She doesn't have enough experience to actually speak her own mind. She has the prompter at her shoulder to tell her what to say. She is pathetic and she is the perfect example of why the majority shifted three weeks ago for the next Congress.
Power abuse has seldom been so conspicuous and despite the fact that the American people have noticed, they still refuse to recognize the opposition. Their days are numbered and the number cannot decline to zero fast enough.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Renegotiating the Deal
When you sign a contract, the deal is finalized. That's the way I learned it years ago. If you are signing a contract about your life, the deal takes on special significance. If you contract to go where they send you, do what they ask of you, endure hardship and separations, and possibly pay with your life, they must deliver on their terms later, regardless of whether or not it is politically expedient in a changed environment.
The deal was free healthcare if you were in the military. And, free healthcare for life when you retired, if you lived that long and endured. There was no exception clause. It was simple and clear to all who joined.
Then, they waffled. They set a cut-off date retroactively and that left a lot of us out in the cold. The new program was called Tricare. It created some options, but since it was replacing free for life, all of the options were going to be something less. It applied to active duty as well as to retirees who were not yet Medicare candidates. We paid if we wanted healthcare coverage. We paid more if we wanted healthcare coverage that might be necessary if our local military installation couldn't provide it or if we didn't have a local military healthcare facility. It wasn't a lot, so it became the norm, but the promise had been broken.
When a military retiree hits 65, you go on Medicare like the rest of the folks who didn't serve or get shot at. But you also got TFL; Tricare For Life. TFL is a pretty good deal. It's a supplement without a premium. It includes a Part D benefit and covers co-pays and services beyond Medicare at any facility that accepts Medicare.
Now, after we've just watched the Panderer's Express confound the legislative process and establish a national healthcare magical system which is going to offer everything for everyone for less, it is time to see the shark's come circling for the blood in the military retiree's water.
Means Testing, Premium Increases, Breaking the Promises Part III
Throughout our history the government has regularly called on citizens to defend the Republic and we have always responded without too much regard for the promised compensation. A number of times though, the government has reneged. And if we look back at the results, it was usually a violent response from those who had answered the call but now would not be insulted and denied by a government with a short memory.
Oh yes, "you can bet that Tommy sees."
The deal was free healthcare if you were in the military. And, free healthcare for life when you retired, if you lived that long and endured. There was no exception clause. It was simple and clear to all who joined.
Then, they waffled. They set a cut-off date retroactively and that left a lot of us out in the cold. The new program was called Tricare. It created some options, but since it was replacing free for life, all of the options were going to be something less. It applied to active duty as well as to retirees who were not yet Medicare candidates. We paid if we wanted healthcare coverage. We paid more if we wanted healthcare coverage that might be necessary if our local military installation couldn't provide it or if we didn't have a local military healthcare facility. It wasn't a lot, so it became the norm, but the promise had been broken.
When a military retiree hits 65, you go on Medicare like the rest of the folks who didn't serve or get shot at. But you also got TFL; Tricare For Life. TFL is a pretty good deal. It's a supplement without a premium. It includes a Part D benefit and covers co-pays and services beyond Medicare at any facility that accepts Medicare.
Now, after we've just watched the Panderer's Express confound the legislative process and establish a national healthcare magical system which is going to offer everything for everyone for less, it is time to see the shark's come circling for the blood in the military retiree's water.
Means Testing, Premium Increases, Breaking the Promises Part III
Throughout our history the government has regularly called on citizens to defend the Republic and we have always responded without too much regard for the promised compensation. A number of times though, the government has reneged. And if we look back at the results, it was usually a violent response from those who had answered the call but now would not be insulted and denied by a government with a short memory.
Oh yes, "you can bet that Tommy sees."
More on TSA
Is this rumor or factual. I don't know and won't guess.
But, it looks like a lot of folks buy into the report:
Big Sis Knuckles Under to Outcry
So maybe the Gloria Allred reports that she loved the affection shown by the stroking of the TSA lesbian corps were just a promotional gambit from Sheeple-R-Us.
But, it looks like a lot of folks buy into the report:
Big Sis Knuckles Under to Outcry
So maybe the Gloria Allred reports that she loved the affection shown by the stroking of the TSA lesbian corps were just a promotional gambit from Sheeple-R-Us.
Christmas Shopping Opportunity
If you stop by there, you've probably read the book. But have you thought about all your friends of a common interest, your squadron mates, your associates who remember our military greats, some young person who aspires to be a leader or anyone with an appreciation for the story of a great American?
The Christmas season is coming and right now (at least right now on Nov 29,) Amazon.com has Fighter Pilot at the lowest price they have ever offered it: $15.54.
Buy a handful for gift-giving this season and all your friends will think you spent $28! The link is right there in the right hand column.
They'll thank you anyway. Maybe if they are a good friend you would get them their own copy of Palace Cobra and When Thunder Rolled as well. In hard-cover.
Bit Torrent Leaks?
What was it? Five or six months ago that this bottom feeding slug dumped more than 400,000 classified documents into public view? It was an embarrassment and a clear violation of federal law. It wasn't critical stuff, fortunately, but rather mundane daily operations reports and status details from military units around the world. The motive ostensibly was to stop the wars.
He said he wanted to display the evil of our actions and thereby create a backlash against combat operations by the US and allied militaries. I can't psychoanalyze this loon, but apparently he is OK with Taliban whippings of women who are "indiscreet" and al Qaeda homicide bombers in public places.
Now, we've got this one:
Quarter of a Million State Department Whispers Now Public
The web news sites are aflutter with damage reports and headlines about the indiscretions and deals of diplomacy. It reads like last month's summary of all the inane soap opera plots on all the channels of all the gin joints in all the world. But, somehow I think that the real diplomats know exactly what goes on and have the same sorts of opinions expressed in correspondence through the back-channels of their world. It isn't a surprise when the Ambassador who dined with you last night reports to his bosses that you had bad breath and poor table manners. This will be much ado in the public eye and nothing of significance in the diplomatic world.
Yet you would have to ask yourself after the first dump when I suggested a "termination with extreme prejudice" as a policy option for Assange, what has the Bamster and Co. been doing about it?
Hillary! Gates-man! Close the Barn Door, the Horses Have Escaped!
Way to go, O-Man! That's keeping ahead of the situation! Review your security procedures! What a thought.
But, hey, if we've got data leaks we've already got a federal agency dealing with them.
Feds Seize Domain Names, Shutdown Web Sites
Trust Big Sis to have a handle on things. Shut down those shopping sites with fake label purses. They are a real threat to our homeland security. I feel so much safer now.
He said he wanted to display the evil of our actions and thereby create a backlash against combat operations by the US and allied militaries. I can't psychoanalyze this loon, but apparently he is OK with Taliban whippings of women who are "indiscreet" and al Qaeda homicide bombers in public places.
Now, we've got this one:
Quarter of a Million State Department Whispers Now Public
The web news sites are aflutter with damage reports and headlines about the indiscretions and deals of diplomacy. It reads like last month's summary of all the inane soap opera plots on all the channels of all the gin joints in all the world. But, somehow I think that the real diplomats know exactly what goes on and have the same sorts of opinions expressed in correspondence through the back-channels of their world. It isn't a surprise when the Ambassador who dined with you last night reports to his bosses that you had bad breath and poor table manners. This will be much ado in the public eye and nothing of significance in the diplomatic world.
Yet you would have to ask yourself after the first dump when I suggested a "termination with extreme prejudice" as a policy option for Assange, what has the Bamster and Co. been doing about it?
Hillary! Gates-man! Close the Barn Door, the Horses Have Escaped!
Way to go, O-Man! That's keeping ahead of the situation! Review your security procedures! What a thought.
But, hey, if we've got data leaks we've already got a federal agency dealing with them.
Feds Seize Domain Names, Shutdown Web Sites
Trust Big Sis to have a handle on things. Shut down those shopping sites with fake label purses. They are a real threat to our homeland security. I feel so much safer now.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Serving Justice
We grow smug in our superiority. We are just but humane as well. We eschew cruel and unusual punishment and we continually refine what is cruel or unusual. We are culturally aware and we provide orientation marks in the cell for prayer rugs. We supply new Korans and Halal diets lest we inconvenience our captives.
They, on the other hand, punish criminal activity brutally. They stone to death, even in the 21st century. They behead both formally by government and informally as terrorists. They flog and torture. They chop off hands that commit offenses. How brutal and inferior to us!
Everyone Would Leave. They Would Leave Dead or Wounded.
Maybe the Islamic world knows their people much better than we do. Maybe they realize that their populations need a greater discipline than we are willing to enforce.
When someone comes to this country from a rat-hole like Somalia and after seeing the opportunity and potential of life here then chooses to destroy innocents in a public gathering at a festival of joy dedicated to children and families they merit something more than simple imprisonment.
The very concept of prison is of rehabilitation and redemption, rather than punishment. When I view this individual, I see no potential for success in such a goal.
I am disturbed that we have no suitably violent punishment to do justice to this situation. Is no one around anymore who understands Iroquois methods?
They, on the other hand, punish criminal activity brutally. They stone to death, even in the 21st century. They behead both formally by government and informally as terrorists. They flog and torture. They chop off hands that commit offenses. How brutal and inferior to us!
Everyone Would Leave. They Would Leave Dead or Wounded.
Maybe the Islamic world knows their people much better than we do. Maybe they realize that their populations need a greater discipline than we are willing to enforce.
When someone comes to this country from a rat-hole like Somalia and after seeing the opportunity and potential of life here then chooses to destroy innocents in a public gathering at a festival of joy dedicated to children and families they merit something more than simple imprisonment.
The very concept of prison is of rehabilitation and redemption, rather than punishment. When I view this individual, I see no potential for success in such a goal.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Catching Up
I'll confess. I'm sometimes slow to adopt new technology. I like to think I stay current, keeping up to date with operating systems, regular computer upgrades, flat-screen hi-def video, Blackberry, wireless network, etc. But at the bottom line, I'm a geezer. Some things don't attract me, some I don't see a use for and some I simply don't care about. I Facebook but don't Tweet. I had a webpage, but now I blog. I email but I don't text. I ebook but don't use a video camera and only occasionally bring out the DSLR. I'm an early/late adopter who simply works with what works for me.
But sometimes there comes a moment in life when you must figure out something new. It may not be new to you, but it is new to me and maybe it is about time.
I've got a nice car. It's got a CD-changer that handles six CDs and that works for most of the time when I'm out of range of a decent FM station. SWMBO has a newer car by two years and hers has a disc-drive nav system that gives her ten gigs of disc space for music, all searchable, playable by a number of sequences, commanded by voice and with lots of music always with you. Fine, except you must load the CDs and the process tends to be tedious. You can only sort if you come to a stop and engage PARK. A safety feature, but not convenient.
Her car has an MP3 port, but we don't have an MP3 player. I've never felt a compelling need for an iPod Touch, Nano or Doufus at any price. I don't really relish the idea of walking around with wires hanging out of my ears oblivious to the world around me.
All things come to pass, however, and it is new car shopping time for me. The reality is that the world has evolved. Everyone has their music on MP3. You don't shop Amazon and get a CD sent which you then must destroy to get out of the various packaging devices to secure them from theft. You simply download MP3 files. Everyone has been doing this for fifteen years now, I guess. Everyone but me.
I've got a big cardboard box out in the garage filled with CDs. I don't listen to them anymore because the handling is too tedious. I don't play them in my computer. I don't carry very many in my car. I gave away my AM/FM/Cassette/CD mini-stereo about two years ago.
It wasn't too hard to find out what it takes to convert my music to MP3 format. Duh! What took me so long. I was anticipating wrestling and time consuming to wind up with a marginal result. Quick Google search got me a YouTube viddie which showed that Windows Media Player does the job. No search for software downloads. No need to get something that might not work or to evaluate three or four products to find what I need. It all lurks there on my computer already.
Test runs complete. It is easy. It is simple. It is remarkably fast, probably a minute or 90 seconds at most to rip an audio CD to MP3. Along the way the software gathers the album cover, artist and track titles from the euphemistic "Cloud" and there it is at my beck and call on my 2 TB external storage drive.
The box from the garage is getting dealt with and the new car is gonna have a lot of music available.
OK, I confessed at the beginning. Sometimes I'm a Luddite. But, I am trainable!
But sometimes there comes a moment in life when you must figure out something new. It may not be new to you, but it is new to me and maybe it is about time.
I've got a nice car. It's got a CD-changer that handles six CDs and that works for most of the time when I'm out of range of a decent FM station. SWMBO has a newer car by two years and hers has a disc-drive nav system that gives her ten gigs of disc space for music, all searchable, playable by a number of sequences, commanded by voice and with lots of music always with you. Fine, except you must load the CDs and the process tends to be tedious. You can only sort if you come to a stop and engage PARK. A safety feature, but not convenient.
Her car has an MP3 port, but we don't have an MP3 player. I've never felt a compelling need for an iPod Touch, Nano or Doufus at any price. I don't really relish the idea of walking around with wires hanging out of my ears oblivious to the world around me.
All things come to pass, however, and it is new car shopping time for me. The reality is that the world has evolved. Everyone has their music on MP3. You don't shop Amazon and get a CD sent which you then must destroy to get out of the various packaging devices to secure them from theft. You simply download MP3 files. Everyone has been doing this for fifteen years now, I guess. Everyone but me.
I've got a big cardboard box out in the garage filled with CDs. I don't listen to them anymore because the handling is too tedious. I don't play them in my computer. I don't carry very many in my car. I gave away my AM/FM/Cassette/CD mini-stereo about two years ago.
It wasn't too hard to find out what it takes to convert my music to MP3 format. Duh! What took me so long. I was anticipating wrestling and time consuming to wind up with a marginal result. Quick Google search got me a YouTube viddie which showed that Windows Media Player does the job. No search for software downloads. No need to get something that might not work or to evaluate three or four products to find what I need. It all lurks there on my computer already.
Test runs complete. It is easy. It is simple. It is remarkably fast, probably a minute or 90 seconds at most to rip an audio CD to MP3. Along the way the software gathers the album cover, artist and track titles from the euphemistic "Cloud" and there it is at my beck and call on my 2 TB external storage drive.
The box from the garage is getting dealt with and the new car is gonna have a lot of music available.
OK, I confessed at the beginning. Sometimes I'm a Luddite. But, I am trainable!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Remembering Strategeries and Other Malaprops
After every slip of the Presidential tongue the media pounced and replayed them incessantly driving home the point that the President was a dunce. The legacy degree with a "Gentleman's C" from Yale was downplayed and the Harvard MBA ignored as we learned why a divinity school dropout would have been a better leader if the Supreme Court hadn't stolen the election by applying the Constitution to the outcome.
Yet when the current iteration of Frick and Frack, aka the Bamster and Biden, blunder merrily down the gaffemeister trail we take little notice. But, somebody is watching and compiling and demonstrating a sense of humor:
A Holiday Greeting from Bristol's Mom
No, I don't really believe that Sarah compiled all those statements and the supporting links. I'll freely acknowledge that a staffer must have done the drudgery. But someone who surrounds their self with competent staff is a force to be reckoned with.
Yet when the current iteration of Frick and Frack, aka the Bamster and Biden, blunder merrily down the gaffemeister trail we take little notice. But, somebody is watching and compiling and demonstrating a sense of humor:
A Holiday Greeting from Bristol's Mom
No, I don't really believe that Sarah compiled all those statements and the supporting links. I'll freely acknowledge that a staffer must have done the drudgery. But someone who surrounds their self with competent staff is a force to be reckoned with.
Rule One: Get a Life
The emergence of the cultural phenomenon called Black Friday demonstrates unequivocally how we've lost the "Big Picture" of living. Commercialization of holidays has accelerated over the years with the seasonal shifting of "must have" merchandise displays seemingly on a carousel. Minimalist acknowledgements of special relationships have been developed into orgies of spending and message-sending. Mother's Day, Father's Day, Secretary's Day, Bosses Day, Halloween, Christmas...ooops, "Holiday Season", all require a spree of conspicuous consumption for the cheapest, most inane, temporary gratification junk we can find at the mall.
Black Friday is today. It's a day supposedly of incredible bargains which will only be offered at incredibly inconvenient times and with only a limited supply but which we simply must get for our "Winter Holiday Celebration" (aka Christmas). This provides justification for people getting really stupid and leaving their comfortable homes to stand in the pre-dawn cold waiting for doors to open so they can demonstrate their compassion and caring by elbowing and clawing their way over the supine bodies of those who couldn't handle the crush to get the special price on a 19" LCD TV with built in Blu-Ray player for their kitchen counter at just $179 (after rebate.)
The required showtime for this savagery is continually upped to make it more exciting. It was 8:00 AM then 6, then 4 and now three o'clock in the bloody morning! All of this was apparently greeted enthusiastically by the mouth-breathing hordes of modern America.
But this year they went too far! Yes, if you try to introduce a change too rapidly, you will get resistance. Some boorish retailers announced that they were going to be...drum roll, please...open on Thanksgiving Day! Outrage! Sacrilege! Blasphemy! Un-American!
They have desecrated a sacred tradition. Have they no regard for family? How evil! Pass a law requiring them to stay closed! Boycott them! Burn them at the stake!
Free the indentured retail workers! Liberty for Sears employees! Storm the Bastille!
Get a life, folks! I figured it out a long time ago. I was in Europe in a fighter squadron. There was a reason we were there and it wasn't for holidays and family. It was to wield a mighty sword on demand 24/7/365. That required a lot of TDY (temporary duty) or time away from the home fires. We spent one month out of three in Turkey and during the two months at home in Spain, we spent one month of that with some crews deployed to Italy. Our task was to sleep with "The Bomb", ready to deliver instant sunshine to the nasty parts of the world if required.
We tried to balance the load. Everyone had a share, but when you were in a supervisory role you tried to consider families with kids and look a bit for volunteers who might not mind being away for the holiday.
That's when I figured it out. A holiday is a time for family and friends and traditions. It isn't a date and time on a calendar. It is the day when you can be there and you can do the things which make the celebration special. The time for Thanksgiving is when you can set it aside and it might not be the fourth Thursday of November this year. Christmas is the day you exchange tokens of your affection with family and friends and recall what it all means in the greater scheme of things. It might not be on December 25th in your house, but it is just as special.
If a store wishes to be open on Thanksgiving Day, they get the choice in a free market. If a person wishes to take the day to shop they can do so if they chose. If an individual wishes to stay home whether in reaction to the store's opening or simply to enjoy the holiday they have that right. What other people chose to do has not a thing to do with my family, my life and my enjoyment of them both.
Get a life.
Black Friday is today. It's a day supposedly of incredible bargains which will only be offered at incredibly inconvenient times and with only a limited supply but which we simply must get for our "Winter Holiday Celebration" (aka Christmas). This provides justification for people getting really stupid and leaving their comfortable homes to stand in the pre-dawn cold waiting for doors to open so they can demonstrate their compassion and caring by elbowing and clawing their way over the supine bodies of those who couldn't handle the crush to get the special price on a 19" LCD TV with built in Blu-Ray player for their kitchen counter at just $179 (after rebate.)
The required showtime for this savagery is continually upped to make it more exciting. It was 8:00 AM then 6, then 4 and now three o'clock in the bloody morning! All of this was apparently greeted enthusiastically by the mouth-breathing hordes of modern America.
But this year they went too far! Yes, if you try to introduce a change too rapidly, you will get resistance. Some boorish retailers announced that they were going to be...drum roll, please...open on Thanksgiving Day! Outrage! Sacrilege! Blasphemy! Un-American!
They have desecrated a sacred tradition. Have they no regard for family? How evil! Pass a law requiring them to stay closed! Boycott them! Burn them at the stake!
Free the indentured retail workers! Liberty for Sears employees! Storm the Bastille!
Get a life, folks! I figured it out a long time ago. I was in Europe in a fighter squadron. There was a reason we were there and it wasn't for holidays and family. It was to wield a mighty sword on demand 24/7/365. That required a lot of TDY (temporary duty) or time away from the home fires. We spent one month out of three in Turkey and during the two months at home in Spain, we spent one month of that with some crews deployed to Italy. Our task was to sleep with "The Bomb", ready to deliver instant sunshine to the nasty parts of the world if required.
We tried to balance the load. Everyone had a share, but when you were in a supervisory role you tried to consider families with kids and look a bit for volunteers who might not mind being away for the holiday.
That's when I figured it out. A holiday is a time for family and friends and traditions. It isn't a date and time on a calendar. It is the day when you can be there and you can do the things which make the celebration special. The time for Thanksgiving is when you can set it aside and it might not be the fourth Thursday of November this year. Christmas is the day you exchange tokens of your affection with family and friends and recall what it all means in the greater scheme of things. It might not be on December 25th in your house, but it is just as special.
If a store wishes to be open on Thanksgiving Day, they get the choice in a free market. If a person wishes to take the day to shop they can do so if they chose. If an individual wishes to stay home whether in reaction to the store's opening or simply to enjoy the holiday they have that right. What other people chose to do has not a thing to do with my family, my life and my enjoyment of them both.
Get a life.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
From the Kitchen
Best wishes and a happy holiday to all as we remember how much we have to be thankful for.
Question the Premise
The marketing machine is ramping up to counter the backlash against TSA thuggery. Last night I watched the news run a clip of a TSA press conference touting the successes of their policy of Fourth Amendment destruction. Breathlessly they reported having "confiscated TWO prohibited or dangerous items" from prospective passengers. That would be out of how many hundred thousand screenings?
Then there was the display of lethal nail clippers, nose hair scissors and two inch pocket knifes. The clincher was a table upon which was arrayed a display of confiscated firearms! Yes, these are actual guns taken from real passengers who tried to get them aboard an airplane without too much forethought about the screening process. Conspicuous at the center of the display were several of those gaudy plastic toy silver-plated cap guns that every six year old who ever played Cowboys and Native Americans brought to the corral. Yes, folks, it was grand theater.
Hardly an hour goes by on cable news which doesn't have the latest opinion poll which announces that a slim majority of Americans are in favor of the screenings and gropings because they will tolerate anything, "if it makes us safer."
That is the premise to be questioned.
Why do we take off our shoes? Because of Shoe Bomber Incompetent Extraordinaire Reed. Was he caught in a screening? Well, no. He was stopped by an alert passenger. Have a lot of subsequent shoe bombs been intercepted? None that I've heard of.
Why are we getting groped? Because of Jockey Johnson Bomber Abdulmuttalhabhajibaba and his foiled attempt to light off his junk box. He was stopped by an alert passenger and flight attendant. Have a lot of PETN laden boxers been intercepted? Any Semtex D-Cup bras? None that I've heard of.
Has El Al been under threat of terrorist attack? Have they had any losses? Do they have a rabbi at security to check for circumcisions? Maybe we should have a conference with them.
Here's where our policy is going:
Grope Yourself, We Respect Your Religion
That's all it takes! Wear a hijab then toss a copy of TSA regulations on the table and demand to prod and poke yourself. That should be satisfactory.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Haven't had any terrorist threats from practicing Muslims, have we?
Then there was the display of lethal nail clippers, nose hair scissors and two inch pocket knifes. The clincher was a table upon which was arrayed a display of confiscated firearms! Yes, these are actual guns taken from real passengers who tried to get them aboard an airplane without too much forethought about the screening process. Conspicuous at the center of the display were several of those gaudy plastic toy silver-plated cap guns that every six year old who ever played Cowboys and Native Americans brought to the corral. Yes, folks, it was grand theater.
Hardly an hour goes by on cable news which doesn't have the latest opinion poll which announces that a slim majority of Americans are in favor of the screenings and gropings because they will tolerate anything, "if it makes us safer."
That is the premise to be questioned.
Why do we take off our shoes? Because of Shoe Bomber Incompetent Extraordinaire Reed. Was he caught in a screening? Well, no. He was stopped by an alert passenger. Have a lot of subsequent shoe bombs been intercepted? None that I've heard of.
Why are we getting groped? Because of Jockey Johnson Bomber Abdulmuttalhabhajibaba and his foiled attempt to light off his junk box. He was stopped by an alert passenger and flight attendant. Have a lot of PETN laden boxers been intercepted? Any Semtex D-Cup bras? None that I've heard of.
Has El Al been under threat of terrorist attack? Have they had any losses? Do they have a rabbi at security to check for circumcisions? Maybe we should have a conference with them.
Here's where our policy is going:
Grope Yourself, We Respect Your Religion
That's all it takes! Wear a hijab then toss a copy of TSA regulations on the table and demand to prod and poke yourself. That should be satisfactory.
* If you wear the Islamic head scarf and you are selected for secondary screening, ask the TSA officer if the reason you are being selected for secondary is because of your head scarf. If the officer confirms you were referred to secondary because of your head scarf, before you are patted down, you should remind the TSA officer, who should be of the same gender, that they are only supposed to pat down the area in question, in this scenario, your head and neck. They should not subject you to a full-body or partial-body pat-down. You can always request to pat down your own scarf, including head and neck area, and have the officer perform a residue swab of your hands.My religion doesn't wear a hijab. Men of my faith are required to wear a cowboy hat indoors or out and not remove it for searches. Because of my hat, I won't require a full or partial body pat-down. I'll just check my own hat, you see.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Haven't had any terrorist threats from practicing Muslims, have we?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
What You Need to Know About TSA Searches
Here is a detailed analysis of the TSA issue from someone with a lot of experience. If you want to be knowledgeable about the question take five minutes to read what he's got to say:
The Six on Searches
The Six on Searches
Elections Have Consequences
Who sits in our White House makes a difference in the world. The misguided belief that we can negotiate from a position of equality or even subservience has been tried before and it has never worked. Two days ago it was a pompous display of the new nuclear enrichment facililty that our vaunted intel operation had somehow overlooked. Today this starts and it isn't going to be over quickly:
North Korea in Planned Attack
This is a very dangerous situation with a mad man at the helm and sponsorship from the nation that holds all of our IOUs.
North Korea in Planned Attack
This is a very dangerous situation with a mad man at the helm and sponsorship from the nation that holds all of our IOUs.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Napolitano, Pistole and Moe
Stooges all. How could you unleash a policy and not appreciate the inevitable repercussions? Anyone who has flown commercially in the last ten years knows that TSA is not comprised of rocket scientists. I've encountered some very competent, courteous and conscientious security personnel. But, I've also see some remarkable goons and don't even get me started about security checks from someone wearing a TSA uniform and hijab.
A Reach Too Far
Before you direct thousands of mall cops to fondle nipples and squeeze testicles to their hearts content, you have to realize that much of that contact is considered a special privilege of intimate relationships. Before you set up a program like this you need to be aware that when your drones are given license for this, that they will encounter folks with very large megaphones to spread the word on this assault on our freedoms. You will encounter bloggers, reporters, writers, commentators, newscasters, executives, powerful people and obnoxious ones. You don't need much research to know that everyone has a cellphone today and every cellphone is a camera and the majority of them take video.
If you haven't thought that all through, then the morning after is way too late and you should be actively politicking for an extension of unemployment benefits because you should be claiming yours soon.
A Reach Too Far
Before you direct thousands of mall cops to fondle nipples and squeeze testicles to their hearts content, you have to realize that much of that contact is considered a special privilege of intimate relationships. Before you set up a program like this you need to be aware that when your drones are given license for this, that they will encounter folks with very large megaphones to spread the word on this assault on our freedoms. You will encounter bloggers, reporters, writers, commentators, newscasters, executives, powerful people and obnoxious ones. You don't need much research to know that everyone has a cellphone today and every cellphone is a camera and the majority of them take video.
If you haven't thought that all through, then the morning after is way too late and you should be actively politicking for an extension of unemployment benefits because you should be claiming yours soon.
Feeling Soooo Much Safer Now
Looks like a clear case of profiling to me. The six-seven year old demographic has become a hotbed of terrorist activity.
If The Shoe Fits
Over the transom this AM:
Going to NY, I was stand-by on Tuesday-got there at 5:30 AM and there was lots of space on the 6:55. I opted out of the scanner to see what the enhanced pat-down was like, just for fun. As the big black guy ran his hand up between my legs. I said, "Take your time". Then asked, "Does this make me Gay?" and he said, "It do".
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Chicago
I grew up in Chicago during the reign of King Daley Primero. In those days the bars were closed on election day and even in the nice middle-class neighborhood where I lived, that meant one of those expanding iron grates drawn across the door and pad-locked.
It's the nature of the daytime drinking man that he doesn't pay too much attention to politics, so it wasn't uncommon for bleary-eyed, ragged-coated, middle-aged sots to stumble to the bar only to be faced with disappointment until seven o'clock that night. That's where the Ward Committeeman and his precinct captains came into play. They hovered on the sidewalk near the doorway to Fishman & Sons Liquor Emporium, a distinctly down-scale purveyor of low cost spirits. There they would grab an elbow and with a clipboard to reference, they would offer a drink or two when opening time came if the thirsty gentleman would accompany them down the block to the polling place. It was grass-roots GOTV; Get Out the Vote.
But it was more. It was multiple voting, because that clipboard contained a roster of residents who had passed away in the preceding five years or so and whose names were not yet purged from the voting rolls. With each cycle down the block, the rapidly drying out drunk would be equipped with yet another recently deceased identity. The methodology kept Richard J. Daley and his cast of characters in very firm control of the city. It also made Da Mayor a very powerful player nationally as he demonstrated so memorably in the 1960 presidential election when his delivery of Illinois helped put JFK in office.
Chicago has come a long way since then. There has been incredible development in the downtown lake-front, but in the process there has also been the inevitable split between the upscale gentrified areas and the lawless enclaves of gangs, drugs, and entrenched violence.
With the retirement of King Daley II, the battle for the kingdom now rages and it doesn't bode well for the city.
Former Senator Carol Mosey-Down-Da-Road Wants Scepter and Crown
She speaks in code, but we all know what she is saying.
That isn't hard to decipher. She wants to tax the productive and distribute to the 'Hood. Nothing sends the message more clearly than the man standing next to her on the podium, Bobby Rush. Rush, a high-school dropout, co-founder of the Black Panthers, activist of redistribution based on race, opponent of the war-winning Iraq troop surge and author of one of the most restrictive gun control laws ever put forth, is exactly what Mosely Braun represents.
There is no good choice for Chicago. The mayoral election is about spoils and pillaging. What once was will never be again:
Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
It's the nature of the daytime drinking man that he doesn't pay too much attention to politics, so it wasn't uncommon for bleary-eyed, ragged-coated, middle-aged sots to stumble to the bar only to be faced with disappointment until seven o'clock that night. That's where the Ward Committeeman and his precinct captains came into play. They hovered on the sidewalk near the doorway to Fishman & Sons Liquor Emporium, a distinctly down-scale purveyor of low cost spirits. There they would grab an elbow and with a clipboard to reference, they would offer a drink or two when opening time came if the thirsty gentleman would accompany them down the block to the polling place. It was grass-roots GOTV; Get Out the Vote.
But it was more. It was multiple voting, because that clipboard contained a roster of residents who had passed away in the preceding five years or so and whose names were not yet purged from the voting rolls. With each cycle down the block, the rapidly drying out drunk would be equipped with yet another recently deceased identity. The methodology kept Richard J. Daley and his cast of characters in very firm control of the city. It also made Da Mayor a very powerful player nationally as he demonstrated so memorably in the 1960 presidential election when his delivery of Illinois helped put JFK in office.
Chicago has come a long way since then. There has been incredible development in the downtown lake-front, but in the process there has also been the inevitable split between the upscale gentrified areas and the lawless enclaves of gangs, drugs, and entrenched violence.
With the retirement of King Daley II, the battle for the kingdom now rages and it doesn't bode well for the city.
Former Senator Carol Mosey-Down-Da-Road Wants Scepter and Crown
She speaks in code, but we all know what she is saying.
Carol Moseley Braun announced Saturday she was running for Chicago mayor to be a voice for the unheard and an advocate for the underrepresented.
"This great city can't survive if some Chicagoans are treated like second class citizens," Braun told about 150 supporters gathered outside on the chilly morning at Northerly Island along the lakefront. "This city must continue to grow with the support of and inclusion of every neighborhood, every community."
That isn't hard to decipher. She wants to tax the productive and distribute to the 'Hood. Nothing sends the message more clearly than the man standing next to her on the podium, Bobby Rush. Rush, a high-school dropout, co-founder of the Black Panthers, activist of redistribution based on race, opponent of the war-winning Iraq troop surge and author of one of the most restrictive gun control laws ever put forth, is exactly what Mosely Braun represents.
There is no good choice for Chicago. The mayoral election is about spoils and pillaging. What once was will never be again:
Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:
They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Slogan For the 21st Century Amerikan
Krauthammer is intelligent, insightful and occasionally irreverent, but never off point. This is simply too true:
The Idiocy of The Airport
I increasingly find myself in favor of the free market solution. An airline which seeks to succeed has a very strong vested interest in providing safe transportation to a satisfied customer. Why is government involved in this kabuki?
The Idiocy of The Airport
Don't touch my junk is the anthem of the modern man, the Tea Party patriot, the late-life libertarian, the midterm election voter. Don't touch my junk, Obamacare - get out of my doctor's examining room, I'm wearing a paper-thin gown slit down the back. Don't touch my junk, Google - Street View is cool, but get off my street. Don't touch my junk, you airport security goon - my package belongs to no one but me, and do you really think I'm a Nigerian nut job preparing for my 72-virgin orgy by blowing my johnson to kingdom come?Will we draw a line in the sand? Will we finally say that life is filled with risks and we all die in the end? Will we stand up and say we will not be intimidated by an oppressive government of power-seeking incompetents running around a maze with no outlet and no cheese at the center screaming that the sky is falling and we are now protected from yesterday's threat?
I increasingly find myself in favor of the free market solution. An airline which seeks to succeed has a very strong vested interest in providing safe transportation to a satisfied customer. Why is government involved in this kabuki?
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Look How Thorough We Are
When the pressure is on to justify their tactics, the bureaucrats haul out some numbers to demonstrate how their abuses have made you infinitely safer.Without these centurions on the front lines we would be having to wear helmets to avoid being injured by the shower of airplane parts from the skies overhead.
We've Stopped 130 Items
That's right! 130 items were intercepted on the way to a commercial airline seat near you in the last year. Huh? 130 in an entire year? Thousands of TSA agents, millions of passenger hours wasted in lines, security equipment in the astronomical millions of dollars and in an entire year they found 130 items? That's about one every three days at all of the airports for all of the flights all across the nation? One item for what would conservatively be a couple of million travelers inconvenienced!
And, are those bombs? Well no, not exactly. Guns? No, not those either. They are "prohibited, illegal or dangerous" items. Whatever that means.
Did they stop the underwear bomber? Nope, missed that one.
Coming soon to an airport near you:
Were any of those 130 items destined to be used in a terrorist act? Apparently not, or we would have heard it at the time it seems. Nope, just 130 items that are prohibited (like a six ounce bottle of shampoo, for example?) or illegal (like that heroin dose?) or dangerous (like those evil nail-clippers?). I feel so much safer already.
What is really being down-played so far is the contract award for these $200,000 back-scatter machines, the ongoing maintenance and the operating costs. The old principle of "follow-the-money" is still a good one to apply.
We've Stopped 130 Items
That's right! 130 items were intercepted on the way to a commercial airline seat near you in the last year. Huh? 130 in an entire year? Thousands of TSA agents, millions of passenger hours wasted in lines, security equipment in the astronomical millions of dollars and in an entire year they found 130 items? That's about one every three days at all of the airports for all of the flights all across the nation? One item for what would conservatively be a couple of million travelers inconvenienced!
And, are those bombs? Well no, not exactly. Guns? No, not those either. They are "prohibited, illegal or dangerous" items. Whatever that means.
Did they stop the underwear bomber? Nope, missed that one.
Coming soon to an airport near you:
 |
| I think I've got something... |
Were any of those 130 items destined to be used in a terrorist act? Apparently not, or we would have heard it at the time it seems. Nope, just 130 items that are prohibited (like a six ounce bottle of shampoo, for example?) or illegal (like that heroin dose?) or dangerous (like those evil nail-clippers?). I feel so much safer already.
What is really being down-played so far is the contract award for these $200,000 back-scatter machines, the ongoing maintenance and the operating costs. The old principle of "follow-the-money" is still a good one to apply.
Forget The First Amendment
He is a US Senator, a senior one at that. But, he apparently doesn't understand the very simple concept of a free press. He doesn't understand the concept of a free market. He doesn't appreciate the concept of a marketplace of ideas. He doesn't see the value of media scrutiny as a safeguard for the republic.
The video is only a minute. Go here and listen to what the man says. Be appalled.
FCC Should Flex Muscle. Fewer Outlets for Our Message
Yes, boys and girls, cable news choices make it so difficult for them to do their work of dismantling our liberties. Differing viewpoints on the essential role of government shouldn't be confusing the citizens.
"Call Secretary Goebbels in. We need action."
The video is only a minute. Go here and listen to what the man says. Be appalled.
FCC Should Flex Muscle. Fewer Outlets for Our Message
Yes, boys and girls, cable news choices make it so difficult for them to do their work of dismantling our liberties. Differing viewpoints on the essential role of government shouldn't be confusing the citizens.
"Call Secretary Goebbels in. We need action."
Attorney General Holder Toasts a Victory
The champagne corks are popping in the DOJ today as the performance of the Justice Department in their demonstration of the ability to successfully prosecute slam-dunk convictions in federal courts of al-Qaeda operatives has been demonstrated clearly. They got a conviction of Ahmed Ghailani!
Terrorist Nailed or Not
Last week we saw a Dallas Cowboys coach fired mid-season for posting a 1-7 record. Hit the road, Wade!
What do we make of the Eric Holder performance here? Can he get a high-five and a chest bump for bringing a 1-285 record back from the courtroom?
I feel confident that he is claiming victory. The weasel-worded statement that emerged about an hour ago was that more charges upheld would have been an "optical" victory, but getting one conviction was more than adequate for demonstrating how they will operate with other high-value terrorists awaiting their day in court. It is a win that doesn't look like a win to all you unsophisticated rubes in fly-over country.
Holder's victory claim, however, is unclear to me. Is his victory getting that one puny hit after a full baseball season of trips to the plate? 1-285 means you struck out a lot. Football does't play that many games, so for a college coach that's like getting one victory after 22 years! Maybe his victory is really that he wanted to demonstrate unequivocally the justice system to all those poor terrorists of the world. We really mean we won't hurt you regardless of what you've done. Kill a bunch of Americans and we will forgive because that's how we roll.
Is Holder's victory his conviction or his mass of acquittals? Should we now go forth with a federal day in court for Khalid Sheik Mohammed?
How does Holder keep his job? How?
Terrorist Nailed or Not
Last week we saw a Dallas Cowboys coach fired mid-season for posting a 1-7 record. Hit the road, Wade!
What do we make of the Eric Holder performance here? Can he get a high-five and a chest bump for bringing a 1-285 record back from the courtroom?
I feel confident that he is claiming victory. The weasel-worded statement that emerged about an hour ago was that more charges upheld would have been an "optical" victory, but getting one conviction was more than adequate for demonstrating how they will operate with other high-value terrorists awaiting their day in court. It is a win that doesn't look like a win to all you unsophisticated rubes in fly-over country.
Holder's victory claim, however, is unclear to me. Is his victory getting that one puny hit after a full baseball season of trips to the plate? 1-285 means you struck out a lot. Football does't play that many games, so for a college coach that's like getting one victory after 22 years! Maybe his victory is really that he wanted to demonstrate unequivocally the justice system to all those poor terrorists of the world. We really mean we won't hurt you regardless of what you've done. Kill a bunch of Americans and we will forgive because that's how we roll.
Is Holder's victory his conviction or his mass of acquittals? Should we now go forth with a federal day in court for Khalid Sheik Mohammed?
How does Holder keep his job? How?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
What Does She Know
I expect knowledgeable response when I call 9-1-1. This operator apparently doesn't appreciate the gravity of the situation:
Automotive Olberman?
The propaganda arm of the government apparently reaches beyond the political world now:
Motor Trend Car of the Year
If it truly is the car of the year, then it should certainly not require tax incentives or subsidies to succeed in the marketplace. Let's try it out and see who will buy one for $41,000.00.
And, then lets get some real world reports from fly-over country on how it performs in daily use.
Remember, before you buy one that you will have to have a garage for it since you can't run an extension cord out your window and down the street to your parking place. And, it would be a good idea to get an electrician to drop by and install a 240 volt outlet for you or you'll only have an electric car for half a day.
Motor Trend Car of the Year
If it truly is the car of the year, then it should certainly not require tax incentives or subsidies to succeed in the marketplace. Let's try it out and see who will buy one for $41,000.00.
And, then lets get some real world reports from fly-over country on how it performs in daily use.
Remember, before you buy one that you will have to have a garage for it since you can't run an extension cord out your window and down the street to your parking place. And, it would be a good idea to get an electrician to drop by and install a 240 volt outlet for you or you'll only have an electric car for half a day.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thanksgiving Heartburn
Yes, boys and girls, this should be some truly penetrating journalism:
Mr. Pwesident, How Do You Feel About the Election Bitch-Slap?
No body digs for the story as aggressively as Baba Waawaa. And, then there will be plenty of constructive appraisal of the hard-charging story by Diane Sawyer and those incisive political minds on The View.
This should boost the Black Friday shopping motivation.
Mr. Pwesident, How Do You Feel About the Election Bitch-Slap?
No body digs for the story as aggressively as Baba Waawaa. And, then there will be plenty of constructive appraisal of the hard-charging story by Diane Sawyer and those incisive political minds on The View.
This should boost the Black Friday shopping motivation.
Developing...
"Touch my junk and I'll have you arrested." We've all heard the story by now.
This AM, we see how an oppressive government operates in Amerika:
Don't Submit and We Will Investigate You
This is going to accelerate.
Of course, once again, we look at the totally ridiculous nature of the justification. One you have entered the security check zone, you can't back out. Now, understand that you aren't yet into the secure area. You are in the abuse area in your stocking feet, holding up your pants and watching your valuable and laptop be conveyed out of your sight in the distance.
Scenario: Suddenly you realize that the concealed weapon which you are permitted to carry and which you usually have in your briefcase, did not get removed before today's flight. You would like to have your briefcase back, return to your car and secure it properly. But, apparently that isn't an option. You must have the weapon discovered, the alarms sound, the grilling start and the weapon confiscated. You can't leave once you start because...you might be a terrorists seeking to gather "intel" on the screening process!
Reality check: If you want intel, simply take a flight. You don't need to go half-way, create a scene, leave the area and jot down the procedures. Just take a flight and blow up the plane next week, same time, same station.
And, why am I having flashbacks of Dr. Evil and the ransom demands? And the fine will be ten thousand dollars...no, that was before. It will be ELEVEN thousand dollars! Why, was a $10k fine not deterring enough terrorists?
And, from Iowahawk, a little traveling music:
Comply With Me...
This AM, we see how an oppressive government operates in Amerika:
Don't Submit and We Will Investigate You
This is going to accelerate.
Of course, once again, we look at the totally ridiculous nature of the justification. One you have entered the security check zone, you can't back out. Now, understand that you aren't yet into the secure area. You are in the abuse area in your stocking feet, holding up your pants and watching your valuable and laptop be conveyed out of your sight in the distance.
Scenario: Suddenly you realize that the concealed weapon which you are permitted to carry and which you usually have in your briefcase, did not get removed before today's flight. You would like to have your briefcase back, return to your car and secure it properly. But, apparently that isn't an option. You must have the weapon discovered, the alarms sound, the grilling start and the weapon confiscated. You can't leave once you start because...you might be a terrorists seeking to gather "intel" on the screening process!
Reality check: If you want intel, simply take a flight. You don't need to go half-way, create a scene, leave the area and jot down the procedures. Just take a flight and blow up the plane next week, same time, same station.
And, why am I having flashbacks of Dr. Evil and the ransom demands? And the fine will be ten thousand dollars...no, that was before. It will be ELEVEN thousand dollars! Why, was a $10k fine not deterring enough terrorists?
And, from Iowahawk, a little traveling music:
Comply With Me...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Justice
How unfortunate:
McALESTER, Okla. -- Kansas church members who travel the region to protest at military funerals have been given less than a rousing welcome at McAlester, Okla.The Tulsa World reports that a half-dozen protesters from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., showed up Saturday in McAlester at the funeral of Army Sgt. Jason James McCluskey. After coping with what police said was more than a thousand counterprotesters, the church members found their minivan had flat tires on both the front and rear wheels on the passenger side.Police said the tires had been slashed.Officers said the church members were unable to find anyone to fix the flats in McAlester, and had to call a flatbed service truck to transport the van to a Walmart several miles away.
Gosh, who would have expected that McAlester would be such a hotbed of vandalism. What a shame that no one could be found to fix the flats.
Maybe this free speech stuff still has consequences.
I wouldn't encourage violence against these good Christian folks but they might be facing a run of bad luck.
Example of Bureaucracy
I'm no fan of BATF. They loom in the background as a potential problem for American gun-owners and those of us who believe the clear wording of the Second Amendment. The reason the amendment is second only to freedom of political discourse is that the Framers knew that the people must retain the capability to throw off an oppressive government should the need arise. They had just done it ten years before they wrote the Constitution, so it wasn't a theoretical exercise.
My first encounter was with the Gun Control Act of 1968. I had bought a Beretta handgun in 1966, just prior to my first combat tour in Southeast Asia. It was my back-up weapon and it rode in a custom holster sewn to the right thigh of my G-suit. For years afterward it still had flecks of yellow paint embedded in the grip checkering where it had rubbed for 100 missions against the ejection seat handle.
When I was returning from Spain in 1976, I ran afoul of the GCA. My combat companion had become a "Saturday Night Special" and was banned from re-importation to the US. I had to resurrect receipts and proof of previous ownership before the GCA so that some petty bureaucrat could choose to bestow on me the right to retain my own property.
Now, what would you make of this:
Not A Shotgun. Now a Destructive Device. Or Something TBD
If you ever needed an example of bumbling incompetence and making it up as they go along that would be a good tale to resurrect.
Yesterday it was a shotgun. Today it isn't. But what it is today might have to be registered, taxed and licensed. Or maybe not. And just because one definition fits and another one doesn't will not be construed to mean the BATF doesn't know what they want or why they want it.
My first encounter was with the Gun Control Act of 1968. I had bought a Beretta handgun in 1966, just prior to my first combat tour in Southeast Asia. It was my back-up weapon and it rode in a custom holster sewn to the right thigh of my G-suit. For years afterward it still had flecks of yellow paint embedded in the grip checkering where it had rubbed for 100 missions against the ejection seat handle.
When I was returning from Spain in 1976, I ran afoul of the GCA. My combat companion had become a "Saturday Night Special" and was banned from re-importation to the US. I had to resurrect receipts and proof of previous ownership before the GCA so that some petty bureaucrat could choose to bestow on me the right to retain my own property.
Now, what would you make of this:
Not A Shotgun. Now a Destructive Device. Or Something TBD
If you ever needed an example of bumbling incompetence and making it up as they go along that would be a good tale to resurrect.
Yesterday it was a shotgun. Today it isn't. But what it is today might have to be registered, taxed and licensed. Or maybe not. And just because one definition fits and another one doesn't will not be construed to mean the BATF doesn't know what they want or why they want it.
Forbes on TSA
I wouldn't call Forbes a magazine of extremism. It is a reasonable, rationale and sensible up-scale publication that deals largely with financial issues. It most assuredly has a Tea Party sort of conservative perspective, as in supporting low taxes, free markets, sensible regulation and reduced government interference. It is pure capitalism and not much libertarianism. Actually it tends toward a bit of dullness.
Abolish TSA
If we review the bidding here, we would be hard pressed to identify anyplace where TSA has made us one bit safer. It has largely been passenger awareness and interventions which have dealt with issues on board aircraft. It has been advanced intel and intercepts which have been responsible for other successes. After-the-fact responses of TSA in terms of increased surveillance seldom show any relationship to the acts which spawned them.
But taking off my shoes hasn't done a thing. Confiscating nail clippers isn't helpful. Taking my belt off and putting my laptop in a separate bin isn't preventing a damn thing. Now, getting a giggle over my aging manhood or fondling my butt crack isn't stopping much either.
It is intrusive, it is time consuming, it is expensive, it is irritating, it is frustrating and it is meaningless.
Abolish TSA
If we review the bidding here, we would be hard pressed to identify anyplace where TSA has made us one bit safer. It has largely been passenger awareness and interventions which have dealt with issues on board aircraft. It has been advanced intel and intercepts which have been responsible for other successes. After-the-fact responses of TSA in terms of increased surveillance seldom show any relationship to the acts which spawned them.
But taking off my shoes hasn't done a thing. Confiscating nail clippers isn't helpful. Taking my belt off and putting my laptop in a separate bin isn't preventing a damn thing. Now, getting a giggle over my aging manhood or fondling my butt crack isn't stopping much either.
It is intrusive, it is time consuming, it is expensive, it is irritating, it is frustrating and it is meaningless.
Before the Bar
Poor Charlie. What goes around comes around and now he is between a large rock and an even harder place. He has milked the public for years as the eloquent Representative from Harlem, certain of re-election if for no other reason than he's got a machine in place to get the docile voters of his district to the polls every two years. Ohh, how the money rolls in.
But, the money went to luxury condos in Harlem, rent-controlled office space in fancy buildings, a vacation villa in the Dominican Republic and a suspicious dodge called the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service. Even the otherwise blind Congress-critters eventually would notice and the inevitable ethics charges have come home to roost.
That's where it begins to unravel. In a House controlled by a significant Democratic majority the very idea of a district-popular Black member being tried on ethics charges in an election year was intolerable. The ever-practical Speaker Pelosi tabled the trial until after the election. It was almost a walk-in-the-park for the Harlem rep to get re-elected even while under a cloud of corruption charges.
Now, the huge swing in control means that the Dems must put this behind them without destroying poor Charlie. The lame duck session offers the only opportunity to control the proceedings. If they wait until January this will get very messy and Charlie will wind up fairly well discredited. Hurry this up and keep control, Nancy!
Ethics Trial to Begin Today
The legal cliche, and most attorneys agree with it, is that a man who chooses to represent himself has a fool for a client. What does that say about Congressman Rangel?
Charlie Represents Charlie
It takes big bucks to raise a defense. It takes more bucks to make an defense argument when you are in an indefensible position. Charlie has already spent a lot of money, but now he throws the poor abused millionaire at the mercy of the committee.
PAC Money Goes to Defense
How soon will the race card be played?
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ambivalent
I'll wager you've got a firm position on earmarks. Sen. Jim DeMint assumes you do and that he has the winning ground for the upcoming battle. Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell has got an uphill fight from a clearly unpopular place. DeMint wants to eliminate the practice of earmarking legislation. McConnell wants to preserve the status quo.
Who could argue in favor of setting aside money for a particular Congress-critter to smoke and cure as a Christmas ham for his district? It seems outrageous in these times of huge deficits and soaring national debt.
But is it?
Let's be sure we understand what we've got and what we want before we act too quickly.
All expenditures of federal funds come by way of an appropriations bill. We've earlier had an authorization for the various agencies of government to act. Step two is when the money to support the actions is appropriated. Congress proposes to spend a pot of money on something. That is a done deal.
Earmarks then are a slicing and dicing of the appropriation pie. They are NOT an additional expenditure. Cutting out the practice of earmarking will not save a single penny. It is spent money and is simply being set aside to be spent at a particular place for a specific purpose (which may be getting Congress-critter Capone re-elected.)
Let's say Congress appropriates $100 for lunch. That would let the administration decide who gets what for the noon meals, up to $100 total. But Senator Batbum earmarks $5 for a cheeseburger and Congresswoman Placenta wants $5 for a Subway foot-long. Now there are only $90 left, but the total expenditure is still just $100.
In the absence of earmarks, the government agency with overall responsibility for the program in question would prioritize and spend the money where it was most needed and most effective...in a perfect world.
But we don't live in a perfect world. The administration is politically motivated as much as the earmarking Senators. Give them the whole kaboodle and the money will go to reward political supporters, campaign contributors, union activists, etc.
So, should we eliminate earmarks? I'm sympathetic to the idea because it smacks of patronage and corruption. Elected officials are more often than not venal and self-serving. They use earmarking to cement their incumbency.
Yet, if we do eliminate earmarks we haven't saved a cent. Have we rendered our spending more efficient or productive? In the current climate I seriously doubt that the bureaucracy is any better to objectively allocate those dollars than the elected officials.
We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. So, on the question of earmarks, I respond, "Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn."
Who could argue in favor of setting aside money for a particular Congress-critter to smoke and cure as a Christmas ham for his district? It seems outrageous in these times of huge deficits and soaring national debt.
But is it?
Let's be sure we understand what we've got and what we want before we act too quickly.
All expenditures of federal funds come by way of an appropriations bill. We've earlier had an authorization for the various agencies of government to act. Step two is when the money to support the actions is appropriated. Congress proposes to spend a pot of money on something. That is a done deal.
Earmarks then are a slicing and dicing of the appropriation pie. They are NOT an additional expenditure. Cutting out the practice of earmarking will not save a single penny. It is spent money and is simply being set aside to be spent at a particular place for a specific purpose (which may be getting Congress-critter Capone re-elected.)
Let's say Congress appropriates $100 for lunch. That would let the administration decide who gets what for the noon meals, up to $100 total. But Senator Batbum earmarks $5 for a cheeseburger and Congresswoman Placenta wants $5 for a Subway foot-long. Now there are only $90 left, but the total expenditure is still just $100.
In the absence of earmarks, the government agency with overall responsibility for the program in question would prioritize and spend the money where it was most needed and most effective...in a perfect world.
But we don't live in a perfect world. The administration is politically motivated as much as the earmarking Senators. Give them the whole kaboodle and the money will go to reward political supporters, campaign contributors, union activists, etc.
So, should we eliminate earmarks? I'm sympathetic to the idea because it smacks of patronage and corruption. Elected officials are more often than not venal and self-serving. They use earmarking to cement their incumbency.
Yet, if we do eliminate earmarks we haven't saved a cent. Have we rendered our spending more efficient or productive? In the current climate I seriously doubt that the bureaucracy is any better to objectively allocate those dollars than the elected officials.
We're damned if we do and damned if we don't. So, on the question of earmarks, I respond, "Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn."
When Policy Becomes a Popularity Contest
Remember Jose Padilla? He was the alleged dirty bomb plotter who was held by the Bush administration at Gitmo. He was arrested, held awaiting military tribunal, eventually transferred to Miami where he was tried in a federal court and found guilty. Now he's in prison.
Along the way the American left vilified President Bush for denial of this upstanding individual's right to a trial. They screamed of injustice and habeas corpus. Imprisonment without limit or trial was an outrage to their sensibility and demonstrated clearly what an evil man, Bush was.
That was then and this is now:
On Again, Off Again, Maybe Never, I Can't Decide
When you get elected to the top job in the country that is because the people want you to make tough decisions. Those aren't handled with opinion polls, they take intelligent analysis, evaluation of alternatives and then decisive action even in the face of unpopularity. You don't "run it up a dozen flagpoles" and wait for salutes.
Bush had made the decision on KSM. A military tribunal, off-shore, closed-door when necessary for national security, and then a decision. There is little doubt that KSM is a bad guy. There is little room for disagreement about his intentions or his actions or his results. He is not an American. He is not a lawful combatant. He is not protected under the US Constitution. He is what he is, and he should pay a just price for his actions. Bush made a tough decision.
But he didn't get to implement it. Enter the new regime. Suddenly we have the ever-populist Eric Holder emerging from a sea of important law enforcement issues like illegal immigration to announce that KSM is coming to the Big Apple. We're going to have the show trial of the millennium, during TV sweeps week. Just down the block from Ground Zero, we'll have New York City come to a screeching halt for a year and allow this bearded nut job a public forum for his screed. Great choice Eric!
If that is your tough decision, so be it. I can only assume you did it after deliberation of the consequences. Oh? You really didn't think anyone would be bothered? How dumb are you?
So, why not fall back to square one? Let's have a military tribunal and then hang the guilty bastard.
Apparently not. Now we've got the Bamster and his Law Dog deciding that indefinite off-shore incarceration which would have incinerated the Bush administration is the wise thing to do for KSM.
Double standard is too delicate a term to apply to this.
Along the way the American left vilified President Bush for denial of this upstanding individual's right to a trial. They screamed of injustice and habeas corpus. Imprisonment without limit or trial was an outrage to their sensibility and demonstrated clearly what an evil man, Bush was.
That was then and this is now:
On Again, Off Again, Maybe Never, I Can't Decide
When you get elected to the top job in the country that is because the people want you to make tough decisions. Those aren't handled with opinion polls, they take intelligent analysis, evaluation of alternatives and then decisive action even in the face of unpopularity. You don't "run it up a dozen flagpoles" and wait for salutes.
Bush had made the decision on KSM. A military tribunal, off-shore, closed-door when necessary for national security, and then a decision. There is little doubt that KSM is a bad guy. There is little room for disagreement about his intentions or his actions or his results. He is not an American. He is not a lawful combatant. He is not protected under the US Constitution. He is what he is, and he should pay a just price for his actions. Bush made a tough decision.
But he didn't get to implement it. Enter the new regime. Suddenly we have the ever-populist Eric Holder emerging from a sea of important law enforcement issues like illegal immigration to announce that KSM is coming to the Big Apple. We're going to have the show trial of the millennium, during TV sweeps week. Just down the block from Ground Zero, we'll have New York City come to a screeching halt for a year and allow this bearded nut job a public forum for his screed. Great choice Eric!
If that is your tough decision, so be it. I can only assume you did it after deliberation of the consequences. Oh? You really didn't think anyone would be bothered? How dumb are you?
So, why not fall back to square one? Let's have a military tribunal and then hang the guilty bastard.
Apparently not. Now we've got the Bamster and his Law Dog deciding that indefinite off-shore incarceration which would have incinerated the Bush administration is the wise thing to do for KSM.
Double standard is too delicate a term to apply to this.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Maybe an Amendment Is In Order
This couldn't happen in the US, but maybe we should amend our Constitution to insure that it does.
Grumpy Elected! Can He Read?
Who could argue with a constitutional requirement that an elected representative be able to read and write? Do you occasionally have doubts about your US Congress-critters? How many of them freely admitted last year that they hadn't read various critical and voluminous pieces of legislation?
Was it because they didn't need to? Didn't want to? Or couldn't?
At first, I was appalled at the Brazilian electorate. But after further consideration, I conclude that they aren't that much different from us. We seem eager to elect clowns as well.
Grumpy Elected! Can He Read?
Who could argue with a constitutional requirement that an elected representative be able to read and write? Do you occasionally have doubts about your US Congress-critters? How many of them freely admitted last year that they hadn't read various critical and voluminous pieces of legislation?
Was it because they didn't need to? Didn't want to? Or couldn't?
At first, I was appalled at the Brazilian electorate. But after further consideration, I conclude that they aren't that much different from us. We seem eager to elect clowns as well.
Saturday Morning Rocker
And a bit of history lesson:
During four years living in Spain, I got to visit a lot of that country. Despite the hyperbole of Franco as a dictator, I still conclude that the alternative of a communist Spain wouldn't have been a better outcome.
During four years living in Spain, I got to visit a lot of that country. Despite the hyperbole of Franco as a dictator, I still conclude that the alternative of a communist Spain wouldn't have been a better outcome.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Racial Tensions
This is at the same level as those "zero tolerance" policies which result in kids being suspended for pointing a loaded index finger at another student in a gun incident! This is worse than drug suspension for popping a Tic-Tac on the playground.
Flag Triggered Threat of "Racial Issue"
Excuse me? This is the United States of America. Displaying an American flag on school grounds isn't a threat to anybody's race. It should be a mandatory display in the classroom already!
Waving Mexican flags for Cinco de Mayo is a discretionary display based on school policy. How does Cody's flag on his bicycle differ? C'mon! Do you mean to tell me a supposedly college education teacher couldn't explain the difference?
It is the flag of this nation! That's the difference!
Offended students need remedial training regarding where they are and what that banner stands for.
Flag Triggered Threat of "Racial Issue"
Excuse me? This is the United States of America. Displaying an American flag on school grounds isn't a threat to anybody's race. It should be a mandatory display in the classroom already!
Waving Mexican flags for Cinco de Mayo is a discretionary display based on school policy. How does Cody's flag on his bicycle differ? C'mon! Do you mean to tell me a supposedly college education teacher couldn't explain the difference?
It is the flag of this nation! That's the difference!
Offended students need remedial training regarding where they are and what that banner stands for.
I'm With Nancy!
Have you ever encountered a Democrat in elected office who took the blame for a bad outcome? I've heard politicians confess that "we didn't get it done." Or they acknowledge, usually in the passive voice, that "mistakes were made." But since Harry Truman, have we ever had a senior Democrat look into the eyes of the voters and say, "The buck stops here"?
Not Nancy's Fault
You see she got dealt a bad hand. When unemployment is 9.6%, she says that an opposition party can't lose. Might it be so easy because when you took control, Ms P, the rate was less than 8%? Might it be that the majority of the electorate said they didn't want Obamacare? Could it be that carbon emission caps are so clearly destructive of economic growth that even Joe Six-Pack can understand it? Is it possibly that statements like "pass it so we can see what is in it," are so stupid that your party looks incompetent?
As she sees it, she is in great demand. And, she is right. I want it clearly understood that I support her bid for minority leader in the new Congress. I want to continue to benefit from her wise counsel and strong leadership. Please, Democrats, re-elect former Speaker Pelosi to continue as the face and voice of the Party.
Vote Nancy!
Not Nancy's Fault
You see she got dealt a bad hand. When unemployment is 9.6%, she says that an opposition party can't lose. Might it be so easy because when you took control, Ms P, the rate was less than 8%? Might it be that the majority of the electorate said they didn't want Obamacare? Could it be that carbon emission caps are so clearly destructive of economic growth that even Joe Six-Pack can understand it? Is it possibly that statements like "pass it so we can see what is in it," are so stupid that your party looks incompetent?
As she sees it, she is in great demand. And, she is right. I want it clearly understood that I support her bid for minority leader in the new Congress. I want to continue to benefit from her wise counsel and strong leadership. Please, Democrats, re-elect former Speaker Pelosi to continue as the face and voice of the Party.
Vote Nancy!
Make the Connection
The backlash is accelerating over naked body scans and gropings by Neanderthals in TSA suits. Just because an oppressive administration says they can, doesn't mean that they should. Patrick McGoohan screamed it so loudly, but it still rings true: "I am not a number!"
I have rights. I have dignity. I have a reputation and I demand respect. I am not a slave. I am not a subject. I am a free man. I am Spartacus...ooops, sorry. I got carried away.
Find the Justification
Sorry. I can't find the connection.
Secretary Napolitano and her minions offer two justifications for this. Neither of them stand scrutiny.
First, we get the case of a guy boarding a flight in Nigeria with a load in his underwear. How is groping my wife in DFW going to stop that from happening in the future? Can we ever do enough full body-cavity searches in the US to stop young Muslim men on a mission in back-water cesspools of the globe from getting into airplanes?
Second, there is the example of toner cartridges in cargo. I'm not cargo. I'm a big guy, but my Jockey's aren't big enough to hold a toner cartridge. The shipments originated in...see previous paragraph. How many full body scans does it take to detect a packed carton being loaded in the hold in Lagos?
And, let us note that the justification above came two weeks ago. The X-ray scanners were designed, produced and in the deployment cycle for two years now.
I'll tolerate security measures with meaning. I won't tolerate oppression or abuse without justification.
I have rights. I have dignity. I have a reputation and I demand respect. I am not a slave. I am not a subject. I am a free man. I am Spartacus...ooops, sorry. I got carried away.
Find the Justification
Sorry. I can't find the connection.
Secretary Napolitano and her minions offer two justifications for this. Neither of them stand scrutiny.
First, we get the case of a guy boarding a flight in Nigeria with a load in his underwear. How is groping my wife in DFW going to stop that from happening in the future? Can we ever do enough full body-cavity searches in the US to stop young Muslim men on a mission in back-water cesspools of the globe from getting into airplanes?
Second, there is the example of toner cartridges in cargo. I'm not cargo. I'm a big guy, but my Jockey's aren't big enough to hold a toner cartridge. The shipments originated in...see previous paragraph. How many full body scans does it take to detect a packed carton being loaded in the hold in Lagos?
And, let us note that the justification above came two weeks ago. The X-ray scanners were designed, produced and in the deployment cycle for two years now.
I'll tolerate security measures with meaning. I won't tolerate oppression or abuse without justification.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Never Forget
On Veteran's Day:
Washington Washington Monument from miles away and you won’t need a map to find Lincoln or Jefferson or the World War II memorial, but you could walk within a hundred yards of the Wall and never see it. We seem to want to hide it, maybe hoping that an obligation has been fulfilled but no one wants to admit that the obligation existed in the first place.
The names are listed in a paper directory, dog-eared and dirty from thousands of hands searching through it for a name of a friend or family member who was lost. It’s chained to a plywood pedestal like a small town phone book at a gas station pay-phone, almost as an afterthought by the government that maybe some visitor might want to know where on the wall among the 58,000 names their special person is memorialized. But, they do want to know. They come from across the country to see and to feel and to remember. Some say they come for closure or to heal, but that is only a few. More come for respect and to belatedly honor the fallen. And some come out of guilt that they hadn’t gone or hadn’t done the right thing at the time.
The sidewalk along the brooding black marble wall slopes gradually, there are no steps along the way. It’s almost a metaphor for the gradualism that led us to failure. It marks the descent into the immorality of sending men to die for a cause that the nation wants to ignore. But when you reach the deepest point, the walk rises again and gradually, over time returns to the level of the street and the city. All things pass and maybe this represents a return to normalcy and patriotism and honor; belief in your country’s might and the principles that the other soaring white monuments of Washington
Children visiting the Wall from the inner cities of America Verdun and Vietnam West Point sweatshirt, sitting on the park bench with the cane by his side was there. The one in the tattered field jacket, with the beard and dirty matted long hair? No, probably not. Odds are he’s ten years too young and simply another poseur and “wannabe.” There are a lot of them these days. You can buy the jacket in any town and the medals can be found on eBay. But, that’s the stereotype; the homeless, drug or alcohol addicted hulk destroyed by the war. The reality is that the great majority of the survivors of the war are just quiet old men, living out their lives and remembering.
Palace Cobra
St. Martin's Press
New York City, 2006
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Remembrance Day
We call it Veteran's Day, but it originated as Armistice Day. It is a day set aside to commemorate the sacrifices of those who fought and died in the War to End All Wars, World War One. Again this year I asked a class of young college freshmen what day it was and none could tell me. Maybe that is why the British who bore an incredible burden during that war call it Remembrance Day. Maybe they will have better luck getting future generations to remember how we got here.
But, what do you make of this:
But, what do you make of this:
On 11th November 2010, commonwealth countries will join together in a moment of silence to commemorate the sacrifices of their civilians and armed forces during times of war. For over a century these events have gone uninterrupted, as millions of people continue to reflect on the casualties of modern warfare.
Unfortunately, the bitter reality of Remembrance Day is that the majority of people (who participate in it) are blissfully unaware of the hidden truths behind this very distasteful event. Put simply, Remembrance Day is a symbol of imperialism and everything that is wrong with democracy and man-made law.
As Muslims, we can poignantly remember the victims of (British) military intervention, the bullets fired and the bombs dropped, the lands occupied and the resources stolen and in light of this find it very difficult to remember the perpetrators of such crimes without much anger and hostility.
The British military are currently at the forefront of some of the harshest campaigns against Islam and Muslims, and furthermore have played a crucial role in cementing economic and strategic interests that rob large Muslim populations of vital resources.
In light of this, Muslims against Crusades have organised an emergency demonstration, to highlight these injustices and to furthermore ensure that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, this message is heard loudly and clearly.
Can we ever get the idea that this is war? Robin Olds concisely explained to his President, LBJ, what it would take to win the Vietnam War. "Just win it!"
That's all it takes. Don't politicize, don't engage in negotiation with animals, don't tolerate or be lulled into the belief that the extremist is atypical and will be assimilated into our nation's culture.
When you pick up the frozen snake from the side of the winter road and warm him back to life within your coat against your bare chest, remember when you are bitten that you knew he was a snake when you picked him up.
I'm Shocked!
It is yet another Casablanca moment. Gambling going on in Rick's? I'm shocked. My winnings? Oh, thank you. I repeat, I'm shocked.
We can pretty much conclude from the events of the last year in the Gulf of Mexico that the administration is antagonistic to oil drilling as an economically viable free-enterprise activity.
It would be incessantly redundant to recite the litany of actions taken over the last several months which conclusively illustrate the desire to make continued exploitation of our petroleum resources profitable.
So, what to make of this:
White House Cooked the Books on Drill Ban Recommendation
It really seemed improbable that actual drilling industry scientists would support a total shut-down of Gulf activity based on a single event at one high-risk site. Why then should we be surprised at this?
We can pretty much conclude from the events of the last year in the Gulf of Mexico that the administration is antagonistic to oil drilling as an economically viable free-enterprise activity.
It would be incessantly redundant to recite the litany of actions taken over the last several months which conclusively illustrate the desire to make continued exploitation of our petroleum resources profitable.
So, what to make of this:
White House Cooked the Books on Drill Ban Recommendation
It really seemed improbable that actual drilling industry scientists would support a total shut-down of Gulf activity based on a single event at one high-risk site. Why then should we be surprised at this?
Reasonable Suspicion and Freedom
We are under attack. No doubt or questions about that. Commercial airplanes are an effective vector for that sort of operation. No questions there. We require some screening to enhance, but obviously never guarantee, our safety. No debate.
But, what is reasonable? Where does the line fall between reasonable and outrageous? What is the limit of tolerance? Can our questionably capable government make a rational determination?
If you travel on airplanes you've obviously met the TSA. They work hard and in the ensuing ten years since 9/11 they have gotten maybe a bit more efficient but undeniably more intrusive. It is the nature of bureaucracy. The measure of success is growth in budget and manpower and tasks. There is no profit bottom line and the linkage between TSA and thwarted terrorist attacks is often tenuous. Customer satisfaction isn't in the equation.
Can we be honest though? Does taking my shoes off really make us safer? If my briefcase is going through a scanner with my cell-phone, my Kindle, my camera, and my automobile Smart-key inside, why must I take my laptop out and put it in a separate bin? If I'm going through a magnetometer and potential wanding why must I also remove my coat and belt? Why is a one-quart Zip-loc safer than a sandwich size? Why is a pint of shampoo and a can of hairspray safe in checked baggage, but dangerous if in an overhead compartment? Can a bottle of Scotch with an unbroken seal really threaten anyone but the eventual imbiber?
Most importantly, is there any indication that TSA staff are any smarter than the lowest wage burger flippers at Micky D's? Seriously, are there a generation of kids growing up aspiring to the black pants, white shirt and crepe-soled shoes of a TSA gate agent? What do you want to be when you grow up, Suzy? "Oh, Daddy, I want to be able to do sausage checks on hunky guys all day."
If passengers find it intrusive, imagine what it would be like to be aircrew doing it several times a day for several days a week.
My Dear, What Big xxxx's You Have!
And This Won't Hurt a Bit--For the First Ten Years
Of course, if you don't want the Neanderthals making snide comments about your "package" or your bra supplements, you can get this:
Oh Baby, Baby!
My doctor gets to probe my body. Some nameless high-school drop out with a Mall Cop uniform doesn't. Previously my airplane vs drive cut-off fell about 600-800 miles. Getting in my car with my stuff and traveling at my convenience simply beats the hell out of a 90 minute commute to the airport for a two hour early show time to allow abuse, followed by an unpleasant sardine can experience and discourteous handling at all levels.
I'll simply take my chances.
But, what is reasonable? Where does the line fall between reasonable and outrageous? What is the limit of tolerance? Can our questionably capable government make a rational determination?
If you travel on airplanes you've obviously met the TSA. They work hard and in the ensuing ten years since 9/11 they have gotten maybe a bit more efficient but undeniably more intrusive. It is the nature of bureaucracy. The measure of success is growth in budget and manpower and tasks. There is no profit bottom line and the linkage between TSA and thwarted terrorist attacks is often tenuous. Customer satisfaction isn't in the equation.
Can we be honest though? Does taking my shoes off really make us safer? If my briefcase is going through a scanner with my cell-phone, my Kindle, my camera, and my automobile Smart-key inside, why must I take my laptop out and put it in a separate bin? If I'm going through a magnetometer and potential wanding why must I also remove my coat and belt? Why is a one-quart Zip-loc safer than a sandwich size? Why is a pint of shampoo and a can of hairspray safe in checked baggage, but dangerous if in an overhead compartment? Can a bottle of Scotch with an unbroken seal really threaten anyone but the eventual imbiber?
Most importantly, is there any indication that TSA staff are any smarter than the lowest wage burger flippers at Micky D's? Seriously, are there a generation of kids growing up aspiring to the black pants, white shirt and crepe-soled shoes of a TSA gate agent? What do you want to be when you grow up, Suzy? "Oh, Daddy, I want to be able to do sausage checks on hunky guys all day."
If passengers find it intrusive, imagine what it would be like to be aircrew doing it several times a day for several days a week.
My Dear, What Big xxxx's You Have!
And This Won't Hurt a Bit--For the First Ten Years
Of course, if you don't want the Neanderthals making snide comments about your "package" or your bra supplements, you can get this:
Oh Baby, Baby!
My doctor gets to probe my body. Some nameless high-school drop out with a Mall Cop uniform doesn't. Previously my airplane vs drive cut-off fell about 600-800 miles. Getting in my car with my stuff and traveling at my convenience simply beats the hell out of a 90 minute commute to the airport for a two hour early show time to allow abuse, followed by an unpleasant sardine can experience and discourteous handling at all levels.
I'll simply take my chances.
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Monday, November 08, 2010
That Didn't Take Long
I'm glad to see that Jerry Jones reads ThunderTales and has taken my advice.
Wade is Gone!
That didn't take long. I was betting tomorrow.
Wade is Gone!
That didn't take long. I was betting tomorrow.
Video From Last Night's Cowboys Game
Some say the defense was asleep against the Packers. Some say the 'Boys have gotten lazy and complacent. Maybe they've got something in that.
Here's some viddie from last night:
Here's some viddie from last night:
Maintenance Delays?
It is always frustrating when your flight is delayed by maintenance. It doesn't matter whether it is an important business trip, a long-awaited vacation, or a challenging 4-v-4 air-to-air sortie. Broken airplanes are a PITA!
Nepal Airways Has the Answer
It looks as though he won't volunteer to help though.
Nepal Airways Has the Answer
It looks as though he won't volunteer to help though.
Athletic Supporters
Last week's debacle by the Cowboys, who won't even get good seats in Cowboys stadium for this year's Super Bowl, led to serious calls for owner Jerry Jones to fire head coach, Wade "Mommy Wuvs You Guys" Phillips.
Jones was adamant, or at least as adamant as he gets without fueling by a half-dozen Mai-Tais, when he announced after days of speculation that he wasn't going to make a mid-season coaching change. We've got Wade whether he can see the field or not.
But that was before last night's failure to repair in Green Bay. The 45-7 bitch slap administered by the otherwise mediocre Packers leads to more speculation.
What Will Happen This Week?
Why would Jones act now? What good would it do?
First, we can easily agree that it won't pull the team out of the cellar. But that doesn't mean Phillips shouldn't be moving into Bum's spare bedroom by Friday.
Letting Wade walk, means you can take a reasonable look at the heir apparent, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. You've get half a season to look at his real coaching skills in game environment without having to commit to him as the permanent coach. You know Phillips is gone in January, why wait?
Then you've got motivation for Garrett to excel in hope of getting the full time job. Meanwhile you provide realistic negotiation leverage for talks with the likes of Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher as well as some dynamic and successful college coaches who are ready with a new perspective.
It's a win-win situation and it might keep some seats in the House That Jerry Built from collecting a layer of dust for the next three months.
Jones was adamant, or at least as adamant as he gets without fueling by a half-dozen Mai-Tais, when he announced after days of speculation that he wasn't going to make a mid-season coaching change. We've got Wade whether he can see the field or not.
But that was before last night's failure to repair in Green Bay. The 45-7 bitch slap administered by the otherwise mediocre Packers leads to more speculation.
What Will Happen This Week?
Why would Jones act now? What good would it do?
First, we can easily agree that it won't pull the team out of the cellar. But that doesn't mean Phillips shouldn't be moving into Bum's spare bedroom by Friday.
Letting Wade walk, means you can take a reasonable look at the heir apparent, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. You've get half a season to look at his real coaching skills in game environment without having to commit to him as the permanent coach. You know Phillips is gone in January, why wait?
Then you've got motivation for Garrett to excel in hope of getting the full time job. Meanwhile you provide realistic negotiation leverage for talks with the likes of Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher as well as some dynamic and successful college coaches who are ready with a new perspective.
It's a win-win situation and it might keep some seats in the House That Jerry Built from collecting a layer of dust for the next three months.
Sunday, November 07, 2010
They Got Rhythm
But does it have a thing to do with governance?
And, actually he doesn't have rhythm. The finger in the air makes it look like late-night at a Karaoke bar with the Bee-Gees Saturday Night Fever blaring as he does a very poor Travolta.
And, actually he doesn't have rhythm. The finger in the air makes it look like late-night at a Karaoke bar with the Bee-Gees Saturday Night Fever blaring as he does a very poor Travolta.
Hoist on a Petard
This should get interesting:
Lt. Col. West Says He's Going to Find Them
He is a Congressman now, or at least he will be when they convene in January. He is black. He was elected by his district. So, why wouldn't he be welcome in the Congressional Black Caucus?
Tim Scott of South Carolina ought to crash the party as well.
The CBC is tolerated although a Congressional White Caucus would be vilified. The rules are different apparently. But, the purpose of the CBC is to discuss the concerns and issues of the black community in America. If blacks are choosing conservative blacks to represent them, how could a CBC not welcome them to the party?
Would it be tacit admission that the politics of victim-hood and race-baiting is part and parcel of their agenda and that admission of competitive and conservative black representatives would undermine their pathetic pandering?
This has the potential to get really interesting. I'm betting that Col. West is just the guy to do it.
Lt. Col. West Says He's Going to Find Them
He is a Congressman now, or at least he will be when they convene in January. He is black. He was elected by his district. So, why wouldn't he be welcome in the Congressional Black Caucus?
Tim Scott of South Carolina ought to crash the party as well.
The CBC is tolerated although a Congressional White Caucus would be vilified. The rules are different apparently. But, the purpose of the CBC is to discuss the concerns and issues of the black community in America. If blacks are choosing conservative blacks to represent them, how could a CBC not welcome them to the party?
Would it be tacit admission that the politics of victim-hood and race-baiting is part and parcel of their agenda and that admission of competitive and conservative black representatives would undermine their pathetic pandering?
This has the potential to get really interesting. I'm betting that Col. West is just the guy to do it.
Not Understanding the System
He is, for better or worse, the President of the United States. He postures as though he is King of the World, come to save all of the people without regard for who is what and where. But, the basics still apply. Americans elected him. Americans pay the tax bills. Americans are the ones which obligate him to act for the benefit of our nation. The obligations to other nations exist only to serve the national self-interest of the United States.
They Don't Get It
They are in India. India is a predominantly Hindu nation. It is neighboring Pakistan that is Muslim. As noted in the item, Muslims in India account for only 12% of the population. Yet, they express an expectation that tiny docked tail should be wagging the entire dog, not only of their nation but the US as well. Doesn't that seem a bit presumptuous?
And, note in the rant of the video clip that there is no mention of Muslims attacking Muslims. There is no indication of recognition that Sunni against Shi'a violence is a major part of their problem. There is not the slightest indication of repudiation of terrorism or fundamentalism. Nope. It is about Obama and the very clear implication that he should be doing something for them.
Frankly, Mohammed, it isn't in his or our interest to save you folks from yourselves. Start by some sweeping and dusting in our own domicile and then maybe we can talk about paving the street out front.
They Don't Get It
They are in India. India is a predominantly Hindu nation. It is neighboring Pakistan that is Muslim. As noted in the item, Muslims in India account for only 12% of the population. Yet, they express an expectation that tiny docked tail should be wagging the entire dog, not only of their nation but the US as well. Doesn't that seem a bit presumptuous?
And, note in the rant of the video clip that there is no mention of Muslims attacking Muslims. There is no indication of recognition that Sunni against Shi'a violence is a major part of their problem. There is not the slightest indication of repudiation of terrorism or fundamentalism. Nope. It is about Obama and the very clear implication that he should be doing something for them.
Frankly, Mohammed, it isn't in his or our interest to save you folks from yourselves. Start by some sweeping and dusting in our own domicile and then maybe we can talk about paving the street out front.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
British Observations On Mumbai
Not since the Pharaohs or the Roman Emperors says the British Mail:
Messiah Arrives to Pomp, Circumstance, and Extravagance
You really have to read the details and check the pictures to begin to appreciate it all.
Messiah Arrives to Pomp, Circumstance, and Extravagance
You really have to read the details and check the pictures to begin to appreciate it all.
Double Talk and Spin
The Bamster told Latinos to get out and vote against their "enemies" meaning those mean old nasty Republicans. The implication wasn't of bipartisanship or reaching across the aisle. It was a clear appeal to a community that he would promise to lay back and do nothing about illegal immigration.
Now we get the spinning of the outcome:
They Are Going to Come and Take Your Mommy Away
Like so many complex issues, the terms obfuscate so that it becomes impossible to know what is really meant. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.
What do the President and his obedient Attorney General mean when they say "immigration reform"? They mean amnesty, open borders, ignoring of the law, lax security and future voting rights maybe even without citizenship being involved. The belief is that the illegal immigrant population is a huge reservoir of untapped Democratic voters. Make them voters with the wave of a legislative wand and you will perpetuate your tenure in office.
But, how did voters from the Hispanic community respond last week?
Nationally, Hispanics represent about 12% of the population total. Last week they represented about 8% of voters. That means they voted less than the white population. That is not a surprise when viewed in either historic context or in parallel with other demographic factors such as education level, economic level, or geographic region. They are part of a low voting participation slice of America.
Blacks represent about 14% nationally. They represented about 10% of last week's electorate. Again, not surprising in context with other factors, but a drastic reduction compared to the enthusiasm in the African-American community of the 2008 election. Blacks last week voted 90% for Democrats and only 10% for Republicans. That tracks historically as well. If Blacks vote they vote for Dems.
Hispanics, however, were not in lock-step. They went 66% Dem and 32% Republican. That means that ethnic politics don't play as strongly in the Latino community. It also means that the issue of illegal immigration is not that effective as a wedge for them.
Conservative Latinos got elected last week, including two western state governors and a couple of Texas congressmen who unseated well established Democrats.
What is the lesson here for 2012? A successful presidential candidate had better learn to hablar some Espanol. And, he had better be able to enunciate a clear message on dealing with immigration in particular and Latino issues in general.
Now we get the spinning of the outcome:
They Are Going to Come and Take Your Mommy Away
Like so many complex issues, the terms obfuscate so that it becomes impossible to know what is really meant. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.
What do the President and his obedient Attorney General mean when they say "immigration reform"? They mean amnesty, open borders, ignoring of the law, lax security and future voting rights maybe even without citizenship being involved. The belief is that the illegal immigrant population is a huge reservoir of untapped Democratic voters. Make them voters with the wave of a legislative wand and you will perpetuate your tenure in office.
But, how did voters from the Hispanic community respond last week?
Nationally, Hispanics represent about 12% of the population total. Last week they represented about 8% of voters. That means they voted less than the white population. That is not a surprise when viewed in either historic context or in parallel with other demographic factors such as education level, economic level, or geographic region. They are part of a low voting participation slice of America.
Blacks represent about 14% nationally. They represented about 10% of last week's electorate. Again, not surprising in context with other factors, but a drastic reduction compared to the enthusiasm in the African-American community of the 2008 election. Blacks last week voted 90% for Democrats and only 10% for Republicans. That tracks historically as well. If Blacks vote they vote for Dems.
Hispanics, however, were not in lock-step. They went 66% Dem and 32% Republican. That means that ethnic politics don't play as strongly in the Latino community. It also means that the issue of illegal immigration is not that effective as a wedge for them.
Conservative Latinos got elected last week, including two western state governors and a couple of Texas congressmen who unseated well established Democrats.
What is the lesson here for 2012? A successful presidential candidate had better learn to hablar some Espanol. And, he had better be able to enunciate a clear message on dealing with immigration in particular and Latino issues in general.
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