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June 28, 2005
I Read the News Today - Oh Boy!
The She-Ogre and I are on the front page of the local newspaper today. This past weekend was Amateur Radio Field Day. We setup across the parking lot from Wal-Mart in Sanford and operated with temporary antennas and generator power through most of the 24 hour event, making contacts with other hams across the world. I was interviewed by the paper at the event, and the result is an above the fold photo and short article on the front page. If you have access to the Sanford Herald, grab a copy. You probably won't see it on the website. As local papers go, we've got a pretty good one (trust me, I've read local papers from across the state) but their website is horrible. They should have hired me when they had the chance.
Posted by Lockjaw at 8:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 23, 2005
Karl Rove Tells the Truth - Democrats Angry
Karl Rove told the truth about how the left responded to the 9/11 attacks and now the left is up in arms.
"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Mr. Rove, the senior political adviser to President Bush, said at a fund-raiser in Midtown for the Conservative Party of New York State.
Remember, it's only controversial because it's true.
Posted by Lockjaw at 1:01 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
I Will Be Bush's Supreme Court Nominee
Speculation abounds that there will be at least one vacancy created on the US Supreme Court next week. When that happens, Bush will nominate a replacement. Then, the fun begins.
My speculation for the replacement is that Bush will nominate ME for the US Supreme Court. Once he does so, the left will immediately start criticizing me as an extremist conservative whose judicial opinions are out of the mainstream. They'll probably paint me as a racist. They'll say I'll work to abolish Roe -vs- Wade. Before a month passes, there will be at least three organizations formed to raise money and fight my nomination. Speeches will be given on the floor of the Senate to oppose me and my extremist tendencies. In general, all Hell will break loose among the Democrats. They might even try a filibuster, again.
Of course, the truth is that I won't be the nominee. Mark my words, though. No matter who it is that Bush does nominate, the rest of what I say will come true. That's because the Democrats have become a party defined by opposition to the Republicans. They'll use the tactics I laid out above because they're the standard tactics, and they haven't added any new plays to their playbook in two decades.
It should be fun.
Posted by Lockjaw at 9:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sean Haugh on Politics, Education and Race in Durham, NC
My old friend Sean Haugh has a blog. Sean is a really great guy, and it looks like his blog is getting off to a great start. His latest post is entitled Burning Crosses Aren't Our Only Problem and is well worth a read. Sean talks about race issues in Durham, and how they affect politics as well as government-run education. I think you'll find it interesting. Here's an excerpt:
My point is we must recognize that our racial divide in Durham is far deeper and more subtle than simply a few burning crosses. We just don't listen to each other at all. My own recognition of this came when a few years back I got involved with a group of folks seeking justice for Catherine Capps, an elderly black woman who was the victim of an errant police raid in the insane war on drugs. Long story short, I and other local Libertarians saw this as simple matter of justice. We didn't think about the race of the victim. I appealed to several white-dominated political groups who agree at least in theory that the war on drugs automatically leads to such dramatic infringements on liberty. But when it came time to act, I looked around and the only white faces I saw were ours.I tried the line of, "how would you feel if it were your grandmother?" But I discovered this appeal had no resonance, because this kind of thing simply doesn't happen in white neighborhoods. People have a strong tendency to only see what happens to them, to their own, or in their own neighborhood.
Go on over and read the whole thing. You might learn something about Durham, and see some similarities where you live.
Posted by Lockjaw at 8:19 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Durbin's Motivations
Why did Dick Durbin say what he said? Was it because he truly believed it to be true, or was it because he was willing to say whatever it took to hurt George W. Bush? Since the substance of his statement (equating the Guantanamo Bay facilities to the murder-factories of Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot) was false, the question is an important one. You see, if Durbin only wanted to hurt George W. Bush and was willing to say something he knew to be untrue, he's too much of a corrupt liar to be allowed to stay in office. If, however, he truly believes that what he said was true, then he's too stupid to hold the office in the first place.
Personally, I believe it is a combination of the two. Durbin is just one member of a vast nationwide organization that has a long history of siding with enemies of America. In times of war, this organization has regularly given aid and comfort to the enemy both home and abroad. The organization I speak of is the Democrat Party.
During the cold war, the Democrats opposed any moves that were designed to give America a position of superiority. When Reagan took steps that helped lead to the end of the cold war (an end where America and the free world WON), the Democrats fought tooth and nail (or as close to tooth and nail as the pantywaists can) to stop Reagan.
Vietnam was an odd situation. Democrats started the war. Democrats escalated the war. Democrats used the draft as a means to staff the military with the bodies needed to fight. Then, Democrats opposed the war and took steps in Congress to pull the rug out from under our military forces who were finally able to take steps that had them WINNING the war. As long as we were stuck in a quagmire, Democrats were pushing the war. When a Republican took over, he ended the draft and started actually winning the war, so the Democrats sided with the enemy and gave the war away. John Kerry actually met with the enemy, and he wasn't alone in doing so.
We're used to all of this. We're used to watching the Democrats oppose America. We're used to watching the Democrats give aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war. That Dick Durbin is doing it again really isn't much of a surprise.
So, I ask again. Is Dick Durbin making these statements, statements which exist as aid and comfort to the enemy in a time of war, because he really believes them, or because they're designed to hurt America?
The answer really matters.
Posted by Lockjaw at 6:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 22, 2005
Why I'm Glad We Have Private Health Care
Calls continue every day, from people who don't know any better, to nationalize America's health care system. They believe, wrongly, that health care could be provided better and cheaper if it was freely available to all, and paid for through taxes.
The problem is, socialized medicine (referred to as "single payer" by its supporters) is a horrible system that actually results in universally unavailable health care, instead of the ease of access that we have now. Cuba's hospitals, for the most part, aren't up to the standards of America's prisons. The national health care system in Britain is in collapse. Canada's health care system only survives because it has a private option available, that of driving South to America for health care.
Indeed, in Canada, a person needing a MRI is forced to wait at least six months for the procedure. This is because MRI machines are expensive, and can break the budget of the national health care system if they provide them to even half of the nation's hospitals. In America, MRI machines are in almost every hospital. There are MRI clinics, as well, which increases the availability of this particular test. Because we have a private health care system, we have easy access to this important test.
My son fell, recently. In the fall, he ruptured his spleen. Through a series of tests, it was determined that no surgery was necessary, and he was able to keep his spleen. One of these tests was the MRI. Using the MRI, the doctors could see that there was not a major amount of bleeding into the abdomen, and with a few days of close monitoring and blood tests, the boy was out of the hospital in no time, back to his fun.
What if we lived in Canada? Having to wait six months for an MRI in this situation would have meant NO MRI. Having no MRI would have meant an inability to accurately determine the level of bleeding. Undoubtedly, the result would have been a splenectomy. In this case, a splenectomy would have been unnecessary surgery.
Around these parts, unnecessary surgery is another way to say "bad health care."
We have the single best health care system in the world. We have the best drug research and production in the world. We have easy access to quick and high-quality health care. Heck, the only people who are getting lesser quality health care in America are those relying on our ongoing "single payer" plans such as Medi-Care, Medi-Caid, government-run-hospitals, government-run clinics, and Veteran's Administration. I do, at least, get to hear about improvements in the latter, since proponents of single-payer health care started losing power in government.
If we, like Canada, adopted socialized medicine, what border would we cross for quality medicine when the waiting lists started?
Posted by Lockjaw at 6:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Durbin Should Resign
Dick "Turban" Durbin has apologized. Not good enough. If Trent Lott has to step down from a Senate leadership position for making a not-very-well-thought-out joke at a party celebrating an old man with a checkered past, then Durbin should step down from his leadership position too. Where Lott's mistake was not considering all the facets of his joking compliment toward Strom Thurmond. He owned up to it and did what needed to be done. Durbin, however, KNEW what he was saying was controversial, and tried to play it off as something it wasn't for days before succumbing to pressure and tearfully apologizing.
Lott apologized FOUR TIMES before resigning. That sounds fine. Durbin should apologize three more times and quit his leadership post.
Also, will someone PLEASE kick John McCain in the balls?
Posted by Lockjaw at 5:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 20, 2005
Marginal Revolution on Creationism -vs Evolution
An interesting post, and open comments for debate, over at Marginal Revolution.
"Suppose that you find a watch in the forest. If you know there is no watchmaker then the theory of evolution is a brilliant and compelling explanation for the presence of complexity without design. But suppose that you know a watchmaker exists then surely the simplest and most compelling explanation is that the watchmaker made the watch. Any other explanation, particularly one so improbable (see extension) as evolution would seem to be preposterous and beside the point."Thus for someone who knows, really knows, that god(s) exists (and there are many people who claim to know that god(s) exists) then some form of creationism (see the extension) follows as a rational deduction from the premises. It's no point telling these people that creationism is unscientific because given the premise that god(s) exists creationism is scientific. If god(s) exists then evolution is almost certainly false, if not in every particular then surely in the grand claims of a undesigned nature.
"Evolutionists don't like this argument because they know that if the public is forced to choose between evolution and god they will choose god every time. Better inconsistency, they say, than a foolish consistency. Moderate theists don't like it either because they wish to maintain their theism whilst still being modern, scientific and progressive.
"Only creationists and atheist evolutionists are consistent, everyone else is in a muddle."
Posted by Lockjaw at 9:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2005
"Big Time!"
A big ol' hat tip to Michelle Malkin for this one.
'Vice President Dick Cheney appeared this morning on Steve Gill Mornings in Nashville, Tennessee and was asked about Dick Durbin's comparison of U.S. troops at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis. The Vice President noted that he had to be "careful about what I say since this is a family show" but that the "comparison is one of the more egregious things I've heard on the floor of the U.S. Senate."'
Comparisons to Adam Clymer are appropriate, Mr. Cheney.
Posted by Lockjaw at 4:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Funny Newsmax Error
Posted by Lockjaw at 1:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
DSL Outage
We've got a DSL outage at the lair. It started yeserday morning, and hasn't cleared up over 24 hours later. It's a problem with the ISP, and they say they're working on it. They say it should be fixed within 24 hours, which means one of two things. Either they know what the problem is, and they've got a truck bringing in the replacement equipment, or they have no clue what it is and they're blowing smoke.
Either way, fine with me. Last night, the PC got a long-overdue run of speeddisk, and I got to spend a little time playing radio. Now, if I can just do some climbing up onto the house to relocate that antenna, I should be able to transmit a bit further. Then I can start working on the HF dipole I want to install. I need to bring my Morse Code recognition back into shape, too.
Posted by Lockjaw at 12:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 13, 2005
Congrats to Eugene Volokh
Congratulations go out for the 30th anniversary of leaving the former Soviet Union.
Posted by Lockjaw at 1:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hamilton Naki - Heart Surgeon/Gardener RIP
Hamilton Naki was one of the pioneers of transplant surgery. He performed, or assisted in, many organ transplants. He instructed thousands of doctors in the procedures, and was considered by those he worked with as one of the best in the field. Officially, however, his actions were against the law. His hospital listed him as a gardener or cleaner. Hamilton Naki, you see, was a black man in Apartheid-era South Africa, and many of his patients were white.
South African law would not allow a black man to operate on a white person. Doctors who knew Naki, though, knew he was the best man to be in the operating room when organ transplant surgery was being performed. As a result, Naki secretly performed many surgical procedures, and appeared in press photos listed as a cleaner.
Hamilton Naki passed away at 78 on May 29th. Recognition of his actions came only recently, years after the end of white-only rule in South Africa.
His story is significant because it is so similar to the situation in America before the civil rights changes in the 1960s and later. When the laws in Democrat-controlled southern states of the US wouldn't allow blacks to do so many things, it was people who made the difference. People changed, and they forced the laws to follow. It wasn't the other way around. The same thing was going on in South Africa, and Hamilton Naki is a fine example of that.
Posted by Lockjaw at 11:24 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 12, 2005
Deployed Military Morale
Our deployed military could have a bad morale, if they listened to the major media and liberals all the time. Instead of listening to back-home, military-hating, know-nothing, sandbox-pissing naysayers, they're doing things like this.
Hat tip to Kitty Litter.
Posted by Lockjaw at 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2005
Tar Heel Tavern Is Up
Tar Heel Tavern, the carnival of North Carolina blogs is up. Check it out.
Posted by Lockjaw at 11:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2005
Lorie Byrd on Female Bloggers
Lorie Byrd is one of my favorite bloggers to read, ever since I met her at the North Carolina State Fair. She has her own blog over at Byrd Droppings and is a regular blogger on . She's just written a great piece over at Town Hall about women in the blogosphere. It's a great refutation to the argument that there aren't enough women in blogging, or in opinion writing as a whole. Go give it a read.
Posted by Lockjaw at 1:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 9, 2005
John K. Connects the Dots
"[The Republican Party Is] pretty much a white Christian party"--Howard Dean
"I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for."--Howard Dean
John K pointed out the link between these two quotes. The obvious extrapolation is that he hates Christians. The slightly less obvious extrapolation is that he hates everything that Christianity stands for.
Let's see. The Bible teaches that child sacrifice is bad. At least that part of the equasion holds up.
You know, if I were a Republican, I think I might be offended. As a Christian, I know that I can't expect better from an antichrist.
Posted by Lockjaw at 6:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 8, 2005
More on the EU and the Euro
I know, I'm a bit of an economics geek. Disinterested Party has some quotes on the problem with the Euro that are quite interesting. There are some notes on the varied economics of the countries within the EU and how this poses problems. Heck, Italy alone has a widely divergent economy depending on where you look at the boot. Trying to work Italy into a monetary policy with Germany and Britan without punishing someone unduly is a rough concept.
Posted by Lockjaw at 2:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Will the Euro End?
In a previous entry, I speculated on the valuation of the Euro -vs- the Dollar, should a widespread adoption of the European Union Constitution fail. I proposed this as a good question for the folks over at Marginal Revolution. Well, similar questions are popping up over there now, with speculation over whether the actual monetary unit of The Euro" will come to an end altogether.
I've always thought that the base reasoning for the adoption of a single currency for Europe was wrong. It wasn't all about economic health or creating a stable and healthy economic unit. It was about competing with the economic power of America. If it was about the economic health of Europe, and the potential EU states, things would be much different.
Posted by Lockjaw at 11:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 7, 2005
My take on the Supreme Court's Raich Decision
I'm going to stick my nose out and say that the Supreme Court did exactly what they should have done in the Raich decision. In deciding that federal law supercedes state law in determining whether medicinal marijuana can be allowed, there was no other that the US Supreme Court could have made.
That said, I think the outcome is wrong. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the medicinal use of marijuana can be not only valuable in many cases, but outright life-saving in some, as well. When your life-saving medicines make you vomit, and are regurgitated along with the bile, they can't save your life. If marijuana allows you to NOT vomit, and thus keep your other medicines in your system where they can work, then marijuana is a life-saving drug. It's that simple. This is but one of the medical benefits of this drug.
Not only that, but there is nothing in the US Constitution that says that the United States government has any powers over the practice of medicine. ANY involvement in medical practice, be it licensing of doctors, approval of drugs, accreditation of medical schools or weeding out the quacks is contrary to the powers invested in our federal government.
The commerce clause, if used in this manner, is a wholesale abuse of powers by the federal government. Clarence Thomas was right in his criticism of this decision on these grounds. By simply having a market effect on other items which are subject to interstate commerce, medical marijuana was limited. This limitation was approved by the US Supreme Court.
Of course, I did say that the Supreme Court did what they should have done, didn't I? That's because the Supreme Court doesn't just make decisions in a vacuum. They look at cases in regards to the US Constitution, sure, but also as they relate to previous case law. Previous case law has been strengthening the powers of the US government to abuse the commerce clause for decades. The platform for this horrible decision was made one step at a time, in case after case. Rare is the case that protects us from this abuse.
All along, I've had a pretty good idea of what would happen in this case. I knew that the federal government SHOULD lose on constitutional grounds. I knew that the federal government should lose because this case was only brought forth as a means to prove that they could do what they wanted when it came to medical marijuana. I knew that the federal government should lose because for them to win will mean the loss of innocent human life. I knew the government would win, simple because the grounds for it have been built by case law.
This whole story, as it has unfolded, has included the loss of life. Author Peter McWilliams is a victim of the federal government's willingness to prove a point and exercise its power. He sufferred from AIDS and Cancer, both of which were under control in major part because of his use of medical marijuana. His arrest took away his ability to use this life-saving drug, and then it took his life.
Interesting that the dissent in this case came from the "right wing." They tried to do the right thing, but the concept of state's rights isn't something that too many members of the court care to consider, even when it is supported by the constitution and could save lives.
Posted by Lockjaw at 7:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 5, 2005
Race and Academics - The High Cost of Acting White
Marginal Revolution points to this study entitled "An Empirical Analysis of ‘Acting White’" by Roland G. Fryer, Jr. and Paul Torelli. The paper reports on the high social costs among minorities should they "act white" by achieving high scores in school.
"Among whites, higher grades yield higher popularity. For Blacks, higher achievement is associated with modestly higher popularity until a grade point average of 3.5, when the slope turns negative. A black student with a 4.0 has, on average, 1.5 fewer same-race friends than a white student with a 4.0. Among Hispanics, there is little change in popularity from a grade point average of 1 through 2.5. After 2.5, the gradient turns sharply negative. A Hispanic student with a 4.0 grade point average is the least popular of all Hispanic students, and has 3 fewer friends than a typical white student with a 4.0 grade point average."
Couple this with another tidbit from the abstract.
"Using a newly available data set (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health), which allows one to construct an objective measure of a student’s popularity, we demonstrate that there are large racial differences in the relationship between popularity and academic achievement; our (albeit narrow) definition of ‘acting white.’ The effect is intensified among high achievers and in schools with more interracial contact, but non-existent among students in predominantly black schools or private schools."
What I read from this is an interesting set of contradictions to liberal dogma. First, minorities themselves contribute to members of their own social groups low performance academically. Second, voluntary educational segregation benefits minorities in this matter, as it has been proven to benefit girls in all-female schools. Third, private schools tend to eradicate this problem within their rolls, while public schools appear to contribute to the problem.
"Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach kids to learn. They know that parents have to parent, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white."
-- Senator Barack Obama, 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address
Those who label themselves as "reality-based" instead of one of the other terms for "liberal" should probably read this paper, and get a dose of what reality is.
Posted by Lockjaw at 6:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 2, 2005
Paper Recycling is Bad for Your Butt AND The World
So there I was, on the toilet at work. We have a fine restroom, with beautiful stainless steel sinks, track lighting and jazz music piped in from above. It's really nice. When I reached over for some toilet paper, I found that this company, like so many others, uses that horrible recycled paper that's less than easy on the buttocks.
This brought to mind something I've known for a long time. Paper recycling is bad. It's not just bad for your butt, when you look at the toilet paper and see bits of cardboard stuck in the white sheets. It's not all about the substandard paper you're running through your printer. Paper recycling is bad for the economy, and bad for the environment.
Most people believe what they've been told. They believe that recycling paper is a good thing. Stacking up those newspapers and taking them to the recycling center is supposed to help society by reducing waste, saving trees, and making a more economical product in the end. The problem is, it really does none of that.
Paper comes from trees. Trees are good. That's hard to dispute. I like trees. Most paper, though, doesn't come from the majestic oaks and redwoods. You won't see clearcutting of virgin timber to make greeting cards. Paper is generally made from pulpwood. Pulp comes from softer wood trees like the pine. These trees grow relatively quickly. Longleaf pines grow quickly and easily enough that they are actually farmed. Land is set aside for the growing of pine trees. These trees grow, are cut down for goods, and then more are grown in their place. Trees, like so many of our resources, are renewable.
So, if recycling paper doesn't actually save the mighty oaks, or the old-grown forests, it must at least be more economical, right? Unfortunately, that's not so. Paper from trees is a relatively simple process. Recycling adds more steps. Paper must be collected, cleaned, shredded and treated chemically before it can then be turned into a paper that is generally of lesser quality than the original whence it came. The treatment of paper to be turned into more paper uses more chemical processing than the original paper did, and you KNOW that can't be good for the environment. In the end, the recycled paper simply costs more than paper directly from wood pulp. The only reason the end cost is lower to the consumer is because the government subsidizes its production, passing the additional costs on to the taxpayer
So, recycled paper costs more to produce, causes higher tax rates, increases chemical pollution, and doesn't save old growth forests. Does it at least help in controlling so-called "greenhouse gasses" to leave trees standing instead of chopping them down? No, it doesn't.
You see, trees grow and they die. When a tree grows, it turns a load of carbon dioxide into oxygen. Trees aren't the best at this job, but they aren't slouches when it comes to oxygen production. After a while, though, the tree reaches a point where it reaches a balance. The cast off leaves or needles fall and begin to decay. This decay process produces carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide used up by the tree eventually reaches parity with that being thrown off by decaying matter. When the tree dies, the balance shifts completely toward carbon dioxide production. If, however, the tree is turned into other products, the cycle changes.
One of the major complaints about landfills is that the bio-matter in them doesn't have the chance to break down and decay. If we simply buried the old paper in landfills, then it wouldn't decay either. This would result in less carbon dioxide being produced. I argue that the BEST place for old paper is at the bottom of a landfill.
Next time you buy a pack of recycled printer paper or toilet paper, think about the damage you're doing to the environment and the economy. When I'm in that beautiful bathroom at work, I'm just thinking about the damage that recycled paper is doing to my butt.
Posted by Lockjaw at 9:06 PM | Comments (27) | TrackBack
June 1, 2005
Slow Posting, but Life Returns to Normality
Now that the boy is out of the hospital, and things are returning to normal, I'm planning to get back into the blogging groove. Once the hospital stuff was out of the way, there was a period of rest needed. This meant a lot of naps. I also caught up on my playtime with some Anarchy Online. In addition, I readied myself for my return to the working world. I've been out of work for the last five months, but that's over now.
The first few weeks of the year meant a lot of work closing out the bookstore. There was (and still is) a LOT of stuff in the building that needed to be removed, moved to one side, or somehow handled. This was a huge task which left me exhausted and short of breath. There's a lot of hidden dust in old used bookstores, you know. Some job hunting took place during this time, but not a lot.
Later, job hunting started in earnest. Unfortunately, with my latest job being a six year stint as a used bookstore owner, it was hard to find a good IT job. Since my real skills lie in problem-solving, customer handling and computers, my best placement is in the IT field. I sent my resume in response to many listings, but never got any solid hits.
While the boy was in the emergency room, I got a phone call from one of my amateur radio friends. His company had some positions opening up that he thought I would be a good fit for. I applied that night, on a trip home for hospital-stay supplies. I interviewed two days later, and had a job offer before I could make it back to the hospital.
Last night the wife and I celebrated my new job while spending her gift certificate at Outback. She's a teacher, and the parents of one of her students gave the certificate to her. Having never eaten at Outback before, I was loving it. I had BBQ ribs and chicken, and they were delicious. We got in late, and I never once sat at the PC before I went to sleep.
Things are starting to settle down and go according to schedule now. I'm going to have some PC time once again, and I'll be writing down a lot of these things that have been floating through my skull.
I love blogging, but if it has to take a back seat to more important things, that's okay.
Posted by Lockjaw at 6:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack