Rusted Sky

Mars Impact Probability Increases to 4 Percent

Could be interesting... or it could be a miss. Place your bets - it's a 1 in 25 long shot right now...

J.

Recycling Is Garbage - New York Times

That's all I can assume. Either that, or the 'Reality-Based' folks at the NYT finally figured out their reality isn't what they think it is.

Short form? Recycling takes more resources than it recovers - in some cases. Go - read the article. I was amazed, you might be too. They seem to realize that reality is something that doesn't depend on public perception, but exists separately of that.

(Of course, it could be someone high up looked at the stock price and said "Screw this 'reality-based' journalism. Fire 'em. Hire reporters, and start basing articles on fact, not opinion and agendas, and maybe we can get the NYT brand name back from the sewer."

Or not.)

J.

Edwards Calls for Quick Pullout of Troops Training Iraqi Forces - New York Times

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — John Edwards says that if elected president he would withdraw the American troops who are training the Iraqi army and police as part of a broader plan to remove virtually all American forces within 10 months.

“I absolutely believe this to my soul: we are there propping up their bad behavior,” he said. “I mean really, how many American lives and how much American taxpayer money are we going to continue to expend waiting for these political leaders to do something? Because that is precisely what we are doing.”

Such a troop withdrawal, he said, might jolt Iraqi leaders into taking action to overcome their sectarian differences. During the 10 months or so while American troops were being withdrawn, Mr. Edwards added, he would also mount an intensive effort to encourage Iraq’s leaders to engage in political reconciliation and solicit the cooperation of Iran and Syria, who he argued might be more willing to help once they understood that American troops were on their way out.

Basically, he's saying he'll abandon them.

You ever wonder if it's something in the water inside the Beltway? Or is he so eager to solicit the hard left vote he'd sell Iraq to Iran or Syria - whichever he thought would get him the most votes?

Throughout his campaign Mr. Edwards has spoken about the need to restore the United States’ moral standing in the world. He was asked if he believes the United States has a duty to help protect Iraqi civilians, particularly since he had voted to authorize an invasion that had unleashed a sectarian struggle for power.

“That is a very important question for the president of the United States because it is very much a judgment call,” Mr. Edwards said. “Do I believe that we have had a moral responsibility? I do. The question is, How long does that moral responsibility continue and at what juncture is it the right decision to end what we have been doing and shift that responsibility to them?”

“Let’s assume for a minute that come January 2009 we still have a significant troop presence in Iraq, which I think is likely,” Mr. Edwards added. “If that is the case, then I think another 9 to 10 months of American troop involvement and expenditure of taxpayer money with an intense effort to resolve the political conflict and intense diplomacy, then at that point America has done what it can do.”

Mr. Edwards acknowledged that there was a risk that a speedy troop drawdown might lead to substantially increased sectarian violence. Under Mr. Edwards’s plan, the United States would keep a quick reaction force in Kuwait and perhaps Jordan to respond to terrorist threats and possible “genocide.”

Mr. Edwards has said that he would also seek to involve other allied nations in the effort. But he declined to say whether the United States would be prepared to send troops back into Iraq to stop attacks on civilians if other nations did not participate, stating the question was hypothetical.

(And again - this is from tne NYTimes. Could their usual staff be on vacation or something? The tone was darn near critical. You don't see that much...)

J.

Ghod.

If you go by this breathlessly announced horserace, we're gonna get an Obama/Huckabee matchup in November.

Huckabee? Well, we could (and have) done worse. Obama? We could (and have) done worse.

My biggest dissatisfaction with the slate at this time is that I don't think they're looking at the job properly. It would seem that Hillary's looking at it as an entitlement - she'll get to be Queen, we'll allow her to rule, and the Clinton Dynasty will at last start. Obama thinks he's owed this - as do most of the other candidates. This is the biggest political plum in the world - and they're gonna suck all the juice out of it.

They want it for what they'll be able to do to make themselves feel goodm and for the stature of their party. The good of the nation - indeed, of the world - isn't really a consideration for any of them. This is about THEM, and how, through years of dedicated climbing, the pinnacle of their profession is within reach.... if they can just throw the others off.

The only one at this point (and this is very much subject to change) that I'd vote for is Fred Thompson. He's looking at the job and seeing a killer of a position that HAS to be filled with someone competent who cares about the country first and foremost. He takes it seriously, I believe.

Well, we could do (and have done) worse. But I think we need someone in the job who isn't going to see it as an entitlement, or a cushy pinnacle of a long career. So far, all I'm seeing are the usual self-absorbed politicians as usual.

By the way - I STILL haven't gotten any Paulite hits on the Ron Paul post. How curious.

J.

And I thought you'd like some of the afterword that was included. "Empire" is a very thought-provoking novel, by the way, and quite worrisome. I'm not at all sure I like the ending. It's a little too... well, you'll have to get it and see.

Anyway - to the excerpt.

Keeping Things Civil - Afterword to the novel Empire by Orson Scott Card

Because we haven't had a civil war in the past fourteen decades, people think we can't have one now. Where is the geographic clarity of the Mason-Dixon line? When you look at the red-state blue-state division in the past few elections, you get a false impression. The real division is urban, academic, and high-tech counties versus suburban, rural, and conservative Christian counties. How could such widely scattered "blue" centers and such centerless "red" populations ever act in concert?

Geography aside, however, we have never been so evenly divided with such hateful rhetoric since the years leading up to the Civil War of the 1860s. Because the national media elite are so uniformly progressive, we keep hearing (in the elite media) about the rhetorical excesses of the "extreme right." To hear the same media, there is no "extreme left," just the occasional progressive who says things he or she shouldn't.

But any rational observer has to see that the Left and Right in America are screaming the most vile accusations at each other all the time. We are fully polarized -- if you accept one idea that sounds like it belongs to either the blue or the red, you are assumed -- nay, required -- to espouse the entire rest of the package, even though there is no reason why supporting the war against terrorism should imply you're in favor of banning all abortions and against restricting the availability of firearms; no reason why being in favor of keeping government-imposed limits on the free market should imply you also are in favor of giving legal status to homosexual couples and against building nuclear reactors. These issues are not remotely related, and yet if you hold any of one group's views, you are hated by the other group as if you believed them all; and if you hold most of one group's views, but not all, you are treated as if you were a traitor for deviating even slightly from the party line. (Look at Lieberman's booting from the Democratic party over one issue - J.)

It goes deeper than this, however. A good working definition of fanaticism is that you are so convinced of your views and policies that you are sure anyone who opposes them must either be stupid and deceived or have some ulterior motive. We are today a nation where almost everyone in the public eye displays fanaticism with every utterance.

It is part of human nature to regard as sane those people who share the worldview of the majority of society. Somehow, though, we have managed to divide ourselves into two different, mutually exclusive sanities. The people in each society reinforce each other in madness, believing unsubstantiated ideas that are often contradicted not only by each other but also by whatever objective evidence exists on the subject. Instead of having an ever-adapting civilization-wide consensus reality, we have became a nation of insane people able to see the madness only in the other side.

Does this lead, inevitably, to civil war? Of course not -- though it's hardly conducive to stable government or the long-term continuation of democracy. What inevitably arises from such division is the attempt by one group, utterly convinced of its rectitude, to use all coercive forces available to stamp out the opposing views.

Such an effort is, of course, a confession of madness. Suppression of other people's beliefs by force only comes about when you are deeply afraid that your own beliefs are wrong and you are desperate to keep anyone from challenging them. Oh, you may come up with rhetoric about how you are suppressing them for their own good or for the good of others, but people who are confident of their beliefs are content merely to offer and teach, not compel. (I see this a lot on places like Kos and DU - dissent is not tolerated. At all. - J.)

The impulse toward coercion takes whatever forms are available. In academia, it consists of the denial of degrees, jobs, or tenure to people with nonconformist opinions. Ironically, the people who are most relentless in eliminating competing ideas congratulate themselves on their tolerance and diversity. In most situations, it is less formal, consisting of shunning -- but the shunning usually has teeth in it. Did Mel Gibson, when in his cups, say something that reflects his upbringing in an antisemitic household? Then he is to be shunned -- which in Hollywood will mean he can never be considered for an Oscar and will have a much harder time getting prestige, as opposed to money, roles. Tolerance is certainly overrated, isn't it? After all, there's proper ways to think about everything, and you'd better not deviate! - J.

It has happened to me, repeatedly, from both the Left and the Right. It is never enough to disagree with me -- I must be banned from speaking at a particular convention or campus; my writings should be boycotted; anything that will punish me for my noncompliance and, if possible, impoverish me and my family.

So virulent are these responses -- again, from both the Left and the Right -- that I believe it is only a short step to the attempt to use the power of the state to enforce one's views. On the right we have attempts to use the government to punish flag burners and to enforce state-sponsored praying. On the left, we have a ban on free speech and peaceable public assembly in front of abortion clinics and the attempt to use the power of the state to force the acceptance of homosexual relationships as equal to marriages. Each side feels absolutely justified in compelling others to accept their views.

It is puritanism, not in its separatist form, desiring to live by themselves by their own rules, but in its Cromwellian form, using the power of the state to enforce the dicta of one group throughout the wider society, by force rather than persuasion.

This despite the historical fact that the civilization that has created more prosperity and freedom for more people than ever before is one based on tolerance and pluralism, and that attempts to force one religion (theistic or atheistic) on the rest of a nation or the world inevitably lead to misery, poverty, and, usually, conflict. (Makes me wonder if a certain level of cultural prosperity activates a stupidity gene. - J.)

Yet we seem only able to see the negative effects of coercion caused by the other team. Progressives see the danger of allowing fanatical religions (which, by some definitions, means "all of them") to have control of government -- they need only point to Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Taliban, or, in a more general and milder sense, the entire Muslim world, which is oppressed precisely to the degree that Islam is enforced as the state religion.

Conservatives, on the other hand, see the danger of allowing fanatical atheistic religions to have control of government, pointing to Nazi Germany and all Communist nations as obvious examples of political utopianism run amok.

Yet neither side can see any connection between their own fanaticism and the historical examples that might apply to them. People insisting on a Christian America simply cannot comprehend that others view them as the Taliban-in-waiting; those who insist on progressive exclusivism in America are outraged at any comparison between them and Communist totalitarianism. Even as they shun or fire or deny tenure to those who disagree with them, everybody thinks it's the other guy who would be the oppressor, while our side would simply "set things to rights."

I also do not like the wholesale demonization of the 'other side'. We need something remotely resembling balance and tolerance in our society, or we're going to go all Bosnia-Herzogovina on each other.

We'll see what happens. Sure wish sanity would break out... because I sure don't want to see a civil war.

J.

Have you noticed?

If the markets go up, it's a sign of impending doom. If the markets go down, it's a sign of impending doom. If housing starts are high, we're setting ourselves up for a glut later. If sales are low, it's doom for the builders.

If the job numbers go up, it's a sign of impending doom. If the unemployment numbers go down, it's a sign of impending doom because people are giving up looking for jobs.

A 1/10th percent rise in any index spells doom. A 1/10th percent drop spells doom.

You see anything resembling, oh, a trend in reporting styles?

Aside from them always being able to find SOMEONE to declare we're doomed and it's all about to collapse? (Everything from the economy to the Antarctic ice shelf?) If it's coming from the MSM - they're going to present it as a friggin' catastrophe. There is NO reason for them to report good news. Good news will not get the readers to check back to see how good things might be getting - but reporting something as BAD will get them checking back often.

Old-time radio and movie serials ended on cliffhanger notes. If the hero wasn't in danger - why come back the next week to catch the next episode? We're not seeing the reporting being used to present factual information in a clear context - we're seeing writers making sure they've got a job next week by keeping the viewer/reader numbers up, to justify what they're charging the advertisers.

The news cycle is 24-7 now, with constant CNN-MSN-FOX shows all hungry for the next big story - the story that is sensational as hell (to keep the viewer interested), long-lasting (to milk the suspense) AND moving at a fair rate. (Too fast, and the reporters can't keep up. Too slow, and the viewers get bored with the problem.)

Don't look at the 'news' as information - look at it as entertainment. Adjust your perceptions accordingly.

Any time any article or report says something's messed up - it's likely nowhere near as bad as it's presented. After all - they want you to keep checking back. Often. Because if they don't get the ratings, they don't keep their jobs.

J.

Ancient Greenland mystery has a simple answer | csmonitor.com

Ancient Greenland mystery has a simple answer, it seems
Did the Norse colonists starve? Were they wiped out by the Inuit – or did they intermarry?

No. Things got colder and they left.

J.

Electrical problems, computer problems, birthday for my 88 year old father - things have been a bit busy.

But nothing terrible, or even terribly difficult. A good day, all in all.

More tomorrow.

(Or later today.)

J.

Br-r-r! Where did global warming go? - The Boston Globe

In South America, for example, the start of winter last year was one of the coldest ever observed. According to Eugenio Hackbart, chief meteorologist of the MetSul Weather Center in Brazil, "a brutal cold wave brought record low temperatures, widespread frost, snow, and major energy disruption." In Buenos Aires, it snowed for the first time in 89 years, while in Peru the cold was so intense that hundreds of people died and the government declared a state of emergency in 14 of the country's 24 provinces. In August, Chile's agriculture minister lamented "the toughest winter we have seen in the past 50 years," which caused losses of at least $200 million in destroyed crops and livestock.

Latin Americans weren't the only ones shivering.

University of Oklahoma geophysicist David Deming, a specialist in temperature and heat flow, notes in the Washington Times that "unexpected bitter cold swept the entire Southern Hemisphere in 2007." Johannesburg experienced its first significant snowfall in a quarter-century. Australia had its coldest ever June. New Zealand's vineyards lost much of their 2007 harvest when spring temperatures dropped to record lows.

"We're all gonna roast!" changes to "We're gonna... well, it's climate change and don't you question it!"

Religion (GWarming) and Science (Actual REALITY) in conflict. Who'd have thunk it?

J.

Ah, it was all going so well.

James has passed me a PS/2 KVM switch. This weekend I finally had the chance to set it up, and attempt to start putting Ubutu on an old PC. I hooked things up, got everything where it should be, and started up both systems. (For those who don't know, a KVM switch allows you to share one keyboard, monitor and mouse between two systems. You can get them in 2, 4, 8, and 16 port sizes pretty easily, though you can end up with an octopus-like mess once you get above 4 if you aren't careful. And if you're looking at a 32, 64, 128 or 256 - well, that gets a trifle complicated. If you're running a server farm, you'll need them. Otherwise, likely not...)

Anyway, after starting things up I could change between the two systems! Yay! Video worked, and so did the mouse. Keyboard... well, I could swap between the two machines. but... on the Windows machine, I wasn't typing anything. Not good...

I grabbed another, known working keyboard and unplugged the KVM, then direct-connected the keyboard. Still no response. No caps-lock or scroll-lock lights - which most likely indicated the keyboard wasn't getting +5v power. Looks like something went bad on the system board - but even if it wasn't the +5v power, I wouldn't be able to fix it.

Ah, well. So it goes. The system seemed completely functional otherwise, and I was using a USB mouse. So there were a number of options.

Three choices were immediately apparent. First, since the problem WAS isolated to the keyboard port - I could try for a warranty swapout. It's certainly been less than a year since I bought the new board and CPU - so... hmmm. Down time, uncertainty about whether they'd fix it, and the possibility I'd get a refurb with other problems. That wasn't too exciting.

Second - I could buy a new system board, swap out, and hang the old one up on the wall. Though that had a certain appeal, I didn't want to spend the money.

That left #3 - getting a USB keyboard. (There were no problems with the USB ports. And I found that it's a LOT easier to do things in Windows with just a keyboard than it is with just a mouse.) Office Depot had an ergonomic one for $20.

But that leaves the KVM switch out in the cold. It isn't, however, a necessity, since there's both a DVI and a VGA input on my monitor. And I could switch between the two. Put the old keyboard on the Linux machine, put the new one on the WinXp system, scrounge up a PS2 mouse... and I can switch easily between the two. Of course, remembering which keyboard does what will take a bit of getting used to... and I grab the wrong mouse at least half the time.

So anyhow - it's funny sometimes how something you think is pretty durable and solid... breaks. But that's the way things have been going with me and electricity lately. It's remarkable just how much power a 12v trailer battery can shove through a piece of 12 gauge wire on a dead short...

J.

You ever get the feeling it's all, including the election results, about as unscripted and spontaneous as Pro Wrestling?

Yeah. Me neither. :)

J.

The Associated Press: AP NewsBreak: Richardson Ends Bid

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson ended his campaign for the presidency Wednesday after twin fourth-place finishes that showed his impressive credentials could not compete with his rivals' star power.

Richardson planned to announce the decision Thursday, according to two people close to the governor with knowledge of the decision. They spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the governor's announcement.

In the end, there can be only one...

J.

I would imagine you've probably heard about the Iranian boats which approached three Navy ships passing through the Straits of Hormuz.

They made threatening radio calls, dropped items overboard, got right up to the limit where the Navy ships would have fired off warning shots... then turned around and ran.

When I heard about this - I thought 'desensitization'. Push the limits time and again, make the norm the 200 yards, and get us to relax our guard. Not much - just slightly.

Then - put a nuke in one of the boats when a carrier battle group is passing by. After all, the early editions aren't going to be tiny things - you're going to need a fair amount of room for your test. And one run, at 210 yards, press the button... preferably at closest approach to the carrier. Time it right, and you get a lot of the supporting and screening ships.

It'll be Operation Crossroads in the Straits. How many ships would be destroyed outright, how many would be sunk and 'salvageable', how many damaged and left afloat? Wait for a carrier group to go through, and you could cause some serious damage. It would depend on the force of the explosion, of course - but it's a good bet that anything within a mile would be toast. The Operation Crossroads tests were done with 21 kiloton weapons, after all, and sank a lot of tonnage...

Of course, the Iranians would deny it. Obviously, it was a US nuclear mistake... because everyone knows how warlike the US is and how innocent the Iranian nuclear program is. Is it so surprising that Allah just happened to help the infidel destroy himself?

I think it's just a matter of time, unfortunately, before we have a nuclear USS Cole-type situation, with a lot of ships destroyed and damaged. Iran isn't stalling off the UN for nothing, after all.

J.

to think up something like this...

It makes you wonder what the sane ones are working on

Maybe this?

Or this?

Or a death ray?

Or for the folks into minatures... how about this?

Imagine - a 3mm CRT-based TV in a display... that works. (Hey, it's a bit far-fetched, but...)

And may I point out - the folks making the vacuum tubes and CRTs aren't needing a whole lot of stuff to do it. What was super-high tech in the '40s is now pretty much garage science.

Enjoy!

J.

Strange science takes time - Cosmic Log - msnbc.com

EMC2 Fusion has built an upgraded model of Bussard's last experimental plasma containment device, which was known as WB-6. (The WB stands for Wiffle Ball, a whimsical reference to the structure of the device.) "We got first plasma yesterday," Nebel said - but he and his colleagues in Santa Fe, N.M., still have a long way to get the WB-7 experiment up to the power levels Bussard was working with.

"We're not out trying to make a big splash on any of this stuff at this point," Nebel said. But he said he's hoping to find out by this spring whether or not Bussard's concept is worth pursuing with a larger demonstration project.

The initial analysis showed that Bussard's data on energy yields were consistent with expectations, Nebel said.

And wouldn't THAT be a kick in the nuts for OPEC?

J.

Okay, from what I'm seeing reported and what clips I've heard on the news Ron Paul is acting like he's somewhat senile. He's not answering questions in a relevant manner, he's ignoring current events... he's even faking deafness. (Or not. Could be his hearing aid died.)

Scratch him off the list...

To all the Paulistas out there (who haven't found my blog yet) - the guy you support ... I don't want to see him near the Presidency. We need a President who's fully oriented and capable of appropriate responses - and judging by the debates, Paul ain't it. Your mileage obviously varies, but you're not going to be able to persuade the majority of American voters to go for him.

Sorry. Maybe you can all chip in and find him some nice assisted living facility...

And as a contrast to the muddy thinking of Ron Paul - you might want to check out the latest essay over at EjectEjectEject.Com.

J.

Snow falls on Baghdad for first time in memory | World | Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Snow fell on Baghdad on Friday for the first time in memory, and delighted residents declared it an omen of peace.

"It is the first time we've seen snow in Baghdad," said 60-year-old Hassan Zahar. "We've seen sleet before, but never snow. I looked at the faces of all the people, they were astonished," he said.

"A few minutes ago, I was covered with snowflakes. In my hair, on my shoulders. I invite all the people to enjoy peace, because the snow means peace," he said.

J.

Steampunk - Gizmodo

I didn't realize Gizmodo had a Steampunk section! Modded JLA action figures, MP3 players (love the skin for the IPod - might have to get an IPod just for that skin!) and other stuff - check out the gallery in the Lego StarWars Steampunk post, (especially SteamVader - though the light saber looks more like a roll of flocked wallpaper) and the SteamPunk Watches.

Man. Creativity in a world that never was...

And don't miss "Steam Trek - The Moving Picture!"

J.

Odd thought ... the other day when I went to REI to try to pick up a topological map of the local area, they didn't have any. No USGS maps, either 7.5 minute, 30 minute (half a degree) or 1x2 degree sizes. I was kind of surprised - the maps have been a staple of hiking for decades.

And I got to thinking... why would they still be popular? With GPS units so cheap, (the cost of a good sleeping bag) something as boring as a paper map would just be... old fashioned.

Sigh.

A good topo map is a work of art. Compiled from aerial photos, it'll show a lot more information about an area than a GPSW ever will... such as the lay of the land, slopes, ravines, and let you plan out the easiest paths... but you have to know how to read it. And such a skill isn't hard to learn... if you've got a good map handy. Which is the sticking point.

They're available on-line - and you can even download them in PDF format but it's kind of tough printing them out. (Kinko's can't do it, except as a special-order job.)

Well, there's one possibility in the Atlanta area - Bradford Map and Globe. I'll check them out and let you know...

Update: I called - and they're not open on the weekends. 10 to 6, M-F. So I guess I'll have to order what I'm looking for on-line... which is annoying.

J.

Clinton econ plan aimed at struggling Dems - Mike Allen - Politico.com

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) plans to propose a $70 billion economic stimulus package — including emergency housing and heating assistance — as part of an effort to reinforce her appeal to non-affluent Democrats.

Clinton is to announce her “plan to jump-start America's ailing economy” at a union training institute in City of Commerce, Calif., (part of Los Angeles County) Friday at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

Probably yours.

J.

Organs to be taken without consent - Telegraph

Can Organleggers be far behind?

Somehow, I'm reminded of the phrase "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." Like there's any shortage of bad ones, of course - but this just seems a bit... extreme.

J.

illumawall

Oh, to win the lottery...

Sigh.

J.

Thomas de Zengotita: A Defining Moment for The Clintons: The Lawsuit Against Nevada's Culinary Workers Union - The Huffington Post

As this link shows, the Clinton campaign is supporting, if not actually inciting, a Nevada State Teachers Association lawsuit against the Culinary Workers Union. The reason? The Culinary Workers Union has arranged for its members to caucus in their workplaces, to cast their votes in the hotels and casinos that support that state's economy instead of taking time off to get to polling places--at the risk of getting fired.

That lawsuit was filed right after the Culinary Workers Union endorsed Obama.

Gosh. What a coincidence. It's an unfair disadvantage, the teachers union lawsuit says--they are supporting Hillary--to let all those maids and bellboys vote while they are on the job.

BobKrumm.com � This won’t go over well

How do you think Detroit’s largely black population is going to react when they go to the polls tomorrow and learn that

(a) Hillary Clinton is on the ballot
(b) Barack Obama is not on the ballot
(c) Write-in votes are not counted?

If the Clintons think they have a potential race problem brewing in the Democratic Party now, they haven’t seen anything yet.

Well - it's all about power. Obama was fine, until he started pulling ahead of the pack. Once he became a threat - the knives came out...

But will she be able to pull off the kill?

J.

Okay, it's Michigan's turn in the political barrel tonight.

Man, I've rarely seen such pandering as the Presidential candidates on both sides are doing there...

Look - there's a REASON Detroit has lost so many jobs.

It's called 'outsourcing the manufacturing of cars to other states and countries'.

Why did such a dire thing occur?

Because the unions had the companies locked down. The companies were the Goose, and by heaven they were going to get Golden Eggs out if it killed the Goose.

High wages, high benefit costs drove the price of automobiles up. Low quality and high prices for the cars drove sales revenue down. When a company loses money on each item sold, it can only make it up by selling in bulk for so long.

In the end, the companies had two choices. Maintain Detroit as the center of the automotive manufacturing capability of the United States - or spread out to the other states where the cost of making the cars would be less, and the people making them weren't locked into the union mentality of doing just enough to get by while demanding more and more every year.

They didn't choose to stay where the vampires could keep sucking them dry.

At this point, the jobs that have left Michigan aren't coming back. But apparently a lot of people are waiting for them to return...and pretty much every candidate has promised a revival of manufacturing jobs in the state.

Talk, as they say, is cheap. Actually producing the jobs, however, is going to be damned expensive. And I don't see the auto companies voluntarily sticking their (appendage) back into the union infested (orifice) that is Detroit. Been there, got out, dealt with the disease... why would they want to catch it again?

Now - I don't have anything (much) against unions. In historical terms, they've been very useful in making sure the worker got a pretty darn good standard of living and they protected the worker from exploitation. But there comes a time when tapping too much blood ends up killing the donor - and the auto worker's unions seem to be tapping between $40 to $75 an hour for the worker. That's pretty good money, and goes a long way toward explaining the cost of a car these days.

But those jobs are gone. Like it or not, a Presidential candidate CANNOT promise jobs in blighted areas - unless they're willing to spend really big bucks there to create makework-type jobs. And even then, that money has to come from somewhere else - because there's nothing to tap into in the local area.

I'm tired of seeing Presidential campaigns devolve to "How much can I promise you to buy your vote?" I'd rather see them try to promote ideals and run on issues instead of tossing out bribes and hoping the voters will stay bought. But perhaps I'm just plain foolish to think that ideas could win over bribes. Heaven knows, listening to some of the 'voters' being interviewed in Michigan, it seems their wallets are far more important to them than anything else. They'll follow the money...

Even if the trail is right off a cliff.

J.

The 2007 Darwin Awards

Some stupid, some gross, some rather amazing...

Chlorinating the gene pool, indeed.

J.

In Foreclosure Rate Hits Historic High - washingtonpost.com, I finally see a chart showing how terrible the situation is.

In the 4th quarter of 2006, the forclosure rate was 0.54% - or about 1 in 185.

In the 4th quarter of 2007... things have turned absolutely terrible. Terrible. Homeless families roaming the streets... all because of a rise of loans entering foreclosure.

The rate has gone up 4/100ths of 1%. It went from 0.54% to 0.58%. From 1 in 185 to 1 in 172. This is an insurmountable crisis for our economy. Things have NEVER been this bad before.

Um... no. Not really...

In 1997, the MBA FHA foreclosure rate... was 2.47%. (Chart A, page 21-22.)

The MBA Conventional rate was 1.04%.

Funny how bad things are now, isn't it? Seems to me a drop of almost 80% would be cause for celebration.... but then again, I forget we don't have a Democrat in the White House.

J.

I wondered if it would come down to this...

Ad: 'Hillary Clinton does not respect our people' - Ben Smith's Blog - Politico.com

The radio ad aired by one of Obama's labor allies re-injects ethnicity into the Democratic primary contest in sharp terms.
"Hillary Clinton does not respect our people," the ad says in Spanish (original and Clinton campaign translation after the jump), referring to the lawsuit that failed today to shut down special caucus sites on Las Vegas' strip. "Hillary Clinton is shameless."

It's almost rising to the level of fratricide.

I can understand Hillary's desperation. This is something she's fought for, something she's worked for - she sees this as her right, and someone's trying to take it from her.

This is also her last chance. She goes down in flames, she's going to have a hard time persuading the DNC to back her in another try. Plus, time is really working against her. We can have an elderly male President - there's precedent. But an elderly female President? Nah, that won't fly.

So how will she stick the knife in? Or will someone else stab her in the back first?

J.

Don't the Democrats ALWAYS play by the rules?

Democrats raise stakes in Nevada�-�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

RENO, Nev. — Like many things in the state of sin and gambling, today's Democratic caucus has become something of a freak show — complete with complaints of mob-boss-style voter intimidation.

In the latest twist, the Democrats who want to be the next president spent most of yesterday trading accusations of intimidation and sparring over a Republican president.

Remember - this party thinks it can run the country. It has problems running a caucus. In a low-population state. In a supposedly homogenous political population.

Meet the new Whigs - same as the old Whigs...

J.

Hillary raises Yucca issue in Nevada�-�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

LAS VEGAS — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is campaigning through Nevada with a laserlike focus on local issues — holding small forums with voters about economic woes and the Yucca Mountain.

During her roundtable yesterday on the nuclear waste site here, panelists praised the New York Democrat for the work her husband's administration did with Yucca, and applauded her saying the toxic waste also is a homeland security problem.

"It's an issue that concerns every American," she said. Later, Mrs. Clinton told reporters, "I think we need to go back and start over. We should not be guided by politics, we should be guided by science. We have a serious problem, how are we going to handle it."

While Sen. Barack Obama drew big crowds in nearby Henderson, Mrs. Clinton offered her Yucca Mountain policy roundtable with nine Nevada panelists before an audience of fewer than 200 people.

Another panelist, a nuclear waste consultant, said Americans don't realize that moving the waste across the country would mean residents in Atlanta, St. Louis and elsewhere would be "bathed in this radiation."

Mrs. Clinton nodded and lamented the concern over the dangers of transporting the waste.

Sigh.

Expect Yucca Mountain to be ready about 2030. Maybe. They'll find something else to gripe about, I'm sure.

J.

Boys are treated unfairly by schools and the media

What changes would you recommend if I told you that African-American children were:

four to eight times as likely to be drugged with Ritalin and other stimulants, which pediatrician Leonard Sax, calls “academic steroids.”

reading much more poorly than are other students.

five times more likely to commit suicide.

two and a half times as likely to drop out of high school.

severely underrepresented in college and even more so among college graduates, thereby locking them out of today’s, let alone tomorrow’s, knowledge economy.

You’d likely invoke such words as “institutional racism” to justify major efforts to improve African-Americans’ numbers.

All of the above statements are true except for one thing: I’m not talking about African-American children. I’m talking about children of all races, indeed half of all children, half of our next generation: boys.

There's a difference between boys and girls. The last 30+ years have been spent by a lot in the educational world trying to deny that, and impose a one-size-fits-all (but tuned mostly for girls) educational standard in a lot of places. You've got an MIT bilogist (Nancy Hopkins) having an attack of the vapors and walking out ("I would've either blacked out or thrown up.") when the President of Harvard says there's innate differences between men and women.

Why does the phrase "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" comes to mind? You can't argue that the intentions aren't good. But the results? Oh, very not good... not good at all.

J.

Thankfully, it wasn't moving too quickly. (bada-bing!)

When the little guy was younger, we all got a kick out of the Veggie-Tales and 3-2-1 Penguins videos from Big Idea Productions. My lovely bride saw the latest movie was out - "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" - and we saw that the other night.

Now, you've got to understand that there's certain things in the Veggie-Tales world that simply go without saying. Vegetables don't have legs - so they get along by bouncing. They don't have arms or hands... so... well, the best we can figure is that they've got limited telekinesis abilities, which are very directional and short-ranged. And after a while, you simply don't notice they don't have arms - you 'fill in the blank', so to speak, and when a character WITH arms shows up, you're kind of taken aback.

The movie was a lot of fun, with plenty of visually interesting bits and jokes that work on both an adult and kid level. (The carnivorous Cheez-Curls were hilarious - a snack food that eats YOU right back!) I'd suggest it - it was a lot of fun.

There was a poster for another movie - "Jumper". Based on (and from what I've seen from the trailer, fairly close to,,,) the book by Steven Gould, it's starting in a few weeks... and looks to be worth seeing. What would YOU do if you found you could teleport?

(There apparently was a sequel written in '04 or '05 - I'll have to see about getting it.)

I like Steven Gould's writing - Wildside was a lot of fun also, and would make a good movie.

The last movie that really caught my interest is a new one by Pixar - "WALL-E". THAT one looks like a lot of fun indeed.

So - what movies have you spotted lately that look to be worth the money?

J.

Women turn on ‘traitor’ Oprah Winfrey for backing Barack Obama - Times Online

AMERICA’S favourite television presenter is paying a painful price for her intervention in the US presidential campaign last month. Oprah Winfrey has been dubbed a “traitor” by some of her female fans for supporting Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton.

Winfrey’s website, Oprah.com, has been flooded with a barrage of abuse since the queen of daytime chat shows joined Obama on a tour of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in mid-December.
Her intervention was widely credited with broadening Obama’s national appeal - especially among women - and with helping him to an upset victory over Clinton in the first vote of the election year in Iowa.

Politics as a blood sport. Can't say I'm terribly surprised at the concept.

J.

Annual Purchase Limit For Savings Bonds Set at $5,000

The annual limitation on purchases of United States Savings Bonds will be set at $5,000 per Social Security Number, effective January 1, 2008. The limit applies separately to Series EE and Series I savings bonds, and separately to bonds issued in paper or electronic form. Under the new rules, an individual can buy a maximum of $5,000 worth of electronic and paper bonds of each series in a single calendar year, or a total of $20,000, in single ownership form. If paper bonds are issued in co-ownership form, the limit applies to the first-named co-owner. All limits are based on the issue price of the securities.

The reduction from the $30,000 annual limit in effect for both series since 2003 was made to refocus the savings bond program on its original purpose of making these non-marketable Treasury securities available to individuals with relatively small sums to invest. Approximately 98 percent of all annual purchases of savings bonds by individuals are for $5,000 or less. The minimum purchase price for Series EE bonds is $25, whether purchased electronically or in paper form; the I bond minimum purchase is $25 for bonds issued in electronic form and $50 for those in paper form.

I'm kind of puzzled by this. I'm thinking if the economy was bad, they'd want to sell more bonds... which would get more income into the Treasury in the short term.

But then agian...

Well, hell. I can barely keep my checking account somewhat balanced. I can't figure out what the government wants to do any more.

J.

After seeing how Hil and Bill are going after Obama, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a Wellstone-like accident happen to whatever small aerial transport he might use. In that light, I give the following advice to him.

Don't fly in anything private, man. Commercial travel - that's the way to go. With as many people around you as possible. Sure, they're seen as expendable if you're getting too close to the brass ring... but why make things easier by flying light aircraft and small jets?

You ever watch a British SF program called Dr. Who? A Time/Space traveller - wherever he goes, trouble follows. The sound of the TARDIS he uses to travel in is rather distinctive - and I remember a friend (Hi, Clair!) saying if she ever heard that sound in real life she'd run for it.

Me? I'd run from it. Far and fast and hope an asteroid wasn't about to hit the Earth. Being a casual bystander around the Doctor is about the equivalent of being a Red Shirt on a Star Trek episode. You're gonna die, and it's gonna be unpleasant. Sorry about that.

And I wonder just how far the Clinton machine would go to 'eliminate' the only serious rival to her attaining the Throne.

Frankly, I hope he's got his life insurance paid up. Because I think he's a real high mortality risk at this point...

J.

Seems to me that this isn't good news.

Venezuelan troops seize food | WORLD | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz

Venezuela's top food company has accused troops of illegally seizing more than 500 tonnes of food from its trucks as part of President Hugo Chavez's campaign to stem shortages.

The leftist Chavez this week created a state food distributor and loosened some price controls, seeking to end months of shortages for staples like milk and eggs that have caused long lines and upset his supporters in the OPEC nation.

The highly publicised campaign has also included government crackdowns on accused smuggling, with the military seizing 1,600 tonnes of food and sending 1,200 troops to the border with Colombia.

Now they worry about smuggling food into Venezuela? There's something not right there...

Are we looking at a western hemisphere Zimbabwe?

J.

How much would you expect to pay for a peach grown in South Africa?

How much would you expect to pay for a peach grown in South Africa, and packed into a single-serving container in Thailand?

How much would you expect to pay for a peach grown in South Africa, and packed into a single-serving container in Thailand, and imported into the United States, transported across the country, warehoused and distributed, sold and resold, and eventually ending up in a vending machine in Georgia?

$1.

I figured it was a local peach - didn't expect to see it was grown in South Africa. I certainly wouldn't have expected a South African peach to be packed in Thailand by Dole Foods. And then for it to end up in the US?

That is a miracle of farming, logistics, and food processing. So tell me again how we're supposed to see multi-national corporations as evil?

J.

Zillow - 750 Bel Air Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90077

Cee-ment pond's down a bit to the south. And the canopy's new - at least, relatively.

Of course, we've only got Zillow's word when it comes to identifying who 'lived' here...

J.

YouTube - L-M P-791

Is this the future of air travel? I've seen some promo stuff out at the plant on this - a full-sized one would be able to pick up a fully loaded C-5 and fly off with it.

Of course, so could one of these...

To the future through the past...

J.

The Foundry � Blog Archive � Fact Check: Earmarks Didn’t Drop Under Democrats

The Politico reports today that fiscal conservatives face several hurdles in their quest to end earmarks, not the least of which is that “Democrats last year actually approved fewer earmarks than Republicans did when they ran Congress.”
A closer look at the numbers reveals that isn’t exactly true. Liberals are comparing the fiscal 2008 total of 11,043 to the fiscal 2005 total of 13,997. What they don’t tell you is that this year’s number is the second highest on record and it’s a sharp increase from the past two years.

J.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Kerry blasts Bill Clinton for ‘abusing truth’ � - Blogs from CNN.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) — John Kerry, the Democratic Party's 2004 nominee for president, took aim at Bill Clinton Friday, telling the National Journal the former president does "not have a license to abuse the truth."

The Massachusetts senator, who endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid earlier this month, said Clinton's criticisms of the Illinois senator have been "over the top," and suggested the former president is getting "frantic."

J.

<font color=#e00000>Gagarin was not the first cosmonaut</font> - Pravda.Ru

As 40 years have passed since Gagarin’s flight, new sensational details of this event were disclosed: Gagarin was not the first man to fly to space. Three Soviet pilots died in attempts to conquer space before Gagarin's famous space flight, Mikhail Rudenko, senior engineer-experimenter with Experimental Design Office 456 (located in Khimki, in the Moscow region) said on Thursday.

Of course, this IS from Pravda - so anything reported should be considered suspect...

J.

One of the really nice things about our modern era is piped water. Wells are all nice and romantic, (unless you think about the newt in the bucket that supposedly guarantees the water is pure and safe...) and a rushing stream or river is picturesque - but potable water on tap has those beat when it comes to convenience.

And HOT water on tap - well, that's really great. You don't have to get water out fo the well or stream, heat it over a fire or on a stove, then bathe... you just turn the faucet and out it comes.

Until it doesn't - or the water quality changes coming out of the water heater to the point where you're bathing in the Mississippi. (A warm Mississippi, but real murky river water none the less.) It's a sign that the water heater is on its last legs, and about to spring a leak. Then you'll have a REAL mess to clean up.

As detailed in "It Started Small" - it because necessary to think about a new water heater. I wanted to go tankless... until the price came in for installation on the north side of $3k. Can't afford that... so we got estimates on a regular heater, and it was above $1000 for a long-lasting model.

Okay, yeah, I could go for a cheap 3-year tank, and figure on getting 6 years out of it (The 6 year Sears model in the basement lasted 13) - but I'd prefer to NOT need to swap stuff out on a regular basis when it comes to the house. It's annoying, and expensive. A 12-year GE was about $200 more, And the guy across the street would install it for us (with a lot of my help, of course...) for about$100 - so we decided on that route. We were going to install it yesterday.

And yesterday morning, the tank started to leak. Oh, not much, a bare dribble... but we were just a few days off from a real mess.

Talk about timing... sheesh.

Anyhow, with a few hours work and a lot of stuff bought at Home Depot, as well as a trip to the dump to discard the old tank, we've got a new water heater (and expansion tank) - and rustless hot water.

Yes, it's a common enough luxury... but you don't realize just how much you miss it until you don't have it.

J.

Roger L. Simon: End the Monarchy!

Unlike some people, I am not a super-strict constructionist. I have no idea what Jefferson and Adams, among others, would say about the issues confronting us today or whether they would want to amend the Constitution. But I do know this: We are democracy. As I wrote yesterday in the comments section, it's time end the Divine Right of Kings in this country. That means no more Bushes, Clintons, Kennedys, Roosevelts, etc. I don't even want to hear from Kennedys for their recommendations. Enough of this monarchical crap and these over-blown, over-important political families. We might as well bring back the Romanoffs.

The recent public display of arrogant, hot-headed Bill hopefully is starting to wake people up to this. Do we really want eight more years of the Clinton family saga, all their lies and self-deception?

At this point, after watching the Clintons during his Presidency, and watching how Hillary's acted during this campaign, and how Bill has acted - I'm sick of them.

She could announce she's decided to become a Republican, vote for Bush's tax cuts to be made permanent, and spearhead a run to get the FairTax enabled, and I'd still vote against her out of sheer dislike. I'm tired of the two of them, and make no mistake - the two are joined at the hip and you're getting the ENTIRE package. Look carefully at the contents, and consider them as you would a bottle of MD-2020 you're about to chug. It might taste okay going down, and you'll get a brief buzz - but is the puking-sick hangover going to be worth it?

J.

From today, feel free to download another 25 million songs - legally - Times Online

After a decade fighting to stop illegal file-sharing, the music industry will give fans today what they have always wanted: an unlimited supply of free and legal songs.
With CD sales in free fall and legal downloads yet to fill the gap, the music industry has reluctantly embraced the file-sharing technology that threatened to destroy it. Qtrax, a digital service announced today, promises a catalogue of more than 25 million songs that users can download to keep, free and with no limit on the number of tracks.

Hmmm.

We'll see how it plays out.

J.

The Space Race was just getting started. The first planetary probes had yet to be launched, and SF aimed at my age group was quite popular.

Mars and Venus were still somewhat assumed to be habitable - at least in fiction, and Mercury was a blasted cinder that might have an atmosphere of some sort... though the back side was considered to be colder than Pluto, since Mercury wasn't thought to be tidally locked with a day that was the same as it's year.

But Mars and Venus... they're no longer considered habitable. Mars has very little atmosphere, and Venus has way too much. Mercury... well, it's still considered a blasted cinder, though it DOES rotate three times for every two revolutions around the Sun. And it's not exactly a vacation spot - surface temperatures range between -180 to 430C.

Be a hell of a place to get a tan, though. One to two seconds a day would probably be enough...

Anyway, MESSENGER has been dispatched to Mercury, and has taken the first photos since Mariner 10, over 30 years ago. It shows a remarkably moon-like planet... dry and unappealing. A bit more rounded, perhaps, and melted a bit... but hardly something to spark the imagination of a child.

But of an adult? Well - I think it's neat as hell we can get photos like that. And I'm glad to see them... though I still would like to see the planets up close in person, I'll take what I can get.

J.

Free music downloads site in chaos as record giants pull out| News | This is London

Music fans around the world faced confusion today as it was announced they would be able to download unlimited, free songs without breaking the law.

A revamped online file-sharing service had vowed to offer a catalogue of 30million free songs that are compatible with iPods, but record labels have denied they had granted permission to share the songs.

Qtrax, which makes its debut today, is the latest online music venture counting on the lure of free songs to draw in music fans.

J.

You're doing pretty good.

Iraqis mock US soldiers and themselves on You Tube

US soldiers are lampooned, policemen are shown as buffoons and Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is irreverently cheered by penguins... Iraqis are turning more and more to You Tube to express their dark-edged humour.

The main butt of send-ups posted by Iraqis on the popular Internet video site is, as one might expect, the US military.

This is most encouraging. Iraq, as a country, seems to be recovering well from Saddam's reign. Could you imagine the police under Saddam being made fun of publicly?

J.

Animaniacs note the Clinton co-presidency | The Anchoress

My son Buster sent this and a few other clever Animaniac excerpts to me and notes, “no wonder my generation is so cynical.”

Heh.

J.

Researchers make tiny radio from nanotubes - Innovation- msnbc.com

CHICAGO - Transistor radios tinier than a grain of sand, made using nanotechnology, can not only tune in to the traffic report, but may end up outperforming current silicon-based electronics, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

The next few years should bring some pretty interesting tech to market...

J.

Yay. Only 10 months to go, then we get two weeks off - and the '12 campaigns will start.

Bush has last State of the Union speech.

Yay. He was probably thinking "Damn - I'm almost done with you folks!"

Bush promises to cut earmarks.

Yay. Where was he a few years back?

House passed stimulus package.

Yay. Let's bribe the folks before elections. The economy is not doing badly - but who benefits from people thinking it is? Bet ya the Senate will lard so much pork into it that Bush will have to reject it. Then, of course, it'll be Bush's fault...

Clinton won in Florida.

Yay. Damn shame it doesn't count, isn't it?

In other news - looks like Britain's health care system is going to 'rationed' care. Old and sick need not expect help.

Yay. That's one way to keep costs down. Look well at it - if we're stupid enough to have a collective brain fart and enact national health care, this will be what we get inside of 20 years.

I can't stand this irrational exuberance I'm feeling.

Goodnight, all...

J.

Political Radar: Clinton Says She Can Control Her Husband

ABC News' Eloise Harper Reports: Senator Hillary Clinton, in an interview with ABC News' Cynthia McFadden for ABC News' Nightline, was asked about President Clinton’s controversial comments about race and Senator Obama in the past weeks. Clinton apologized for her husband.

“I think whatever he said which was certainly never intended to cause any kind of offense to anyone,” Clinton said, “if it did give offenses then I take responsibility and I’m sorry about that.”

"Can you control him?" asked McFadden.

“Oh of course,” Clinton replied.

What's the best way to separate Bill Clinton from cute interns?

Use a crowbar. (grin)

Or just not elect the pair in the first place.

J.

I've been hearing about the SubPrime crisis now for quite a while, and been shaking my head.

The premise is, the EeVile Mortgage Companies have Taken Advantage of the Innocent And Needy through SubPrime loans that Adjusted Upwards Unexpectedly.

Yeah. Sure.

You ever gotten a mortgage? You end up with about a POUND of paper detailing the loan, the interest rate, the house condition, appraisal values, payment amounts and schedules and so on and so forth.

They're NOT trying to hide anything - there's laws against that. You're given the opportunity to examine each paper before you sign it. If you don't, the fault isn't with the mortgage company. If you're not aware of the loan terms, you've had your fingers stuck in your ears, eyes tight shut, and you were singing "Lalalalala - I can't HEAR you!" during the closing.

Of course, what you do with such knowledge is up to you. You know what the loan payment is, you know how much money you bring in. The old standard was the payment should be between 25 and 30% of your annual pay... so it's pretty clear if you're paying more than you can afford, you're going to know it real soon. You're going to lose the house. And nobody forced you to get a $250,000 house when you only earn about $20k/year. (The lender may have been stupid - but he didn't force you to sign the papers.) But cheer up - if you're counting on the housing bubble to save you - you MIGHT be in luck... if you're in Baghdad. Other than that? Not so much. The moral's really simple - don't get more house than you can afford.

When we were looking for a house close to the little guy's school, we didn't go for the max we could get with our combined incomes. That just seemed stupid. Better to scale back some and get a more affordable loan. And nothing tricky with the loans, either - just a straight, stock, 30 year fixed rate. Yeah, with an adjustable, interest-only loan we could probably have bought a house twice to three times the price of what we ended up with - but would it have been worth it?

Perhaps - if your criteria for a 'win' in the game of life is to have a big house, and an expensive car, and be in debt up to your eyeballs. Of course, with the way the housing market's gone in the last decade or so, is it any wonder that so many people have tapped out the equity in their homes by refinancing? And as long as the housing prices kept going up - there wasn't much of a problem. But eventually...

Well, an affordable house at a fixed rate - that's not terribly glamorous, but we're building equity. And we don't have to worry about losing the house.

Also - recently there've been a number of shows on the various DIY channels detailing 'house flipping'. You buy a wreck of a house for cheap (usually with an adjustable rate loan) and put some bucks into it - then sell the house for an absurd profit... all within 30 minutes to an hour. They make it look easy - like anyone can do it.

But what happens if you CANNOT sell the house for your asking price? What happens if you've put SO much into the house and the market in your area is such that you can't sell it and make a profit? Maybe you're pretty much strapped with one house payment, and find two insupportable. What's your option? Refinance? Sell one for a loss? Let the bank repo it?

Sometimes - there's just no good option.

Now the big question - how much should the government be obligated to spend to rescue you from your mistakes and bad judgement? And more importantly - WHY? As I've said - your responsibilities are explained clearly in when you get your loan. At what point does personal responsibility end, and the government take over?

I'd sure like to see those questions at least somewhat answered before any major bailouts occur. If necessary - set up a 4% loan fund, with the stipulation that anyone who taps it will need to stay in the house for a minimum of 10 years or pay a hefty penalty.

People learn from their mistakes... if they're painful enough. Take the pain away, and the lesson is lost - as well as the incentive to not make the same mistake twice.

J.

Global Warming may be one of them.

Political Punch

Former President Bill Clinton was in Denver, Colorado, stumping for his wife yesterday.

In a long, and interesting speech, he characterized what the U.S. and other industrialized nations need to do to combat global warming this way: "We just have to slow down our economy and cut back our greenhouse gas emissions 'cause we have to save the planet for our grandchildren."

At a time that the nation is worried about a recession is that really the characterization his wife would want him making? "Slow down our economy"?

More and more I'm thinking that politicians above a certain level are NOT really interested in taking care of the problems they say they can solve. In the case of Democrats, there is no real incentive to solve a problem because a real solution means the problem is eliminated. A problem eliminated is a problem that can no longer be used for election fodder. And a solution which reduces government dependence is worse than no solution at all.

Don't believe me? Look at what happened when Bush even TRIED to talk about fixing Social Security by allowing people to put 1% - ONE PERCENT - of their Social Security money into the stock market.

A potential reduction in dependence on the government? In the latter years of the Clinton administration, Social Security was seen as a problem, that needed fixing... but if a Republican could fix it they'd rather it stay broke.

So it boils down to - Democrats WON'T fix what they campaign on, and they'll prevent Republicans from fixing the problems if they can possibly do so.

Does that seem as short-sighted and destructive to you as it does to me?

Clinton's 'solution' may well be worse than the problem.

Especially if - as it would seem if the info at Brits at their Best in the following post is valid.

The Canadian Space Agency’s radio telescope has been reporting Flux Density Values so low they will mean a mini ice age if they continue.

Like the number of sunspots, the Flux Density Values reflect the Sun’s magnetic activity, which affects the rate at which the Sun radiates energy and warmth. CSA project director Ken Tapping calls the radio telescope that supplies NASA and the rest of the world with daily values of the Sun’s magnetic activity a “stethoscope on the Sun”. In this case, however, it is the “doctor” whose health is directly affected by the readings.

This is because when the magnetic activity is low, the Sun is dimmer, and puts out less radiant warmth. If the Sun goes into dim mode, as it has in the past, the Earth gets much colder.

Tapping, who was originally from Kent, says that “Typically as you go through the ten or eleven year solar activity cycle you see the numbers go up or down. The lowest number is 64 or 68. The numbers 71 or 72 are very low, but they usually start to go up. We are at the end of a cycle, but the numbers still haven’t gone up. We have been joking around coffee that we may be seeing the Sun about to shut down.” (To date Tapping has been far more concerned about global warming.)

Anyway, yesterday's number was 73.6

Current number? 70.6. (You might want to bookmark that. If it gets below 50, we might want to consider finding a warmer, more stable star.)

Seems to me that in a decade or so we're going to have to worry about global cooling, not global warming. I'm thinking we're going to need technology to keep from freezing - and Bill Clinton's wanting to choke the economy.

Something seems strange about that to me...

J.