Wednesday, December 31, 2008
CREDENTIALISM
Some interesting thoughts from Paul Graham.
6:41 AM
Monday, December 29, 2008
OSTER, STAUFFENBERG, AND VALYKRIE
I haven’t yet seen “Valkyrie,” but I’m pretty familiar with the relevant history, and will be interested to see how accurately it is reflected in the film.
It appears that–as is the case with almost all writing/video dealing with the German military conspiracy against Hitler–the film is strongly focused on the activities of Colonel Count Stauffenberg. It’s easy to see why filmmakers would want to emphasize Stauffenberg’s role and story–with his aristocratic lineage, his good looks, his attractive wife, and his love of poetry (he was a devotee of Stefan George), the man makes a fine dramatic hero. Stauffenberg was a complex individual and a man of many quirks, some of them likeable–like his habit of lying on the rug with his wife and reading English novels together, each waiting for the other to finish the page–and some not so likeable, like his tendency to lose his temper if his boots weren’t lined up precisely by his adjutant. One can see why he would be attractive to writers and movie-makers.
continued at Chicago Boyz
1:16 PM
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
CHRISTMAS 2008
A Christmas reading from Thomas Pynchon.
Rick Darby has some thoughts on the season.
An air traffic control version of The Night Before Christmas.
The first radio broadcast of voice and music took place on Christmas Eve, 1906. Or maybe not.
On December 25, 1944, the Battle of the Bulge was still very much in progress. Here is a contemporary radio report.
And here is a complaint that Christmas is not what it once was. From 1740.
(This is a rerun of my Christmas 2007 post. The link for the 1740 complaint doesn't work anymore; I'll scout around when I have a chance and see if I can find another copy of it.)
12:14 PM
NEW-AGE EARMARKS
See my post at Chicago Boyz
8:09 AM
PUPPY PICTURES!
Worried puppy
Angry puppy
7:44 AM
Saturday, December 20, 2008
SNOWFLAKES!
Some remarkable pictures of snowflakes, taken with a photomicroscope. Lots more pictures and information here.
Via Chapomatic.
7:14 AM
Friday, December 19, 2008
A TRULY DIABOLICAL MONETARY POLICY
...from Goethe's Faust.
2:05 PM
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
STILL MORE ON THE AUTO BAILOUT
Michael Barone on Taylorism and the Wagner Act
Lori Stillwagon Roman writes about her experiences in supervising workers at a GM plant.
Brian Douglas suggests that much of the criticism of the Big 3 is based on outdated perceptions of poor quality.
Lots of coverage of bailout-related issues, with lots of reader comments, at Carpe Diem.
8:02 AM
THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE INTERNET
...has now been fulfilled.
This according to Rachel Lucas, so you can be pretty sure that the Ultimate Purpose has something to do with dog pictures.
7:57 AM
Monday, December 15, 2008
INTERESTING DATA
An analysis of jobs created by the Apple iPod, both in the U.S. and in other countries. The conclusion (and this is only an approximation)is that the iPod has created 41,000 jobs worldwide, of which about 27,000 are outside the U.S. and 14,000 in the U.S. The aggregate wages represented by these jobs, however, are much higher for the U.S.--$753 million, versus $318 million for the non-U.S. workers.
(via BusinessWeek's chief economist, Michael Mandel)
6:37 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2008
REGULATORY OVERKILL?
The legislation to protect children from lead in toys and other products, however well-intentioned, is likely to cripple and even destroy hundreds of companies--especially small, home-based companies--whose products are perfectly safe. This from Evolving Excellence, who points out a number of practical problems with the legislation.
Problem #1: certification testing must be done by a lab on a "certified list". This list isn't exactly long, and their are hundreds of thousands of products. Guess what is happening to those labs: the waiting list for lab work extends out months and the cost per lab workup has gone from $200 to as much as $6000... per sample.
# Problem #2: testing must be done at the product level, not the component level. So a common component used in multiple types of products must be tested multiple times. What does this mean? Each SKU must be tested separately, even if they are virtually identical. One pair of jeans and a slightly different pair of jeans, both using the exact same raw denim, must be tested separately. See the video below, where a manufacturer of science kits has 40,000 SKU's... and is looking at a $20 million dollar cost for initial certification testing. This is why many products, and companies, will simply cease to be sold.
These are only the first 2 of the 5 major problems that EE identifies with this legislation. Read the whole thing.
February 10, when this law take effect, is being referred to as national bankruptcy day.
Congresspeople talk endlessly about the need to "save good American manufacturing jobs"--but at the same time, they often pass legislation which is extremely damaging to the manufacturing sector, without bothering to take the trouble to understand what they are actually doing. And when it comes to small manufacturing companies whose employees do not represent substantial voting constituencies and whose managements do not represent a substantial source of campaign funds--there are many in Congress who do not really even care what happens to them.
Here's an example of a toy which will no longer be available in the U.S. as a consequence of the new regulations. (via Glenn)
UPDATE: Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
8:01 AM
Saturday, December 13, 2008
CHICAGO BOYZ DISCUSSION ON GENERAL MOTORS
…from 2005.
I posted the question “What would you do if you were running General Motors?” A lively discussion resulted, with over 100 comments…thought it might be worthwhile reposting in view of recent events.
One of the most memorable comments was from Ralf, on another discussion thread:
"What would you do if you were running General Motors?"
I would stop running the company and start just plain running. :)
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
7:56 AM
Friday, December 12, 2008
THRIVING ON CHANGE
...the Calvin and Hobbes way.
7:18 AM
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
MORE ON THE AUTO BAILOUT
Newly-elected Congressman Jared Polis (a Democrat!) offers some interesting thoughts on the politics of the automotive industry:
Our United States Congress of lawyers, doctors, diplomats, retired military officers and career politicians — along with their staffs of intelligent young political science majors and MBAs — now finds itself poring over “business plans” submitted this week by Ford, GM and Chrysler. People who have never before in their lives seen — no less implemented — a business plan are now trying to decide if these companies will succeed by means of a “capital infusion” with various imposed preconditions and negotiate what we taxpayers (investors) should be getting for our money. Something is wrong with this picture.
Continued at Chicago Boyz.
3:24 PM
INTERESTING DATA
This research suggests that when radiologists are given a photograph of the patient's face along with the CAT scan image, they tend to do a better job than when they see just the CAT scan.
8:50 AM
Sunday, December 07, 2008
PEARL HARBOR DAY
One woman's memories.
U.S. Navy history site.
Neptunus Lex remembers a visit to Pearl Harbor while serving aboard the USS Constellation.
An extensive collection of Pearl Harbor links from La Shawn Barber's 2005 post.
Also from 2005: Sheila O'Malley posted an interesting historical document.
9:31 AM
Friday, December 05, 2008
AN AUTOMOTIVE BAILOUT?
Can anything be added to the oceans of ink and terabytes of data that have been expended in discussing this issue so far?
See the discussion thread at Chicago Boyz.
9:00 AM
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
WORTHWHILE READING
...for investors.
Fund manager John Hussman shows that the intrinsic value of American corporations, in the aggregate, has been far more stable than the stock-market valuations of those companies. He also asserts that in times of market panic, selling tends to be indiscriminate, and the wheat (good companies) is thrown out along with the chaff (dubious and outright bad companies.)
T J Rodgers, CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, argues that rulings of the Financial Accounting Standards Board have made corporate financial statements "indecipherable" to the point of bringing about serious harm to American business.
9:23 AM
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
DRUCKER ON MANAGEMENT MENTALITIES
Among liberals, “progressives,” and especially academics, there is great joy at the prospect of an administration dominated by people who had very high SAT scores and who possess advanced degrees.
At the same point in time, we are experiencing a serious credit crisis, brought about to a substantial extent by naive and inadequate mathematical models–mostly developed by people with very high SAT scores and very often with advanced degrees.
...continued at Chicago Boyz.
1:55 PM
Monday, November 24, 2008
MAKIN' IT IN LOS ANGELES
In a globally competitive economy, how to you manufacture clothing in the U.S., at wage rates of $12-$15/hour plus decent benefits, and survive--let alone actually make money?
Evolving Excellence visits American Apparel.
5:18 PM
Saturday, November 22, 2008
ASLEEP AT THE THROTTLE
Who is in charge of the clattering train?
The axles creak and the couplings strain,
and the pace is hot and the points are near,
and sleep hath deadened the driver’s ear,
and the signals flash through the night in vain,
for death is in charge of the clattering train
More on this poem at Chicago Boyz.
2:19 PM
WORTHWHILE READING
Andrew Klavan visits Afghanistan and thinks about the movie that Hollywood refuses to make.
Related: A nice tribute to the American soldier, written by a French trooper serving in Afghanistan.
See also this.
6:59 AM
Thursday, November 20, 2008
FOUR BAD BEARS
...sounds like the title of a children's book. \
It's not, though.
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
6:17 PM
INNOVATION FOR JERK AVOIDANCE
See Rich Karlgaard's new blog.
5:54 AM
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
EXPERIMENTATION, UNCERTAINTY, AND THE ECONOMY
Some interesting thoughts from Jonah Goldberg.
The key point is that uncertainty about government policy makes private-sector decision making very difficult, and tends to inhibit rational and dynamic investment.
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
8:11 AM
Monday, November 17, 2008
WORTHWHILE READING
Rupert Murdoch on bloggers, the media, and the audience. Excerpts:
My summary of the way some of the established media has responded to the internet is this: it's not newspapers that might become obsolete. It's some of the editors, reporters, and proprietors who are forgetting a newspaper's most precious asset: the bond with its readers.
Regarding the media reaction after bloggers debunked a "60 Minutes" report by former CBS anchor, Dan Rather:
Far from celebrating this citizen journalism, the establishment media reacted defensively. During an appearance on Fox News, a CBS executive attacked the bloggers in a statement that will go down in the annals of arrogance. '60 Minutes,' he said, was a professional organization with 'multiple layers of checks and balances.' By contrast, he dismissed the blogger as 'a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.' But eventually it was the guys sitting in their pajamas who forced Mr. Rather and his producer to resign.
and
A recent American study reported that many editors and reporters simply do not trust their readers to make good decisions. Let's be clear about what this means. This is a polite way of saying that these editors and reporters think their readers are too stupid to think for themselves.
2:41 PM
Saturday, November 15, 2008
PEACE, LOVE, AND TOLERANCE
As an experiment, a 14-year-old girl worse a "McCain Girl" t-shirt to her school, in which Obama supporters were in a considerable majority. The results were sadly predictable.
3:50 PM
Thursday, November 13, 2008
POLITICS AND EDUCATION
Apparently, voters with postgraduate educations supported Obama by 58% versus 40% for McCain. See my post at Chicago Boyz.
8:18 AM
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
THE WAR WAS IN COLOR
Veterans Day, 2008. Watch the video at Neptunus Lex.
5:55 AM
X-BAND TO THE RESCUE?
The U.S. is sending troops to Israel to deploy and operate a high-powered x-band radar system, the AN/TPY-2. This system will extend the range at which a missile launch by Iran or other hostile power can be detected--a data feed from the system will allow Israel to launch its Arrow anti-missile missiles with more leadtime and a higher probability of destroying the intruders.
A discussion of this system, and of other anti-missile and anti-rocket technology relevant to Israel, at Seraphic Secret.
U.S. Democratic Party leaders, together with leftist academics and "policy" types, have of course been very hostile to missile defense. If they had had their way, there would have almost certainly been no such thing as the AN/TPY-2 system.
Barack Obama has spoken out againt the deployment of "unproven" missile-defense technology. The radar-and-communications system that saved Britain in 1940 was of course "unproven" in the sense that it had never been tested in combat--but even Neville Chamberlain had enough common sense to support the deployment of this technology. See my post shooting down missile defense.
Let us hope that the President-Elect, with his new responsibilities, will reconsider his opposition to missile defense and to advanced defense technologies in general. With regard specifically to the x-band deployment to Israel, let's hope that:
a)The Obama administration does not cancel this deployment, and
b)That it does not use threats to withdraw this system from Israel as a lever to force that country into making unwarranted and unwise concessions to its enemies.
4:57 AM
Sunday, November 09, 2008
WORTHWHILE READING
The Anchoress on the elections and on the character and accomplishments of George W Bush.
Reflecting Light on Johnson and Boswell.
3:24 PM
Thursday, November 06, 2008
TOO MUCH POLITICAL DOG LANGAGE
...at Chicago Boyz.
9:54 AM
GOOD WRITING
Neptunus Lex, in a pensive mood:
I’ve often wished that you could split at each important choice in life. Go both ways, each time a fork in the road came up. Compare notes at the end, those of us that made it to the clearing at the end of the path. Tell it all over a tumbler of smokey, single malt.
Lex remembers a Commanding Officer.
Cara Ellison, on buildings at night.
5:38 AM
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
"PATRIOTIC GERMANS ARE PROUD TO SHOW HOW THEY VOTE"
See my Chicago Boyz post on the proposed elimination of the secret ballot in union elections.
8:25 AM
Monday, November 03, 2008
THE CHOICE
Some of my reasons for voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin, at Chicago Boyz.
9:04 AM
Sunday, November 02, 2008
THE DEMOCRATS' WAR ON ENERGY
Barack Obama, speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle, January 2008:
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
and
So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can.
It’s just that it will bankrupt them.
And in the same talk with the S.F. Chronicle, Obama explicitly stated that, under his plan, “electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket."
Full post here.
11:47 AM
STOUT-HEARTED MCCAIN VOTERS
...Bookworm has your music.
7:53 AM
A SANDWICH STORY
The saga of Barack Obama and Billy O'Grabba.
5:41 AM
Friday, October 31, 2008
HALLOWEEN, 2008
...as if things weren't scary enough already.
Tom O'Bedlam sets the mood.
4:02 PM
IMPORTANT READING
Fouad Ajami on Obama and the politics of crowds. Excerpt:
My boyhood, and the Arab political culture I have been chronicling for well over three decades, are anchored in the Arab world. And the tragedy of Arab political culture has been the unending expectation of the crowd — the street, we call it — in the redeemer who will put an end to the decline, who will restore faded splendor and greatness.
Via Betsy, who has some interesting commentary:
I heard Mark Steyn say the other day that so many schools today have posters with abstract nouns in the halls like Achievement, Effort, and Character and that it’s no coincidence that a generation educated among such posters would fall hard for a candidate of Hope and Change.
Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
5:00 AM
Thursday, October 30, 2008
THERE'S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
First Republican vote at 89.
3:07 PM
OBAMA, THE DEMOCRATS, AND THE ECONOMY
The second part of this post is now up at Chicago Boyz.
6:07 AM
AT THE FAUCET FACTORY
Evolving Excellence continues his manufacturing tour of Japan. This whole series is well worth reading.
6:04 AM
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
HERETIC-HUNTING IN HOLLYWOOD
Robert Avrech went to a script conference the other day, and ran straight into the Inquisition.
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
5:41 AM
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
SARKOZY ON OBAMA
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
2:33 PM
A MANUFACTURING BALLET
Evolving Excellence visits Toyota in Kyushu.
9:24 AM
Monday, October 27, 2008
JACK & SUZY WELCH ON THE ECONOMY
In their BusinessWeek column, Mr and Ms Welch list some factors providing grounds for optimism about the economy. See my Chicago Boyz post for reasons why I think these factors would be undercut by an Obama victory at the polls.
2:23 PM
Sunday, October 26, 2008
PRETTY DISTURBING
Back in April, the LA Times reported that Barack Obama was present at a going-away party for Rashid Khalidi, "an internationally known scholar, critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinian rights" who was leaving Chicago for a new job in NYC:
A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.
The tone of the evening was, pretty clearly, very anti-Israel. According to the New York Sun, the attendees also included the ex-Weatherman domestic terrorists Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers.
The event was videotaped, and the LA Times reporter explicitly stated that "the event was videotaped, and a copy of the tape was obtained by The Times." However, the LA Times is apparently refusing to release this videotape, which clearly could be very damaging to Obama's Presidential chances. Charles Johnson of LGF:
If true, this is media malfeasance of an almost astounding degree. They have a video that could change the stakes in this election and they’re hiding it. And they’ve been hiding it since last April.
Additional light on the views of Mr Khalidi (who has denied having been a PLO operative) are shed by his statements here. Note his use of the phrase "Zionist propaganda tool."
See also Bookworm.
6:59 PM
FORTHCOMING BOOKS BY BLOGGERS
A couple of interesting-looking books by bloggers are coming out in the near future:
From Roger Simon comes Blacklisting Myself, which is about his experiences living and working in Hollywood while challenging the prevailing orthodoxy.
From Sgt Mom, who writes books as Celia Hayes, comes a historical novel...well, actually, three historical novels, The Adelsverein Trilogy. It's about a largely-unknown episode in Texas history:
The Adelsverein story begins early in the 1840s, when a group of high-born and socially conscious German noblemen conceived the notion of establishing a colony of German farmers and craftsmen in Texas. Under-funded, over-extended, scammed by scallywags and beset with bad advice, the association still dispatched more than thirty-six chartered ships carrying over 7,000 immigrants to the ports of Galveston and Indianola, in the short space of five years. The gently-rolling limestone and oak-forested hill country of south-central Texas was transformed utterly into a district of neat and prosperous farms and well-laid out towns. These settlers valued culture, and comfort, order and hard work. Schools, churches, singing-societies and businesses were established almost at once. The German hill country was a world almost apart, becoming even more so with the Civil War, when its residents held out against secession and for the Union.
(Adelsverein means the "company of noble men")
Both books sound pretty interesting. Follow the links for more information.
Previous Books by Bloggers posts.
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
5:53 PM
Saturday, October 25, 2008
ISRAELIS SUPPORT JOHN MCCAIN
...most of them do, anyhow. See my post at Chicago Boyz.
7:35 AM
EXTREMELY COOL
Here's some recently-discovered film taken in London in 1904.
The film was found in Australia--it was originally shot as a travelogue for Australians curious about life in the Old Country.
(via Erin O'Connor)
Related:
Czarist Russia, in Color
The American Depression, in Color
6:19 AM
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
OBAMA, THE DEMOCRATS, AND THE ECONOMY
See my post at Chicago Boyz. This is the first part of a long post, which I will be extending within the next couple of days.
3:12 PM
IMPORTANT READING
Ralph Peters on some of the foreign policy and national security issues at stake in this election.
Those planning to cast their votes based primarily on economic issues should consider: there is a strong link between national security and the economy. If we have multiple terror attacks of the 9/11 scale (or higher), the economy will be in shreds. If the Iranians close the Straits of Hormuz, gasoline prices will soar. If the Russians bully Western Europe with sustained natural gas shortages, the result could be an actual global depression.
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
6:11 AM
31,000 YEARS OF DOGS
Scientists have found what they believe to be the world's oldest dog, who lived 31,700 years ago--much further back in time than the previous candidate for oldest dog, who was only 14,000 years old.
(via Maggie's Farm)
We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet: and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us.
--Maurice Maeterlinck
In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.
--Edward Hoagland
(Both quotes from Forbes, 2/8/1999)
5:49 AM
Monday, October 20, 2008
NICELY PUT
The most expensive resource on Wall Street is short-term comfort. Investors who constantly seek comfort over the short-term ultimately give up a fortune over the long-term. In a market economy, the most reliable source of long-term gains is to provide scarce and useful resources to others when those resources are most in demand.
--fund manager John Hussman
Lots of interesting information and analysis at the link.
7:16 PM
Sunday, October 19, 2008
OBAMA, THE DEMOCRATS, AND ISRAEL--CONTINUED
Here's an interesting piece on some of Obama's advisors and their attitudes toward Israel.
This link is from Melissa, who explains why all Americans should care about political attitudes toward Israel.
7:16 AM
Friday, October 17, 2008
OBAMIAN ACOLYTES vs JOE THE PLUMBER
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
4:01 PM
GOON SQUAD
Robert Spencer:
I got off the phone a little while ago with one of the student organizers of my address tonight at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He told me that I would be led to and from the stage via secret passageway; that thirty security personnel would be on hand (in addition to my own); that attendees would have to pass through metal detectors; and that a bomb-sniffing dog would also be on hand.
The necessity for these precautions reflects the degree to which free speech is now under threat, in America and elsewhere in the western world, by those who use tactics of violent intimidation.
In the event, Spencer's talk went off without incident, due in large part to the careful precautions taken by the university administration:
I had a meeting before my talk with the very courteous, knowledgeable and efficient security chief for the university, who explained to me the measures they had in place, including placing a large number of security personnel at various points all over the hall, and having everyone who entered the venue pass through a metal detector.
Everyone who entered also had to have a ticket. On one side the ticket said, "Robert Spencer Lecture, October 16, 2008, 7:30PM. Tickets do not guarantee entry. All patrons must pass thru security screening for entry." On the other side were printed "Audience Behavior Guidelines." These included: "Audience Members Must Remain Seated...No Sticks or Standards...Noise levels that impede the program's progress or the audience's ability to hear shall not be permitted....Objects may not be thrown: The throwing of any objects will not be tolerated" and "Force or Violence Notification: Behavior that infringes on the safety of others or endangers university property shall not be permitted.
The Rushdiean security precautions and these warnings were all necessary because of the fascist tactics of trying to intimidate and shout down opponents that students and others at UWM have employed in the past against speakers such as David Horowitz and Walid Shoebat.
Good for the UWM administration, and especially for its security officials, for doing the right thing in this case. But it is very sad that--in the United States of America--such elaborate precautions should be necessary to protect an ordinary exercise of free speech.
Threats of violence, primarily from radical Islamists and from various kinds of leftists, are already having a chilling effect on free speech, the free press, and freedom of research. (viz the fire bombings of scientists' homes by "animal rights" activists.) Laws against violence and threats of violence need to be rigorously enforced, and, where necessary, strengthened.
6:25 AM
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
OBAMA, THE DEMOCRATS, AND ISRAEL
Speaking in France, Jesse Jackson expanded on the ways in which American foreign policy will change in an Obama administration:
Prepare for a new America: That's the message that the Rev. Jesse Jackson conveyed to participants in the first World Policy Forum, held at this French lakeside resort last week.
He promised "fundamental changes" in US foreign policy - saying America must "heal wounds" it has caused to other nations, revive its alliances and apologize for the "arrogance of the Bush administration."
The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end.
Jackson believes that, although "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.
While predicting that the Obama administration will implement drastic changes in domestic policy as well, Jackson declined to be specific about what might be done. He was more willing to be concrete with regard to foreign policy, specifically the Middle East:
Jackson is especially critical of President Bush's approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
"Bush was so afraid of a snafu and of upsetting Israel that he gave the whole thing a miss," Jackson says. "Barack will change that," because, as long as the Palestinians haven't seen justice, the Middle East will "remain a source of danger to us all."
More at Power Line.
Jackson doesn't have authority to speak for Obama, of course. But the attitudes he expresses here are disturbingly common in the higher reaches of the Democratic Party.
Anyone who cares about the survival and well-being of Israel needs to consider very carefully before voting for any Democratic candidate. Because American diplomatic and military support for Israel has a clear inverse relationship with the power and influence of the Democratic Party as it stands today.
And Israel's safety is something all Americans should care about, for the same reasons Europeans and Americans should have been concerned about the safety of Czechoslovakia in 1938.
Update: cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
12:19 PM
WORTHWHILE READING
Fund manager John Hussman on the credit crunch and the current state of the markets.
Word to the wise - don't accept advice or analysis about this crisis from anyone who failed to anticipate it in the first place. The people warning about Depression now (or even talking about it casually on the financial channels) are the same reckless jackasses who told investors that stocks were cheap and “resilient” at the highs.
5:52 AM
Monday, October 13, 2008
RAGING AGAINST PALIN
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
2:20 PM
Saturday, October 11, 2008
STRESSES OF GLOBALIZATION
Unfortunately in the year XXXX the whole world was one large international workshop. A strike in the Argentine was apt to cause suffering in Berlin. A raise in the price of certain raw materials in London might spell disaster to tens of thousands of long-suffering Chinese coolies who had never even heard of the existence of the big city on the Thames. The invention of some obscure Privat-Dozent in a third-rate German university would often force dozens of Chilean banks to close their doors, while bad management on the part of an old commercial house in Gothenburg might deprive hundreds of little boys and girls in Australia of a chance to go to college.
--continued at Chicago Boyz.
8:26 PM
Thursday, October 09, 2008
IRAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Anne Bayefsky: Why the threat of a nuclear Iran should be the primary factor in your Novermber decision.
5:08 AM
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
JUST UNBELIEVABLE
Historian David McCullough:
On a winter morning on the campus of one of our finest colleges, in a lively Ivy League setting with the snow falling outside the window, I sat with a seminar of some twenty-five students, all seniors majoring in history, all honors students-the cream of the crop. "How many of you know who George Marshall was?" I asked. None. Not one.
At a large university in the Midwest, a young woman told me how glad she was to have attended my lecture, because until then, she explained, she had never realized that the original thirteen colonies were all on the eastern seaboard.
The excerpt is from an address that Mccullough gave in 1996. Anyone think this situation has gotten significantly better since then?
(via PowerLine)
5:35 PM
Sunday, October 05, 2008
CONGRATULATIONS!
It's the fifth blogoversary for Trying to Grok.
Here's a 2004 interview with Sarah, TTG's creator.
8:17 PM
Saturday, October 04, 2008
SAD AND DISTURBING...BUT NOT SURPRISING
McCain/Palin supporters walk through the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Affluent liberals and "progressives" respond with the grace, class, and tolerance that we have come to expect of them.
video
(via Neptunus Lex)
Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
7:01 AM
Thursday, October 02, 2008
MEDIA BIAS--MORE BLATANT THAN EVER
Glenn Reynolds got an e-mail from a reader who works at a major newsroom, and received permission to post it without attribution:
Off the record, every suspicion you have about MSM being in the tank for O is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working.
The Anchoress says:
I have a couple friends who work in the MSM, too, and one of them tells me the newsroom is (exact words) “unbelievably cavalier” about any complaints viewers register about their reports, what they ignore, their bias or the way they edit Republicans vs. the way the treat Dems. “Cavalier” as in the fix is in and they don’t even have to pretend to care what half the country thinks or wants.
Lead and Gold has thoughts on media bias, and links to this 2004 post on some of the reasons why it is so pervasive.
7:53 AM
Monday, September 29, 2008
JUST BECAUSE I LIKE IT
Take a break from politics and finance...well, contemporary politics and finance, anyhow...with Sir Patrick Spence.
7:39 PM
Friday, September 26, 2008
MUST NEW COME FROM THE OLD?
Evolving Excellence expands on a comment I made there a few days ago regarding the projected auto industry bailout.
People interested in the impact of disruptive technologies on existing companies should read the Christensen/Raynor book which I review here.
1:05 PM
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
J'ACCUSE
Why was Sarah Palin disinvited from the anti-Ahmadinejad protest in New York City? See my post at Chicago Boyz.
1:18 PM
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
WISDOM: OBAMA vs PALIN
Victor Davis Hanson writes about the nature of wisdom and measures Obama and Palin against this criterion.
6:06 AM
Sunday, September 21, 2008
COWBOYS
Bill Quick wonders why today's liberals tend to use the word "cowboy" as a term of opprobrium.
There's a story about an English gentleman who was touring the U.S. during the late 1800s. Somewhere in the West, he met a cowboy:
English Gentleman: Where is your master, my man?
Cowboy: Son of a bitch ain't been born yet.
I think that attitude really bothers some people.
6:35 AM
Thursday, September 18, 2008
THEY JUST CAN"T STOP THEMSELVES
Joe Biden demonstrates once again the arrogance of the Democratic leadership and its core of "progressive" supporters. At Chicago Boyz.
9:23 AM
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
JUST UNBELIEVABLE
A guy in Coleford (UK) called the police to report that three youths were riding his moped. The cops came quickly, but then watched the thieves speed away, saying they couldn't give chase because the bandits weren't wearing helmets and the government could have been held liable if one crashed and hurt himself.
(from Reason magazine, 10/2008)
The "just unbelievable" heading doesn't really work for stories like this from the UK anymore, though--there are, sadly, so many of them that they are all too believable. See, for example, this item on Britain's despicable treatment of the Gurkhas.
(via Bookworm Room)
2:42 PM
Saturday, September 13, 2008
JOE BIDEN
Senator Biden's background has not received much media attention, particularly in comparison with the blindingly hostile media spotlight focused on Governor Palin.
Here are two incidents in Biden's past which I think illuminate his character and his likely performance as a Vice President or a President:
1)Immediately after 9/11, Biden proposed that we send a check for $200 million, "with no strings attached," to the government of Iran.
A man who would make a suggestion like this is a man who has appeaser's instincts. Biden's suggestion is roughly analogous to making a proposal, right after Pearl Harbor, to send money to the government of Nazi Germany or of Italy.
2)Biden has demonstrated a bullying attitude toward people he considers his inferiors, as evidenced in his sneering treatment of witness Scott Ritter during hearings on Iraq's nuclear activities. Note that he snidely refers to the witness at "old Scotty-boy" and lectures him about the superior knowledge and judgment of his organizational superiors--"that's why they get their limos and you don't."
An individual who acts in this manner toward those who have less organizational power than he does is not likely to be an effective leader who can develop the loyalty of subordinates. Nor is he likely to have that openness toward information from many sources, at many levels, which is required for effective decision-making.
See Field Marshal Lord Wavell on why sarcasm is a bad trait in a leader.
To link this post, use this permalink...standard Blogger permalinks are not currently working for this blog.
8:48 AM
Thursday, September 11, 2008
9/11 PLUS SEVEN YEARS
(This is basically a rerun of my post from this day in 2006. Some new links added this year are at the bottom of the post.)
I am increasingly worried about our prospects for success in the battle against those who would destroy our civilization. America and the other democracies possess great military, economic, and intellectual strengths--but severe internal divisions threaten our ability to use these resources effectively.
Within days of the collapse of the Towers, it started. "Progressive" demonstrators brought out the stilt-walkers, the Uncle Sam constumes, and the giant puppets of George Bush. They carried signs accusing America of planning "genocide" against the people of Afghanistan.
Professors and journalists preached about the sins of Western civilization, asserting that we had brought it all on ourselves. A well-known writer wrote of her unease when her daughter chose to buy and display an American flag. Some universities banned the display of American flags in dormitories, claiming that such display was "provocative."
Opinions such as these have metastacized to the point at which they are no longer irrelevant to mainstream politics. Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe, along with other leading Democrats, attended a special screening of Michael Moore's movie Farenheit 9/11. Moore is well-known for his outrageous statements about the country in which he lives--things he is credibly reported to have said include: "(Americans) are possibly the dumbest people on the planet . . . in thrall to conniving, thieving smug [pieces of the human anatomy]," (in an interview with the British newspaper The Mirror) and "That's why we're smiling all the time. You can see us coming down the street. You know, `Hey! Hi! How's it going?' We've got that big [expletive] grin on our face all the time because our brains aren't loaded down" (to a crowd in Munich) and "You're stuck with being connected to this country of mine, which is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe." (to a crowd in Cambridge, England.) And about the terrorists who are killing Americans and Iraqis on a daily basis in Iraq, Moore had this to say: "The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not `insurgents' or `terrorists' or `The Enemy.' They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow — and they will win."
This is the individual who shared Jimmy Carter's box at the Democratic National Convention, and who continues to be very popular in "progressive" circles.
Imagine if a former President, in the midst of World War II, had embraced a man who spoke to foreign audiences about the stupidity of the American people and referred to our German and Japanese enemies as "heroes." Imagine also that such attitudes had been openly embraced by a large part of the Republican Party leadership and by many well-known writers and entertainers. Could Franklin Roosevelt have led the nation to victory under such circumstances?
And continuously, there has been the steady drip-drip-drip of moral equivalence. In September 2003, Howard Dean, now Democratic National Committee Chairman, stated that the US should not "take sides" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Actually, the refusal to draw a bright line against Palestinian terrorism is a major factor that enabled 9/11 and other terrorist atrocities.
Susan Turnbull, Vice Chair of the Democratic National Committee, referred to the killing of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as murder. Follow this link and you can hear it for yourself. Yes, she corrected herself and changed it to the "bombing" of Zarqawi. However: As far as I can tell, Turnbull is a native speaker of the English language. And I don't think any native English speaker would use the term "murdered" unless they disapproved of what had been done. Certainly, few Americans during WWII would have referred to the "murder" of Admiral Yamamoto (whose plane was shot down after his movement plans became known via communications intercepts) or the "murder" of German war criminals who were executed after the war.
Many individuals, particularly among religious leaders, show a stunning naivete. Annika quotes from a homily at a church in her neighborhood: "What if, instead of bombing Afghanistan, we had dropped food, medicine and education?"
How could anyone with an IQ above refrigerator temperature say such a thing? Even if education could somehow be "dropped," isn't this priest aware that the Taliban specifically denied education to women, and greatly limited the kinds of education that were available to men? Does he think the Taliban's executions at the soccer stadium, or its destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, were motivated by a desire for food and medicine?
People who say such things are so caught up in the catch-phrases they have been taught that they are completely unable to understand the real motivations of the enemy.
Bryan Preston: Rather than accept the reality of an enemy that cannot and therefore will not negotiate away what he believes to be the will of God, and rather than accept that this enemy will understand nothing outside total victory or total defeat, and rather than understand that this enemy’s goals include enslaving the entire world in a global caliphate, and rather than accept that this reality necessitates the use of all tools including military might to defend ourselves, millions have embraced an alternate reality. The reality of the enemy outside the West and its motivations being too terrifying and too far beyond their own control, millions now imagine that the enemy in this war is within. The enemy, to them, isn’t the turbaned man behind the plot to hijack multiple airplanes and crash them into multiple buildings in America. The real enemy, to these millions, is the man in the Oval Office, and the man or men behind him.
and
Five years on, the illness of replacing an implacable, indeed alien enemy with one from our own civilizational family has spread and metastasized through the majority of one of our two political parties, and may yet claim a majority of the country itself. History has a way of fading out as the day’s current noise rises in volume, and to them 9-11 is either history or a historic lie. The loudest voice, though not always or even often right, is often the one that gets the last word. And the 9-11 deniers and their allies across the left are nothing if not loud.
Five years on, it’s hard to take a positive look at the war because we are failing to comprehend it. The mass denial of reality is taking half our arsenal of unity and morale away from us. Those of us who see the threat for what it is still say that we will prevail because we are right and because we are America, but that’s just letting the others off the hook. If we’re going to prevail anyway, why should they snap out of their fog? And why should we demand that they do? The truth is, we need the denial to end and we need our countrymen to understand and help, but since we’re powerless to cure it with reason we shrug or laugh at it. But it’s eating away at our ability to defend ourselves.
It has to be said: The mass denial of reality is taking half our arsenal of unity and morale away from us. We are not dealing here merely with normal differences about policy that can be debated by rational individuals. We are have in our midst a significant number of individuals who are filled with rage toward their own country, who are highly susceptible to bizarre conspiracy theories, who lack any form of historical perspective, who are increasingly eager to engage in scapegoating.
Last year, I visited an old industrial facility that has been restored to operating condition. One of the machines there, dating from around 1900, was called an attrition mill. It contains two steel discs, which rotate at high speed in opposite directions, crushing the kernels of grain between them.
I fear that our civilization is caught in a gigantic attrition mill, with one disc being the terrorist enemy, and the other being the reality-deniers within our own societies.
Links worth following:
Neo-Neocon
Fearless Dream
Roger L Simon
A post byJane Galt, written six months after 9/11, when she was volunteering at the World Trade Center site.
A worthwhile essay at The American Thinker: The Moral Emptiness of the Left. Also see Bret Stephens on some of the roots of the left's confused thinking on terrorism.
Finally, Reflecting Light has some eloquent words.
UPDATE: Lead and Gold has links, excerpts, and reflections, all of which are well worth reading.
Neptunus Lex was operations officer on an aircraft carrier when the news came in. Read the comments, too.
UPDATES FOR 2008: Cara Ellison has pictures and a story.
Here is some very depressing survey data about international beliefs regarding 9/11. In Italy, for example, 15% of the people surveyed believed that the U.S. government was behind the attacks. In Egypt, 12% said that the attacks were orchestrated by the U.S. government, while 43% blamed Israel.
Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
To link this post, use this permalink--standard Blogger permalinks are not currently working for this blog.
5:58 AM
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
HURRICANE SARAH HITS THE MEDIA
...thoughts from Roger Kimball.
UPDATE: Here's another nasty slam at Sarah Pailin, coupled with a denunciation of a big part of the American population. This particular article is by a British writer, but you can find lots of similar stuff written by American "progressives."
The masks are coming off, and it should be clear that many "progressives" are driven largely by a generalized sense of contempt for their fellow citizens.
2:27 PM
Sunday, September 07, 2008
THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE
An interesting analysis of the cultural/political divisions in American society, by Chicago Girl Ginny.
6:54 AM
Saturday, September 06, 2008
FANNIE & FREDDIE
If you're following the Fannie Mae--Freddie Mac events this weekend, here's some theme music.
7:48 AM
Thursday, September 04, 2008
"WORKING" VERSUS "FIGHTING"
It's been observed that Democratic politicians tend to say "I'll fight for you," whereas Republicans tend to say "I'll work for you." Why this difference?
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
6:47 AM
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
UNBELIVABLE ARROGANCE
Richard Cohen, writing in the Washington Post, compares the nomination of Sarah Palin with Caligula's selection of his horse as a consul and priest.
If this is how Cohen feels about a woman who has been a businessperson, a mayor, and a governor, imagine how he must feel about the vast majority of Americans.
His view is not exceptional among the left-oriented pundits: see this WSJ article for a selection of comments.
Over the last few decades in this country, we've seen the emergence of a journalistic-political elite who believe that only they have the unique knowledge and ability to govern America. Their attitude is very similar to traditional aristocrats who believed that political participation should be limited to those of proper breeding, ideally combined with a very exclusive and expensive education with emphasis on Latin and Greek. The things these people value are limited to a very narrow slice of the human experience and of human life, and the list of things for which they feel contempt is very extensive.
The vitriolic attacks on Palin and her daughter are likely to give many Americans a new insight into just how much the broad population of this country is despised by many of those who would lead them and shape their opinions. See the post below this one for some thoughts by Rich Karlgaard on the possible consequences of this reaction.
UPDATE: AirForceWife is righfully unhappy about the media bias shown here, and she writes about her own experiences in a guest post at Trying to Grok:
The news of Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter didn't surprise me - it was me.
Read the whole thing.
12:04 PM
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY AND THE DAILY KOS
Rich Karlgaard (publisher of Forbes) suggests that the vile attacks on Sarah Palin, from "progressive" sources like The Daily Kos, resemble the late-1950s and early-1960s behavior of the John Birch Society.
Rich believes that the Birchers helped make Goldwater unelectable in 1964, and suggests that the Kossites may have the same effect on the prospects of the Democrats in 2008.
Here's an item that offers some support for the Karlgaard thesis. Megan McArdle, who is now blogging for The Atlantic, says:
On Sarah Palin as a VP I have no particular opinion, except that she doesn't make me any more interested in voting for John McCain. But the people criticizing her are making me considerably less interested in voting for Obama. If this sort of deranged logic produces unwavering support for Obama, I have to question my own judgement.
7:38 PM
Monday, September 01, 2008
ENERGY, PRODUCTIVITY, AND THE MIDDLE CLASS
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
8:02 PM
EXTREMELY COOL
Solving television-coverage problems at the Olympics, with a little help from Galileo and Newton.
(via Evolving Excellence)
6:37 AM
BOTH NAIVE AND OFFENSIVE
Barack Obama, at the Democratic Convention:
You know, John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell. But he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.
The Democratic focus on Osama bin Laden the individual shows a failure to grasp the nature of the struggle in which we are engaged. Sure, it would be great if we could capture or kill bin Laden...but it wouldn't mean the end of the the terrorist threat. The Dems keep trying to apply an inappropriate law-enforcement model--as if we were chasing Pretty Boy Floyd to put an end to his crime spree--to an attack on civilization itself.
That's the "naive" part. Here's the "offensive" part: Obama's remark comes very close to an attack on McCain's personal courage. (See Beldar.)
There are many things I don't like about McCain, but his courage is not at issue--and Barack Obama has not done anything that gives him the standing to question it.
6:10 AM
Friday, August 29, 2008
SARAH PALIN
Thoughts from Lexington Green, and a discussion thread, at Chicago Boyz.
9:48 AM
Thursday, August 28, 2008
DOG LANGUAGE AND POLITICAL LANGUAGE
(I've posted this before--it is, unfortunately, always appropriate during election seasons)
When you talk to a dog, you don't have to worry a lot about using syllogisms, complete sentences, good analogies, or crisply-argued chains of logic. What he's looking for is keywords...particular words and short phrases...like "nice doggie" or "here" or, especially, "dinner."
It strikes me that, increasingly, the way in which politicians address the American people is very similar. It's enough to say the words that are supposed to elicit the conditioned responses..."jobs" or "health care" or "education." There is increasingly litle effort to specifcy exactly what cause-and-effect relationship will cause these good things to come to pass, and why one approach might be better than alternative approaches. This behavior is most noticeable among Democrats, but is by no means totally absent among Republicans.
6:43 AM
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
OBSERVATION
What I’ve heard of the Democratic convention reminds me of some lines from Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado:
Sent to hear sermons by mystical Germans
Who preach from ten till four
Unfortunately, the Republican convention will probably come across the same way.
(cross-posted at Chicago Boyz)
7:53 PM
Monday, August 25, 2008
JUST UNBELIEVABLE
Nancy Pelosi seems to be unaware of the fact that natural gas is a fossil fuel. If you find this level of ignorance difficlt to believe, the complete transcript is here.
Pelosi's spokesman later said that she does indeed know that natural gas is a fossil fuel--however, the discussion between Pelosi and Brokaw implies pretty strongly that she was either unaware of this fact, or didn't want to admit it. Her comments also suggest that she doesn't at all understand the nature of the drilling activities required for natural gas production, which aren't all that different from those required for oil production.
6:35 PM
Friday, August 22, 2008
SHOOTING DOWN MISSILE DEFENSE
What if Barack Obama, rather than Neville Chamberlain, had been Prime Minister of Britain in the late 1930s?
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
2:51 PM
Monday, August 18, 2008
MOVIE vs REALITY
Neptunus Lex answers some question's for his daughter's friend. (Both kids about 14..."the Kat"=Lex's daughter, TKF="the Kat's friend," YC="your correspondent" (Lex).
TKF: So, (the Kat) tells me you were in TOPGUN?
YC: (Brightening) Yes, I was!
TKF: Did you have any lines?
YC: (Momentarily confused) Lines?
TKF: You know, a speaking part?
YC: (Understanding, finally) No, I wasn’t in the movie. I was in the squadron that the movie was made about.
TKF: (Disappointed) Oh.
Oh.
Sic transit gloria.
Read the whole thing.
11:31 AM
Sunday, August 17, 2008
WALL STREET, PRO WRESTLING, AND SEVENTH GRADE
At Chicago Boyz.
8:48 PM
MAKIN' IT IN WOODINVILLE
Here's a company that thought seriously about moving its production to China, but decided to keep making its products (cabinets) in Woodinville, WA (near Seattle.) It's worked out well for them.
Previously: Makin' It In Manitowoc.
12:24 PM
Thursday, August 14, 2008
SUPPRESSING KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AMERICAN OIL RESOURCES
An editorial in Investor’s Business Daily (8/11) contains the following passage:
In 2005, (Barack Obama) voted to kill legislation that would have measured our offshore (oil and gas) reserves.
That effort failed and a preliminary inventory report was produced in February 2006.
But those estimates of what lay beneath the 1.76 billion-acre continental shelf were based on old data obtained from surveys using old exploratory technology.
The Interior Department report stated: “Resource estimates are highly dependent on the current knowledge base, which has not been updated in 20 to 40 years for areas under congressional moratorium . . .”
The reason is that while requiring regular inventory assessments Congress provides no funding to conduct new surveys.
Now Obama is sponsoring S.115, which he calls the “Oil SENSE Act,” which would repeal the 2005 Energy Policy Act’s authorization of these inventories.
His bill would prohibit the expanded use of 3-D seismic techniques to search for and measure undersea oil deposits.
This seemed so unbelievable, even give what I knew about Obama’s ideas on energy, that I had to check for myself to see if it was true.
Continued at Chicago Boyz.
6:43 PM
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Regarding the events in Georgia, Neptunus Lex has some questions:
Millions marched in San Francisco, Rome, Barcelona and London when a US-led coalition of democracies prepared to depose a murderous tyrant - where are they now, when a tyrant seeks to depose a democratically elected government?
Millions more protested when a wretchedly afflicted people attempted to shake off the chains of 30 year’s oppression, tribalism and superstition to create for themselves and their children a sense of security and a representative government, answerable to the people - where are they now, that a free people has been reacquainted with the rod and beaten back to the yoke?
Others protested in Florence and Glocestershire when NATO bombers intervened to stop a genocide in Kosovo - where are they now, when bombers and helicopter gunships rain death upon innocents?
Read the whole thing.
Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
12:40 PM
A TALE OF TWO OFFICES
McCain's office and Obama's office.
Bookworm suggests that one candidate is a mensch, the other is a product.
7:03 AM
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
CULTURE CLASH
American schools are hiring large numbers of foreign teachers, especially for hard-to-fill jobs in science and math teaching. Many of these teachers seem to be extraordinarily dedicated--and many of them are pretty appalled at the climate of disrespect that exists in so many American public schools.
At Joanne Jacobs.
6:08 AM
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
A SCARY RATIO
Barrons(7/14) contains the following sentence:
Even more impressive is the value of the oil reserves of petroleum-exporting countries, which now total an estimated $140 trillion, nearly three times the size of global equity markets, which have a combined market value of around $50 trillion. (emphasis added)
Continued at Chicago Boyz.
8:54 AM
READING SOLZHENITSYN AT THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY
Neptunus Lex remembers.
6:31 AM
Monday, August 04, 2008
WORTH PONDERING
When the mouse laughs at the cat, there’s a hole nearby
--Nigerian proverb (via LGF)
Previous Worth Pondering
12:51 PM
SECRET REPUBLICANS
Don’t call me again. I’m going to vote Republican, but I can’t let anybody know. It’s got to stay a secret.
and
I’m conservative too, but don’t let anyone know. I also have two friends here. I’ll point them out to you. They’re also secret conservatives.
...read the whole thing at Bookworm Room.
When "progressives" dominate institutions/professions/geographical areas...Hollywood, most universities...they have demonstrated a tendency to intimidate those of differing political views, and to suppress, to the extent that they can, the expression of these views.
What will it be like if these people manage to obtain control of the entire Federal government--executive branch as well as both houses of Congress?
I'd rather not find out.
UPDATE: More on this at Neo-Neocon.
12:27 PM
Saturday, August 02, 2008
DEFLATOR MOUSE
Rich Karlgaard, who is publisher of Forbes, has an idea for a modernized version of Die Fledermaus.
8:20 AM
Friday, August 01, 2008
BLAM! SOCK! POW!
A response to the professors who are trying to prevent creation of a Milton Friedman Institute at the University of Chicago, from UC professor John Cochrane. At Chicago Boyz.
7:10 AM
IMPORTANT READING
Political Prisms, on the growing divisions in perception of reality within American society.
Maggie's Farm links this article as A Domestic Cold War?
5:46 AM
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
THE SERMON TO THE GERMANS
Thoughts on Obama's Berlin speech, at Chicago Boyz.
8:24 AM
Monday, July 28, 2008
A FEW MILLION EXTRA CANDY BARS
Manufacturing, management education, information technology, inventory control...if you're interested in any of these topics...or just interested in human folly...read this 2006 post from Evolving Excellence.
It's linked from EE's post today on the sense of manufacturing, in which he asks:
When your customer service people receive an order, do they simply key it into the almighty MRP? Or are they conscious that an order is far larger than typical? When your shop floor folks decide to run an order, do they simply look at the MRP screen or do they think about upcoming orders and the nuances involved in running them, and use some judgment to optimize the runs? Have they developed the "sense" of manufacturing, or have they suboptimized that sense to automated tools? Would they know that they are making a few million extra candy bars?
Sometimes you just have to touch it, feel it, and see it. Upcoming orders on a white board, excessive scrap on the floor, a product that just doesn't look right. Develop that competency and that awareness. If you must use electronic tools, use them to augment the senses, not replace them.
6:58 AM
Sunday, July 27, 2008
THE RETURN OF COMMERCIAL SAIL?
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
7:17 AM
Saturday, July 26, 2008
SATURDAY MORNING MADNESS
The Portsmouth (UK) city council turned down a request for a £500 grant to help wounded soldiers, based on a bizarre theory that this might be offensive to "ethnic minorities."
Read about a meeting of "progressives" at the United Church in Toronto. Literature made available at the meeting included assertions about "Zionists controlling the media" and a denunciation of "Rothschild owned big pharma killers." The organization that sponsored the meeting says that it is not antisemitic but is concerned about "social justice."
Toronto item via Five Feet of Fury.
5:57 AM
Friday, July 25, 2008
BLOGDISCOVERIES
Please welcome the following blogs to the left sidebar:
Bookworm Room
Villainous Company
Lean Blog
Note also that Melissa Clouthier has a new URL and a new blog design.
1:45 PM
Thursday, July 24, 2008
SENSE OF HUMOR
…does Obama have one? Can he laugh at himself?
Do these questions really matter?
Elizabeth Scalia explores the Obama-humor relationship.
Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
8:01 PM
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS
A great picture, along with some thoughts on oil speculation and the regulation thereof, from MaxedOutMama.
7:30 PM
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
MAKIN' IT IN MANITOWOC
Light fixtures, pots & pans, malt, cranes, towers for wind turbines, pipes for offshore oil rigs, desks & filing cabinets. Not to mention yachts and plastic parts.
America got tired of manufacturing. But it remains a great way to make money--Tim Martinez, Manitowoc entrepreneur.
See this story from the WSJ (7/18).
via Evolving Excellence, which is a great source on manufacturing-related topics, along with Lean Blog.
7:30 AM
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
INTERESTING HISTORY
The dishwasher was invented by Josephine Cochrane in the 1880s, according to an item in Investors Business Daily (7/15).
Knowing this, one might reasonably assume that Ms Cochrane's inspiration came from extensive personal dishwashing experience, and weariness with same. Actually, Josephine Cochrane was a wealthy socialite who held many parties, and was unhappy that the maids kept chipping the china, some of which supposedly dated back to the 1600s.
IBD: "So one night she took to washing the dishes herself after her guests left. Right away she realized the burden of the work and how rough it was on her hands. There must be a better way, she thought."
Cochrane developed some initial ideas for a mechanical dishwasher and hired George Butters, a railroad mechanic, to assist in the project. She patented the resulting device, which was hand-powered, in 1886, and established a company to sell it. The price of $75-100 meant that the market was pretty much restricted to hotels and restaurants. Sales went slowly until the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, at which the machines were exhibited and also used to support the food service operations at the event. With this visibility, the order rate soared. A motorized version was introduced in 1900. The present-day descendent of Cochrane's company is the KitchenAid subsidiary of Whirlpool.
It seems pretty clear to me that without widespread electrification, the dishwasher would never have been more than a niche project. Hotels and large restaurants might have found it worthwhile to run dishwashers on small steam engines, and smaller establishments could have continued to use the hand-cranked version--but a huge step in convenience and efficiency was provided by the electric motor.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if today's political/legal/social climate had existed at the time when electricity was being introduced. There would certainly have been extensive pressure to ban it outright--after all, electricity is a little mysterious, like nuclear power, and can definitely be dangerous. Even if the League of Perpetual Indignation(tm) had not succeeded in totally suppressing electricity, it would have probably allied itself with Thomas Edison's scare campaign against the alternating current championed by George Westinghouse--a campaign that, if it had been successful, would have greatly reduced electricity's applicability and scope of availability.
And probably meaning no dishwashers for 80% of the population.
11:17 AM
Sunday, July 20, 2008
REALLY FUNNY
Do not fail to check out Fail Blog.
On the other hand, if you're really busy right now then you'd better not click it, because you might stay for a while.
(via Lean Blog)
5:40 PM
THE NEW ANTI-SEMITISM
The modern anti-Semite looks entirely different. He does not have a shaved head. He has good manners and often an academic title as well…The modern anti-Semite does not believe in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. But instead he fantasizes about an “Israel lobby” that is supposed to control American foreign policy like a tail that wags the dog. For the modern anti-Semite, it goes without saying that every year on January 27 he will commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz. But at the same time he militates for the right of Iran to have atomic weapons.
–Henryk Broder, in a speech to the German Bundestag.
Cross-posted at Chicago Boyz.
6:04 AM
Saturday, July 19, 2008
T-BALL ON THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN
...Sarah was there, and has pictures.
See the discussion of the character and accomplishments of George W Bush, in Sarah's post and in the comments.
An interesting contrast with this small-minded and graceless statement from Nancy Pelosi.
7:12 AM
Friday, July 18, 2008
SECRET NIGHTTIME SUBVERSION
...via long division.
6:20 AM
Thursday, July 17, 2008
DUMB COMPANY TRICKS
On July 4, we had some time between the dinner plan and the fireworks-viewing plan, so I wanted to find out the holiday hours for the local Borders store.
1)Check the web site. The store locator gives regular hours, but says to call the store for the most up-to-date hours. (Borders just spent a bunch of money upgrading the website. Why didn't you include a facility for the store to update its own hours directly?)
2)Call the store. First, there's a message about "if you know your party's extension." (Didn't you people ever hear of direct inward dialing?)
3)Then another message, suggesting that job-seekers should check the website or talk to a store employee. (Again, you are inconveniencing actual customers, this time on the theory that your prospective employees are too dumb to check the website on their own and that avoiding calls from these job-seekers is more important than providing a straightforward telephone path for your customers.)
4)Finally, "press 1 for regular hours, press 2 for holiday hours." Pressed the key.
5)Got a message that gave me the holiday hours for Easter, March 23.
6)Finally got a human. Talked to a friendly guy who gave me the hours. Told him that their phone message was just a little bit out of date. He said he'd tell a manager.
7)As of today, July 17, the phone message still gives the hours for Easter.
One would think that given the disgraceful performance of this company, Borders people at all levels would be focused on making it easier to do business with them. Evidently not.
I'm glad that I am no longer a shareholder in this corporation.
7:31 AM
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
BUMPER STICKER SIGHTING
Saw a car with two bumper stickers–one said “Support Israel” and the other was some kind of pro-Democratic-Party statement. (continued at Chicago Boyz)
6:24 AM
INTERESTING COMPARISON
Law schools and medical schools.
6:21 AM
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
DOG PICTURES
Rachel tries to solve a problem in dog physics and geometry.
Poodles relaxing after a hard day at school. (via Maggie's Farm)
1:05 PM
Monday, July 14, 2008
JUST UNBELIEVABLE
Edward Markey, a Democratic U.S. Congressman, told a group of high school students that “climate change” was responsible for the famine in Somalia and hence for the 1993 “Black Hawk down” battle between American troops and Somali rebels. See my post at Chicago Boyz.
5:45 AM
Friday, July 11, 2008
INTERESTING INTERVIEWS
A video interview with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase.
Transcript of an interview with Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric. (via Curious Cat)
3:02 PM
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
WORTHWHILE BUSINESS READING
A paper from the Darden School suggests that there are two basic kinds of managers, and that one of these kinds is much more likely to generate significant innovation and to effectively meet customer needs:
Success was based more often on thoughtful exploration of customers' needs than on dry market data. The managers in our study personally sought detailed knowledge about individual customers, instead of just seeing them as data in market-research reports.
One manager told us he was not "customer-centric," he was "Cynthia-centric." Cynthia, he explained, was a single mother who had ordered his company's personalized candies to be delivered for her son's birthday party. Sadly, the product arrived a day late, and afterward, Cynthia, who had barely been able to afford the gift, called him in tears to express her disappointment. She became his constant reminder of what it means to be a day late in his business.
Tom Peters sees these two types of managers as reflecting two types of companies:
The first sort, focused on avoiding downsides, treats customers "only as data," "manages risk through analysis," "places big bets, slowly," and frequently fails in new situations...The second sort sees life as a "journey of learning." It treats customers "as people"—and constantly seeks new input through direct contact with those customers. The Type Two group "places small bets, quickly" and manages risk through hustle and an abiding bias for test-try-adjust-action.
David Martin, writing at Bankstocks.com, spends 45 minutes talking with the guys who delivered his new dining room set...and makes some points about customer service, in banking and elsewhere.
7:15 PM
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
PICKENS: WIND + NATURAL GAS
At 10:00 EDT today, the oilman/raider T Boone Pickens is launching his plan for reducing American dependency on imported oil. Summary, links, and discussion thread at Chicago Boyz.
6:53 AM
PATRIOTIC THIEVES
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
6:28 AM
Sunday, July 06, 2008
NEW DOGS OLD TRICKS
Warren Buffett once remarked that it's hard to teach new dogs old tricks.
Here's some evidence.
12:05 PM
Friday, July 04, 2008
IT SHALL BE SUSTAINED
See my 4th of July post at Chicago Boyz, featuring Stephen Vincent Benet, American troops in Iraq, Abraham Lincoln, and even Calvin Coolidge.
7:24 AM
GREAT VIDEO
These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture every time they came home after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were waiting for them to leave, and using the pool. However, they could never catch them doing it. So, they set up their video cam and left. This is what they found out...
Don't miss this one.
6:51 AM
Thursday, July 03, 2008
FRIENDS
Great pictures of an Iraqi boy and an American soldier.
9:17 AM
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
...if you were Governor of Ohio?
Rich Karlgaard of Forbes invites your thoughts.
9:30 AM
Monday, June 30, 2008
BLAME CANADA
Back in February, Obama blamed Canada for problems that (in his opinion) are associated with NAFTA, and talked about going after Canada "with a hammer." This understandably caused some concern among Canadians.
Now, Obama's energy advisor is suggesting that the Canadian oil sands should possibly not have a role in America's long-term energy strategy. This has also stirred up considerable concern in Canada.
Canada is America's primary oil & gas supplier, and the oil sands are economically very important to that country. They are also important to the U.S., as they represent an important and relatively-new source of oil supplies.
Obama doesn't appear to grasp the concept of trade-offs very well, perhaps because he lacks executive experience and has spent his professional life in the realm of words rather than actions. Rather than make realistic decisions about energy sources--rather than permitting the market to make realistic decisions about energy sources--he would likely allow a full-scale energy crisis to develop, with devastating impact on the U.S. economy, while still searching for the perfect...and nonexistent..energy source.
Regarding the NAFTA issue, it's interesting that Obama uses such strident language ("with a hammer") when talking about a trade issue, but not in talking about (say) the Iranian regime.
Disclosure: I'm a shareholder in a Canadian oil sands company and also in a somewhat-related pipeline operator.
7:42 PM
Sunday, June 29, 2008
WORTHWHILE READING
Ralph Peters, responding to the assertion that John McCain is "too old" to run our foreign policy:
Hmm: Take a gander at Obama's senior foreign-policy advisers: Madeleine Albright (71), Warren Christopher (82), Anthony Lake (69), Lee Hamilton (77), Richard Clarke (57) . . .
If you added up their ages and fed the number into a time-machine, you'd land in Europe in the middle of the Black Death.
More important: These are the people whose watch saw the first attack on the World Trade Center, Mogadishu, Rwanda, the Srebrenica massacre, a pass for the Russians on Chechnya, the Khobar Towers bombing, the attacks on our embassies in Africa, the near-sinking of the USS Cole - oh, and the US bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Their legacy climaxed on 9/11.
You couldn't assemble a team in Washington with more strategic failures to its credit.
Read the whole thing.
12:20 PM
Saturday, June 28, 2008
MICROMANAGING EVERYTHING
A market trader in Britain has been banned from selling a batch of kiwi fruits because they are one millimeter smaller than EU rules allow. Inspectors told the man that he is forbidden even to give away the fruits, which are perfectly healthy. He will now have to trash them, costing him 1000 pounds in lost sales.
via Bookworm Room.
In Britain, they throw away perfectly good fruit; here in the U.S., we have "educators" who throw away perfectly good library books.
Expect far more micromanagement of American life if the Democrats--who desperately want to emulate the EUcrats--attain the power which they are seeking.
12:47 PM
JUST UNBELIEVABLE
A San Jose middle school teacher saved some "deselected" books from the Dumpster. Click here to see what they were and why they were trashed.
6:31 AM
Thursday, June 26, 2008
ENGINEERS AND MILITARY PROGRAMS
See my post at Chicago Boyz.
6:21 AM
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
WIN FREE CHAMPAGNE
John Kay, writing in the Financial Times:
In a bubble, prices become disconnected from values because purchasers believe that, whatever the fundamentals, they will soon be able to sell what they have bought at a higher price. The bubble must burst eventually because the supply of new people willing to buy at ever higher prices will be exhausted, and generally bursts sooner than that because people come to realise this.
In the opposite of a bubble, prices become disconnected from values because sellers believe that, whatever the fundamentals, they will soon be able to buy what they have sold at a lower price. The anti-bubble must also eventually collapse because the supply of new people willing to sell at ever lower prices will be exhausted.
He goes on to suggest that we need a good word or phrase for the opposite of a bubble:
Perhaps the analogy is found somewhere in physics. We observe a bubble when a tiny quantity of matter expands to become a very large object. The opposite is when a large quantity of matter seems to be compressed into something even smaller. That process needs to be distinguished from the black hole, from which no value will ever emerge – as at Enron, where short-sellers drove the price towards its fundamental value of zero. In the opposite of a bubble, as in the bubble itself, speculative activity and momentum trading take prices steadily away from fundamental value.
The right term for the phenomenon remains elusive. A bottle of champagne awaits for the most compelling entry.
If you have any ideas, his e-mail address is at the link
12:55 PM
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