Yeah, because god hates us when too many vote for the democrat currently in vogue. Perhaps its part of a nefarious plot hatched by the joooos or Trilaterals or even the Skull and Bones crowd.
I despair for conservatism.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com
Its great, having a president who believes in a green and sustainable future. Nothing says conservation like taking a 747 from its hangar (wherever that might be) and flying it to NYC to take some pictures. I'm told by WikiAnswers that a 747 consumes about 11 tons of fuel per hour. What a great way to wrap up Earth Day weekend. I'm sure that jet fuel is cheap, too. What was the date, Sept 10th, 2000?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Birthday Coming
My birthday is coming in a few months, so this should serve as adequate notice to save up some pennies and get me one of these. I'll even let you ride along. That is of course, an MD520N if you must know. Think of it as part of a broader stimulus package it that helps.
http://www.mdhelicopters.com/v2/images/product_md_520n_main.jpg
Two killed in Michigan college shooting - CNN.com
Two killed in Michigan college shooting - CNN.com
Allow me to correct this reporter: "One killed in Michigan college shooting." This sad individual killed his (presumed) girlfriend/wife or ex-version of the same then committed suicide. He was not "...killed," rather he killed himself.
Oddly enough, 1/2 of all deaths attributed to guns in this nation are suicides. Research has shown that while the suicidal seem to like using guns they will use what they must to kill themselves. That is, removing guns from the metaphorical reach of the suicidal won't prevent their death just the proximal cause. Put another way, 1/2 of all gun deaths are essentially unavoidable deaths in the sense that the determined suicidal person is somewhat locked into their doom.
Without arguing the merits of various gun-grabbing philosophies, dishonesty doesn't help the cause. Reporters should also learn to be a bit more precise in their language lest they appear both incompetent or ideologically-driven in their work.
Allow me to correct this reporter: "One killed in Michigan college shooting." This sad individual killed his (presumed) girlfriend/wife or ex-version of the same then committed suicide. He was not "...killed," rather he killed himself.
Oddly enough, 1/2 of all deaths attributed to guns in this nation are suicides. Research has shown that while the suicidal seem to like using guns they will use what they must to kill themselves. That is, removing guns from the metaphorical reach of the suicidal won't prevent their death just the proximal cause. Put another way, 1/2 of all gun deaths are essentially unavoidable deaths in the sense that the determined suicidal person is somewhat locked into their doom.
Without arguing the merits of various gun-grabbing philosophies, dishonesty doesn't help the cause. Reporters should also learn to be a bit more precise in their language lest they appear both incompetent or ideologically-driven in their work.
Chinese Bias for Baby Boys Creates a Gap of 32 Million - NYTimes.com
Chinese Bias for Baby Boys Creates a Gap of 32 Million - NYTimes.com
I wonder what sociological issues this imbalance will exacerbate in China. While 32 million more boys than girls doesn't seem like much in a population of more than one billion, when those boys and girls all reach puberty together the imbalance will be magnified and the results will be manifest. At the very least it will mean Chinese women coming of marriageable age can be much more choosy. I'm not sure, based on the article, but I'd imagine that the problem is worse in China's rural provinces and the results will be less visible outside their borders. Regardless, too many young men in a population never seems to work out well.
I wonder what sociological issues this imbalance will exacerbate in China. While 32 million more boys than girls doesn't seem like much in a population of more than one billion, when those boys and girls all reach puberty together the imbalance will be magnified and the results will be manifest. At the very least it will mean Chinese women coming of marriageable age can be much more choosy. I'm not sure, based on the article, but I'd imagine that the problem is worse in China's rural provinces and the results will be less visible outside their borders. Regardless, too many young men in a population never seems to work out well.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Capitalism v. Socialism
What this report tells me is that few Americans seem to know the difference between the two. A telling passage from the article:
This suggests that while Americans support what capitalism is, they don't support the term for it.
The question posed by Rasmussen Reports did not define either capitalism or socialism. It is interesting to compare the new results to an earlier survey in which 70% of Americans prefer a free-market economy. The fact that a "free-market economy” attracts substantially more support than “capitalism” may suggest some skepticism about whether capitalism in the United States today
relies on free markets.
This suggests that while Americans support what capitalism is, they don't support the term for it.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
BLACKFIVE: US Merchant Ship Captured By Somali Pirates?
BLACKFIVE: US Merchant Ship Captured By Somali Pirates?:
"President Obama will enclose a stern message with the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD box set he sends the pirates."
From the comments over at BLACKFIVE discussing the US-flagged container ship seized by pirates, then un-seized by its crew. The commenter was replying to another who was speculating what Pres. Obama's reaction to this attack was going to be. American-flagged vessels are considered to be American territory and their attack would seem to require decisive response by our leadership. Lets hope that the area code on the DVD set allows the Somali pirates to watch the movies on the DVD players they have already stolen.
"President Obama will enclose a stern message with the Pirates of the Caribbean DVD box set he sends the pirates."
From the comments over at BLACKFIVE discussing the US-flagged container ship seized by pirates, then un-seized by its crew. The commenter was replying to another who was speculating what Pres. Obama's reaction to this attack was going to be. American-flagged vessels are considered to be American territory and their attack would seem to require decisive response by our leadership. Lets hope that the area code on the DVD set allows the Somali pirates to watch the movies on the DVD players they have already stolen.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Another GB Packers Pre-Draft Off-Season Yawns To Conclusion
The GBP, at least under Ted Thompson, have been about as exciting as narcolepsy when it comes to signing big-name free agents. Not even the pretense of seeking after talented but available football players. I suppose though that after last year's fiasco maybe the sounds of crickets chirping isn't so bad . . . but 6-10 leaves a nasty taste in the mouth that just doesn't want to go away. Maybe draft day will be exciting, maybe Thompson will make a deal for Tony Gonzales (just a suggestion). Maybe I'll have to learn to live with Chicago Bears fans sardonic glee again.
Lets hope for the best, as I define it.
Lets hope for the best, as I define it.
Obama/Gates plan to Change the US Military Takes its First Steps
Gates Budget Plan Reshapes Pentagon’s Priorities - NYTimes.com
This really represents a continuation of some of Donald Rumsfeld's policies. In recent years several other largish military systems have been canceled when their outlandish costs have exceeded their likely modest benefits. The XM-2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer (11 billion $) was cancelled in 2002, the RAH-66 Comanche (~24 billion $) was cancelled in 2004, and the DDG-1000 Zumwalt (6 billion per ship x 30+ ships) appears to be dead in the water as well.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for the FCS years ago and Gates' budget plan seems to formalize what most of us (who care to know about such things) already knew. FCS was a bloated program which would have given the US Army under-armored combat vehicles which were over-reliant upon not-yet invented technology at a seriously high cost without adding capabilities to offset the negatives.
If nothing else, the Iran/Iraq adventures have shown what military weapons systems work well in combat and which don't. That is, in a war against an enemy with vastly inferior firepower, horrible training, nonexistent air power, and poor logistical support. How American doctrine and equipment would fare against Chinese, Russian, or North Korean forces is another question entirely that I can't answer conclusively.
Hopefully what this means is that DOD procurement procedures will become somewhat more rooted in the reality-based world the rest of us live in.
This really represents a continuation of some of Donald Rumsfeld's policies. In recent years several other largish military systems have been canceled when their outlandish costs have exceeded their likely modest benefits. The XM-2001 Crusader self-propelled howitzer (11 billion $) was cancelled in 2002, the RAH-66 Comanche (~24 billion $) was cancelled in 2004, and the DDG-1000 Zumwalt (6 billion per ship x 30+ ships) appears to be dead in the water as well.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for the FCS years ago and Gates' budget plan seems to formalize what most of us (who care to know about such things) already knew. FCS was a bloated program which would have given the US Army under-armored combat vehicles which were over-reliant upon not-yet invented technology at a seriously high cost without adding capabilities to offset the negatives.
If nothing else, the Iran/Iraq adventures have shown what military weapons systems work well in combat and which don't. That is, in a war against an enemy with vastly inferior firepower, horrible training, nonexistent air power, and poor logistical support. How American doctrine and equipment would fare against Chinese, Russian, or North Korean forces is another question entirely that I can't answer conclusively.
Hopefully what this means is that DOD procurement procedures will become somewhat more rooted in the reality-based world the rest of us live in.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Changes are coming, but what will they look like?
Now that the long-awaited drawdown of US forces in Iraq has begun, I’d like to look at the apparent course of American foreign policy in the Middle East and to that end break it down into several subsections.
(Subsections: Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Pakistan, other players, and the United States)
First, Iraq. While overall strength may be reduced (as measured by number of troops deployed) American influence will not, I believe, be significantly diminished. If anything I believe that the new Iraqi army, after working and training closely with the US forces, respect and fear our combat ability even more. The Iraqi elite while wishing the US would just go away realize that isn’t going to happen. Therefore the elite will continue to work with America when it makes sense. Soft power (economic, diplomatic, cultural) will continue to increase in effectiveness as it begins to displace hard power. The longer that the US remains a powerful influence upon the Iraqi populace, the deeper the transformative cultural changes will be.
That change is what American neo-con policy wonks dream of in their deepest, most hidden dreams. That Iraq becomes for the US what India has become for the UK. A powerful former possession which, while no lapdog, shares a somewhat common ethos and view of the future. The evolution of India-UK relations seems then to be a roadmap for future American policy. Sadly the course of US-Iraq relations could also take the route that US-Central and South American relations followed. It is imperative that the US shows Iraq a vision of the future that links their rational self-interest with US foreign policy and domestic security aspirations. The triad of peace, prosperity, and security for Iraq should be the ultimate goal of US policy if America hopes to secure any meaningful progress in the Middle East. The shortcomings of US policy in Latin America stem from the US’s failure to facilitate the realization of that triad. Extracting natural resources and labor at bargain prices while propping up whatever regime facilitates that extraction isn’t how two nations build a healthy relationship. While the Middle Eastern labor pool isn’t particularly prized their natural resources certainly are, and not just by the United States. What is needed is that approach known as nation-building. In Iraq’s case, the light beer version of nation-building might be enough. Iraq already has all the institutions a nation needs in place, it just need to help in surviving the rapid evolution which Iraq is living through. The Iraqi people have bought into their government deeply enough that a new polity seems not just possible, but probable. The entire region is watching Iraq with understandably mixed hopes of their own, wondering if and how their own governments will weather the storm of change.
(Subsections: Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Pakistan, other players, and the United States)
First, Iraq. While overall strength may be reduced (as measured by number of troops deployed) American influence will not, I believe, be significantly diminished. If anything I believe that the new Iraqi army, after working and training closely with the US forces, respect and fear our combat ability even more. The Iraqi elite while wishing the US would just go away realize that isn’t going to happen. Therefore the elite will continue to work with America when it makes sense. Soft power (economic, diplomatic, cultural) will continue to increase in effectiveness as it begins to displace hard power. The longer that the US remains a powerful influence upon the Iraqi populace, the deeper the transformative cultural changes will be.
That change is what American neo-con policy wonks dream of in their deepest, most hidden dreams. That Iraq becomes for the US what India has become for the UK. A powerful former possession which, while no lapdog, shares a somewhat common ethos and view of the future. The evolution of India-UK relations seems then to be a roadmap for future American policy. Sadly the course of US-Iraq relations could also take the route that US-Central and South American relations followed. It is imperative that the US shows Iraq a vision of the future that links their rational self-interest with US foreign policy and domestic security aspirations. The triad of peace, prosperity, and security for Iraq should be the ultimate goal of US policy if America hopes to secure any meaningful progress in the Middle East. The shortcomings of US policy in Latin America stem from the US’s failure to facilitate the realization of that triad. Extracting natural resources and labor at bargain prices while propping up whatever regime facilitates that extraction isn’t how two nations build a healthy relationship. While the Middle Eastern labor pool isn’t particularly prized their natural resources certainly are, and not just by the United States. What is needed is that approach known as nation-building. In Iraq’s case, the light beer version of nation-building might be enough. Iraq already has all the institutions a nation needs in place, it just need to help in surviving the rapid evolution which Iraq is living through. The Iraqi people have bought into their government deeply enough that a new polity seems not just possible, but probable. The entire region is watching Iraq with understandably mixed hopes of their own, wondering if and how their own governments will weather the storm of change.
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