Pushing Back the Frontiers of Ignorance

The foundation for this midsummer yarn is simple. Hancock is a man with super powers, including flight, strength, invulnerability, and speed. He's also a bum who drinks often, and though he saves people, he his hated by the general public for being reckless and destructive in the process. In return, he's a bitter man who continues to escalate this collateral damage he creates.
A PR rep whose life he saves takes him on as a challenge, to make a real hero out of Hancock. So Hancock goes to prison and is taken back out, as the LAPD needs his help.

Up to this point in the film, I was with it and loving it. Past this, there are quite a few twists in a rapidly accelerating plot, that for spoiler purposes I will avoid discussing.

From a film creation point of view, it's remarkable they were able to take such an invulnerable character and credibly make him both human and vulnerable. That they were even able to add in a threat to his life that didn't involve Kryptonite is even better.

For what this is, a popcorn movie that's going to kill the box office, it excels. Witty, sharp, action packed and with a plot from the pages of the comic books, Hancock is a good movie.
Good for 12 year old? No, and it's not oriented that way. Simply put, this is chock full of language, but not much else is objectionable. So 15+ crowd is the target.

I liked it, I was entertained and I feel like i got my monies worth.
Will I buy the DVD? Not likely.

Don't have time for a full post, but there's a fascinating gun control battle going down in atlanta today.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/business/stories/2008/06/30/airport_gun_showdown.html

"Gasoline nears $4 a gallon, and congress doesn't have an energy plan except 'turn on these light bulbs'. I yearn for the day when Americans took care of Americans by developing our natural resources...but those days have gone the way of Edison's incandescent light bulbs. We might as well turn out the lights, the parties over."

In case this has slipped under your radar, the new energy bill requires the use of Florescent light bulbs rather then incandescent bulbs by 2010, for enviromental reasons. The tyranny and hypocrisy of such measures is astounding.

I went into this movie with fear and trepidation. Fear, because I was forking over 36 minutes of my time to pay for this film, plus popcorn money. Trepidation, because this movie had all the signs of having all the funny parts in the trailer.

My concerns were unwarranted.

Get Smart is a funny, adventurous, well scripted, scored and acted affair, and it carries itself well despite a shaky plot. Having never seen the TV show, I can't compare the two. It's a series of jokes strung together well enough that you forget it's a series of jokes, and thats all we can ask from an action comedy.

It's clean as a skinned potato on the language front, and with very little objectionable content anywhere else. It's consistently humorous in an intelligent fashion, and enjoyable despite some pretty snarky political shots, although those went both ways.
I probably won't pay to see this again in theaters, but I wouldn't be surprised if my family wound up with it on DVD.



Not that this is become a movie review site, I just haven't found a lot of news that interests me at this time, and subsequently no posts on news I don't care about. Thanks for sticking around folks.

I journeyed to a midnight showing last night for Wall-E with a group of fellow youth, and after some film mishaps with melting celuloid, we watched the movie.

It starts slow and never picks up. While Pixar has done a marvelous job creating a sense of wonder and fallen majesty with the earth, it is seldom engaging.
Essentially, a large corporation has over run earth and made dump of it, and sent humanity away while they clean it up. What isn't clear is the incentive for the earth to be a dump, nor for the company to clean up.
So after 700 years, one lone robot remains, and cheerfully cleans earth. His name is Wall-E, and his friend is a cockroach. Only Pixar could manage to make us sympathize with a cockroach, but they do.
After a while, a different robot, Eve, is dropped on earth and scans for life. Wall-E and eve fall in love. After various exciting times, they deliver a plant to the mother ship, and the computer fights returning to earth.

As a kids movie, I imagine it will succede. It's clever, well animated, and cleaner then a bottle of bleach. I somewhat enjoyed it, but I'm not paying to watch it again.
Nemo, Incredibles, Monster's Inc and Toy Story are far better products.

This is a listing of the effect of illegal immigration on the healthcare services. You don't have to watch the video, but just leave it playing while you go do something else on line.

One Guatemalean has cost almost $250,000, One mexican citizen has cost $1,500,000, and their largest problem is ongoing treatment, such as dialysis.

...and government intervention in the market will once again rear its ugly head.

AP: "The mortgage aid plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.

In 83-9 vote puts the plan on track for Senate passage as early as Wednesday, but President Bush is threatening a veto, and Democrats are fighting each other over key details. Those challenges will probably delay any final deal until mid-July."



Democrats, you procede down the path of Marxism.
Republicans, I will not forget this. I can't work up my ire today, the world is to great a place for that. But this will come back to haunt us.

And with exciting stuff like this happening around us in america, who really has cause to complain about the economy? Heck, we have cheap food, low cost energy, the internet, we're surrounded by items that would astound even those of a hundred years ago, freedom to speak and worship as we please, and right to a trial by our peers.

I was going to take this post and tell ya'll how wonderful the city of New York is, and that the statue of liberty is pretty big, and that the Incredible Hulk is actually an incredible movie.
But circumstances dictate that I post differently.

The fuel crisis in our country, and really the world is one caused by rapidly rising demand, lack of refining capacity, and only limited growth in oil production.
I don't think it matters a dime where we buy our oil from. It's a global commodity that will be bought, so it doesn't matter where it comes from. So 'buying from Iran' doesn't concern me, nor should it. In reality, we get the majority of our petroleum from North America, be it the US, Canada or Mexico.

But, the solution to this problem is not restricting growth, but rather opening new refineries and expanding drilling to the greatest extent possible. ANWR is there, but it's impact would be minimized by the sheer volume of oil consumed in the US each day, and the limited capacity that can be kicked out of the frozen north.
The real oil is in the Outer Continental Shelf, which is past the 5 mile state water control and up to 200 miles from the coast. Over 75bbl of economically recoverable oil, compared to the 12bbl in ANWR.
So we drill. McCain's nuclear power plant idea is wonderful, but will have limited impact on fuel prices in the next 5 years.

What really has me steamed is the House Democrats response, which is so blatantly in line with Carl Marx, it's astonishing that they sally forth from their leftist lairs and herald it as a solution.
"We (the government) should own the refineries. Then we can control how much gets out into the market." - Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), member of the House Appropriations Committee

Because the government runs things far more efficiently then the market.
Because those refineries don't belong to the people, they belong to the government.
Because monolithic mercantile monopolies benefit everyone.
Because building new ones is just not an option.
Because this is 'in the interest of the American people, not major corporations.'

Sorry, but as Calvin Coolidge said, 'The Business of America is Business.' When the government starts taking shots at companies, private enterprises fulfilling a valuable role in the market and peoples lives, we need to be worried. Very worried.
Despite the powerful and lingering reminder of the Soviet Union and the Bolshevik revolution, and the millions of dead Russians lying without gravestones, the communist ideals still march on. I don't think this will actually happen this year, or even this decade, but the idea that an elected official would voice opinions such as these is truly disturbing.

(Reposted to mainatin top spot over The Incredible Hulk review

I went into this movie with trepidation, because the first Hulk movie directed by Ang Lee in 2003 was atrocious. After being blown away with the marvelous Ironman, I was expecting mediocrity or even worse, boredom from The Incredible Hulk.

What we have is something entirely different, a blazing locomotive of comic book dialog, plot, and most importantly fierce action.
Where Spiderman was a mostly introspective look at a young man growing up, Incredible Hulk is a man dealing with the beast within, and the world having to deal with him as well.

If you're not familiar with the basic story, here it is:
Dr. Bruce Banner is transformed into a raging monster, aka The Incredible Hulk, by a bad science experiment. When he's angry or his heart rate goes up, he transforms into this monster, who is somewhat animistic in thought processes. One of the few people who can calm him is Dr. Betty, a fellow researcher whom he loves. The world fears him, and generally tries to capture or destroy him. As a man, Dr. Banner is a brilliant scientist, respected by those who don't know his inside. As a beast, the Hulk is a force of nature, well nigh invincible.

The Hulk character has always walked a fine line, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on a gargantuan scale. From a development standpoint, making Bruce Banner a likable hero is difficult, as his Hulk form is quite destructive.
In this movie, they struck the right balance. The Hulk scenes were brutal and intense, and the rest of the movie was peppered with the necessary introspection that was hit and miss.
Will I see it again? Definetly.
Buy the DVD? I think I will.

Thoughts from the convention:

This is big. About 5500 delegates and more miscellaneous people scattered about the seemingly endless teeming mass of humanity gathered together to celebrate the uniquely American past time of politics and peaceful conventions.

So after some heavy handed tactics by the chairman of the convention, whom a colleague of mine has likened to a ‘Castro style handling of the issues’, and more caucuses to decide upon who can actually vote tomorrow, the day is finished. My friends and I are now heading out for dinner, and we’re coming back for a Ron Paul ice cream function.

Ice Cream Social:

Big, it seems as if a third of the convention is present. Terrible music is emanating from the back wall of the Great Ballroom of the Houston Hilton. It seems remarkably similar to what we mock on early episodes of American idol, yet continues to bore into my auditory systems with reckless abandon. The ice cream itself is spectacular, with Blue Bell as the base and a bazillion toppings to adorn it.

As of now, Ron Paul himself is strangely absent, but my sources indicate it’s possible he will suspend his presidential campaign tonight. Maybe that is why heavy servings of alcohol are present, to drown the potential sorrows of the moribund Paulites.

Ah-ha! The music has changed to somewhat good guitar country, and there was much rejoicing.

Being a page at these conventions has pros and cons. Being involved with such a process is a blessing, and seeing the machine of politics painfully turn its cogs is in fact inspiring. But long periods of boredom, filled with an abject sense of powerlessness to alter the situation do begin to wear on the mind. That’s where card games with fellow pages come in handy, which we spent a good 3 hours all told today playing.

Oh, music changed. It’s an old folksy singer wailing about voting Ron Paul. Not inspiration, but it’s got a nice tune. A bell just rang through the air, presumably the liberty bell, announcing the presence of another Ron Paul promoter. And again.

Judging from the response in this room, the majority of these supporters are on a more radical anti-war crusade then a domestic crusade.

Here stands the man himself, and the crowd is deafening. Ron Paul chants are taken up across the room; this man is literally a hero and living legend to many. Incredible. Now he mentions Texas, and the room explodes with sonic shockwaves quite literally shaking trays nearby.

Apparently, there are 22,000 new precinct chairs in the country, and Ron Paul is glad. He’s also emphasizing the movement factor of this campaign, and its grass roots strength, rather then as a presidential campaign. Crowd likes it.

So apparently there’s another candidate who talks about change. But Ron Paul talks about real change. I agree.

Paraphrase of statement: ‘I am absolutely convinced that we do not have to give up personal liberties to establish our security.’ Eh? What have I given up?

Bridges are falling down? What the heck? Are we still railing about nutzy bridge collapses in Minnesota? *grumble about red herrings*

Strange announcement from Ron, he’s apparently hosing a parallel event in Minneapolis, and all the delegates are coming. Is this the formation of a new party?? The platform shall be the constitution, as he just stated. The Campaign for Liberty shall be its name.

He does bring up a good point. Movements start small and hungry, as this one is. In the words of Orson Scott Card, ‘Most people want to be left alone, that is why history can be affected by astonishingly small numbers of people.’

Ahhh… I will swear upon a bible that he’s been babbling for the past 12 minutes.

He’s done now… this is the strangest thing. He essentially just left his constituents without guidance, which I guess is how this entire campaign has been run. I don’t know what lasting developments will come from this, but it was an interesting experience.

Did I mention I love this stuff?

I'm heading out this morning for Houston, the steamy, smoking, starbucks infused city located in the center of the blazing texas sun, which is incidentally hosting the 2008 Texas Republican Convention.

I'm working as a page on the floor, and back in '04 officials told us texas' convention is larger then the national one.

So ha. Texas is big. :D


I may or may not post while I'm there, it is likely that I will do at least one post however. But if it comes down to a post or an Astros game, I'm taking the greatest game ever played without hesitation.

The Crypt: "With little chance of winning passage of a sweeping 500-page global warming bill, the Senate Democratic leadership is planning to yank the legislation after failing to achieve the 60 vote threshold needed to move the bill to the next stage.

After a 48-36 vote on the climate change bill, the Senate is likely to move on to a separate energy debate next week. The legislation collapsed for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was the poor timing of debating a bill predicted to increase energy costs while much of the country is focused on $4 a gallon gas.

On top of that, a number of industrial state Democrats like Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio were uncomfortable with the strong emissions caps that would have created a new regime of regulations for coal, auto and other manufacturing industries. Republicans, for the most part, held firm against a bill they said would cost billions in regulations while pushing the cost of gas higher.
...
"The message is clear: the majority can’t abandon this bill fast enough," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "On the one hand, the majority says climate change is the most important issue facing the planet. Yet they’ve rushed the debate on that topic and brought the bill to a premature end. They brought it down before we could vote on gas prices, on clean energy technology, or on protecting American jobs."

Sanity yet remains in the halls and chambers of our elected government, and it has been some time since I was reminded of that fact.
This screwball envirofascist legislation was denied, and I applaud Bush for stating well in advance that he would veto this if it passed. Good to see some real spine in the republican party, and a heart yet beats in the House of Representatives.
It's also nice to see the far left go nuts as their side backs away from 'the most important issue facing the planet' EDIT: I can't find a peep on the Huffington Post or the Daily kos on this...

BBC: "US Navy ships are due to leave Burma's coastline because of the continued refusal of the government to allow them to help victims of Cyclone Nargis.

The navy said it would withdraw the four ships, carrying helicopters and landing craft, after 15 failed attempts to convince the regime to let them in.

French and British navy ships have also been withdrawn after being refused permission to operate.

Cyclone Nargis left more than 133,000 people dead or missing."


Such undeniable evil, and such a love for humanity.
This is why America is important to the world, we are willing to fight and bleed and die for nations and then when nations can't take care of themselves, we're ready to help them recover. Yet the arrogance and hubris of a junta has denied this.

Not much to be done, but keep the people in prayer.

AP:"This is not a decision I come to lightly ... and it is one I make with some sadness," Obama said at a news conference after campaign officials released a letter of resignation he sent to the church on Friday.

"I'm not denouncing the church and I'm not interested in people who want me to denounce the church," he said, adding that the new pastor at Trinity and "the church have been suffering from the attention my campaign has focused on them."

The one redeeming quality Obama still commanded, at least in my mind, was his steadfast loyalty in the face of withering political pressure. He stuck to his guns and defended his friends, even if they were radical nuts.
Now? Barak quits and leaves his friends behind, and goes one giant step farther into the political morass of presidential politics he claims to want to change.
What a wiener.

The Cult of Christ, run by Matthew the Dyspraxic Fundamentalist has done a pretty sweet run down of different christians.
Yes, it's stereotypes. But I think they're pretty sharp and an accurate portrayl of how the grace of God runs through all people.

The Gospel Incarnated in Subcultural Form
Christian Hippie
Christian Skinhead
Christian Punk
Christian Biker
Christian Republican Voter

Scary stuff.
Cut missle research?
Take millions from combat systems?
Negotiate with Russia on nukes?

"Look around. The world's tallest building is in Taipei, and will soon be in Dubai. Its largest publicly traded company is in Beijing. Its biggest refinery is being constructed in India. Its largest passenger airplane is built in Europe. The largest investment fund on the planet is in Abu Dhabi; the biggest movie industry is Bollywood, not Hollywood. Once quintessentially American icons have been usurped by the natives. The largest Ferris wheel is in Singapore. The largest casino is in Macao, which overtook Las Vegas in gambling revenues last year. America no longer dominates even its favorite sport, shopping. The Mall of America in Minnesota once boasted that it was the largest shopping mall in the world. Today it wouldn't make the top ten. In the most recent rankings, only two of the world's ten richest people are American. These lists are arbitrary and a bit silly, but consider that only ten years ago, the United States would have serenely topped almost every one of these categories.
...
We are living through the third great power shift in modern history. The first was the rise of the Western world, around the 15th century. It produced the world as we know it now—science and technology, commerce and capitalism, the industrial and agricultural revolutions. It also led to the prolonged political dominance of the nations of the Western world. The second shift, which took place in the closing years of the 19th century, was the rise of the United States. Once it industrialized, it soon became the most powerful nation in the world, stronger than any likely combination of other nations. For the last 20 years, America's superpower status in every realm has been largely unchallenged—something that's never happened before in history, at least since the Roman Empire dominated the known world 2,000 years ago. During this Pax Americana, the global economy has accelerated dramatically. And that expansion is the driver behind the third great power shift of the modern age—the rise of the rest.
...

Americans—particularly the American government—have not really understood the rise of the rest. This is one of the most thrilling stories in history. Billions of people are escaping from abject poverty. The world will be enriched and ennobled as they become consumers, producers, inventors, thinkers, dreamers, and doers. This is all happening because of American ideas and actions. For 60 years, the United States has pushed countries to open their markets, free up their politics, and embrace trade and technology. American diplomats, businessmen, and intellectuals have urged people in distant lands to be unafraid of change, to join the advanced world, to learn the secrets of our success. Yet just as they are beginning to do so, we are losing faith in such ideas. We have become suspicious of trade, openness, immigration, and investment because now it's not Americans going abroad but foreigners coming to America. Just as the world is opening up, we are closing down.

Generations from now, when historians write about these times, they might note that by the turn of the 21st century, the United States had succeeded in its great, historical mission—globalizing the world. We don't want them to write that along the way, we forgot to globalize ourselves."

-Fareed Zakira, Newsweek

One of the most intelligent reads in a long long time. I'm picking up the book later this year, it's just something you hardly ever read: An objective look at how well off the world is, and how bright the prospects for growth are world wide.

It appears the world diplomatic corps are hard at work, slaving away diligently to assuage the pained and appease the villainous of the world.

AP: "Chief negotiators of a landmark treaty banning cluster bombs predicted Friday that the United States will never again use the weapons, a critical component of American air and artillery power.

The treaty formally adopted Friday by 111 nations, including many of America's major NATO partners, would outlaw all current designs of cluster munitions and require destruction of stockpiles within eight years. It also opens the possibility that European allies could order U.S. bases located in their countries to remove cluster bombs from their stocks.
...

The treaty specifies — in what backers immediately dubbed "the American clause" — that members "may engage in military cooperation and operations" with a nation that rejects the treaty and "engages in activities prohibited" by the treaty.

It suggests that a treaty member could call in support from U.S. air power or artillery using cluster munitions, so long as the caller does not "expressly request the use of cluster munitions."

Toothless global initiatives worth nothing. Wonderful stuff.

So whats the reaction of the US & Russia, and likely China, India, Israel, Pakistan and others who abstained from these talks?

"Ivan Oelrich, vice president for strategic security programs at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, said he expected U.S. forces to keep using shells, rockets and bombs that break apart into smaller explosive objects because they have 10 times or more killing power than traditional munitions, particularly against troops in exposed terrain or in foxholes.

Government and military spokesmen in other cluster bomb-defending nations were similarly dismissive of the treaty.

"Russia will not ban cluster bombs and land mines," Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Buzhinsky said earlier this week in Moscow. "We stand for evolutionary development of these weapons. Russia's Defense Ministry objects to radical and prohibitive measures of this kind.""

Just keep on truckin.
What, would they rather we used tactical nukes?

Or perhaps go the old days, when men fought like men and shot each other 20 feet away in a line with their neighbors? The days where wars took years, and there was no real decisive application of force?
No. The world is a far better place when nations such as the US, or even sinister empires such as China or Russia have decidedly potent weapons to swiftly eradicate an enemy from the floor of battle. The US fights for good, and things are much more stable when the powers that be have the ability to stay the powers that be.

So I keep having to do these more and more often... I really need to keep up with this better.

So, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out midnight wednesday, and I was there with a bunch of friends. Pretty good sized crowd too, as evidencd by the colossal box office over the weekend.

From the opening second, I was in love with this film. Wonderful, beautifully crafted camera work pervaded the film with a few glaring exceptions, and this only because the rest was so good.
The sound track was dencent, but no where the class of John Williams prior efforts.
Harrison Ford made Indy work again, and Shia worked the lil' Jones knock off very well. Top this all off with a plot I loved and had some pretty good vilians, and it boils down to one thing: This feels like Indiana Jones, and while not the finest of the series, it can hold it's head high amongst the classics of the series, and stride as a god amongst mortals among most films. I loved this.

So what else besides early morning movie watching? Your humble blogger-man has graduated from High School, and tossed the tassels on saturday. Some other friends have graduated, so it's been busy with grad parties and ceremonies.

Unfortunately, the weekend was dampened by some pet issues. A dog staying at our house attacked my toy poddle, Sandy. The stitches and repairs were cost prohibitive, and Sandy was put down. I loved that dog, the perky lovable one-eyed rescue project from my 11th birthday...
Brother and Mom picked up a Cocker Spaniel at a rescue, so we'll see how this functions.


In the vast world around us, what on earth is going on in Boston and Chitown with the trains?

Let me preface this review with a bit about my position on Narnia. I've been a raving fan of the books since I was 6 years old and mom read the first half of the Magician's Nephew, and I've since read the rest of the series at least 7 times. I capped Prince Caspian off again for the 9th time Wednesday night, and it is certainly my favorite book.

I realize The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe has some very strong allegorical elements to Christ, but I think the rest of the series steers pretty clear of that, so I'm not into using this as a witnessing tool or anything, it's just wonderful fantasy for children.

I went to a midnight showing for Prince Caspian last night, with a pretty large contingent of night owls.
First, after being scared out of my mind by a trailer for Chiauaua (how the west has fallen...), the movie began.

It begins well enough, but quickly diverts from the book for no real reason, in several key places that alters the story.
King Peter is an arrogant jerk obsessed with power. Caspian is a whiny kid at times, yet manages to hold his own on the screen. Trumpkin the Dwarf is spot on, and Reepicheep is just as annoying as he was in the books.
Aslan though... could they make the Lion of Narnia any more of a wimp???

I am bitter about this movie, and disappointed. In the LWW, the book was followed about 90% of the time. I'd say this was about 60%, and it was stuff that didn't need changing.
Especially then final 3 minutes...

Quick hit from a brilliant but tired mind:

It'll be a Obama/Edwards Ticket for the dems. (And how weaselly IS J. Edwards? He waits until the primary is decided to pick who to endorse? Cripes man, show at least a little respect for yourself!)

For the GOP, we've got a McCain/Giuliani Ticket.
Nobody hates Rudy, they are both equally solid on the war, similar on almost all other issues except abortion, which may not matter much at all.

So there's my predictions. If they're wrong, you get all your money back.
What'dya think?

Jeana: "By the way your "Robert's Reads" twirly, thing-a-ma-gigger (how is that spelled?) is really cool. Not just really cool, but REALLY cool, like fascinatingly cool. I've been playing with it like it would make me money or something."

I do like it myself. :D

So if you're a regular visitor, you probably noticed the new white box with the book covers over on the right side bar, twirly action and all.

There at 10 books in the carousel, 9 of which I have read and 1 I plan to read this summer. Here they are, and with a short summary/review of the book.


'The Church of Liberalism' is a fiery and brutal damnation of liberals and the democratic party and it's atheistic policies. Nearly 1/3 of the book is dedicated to dismantling Evolution, the rest is general ripping of US schools and restrictions on freedom of speech regarding religion, Christianity in particular. I enjoyed this book, and while I wouldn't give it as a present to a liberal aunt, it's a solid read for any moderate or conservative American with a respect for traditional faith.

'Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy' takes a very broad swipe at high-profile left wingers, ranging from Barbara Streisand to Ted Kennedy to Michael Moore to Noam Chomsky to the Clintons, with 10 people in total. Well researched and a relatively easy read, it is not really ground breaking in it's conclusions. It's just more ammunition for what we already knew, many liberals are hypocrites.

'The Men who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869' is a masterpiece of historical writing and storytelling. Ranging from the initial surveys through the Sierra Nevada Mts, to the questionable financing, through the founding of the two companies, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads, through the incredible armies of men relentlessly driving a ribbon of iron across the plains, to the final closing weeks of the herculean effort, Ambrose crafts an enjoyable and informative book about an overlooked event that was so crucial in shaping the United States.
'America's battle for Freedom, Britain's Quagmire 1775-1783' is a look at the American Revolution from the other side of the pond, from the seat of the globe-spanning empire of Britain. I picked this book up initially because I'd been reading Matt's blog pretty regularly, and I wanted to see what our revolution looked like from the other side. If you have an interest in our founding, it's fascinating to see the other side of our war, and how the hand of God moved so often to assist the rebelling colonists. Not that Stanley will say that, but there were entirely to many 'lucky breaks' for the American side to chalk up to chance.

'The Untold story of our country, from the Pilgrims to the Present' is an absolutely fantastic piece of history & economics. Well written, researched, and a startling breath of libertarian fresh air in US history. The concept that the New Deal only worsened the depression, and a frank examination of how much better off we are today then even the early 1900's are both desperately needed, and I've loaned this book out to several people in the short time I've had it. If there is one book I cannot recommend highly enough, this is it.

I'll put the other 5 up later.

AP: Myanmar held a referendum Saturday that likely will solidify the ruling junta's hold on power, even as it appeared overwhelmed by a devastating cyclone that killed tens of thousands of people.
...
In a country where the last election was held 18 years ago, many people had no idea how to vote. Some asked each other or officials, "Where do I go?" or "What do I do?" as they walked into curtained booths to cast their ballots.

The referendum seeks public approval of a new constitution, which the generals say will be followed in 2010 by a general election. Both votes are elements of what the junta calls its "roadmap to democracy."
...
But the proposed constitution guarantees 25 percent of parliamentary seats to the military and allows the president to hand over all power to the military in a state of emergency.
...
Some 27 million of the country's 57 million people were eligible to vote, although balloting was delayed for two weeks in the areas hardest hit by the May 3 cyclone. Final official results of the referendum will not be announced until after late voting on May 24 in areas badly hit by recent Cyclone Nargis."

"This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead."
-Ecclesiastes 9:3

Such mindless grasping of petty power is barbaric & savage in the extreme. More then 20,000 lie dead upon the ground, many more lie injured and starving on top of them, and famine is rapidly spreading.
So the logical response? Hold and election.
In case you've missed the connection, this is the same nation where the Buddhist monks lead a 'revolt' that was subsequently squashed into a bloody pulp on the stones of Rangoon.

AP: "McCain was awarded a Silver Star Medal for resisting "extreme mental and physical cruelties" inflicted upon him by his captors from late October to early December 1967, the early months of his captivity, according to the citation. The North Vietnamese, according to the Navy, ignored international agreements and tortured McCain "in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes."

McCain, now the Republican Party's likely presidential nominee, was taken prisoner in October 1967 after he was shot down while on a mission over Hanoi. He wasn't freed until March 1973, after the United States signed peace agreements with the North Vietnamese. His captors tortured him and held him in solitary confinement. Still, he declined an offer of early release until those who had been at the prison longer than him were let go.

That decision earned McCain a Navy Commendation Medal. Although McCain was "crippled from serious and ill-treated injuries," he steadfastly refused offers of freedom from those holding him prisoner. "His selfless action served as an example to others and his forthright refusal, by giving emphasis to the insidious nature of such releases, may have prevented a possibly chaotic deterioration in prisoner discipline," the citation says.

Besides the Silver Star Medal, McCain also received the Legion of Merit with a combat "V" and one gold star, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star Medal with a combat "V" and two gold stars.

Several citations mention his achievements either as a prisoner or as a lieutenant commander flying bombing runs off the deck of the USS Oriskany. "

As much as I disagree with his politics on almost every level, this John McCain has fought, bleed, and watched his brothers die for my country.

Obama, you've got nothing.

Politico: " "We’re going to go right at OPEC," she said. "They can no longer be a cartel, a monopoly that get together once every couple of months in some conference room in some plush place in the world, they decide how much oil they’re going to produce and what price they’re going to put it at," she told a crowd at a firehouse in Merrillville, IN.

"That’s not a market. That’s a monopoly," she said, saying she'd use anti-trust law and the World Trade Organization to take on OPEC..."

This is how we win friends.
This is how we spurn the world.
This is how we win influence across the globe.
This is how we engage the middle east diplomatically.
This is how we win the oil supply battle??

Statistically, OPEC has little direct impact upon the US. Oil is a global commodity, its origin and processing matter little.
Quite simply, a barrel is a barrel is a barrel.
So OPEC does not dictate prices. The price of an item is dictated by the quantity of supply in relation to demand, and the supply worldwide has risen steadily over the past 2 decades.
While more supply is available, the refining bottleneck still exists, and thus the price has risen.
It's not greedy oil companies, who make less then 5% profit on a gallon of gas.
It's not greedy Mexican oil tycoons, jacking with the little guy.
It's not a cartel of minor nations regulating their supply.
In the US, it's a government that has not allowed a new refinery in 15 years, compounding a problem of rising demand.

I suppose I shouldn't be too worried. Heck, even the crazy lady herself has not proposed or joined any legislation to the effect of her current campaigning.

I liked it. Watched it at 11pm last night, and surrounded by friends and fellow geeks, so my opinion may be somewhat inaccurate.

Basically, it's a comic book movie. But its a good one, well acted and with a semi-plausible hero powers. Pretty funny with great action, it's a good summer movie. I'll buy the DVD when it comes out.

Reuters " Sam's Club, a chain owned by retail giant Wal-Mart, announced Wednesday it was placing a limit of four 20-pound (nine-kilogram) bags per person for imported jasmine, basmati and long grain white rices as a "precautionary step."

"This temporary cap is intended to ensure there is plenty of rice for all our members," said Sam's Club, which has 600 stores across the United States, adding that the measure did not apply to smaller bags of rice."

From a buisness point of view, this doesn't seem to make sense, limiting your sales. Still, if your waiting for demand to rocket, then you can hold the rice and sell it at a premium.
Good for stockholders and those willing to buy it at that price, anyways.

It's a self-enforced rationing, not government. I can take my economic flamethrower and mosey on else where.


Still, it's not helping public opinion any in regards to this economic situation. Note, not downturn. :D

And yes, I did take that picture. No, I don't know whats in it.

Rueters: A shipment of Chinese arms bound for Zimbabwe will be recalled after South African port workers refused to unload the vessel and neighboring countries barred it from their ports, China said on Thursday.

The recall of the An Yue Jiang, carrying 77 tonnes of assault rifle ammunition, mortars and rifle grenades, came after unprecedented regional opposition in addition to Western pressure over Zimbabwe's election crisis.

No results have been announced for the March 29 presidential vote, while the outcome of a parliamentary poll which the opposition won is also in doubt because of partial recounts. ...

The European Union already has an arms embargo against Zimbabwe, part of sanctions in place since 2002. The embargo bars the 27 EU states from supplying arms or equipment intended for military operations. The U.S. has also imposed sanctions."

Seeing how Robert Mugabe is likely on the loosing side of this election, I can understand the regional countries refusing shipment of weapons inland.
Just a bit of interesting world events that probably have more impact then that primary yesterday.

One of the cardinal rules for a politician, particularly those from Washington, is to know the price of milk and eggs in a town that you're speaking in. Well, those numbers have been rising.

AP: "The U.S. is wrestling with the worst food inflation in 17 years, and analysts expect new data due on Wednesday to show it's getting worse. That's putting the squeeze on poor families and forcing bakeries, bagel shops and delis to explain price increases to their customers.

U.S. food prices rose 4 percent in 2007, compared with an average 2.5 percent annual rise for the last 15 years... Eggs cost 25 percent more in February than they did a year ago, according to the USDA. Milk and other dairy products jumped 13 percent, chicken and other poultry nearly 7 percent."

How does this happen? For everything, there is a cause and then effect. So, the effect is obviously rising food prices. The Cause? - Most of our food is home grown, so the dollar weakening on the global scale has a minimal impact on food prices at home. - Speculators playing the market? Not so much. Speculators buy 'futures', meaning they pay a fixed rate some time down the road for a certain amount of wheat/corn/rice/soy/peanuts. So paying to much and then trying to make a profit upon delivery is inefficient and a loosing proposition.
Just the same, the farmer doesn't want to undersell himself, and so he looks at the coming markets and attempts to make a profit. It's been this way for years and years, and nothing has changed except the market for the product. So the speculator is not to blame. - More demand? The 3 basic explanation for most price increases: Increased supply costs, Rising Demand, or Decreasing Availability. Growing costs have increased recently due to rising energy and water costs, coupled with Rising Demand and Decreasing Availability.

- Biofuels, Ethanol in particular. When Congress and W mandated a 500% increase in the use of biofuels, it was presented as a solution to a vastly overstated oil problem, a dream of growing all of our own fuel at home. No longer would ArcherDanielsMidland have sole control over the field, but soon Exxon Mobile Refineries would dot the landscape...
A couple of problems. Biofuels are inefficient compared to traditional gasoline, are difficult to transport, and only feasible in localized areas. They also require biomass, and the most readily available is that of Corn, Rice and Wheat. So, with they're fat government surplus checks in hand, the bio-manufacturers began buying massive quantities of food for the purpose of fuel. Seeing this and a rising demand for a product, the farmers jumped on board, and now 20% 0f corn acreage is devoted to ethanol. Thus, the price of corn in particular has risen, affecting everything from cows to chickens to pigs to turkeys, and a wide variety of livestock in between. So how did this get started? Liberal, Socialism mandates from the Feds. Thank you W.

Why else is their rising demand? The world is flat in an information sense, but is still opening up in a physical sense. As more and more products are shipped to more people and an ever rising population, the demand rises. China and India are the two most populous nations, and they are steadily rising in level of income and in imported material. This is also contributory to rising oil prices.

Still, this is marginal news for us. We'll grumble and then go have a bar-b-q. Or whatever it is you do in your neck of the woods.
"U.S. households still spend a smaller chunk of their expenses for foods than in any other country -- 7.2 percent in 2006, according to the USDA. By contrast, the figure was 22 percent in Poland and more than 40 percent in Egypt and Vietnam.

In Bangladesh, economists estimate 30 million of the country's 150 million people could be going hungry. Haiti's prime minister was ousted over the weekend following food riots there."

The rest of the world? Not so lucky. Once again, we can point to government interference in a market as the cause of many of these ills.

Restrictions on the amount of oil available, in the form or drilling moratorium and refusal to allow new Refineries in the US has all lead to expensive gasoline.

Mandates on Biofuels, a 500% increase, due to fears of global warming and oil dependency.

Those two causes are killing people abroad, while the elite liberals of the ivory towers sit complacent and congratulate themselves on a job well done, ignoring the real world consequences of Marxism.

So I looked at this blog today, and realized it's been a really long time since I posted.
With a little bit o' prodding from Joel, I think it's time for an update.

I've been sick for the past three days (better now), but my apathetic posting is from more then that.
I'm disgruntled with this administration, and as usual, disgusted with the democrats. But I can live with that, and willingly go to war with them on a daily basis, cheerfully battering down the inanity of the left.

But these kicks in the teeth from republicans is really frustrating.
We've got McCain as the 'conservative' nominee.
A federal/world bank take over of much of the financial systems.
Blithering ignorance cascading down from the highest levels of education through kindergarten students, and the only thing done about it is throwing more bloated taxpayer money.
An employment rate of 95%, and we complain. Oh, how soft we've become.

I'm not furious, but beaten down. So I've taken some time off, and I'll probably take some more time off from the blogsphere. Don't worry, I'll let you know when I'm back. :D

Not that I'm withdrawing from my involvement in the electoral process. I served as a page at the local Republican Convention two weeks ago, I'm slated to work the State convention in June, and I'm applying for National Convention paging later this summer. Pray that comes through, because it would be really really cool.



I've also had my creative energies funneled off into a different direction. My younger brother and I host a weekly podcast, Canned Energy. It's about a 20 minute show reviewing energy drinks. Yeah, I know. Typical youngster. :D
But it's relaxing to back away from the morass of the current political spectrum.

Palm Beach Post: "Dorr said Miami-Dade police may get a permit to test a drone over an uninhabited area, such as the Everglades. But to use the drone in police work over an urban area - especially a busy air corridor such as Miami-Dade - it would need a permit, which will be hard to come by.

"We have a responsibility to protect the public, both people on the ground and other aircraft," Dorr said.

The drone that interests the Miami-Dade police is called the MAV - Micro-Air Vehicle - and it is made by Honeywell International. The radio-controlled unit weighs 14 pounds without fuel aboard and operates in the air like a helicopter.

"It can hover and go straight down or up, for example," police spokesman Villalba said.

According to Honeywell, the MAV can operate at a maximum of 10,500 feet and at a top speed of 50 knots per hour. It can be carried in a large backpack and be deployed in five minutes.

In September, a Honeywell official estimated that the MAV - including the aircraft and its ground control system - would cost about $250,000."

Terrific. So camera's on Red Lights aren't enough (besides for making money). Camera's on street corners aren't enough. Camera's in apartments are useless. So what else? Camera's in the air, of course!
So simple, I could have thought of it myself.

I've been tolerant of these things so far, figuring that as long as it's on public property, then it may be beneficial. But flying cameras? That's ridiculous. We use these things to fight terrorists, and to inefficiently watch the border criminals cross back and forth.

One side of my mine rationalizes this as analogous to a Helicopter used in high speed car chases and manhunts.
I think economics is certainly a factor it this, as it always is. The incentive for a police force to use a helicopter in those situations is obvious. Few, if any criminals are going to outrun a skillfully piloted helicopter, and the view from the top can be helpful in directing officers on the ground, and training/reviews later on.
But it's expensive to own and operate a rotary wing aircraft. In fact, the Kansas City PD spent $1,004,256 in 2006 on running a helicopter unit. So while it may be fun to police traffic with a helicopter, the incentive is no where near large enough to outweigh the vast cost and dedication of resources that would take. As such, we have never had to deal with active monitoring from the air by Police Departments. (Satellites excluded, but that's a different set of circumstances)

Not so with a drone. Requiring only 1 or 2 people to operate, and with a far lower cost, both on purchasing, training, fuel, and maintenance, it is now financially and technically feasible for active monitoring from the sky to take place on a regular basis.

Sure, right now it's only for Swat Operations.
2 years from now?
As the incentive to actively monitor from the sky grows in comparison with the cost, more and more departments will begin using aerial cameras to monitor us mortals, who deign to carry out lives while wishing for privacy.

Big Brother, eat your stale, crusty heart out.

"'Oranges and lemons,' say the bells of St. Clement's,
'You owe me three farthings,' say the bells of St. Martin's..

...yeah. I'm getting sick of politics.

Some quality journalism coming from CBS news, of all places.

Where is this:
And Who said this:
""If freedom loving people don't speak out against China's oppression of people in Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak out against any oppressed people.""

Politico: "John Edwards is unlikely to endorse either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton before the nomination is decided, according to interviews with several members of the former candidate's inner circle.

At least three individuals who have recently spoken to Edwards expect that he will choose to stay out of the fight, though they warn that no one other than his wife, Elizabeth, can be certain of his thinking.

“My gut instinct, at this point: He’s probably going to remain neutral and sort of try to play on that Al Gore status as party elder,” said a former Edwards operative who is in regular contact with the former North Carolina senator and who asked that his name be withheld.

Fascinating how a candidate who has twice in a row been deemed as not the best contender can claim the mantle of 'elder statesman' in a party.

At least Al Gore has 'Former Vice President' and 'Inventor of the internet' to stand upon.
Edwards? He's good at chasing ambulances.

Where did the Democrat's primary season tu