Confutus Says

Closing

2009-10-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

This blog is now inactive. However, it is being continued in a new blog, the new (not the old) From the Ground.

European influence

2009-05-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've been working with various major groups of nations of the world in my latest work on the knowledge base, and sometimes I wonder how this is supposed to be interesting. As the saying goes, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees.
So I've found it useful to step back and look at what large-scale patterns seem to be emerging.

One of them is the huge impact European civilization has made on the world in the past five hundred years or so. While much is made of the eurocentrism of various historians and social scientists, there has been an undeniably huge influence that cannot be ignored. The remedy, it seems, is not to discard Western Civilization, but to give due importance to the other peoples. I've been working with this idea for years, so it seems more or less natural to me now, and I forget that it's still controversial in some quarters. Nevertheless, there are British and American footprints and cultural imprints all over the world. Some of the gaps I'm trying to fill include knowledge of the Spanish colonial empire, or the influence of France, the Netherlands, and so on. It's evident that the coastal nations of Europe had a much larger share of worldwide influence in modern times than, say, Italy or Greece, or Hungary. There have been both virtues and flaws in Western civilization. I'll probably wind up discussing these in more detail in the future.

I love my job

2009-05-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Even though it doesn't pay a dime, and never has.

My principal job, or hobby if you prefer, is a self-imposed one of bringing together a compilation of knowledge in a digestible form. I've been working at least a little bit on the Knowledge Base six days a week for the last couple of years. Although a lot of it has seemed boring and mechanical, there are times when I can glimpse enough of the vision to keep me going.

Recently, on my Independent Learning Blog, I've been keeping track of my work on the base, just in case anyone is interested in seeing what I'm doing. From what I can tell, that doesn't amount to very many people. On days like today, however, I feel like telling the world what I'm doing.

One subject that has absorbed a great deal of my attention is world history. That's from the beginning of humankind to today, and into the future. Even thought he beginning is not clearly known and the future hasn't happened yet. I have it divided into slices, because you can't cover everything at once, but it's really one continuous tale. I have a general outline, and my progress consists of filling in the gaps and the details. Those gaps and details are important, because sometimes a single moment can change a larger part of history than we can predict, so there's always a need for more work.

One of the things that's been holding me back, oddly enough is a self-imposed limitation. I've been adding nations to the knowledge base in fairly strict order of present population, which works well for recent history, but increasingly badly as I go back in time. Just for an example, Greece and Portugal are fairly close in population and fairly far down the list. Neither one is especially prominent in world affairs today. But, go back five centuries, and Portugal ruled the first modern colonial empire, and its absence creates a gaping hole in the 16th century. Go back two thousand years, and you can hardly mention the classical period without discussing Greece. Just getting to the point of including them is an achievement.
(Just so long as you don't ask the Knowledge Base what was going on in Portugal in 1509 or Greece, in 9 AD...I haven't gotten that far yet, which sort of deflates the bubble of euphoria). Just having the link is a big step. As another for instance, I now have an outline of how Western Europe is linked to modern nations of Africa. (Again, just don't ask which African Colonies were French and which were British, and when they became independent, let alone why, I haven't gotten that fair yet).

There have been lots of moments of achievement like this, and there will certainly be many more. Sometimes, just enough to keep me slogging ahead.

I still don't have a clear answer to the question of what this is all good for.
(shsh), But I believe there are answers and I'm getting closer to them.

Slipping

2009-05-14T00:42:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I have been slow at updating this particular blog is that I've been busy working on the Knowledge Base. When I observe comments on political themes and major concerns, most of them seem to be silly, many of them based on anecdotes and personal experiences, and few of them based on real knowledge of the world, or part of it, and most of those who do comment on the broader themes seem to be better informed than I am.

For instance, I ventured to post some of my thoughts on Feminism on a Feminist blog, and got pretty much flamed for it by one of the principal contributors to the blog. I've thought of posting the discussion here, and more fully expounding on by views, but haven't yet decided to do it. Perhaps another time.

Library Thing

2009-04-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

Around last Christmas, after seeing a couple of comments scattered elsewhere, I decide trying to catalog my personal library using Library Thing. Over half my personal library is still in storage in Nebraska, but I thought I'd try the site out on what I have with me. One of my favorite parts is the recommendations for other books, based on what I have. I've already read enough of those that I like those recommendations. I'm always on the lookout for new books that somewhat fit the taste of the ones I have.

Also, I find that there are some great books that I've read that don't fit in my current preferences, and I'd like to know more like those, so I can broaden my reading. My current library is rather modest (72 not counting the computer and technical works, which I've set aside for now, or the ones I know I left in storage), but there are a great many more that I have and have read, and would perhaps like to get and even reread if I had the room and the money.

I'm getting a bit tired of rereading the same books, and I'd like to branch out and try some more. And maybe I'm showing off a little, and maybe I'm not going to feel guilty about it, since I don't even have to be the greatest reader in the world. One of the top ten thousand in the country will do.

Asperger's thoughts

2009-04-21T15:09:00.001-07:00

I was indulging in one of my vices lately, going through and reading some of my favorite web sites. Elizabeth Moon , a prominent author of Science Fiction and Fantasy, whose works include "The Speed of Dark", written from the viewpoint of an autistic man, expressed her opinion of the attitude displayed on the FAAAS web site as not helpful. Since I was diagnosed with Apserger's syndrome about four years ago. I'm naturally interested in learning things about my own condition, so I visited the site. I came away angry and saddened. To quote from it:

Asperger's Syndrome is a neurological disorder on the autism spectrum that has been recognized only since about 1994. It has many features of classical autism, but it lacks the intellectual learning disabilities. Individuals with this syndrome have difficulty with social aspects of intelligence, such as understanding what those around them think and feel. As a result, they often behave inappropriately in social situations or act in ways that appear unkind or callous. Many have difficulty planning and coping with change despite average or even exceptional intelligence in academic or intellectual areas. This manifests itself as a notable lack of "common sense."

Oh yes, do I know that one. I was told that my father once said, (and probably thought, many a time) How can a kid that bright be so stupid? In another conversation I once overheard between former parents-in-law:

She: You should let him use his own judgment.
He: But he doesn't have good judgment.

Ouch. Several years later, I must confess that he was right, but I would still have problems with him leaping in to substitute his good judgment for my poor one. In practical matters like how to complete formal education and get a decent job, mine was nothing to crow about. It still isn't. I don't know how to work around that. But that part doesn't bother me so much anymore. It's the next part that does.

It is the spouses, siblings, children, and co-workers of those
affected with Asperger's Syndrome that experience the emotional pain, especially
when the correct diagnosis has been delayed until relatively late in adulthood.

Don't those who suffer from Asperger's Syndrome suffer emotional pain, too? Of course they do. To have Asperger's is to live in two worlds at once; a private one of your own, which no one else quite understands, and a public one which you do not quite understand. It is to get kicked in the teeth by the rules everyone else lives by. It is to be humiliated and embarrassed when you try to do things everyone else seems to do with ease, and fail. It is living with the consequences of your own ineptitude. It is to be invisibly handicapped in a world where even the visibly handicapped are often ignored, scorned and abused.

These family members are the ones we intend to help. Feelings of rejection and loneliness play a major role in the lives of the family members of an individual with Asperger’s Syndrome. Their feelings are not validated, acknowledged, or even recognized by the afflicted person.

With all due respect to the very real need for someone besides the afflicted to help, there is a snarky response:

"I'm sorry it's so hard to for you live with me. I have to live with myself, and you too. If it's a pity party you want, I bet I can throw a bigger one."
And a more reasonable one: "Yes, sometimes I am oblivious to your feelings. (Those with AS are prone to avoid eye contact, and thus not even see the subtle cues of emotion, and are notoriously prone to mono-focus on one thing and let everything else go hang). Or perhaps, "I do recognize and acknowledge them. I just can't do anything about them. " Those with AS live in an emotional pit; they're in very poor position to help anyone else out.

And still more rationally, since "Aspies" have a hard time with social relationships in the first place, even when they recognize they've hurt someone and try to amend a situation, their attempts to fix it are apt to just muck up their relationships even worse. Once they realize this, there's a tendency to quit trying, or withdraw into the private world instead dealing with the public one. Besides that, if a situation is emotionally charged, an Aspie is likelier than most to either spin out of control or be too busy riding the bronc to deal with the feelings of anyone else.

I've found that the very hardest people for me to deal with are those who view the clinical symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome as acts or failures of will or intent. To that group, there is nothing I can say in my own defense. Anything I do say is taken as self-serving and untrustworthy, and grounds for a further attack.

But Aperger's Syndrome, like the better known classical Autism it is related to, appears to be genetic or at least congenital. Its symptoms are no more a matter of will or intent than having Down syndrome, spina bifida, being left-handed, black-skinned, or female and 6'5", all of which also involve some difficulty to the affected and others around them. It's possible to adapt, it's possible to work around, and it's even possible to learn some of the various social skills that most people use to succeed, but the underlying condition remains.

It would be better if, instead of focusing only on the problems, the site included acknowedgement that AS does have a positive side.

To have Asperger's Syndrome is also to have the ability to think sideways, upside down, and outside the box. It is the ability to ignore distractions and overcome the most formidable obstacles in pursuit of what you love, without external reward. It is the ability to achieve in a short time what others require years to master, by intense, concentrated thought and work. It is to be sensitive to things that others miss. It is the ability to become an expert, and to excel at at something.

For a little more deep philosophy, I found a great truth in a certain remark, "It is nevery easy to have a great gift. Something is always withheld to compensate." And the inverse is also true. I do not believe anyone is born with a handicap without some blessing to go with it. For me, one side of Asperger's Syndrome is indeed a curse, but there's a gift on the other.

Stilll alive

2009-04-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

I do have at least one intermittent reader, who observed recently that I haven't updated this blog since November. Really? That long?
Well, I had been been emphasizing political things, and with the election of Barak Obama as President, I got discouraged. There was just too much going on, and too much of it uncertain, at the time. Also, I was getting too incensed at the various forms of stupidity that are becoming predominant in American culture, and lack the tools for effective rational argument.
In essence, I decided that I was going to have to go back to the slow and thorough approach of my knowledge base that I have been describing on the Independent Learning blog, and even that has been going slowly, since I decided that it made more sense if I turned the whole thing upside down. That project has been sort of crawling along. Shortly after making that decision, I decided to switch to what I call a need-driven approach to development. Results of that aren't in yet, but they are starting to look promising.

Today's work touched on the UN, so I think I'll mention something of my opinion of that body. It was created in the aftermath of World War II, and its charter was shaped by the politics of that time. I once encountered an analysis of political power based on the mathematics of voting coalitions, which concluded that most of the power is concentrated in the 5 permanent member of the Security Council, (precisely as intended by its founders). With the changes in in the world during the sixty years since its founding, this is becoming increasingly out of step with current world realities. I am uncomfortable with its clear secularism. Given the vigorous and intense disputes among religions, I can't think of a better alternative, secularism at least gives the pretense of neutrality, although in many ways it gives offense to traditional Christian, Muslim, and Jewish beliefs. The degree of hatred for Zionism in general and Israel in particular that I see in various UN resolutions and proposed resolutions surprises me. Far from being the "last, best hope" for world Peace that John F. Kennedy called it, it has developed a reputation for incompetence, inefficiency, and corruption. While it can claim a few successes, its failures appear to outnumber and outweigh them. In short, I have little trust in or respect for it.

Latest stuff

2008-11-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

I thought I was going have more to say on current events, but two items seem to be dominating the news. One is the current worldwide financial crisis that's erupted within the past two and a half months, with banks all over the world having to be bailed out. The other is the increased stridency of the gay rights movement since the approval of Proposition 8 in California.

I really don't have any solid information right now to back up my opinions that isn't available elsewhere, so rather than contribute to the general excess of hot air, I'll wait until I do.

Wait a minute

2008-11-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

In my examination of Obama's potential administration, I found myself dealing with a fog of
speculation, pinned to rather few eractual facts. Furthermore, I noted, the groundwork for many of the events that are likely to happen is being laid by events that are happening. I decided that trying to keep up how the policies and personell of the new Administration are likely to shape up was probably not the best use of my limited time, especially as I'm developing the ability to keep and discuss current events from a different perspective. I'll keep watching, but it won't be my principal focus.

Most of my effort has gone to the construction of the knowledge base I describe on my Independent learning blog. After several false starts in the past year, I'm approaching a point where I can keep track of of them. With that as a starting point, I can start discussing events from the broader perspective I've been looking for.

One subect I've found interesting is the discussion of space technology. The recent visible imaging of planets around two fairly nearby stars is something I used to read was probably impossible, and it's quite a feat for the adaptive imaging technology that's been used to locate them. India has launched a , so far, highly successful lunar exploration mission, and China recently had its third manned spaceflight. The launch of endeavor to expand the International Space Station also represents progress. There are moreUS missions in progress and shortly scheduled. It seems to be an optimistic time of progress, but I have some concerns.

One is that the US seems to have lost or to be losing its lead in Space technology. The Space shuttle is scheduled to be retired in 2 years, and the US will be dependent on Russian technology and resources for about a 5 year gap. And that's in the best case, assuming continuing funding for NASA and no huge cost overruns or technacal delays. If Russia continues its show of belligerence, I am not certain this is such a wise strategy for the US. The US went from suborbital projects to a moon landing twelve years, and it seems that NASA has become such an ossified bureacracy that, in spite of nearly 40 years of progress in space flight technology, it could not duplicate the feat.

The private programs that are actually building and testing craft that may, in a couple of generations worth of technology, face a heavy burden of regulations. I hope the US in general and the economy in particular don't crash and take them down with it as I fear they might, but I'm no better at predicting the future than the next man.

Expected Executive Orders

2008-11-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

John Podesta was on Fox News Sunday, discussing some of the Executive Orders Barak Obama
is likely to issue, several of which will apparently reverse long-standing policies that outgoing President Bush initiated. He mentioned four of these, specifically, and another advisor mentioned another.

Among the first orders to be reversed may be two that Bush signed shortly
after taking office in 2001. One of those barred the use of U.S. funds by family
planning groups overseas that provide abortion counseling.

Susan F. Wood, co-chairman of Obama's advisory committee for women's health,
said the president-elect also plans on reversing a policy that linked assistance
for combating AIDS in the developing world to requirements that health workers
emphasize monogamy and abstinence from sex over condom use.

Another is the limit on federal funding for embryonic stem- cell research,
a restriction that some scientists say hampers study to combat diseases such as
Parkinson's.

"They want to have oil and gas drilling in some of the most sensitive, fragile
lands in Utah that they're going to try to do right as they -- walking out the
door. I think that's a mistake,'' Podesta said.

On climate change and pollution, Obama previously has stated his opposition to
the administration's action that blocked California from regulating carbon
dioxide emissions from vehicles

Apart from the disrepsect for human life in general and children in particular that Obama's positions on abortion represent, there are other questions that arise:
1) Why should overseas family planning groups be receiving US taxpayer funding at all? Or any family planning groups?
2) Who benefits from restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the US? It is certainly not the companies that do it. and it may not be the environment. Might it be foreign suppliers?
3) Allowing California to impose carbon-dioxide emissions will make it harder on all autompbile manufacturers since automakers must in general design their vehicles for the entire country to meet the toughest state standards. This, at the very time when the new administration is proposing an expensive bailout for the US auto industry. Who benefits? I'm not sure I have a good answer for either one.

+++++

San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Duffy, at a rally outside the Oakland Temple earlier today,
November 10:

"The time has come to take it out there to the people who voted for this awful
thing, [Prop. 8]" said San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty. "The Mormon church
has had to rely on our tolerance in the past, to be able to express their
beliefs "... This is a huge mistake for them. It looks like they've forgotten
some lessons."

Am I reading this correctly as a threat to teach the Mormons a lesson? Religious liberty only exists when the GBLT community is willing to tolerate it? So when the Mormons express concern about gay marriage advocates eventually threatening their freedom of religion, it's a lie?

I really don't have the time to waste searching for words to properly express how I feel about this speech. So I'll just say they're rather the opposite of approving and leave it at that.

2008-11-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

For the past five years, John Podesta, the former Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton, has been building up the Center for American Progress, a liberal-oriented "think tank", or, as it is sometimes called, a virtual government-in-exile. According to this article,

Mr. Podesta has also poured money into building up liberal political communications. The center schedules events that often end up being shown on C-Span; sponsors about 60 liberal college newspapers; hosts a prominent blog, ThinkProgress.org; and provides a free downloadable daily news package called Mic Check for liberal radio stations to broadcast.

A number of wealthy donors and groups which have given grants to this group have been
identified, and it is heavily staffed by former Clinton administration officials.

+++++

Valerie Jarrett is described as a close family friend, "Obama's big sister" and even "the other side of Barak's brain". Her connections are not so much with Washington, but with the Chicago community of affluent blacks, many of whom have graduated from Ivy league universities.

+++++

Peter Rouse was formerly chief of staff for Senator Tom Daschle. When Daschle failed
re-election, Rouse began working for the newly elected Obama, and is credited with
helping direct his career in the Senate and his rise in the Democratic party and to the nomination.

Andrew Sullivan, writing about Rahm Emmanuel, as already mentioned, confirms his
a reputation as something of a shark. He is known for being in "the face" of opponents,
twisting arms, extracting commitments, and bullying, corralling, and pinioning party
members to get things accomplished.

In 2000, Emanuel was on the board of Freddie Mac, the now disgraced mortgage public-private entity whose overly generous loans helped to bring about the financial meltdown of the past two months. He has received a huge amount of campaign money from hedge funds, private equity firms and the financial industry.

+++++

Although I'm not familiar with the names of Obama's economic advisors or their
qualifications or political orientation, a number of them have been listed.

Press Conference

2008-11-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

President-elect Obama spoke briefly about what he expects his first moves to be in his first
press conference since winning the election.

He outlined a far-reaching and extensive stimulus package that he intends to push through
Congress as fast as possible (I note that the newly elected more heavily democratic majority that would speed his proposals through isn't in office yet) He mentions the credit crisis, increased unemployment insurance, job creation, help for the Automotive industry (While I would applaud more fuel-efficient cars, the government does not control either the laws of physics or consumer preferences). He also mentions thatstate and local governments are facing a crunch: They must raise taxes or cut services. This neglects the fact that the Federal government has a similar problem, because if the economy doesn't improve instantly, tax revenues will also decline, and with all these stimulus programs in place, spending will increase. Maybe he has a plan to deal with this, but I've seen more slogans than economic wisdom from his campaign.

More on Obama's crew

2008-11-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

Rahm Emmanual is reported to have accepted the job as Obama's chief of staff, and will
resign his seat as Representative.

According to the New York Times,

In turning to Mr. Emanuel and Mr. Podesta, Mr. Obama sought out two of the
hardest-hitting veterans of President Bill Clinton's administration, known
for their deep Washington experience, savvy and no-holds-barred approach to
politics. Neither is considered a practitioner of the “new politics” that
Mr. Obama promised on the campaign trail to bring Republicans and Democrats
together, suggesting that the cool and conciliatory new president is
determined to demonstrate toughness from the beginning.

Obama is expected to hold a press conference for tomorrow, Friday, Nov 8.

Obama's crew

2008-11-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

Jake Tapper of ABC News reports President-Elect Obama's transition team is being run by former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, Valier Jarrate, and Obama campaign chief of staff Pete Rouse.
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano;
former Clinton Transportation and Energy Secretary Federico Peña, and
former Clinton Commerce Secretary William Daley
have been named to the transition team advisory board.

He also reports that President-elect Obama has asked Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a
Democratic representative from Illinois, to be his chief of staff.
Columnist Yura Levin at the Corner on National Review describes Emanuel as "a vicious graceless partisan: narrow, hectic, unremittingly aggressive, vulgar, and impatient". To me, this
doesn't sound good in a Chief of Staff.

US President-elect Barak Obama

2008-11-04T21:24:00.001-08:00

I was wrong, last August, when I predicted he and his campaign would self-destruct.
However, I cannot bring myself to congratulate him on his victory.
We as Americans have put our trust, not in God, but in a man, and we will very
shortly see what kind of man we have elected. I do not believe he will be the "One",
the miracle-worker, the Messiah figure that many of his supporters have made him
out to be.
Now that the has won the campaign and no longer needs to promise the voters anything to
get elected, we will begin to see what kind of man we really chose: Whether he is the
thoughtful, judicious person he presented himself as, or whether he attemts to defame and silence his critics: whether he upholds the law to see that it is faithfully executed, or whether he views it as a straitjacket to be wriggled out of.

I recall a line I read somewhere a long time ago, about how if you want to know which direction the new captain is going to steer the ship, watch who he puts on the bridge crew. Who is the President-elect Obama going to name as his officials and advisors?

I for one will be watching. Closely. Starting now, with his victory speech.

Shameless

2008-10-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

A tour of the house of Jeremiah Wright, the preacher of the church Barak Obama attended for many years.

And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts, and there are none save
a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the
wearng of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strife, and malice, and
persecution, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every
one have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts. For behold,
you do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning
of your churches, more than you love the poor and the needy, the sick and the
afflicted. (Mormon 8:36-37)

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is quoted as saying:

Elect us, hold us accountable, and make a judgment and then go from there.
But I do tell you that if the Democrats win, and have substantial
majorities, Congress of the United States will be more bipartisan," said
Pelosi.

If there were a prize for fatuous utterences by a politician, this would be in contention.

Not that the Republicans have it much better.
Senator Ted Stevens R-Alaska, was convicted yesterday on seven counts of
felony corruption, he announced today that he had no intention of resigning.
Well, and why should he? No conscience, no shame. But then, since I'm not from
Alaska, I don't get a choice about whether I want this particular convicted felon
serving in the Senate.

Wearied

2008-10-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of months, I've been reading quite a few political blogs. I tend to read the comments as well, and while there are some very intelligent and well-thought responses, a great many of the comments are intolerant and hateful. It's depressing to wade through through the sensless comments, and get stirred up to say something...only to realize that it would take me
quite some time to labor over an intelligent response, and wind up deleting half of what I wrote,
because in the end, isn't fitting. I really hate venemous conflict.

Part of the difficutlty is that I'm very much concerned over the upcoming election. I've stated before that I don't trust Barak Obama, and the more I see, the less I like. I'm afraid of being someone infected by overly partisan information, but when I look at the other party...it's even worse. There are those in the country who are predicting civil war, in the not so distant future,
and I read all too many people who are calling to "Get your gun and be ready for a fight". It could come to that. But I certainly hope not, and I'd rather avoid it.

I don't really think that if Barak Obama wins the election, he's going singlehandedly repeal freedom of the press, or religion, and unleash the FBI on everyone who disagrees with him.
The rule of law isn't going to evaporate overnight.

I'm somewhat distracted by another question, one that came up about the logic of what is compulsory and forbidden:
If (A) Forbidden, then (not-A) is compulsory
If (A) is compulsory, then (not-A) is forbidden.

A couple of specific examples were used. Those are hard to refute, but in generally, this
kind of argument is tricky to make. From my studies as an amateur logician, this looks like a branch of deontic logic, which resembles modal logic and isn' strictly aristotelian. This analysis doesn't account for the optional: That which is neither obligatory nor forbiddent. Also, there's a possible question of dichotmimes... there may be a middle ground between A and not-A. So, I'm sucpicious of the logic, though I can't quite refute it. I'll have to set this one aside.

I still see the debate on same-sex marriage in California, and I really object to the rhetoric that anyone who doesn't approve of it is a bigot and trying to deprive homosexuals of equal civil rights, or that the government shouldn't be involved in marriage at all. I don't have a clear, sound refutation of these argoments, and if I did, those who advocate same-sex marriage wouldn't listen anyway. And I don't have much of a way to appeal to the undecideds.

I also came across an article (Helen McAffrey, writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer, which deplored the demonization of Sarah Palin She expressed suprise that, since since Gov. Palin is an example of what has been considered a feminist ideal (combining motherhood and a career) that she would be so viciously vilified. She objected to a student who wore a T-shirt with the slogan, "Sarah Palin is a ****, and expressed her opinion that Gov. Palin ought to be treated with respect and consideration. I was suprised to read how many of the commenters on this article defended the attackers. When did obscenities become accepted in academic discourse? The next step after violent and degrading words is violent and destructive actions, and it's not all that big a step.

I've been pondering on how radical feminism...the man-hating, lesbian, genitalia focused, pro-choice and anti-marriage wing of it... is dehumanizing to both men and women. In hindsight, it shouldn't have been all that surprising that someone who represents the opposite evokes such mindless hatred. Feminist, behold thyself.

I saw in another bit of news that the "Code Pink" organization that had announced its intention to shut down the Marine Recruiting Station in Berkeley, California, is moving out of its offices there. Yes, as I recall, that WAS the strategy advocated by those who opposed the Vietnam war, "declare victory and get out". I'm sure it will work just as well this time around. Didn't anyone warn these people that real peacemaking can be *hard*?

Circus

2008-09-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

In the past week, I've been watching in amazement, and some amusement, as Democrats have gone screaming ape over Sarah Palin. There is a whole list of rumors that have been floated, picked up, and soberly repeated by leading media. Some of them are so clearly absurd that they give the clown show at Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey serious competition.

The show of verbal acrobatics including headstands and backflips from politicians and pundits who've participated in the ' hear fabulous rumor/ broadcast fabulous rumor / have fabulous rumor exploded within a day or two' act is truly amazing. I'd need a video camera to capture it. I did manage to puch up a bit of some delightful satire, such as appears at the end of this blog post, which captures some of the hysterical absurdity of the last week's political dialogue.

Since I do have other things to do, I can't do any justice to a review, but I must confess that for the moment I'm being hugely entertained by what's beginning to resemble The Greatest Show on Earth.

Presidential Campaign

2008-08-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm still watching. On the Republican side, I was sort of hoping McCain would pick Romney for his running mate, but there were certainly a number of indicators that he might not. I'm not too disappointed. He could have done a lot worst than Sarah Palin. A lot worse..I was afraid that if he had chosen someone obviously pro-choice, I couldn't vote for the candidate of either party.

On the Democratic side, I mentioned my impressons at the beginning of the month. I haven't paid much attention to Senator Biden, but from what little I've heard, his selection as Obama's running mate does not improve my impression of Obama.

The campaign's treatment of Stanley Kurz, a journalist who has been investigating Obama's possible connections with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground is a distinct black mark. If I had ever been inclined to favor Obama, this would give me serious pause.

I was ten years old in 1968, when organizations such as the Weather Underground, the SDS, the Black Panthers, and others were advocating violent overthrow of the US government, planting bombs, and the like, and a couple of years later I had a teacher who made sure I heard about it.

The things I read about Bill Ayers, one of the founders of this group, suggest that he has changed tactics, not ideologies, going in for indoctrination of the young as more effective than bombings. If he were one of Obama's mentors or associates, I am an concerned that he may have absorbed some of Ayer's ideology. This is very much not what I want in the Presidency.

The attempt to shut down or shout down critics is also worrisome. This is not someone I want anywhere near a position of authority over the US Military, Department of Homeland Security, or the Department of Justice, with the full power of the government to bring to bear against his critics.

Obama not for President

2008-08-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

I've been somewhat following the Presidential campaign, or rather, the discussion of it. First, I admit, there is a certain amount of partisan bias: I've been more or less conservative ever since I was old enough to start reading about politics, back when I was twelve or so. I'm not and have never been particularly enthusiastic about John McCain. However, I shuddered with horror about Hillary Clinton getting into the White House. The only reason I'm not more concerned about Barak Obama is that he strikes me as a lightweight who's already on the verge of self-destructing. It is becoming increasingly evident that that that he has an inflated reputation and opinion of himself without the experience, brains, or backbone to justify it.

The physics of weight loss

2008-07-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

In response to a discussion on another blog, I sat down to do some thinking on weight and weight loss. For those who cite mass-and-energy balance principles, "calories in = calories out" where "calories in = food intake" and "calories out = exercise" is so oversimplified that it's actually wrong.

"Calories out" has to be adjusted for base metabolism rate. This is affected by growth rate, for the youthful, and such things as pregnancy, lactation, and menstruation in women. The efficiency of exercise also depends on muscle proportions: those with comparatively more/larger muscles (such as men) will be more efficient at expending calories with exercise. Both of these are also affected by body shape and proportions. People generate heat in proportion to their volume or weight, but get rid of it roughly proportion to their surface area (affected by shape). Volume goes up much faster than surface area.

This also helps account for why obese people find it harder to exercise. The body only tolerates a narrow range of internal temperature. A person who can't shed heat as fast through sweating and rapid breathing as he (or she) is generating it through exercise will be psychologically compelled to slow down or shut down the exercise. It seems to be one of those limits on what your body will let you do with it. Those who have found a reasonably effective balance between heat generated and head expended in extended aerobic exercise may find incomprehensible that an overweight person can't, or won't do the the same exercise and get the same benefit. But it's true. Different people sometimes really do require different approaches.

"Calories in" has to be adjusted for digestive efficiency (the ration of calories absorbed to calories ingested). This tends to change with age. I've seen studies that show it's affected by the types and proportions of gut bacteria. It's also affected by the kinds of food one eats, since some foods are more easily digested than others.
Altogether, these suggest that the efficiency of increased exercise in losing weight tends to do down as one gains in weight. Adjusting the diet would seem to be the more effective approach.

Lockjaw

2008-07-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

There are several things I've wanted to comment on in the past couple of weeks, but it takes me forever to write things, simply because I keep going back and rewriting, and rethinking, and rephrasing anything I write so much. The final draft may have very little resemblance to what I started out to say, and then I wind up deciding I probably shouldn't say it at all.
I'm becoming rather disappointed with my selection of political blogs. I tend to read the comments, and...gah..I want intelligent discussion, not insane ranting and raving:

XYZ said 987. What a @?*! Everybody knows 123
ABC said 234 and he's a &*$#.
No. XYX is a @#%.
No, ABC is, and so are you, you #&@ !
Same to you, $#%& !

Except that blogs from the other side of the other end of the political spectrum look even worse.

I've also been following LDS-oriented blogs, and might like to link to some of them, except that the largest aggregator or portal seems to have something of a liberal bias, and I haven't found a better one yet. (yes, I'm too lazy to maintain a list of my own favorites here. Or maybe it's not lazy...It's just that blogging isn't really all that high a priority and I have other things to do).
Reading intelligent, informed commentary on practically any subject makes me feel ignorant, so wind up going back to work on my knowledge base . so I don't feel like I'm in one of those nightmares where I find myself suddenly unclothed in front of a crowd whenever I say anything.

Indenendence Day

2008-07-04T18:05:00.001-07:00

I'm thankful that I was born and raised in the United States of America. 232 years ago, when faced with a government that refused to hear their petitions and sent troops to crush their protests, a freedom loving group of men declared that they would no longer be ruled by a king or his representatives, but that instead they would govern themselves. The signers of the Declaration pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of liberty, and most of them paid a price, some of them a heavy one, for that support. But not one of them turned back and renounced it.

Some of those same men met 11 years later to craft a new government, intended to express the principles of self-government, strong enough to protect the liberties they had fought for, but not so strong as to take them away. By the test of time, they succeeded magnificently: They established a nation that has set an example to the world of the blessings of liberty, the greatest defender of that liberty, the wonder and envy of all other people.

Like the grandsons of a wealthy man, we have not earned these blessings by our own effort or worth. We are warned that we become lifted up in pride, and become full of lies, and deceits, and mischief, hypocrisy, strife, murders, whoredoms, and secret abominations, the sword of God's justice will hang over us, and it will fall when the voice of the people chooses evil over good.

So I take a brief moment to celebrate, but then it's time to take my three hundred millionth part to help us, and our future generations, to keep and preserve the kind of freedom our ancestors fought and bled for.

So I've been gone a while

2008-07-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Did anyone miss me? I didn't really think so. I got involved in other things and I just didn't think I had anything I really felt I had to say. But, if I want to be a common 'tater of any kind, I suppose I need to generate some comments.
I've been looking at the California gay marriage issue. It's amazing to me how easily some people are taken in by the rhetoric about "equal rights". I'll probably have words to say about that, but probably not tonight.

Just for entertainment, over at Hot Air , I saw this.

At the start of the event Tuesday morning, City Council President Michael Hancock introduced singer Rene Marie to perform the national anthem.
Instead, she performed the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which is also known as the “black national anthem.”

Afterwards, she explained:

“When I decided to sing my version, what was going on in my head was: ‘I
want to express how I feel about living in the United States, as a black woman,
as a black person,”

Some of the more pointed/funnier comments at Hot Air

How about putting her race before her country, and deceiving the audience as to her intent? Tribalism before country?
This reveals much about a certain subset of negro society. They view themselves as ‘living here’, but they are not Americans.
But the singer herself said she did it for racial (racist) reasons. It’s not knee-jerk to take offense when offense is intended. The singer did not replace the lyrics in order to expose her audience to a great, spiritually-uplifting song. She did it to make a point about how racist she thinks America still is. She did it to metaphorically raise her middle finger at the country that gives her the freedom to replace the lyrics of its national anthem without fear of reprisal beyond public outrage.
Rene Marie is a jackass. I’m a musician. If you are hired to play/sing something-play it!If the bride wants to hear Wagner’s Wedding March for her wedding processional, I don’t play “Farmer in the freakin’ Dell” ’cause I felt like it.When I order scallops at a restaurant, I don’t want the chef to cook liver and onions for me ’cause he felt like it.In a word-unprofessional.

FLDS and due process of law

2008-04-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

I've been somewhat following the action taken by the state of Texas against the FLDS group. Regardless of my opinion of their religious teaching, it appears to me that the state has committed massive violations of the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments to the Constitution.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in
their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against
unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and
the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a
capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service
in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life,
liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Granted that is has been argued that, strictly speaking, the Bill of Rights only applies to the Federal government, but the courts have held that all its provisions apply to the states as well. But from the Texas Contitution;

Article 1 Section 9: The people shall be secure in their
persons, houses, papers and possessions, from all unreasonable seizures or
searches, and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing,
shall issue without describing them as near as may be, nor without probable
cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

Article 1 section 10: In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall
have a speedy public trial by an impartial jury. He shall have the right to
demand the nature and cause of the accusation against him, and to have a copy
thereof. He shall not be compelled to give evidence against himself, and shall
have the right of being heard by himself or counsel, or both, shall be
confronted by the witnesses against him and shall have compulsory process for
obtaining witnesses in his favor, except that when the witness resides out of
the State and the offense charged is a violation of any of the anti-trust laws
of this State, the defendant and the State shall have the right to produce and
have the evidence admitted by deposition, under such rules and laws as the
Legislature may hereafter provide; and no person shall be held to answer for a
criminal offense, unless on an indictment of a grand jury, except in cases in
which the punishment is by fine or imprisonment, otherwise than in the
penitentiary, in cases of impeachment, and in cases arising in the army or navy,
or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger.
(Amended Nov. 5, 1918.)

If the mothers and fathers had been suspected of murder, or drug dealing, or armed robbery, the state would have been required to produce probable cause before arresting them and forcibly separating them from their children. But apparently, the mere suspicion of child abuse is sufficient that all these constitutional provisions can be waived.