This was a Fox news show. They had Bret Bahr, Shannon Bream and Ron Williams, Fox regulars all, asking the questions. It was a little rough on the candidates, the newsies had done some homework, and the questions all started off "On such-and-such a date you said thus and so. Do you want to retract that tonight, right here on national TV?" They had hot potatoes to go around. Rough it may have been, but it did get the candidates to speak in concrete terms, rather than the usual meaningless motherhood and apple pie verbiage.
The five candidates were stood up behind podiums on stage. Annoyingly, the podiums lacked signs giving the candidates names, which makes it tough on viewers who don't know all five candidates by sight. One of the purposes of these debates is to let the voters get to see the candidates. If you don't know who they are, it's sorta meaningless.
Herman Cain is my favorite, and he did well, looked good, handled questions well. Tim Pawlenty looked pretty good too. Ron Paul had some feisty answers that brought a lot of applause.
The Donald, Romney, Newt Gengrich and Sarah Palin were not there, probably on the theory that when a better known and a lesser known politician appear on the same stage, the benefit goes to lesser known politician.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
What do you do with terrorists other than shoot them?
Victor Davis Hanson makes this point here. The US justice system has had a Gitmo full of terrorists for ten years and they have not done squat, other than grilling them. Osama bin Ladin was shot resisting arrest partly because every one feared some US judge would set him free after capture.
We ought to be able to bring captured terrorists before a reliable tribunal that will conduct a public televised trial with the purpose of convincing the entire world that defendant so-and-so deserves what we are going to give him. The tribunal needs to be able to sentence enemy soldiers, those who merely carried packs and rifles under orders, to indefinite confinement, even if they are otherwise innocent of crimes.
It's worth letting the enemy know that capture isn't an automatic death sentence. The enemy is more likely to surrender if he thinks he has a chance of surviving captivity. If the enemy thinks the Americans will just waterboard him and bury him at sea, they are apt to fight to the bitter end.
The tribunal has to allow captured terrorists to be grilled for intelligence, grilled harder than usual police practice, and still put them on trial, and use the intel they furnished under duress against them.
It has been ten years since 9/11 and we don't have a method of dealing with captured terrorists. So we shoot them.
We ought to be able to bring captured terrorists before a reliable tribunal that will conduct a public televised trial with the purpose of convincing the entire world that defendant so-and-so deserves what we are going to give him. The tribunal needs to be able to sentence enemy soldiers, those who merely carried packs and rifles under orders, to indefinite confinement, even if they are otherwise innocent of crimes.
It's worth letting the enemy know that capture isn't an automatic death sentence. The enemy is more likely to surrender if he thinks he has a chance of surviving captivity. If the enemy thinks the Americans will just waterboard him and bury him at sea, they are apt to fight to the bitter end.
The tribunal has to allow captured terrorists to be grilled for intelligence, grilled harder than usual police practice, and still put them on trial, and use the intel they furnished under duress against them.
It has been ten years since 9/11 and we don't have a method of dealing with captured terrorists. So we shoot them.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Pakistan, Country of Confusion
One thing we have to remember about Pakistan. The only road into Afghanistan runs thru Pakistan. Without Pakistani permission, the only way into Afghanistan is by air. We do NOT want to support our 40,000 man army in Afghanistan by air. So we have to make nice to the Pakis.
The Pakistani establishment, the landowners, the businessmen, the Army, the upper class, are inclined to side with the US. They fear India, which is five-ten times their size and which still bears grudges going back to 1947. They want an American connection to keep the Indians at bay.
The regular Pakistani's are sharecroppers, illiterate, poor, and scratching out a living farming with hand tools. They are Muslim fundamentalists, anti American, anti Indian , pro Al Quada, pro Bin Ladin, what education they have comes from madrassas, and they are all kinds of touchy about Islam, Paki sovereignty, and four or five other obscure issues that I don't understand.
The Paki establishment has to pander to the regular Pakis, lest revolution happen. Up until 9/11, the Paki establishment was attempting to take over Afghanistan using the Taliban as a cats paw. After 9/11 Bush told the Pakis they had a choice, dump the Taliban and support the US, or suffer the consequences. General Pervez Musharref, the Paki leader at the time, threw his lot with the Americans, and told his security apparatus, the ISI, to cool it with the Taliban.
So we have today's Pakistan, an ally with mixed feeling about everything. They have to cope with elements of the establishment who used to deal with the Taliban and wish they still could. They have to pander to the ordinary Pakis in the street, and they are putting up with American affronts to their sovereignty (Predator strikes and helicopter raids). That Bin Ladin was able to operate from a compound in Abbotabad for years is not surprising.
But we have to put up with it. We cannot break off relations and tell the Pakis to stuff it, so long as we need road access to Afghanistan.
The Pakistani establishment, the landowners, the businessmen, the Army, the upper class, are inclined to side with the US. They fear India, which is five-ten times their size and which still bears grudges going back to 1947. They want an American connection to keep the Indians at bay.
The regular Pakistani's are sharecroppers, illiterate, poor, and scratching out a living farming with hand tools. They are Muslim fundamentalists, anti American, anti Indian , pro Al Quada, pro Bin Ladin, what education they have comes from madrassas, and they are all kinds of touchy about Islam, Paki sovereignty, and four or five other obscure issues that I don't understand.
The Paki establishment has to pander to the regular Pakis, lest revolution happen. Up until 9/11, the Paki establishment was attempting to take over Afghanistan using the Taliban as a cats paw. After 9/11 Bush told the Pakis they had a choice, dump the Taliban and support the US, or suffer the consequences. General Pervez Musharref, the Paki leader at the time, threw his lot with the Americans, and told his security apparatus, the ISI, to cool it with the Taliban.
So we have today's Pakistan, an ally with mixed feeling about everything. They have to cope with elements of the establishment who used to deal with the Taliban and wish they still could. They have to pander to the ordinary Pakis in the street, and they are putting up with American affronts to their sovereignty (Predator strikes and helicopter raids). That Bin Ladin was able to operate from a compound in Abbotabad for years is not surprising.
But we have to put up with it. We cannot break off relations and tell the Pakis to stuff it, so long as we need road access to Afghanistan.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Canada, Oh Canada
The Canadians ran off a national election yesterday and the results are wonderful. The Conservatives got enough votes to give them a real majority in parliament, so Stephen Harper remains prime minister, and he doesn't have to mess around with a coalition. Even better, "Bloc Quebecois", the old Quebec separatist movement disappeared. Poof. The Quebec separatist party dropped down from 60 odd seats in Parliament to a mere four. That's too small to qualify as a "serious" political party under Canadian election law, so they loose government funding.
This marks the end of the Quebec separatist movement, which has been a thorn in the side of the Canadian body politic for 40 years now. There was a time, ten or fifteen years ago, when Quebec came within a gnat's eyebrow of seceding from Canada. Thank the good Lord that didn't happen, and now it looks like it never will.
This marks the end of the Quebec separatist movement, which has been a thorn in the side of the Canadian body politic for 40 years now. There was a time, ten or fifteen years ago, when Quebec came within a gnat's eyebrow of seceding from Canada. Thank the good Lord that didn't happen, and now it looks like it never will.
Coffee, making thereof
I have improved my coffee technique to the point where I can enjoy it black, no milk and artificial sugar needed to conceal bitterness. Start with real ground coffee, instant just doesn't cut it. Need not be a fancy brand, I get excellent results with Maxwell House and Shur-Fine, the local store house brand. Keep the opened coffee can in the fridge, the low temperature slows the evaporation of volatile essences. Use one heaping tablespoon of coffee to each cup (each 8 oz measuring cup, not coffee cup)of water.
Coffee maker must be spotlessly clean inside and out. The flavorful oils of brewed coffee coat the entire inside of the coffee maker and then go rancid if not washed off.
The coffee maker must be cleanable. This lets out percolators, the inside of the perk tube is uncleanable. French presses, Mr Coffee style electric makers, drip makers, and the all glass vacuum coffee makers will make good coffee. The maker ought to be the right size. You don't want to fill up an 8 cup coffee maker to make coffee for just you. Find a two cup coffee maker to make coffee for yourself.
Don't let the stale coffee and leftover grounds sit in the pot, the rancid odor can sink into the inside of the maker and disflavor the next pot. To make coffee again before doing the dishes, rinse the maker with hot water, add a drop of liquid dishwash and fill it with hot water. Let it stand until it's coffee time again. The soapy water will dissolve any stale coffee that might be left in the pot.
Coffee maker must be spotlessly clean inside and out. The flavorful oils of brewed coffee coat the entire inside of the coffee maker and then go rancid if not washed off.
The coffee maker must be cleanable. This lets out percolators, the inside of the perk tube is uncleanable. French presses, Mr Coffee style electric makers, drip makers, and the all glass vacuum coffee makers will make good coffee. The maker ought to be the right size. You don't want to fill up an 8 cup coffee maker to make coffee for just you. Find a two cup coffee maker to make coffee for yourself.
Don't let the stale coffee and leftover grounds sit in the pot, the rancid odor can sink into the inside of the maker and disflavor the next pot. To make coffee again before doing the dishes, rinse the maker with hot water, add a drop of liquid dishwash and fill it with hot water. Let it stand until it's coffee time again. The soapy water will dissolve any stale coffee that might be left in the pot.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Hallelujah , Finally Got the Bastard
Woke up this morning hearing the news on NHPR. Even better, he's dead, shot resisting arrest. This way the US justice system does not get a chance to bungle his trial.
Killing Bin Laden won't end the war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. But it's a solid victory that heartens us and discourages our enemies.
Killing Bin Laden won't end the war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. But it's a solid victory that heartens us and discourages our enemies.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Metrics that don't measure
The Economist ran a long piece explaining what America ought to do to shape up. Included in the mix was a long rant about "infrastructure", and the lack of "investment" (read spending) upon it. To prove the need for more infrastructure they show a graph of commute times for various countries around the world. The US is nearly the worst with an average commute time of 43 minutes.
Trouble is, commute time is a measure of how long we are willing to commute, not of the quality of the roads. When job seeking, the jobs are located in a circle centered up on your house. The longer you are willing to commute, the bigger that circle, and the more jobs contained therein. Improve the roads, and we can commute farther in the time we are willing to spend commuting. So we tend to find jobs farther from home and the commute time stays the same.
We don't need or want more roads. Boston, which suffers as much from rush hour traffic as anywhere, defeated an attempt to add two superhighways into the center of town. The state highway people tried to run I95 right into, and thru, the downtown. This occurred back in the 1980's. The folk whose homes would have been taken to build I95 rallied politically and defeated the construction plan. Boston, left with two ring highways, and four divided highways into the center of town, has all the road the land and the people will bear.
The famous Boston "Big Dig" merely buried the unsightly elevated central expressway in a tunnel. The fabulously expensive project did nothing to improve automobile access, it merely freed up some very nice downtown real estate that used to have the expressway standing upon it.
We don't need any more "investment" in new highways, we have all the road we can stand.
Trouble is, commute time is a measure of how long we are willing to commute, not of the quality of the roads. When job seeking, the jobs are located in a circle centered up on your house. The longer you are willing to commute, the bigger that circle, and the more jobs contained therein. Improve the roads, and we can commute farther in the time we are willing to spend commuting. So we tend to find jobs farther from home and the commute time stays the same.
We don't need or want more roads. Boston, which suffers as much from rush hour traffic as anywhere, defeated an attempt to add two superhighways into the center of town. The state highway people tried to run I95 right into, and thru, the downtown. This occurred back in the 1980's. The folk whose homes would have been taken to build I95 rallied politically and defeated the construction plan. Boston, left with two ring highways, and four divided highways into the center of town, has all the road the land and the people will bear.
The famous Boston "Big Dig" merely buried the unsightly elevated central expressway in a tunnel. The fabulously expensive project did nothing to improve automobile access, it merely freed up some very nice downtown real estate that used to have the expressway standing upon it.
We don't need any more "investment" in new highways, we have all the road we can stand.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)