Dianne Feinstein Indicted on Criminal Charges...

Okay, so that is not true. Yet. It seems that the senator from California may be complicit in illegally funneling $1.5bn in MILCON funds to companies controlled by her husband. If you think this is bad, let's see how the newly minted democratic congress handles this issue.

I am not a fan of congress. Any governing by committee or representation will fall into a sectarian nest of vitriolic self-interest with no interest in the whole, except as it serves to provide for their benefit.

But, it's worked for us so far. The problem is that we are now able to see every indiscretion and every backroom deal that takes place.

Does it matter?

Can we handle the truth?

Do we want to?

I, for one, do. I expect accountability. I expect good behavior. I require good stewardship on behalf of the WHOLE country.

Feinstein should be held to the same standard.

As should ALL our elected and appointed officials.

Quick Survey...

Hello folks!  Quick question - the return of Day by Day and the Deux News - interesting or not?  Value added or not?  Remember this is all about my own ego, I mean my beloved readers. 

 

PS - Take a look at my del.ico.com on the sidebar.  A great article from The Prospect on why the Middle East doesn't matter and a rant from Kaplan on the inappropriateness of Congress legislating foreign policy.

 

PPS - I am preparing to send one of my best sailors over to the sandbox.  She is a heavy duty civic works manager in her civilian life and a single mom.  She is perhaps the one of the finest people I have met (myself included).  She has been recalled once before and is now off to perform again for the nation. 

 

 

Forgotten, but not gone...

Well, dear reader(s), I am forgetful, but not gone.  I have been traveling quite a bit and not inclined to blog.  Just a few notes;

 

• The democratic influenced portion of congress seeks to intervene in foreign policy – bad
• The democratic candidates for president all commit to “getting us out of Iraq” – how? – not so good.
• Immigration rallies continue, but no one notices…

 

Ah well, I guess there really is no news worth discussing.

 

 

 

Pictures...

I am not a happy guy.

Some whack-job decides to unleashed his pathetic rage on 32 helpless, defenseless fellow humans. On top of this, NBC (stands for Nothing Beats Carnage) airs his delusional ranting as if this is an explanation for his behavior. The criminal murderer of Blacksburg, Virginia, deserves nothing. He was an immigrant to the greatest nation on the planet, he attended one of the best schools on the planet and had access to immeasurable resources. And yet he portrayed himself as "oppressed".

Ridiculous.

To be certain, he was very mentally ill. The fact that a Virginia judge rendered such a judgment shows that the system works. The fact that he remained eligible to purchase a firearm underscores how the system does not.

Let me be clear, I am a conservative on the issues of the second amendment. I firmly believe that the founding fathers intended the right to bear arms to be an individual right. With no standing army, the phrase "well regulated militia" was a secondary benefit. Had even one legally armed individual been present, I am certain the effects of this deranged person's action could have been stopped or mitigated.

What is most galling is the reaction of the media to this story. Why did he do it, they cry. While showing his homegrown terrorist rant. There is little or no mystery here. We have an individual who felt ostracized (in truth or his own perception). We have a person who was identified by the authorities as being a danger to himself, and possibly others. This individual lacked the support (or enforcement) to seek help on his own.

Here is my message to anyone who cares to note it. Pay attention to your friends and colleagues. Let them know you care and do not take for granted how they may be feeling.

A little more compassion can go a long way to preventing another such horror.

Words...

Don Imus, of who I am no fan, is out. I am sympathetic, but not swayed by the free speech arguments. His platform was enshrined in his contract with CBS and MSNBC. Two organizations who live and die by perceptions. Some time ago I was involved with a promotion involving the Dixie Chicks. It was a good (and expensive) project. It targeted our main demographic and looked like a real winner. A coup for our brands. Then they made their statements in the UK. Upon reading these comments I contacted the planning director and asked if I should pull the promotion. He scoffed at me and said the issue would blow over.

Five hours later I was contacted by a VP with orders to suspend the promotion. This cost the firm a LOT of money. The market reacted to the possible perception surrounding the comments by the Dixie Chicks. They certainly had the right to say whatever they wanted, however, as they made their livelihood in the realm of perception, they were subject to its risks and consequences.

Imus has found out the same thing. His comments were ignorant and unkind. However, his point about the lack of remorse for the overzealous persecution of the Duke lacrosse players is well made and underscores our present state of hyper-political correctness.

It's a jungle out there!

Too much noise...

In my little section of del.icio.us on this blog are a number of articles which are of interest to me. As I still haven't figured out how to e-mail links to the blog, my attempt at redirecting you will have to suffice. Some of the topics include;

The bleak future painted by the UK Ministry of Defence (I always thought MOD sounded WAY cooler than our own DoD) includes a cyber-punk universe where jacked in middle class types overturn the status quo. My follow up question would be to do what? Get a bigger TV?

IMPORTANT BOOK RECOMMENDATION - Go and buy Daniel Gilbert's Stumbling on Happiness.. It is a great analysis of why we are or are not happy. Including some interesting neuroscience.

I also have been nursing an on again / off again fascination with the present wave of NewWage (Cosmic Connie's coined phrase) self-indulgence, ala the Secret and other pop psychology. My new prediction for events "jumping the shark" will be any appearance on Oprah.

Finally the British sailors and marines have been released. Yeah! The Iranians are, well, Iranian. Not bad as a people but lousy and dangerous as a government and ideology. Now that they are safe an home, drinking fine beers and eating pork pies, they can tell us the truth of their captivity.

Surprise! The Iranians used coercion, deception and tortuous interrogation to manipulate their responses.

My own personal life has become so hectic that my time to blog has been enormously reduced. I have found a few interesting sites and intend to update my blog rolls in the near future.

Oh yeah, that DADT editorial still sits half written...

Who are the bad guys, again…

The Iranians continue to show themselves as dangerous, unreliable and untrustworthy. Anyone who has studied the international law understands the perpetual contention around territorial waters and borders. The Iranians make all sorts of claims, which are not recognized internationally, about the extend and shape of their territorial waters.

The United States and other nations routinely conduct FON events (freedom of navigation) to underscore the fact that these boundaries are unrecognized claims. This is not the case for the captured British sailors. To me the case is fairly clear that the British VBSS (vessel board search and seizure) team was tricked. The British MOD indicates that the reported position of the target vessel was well within Iraqi territorial waters and the arrival of Iranian naval assets was a surprise (indicating a planned event) to the UK forces.

The sailors are now in Tehran, separated to prevent any possible rescue. The Iranians will not harm them, unless they would like some serious hurt landing on their heads from US and UK forces. They are simply putting their thumb in the eye of the West reminding us that our precious rules and laws make us beholden to their outrageous behavior.

It’s enough to make me want to simply raise the black flag…

Knock, knock...

The Iranians really don't like the British. They have had terrible relations with them since the start of the 20th century. In a great summary of UK / Iranian relations, All The Shah's Men provides a superior account of why the Iranians and the Brits are at such loggerheads.

Compounding this issue is the idea of borders and ownership of the Arabian / Persian Gulf and the Shaat-al-Arab. There is no doubt that the UK soldiers most likely crossed over the "line" in the SAA and were grabbed by Iranian naval units. The actual sovereignty of this stretch of muddy water has been in dispute for decades. The Iranians have even placed a flag and heavy machine gun on a sunken crane near the Iraqi oil terminal KAAOT in the Shaat-al-Arab. They use this as a platform to exert their national boundaries and threaten Iraqi and coalition naval assets.

Not a nice group. Routinely they will run out from the shore in their Boghammer attack boats and "dare" forces to engage.

The fifteen British sailors and marines do not deserve to be interrogated. They should be released in accordance with international agreements.

If not, the Brits should act.

Vive la France...

I like France.

There I said it. From their devil may care attitude to their vigorous, albeit futile, defense of their culture. The French know some things the rest of the world could stand to learn.

I worked for some years for a French company. I know a number of fine French citizens. I like french fries.

One of the most remarkable things the French have done is that they have opened their UFO files to the world.

This is amazing!

The fact that a nation of serious scientific and defense capability (the French have nukes, quite a few, in fact) would reveal this to EVERYONE should be a lesson for other nations - how about us? I am not sure if there are some redactions for masking sensor capabilities or other national secrets, but the cases and evidence themselves for these events should be public.

Why?

Simply put, the more we can examine these phenomenon, the more likely we are to understand them. Perhaps they are all a series of "non-events", perhaps not.

Unlike crop circles, widely proven to be hoaxes, sightings of unidentified flying objects are as yet still in the realm of the possible for all sorts of explanations.

Like the poster in the X-files - I want to believe.

Sic semper ignorance...

Skeptic magazine is running a tribute to one of the greatest popularizers of science and wonder of the 20th century. He is, of course, Carl Sagan. I became a Saganite in high school. When the first airing of his COSMOS series appeared on PBS, I forced the school play rehearsals for Sweeney Todd to be adjusted in order that I could see the series.

Sagan provided the necessary wonder and layman's language for the immense possibilities, discoveries and limitations of science. He gently addressed myth and its place in the human psyche and fought against "pseudoscience" and promoted a political viewpoint of humanity as a custodian of the planet (very anti-war / disarmament / etc.).

Cosmic Connie, one of my favorite writers, posted a great essay on the continual struggle between skepticism and the "unknown". I must confess to being in a similar quandry.

I want to believe in aliens, ghosts, magnetic fields, the Bermuda triangle and other amazing possibilities. I have had some strange personal experiences (seeing a "ghostly figure" on the USS LEXINGTON, recording some EVP in Charleston, etc.). However, until we can measure these things in a meaningful way, they are simply that, possibilities. What is disheartening is that there are a LOT of people who profess to "know" the answers and a lot of folks who simply believe them

I think this is an age old struggle and is unlikely to end anytime soon. For each time we unveil a new level of knowledge, there is still the next horizon to be imagined and unlocked. This is, actually, a good thing. It forces us to think of the possible while proving the probable.

Time and Tide...

It is amazing the plethora of self help gurus who peddle their wares throughout the planet. Most famously, of late, is the Australian Rhonda Byrne who developed The Secret. Many of these people have taken the karmic philosophy and spiked it for Western consumption. The West, having been failed by a largely corrupt church and the rise of rationalism, has sought desperately to reconnect with it spiritual side.

It is sad that so many folks simply refuse to accept that acts of kindness, personal responsibility and individual humility are more than adequate pathways to personal spirituality. I have been on my own quest of late. It's not been pleasant, either.

And yet, there comes a moment when a crystallizing vision arises to focus all your thoughts, hopes and fears.

And it is this.

You are responsible for your own actions.

You will bear the consequences of those actions.

There is a definable, demonstrable good and evil in the world.

So let it be.

It is too much...

I've said it before, this guy is hilarious! Check out the home page for all the episodes. I don't know much about the origins of this, but the sheer precision guided humor is perfect.

COMING SOON - The DADTDPDH deneoumont!

We are all Spartans...

The newest blood and glory movie ( a remake) is coming to town. It is the 300 and is a stylized version of the battle of Thermopalye. The Spartans stood against a horde of Persians under Xerxes. The Spartans were led by Leonidas Leonidas, and a core group of 300 soldiers (and several thousand allies). Leonidas was told he was doomed and indeed fell in battle. The Persians were defeated and Sparta was saved.

A recent posting on Drudge Report has reporters making analogies between Bush and the two leaders in the movies. Considering this is an ancient story and a remake at that. The question seems secondary.

However, I do have an opinion. Bush is Leonidas and we are Sparta. I really don't know who Xerxes is in the modern context, perhaps simply a representation of the backward nature of some of our opponents.

Let me offer a few comparisons;

1) Bush (although not falling in battle) , will suffer a similar political fate for a time. That is until history returns to judge our actions.

2) The Spartans sent an all volunteer force to deal with an unpopular, but critical, conflict.

3) Leonidas is played by Gerard Butler (initials G.B.) - okay, that's a stretch.

I strongly believe that this conflict will define the course of the world for the next century. I think it will be made moot by creeping technology. For example, Honda is launching a hydrogen car in 2008 in California. America has arisen, not with a bloody vengance, but with an eye to its security through energy and independence.

Once again the flailings of the trailing edge of the planet will be disregarded. Hopefully, these societies will embrace true equality and reexamine some of their extreme social practices. Until then, count me among the 300.