The TV has been cluttered with top national democrats urging Anthony, can't-keep-it-zipped Weiner to pull out of the NYC mayoral race. Apparently they don't trust the voters to reject Wiener. Maybe they have something there, after all the voters re-elected Obama after four years of wrecking the economy and throwing them out of work.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Thought Crimes and uniform regulations
According to the TV news the case against Bradley Manning, the Wikileaks leaker, revolves around Manning's intent. If Manning meant to harm the US, long jail term. If he thought he was a whistle blower he gets off.
This isn't right. Manning revealed classified documents to people who lacked clearances, who lacked a need to know, and who were not service members, who were not even US citizens. That's illegal and ought to be enough to punish him good and hard. The case should not revolve around intent. Intent is thought. We should not be trying thought crimes, where the defendant can be found guilty for thinking the wrong thoughts. Crime must consist of actions, not thoughts.
Watching Manning of TV, I see that the Army has revised the Class A uniform. It's now dark, almost black, with silver piping on the epaulets, like the Nazis used to do. Goes with the retro Civil War style shoulder straps on the officer's uniforms.
This isn't right. Manning revealed classified documents to people who lacked clearances, who lacked a need to know, and who were not service members, who were not even US citizens. That's illegal and ought to be enough to punish him good and hard. The case should not revolve around intent. Intent is thought. We should not be trying thought crimes, where the defendant can be found guilty for thinking the wrong thoughts. Crime must consist of actions, not thoughts.
Watching Manning of TV, I see that the Army has revised the Class A uniform. It's now dark, almost black, with silver piping on the epaulets, like the Nazis used to do. Goes with the retro Civil War style shoulder straps on the officer's uniforms.
Who killed the Western?
The Atlantic runs a long sad commentary here that doesn't say much. They never mention the real Western killer, Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles. That came out in 1974, when the Western was getting long in the tooth, and many of us figured Westerns were for kids. Blazing Saddles drove this point home so hard, that no Westerns were attempted for 10 years, and the couple that were tried 10 years later flopped despite decent casts and screen writing.
I liked Westerns, the good guys won, the bad guys were beaten, the scenery was cool, tough guys acting tough, lots of action, what's not to like? But after Blazing Saddles trashed the genre so thoroughly, it was impossible to take them seriously ever again.
I liked Westerns, the good guys won, the bad guys were beaten, the scenery was cool, tough guys acting tough, lots of action, what's not to like? But after Blazing Saddles trashed the genre so thoroughly, it was impossible to take them seriously ever again.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Intent and the right to vote.
A bunch of NH political types were discussing Voter ID on WMUR this morning. Much of the discussion revolved around the"intent" of voters, namely do they "intend" to live in NH. That's what you get when you get a bunch of lawyers together. All talk, no sense.
Intent is what a person thinks, and we don't have telepathy, so no one knows what another person thinks. Law that takes thought into account creates thought crimes, where merely thinking the wrong thoughts is a violation of the law. We should not have thought crime laws.
In regard to the matter of who is entitled to vote in New Hampshire, we need to speak of objective, real things, things that can be seen and touched and photographed. As a general rule, a New Hampshire voter needs New Hampshire plates on the car and a New Hampshire drivers license. In fact, those two items are enough in my book. Voters lacking a car upon which to have NH plates, need to explain how they got to the town offices, since most NH town offices can only be reached by car. If a friend drove them to the office, the friend's car needs NH plates.
Voters lacking a car and a drivers license (very suspicious, everyone has a drivers license) must show evidence (lease, utility bill, mortgage stub) of a home in NH, something a little more permanent than a motel room, and a year round residence, not just a ski chalet. And they need to show a decent photo ID. NH drivers license, passport, Armed Forces ID card, birth certificate, something solid. College ID's don't count.
But what ever we do, let's do something real. Let's not create thought crimes.
Intent is what a person thinks, and we don't have telepathy, so no one knows what another person thinks. Law that takes thought into account creates thought crimes, where merely thinking the wrong thoughts is a violation of the law. We should not have thought crime laws.
In regard to the matter of who is entitled to vote in New Hampshire, we need to speak of objective, real things, things that can be seen and touched and photographed. As a general rule, a New Hampshire voter needs New Hampshire plates on the car and a New Hampshire drivers license. In fact, those two items are enough in my book. Voters lacking a car upon which to have NH plates, need to explain how they got to the town offices, since most NH town offices can only be reached by car. If a friend drove them to the office, the friend's car needs NH plates.
Voters lacking a car and a drivers license (very suspicious, everyone has a drivers license) must show evidence (lease, utility bill, mortgage stub) of a home in NH, something a little more permanent than a motel room, and a year round residence, not just a ski chalet. And they need to show a decent photo ID. NH drivers license, passport, Armed Forces ID card, birth certificate, something solid. College ID's don't count.
But what ever we do, let's do something real. Let's not create thought crimes.
Somewhere a village is missing its idiot
Jack Lew, Obama's new Treasury Secretary was on Meet the Press this morning. Oh boy, are we in trouble now with this guy running Treasury. He starts off by saying that Congress needs to fund things the Middle Class needs. Right. The middle class doesn't need "programs", doesn't use "programs" . The middle class needs jobs, not programs.
Then Jack talked about all the good work Obama has done reducing the deficit. Right. Deficit is still $1 trillion dollars, which is too damn high by a factor of 10.
Than Jack talked about economic growth, and how good it is. Right. The economy hit bottom back in 2008 and is still there on the bottom. Obama declared that recovery had begun when things stopped falling, but things are still on the bottom it hit back in 2008. Can you say dead cat bounce? Growth this year is in the 1 percent range, which translates out as invisible.
Finally Jack urged that we "stay on the path to growth." Right. Since 2008 the path has not led to growth. But Obama is bound and determined to keep the country on it.
Either Jack believes this stuff, which makes him a total idiot, or he has no qualms about peddling snake oil on national TV. Which isn't a good thing either. So glad Obama appointed this loser.
Then Jack talked about all the good work Obama has done reducing the deficit. Right. Deficit is still $1 trillion dollars, which is too damn high by a factor of 10.
Than Jack talked about economic growth, and how good it is. Right. The economy hit bottom back in 2008 and is still there on the bottom. Obama declared that recovery had begun when things stopped falling, but things are still on the bottom it hit back in 2008. Can you say dead cat bounce? Growth this year is in the 1 percent range, which translates out as invisible.
Finally Jack urged that we "stay on the path to growth." Right. Since 2008 the path has not led to growth. But Obama is bound and determined to keep the country on it.
Either Jack believes this stuff, which makes him a total idiot, or he has no qualms about peddling snake oil on national TV. Which isn't a good thing either. So glad Obama appointed this loser.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Eddie the Markey rides again.
I used to live in Ed Markey's district. He was an amiable idiot, always campaigning for regulation of something. He started out campaigning for federal regulation of cable TV rates. That was way back when we still had over the air TV. Instead of allowing customers who felt they were being overcharged to cancel their cable service, he wanted to slap a rate cap on what was a luxury service.
Now that he has become a US senator, thanks to the ever so wise voters of Massachusetts, he wants to set up Federal regulation of amusement park rides. Ostensibly this is in reaction to the horrible accident at Six Flags over Texas. We couldn't leave it up to the insurance companies or the states, oh no, we need to create a vast new Federal bureaucracy, well staffed and well paid, with excellent benefits, to do something that other agencies have been doing nicely for many years.
Anyhow the Fox TV newsies have been expressing surprise at Markey's call for action. They should not be surprised, Markey has been doing this kind of stuff for 30 years. Anybody with experience in Massachusetts knows Markey's style by now.
Now that he has become a US senator, thanks to the ever so wise voters of Massachusetts, he wants to set up Federal regulation of amusement park rides. Ostensibly this is in reaction to the horrible accident at Six Flags over Texas. We couldn't leave it up to the insurance companies or the states, oh no, we need to create a vast new Federal bureaucracy, well staffed and well paid, with excellent benefits, to do something that other agencies have been doing nicely for many years.
Anyhow the Fox TV newsies have been expressing surprise at Markey's call for action. They should not be surprised, Markey has been doing this kind of stuff for 30 years. Anybody with experience in Massachusetts knows Markey's style by now.
Grassroots politicking at the Haverill Fair
Haverill puts on an old fashioned fair. A midway, rides, cotton candy, horse pulls, the works. We put up a booth for the Grafton Republican Party, and manned it with politicians and party workers. We had Ray Burton, Jeanne Forrester and Jim Reubins for pols, and a bunch of party workers. You get to see real voters, lots of 'em, having a good time.
After all the TV whining about obesity, there wasn't much in evidence among fairgoers. Kids and teenagers were all thin as rails, decently dressed, well behaved, and happy. Haircuts for boys varied from the 1/2 inch buzz cut to shoulder length. As people got older, they put on some weight, the 40 year olds were uniformly heavier than the 18 year olds, but that's nature. I think the TV obesity whiners have over played their hand. Among the crowd were a lot of couples, of all ages, many holding hands, as they strolled about the exhibits. Clearly the couples were enjoying each others company as much as the delights of the county fair.
We managed to engage the politically active in discussion, but most voters merely gave a friendly nod as they strolled by.
After all the TV whining about obesity, there wasn't much in evidence among fairgoers. Kids and teenagers were all thin as rails, decently dressed, well behaved, and happy. Haircuts for boys varied from the 1/2 inch buzz cut to shoulder length. As people got older, they put on some weight, the 40 year olds were uniformly heavier than the 18 year olds, but that's nature. I think the TV obesity whiners have over played their hand. Among the crowd were a lot of couples, of all ages, many holding hands, as they strolled about the exhibits. Clearly the couples were enjoying each others company as much as the delights of the county fair.
We managed to engage the politically active in discussion, but most voters merely gave a friendly nod as they strolled by.
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