Radically Inept

Still Radically Inept

2005-09-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

Couldn't even remember my passwords to the account, and for some reason, neither could my computer. Could be an age thing.

Regardless, I'm having a problem with blogging. It has to do with the fact that when I get home, and all of my thoughts, those that I've had while sitting in traffic, which is a lot, have to wait until The Wife decides to get off. By then, I've had a couple of beers, and the tension and the creativity have dissipated. Hopefully this will change in the near future...

I am contemplating a PDA/SmartPhone or whatever. The Samsung i730(?) and the TREO 650 are what I'm looking at. Any advice on the subject would be greatly appreciated. Ease of use is certainly a criterion, but first and foremost are the ability to google and to blog at will; or at least when I'm w/in WiFi or some other access range.

It's now 2234hrs, or 10:32 pm EST. Depends on how you figure. Lot's of problems getting info off my work account, but for what it's worth:

The Daily Grail |

and

Sub Rosa Magazine

which turned out to have some interesting articles.

I did have comments on New Orleans, Mississippi, and the like (like forgotten Alabama), but so much has already been said.

Oh, and so much more. But, like I said, I've been home a while and lost the the anger and the, hopefully, pithy insights.

But, I'm not dead yet. I think I'm getting better...

So, expect a little more in the near future. As I said, any help ;in choosing a personal flogging device would be much appreciated.

I live!!!

2005-08-31T20:45:00.000-05:00

Really. "I'm not dead yet" I've just been MIA. Anyway, for those old friends who still frequent this haunt in hopes that...

Well, I'm back. Sort of...I'll be toning down the level of rant, and...

Well, with my new job, I think I will be using some discretion on this site. Yep. I'm employed again. More later.

I'll be posting here less frequently than the heyday...If one can say there was a hey day. But, for some reason, this blog feels like a child, and I just can't let it go.

On the otherhand, it will probably not be up dated more than once a week for the foreseeable future. On the bright side, I'll try to make the posts here more intellectually engaging. Well, that's my hope.

You are not allowed to know the law - really

2005-01-10T11:14:00.000-05:00

Still not actively blogging, yet, but this came to me via COL Spock, "Dangerous government secrecy oaths", By Nick Schwellenbach and Peter Brand
December 2, 2004:

America now has an Unofficial Secrets Act.

In an unprecedented and unwise expansion of government secrecy, the Department of Homeland Security has begun swearing its employees to silence, criminalizing the disclosure of information to the public – even if it is not classified. Such an expansion harms security, rather than improves it, and – this is nothing to sneeze at – strikes at our democracy and constitutional rights.

By forcing employees to sign mundanely titled "non-disclosure agreements," the department makes this message clear: "Shut up or you'll suffer."

If employees violate the agreement, they could lose their jobs and suffer civil or criminal penalties. These gag agreements are one way that excessive government secrecy will be enforced.

What's an example of information that the public can't know? The law.

Last month, while at the Boise, Idaho, airport, former Congresswoman Helen Chenoweth-Hage, R-Idaho, was pulled aside for a security pat-down. Hage asked what regulation authorized the screening. Homeland Security personnel refused to tell her.

Local security director Julian Gonzalez said the regulation "is called 'sensitive security information.' She's not allowed to see it, nor is anyone else."

I have commented on this concern, our government using secrecy to deprive us of our rights, several times before, including "A look at some of the costs of secrecy - Newtonian Secrecy: Analyzing Secrecy in Public Policy Decisions". This is scary stuff. This is worth worrying about. The denial of access to information such as what chemicals are in the holding tanks down the street or across town, is frightening enough, but not even being able to look at our laws??!!

Ah, sweet fascism is in the air.

Preying on fools

2005-01-06T20:53:00.000-05:00

I don't really have much to say about this; except that even as an atheist I wouldn't sink this low:

Dear Beloved in Christ,

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am formally Ahmed Usman from UAE.I was born into a devoted
Muslim family.All through my life i have been doing business and I
was into gold mining and selling.

I met our creator and the meciful one Almigthy God when i was having
a business deal with one of my partners from Italy and from the day I
became a born again christian my name changed to John Williams.
On 10th Feburary 2004 myself and my family and my business partner took a flight from kish to sharjah and we flew kish airline.We had a plane crash and all members of my family including my very good friend lost thier lives.I give thanks to God that I am one of the lucky ones that survived the crash.The airline was under the management of one Mr Shabab Attarzadeh who was later sacked after this incidence.I had to return to my base in London and I am now left with my relatives to take care of me.Owing to the fact that I was born into a Moslim home and my family members know that I am now a devoted Christian,they have neglected me and left me to suffer pain.I know I am not going to survive this whole pain anymore.what disturbs me most is my stroke sickness and now that I have developed paralyses from my waist region downward i am taking this bold step to let you know that I want to leave in your care the sum of $12.6M(Twelve Million Six Hundred Thousand Dollars) i deposited in a security company for the enhancement and propagation of the word of Almigthy God. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a Church,or a Christian organisation or better still a Christianthat will utilize this funds the way I am going to instruct here in.

My main aim of doing this is for the propagation and upholding of the
message of God.My target area is the youth whom the future of any
great country largely lies on.In Asia,you find out that the
message of God has not yet really gotten there.The message of God
must not only be preached and upheld,but also our youths have to be
called back to the right path and thereby reawaken their consciousness.
I want you also to use this funds for the poor and the needy.Build old
peoples home and orphanages.For the fact that my relatives are not
ready to comply with me and they claim Islam is the way I am now
resting my dream in life on your shoulders.Even as you agree to help me carry out this duty i want you always remember that:

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many
people you drove who didn't have transportation.
2.God won't ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you
compromised your character ormorals to obtain that salary.
3.God won't ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how
many people you welcomed into your home.
4.God won't ask about the fancy clothes you had in your closet, but
will ask how many of those clothes helped the needy.
5.God won't ask about your social status, but will ask what kind of
class you displayed.
6.God won't ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask
if they dictated your life.
7.God won't ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you
worked overtime for your family and loved ones.
8.God won't ask how many promotions you received, but will ask how
you promoted others.
9.God won't ask what your job title was, but will ask if you did your
job to the best of your ability.
10.God won't ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you
did to help others.
11.God won't ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many
people to whom youwere a true friend.
12.God won't ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask
what you did to protect the rights of others.
13.God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, but will ask how you
treated your neighbors.
14.God won't ask about the color of your skin, but will ask about the
content of your character.
15.God won't ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but
will ask how many times they didn't.

For the now I dont want any calls from you because of the presence of
my relatives that are always around me and I dont want them to know my
plans.Do get back at me to my private mail address John_williams@telkom.net
.
Hoping to hear from you soonest and do notify your interest to help me
to propagate Christianity.
May the peace and blessing of God be upon you.

May God bless you as you respond to my plea.
Best Regards,
Yours in Christ.
John Williams

___________________________________________________________________________
Mail enviado desde el servicio WebMail de PHP-Nuke
- http://www.tusitio.cl

It just plain disgusts me.

I hope no one responds to this, but someone probably will, and it is likely to be some well meaning person(s). Sure, stupid greed heads may think they are going to get over on Mr. John Williams, but most greedy people are probably too cunning for this; though, if it is the greedy, well, I can't think of anyone better to be fleeced - basically the whole philosophy of 'the con'.

No, this will probably appeal to some poor old lady who's grand-children got her an internet connection.

Anyway, I'm still operating out of the loop for a while, and likely to be out of the loop for at least another week. Basically, I just can't seem to get outraged right now. I mean, we/they are going to confirm a new u.s. attorney general who legally justified torture, and apparently...Hell, I mean, if the American people aren't already outraged, and the media - that which I've flipped through - is acting like apologists for the administration, just like they jumped on the WMD band wagon - well then my rants...well, it just doesn't seem to be worth me getting fired up. My country either is changing, or it never was, which may be the truth of it, what I thought it was. So, I'm more depressed and resigned than outraged. Better to come to grips with time as an apparent illusion, and reviewing old texts (actually an anthology by Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy) and trying to locate that mystical, and apparently difficult to find, TRUTH - for what it's worth.

Explaination - actually thinking

2004-12-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

The lack of recent posts is primarily due to my taking a pause in posting, and instead spending sometime assimilating new information and thinking - a radical departure I know. But there is also some truth to the suspected 'election hangover' charge - I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that I live in a country so oblivious.

Oh, another contributing factor is, as usual, C-SPAN. During the past few weeks, the US Congress has been recessed in the obligatory 'celebration' of various myths, and C-SPAN fills the time with outstanding programming. In fact, I wish we could cut congress down to meeting twenty days a year since they don't accomplish very much anyway, and what they do accomplish is largely in the interests of NOT ME. I could watch what may be the best programming on television on a more regular basis, and not have to worry about congress actually passing important legislation when I'm not looking.

Some recommendations for those who aren't C-SPAN junkies:

C-SPAN Special: Thomas P.M. Barnett, Author, "The Pentagon's New Map" [if the link doesn't work, search for the title on 12/20/04] - he actually does what Rumsfeld can't: he has a plan for revamping our military, the 'transformation', that makes sense; including the creation of a Department of Peace, and he's no dove. C-SPAN presented an earlier presentation by Thomas P.M. Barnett (he blogs!!!) that he did around Labor Day of this year, which is where I first encountered him, but I can't find it at the C-SPAN site. If you have any interest in transforming the military to deal with the issues of 21st century, that might even work, this is worth your time: "The Pentagon's New Map" [if the link doesn't work, search for the title on 12/20/04].

Note: Original broadcast here -> Booknotes: Search Results [http://www.booknotes.org/Search/results.asp?ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&QueryText=The+Pentagon%27s+New+Map]

I could take the time to link to the following via C-SPAN, but I've spent enough time here for today -
Against Leviathan, by Robert Higgs - I found it good, but somewhat two dimensional i.e., he talks about protecting our freedoms from government, but never addresses who will protect us from the major corporations when we've done away with many government powers. I think the problem is far more complicated than can be addressed in a 'govt vs the people' type argument. Still, his arguments are worth considering.

"Future of the All Volunteer Army", panel discussion from the Center for American Progress. Interesting, some good points, but I didn't find any of the arguments so convincing that I wrote down the arguers name - so that may tell you something, but they do a great job of presenting some of the issues involved.

Oh, and

Is American Liberty Imperiled?
from December 18, 2004
Andrew Napolitano, author of "Constitutional Chaos," and Gene Healy, editor of "Go Directly to Jail," argue that the federal government has become a threat to our civil liberties. Mr. Healy shares stories about American citizens, including Martha Stewart, who have been thrown into jail for violating obscure federal laws or for committing non-violent, victimless crimes. Judge Napolitano argues that the USA Patriot Act and the recently approved intelligence reform bill both violate the Constitution. He also gives a historical overview of government efforts to curtail civil rights in this country. The event was hosted by the Cato Institute in Washington, DC. Includes Q&A.

Also worth your time. I was impressed with Andrew Napolitano ["Constitutional Chaos"], FOX legal analyst, presentation and responses to question, though I was all set to write him off. A much better thinker than I expected, and another example of the payoffs I get, when I put my prejudices aside long enough to hear what someone is saying. Another case of not finding an easy link quickly, Book TV.org.

Okay, I'm also reading Descartes' Meditations - of "I think therefore I am" fame. It's actually a pretty good argument. And I have an Aldous Huxley book and one on theories concerning Orion in the wings.

I did have a personal Epiphany and am still trying to see it's ramifications. Basically, you choose your universe. We'll see.

Because the IMF is crap

2004-12-26T11:20:00.000-05:00

Well, that's my opinion, anyway. I see the IMF and World Bank as schills for the already wealthy countries and the bankers who control them. Their constant demand for countries to throw their economies on the winds of the 'free market', read markets we already control, has done more to damage developing countries than just about anything else. The former Soviet countries that have performed the best since the USSR fell, are those that largely ignored the IMF and World Bank 'demands' to reform without constraining the 'free market'. Anyway, this sort of supports my contention that there are better ways for developing countries to handle their economies - The New York Times - Argentina's Economic Rally Defies Forecasts

The flamboyant side of Baby Bush

2004-12-16T14:14:00.000-05:00

Is Bush keeping a secret?

It's okay as long as they don't get married . . .

we've wondered about him for years.

Via Chocolate Morphine

The good, the bad and the bullshit

2004-12-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

Another interesting juxtaposition of thoughts - last night I watched the second in a series of programs called C-SPAN: DIGITAL FUTURE. This program was entitled "Universal Access to Knowledge"

Brewster Kahle, Digital Librarian, Director and Co-founder of the Internet Archive. Kahle is the person who first developed the idea and tools to archive the Web. He will explain how he did that, and why it's important to our everday use of the internet.

And again, just a great program.

It turns out that we are capable of digitizing all of the printed works, books, audio, film, the web, software, etc. and we're doing it. Part of it is via the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), which is a cooperative effort, but there was a great deal more to the talk, including having redundant libraries in Alexandria Egypt, Amsterdam, China, all capable of sharing and mirroring content. Oh, and a whole in concept in bookmobiles. Rather than load a bus up with books, they put a computer with web access on a van, so they can download any book you want, and then print and bind it on site. Really, this program was maybe a little over an hour, but well worth your time.

Oh the juxtaposition part...See Kahle wants to make access available to all human knowledge to every human being, and then this morning I read this: The New York Times > Hearts and Minds: Pentagon Weighs Use of Deception in a Broad Arena, By THOM SHANKER and ERIC SCHMITT. So, the Pentagon wants to lie 'officially'? I mean, is that the point? Because it's not like they haven't been lying to us for years. Hell, the article points to the huge credibility crisis the military faced during and after Vietnam; do want to go back to that?

One thing the article misses, and I'll bet they aren't discussing in the upper circles of this debate, is the problem of having the lies become the 'truth'. The article points to the problem of false stories being planted in the foreign press and then being picked up by our media and broadcast as the truth here, but I visualize something more insidious - what happens to all those people we pay to glean information from foreign media sources for our intelligence community? Are you can tell everyone that we planted that particular lie? If not, at what level do which analysts know the truth? How much time and money will be wasted by our own side before it gets to someone who knows that that particular piece of info was planted? Hell, will anyone ever tell the FBI? I mean these groups don't talk now, what the hell happens when everyone plants lies, and no one can figure out what is worth acting on? Hell, the Israelis were able to get Reagon to bomb Qadafy/Lybia based on false information they planted.

Oh, and what about the world's medical disease prevention community, humanitarian groups/NGOs, the World BAnk/IMF, the business community, etc. - who is going to be cleared to know what's 'real' and what's bullshit?

I can see it now, ol' Rummy cowering under his desk sending out drones to blow up suspected anythings; thinking he's the only one on the planet that knows the true truth - similar to known knowns, known unknowns, and unkown unknowns, etc.

A couple years ago I read a futurist study paid for by the CIA which looked at several possible scenarios for future conflicts and the like. Well, one of the scenarios had China planting masses amounts of misinformation to keep us involved in conflicts around the globe, and giving them time to build their military and economic power. Well, if we're planting lies, and the Chinese are planting lies, and the Israelis are planting lies, and everyone is planting lies, "What the fuck will 'knowledge' be?" And, who'd want universal access to bunch of bullshit?

Help preserve wealthy, elite families for future generations

2004-12-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

In a shocking move Thursday, NHL hockey players offered to take 24 percent salary rollback of current contracts. While there are cynics who say this act only demonstrates what happens to the thinking faculities of men slammed against the plexiglass retaining walls and hit in the head with dense rubber disks flying in excess of 200 MPH too often, this offer, from such a surpising source, has inspired people around the globe to take actions to preserve the wealthy.

A spokesperson for the hockey players union was overheard to say, "Look, if we don't do something ourselves, the owners won't. They just can't be trusted to keep salaries down on their own."

In a related story, Christie's and Sotheby's have entered talks to set caps on the prices that rare artworks and antiquities can be auctioned at. A Christie's spokesperson stated that the prices for rare art pieces, like Van Gogh's and the like, are just too high, and that the wealthy can not be trusted to spend their money wisely. Saying, "If we don't take action now, wealthy elite families may wind up diluting their fortunes, and then who would the poor look to for guidance and idolatry? No, there are so few truly wealthy families, we must act to preserve them so that future generations maybe filled with envy by their power and wealth."

There has been a huge outwelling of support across the population earning $20 million per year and more. Saving Our Millionaires spokeswoman, Mary Qay said, "Look. Everyone worries about saving the Spotted Owls, the Snail Darters, or Polar Bears or something, but no one seems concerned about how few wealthy familes we have in this country. If we don't act now, imagine that your children's children may never have the opportunity to know kids who have everything they want. People need people to envy, and in fact, that is what makes being truly wealthy so difficult - there's no one else to look up to and envy. So, these selfless families must be preserved for our future; they cannot do it on their own; they are incapable of not spending their weal without outside intervention. They a true American resource and deserving of all of our efforts."

There is talk on Capital Hill that action would be taken to keep labor costs down. One Senator was heard to say, "Minimum wage be damned! If we want to save the rich, we need legislation enacting a miximum wage. I've heard suggestions from some of my colleagues that a maximum wage for illegal immigrants be in the area of $80 per day, for a twenty hour day, and that for legal citizens, their maximum wage needs to be halted somewhere aroung $20 to $25 dollars per hour with exceptions for top management only. This will ensure that the wealthy owners of corporations don't allow themselves to squander their fortunes out of a sense of misplaced generousity."

Not to be out done, newly elected Georgia Senator Rick Eddy (R), elected as a democrat but switching to the republican party as soon as the votes were counted, is proposing sweeping legislation upon being sworn in for his first term. In a statement to reporters, he said, "Look, I know in the past I have said some harsh things about the wealthy, but I have seen the light. We must work hard, and be prepared to sacrifice much to preserve the elite families. My bill would change the income tax law to ensure the survivial of family fortunes, and unlike other proposals which only go into effect uppon the death of the wealthy, mine is for the living. I will do away with the taxes on the wealthy while they are alive."

Insiders have said that originally Sen. Eddy had proposed increasing the tax on the income of the wealthy, but is now suggesting a complete revamping of the tax code; indexing the tax to the percentage of wealth a tax payer has, so that if a person is in the top one percent of wealthy US citizens, that person would only be required to pay taxes of one percent. The same would be true of those that fall into the top two, five and ten percent, and have those tax payers who represent the largest part of the population pay the largest share of their income in taxes. So, with the poor at 11.8 percent of US residents that would be their tax rate, and so the middle class, comprising 44.9 percent of the population, would pay 44.9 percent in taxes on their income, with the expectation that eventually as the middle class shrinks from the burden, their rate will go down, and be shifted to the growing bottom income earners.

"Truly a visionary plan, with broad support amongst those politicians who get campaign contributions from the wealthy," was what one congressional staffer was heard to say. "It is bold action like this that will guarantee the survivial of elite families for generations."

UPDATE: In a related story, this just in: Members of the Walton Family, the Kennedy Clan, and the Bush Tribe have filed the first of its kind class action suit alleging class discrimination in the Federal Fifth Circuit Court in Atlanta. The suit alleges that the Salvation Army, Habit For Humanity, Toys For Tots and the Christian Relief Fund, among other charities listed, violated their civil rights. Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking on behalf of the clamiant's families, made a brief statement, saying, "Why shouldn't we also receive charity? If you are going to give toys to the children of the poor, why should you not give toys to the children of the wealthy? And if you are going to build homes for the poor, why shouldn't you be required to build mansions for the wealthy? It's clearly a case of discrimination based on class and wealth, and is a violation of our civil rights." Gov. Schwarzenegger declined to comment further.

Ahhhh, now my dog will remain uneducated

2004-12-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - University that awarded MBA to cat sued - Dec 7, 2004

I don't know how many emails I get a day offering me the 'opportunity' for an advanced degree. Glad they busted these guys - now I hope they get the rest of 'em.

General Zinni asks for interagency reform - (United Press International)

2004-12-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

I caught the question answer period of this, General Zinni asks for interagency reform - (United Press International), last night on C-SPAN, but I can't find a link directly to it. Too bad. It was one of the most nuanced discussions on how to coordinate military activities with humanitarian aid I've ever heard. And Gen. Zinni comes across as someone I would have liked to serve under.

Also, on C-SPAN's morning call in show, this morning, they stated that they were going to put the transcripts of Rumsfeld's Townhall meeting in Camp Buehring, Kuwait on their web-site, but I can't find the link yet. Here's a decent summary of what I've been hearing (and you don't have to sign in to access it), Troops put Rumsfeld on the spot: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait � Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld came to Camp Buehring on Wednesday to lead a morale-lifting town hall discussion with Iraq-bound troops. Instead, he found himself on the defensive, fielding pointed questions from soldiers complaining about aging vehicles that lacked armor for protection against roadside bombs.

Rumsfeld, seemingly caught off guard by the sharp questioning, responded that the military was producing extra armor for Humvees and trucks as fast as possible, but that the soldiers would have to cope with equipment shortages.

Hopefully, as the heat goes on, at some point, Rummie will get burned. At least, we can hope.

Pretend your a hedge fund manager

2004-12-09T06:57:00.000-05:00

Really. What if your job was as a hedge fund manager, or you had a private client? Your job would be to return 'profit' on investments. Seriously. No thought of social responsibility should effect your decisions. You have a simple job - make people who have money, more money. Just put yourself in that head for a moment. That is your job. To make more money for people who already have money. That's it. No complications.

Now, from that, without putting some conspiracy spin on everything, where do you come out?

Let me suggest you look at Planned Obsolescence. Now planned obsolescence in the article above is directed at manufacturing, but what if you use the same approach to investing? If you invest in a company that pollutes, wouldn't make sense to also invest in a company that does environmental remediation? In fact, if your customer was already invested in companies that were being sued and held pecuniarily liable, for instance the case of Asbestos Claims (Haliburton, for instance), would it not make sense to hedge against the losses and invest in the companies that will be paid to remediate the asbestos? Nation wide? And then, well, you might well want to invest that customers money in medical sectors such as the ones that patent a New Drug to Treat Asbestos Cancer?

That is my problem with 'Unbridled Capitalism' - it leads to non-sustainable activities for profits. I mean, I don't care if I damage the environment if I make money doing so, and then make money cleaning it up. Why would I? Short of some sort of ethic based on some sort of morality, which we don't seem to possess in the corporate world, why wouldn't I just plan to make old growth obsolete, and then invest in tree farms? Why make a safer car - just invest in acute for-profit medical care facilities. Why invest in other people's children's education - just invest in the for profit prison system, or the companies contracted to provide social services.

There was an old story, I don't how how true and I can't seem to find it right now, about a couple of rich guys sitting in their country club, probably out in the Hamptons somewhere. One of them is reading a newspaper, probably the Wall Street Journal, and tells his friend that an article says that heroin addiction is on the rise. And his friend replies, "What company makes syringes?" No need to feel social concern for the addicts and the ramifications of rampant addiction upon society - No, just how do I make money on the problem?

Gotta go for now. I'm still working on this, and I think it's related to my other question, "Why do I kill for your?" I haven't thought through the connection yet, but the answer is probably at the bottom line.

Back for a moment:

The point I guess I getting to, is maybe that is truly what is happening under this administration - planned obsolescence of America. Once we've destroyed America, well, we'll invest in China, or elsewhere - where we see the opportunity for greater profits. If you're not worried about the country, and you have the money to ensure your children live well regardless of what happens, well, why not?

Oh, via Chocolate Morphine comes this heads up: pissed off and proud of it (I'd post the picture, but I'm still ignorant on how to do fancy stuff like that, even though I've been told it's easy).

They've screwed us again, the MFs

2004-12-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

If you were wondering - No, there is no end to the crap this administration will pull to enrich the rich, and screw our health in the process. It took me a while to figure out how far ahead of me this administration was on this. It's not just the immediate gains from the clear cutting of pristine forests, but also the long term profits from having us pay to clean up the mess they make, and the money the for-profit medical industry will make from treating us for the ill health we will have from the poor environment we'll live in. It's a fucking win-win situation for the corporatists, and almost entirely at our (tax payers) expense.

Here's the part about working for the government that will really bother me - the suppression of the truth in support of someone else's profits, EPA STIFLES OBJECTIONS TO BUSH ROADLESS PLAN
Water Quality, Habitat and Other Concerns Cut from Comments to Forest Service

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has censored the warnings of its professional staff about a Bush Administration plan to build more roads across national forests, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). EPA deleted comments about a host of environmental problems, ranging from impaired public drinking water to spreading invasive plants, from comments it submitted to the U.S. Forest Service on November 26th.

“Things have gotten pretty extreme when the Environmental Protection Agency is no longer permitted to voice environmental concerns,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “’Never was heard a discouraging word’ is no longer just a lyric from Home on the Range; it is the new federal environmental mantra.”

The Dream

2004-12-08T08:31:00.000-05:00

I had a dream the night before last that bordered on a nightmare. I was sitting in a church congregation and the minister kept hounding me to tithe. My parents were sitting a few pews back. Since we are all atheists, this was already disturbing enough. Than when I refused to give money, the minister sicked a large dog on me - looked more like a wolf. Well, I started running, but when I got cornered I wound up making friends with the dog/wolf. So, then he sicked three more of these wolf-dogs on me, and again I ran. I wound up trying to take refuge under the roof of a car that was laying in the grass after some one had turned their sedan into a convertible with a chain saw. Well, it was all that effective defensively, but again I wound up making friends with the dogs, and we just frolicked in the grass.

Then I woke up, and the TV was on the PBS Station during a pledge drive, and that guy, Dr. Wayne Dyer, new-age snake oil salesman, was on asking me for money. Well, that explained the dream - I was being hounded for money while I was asleep, and it explains why I watch less and less PBS. I've saided before - Newt Gingrich succeeded in destroying PBS. It is no longer commercial free, and the programming is degenerating faster, well, okay, not quite as fast as A&E and Discovery channels, but it's moving in that direction. I'm waiting for them to do their own version of MONSTER This Old House, or finding their own dysfunctional family to build motorcycles.

Continuing down this vein, I also want to point out that while Hollywood gets the credit for lowering the morals in this country, the credit really belongs to Madison Avenue. They are the ones that bombard the air waves with more messages that lying and deception is acceptable behaviour, and material positions will get you laid, than any Hollywood release. As Bill Hicks said in one of his routines, 'if your an ad executive, do us all a favor and put a gun to your head and pull the trigger', or something to that affect.

In fact, that actually explains the problem I have always had with Ayn Rand and the people who spoute her "Objectivism". She blamed the wrong people for the dumbing down of the masses, or rather, she placed the blame only on the left (and they certainly have down their part), when in fact the capitalists of Madison Avenue are equally, if not more responsible, since they have more money to spend on the dumbing process. I mean, it's far easier to sell crap to stupid people.

NOTE: The reason for the derth of posts is that I'm working diligently on applying to government jobs. I've had gather all of my old OERs, awards, certificates and any other scrapes of info that demonstrate I proficient at --------. And, then I have to figure out how to word it so that I'm not exaggerating my experience, but also not missing the opportunity to cite the experience I have. Anyway, in a few minutes I'll have to fill out an SF 85 for a lower level position that I will be interviewing for (which the Wife assures me means I have the job), but I'm really looking to get hired at a higher grade, though that it looks like that will mean living in an efficiency apartment in the DC area for a few years.

I'll try to post a piece I've been working on later tonight, but we have company coming this weekend; I have more applications to fill out, and there are chores around the house that need to get done, so...

Ross Perot was right!

2004-12-03T17:16:00.000-05:00

That dawned on me today. I mean, I sort of knew it, but today it really hit me - Ross Perot was right, and we elected Bill Clinton instead. And Bill Clinton, well, as a friend of mine - a black, Alabama state and national card carryin' state and national told me at a campout a few years ago - Clinton was the best REPUBLICAN (in deed and action) president we ever had. And, if you look at his record of accomplishments and ignore his rhetoric, you'll find that to be a very true statement. As my friend pointed out - no republican party could have passed welfare reform, and probaly they could not have gotten the votes for North American Free Trade Agreement (see Public Citizen | NAFT).

That "Giant Sucking Sound", it's world wide.

That should have been the progressives single slogan, the sound bite for the campaign, "Ross Perot was right!"

Well, leaving for the weekend. Back Sunday sometime.

Update on New America Foundation & NYU Law Center Panel on Al-Qaeda -

2004-12-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

You can watch the New America Foundation discussion on terrorism if you link through the C-SPAN: archives. It comes into parts, the first is an hour and fifty minutes and the second part is seven hours and forty-five minutes. The short agenda is here: New America Foundation: event -430- "Al Qaeda 2.0: Transnational Terrorism After 9/11 and the complete agenda here: Al Qaeda 2.0: Transnational Terrorism After 9/11 (pdf format)Conference

It's a lot to watch, but I found it well worth my time, though I missed a couple of the later hours while screwing around trying to apply to some govt jobs.

One of the announcers said that NYU would publish transcripts, but I suspect it will take a few days, and I'm not sure if they will make them available on line.

Brief Summary:
There was a fair amount of disagreement on various issues amongst the panalists on specifics, but I think all agreed that Iraq would breed more terrorists, and I think most agreed it was a mistake. All agreed it was badly handled. I say all, not every panalists addressed every issue, but there seemed to be general consensus on these points by those who did address them.

Al Qaeda has been able to survive what we've thrown at it, though not necessarily in its original form and function - may be more the name of a 'movement' now, than a single organization. I heard the terms 'morphed' and resilient to describe them. Also, I think there was a general consensus that we are too focused on Al Qaeda and failing to realize the bigger picture.

The panel that seems to be split between the last of the first part, and the first of the last part, was interesting in the debate on how terrorists are either 'self-selected' and/or recruited. Marc Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks | University of Pennsylvania Press, had some interesting stats on the average terrorist, though he excluded Iraq from his survey, he found most terrorists were from the middle and upper income brackets and highly educated. He makes the point in the Q&A that this has usually been the case. It's true, the Baader-Meinhoff Gang, the Red Army Faction, almost all revolutionary leaders do appear to fit that bill. Consider Che Guevera, or Fidel Castro as examples.

Jessica Stern, Foreign Affairs - The Protean Enemy, has interviewed over four hundred terrorists to look for commonalities. I think she and just a few others mentioned US home grown terorists along with the islamic terrorists.

Well, I'm not going to try to break down the entire nine hours + panel by panel. It's so easy to want to do that, but it would take me probably the same amount of time to do it, and as I stated above, hopefully we'll be able to get transcripts soon. In the mean time, I highly recommend you get in front of your computer, go to C-SPAN and play solitaire while your watching the program in hour or two chunks.

I've got get back to the job hunt, but I will break in a little while to present some personal observations on 'bar people' - of which I may be considered a true expert. I don't mean like those people that only hang out in bars, I mean as someone capable of probably writing a pretty decent over view of the people found in all types of bars; from biker bars and dives to hotel bars to country clubs to - well, just about most types. Yeah, even those...

On C-SPAN - New America Foundation discussion on terrorism

2004-12-02T10:05:00.000-05:00

I am currently watching C-SPAN: Al-Qaida: Transnational Terrorism, while I'm checking emails and working on my resume. It is excellent, and if you can watch it, it will be better than my recount of it later.

Oh. Hopefully there won't be so many of you that my video stream slows down.

The Fear and Loathing prayer, good for four more years

2004-12-01T11:08:00.000-05:00

I received a missive today via Chocolate Morphine in which he pointed to the paranoia of the disclaimer before it:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Notice of Anonymity
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The material you have received has been stripped
of all identifying information regarding its original
source to protect their anonymity.

If you send this forward to others please honor this
request for anonymity by stripping off all identifiers.

· * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Which is a sad reflection on the lack of humor now found in this country. I mean is this so bad(?):

Bush is my shepherd; I shall dwell in want.
He maketh logs to be cut down in national forests.
He leadeth trucks into the still wilderness.
He restoreth my fears.
He leadeth me in the paths of international disgrace for his ego's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of pollution and war,
I will find no exit, for thou art in office.
Thy tax cuts for the rich and thy media control, they discomfort me.
Thou preparest an agenda of deception in the presence of thy religion.
Thou anointest my head with foreign oil.
My health insurance runneth out.
Surely megalomania and false patriotism shall follow me all the days of
thy term,
And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.

Well maybe, but it also seems to contain a lot of truth. Maybe that explains the paranoia?

Which reminded me of the lyrics to Destroyer by The Kinks. Seems like not much changes. In fact, I remember years ago I was singing the Kinks Low Budget lyrics (whole album is awesome), and now I am again.

Just some questions & a little rambling

2004-11-29T23:30:00.001-05:00

Alright, I guess I should put just the questions first, sort of...

Has Communism been defeated or discredited, or both, or neither? For just a little bit of context of how I'm asking this question: No country has practiced communism. None. Zero. Zilch.

There have been oligarchies with centrally planned economies, but I can't think of a single incidence of a truly communistic government beyound the level of governance found in monastaries, convents, kaputzes, and, like, hippie attempts. So, I as far as I can tell, there really hasn't ever been a defeat of communism because, on the nation state level, it has never existed.

So, this is a real question; I'm up for insights and opinions. Also, should our current system fail, which at the rate our national wealth is being looted and squandered might be sooner than we think, what system would you want to replace it? A Meritocracy, mayhaps? Lets put it this way - what form of government would you like to see, and what form of government do you think would be acheivable?

The second question I found, surprise, watching C-SPAN. I found myself watching an excellent debate: Debate on Confidentiality of a Reporter's Sources(Program ID 184309). It turns out Judith Miller may being going to jail for not revealing who told her about Valerie Plame, although she herself never published the information. Robert Novak on the other hand, did publish the information, but he apparently is not facing incarceration for failing to reveal his source (the same?). Nice article here: Robert Novak - The hollow center of the Plame Affair. By Chris Suellentrop

Oh, the question is should the law protect journalists from having to reveal their sources?

The two main arguements being:

For: No one would come forward to provide the information if they didn't believe that the journalists could shield their identities, and hence the public would lose access to valuable information.

Against: How would you know if the sources were even real, or determine the credibility of the information without gaining access to the source(s)? And Joseph DiGenova, famous - Washingtonpost.com Special Report: Clinton Accused - for his involvement in the Clinton scadals, did list the guidelines the government had to follow to force a reporter to reveal their sources. [I can't find a simple list quickly, but I did find this - The Reporter's Privilege - though this appears to be biased toward privilege.] The list seeemed reasonable to me.

In the end, I could see the potential for abuse either way, and I don't think I would support a journalists privilege to the degree that I support doctor/patient or lawyer/client privilges. But at the end of the debate, the crowd at Boston University certainly felt those protections would be justified.

Oh, yeah, the real question: Are bloggers journalists? This came up in the debate, and according to wiki:

A Journalist is a person who practices journalism - that is, who creates reports as a profession for broadcast or publication in mass media such as newspapers, television, radio, magazines, documentary film, and the Internet.

And according to that definition it would appear so. Would you like to be able to sheild your sources? Do you in fact have 'sources'? I know some blogger most certainly are practicing 'journalism', but I can't say that most of the stuff I write would qualify...On the otherhand, some of it might...And I guess I do have a few 'sources' that I protect, but not based on any criminality, really, more based on the idea that being associated/named with this blog, might not be so could professionally.

Lastly, I have to get some stuff done, but I will probably post a little science tonight. Also I plan to edit my links list. It's grown longer than I think is useful, and it contains links I no longer even visit. This is not necessarily a slight against those blogs that I'm going to de-list, but a matter of time and my ability to absorb information. I mean, you hit one source on a good piece, and you start following the links to more information on the subjects, especially lengthy, in depth articles and reports, well, then my time is shot. So, I will be adding a link to Josh over at Remain Calm, and a couple of others, but I think I will be removing far more and hopefully get the list pared down to something I can manage, and try to instill a sense of community. Oh, if you are reading this, you are probably not the the de-list list. It's going to be more like Kevin Drum and Atrios. I don't visit there at all anymore. It's not that I don't think they are good sites, but they are generally, I don't know...I just haven't visited either site in months.

Gotta go...

The REAL reason the Dems/progressives lost this election

2004-11-24T18:44:00.000-05:00

Really. It dawned on me tonight why REAL reason the Dems/Progessives lost his election. And it can be summed up with this simple failure, they could not answer the question. When you look at the entire campaign, they failed to answer that simple question - What have you done for me lately?

You can say we fought against this, or we prevented that, but in the end, What have you done for me lately?

And, this will be the question going forward, not what can you do for me, but What have you done for me lately?

What the hell have you done for me? Have you given me a job? Have you provided me health care? Have you made sure my grandmother does not die in the streets? It's not enough to say you fought against policies that endanger me or my family; it's not enough to say you opposed the war; it's not enough to say you fought against 'x' legislation; it's not enough to tell what you are going to do; if you were impotent on every issue I care about, why would I trust you in the future?

What, you're planning on wearing a cockring next time? Who gives' a crap! What have you done...

That is the failure of the dems/progressives - not that they are the one and the same, in fact, I hope that the progressives don't identify with the dems; a party that is kissing cousins with the repubs. But, why should I vote for a progressive with no history of success?

So, there that said, what are the progressives going to accomplish? Because without any record of accomplishment, you are like a fresh college graduate, all grandiose intents, no history of success. Why would I hire you?

No, if the progressives are going to be a force, they must pick one issue, one that resonates with the populace/voters and win it. It might not be enough, but you have to have something on your resume, and that's what the dems lacked - they had a resume without any recent accomplishments. They just observed...They just attended conferences...They just yelled alot...But, they had nothing on their resume.

So, what issue can progressives win? It matters what it is, but the most important factor is they win. It will not sell to the American voter if it winds up being just a good idea; it must be successful; it must be a win.

I don't have a clue as to what issue they should champion, but regardless of what it is, they must win...They must be able to answer the question:

What have you done for me lately?

How to gain some power for 2006

2004-11-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

More thoughts before the holiday

A very benign title I know, but expect me to re-post this on Monday - yeah, I'm sure that's bad form; as if I truly cared.

My initial idea, on how to effectively influence the mid-term elelctions of 2006.

As I stated in A post of random thoughts? - which turns out to be an apt title, sort of - I'm trying to figure out how to retake, if we ever owned it in the first place, our country. I've stated that the dems have been completely marginilized, and they have. They don't have a message, and if they do, they don't know how to communicate it. I'm not presenting this idea to re-invigorate the dems; fuck 'em, they deserve marginalization. What I'm suggesting, for whomever has the where-with-all, is where effective communication can occur, and at least partially, what the message should contain.

If the religious right has learned to dominate the church, it's sort of pointless to fight on their home field. What I suggest is to move the field of battle to one more...the proper word escapes me at this point in time...but no matter, we need to take control of the job hunting networks. All of them. We need to 'embed' people in every job networking organinzation across the country; yes, including the local church. At every meeting of the job seekers - as opposed to the labor movement where people were called upon to fight and risk jobs they already had - we need to build a movement, one that is largely classless based on composition, of people looking for jobs.

That sort of sums it up. Rather than fight on moral issues, rather than fight on our ability to win an un-winnable war, we need to move to a grassroots movement that targets people who are not able to find jobs through NO FAULT of their own. I believe that would resonnate in all states regardless of colour, and with every family who has someone who is unemployed but actively willing and looking for work.

That is a constituency that both parties have not captured. And in fact, based on their dependency on major corporate contributors, one they cannot capitalize on.

And, hence one ripe for recruitment to a cause that is trying to overthrow corporatism.

Enough for now. And, as I stated above, I will risk being borish and repost this on Monday.

Done for now; more to follow...

Some quick thought before the Holiday - Admin mostly

2004-11-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

Well, another holiday tomorrow. Holidays are just depressing when you're unemployed. Just a chance to get together with your family and feel like a schmo. If I had the money i.e. if I was employed, the Wife and I would probably sneak off to a hotel somewhere. Anyway, holidays suck.

Oh, sort of related - I have now heard the idea of selling drugs to get through these times from three seperate sources. This does not bode well. When people who were doing well suddenly find themselves desperate enough to consider crossing the law just to make ends meet, mind you, not to make a lot of money, well, that's a pretty negative indicator of the economy that you are not going to find in the reporting statistics. And of course, it makes for a really bad cycle - crime goes up as people get desperate, more people wind up in jail, more overhead for the tax payers with zero return to the economy, driving more people into desperation...Yeah, there will be jobs in criminal justice, but have you looked at their pay scales lately? And as the tax burden goes up, don't think that the states and communities will be looking to give raises to anyone.

Caught this last night - frontline: secret history of the credit card on PBS, and thought it was excellent. I knew the banking/credit card industry were bastards, I just didn't realize how bad. We only carry two cards, and for years we've been able to pay them off monthly; now some debt is accumulating and what happens? The just raised my limit another $2500. That sounds good at first, but I don't want to carry any debt; especially now. Actually, I don't want carry debt PERIOD. I have friends carrying huge debts, and these credit card companies are basically acting like legalized loan sharks. And the public's defenders, the OCC - Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks, is doing less than nothing to help protect our citizens. Of course, I find ironic that a christian nation would have this problem. I would have thought they would have learned from Jesus's attack on the money lenders that this system is filled with immoral bastards, but we never learn.

Well, we have a severe thunderstorm moving in. I'll shut off the computer for now. Don't know if I'll get back to any blogging 'til Friday.

Anyway, happy Holidays...

Sports/diplomatic immunity

2004-11-23T18:40:00.000-05:00

Just a quick thought.

I caught a little coverage on the sports fiascos over the weekend, but the one that intrigued me the most, was some guy (clueless, but seemed to be a sports labor rep) on FOX (yes, occassionally I pause there) who had the idea of sports figures being barred for a year and fans going to criminal trials.

Why? Why is it somehow appropriate for sports figures' punishment to be reserved to the sport? Do we have the equivalent of diplomatic immunity for sports players? If you make $20m playing for some corporation, that sort of implies that you are not subject to the criminal courts for actions that are clearly criminal? Is this now defacto law?

I remember the basketball player who choked his coach, and how I kept wondering why he wasn't criminally prosecuted for assault. I still don't know why.

Have we, through precedent, created a class of 'sports immunity' to prosecution? I mean, I know that even when they go to trial, juries seem to let them off, but have we decided we as a society that we are no longer going to even attempt to bring these people before the courts.

If so, if a defacto 'sports immunity' exists, what does that mean?

The more I think about it, the more I am disgusted...

Note: I have a friend who used to take his converted old schoool bus to the infield of every NASCAR race with in driving range. He was the biggest NASCAR fan I knew. He no longer attends. More than that, he no longer even watches. The cost of attending went from $75 dollars to bring in his bus into the infield to $750 dollars plus ticket costs for everyone on his bus. Now it is $1500 dollars. I think NASCAR is going to destroy itself, like many other sports, by pricing out of attendance the very fans that made it/them successful. We'll see.

Oh, he didn't even know who was where in the ratings this year, and my other friends didn't have a clue how the new ratings system even worked. Bad sign for NASCAR in the long term I think.

"Why do I kill for you?"

2004-11-23T16:39:00.000-05:00

This post started a few days ago under the title of "Corporate malfeasance". I was going to discuss Alternative Radio : Marjorie Kelly : The Divine Right of Capital, which though I wasn't able to listen to in its entirety (errands, a flat tire, a flat spare, etc), I was able to hear Ms Kelly make two points that I felt worth posting: 1) Corporations are inherently class biased (all paraphrasing here, listen if you want true accuracy). They favor the rich by structure. Those that can afford to invest are protected, and labor is exploited by the very definition and structure of legal corporations. As she points out, every business school teaches that the purpose of a corporation is to provide maximum return to the investors. Since labor is classified as costs, the corporation endeavors to minimize the costs of labor; and since profits, paid to the share holders, are considered returns on investment, corporations are legally supposed to screw labor for the benefit of the wealthy who can buy the stock. The wealthy are supposed to get wealthier, and the laborers are supposed to get as little as possible. 2) Environmental costs, as overhead, are supposed to be passed on as societal costs as much as possible. If environmental remediation is overhead, the more that that can be passed onto the surrounding communities, the more profits can be passed on to the wealthy.

While both of those points might really be common sense, I had never heard them cited so succinctly. If you can do the streaming video, you probably should. She says it better.

The other thing I was going to include in this post, was a discussion of the
Finance Committee Hearing - FDA, Merck and Vioxx: Putting Patient Safety First?
C-SPAN: Senate Hearing on Vioxx Prescription Drug (11/18/2004). And, it flat re-enforces what Ms Kelly was discussing above, but goes further. Why should Merck, or any other corporation, be able to kill people for profit? Really, if Merck knew that these drugs were dangerous to the very sector of the population most likely to use them, than shouldn't that at least fall under negligent homicide, if not murder? Sadly, I expect those that made the decisions that led to in excess of a 100,000 strokes, heart attacks, and deaths, to get away with it. The 'corporation' will pay a fine, but the people who made the decisions...Well, they'll retire wealthy.

Oh, for the five other drugs on the market that Dr. David J. Graham thinks should be studied, move to the 1hr 50 min 18 sec mark on the video (which I haven't figured out a way to link to directly). His testimony is very revealing on how bought our regulatory system is. Orrin Hatch? Well, I'm not sure what to make of his tone, and I really should, but won't, try to find out how much his campaigns have been supported by the pharmaceutical industry.

If you didn't already know, this will convince you, I am a C-Span junkie. It's not actually corporate, but it is a great discussion of how pervasive fraud, plagiarism, etc. Pervades our country: C-SPAN Store -- Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Frauds.

But, I am going to move forward, at least I think it is forward. I have spent a lot of time posting on information, the value of information, and attempting to find a definition for value. But I have been doing it from an economic, if Radically Inept, point of view. I have now decided to go more toward a sociological perspective. Probably just as Radically Inept, but a different form.

Why do people kill for you? I think in early historical, pre-historical, terms, it would have been to benefit the family group. Then, perhaps expanded to include tribal groups and your village. I mean we all would fight to protect our family, and to the degree that our families survival was ensured by the survival of the tribe or village, well, the progression would have made sense.

But,

I am planning on doing more thinking down this road - what makes people willing to kill and die for each other. I think there is something here, I'm just not sure what, though I suspect at least part of it to be that the powerful have figured out a way to use our basic drives against us for their own purposes. And, I think it ties into the very economic system I've been trying to understand. At it's base, I think, is obviously greed on the part of those who hold power, but I suspect exploring the pattern, and over laying on the economic pattern, will be like studying 'black holes'. You can't actually see the black hole to study it, but be looking at the effects and affects surrounding it, you might gain a deeper understanding.

I'm going to go ahead and post this not because the piece is worthy, but I think the links I cited above are.

Expect more posts in this area - Why do I kill for you?

It's an acquired taste

2004-11-23T13:10:00.000-05:00

One of my comments to an ongoing discussion at Inspector Lohmann: A Martial Minuette in a Minor Key

Wow, what an optimistic and uplifting dialogue.

I guess this is sort of a parable?

I remember growing up, and even to this day, that when I 'taste' something for the first time, and remark that I don't care for it, I have often been told, "It's an acquired taste"; especially if whatever it was was expensive. I always had problems with that little statement, "It's an acquired taste". I mean, why should I acquire it? Especially if it costs more than the stuff I'm already consuming? It just always seemed like yet another way to make me dissatisfied with my lot in life - by getting me to like the more expensive things.

So, I've turned 'it's an acquired taste' on it's head. Now when I go into the local liquor store to buy whiskey, I buy the cheapest brand - currently that might be Kentucky Brand whiskey at $10.49 for the large litre and half bottle, and if I serve it to you, and you don't like it? Well, you know, "It's an acquired taste."

And that's what we have to somehow acheive, we have to get people to quit buying into wasting they're monies and energies pursuing someone else's agenda, and learn to create their own.

I'm not so worried about the uninformed and ignorant, I'm worried about them acting as a unified force. If the left wants to achieve change, we need to constantly point out to these people how they differ, not necessarily with their leaders, but with each other. Divide and conquer. Remember, each religious grouping thinks they're right, and all the others are going to hell. Ask any southern methodist, and he'll tell you the baptists, the jews, and the catholics, and of course the muslims and the buddhists, and especially the mormons, and even the church of god, and the church of christ followers, well, they're all going to hell. Everyone else is going to hell. It's their own little elitist culture. Oh, and most southern methodists think most other southern methodists are going to wind up in hell, too.

If you can't teach them, than play on their biases and get them so busy fighting each other, that we can take over.

The social/ political/economic offense - "It's an acquired taste". Let's fight back on the low road of building discontent, which is in fact the problem that the democrats have had - they have failed to preach discontent. They've been scared to raise the spectre of discontent, because they are owned by the same corporations, and only material discontent, aswayed at Wal-Marts, is allowed.

Sorry, I keep starting with a purpose, then I...

Anyway, the point is that progressives need to continue to strive for the high ground, but they need to start taking the low road to get there. It's similar to what the corporatists have done so well - they have sold the rush for the bottom as the climb to the top and constantly use the divide and conquer tactics even among their own to attain and retain power.

We just need to get them in to serious infighting amongst themselves. They is always an opposing faction. They pretend they represent a united front, which they don't. We need to attack the gaps and break them up. They've been really successful in doing it to the left.

Welcome to Bush is Lord

2004-11-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

Probably the scariest thing I have ever linked to:

Welcome to Bush is Lord

; )

Oh, via lies.com � Bush Is Lord, Condi Is Pissed

When is it human, and what does that mean?

2004-11-22T16:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, here is a controversy that will be fascinating to watch as it develops - sort of combines the stem cell debate with the animal rights debate, "Of mice, men and in-between: Scientists debate blending of human, animal forms"
By Rick Weiss" -

In Minnesota, pigs are being born with human blood in their veins.

In Nevada, there are sheep whose livers and hearts are largely human.

In California, mice peer from their cages with human brain cells firing inside their skulls.

These are not outcasts from "The Island of Dr. Moreau," the 1896 novel by H.G. Wells in which a rogue doctor develops creatures that are part animal and part human. They are real creations of real scientists, stretching the boundaries of stem cell research.

Biologists call these hybrid animals chimeras, after the mythical Greek creature with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail. They are the products of experiments in which human stem cells were added to developing animal fetuses.

Living test beds
Chimeras are allowing scientists to watch, for the first time, how nascent human cells and organs mature and interact — not in the cold isolation of laboratory dishes but inside the bodies of living creatures. Some are already revealing deep secrets of human biology and pointing the way toward new medical treatments.

But with no federal guidelines in place, an awkward question hovers above the work: How human must a chimera be before more stringent research rules should kick in?

The National Academy of Sciences, which advises the federal government, has been studying the issue and hopes to make recommendations by February. Yet the range of opinions it has received so far suggests that reaching consensus may be difficult.

During one recent meeting, scientists disagreed on such basic issues as whether it would be unethical for a human embryo to begin its development in an animal's womb, and whether a mouse would be better or worse off with a brain made of human neurons.

"This is an area where we really need to come to a reasonable consensus," said James Battey, chairman of the National Institutes of Health's Stem Cell Task Force. "We need to establish some kind of guidelines as to what the scientific community ought to do and ought not to do."

I'm sure I don't have an answer, but the article is worth the read.

And the questions? What does it mean to be human? When are mankinds' various laws, morals and ethics applicable? As we blur the lines, and make an already ambiguous debate more ambiguous...Well, it will be intriguing to watch.

More computer displacement

2004-11-22T15:44:00.000-05:00

Damn, I haven't even written a book yet, much less been published or cited in a mainstream publication, but it appears I've been displaced by a computer:
An Essay: Computers as Authors? Literary Luddites Unite!:

"Occasionally you hear of a Luddite novelist who shuns computers, but the truth is that most of us would be lost without them. If I rail and curse at mine, it is partly out of resentment at our miserable co-dependence. Imagine, then, the blow to my scribbler's vanity when I discovered a while back that computers might get along just fine without writers.

This is not science fiction. With little fanfare and (so far) no appearances at Barnes & Noble, computers have started writing without us scribes. They are perfectly capable of nonfiction prose, and while the reputation of Henry James is not yet threatened, computers can even generate brief outbursts of fiction that are probably superior to what many humans could turn out - even those not in master of fine arts programs. Consider the beginning of a short story dealing with the theme of betrayal:

'Dave Striver loved the university - its ivy-covered clocktowers, its ancient and sturdy brick, and its sun-splashed verdant greens and eager youth. The university, contrary to popular opinion, is far from free of the stark unforgiving trials of the business world: academia has its own tests, and some are as merciless as any in the marketplace. A prime example is the dissertation defense: to earn the Ph.D., to become a doctor, one must pass an oral examination on one's dissertation. This was a test Professor Edward Hart enjoyed giving.'

That pregnant opening paragraph was written by a computer program known as Brutus.1 that was developed by Selmer Bringsjord, a computer scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and David A. Ferrucci, a researcher at I.B.M."

Hell, maybe I should buy a copy of the program, and let my computer do the work. On the otherhand, I doubt the computer has my sense of humor.

While we were distracted - Ballistic Missile Defense System

2004-11-22T10:25:00.000-05:00

Speaking of inflated defense budgets -

To Kodiak residents: Get informed on MDA

On Sept. 1, the Missile Defense Agency released the Ballistic Missile Defense System Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. Those who made written or oral comments on the BMDS last year should receive a CD in the mail from the Missile Defense Agency...

...While people were distracted with the presidential election, the Missile Defense Agency quietly, and still is, preparing to launch lasers and interceptors into space orbit (if there is not a nationwide public outcry). Imagine lasers and interceptors aimed at targets anywhere on Earth!

Since the Kodiak Launch Complex is a research and development test-site location under the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty Memorandum of Understanding, it is highly probable some of the technology hardware, payloads and hazardous materials associated with this “Star Wars” come-to-life program, will be launched from Kodiak. Local residents must get involved and insist a site-specific environmental impact statement is done for Narrow Cape by the Missile Defense Agency.

Also, residents should be very concerned as to what is going to be launched on future missile payloads from Narrow Cape, which requires restricting the public from being within viewing range of the launch complex or using binoculars from a distance.

I guess spending most of our money on better, more efficient ways to kill people is a good thing...Much better than, say, trying to improve conditions for human life.

Via the Center For Public Environmental Oversight

The US Budget explained in Oreos by the Ice Cream Man

2004-11-22T10:02:00.000-05:00

This is a flash video put out by True Majority Action that points to how 'imbalanced' our current spending is.

Let me add, much of our defense spending is based on the political whims of members of congress and to prop up local economies, and of course, to profit some of the largest corporations in America.

Anyway...You might enjoy the video, and you might want to join "True Majority Action".

Oh, I found the link at George W Bush and the 14 points of fascism - Project for the OLD American Century via my buddy, DayTrader. I think you'll find the 14 Points of Fascism worth your time also.

Oh, hell, just more _ The Wife

2004-11-21T18:55:00.000-05:00

Alright, I wanted to post much earlier, but The wife was, well, doing Her thing on the computer. But lest you think that She prevents valuable posts, I need to confess tht She adds value to posts.

Point of fact: I asked her about the privatazation of Social Security. I asked Her a question I have considered before, but I recently heard someone else mention of some program [sorry for the lack of citation, but it was on a 'news' source]. Regardless, I had the same question in mind - If you dump so much money into the equity markets, what the hell equity are you going to buy???

If the companies on the market, those available for investment, and they are all represented in the market, where is the new influx of capital supposed to go? Are we going to drive PE ratios to 100 times earnings just because the capital is available?

So, I asked The Wife. She said, "We'll just buy Chinese companies."

And I realized She made real sense. If American companies aren't available for investment, well, we'd just look elsewhere, and China just made good common sense.

Actually, it makes a lot of sense. If the markets here are fully invested in, than when new capital hits a fully saturated market, it must find another market to invest in. So, as we lose our jobs to the Chinese market place, it only makes sense to invest in their compaies, as they are the companies that have the ability to grow.

I had other things I was going to post, but it's now late. I was going to post on...

Anyway, maybe I'll get to what I was going to post tomorrow, but...

A post of random thoughts?

2004-11-20T13:21:00.000-05:00

Well, not really random thoughts, just disjointed thoughts.

So, what is the goal of this offensive?

I guess I will start with the our Fallujah offensive, Fallujah 101: A history lesson about the town we are currently destroying. -- In These Times. What are we doing? Why are we doing it? Really. I do not understand the purpose of this offensive, especially in light of how we are conducting it from a military or political perspective.

If we are trying to destroy the town - we're not doing so well.
If we are trying to destroy the 'insurgents' - we're not doing so well.

Further, I am not sure I understand the purpose. As I alluded to above, if the idea is to destroy resistance to our occupation in the city of Fallujah, than militarily, we should destroy the city, or at least every single resident, or at least turn them all into slaves, and then kill them by working them to death.

If all we do is fight our way from one side of the city to the other, we will miss many of the enemy, and they will still be there when we've reached the other side. Further, once we are there, are we staying? Are we going to commit 20,000 or so troops to holding and occupying the city? If so, that's 20,000 troops that cannot be used elsewhere.

If we are not staying, what happens when we leave? Well, surely the insurgents who fled will return, and we will have created more insurgents.

Anyway, the point is that I don't understand the purpose of the US offensive in light of how it is being conducted. I fail to see what is accomplished by marching from one side of the city to the other, killing as many insurgents as we find on the way, only to leave the city unoccuppied when we're finished, and yet, I don't believe we can spare the troops to hold the city. Either that, or we need to raize the city to the ground; which of course, does not play well politically.

So, what is the goal of this offensive?

When I read the AJC (I won't bother to link to them - they want to much information to access their info) last Sunday, I was struck by the number of articles on conflict that resulted from religion. I didn't do an actual count, but between the front section, the follow on 'world' section, the metro section and the issue section, I'm sure that 70% of the articles concerning some type of conflict involved religious conflict or resulted from religious differences. Everything from Cobb County's textbook stickers stating that evolution is a theory (wsbradio.com: News Cobb Evolution Stickers Face Court Challenge via ThirdDay.com Message Boards [this could be a strange place, I'm not sure]) and should be considered critically, to the usual reports on Israel/Palestine and the divisions in Iraq. In fact, religion, a belief in the unknowable, is the source of most of mankind's conflicts. Or at least based on a review of newspaper articles. Remember, it was religious values that got Baby Bush re-elected, and has all of us haters of the US and atheists in an up roar.

Jesus would be proud. Mohammad would be proud. Hell, the Aztecs would be proud. So much death and destruction in the names of Gods, I feel like I'm living in the (name your prior century/age here).

What's the point of capitalism if not materialism?

Well, that's where my head is going. For years I've said I was trying to figure out a way to improve our economic system, but that I thought 'capitalism' had a value in the incentives it gave in promoting individual productivity.

I now realize that I was framing the question within the frame. If I wasn't living in a capitalist society, who cares about the incentives for individual productivity? I mean let's face it - free ridership (no Wikipedia info - might be worth a contribution by some of you economists) is not going to play well in a society just trying to survive, or many other societies. In fact, I'll bet many societies find mechanism to deal with free-ridership more effectively than we do. I mean, what has Baby Bush been for most of his adult life? Answer: a free rider. He had accomplished nothing on his own prior to his recent (and maybe not even that) election. And all he is doing, now that he is in a position of power, is squandering and looting the wealth of the nation. Okay, not just by himself, but truly, the wealth our nation is being looted like Vikings on a raid, or hell, so as not to come across racist, the Huns during their expansion.

Anyway, I guess where I am trying to go with this, is, well, 'what is so good about capitalism? And really, we haven't practiced true capitalism since the rise of the rail barons in the late 19th century.

And at the heart of capitalism is materialism, private property, ownership...All things that many other societies did not have, but we taught them.

Okay, one of the impetuses for this section, was watching the Antiques Roadshow on PBS the other night, and wondering why a painting, toy or piece of furniture is worth thousands of dollars? I know, the capitalist response to this question is that an item has the value that the market will bear. But, why does the market value the item in the first place?

Take a painting for example - what is the value of the painting to the viewer vs the owner? If I can view the painting, do I get as much value, non-financial, out of the viewership as the owner? And if I buy said painting, do I pay much attention to it after I have hung it on my wall? Or do I just walk by it on a daily basis on a daily basis, taking no joy in it? I argue for the later, in most cases. Many of the items I have bought in the past for purely aesthetic purposes, I no longer take the time to appreciate the very aesthetic value that I bought. I don't pause on a daily, weekly, monthly or even on an annual basis to derive the pleasure the aesthetics of the object in question are supposed to provide. So, why do I own it? What is its value? Is the value only to be recoupled when I sell it to the next person who derives pleasure from the item, or, more probably, I derive pleasure from you not owning it. Really. The value is in denying you ownership of something that gives you aesthetic pleasure, not any aesthetic pleasure I derive from the object.

In fact, the more I wandered down this line of thinking, the more I realized just how dependent our economy is on me buying something purely so you will admire me for owning it. So you will admire my tastes, and respect my financial capability to own something you can't. Materialism seems to me to be the ultimate system of insecurity. I am not valuable in my own right, so I buy 'valuable' objects in hopes that the objects' values pass on to me the individual. No wonder our society is fucked up.

So, What's the point of capitalism if not materialism?

Enough for now...

Admin Note: I am going through the sites of the people who have linked to me via http://www.truthlaidbear.com. I figure, the people who have found my stuff valuable enough to take the trouble to link to, must be deserving of my attention above those sites that don't. Self-serving I guess, but what other standard whould I base my surfing on?

The 'wikki' of the history of American interventions?

2004-11-20T09:50:00.000-05:00

Denny from Where We're Bound has come up with this idea: Having readers contribute to a history of US interventions abroad over at in our name.

I think it's a great idea, really. Most Americans were never taught US history in any real fashion; just the glossed over crap presented in our high school text books. These text books do nothing but promote national myths with no basis in reality, and can in fact be dangerous. One of my favorite lines on the subject of US myths concerns the 'American Revolution', and came via an old high school buddy (not sure where he got it) who pointed out that saying, "We (the US) beat the British with France's help", is like a three year old saying, "Me and daddy killed a bear". If you caught the Benjamin Franklin bio on PBS, you saw a far more accurate representation of the importance of France vs colonial military might; in fact, France's involvement bankrupted them, and led to their revolution.

Well, I have a whole sheaf of history on Afghanistan, though it is not written specifically from the point of a US intervention as it was more of an attempt to collect and present the history and current desires/goals of the various factions and countries and industries involved in the conflict. I may submit it as a starting point for developing a section on Afghanistan.

If you have an an expertise, or are willing to put in the effort to develop the expertise, this might turn into a fun and valuable project - time will tell.

Lies, more lies and damn lies

2004-11-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

Via my amigo, Drunken Monkey Style Blogging, comes this link George W. Bush : Mistaken - probably the best video summation of this administration I have found.

Just a couple of questions

2004-11-19T17:54:00.000-05:00

These questions have been going through my mind for the past few days, and I thought I'd look to you for the answers:

1) Does there exist a cause that most Americans would support; in fact, does there exist a cause, outside of national security/defense, which the majority of Americans would unite behind?

2) Does there exist in our society an individual or group of individuals with the stature, credibility and 'authority' (authority used as trusted source or expert) that could deliver this message/cause to the American people?

I ask these questions because I a) watched the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation hearing on Global Climate Change, and McCain's last reference to the fact that the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) was already being derided as shoddy science. Albeit, the accusers have no study to cite, they just lambast, but the point being that there will of course be people who believe the report, and those that believe the detractors of said report. So I was wondering - is there a cause or message that people would unite behind on any subject? Something that might calvanize and unite us into action in support of a common cause?

b) I watched the movie Gandhi (1982), and wondered is/are there a person(s) of such stature in this country that he/she/they could deliver the message/cause that is the answer to question 1 above and have people 'believe' him/her/them? I've discounted Walter Cronkite, not for a perceived lack of integrity, but I don't think most Americans know who he is, or if they do, it is in that vague sense of "Oh, yeah. I remember him. Is he still alive?" So, what I'm wondering, is there anybody today that possesses the kind of stature that he earned?

I have other stuff I will post, but I thought I would ask these questions of you, and I'm interested to see what, if any topics/people are suggested to fill the bill. One point, when I say majority of the American people, I mean a true majority - say above 60-65% of the population.

Excellent C-Span program - "Blogs & Knowledge'

2004-11-16T09:23:00.000-05:00

I meant to let everyone know this was coming on yesterday, but I got wrapped up in a book, and almost missed it myself. Anyway, it's worth your time (maybe not if streaming video doesn't stream), an hour and a half, to watch this - C-SPAN: DIGITAL FUTURE.

Quick point: I currently cannot access the program from the link provided: "rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/digital/digitalfuture111504.rm". I receive a "rtsp is not a registered protocol" when using Mozilla, and Explorer states "the page cannot be displayed". I have notified C-Span.

David Weinberger, former senior internet adviser to the Howard Dean campaign, discussed how Weblogs work & their value in gathering knowledge...
David Weinberger, one of North America's best known experts on "blogging" and coauthor of the bestselling book, "The Cluetrain Manifesto" (2000). Weinberger is also author of "Small pieces, loosely joined: a unified theory of the web" (2002), a frequent commentator on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and "Here and Now," and has been published in many magazines including Wired and the Harvard Business Review.

While he was the primary speaker and did bring out some excellent points, the other members of the panel also provided some fascinating insights, and the question and answer session was pretty enlightening as well.

I guess I really enjoyed it because so much time was spent on the ideas of 'knowledge' and 'authority', their forms, and whether or not they are changing. One point made by one of the panelists (I'd provide the name, but as I stated above, I'm experiencing tech difficulties and can't review the program at this time) which I found very interesting, is that 'authority' has changed over time. Authority used to reside in the 'voice' of the person transmitting the knowledge, but when the printing press came into use, 'authority' shifted to the text. Apparently now 'authority' is shifting again - away from the 'text' and to a shared social authority like Wikipedia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and even the blogging community.

There was also a great deal on 'objective' vs 'subjective' knowledge.

Another Note: Problem with viewing the video was on my on my end. You must have RealPlayer 10, with 'rtsp' protocol enabled. See C-SPAN page and click on "Problems with video? >>" for instructions. It also provides instructions for Mac users.

I have some things to do around the house, now. I'll try to post more later, but it might be tomorrow. I want to talk about The Mayan Prophecies, which I just finished, and I want to get a feel for the rash of resignations from Baby Bush's administration and what it might portend. So, later...

More points I'm pondering, and a little admin

2004-11-13T10:30:00.000-05:00

I guess the first point I want to raise is not all that philosophical, but rather a political question. I heard it raised on a radio program broadcast on WREK Radio, I think it might have been a RadioNation program, though I'm not positive since I can not find a transcript of the show I was listening to at their web site. Anyway, it might have been Gore Vidal: Beyond the Voting.

Regardless, somewhere during the second half of the program I was listening to, one of the commentators raised a very interesting point - Why didn't Kerry raise The Abu Ghraib Prison controversy during the debates?

Well as soon as it was stated, I found myself thinking, "Hey, yeah. Why didn't he raise the torture scandal? Why didn't he say, perhaps in one of his ads, without stating it as a 'fact', that 'during my administration we will not torture, and we will most certainly never torture children in front of their mothers'.

But then I found myself wondering how it would have played. If 51% of Americans think waging a holy war in the Middle East is a good thing, they might well think torture is acceptable. Hell, christianity has a long history of torture, so maybe raising the scandal would not have helped. That thought saddened me. Going to war based on the choice of someone who hears voices and think god speaks to him directly is bad enough, but that god would support this stuff...Well, I have always thought that the christian god is bipolar, anyway. Or there are two of them - one from the old testament and one that appears in the new testament. If it is the same god, he bears a remarkable similarity to Saddam. I mean the old testament god ordered entire tribes slaughtered for his chosen people. The new testament god loves and forgives everybody and everything. So, if it is all one god, maybe he's off his medication and midst of a major depressive episode.

Anyway, that's one of the points I'm pondering: Do my fellow citizens support torture and sexual abuse in the prosecution of this war?

The next point that I'm pondering is 'point spreads' - Can the methodology, and especially the information communication system, be used in risk communication?

I mean, when you look at it, the odds makers add gambling houses are extremely accurate. When you look at a football (American) parley card, the point spreads and the over/unders are usually about dead on. And point spreads are easy to read. You know, "Florida + 8 against NC State", or "Georgia + 4 against Auburn", or the over/under is 45 points in the Pittsburgh vs Green Bay game. That is a very simple way to sum up risk. Why can't the FDA, NHTSA or whoever, provide us with such a simple way to communicate risk. For instance, if you are obese your over/under on life expectancy is, say, 50 years old, or whatever. Or maybe this SUV has a + 5 rollover.

Side Note: I can find a lot of sites commenting on Parley Cards, but I can't find a simple definition or example of one on the web. Of course, I only did a quick search, but maybe one of you readers would be interested in putting together a section for Wikipedia on Parley Cards?

I know part of the reasons for the NHTSA risk communication dilemma, and it involves politics and money. The car manufacturers don't want you to have an easy way of understanding their vehicles dangers (unless their vehicles are the best of the bunch) for fear of the informed consumer making knowledgeable choices. The politicians are scared to screw with the auto manufacturers, but their is also a serious amount of politics in play amongst the statisticians and other academics, and professionals. Everyone wants their pet system to be used.

At school, one of my professors was involved in the NHTSA rollover study, and she had us read their initial report and write a memo on the contents [An old school memo on vehicle rollover ratings posted at Rogue Analyst]. In the end, my answer was just to provide the consumer a simple ratio based on the historical data: Of the so many vehicles of this make, model and year on the road, this many had rollovers PERIOD. It is simple.

Regardless, can we get the bookies involved in the 'at-large' risk communication game? They do a phenomenal job of assessing and communicating the financial risks of a lot of wagers, and I bet their expertise could make a valuable contribution.

The last two points which I'm currently pondering are intertwined - What is the purpose of government, and why to people go to war when their government calls upon them?

I think they fall in with my usual ponderings on info/value (See All information is free). Nation states and national armies are a relatively recent development. It was Napoleon Bonaparte who truly started the ball rolling on national militaries, and I think the same period can roughly be cited as the rise of the nation state. Prior to this period, monarchies and city states were the 'norm'. Hell, it wasn't until Otto von Bismarck that Germany became a nation (empire).

None the less, what intrigues me now is the purpose on the nation state/government? While we can trace government back to city states, tribes and clans, what roles does the US government retain in relation to what might be argued as having started as a form of organization based on survival? Do we really need a 'national' government to survive? I know there is debate on the subject, but as usual, I find my mind wandering amongst the various arguments of which I am aware, and not really finding a good answer. Certainly there exists a huge gulf between what libertarians, socialists, anarchists and the 'average' American thinks about what should be governments role, especially as it relates to the individual.

So, the related question I am pondering is - Why would individuals go to war at the direction of their government?

I don't mean 'national defense', which is based on reacting to an aggressor, but rather why do individuals decide to support the aggression by their nation of another nation. Why are people willing to put their lives on the line? What is patriotism?

First, let me say that I am aware that many serve and are willing to serve in the military and in war zones for reasons unrelated to patriotism i.e. personal gain, adventure, etc. But it is those that serve in the aggressive capacity out of patriotism that I wondering about. For instance, why did so many Germans voluntarily fight for Hitler, and here the key term is voluntary? What is the connection between patriotism and the government? Is it similar to being a Vikings or Falcons fan? Is there much difference between the two? Is it really just a matter of group identification?

Anyway, I haven't really worked very far on these questions, hence the pondering as opposed to researching, literature reviews, and an attempt at comprehensive analyses, and though I do have several books on the subject, I've been distracted on other topics as I have alluded to in previous posts. Between quantum theory, the Mayan prophecies, the definition of truth, the value of credibility, the definition of value and the value of information...Well, there is only so much I can try to get my head around at one time.

That, and I still need an 'f'n job. On this topic, I had an interesting conversation this week on the topic of me going back into the Army. According to the individual with whom I was speaking, the fact that I am combat arms qualified, and that the army is hurtin' for qualified officers, it might be possible for me to go back in and on active duty. That really intrigues me, especially since at the start of the war, I volunteered to continue to serve, and was informed that that would not be necessary. But I guess at the time, the politicos in charge were operating under the assumptions that many of us recognized as false at the time, and now most Americans realize, that war in Iraq was going to be a cake walk.

Oh, if you are wondering about my motivation for going to war in the face of all I have previously said about this fiasco, rest assured it is not based on patriotism. I was patriotic about Afghanistan, and going after Al Queda, but this war of choice...Well, I guess I want to go for no reason that most of you will understand. I'd just like to go...

Enough for now. Expect sporadic postings for a while, but please to check back if so inclined.

In the end, I don't think it's about 'values'

2004-11-08T18:45:00.000-05:00

Sort of continues the thinking in the as yet untitled thread, but well posted on topic with its link base currently aggregated here - All information is free

It took a few days to get past the election results. When I did, I had an angle I was going to post, but time escaped me. So, think of this post as started Thursday evening (and mentally it was), re-edited Friday morning (and mentally it was), and then upon a weekend's drinking, thinking and talking, re-edited yet again (and mentally it was).

I caught something on TV last night. At least I think it was on TV, and I think it was last night. It was someone discussing a book on 'Truth'. Since this sounds like something I would normally have caught on C-Span or C-Span 2, I checked their listings, but nothing struck a cord.

But, it was on topic. I remember last week when I saw some talking head speaking on the election, and why Baby Bush was re-elected. Whoever the commentator was (and since this same thread was picked up across the media, who he was - is totally irrelevant)made the point of America being divided by 'values' and culture. That those in the heartland, and hence the majority of the popular vote, voted based on 'values' or the concept of shared 'values'. And to a point, I think this case can be made, but it is totally irrelevant to the truth. The truth is not that America is divided by 'values', the truth is that America is divided by 'truth' - we cannot agree on what the truth is. It isn't a question of values - I don't expect that liberals or conservatives (to name but a few divisions) differ that much on basic values. I suspect the majority of individuals in both of these camps would come out against or for (as appropriate) murder, rape, theft, child molestation, clean drinking water, safe schools, strong economy and the worthlessness of most of what's on television (they might not agree on programming, but I think both groups would argue that the majority of TV programming sucks), etc.

No. The real divide is the 'truth'. If you can watch Anne Cunter or listen to Rush Limpbowell, and believe that they are speaking the truth, than you and I have a severe case of cultural dissonance. If you think every word that Kerry said on the campaign trail was a lie (you'd be mostly right), and if you think every word that Baby Bush said was the truth (you'd be mostly wrong), you'd would form a world view very different from the one I hold. And, that is the 'truth'.

The truth starts early on. If you are taught that the bible is the word of god, and that every word is literally the 'truth', well, we have a serious case of dissonance. I think it very similar to Cognitive dissonance, but on a cultural level. Our society recognizes diverse truths, and we are not able to assimilate these dissonant views (by definition) into a coherent whole.

And that, I believe, is the biggest problem facing us as a species today. We can't agree on the truth.

Lest I come across as part of another popular camp - please realize that I also do not accept the religion of science. Science too, appears to require a certain amount of 'faith' (Faith - the ability to accept something as the truth). I seem to lack the that particular ability.

I am capable of operating based on previous experience, and letting previous experience guide my actions to the degree that I believe previous experience has some validity, but I am also perfectly willing to accept the notion that "Past performance is no guarantee of future performance" (or whatever the standard disclaimer is). How the hell would I know? The fact that the sun has risen in the East, or that the globe has rotated in a westerly direction to reveal our nearby solar mass, does not necessarily mean it will happen tomorrow.

SCREEEECH...WHOP...WHOP...WHOP
For those that did not recognize it - that was the sound of the needle on a vinyl recording (yes, recordings used to be on a vinyl medium) being dragged across the rest of the record(ing), and then getting stuck in the grooves at the center.

I have a lot to write. Everytime I consider the subject, I find a new way to present it. In some respects, I wish blogging could reflect a stream of consciousness, but that might not be all that good for the reader.

I did want to state that when I refer to Rush Limpbowell as a liar I do mean it in a very particular sense. Unlike many other cases, Rush is a true liar in my mind. It happened when he started to cite the numbers of a government report that I had recently read (this happened a few years ago vis-a-vis accepted chronological dating). It is possible, that in his drug addled mind, that he interpreted 16% to be 60%, or 7.5% to be 75%, but I don't think so. Surely, someone on his staff could feed him correct numbers. If he is so impaired as to not to be able to cite a report, which is presumably sitting in front of him (at least he said it was), certainly his staff could correct him if so directed. So, Rush for me, falls into the special 'got-cha' case of liars. It wasn't that he disputed the findings of the report, he flat out said the report contained information it did not have.

The point here, is 'credibility'. I have no idea whether the report that I had read and that he was citing, had any inherent credibility (presumably it did, but...). But the point is, he lied about what it said.

In this instance, I like Rush. He provides, especially this particular incident provides, a clear example of lying. There was no hedging here. There was no intimating, or mis-whatever. This was a case of lying. It was a clear case of lying. So, thank you Rush.

So unlike the Baby Bush administration, which lies, but does so in veils. And when you pull back the veils, there is nothing there. There is no clear, concise reference to go back and check. A great, and early example of the Baby Bush administration's manipulation of the truth, may be best summed up in the National Energy Policy (Complete), headed by Dick Cheney. There is a lot of controversy around the report, but no one seems to mention the single best point ever presented on the subject. It was my buddy, Mohan (I really do promise to provide him a better citation should he request it), who pointed out that none of the information presented in the report was cited. Now, that is really 'good' lying. No one can dispute what you've argued (well, at least they can't argue the facts), if you provide no sources for the information. "There are 600 trillion barrels of oil lying off the coast of Florida." Well, how the fuck would I know?

One way would be for me to be able to go back to the source document; the original research. But if no citation is provided...

Point (and I'm missing The Daily Show as I write) is that this is the problem. Or at least part of the problem. If you read that report and accept its findings, but I read it and look for some sort of verification, we will come to two separate conclusions. You will believe that we can gain our independence on foreign oil, and become a self-sufficient energy consuming nation if we follow the guidance presented, and I think it's all smoke and mirrors. Based on just that, we might wind up voting differently.

SCREEEEEECH....WHOOOP...WHOOP...WHOOOP...

I read a book, Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life by SISSELA BOK, which I found to be two/several hundred pages of rationalization for lying. I was unimpressed. The fact that lying has worked to good effect in keeping politicians in power, or allowed these leaders to lead us into wars of dubious distinction, or were the foundation of selling worthless products, does not make lying 'good'. In fairness, I read it a few years ago, and she may not have specifically cited the economic portion of it, but in the end, Immanuel Kant would not be happy with her conclusions.

How does this relate to what I've been writing? Well, if 51% of America believes that what Baby Bush utters is true, well founded, representative of their values, etc. Well, than I either don't live in that same universe, or one of us believes a lie. Certainly, we can't both be correct.

So, I think of this past election as not one of values, culture, a vision of where the majority of Americans think the country should go, but as an election of credible sources for information. We have decided as a country that Pat Robertson speaks the truth; that Rush Limpbowell speaks the truth; that Ann Cuntall speaks the truth, that...Well, it's just not the same universe I live in.

But, that leaves me trying to explain, or justify the truth.

I'm going to cop-out for now. It's getting late.

But, I did want to leave you with something of value, so, Chocolate Morphine gave me this to read over the weekend: Cogprints - Subjective Perception of Time and a Progressive Present Moment: The Neurobiological Key to Unlocking Consciousness.

Some of you will find it a worthwhile read. And I'll wonder about the rest of you.

Anyway, I have two new products I'm trying to market: Redneck Campfire Art and Petrified Beer Bottle Droppings; as well as having (with pleasure) to edit a couple of stories for friends, and trying to edit Rick Eddy's pieces into some sort of co-herent whole. Oh. And trying to find gainful employment.

And, I know, I owe some science posts.

Oh, yeah...In the end, the election was about truths...How could you all be so wrong? How could you believe THEM?

Four more YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!!

2004-11-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

Just some quick thoughts, as I am once again heading out the door in a few minutes. so, don't expect anything in the way of well thought out, pithy writing.

I haven't felt like this since Reagan was re-elected. That was my thought when I heard Kerry was on his way to make his concession speech.

Then, I thought about what Kerry would say. I won't bother to listen. He'll say it was a good, hard campaign, and the American people should accept the results. The democratic process worked, and the people have decided.

It's a load of crap of course. The people aren't smart enough to decide anything beyound what program they are going to watch on TV tonight. Nor do they want that level of responsibility. That's really what won it for Baby Bush - not only was he not taking responsibility for anything that occurred in his first four years, NO ONE was held responsible for anything.

What really drives me nuts, is my imagination. Consider the year 2023. Baby Bush dies of whatever - I know, a joyful day for me, but I will have to listen to the eulogizing. I will have to hear what a great president he was. How he did something. How he accomplished something. And it won't have anything to do with what he actually did, which by enlarge is nothing. He just sits back and let's the corporations loot our country, and our country will want to replace Washington's face on the one dollar bill, or at least Grant's face on the twenty with Baby Bush'. Hell, maybe all of our currencly will have his face on it. And, I'll have to hear about it.

The next four years will be interesting though. The repubs have now got a serious majority in both houses. Baby Bush will be able to stack the supreme court with, well they won't be morons, well some of them might be, but they will more likely be, I don't know, evil? Greedy, scum sucking...The worst our law schools put out? Fundamentalists, who will think civil rights, hell, all of our rights, were put into the constitution and the law by mistake? That the wealthy truly do have a right to expect a different degree of justice than the poor? I don't know.

The Chinese have a curse to the affect of "May you live in interesting times". We do and are. It will most certainly be interesting. Mayhaps, the most interesting thing will be to see how the republican party starts to splinter. How some will try to distance themselves from Baby Bush. How some might actually develop a conscience, and vote for the good of their constituents.

Having it all, doesn't necessarily mean you have it all. Now will come the infighting. The dirtiest of fights. Reminiscent of the dems' problems when they held all of the branches. I mean, short of a real putsch, I don't expect the party leadership to get the membership to toe the party line. They have acheived power; now they'll fight over it.

What will the dems do? Well, hopefully, whither away and die on the vine; making room for a party that actually tries to represent the majority of Americans' interests. In reality, suspect nothing of the sort.

ALL HAIL ! Swear alligence to EXXON, GM, Proctor-Gamble, AIG, ADM (SuperMarket to the world), or perhaps the rise of a new superbrand(!) - THE AMERICAN HOMELAND COMPANY.

Geez. I really hate being stuck with an imagination. I should go back to the basement and watch the latest installment of the World Series of Poker, or something. I should immerse myself in mindless drivel. I should quit fighting it, and just accept the ugly facts. I should just sit back, find some distraction, as my country is stolen from beneath my feet, while my fellow citizens, blissfully wrapped in their culture of myths, rar approvingly.

Or, maybe I should just accept the new world order, and figure out how to steal as much as I can. Maybe like TIME.com: Marc Rich, if I steal enough, I too will earn a presidential pardon. Maybe that's the solution - Acceptance, followed by a whole lot of wallowing in greed. I think I can do it. Must think positive. I know I can do it. I CAN DO IT! I CAN STEAL FROM MY NEIGHBORS AND FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT IT. I CAN DO IT!!!!

FOUR MORE YEARS!!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!!

Election results - sort of...

2004-11-03T09:03:00.000-05:00

This began as a reply to Ben's, of commonSci, comment to the post below.

Well, Ben, you'll be happy to know I didn't vote for a yellow dog, but you'll be disappointed in how I did vote. As I said above, I wasn't going to vote for Kerry and I didn't. I think Kerry and Bush are two sides of the same corporatist coin. I've never liked Bush, but it took me a while to realize I didn't want Kerry as my president either.

I know you fall into the 'anybody but Bush' camp. I'm not. Four more years of Bush will suck, and suck hard; hopefully hard enough for the democrats to put a candidate on the ballet that is worth a shit. Though they probably won't.

Personally, I would like to see the Electoral College system abolished, so that everyone's vote would count, but this year it appears that the majority of the people in this country voted for Bush. So, the anti-intellectual, anti-thinking, bible thumpers have re-instated the candidate of their choice - barring the all of the remaining states going to Kerry - in which case the popular vote will be put aside, and Kerry appointed to the throne in spite of the clear will of the ignorant masses.

It is indeed a sad world we live in.

I just heard a comment on one of the 'news' channels, that the people appeared to put aside their feelings on any individual issues (health, war, environment, economy, common sense) and voted on the basis of 'values'. I find that pretty ironic. The fact that the majority of the people in this country think that Baby Bush and the republicans share their 'values' is a joke. The republicans care about power and corporate profits. That is all. But they speak in 'value' laden language. They speak in terms of myths, and apparently the people of this country prefer myths to truth.

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time, knows I spend a lot of time trying to discern the 'value' of information. Apparently, along with the information values I've addressed (aesthetics, entertainment) I must add myths, though I have said before, that when it comes to valuation of information, a lie may be just or more valuable than the truth, I hadn't actually considered myths. Myths may or may not be lies, but they are a form of false information.

I will dwell on the power of myth, and address it in some detail in a future post. I think it deserves a little research and thought, and not a quick rant.

Regardless, it now appears that we may well have four more years of the most corrupt administration of my lifetime I suspect the democrats will try to figure out what went 'wrong'. I have a simple answer, they never really provided a choice - unless you consider a Bud vs Bud lite campaign as really representing a choice. The democrats seemed to rely on the we are not Bush, hence vote for us. But they never offered anything like a clear alternative. It was mostly just a mediation of the current system, and not a real advocacy that stood for anything. Kerry would have been (will be) business as usual without the stridency, but it won't be a real change.

I believe real change will only happen when we do something about the power of corporations. Until that is done...Until what happens in our country is not based on the profit potential of a few, we will not only not see 'positive' change, we will be raped over and over again, in the name of 'capitalism', which let me add, we haven't had true capitalism in this country for probably somewhere approaching a 100 years. And, true capitalism only works for those who have the where-with-all to accumulate capital. It is a truly Darwinistic system. But people seem to believe in it. They don't understand it, but they have been told repeatedly that it is GOOD; it is AMERICAN and it is associated with god. I've never understood the latter association, but somehow, the people of this country believe that wealth and godliness are closely related.

Anyway, off to do more errands.

Election day, and I am still amongst the undecided

2004-11-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

I'm on my way to run a few errands, and to vote. I still haven't decided who to vote for, but it won't be Kerry. I don't think I'll wind up voting for Bush, and I know I won't vote for Nader. I doubt I'll vote libertarian. So, I think I will wind up asking to do a write in candidate, which in my county, just plain doesn't get counted.

So, to many people this will be considered as throwing my vote away. Maybe. But I can't bring myself to vote for yet another rich, white, male Skull and Bones member. Why should I vote for an individual who has participated in a rite in which they have sworn allegiance to a secret society above all other allegiances?

No, I think I will do a write in ballot, and I think I might as well vote for...I still haven't decided. Kucinich? Mosley Braun? Sharpton? Someone who hasn't even ever put their name in the ring? I don't know.

I will not be voting for Kerry, but then, it doesn't really matter anyway. With the The Electoral College system, my vote won't count anyway. Georgia, a state suffering from extreme ignorance, poor education and a ridiculously high level of religiosity (oh, I already said ignorant), will go for Bush, and so will all of the electoral votes.

See. The system has already disenfrachised my vote. Intentionally. The founding fathers didn't want the masses having a true say. They feared the masses would vote the 'wrong' way, so they set up a system where they - the rich, white, land owners - could ultimately decide who the president would be. And it's worked pretty damn well for them. It's like Bill Hicks asked (you may find the audio or video here), 'Do you want to vote for the red hand puppet or the blue hand puppet?'

So. Since my vote won't count anyway, I might as well vote for a Yellow Dog. It's not like I think the democratic party is very democratic anymore. In fact, I think they've sold out to the same big corporate money, so they aren't really a choice.

Anyway, I'm no closer to a decision for writing this, so I might as well go to the polls. I'll make a decision under pressure. Maybe I'll just write in Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a deadman will make a better president than the people who are running. Who would a deadman appoint to the Supreme Court?

Must quit procrastinating. Must go vote. Must go. Just hit post and go. Go

So many Alternative Energy Sources, so few used

2004-11-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

An excellent little summary of various alternative energy sources, one of them over 100 years old, in Tom Valone Reviews a Myriad of Alternative Energy Technologies. I was particulary caught by the 'nuclear alternatives', including producing energy during the process of remediating nuclear waste.

Tom Valone, President of Integrity Research Institute (IRI), speaking at the New Energy Movement conference was a powerhouse of knowledge and facts and gave a thorough overview of where we are currently at with energy needs and where we could go in the future to meet those needs.

His first blockbuster fact caught the audience’s attention immediately; 85% of energy today comes from the combustion of dead fossils, forcing the world’s atmosphere to overheat. We are likely seeing the results of global warming in our weather such as the four hurricanes in Florida.

Valone commented that Hubbard’s Peak – the peak of oil production – is right on the projected mark for the US. Most alarming is that the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at three hundred parts per million (ppm), the highest it has been in 400,000 years and may reach six hundred ppm by 2050.

Further evidence of global warming are the liquid lakes at the North Pole. The ice cap is rapidly disappearing, which effects the reflected solar radiation, causing other global weather changes. Valone warned ominously that a sixth to eighty percent reduction in carbon emissions is required to stop global warming.

The most frustrating fact of all, he stated, was that two thirds of all the electricity produced in the US is wasted.

IRI is researching the following energy solutions:
• atmospheric electricity
• nuclear
• quantum vacuum zero point
• space propulsion energy
• magnetic motors

For more (it's short, and some of the ideas may make it worth digging into the current research alittle further): Tom Valone Reviews a Myriad of Alternative Energy Technologies

Oh, and a somewhat related article, ZPEnergy.com - AN ENERGY LEGACY PLAN:

"It is also reasonable that a means to obtain large affordable amounts of renewable energy should be helpful to society in all energy related problem areas. However, a means to achieve renewable energy development at a sufficient rate has been somewhat elusive. It is the intent here to help solve that problem, and to eventually fund energy conservation measures that ultimately will be necessary to sustain our civilization. This is the intended legacy, a permanently self-funded trust for renewable energy development and conservation.

A SIMPLE PLAN

A plan is proposed here, which, compared to the problematic issues addressed, is very simple indeed. The following plan, in 9 parts, is hoped to result in a significant and permanent reduction in energy problems."

The plan maybe simple, but the article goes into some depth, see ZPEnergy.com - AN ENERGY LEGACY PLAN.

What the #$*! Do We Know!? + A little admin

2004-10-29T06:32:00.000-05:00

Forecast: light bloggin for the weekend

I don't often do movie reviews here; the last one was Hellboy. But yesterday, the Pacifier, a couple of new found friends and I went to see "What the #$*! Do We Know!?" (2004). We all enjoyed it immensely. I have purposely chosen the link above because the critique of the movie there may provide you with some balance. I think the reviewer gets a little overly snarkey, but he does point to the credentials, or lack there of, of some of the movies participants.

I don't have a problem with 'New Age' thinking, as long as it isn't 'New Age' religion. I don't like religion PERIOD. And, be forewarned, at the end of the movie the tone does get a little religious, and even a little dietific, but I was willing to overlook it. I do prefer to have my science delivered without reference to a diety or a religion, but...Hell, it might have been a concessation - "include it, or have the religious right protest it".

And I do think the 'New' in 'New Age' is a misnomer. Most of what I've seen on the topic tends to reflect 'ancient' mysticism, buddhism, taoism, etc. And these really do seem to be in keeping with what current Quantum mechanics seems to be telling us. Hell, by the time you get to 'String theory', it's hard to tell buddhism, mysticism, and quantum theory apart.

Anyway, we found the movie entertaining (though I thought it started a little slow, and they could have ended it five minutes sooner, for my tastes), and I certainly wasn't holding it up to the 'standard' of 'documentary' (of which I've seen some real questionable films called documentary).

Oh, back to that critics point on the credentials of some of the interviewees, I get the impression he's not a real big science historian. Hell, we all know that one of the most important breakthroughs of the twentieth century was made by a patent clerk (though in fairness he did have a Ph.D., but he his thinking wasn't accepted by 'acceptable, mainstream' physicists, even at his own school). Further, if you do a review of scientific history, you'll find many cases of real breakthroughs made by individuals who didn't have at the time, or never had, 'acceptable' credentials.

It does pose a problem in determining the value of their information, but than, mainstream science has a history of adamently getting things wrong - see The Structure of Scientific Revolutions for some examples and insight.

The point to all this? I think many of you will enjoy the movie, and I think you'll find it informative.

Personally, I've been fascinated by the mind's power over our reality and our bodies for quite sometime. The idea that people suffering from Dissociative identity disorder, can actually have one personality that is severely allergic to a substance and another personality is not, and that the gamma and alpha wave patterns change between personalities (though almost all of this stuff is in a state of some controversy), demonstrates the power of the mind.

Also, the idea that the every part of the brain of a schizophenic who hears voices, operates exactly as if the voice exists. In fact, as far as I can tell, the studies cannot prove that the person doesn't hear voices, only that the doctors and people around them don't hear them.

Enough for now. I recommend "What the #$*! Do We Know!?" (2004) as an enteratining, and intellectually fascinating movie. 'Nuff said.

The Wife and I will be heading to North Georgia to her father's place. His bridge washed out during the floods caused by Ivan, and we haven't seen the place since it happened. All he has left of the bridge is two I-beams, though he now has estimates in the $10k range to get it repaired, and no help from any form insurance.

He also said the rivr had changed fairly radically during the floods, with huge boulders being moved, and in some cases, the river actually changed course (though at least of these course changes was the river going back to the way it flowed before land owners had it redirected).

We plan to spend the night, and tomorrow the landscapers will be here to repair the yard damage the heavy equipment caused when they were removing the tree from the house. Hence, my forecast of light blogging.

Refusing orders...and a little rambling

2004-10-27T16:06:00.000-05:00

You know, I have been almost actively avoiding commenting on current events. Much of it due to a complete lack of an ability on my part to establish a firm reference point from which to comment. But, after some consideration, I think I will make a comment - not so much on the war in Iraq - but something that I know a little bit about, and that is what these kinds of conflicts do to our military. I wrote in "I remember the Army..." about my fears of what this kind of war would do to our military establishment. [Oh, I just stumbled on to this post, which may fit in very well with what I've posted below: The Soviet - Afghan War as a possible example?] I write this as someone who knew nothing about civilian life until age 30. Okay, maybe I knew a little, but it has taken me a lot of effort to come to grips with civilian life. As the military guys used to tell me, and I often discounted, you think military life is hard? The 'real world' is hell. Now, belatedly, I know they spoke the truth. But my point is, that I like many other army brats who went into the service upon reaching the age of majority or soon after, bring a view of the military that you will not find on the news.

I won't speak for the others, though I would not doubt that many would agree. I have seen what a war like this does; I haven't seen the war, but I have experienced what it does to the morale of the soldiers. And, I am not going to go to the trouble of citing sources. If you want sources on this subject, well, if you are reading this, you have access to google or whatever. Find your own 'facts'. I am writing this from 'feel'.

This war has been lost - politically. And that's a loss that no amount of bravery on the part of our soldiers can overcome.

As in the case of Vietnam, we will not lose a single battle. But than, I don't expect to see many battles. 'Force on Force' engagements are largely a thing of the past, because as soon as one side masses their forces, those forces become an easy target. D-Day could not happen today. You can't launch a secret invasion; with today's technology, you can't even do the invasion prep in secret. And the support required for the amassing of forces merely creates another target - look to the Green Zone in Iraq. That is all it is - a target. Well, defended so far, but still a big bull's eye. Look at the people we're fighting. They don't bring hundreds of troops together to engage us. It would be an exercise in futile suicide on their part to do so.

So, this, regardless of Rummy's refusal to use the term, is a guerrilla war. We have a fairly long history of fighting guerrilla wars; as guerrillas and as a regimented military. We fought as guerrillas in the American Revolution. Where we have succeeded in defeating guerrillas, has largely been determined, not by our military might, but most importantlyu by with whom in that particualr country we were politically allied. We lost backing a totally corrupt South Vietminese regime, and were successful in the Philipines thanks to an able Filipino president.

In Iraq, there probably is no good choice. Not just because of corruption on their part, though that appears to be an inherent factor there (the whole my family, my mosque, my religion, etc. first thing), but also because we have brought our own corrupting influence with us. We have brought entities like Halliburton and PMOs, entities that are purely profit motivated, with us, and put them in positions of power. These entities, unlike our vision of idealistic young soldiers bring truth, democracy and the American way, these entities are there solely to make a buck. They don't care about Iraq's future, except in how they will profit from it. That is serious political baggage for our soldiers on the ground to have to overcome. "We're here to help" rings hollow to the Iraqi's when the people in charge are focused on looting the coffers of Iraq, and the American taxpayers. That, and the US authorized torture of prisoners, does nothing but make their job harder.

The current generation - the generation coming of age right now, or those, say, still in their twenties - are as removed from the Vietnam police action experience as I was from the WWII experience. More so. Most of America's youth today might know a Vet. Really, they only might know a Vet. When I grew up, everyone knew a Vet, not true today.

So, today's youth will form their opinions of the military based largely on what they see on what currently passes as 'news'. This includes reporting that states that the military 'lost' 377 tons of conventional explosives, that 18 (or 19 or 17, depending on which 'news' source you consider credible) refused to follow orders, and that our military routinely butt fucks and tortures prisoners. That's what they are hearing, and sadly, there is some truth to these statements, but how much, well, we can't really know. Between the complete lack of credibility within the 'news' organizations and the level of secrecy currently put inplace by this administration, we can't know. We can only look at the information that we are allowed to receive, and recognize the filters it has been processed through, and hope we can discern a kernal of truth upon which we can base our opinions. In fact, let me say here and now, we live in a time where there is no such thing as an 'informed opinion'.

Regardless, and let me move on to the point of this post, which is that 18 (or so) reservists refused to follow an order from their commander. This is not good. Regardless of whether or not they were justified, it is not good. Based on the 'information' I've read on the topic, the fuel they were supposed to risk their lives delivering was worthless. On the presumption that this is in fact true, it means we have the same problems that militaries at war have always had. No matter how sophisticated the weaponry, no matter how motivated the service people, no matter who the enemy is, the servicemen (fuck it, I'm not going to try and stay PC) can not over come poor leadership. One can imagine this commander ordering this unit on this mission, because he wants to be promoted. Yep. The military, and especially its leadership, suffers from being human. And humans have their own ambitions, and the less morally enlightened the leadership, the more ambition overrides the mission. I have heard no one speak to this issue.

What is the state of leadership of today's military?

Well, based on 'news' sources, I wouldn't have a clue. I would know, that all of the people I heard making reasoned arguments before congress, or actually had military experience to base their opinions on, have been cashiered or forced into retirement. This is not a new phenomena.

In fact, the current leadership of the military is a peacetime leadership. Sure they 'fought' in Grenada, 'invaded' Panama and conducted a short campaign in Kuwait, but it is largely a leadership that has risen through the ranks without 'real' combat experience. The young officers and soldiers are getting it now, but those in senior positions do not have it, and are not getting it. And, peacetime promotions tend to be based a great deal on punching the right buttons and knowing the right people. In fact, it is exactly like working in a large corporation. And that is what we have in charge of our military today - corporate survivors, not war fighters. Oh, and war fighters tend to do really poorly in peace time. They tend not to like to play the political games. I used to know lots of LTC who never made full COL, and COLs who never made General, because they would not hold their tongues, and spoke the truth. The corporate types don't really care about the truth, they care about getting more power.

So, don't expect the toe-the-line corporate types, those especially who are sucking at the teats of Halliburton and the like, to prosecute this war in any other way than you'd expect a corporation to act. There is the marketing/PR campaign about winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi's, but behind it - is greed. Pure and simple greed. The Iraqi's see it. The soldiers are caught in the middle, but their leadership, just like a corporation is more concerned with quarterly profits measured in terms of body counts, than in actually winning. Hell, once it's over, they'll have to go back to whoring themselves before congress to get their over inflated budgets, and often totally worthless high tech weapon systems. For now, their on easy street. They have their patsy (the American taxpayer) right where they want him, and they'll keep sucking the blood like leeches.

And the soldiers? The military itself? It will decline. It will decline in mission effectiveness as they lose equipment through attrition and an inability to properly maintain and repair the equipment they have. It will decline as morale goes to hell - due to both the idiocy of the mission proscribed to them by their political leaders, as well as being victims of poor military leadership which always seems to rise to the top, and knowing they face a future that looks much like a year in Iraq, followed by a year stateside and then repeat the cycle. And as our military declines - a draft will do nothing to slow the decline down, and may in fact hasten it, as draftees tend not to have very high morale to begin with - it will lose respect, both here at home with the American people, and among any future foes we might face.

You know, it really is a quagmire. I don't see any 'graceful' way out. And the American people haven't had enough yet to clamor for a cut and run. No, we'll abuse our military and our tax dollars for a while. The death toll will have to rise. But I think if you want to end this war quick, bring back the draft. Yes, it will only be the poor that can't afford to get waivers and wind up doing the fighting, but when they come back in body bags, there will be enough political will to find a way to "Peace, with Honour". As a matter of fact, the draft may be our best way out of this war.

If you are against the war, support the draft. Really. It is probably the single best way to generate the political will amongst the American people to end this fiasco. I think this administration realizes that. I believe Baby Bush when he says he won't ask for the draft - it would cost him his major source of misdirection. Without the Iraqi war, people might actually pay attention to what he and his cronies are doning to our country. No, he won't re-instate the draft; he cannot afford to have the American taxpayer look closely at what he has 'accomplished'. He needs the war, and he knows he can't have it, if he brings back the draft.

So, really, truly - if you are against the war, write your congressman/woman and tell them you want the draft back.

"Stop the WAR - Bring back the DRAFT"

Cheating. Yes, I am Cheating. Or, borrowing...

2004-10-26T13:50:00.000-05:00

Inspector Lohmann's
Inspector Lohmann: Of Zombies, Bloggers, and The Will To Power As Disappearance [Part I: Zombies], seems to fit in well with my explorations of information, value, and economy and, well, everything. And, he does it using classic horror flicks.

And, et alia, has this excellent, totally non-satirical piece on the missing, you know, 380 tons of conventional explosives - like it's a big deal or something - but the piece is fun, and worth your time: Dr. Bardamu and I Discuss the Top Story of the Day

Lastly, that bastard Harry, of scratchings fame, after I went to all that work to put his blog in "Infrequent, but worthy posters" section to the right, has re-nigged (that is not a racial inference, I don't think...), and has begun to once again post on a daily basis. And then, he lied to me: scratchings: All my sins remembered.

There is no honour amongst bloggers.

I have been horribly, horribly slighted

2004-10-25T16:28:00.000-05:00

I cannot not believe access to my blog has not been blocked by Seminole County Public Library - Seminole County Government - Florida. As Boilingmad.Blogspot.com: The Bush Crackdown on Information points out, several other blogs have been banned, but Radically Inept has not.

I don't want to hear any crap about how this blog ain't popular enought to be ban worthy. I post anti-corporatist government stuff all the time. I demand equal banning.

I think I'll blame it the fall off in readership due to my lack of posts when the house was damaged. Yeah. that's it. I wasn't banned because of the hurricaine.

All the banned blogs seem to be on one political side...hmmm...interesting.

http://atrios.blogspot.com/
http://bodyandsoul.typepad.com/
http://www.crookedtimber.org/
http://www.isthatlegal.org//
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/
http://yglesias.typepad.com/matthew/
http://www.pandagon.net/
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/
http://fafblog.blogspot.com/

Via Fafblog! the whole worlds only source for Fafblog.

Admin Notes, or just more lame excuses

2004-10-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I am still in the job hunt mode, but I will try to get some science posts done today. With the early voting polls opening today here in Georgia, and the 'official' election day just seven days away, there is a distinct lack of enthusiasm to rant politically. This may change once the level of voter fraud related lawsuits becomes known, and especially if irrate voters spontaneously decide to burn down Diebold HQ (that would be worth blogging), but for now...Ehh...

Which corporatist running dog lackey wins the election is like a fourteen year old telling me whether they like Beavis or Butthead better - not worth me paying attention to. News would be a candidate that represents the people actaully running, and winning the nomination. Arguably, we had a couple of those, but they were sidelined by the corporate controlled party system, so I can't seem to get excited.

I feel the same way about the continuing reports of this administration's malfeasance - so what? They are getting away with it, even when it becomes public knowledge, so...Ehh...Though I do follow these things much the same way I watch pro-baseball. It's interesting to hear about hitting streaks and extraordinary pitching statistics. And that's about what's going on here, pitching statistics. How many high and away pitches, and how many low and in the dirt pitches, will the American people, acting as umpire, continue to call 'strikes'? That's what's interesting. We're the umpire, and we're too stoned to see the ball. I'd love to see the statistics.

On the bright side, Rick Eddy finally got his story on the Repub convention done (Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom). It needs editing, but I lack the time - it'd be nice if he could just write it well the first time, but...Well, he assures us that the story is at least substantively accurate as to convention occurrances, even if it's not particularly well written prose. He has also warned us here at Radically Inept, that though he is currently on the run, he is also ginning up a follow up piece. We'll see. We here at Radically Inept don't make promises for our correspondants - we just publish the stories.

Back to the job hunt...

Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part Five)

2004-10-23T18:03:00.000-05:00

The final climatic end of "Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom". Alright, it ain't really the end, and you can decide for yourselves whether or not it's climatic. I've just always wanted to use that line - THE FINAL, CLIMATIC END TO OUR STORY - or somehtin' similar. Anyway, expect all five parts to get a serious re-edit in the comin' week. It needs it, but quit your bitchin', this is hot off the press...

I grabbed the briefcase and the sports bag, and headed to the front desk. I had a little time before I’d have to get out to the private airport for the flight back to NYC. I cashed my chips out and got on the cell phone to Jack – you remember Jack? The guy who was nice enough to let me use his laptop in the pub? Well, I called him on his cell and luckily, he wasn’t in a meeting or anything. I asked him if he could do me a big favor, and that I’d pay him well for his time. I told him I ‘d arrange a rental car in ‘my’ name, but that I needed it picked up and moved to an hourly lot, because I was going to be on a tight schedule when I was ready for the car.

He had no idea how tight a schedule. I told him I’d make it worth his while, that I figured it would take him a couple of hours to do it, and I was willing to pay $500 an hour for his time. Even an honest guy has a hard time questioning a $1000 windfall, so he agreed. We decided on a rental place and hourly lot close to where he worked; a supermarket where I’d wire him his money; where to hide the car keys, and I got his information to make him the second driver on the car. Like I said before, sometimes you have to enlist people in your war, and Jack was my first. It might suck for him, but at a $k he was cheap.

I headed to the front desk, and got them to wire the money to Jack, and wire enough money to the hotel in NYC to take care of all existin’ charges, and to hold the room open for another night. Then I went to the concierge and asked him to make arrangements for the rental car at the lot Jack and I had agreed on, and take care of the rental I’d used for the trip to LA. I also got him to set up a hotel limo ride to the private airfield, so I could catch the flight back to NY. Again, the advantage is money – presumed or real – money cuts down on questions if you know how to spread it and I tipped the concierge a couple a’ hundred for his effort.

Then I stepped into the lobby restroom, went to a stall, put the phone on the floor and crushed it under my heel; if you can say a flat-soled shoe like a tennis shoe even has a ‘heel’. Paranoia can save your life. I dropped it in the lobby fountain on the way out. Let ‘em try to get the fuckin’ info off it now. I got in the limo, and headed for the airfield. I raised the privacy panel ‘tween me and the driver, smoked a doob’, had stiff one, and did a line of crank for good measure. I know he could smell the weed, but limo drivers don’t. I tipped him a hundred, grabbed the briefcase and sports bag and got on the plane. I was the only one that got on in Vegas, so those that were already on the plane figured I was special since the plane had made an extra stop just for me. See, that’s the problem. The plane didn’t make an extra stop for me – it made the extra stop for the briefcase of money, I was just a high paid errand boy.

I grabbed a seat, grabbed some of Murdoch’s whiskey, and fired up one of Murdoch’s fine cigars from the re-supply the crew had put in somewhere along the way. Actually, I wasn’t even sure if this was the same plane. I had no clue how many planes Murdoch had at his disposal.

Now I had sometime to think. You might think I spent some time thinkin’ about the money in the briefcase; I didn’t. Tweren’t any of my business. Hell, I never counted it. The stuff was vacuum sealed, and had no idea how much I was carryin’. Okay, by weight and size and denomination of the bills, I had some idea, but that wasn’t a Rick Eddy problem and it wasn’t what I get paid to do. I’d already been paid, and any discrepancies, as long as the seal was intact, weren’t my problem.

No, what I was thinkin’ ‘bout was what was goin’ on. It’d dawned on me that we were seriously headin’ for a “Brave New World”. That had to be it. Some people who read it, found the idea of a genetic caste society abhorrent, but this crowd – the crowd I was currently dealin’ with – well, hell, they probably thought it was a great idea, and were just workin’ on implementin’ it. Why else would the American edu-ma-cation system have been in a steady decline since the sixties? Hell, we had a population that wasn’t smart enough to analyze a commercial. We had a society caught up in workin’, and spendin’ money on things they didn’t need under the the fuckin’ con that it was good for the economy, and they lived suckin’ up government prescribed drugs – soma-like – for the depression. Well, shit. What’d you expect if you thought your whole purpose in life was to buy stuff, and you couldn’t afford to buy it? Them moral values that the preachers always shout about seemed to have all been replaced with greed and materialism, haves and have nots, and nothing else.

Personally, I didn’t care as long as I could live outside the system, and that used to be easy before the ‘information revolution’. You could always stay below the radar before, if’n you were smart, but that’s pretty much changed, and continuin’ to stay below the system’s radar was getting’ pert near impossible. I figure now’s the last chance. If you let ‘em alone for ten more years, it’ll really fuckin’ morph into a Brave New World, and I’m sure Huxley’d be disappointed that we hadn’t paid no attention his warnin’. Well, if ‘tweren’t too late, I was gonna’ try and stop it. A fuckin’ stagnate, orderly world was no place I wanted to live. I don’t figure there’s anywhere to hide for long, so it must be time to fight – or accept, and acceptance ain’t an option. Stagnation was death; the world needs chaos or it dies – at least I’d die.

Funny thing, though – I didn’t know how far off the mark I was ‘til later that night.

When the plane landed, there were a couple of cars waitin’, and it turned out I was the only one headin’ to the Garden, so I got my own car. There was a new security badge and matchin’ ID waitin’ on me in the back seat. They’d even used one of my old aliases, Ed de Crepe, and they were top-drawer access. I whadn’t gonna have no problem movin’ around the convention with this stuff. Murdoch’s minions were as efficient as he paid ‘em to be.

As I had the car to myself, I told the driver to take me to the restaurant where I’d done the ‘pest control inspection’, and wait on me. I was hopin’ the guy that opened up wasn’t there, but if he was – so what? I whadn’t like I was plannin’ on eatin; I was way too cranked up for that. I took the bags with me when I went inside, and found the coat check room. I talked to the check girl on duty, and told her I was gonna’ be goin’ to the convention that night, and I was wonderin’ whether they were still gonna be open when the festivities ended. She assured me they would, so I went ahead an’checked the sports bag with her, took the stub she handed me, and pre-tipped her a fifty. When I came back through, I’d likely be in a hurry, and I was payin’ for prompt service. If anyone asked her later? Yeah, she’d remember me, and they’d know I came this way, but so what?

What I was countin’ on, was they didn’t know ‘bout the hotel room in Friday Dawg’s name, and nor’n ‘bout the rental car at the pay lot. Those were the two most important pieces of info at this stage of the game. Dependin’ on how it all went down would wind up dictatin’ how much effort they put inta lookin’ for me, and on that front, I was countin’ on them figurin’ I wasn’t worth the effort – yet.

So, I hit the restaurant bar and ordered a drink to kill a little time when I remembered you can’t smoke in these yankee restaurants no more! Just how pussy was that? That’s how you could tell things were goin’ wrong with this country. You could pollute the air like a mutha fucker as long as you were payin’ the big boys for gasoline, but you couldn’t smoke at a bar in a restaurant – like there was any clean air within fifty fuckin’ miles of the city – no, hell, like there was any clean air left anywhere on the entire East Coast.

So, I pounded the drink back, and headed back out to the limo, got in and headed for the convention proper. I did another line of crank, in the time it took to go ‘round the block to the VIP entrance. The last thing I did, was use the limo phone to call the Miami PD to let ‘em know that there was five kilos of pure crank comin’ in on a private jet from LA.

Yeah. I know. The call would eventually be traced back to the limo and me, but hell, I’d declared war, and I wasn’t gonna be able to hide for long, no how. I just had to hope I had the timin’ right. I had to hope the LAPD couldn’t get Hickey before he got on the plane; that he brought his tennis gear with him; that he hadn’t found the stuff already, and that he wouldn’t arrive in Miami until the festivities here at the convention were ‘bout done. All that, and hope the shit didn’t hit the fan ‘forin’ I got a chance to high tail my ass out of the Garden.

The driver must ‘a called ahead, there was someone waitin’ to personally escort me up when we got into the garage. Fuck. See, I almost made the same mistake I was bitchin’ about earlier; it wasn’t me that was bein’ escorted – it was the fuckin’ money.

Anyway, we rode the elevator up and got out on the same floor as last time, and headed to the same pressroom. When I walked in, Murdoch was getting’ a blow job from O’Reilly. Alright, it wasn’t actually a blow job, but it was damn close. O’Reilly was actin’ like one of my dogs at feedin’ time. You know. I love you I love you I love you it’s feedin’ time right? It’s feedin’ time right? I love you I love you It’s feedin’ time, right? Shit, I was waitin’ for O’Reilly to like Murdoch’s face, or somethin’. Yeah, he was a real dog of the people.

Murdoch saw me, and nodded to the back wall where there were a buch of briefcases and bags. I went over and set the briefcase with the money down, and no better’n O’Reilly, I wandered over ‘round a bit, waitin’ for the master to give me my treat. Difference was, I was plannin’ on bitin’.

One thing I noticed while I was waitin’, was these TV twits wore as much makeup as Georgia hunters where camo-grease. Difference was, the hunters wore the shit to hide, the guys wore it to look pretty. It didn’t work all that well either case. The game worked off smell, so the camo didn’t work. And these guys, hell, it just made ‘em look more pussy.

Finally, Murdoch was ready. He gave me a nod. Man, that’s how I got my dogs trained – with a fuckin’ nod. This was gonna end. Right quick. We left the same way we left the last time, and wound up in the same posh power room as the last time. This time when we entered, no one paid me no mind. [Brief aside here: I can talk yankee if I want to. I can talk Mid-Western if I want to. I can even talk Left Coast surfer when I feel like it. Hell, I can even speak academic when necessary, but there are real advantages to talkin’ Southern – most important is the fact that people think you’re slow, mentally. They ‘mis-underestimate’ you. ‘Sides, it’s a lot more comfortable, an’ people don’t figure you’re puttinj’ on airs. Okay, truth is, I the edge it gives you.]

Anyway, when we walked in, some guy I didn’t know, said to Murdoch, “It is time.”

Murdoch replied in a tone that might not be called deferential, but it certainly seemed to acknowledge that he was lower on some hierarchy I didn’t know. He said, “Ahh, yes.” Like I said; it was in the tone.

We all took seats ‘round the tables in the room, and the guy who had spoke to us when we came in, stayed the center of attention. Everyone faced his way, and he stayed standin’. He made some signal, and three waiters went ‘round the room poorin’ tumblers of somethin’ from an unmarked decanter. I figured I was in for some primo shit.

While we were waitin’ for the waiters to hit everyone, I looked around the room to see who I knew. I knew a fair bunch from readin’ the real ‘who’s who’, and they weren’t all American. There was at least one Rothchild, and someone I knew was a relation to the Krupp family and a sprinklin’ of European royalty. But there was also couple of Waltons there, a Ford, Scaiffe, of course, a Rockefeller, and some I didn’t know. One sign of power is not ever showin’ up in People Magazine or the tabloids. But an even bigger sign of power, to me at least, is if you were this powerful, and I’d never heard of you. There were some in the room like that. Real power doesn’t show itself. You had to really have power to not even show up in the lit that I kept up with. Anyway, there was ‘bout twenty-five of us in the room, and I knew I was THE token. Everyone else belonged.

Once we all had a full tumbler in front of us (hell, since I referenced A Brave New World earlier, might as well call the main man Alpha), Alpha raised his glass, and said, “Gentlemen…and Ladies (He smiled at that last part, and there were a couple of women, includin’ one of Walton’s daughters), tonight we progress one more step on the road to attaining the ultimate power. It will be entertaining, but more importantly for us, it will move us that much closer to our goal. So, raise the ambrosia that has been placed before you, and drink deeply to further consecrate our pact, and ‘May the best – win’.

Everyone, ‘cept me knew to respond with, “May the best win,” so I intoned a little late, but I intoned. Hell, I am the best. Fuck these fuckers.

I lifted my glass with the rest of ‘em, but I waited ‘til I saw Murdoch drink ‘fore I started. You ever read that phrase – drink greedily? Well, that’s ‘xactly what they did. The greed shined in their eyes while they drank this stuff.

And, it was good. Really. It was damn fine. Smooth. And it hit quick! I could feel it startin’ to work. I followed everyone in getting’ up, and goin’ through one of those doors ya’ don’t see ‘til someone opens it. It opened into a large elevator. Probably, it was normally used as a service elevator for other Garden functions, but now it was decked out posh. We all got in and road down.

I was standin’ in the elevator close to Murdoch, an’ I got this wild hair up my ass, and asked loud ‘nough for a lot ‘a people to hear me, “Hey, what was up with that anthrax attack on Stevens from the American Media Corp in Florida?”

Yeah, I know, it should have been the American Media Industries, but man, I got ‘that’ look from Murdoch – ‘What the fuck do you know’; ‘why are you askin’ me’, and ‘what the fuck makes you think I’d answer?’

It was a hell of a look, but I knew there was somethin’ there I’d have to look into later. That, and everyone standin’ around Murdoch gave me pretty much the same look.

When the doors opened on the opposite side, we all got out, and squeezed (yeah, squeezed, especially those that that were challenged by their height to weight ratio) down a thirty foot corridor, and walked into ‘room’ a mite smaller’n the stage that I knew was overhead. Yep, we were in the space below where the convention speakers were speakin’.

When we walked in, there were already people sittin’ in theater like seatin’, and they all had risen ( I was last in line, so for all I know, they were seated ‘til we showed up) as Alpha, who led the pack (pun intended) entered the room, like a five star general, or more like an emperor. Everyone in ‘my’ group ws directed to seats ‘down front’, ‘ceptin’ me. As soon as I walked in, Murdoch pointed to a back aisle seat. Yeah, I was the field slave at a Masters’ party. I was there, but Murdoch’s crap about usin’ Radically Inept to break a story to discredit it, no longer rang true. Somethin’ else was up, but man, whatever that ‘ambrosia’ was, just kept hittin’.

I sat down where directed, and started lookin’ ‘round at the crowd. The group that had already been in the ‘temple’ – ‘cause now that I looked at it, it did look like a temple of some sort – were, like, lesser flunkies. Hell, I saw Ashcroft close to the front. Poor SOB. You could see it in his ‘hang dog’ posture. Here was a guy, who’d lost to a dead man, and still wound up THE United States Attorney General, and no one allowed him to have any fun. I mean, what? His most news worthy work was bustin’ whorehouses in N’Or’lens (New Orleans, for those that don’t speak Southern/Cajun), and bustin’ Tommy Chong for sellin’ bongs. Poor guy. Ya’ could see itin his demeanor. Here was a guy that thought when he got the job, he was gonna have as much fun as Janet Reno. But no. No one in this administration wanted to hear about domestic terrorism. They didn’t want the things Ashcroft had dreamed of – his own Ruby Ridge; his own Waco. The chance to beat and torture Americans. No, the Baby Bush administration had tied his hands.. They didn’t ‘allow’ him to make the news. Hell, if the felon wasn’t muslim, or at least brown, no one wanted to hear ‘bout it. Here was a guy, just hopin’ for a chance to prove he was tougher than any fuckin’ dyke, and he was stuck sittin’ on the bench.

I didn’t feel sorry for the bastard. But man, I was havin’ a hard enough time just keepin’ my head together. Ambrosia my ass. This shit was hittin’ hard. Every muscle in my body was contractin’ at it own pace – an’ my spine! Shit, it wasn’t ambrosia like I figured ambrosia. It was more like someone had cut this shit with strychnine. If you ain’t ever been exposed to strychnine, well, hell…Just imagine every muscle in your body fightin’ the ‘xact same opposin’ muscle. It sucked.

‘Bout then, shit got weird. These ‘wide screens’ dropped down around the room, an’ no shit, they were showin’ Baby Bush ass fuckin’ some brown-skinned twelve year old kid. Man, he wadn’t even smilin’. He was smirkin’. And. He kept hittin’ this kid on the ass with a cowboy hat, and yippy-I-ayin’, an’ smirkin’ for the camera. Poor kid was bayin’ like a calf lost from its mother in a thunderstorm. The more the kid cried out, the faster Baby Bush thrusted. And in the background, were these two guys, all in black with hoods coverin’ their faces, holdin’ some screamion’ woman. The more she screamed, the more Bush beat the kid’s ass with the hat.

The crowd cheered. Really. The crowd in this room was laughin’ and cheerin’. Hell, I looked over at Ashcroft, and the son-of-a-bitch was playin’ fuckin’ pocket pool. It looked like he was havin’ the most fun he’s had, sinced getting’ the job of lockin’ up poor people.

But, somethin’ else was happenin’. I was startin’ to see shit. Specifically, I was startin’ to see the room – ‘glow’ is the wrong word – ooze this aura. I could feel it.

‘Bout then, curtains in front of the room, that I hadn’t seen before opened. And there was ol’ Zell (Zell Miller), standin’ there lookin’ doe eyed. Worse. His eyes looked like the eyes of fresh roadkill. Fuck, he looked like a fuckin’ Zombie. He walked like a fuckin’ zombie. Right to the center of a slightly raised platform I hadn’t noticed a’ fore.

Wow. My muscles were just doin’ their own dance, and it was hard for me to even stay in my seat. When I looked ‘round, no one else seemed to have the same ‘symptoms’. Hell, they all seemed to be into the whole scene, but I did notice Murdoch turn ‘round from his seat down front, and give me one of them quizzical looks.

While Zell did this zombie walk to ‘center stage’, the crowd started some sort ‘a chant. Tweren’t in no language I’d ever heard before, but it sure as hell was a chant.

And I watched this red, black, oily – I don’t really know how to describe it, ‘ceptin’ it was pure evil – rise up from below the platform. And, it seemed to engulf Zell. Like it was enterin’ him through every orifice of his body, an’ then some.

And he changed. His eyes went from ‘not there’ to a look of ‘I can eat babies’.

Alpha got up, and walked to the front, and faced the crowd, with ol’ Zell behind him, and he started talkin’ ‘bout the times a’ fore Christ, and the long wait, and how it was all comin’ together, but my mind was gettin’ blurry. And, the muscle spasms, well, I was just lucky I’d been poisoned before, and was used to doin’ serious drugs. ‘Cause I could handle it…Sort’a.

Then Alpha turned to ‘Zell monster’, an’ said, “Oh, (somethin’ garbled) delver our message to the masses. Tell them WE know what is best. Tell them to worship us. And through worshipping through us, they will worship you.”

The fuckin’ ooze was fillin’the room. The whole room was a haze of evil. And then, Zell seemed to just rise through the floor, at the same time the wide screens showed him walkin’ onto the stage.

Then the wide screens went blank.

I saw him walkin’ from nowhere, to the platform. Cheney. He didn’t have no blank stare. He came in lookin’ cold, hard, and confident. And when the ooze (new ooze), rose from the platform to enter him, it merged. Hell, it was a fuckin’ symbiotic relationship. Cheney’s eyes turned a little red, and he went from being cold, to bein’ the malevolent entity we all know an’ fear. Least wise, I’ve always feared him. But the point is, this wasn’t anythin’ new to him – he welcome the devil that took control of his soul(?).

And then, it was like he merged with, an’ matter fact, under this fuckin’ ambrosia shit, I can tell ya’ – he merged with the force of evil. Whatever. It wasn’t some corporatist plot. Hell no. Even with the drug, I knew, it wasn’t ‘bout greed and profit. It was ‘bout being able to disembowel people for fun. It was the joy of watching someone slide down the iron horse. It was the ecstasy of slowly dismembering a lifeform over an extended period of time. It was the joy of cookin’ hebes in the ovens. The thrill of rapin’ a serfs daughter while the parents watched – helpless.

I understood through the miasma of the ‘ambrosia’. This wasn’t about creating a soulless ‘Brave New World’. This was ‘bout settin’ up Hell on earth. It was the ‘Island of Melbourne’ from the Elric Saga.

And, I knew somethin’ ‘ad gone wrong. I waddn’t ‘aspposed ta’ see this with revulsion. I was ‘aspposed to embrace it. The ‘ambrosia’ wasn’t workin’ on me like they planned. In a moment of clarity I understood. They’d never figured on me being polluted on something as crass as crank. The ‘Ambrosia’ wasn’t chemically compatible with somethin’ as base as crystal meth. They’d fucked up.

Two things happened in quick succession right then. I realized that the drug wasn’t affedtin’ me like it was supposed to. And they realized it wasn’t effectin’ me like it was supposed to. I could tell by the look on Ascroft’s face – disappointment, coupled with a certain glee. Disappointment that the drug didn’t work. Glee, cause I’d probably wind up somewhere where he could play with me.

Between the muscle spasms and the overwhelmin’ sense of just pure evil, I was lucky to keep my last meal down. Hell, I was lucky my last meal was a breakfast in Vegas almost twenty-four hours past (who the fuck knew, with the time changes?). And it dawned on me…I was supposed to wind up like Zell. The ‘ambrosia’ was supposed to turn me fuckin’ doe-eyed and mindless, and only the crank was savin’ me.

I watched Cheney rise up from the platform through the ceiling. I watched Zell on the wide screens walk off stage, at the same time he sunk through the ceiling to the platform. Who the fuck knew at this point what was drugs and what was real? But, I watched evil incarnate, in the personage of Cheney start his speech on the stage above.

Then I saw some mother fucker walk down the aisle and whisper somethin’ to Murdoch. And I saw Murdoch give me a look; a look that I knew Hickey had been busted. Even then I knew it wouldn’t make the news, but I knew I had to get out.

Luckily, they’d sat me in the back. I got up, and pushed the bar on the metal door, and hit the narrow corridor knowing that those fuckers back in the ‘Templeof Doom’ weren’t gonna follow me. Naah. They didn’t do their own dirty work if there was any chance of resistance. They’d be there; they’d probably all be there, when I was tied down at their mercy. But for now, my problem would be getting’ past the minions.

Well, I remembered we’d come in from the left, from the elevator, so I turned right. I just made turns, and wandered based on some inner sense of dirction, and soon found my self walkin’ up a staircase to the main floor.

I was now amongst the crowd of cheering and delirious idiots that are voters. But I also saw the evil wasn’t all pervasive. Not everyone in the crowd was about evil. Under the influence of whatever was in the drug, I saw evil; I saw greed – lots ‘a greed – I saw neutrality, and I saw the auras of people who were basically good, but docile, hell, even cheering, under the spells of whatever demons had possessed Zell and Dick.

I knew I had to move, and move fast. I figured luck had got me out of the room I was supposed to have been sacrificed in, and got me here; I’d let luck guide me out of the Garden – and it did. Security was keeping’ Americans out, it wasn’t really set up to stop an asshole from leavin’. You weren’t supposed to be there if you weren’t an idol worshipper, so, security wasn’t lookin’ for someone tryin’ to leave. They especially weren’t lookin’ to stop someone who looked like he was gonna puke his guts out at any minute. Fuck no, they got out of my way.

The spasms hit a real fuckin’ crescendo when I hit the streets, but at the same time, the air with out that level of concentrated evil felt good. I found my way over to the parkin’ garage. I knew the cameras were on me, but I also knew, they wouldn’t be lookin’ at the tapes for a while.

I high jumped and pulled the security guard jacket off the parkin’ attendant’s booth, and dumped the sports coat I was wearin’ to put it on. There wasn’t no chance of hidin’ who I was – hell, my DNA was on file. So, fuck the cameras, and the high tech facial recognition systems. I had to use distance.

I headed up the stairs from the parkin’ lot to the floor with the bathroom where I’d hidden the electrician’s shirt. I made it that far, and dumped the white shirt. The slacks and shoes were a little to high dollar to complete the affect, but I had to keep movin’.

If it sounds like I was paniced, well hell, I was. I’ll blame it on the fuckin’ AMBROSIA. But I was able to get myself calmed down enough to wall down the hall to the elevator; take the elevator down to the ground floor, and walk out past the security guard and out the buildin’. I even had presence of mind to wave at him. He looked a little startled, but than, security guards, ‘specially $10 an hour guards, are trained to keep people out, and don’t have a fuckin’ clue ‘bout what to do ‘bout people leavin’.

When I walked out of the buildin’, I was half ass calm. The panic was gone, even if the muscle spasms persisted. I looked up and down the street ‘fore I headed to the delivery dock of the restaurant.

The city glowed. I’m not talkin’ ‘bout it glowin’ neon or with other lights; I’m talkin’ it glowed evil, good and neutral. It was like I had some sort’a DnD detect alignment spell. Hell, it wasn’t like that – it was that. I could spot evil, good and neutral. And the city glowed in evil, good and neutral. Mostly neutral, a lot of evil, and little good, as far as I can recollect.

On the way to the restaurant’s delivery dock, I spotted him. I didn’t see him as much as I saw the evil radiated by him. He was dressed the same way the guys holdin’ the woman downin the Baby Bush video. It didn’t take much actin’, but I put on a little show of bein’ fucked up. I quit fightin’ the muscle spasms as I was walkin’. I stumbled down the alley to the dock, keepin’ an eye on the evil aura. I also loosened the collar of the shirt, and when the spam was right, I pulled the paint stirrer stiletto out, and cupped up against my forearm.

He came up, smilin’. He knew he was gonna have fun fuckin’ with me.

He never saw it comin’. He raised his arm, in that halt kind of motion, and I drove the stirrer in deep, below his arm, and above the line of his body armor, and twisted. I wasn’t gonna be able to pull it out; not with out spendin’ too ;much time. But as my right hand drove the blade in, my left hand caught him on the jaw line and I broke his neck. [Don’t try this at home. Coordinating these strikes, even not under the influence, is hard enough, but makin’ sure the kill is quick and sure…well, ya’ need a certain amount of experience.] I dragged him into the shadows. Again, I know, the fuckin’ surveillance in this place caught it all, but all I needed was a little time, and I was hopin’ that security was arrayed to makeit hard for them to respond to someone ‘escapin’’, instead of intrudin’.

Now I’d lost my weapon. It was stuck in his body, and like I said, extractin’ it would take to much time. So I did what they don’t do in most movies – I took his. I took his assault weapon, 9 mil Uzzi, and tossed it into the shadows. It’d just be a huge hunk of metal for the detectors to find. I kept his ID, badge, and whatever was in his wallet. This kind of shit is worth an Uzzi anyday, ‘ceptin’ in a fire fight. I’d ‘a liked more of his stuff, but he was bleedin’ all over it. So, I moved to the dock, swapped the electrician’s shirt for the pest control shirt that was stashed there, and headed to the coat check girl.

I stopped in the bathroom in the back to make sure I wasn’t covered in blood, took a quick snort of crank and moved on. My head was startin’ to come together, even if I was still seein’ the alignments of the souls, and havin’ serious muscle spasms. I don’t know what effect the crank had, but it seemed to dull the spasms.

When I got to coat check girl, she recognized me, and sure was curious ‘bout the outfit I was in. I told her to pass me the bag, and gave her another $fifty. The questions stopped, and the smiles came back.

I moved quickly to the hotel, changed, and headed to the placed Jack had left the rental. Two cabs and a subway, and I was headed home…Via Albany, Buffalo, Canton, Louisville, Memphis, Birmingham, and Pensacola. I’ll go into details later…

Tin Hat and PBS - the war we lost?

2004-10-23T00:32:00.000-05:00

I'd be interested in whether any of my USA based readers have noticed any discrepancies in tonight's programming by their local PBS affiliates...

I supposedly live in a progressive city - at lest as far as the South-East is concerned. I live in Atlanta, and we are 'served' by two separate Public Broadcasting (PBS) channels. Often, both of them show simultaneous programming, or the same programs in different time slots. Both of them show NOW with Bill Moyers on Friday nights. Georgia Public Broadcasting - Channel 8 airs it in the ten pm to 11 pm slot, and
Public Broadcasting Atlanta - Channel 30 shows it at 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm, and Channel 30 shows Speaking Freely immediately following NOW.

Well, I confess. On Friday nights, I play the Fantasy Five lotto game. I try to play it between 10 pm and 10:30 pm - as close to drawing time, where I think I get 'luckier' on the numbers (see remote viewing). Regardless, it is because of the NOW show time difference between the two stations (since I really like NOW) that I usually make the move to buy my night's numbers between ten and 10:30 pm.

Well, I left the house at ten tonight, came home and caught a few moments of the first half of NOW on Channel 8, while waiting for the complete showing of NOW on Channel 30. But Channel 30 was still playing their version of Wall Street Review, PBS | News & Views | Business (it might have been Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE . In the News | PBS), or whatever. But NOW did not start at 10:30. So, I flipped to the TV Guide channel (which I loathe but use), and all of sudden the schedule was different. The TV guide channel said that NOW would show from 12 am to 12:30 pm, followed by Speaking Freely. So, I finished watching the second half of this week's NOW, and when I flipped over to Channel 30 again, they were in the midst of the first half on the NOW program (all about small towns and Walmarts and class warfare).

So, I figured Channel 30's programming had drifted off by 10 or 15 minutes (not all that unusual with PBS stations), and I watched the remaining first half of the NOW program.

That's when things got interesting. [OH. I had tried to call the station, Channel 30, earlier to complain about the programming change, and both numbers for the station in my phone book were no longer valid - one rang an unused number at Emory Hospital, and the other, the Atlanta School system???? I was using the '02 to '03 phone book, for what it's worth]. But right where I had come into the second half of the NOW program on Channel 8, and the discussion revolved around class warfare, and a corporate takeover of America, the same program on Channel 30, suddenly switched to last week's second half programming of the NOW show, which was on election fraud. Now why would that be? Why in mid sentence would this week's program be switched to last week's program? I mean, I can't believe in this day and age, that it had anything to do with someone screwing up on a reel change. Those days are over. If you have this week's show, you have this week's show, right?

But then, all of a sudden, another programming change - they weren't showing Speaking Freely tonight. Why? It was in my hardcopy TV guide that I get from my paper. It showed up the first time I checked programming on the TV Guide channel. Why all of a sudden would they drop the programming they had promised me? Who owns this station?

Oh, but it went down hill. No really,after all of that, it went further down hill. They advertised that a new 'reality show'. WHAT THE FUCK!!!! PBS is now showing 'reality shows'?!!!

I hate Newt Gingrich. He won. During pledge brakes they show 'noninfo-mercial' info-mercials. What else can you call it, when the program spokespersons spend most of their time hawking show products? PBS is dead. No more "The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth". NO, instead I'm expected to endure a Dr. (not even a doctor) Phil program, or a health food (read sell products) program...Newt won.

A&E Television started off as an almost valid commercial alternative to PBS. They went to shit. Then Discover (should be Discovery not Discover) came along, and replaced A&E, but now they mostly show car chases and a disfunctional family building motorcycles - hardly programming for the mind.

But than, when ESPN started, they swore they'd never show wrestling and the like.

Corporate greed, intentionally or unintentionally (I suspect an intentional effort, hence the tin hat), has resulted in me watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (he'll be on Sixty Minutes on Sunday) for news, and Sponge Bob Square Pants for entertainment. It's pretty fuckin sad.

Two from Chocolate Morphine

2004-10-22T17:23:00.000-05:00

These were sent to me via Chocolate Morphine - Political Bohemian Rhapsody and my favorite, Voting in Florida.

The second one may be experiencing heavy traffic, as I couldn't get the page to open. Hopefully it will work later. I'll check back

All information is free

2004-10-22T10:04:00.000-05:00

This post is sort of a continuance of the posts listed at the end of this post. I hadn't realized how many posts I had done in this 'area'. Now that I've gathered them together, I will try to put them in a grouping over on the side bar.

They are all connected in that they look at the value of information or attempt to define value. They do tend to ramble, and they often repeat specific ideas or overlap, but they are [obviously] reflective of the way I approach this kind of problem. I once heard a line in a movie, TV show or documentary, and I wish I could remember where so I could cite it appropriately, but the line was to the affect, "I am a sloppy thinker". I can think linearly, but some problems require 'sloppy thinking', which I sort of define as continually re-examining the problem from a variety of starting points, and trying to find common threads and/or patterns, and hope they somehow move the dialogue forward toward a 'solution'.

So I am going to start this post with a quote by "Nooper", whose homepage, scratchings, means either that Harry is using yet another alias, or someone is pretending that it's their page. On the otherhand, you should check out the discussion going on in the comments at scratchings: Character assassination is fun!.

The quote:

Value, measured in the narrowest sense, exists only for the individual contemplating it. That's inherently bogus for community creatures like us.

The TV on in the room downstairs is also broadcasting information to others. The man upstairs is missing out and wasting money, but the lack of an audience in one place doesn't diminish the value in others.

'Course, the show could be absolute crap and that creates anti-value. Much like the reverse Midas Touch of Bush the Lesser.

Which was in response to my post, How do we value: value?. I agree with his statement, "Value, measured in the narrowest sense, exists only for the individual contemplating it." And in a way, it makes a good starting point, or continuance, of my ongoing look at information and value.

However, all information is derived from an exchange of energy in the form of electrons/photons. If their is no energy exchanged, whether between individuals and groups, or individuals and their environment, than there is no information. In the case of individuals and groups, the exchange has two sets of values to start with. The value of the information as determined by the sender, and the value placed on the information by the receiver. These values are all filtered through the sender's and receiver's individual information filters. But further, there is often a feedback loop.

The sender sends the information to the receiver, and since it requires the expenditure of energy on the part of the receiver, one can presume that the sender expects/anticipates/desires a response on the part of a particular receiver or group of receivers. Hence, part of the value of the information on the senders part, is the anticipated reaction on the receivers part.

The receiver in return, often filters the incoming information with the knowledge that some sort of energy/information is expected in return on the part of the sender.

And, in the case of a 'dialogue', the loop can have many iterations.

Additionally, it is often the case that the sender expends energy in hopes of receiving a 'greater return' on their expenditure. This greater return would be determined by the sender's [now receiver] own set of 'values'.

I will try this as an example: The Baby Bush administration desires to go to war. They expend energy {the senders} to deliver information to the American populace {the Receivers}. Whether or not the information is true [truth has no greater inherent value than lies], the Baby Bush administration gets America to go to war, cause the death of civilians, and has America assume the costs of the war in terms of American lives and money. The amount of energy that the Baby Bush administration expended in transmitting its information is slight in comparison to the energy they received or were able to elicit. They received huge returns on their minimal investment.

This applies to any marketing campaign. The desire on the sender's part is to receive significant return on their energy investment.

The value of the information must be determined from both sides of the equation. The sender's initial energy output to send the information, and the receiver's output of energy in response to the sender's, and the sender's [now receiver] return.

Both sides, as I stated earlier, have filters. These filters can amplify or retard the flow of energy on both sides of the equation. For instance, my filters are set to start with the premise that anything this administration says, is a lie. Other individuals have their filter set, so that not only do they receive the information, they act upon it - expending far more energy than the administration does in sending it. The problem, form my view point, is that there are either too many positive receivers, or not enough negative information retarders.

Of course, I can expend as much energy in trying to counter the energy put out by the other group. And now we have to consider that in our equation. Multiple individual receivers, each operating from their own filtered view, bring a huge complexity to the receiver's side of the equation. And, the return that the sender's [now receivers] realize.

So, then you get to aggregating it all.

I'm going to change tacts. As you can tell from the number of previous posts I've linked to below, you can rest assured I will come back to this at some point, for greater exploration. But for now...The reason I titled this post "All information is free".

All information and energy is free. Regardless of whether you believe in the 'Big Bang', Inflationary Cosmology, or the myth of a supreme deity, all point to free energy and information.

No one creates energy. We at best can be considered to transmute existing forms of energy into other forms, but even the energy used in the transmutation is free.

For instance, your life is sustained, ultimately, by basic organisms converting energy provided to them by our sun, into energy that is used in life. The sun's energy costs us nothing. Oil already exists, we expend no energy in creating the fuel, we only expend energy on it's extraction and transmutation into a form we determine to be usable.

Why do I bring this up? Well, again, as I have in previous posts, I am trying to get my mind around the idea of how our economy, and especially the capitalistic form, came into being. I have discussed things like how we 'value' entertainment and aesthetics, on a footing equal, or at least apparently equal in some ways, to utilitarian objects that we need for survival. That, and $55 dollar/barrel oil and what that will ultimately do to our economy. I think.

For instance, we are fighting a war to get at something that is 'provided' for free. The oil exists. And its existence costs us nothing. Its use costs us a great deal, especially if one factors in environmental damage. Further, we use this energy, in part, to power neon signs that sell us non-utilitarian and/or 'overpriced' goods. For instance, in my opinion, status branded goods provide no greater utility than non-status branded goods, but far more energy is 'expended' to market these goods.

So, I guess we are back where I started. The senders of information concerning the status branded goods hope to see a greater return on their energy expenditure, and they therefore must discount the 'value' of the energy source, and I guess the war...and the people dying...I guess...

Well, I have other things I must now attend to, but I am left, and I leave you, with this line of questioning - Can we achieve a complex, sustainable economy without energy being used to market products - branded or otherwise? If one starts from the premise that all energy and information is ultimately 'free', how much energy (spent in transmuting free energy) is worth how much entertainment? Can the equation be brought down to Energy = Information = Entertainment = Aesthetics =...And, surely, survival and the survival of the species, should somehow be factored into our equations...

Anyway, below are the previous posts that have led me, if tangentially, to this point of reasoning. And remember, my idea is to get as reductionist as possible, and than to analyze information, value and energy within systemic frameworks. Obviously, I am having a somewhat difficult time, separating the reductionist from the holistic analyses. Sue me...

If a tree falls in the woods...

How do we value: value?

Continuing down the rabbit hole contains some very interesting definitions of value.

Lack of a value free viewpoint

Would Major Nelson play the Lottery?

'Real' Truth questioned

Questions I ponder, and perhaps a little progress

Explaining Everything II

Explaining everything

Wherein I confess my complete ignorance of 'common knowledge' - Or, Maybe you'll bear with me on this one II.

Death, Pain and Atheism

Maybe you'll bear with me on this one

Related posts from Rogue Analyst:

The photon economy, or what is the value of a license plate

Information Metric

A look at some of the costs of secrecy, or Newtonian Secrecy: Analyzing Secrecy in Public Policy Decisions

Admin: Light posting explained

2004-10-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

Well, as regular readers know, I'm on the job hunt. Sadly it is distracting me from things like blogging. I have several posts in mind, but by the time I get the time to write them up here, several will be too old to bother with.

I received an unsolicited email from a headhunter outfit for a contract/job opening. I think this may be the first one I've received that is for a 'real' job, and NOT for selling insurance and the like. In fact, that is what I've spent most of the day doing - trying to compose a decent cover letter. I have no problem writing until it comes to things like cover letters. I never know how badly to strain my arm slapping myself on the back while trying to cover all of the points raised in the job description.

The job sounds like something I'd love to do, and the end product might actually help save lives. That would be cool, as opposed to the other job I applied for yesterday - tax examiner for the IRS. Not that I have a problem with the IRS, it's just that the job I applied for basically consists of repetitive work and requires attention to detail, but no real problem solving or anything intellectually engaging.

I might try to get a substantive post in later tonight. Otherwise, it will probably be tomorrow.

The value of not informing

2004-10-20T07:27:00.000-05:00

COL Spock sent me this piece "Project Censored: Censored articles to Email to the Hypnotized" by Deanna Zandt and Evan Derkacz from AxisofLogic/ Activism, News and Comment, which contains ten examples, egregious all, of stories that have not been reported or have seriously been under reported. It also fits in with my ongoing personal analysis on the value of information.

Here is one of the ten stories:

6. Sale of electoral politics. Sources: In These Times (12/03); Independent/UK (10/13/03); Democracy NOW! (09/04/03).
As much hope as electronic voting offers (ease of use, access for the disabled etc), it offers just as many reasons for skepticism and fear. A look behind the curtain reveals that the programmers and manufacturers of the machines are a combination of defense contractors and corporations headed by staunch Republicans whose programming codes are dangerously faulty and whose results are impossible to verify.
Still, despite the partisan nature of the manufacturers, the problem could be solved with paper receipts and nonpartisan audits. But thus far, bipartisan attempts to require such receipts and audits that would ensure popular confidence in our Democracy haven't been a priority for the Republican-led congress. What possible reason could there be to prevent receipts? Are these questions being debated on "Hardball," "Nightline," in the pages of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or anywhere else?
And what do we have to show for electronic voting's record so far? And why do we have to go to London to learn it? Writing for the London Independent, Andrew Gumbel informs us that Roy Barnes, Georgia's Democratic incumbent governor, held a 10-point lead shortly before the 2002 election, while Max Cleland held a 2-5 point lead over his opponent in the state's senate race. The results, in this first all-electronic election, greatly contradicted all available polling and demographic information. The governor's race swung 16 points to the advantage of the Republican challenger while the senate race swung from 9-12 points - also to the Republican challenger. But few, if any, in the media sought to investigate this coincidence. And Republican upsets didn't end there; according to Gumbel: "There were others in Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois and New Hampshire - all in races that had been flagged as key partisan battlegrounds, and all won by the Republican Party."
Now, here's the kicker: "The vote count was not conducted by state elections officials, but by the private company that sold Georgia the voting machines in the first place, under a strict trade-secrecy contract that made it not only difficult but actually illegal - on pain of stiff criminal penalties - for the state to touch the equipment or examine the proprietary software to ensure the machines worked properly."
Here, from the same report, is a story begging to be told on network news: Sen Chuck Hagel, $5 million investor in ES&S - one of the larger voting systems manufacturers - "became the first Republican in 24 years to be elected to the Senate from Nebraska, cheered on by the Omaha World-Herald newspaper which also happens to be a big investor in ES&S...80 percent of Mr. Hagel's winning votes - both in 1996 and in 2002 - were counted, under the usual terms of confidentiality, by his own company." That just ain't the American way.

I chose this sample because it raises the question I have been asking since the election: How the fuck did Sonny Purdue win?! The part of the story that the above sample does not get into, which I find adds to my question, the 2002 election was the first election, since I don't know when, where there was no exit polling. Isn't that convenient if the race was in fact stolen? Absolutely no way to check.

Anyway, many of you will already be aware of many of the other nine cases cited, but you may not be aware of all of them, and it's always kind of nice to see a laundry list to be reminded of how bad things have gotten with the media in this country.

Wired on the jukebox

2004-10-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

Something is going on with blogger. I'm not sure what changes they are making this time, but the interface is very different today, and many of the functions I've gotten used to using, don't appear to be available today. In fact, I'm resorting to manually inputting html, which was scary for a second there - I couldn't remember how to do quotes.

Anyway, this, The Long Tail, deals with a topic I've posted on here before, in The 'nickel transaction' and the 'penny transmission' and Back to the nickel transaction cost, though this is definitely a more well researched piece than my previous ramblings on the subject. It definitely goes into depth and explains much of the economics in it's five pages, and it is worth the read.

I particularly found these numbers interesting:

What's really amazing about the Long Tail is the sheer size of it. Combine enough nonhits on the Long Tail and you've got a market bigger than the hits. Take books: The average Barnes & Noble carries 130,000 titles. Yet more than half of Amazon's book sales come from outside its top 130,000 titles. Consider the implication: If the Amazon statistics are any guide, the market for books that are not even sold in the average bookstore is larger than the market for those that are (see "Anatomy of the Long Tail"). In other words, the potential book market may be twice as big as it appears to be, if only we can get over the economics of scarcity. Venture capitalist and former music industry consultant Kevin Laws puts it this way: "The biggest money is in the smallest sales."

The same is true for all other aspects of the entertainment business, to one degree or another. Just compare online and offline businesses: The average Blockbuster carries fewer than 3,000 DVDs. Yet a fifth of Netflix rentals are outside its top 3,000 titles. Rhapsody streams more songs each month beyond its top 10,000 than it does its top 10,000. In each case, the market that lies outside the reach of the physical retailer is big and getting bigger.

When you think about it, most successful businesses on the Internet are about aggregating the Long Tail in one way or another. Google, for instance, makes most of its money off small advertisers (the long tail of advertising), and eBay is mostly tail as well - niche and one-off products. By overcoming the limitations of geography and scale, just as Rhapsody and Amazon have, Google and eBay have discovered new markets and expanded existing ones.

This is the power of the Long Tail. The companies at the vanguard of it are showing the way with three big lessons. Call them the new rules for the new entertainment economy.

The rest is at The Long Tail.

Well whatever was going on with the system seems to have corrected itself in the time it took me to post and comeback for a quick re-edit. hmmm...

Plugging a quality TV program

2004-10-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

I've caught this program, Speaking Freely put on by the First Amendment Center, a few times. And, well they got me hooked when I saw the interview with John Prine. And last night, they had David Steinberg on, and were talking about The Smothers Brothers Show, and how it got yanked off the air for political censorship.

Apparently, this it's fifth season or better, and I'm just now seeing it. I don't know if it is because the local Atlanta PBS stations are just now picking the show up, or what. I am certainly becoming a fan. So, I'm plugging it as a show that deals with an issue near and dear to me - my right to speak my mind.

It shows here late Friday Nights, and I'll bet it doesn't show at all in Anniston, AL, where my parents live, so it may be hit or miss as to whether it shows where you live.

The web site, firstamendmentcenter.org:, appears to have all the transcripts, but I don't have time to check out the site in depth right now [A friend of the Wife's is getting published or honoured or something, and we're on our way to attend the ceremony].

So, check out the show if you can.

Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part Four)

2004-10-15T14:39:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah. I know I said Part Four would be the conclusion. So sue me. His Ineptness pointed out how what happens in Vegas and LA 'splains a whole lot a what happens in the Temple, so I hadda go back and write this part afore'n you'd understand the next part.

And if it ain't all spelled 'xactly right, or there's some real "continuity" problems, well, I'll get to them when I get to them.

Also, we done put all links to all the parts over there ------> (the right side link column), so we didn't have'ta put all a' 'em at that start of each Part no more.

I don’t know when I decided to declare war, but it was well before we were half way to Vegas. And I don’t have a clue what ultimately triggered it, but it was probably the ‘ol’ straw that broke the camel’s back’ syndrome. ‘Cause somewhere during the first hour after take off, I decided to cross the line.

Hell, it mighta’ been the fact that I was dealin’ with an amateur like Hickey. I’d asked Murdoch, “Why the fuck would anyone want to do a drop like this at a fuckin’ Beverly Hills tennis club? Shit, there was so much illegal drug money and the like flowin’ through places like that…”

“Look,” Murdoch said, “I want all people involved in this deal to have their hands sullied. So, yes, you are dealing with an amateur.”

“That’s fuckin’ crazy, Murdoch. It’d be safer to do this drop in a fuckin’ biker bar in Hollywood than a Beverly Hills tennis club.”

“R.E., you’ve been paid handsomely, and you have your marching orders. So MARCH.” Then he threw in a teaser that he knew’d get me to play along, “When you return tomorrow night, I will be providing you access to a story larger than all of the assassinations of the sixties, Watergate, and O.J.’s trial combined.”

Yeah, we’d see. But it worked. I mean, I could always walk away from the money, but my curiosity wouldn't let me miss this. Murdoch might be a bastard, and he sure as hell was using me, but if he said the story was big – it was big. Still, the whole Hickey thing pissed me off.

Hey, it mighta’ been the company I had for the flight. They didn’t know who I was; they had no idea of why I was bein’ allowed to fly with them, and they had no need to know. But what a buncha’ of pretentious, self-important executives - worse than the ones I’d been in the limo with. These people thought they were on this flight because they deserved it; ‘cause they were important; because they had somehow ‘earned the right’ to be there. Dumb fucks.

What they were, were fuckin’ house slaves. And these dumb fucks didn’t get it. Their power was not their own. They had as much power as Rupie allowed them. The master allowed them to come into his house, but it sure as hell wasn’t as equals. They might get better scraps from the master’s kitchen than the rest of the corporate slaves, but it was still just scraps. It wasn’t the execs that were important, it was the role they filled in makin’ Rupie richer and more powerful – it was the role they filled. The real dumb asses were loyal to Murdoch and believed the loyalty worked both ways. Rupie would sell these bastards as soon as they quit adding to his bottom line.

It mighta’ been that. It mighta’ been the fact that I was getting’ bored. Livin’ off the yuppies in North Georgia was too easy. So, maybe I declared war on the powers that be oughta’ boredom. I figured years ago that I probably only had 70 or 80 years on this planet, and that if I was lucky. At the same time, I figured that I might as well enjoy them. I wasn’t going to spend my time worryin’ ‘bout no fuckin’ after life, or keepin’ score by tryin’ to die with the most toys. Naah. Fuck that. I was going to have fun.

I like that. Declarin’ global war on the powerful out'a boredom. Hell, wars had been started for far stupider reasons than boredom. Like religion, or out of revenge for old family squabbles, or…Hell lots of stupid reasons had been used to get large groups of people to die for the good of the few vested interests. And that’s where my war would be different. I was going to bring down the vested interests without enlisting people into my cause - out of boredom. Don’t get me wrong, here. I ain’t sayin’ that I won’t never enlist people; I just don’t figure many people would rally to the battle flag of "Risk your life to bring down the pwerful out'a boredom". I’d have to sell my enlistees on some other idea. Hey, I got no reason to deviate from the tried and true.

Oh, don’t even think I believe I can win this. That’s the beauty of it. If you don’t have a prayer in hell of winnin’, there’s no pressure to perform. This war was more like that line from ‘Animal House’, “This situation requires a stupid, futile gesture on somebody’s part,” and in this case, I am just the guy to do it.

So, ‘bout an hour into the flight, I used the plane’s phone to call a Vegas hotel, made reservations in the name of ‘Dee Kay’, and told them to send a car to pick me up at the private landing strip where we were headed. That got their attention. Then I told them to expect an overseas wire transfer and credit the amount to the room. That’s the beauty of Vegas greed. They don’t ask a whole lot of questions if they think they’re going to get the action.

I knew the Swiss were just opening for the day’s business so I called a bank there; one where I had an old ‘black account’ that I’d left idle for ‘bout the past ten years. The Swiss didn’t give a shit, they’d earned interest on the money, and even though they’d been forced to tighten up, they still didn’t ask many questions. Especially where old accounts were concerned - they didn’t want to have to answer any questions either. I had them close the account and wire the balance to the hotel in Vegas; somewhere around $25k.

I know, I took the hit on taxes, and even the whole $25k ain’t much of a war chest, but I had more. I had a lot more - scattered across a lot of places. Over the years, I’d stashed away a fair amount of ‘undisclosed’ revenue. I had a pretty decent campaign chest. Not enough to be called a war chest, maybe, but more’n enough to start one. Now it'd be nice to at least have a plan, but I did at least I know where I was gonna start. I was gonna start with that schmuck Hickey. And since I plan best when I’m drinkin’, I helped myself to Murdoch’s finest. Yeah, I know I said that I liked cheap whiskey better - for the burn, but as long as I was goin’ to war, I figured I might as well start by tryin’ to single handedly deplete Murdoch’s bar, and for that matter, his supply of Cuban cigars. I stuck a fist full of the cigars in my coat, and grabbed a handful of the ones that came in them metal cigar condoms in the briefcase. Fuck Murdoch. I was a field slave that was getting’ to play house slave for the night, but at least I knew it.

When the plane landed in Vegas, the executives piled into the company limo, and I headed to the hotel's limo. I didn’t look to see if it raised any eyebrows. I just got in and helped myself to a drink from the limo bar, and started thinkin’.

I started thinkin’ about Vegas. Home of Hill Billy Heroin, Cracker Crank, Redneck Speed, or whatever street term they’d come up with for crystal meth. I hadn’t been to Vegas in years, but I’d heard enough, mostly from watchin’ fire department trainin’ programs on local public access stations to know Vegas had a lot of crack runnin’ through its veins. Hell, how could it help but be anything else? What a fuckin’ depressin’ city to live and work in. All those fuckin’ tourists and high rollers comin’ through, spendin’ like there was no fuckin’ tomorrow, and if you lived here, you weren’t makin’ shit. It was sort of like livin’ in Orlando and workin’ at Disney - lot’s a’ people spendin’ lots a’ money, and you’re workin’ for little better than minimum wage. Matter a’ fact, Vegas was called the Disney World for adults. Yeah. Only worse. You ain’t nothin’ but part of the woodwork, and you spend half your time fantasizin’ ‘bout hittin’ the big one. It’s probably even more depressin’ if you don’t even have that for a dream; if you know you’re going to spend your whole workin’ life next to all that money and not ever get a real piece of it. And in Vegas, you get to live next to Yucca fuckin’ Mountain. There’s a goddamn piece of civic pride.

Anyway, by the time I got to the hotel, I knew I needed to score some crank. Lots of it. So, while I was checkin’ in (Vegas may be the only city in America, where checkin’ in without bags is almost normal), I made sure the money had arrived, and how much was there after Uncle Sam had takin’ his. One thing for damn sure, in the future I’d get to my money without givin’ him his cut, or my war would fold due to lack of funds. No real problem, it just took more prior plannin’. There was enough money left that the desk clerk didn’t trouble me with minor inconveniences like showin’ ID. I asked her to arrange a rental car for me, quickly calculatin’ drive time and the time differential, I asked her to have it available by 9 am. I also got directions to a shop that sold tennis gear, and before I headed up to my room, I asked to send three bottles of Beam’s Rye up to the room.

On the way to the room, I detoured a walk through the gamblin’ area, checked out what shows were playin’, but mainly I was lookin’ for exits and alternate routes should the need arise. I was also takin’ note of all of the security cameras, at least the ones you were supposed to see if you looked; even those were so discreetly placed that you had to actively look for them to spot ‘em. I think I actually smirked. I mean, the new Vegas slogan was “What goes on here, stays here”. Yeah, it was a play on the old military slogan, “What goes TDY, stays TDY”. I never thought a city would adopt somethin’ so fuckin’ sleazy as their civic slogan, but hey, this was Vegas. It also gave me an idea. With all these cameras, this place was primed to be blackmail heaven. I’m still thinkin’ about turnin’ on a couple of teen hackers to the potential windfall they could get by breakin’ through casino security systems, accessin’ the videos, and blackmailin’ the people. It could be a beautiful thing. ‘Might have the makings of a future campaign.

Well, then it dawned on me. I might have some real competition on I hands if I tried to play that game. I mean the people that ran Vegas didn’t ‘xactly have a rep for bein’ nice. Hell, ‘twouldn’t surprise me if the whole marketing campaign was a set up to do just that – the preliminary set up for a mass blackmail operation. I could imagine these guys sittin’ around dreamin’ this up, and one of ‘em sayin’, “Yeah, it be like, ‘What happens here, stays here’ – ‘For a Price’. And the whole lot of the falling all over themselves laughin’ their asses off. ROTFLTAO. On the other hand, as long as I was declaring a losing war on the major players of the world, I probably wouldn’t notice if added the casino owners to the enemies list. Didn’t matter, it’d have to wait.

Damn, they were good to high rollers. The Beam was in the room before I got there. I looked around. It was alright as far as these kinda’ suites go. I had about seven hours ‘til the rental would be out front waitin’ for Mister Dee Kay, high roller. And it was time to prep. I opened one of the bottles of rye, poured ‘bout two inches into one of the hotel tumblers, and pulled a long swig off the bottle. Then I put the bottle down, and picked up the glass, and startin’ lookin’ for the hotel literature. I found the hotel fire escape plan and committed it to memory. Hell, push comes to shove, I might be the one who started the fire. Ya’ never know.

I went ahead and pulled out that 60 Minute cell phone I’d bought on Friday Dawg’s credit card, and called a local number I knew from the bad ol’ days. The cell’s minutes would fly at long distance rates based on NYC, but hell, it don’t take all that much time to set up a dope deal, if ya’ know the right kinda’ people. And I happen to know all kinds of the right kinds of people.

A guarded, “Hello.”

“Dave’s not here, Mannn.”

A long pause, and “Is this Ace 44?”

“No, it’s Catch 22, Mutha Fucka.”

Another long pause, “I thought you were dead.”

“Yeah, Frank, and I’m sure a lota’ people are hopin’ that’s true.”

“Yeah, well I hope you ain’t callin’ just to talk about the old days; I ain’t got time for bullshit.”

Well, we were past the formalities at least, and based on his tone it was safe to talk business, “No, Frank, I need you to take advantage of me.”

“I always have, and I always will.”

“Yeah, fuck you too, Frank. I need some crank,” and I liked the way it rhymed. “I need enough to keep me goin’ for 72 hours minimum, maybe 96. Plus…Uh, how much to earn a felony rap with intent to distribute in California…and a big enough bust to get it on the news?”

“Shit, I don’t know Kalifornia law (Hey, I heard the ‘k’ in his voice), but to make the news on weight alone…Hell, way to goddamn much. As for keepin’ you up, when’s the last time you played with this shit?”

Wow. I had to think about that. Crank’s all over North Georgia, but it just wasn’t something I played with lessin’ I needed it for business purposes. “Ya know, it’s probably been eight-nine years since I’ve done any.”

Frank laughed, “Well, hell, it won’t take much for you. You just cut yourself out three or four grams for personal use, and let’s say…Hell, man, buy five kilos of the shit, pure, cut yourself out a couple of grams…I mean, I don’t know the game you’re playin’, but that oughta do you right.” Short pause, “By when?”

“Actually, Frank, I was thinkin’ in about, say, two hours? I got other arrangements to make.”

“In that case, you’ll definitely have to settle for ‘bout five kilos. Where do you wanna meet?”

“Let’s see…I’m stayin’ on the Strip, I gotta play for an hour to make it look good…You know a decent place within, say, a half an hours cab ride? And, uh, let’s go ahead and run this on your premium plan.” The ‘premium plan’ meant I paid way the fuck more than I needed to for the product, but I got silence and service include. That’s why he was willin’ to work with me on short notice, no questions asked. I paid top dollar, in return, I didn’t have to worry ‘bout him shootin’ me and keepin’ the stash and my money, and, he wouldn’t talk for 48 hours even if Ashcroft himself was pushin’ the button on the electrodes to his balls. 48 hours was a lot of runnin’ time in this business.

“$10k, and tell the cabbie to take you to *****. Unless you’d rather work the Latin side?”

“Naah, the white side is fine, but hey, let’s make it eleven, and throw in a QP of ‘kind’.”

“Done. See you at 4.”

I finished the rye in the glass, walked back over to the bottle, did another long pull. Poured another two inches from the bottle to a fresh glass, took another swig from the bottle, and went and grabbed a shower.

The only thing I got to say about that, is I’m always surprised ‘bout out how much chest hair hurts gettin’ pulled out by the med tape, but it’s worth it. I doubt even the casino’s stuff picked up on the plastic. I took a long ten minute shower, and tried to figure out how to use my remaining wardrobe to its best advantage. I’d freeze my ass off if I tried to hit the tables in runnin’ shorts and the tank top…I decided to put the grey slacks and the sports coat back on, with the tank top and black tennis shoes, no socks. Sort of that casual, ‘I made money durin’ the DotCom boom look’. That’d fit in, and play well with the whole persona.

So, to make a long story short, I went down and played an hour’s worth of Black Jack, ‘bout the only casino game I can win or break even on. I piss the other players off ‘cause I don’t play the number game, I play feel. Fuck ‘em. I may not win every time playin’ on feel, but I ain’t never lost.

This time I won. Alright, It was only a $k, but it was a win. And, a’sides, I was going to need cash to keep movin’.

Then I headed out to meet ‘Frank’. Ya’ll don’t need to know, but I’m gonna’ tell ya’ anyway, he’s government. I don’t know what agency, but it ain’t the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I’d worked with him over the years, and I ain’t never tried to find out too much ‘bout him. As far as I know, he ain’t ever looked too far into me, either. Worked well so far. I cashed in the chips, wandered out, and made it to the meet point. NO, I ain’t tellin’, but the bacon and eggs were good, and they couldn’t do grits right. Least wise, by what I was served.

‘Frank’ showed up with a woman. She looked like a wife. They looked like tourists on their way to the city and the Strip; tourists/losers. Ya’ had to admire the look. They joined me at the table, ate, and we all left together, like I was showin’ them the way into town. The action happened in their four door, and they dropped me off a couple a blocks from the hotel, with me in possession of the five kilos of crank and a QP of 'kind'.

Hell, I didn’t know shit from Shinola as far as meth was concerned, but I took the package to the room, broke off a chunk that I figured might be ‘bout five grams worth, chopped up a fifth of that, and did a couple of lines. It was good. I knew sleep wasn’t gonna be a problem. Massive psychosis maybe - not sleep. Then I realized I didn't have anything to smoke the weed in - to take some of the edge off the crank. So, I found something in the room that was wrapped in a decent tinfoil, cut through the paper on a roll of T.P. and used the roll and the tin foil to make a quick, disposable pipe. I also lit on of Murdoch's cigars to cover up the smell of the weed. So far, so good.

Now I had somewhere around four hours ‘til rental car time. I had time to kill or more accurately, time to prep. I grabbed one of the opened bottles of rye and found my way to the hotel tennis courts where the early risers were starting to get court time. I way pretty wired and catchin’ a good whiskey buzz. That was one of the benefits of the crank, I was now a wide awake and on the verge of being schnockered. I waited for the shop adjoining the courts to open, and bought myself some tennis whites, shoes, a racquets, a couple of cans of balls and one of those sports bags, and headed back to the room.

When I got there, I changed into the tennis whites, put the crank in the bag with the raquette and balls, and put my street clothes in a hotel laundry bag with a tag sayin’ I needed them ready by three in the afternoon. Then I headed down the blackjack tables to get in a few hands while I was waitin’ for the rental.

I love drivin’ through the desert. Nice and desolate, and I love being able to see those incredible distances. You don’t get that much in North Georgia. Usually, there are far too many trees and hills to see any great distances. I sucked down the last of the rye as I was workin’ my way through the fuckin’ LA traffic. As much as I loved the desert, I hated this city. Fuckin’ sprawl and traffic, and too fuckin’ many people.

Anyway, I got to the tennis club and met Hickey at his cabana. Yeah, the club had cabanas for the members use, and I guess Hickey was using it to entertain his daughter – hey, not my business. There were no introductions. I knew who he was, and he had no need to know who I was. That’s the way I like to handle this kind of work – I keep the information advantage. He had the money in his tennis bag, and we swapped it to my bag. He poured us both a drink, which I was happy for. Then, while he was distracted by his daughter, I slipped the five kilos (okay, just short of five kilos) into a side pocket on his bag. He didn’t look like he was actually gonna play any tennis, so I figured the risk of him finding’ the package before I was ready was pretty small. I also overheard him and his 'daughter talkin' about stayin' to watch some match later this evening.

The whole thing took about fifteen minutes, including the three minutes I used to snort some more crank in the cabana’s bathroom, and I was headed back to the rental. On the way out, I found out the match Hickey was stayin' for, started at seven. With a quick stop at a liquor store to stock up on more rye for the ride and some rollin' papers, I headed back for Vegas. I got there with enough time to spare to play a few more hands at the tables before changing back into my street clothes, re-applying the stirrer stiletto with fresh medical tape, and threw the whites and all the stuff from the briefcase into the sports bag, and put the money into the briefcase. I left the raquette and balls for the maid to find and checked out via the telephone. I wanted ‘Dee Kay’ to have a good rep here in case I ever came back – not likely, but you never know.

We'll also call this the end of Chapter One. Don't know how many chapters they'll turn out to be, but I figure the this ends the set up for what actually happened next, and that sets up what's happenin' now. I'll 'splain later...

Edited for content: 10/19/04

Dueling sound bites, the Government In Exile and the value of inforomation

2004-10-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

I half composed this post on Wednesday, but never came back to finish it. I'm suffering from "I can't believe this is what Amerika has come to". I've gotten to where I can't believe anything I read or watch on TV has any basis in reality. It's probably a serious psychosis.

The reason I never came back to finish this post on Wednesday was I caught "an exclusive" on CNBC telling me that NY AG Spitzer is now going after the insurance industry. When they were done, I expected one of the newscasters to point out how they have been steadily wrong in continuing to say that "corruption is limited to just a few players, and that the overall market is as honest and trustworthy" as...Well, I don't know what, as I can't seem to find a single institution that possesses any integrity, but they could point that out also. Matter-of-fact, $10, in play dollars, to any reader that can name an industry or institution that hasn't suffered an integrity related scandal.

Today I watched Al "I had to suck Bush off to keep my job" Greenspan on three different channels explain why $55 a barrel of oil is no big deal. How in proportion to real 70s dollars, it is actually lower than it was at the peak prices of the 70s. I kept waiting for him to point out that real wages, in terms of 70s dollars, have gone down too. But he never brought that point up.

The other thing that may be contributing to my delirium is lack of success in this, what I keep being told is, recovering economy. I don't know who the economy is recovering for, but I wish you'd share. So, I've been spending time shopping for a minivan or some other vehicle, at a good price, so I can go back into the painting business. Not really what I had in mind when I went back to school to get a masters, but...It's a business I know, and one I should be able to make good money at, but..

So, anyway, no excuses for not posting, just not real enthusiastic about much of anything here lately.

I went to Manuel's Tavern last night for the weekly meeting of the Government In Exile and had a fairly interesting evening which I'll get to in a moment, but first I wanted to address tonight's meeting of the same at the same. I received an invitation to watch the final bout of the 'Dueling Sound Bites' tonight at Manuel's. I don't think I will attend. I haven't gone to Manuel's to watch any of the other 'Dueling Sound Bites' matches, in fact I haven't watched them at all, but it turns out they have been a HUGE draw with even republicans showing up to watch these farces. I was told it was so bad that last Friday night the crowd had to pass the drinks from the bartenders through seven or eight people to the patron, and the money was transferred in the reverse. Way too crowded for my blood. So they are planning to set up a large screen TV in the parking lot so the GIE people and enjoy the farce without having to deal with the huge crowds inside, and possibly be able to actually engage in conversation.

So, it will probably be a fun event, but I still have no intention of dignifying the 'Dueling Sound Bites' by watching them. I haven't even paid attention to the talking heads who tell us later who won. I don't care. The situation is so bad, that everywhere I turn people are talking about the fact that the elections will be decided in court, not at the polls. And even this is really a non-issue, as, as far as I can tell, our government has already been bought and they are just letting us pretend that we have a say in its management. Regardless of who they let win, the wealthy will continue to be allowed to loot our coffers and affectively make our grand-children indentured servants to this corrupt system. I will give the republicans some credit though, since they at least make little effort to hide the fact that they are the party of greed and surprisingly - considering their vocal position on 'moral' issues and evolution - socio/economic 'darwinism'. Fuck the poor, they deserve it. Certainly Baby Bush has been known to give those thoughts credence, and his policies have given them force.

My position now is that Amerikans deserve four more years of Baby Bush, and certainly no better. And no better is offered. After listening to Kerry's positions on the issues, he'll just allow us to be bankrupted a little slower. Big business controls pretty much every government agency and that will only be changed via, if not out-right armed revolution, than at least a real sense of rage on the part of the populace. And that won't happen, as our populace is more focused on sports figures and movie stars than on things that actually affect their lives.

So, consider this my first real political rant in probably 6 or 7 weeks, and it is due in large part to the "give my tax dollars to corporations, who are making enormous profits already" bill that got passed over the weekend. Who the hell remembers the last time congress stayed in session over a holiday weekend? Not only did they screw up my C-Span watching, they passed this bullshit.

If a tree falls in the woods...

2004-10-11T18:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, this may be the most briliant question I've asked in this blog.
If I have the TV on downstairs, but I'm not watching it, what is the value of the information transfered? I'm paying the utility costs, power costs, of having the TV on, the producer/sender has assumed all of the costs of producing the information and for transmitting it...But I'm not there to receive the information, what is the information's value?

This is a question I will be pondering. It is exactly parallel to "if a tree falls inbthe woods, but no one is there to hear it". But in this case, I am paying the money to receive the information. I'm just not receiving the information. All of the costs of producing the show are there, and I am paying all of the energy costs to receive the information, I'm just not in the same room. I'm not watching the info I'm paying for. What is the value of the info?
The costs of providing me the info are measured/captured and the costs to me to receive the info are measured, at least in some respects. But, I am not receiving the information. What is the value of the info?

I will explore this further, but I really wanted to put the question out here. I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time thinking about it, I just wanted to provide you guys the same opportunity. What is the value of a show that presents a tree falling down, I have the TV on, but I'm not watching it. Did the tree make a sound? Did someone make money?

It dawns on me that the same can be asked of a blog post that no one reads - does it have value? It may to me, and certainly my ISP or blogger or someone is paying some fractional cost to host the post, so it has costs associated with it, but if no one reads it does it have any value?

How do we value: value?

2004-10-11T15:20:00.000-05:00

I'm sort of trying to continue this theme, obsession, whatever. As I've repeatedly stated, I don't have a clue where it is going, but I do think I need to do some site maintenance here in the next few days. I need to group Rick Eddy's work, this particular trail and a few others. Point of fact is I need to do a little organization. for one thing, I think I need to group science posts, and environmental posts, and corporate posts. That alone may prove to be somewhat of a chore. Rick Eddy's posts will be easy because they are his posts, but the others have so much overlap, that, well, I don't want to double post, but I do want to make it easier for you to navigate this site. We'll see how it works out.

On a slightly different tact, I am not...No, actually, I'm making a point of not keeping up with election information. Everyone is posting on politics, I don't feel I have much to contribute, other that some wiseass comments. Of course, you might not think they are all that wise, and that I'm more of an ass, butt...Really, I don't find the current discourse rises above the "he said - he said level". And both sides seem to lack any real sense of 'standards'. I don't know how we can get the dialogue to meaningful point without real participation of the electorate, and I don't know how to get the electorate to truly participate until we see a meaningful dialogue. It's the whole chicken and egg thing, but somebody has gone ahead and fried both the chicken and the egg for dinner, and there's not even scraps on the table for the rest of us. Okay, maybe there's a few scraps left to fight over, but I don't feel like putting a whole lot of energy into fighting over the scraps. So, to a large extent, I'm bowing out of the 'sniping' contest, and for those of you who actually liked my 'snipes' I apologize. There are issues, like the recent corporate tax-giveaway, passed over a holiday weekend, that I do feel obligated to comment on, but I seem to lack the energy to really do the research it deserves. Sorry.

I spent yesterday afternoon/evening over at COL Spock's, eating and drinking good wine. I was also able to engage some brilliant people in conversation, and I was able to direct the conversation (most of the time...Well, some of the time - Lot's of time was spent on the small children [ages 3 months to 5 years]...but that's not a bad thing) to the subject of values. Pretty much most of the people were upper CDC or EPA, and that makes for a group who understand the policy implications of values, if not necessarily my reductionist look at the subject.

One of the things that came up was Dr Gerberdings 'futures' initiative. But, based on what I hear, I'm dissapointed on what it is and how it's being implemented. The subject of their efforts (and our tax dollars)appears to be missing the point. I would have thought the iniative would focus on the environmental, blah blah blah, impacts of new technologies coming down the pike, but apparently they are focusing on adolescent and adult health concerns. I'm sorry. I'm more concerned as to how these technologies will effect and have lasting affects on pre-natel and early childhood development. I would have thought that any health futures look would have primarily focused on that level of development, which can be most effected by treatments or prevention...[Sorry if I used 'affected and effected' incorrectly...fuck you..]

Regardless, the program that is being implemented does not seem to be as focused on prevention, as I at least would have liked.

But don't think the conversation was not stimulating. I got a lot out of it. I had no idea that CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and prevention - note the lack of capitlization of the 'p' in prevention) had a concept of 'Qualities', and that these qualities, were measured in arbitrary mathimatical terms. A good example is the idea, that CDC is working with these 'Qualities' and that they hve decided on a 0.70 value of degradation of the quality of life. Okay, alot of this comes from talking to COL Spock, and he's pretty much a futurist.

But I sort of got stuck on the idea of the 0.70 (and, yeah, it is Zero Point Seven Zero, officially). Me, and from what I gather, No one, has a real Idea of what that means. Redardation, a non-PC term, has a value of 0.70, but it does not take in to consideration whether the individual is actually cognizant that they are operating in a 'degraded' mode. If I know I'm not part of 'society' as a whole, is my life worth more or less than if I'm cognizant that the people around me have greater...I guess the point is, how much does cognition of your limitation - how much should cognition of limitation affect the value of an individuals life. Can there even be some way, other than arbitrary, to determine the value? Do any inroads down in this area carry by necessity implications on the value of intelligence? If the normal person is valued at 1.0, and a mentally handicapped persons quality of life is measured at 0.70, is a genious' quality of life a 1.20?

I sure as hell don't know, but it certainly is something I have to consider if I am ultimately trying to come up with a universal 'valuation system' for the quality of life- for what it's worth.

There was a lot more that came up in conversation, but I think I sort of owe it to you the reader to...I don't know what I owe you, but it is more than just reciting the info. But I...

Anyway, when it comes to trying to come up with a self-consistent system of 'value', it's an area that cannot be ignored.

I really don't know where this will go, but I do think establishing some sort of self consistent metric for the evaluation of information - well, I think it's important.

Edited 10/22/04. Am personally amazed at how poorly this was written originally, but I'll blame it on Old Thompson's whiskey and being in a hurry.

What would you like to 'morph'?

2004-10-11T10:25:00.000-05:00

Virginia Tech leads effort to develop new, shape-changing materials:

Blacksburg, Va., Va., September 29, 2004 -- Over the next 17 months, Virginia Tech will lead a team of researchers exploring the development of a new class of materials that will use plant protein structures in an attempt to mimic biological systems. The Defense Science Office of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) is funding the $2.1 million project.

DARPA is specifically interested in a group of hard polymers called nastic materials. In biology, nastic refers to the natural movement of plants in response to changes in their environment, such as plants that track sunlight or that stiffen when watered. These movements are caused by changes in the water pressure inside the plant and can result in very large changes in shape.

The goal of the DARPA project, administered by John Main, is to develop synthetic materials that utilize internal pressure changes to cause large shape changes.

The plan calls for the investigation of the protein structures of plants for the purpose of understanding their role in generating shape changes in natural materials. The protein structures under analysis would then be used to develop a synthetic material to incorporate properties that produce controllable shape.

Ultimately, successful development of the nastic structure concept will provide a new class of materials based on the direct conversion of biochemical energy into mechanical work. In this manner it will provide a truly integrated ‘smart’ material that serves as the foundation for a new generation of biologically-inspired engineering systems.

In this unique program, researchers will be working with a company on the application of nastic materials to a morphing aircraft wing. This wing would dynamically change its shape and control surfaces during flight.

I want one of those cars that morphs into a briefcase when I get to work.

So, Nanotech without the nanotech?

2004-10-11T08:36:00.000-05:00

For those that have been following the nanotech debate between Smalley and Drexler, well, it looks like Smally is winning:

The second blow to Drexler came only two days later, when President Bush signed the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, allocating $3.7 billion for molecular-scale R&D. In the months leading up to the signing, the bill had promised to catapult Drexler's agenda to the forefront of the nation's scientific priorities. But in the end, no money was earmarked for molecular manufacturing. Instead, the funds were largely allocated to projects using variations on conventional chemistry to develop novel materials "with new combinations of characteristics, such as, but not limited to, strength, toughness, density, conductivity, flame resistance, and membrane separation characteristics."

But than, as is so often the case, political decisions are not nessecarily based on the best science. As the article points out:

What turned the tide on Capitol Hill? Drexler's ideas had always been outlandish and his political skills underdeveloped. That combination became an Achilles' heel as opposition emerged from two quarters. First, a group called the NanoBusiness Alliance entered the fray. Formed in October 2001, the alliance wasn't interested in anything as starry-eyed or scary as self-replicating molecular assemblers; it wanted to sell newfangled products like "nanotech" suntan lotion, ski wax, and paint. One of the founders, venture capitalist F. Mark Modzelewski, was a notorious opponent of Drexlerian notions; in a later email exchange with blogger and nanotech booster Glenn Reynolds, he likened Drexler's theories to "a wino's claims on skid row that bugs are crawling under his skin."

Meanwhile, support for Drexler's ideas softened elsewhere in Washington. The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy worried that fears whipped up by the likes of Crichton and Joy would turn the public against nanotech, just as similar scares had fueled opposition to GM foods and nuclear power. As New Hampshire's John Sununu remarked on the Senate floor, "some people have expressed concern that nanotechnology will lead to a superrace of humans or a situation where nanomachines attack or even dominate human beings."

Molecular manufacturing is a "loaded term," a Senate staffer says. "It upsets a lot of people."

The sponsors of the House bill were more interested in making sure it got through the Senate than they were in preserving funding for Drexler's ideas. Thus, when House and Senate staff members met to discuss their respective bills, they scuttled the molecular manufacturing study. In the Senate version, Arizona's John McCain introduced an "amendment in the nature of a substitute" in which the provision no longer appeared.

The watered-down bill was passed by the unanimous consent of the Senate on November 18 and signed into law by Bush on December 3. During the ceremony, Richard Smalley stood at the president's side.

Fear has a lot of political clout, and politicians don't mind business people usurping a term to sell more products. Integrity has never stood in the way of funding and legislation.

The interesting thing here, is that in all likelihood nanotechnology, including the self-assembler concept will be developed - just not out in public. I pretty damn sure that DoD is not going to back away from the concept, especially when people like the President of India:

"Triad of Nano-Bio-Info Technologies

I would like to introduce you to a future technology called Nanotechnology. We believe Nanotechnology is such a new technology that is knocking at the doors. It has wider applications compared to information technology and is likely to touch the common man. It will be the central focus for many technologies to converge and open a large number of applications. The essence of Nanotechnology is the ability to work at the molecular level to create structures with fundamentally new molecular organizations. Potential benefits of Nanotechnology are all pervasive covering fields such as materials and manufacturing, NanoElectronics, computer technology, medicine and healthcare, environment and energy, aeronautics and space, biotechnology and agriculture. We are today at the convergence of Nano, Bio and Information technologies. The world market in 2004 for Nanomaterials, Nano tools, Nano devices and Nano biotechnology put together is expected to be over hundred billion dollars. It has been noticed that the fastest growing area among these is nanobiotechnology, predominantly for the civilian sector.

Carbon Nano tubes and its composites will give rise to super strong, smart and intelligent structures in the field of material science. Molecular switches and circuits along with Nano cell will pave the way for the next generation computers. Ultra dense computer memory coupled with excellent electrical performance will give the society low power, low cost, Nano size and yet faster assemblies. The Nano-computers will find many applications.

Nano technology will influence the strategic sector with Nano satellites, stealth structures, micro & Nano vehicles, smart clothes & shoes and gadgets, Nano electronics, Nano computers, Nano actuators, Nano robots, new type of explosives and sensors for land, sea, air and space systems, revolutionising the total concept of future warfare.

Comes right out and calls on Indian scientists pursue military advantage via nanotech. [Quick rant: Of course, the Indians have the advantage in that their culture looks up to the educated, provides them with prestige, the best paying jobs, etc. Whereas in our culture the educated are considered pin-heads, eggheads, nerds etc. Is there any wonder that we can't produce enough scientists? We don't value them, why would a kid want to be one? Much better to take steriods and play pro sports and be rich and admired, than to learn science and hope there will be a job when you're done.]

Anyway, the US will continue to pursue nanotechnology, and all of the dangerous stuff, we'll just do it behind closed doors, out of public view, and without oversight. The true, traditional American way. And once we have weaponized the science, we will waste time and money in a futile attempt to try resticting access to the knowlegde, and I predict we will be as successful as we have been with nuclear science - not very, in fact, given the rate of proliferation, you could almost say: not at all.

In my view, when scientists fight about what is possible, the ones that say something is impossible are almost always wrong. It may take a little time to prove them wrong, but pretty much, the "can't do it group" can't be right. If we can imagine it, we can do it. Or somebody else will...

Too late for Superman, but...

2004-10-11T08:16:00.000-05:00

Why can't I 'blog' some sites? Is it the site trying to prevent me from blogging it, or some problem in the settings? Just wondering...

New UCL Unit holds out hope of repair of spinal cord injuries

Clinical trials that could ultimately lead to repair of spinal cord injuries are scheduled to begin within three years at UCL, following the arrival of an internationally-renowned research team at the university’s Institute of Neurology. UCL today announced the arrival of Professor Geoff Raisman, who will be the first Director of the new Spinal Repair Unit, and his team from the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), at a press conference to launch Advancing London’s Global University – the Campaign for UCL, UCL’s development plan for the next decade.

Spinal cord injuries have long been considered incurable, but the work of the team holds out significant hope that spinal cord patients will eventually be able to regain much of the ability to move that they have lost. For paraplegic patients this could lead to a return of sensation and movement to some leg muscles, potentially allowing them to stand and making movement easier, while tetraplegics (patients with spinal injury high in the neck region), could recover touch sensation and movement of the hands, and regain the ability to dress, feed and clean independently.

Professor Raisman’s team at the NIMR has demonstrated that it is possible for severed spinal cord nerve fibres to grow back and restore lost functions, and has now moved to UCL with a view to transferring the technology from rats to humans, working with patients at the new Spinal Repair Unit within UCL.

ABC News: 'Superman' Christopher Reeve Dies at 52

You only live forever?

2004-10-11T08:07:00.000-05:00

washingtonpost.com: Kurzweil's Quest For Eternal Youth Sets Group Abuzz:

"At MIT last week, Kurzweil described a future in which he's convinced immortality -- or a drastically longer life span -- will be possible thanks to emerging technologies. His new book, which will hit stores in a few weeks, outlines a special 'longevity program' of diet, exercise and nutritional supplements aimed at slowing the aging process...

...Kurzweil acknowledged that science today can't halt aging, but he said he believes science will develop age-defying or even age-reversing techniques within 10 to 20 years, thanks to advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology.

He described three stages or "bridges" on the purported road to immortality. First is his healthy living program designed to correct "metabolic imbalances" and keep people alive long enough to benefit from the second stage. In stage two, a decade or so away, he contends biotechnology advances will block diseases and slow aging, because the decoding of our genome is already leading to tissue-engineering techniques for regrowing cells and organs, and to the creation of genetically targeted drugs and gene therapies.

These techniques, he said, should help some people reach the third stage -- about 30 years away -- when nanotechnology will allow humans to radically rebuild and extend their bodies with help from "nanobots," itsy-bitsy robots smaller than human blood cells that will slip into our bloodstreams to fix DNA errors, fight pathogens and expand intelligence.

At that point, he declared, humans may be able to live forever."

I'm really not sure about this one. I mean, can you be unemployed forever? Or retired forever? And what about the people you don't like?

Though, serious life extension does seem highly probable, and I'll even accept the fact that it's coming down the pike pretty quick - I'm just not really sure if it's such a good thing...

Continuing down the rabbit hole

2004-10-07T21:08:00.000-05:00

So, I guess the first question is, "How do we establish values?" Or, maybe it should be phrased, "What is the basis for value creation?"

To a certain extent, the question may well put us in the nature vs nurture debate. How much of our values are taught vs how much might be ingrained biologically? Is it possible to to determine which is which?

For instance, I believe it was a book I was rading by Francis Crick, wherein he makes a reductionist arguement in support of us being the product of our brains. If memory serves, he went so far as to say something to the effect that freewill waas illusionary, and it all boiled down to the biochemistry of our brains. I didn't like it when I read it, and I still don't buy it. I find it hard to buy that people like or dislike professional golf based solely on the brains biochemical reaction to the sport, but I don't have the expertise to refute it in any scientifically sound manner. Intuitively, I know/feel it can't all be reduced to that. But then, I'm not much of a reductionist by nature, and really have never liked that approach to science, as a sole approach. It has value, but it leaves a lot to be desired when looking at things on a system level.

Anyway, if I was more of a historian or anthropologist, I might have some could cultural examples to cite of cultures which never developed anything like sports fanship. I know there are a lot of similarities between Rome's 'games' and our society's treatment of sports stars and the like, but since Rome, Greece, and others had such a huge and lasting influence on our modern culture, I think they not real valuable to support a universality of the phenomena. For instance, did the Mayans have a sports culture wherein sports stars were given elevated status in their culture? Or the Incas, or...Well, I don't know.

Do societies/cultures require a critical population density for individuals to begin to live their lives through 'famous' proxies? Is there any similar behaviour to be found in any of the other primates, or elsewhere in the animal kingdom? Again, going back to "Questions I ponder, and perhaps a little progress", I can find what appears to be an appreciation for aesthetics in the animal kingdom, but I'm not sure I've seen animals live their lives vicariously though other individuals. Going back to the nature vs nurture question, why would nature, or perhaps how would nature come develop a trait in a species which causes/allows some members of the species to find joy(?) in the activities of other species members, even if they receive no concrete/material benefits from the active members activities. I don't get a new car, nor eat better, because Tiger Woods wins a match. So why should I derive pleasure from his activity?

As I said below, there is a great deal of economic activity generated by large numbers of individuals consumed with knowing about the activities of a few favored individuals. If money is a valid metric for 'value', than who Britney Spears is currently screwing has value. and that seems odd.

And that reminds me, I should probably develop a list of potential metrics for determining 'value'. Money is an obvious one, and one that's easy to measure. But it's not always available in all situations. The pleasure I feel from 'x', say feeling the sun on my back, is not something that I think is easy to assign a monetary value to. I think 'pleasure' might be it's own metric, possibly measured by the amount of chemical change (release of endorphins, for instance), albeit harder to assign anything approaching an objective measuring system - how much pleasure one person feels may be very different from the pleasure another individual feels from the same activity even if the same amount of chemicals are released. And if plesure, well than pain.

I beginning to think developing a list of metrics may not be all that easy afterall. And than there is the whole question of defining value and, let's capitalize this one - Value. Hell, out of laziness, I think I'll start with Dictionary.com: val·ue Audio pronunciation of "value" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (vly)
n.

1. An amount, as of goods, services, or money, considered to be a fair and suitable equivalent for something else; a fair price or return.
2. Monetary or material worth: the fluctuating value of gold and silver.
3. Worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor; utility or merit: the value of an education.
4. A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable: “The speech was a summons back to the patrician values of restraint and responsibility” (Jonathan Alter).
5. Precise meaning or import, as of a word.
6. Mathematics. An assigned or calculated numerical quantity.
7. Music. The relative duration of a tone or rest.
8. The relative darkness or lightness of a color. See table at color.
9. Linguistics. The sound quality of a letter or diphthong.
10. One of a series of specified values: issued a stamp of new value.

tr.v. val·ued, val·u·ing, val·ues

1. To determine or estimate the worth or value of; appraise.
2. To regard highly; esteem. See Synonyms at appreciate.
3. To rate according to relative estimate of worth or desirability; evaluate: valued health above money.
4. To assign a value to (a unit of currency, for example).

[Middle English, from Old French, from feminine past participle of valoir, to be strong, be worth, from Latin valre. See wal- in Indo-European Roots.]valu·er n.

[Download or Buy Now]
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

value

see at face value.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

val·ue (vly)
n.

1. A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable.
2. An assigned or calculated numerical quantity.

And then might as well look to Wikipedia's definitions of Value: Value is a term that expresses the concept of worth in general, and it is thought to be connected to reasons for certain practices, policies or actions. The concept can be understood as a verb, as an adjective, or as a substantive noun. So, "I value my life" is the verbal sense, which expresses a valuation. "My life is valuable" is an adjectival use of the term. "My values are all messed up" is the substantive use of the concept.

The concept can also be understood in a descriptive, stipulative, or revisionary sense. So called "social scientists," for instance, might do a study to find out what people in fact value, or more generally, how they might define value. To think that what people value determines what makes something valuable is to be a conventionalist about value. One could simply stipulate a definition of value, instead. So, for instance, in economic theory value is often defined as "willingness to pay," despite the fact that few people actually assent to such a definition, or even exhibit such an understanding of value in their lives. Game theorists often define value in terms of desire, again contrary to ordinary value practice.

A revisionist sense of value will try to take value practice as a starting point and revise the conception where this is rationally defensible to do. There is generally thought to be a fundamental distinction in values between something being valuable as an end, or intrinsically, and something being valuable as a means, or extrinsically. The general idea here is that I might say that I value my happiness for its own sake, but I value having a good job as a means to my happiness.

Some thinkers believe that the notion of intrinsic value, or being valuable as an end, is connected to ethical action. So, consequentialists, for instance, who define acting rightly or wrongly in terms of the amount of value brought about as a consequence of those actions provide an example of this. Even nonconsequentialists though think that intrinsic value is somehow connected to ethical action. The term "value" may also be used in specific stipulative senses in various disciplines. Below are some exampes of this as well as an explanation of the some of the ways the substantive sense of "values" is used...

They have more...Well, The Daily Show is coming on, so...

A reminder - Tomorrow is the Gay Economic Boycott

2004-10-07T17:25:00.000-05:00

I for one, will not be buying anything tomorrow, or going out. Sadly, my part in this protest is diminished by the fact that I can't afford to go out or buy anything. But, if you are in a better financial position, I'd hope you would support the Gay community in their efforts to gain legal parity.

Help Yourself - Support the Gay Economic Boycott

Lack of a value free viewpoint

2004-10-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

It dawned on me after I wrote the post below, that it is really loaded with unexplained value judgments. I'm sure most of you caught on, and I don't think I will always point out where I lack objectivity, but I did think it important to at least let you know that I recognize that I'm writing from a value laden perspective.

For instance, though I don't come right out and say it, it should be obvious that I find the need to resort to anti-depressant drugs to avoid depression a 'bad' thing. What I don't do is to offer any justification for that point of view. Hell, I'm not so sure I can find evidence of any society having existed that had an inherently lower level of depression. I mean it's especially difficult since depression as a recognized ailment and records there of, is a relatively recent development. And I don't have a clue for what the rate of 'clinical' depression might have been for the Minh dynasty vs the Ming Dynasty vs that found within the Hawaiian caste system pre-Capt Cook vs that found within The Cherokee Nation or the Australian Aboriginals. For all I know, they all resorted to their own form of anti-depressants, for instance the early opium trade in China. So, I can not say that there ever was a definitive 'happy society'.

But I do think it is fair to question a system wherein there appears to be a huge rise in the use of drugs that presumably reduce the 'pain' of society. I also think it is fair to ask to what degree do cultural and societal norms and values contribute to the rate of depression within a given population. And while I won't take the time to look up the studies right now, I do remember reading that the US population has one of the highest rates of 'unhappiness', and my personal values say that unhappiness is a negative.

A few examples, which certainly aren't definitive, that I remember coming across that might give us some fodder for the discussion include: 1) A study/survey done a few years ago on the female population of Guam, and their feelings about their physical appearance. When the survey was first done, the majority of the females had a fairly positive view of their physical body type and attractiveness. A similar study/survey done after they had cable and MTV for a couple of years noted a huge rise in depression, bulimia and anorexia. 2) A similar occurrence was found in Nigeria, when they selected a woman as Ms Nigeria for the Ms World competetion that did not reflect the cultural values of beauty among the Nigerians. In the past, Nigeria had sent contestants who met their own values for beauty, but they always lost. When they sent a skinny woman, and she won, their was a huge increase in depression, bulimia and anorexia among Nigerian female teens.

I could point to others, and I probably will later, but that should suffice for now. Well, I think this is related, and it's the reason I decided to post this, so...I had to make a run over to the Kroger's to pick up some flour for the Wife a little while ago. For some reason the check out person appeared to have retired from her job while still running the checkout register. She was slower than mere incompetence and laziness would explain. Regardless, I had time to peruse the headlines of all of the fine publications that you find by the checkout counters across America. Stuff like J-Lo this, and secret baby that, and 10 fantastic sex tips that won't look like you got them from a magazine(?), and somebody something.

I don't get it. Why should I care about the lives of the rich and famous? Really. Why the fuck should I care if Jennifer somebody is bangin' Ben vs some other bimbo? What is the value of this knowledge? It has value - rest assured. The publisher is making money selling these tabloids, as is the supermarket, the middlemen and delivery people, the writers, publicists, photographers, fashion designers, etc etc etc. So, the information certainly has financial value. Why? I don't get it.

I have used pro football and baseball as examples in a similar nature, but it dawned on me, that a better, more extreme, example would be a sport like pro golf. Why does pro golf exist? This is not like pro sports franchises, where one could argue about the value to the community derived from the communal aspect of the franchise/game/whatever.

I'm talking pro golf. Can there exist a more selfish pursuit than pro golf? There is no 'win one for the Gipper', or for the town, or for anything but to line the player's pocket and his own personal agrandizement (Okay, maybe the ball and club manufacturers, but that's a real stretch). I can think of no more self sport than golf. Singles tennis or pro skate boarding or pro racing may fall into the same sort of category, but golf is so much easier to pick on. There's not even the thrill of potential injury or wreck to drive its popularity. Maybe the guy shanks it into the water or overshoots into a sand trap. Woooh..Now there's excitement!

Who the fuck cares? I really don't get it. I think playing golf can be fun, but I really can't understand the cult of personality that arises within the fan base. I don't. I really don't understand the socio-economic mechanism that makes pro golf a huge money maker.

So, I have to recognize that there is value in these things I'm ranting about, at least if the measure is ultimately financial. I can't deny their power to elicit strong feelings from the fans. I just can't understand how people can care about these endeavors to the extent of spending money, time and emotion on them. Hell, who decided that hitting a ball with a crooked stick into a gopher hole was worthy of watching in the first place?

So, what is the value of information? Well, I think it's examples like those above that make the question difficult to answer. I have discussed aesthetics as a source of information value, and as a contributing factor to our economic system, but I'm not sure what label to apply to the "value created" by living life vicariously through individuals who engage in what appears should be a perfectly worthless past time. Again, I can understand the pleasure derived from playing these games, I don't understand the fanaticism that arises from the non-participants.

so, all of these posts will be value laden. I know you knew that, but I wanted you to know that I recognize my prejudices. Of course, mine are right...

Quick Note: I meant to point this out also. Not only do we assign a value to the game of golf, and to the professional golfer, but we assign a value to people who can recite golf and other pro sports statistics. So, even if you have no atheletic talent, you can achieve prestige by memorizing the intricacies of a 'worthless' past time. Really, I don't get it.

Would Major Nelson play the Lottery?

2004-10-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

Darrin Stephens ("Bewitched" (1964)) marries a witch.

MAJ Nelson ("I Dream of Jeannie" (1965)) finds a bottle with a genie.

Both deny themselves the opportunity to have everything they ever wanted, instant gratification, and pursue 'ordinary' lives. Why?

There are other examples of this type of story, but these two provide a decent starting point.

How do these characters actions and choices fit in with what we see in society? Are they only the product of sixties idealism, or is there something deeper?

When I watch TV today, I am amazed at how much 'lying' is going on in both the shows and commercials; especially the commercials. What I see on TV now appears to tell me that I should have everything regardless of the methods I use to get them. As a mater of fact, our society seems to say that if you achieve financial success, you are a great person, regardless of the harm to others you caused getting there, and it also doesn't appear to matter whether or not it required actual effort on your part. Success is its own absolution.

So, if you win the lottery, you are a success. You are respected. Why? Because you have financial wealth, presumably.

So, has our culture morphed in the intervening years since the two sitcoms that I started this post with, aired? Would they still play today? I don't think so. I think currently we would not buy into the idea of 'self-denial' based on principles. In fact, I think Tony and Darrin would be considered idiots. I'll grant that at the time these shows aired, there were probably many who thought so. But I think today, everyone would think so. "You have the chance to have everything your heart desires in one fell swoop and you don't take it? You are an idiot." Actually, I think that was reflected in the initial coverage of Tillman's choice to join the military. Not that they called him an idiot, but there did appear to an expression of shock that someone would voluntarily give up the good life. Our culture found this behaviour to be aberrant - outside the norm. And yet our society presumably values patriotism.

So, let's take a slightly different tact. As I stated below, 'Real' Truth questioned, I am inclined to think that our society and economy is based on information exchanges at the 'photon' level, and that most motivations appear to be based on achieving an ever higher endorphin [or some other 'pleasure' enhancing chemical reaction. I am using 'endorphin' as a convenient term to cover a host of reactions] rush, and these seem to lead to a culture of greed and materialism.

So, does getting everything you want via your wife the witch, somehow deny or reduce the pleasure you would normally experience? Or even a step further, if you yourself were gifted with 'supernatural' powers and good blink wealth into existence, would it be fun? Or would life become boring if you could have it all - true instant gratification of your every whim? If this is the case, is there some point at which materialism reaches diminishing returns in terms of the resulting endorphin rush?

If this is true, than our society seems locked in an ever accelerating drive to achieve 'less bang for the buck'. A culture doomed to pursue unhappiness? If this is the case, should other cultures oppose us in our cultural expansion? We seem to be exporting the idea that materialism brings happiness, which if true, leaves me to wonder why so many people in our society are depressed. We are the wealthiest nation on the planet - the one with the most material and expendable wealth - and we seem to also have the highest murder rate, one of the highest rates of anti-depressant prescriptions, and apparently, of the highest rates of people dissatisfied with their lot in life. Is this cause and effect?

None of the 'great' philosophers/prophets/whatevers espoused materialism. Quite the contrary, most of those recognized as the 'greatest' have pointedly stated that happiness is not found via the accumulation of wealth and power. Yet somehow, especially in this country, wealth seems to have become associated with 'godliness'. How? What the fuck were the calvinists on? How could they have simultaneously professed to believe in the teachings of Jesus and that idea that the accumulation of wealth was representative of a closeness with the almighty? In contrast, "the Amish, the Mennonites, the Brethren, and the other 'Plain People' of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country" are considered oddities, and we find it incomprehensible that they reject our culture while living among us. And I doubt they would play the lottery.

So, at some point I am going to I will take this further, right now, I need to get back to the job hunt. While I don't expect to actually come up with anything original in these posts, I hope to further my understanding of what appears to being going on in our society, why it seems so unfulfilling, how it got here, and what if anything can actually be done to change it. The idea of change will probably wind up being several posts on just that subject. There exists a great deal of social/cultural resistance to any change. This true just about everywhere, every society, and even within large organizations - much of it the result of pure inertia - but also active resistance on the part of powerful stakeholders who don't wish to give up their positions of power, regardless of how truly unfulfilling that power might be. On the otherhand, maybe these people are inherently different; maybe the endorphin rush does not diminish as they acquire more, or maybe they are in a position where they can acquire so much more, it's worth the shot for the rush.

Anyway, I'm still not doing a good job of organizing these thoughts, and I have no desire to go back and edit beyound the spell check function, so some of this may be confusing - though I hope you can decipher my meaning from context.

Like I said, back to the job hunt...

'Real' Truth questioned

2004-10-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

I don't know. I sort of promised to try to come to grips with my apathy concerning our election process. I made the bold statement, that our election process means...Well, almost m=nothing. There will be no real change regardless of who's elected.

I think this is true.

I got a call from a friend today, who says he was denied health coverage based on his weight. And, admittedly, if I'm the insurance company, based on actuary tables, I wouldn't cover him either.

The problem is, that if no insurance company covers him, I wind up paying anyway. I pay through taxes. He will receive coverage. He will receive health care, the difference is whether I pay for it via my insurance company , or whether my tax dollars pay it. I am still out the money.

We don't have a healthcare industry, we have a profit industry. But I pay for both.

I pay regardless of what happens. And I think that's the point I was sort of trying to address earlier- this election doesn't address the real issues. One of the real issues is - regardless of the system in place - I pay for your healthcare...Or I don't.

Those are the questions - do I pay for your health via my premiums, do I pay for your health via my taxes, or do I not pay for your health at all?

It comes down to a value judgment. What values and who's judgment remain in question; but in the end, I still pay. You can argue the extreme point, the one that says it's his choice to be 'obese', and I consider that a fair argument...Sort of...I mean, based on that thinking, I would have let Stephen Hawkings languish and die. Really...Based on pure actuarial tables, I'd have no reason to invest in his existence. The odds of Hawkings providing anything of value, is close to nil.

On the otherhand, how do I 'actualize' his contributions to society? Well, based on the current system, I'm never asked to.

Is keeping a quadriplegic alive and hooked to an expensive communication system, worth my premiums and/or my tax dollars? Well, it sort of depends, doesn't it? And, how do I decide?

Why do I pay to keep "X" alive? How much should I pay?

Well, the previous was an example, I think, of the questions I am trying to work through, and that I absolutely do not hear the candidates addressing.

Who should pay; how much; to keep who alive, and why?

Just an example...

Okay, how do we get past these kind of questions? Really...How?

Well, initially, I think how much profit someone else makes, is not my concern. Again, really. Why should I care whether or not company "X" makes x profit? How is it my problem?

Ah, but you say, they are employers, and if they don't make profit, they can't employ your neighbors, ETC. ETC.ETC.

So? What do I get out of it? Do my taxes go down? Am I covered? Why the fuck should I care? The system doesn't; why should I?...

Okay, I want to start a from a very reductionist point, one that I have addressed, somewhere, in Rogue Analyst, I just can't find where.

Anyway, let's start from a few reductionist premises, and see where it leads:

I have tried to explore reducing the economy to photons, and while people look at me like I'm an idiot, I think all information exchanges happen as a result of photon/electron energy transfers. II will gladly accept arguments pro and con to this point].

I've also argued for an 'endorphin' based economy, though not on-line, until now. On the otherhand, I think the idea of an economy based on aesthethics has some relevance [Questions I ponder, and perhaps a little progress], but does not go far enough. I think endorphins may explain far more. Why do I want a new car versus the totally utilitarian vehicle I already own? Endorphin rush - the belief that other people will think more highly of me - provides the chemical motivation for my actions...Eh, I'm not convinced, but I'm still pondering it.

It's sort of like Maslow's Hierarchy of needs had validity up to the point of self-actualiztion [or whatever term he used], but at that point totally broke down. People, once they meet their security and food and sex needs, don't look to acheive a higher level of self-actualization, rather, they seek endorphin rushes.

Our's is an endorphin based economy. But, like so many other 'addictions', once someone has acheived this level of endorphin activity, they crave an ever higher endorphin rush. It's 'Jonesin' for the next higher level of rush. And, like most addictions we've studied (presumably), satisfaction can not ultimately be acheived. It's a pretty fucked up basis to build a society.

Let's see:

Endorphins
Photons

and, oh yeah,

Greed and materialism

The latter are seperate categories, but 'symptoms?' I'm not sure. But, it does seem that our society requires/teaches that you can not be happy until you have more than anyone else.

Okay. This isn't well thought out as a post, but I think it provides somewhat of a guideline of where I think this blog needs to go. None of the current political dialogue addresses the idea that our society is built on an individual's dissatisfaction with their life. But that is what our economy/society is based on - unhappiness. And I would like to see a political dialogue that addreses 'unhappiness' with life as a primary issue, and not just giving me Prozac.

Why is it that all of our problems can be fixed by a profit based industry that promises to 'hide' the pain? I argue there is a problem with our society...

Okay, that was an extreme ramble, and I owe everyone a more well thought out position, and eventually - some sort of acheivable alternative...I'll bet I acheive the former - the well thought out position, and bet against me acheiving the latter - alternatives. But I might as well try. I'm pondering the issues, anyway.

Oh, and I don't think our political process will ever address the issues I'm raising...

Long rant, no purpose..

A sort of mea culpa

2004-10-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

I know there has been a serious lack of posts at this site lately, and I can certainly claim that damage to our home caused part of it - but nowhere close to the absence some of you may have experienced.

Part of it, a major part, is a certain level of boredom. Not boredom with blogging per se, but rather boredom with the subject, especially in the area of pointing out fallacies and corruption within the system, and then allowing myself to be side-tracked with a meaningless election.

Really, it's easy to point out the obvious evil or ineptness, or the combination of evil and ineptness, that has been this administrations record over the past, nearly four years.

And developing major rants against the Bush Administration is too fucking easy.

And they do not address the problem(s) as I see it.

The problems are not just with this administration or the obvious corporate malfeasance, both of which have occurred in abundance, but they are not actually the problem. They are symptoms of something that is far deeper.

And during my surfing across the bloggosphere, I realize that I have been acting as a merely redundant voice.

Anyone can take a NYTimes article or a WaPo editorial, and offer their own insightful opinion. But that opinion is than dependent on the validity of the information source - however many of levels that has passed through.

I can point you to a great commentary by 'whos-it', whose basing their opinion on another 'whos-it', who's basing their opinion on a 'what's-it', but in the end, all credibility is, or should be, derived from the original source.

Sadly, the credibility of the original source is subject to attack from whichever side doesn't like what it hears. These attacks to not attempt to establish validity, rather, they just undermine whatever credibility I might have thought the source had.

In truth, it may be worse than that. My recent lack of commentary may be due to the fact that I believe that arguing whether Kerry or Bush is worse for the country, detracts from the fact that I think our country is already beyound salvaging. Worse still, I don't have any answers.

So, I have been spending much of my time reviewing basic questions. What is truth? How does one 'know' the truth? How many 'truths' can exist simultaneously? If the 'truths' do not agree, well, what is 'truth'?

Actually, this comment to a previous post, which may have been an attempt at humor or may have been an attempt to get me back on track, asked the right questions:

I'm confused.

I think I've read part of this before.

In no particular order, please answer:
What's real?
What's reality?
What's reality tv?

Thanks.
Josh Narins

I, actually have some glib answers to his questions. Well, it turns out, the part that I thought was glib, anyway, would be simply 'incomprehensible'. I liked it...

But it does leave the question open - How do I establish what is real/truth from all of the 'flack' that surrounds it?

Well, it leaves me asking some rather complicated/simple(?) questions to which I lack complicated/simple answers.

I had a lot to say earlier, but I wasn't able to score computer time, and I don't feel like rushing the effort right now, but...Well, no, I won't rush it right now.

Let me just say, I don't care who wins the election because I don't think the real problems with our nation/society will be addressed regardless of wo wins. You might say it will be worse under one or another administration, but if you do, I don't think you grasp the extent of the problems we face. Neither administration can/will address our root problems - hell, I don't even think we...know...

Why don't I feel safer?

2004-10-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

Radiation Levels Prompt Search (washingtonpost.com)

Radiation Levels Prompt Search
Atlantic Searched Near Where Bomb May Have Fallen in '58

By J.R. Roseberry
Special to The Washington Post
Friday, October 1, 2004; Page A03

SAVANNAH, Ga., Sept. 30 -- A team of Air Force and government security officials, radiation experts and military divers converged on the Georgia coast Thursday to investigate the spot where a long-lost hydrogen bomb may be resting since it was dropped from a bomber in 1958...

...The bomb, a 7,600-pound Mark 15, which has been described as a hundred times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima, was intentionally jettisoned from a B-47 bomber after a midair collision with a jet fighter.

An intensive 90-day search conducted at the time failed to turn up any sign of the bomb, which has been officially listed as "irretrievably lost." Air Force officials have said that the bomb does not carry the plutonium needed for a nuclear blast but that it does carry 400 pounds of explosives...

But doesn't the former contradict the this:

Duke first became interested in the lost nuclear weapon four years ago when he spotted a reference to it on the Internet.

After studying information that included a recently declassified 1966 document prepared by then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Atomic Energy W.J. Howard indicating the bomb was fully armed and capable of nuclear detonation, Duke approached Air Force officials urging them to either conduct another search with modern equipment or cover his expenses to conduct a search on his own.

The officials said the bomb posed little danger because it had only a low risk of leakage of the highly radioactive material it contains and should be left alone. In a report three years ago, the Air Force said the bomb was probably under 15 feet of mud in as much as 40 feet of water.

But Duke's latest radiation findings sparked new interest in the site from the Air Force and Thursday's search.

I like it better when DoD's stories are self-consistent throughout.

Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part Three)

2004-10-03T10:16:00.000-05:00

Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part One) and Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part Two)

Yeah. So there I was. In a room with some of the biggest power players on the planet. I don't know how I missed it, but Murdoch must 'a given a signal, 'cause all of a sudden conversation amongst these guys went back to normal - normal for these guys and gals, anyway. I was truly outclassed

Ya sorta' gotta understand when these people talk down 'bout the masses, they got a pretty good reason. I mean 30, 40 or more generations of reasons. The ol' line 'bout how you are only here 'cause your parents survived to breed, holds especially true in this group. Your parents may have survived the plagues and wars of history; these people's forebears inbred and survived each other.

Think about it. All of these people could trace their roots back to the same bloodlines - hell, they made the people of Americus, Georgia look like a beacon of genetic diversity. Just look at Prince Charles. Couple that with generations of progeny that knew letting a sibling survive would mean competition for the family's hereditary powers. These people's forebears had survived by killin' off the family competition - fratricide, patricide, matricide and 'cides I ain't even heard of, which left their family trees looking like so many stumps in a burnt out forest. These were truly natural born killers.

That's what separates them from average folk - birth and a predisposition to the ruthless quest for power at all costs. So whereas I might not be opposed to killin', these people were good at it, and the masses were just so many poker chips, and what mattered was who wound up controlling the biggest pile - always had been. Yeah, I was armed with a plastic fuckin' paint stirrer/stiletto but these people were armed with power.

Murdoch led me over to a small table at the corner of the suite's wet bar and ordered drinks for us, and no, he didn't ask. The waitron unit poured brown liquid from a decanter into two glasses and set down in front of us. I waited 'til Murdoch took a sip before I started on mine. Like I said, 'cides I ain't heard of - poison probably flowed in his veins, but still I felt better letting him go first.

Setting down his half empty glass, "What do you think of it?"

"Smooth, real smooth," was all I offered. It was smooth, but so what? Personally, I like the burn of cheap of whiskey. This smooth stuff pretty much all tasted like they'd took the kick out of the bottle and didn't replace it with anything. Not as bad as non-alcholic beer to be sure, but it also sure wasn't worth payin' more for it.

"So, R.E., why'd you quit? You were makin' good money, good connections...," he let the question trail off?

"Mostly ' cause it got borin'," knowin' he'd never get it. There is never enough to satisfy his ilk.

"R.E.! Ten percent of what you were transporting was certainly reasonable pay for the risks involved."

"I didn't say it was too risky; I said it got boring. And I mean the money got borin' too."

That one bothered him. I could tell. "What did you do with all the money, R.E.? I know how much I paid for your services, and that was no small sum."

"It's around," was as much as I figured Murdoch needed to know.

"Hmmmm...", Murdoch looked a little puzzled. "You never spent any of it, did you?"

"Murdoch, the best things in life are free."

"R.E., your idea of 'free' is little more than serial petty larceny," he said dryly, still somehow managing to emphasize 'petty'. "And what does it get you? You don't OWN anything."

"Murdoch, you guys already own EVERYTHING. Anything I might buy, is just givin' you guys back your money, and I just wouldn't feel right about lettin' ya'll have your money back."

Murdoch smiled at that one. He knew that was a pretty accurate assessment of how it worked, though I think it bothered him a little to know I was taking money out of the 'market' and stashing it where him and his couldn't make more on it.

'Bout that time some flunky in an expensive, "see how important I am" suit, came over and whispered somethin' in Murdoch's ear. I took the time to do a little head count of who was in the room. All the major businesses and industries were represented. I don't mean to suggest that there were a bunch of CEOs in the room - far from it These were OWNERS. They ran money from their homes and clubs; they didn't even bother to go to board meetings. Hell, they knew THEIR will would be done, and god had no place at the table.

There was one that stood out for me at least, the heir to the biggest global swindle of all times - the De Beers' family rep. Damn, they were brilliant, getting a huge percentage of the population to buy rocks and to spend dearly on them. The rappers of today would hate to have to admit how much they owe to these masters of the bling. Hell, these guys invented bling - bling, the utterly useless stuff people wear, so that other people will measure the stuff, and not see how worthless the wearer truly is. Sorta' like, "I may be a true piece of shit on a personal level, but see, I have cool stuff". Sorta' the opposite of self-worth, I'm guessin'.

I caught DeBeers' eye and gave him a nod of respect. The only way they could have improved on the family scam, is if they'd figured out how to make people think gravel was rare. And hell, they still might.

Then Murdoch started talkin' to me again. He had a pained expression that I recognized could only be due to the interruption of the flow of money. He proved me right.

"R.E., I need to convince you to come out of retirement for the day, and handle a little matter for me."

"Murdoch, I'm here to cover the convention, not to pick up money. Hell, I'm here on a zero budget, what makes you think I want to go back to work?"

"Well, one of your replacements [as if he could replace me] got stupid, and there is a pick-up that must be made in LA in the morning."

"Shit, Murdoch, that gives you plenty of time. You don't need me for this one."

"No, R.E., actually, I do need you for this one, and you are going to like doing it."

Well, I knew Rupie enough to know he wasn't strong armin' me, so there had to be somethin' else. And if he said I'd find it interestin', he was probably right, so I bit, "What've you got goin' now?"

"Actually, R.E., this has been going on for sometime, though knowing your proclivities, I doubt you are aware of the change, except at the periphery," which he knew would get to my curiosity. "Have you heard people complaining about weekend television?"

"Yeah, sometimes, I guess. So what?"

"R.E., do you think me and mine are incapable of putting out a product on weekend nights that people would watch?"

"Hell, no. Of course you can," I mean, that was one thing for sure, if these guys wanted to get eyeballs on a Friday or Saturday night, they were perfectly capable.

"So, why don't we," he asked? "I think you will have it figured out, ohhhh, by now..."

And he was right. Once the question was asked, the answer was obvious. If they weren't putting on popular shows on weekend nights, it was 'cause they didn't want to. And the only reason for that was they were makin' more money some other way.

"They're fuckin' pay you off??!!" Wow, this was good and Murdoch knew it. "How long has this been goin' on, and why ain't no one else caught on, Murdoch? I mean, it is kinda' obvious once you think about it."

"Of course it is, and it started back with "Twin Peaks". You remember, it had fantastic ratings back in the early 90s, and then all of sudden we started playing with its time slot?" I nodded.

"Did you wonder why?"

"Not really," I didn't, but then I didn't watch TV much, even back then.

"Well, much of America thought we were fools for screwing around with a successful program, but it served our purposes well. See, people were staying home Friday nights to watch it. Restaurants and bars were losing customers to the program, and they approached us. Moving Twin Peaks around and destroyin' its ratings proved to them, that if they wanted to max their weekend cash flow, they had to deal with us."

"So now, they pay you under the table to air shitty programs on weekend nights, eh?" It really was brilliant. I mean, think about it. Rather than pay for advertisin' to be made and aired to convince people, who were at home, to go out, it would be cheaper for the industry to pay cable and broadcasters to not air anything that would keep people at home in the first place - 'bore' the people into the restaurants and bars, and save on production costs at the same time. Truly, brilliant. Not quite 'DeBeers selling rocks brilliant', but brilliant.

"I knew you would understand, R.E. Your lack of personal greed might irritate me, but you have always demonstrated an innate sense of larceny," smilin' big, he was. "So, why don't you stay here with us and catch "Der Arnold" (really, Murdoch said "Der Arnold") and the Bimbo twins, and I'll arrange for your transportation to the left coast and back. I can assure you, you will be back in plenty of time for tomorrow's festivities."

So, alright, I bought, "Who do I see, and what's my take?"

"Well, due to the screw up, Phil Hickey is out in LA, and that's who you will be meeting, and I think your usual 10%?"

"Fine. You wanna go ahead and wire it now?"

"Sure, R.E. I always trust you when I control your transportation."

"Whatever. Here the numbers," handing him a business card blank, except for 24 digits, "The last eleven are to the bank's phone." I really wasn't takin' any risk. This account was a one way account - money couldn't be takin' out. Money could only be deposited in, and then automatically transferred to a second receiver account, and from there, I had to send them a 'key' which would move the money, split up amongst several of my other accounts.

Well, I sat there and got bored watchin' Schwarzenegger, and then just plain disgusted by the airhead twins - geez, so much like their father - maybe they'd get elected to prez on some twisted dual ticket platform somewhere in the future - twice the ignorance for a single vote. Weirder things were goin' on already, so that sure wasn't out of the question.

Murdoch must have found the twins pretty worthless too. He asked me what I thought about the show.

"Murdoch, I can't believe you guys can pass off this level of banality on to the American people, but I guess it's so. Pretty fuckin' sad."

Then he smiled bigger than a fuckin' Cheshire Cat, "But what do you think of the SHOW?"

"Well, it ain't happenin' down their on that stage, that's for sure."

"Where do you think the show is happening?"

I looked Murdoch over - this had to be goin' somewhere...somewhere...Well, it wasn't up here in this suite, and I said as much, "Murdoch, the real shit ain't up here and it ain't down there on that stage."

Murdoch smiled bigger, if'n that was even possible, and asked, "R.E., where will the real process be?"

Well, like I told ya'll before, it's all about the prep, and I had done my prep. "It's either goin' to happen in the basement of this place, but that don't seem likely, or you guys paid $10 million dollars to raise the floor of the Garden for a reason - a reason like a sound proofed room for the real deal."

"See, R.E., that's why I miss you. Really. You’re the only one that doesn't want what I have, but is still devious enough to understand the game."

"Yeah, Murdoch, but it's the game I don't particularly like; especially the fact that you and your buddies control all the pieces and change the rules at your convenience. Not exactly a game I want to play," is what I told him. "Hell, I still can't figure out how a game this rigged can be any fun for you at all."

"R.E., the fun is in the rigging."

I let it slide. I had another drink, and when the vapid twins were done, Murdoch passed me a phone. I called a number that verified the money had been transferred. [You don't really think I'd tell you, do you? Here? I mean, the IRS could read this. I doubt it, but they could] We decided on the details of the transfers - from Hickey to me, and from me to Murdoch's man, and then agreed that I'd be Murdoch's guest in what he was referrin' to as "the Temple of Doom" for the Wednesday night festivities. Murdoch also assured me Wednesday night was THE night, and that most of the players would actually have left town by Baby Bush' Thursday night appearance. These guys were too big to stay around out of any pretend, bullshit politeness to their stooge. Hell, they got him there, and here he was tryin' to throw it all away.

No, the real stuff was going to happen the next night, Wednesday night. I was gonna be there to get the skinney. In the mean time, I caught the Vip elevator down, and Murdoch's limo took me to a waitin' private charter, and I didn't even have to wait for clearance before the plane was on it's way. The details ain’t worth your time.

Dueling sound bites

2004-09-30T08:31:00.000-05:00

The Banjo Dance - dueling banjos

I received an invite to watch the 'debate' at Manuel's Tavern tonight with the students and alumni of the School of Public Policy [In the two years I attended the MS program, I don't ever remember anyone using "Ivan Allen College" and "Liberal Arts" in the same breath - the new web design - just interesting] from GA Tech. As much as I would enjoy seeing old friends again, and as anyone who reads this blog on any kind of regular basis knows, I am a big fan of Manuel's Tavern, but even at this late date, I'm not sure I can be bothered to attend this mockery of the democratic process and insult to the tradition of political discourse. Besides, it will like watching Deliverance (1972) again, without the plot, suspense or entertainment value.

Besides, I really cannot stand to hear/watch George Bush. He causes me to have a visceral reaction that makes me want to lash out. I'm scared I would start throwing beer glasses through every television in the place. In fact, Baby Bush reminds me of Eddie Albert as Capt. Erskine Cooney, CO, Fox Co from the 1956 movie, "Attack", which if you've never seen it, is worth your time. [It is most certainly the role that made me realize how much real depth Eddie Albert had as an actor] In fact, his portrayal as a cowardly, psychopathic army officer, who got his position based on family connections, and sends his troops to almost certain death in combat, while he cowers in the rear and smirks, creates the same loathing in me that Baby Bush evokes just being himself. Really, if you can get a copy, this movie could be Baby Bush's life in an alternate universe - "Attack"

I just wish I could think of Kerry in Jack Palance's role as Lt. Joe Costa, Fox Co. It almost fits, but in contrast to Jack Palance, Kerry is boring and uninspiring. I think Kerry's performance so far reminds me of any Chuck Norris performance - flat. You don't doubt that he can physically accomplish (in the early films, at least) what's presented on screen, but you can always tell your watching a B movie, with a B actor reading from a B script. I just wonder who thought Kerry was worth a roll on the casting couch in the first place. Besides, in the end of "Attack", a wounded Lt. Joe Costa (arm run over by a German tank - fairly horrific scene) finds and shoots Capt. Erskine Cooney so you get the feeling that good triumphs over evil, even if there are no survivors. I just don't think Kerry is going to win in the end so the parallel to the movie ends at the ending. Too bad.

So, rather than watch two or three hours of a sham and the associated coverage, where know-nothing assholes tell me who won and how I'm supposed to interpret what was said, I think I'll read a book.

Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part Two)

2004-09-28T16:26:00.000-05:00

There were a couple of items I wanted, but first I had to see if I could grab a room somewhere semi-close by. Surely, some asshole conventioneer or someone failed to show up at one of these hotels. It took four tries, but I found a room for too fuckin' much money in a not all that great building, but they took credit cards, had phone in the room and the shower was fairly clean.

I love New York, where else are you going to find a pawn shop opened at nine pm. I pawned the RVer's camera for $300. I kept the disk, but I didn't need to schlep the camera around; it was pretty much just dead weight now. And while I was there, I bought a car first aid kit that somebody had pawned [and even weirder, someone had given money for] a thin plastic razor knife, a plastic paint stirrer with holes for the paint to go through, a decent box cutter with extra blades, a flash light and a multi-headed screwdriver.

I needed to improve on the press pass. Hannity and I don't look so much alike. I found a 24 hour Kinkos/office supply kind 'a place, and bought a couple of sheets of laminate and contact paper, a back of re-writable CDs, a decent midrange briefcase/computer case for the lap top, and some standard, blank invoice forms. I went ahead and rented some time on one their computers, and put together some phony logos and letter heads, inserted the blank invoices, and now I was in business - the pest control business, the security sales business, the restaurant equipment rental business and the general handyman business. I bought one of those pre-paid mobile phones with 60 minutes on it. I doubt if I talk 60 minutes on a phone the entire year, but you got to have the right props, and now a days, the cell phone is your standard prop.

Everything else I needed would have to wait 'til mornin', well except gettin' a couple of bottles of Beam's Rye to keep me mellow. Besides, I still had some things to do back at the room. It's all about prep work. Learned that back in the Army. They used to have somethin' called the IPB or somethin', that stood for the Intel Prep of the Battlefield. And that's what I had to spend my time doin' - preppin' my battlefield. In the end, it's why amateurs get caught. They don't do enough prep. They think they can MacGyver or Rockford their way through situations. And they can, but you have to prep.

When I got there, I grabbed some ice from the machine in the hall, and I poured myself a tall rye. Then I pulled an old picture ID out my wallet and used the thin razor knife cut the lamination around the photo and to lift it off. It takes a little practice to do it right, but this was about the third time I'd used this particular photo, so I had to be extra careful, but at least I knew what I was doin'. I found Hannity's press pass and I put my photo on his. Now because my photo looked obviously raised, I cut some squares out of the contact paper, and laid a couple of on the pass 'til it looked flat. Then I put one piece of laminate over the whole pass. I used the razor knife to trim the excess and heated the side of the screw driver with the butane lighter, and smoothed the edges of the pass. 'Tweren't perfect, but if this job was going to require perfection, I was in deep shit already. No, the idea is to make sure no one looks to close. It takes a little actin' and a lot of balls to make this kind of phony ID work, but it ain't like I was workin' with the CIA's budget.

Next I took the plastic paint stirrer and with the box cutter, started cutting down at an angle from both front and back, and making sure that I wound up with a solid point at the tip. I carved a small, plastic stiletto with a 'blade' about an inch wide at its widest, five inches long and with a four inch 'handle'. The beauty of this weapon is it's seriously easy to hide. If you did a good job cuttin' it out, you can slide it back into the grooves you made in the paint stirrer, and no one'd would be the wiser. But I'd be taping it between my pecs on my breast bone. It fits right in place, doesn't set off metal detectors, and if someone searches you, if they ever bother to check your breast plate, the consistency doesn't incite suspicion; though you might ought'a putty the holes, if your worried about someone searching you. You might think the holes are bad, or just somethin' to put up with, and you'd be wrong. When you slide this up under the ribs or into someone's throat, you give it a twist, and all those rough edges play hell with the tissues.

After that, I started going through the yellow pages for numbers for the buildings and businesses I could use. I started with the restaurants, hopin' that the managers might still be on duty. I'd call up, ask for the manager on duty and when he came on line, I'd ask for the name of the owner/daytime manager and did he kindly know the name of whatever pest control company they used. Then I started on the office buildings and hotels in the area, gettin' the names of whatever security service they were using; in-house or outside service provider, I just wanted the names of the businesses, and when I could, the name of the guard who'd be comin' on duty.

While I was makin' the calls, I backed up all the programs and info on the lap top to CDs, scrubbed the hard drive and finished off the first bottle 'a rye. Last thing I did was write down the addresses of a couple of used clothing shops and a commercial uniform place.

It was about midnight now, so I thought I'd go catch a few drinks somewhere close by and while I was there I'd see what kind of info the locals were sharing about the security hassles they'd had. The cool thing was I just sat there and listened to these people bitch about having to deal with the security, and what was really valuable, how some of 'em were able to by-pass certain check points. I took mental notes.

Next mornin', I got up early and I used the white medical tape from the first aid kit to wrap the handle on the plastic stiletto and taped it to my chest. I put on a red tank top and blue running shorts, and over that I dressed in 'business casual', including a sports coat, gray slacks and expensive black shoes. You can get away with alot, if you have on the right shoes. I grabbed the computer/brief case and loaded it with the invoices, a white ball cap, a pair of black 'tennis shoes' and what was left of the rye.

On the way out, I stopped by the front desk, haggled with them to keep the room for two more nights. I didn't figure on needin' the room anymore, but I might and I sure as hell didn't want them closing out the credit card just yet. From the courtesy business room, I got an envelope, addressed to the RVer's and had the hotel rep send them disks with all the info from their computer. I left there and found one of those package drop off points and shipped them their computer snail mail. If they were lucky, they still had boot disks.

Then I did my final shopping. I went to the commercial uniform shop and bought a cheap, blue polyester blazer - the kind that every security company in the country issues their guards. I also explained to the guy behind the register how I was startin' my own security firm, and could I see some samples of other companies' patches and logos as I didn't want to accidentally use one of their designs? Of the ones he showed me, three belonged to companies operating in the security zone. I bought those three as samples for my 'designer' to look over when comin' up with my company logo. I also bought a little pack of self-adhesive velcro strips. Absolutely fuckin' beautiful. I now had three decent disguises - cheap. I put the blazer, velcro and patches in the case for later.

Low paid security guards are everywhere, and no one pays them any mind. In fact, if you've ever done the work, you'd know you just plain fuckin' disappear into the background unless someone needs somethin'. Everyone figures you got the job 'cause you couldn't do anything else. 'Course, that's true a hell of a lot of the time, and I knew I could use that in my favor - a cheap blue polyester blazer, a velcro'd patch, gray slacks and black tennis shoes buys a whole lot of active anonymity - people go out of their way not to notice you.

One more stop, and I'd be done preppin'. I hit the used clothing store, St. Somebody of somewhere's charity shop. I found what I was looking for - an embroidered red electrician shirt [electricians seemed to gravitate toward red for some reason] stenciled with some ex-worker's name, Dave, and a pair of blue light-weight coveralls with some companies logo [who's business I couldn't figure out] - both worn but good condition. I had 'em put the purchases in separate bags, which I also shoved into the case. It was gettin' a little full, but form here on out, I'd be emptyin' it piece meal. Perfect. Now I needed to plant these on my potential escape route.

I by-passed the next level of security using the route the local in the bar bragged on at the bar. It worked just fine, and left me two levels to go before I hit the Garden proper. Next I headed to a restaurant with an entrance on this side of the next security check point, but with a rear kitchen delivery dock on the other side. They weren't open yet, so I hung out across the way and waited 'til an employee showed up to start the days kitchen prep and clean up. I walked over before he could lock the door behind him, and dropped the name of supposed on-coming manager that I'd gotten by phoning from the room. I told him I was meeting the manager in a little while (vagueness goes a long way), but as how I could go ahead and do my pest inspection now, and then I'd be ready when the manager showed, and not have to waste his time. He was a hair dubious, but I knew the manager's name, pest control was something that just comes with the restaurant business, and I guess I didn't look like a hit man, so he let me in.

I took out the flash light and screw driver, and started my inspection. The good thing 'bout a pest control inspection is it's a license to look everywhere. I did it quick, and found a decent place on the back dock to hide the bag with the coveralls in it for later. Then, just so as not to get the employee suspicious, I pretended to get a phone call, wrote up a proposal on one of the invoices, and told the guy to give this to the manager and I'd be in contact later. I left via the loadin' dock, one zone deeper into enemy territory.

I steadily made my way over to an office building that was similar to the restaurant in that I could enter on one side of the building, but leaving on the otherside would put me almost to the Garden, though in this case, it was through the building's attached underground garage. I stopped in the foyer for a minute and checked out the scene while pretending to look at the business listing to find what I was lookin' for. What I was lookin' for was a floor with multiple businesses which would generally mean a common restroom. I was also makin' sure I had the patch to match building security's. I did. I made my way up the elevator, and stashed the red electrician's shirt up in a ceiling tile. While I was there, I velcro'd the matching security badge onto the cheap blazer, and stuck it in an easy to reach side pocket of the briefcase. Then I found the shortest to route the parking level by the stairs so as to minimize contact with anyone, but especially the security people.

When I got to the entrance of the parking garage, I looked for a place to stash the security jacket, and it dawned on me that the best place would be on top of the parking fee attendant's booth. So I went over and chatted him up a little; made sure it was 24 hour parking but with out an attendant on duty after 11pm. When he was distracted dealin' with someone paying to get out, I tossed the security coat on top of the booth for later.

Now I walked out of the parking garage into bright sunlight. I was close to the Garden; the final test. I slowly walked around like I was lost and looking for the right check point to use. That's when I spotted my target - one that looked like it was a VIP entrance. The way I figured it, I'd wait 'til some Vip in a limo drove up, and while they were busy, I'd try flashin' the pass and movin' through. Yeah, it was risky, but it was better than tryin' to go through one of the check points were the guards weren't as bored. I meandered over for the real test - it was make it or break it time. If they spotted the fact that the press pass was altered, I'd be arrested on the spot and disappear into the federal system and probably shipped to Guantanamo with out ever seein' a lawyer.

So, just as a limo pulled up, I started to walk up and to the flash.

That's when I got surprised. I heard a voice from behind say, "R.E., what are you doin' here?"

Shit! I knew that voice. This could go either way. I turned around walked over to the rolled down limo window, "Hey, Murdoch, what's up?"

Murdoch was lookin' me over, and I was sweatin'. Like I said, either way. I could tell when he read the name on the press pass - he smirked. Yeah, I know, it's hard to imagine Rupert Murdoch smirkin', but we go back, back to the days when I used to do work for the RNC, and do a little bag work on the side for him. "Well now I understand what happened to Hannity. Get in, R.E."

The guards looked like they didn't have a clue as to what to do. They sure as hell weren't dumb enough to fuck with ol' Rupie. So I walked over to the farside of the limo, and the driver popped out, opened the door and let me in.

I slid in to the back seat facin' forward next to Murdoch, and looked around at the surprised faces of a couple of his flunkies. Probably some FOX producers or equal low lifes. You had to understand the food chain in this environment. "Nice limo as usual, Murdoch." Then, 'cause I couldn't resist - I'd likely only get this one shot, and I figured I might as well use it right off 'cause this could turn ugly right quick, so I said, "Rupie, you ain't pissed at what I done to your boy, Hannity?"

The low lifes in the expensive suits looked like they wanted to be anywhere but here. They were savvy enough to know shrapnel kills, and if you can be seen, you can be hit. I thought they did a pretty nice job of meltin' into the car's plush upholstery.

Murdoch smiled, "R.E., no one who knows him likes that pompous mick, least of all me. But he does his job without too much whining, and the plebes like him. He's got good ratings. Besides, I thought it was pretty funny - a nice touch puttin' his dick in his hand, and pretty good photos, too." The Execs weren't sure how to react to that, so they stayed blank. I could see as how these were the kind of slime that floats to the top -= good corporate survival instincts. Still smilin', but his voice went cold, "I've told you - Don't call me Rupie." Then, the smile dimmed, but the voice warmed ever so slightly, "Give the other disk."

"Hey, Murdoch, I only had the one disk."

"R.E., give me the fuckin' disk. I won't have you damage my property by putting those photos out, so give them to me...NOW."

Well, I ain't the brightest guy on the planet, but seein' as how the limo had moved into the Garden's underground lot, and I was past security, I could see no point on playin' this game no further. Eventually he'd find out that I had already distributed other copies and send a few of his goon squad lookin' for me, but for now...I reached into the brief case and handed him the original disk with the photos on it.

"Thank you, R.E.", the smile back, and maybe even a trace of warmth. "So, are you back in the business?"

"No, Sir," I said, 'cause sometimes bein' polite with these ego-types goes a long way to how far you get to play the game. The difference between me and the slime was, I wasn't doin' it for a pay check, at least not anymore. "I'm here in the capacity of what you might call a reporter, Murdoch."

"For who? Who gave you a shot at reporting? And why, your talents are so much better used pursuing other endeavors," that last part meanin' collectin' pay-offs for him and his ilk.

"Well, Murdoch, I'm writin' for "Radically Inept"."

"And just what publication or network owns Radically Inept," he asked in a fairly surprised tone. That wouldn't last.

"Well, Murdoch, it's a small blog."

He laughed. The bastard laughed and I couldn't blame him, but I did anyway. Fuck him. But I smiled. Like I've said before, I may not be the brightest bulb, but I ain't burnt out yet.

"So, you are a blogger, eh? And you are covering the convention? Well, you know you are going to run into a lot of your old acquaintances," which is about the time he understood why I came. 'Course, he simultaneously realized, like I had from the beginning, just how fuckin' futile this effort was. He looked at me for second, and then that truly predatory smile 'a his, the one he usually kept in check 'ceptin' when his stompin' the heart out of some competitor or milkin' money out of limey blue bloods, came over him. I could tell the still silent execs (I told you they understood survival) were wonderin' where this was goin' to go.

"R.E., this is just too perfect." Then, continuin' his thought, "R.E., I am personally going to ensure you get a far bigger story than you had hoped for. In fact, you are my personal guest - I want you with me for the rest of the convention. What do you say?"

Well, I guess the execs weren't as good as I thought, 'cause it was apparent they hadn't kept up. I knew 'xactly what ol' Rupie was drivin' at, and said as much, "You want the truth to come out in a small time blog, so everyone will think it's shit, just like the CIA uses Star Magazine and The National Enquirer when they know some story is goin' a come out they don't want people believin' - they leak the story to the tabs first, and that's what you want from me? You want Radically Inept to break the story."

After I'd explained it, the execs caught on and startin' smirkin' on their own. Let 'em smirk. The joke is always ultimately on clowns like this. They sell their soul to climb the ladder, thinkin' that eventually they'll have the keys to power. Schmucks. What they didn't get was they'd never have any real power. That ain't the way the game is rigged. A few guys like Rupie would always have the real power. They bought, sold and broke dumbass climbers like these guys on a whim - just like the climber's wives spent their money and changed their home decors on a fuckin' weekly basis in the fuckin' vain attempt to out do each other. Bunch of class conscious idiots who thought gettin' close to the throne actually make 'em royalty.

Anyway, Murdoch says, "Of course. You are perfect for this. You already know the players, and no one but the players will know you are telling the truth." The assholes startin' smilin' real big now. They were just dumb enough to think they were included amongst 'the players'. Like I said, schmucks.

Me, on the otherhand, I understood only too well the game we were goin' to play. And hell, I liked it. I was goin' to get the story, you guys are gettin' to read it, and it ain't my fuckin' problem whether or not you believe it. And a'fore you ask, NO, there ain't no proof, and there ain't gonna be no proof. Them's the rules of the game I got into. Trust me. I won't come in your mouth.

'Bout that time, the driver opened up Murdoch's door and we all started climbin' out of the limo. The schmucks were smart enough to let me tail out right after Murdoch. Maybe they figured out that in this new game, it be best to let me take the hits. As we climbed out, Murdoch told one of the execs to give me his convention pass, and to wait there until a new one was sent down to him. I could see the execs not chosen for this particular dubious honor puff up, and new that I just gained an enemy. Fuck him. He looked like some pantywaist that'd be easy to take out in an alley.

I put the badge on as we made our way to what was definitely a Vip elevator, and road up to the FOX News suite. I followed Murdoch in, and there was Hannity. Murdoch went over, and I had to admire his ability to ask Hannity how he was feelin' and not just laugh in his face. Hannity looked good though; the make up people had done a good job of hidin' the bruises on his throat and neck/jaw. His voice was a little rough, like you'd expect, seein as how I had damn near broke his wind pipe - I know, I was thinkin' how I shoulda', too. But I knew the audio people'd fix it so you couldn't tell it was his normal, regular, obnoxious, I wanted to punch him again, voice. What I didn't like was the way Colmes was lookin' at me. I always thought he looked a little faggy.

Anyway, Murdoch led us out through a side door and into the FOX Executive suite. More schmucks. Murdoch gave a quick speech. You know the type - how they was all the best in the business, and how fuckin' great FOX was, and then he kinda' let on how the election was in the bag thanks to their efforts. That got a good laugh out of the execs, and they all fuckin' beamed (Yeah, really, they fuckin' beamed) at each other like they was all in some secret fuckin' club with their own tree house and with a 'girls keep out' sign posted on it.

That last part was bullshit, and I knew it. It doesn't fuckin' matter who wins, the election is in the bag for the Murdochs of the world. Well, in the midst of all that self-congratulatory bullshit, Murdoch caught my eye, and I knew I was supposed to follow him. We slipped though a door hidden like one of those you find in ol' British and German castles and palaces, and right into THE power suite.

They weren't all there, but the ones that were, well, they were REAL power. Some of 'em knew me from the ol' days, and even though I could tell they were a little unhappy 'bout my bein' there, those that knew me nodded, and said shit like 'Hey, R.E.'. Hell, even Scaife gave me a polite, 'I'll see you in hell' nod. Now was the time I had to keep on my toes, and get the story no one else got. The REAL fuckin' convention story.

Yeah. I know. This needs a serious edit, but His Ineptness is on my case to get somethin' posted. Me? I got a case a' PBR and a bottle rye, and for once, a little of that 'kind', so I am out 'a here. Expect part three sometime this weekend, unless I find somethin' better to do. Ain't like I'm gettin' paid for this shit.

LA to NY - from the back seat

2004-09-28T13:14:00.000-05:00

Via John at lies.com comes this link: Lacquer. LA to NY in three minutes of time lapse, with a pretty decent sound track.

Admin Update

2004-09-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

Well, things are almost back to normal here, though we do have some water damage in the hallway ceiling that needs to be fixed, and some landscaping that needs to be done. I should be back on the blog more regularly for the foreseeable future. Our cars should be out of the shop in the next couple of days.

My condolances to those of you in Florida.

Here, we didn't get the brunt of any of the storms, but my brother lost two trees (spent Saturday helping him cut-up and split the smaller of the two), and my father-in-law's bridge got swept away by Ivan's flood waters. He now makes it from his house to his company car by walking across one of the two I-beams that remain.

We still have a little more to do with our insurance company, but so far, State Farm has been very timely, and we've already received a check for in excess of $28k, and will be hitting them up for another $2-3k.

Lastly, Rick Eddy's story got delayed, but he swears it will be completed soon. I'll be docking his non-existent pay check.

The Nose Knows

2004-09-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

Look, Ma! No hands!

Article: Nose-steered mouse could save aching arms| New Scientist:"At the start of a session, the nouse's camera takes a snapshot of the user. From this it isolates about 25 pixels representing the tip of the nose and takes readings for the brightness of each pixel. The nouse software then tracks the pattern of pixels.

A double blink switches the nouse on. Its software then scans the region where the nose was last, looking for the 25-pixel target. Once it has found the target, its movements are translated into the same signals that would be expected from a normal mouse.

Gorodnichy has designed several software packages to demonstrate the nouse, including NousePaint, which allows you to draw patterns on the screen using only the nose and eyes (see video).

The nouse can also be used to navigate around 3D computer software, such as virtual design environments and games, but this requires two webcams. In 3D mode, both cameras pinpoint the tip of the nose and the nouse software calculates how far away the user is, and whether they are moving into, or out of, the environment."Won't that make porn more fun.

It's enough to make Popeye proud

2004-09-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

Spinach could power better solar cells| New Scientist:

"An electronic device that uses spinach to convert light into electrical charge has been developed by US researchers.

Shuguang Zhang at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, and research collaborators integrated a protein complex derived from spinach chloroplasts with organic semiconductors to make a solar cell that could be combined with solid state electronics...

...Zhang's team managed to artificially stabilise the protein complex at the heart of their system - comprised of 14 protein subunits and hundreds of chlorophyll molecules - using synthetic peptides to bind small amounts of water to it, within a sealed unit.

Light particles, or photons, excite coupled pairs of electrons within chlorophyll, causing an electron to transfer to a nearby receptor molecule."

See, your mother was right - Spinach is good for you.

Good news for Info-phobiacs

2004-09-28T09:18:00.000-05:00

NEC extends quantum cryptography range and speed

The system can generate quantum keys at a speed of 100Kbps and transmit them over distances of up to 40 kilometers along commercial fiber optic lines. This combination of speed and distance is a world record, and means the system is suitable for commercial use, according to Kazuo Nakamura, senior manager of NEC's quantum information technology group at the company's Fundamental and Environmental Research Laboratories.

The system, which was first tested successfully in April at the company's System Platforms Research Laboratories in Tamagawa, west of Tokyo, contains several breakthroughs from previous technologies used by the company, according to Akio Tajima, assistant manager at the laboratory.

Quantum cryptography systems allow users to exchange keys with the knowledge that they have not been tampered with during transmission. The systems work by embedding the encryption key on photons. As photons cannot be split, they can only end up in one place, either with the receiver or with an eavesdropper.

NEC has been developing a 'round-trip' quantum cryptography method that has a laser and receiver at one end, and a mirror at the other. Until this April, technical issues with the receiver and mirror meant that the system had not been able to work at high speed over long distances, Tajima said.

With prior NEC systems, the detector worked too slowly to cope with correctly registering the photons hitting it. When photons hit the detector, they are turned into electrons. Because the detector creates an avalanche of electrons for each photon strike, it was necessary to find a way to clear the swarm of electrons out of the device quickly so that it could accurately register the arrival of the next photon. The new detector developed by Tajima's team clears that delay faster, so that the system can work reliably at speeds of 100k bps. That's fast enough to be useful commercially, Tajima said.

NEC has improved the system's mirror. NEC's prior systems used a type of mirror called a Faraday Mirror, a device that reflects light in a 90 degree rotation from the input light. The performance of Faraday Mirrors changes with temperature, which affects efficiency. NEC has changed the technology with the mirror so that it works accurately at temperatures between minus five degrees and 70 degrees Celsius, Tajima said.

Scientists have struggled to develop quantum key systems that are fast enough to work through long enough distances in networks to be commercially viable. Photons tend to get scattered and lost in fiber optic cables. More powerful lasers that are needed to shunt more photons over longer distances tend to cause more noise, which degrades efficiency. NEC's new system includes a conventional laser whose power has been optimized so that it creates less noise, Tajima said.

But do we really want commercial entities to continue to operate in secrecy? It seems more like the ability to operate in secrecy, allows them to do more damage.

Robot touch - Will we program them for pleasure?

2004-09-28T09:11:00.000-05:00

Flexible sensors make robot skin:

"Researchers from the University of Tokyo have devised pressure-sensor arrays that promise to give objects like rugs and robots the equivalent of one aspect of skin -- pressure sensitivity.

The researchers' pressure sensor arrays are built from inexpensive organic, or plastic, transistors on a flexible material. This allows for dense arrays that can be used over large areas.

The arrays could be used in pressure-sensitive coverings in hospitals, homes, gyms and cars to monitor people's health and performance, and eventually as skin that would give robots the means to interact more sensitively with their surroundings, said Takao Someya, an associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Tokyo.

The sensor skin works even when rolled around a cylinder as small as 4 millimeters in diameter, said Someya. The researchers' prototype is an eight-centimeter-square sheet containing a 32-by-32 array of organic sensors -- a density of 16 sensors per square centimeter. In contrast, humans have 1,500 pressure sensors per square centimeter in the fingertips, though far fewer in most other places.

The pressure sensor arrays could be used in pressure carpets that distinguish family members from strangers or sense when a hospital patient collapses."

Making Buckminster Fuller proud (or at least his namesake less deadly)

2004-09-28T08:03:00.000-05:00

Rice finds 'on-off switch' for buckyball toxicity

While buckyballs show great promise in applications as diverse as fuel cells, batteries, pharmaceuticals and coatings, some scientists and activists have raised concerns about their potential toxicity to humans and animals.

CBEN's study is the first cytotoxicity study of human cells exposed to buckyballs. Cytotoxicity refers to toxic effects on individual cells. The study found that even minor alterations to the surface of the buckyballs can dramatically affect how toxic they are to individual cells, and the researchers identified specific alterations that render them much less toxic.

"There are many cases where toxicity is desirable," said Vicki Colvin, CBEN director, professor of chemistry and chemical engineering, and the principal investigator for the research. "For example, we might want particles that kill cancer cells or harmful bacteria. In other cases -- like applications where particles may make their way into the environment -- toxicity is undesirable."

In the study, the researchers exposed two types of human cells to various solutions containing different concentrations of buckyballs. Four types of solutions were tested. One contained tiny clusters of smooth-surfaced buckyballs. In the other three, researcher s modified the buckyballs by attaching other molecules to their sides. Researchers measured how many cells died within 48 hours of exposure to each solution, and they repeated the tests until they found the exposure level for each that resulted in a 50 percent mortality rate.

In general, the greater the degree of surface modification, the lower the toxicity. For example, the undecorated buckyballs showed the highest toxicity -- about 20 parts per billion-- while the least toxic proved to be buckyballs decorated with the largest number of hydroxyl side-groups. To achieve the equivalent level of toxicity as that of bare buckyballs, the researchers had to increase the concentration of these modified buckyballs by 10 million times to more than 5 million parts per billion.

If the US had Iraq's problems

2004-09-24T08:24:00.000-05:00

Jaun Cole of Informed Comment posits this situation: If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?

It's worth thinking about, if only because we are the land of pussies. We'd fall apart if we had to deal with war on our soil again. I mean, think about the poor soccor moms, or trying to get a Tee Time scheduled at the club? See what I mean? America would collapse if it lost cable television for an extended period of time, or was actually forced...

Screw it. We just couldn't handle it, but I think if we get four more years of Bush we could be headed that way. I don't see a huge resistance movement forming - hell, like I just said, we are a land of pussies - and we have lost all sense of outrage. We take our Soma daily like good little Gamma's and the world moves on, but We haven't wiped out or gotten control of all of the Alphas just yet, so...MayHaps, we might see some action here, but...I don't see it. I think America has lost the ability to feel or think. Just a huge zombie, ambling about, bumping into things, but too dead to care.

Well, I'm thinking about resigning myself to being poor and living in a third world country, called the US of A. I guess I'll just have to deal with hanging out, pan handeling, outside the gated communities of the wealthy, washing the windshields of their limos with my dirty rags and polluted water, while my wife does maid service for $.50/hr in their McMansions. Life will suck, but we believe the talking heads on TV when they tell us how things will get better between advertisements for vacations and cars we'll never have, but can lust after.

Rick Eddy on the Temple of Doom (Part One)

2004-09-20T09:56:00.000-05:00

I'm still dealing with the aftermath of Frances and Ivan here, but I should get the science posts in some time today. Right now, I have to go do home improvement shopping.

The following is the first installment of a Rick Eddy contribution. It would have been posted sooner, but he's had his own problems with Ivan up in North Georgia, but he exdpects to finish his report on the Republican Convention shortly.

I'm sitting here in my new winter cabin. I had to move out of the summer place, 'cause the Canuck snowbirds that own it were due back any day, and I didn't want to have to explain some of the remodeling I'd done over the summer. But hey, I left 'em a case of PBR and half a bottle of Beam's Rye as payment for any perceived 'damages'. Anyway, this is a real nice place. Sits fairly high on the south slope of a decent sized North Georgia mountain. It's got a five acre pond in a shallow draw off back and to the West (might have some decent fish), and nice sized screened in porch out front with a hell-lay-shish view of the valley, and sometimes most important, the road up. From what I overheard at a party a couple of weeks ago, these people ain't even plannin' on comin' back for christmas. Suits me just fine, though it was a little tricky by-passin' the alarm system they got. The big bonus payoff was the fact that they got one of them Honda generators for emergencies out back. So, all I gotta do is get some gas now and then for those nights I want electricity, and just run heat and stove off their propane tank the rest of the time. They won't see no bills all winter, and won't know they're out a' propane 'til I'm long gone.

Anyway, I got this nice laptop in front of me that I found back up in New York City last week (don't worry, I'll talk about it in a minute), but it ought have 'bout enough juice left in the battery for me to put this article together w/o havin' to crank up the generator; seein' as how I ain't had the time yet to put up a sandbag berm 'round it to keep the sound down. The neighbors ain't close, but the sound of one these things'll carry pretty good in the valley after 'bout ten 'clock, so best I just try an make out on battery power.

Hell, I'm lookin' through my notes, and they are a jumbled mess, but tain't no wonder, I been on the road mostly for the last week or more. So, I'll just start from memory, and rummage through the pile of notes and receipts when I need some specific details.

It started a week ago yesterday, when his Ineptness tracked me down to the Bulldog Tavern on Hwy 76. I knew it was trouble when I saw him walk in, but I figured I could get 'em to spring for the tab if'n I let him talk.

So, he comes up and grabs the stool next to me at the bar, and says, "Hey Rick, I hear you got a week between residences."

Well, I don't know how he knows, but yeah the Canucks came in last night, and the Tampa yuppies ain't leavin' 'til the followin' Monday, so I says he heard right.

"Well, I got fun job for you, and it will take almost exactly the whole week, including travel time."

"Hell no," I says. I mean, I ain't worked for the past couple of years, why start now?

"Come on, Rick. You'll like this job - one big party. It's right up your alley, and hell, your old buddy, Zell, will be there."

"Naw, man. I don't like cities. I don't like New York. I sure as hell don't like republicans, and Zell's a republican now. Fuck that."

"What else are you going to do for the week? You got some place to stay? You got any money?"

"Alright, what's it going to pay?" At this point, I know I'm going to do it. Man, there ain't nothing like a convention for livin' high on someone else's dime, but I ain't going to let His Ineptness know 'til I see how much I can get out of him.

"Depends on how much we can sell the piece for..."

"Spec work!!! You fuckin' cheap bastard..."

"I got you a credit card and a bottle of Macallan's 18 year old."

"Oh." I love credit cards. "A card in whose name?"

"Friday Dawg."

"Your dog has a credit card?"

"Yeah, I used her name on a couple of magazine subscriptions I didn't want to be associated with-"

"Soldier of Fortune?"

"Yes, among others. Anyway, I guess they decided, based on her lack of debt and no living expenses, to let her have one with a $2000 dollar limit."

"What about Press credentials?"

"Radically Inept press credentials."

"Bastard. Get us a couple more beers, a couple of shots and get the tab."

"I knew I could count on you."

"Fuck you."

So, it was early enough still to go check out who was RVin' at the nearby state campgrounds, and I got lucky to find a couple from up-state New York, who were going to be heading back the next morning. Really, 'tweren't so much luck, as the campgrounds were closing for the year anyway, so everyone was packin' up and gettin' out. I convinced 'em, once they got a little loosened up on the Macallan's, to let me ride up with them in return for doin' the drivin'. Hell, I got 'em so drunk they couldn't 'a drove the next mornin' if'n they'd 'a wanted to. When they finally passed out, I had a little time to look through the RV. They had some pretty nice stuff, but I was on a mission, and the only luggage I was takin' was a small, conservative lookin' carry-on-bag.

Sunday afternoon, we parted company around Hoboken, with well wishes all around. I made my way toward Madison Square and started reconning the security set-up. Kind of typical - low paid freelancers at the outer perimeter and getting more professional the further you went in. I chatted up a couple of the guys at the first check point using my usual technique: 1. Be Nice to the Wage Slaves. 2. Commiserate about the sucky job they have, or how cool the job is, or how lucky they are to have one, etc. 3. Ask them lots of questions about themselves; no one pays attention to these guys, so when you do, they'll tell ya just about everythin' to prove how important they are, or just 'cause. 4. Provide them with enough info to make 'em think you belong on their side of the barrier, but don't push it. 5. Find out when shift change will occur - leave. 6. Appear at shift change, call the guys you know by first name, be chatty, and let your friends introduce you to the oncoming shift. 7. Walk in. It's a little time consuming, and it's not 100%, but it usually works to get past the outer perimeter.

So, I wandered over to some Italian place that had a view of the checkpoint, and put a meal and a bottle of red wine on the credit card. As long as you don't buy big ticket items, no one hardly checks for ID on the card. So, I sat there, finished eatin' and drank 'bout half the bottle of wine. When I saw them do shift change, I decided to wait 'til my new found freinds had left, and then go over and make pals with new ones. That way, this time Monday night, I'd know everyone's first name; we'd all be old pals, and I ought'a be able to breeze right through.

Monday evening and it worked. So, once inside, I wandered around a little to get a feel for the next layer of security; from this point on, it'd get a little trickier, and I still had 'a pick up a Radically Inept Press Pass. Ah, it was gettin' dark now, and luck was still on my side. I spotted the parkin' area where the FOX squad was parkin' their personal vehicles or havin' taxis/limos drop 'em off, and transferrin' over to a corporate van for the ride to the Gardens proper. Actually, it was better than that.

I spotted Sean Hannity sneakin' into one of the 'darker' side streets to take a quick piss in the door recess of a closed camera store, or somethin'. He was alone. Life was sweet. I walked up like I was one of the typical republican sychophants; scramblin' in my bag for a sheet paper and a pen to get his autograph. He had that annoyed look on his face, and he was still holding his dick. I caught him in the throat with the knife edge of my palm to keep him quite. That widen his eyes, until I caught with my fist right behind the jaw below the ear. [I know, your thinkin' that if I was goin' to put him out anyway, the shot to throat weren't really necessary. You're right, a'course, but I never liked the big mouthed yankee bastard, so fuck him.] I shoved him against the chain roll down over the door front. I looked around to make sure no one was watchin', and spotted an older van parked at the curb. Perfect.

I stuck his arm between some of the chain squares to keep him upright, and make him look like some drunk businessman taking a whiz. I checked out the van. It looked like it been used to haul carpets or something, and you could tell the suspension was already pretty much shot. I wasn't worried 'bout no alarm or anything, so I pulled a heavy scewdriver from my bag and used the handle to break the rear passenger side window; reached in and unlocked the door. I looked around, but this was New York City, and no one was payin' no attention to me.

I went back and pulled Hannity's arm out of chain, put it round my shoulder and 'drunk' walked him to the van, like he was an old buddy. Hell, with his dick still hangin' out, anyone who looked probably thought...Anyway, with his dick was still hanging out anyone who looked, looked away real quick. I threw him in the back of the van, climbed in behind, while shoving his ass toward the cab. I grabbed the half empty bottle of wine from my bag, took a swig, and poured some on his shirt. Then I put one of his hands around the neck of the bottle, and the other around his dick, which I thought was a real nice touch. Pulled the cam up and took a few shots of him, pulled the disk out and laid it on his chest. Put a new disk in the cam, and took a few shots for my scrap book. Then I grabbed his press pass (and, yeah, some drinkin' money from his wallet), climbed out of the van, shut the door and walked on. He wouldn't wake up for a few hours, and if anyone found him, I was real sure him and FOX would hush this up. I mean, the tough talkin' yankee mick found in the back of a van, rolled, and with his dick hangin' out wouldn't do FOX's rep no good, and they'd know I had pictures. Now that I had a Radically Inept Press Pass and all I had to do was figure out how to use it to get passed a couple more check points, or better yet, bypass them.

Well, I needed access to the internet. Hell, I also needed to clean up and change. So, I found a little bar next to a Wi-Fi lookin' Starbucks, and grabbed a spot at the bar. Now that I had a little cash on me, I wouldn't be leaving a paper trail...just in case. I chatted up the bar tender a little; she probably made decent tips off her boob job. I told her to give me whatever cheap non-lite beer they had on draft, and gave her one of Hannity's $10s and told her to keep the change. She'd check back on me.

When I finished the first beer, sure enough - she was right there with the next. I gave her another $10 (man, who'd 'a thunk Hannity was a big tipper?), and while she was still there, I pulled a laptop from the bag (those RV people were just so nice), and asked her about how to get Wi-FI. I figured she might or might not know, but I was sure she'd know a regular who did, and that's all I needed. She hollered to some guy named Jack who was obviously still here from happy hour. Man, my luck was ridin' high. I explained how as I wanted to get on the internet, and I had this laptop, but I didn't know how to do it. I also bought him a round. Hannity is a real generous guy. Sometimes you can use your ignorance to your advantage. Most guys are too proud, but it works. Well, Jack explained as how I needed some sort of special card or whatever, and how as he had his work computer with him. Now that's what I was talkin' 'bout - usin' ignorance to your advantage.

So, long story short, I got him to help me pull up some local maps, all touristy-like, and gettin' floor plans for different hotels. I was lookin' for kitchens, service entrances, loading docks, and sometimes even knowing where the swimming pools are can come in handy-like. So, I bought Jack a few rounds and got the lay of the land before Hannity's cash ran out. When he went to the head, I loaded up the Hannity pix and sent a copy to one of the Radically Inept secret directories, and put another copy in file I hid in Jack's Window's registry. It was time to leave, but before leavin' I got Jack's address and contact info. It was always good to have a 'safe house' in the AO (Area of Operations), though I might wind up havin' to give his name and address at some checkpoint which it'd mean I'd lose it as a safe house, but...

So, it was then time to do some shopping. I wasn't worried about getting to the convention on Monday since nothing ever happens on the first night anyway.

Power is back on!!!

2004-09-16T08:51:00.000-05:00

Won't be blogging much real soon as we're still dealing w/ the contractors, but the roof is fixed, the power is back on and supposedly, via our State Farm rep, the check is in the mail. No money for loss of the tree, but $1800 to repair the ruts and 'track' scars from the 'bobcat' and the crane. $17,450 in home repairs, $9,100 for the tree removal. Total $28,350 with a $100 dollar deductable. We are so happy to have good insurance.

We avoided $6000 in electrical up grades the first electrician wanted, and got away with just putting up a new 'weatherhead'. I pulled a favor from one of my friends from DeKalb county government, and got the inspection expedited yesterday so we could get Georgia power to reconnect us.

After several calls to GA Power, we finally learned that this was declared a disaster area, and their was a disater info packet we were supposed to have gotten only after we got through all the trouble. GA Power would hvae sent their own electrian. We were somehow supposed to know about this packet - like we had TV to watch the news, or something.

The cars are still an issue, though. $1000 dollar deductable on the Volvo, and we're trying to avoid having them total it.

Thanks to everyone who wrote or otherwise sent us the good karma!

I'll start blogging here in the near future. Right now, I'm pretty ignorant of what's been going on around the world, so...

Oh, and waiting to see what happens w/ Ivan, and now I understand that Jeanne may hit hurricane status and hit the GA coast. My best to all those on the Alabama coast, and Florida Panhandle. Ivan may actually track over my folks place in Anniston, but hopefully it will be diminished by then.