The Positivity of Absolute Value

Process Selection and Facility Layout

2010-02-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

The relevant chapter that we are covering in class is on process selection and facility layout. The first article that I will be referencing is on Intel and its decision to invest $3.5 billion in start up companies. The second article I will be referencing will have to do with the casket making industry and the challenges they are facing during the current economic times.

Thinking about the first article I am making the assumption that Intel, along with 24 other venture capitalist firms, will be investing in start-ups that at least to a certain percentage, will operate along similar lines as Intel itself. If that is indeed the case then at some point the company will need to consider process selection and facility layout.

To be more specific, the company has said that it also intends to hire more college graduates over the next couple of years, so in reality it will likely be the decisions of men and women who have just recently learned how to manage plants and select processes, under the supervision of experienced employees. They will be charged with the task of deciding whether they will operate under job shop, batch, repetitive, or continuous conditions. They will need to take into consideration things like how much automation will be necessary to operate, and how they can optimize their processes concerning sustainability issues. Will they have product layouts or process layouts? Will they have fixed position layouts or combination layouts? Or will it be the more likely situation of a cellular layout given they will probably be technology companies that operate in a highly group structured environment?

Moving from here to the casket production industry, I would like to talk about the opposite side of the coin. Most notable in this article is the decision by Hillenbrand Inc., the largest casket maker in the country, to buy a company named K-Tron, which specializes in “size reduction.” This means that they produce machines that crush and reduce the impact of excess raw materials, and in manufacturing machines that efficiently allocate raw materials on the job site.

The reason that this is so interesting is because it is indicative of a firm that is trying to shrink its facilities layout and making decisions to shift the paradigm of decision making concerning what type of process to use when making caskets.

Essentially they are facing the opposite situation that Intel has currently involved itself in. These casket makers are recognizing that not only have people stopped spending exorbitant amounts of money on something that will go in the ground and never be seen again, but also that when the economy turns around, consumers may not make the decision to start purchasing those gaudy coffins again.

These are two polarized cases of what it means to have to make process selection and facility layout decisions for two very different types of firms. What should be taken away from this lesson is that although these two markets may seem dichotomized at first glance, they both have to follow the same fundamental rules of managing operations.

This Is Why I Don't Read Traditional News

2010-02-25T20:05:00.000-08:00

This is just depressing.

I keep my head buried in the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times for a reason.

Capacity

2010-02-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

In this paper we are concerned with the issue of capacity. There are many facets of this topic to consider, including whether a firm has too much or too little, feasibility issues such as can the firm expand or contract if they find it necessary, and whether a firm should make or buy given certain operating decisions. I will be referencing two articles from the Journal; the first will be about Google Inc. and the second about Toyota.

In today’s issue of the Journal there is an article that talks about how in the near future Google will unveil its plan to build a fiber-optic grid that would include a new kind of high speed broadband, and would be available to consumers in cities ranging from 50 to 100 thousand in population. The real breakthrough here is the cutting edge technology Google will bring to the table. If all goes as planned they will be offering speeds of up to 100 gigabits per second. This number is exponentially higher than most consumers are used to.

What about capacity issues? I don’t know the details but I do know that Google will have thought about whether the benefit to extend capacity at such a level outweighs its costs. Or did Google, being the ever-prolific technological innovator know about this move some time ago and already have plans in place to make this decision? One thing I would be willing to guess is that there will be little to no outsourcing involved with this project. The company seems to be very generous to its customers, but ironclad proprietary when it comes to competition. Considering also that this is going to be such a new technology, something tells me that they will keep everything under lock and key.

The second article was on the current issues at Toyota. I don’t mean to beat a dead horse with this article, but I feel that it’s one of the most current hot button issues and would like to consider it through the lens of each of the topics we are studying.

Right at the beginning of this article you are told that Toyota is fixing recalled vehicles at a rate of 50,000 per day. Immediately I have to wonder what this is doing to their capacity. Recalling from The Goal how even after Alex and his colleagues figured out the theory of constraints and began to maximize throughput, they still were not without an occasional crisis. Toyota is one of the largest operations in the world, and a pioneer in their field, innovating ideas like lean production. But even with such an arsenal of technology and capacity behind them, I imagine they are straining under the weight of so many recalled vehicles.

Another thing to be pointed out here is the risk that a firm takes when deciding to outsource is very apparent in the case of Toyota. For many years the firm has decided to buy as opposed to make many of its products. And for many years this has been a winning strategy for them. However, regardless of the standards you hold your vendors to, all it takes is one. One vendor, one product, and your reputation is ruined, presumably for a very long time.

Product Design

2010-01-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

Given the fact that we are reading chapter four, which is on product and service design, I find it both exciting and unfortunate, respectively, that Apple has released their iPad and that Toyota has recalled a very large number of their vehicles.

I’ll begin with the exciting. I say it’s exciting, but that is because I find myself part of a club that is no longer all that exclusive. I am a Mac guy! This generally means that for me, and for tens of millions of other Americans, Mr. Jobs and his ilk can do no wrong. How can this be? How can a company hook so many people with products and applications that all have perfectly acceptable substitutes?

I think the answer to this question has something to do with the proprietary nature of Apple. For as long as the company has been in operation, they have kept the bulk of their technological achievements to themselves. Whether one agrees or disagrees with this is irrelevant, I simply want to point out the atmosphere that it has created within the company, which I believe in turn has cascaded itself out onto its customers.

It means that not only does Apple belong to Apple, but that Apple customers belong to Apple. When you are growing up in a family, and dealing with all of the issues that come along with that, you are very protective and proprietary when it comes to that family. I think that’s the atmosphere that Apple has created over all these years, and it shows. I am very loyal to my family.

Moving on to Toyota, it is very unfortunate that no one seems to be able to figure out what’s going on with the faulty accelerator pedals that have caused terrible accidents and deaths, and that have led to a recall of approximately 5 million vehicles in Europe and the United States.

There seems to be a lot of pointing of fingers going on. Toyota wants to blame CTS Corp., the company that has produced pedals for the car company for nearly a decade now. CTS, however continues to defend themselves saying that the problem goes back to around 1999, before CTS was even producing the pedals. They say that for the entire time they have had a contract with Toyota, they have continuously met product specifications, and that the true problem lies in Toyota’s design, not in the design of the pedals.

What does that mean for the customer? Well ultimately, it means that regardless of who is at fault, and regardless of where the problem originated, Toyota will be the company to take the biggest fall. Consumers couldn’t care less about who supplies Toyota’s products. They may know CTS’s name for a minute or two, but soon they will be forgotten and the spotlight will be back to full center on Toyota.

Bottom line is that Toyota botched a product that was very important not to botch. I don’t know how or why, or whether Toyota could have reacted differently even if they wanted to, but it doesn’t matter. Their reputation will be severely tarnished from this and I will be interested to see just how much market share they lose after the smoke has cleared.

It's That Time Again

2010-01-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

Time for me to once again make my presence known on an outlet that I have created, only to perpetually become inactive for long periods of time.

And consistent with prior behavior, I will tout here and now that this will be the last time. That I have miraculously figured out a way to be prolific, and from hence forth will make regular and systematic appearances for one and all.

Yeah right.

Anyway, I plan on posting papers that I must write for one of my MIS classes on this site. The topics of these papers vary widely as they concern the relationship between what I am reading in current events with what we are learning in class. This may or may not be interesting to all or none, but it's all I've got for now. So I hope you enjoy.

Shortly following this post will be the first of many. Hopefully I will be able to slip in other blurbs in between as well. We'll see...

The Much Anticipated Inauguration

2009-01-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

Whether or not you find yourself in complete agreement with President Obama's election to office, complete disagreement, or somewhere smack dab in the middle (like myself), you have to admit, that is a lot of people.

I'm looking forward to this presidency. You know there's this sort of all encompassing aura of implicit change among the masses, which isn't altogether a bad thing, that I think will be handily malnutritioned and regrettably short lived in the coming weeks and months of the new Oval Office.

While I think President Obama really does breathe change, he is facing an adversary that will cripple the only two good years he's going to have in his first term: The economy. The bottom line is that this recession is pretty bad, and it will probably take in between one and two years to overcome the challenges that face our incredibly diverse and complicated marketplace. Unfortunately for Obama, those are the only two years during his first term that he will have a democratic Congress to pass the liberal legislation that he won't have time to scribe. All of this political jargon that we all want to believe in could have been possible in this mixed up bipartisan Capitol Hill nonsense, were it not for the state of the economy.

In two years time however, the right will take back the houses, they will reclaim the process of drafting legislation, and from then on through Obama's first term, it will be nothing but a written law vs. veto battle between the legislative and executive branches, that will benefit no one, yet somehow further the notion of what this country has become.

You see, we no longer have checks and balances, we are checks and balances. There are nothing but checks and balances being strewn about in Washington which means that the only way the President, or Congress, can get anything done is illegally. Which is where the Supreme Court steps in to issue more checks and balances to the already checked and balanced.

You know what America? I think we have finally done it. We have finally become what we always wanted to be. We have finally become exactly what the Ancient Greeks knew to be ridiculous and idiotic. We have become exactly what our forefathers never wanted us to become.

We have become a Democracy.

Why Am I Here?

2008-10-22T01:25:00.000-07:00

Now this can be viewed as a philosophically deep and meaningful question, or it can be interpreted as I mean it; particularly as why does this blog exist?

For the most part I am only trying to bring you the current events with as little personal commentary as possible (which involves some personal input, otherwise why am I doing it at all, right?)

But occasionally, after long bouts of silence, I get back on to inform you of some personal debacle currently unfolding in my life, of which I am sure no one cares about even a little, only to finish out the week by posting more than usual on the issues.

I am trying to make changes in my life. I am attempting to not do the same old things that I have always done in the same old way I have always done them, and it is proving quite difficult.

Still, one of those changes, I feel, must come here. From here on I will give you personal anecdotes and diatribes concerning my personal life, with bits and pieces of current events thrown in for education, and hopefully, perspective and clarification.

Let's see how this pans out shall we?

Socialist Cuba... Unite?

2008-05-01T20:11:00.001-07:00

Raul is proving himself to be quite the uncharismatic leader, at least when compared to his brother.

What this means for the fate of Cuba will be told by time.

On To Politics

2008-05-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

John F. Harris and Jim Vandehei have written a couple of pretty good pieces describing the current situation between our two loving democratic presidential candidates that I came across earlier while reading Politico.

You can read them here and here.

We got on the topic of the presidential election in my Business Ethics class the other day and my professor said something kind of interesting. He said that despite all of the hoopla over the apparent diversity in American nationalism these days, that this progressively never ending strife between these two deliciously immature candidates will actually cause the gung-ho, get-out-the-vote enthusiasts to remain on their couches and simply refuse to vote come election day.

At the time I disagreed with him, but the more I read the more I am saturated with the parties malcontent. Maybe he's right. Maybe this election belongs to John McCain because the Clintons and the Obamas can't seem to get along with each other, or anyone else they know for that matter.

Duke Lacrosse Shenanigans Revisited

2008-05-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

All apologies for the untimely delay in relaying this now long forgotten and what I fear has become old news update to you.

Please forgive the infraction and accept this final update as a token of my sorrow for dropping off the face of the planet for a while. I will try my hardest to not let it happen again.

There are really two posts that should have followed my last one on this issue. The first one is here, and the basic gist is that the DNA that was taken from the semen left behind on the 'alleged victim' did not match the DNA of any one of the Duke Lacrosse players.

The second post would have been here, and it would have been the finale because as you will see, the case was closed. Yes the legal proceedings were long and drawn out as they usually are in this wonderful legal system that we employ in this country, but in the end justice prevailed and the Duke Lacrosse team ultimately only suffered a little sullying of the reputation.

They are up and running now and all is well.

What Happens When Patriots Doctor Historical Photos?

2008-04-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

They produce this, apparently.

Which is fine. It's a good article. Whether or not you agree or disagree with the actual threat level of global warming, you can still get something out of this well articulated sanctioned piece of subjectivity.

But not everyone it seems is fond of Time's interpretation of the second flag raising to convey just how significant they think the threat of global warming is.

As I listened to this story earlier on Talk of the Nation, three of the four callers were rational and relatively well spoken individuals who had an interesting opinion to convey. The other one, however, sounded like Forrest Gump high. And his sad diatribe about a personal offense that he himself could not understand, was embarrassing and shallow.

It gave me a little start as I listened, and for a moment I felt sorry for the human race. Sometimes I feel that way when I hear certain people speak.

They Can't Be Serious

2008-04-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

Look here and here if you wish to be pleasantly appalled.

I unfortunately did not, and was quite simply angered towards life. Globally.

The Passing of Loved Ones

2008-03-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Once in a great while apparently, I enjoy getting back on this hog to fill my millions of readers in on what can only be described as a "007" life. And I know that each and every time I do, my listeners are so eager that they have moved on to biting their toenails due to an imminent lack of felanges.

So listen, I had a grandfather as of last week, and that is no longer the case. If you are, don't be sorry; I'm not. In my opinion, death is not some foreboding and relentless massacre of depressing feelings because you can't understand what happened. It is simply a sackful of memories and experiences that have been lost to the generations that followed, collected in what one hopes is a hospital bed, or home bed, or any bed really; which in turn will be deposited into the ground in either ash or flesh to rot with the rest of the earth. Nothing more.

And why does there need to be? Why do I have to know that my grandfather is now in a better place? Why should I believe that he had to give his entire life making the best of it that he could, only to reach this imaginary better place that no one knows exists? It pains me to think that there is a possibility that we aren't living to our full potential here because we are saving up for heaven. Like pathetic pre-pubescent boys from a small village in Honduras, who forfeit immediate pleasures of the flesh in order to afford a trip to Disneyland that they will never in their lifetimes make.

I'm just tired. So tired. Tired of everyone searching for reason in the afterlife, when they are so slow to apply that reason among the living. So slow to devote that same kind of energy to showing some respect to those around them. Don't misunderstand, I am no liberal searching for myself via Google on the internet. I would just love to get in my car, drive down the street and see one other person observing the logic of the traffic system that was supposed to be so wonderful. I want to go to work and have one person come in who isn't so completely oblivious to the fact that there are other human beings present, that they can't smell the festering bitterness growing on their own noses.

In short, I would love to live in a world where each person could even just realize that there is no cause, without effect. There is no such thing as a meaningless word. That there is room for civility and unity. And most of all, that projecting your personal idea of a guiding and all powerful deity onto the rest of us is clearly not the way to do it.

Keep your religion, your beliefs and your personal faith to yourself. For if you truly believed in all of the things you expound upon us, you would feel no need to say them out loud. You would be content in the knowledge of your own freedom. You would feel no need to try and convince me that I am wrong. You would live the life of comfort and bask in your own triumph over what you view as such a short existence, and never give a second thought as to whether I am worried about what happens to me when I die. Let me be. Only then may you begin to understand what it means to treat me like a human being.

Payola Scandals To Come To A Real Halt?

2007-03-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

This is good news for those of us (which is most of us) who can't quite stomach listening to a popular radio station for an hour or so and hearing the same crappy song twice.

Payola, or disc jockeys and radio stations taking money or favors for airplay for certain songs, was technically banned in 1950, but has been around quite prominently in one form or another ever since.

Fun Tidbit One: The first major instance of payola occurred when a man named Alan Freed, who in the mid 1950's was the most prominent DJ in the country, accepted money from the Chess brothers in return for vastly over-playing the tune "Maybellene," which became wildly popular and ultimately lead to the demise of Muddy Waters' position as the top gun for Chess Records, being replaced by Berry, who held the reigns for longer than Waters could ever have imagined.

Fun Tidbit Two: Alan Freed is the man who named the up and coming style that Chuck Berry was pioneering "Rock and Roll."

I know, I have gotten a little off subect; sorry. But I should also point out here that I do not think that the reason Chuck Berry went on to be the sensation that he was, and still is, was because of the immoral contributions that Freed made to Berry's career and to the revenue of the Chess record company. If you listen to the song, you will quickly realize that it has enough merit on its own to be one of the most popular songs of its time. And as Berry has irrevocably proven, he meant business and was no slouch. I simply think that Freed sped up the process a little; either to the detriment of good old fashioned Delta Blues, or to the progress of a musical revolution that would soon be defined by bands like Zeppelin and The Who, depending upon how much of a purist you are.

Anyhow, this new legislation which promises to even further restrict the practice of payola, will prove to be extraordinarily beneficial to those lovers of music who (if they haven't completely written off radio altogether) have almost reached the point of looking forward to "Love Line," because they can't possibly listen to that depressing "Thirty Seconds To Mars" song one more time without toasting a double shot of cyanide on the rocks.

(Original article pulled from Instapundit).

To Bind, Or... Well You Know The Rest

2007-02-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

Well, after weeks of reports by countless sources on what this non-binding solution may or may not achieve, the actual has occurred.

The House passed the resolution with more than enough support, which is really not surprising at all. Nor is the rebuke that quickly issued from the White House.

What I do find interesting to ponder though is the fact that very soon, the House will be faced with the issue of whether or not to approve the additional funding that the President will ask for, in order to sustain the troops already over there.

This issue will in no way have anything to do with something that calls itself non-binding. This is a very serious issue and I imagine that there is no way the house won't approve the funding necessary to ensure our troops aren't dying when they very well shouldn't be. However, I do wonder how this will make the majority party's fashionistas look, considering this debacle we've just undergone.

Will America tolerate a House that says first that they support our troops in what they must do? Then say that they do not support helping them with anything further than what they already have? Then say that even though we don't support any further help for you, we will go ahead and spend all the money necessary to help you, in the precise way that we don't want to help you?

I honestly don't think that anyone in the House of Representatives means our troops any harm. I honestly think that if given the opportunity they would all do exactly what is best for everyone. However, the fact of the matter is they are facing an America that is sick and tired of ambiguity. Whether we should be there or not, just decide. No one seems completely able to do this, but it is to the detriment of the Democrats to cause this same strife, that everyone is so tired of, within their own party.

Oppose Bush or don't oppose him. Just decide already.
And for the love of all things holy, have the marbles to make a mistake.
It's because we don't have those marbles that we are still in this war.

Update: Representative Patrick Murphy has a few strong words on why he, as a veteran, disapproves of the President's troop increase.

Everything Can Be Reduced To Semantics

2007-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

Michael Barone at RealClearPolitics gives his two cents, not on why the recent troop surge that will soon deploy to Iraq and the Anbar Province will succeed, but instead on why he thinks that arguments against the surge are both ill-conceived and asinine.

Obama More Than Up And Running

2007-01-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

Jay Cost points out some things that may make Barack Obama more than a simple lame duck contender to Hillary Clinton in the coming elections.

Still, I'm a little skeptical.

This Is The Article

2007-01-11T23:33:00.000-08:00

Earlier this evening I said to a fellow political compatriot that the thing that was going to propel the Democrats into office in 08 wasn't any cohesive effort in unified strategy, but sheer confusing, unorganized policy making attempts (just what the Democrats have proven best at).

I have said since November that all the Democrats have to do is try and force bill after bill through congress. They will likely fail in most of their attempts, but that is not the point. The point is that if they try and make changes, whatever those changes may be, and the Republican party, led by George Bush continually shuts them down, they will symbolically convince the American people that they are the party of change and that the red are simply trying to hold them back for spite. If the people are convinced of that, then the Democrats will skip into victory in the next presidential election.

Rahm Immanuel knows this. This is the guy to watch. I am not saying here that I think he is more talented than Karl Rove, because if fact, I think the opposite; though I do think he is talented enough. And with his party on the verge of controlling the escalating mutiny that is Washington, he may be able to lead the blue into greener pastures for some time to come.

After watching a few these events unfold over the last couple of days like Bush announcing his 21,000 troop increase and top Democrats trying to decide whether to take an immediate symbolic moral victory or listen to John Murtha and have a longer lasting but harder to come by victory, I must say that I have felt something that I haven't felt in a very long time.

I feel as though power may be shifting. I mean power may be shifting in a very powerful way. If Immanuel can play his cards right and the Democrats, at least for the next couple of years can keep their malcontent, then the Democrats may hold power for many years to come. I really feel this.

Now the disclaimer is that this may be to the chagrin of the American people. Because while this "no strategy is our strategy" may be working wonders for them at the moment, what happens when this country truly needs them to unite. When they can't, what do we do then?

I fear all the Bush's may be gone.

Satisfied With An Insurance Company

2007-01-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

Who ever would have thought?

I have a Motorola Razr, and at the beginning of the year I was at work, when I dropped it in a bucket of dirty mop water. Don't ask.

Needless to say there was no way I was going to get to work again, so I called this company. And though the twenty five minute automated conversation I had to have before I was able to talk to a real person was somewhat taxing upon my patience, the whole ordeal took no longer than a half an hour and my new phone was in my hands the next day, as promised, blemish free.

Granted I had to pay the fifty dollars to make all of this happen, it was better than shelling another three hundred out to Verizon for a new one. Overall satisfaction.

Blu-ray Victorious

2007-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

ITWire.:

Right now the two formats are slugging it out, toe to toe, at CES for the hearts, minds and wallets of the masses. The format war has sparked a press release campaign, with each side claiming to be winning, yet Blu-ray has gone so far as to clear itself victorious.

Read on however, and you will learn that at most the two formats are still in a dead heat to the finish line.

Funny, Blu-ray seems to have been in touch with some of Bush's PR people.

For All You Fantasy Congress Players

2007-01-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

Though the 110th session of congress is officially underway in the real world, fantasycongress.com is a little delayed.

This upset me at first, but reading on they explained that the reason they decided to wait is because they are still in the midst of making some pretty exciting changes that I think will improve game play. So sit tight and be patient; I think this is going to be a pretty exciting session.

If you have never heard of the sight, you should visit immediately, it's a lot of fun. And if you would like you could play against me by joining my league. It's called The 13th, join soon and test your congressional abilities.

Jobs And Team Introduce New iphone

2007-01-09T16:18:00.000-08:00

Being a proud owner of the ipod, I will say that this is pretty exciting; made much more so by the intense hype this thing is getting from pretty much every news source I have read that is covering the story.

At five and six hundred dollars for a four or eight gig, respectively, that is a little out of my comfort zone. But like all other new technology, as it gets a few months old the prices will drop drastically and I will have to seriously consider this purchase.

Leave It To Oprah To Bring Me Back

2007-01-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

Or, I should say, Oprah's troubles.

Are You Freaking Kidding Me!

2006-11-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

Mark Davis:

2006-11-19T16:13:00.000-08:00

The movie sensation known as Borat has divided America into three groups: those who have seen it and found it deliciously, subversively funny; those who have seen it and recoiled in shock; and those who have not seen it and are left wondering what all the fuss is about.

Unfortunately as of right now, I'm in the third camp.

Though Davis is right, the more things of this nature I hear about the movie the more I think I will go ahead and make time for it.

David Schraub Does Some Venting Over At The Debate Link

2006-11-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

Though speaking from the gut, I am inclined to agree with Schraub and his bottom thirteen article evidence, I have a slight problem.

Yes the GOP reelected Blunt and Boehner as their leadership for the next couple of years; and yes they went ahead and shot themselves in the head by reelecting the conspicuous bigot Trent Lott to the Senate Minority spot, they clearly have problems of their own. They are so far out of sync with the electorate at this point that I might be inclined to say that they have handed the Democrats the election in 2008; except for the fact that I know a little something about the Democrats, too.

My problem is, as Schraub mentions, that his numbers come from the LA Times, which were pointed out by Kos who (a markedly far too liberal liberal who I, with a human stomach, can't bring myself to read) pointed out a markedly liberal paper to boot.

Forgive me if I am a little skeptical when it comes to swallowing the statistics doled out in this article.

This Is True

2006-11-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

If the Democrats are lucky, then Justice Stevens will retire sometime within the next two years.

They still won't get the golden-boy nomination that they would hope for, but at least they can say no until they find someone that suits them.

2006-11-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

For the fallen Mr. Foley, things just keep getting worse and worse.

The Philadelphia Inquirer:

2006-11-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Don't expect to see Sen. Rick Santorum's name on the 2008 presidential ballot.

"Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not," Santorum said yesterday on The Michael Smerconish Show on WPHT-AM (1210). "My wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in '08."

Do you think he's serious?

Seriously though, as someone who has slight reservations towards radical social conservatism, this decision is like Rolaids for heartburn; incredible temporary relief.

2006-11-17T12:12:00.000-08:00

Glenn Reynolds is keeping us up to date on resveratrol, the potential anti-aging miracle which can be found in small doses in red wine.

The article indeed provides more good news, which is good news for people who drink red wine, and don't want their bodies to ever give out on them (pretty much everyone, right?).

2006-11-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

John Podhoretz at the New York Post thinks that the recent civil strife sweeping through the Democratic party, not two weeks after they flogged Republicans in the mid-term elections, is a sign of good health within the party; not festering dissipation.

I tend to agree.

Times Of London

2006-11-16T22:41:00.000-08:00

Last week the Democratic Party resumed its reign in a famous victory over the accursed conservatives, thanks in large part to popular anger at an apparently endless string of Republican corruption scandals.

Baker in this opinion, gives an awakening account of the new Democratic Leadership in Washington, notably House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's questionable decision making skills in attempting to appoint some less than blemish free individuals to certain posts; and the apparent ask for help from his father on the part of young Georgy.

I especially like that Baker covers the part about how the former Bush convinced Shia at the end of Desert Storm to rise up against Hussein's regime, and then quickly ditched them as they were being massacred by Apaches that we provided to the other team.

Overall, a very powerful article.

Thank The Sweet Lord Above

2006-11-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

I am no Democrat, but having John Murtha as House Majority Leader would have sucked for everyone.

Now let's see how Hoyer stands up to the task.

Christian Science Monitor:

2006-11-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – The 2006 midterms are finally over (almost). Let the 2008 games begin.

A handful of congressional races aren't quite over yet, but the jockeying for the 2008 presidential contest - going on for months, if not years - has burst fully into the open.

Thankfully they admittedly acknowledge that it is far too early to make any solid predictions.

I don't know. . .
Is it finally McCain's turn, or will he be thwarted by the hugely popular Rudy Giuliani of his own party?

On the democratic side, the reason that it is difficult to predict anything just yet is because we need to see what the Dems are going to do, or not do, over the next couple of years while they have power.

Ultimately they need to make very good decisions initially in placing their leadership, which they are seemingly unwilling to do, and more importantly try and push every bit of legislation through the houses that they can muster some agreement on.

I said from the outset that if the Democrats regained power after their decade long hiatus, that as long as Bush was in office we would see his veto pen a lot more often than we have in the past. I still think that's true despite the President's sudden willingness to cooperate with a party who not a week ago he was blasting to high heaven.

I also thought that since the Democratic party was so disorganized, and lacked any cohesive unity, that this would probably be a good thing. Honestly, we don't need to see radically left wing legislation passed, just as much as we do need to see the radically conservative legislation stop.

However, if the Dems can be successful in attempting to pass boatloads of legislation through, they will convince the American people that they are trying to lead the country in a new direction; and whether that direction is the right one or not is irrelevant. Once the electorate sees that the only thing hindering a new direction is the leader of the Republican party, they will be much more apt to elect a Democrat to office in 2008, of which there is no shortage if candidates.

The other thing the Democrats need to accomplish is to at least present the illusion that they are focused on the issues that voters thought important while they were booting the GOP out of both chambers (Iraq, Corruption etc.). As is mentioned above, appointing John Murtha to the House Majority Leader is an incredibly rocky start, and the fact that Nancy Pelosi is so adamant about his nomination is already bringing a burnt smell of old corruption to what should be a fresh face in Washington.

Though it is notable to point out here that the Republicans have apparently not learned their lesson, even though the November elections resembled more a public flogging than a congressional race.

You know, your pundits tell you this and your pundits tell you that, but what I am interested in seeing in the 2008 presidential election is just how fed up with the entire process voters can become. Ultimately, if we can get out even 65% of the vote, I think that would be a victory for America. When the day is done it really doesn't matter who wins or loses, because the voice belongs to the people, whether the people know it or not. And even if the candidate who wins isn't the candidate of your choice, if you are loud enough, you can make that person be the candidate of your choice.

"We The People" still control this country.
Let us show them that, like we did this past congressional election.

Some Things Never Change

2006-11-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

You Tube reveals a Rodney Kingesque video of a man being arrested by a couple of LAPD blues, prompting the FBI to begin an investigation concerning the conduct of the officers in the department.

An Interesting Perspective

2006-11-09T22:01:00.000-08:00

Amba over at Ambivablog has presented an interesting take on Bush's new-found humility in the wake of the democratic takeover of power on the hill.

I have heard the press conferences and I just chalked it up to Bush playing good politics in the very beginning waiting to unleash, or should I say re-release, the old conservative dogs stowed away in his closet.

I am not saying that I have changed my mind and now agree with Amba, I am just saying that it is an interesting take.

I Have No Real Beef With This...

2006-11-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

It's only when I hear the announcement of John Murtha as House Majority Leader that I'll begin to squirm inside my own skin.

This Was Relatively Painless

2006-11-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

A Democratic Edict

2006-11-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) has a little something to say over at The Huffington Post.

Most of the spiel is your typical political science 101 mumbo jumbo, that is not worth mentioning in this post.

However I feel no shame in promoting two very key issues that she addresses:

1. That if elected, the democrats, with Pelosi as the majority leader, will promote stem cell research and. . .

2. That if elected the democrats will begin their quest to cut interest rates on student loans in half.

Now I am not new to this business.
The chances of these things actually coming to full fruition is virtually impossible. Still, even if this country only begins to look at stem cell research as a viable medical and economic entity is a monumental step forward; and even if the interest rates for college loans come down by only a fraction, it will mean great progress for the health and education of the same American citizens who are shaping this election.

Though regardless of all that partisanship, what is most important is that everyone get out and vote. Young and old. It has never been more important than it is right now. If it isn't too late for you, find your polling station and let your voice be heard.

Election News

2006-11-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

Glenn just posted this over at Instapundit, along with some thoughts.

He correctly predicts that if CNN's polls are accurate, then the GOP will wish they would have made good on ethics reform. And according to Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard, there is much, much more that they will wish they made good on.

We know now that it was definitely too little, but is it too late for the GOP?

The Source For Election News

2006-11-05T17:01:00.000-08:00

RealClearPolitics has got the best rundown of the elections that I have found so far.

Particularly because there is little to no opinion. they simply report the polls. And when I say polls I mean all of the polls. This is the closest thing I have seen to unbiased coverage all election season, and I thank this team for providing it.

Get caught up now. It isn't too late. With information like this you could be in the know in no time and on your way to making informed decisions at the voting booths on Tuesday.

Get out the vote. It's more important than you could ever imagine.

Information You Should Use

2006-11-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

I stumbled onto this site last year sometime while I was looking for an exotic cheese for an exotic occasion.

When I started to realize what the site was about I had a hard time believing that what I was seeing could be true.

But after having ordered some Gruyere from Switzerland for a fondue dish I wanted to try, I will now tell you that it is true. This is a fabulous company and I would recommend them to anyone wanting to branch out and try some international cuisine.

You Will Probably Never Use This Information

2006-11-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

But just in case you need to eliminate static on the volume and control knobs in your home entertainment system, here are 2000 uses for WD-40.

Too Slow On The Draw

2006-11-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

I listened to this the other day and thought, you know, I should really post something on this. Alas! I did not.

And leave it to Glenn to beat me to the punch.

Seriously though, I am not opposed to drinking the fifty bottles of wine a day that would be required to receive the proper dose of resveratrol.
Though I imagine over the next few days there may be some pretty heavy publicity on the hazards of red wine to combat these latest discoveries; there always are.

Instapundit:

2006-10-31T10:10:00.000-08:00

JOHN KERRY -- a gift that keeps on giving. Unfortunately, it's a gift for the Republicans. . . .

Kerry's suggestion that the troops in Iraq are dumb failures is not only reprehensible, but false on the facts. In other words, a typical Kerry performance, just in time for the elections. Democrats must be wondering what they were thinking to nominate him in 2004, and why he won't go away now.

I just had this conversation with a friend the other day. He asked me what it was going to take for the Democrats to win both houses in November.

I told him that it was simple. All the Democrats had to do is keep their mouths shut, the Reds have been making every effort to lose the houses on their own. And a week away from the elections former Presidential candidate John Kerry has done just the opposite. So kudos Mr. Kerry. You are a blundering moron of the highest rank, and you just unnecessarily set your party back further than even a John Murtha could have I think.

More Headlines For Rove

2006-10-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Along with some speculation of what may happen to him and his party whether he turns out right, or wrong concerning the coming elections.

Wired News:

2006-10-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Some of the web's more popular "milblogs" -- blogs maintained by present or former active duty military personnel -- are going quiet following a renewed push by U.S. military officials to scan sites for security risks.

I can understand the government's reasoning behind such a censor, as there could potentially be serious national security issues in publishing military blogs for millions to read. Still. . . I wonder what kind of first amendment issues will arise out of this, as keeping a weblog must be protected under the free speech clause.

And second, this makes me sort of sad on a personal level because I love reading milblogs. There are some really professional and informative sites out there, like this one, that stand to suffer from this and though it may be on a smaller scale, I think the blogosphere will notice the hit.

The Washington Post:

2006-10-29T12:22:00.000-08:00

Dick Armey, former house majority leader from 1995 -2003 has written a pretty powerful essay for the Washington Post.

I don't feel as though I have anything to add to it at this time, but hope that you read it because it is quite the thought provoking piece.

Rallying, Just Days Before The Election

2006-10-29T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Washington Times:

SELLERSBURG, Ind. -- President Bush yesterday yelled himself hoarse in his first public political rally of the 2006 election campaign, whipping thousands of supporters into chants of "USA!" as he criticized Democrats for being weak on national security and anxious to increase taxes.

President Bush made an appearance in the Ohio River Valley yesterday supporting incumbent Rep. Mike Sodrel. His vehement tirade on the Democratic Party's lack of political strength comes as no surprise as Republicans face mounting challenges leading up to the elections.

What I think will be interesting to note over the next nine days will be just how many appearances the President is able to make for individual campaigners. After the recent reform in campaign funding candidates are no longer able to use the National Committee's soft-money, instead having to rely on their own hard dollars to produce the appearance of prominent republicans that can boost their chance at victory.

A Couple Of Notable Deaths

2006-10-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Red Auerbach, legendary Celtics basketball coach passed Saturday; and Enolia P. Mcmillan, legendary president of the NAACP passed this last week at the ripe old age of 102.

The Weekly Standard

2006-10-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

In the midterm elections of November 1986, six years into the Reagan presidency, the Republican party lost control of the Senate. Barely six weeks beforehand, that still-GOP-led body had handily confirmed two crucial Reagan Supreme Court appointments: Associate Justice William Rehnquist's promotion to the chief's job and Antonin Scalia's nomination to the resulting open seat. But the newly Democratic Senate of 1987 would not prove so accommodating.

William Kristol conservatively reminds whoever it may apply to the dangers of losing a republican senate, and what that means for the continued effort on the right to build a conservative court.

Amy Sullivan of the USA Today:

2006-10-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

On the surface, solid majorities of Americans agree with Democratic Party values. They want universal health care, support increasing the minimum wage, believe stricter environmental regulations are needed and worth paying for, and think the best way to achieve peace is through diplomacy.

Here in this nutshell of an article Sullivan has cohesively expressed what I believe to be the democrat's problem with the democrats.

Namely their penchant for polarized behavior, which begins on the active radical side of things, is quickly squashed by people who actually think with their brains, and their ensuing silence on all things related to that particular issue from fear of being called more names.

That silence coupled with a moderately cogent mantra from the right, leads to victories for the conservatives every time because as Sullivan so brilliantly states in her article "In politics, as in most areas of life, something always beats nothing."

Unfortunately for the blue team they consistently paint themselves into the silent corner and thereafter become too timid to fight their way out again.

What the democratic party needs are some politicians who are willing to think first, speak next and when the day is done not be afraid to admit to and learn from a mistake. We'll see.

Wired News:

2006-10-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

A hacker who as a teen cracked the encryption on DVDs has found a way to unlock the code that prevents iPod users from playing songs from download music stores other than Apple's iTunes, his company said on Tuesday.

I wouldn't have thought that this type of information would be so quickly disseminated to the media, as hackers work more often than not on the DL; because this kind of thing is still illegal, right?

Play With It And See For Yourself

2006-10-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

Economists at the American Enterprise Institute have developed a website, where through graphical interface one can adjust different factors that will affect the overall cost of the war in Iraq, to see for themselves what economic damage will be done where.

Very interesting.

Who Dunnit

2006-10-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Washington Post:

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) spent nearly three hours behind closed doors with the House ethics committee yesterday, describing what he knew about then-Rep. Mark Foley's relationships with young male pages and when he knew it.

So Foley flirts with boys, Reynolds calls him on it, Hastert has to testify to the ethics committee and all the while there is this he said she said game going on in the background among all the other people involved in this scandal.

I could here point out that this just keeps getting worse and worse for the GOP, but I won't. Instead I would like to emphasize the disgust that is festering amongst the American people concerning Congress, and the Senate as wholes.

How can they expect us to believe that they can run this country when they can't even run a proper investigation on only one of their members? How can they expect us to believe what any of them are saying when in this entire investigation, the one thing that has been missing is somebody coming out and saying "oh yeah, that was me; I did that?"

What has been replacing the truth has been a lot of "no, it didn't happen that way," or "that person's account is inaccurate, believe me." Well sirs, we don't believe you. Period.

Unfortunately what will be lost in this scandal because of it's timing is the overall corruption of both of our houses, and instead will further lend to a bitter loss for the Republicans, of at least one of the houses next month.

I Don't Buy It

2006-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

Marc Cutillo, Guest Butler over at Head Butler:

“Overwhelm my resistance.”

These were the Butler's words when I approached him about reviewing John Mayer's new album, “Continuum”. My argument: Mayer is this generation's Eric Clapton.

Well I haven't heard the album yet, but given what I have heard from Mayer's past performances, Mr. Cutillo's opinion seems to be a bit of a stretch.
Still, I haven't heard it, so I won't here cast too many stones.

A Squash Of The Same Old Color

2006-10-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading an op-ed peice in today's New York Times that I found intriguing:

THIS time of the year, the windows of America are beginning to be dotted with carefully carved jack-o-lanterns, but in a week or so, the streets will be splotched with pumpkin guts. Orange gourds will fly from car windows, fall from apartment balconies, career like cannon fire from the arms of pranksters craving the odd satisfaction of that dull thud.

McWilliams goes on to discuss the dietary and cultural injustice that is being exacted upon our society, not by youngsters with their squash graffiti, but by modern farmers who have cultivated a strictly for show pumpkin that barely resembles the orange globes of old that were a staple to the diets of our ancestors.

The reason I found this so interesting is because I always wondered growing up what exactly was happening to our Jack O' Lanterns the day afterHalloweenn. My mother would typically make pumpkin pie, which was always a bonus, but I never believed that the entire pumpkin was being put to use for this task. So I surmised that it was simply being thrown out.

But why? Because the pumpkins grown today are mass produced to fit the $5 billion mold they have gotten themselves into, making them bitter, stringy and generally not all that appetizing. This is unfortunate. I have always wanted to cook an entire pumpkin and simply eat it as though it were meat, or any other type of squash. Now I know why I never have, and more importantly, I know how I can.

There are all kinds of websites online, like this one , where one can purchase heirloom pumpkin seeds which are much more kin to the old style pumpkins. There are also accounts like these by people who are much crazier than I am about this whole edible pumpkin thing. But crazy or not, this year I look forward to roasting a whole pumpkin and fulfilling my childhood dreams.

The Preferred Drug Of Hope

2006-10-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Christian Science Monitor:

BUTARE, RWANDA – The "land of a thousand hills" is in the midst of an uphill climb back to normalcy. Known for the genocide that a decade ago claimed 800,000 lives in 100 days as Hutus massacred Tutsis, Rwandans may find that one road to healing leads through their country's thousands of coffee fields, where Hutus and Tutsis now grow their crop - together.

I'm sure I will be hearing more insider information about this from Starbucks in the near future.

Going Nowhere, Fast

2006-10-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

Proposition 107

2006-10-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Arizona Republic:

In November, Arizona voters will be asked to decide on 19 initiatives, on issues from state trust land to public smoking. But no measure strikes the emotional chord of Proposition 107, known as Protect Marriage Arizona.

On its surface, the initiative is about gay marriage. But it's also about morality and religion, sex and family, politics and health insurance, the role of government in setting a moral tone and the right of individuals to find happiness in their relationships.

Though I haven't found same sex marriage to be as prevalent as say illegal immigration in this state, it's not surprising that it is an issue as Arizona leans a little to the right. However, I think it is important to note one thing from this article:

Con: Same-sex marriage is illegal in Arizona. The real impact of the initiative will be to take away domestic-partner benefits, such as health insurance, from the partners of hundreds of government employees, gay and straight.

This is true. It is perfectly illegal to have a same sex marriage in this state. So while I offer no indication of my own personal stance on this issue, I do think it is important to illuminate the proposition with some clarification, call a spade a spade and decide whether we are willing to take away any and all opportunity of government assistance for people in same sex relationships. When put in more moderate and rational terms such as these, effectively shedding some of the religious stigma associated with homosexuals; it is not so black and white.

It is not my place here and now to cast a personal partisan vote. I do believe however, as I have stated in the past, that the majority of this country are moderate, while only the few, the proud and the ignorant are those with enough campaign money to buy the megaphones. With that in mind, I will pounce on any opportunity that may arise, to take the initiatives of either the too far left or too far right, and put them in more moderate terms; so that we may have some idea of exactly what it is we are voting on.

For more on the Pro/Con debate look here and here.

Understandably Hesitant

2006-10-15T19:16:00.000-07:00

The Christian Science Monitor reports:

NEW DELHI AND BOSTON - Chris Brookfield can fairly say that this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner changed his life.

He is not one of the hundreds of well-wishers who thronged Muhammad Yunus's Bangladesh home this weekend to celebrate a bright moment for a troubled nation. Nor has he ever received one of Dr. Yunus's microloans - loans of as little as $30 that have helped raise millions from abject poverty.

Read further and you will find that Yunus is none too happy with the idea of big western banks coming in and capitalizing on this phenomenal program; which is understandable. Unfortunately this is the way of things, especially when it comes to economic ventures.

Eventually it all comes down to capitalism. Which I am in no way saying I have a problem with; I don't. It's just notable to mention here because of the sheer inevitability of it all.

This is just cool, even if it is a little ridiculous.

2006-10-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Senator Kerry Casting Stones

2006-10-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post reports:

MANCHESTER, N.H., Oct. 14 -- Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) barely said hello to the New Hampshire Democrats who filled a banquet room here Friday night before unloading on President Bush.

"This war in Iraq is a disgrace," he said in the second sentence of his speech at a party fundraising dinner.

So what else is new?
Does anyone still listen to this guy?
I don't even mean for that to be offensive. I am genuinely curious, does anyone still listen to anything he says?

Well Rounded Up

2006-10-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit has a lengthy personal perspective of what the GOP has unnecessarily botched over the last year or so which may or may not lead to the loss of a coveted home in November.

Along with his "partial list" of errors, there is also some pretty good dialogue that follows.

I was talking last night with a fellow polisci major and the one thing that she stressed was that she felt like more and more even politicians weren't making any difference. It is well know that this is the general consensus among the populace, but I am seeing it grow stronger and stronger among the youth in the field of politics.

So of course I reminded her that all politics are local, which I have found to be true over and over again, and that when students place too much of their focus on Washington they tend to lose sight of that. And if you focus on Washington the first thing you will find is that Washington refuses to have anything to do with your difference.

Secondly I expressed my frustration with the two party system as it stands. The majority of this country are moderate, both as far as the citizens are concerned and as far as the politicians are concerned. Unfortunately all we ever hear and see are the squeaky wheels. This is of course because all of the rational moderates out there believe there is no way their voice will count for anything if they try and use it. It is a classic case of a rather intelligent 4th grader forced into silence by the big bully who will toilet dunk him and steal his lunch money if he acts up; and also occasionally for no reason at all.

This is of course no one's fault but our own. Fear of acceptance, or fear of any kind for that matter should never stand in the way of the intelligent getting in their two cents. Still, this is what's happening. So the two party system dominates because their dumb brutes, controlled by sly puppet masters in the wings are the loudest, so they get the most support in terms of sheer numbers, which in turn means the most money.

The problem for the moderates is that by definition they are not the loudest, though they inherently will have more to say. And unfortunately for them they have yet to have the innovative ideas necessary to put themselves on the map. So the $600,000 question is: What will it take for rational individuals who aspire to do great things in politics, to come up with the funding to run a smart, innovative and successful campaign against say, an oil tycoon.

I do not believe this country has given itself so completely over to the NFL that an intelligent, middle of the road kind of guy or gal with a minimal budget and some bangin' ideas doesn't stand a chance. What we need is a whole lot more of a whole little.

This Guy's Gonna Do Alright

2006-10-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

Someone To Fall Back On

2006-09-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I don't have any real problem finding cultural paraphernalia for myself: things to watch, things to listen to and things to read.

There are times however, maybe after a long week of studying or a long week of work, where I simply haven't found any opportunity to scout things on the lighter side of life.

Recently I have been relying on a wonderful website to make up for my misgivings called Head Butler. Head Butler is run by Jesse Kornbluth and provides a simple, but indispensable service; namely to provide you with interesting things to occupy your off time.

Jesse has a real knack for being an interesting and comprehensive critic without the pomp. You have a couple of options when you visit Head Butler. You can either subscribe to Jesse's daily email suggestions, as I do, or you can just browse around and find things that may fit your fancy.

As one who has not only a somewhat impressive knowledge of cultural things like movies and books, but also an insatiable taste for decent art, I will tell you that Head Butler has yet to let me down. Whenever I am at a loss for what to watch or read or listen to, I know I have a friend in Head Butler.

Give it a gander, you will not be disappointed.

A Layman's Perspective

2006-09-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Look, I don't mean to say that I know more than the Motley Fools, because I don't.
They are superior in these things.

And this may or may not prove my point.

The only two things I would like to point out here correspond to one and two:

1. The fed was indeed on this trend until Greenspan retired nearing six months ago; but have since taken a hiatus of sorts and. . .

2. Apparently the yield curve is flat, which signifies a depression. Riddle me this Batman. With only one depression in this nation's history, how can we effectively calculate any possible repeats of the same incident?

Nano-upset

2006-09-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

I am a little peeved by this.

Mainly because it wasn't a year ago that I walked out of the local Apple store, perfectly content with the purchase of my spiffy 30 gig ipod. That was halfway a big deal back then, as the 60 gig was a hundred dollars more. Now that wasn't completely out of my price range, but I figured if I just set aside some of my laziness and warmed up to the idea of manually managing my ipod, I could save myself one hundred dollars; and that is precisely what I did. Yay for me right?

Until not eight months later when they release the 80 gig ipod that is retailing for fifty dollars less than its former counterpart, the 60 gig.

I know I know. This is the way of things; especially where technology is concerned.

That doesn't mean I can't gripe a little before I go out and drop another two fifty for the latest and greatest noose that Jobs is willing to hang me with.

Now Now Gentlemen

2006-09-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

"I was a better president than you will ever be, you loser!"

Nuh uh, Nuh uh. How could you have been a good president with that girl's cooties?"

"Knock it off boys! Your Mother is tired of all the fighting."

"Well he started it."

Oprah in 08?

2006-09-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Don't let the title fool you; it is just a snide journalistic ploy to try and catch your attention so that you'll read this post.

Not really though. I am certainly no journalist so I wouldn't be using journalistic ploys to catch your attention, I just couldn't think of anything else to name the post.

Anyhow, there is a man who has apparently spent a lot of money on his solo push to get the mega self-help star to run in the 2008 presidential election. Her estate, however is none too happy over the ordeal and is threatening legal action because she apparently in no way wants her name involved with the campaign.

I don't know what's more ridiculous here: the fact that this man could ever cook the notion in his little brain to the point of having it smell like a good idea to elect Oprah for president? Or the fact that such a billionaire opinion shaper could think that this is the first time that some quack has thought, "hey, I like that Oprah. She's reeel nice. Maybe she should be the president of this here USofA."

(Pulled from Instapundit)

Sucks To Be This Guy

2006-09-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

But then I suppose more often than not you have this kind of thing coming.

Not Only Do I Not Like It, I Also Don't Buy It

2006-09-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

Amba over at Ambivablog is getting a little anxious:

Bigger than 9/11
This is the kind of attack Al-Qaeda is threatening against the US, warning all American Muslims to flee New York and Washington.

And:

Muslims ordered to leave the United States
Final preparations have been made for the American Hiroshima [ ... ]

Read the whole post for context.

Not only have we heard all of this before, let's be perfectly honest with ourselves here; say al-Quada is able to penetrate our security this time (meaning they will have to take off most of their clothes and leave all of their make-up behind), do we remember what happened last time?
They had box-cutters.

I am not trying to minimize the tragedy of September 11th. I am only trying to point out that through all of the strategic planning and monumental effort it took for these terrorists to pull off a 9/11, we got utility knives. Am I supposed to believe that after five years of peace and security on the homeland that their claims of an American Hiroshima is credible? I imagine that if they do break through our heightened security a second time, which is highly unlikely, they may be packing pellet guns if their technology can withstand such an increased level of evolution.

And dare I say that this time American civilians will not go so quietly into the night. I hardly think that any terrorist with a machete dripping blood from the tip and an m-16 stepping onto a local trolley would jade a hardened American these days. They caught us off guard once, that will not happen again.

So, let them bring their Hiroshima. It will carry the appearance of an intense fourth grade recess brawl that is quickly stomped upon by the impatient teacher. I am tired of seeing United States citizens living in fear of not only these people, but any people. This country is what it is for a reason. We have fought and bled harder than this to be what we are. I think we can fight and bleed again to keep it.

Still, if you see thousands of Muslims leaving Manhattan over the next couple of weeks, you may want to take corrective action.

Sumeria Rearing Its Ugly Little Head Again

2006-09-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Alister Doyle, an Environment Correspondent at Reuters looks at war. . . over water?

With a steady stream of bleak predictions that "water wars" will be fought over dwindling supplies in the 21st century, battles between two Sumerian city-states 4,500 years ago seem to set a worrying precedent.

And whether we could be facing such a conflict as we grope our way into the new millenium.

A Bit Naive

2006-08-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

One gets so wrapped up in politics in the blogosphere, mainstream media and college life, that it is easy to forget that there is a huge percentage of the American population out there that still have no idea what's happening in the arena of politics.

I was reminded of this a moment ago as I was surfing through Instapundit and came across this post by David Weigel at Hit and Run.

I only post it now so that you can ask yourselves two questions:

1. Do you know who Ned Lamont and Joe Lieberman are?

2. And if you do. . . Do you know why the recent Lieberman loss is so significant?

If you answered yes to both of these questions then you have the political knowledge necessary for meaningful political efficacy, and you are probably already out there using it; so this isn't for you.

If you answered no to either or both of these questions then you might want to do some homework, because whether you would believe it or not, it has more than a little to do with your personal future.

Good luck.

Moderately Interesting

2006-08-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

The Christian Science Monitor has posted the first two of several parts of a story recounting the capture and detention of Jill Carrol, one of their middle-east reporters.

As I am sure everyone knows by now Jill Carrol was safely returned some months ago (I apologize for not knowing the exact return date), and now she is ready to tell her tale. The article, complete with interview footage as well as text, is pretty interesting; at least worth a gander.

Still Can't Be That Simple

2006-08-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

David Schraub gives a possible update on anti-semitism; from the UN?:

University of Missouri International Law scholar Peggy McGuinness has the latest episode in the farce that has become the UN Human Rights Council. Over the past 40 years, a full 30% of the HRC's resolutions were directed at Israel.

I am reminded of Michael Medved's article here. Is this the same attitude, only on a multi-national level?

Begrudgingly

2006-08-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

As difficult as I find this to say, I kind of agree with Andrew Sullivan on this one.

The Things You'd Never Know

2006-08-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

I was browsing over at Hypotyposeis and was informed of what is now a free service, called WorldCat; which basically searches through library catalogs for you.

I was on the site a few minutes ago and for each title I typed in, I was shown not only the availability, but the call number as well, for virtually every library in Tucson.

What a great service.

More On Reutergate

2006-08-09T21:02:00.000-07:00

Justin Gardner at Donklephant has a compare and contrast type post on the photoshopped picture published by Reuters recently. The photographer, Adnan Hajj, who has since been fired for his piss-poor decision making, really botched this one.

The thing that gets me is that when I look at the original vs the doctored, I can't understand why he would have felt it necessary. The original is quite disturbing in its own rite. Why make it a cheap Microsoft attempt at a Bruckheimer style Pearl Harbor?

Have our imaginations really suffered so deeply, to the point that we need some crack-pot adding incredibly fake smoke to an already smoke filled picture; coming from a place where most of us realize by reading the daily news that the Lebanese civilians are perfectly innocent of these grade school shenanigans?

How pitiful.

I Like To Loiter

2006-08-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

Ann's post is serious though, so you should give it a read.

Is Anti-Semitism Really That Simple?

2006-08-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Michael Medved has this:

Whether it’s the angry international reaction to Israel’s efforts to defend itself in Lebanon, or Mel Gibson’s drunken rant in Malibu, the age-old specter of anti-Semitism refuses to disappear. With only 13 million Jews in the world – less than one fourth of one percent of the earth’s population – why does this tiny group inspire such bitter, widespread and often violent animosity?

Read the article for Medved's answer.

(Pulled from Instapundit)

I'm Back Guys. . . Well, Sorta

2006-08-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay.
Took a short hiatus for a summer class in which I got to write a ten page paper on human sacrifice. Seriously, how cool is my instructor. And on top of that, though I hold no deep personal grudge toward the mans work, there was not an ounce of Shakespeare!

What sort of English Professor is this you draconian purists ask? The best kind that's who. I took more from this class than I have from any prior. It was all about love and trust in relationships; and I think it is a compliment to my instructor when I say that this class made me drink a little more than usual.

Kidding aside however, I reflected upon life as I never have before and kudos to him for breaking a few more pieces off the shell of this cynical grandchild of the industrial revolution.

That said the paper for a second English class is plenty for the A, but crap for an actual research paper that people outside of my classroom may actually want to read. I will continue to work on it however, through next semester, and hopefully someday it may see the light of publication.

More to come soon.

Like Having A Mortal Vendetta Towards A Bean Bag

2006-08-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

And where Ann Althouse proves my point, Andrew Sullivan can't help but try and disprove it.

A Horse Of A Different Color

2006-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Austin Bay has news.

Wait what? It doesn't pertain to Israel's public pelting of the innocent bystander Lebanon, who in turn is really losing the war due to fantastic marketing on Hezbollah's part?

Can't be. . .

At least someone remembers North Korea.

I think Ann Althouse speaks for me on this one.

Perhaps

2006-08-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

You know, I wasn't going to comment on this, but now I can't resist.

Gibson seems to be enrolling in Jackson/Cruise 101. Which is really quite unfortunate because much unlike the other two, I rather respected Gibson.

Oh well.

Observing Nature?

2006-07-28T00:07:00.000-07:00

Glenn Reynolds has this account of a 21 year old man being arrested after taking a picture of the police in the midst of doing their job.

I have nothing more to expound upon other than to say I might get myself a lawyer after having received a line like this on the nature of my photographic conduct:

Cruz said police told him that he broke a new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones.

What?
"A new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones?" I realize that some legislation in this country has gotten out of hand, but this just seems a little Willy Wonka, try the Schnozzberry ridiculous to me. The man took a picture from his home of something that everyone else could see.

So I can go see Panic! At the Disco in concert, but I can't listen to them on my ipod? What a world it would be if we were not able to publicly enjoy public things.

Archaic Disenchantment

2006-07-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

Abivablog on the cons. . . And pros? Of e-text:

Those who object to the digitization of literature -- I have been known to be one of them -- like to wax rhapsodic about the object known as The Book: its texture, its weight, its intimacy, and if it's a paperback, its snug portability. A book is a world you can hold in your hand; its cover is the door to an alternate universe. A book is tangible and tractable; the pages bend to your will with a whisper. And so on. Books are wonderful. Books are irreplaceable.

Though I think she is focusing more on ebooks here, which tends to emphasize more the fiction side of online literature; slowly all written text is evolving into electronic form.

I used to agree completely with the reminiscent ideology of which Amba now previously finds herself, until I got an ipod.
Once I versed myself in that little piece of technology, I never looked back. It has been nearly a year since I have purchased a CD, and I can't imagine myself ever needing to again. Even though I always swore I would never go electronic because I had to have the liner notes and the jewel case and the simple weight of the disc in my hands. . .
That is all gone now.

I believe I am on board with the electronic books, of whatever sort they may be. It just kind of makes more sense.

Help Is On The Way

2006-07-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

Austin Bay has this on the US Navy's rescue attempts post Israeli air-strike aftermath.

I'm with Bay, my money's on the USN.

When Your Second Home Is Being Destroyed

2006-07-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Michael Totten is unhappy:

Insulting my personal friends while they are driven out of their homes as war refugees is not acceptable. My old neighborhood is under attack. My friends are terrified and in danger. How on earth do you expect me to feel about this right now? If you can't factor these things into account before bloviating in the comments, then you do not get to comment. Comments are closed until further notice.

In the meantime, allow me to clarify a few things so (some of you) can stop thinking I've decided Israel is the enemy or that Hassan Nasrallah deserves anything but a headstone or a war crimes tribunal.

Obviously Hezbollah started this and Hezbollah is the main problem. Not only did they drag my second home into a war, the bastards also threatened me personally. So I hardly see the point in telling you what I think about them right about now. I'll get to them later.

I can't begin to understand his frustration, as I am in no position to even really know exactly where Lebanon is located on a map, let alone call it my second home.

Still, I have a slight tendency to disagree that the only two countries benefiting from the Israeli outbreak are Syria and Iran. I acquiesce, they may in fact be benefiting, but I think this is a positive position for Israel to take as well.

The current Israeli leadership brings virtually no military experience to the table, and I am sorry but the world is not built on diplomacy. Diplomacy is just an afterthought; perpetual 20/20 hinesight. The fact of the matter is that the world is built on war, whether we all like it or not. So if Israel, under this new and fragile leadership is to prove any military strength and fortitude at all, now is the time.

A New Namco Marketing Scheme... Targeting Chimps?

2006-07-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Andrew Sullivan has this at The Daily Dish.

Would you ever have thought that Ms. Pacman could have so much to teach us?

And to think that there are actually still people out there who refuse to believe that homo-erectus did not evolve from the primate.

Finally Stepping Up To The Plate

2006-07-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press reports:

The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Saturday condemning North Korea's recent missile tests and demanding that the reclusive communist nation suspend its ballistic missile program. North Korea said it "totally rejects" the resolution and will continue missile launches to bolster its self-defense.

The agreement was reached after a last-minute compromise between Japan, the United States and Britain, who wanted a tough statement, and Russia and China, who favored weaker language.

This is a good move on China and Russia's part. They had come close to irreparable damage over the last week and a half, but now seem to be back on track; good communist countries.

If you don't believe me for whatever ungodly reason, Austin Bay has this:

The resolution demands the Pyongyang cease its ballistic missile testing programs.

Saving face is important in every human groupÂ face is particularly important in North Asia, in social relationships and in diplomacy. The North Korean ballistic missile tantrum cost China a bit of face. That loss of face has just been avenged.

Ultimately it doesn't matter who fine tunes the details of who said what; it really only matters that these countries are finally on board.

Vlog #3, Apparently

2006-07-14T22:08:00.000-07:00

My favorite republican, Ann Althouse has her third vlog up and running.
If you are a dork like I am, you will laugh heartily the entire time this vlog is rolling.

If of course you are a normal person, you probably won't. I just hope that you give the video a complete watch as there is bound to be at least one issue Ann touches on that will frill your little fannypacks.

Give it a watch, it's fun if nothing else.

Hate To Say I Told You So

2006-07-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

The International Herald Tribune reports on the continued and increasingly more fierce Israeli air strikes on Lebanon:

Beirut Israel extended punishing airstrikes deeper inside Lebanon on Friday, as President George W. Bush rebuffed a Lebanese request that he push Israel for a cease-fire.

Israeli warplanes hit areas in Beirut's suburbs that are linked to the militant group Hezbollah, cut the main highway between the capital and Damascus, and struck power plants near Beirut and a Palestinian training camp near the Syrian border.

I mean it's not a complete I told you so, as Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel, making it more of a war than a public beating. Still, it's kind of like watching an overrated minor league hockey team take on the Stanley Cup Champs; painful.

Replacing The Squeaky Wheel...With Another One?

2006-07-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

The New York Times:

Representative John A. Boehner won the job of House majority leader amid a post-Abramoff clamor for an overhaul of lobbying and ethics rules. But nearly six months later, the changes are still tied up in Congress. And far from trying to put the brakes on lobbyists and the money they channel into Republican coffers, Mr. Boehner, who has portrayed his ties to Washington lobbyists as something to be proud of, has stepped on the gas.

Good to see that money still talks. I was beginning to worry there for a second. At least this money isn't frozen, right?

Blogging On The Lighter Side

2006-07-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry if the posts have been a little light lately.
I started second session summer school on Monday and it has been a little hectic. I have a research paper to pump out in 5 weeks and the stress is slowly burning the healing essence oils of my sanity.

I will try and keep everyone up to date on the paper as I write it, but in the mean time I will relay whatever relevant news that I can.

A Take On The Times Leaking Swift Information

2006-07-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Jacob Weisberg reports for Slate:

In the latest battle between the press and the White House, opinions have tended to break along predictable lines. The ACLU, most Democrats in Congress, and Frank Rich contend that the New York Times did the right thing in revealing government monitoring of international financial transactions through the SWIFT system. Dick Cheney, Republican House members, and a pitchfork-waving mob of talk-show hosts and conservative bloggers think exposing the operation damaged national security without justification. Lumping the recent disclosure together with earlier revelations about the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program, feverish voices on the right are calling for journalists to be prosecuted for treason.

While defending the fundamental institution of Journalism, Weisberg gives his opinion on why it was still wrong for The New York Times to report when they did.

(Pulled from Instapundit)

Leave It To The Da Vinci Code

2006-07-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

Austin Bay's TCS Daily column on the Mumbai train bombing is up.

He urges all you secret society folk to leave your morbid fascination with numbers at church, as pointing the finger at al-Qaida prematurely will surely be a moral victory for them.

China Comes A Little Closer

2006-07-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

China and Russia have submitted their proposal to the UN on what should be done about North Korea, but it lacks the luster that the Western backed Japan had hoped for:

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China and Russia introduced a U.N. Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would urge North Korea to suspend its nuclear program but avoid mandatory weapons-related sanctions as sought by Japan.

Japan, backed by the United States, Britain and France welcomed the new draft and said it moved closer to their position but fell short.

One has to wonder if these two major hitters are taking baby steps towards aligning their own agendas with everyone else's. Though if that's the case, why?

Time will tell, I suppose, whether these hesitations are justified or if there is some global marketing scheme taking place that I can't see.

Not Always So Easy To Be Unhappy With Your Government

2006-07-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

As these poor chaps found out the hard way, criticizing your government may earn you the black bag (has anyone seen V for Vendetta?):

MOSCOW, July 11 - The Russian security officers, in plain clothes, arrived in the late afternoon at a hotel where a pro-democracy conference was being held, witnesses said.

They swiftly seized four members of a political movement opposed to President Vladimir V. Putin, handcuffed them and rushed them away. Then they turned on a German magazine correspondent who tried to photograph the arrests. One of the officers snatched his camera and left with it, too.

Sometimes I forget what it means to be an American, and how it was people just like the ones mentioned above who fought and bled for the exact same ideals; and won them for me.

The Positivity of Absolute Value

Process Selection and Facility Layout

This Is Why I Don't Read Traditional News

Capacity

Product Design

It's That Time Again

The Much Anticipated Inauguration

Why Am I Here?

Socialist Cuba... Unite?

On To Politics

Duke Lacrosse Shenanigans Revisited

What Happens When Patriots Doctor Historical Photos?

They Can't Be Serious

The Passing of Loved Ones

Payola Scandals To Come To A Real Halt?

To Bind, Or... Well You Know The Rest

Everything Can Be Reduced To Semantics

Obama More Than Up And Running

This Is The Article

Satisfied With An Insurance Company

Blu-ray Victorious

For All You Fantasy Congress Players

Jobs And Team Introduce New iphone

Leave It To Oprah To Bring Me Back

Are You Freaking Kidding Me!

Mark Davis:

David Schraub Does Some Venting Over At The Debate Link

This Is True

The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Times Of London

Thank The Sweet Lord Above

Christian Science Monitor:

Some Things Never Change

An Interesting Perspective

I Have No Real Beef With This...

This Was Relatively Painless

A Democratic Edict

Election News

The Source For Election News

Information You Should Use

You Will Probably Never Use This Information

Too Slow On The Draw

Instapundit:

More Headlines For Rove

Wired News:

The Washington Post:

Rallying, Just Days Before The Election

A Couple Of Notable Deaths

The Weekly Standard

Amy Sullivan of the USA Today:

Wired News:

Play With It And See For Yourself

Who Dunnit

I Don't Buy It

A Squash Of The Same Old Color

The Preferred Drug Of Hope

Going Nowhere, Fast

Proposition 107

More A Problem Than A Solution

Understandably Hesitant

This is just cool, even if it is a little ridiculous.

Senator Kerry Casting Stones

Well Rounded Up

This Guy's Gonna Do Alright

Someone To Fall Back On

A Layman's Perspective

Nano-upset

Now Now Gentlemen

Oprah in 08?

Sucks To Be This Guy

Not Only Do I Not Like It, I Also Don't Buy It

Sumeria Rearing Its Ugly Little Head Again

A Bit Naive

Moderately Interesting

Still Can't Be That Simple

Begrudgingly

The Things You'd Never Know

More On Reutergate

I Like To Loiter

Is Anti-Semitism Really That Simple?