We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Where poor students soar - What works at a school dealing with poverty and a lack of English fluency? Tough love, hard work and a laser focus on achievement.
The Five Most Infantile Beliefs on Display at the ‘Occupy’ Tantrums - Most of the lot are, we can be pretty certain, pure hope-dopers from the Obama Youth brigade – the in-your-face and up-yours gang – now come to flaunt their disillusionment with their adolescent president.
A clip from a series on History Channel about Vietnam experiences told by those who served. This clip expresses experiences shared by many of us returning to the States. Today and every day, better Veterans Days.
Is it just a coincidence that November 11 is the celebration of Veterans Day and St. Martin’s Day? I haven't found documented evidence that the two are connected. (The evidence of the connection may be in some memoir of decision-makers.) Yet, it does seem more than a coincidence, rooted in Christian and European culture.
St. Martin’s Day is widely celebrated in Europe, its roots going back to one of the earlier Christian saints, who as Wikipedia describes it:
The feast day is November 11, the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, who started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. Martin heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me." …
St. Martin's Feast is much like the American Thanksgiving [a thanking for bounty harvest festival]…In many countries, including Germany, Martinmas celebrations begin at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of this eleventh day of the eleventh month….
In another Wikipedia entry, the widespread adoption of St. Martin as a saint to the military is described. “He was a brave fighter, knew his obligation to the poor, shared his goods, performed his required military service, followed legitimate orders, and respected secular authority.”
The armistice ending fighting (at least on the Western Front) was signed at 5AM on November 11, 1918, scheduled to take effect at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The diplomatic wrangling leading to the armistice had gone on for several months. So, the fighting didn’t end just because of St. Martin’s Day, but the timing of the signing and cessation very likely was a reach into a shared meaning in Christian and European culture.
Today’s Veterans Day, in the US, and similarly timed observances in other countries, owes its roots to Armistice Day, and even to St. Martin.The word “chaplain” – military clergy from the various religions -- traces back to the “capellas”, early churches that had relics of St. Martin’s cloak, later churches being named “chapels”.
President Woodrow Wilson's proclamation of the first Armistice Day is fitting: "To us in America, the reflections of armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations." Those who served, who we honor today, brought peace and justice at the ultimate sacrifices of comforts and, for many, of life. The eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month is a well-fitting time to remember that.
Hot News: "Designers from Studio Roosegaarde, an interactive design firm in the Netherlands, has created dresses that react to the wearer’s body, as well as to those around her. One dress changes colors to the beat of the wearer’s heart, becoming more transparent based on close encounters."
Last night, I attended a 50th anniversary screening of "West Side Story". The event was for one night only, and having never seen it anywhere but on TV, my better half felt it would be fun to see on the big screen. As usual, she was right.
The film has been digitally remastered for the 50th anniversary release, with the sound and picture as crisp as if it were filmed today.
Prior to the feature there were short interviews of Russ Tamblyn, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, and Rita Moreno. Turner Classic Movies then interviewed Chakiris, producer Walter Mirisch, and Natalie Woods' singing voice double Marni Nixon. Each preview offered insight to the casting, the production, the choreography and the amazing amount of training and effort that went into the production.
The seamless nature in which the singing was dubbed is not noticeable. Pitch, accents, and lip synching were all managed extraordinarily well. Meanwhile, the framing of the shots and choreography are phenomenal. This remains true today even if we compare "West Side Story" to movies which take advantage of modern film and audio technology.
I got a spanking in the comments on my college post yesterday from Dos Amigos, and perhaps did deserve it. (Well, everybody deserves a spanking anyway, just on general sinfulness principles.)
So let me inquire of our readers:
If a person comes to you with a college degree in hand, what, if anything, do you feel you ought to be able to expect them to know (besides how to bait a beaver trap)?
I have made it clear what I expect, and I am on our interview committee. Beware of me, new grads, because I am a demanding SOB who will ask questions you might not anticipate including math tricks to check your wit and quotes to check your knowledge, and will expect no less of you than I have expected of myself!
Just like Jefferson County, Alabama, you cannot borrow forever, and when you begin borrowing (as we have begun to in the US) to make your interest payments, it's a bad sign, not sustainable unless God intervenes.
In my view, all Euroland can do now is to pray that somebody strikes oil in Provence or Tuscany - and I don't mean olive oil. Problem is, they don't pray over there anymore. I think they are screwed, and it will affect all of us. A slo-mo death spiral.
The Euroland project is in hospice care, it seems to me, on oxygen and IV morphine. There is not enough money available in the world to cover their crappy debt from their crappy, lazy, hyper-regulated welfare states, and they will never be able to pay it back. Never. Furthermore, as my Wall St. friend tells me, defaults will trigger more CDSs than anybody in the world can cover. It's a shit show, as they say.
I would advise getting popcorn to watch the earthquake unfold, but it can hit us in the US with a financial tsunami here, across the pond.
Maggie: "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money." She never mentioned that you can run out of credit, too.
Here's the link to GoDaddy.com's video tribute to the USMC on its 236th birthday. GoDaddy's founder served as a Lance Corporal and, like all of us, is always a Marine.
Say, what was that silly thing I said yesterday about "apathy" and blog sites like Hot Air? Oh, right. Guess who didn't even mention last night's debate yesterday?
Hot Air.
Update: No, wait, I was wrong. I just discovered it this morning. One of the main bloggers, 'God's Critic', did, indeed, write about the upcoming debate. A half an hour before it started.
Well, alrighty, then!
The asshats at CNBC didn't stream it (the first debate that hasn't been), so I didn't see it. If nothing else, though, at least it finally answered that pesky question, "Is there a liberal bias in the mainstream media?". Can you imagine them not streaming a debate if Democrats were involved? If you'd like to tell them what a bunch of biased pigs they are, their contact page is here.
And no, I haven't seen the Perry video, despite it being thrown in my face all morning long. Quite frankly, I'm not into sadomasochism. I read the transcript and feel sorry for the guy. I'll take a look at where we stand in the next election post.
There will be others. Blue municipalities, tethered to their unions, are the grasshoppers. They will borrow to get re-elected until the money runs out, and leave the mess to others.
I've posted too many pics of particularly charming or interesting houses, and too few of the ordinary houses which constitute the bulk of the housing in the Northeast. This sort of simple, Foursquare-style frame house is everywhere, but this one is in Woodstock, VT. For snow country, I'd prefer a better pitch on the roof:
The Temple of Athena, the Virgin (Parthena) Goddess. A relatively small temple, by ancient Greek standards. They believed the goddess inhabited the temple.
I have stood there. Like some other famous and dramatic spots on the planet, you have to pinch yourself to make sure you're really there and that it's really real.
Iffy as an investment, especially in the liberal arts, but a good thing for a kid who is desperate to deepen his thinking and expand his mental life but who cannot do it on his own. After all, even Thomas Jefferson and Bill Gates took one or two years in college before they quit.
The Occupy Wall Street protestors are right to be angry about the failed promise of higher education. Colleges and universities have fallen down on the job of developing the human capital we need to improve our economy and civic life.
The villain is not the lenders who played an incidental role in providing capital to creative writing majors, however. It’s the tenured bozos who gave them Derrida and finger painting in their formative undergraduate years instead of Plato and Aristotle (or a good course in computer-aided drafting). The Zuccotti Park crew should drop their beef with the banks and demand change from academia instead.
WSJ: Is an Ivy League Diploma Worth It? - Fearing Massive Debt, More Students Are Choosing to Enroll at Public Colleges Over Elite Universities
Most people I know would rather hire a University of Indiana Physics major than a Harvard English Lit major.
A national Baccalaureate exam? Fine with me, as long as I get to design it - and as long as anybody can take it whether or not they attended college because it would be an exam on what is often regarded as post-high school academic knowledge, however acquired. I would not trust anyone to design this thing except me. Among other things, it would contain Trig and Calculus, Physics, Astronomy, Plato and Aristotle, Shakespeare, the Bible, Econ, mechanical engineering, Ancient Greece, Biochemistry, Music history and theory, Civics and American history, Anatomy, Geology, Roman law, Statistics, Architectural history, accounting, a sample essay...and many more things of substance and rigor which one typically thinks of a college grad as knowing, plus special sections on subjects of claimed expertise. There are smart and ambitious high school grads who could possibly pass the exam. This would be an elite degree representing broad and deep achievement, which people could make of it what they will, and not replace the shoddy, ordinary college degree which only means you paid your bills for four years. I doubt my Baccalaureate exam would mean much to the job market, but it would be a meaningful life credential to parade around and would be challenging enough to supercede a college BA and maybe even a Rhodes Scholarship. I'd aim for a Pass rate of around 2-10% of those brave enough to take it.
Well, I'll get to work on a sample exam right now - if there's any money in it for me. Or perhaps just a separate blog post.
Yale is responsible for introducing collegiate sports in the US, at first with rowing teams in 1843. And Yale's Walter Camp, of course, essentially invented the game of football.
When Yale Bowl was completed in 1914, it was the largest stadium built since the Roman Colosseum.
Before a federal tax on Christmas trees, why not a special tax on Thanksgiving turkeys first, then we can get to taxing the trees. By the way, CO2 makes Christmas trees grow faster and thicker, so how about a subsidy for CO2 production? Just a thought for the highly-educated geniuses in Washington.
First off, I've found an excellent site with all of the upcoming debate dates and videos of the past debates here.
As I see it, there are a three aspects to these political debates that, in general, the pundits out there either don't get, or refuse to acknowledge because it would devalue their article. Or, in some cases, negate the need for the article altogether.
The first is not recognizing that debates have procedures, no matter what the topic or venue. For example, if an opponent has used up his allotted time barking at you and continues to do so, the proper procedure is to address the moderator, not get into a cat fight with the asswipe breaking the rules, thereby breaking them yourself.
Here's Charles Krauthammer after the last debate, when Perry went bananas on poor Romney's ass:
Worse, Romney turned to the referee — moderator Anderson Cooper — with a plaintive "Anderson?" seeking intervention. An uncharacteristically weak moment.
That is precisely incorrect, and I saw this evaluation a lot after the debate. There are protocols in place for almost any endeavor where people get together, be it school board meetings, town hall meetings, the Rotary Club, the local kids' treehouse, you name it, and political debates are no different.
We tend to throw the words 'moron' and 'imbecile' around a lot in the blogosphere, but I believe the correct word in this case is ignoramus.
And then there's this from candidate Jon Huntsman, who sat out the debate:
"I was totally embarrassed -- completely embarrassed by the lack of seriousness, the lack of focus on the issues that really matter to the American people -- issues about reviving our economy and addressing joblessness were given short shrift," said the former Utah governor.
Sounds mighty powerful and caring and candidate-y, doesn't it? Well, Jon, here's the thing:
The candidates don't get to pick the topics!
I've seen the whiny "But they're not talking about the important stuff!" all over the place, including the comments here. Either these people have no business behind a keyboard, or they're purposefully glossing over the obvious so they'll have something to bitch about. As the renown TigerHawk says, can you think of a third alternative?
(As a small side note, I often use Tige's great question when reading an AGW article. I think at the time, either this moron actually believes this tripe, or he's lying through his teeth for a greater purpose, most likely his wallet. Can you think of a third alternative?)
And the worst of all is the dispiriting tenor of the bloggers. "Oh, Crap, Another Debate" blares Hot Air. "What A Snoozer!" screams PJ Media. It's been getting worse and worse as the debates roll by. This will sound absolutely ludicrous, but I'm the only blogger I see who's remaining excited about them and trying to keep our collective spirits up. Yes, I excoriate the candidates mercilessly at times, but I'm also quick to pass along kudos when I feel they're deserved. I crack jokes, I point out that Michele looks particularly hot tonight, I keep us in tune with the audience's reactions, like who got the first big applause, who got the biggest applause, and which candidate is the only one to get soundly booed so far (I wouldn't want to mention any names, but his initials are R.O.N. P.A.U.L.), all in the hopes of inspiring people to stay involved and upbeat.
Everybody else acts like watching and reporting on them is a chore.
The point is, with people being distracted by Thanksgiving and Xmas, the next few months are going to fly by and the primary elections will be upon us. After four months of steadily-increasing ennui, do the bloggers expect everyone to suddenly catch fire at the last minute just because they tell them to, or will the momentum that builds from apathy be too strong?
And, will it be too late?
As for tonight's debate, the subject is economics. Stand by for a bunch of complaints tomorrow from various pundits and commenters whining, "But they didn't talk about the important stuff!"
The debate will focus exclusively on the nation's economic challenges including the national debt, jobs and taxes.
Seriously, is it possible for them to be any clearer?
Game time is 8 pm EST, CNBC. The assholes aren't streaming it, so I'll miss it.
As a small side note, I've been pushing for Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin for the V.P. slot since the beginning. Add this to the reasons why.
Actually, what would be great would be for Rice University’s Baker Institute to invite me to be a visiting professor for a semester, and teach an interdisciplinary (the kinds of fields Nourbakhsh identifies, plus law and law-and-economics) version of this for non-STEM students, a version for STEM students, and then a separate course on military robotics — strategy and policy, law, and ethics (UAVs, other battlefield robotics, targeted killing and the future of covert action using robotic and remote-directed systems, and the future of autonomous systems and autonomous weapons systems.
I don't care about income inequality. I care about the absolute condition of the poor--whether they are hungry, cold, and sick. But I do not care about the gap between their incomes, and those of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Nor the ratio of Gates and Buffett's incomes to mine. And I'm not sure why anyone should. Other than pure envy, it's hard to see how I could somehow be made worse off if Bill Gates' income suddenly doubled, but everything else remained the same.
But while I do not care about gaps and ratios, I do care about opportunity.
Easist way to reduce income inequality is to tax the top 10% to the point that they decide that working hard just isn't worth it. Easiest way to reduce asset inequality is to tax property and assets until people give up on owning anything or saving any money.
Big Labor’s victory over John Kasich’s reforms in Ohio is a reminder to conservatives that we’re still a long way from closing the deal. A majority of the citizenry seem to agree that the nation’s mired and that their homes and jobs and futures are sinking with it. But that same majority is not yet sold on transformative rollbacks of government and the public sector. They seem to think that out there somewhere there’s a way to get the good times back that’s more or less pain-free. More fool them – which is to say Obama & Co will have a pretty good shot at fooling them.
This afternoon I had lunch and a stroll along the ocean with a new friend, Jonathan Spyer. We struck it off immediately when he said the only organization he ever joined which he promised to obey was the Israel Defense Force. This mirrored my experience in joining the US Marine Corps. Our normally rebellious spirits matched.
Spyer was in San Diego to speak about his new book, The Transforming Fire: The Rise Of The Israel-Islamist Conflict. I’d read some reviews before, all laudatory, from the left-leaning Haaretz to the right-leaning Weekly Standard. After reading the book and talking with Spyer, although the focus is on what Israel faces and the book doesn’t delve deeply into US or European foreign policy, the book could have just as easily been sub-titled The Rise of the Western-Islamist Conflict But What Israel Realizes And The West Doesn’t.
Spyer’s motivation for writing the book was being blown out of the tank he was driving in the 2006 war in Lebanon, a draw that was poorly prepared for, poorly conceived, poorly executed but required the utmost – which was given – of soldiers on the ground. Spyer wanted to explore in depth what Israel is facing. Again we clicked, I having similar motivation after my tours in Vietnam.
Spyer brings to his book much more than being a frontline soldier, or his travels throughout the Middle East, or his fascinating return to Lebanon after the 2006 war. British-born Spyer has a PhD in Middle East politics from the London School of Economics, and served in the Israel Prime Minister’s Office. What makes his book interesting and not dry is his weaving of his personal experiences and observations into his learned descriptions of Middle East Politics.
At lunch, Spyer acknowledged that the current state of affairs in the Middle East is more negative than when he wrote the book. The “Arab Spring” unleashed violent animus toward Israel that is encouraged and supported by Iran, toppling formerly controlling, hostile but more benign toward Israel rulers in Egypt and Tunisia. Iran seeks to align a bloc with Hamas in control of Gaza, Hezbollah in control of Lebanon, and Syria as a client state of Iran as a funnel of training, arms and missiles to Hamas and Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia is comparatively weaker, as are Sunnis right now, but struggling to counter Iran’s Shia influence. For now, Iraq is slipping into Iran’s orbit, largely due to Iran’s cat’s paw there, Muqtada al-Sadr’s influence on the dominant Shia coalition in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the US is withdrawing from its former predominance in the Middle East, and Europe continues pursuing its mostly economic interests there.
That leaves Israel with the question of how to survive. Among militant Islamists is the illusion that Israel is ultimately doomed due to its smaller population and adherence to values and institutions less militant than theirs. On the contrary, Spyer points out, Israel is relatively militarily and financially stronger than ever. More important, Israel’s population has largely moved past its former Ashkenazic and Sephardic divisions, or its left-right divisions, and through common experience with failed hopes and ruthless adversaries molded a more united and nationalistic leadership and purpose. Remnants of the old left are still common in academia and media but depend on the attention they are granted by Western media although their internal influence is otherwise negligible.
Longer term, Spyer is optimistic. As Spyer ends his book, and still believes:
In all these areas, the challenges are immense. Nevertheless, eventual success is likely. Iran and its allies suffer from the fundamental problem that they cannot produce societies in which people want to live. Rather, they create immensely repressive internal arrangements, coupled with and endless repeat of acts of military theater, which then brings down retribution and suffering on the populations they control. The anger and sense of humiliation that they are focusing on is real. But once it becomes clear that they are not in fact able to bring the victory, they are likely to decline.
In the meantime, Israel must strike hard when necessary. Otherwise, patience is needed in the Middle East cold war with Islamists. Israel may pay harsh prices along the way, but an Iran-led Islamist encirclement will erode first. I’m reminded of our protracted conflict with the Soviet Union and all’s surprise when its walls fell.
What will follow, I asked Spyer. Most likely some sort of military-commercial elite regimes, like before, still hostile toward Israel and the West, still mired in backwardness, but a lesser threat to Israel. The transforming fire is a crucible in which weaknesses are revealed and the product strengthened. The ultimately stronger is Israel’s abilities and resolve based on Western values that too many in the West have abandoned.
I have had a few interesting experiences with my patients and bill paying over the past few weeks.The business aspect of my practice is usually routine and unremarkable, but these stood out:
1. Phone message from a wealthy law firm partner one hour before his initial consultation: "Dr. Bliss, I just found out that you are not on my insurance so I decided not to come in."
(I threw a fit.)
2. An email from a college student patient with no money who I have seen on a charity basis "Dr. Bliss, my Dad" (who is unemployed) "and I were talking, and decided that we need to pay you something for the phone time and emails to adjust my medicine while I'm away at school. Please calculate something and put it on my account."
(I explained that I do not charge for brief phone calls or emails.)
3. Patient in the office "Dr. Bliss, you made a mistake on last month's bill." "Oh I did. I'm sorry." "Yes, it's the second time in two years when you undercharged me. Please correct it."
(I was naturally pleased by her honesty.)
4. Patient in the office: "My husband nickels and dimes me about every expense for the kids, and last week he went out and paid cash for a new Escalade for himself." "Did he?" I replied, "That's funny, because he told me on the phone that you all had no cash and asked that I give you a discount for a while." "Oh yes," she said. "I'm not surprised. His rule is 'Only suckers pay retail.'"
(I told her that as of today, it will be the full original fee because I was not pleased being one of his suckers.)
5. Business guy: "Doctor, will you take a discount for cash?"
("No. I happen to be one of those people who reports all of my income.")
A teacher put a sample of her 6th Grade summary math exam online, here.
I had forgotten what sorts of things 6th Grade math entailed, but found that I did not forget any that basic stuff because one keeps using it in daily life. 6th Grade math is fun math, no abstractions at all.
In 2010, for the first time in our nation’s history, 
The Mameluke Sword
Toon via 
Iffy as an investment, especially in the liberal arts, but a good thing for a kid who is desperate to deepen his thinking and expand his mental life but who cannot do it on his own. After all, even Thomas Jefferson and Bill Gates took one or two years in college before they quit.
I know they want to tax the air, 