tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213968472706123512024-02-08T06:28:29.452-08:00al Qaeda in AlbuquerqueDedicated to the restoration of the U.S. Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.comBlogger1111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-47901162406468425732009-01-19T23:50:00.001-08:002009-01-19T23:50:36.880-08:00new blog<a href="http://privatebuffoon.blogspot.com/">Private Buffoon</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-73690277667654791472009-01-19T20:55:00.000-08:002009-01-19T21:01:14.920-08:00Countdown clock at 0 days 0 hours 0 minutes 00.0 sec...... I think it's off by about 12 hours!<br /><br />With many of my fellow citizens, I'll be watching PRESIDENT Obama take the oath of office tomorrow (10 a.m. local time).<br /><br />Here 'tis:<blockquote>"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."<br />[<a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.articleii.html#section1">U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1</a>]</blockquote>Note: the "so help me God" bit was added by Washington, setting a so-far unbroken precedent.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-8499112429789292722009-01-19T20:38:00.000-08:002009-01-19T20:54:07.719-08:00Pursuing WYes - it would be easier to forget him & move on.<br /><br />BUT the damage he has done cannot be set right without a full accounting.<br /><br />Rep. John Conyers, Jr., said it well:<blockquote><i>"I understand that many feel we should just move on. They worry that addressing these actions by the Bush administration will divert precious energy from the serious challenges facing our nation. I understand the power of that impulse. Indeed, I want to move on as well -- there are so many things that I would rather work on than further review of Bush's presidency. But in my view it would not be responsible to start our journey forward without first knowing exactly where we are. <br /><br />"We cannot rebuild the appropriate balance between the branches of government without fully understanding how that relationship has been distorted. Likewise, we cannot set an appropriate baseline for future presidential conduct without documenting and correcting the presidential excesses that have just occurred."</i><br />[<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011503152.html">Why We Have to Look Back</a>, WaPo, 16 Jan 2009]</blockquote>One of my correspondents just sent me an email stating that he'd just sent a note to his Representative & Senators urging them to support Rep. Conyers's initiative.<br /><br />I recall a perhaps apocryphal FDR anecdote:<blockquote><i>FDR was, of course, a consummate political leader. In one situation, a group came to him urging specific actions in support of a cause in which they deeply believed. He replied: I agree with you, I want to do it, <b>now make me do it</b>.</i><br />[<a href="http://www.feri.org/common/news/details.cfm?QID=954&clientid=11005">Franklin Delano Roosevelt: A Man of the Century</a>, an address by William J. vanden Heuvel to the Monthly Meeting of The Century Association, 4 Apr 2002; <b>emphasis</b> added]</blockquote>President Obama has indicated a reluctance to drag the nation through what would almost certainly be an ugly investigation. <br />Perhaps if he believed he had been forced to do it - forced by us, his constituents - he would be less reluctant.<br /><br />Largely plagiarized from my correspondent's email, here's the letter I just sent Rep. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Tom Udall, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman:<blockquote>I fully agree with Rep. John Conyers's call for a full and complete investigation of Bush Administration misconduct ("Why We Have to Look Back", John Conyers Jr., Washington Post, 16 Jan 2009; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011503152.html).<br /> <br />We cannot just forget about it & move forward. We cannot just say mistakes were made. Recall George Santayana's quote, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." No one should be above the law. Especially the President of the United States and his administration. <br /> <br />Please initiate or support a full investigation of President Bush's actions as recommended by Rep. Conyers.<br />And please urge President Obama to allow the Department of Justice to pursue this investigation wherever it may lead.<br /> <br />Thank you.</blockquote>For those of you in NM1, here's contact info:<blockquote>Senator Jeff Bingaman<br />703 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING <br />WASHINGTON DC 20510 <br />(202) 224-5521 <br />E-mail: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov <br /><br />Senator Tom Udall<br />B40D DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING <br />WASHINGTON DC 20510 <br />(202) 224-6621 <br /><br />Congressman Martin Heinrich<br />1505 Longworth HOB <br />Washington, DC 20515 <br />(202) 225-6316<br />[email contact form at: https://forms.house.gov/heinrich/contact-form.shtml]</blockquote>Have a nice day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-51036129610310157522009-01-16T19:37:00.000-08:002009-01-16T19:40:49.252-08:00MLK Day plans: doing my partI've been informed that Monday is MLK Day.<br />I'll commemorate it as W's LAST DAY - time to clean house.<br /><br />Though it's not a particularly public-spirited gesture, I think I'll take the "clean house" bit literally, and clean the house.<br />The symbolism is worth it.<br /><br />Have a nice day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-43300023012109518012009-01-16T01:25:00.000-08:002009-01-16T01:28:38.435-08:00On second thought...... I may ask for Treasury to take over some "troubled assets".<br /><br />Contest: can any of my readers suggest a multi-word, multi-syllabic, financial-instrument-sounding name for a PowerBall ticket? Using Enron-esque accounting I can value it at $20Mn - which value I honestly believe to be "impaired". If Treasury could take it off my hands at 10% of valuation, I'd be really happy.<br /><br />Sing a song.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-11734233212923235892009-01-16T00:43:00.001-08:002009-01-16T00:55:11.181-08:00Just for fun...... I hit the U.S. Treasury's TARP website today, hoping to find some way to apply for TARP funds... without being indicted for fraud.<br /><br />It's not clear that this is possible - all the posted deadlines have passed.<br />Maybe with the new funds (the next $350Bn) now available there'll be a window of opportunity. I'll visit Treasury again after the Inauguration.<br /><br />My plan is simple: represent my current situation honestly. Use my SSN whenever magic ID numbers are sought. It'd be nice if I could come up with multi-syllabic, multi-word, bureaucratic-sounding synonym for "retired statistician & homeowner" as the name of my "privately held institution". <br />I'd be asking for direct infusion of $$$, not to unload "troubled assets".<br />I'd be more than happy to guarantee that funds would NOT be used to acquire other entities, to pay executive bonuses, or to fund extravagant weekend team-building exercises.<br /><br />Have a nice day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-51611396789322987372009-01-15T19:17:00.000-08:002009-01-15T19:20:18.477-08:00US Airways Flight 1549: Good newsNot only did 150 + 5 crew walk off the plane thanks to expert response of captain & crew, BUT...<br /><br />Nobody paid much attention to W's farewell address: all news focused on the 'miraculous' ditching of Flight 1549!<br /><br />(... AND: W did NOT appear on the scene with bullhorn!!!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-85126174631990582472009-01-15T17:23:00.000-08:002009-01-15T17:25:38.266-08:00W's farewell speechSorry - I didn't watch it.<br />Did he use complete sentences?<br /><br />Me? I'll be lunching with former colleague on Tues to celebrate, in his words, "the screen door hitting W’s ass on his way out."<br /><br />I'll wait till Obama is formally sworn in to celebrate - I'm still waiting for a surprise that may keep W around longer.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-51045963729174532822009-01-12T02:19:00.000-08:002009-01-12T02:51:45.382-08:00Our MBA President at work[As previously noted, I'm going to miss that header - might as well use it frequently while I still can!]<br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090112/ap_on_go_co/obama_economy">Quick tapping of unspent $350 billion in works</a><br />By ANDREW TAYLOR and PHILIP ELLIOTT, <br />Associated Press Writer<br />Sunday, Jan 11, 2009<br /><i>WASHINGTON – Senate Democratic leaders said a vote could come as early as this week on providing a second $350 billion for the financial industry, after assurances Sunday by President-elect Barack Obama and one of his top economic advisers that the money would be better monitored and spent.</i><br /><br />Confession: My first read of this was that <b>W</b> was asking for the cash to spend in his final week in office.<br /><br />... BUT- "Our MBA President at work" is still an okay header.<br />On Friday, 9 Jan 2009, the Congressional Oversight Panel published its <a href="http://cop.senate.gov/documents/cop-010909-report.pdf">second report on TARP</a>.<br />The conclusions?<br />Shortened, paraphrased: Paulson's Treasury hasn't a clue!<br /><br />A <a href="http://alqaedanabq.blogspot.com/2008/11/this-sounds-very-familiar.html">previous post</a> noted Paulson's take on the situation:<blockquote><i>"There is no playbook for responding to turmoil we have never faced," Paulson said in prepared remarks before the House Financial Services Committee.</i></blockquote>This same previous post took the liberty of suggesting to SecTreas Paulson just what his job ought to be:<blockquote>SecTreas Paulson, not that it's my place to tell you your job, but: isn't it a reasonable expectation that your top priority over the past 2 months ought to have been drafting a playbook??? <br />This calls to mind a time-worn biz adage: "If there’s no time to do it right the first time, when will you find the time to do things over?"</blockquote>So far I've seen no evidence that he's taken my advice!<br /><br />Meanwhile, my email inbox features this purportedly true account:<blockquote><i><b>The Mustang Ranch and $750 billion bail-out.</b><br /><br />Back in 1990, the Government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it.<br /><br />They failed and it closed. Now, we are trusting the economy of our country and 850+ Billion Dollars to a pack of nit-wits who couldn't make money running a whorehouse and selling booze. Now if that don't make you nervous, what does???</i></blockquote>Note: this was under Bush 41 - like father, like son. <br />[FYI: previous post noted that W has presided over worst economic fiasco in modern U.S. history. The linked article notes that income growth showed similar stagnation only under Bush 41!... if anyone's interested, I've got nice Excel graphs that confirm this contention!]<br /><br />Meanwhile, David Brooks insists that there's no evidence supporting a belief that fiscal stimulus works - pretty much ignoring the New Deal & JFK's response to 1960 recession.<blockquote><i>"The Keynesian policies enacted under the Kennedy administration in the early 1960s had all the hallmarks of a successful economic experiment."</i><br />[<a href="http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=15083874">Great Experiments in American Economic Policy: From Kennedy to Reagan</a>]</blockquote>In Brooks's world, the only reason we're talking fiscal policy is because we've run out of monetary policy options.<br /><br />It's true that we've run out of monetary policy options - but that doesn't erase at least two very real examples of Keynesian fiscal policy success!<br /><br />Have a nice day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-42964392707289083922009-01-12T02:04:00.001-08:002009-01-12T02:09:58.969-08:00Our MBA President at workI'm going to miss being able to use that header!... Meanwhile:<blockquote><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102301.html">Economy Made Few Gains in Bush Years</a><br /><b>Eight-Year Period Is Weakest in Decades</b><br />By Neil Irwin and Dan Eggen<br />Washington Post Staff Writers <br />Monday, January 12, 2009<br /><i>President Bush has presided over the weakest eight-year span for the U.S. economy in decades, according to an analysis of key data, and economists across the ideological spectrum increasingly view his two terms as a time of little progress on the nation's thorniest fiscal challenges.</i></blockquote>Who'd a thunk?<br /><br />Thankfully, this long national nightmare is ending soon.<br />[See Countdown Clock to the left!]Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-36740137726667160872009-01-11T22:39:00.000-08:002009-01-11T23:10:49.886-08:00Galileo, reduxIn the latter half of the 20th century, historians of science questioned whether, in fact, Galileo had carried out the experiments he cited as evidence for his theories of falling bodies.<br />This perhaps healthy skepticism was put to rest with the discovery of "a manuscript page obviously containing experimentat data."<br /><br />Galileo's own description suggests that he used both his pulse and a clepsydra (water-clock) to measure time:<blockquote><i>"... We repeated this experiment more than once in order to measure the time with an accuracy such that the deviation between two observations never exceeded one-tenth of a pulse-beat...<br />...<br />"For the measurement of time, we employed a large vessel of water placed in an elevated position; to the bottom of this vessel was soldered a pipe of small diameter giving a thin jet of water which we collected in a small glass during the dime of each descent, wheter for the whole length of the channel or for part of its length; the water thus collected was weighed, after each descent, on a very accurate balance; the differences and ratios of these weights gave us the differences and ratios of the times, and this with such accuracy that although the operation was repeated many, many times, there was no appreciable discrepancy in the results."</i></blockquote>That seems to settle the matter: Galileo used a water-clock.<br /><br />But wait! Modern attempts to replicate Galileo's results have been unsuccessful - the accuracy he asserts cannot be replicated. Now - it could be that the moderns are less adept at experiment than was Galileo. This is not altogether improbable - as noted previously, Galileo is the experimental physicist <i>par excellence</i>.<br />[For what it's worth: Galileo mentions repeating his experiments "a full hundred times". If he averaged the results of these hundred trials, his asserted accuracy could easily have been attained. Indeed - as a professional statistician, I rather like this explanation. Galileo himself, however, makes no mention of averaging, and seems to suggest that each individual reading met his standard for reliabilty/accuracy.]<br /><br />Nevertheless, a second, plausible method for determining the <i>inverses</i> of the required time ratios has been proposed (... by these same moderns who failed to reproduce Galileo's water-clock accuracy!). That is, a method whereby only distances need be measured directly, the time intervals being held constant.<br /><br />I happen to find the alternative plausible.<br /><br />Think: train on track, or car on segmented pavement - click-clack, click-clack... if traveling at constant velocity, the click-clack providing a constant beat.<br /><br />Suppose that moveable 'frets' could be introduced into Galileo's inclined plane - such frets sufficiently small as to not significantly impede the descent of the marble... say, thin threads strung across the track. By adjusting these frets so that, to the human ear, the resulting click-clacks were equally spaced in time, Galileo could easily measure the distances between successive click/clacks to arrive at his laws of falling bodies - essentially holding time constant.<br /><br />The moderns used this technique to achieve Galileo's stated accuracy. They further note that Galileo, coming from a family of musicians, "may have used rhythms in order to measure very short time intervals."<br /><br />For a much fuller discussion (with photos, footnotes, and all that jazz), see <a href="http://www.ihpst2005.leeds.ac.uk/papers/Riess_Heering_Nawrath.pdf">Reconstructing Galileo’s Inclined Plane Experiments for<br />Teaching Purposes</a>.<br /><br />Me - I like the rhythm method!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-20777157065219185772009-01-09T02:34:00.000-08:002009-01-09T03:17:11.051-08:00Galileo's telescope: an anniversaryGalileo did not invent the telescope.<br />Rather, he realized the telescope's potential for astronomy.<br /><br />In his own words:<blockquote><i>About ten months ago a report reached my ears that a certain Fleming had constructed a spyglass by means of which visible objects, though very distant from the eye of the observer, were distinctly seen as if nearby... A few days later the report was confirmed to me in a letter from a noble Frenchman at Paris, Jacques Badovere, which caused me to apply myself wholeheartedly to inquire into the means by which I might arrive at the invention of a similar instrument. This I did shortly afterwards, my basis being the theory of refraction...<br />...<br />It would be superfluous to enumerate the number and importance of the advantages of such an instrument at sea as well as on land. But forsaking terrestrial observations, I turned to celestial ones...</i><br />["The Starry Messenger" (1610), <i><b>Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo</b>, Translated with and Introduction and Notes by Stillman Drake</i>]</blockquote>Galileo discovered the moon to be mountainous and cratered; Venus to have phases, like the moon; and Jupiter to have moons, in a system neatly analogous to the Copernican universe. <br />Galileo is a delightful read (via English translation... I lack the capacity to read him in his original Italian.)<br /><br />Why Galileo just now?<br /><br />This was suggested by a loyal reader (see <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=821396847270612351&postID=8787604753132402736">comments</a> below). <br /><br />"The Starry Messenger" was published in 1610. In it, Galileo states that he learned of "a Fleming's" invention of the telescope <i>"about ten months ago"</i>. <br />It is likely that Galileo constructed his telescope, based <i>on the theory of refraction</i>, in 1609.<br /><br />2009, then, is the 400th anniversary of Galileo's "discovery" of the telescope - and the revolution in astronomy which followed.<br /><br />A digression.<br />Galileo represents the experimental physicist <i>par excellence</i>. In addition to his telescopic observations of the heavens, Galileo also discovered, empirically, the basic laws of motion.<br />By rolling marbles down inclined planes, timing & measuring the descent, Galileo <i>discovered</i> the relationship between time, distance, velocity, and acceleration later implied by Newton's Laws.<br /><br />Note: <i><b>Time</b></i> is a dimension that Galileo considered.<br />Just how did he measure time?<br />Recall - Galileo is perhaps most famous for noticing that a pendulum's cycle defines a more-or-less constant unit of time.<br />For calculus freaks: pendulum clocks work because<blockquote>limit[t -> 0] sin(t)/t = 1.</blockquote><br />Okay - back to the question:<br />Given his lack of a clock, how did Galileo measure time?<br />[I know the answer... or, more correctly, I know a plausible answer - not necessarily the true answer.]<br /><br />... my original intent was to keep writing - to reveal Galileo's secret for measuring time without a clock...<br /><br />But then I thought better of it. <br />Best to leave this puzzle for my loyal readers.<br />Please - if you've an idea, post a comment!<br /><br />I'll reveal Galileo's secret (or at least, as previously stated, a plausible version of Galileo's secret) in a later post... <br /><br />Sing a song!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-78040697428733854082009-01-05T20:51:00.000-08:002009-01-05T20:54:47.417-08:00I lied... again... sort of...<br /><br />look for 2-3 more posts on AQA, then for a new blog.<br /><br />AQA is still retiring, for reasons previously cited... BUT i'll still be writing - just on a new, yet-to-be-named blog.<br /><br />meanwhile: W's wonderful year-old peace initiative in the MidEast has certainly borne fruit: 10 days of carnage in Gaza!!! Way to go, W!!! (... and he & his minions are still calling for a "permanent" solution as precondition for cease-fire - just like in Lebanon a couple of years ago!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-87876047531324027362008-12-31T21:18:00.000-08:002008-12-31T21:20:21.756-08:00Bye!Happy New Year!<br /><br />Unless something very strange happens, AQA is retiring.<br /><br />W shows no signs of sticking around - I'm happy to give him & his minions a couple of weeks of respite from my brilliantly scathing commentary.<br /><br />Thanks to all!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-19060622594252699422008-12-20T00:09:00.000-08:002008-12-20T00:16:01.535-08:00Channeling Tom Lehrer<blockquote><i>"Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize."</i><br />[Tom Lehrer]</blockquote>That pretty much sums up my response to most recent headlines.<br /><br />Self-parody quickly puts parodists out of work.<br />What can one say in response to headlines like these?<blockquote><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081220/ap_on_go_pr_wh/meltdown_autos">Bush orders emergency bailout of the auto industry</a><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081220/ap_on_bi_ge/madoff_scandal">Judge toughens Madoff's home detention rules</a><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081220/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq">Iraqi judge orders Baath party plot suspects freed</a><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081219/ap_on_re_us/palin_johnston_arrest">Mother of Palin daughter's boyfriend arrested</a></blockquote>The news is absurd absent my commentary.<br /><br />Stop the madness!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-4678542955996370312008-12-17T23:40:00.000-08:002008-12-17T23:57:11.866-08:00"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."I don't know why, but that line from the 1980 movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/">Airplane!</a> somehow seems to fit.<blockquote>Oil dropping below $40/bbl.<br /><br />Price of everything dropping - more rapidly than anytime since 1933 ("... it was a very good year").<br /><br />Chrysler & Ford to idle U.S. plants. (GM still hasn't a clue.)<br /><br />W attacked by shoe-flinging journalist in Iraq. <br /><br />Madoff admits running a <b>$50Bn</b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme">Ponzi scheme</a>, in which, apparently, half the capitalist world invested.<br /><br />W is musing publicly about <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081218/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_popularity">his soul</a>.</blockquote>I'm left speechless, capable only of quoting a tasteless comedy gem:<blockquote><i><b>"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!</b></i></blockquote>Have a nice day.<br /><br />p.s. ... and hell froze over:<blockquote><a href="http://www.wsbtv.com/weather/18305389/detail.html">Against The Odds, Snow Dumps On Las Vegas</a><br />7,000 Without Power In Vegas Area<br />Thursday, December 18, 2008 LAS VEGAS<br /><b>What's happening in Las Vegas is staying in Las Vegas: snow.</b></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-59053206809337657162008-12-16T19:36:00.000-08:002008-12-16T19:51:50.466-08:00Don't let 'em do it!A few folks on cable news/commentary have been noting that there's an official "Bush Legacy" project, led by Rove, aimed rehabilitating W's reputation. [See, e.g., <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3628402/Karl-Rove-launches-Bush-legacy-project-with-Iraq-war-claim.html">Karl Rove launches 'Bush legacy project' with Iraq war claim</a>.]<br /><br />Exit interviews with the players have been fun.<blockquote><i><b>Bush</b>: "... One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take ..."<br /><br /></i>[ABC News' Martha]<i> <b>RADDATZ</b>: But not until after the U.S. invaded.<br /><br /><b>BUSH</b>: Yeah, that's right. So what?</i></blockquote>Rove suggesting that without the WMD intel, we wouldn't have invaded...<br /><br />Then Cheney, today, saying we would've invaded even without the WMD intel, 'cuz Saddam still had the <i>capability</i> to produce WMD. [Short of executing every Ph.D. scientist & incinerating every chemical in the country, it's difficult to see what Saddam could have done to completely remove the "capability" to make WMD!]<br /><br />But... this is not the point of this post!<br />The point is:<blockquote><b><i>Don't let 'em do it!</i></b></blockquote>Matt Ygelsias puts it well:<blockquote><i>The harsh reality is that this</i> [Iraq fiasco]<i> was not a noble undertaking done for good reasons. It was a criminal enterprise launched by madmen cheered on by a chorus of fools and cowards. And it’s seen as such by virtually everyone all around the world — including but by no means limited to the Arab world. But it’s impolitic to point this out in the United States, and it’s clear that even a president-elect who had the wisdom not to be suckered in by the War Fever of 2002 has no intention of really acting to marginalize the bad actors. Which, I think, makes sense for his political objectives. But if Americans want to play a constructive role in world affairs, it’s vitally important for us to get in touch with the reality of what the past eight years of US foreign policy have been and how they’re seen and understood by people who aren’t stirred by the shibboleths of American patriotism.</i><br />[<a href="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/12/an_empire_of_sentimentality.php">An Empire of Sentimentality</a>]</blockquote><br /><br />Stop the madness!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-73286848014896031282008-12-16T15:23:00.000-08:002008-12-16T15:26:23.032-08:00I'm pretty sure zero (0) is a lower bound<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_interest_rates">Fed cuts target for key rate to record low</a><br />AP, 16 Dec 2008<br /><i>WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve has cut its target for a key interest rate to the lowest level on record and pledged to use "all available tools" to combat a severe financial crisis and prolonged recession.<br /><br />The central bank on Tuesday said it had reduced the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, to a range of zero to 0.25 percent. That is down from the 1 percent target rate in effect since the last meeting in October. Many analysts had expected the Fed to make a smaller cut to 0.5 percent.</i><br /><br /><br /><i><b>0.25%</b></i>!<br /><br />I suppose it <i><b>is</b></i> possible to go negative - making borrowing money a money-making proposition!<br /><br />Have a nice day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-31661491363965317782008-12-15T14:58:00.000-08:002008-12-15T15:00:44.903-08:00They can't leave soon enough!<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/rice_un_4">Rice: Bush approach best to achieve Mideast peace</a><br /><br />For 35 more days we must tolerate these imbeciles!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-53766370207922185012008-12-15T14:54:00.000-08:002008-12-15T14:56:10.415-08:00Obama elected 44th U.S. President!<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_go_pr_wh/electoral_vote">It's official: Barack Obama elected 44th president</a><br />AP, 15 Dec 2008<br /><i>RICHMOND, Va. – Presidential electors have formally elected Barack Obama the nation's 44th president.</i><br /><br />Whew!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-8245417888119180122008-12-13T23:55:00.000-08:002008-12-15T14:57:17.180-08:00Management by-the-numbers: an eerily familiar ringPrevious post sent folks to <b>NYT</b> article, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/world/middleeast/14reconstruct.html">Report Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders</a>.<br /><br />Of the many... uh, questionable practices highligted in this article is the following:<blockquote><i>"... In one passage, for example, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is quoted as saying that in the months after the 2003 invasion, the Defense Department “kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week! ‘We now have 80,000, we now have 100,000, we now have 120,000.’ ”</i></blockquote>This has a very familiar ring to it.<br /><br />Back in the day, I was an Enron junkie. Here's a lengthy quotation from Kurt Eichenwald's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Fools-Story-Kurt-Eichenwald/dp/0767911784">Conspiracy of Fools</a>:<blockquote><i>"... Enron projected earnings per share of $1.80 for 2001. But the real delight was 2002 - $2.25 a share. <b>Impressive</b>. But <b>how</b>? There was nothing explaining what Enron was planning to do to achieve such stellar results.<br /><br />During a negotiating session later that day, Tarpley decided to ask. He looked across the table at Dave Delainey.<br /><br />"Dave," Tarpley said, "I'd really like to get a copy of Enron's business plan for 2002."<br /><br />Couldn't happen Delainey said. "We don't have a business plan available," he said.<br /><br />How then, Tarpley asked, did Enron get its 2002 projections if it didn't know what it was planning to do?<br /><br />Delainey shrugged. <b>"We just increased the prior year's results by 25 percent," he said simply.</b></i></blockquote>Cool!<br /><br />Again, just exactly what are they teaching folks at the Harvard Business School?<br /><br />I think that body-counts are a ridiculous metric for success in war, but I've seen nothing to suggest that this metric was systematically falsified during the Viet Nam conflict (I could be wrong!).<br />... and the low numbers of "al Qaeda leaders killed" in both Iraq & Afghanistan suggest that body-counts of bad guys aren't being inflated in today's pointless wars.<br /><br />BUT - you have to have something to measure... or at least, some numbers to report. <br />And if you can't honestly measure what you claim, making up the numbers is as good a way as any to fabricate progress!<br /><br />More recent - unrelated - news reports a gigantic ($50Bn) Ponzi scheme engineered by brilliant Wall Street money-manager, Bernard Madoff.<br /><br />[aside: "Word of the day" - <i>desultory</i><blockquote><b><i>des·ul·to·ry</i></b><br />1. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected<br />[<a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/desultory">The Free Dictionary Online</a>]</blockquote>Yes - this is a desultory post!]<br /><br />All of which leads me to ask - Why not turn over management of Citi, GM, and the Pentagon to just regular folks?<br />Folks who have managed a household budget for 20+ years?<br />Folks who will ask silly questions like, "How?"?<br /><br />The "best & the brightest" don't seem to be doing such a great job.<br /><br />Stop the madness!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-79903179103628663132008-12-13T23:05:00.000-08:002008-12-13T23:16:53.820-08:00Where to start?<blockquote><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/world/middleeast/14reconstruct.html">Report Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders</a><br />By JAMES GLANZ and T. CHRISTIAN MILLER<br />Published: December 13, 2008 <br />NYT<br /><i>BAGHDAD — An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.</i></blockquote>The article is worth a read!<br /><br />Where to start?<br /><br />First, why "unpublished"?<br />These are OUR tax dollars at work. This is OUR Government!<br />Why aren't we allowed to read the report?<br /><br />Next... "Our MBA President" comes to mind.<br />What management geniuses are being turned out by Harvard Business School?<br /><br />This is so wrong on so many levels that it's difficult to know where to begin.<br /><br />In previous posts I've noted some of the high-profile rebuilding failures - Laura's state-of-the-art Children's Hospital in Basra comes to mind. <br /><a href="http://iraqforsale.org/">Others</a> have done a much more thorough job investigating the massive contractual failures.<br /><br />I don't envy President-elect Obama.<br /><br />It'll take <i><b>MY</b></i> country years - perhaps decades - to recover from the W virus. <br /><br />Can Iraq be put right?<blockquote><a href="http://www.smart-central.com/humpty_dumpty.htm">Humpty Dumpty</a><br /><i>Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;<br />Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. <br />All the King's horses <br />And all the King's men<br />Couldn't put Humpty together again!</i></blockquote>I doubt it.<br /><br />Stop the madness!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-46091267204616861252008-12-13T00:56:00.000-08:002008-12-13T01:02:03.624-08:00Loyal readers...Those of you still with me will have noticed that postings have been extremely infrequent.<br /><br />Two things:<br />thing1: I'm in a show - <i><b>Scrooge - the Musical</b></i>, with Musical Theatre Southwest. <br />Runs Dec 12 - 28 at the African-American Cultural Center - west side of the fairgrounds (San Pedro & Copper).<br />Info: <a href="http://www.musicaltheatresw.com/page15.html">here</a>.<br /><br />thing2: As predicted, with W leaving my outrage has been considerably diminished.<br />This blog was founded as a protest against W and his minions.<br />I've little to say that's unrelated to bashing W (... and his minions).<br /><br />Come 20 Jan 2009 I expect to have nothing to compel me to write.<br /><br />Have a nice day.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-45210094999158089792008-12-07T20:18:00.000-08:002008-12-07T20:21:19.062-08:00Dec 7<blockquote><a href="http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5166/">“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War</a><br /><b>President Franklin D. Roosevelt</b>: <i>Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.<br /><br />The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack. <br /><br />It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.<br /><br />The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.<br /><br />Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya. <br /><br />Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.<br /><br />Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.<br /><br />Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.<br /><br />Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.<br /><br />And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.<br /><br />Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.<br /><br />As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .</i></blockquote>(note: I probably wouldn't have remembered this anniversary if it weren't for TV today!)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-821396847270612351.post-39949901632496959542008-12-05T12:43:00.000-08:002008-12-05T12:47:40.991-08:00self-delusion (mine): yes, W reads AQA!A day or two ago I noted that words do matter, at least when they reflect a diagnosis, and that W's refusal to call the current economic mess a recession could have policy implications.<br /><br />Well... yesterday, WH Press Secy Perino finally used the "R" word.<br />... and today, W himself did!<blockquote><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/05/Bush_Jobless_rate_shows_US_in_recession/UPI-74941228498487/">Bush: Jobless rate shows U.S. in recession</a><br /><i>WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. jobless rate shows the country is in a recession resulting from poor housing and the troubled financial markets, President George Bush said Friday.</i></blockquote>Sitemeter reflects no activity from anything that looks like a WH server, but who knows? Maybe AQA is W's first read in the morning!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02440633362961743573noreply@blogger.com2