would have to leave the warmth of the sleeping bags to get dressed and then go to wash up. The late June day did warm up to just below tolerable. The landscape had its own beauty but it was a stark, bleak beauty. Riding through was interesting to see but not enough to linger and there was no way a second night was going to be spent.

My friends, the above mentioned and unpleasantly remembered experience has moved me to propose to the nation that the capital must be moved to Wyoming. Think about it lads, lassies. The current seat of government is too nice. Our legislators need a harsh climate so few of them will wish to serve and those that do serve will not want to stay as long. It is one thing to want to speak with a reporter and get face time giving your opinion on the big issue when you are in a elegantly tailored suit with perfectly coiffed hair, quite another when you are wearing a parka and a hat with ear flaps and your usually mellifluous voice is muffled because of the scarf covering your mouth. It will be a more curmudgeonly type who seeks office under those conditions, and thus, more honest of speech. Think about it, perky little Caitlin the reporterette asks Jake the retired math teacher with a face for radio but not the voice about the new education bill. Jake gives the truth, "Listen girly, I'm not for giving one cent to the schools. In my forty five years in the classroom, I had about ten kids capable of doing real math, most of the rest wanted to sleep through class. The school department mandated that I give the majority Cs when most of them deserved Ds." Our perky reporteress then asks, "Jake, don't you think your constituents will be offended by your comments." Jake, "If they don't like what I say, let em vote for someone else. The food here is terrible, it's cold and I get stupid questions from reporters."

And speaking of cute little reporterettes and handsome serious reporters. We would have less of them as duty in the new national capital would not be looked upon as the pinnacle of ones career, but as punishment. "Sorry folks, we won't be bringing you Caitlin up at the Senate building as she is too hungover again. We do have some film from Maldive Islands History Month being celebrated at the Maldive Community Center. Poor little Caitlin would be forever campaigning to be sent anywhere else other than, maybe, Ulan Bator.

Now, I understand just physically moving the seat of government is not enough. There will have to be limitations and that will be easy enough. Generally speaking, I am not in favor of eminent domain, but in this case there is reason for an exception. We find a town with a high school gym large enough to seat on those uncomfortable benches the House of Representatives. The auditorium must be just large enough to accommodate the Senate. No more great architecture to inspire their imperial dreams. If there is a medium size bank in town, that can serve as the President's office. A local district court should be all that is necessary for the Supremes (unfortunately, I don't mean the three chanteuses).

Housing and building regulations will have to be pretty strict, though no limitation is envisioned for tents such as the one I slept in, we can have no vast mansions. Bunkhouses might work, but since Brokeback Mountain, people will talk, and we want no crude jokes. No, we shall build our solons what we do for the aging citizens of this republic. They can live in senior citizen style housing equivalent to that which they subsidize across the country. It will be Spartan, but if it is good enough for Gramma, it's good enough for Denny and Nancy. Anyway, they won't be spending too much time there. The most oft spoken word in our new capital will be adjournment.

One other benefit to the big move will be we get to give back the District of Columbia to Virginia and Maryland. Not that they might want it.. No more Marion Barrys. No large federal metropolis to be supported by the rest of the country. The Washington Post Style section with nothing to report. Georgetown a ghost town.

Alright, I know my reverie can never come to pass. I know that it is too much to hope for that that place that started out as a swamp could return to being a swamp. Well, I guess in a way it has always been a swamp.

Old Posts for the New Year

2008-01-02T11:26:00.000-05:00

To start the new year off, we are going to give in to the inner slacker and post something that was updated through the year as well as posts of our political agenda, the Grand Reforms, so that we can watch the groundswell that will bring about true reform to this nation.

Do not use me so, I wish to be known for my mind.

2008-01-01T14:12:00.000-05:00

PICTURE REMOVED

Okay, I admit I am a horribly flawed human being. I am always consulting sitemeter to see how much traffic comes here. I love it when someone arrives due to a search for Quintilius Varus. Unfortunately, the biggest search is for the girls in the picture above. What is also interesting is the places the searches originate from. They tend to be often Middle Eastern or if European, cities known to have large Middle Eastern populations. In this country, university towns are heavily represented. I have the feeling the people who are looking at the Italo-Celtic Central Massachusetts babes are not spending as much time studying the holy books as they should be.

Anyway, I am not a pimp and in a few days, the picture will be gone.

Do not use me so, I wish to be known for my mind. Though that may not be all that great an idea.

See original post

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2007-12-31T08:03:00.000-05:00

the voice of humility wishes everyone a happy and politically incorrect 2008 Anno Domini.

Fear of Knowledge

2007-12-27T12:40:00.000-05:00

The iSteve blog has a post about Anthropology titled Almost makes you feel sorry for Jared Diamond ...
. It is interesting enough, but is important to the voice of humility for providing a new definition for our ongoing Short Dictionary of Politics project. Herein we quote Mr. Sailer,

But there's another reason cultural anthropologists love ethnographic dazzle: political correctness. PC is essentially a fear of knowledge. The cultural anthropologists wallow in data and despise generalization and reductionism for fear that somebody might turn data into information, knowledge, and, God forbid, wisdom.

The voice of humility is an accomplished enough thief to work it into our dictionary thus:

Political Correctness: A fear of knowledge. Under the regime of political correctness as practiced in the United States and some other nations, any evidence disproving accepted doctrine must be denied, if not suppressed.

As we have stolen from Mr. Sailer, we will go against normal practice and link to his fundraiser, Panhandlemania. The voice of humility does not solicit money for others, but if you are not going to endow us with vast generosity, we would rather you donate to Mr. Sailer than NPR.

The Acception That Proves the Rule

2007-12-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

My kids got the movie, Accepted, out of the library. It is not much. Minimalist plot summary: Goofy kid can't get into college, starts one of his own and succeeds. In watching the movie accepted, it is obvious why “hero,” Bartelby, has not got into college. Stupid parents beget stupid kids. It is one long unending not so funny vulgarity. I don't know what it is about golf and college movies, but it appears de rigeur that there be an anti Anglo-Saxon jibe about anti-semitic blackballing. Hey, it's almost 2008, someone has to get the script writers of worthless movies a life.

So why do I waste time on something I think is complete dreck. The truth is, I'm not sure it was a comedy. Oh, it definitely wanted to be a comedy with nonstop lame jokes. Unfortunately, there was just a tad too much reality. The plot line of kid sets up college that is all things to all youth, well, is that not a lot of what college is sold as?

Lets take a look at a admissions web page for one of New England's popular colleges where cool kids go for a serious but fun four years (at least),

Imagine yourself at Middlebury College, with four years to try new ideas and explore the subjects and pursuits you feel passionate about. Four years to explore a liberal arts curriculum so diverse and interdisciplinary that it would take over a century to experience it all. Four years to act in a student production, do research with faculty scientists, join a relief mission to a third-world country, hike the Long Trail, or play left wing on the hockey team. Where would you start? No matter where you choose to begin, Middlebury offers abundant opportunities for learning and growth—and opens doors to the future you envision.

Ah well, I'm sure no catalog ever said something like, you will spend hours in the library doing term papers and we expect you to toe the line and if you don't, maybe voke ed is for you.

In a prior post, I told how I was required to read Newman's The Idea of a University the summer before I attended a papist undergraduate institution. To my utter shame, I remember so little of it. I vaguely recall some of it in that an undergraduate curriculum at a Liberal Arts college should be knowledge for its own sake. Well, I guess the fellow in the film was pursuing the goal of blowing things up with his mind for its own sake, but that is hardly a liberal art. No matter, we want you to grow and learn at Middlebury while we open doors for that future you envision.

South Harmon Institute of Technology, the name of the college in the film (yes, they meant that acronym) also wants you to grow and learn. The standards are undoubtedly looser than Middlebury's but the idea is really little different.

Now, do not get the idea the voice of humility is decrying this. After all, if we have a real system of liberal education, maybe one hundredth of one percent of the population might qualify. That is not on. The country would not stand for it and the thought of an aimless horde of seventeen year olds being unleashed on the country to search for work they are unqualified to do and probably does not exist is scary to say the least. No let them ferment for a few years and take jobs that the country needs like drug counselor or campus security worker.

Indeed, we have been marching toward this for well over a hundred years. No, it is not something that started with the post WWII GI Bill. Christopher Lasch, In the Culture of Narcissism wrote that The president of Princeton was hoping the success of the football team would lead to interest and applications to his college among Kentuckians well over a century ago. Princeton, that bastion of privilege, where the BA is a ticket to membership in the elite actually had to sell itself to rubes in the hinterlands?

The growth of college has probably been the most successful rent seeking enterprise in world history, putting the pre-christian pagan priesthood that it has much in common with to shame.

From the Sublime

2007-12-20T10:45:00.000-05:00

Over on the Black Sea up until a few days ago there was a lovely picture picture of Hope Sandoval of the band Mazzy Star with the words, "I want to taste the breath that's true."

Since then, he has posted a picture of some specimens of what looks to be Underclass Caucasia and below has the words of Hank five before Agincourt, as written by Billy Lancerattle, "For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition."

In looking at the picture, I am more reminded of the words of Wellington before Waterloo, "I don´t know what they do to the enemy but they scare the hell out of me."

I reflected on this picture in relation to my post on inequality, Watsonia Delenda Est just below. Anyone who thinks that if the other just disappears we will enter into a state of Nirvana need only look at the picture at the Black Sea and remember the words of JJ Walker,

Northern Ireland shows that when there are no Blacks or Jews around, people can improvise.

There is no society so poor that it will lack for an underclass. ergo inequality ergo conflict.

As to the couple in the picture at Black Sea, had he been at Agincourt, no matter how many acts of valor Baldie might perform, the only gentling of his condition possible was centuries away. If the battle took place today, Henry would not have knighted him, but would have given him leave to undergo electro shock with twice the voltage for Blondie.

Watsonia Delenda Est

2007-12-10T21:19:00.001-05:00

James Malloy quotes W.D. Hamilton on GNXP,

... [M]ight it be fair also to say that the champions of 'no difference' in race or sex, or intelligence ... are the guardians of a greater 'untruth' that allows people to live together in mutual harmony, implying that these critics really deserve to be praised as our protectors even when they are factually wrong? ... it is roughly how the self-appointed guardians choose to present themselves - leaving aside, usually, the step of frankly admitting that they are promoting factual untruths when they know that they are.

The problem with the quote above is that no matter what is said and done, we don't live in harmony. If there were real acceptance of each other, why rock the boat. Unfortunately, as there is no equality, it can not be glossed over with happy talk. Equality does not exist in nature and has never existed amongst men and women. If there is not equality then there can only be jealousy when the observation of group differences occurs. This is tragic. When members of Group A complain that a test was designed by Group B and thus benefits only Group B members and Group B members reply that Group C test takers had no part in the design of the test and outdo Group B it has no effect on the argument because the conclusion, if true is still felt as an insult. Do Group B members not feel jealous of Group C because Group C is relatively small here and intermarries at a high rate. If there were fifty million Northeast Asians swamping colleges would American Caucasia's attitude become similar to Black America's? No, I don't expect ranting about "Yellow Skin Privilege."

Our species is, in the main, nothing to write home about. We strut and brag and yet so few of us have ever advanced mankind. We are using the storage batteries charged by others. Let us read the words of Ralph Adams Cram, whose writings on the subject influenced Albert Jay Nock to abandon egalitarianism,

Yes, but there is another side to the question. However repulsive and degrading the general condition of any period in the past, there never has been a time when out of the darkness did not flame into light bright figures of men and women who in character and capacity were a glory to the human race. Nor were they only those whose names we know and whose fame is immortal. We know from the evidences that there were more whose identity is not determined, men and women lost in the great mass of the underlying mob, who in purity and honour and charity were co-equal with the great figures of history. Between them and the basic mass there was a difference greater than that which separates, shall we say, the obscene mob of the November Revolution in Russia, and the anthropoid apes. They fall into two absolutely different categories, the which is precisely the point I wish to make.

We do not behave like human beings because most of us do not fall within that classification as we have determined it for ourselves, since we do not measure up to standard. And thus:

With our invincible—and most honourable but perilous—optimism we gauge humanity by the best it has to show. From the bloody riot of cruelty, greed and lust we cull the bright figures of real men and women. Pharaoh Akhenaten, King David, Pericles and Plato, Buddha and Confucius and Lao Tse, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius and Virgil, Abder-Rahman of Cordoba, Charlemagne and Roland; St. Benedict, St. Francis, St. Louis; Godfrey de Bouillon, Saladin, Richard Coeur de Lion; Dante, Leonardo, St. Thomas Aquinas, Ste. Jeanne d'Arc, Sta. Teresa, Frederick II, Otto the Great, St. Ferdinand of Spain, Chaucer and Shakespeare, Strafford and Montrose and Mary of Scotland, Washington, Adams and Lee. These are but a few key names; fill out the splendid list for yourselves. By them we unconsciously establish our standard of human beings.

Now to class with them and the unrecorded multitude of their compeers, the savage and ignorant mob beneath, or its leaders and mouthpieces, is both unjust and unscientific. What kinship is there between St. Francis and John Calvin; the Earl of Strafford and Thomas Crumwell; Robert E. Lee and Trotsky; Edison and Capone? None except their human form. They of the great list behave like our ideal of the human being; they of the ignominious sub-stratum do not—because they are not. In other words, the just line of demarcation should be drawn, not between Neolithic Man and the anthropoid ape, but between the glorified and triumphant human being and the Neolithic mass which was, is now and ever shall be.

The higher beings amongst us are infinitesimally rare and for all practical purposes are a species above. The brilliant fellows at the right tail of the bell curve as measured by tests are so few. That they are almost never descendants of Sub Saharan Africa or are Women is seen as injustice before any reflection takes place.

Well, I am descended from a nation that has not had that many members of the intellectual elite. By intellectual elite, I don't mean senior partners in Biglaw. There have been some of those from amongst us and valued members of other overblown so called professions. No, I mean a Newton or Gallileo or Archimedes or Einstein. The color of their skin or gender is irrelevant as any of their achievements have benefited all. Still, there is resentment.

You know, I wish people of my ethnicity were top of the pops. I kind of resent that Jews score consistently better. I also remember the early fifties when parents would not let kids play together for fear of Polio. A relative by marriage spent the last few years of his life in an iron lung and was soon buried in his well decorated uniform. I played with his son at the beach where he could at least take off his braces to swim. One day we went to a building and waited in line. My sisters and I were given a shot. Soon, no parent stopped their kids from going off to play.

The point is, the scientist who conjured the vaccine may not have been Pythagoras, but he was no slouch. If the choice were my kid in an iron lung and a Jew getting a scholarship that obviates that, well, I hope I would not be churlish in the matter.

Ah, but the reigning egalitarianism denies there is anything special in any accomplishment. If only discrimination or prejudice were extinguished then anyone could be anything. In practice this means the game is rigged and we hope for the golden day when anyone can be the equal of Stephen Hawking in brainpower, and, only brainpower. Does anyone really believe this?

It seems about a thousand years ago, but I vaguely remember a Firing Line show with Malcolm Muggeridge and Germaine Greer and a bunch of Lefty Brits. At one point, Muggeridge opined about a doctrine that no one really believes and likened it to the Marxist idea of the withering away of the state. The implication was that even Marxist were not stupid enough to believe in such tripe anymore. All the assorted lefties tried to look as if they were not there. They could not say, "Quite right there, Malchie, old boy," but they hardly wanted to stupidly say how it was an article of their true faith.

Well Germaine, as a sub-mediocrity myself, I lead all in hailing your installation in the grand pantheon of the Gods of Mediocrity. She has had a good run in a life of self promotion but is like all the other deniers on Firing Line or the attackers of Watson. Down deep they know that inequality is all pervasive as was Marxism a crock. They also know their own limitations. As expressed in Fewtril #216 of Deogolwulf

Mediocrity tends to a tolerance of everything but excellence.

That makes sense. If all the gods we make are mediocrities, when a real one shows up he has to die.

I live in a nice enough house with many wonderful things. I drive a car that transports me great distances. All the arts and sciences that are in these, I had no part in creating. The smallest of the inventions were the genius of others. It is so with all but the tiniest fraction of humans. It has not been a bad life and I am grateful.

Orwellian Language of the Year

2007-12-01T10:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, I really don't like to do the W pile on, but sometimes I can't help it.

The radio is on as background noise in the kitchen and our pres is giving his weekly address. Most of what I hear is blah blah blah blah blah as that is what it is. I do hear one thing, "Congress needs to pass a bill to protect the middle class from higher taxes."

I'm down witcha, George. File a bill that reads, "Any tax that attacks a middle class citizen, either physically or with hate speech shall serve a sentence not less than three years or more than ten and shall pay a fine of not less than $10,000 or more than $250,000 or its equivalent in real money."

There mon president, as they say, mission accomplished.

They're Taking Him Seriously

2007-11-14T12:06:00.000-05:00

Yup, people are taking notice of Ron Paul. On the strength of a $500 donation from a white supremacist wacko Ronnie is being accused of all but Holocaust Denial at Bald Headed Geek. Daniel Sieradski is upset that the candidate is not in constant contact with him.

Look kids, if a non interventionist foreign policy scares you that much, the voice of humility will tell you how to kill my boy's candidacy the easy way. All you have to do is bring up his ideas about Social Security.

"We’ve all heard proposals for “privatizing” the Social Security system. The best private solution, of course, is simply to allow the American people to keep more of their paychecks and invest for retirement as they see fit." American voters won't be scared about Ron Paul's thoughts on the gold standard, but they do get worried when you tell them they might not be getting a "free" check no matter how inflated the currency it is paid in.

This method of attack is also dishonorable. Still, it is preferable than using up the term anti-semite. Reserve that for people who really deserve it.

Also posted at The Neutralist

Suppression

2007-10-30T12:26:00.001-04:00

One can be celebrated in this world for Speaking Truth to Power, but if you actually "Speak Truth to Power," you get squashed like a bug. If you want to see what the fate of truth to power tellers is look at the White Rose and Franz Jägerstätter not to mention people who merely whispered truth and got into the maw of the Gulag.

The voice of humility does not speak on subjects like heredity or genetics because we possess only the dimmest understanding of the science. We do believe that we possess normal human powers of observation. As to our environment, suffice it to say, there is no equality anywhere whether amongst individuals or groups. To say otherwise is to be willfully blind.

Now Mr. Watson was not speaking to "Power," but "Power" overheard his conversation. I don't want to get into why he caved because he may have had some very important reason for doing it. However, had he told his oppressors to take a hike, the victory for truth telling may not have been decisive, but it would have been welcome.

It is also to be noted, it does not appear that he made his remarks about Africa and her children with either joy or rancor, but with a tone of regret. His statement of pessimism regarding that continent helped to land him in hot water. It would be interesting if his critics could be polled so we could find out who of that ilk is optimistic about the future of the "Dark Continent."

Free at Last, Free at Last, Thank God Almighty, I'm Free At Last

2007-09-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

Mike Nifong, September 8, 2007

Not Yet A Believer, but

2007-09-07T08:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't had that Billy Graham crusade moment where I head up to the altar and profess belief in the possibility of a Ron Paul nomination and election but the voice of humility is fidgeting in his seat.

You see, even though we still doubt, some others have, if not belief, fear. I saw the Congressman's performance on youtube and I saw Chris Wallace serve up what he thought was going to be an unhittable curveball. Of course it ended up a chest high slow one that Ronnie hit out of the park (why do I do this? I hate sports metaphors).*

Chris:

So, Congressman Paul, and I’d like you to take 30 seconds to answer this, you’re basically saying that we should take our marching orders from al Qaeda? If they want us off the Arabian Peninsula, we should leave?

Ron:

I’m saying we should take our marching orders from our Constitution. We should not go to war — (cheers, applause) — we should not go to war without a declaration. We should not go to war when it’s an aggressive war. This is an aggressive invasion. We’ve committed the invasion of this war, and it’s illegal under international law. That’s where I take my marching orders, not from any enemy. (Cheers, boos.)

Now, granted this is Fox and not CNN, but your man has to have them rattled enough that they come up with questions like this. Or.....have they seen the light. It looks like a partisan question, but anyone who has seen him answer before has to know this is nothing he could not handle.

In countering Ron Paul, Mr. Huckabee made an interesting comment.

Congressman, we are one nation. We can’t be divided. We have to be one nation under God. That means if we make a mistake, we make it as a single country, the United States of America, not the divided states of America

One is reminded of Chesterton's quip:

"My country, right or wrong," is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober."

Now the former governor does not look like the type who comes from an intemperate family and I would never suggest that his mom ever even drank let alone to excess. Still, we can note that if she were to have ever had, say, ten manhattans of an afternoon, Mike would match her out of loyalty.

Boston radio commentator, Jon Keller was paying attention to the Thompson announcement. He notes that our thespian has not said anything other than a few bromides. His conclusion on the future of that campaign, "While absence makes the hear grow fonder, familiarity breeds contempt."

*Please note, my doubts notwithstanding, I support the candidacy of Ron Paul, not because it might be viable, but because he is the only near sane candidate of either party.

Steve Sailer, the last holdout

2007-08-29T17:15:00.000-04:00

Steve Sailer just can't seem to leave Vietnam. He is going to end up like those two Japanese holdouts in the Philipines found decades after the war if he doesn't let it go. Give it up, Steve, we need you here.

Let's look at the last paragraph of his article, What's the opposite of the sunk cost fallacy?,

The NVA tried a tentative offensive in December 1974, following the Democrats midterm election triumphs, found that the US wouldn't provide air support, so launched a massive offensive in March 1975. The South Vietnamese collapsed about as quickly as France in 1940.

Now, if a tentative offensive is begun in December and the crusher launched in March, what was the ARVN doing in between? I don't think they were starved for equipment as I remember all the stuff the NVA captured after the fall of Saigon. If the South was going to survive, it would always be as some kind of welfare case. We are better off gone.

In a prior article, Vietnam, he makes this claim,

Today, with American air power so unchallenged, it seems strange that the Democrats didn't want to allow air support of the South Vietnamese. After all, a couple of decades later, a Democrat President got involved in an internal dispute of negligible significance to America, and bombed Yugoslavia into ceding control of its internationally-recognized Kosovo province, at minimal cost in lost aircraft.

Actually, the FRY had ceded this before the bombing. what caused the war to start was their rejection of this paragraph in the Rambouillet Agreement,

NATO personnel shall enjoy, together with their vehicles, vessels, aircraft, and equipment, free and unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the FRY including associated airspace and territorial waters. This shall include, but not be limited to, the right of bivouac, maneuver, billet, and utilization of any areas or facilities as required for support, training, and operations

The war ended when NATO (i.e. us) surrendered on this point. If anyone thinks being able to stay in occupation in the Balkans, let alone the Middle East is a victory, well, good luck with that.

Also posted at The Neutralist

FREE MICHAEL VICK! Or is this another thing I just don't get?

2007-08-25T13:33:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm not paying much attention to the dog bites man or dog bites dog or whatever story about this fellow. If what is said about hanging animals and all is true, then he should be subject to some punishment if there are state and local statutes. Unfortunately, for this fellow, he happens to have a talent for throwing a football. Had he been a software developer, who would have known or cared.*

But punishment at the federal level? Where in the constitution is this? What next, a federal jaywalking statute?

*the voice of humility on sports. In childhood, I was a talentless baseball fanatic. I practiced and practiced to no good purpose. I followed the Red Sox with a passion when that was really, really stupid. Then, with everybody else, watching TV in a freshman dorm common room, I saw the Sox win the 1967 pennant. It was what I had waited all my life to see and I realized how boring watching other people play a sport was for me. Maybe there is some value to others that I don't understand, but when I have had to sit through a contest, I've either just tried to stay awake out of courtesy or made jokes** out of boredom. Still have my Ted Williams baseball card though, which I'll give up when they pry my cold dead hands off of it or best offer.

**The jokes were not that good. Example, when at a Bruins game, a player went down in a heap and was taken off the ice to the hospital, my comment was, "Just shows you, hockey isn't a white man's game."

Hot Off The Digital Press-Ron Paul Is The Only Candidate Who Can Win The Election

2007-07-25T16:03:00.000-04:00

Don't take it from me. In the immortal words of the late Jean Shepherd, "I don't make the news, I just report it." Well, I'm reporting what someone else is reporting. Stratfor, the intelligence service that a lot of the heavy hitters pay big bucks for has a piece today, Gaming the U.S. Elections where they prove that no Democrat or Republican can win the election. Imagine, Ron Paul is not nominated and we have four years without a president. Ooh, that does send cold, sensual chills all up and down my spine and is probably the only thing that one can contemplate better than Ron Paul winning.

Enough digression. Let's look at the relevant passage.

no sitting senator has won the presidency since Kennedy. The reason is, again, simple. Senators make speeches and vote, all of which are carefully recorded in the Congressional record. Governors live in archival obscurity and don't have to address most issues of burning importance to the nation. Johnson came the closest to being a sitting senator but he too had a gap of four years and an assassination before he ran. After him, former Vice President Nixon, Gov. Carter, Gov. Reagan, Vice President Bush, Gov. Clinton and Gov. Bush all won the presidency. The path is strewn with fallen senators.

That being the case, the Democrats appear poised to commit electoral suicide again, with two northern senators (Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama) in the lead, and the one southern contender, John Edwards, well back in the race. The Republicans, however, are not able to play to their strength. There are no potential candidates in Texas or California to draw on. Texas right now just doesn't have players ready for the national scene. California does, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is constitutionally ineligible by birth. In a normal year, a charismatic Republican governor of California would run against a northern Democratic senator and mop the floor. It's not going to happen this time.
Instead, the Republicans appear to be choosing between a Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, and a former mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani. Unless Texan Ron Paul can pull off a miracle, the Republicans appear to be going with their suicide hand just like the Democrats. Even if Fred Thompson gets the nomination, he comes from Tennessee, and while he can hold the South, he will have to do some heavy lifting elsewhere.

The Edwards hypotheses fails as he is really no different from Thompson. They are essentially the same grade phony. If one has a problem, the other has the same.

Thus, unless the Republicans want to commit suicide and leave the nation executiveless for four years, their only choice is Ronnie.

How come only guys with the name Ron can save that hapless party.

Also posted at The Neutralist.