Trust

"The United States has, for example, had trouble recently with its national leadership. One president was assassinated for reasons not yet known which we prefer not to ask about. Another president resigned to avoid impeachment. A more recent president from Hollywood lived a fantasy life, lying to himself and the public to mek us feel good, while creating an underclass beneath our democracy and ending the Cold War with the Soviet Union".
From the introduction of "China, A new History" by John King Fairbank and Merle Goldman, copyright 2006.
After displaying such a balanced view of their own society, what spin are they going to place on a foriegn society? (I haven't read far enough yet to judge) Both authors are Harvard professors. With flakes like this on the faculty I wonder what kind of education Harvard students get these days?

Global Warming returns to Cannon

It's 55 outside and last week's two feet of snow is melting. There is nothing drearier than a ski resort melting out. Especial during Christmas week.

Save Money, Shut down the SEC

The SEC was created during the great depression to regulate the stock market and prevent the great depression for ever happening again. It has clearly failed in that mission. It failed to investigate the Bernie Madoff swindle dispite allegations of fraud going back ten years. It has created Sarbanes-Oxley regulations onerous enough to drive business off shore to London to avoid them.
Since it doesn't work, harms the economy, and costs $1 billion dollars a year to operate, let's just shut it down.
While we are at it, we could shut down the CIA too. They don't work,they failed to warn of 9/11, claimed that Saddam had nukes, and have harmed the war on terror thru a series of treasonous leaks. And attempted to destabilize the Bush Administration thru the Valerie Plame affair. All the real intel comes from NSA any how. Why do we keep funding those losers?

Stimulate the economy, fund fusion research

Fusion burns hydrogen, yielding helium, an inert gas of some commercial value. The oceans are 20% hydrogen by weight, so we will never run out of fuel. No radioactive wastes. No carbon emissions, if that is important to you. Fusion research has been ongoing for the last 50 years with little success so far.
Now two small projects, the Polywell project and the Fusion General project might produce workable fusion reactors. Both projects are small and cheap. A few million dollars of funding would accelerate both projects.
With the rewards so great, and the costs so small, the funding is worthwhile, even if the odds of success are unknown. It's a better use of taxpayer money than bailing out brain dead banks and auto makers.

The "Don't talk about it in public" issues

Earlier I posted about real political issues and "hot button" issues. Since then it came to me that there is a third class of political issues, the "don't talk about it in public" issues. Second Amendment rights, decriminalization of marijuana, repeal of the Digital Millennial Copyright Act, reform of patent and copyright law, net neutrality, and tort reform, come to mind. There are probably others. These are real issues, that effect citizens directly. But for some reason, fear of offending the interest groups that support them, or journalists too clueless to understand them, or something, you never hear a candidate speak out on these issues at all. There are plenty of voters who care about these issues. Maybe the Republican party should take a public stand on some of them.

Global Warming brings 2 feet of snow to Cannon

Friday put down 8 inches and Sunday put down 16 inches. All light powder. This is the most snow for this early in the season ever at Cannon. Town of Franconia did it's usual exception plowing job, we are all plowed out and the sun is barely up. Skiing is superb.

Vista causes Great Depression II

Computer sales used to be the driving force behind the economy. Then Microsoft burdened the industry with Windows Vista and deprived us of our beloved Windows XP. Vista is so detested that people stopped buying new computers, preferring to keep their old ones that ran XP. The result? Computer sales dropped across the board, triggering the current economic down turn.
You can beleive as much that as you like