According to the Wall St. Journal, the Russian army will issue socks to the troops for the first time. Peter the Great's army began to issue portyanki, squares of cloth, to the soldiers, who wrapped their feet in them before pulling on their boots. Portyanki remained standard Russian Army issue thru the Napoleonic wars, the Crimean War, and the World Wars.
Only now, as the number of city bred recruits, used to socks, rises and the number of country boys declines, complaints about the lack of socks has caused the army to start up a sock issue.
You gotta wonder about an outfit that only discovered socks in the 21st century.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
How about a Republican Immigration Bill?
TV news reports that Obama wants to pass a "comprehensive" immigration bill. Comprehensive means a huge stack of paper with all sorts of pork and special favors buried inside. Britt Hume says the White House figures it's a win-win situation for them. If it passes the Hispanics will love them. If it doesn't pass they can blame it on the Republicans.
Republicans ought to offer one or more short and sweet immigration bills of the sort no one can dislike. For instance, anyone who served in the armed forces should receive US citizenship. This ought to pass no sweat. Or, anyone who was brought into the country as a child should be eligible for citizenship. Who can be against children?
You get as much political credit for passing something small and limited as you do for passing something vast and "comprehensive".
Republicans ought to offer one or more short and sweet immigration bills of the sort no one can dislike. For instance, anyone who served in the armed forces should receive US citizenship. This ought to pass no sweat. Or, anyone who was brought into the country as a child should be eligible for citizenship. Who can be against children?
You get as much political credit for passing something small and limited as you do for passing something vast and "comprehensive".
Ya just can't win
On NPR this morning a piece telling that coffee drinking is up among college students. Coffee houses are packed in the evenings.
But then, they switch to the dark side, the evils of coffee. It ruins your sleep, turning good virtuous hivalue REM sleep into unhealthy Starbucks sleep. Coffee drinking leads to sleep deprivation, a serious problem among college students. NPR raved along on this line for several minutes.
Damn. We have college students drinking something fairly innocuous, and NPR is nagging about it. Coffee won't get you into the kind of trouble that beer or pot can.
Then for an encore, NPR switches to a piece about how the University of Vermont is saving the planet by banning bottled water.
But then, they switch to the dark side, the evils of coffee. It ruins your sleep, turning good virtuous hivalue REM sleep into unhealthy Starbucks sleep. Coffee drinking leads to sleep deprivation, a serious problem among college students. NPR raved along on this line for several minutes.
Damn. We have college students drinking something fairly innocuous, and NPR is nagging about it. Coffee won't get you into the kind of trouble that beer or pot can.
Then for an encore, NPR switches to a piece about how the University of Vermont is saving the planet by banning bottled water.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
How to balance the NH budget
We do it the old fashioned way, we estimate more revenue than we are gonna collect. That way we can spend more. All it takes is estimates, not real money, just estimated money.
The state Democrats are pushing to put estimated revenues from gambling into the budget. Doesn't matter that we haven't passed the necessary laws to open the casino's. It doesn't matter that last time they tried, the law failed to pass the House and the Senate. It doesn't matter that the estimated revenue from gambling is about ten times what is likely to happen. Only thing that is different this time is new governor Maggie Hassan says she will sign an expanded gambling bill. Previous governor Lynch had promised to veto it.
But the Democrats want to include hypothetical revenue from as yet illegal gambling operations in this year's revenue estimate.
Can you say deficit spending disorder?
The state Democrats are pushing to put estimated revenues from gambling into the budget. Doesn't matter that we haven't passed the necessary laws to open the casino's. It doesn't matter that last time they tried, the law failed to pass the House and the Senate. It doesn't matter that the estimated revenue from gambling is about ten times what is likely to happen. Only thing that is different this time is new governor Maggie Hassan says she will sign an expanded gambling bill. Previous governor Lynch had promised to veto it.
But the Democrats want to include hypothetical revenue from as yet illegal gambling operations in this year's revenue estimate.
Can you say deficit spending disorder?
Friday, January 11, 2013
Men's clothing styles
Nice fashion section in the Wall St. Journal. Showing really fancy shoes at $6K a pair and "bespoke"suits at $7K. Shirts for $500. Clearly the well dressed Wall Streeter can blow $15K on a decent outfit. Groovy.
Then I think of Steve Jobs, appearing at Comdex, pushing Apple's latest products dressed in T shirt and jeans. Real business men don't blow $15K on clothes.
Then I think of Steve Jobs, appearing at Comdex, pushing Apple's latest products dressed in T shirt and jeans. Real business men don't blow $15K on clothes.
Cannon Mountain Ski weather
The mountain is in good shape. We have been getting an inch or so a night sifting down, but haven't had a real snow this week. Right now the temperature is hovering right around freezing. It's overcast and no wind is blowing.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Power Grows out of the Barrel of a Gun
Mao Tse-Tung said that. In the United States today the citizens have power (guns). This power is used to support and defend the Constitution and to suppress crime. Obama wants to take that power away. He doesn't want to waste the crisis of the horrible massacre in Connecticut, so he is pushing for "gun control". A phrase that means what ever you want it to mean. Taking guns away from citizens takes power away from citizens, leaving them defenseless against government force and criminals.
Obama is talking about an "assault weapons" ban. Trouble is, there are no objective differences between "assault weapons" and pretty much any kind of gun. So banning "assault weapons" really means banning nearly everything that shoots. And that's what Obama wants to do.
It is not true that some guns are more deadly than other guns. All guns are deadly. The Connecticut shooter would have killed as many no matter what kind of gun he used. We cannot improve public safety by banning the more deadly kind of guns, because all guns are deadly.
I am not prepared to give up the power that arms represent merely because the "gun control" people are dancing in the blood shed in Connecticut.
Obama is talking about an "assault weapons" ban. Trouble is, there are no objective differences between "assault weapons" and pretty much any kind of gun. So banning "assault weapons" really means banning nearly everything that shoots. And that's what Obama wants to do.
It is not true that some guns are more deadly than other guns. All guns are deadly. The Connecticut shooter would have killed as many no matter what kind of gun he used. We cannot improve public safety by banning the more deadly kind of guns, because all guns are deadly.
I am not prepared to give up the power that arms represent merely because the "gun control" people are dancing in the blood shed in Connecticut.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)