California is talking about going to the $15 an hour minimum wage state wide. That ought pretty much close out jobs for high schoolers and entry level workers. And if workers don't enter the job market, they don't continue in it.
Lots a Luck there California.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Orwell, blue jeans, pop music, movies, and fast cars won the Cold War
It took us 45 years, but we beat the Soviets without going to war. Way back when we all worried about the Cold War turning hot. Remember On the Beach? or Canticle for Liebowitz, or Seven Days in May? or "We will bury you" ? Amazingly, the fear of nuclear war on both sides restrained the military option, and the Cold War was fought out with propaganda, diplomacy, intelligence, and other non-lethal methods.
George Orwell got in the first solid hit with Animal Farm, and followed that up with 1984. Nobody could believe in the benevolence of communism after reading Orwell. Remember the Soviet spies Klaus Fuchs, the Rosenbergs, Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and John Cairncross? They (and a bunch of others) spied for the Soviets, even passed the secrets of the atomic bomb to Stalin. By all accounts, these guys, all university graduates, were ideologically convinced that communism was the wave of the future, and they were doing good by spying for the Soviets. After Orwell, nobody worked for the Soviets out of pure love of communism. The later spies were all working for money.
Levi Strauss got in the second solid hit with blue jeans. Popularized by Hollywood westerns, worn by American teenagers, they became ultra cool behind the Iron Curtain, and Soviet teenagers would go to extra ordinary lengths to get their hands on a pair. It was hard for the commissars to work up much antipathy toward the Americans when every young Russian wanted to dress like the Americans did.
Detroit did some good with hot cars like the Chevy 409, the 'Stang, the 426 Dodge, the 'Vette, the Pontiac GTO, The Judge, and the whole drag racing, Thunder Road, and NASCAR racing scene. Again, hard to get young Russians worked up against the Yankees, when every one of them wanted to get their hands on Detroit iron.
Pop music, Elvis, the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and all the rest of 'em ruled. Along with Hollywood movies. Again, hard to stir up trouble when every one in Russia is listening to Western pop music. We need to resurrect both pop music and Hollywood, and make sure they are getting into ISIS land.
In short we took down the Soviets with coolness, consumer products, popular music and movies. Plus a few other things.
This ought to be our strategy for taking out Islamic extremism. It worked on the communists, it will work on the Islamic crazies.
George Orwell got in the first solid hit with Animal Farm, and followed that up with 1984. Nobody could believe in the benevolence of communism after reading Orwell. Remember the Soviet spies Klaus Fuchs, the Rosenbergs, Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and John Cairncross? They (and a bunch of others) spied for the Soviets, even passed the secrets of the atomic bomb to Stalin. By all accounts, these guys, all university graduates, were ideologically convinced that communism was the wave of the future, and they were doing good by spying for the Soviets. After Orwell, nobody worked for the Soviets out of pure love of communism. The later spies were all working for money.
Levi Strauss got in the second solid hit with blue jeans. Popularized by Hollywood westerns, worn by American teenagers, they became ultra cool behind the Iron Curtain, and Soviet teenagers would go to extra ordinary lengths to get their hands on a pair. It was hard for the commissars to work up much antipathy toward the Americans when every young Russian wanted to dress like the Americans did.
Detroit did some good with hot cars like the Chevy 409, the 'Stang, the 426 Dodge, the 'Vette, the Pontiac GTO, The Judge, and the whole drag racing, Thunder Road, and NASCAR racing scene. Again, hard to get young Russians worked up against the Yankees, when every one of them wanted to get their hands on Detroit iron.
Pop music, Elvis, the Beatles, the Grateful Dead, and all the rest of 'em ruled. Along with Hollywood movies. Again, hard to stir up trouble when every one in Russia is listening to Western pop music. We need to resurrect both pop music and Hollywood, and make sure they are getting into ISIS land.
In short we took down the Soviets with coolness, consumer products, popular music and movies. Plus a few other things.
This ought to be our strategy for taking out Islamic extremism. It worked on the communists, it will work on the Islamic crazies.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Trump 2016
A campaign sign, someone chalked on a wall at Emory University. Now we have Emory students and faculty crying about physic injuries and the need for counseling to over come the horror of seeing a campaign sign for a candidate they don't like.
Remind anyone you know not to apply to Emory, which seems to have forgotten that in the United States anyone can run for office, and put up signs, run TV commercials, plant yard signs, and electioneer especially on public property.
I don't like Trump much myself, but he has the right to run for president, and the right to electioneer.
Remind anyone you know not to apply to Emory, which seems to have forgotten that in the United States anyone can run for office, and put up signs, run TV commercials, plant yard signs, and electioneer especially on public property.
I don't like Trump much myself, but he has the right to run for president, and the right to electioneer.
Friday, March 25, 2016
I wonder why they didn't take him alive
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that US special forces in a raid in Syria, killed the #2 ISIS guy. Good work. We ought to do more of this.
If we got close enough to this guy to snuff him, we must have been close enough to grab him and bring him back. An enemy this high up must know some things that we could sweat out of him, assuming we still have the stomach for a little wet work. Even if we don't do that kind of rough stuff anymore, we could still put him on trial for murder, and then execute him. Nice long trial, lots of weeping victims as witnesses, tasteful orange jumpsuit accessorized with shiny handcuffs.
If we got close enough to this guy to snuff him, we must have been close enough to grab him and bring him back. An enemy this high up must know some things that we could sweat out of him, assuming we still have the stomach for a little wet work. Even if we don't do that kind of rough stuff anymore, we could still put him on trial for murder, and then execute him. Nice long trial, lots of weeping victims as witnesses, tasteful orange jumpsuit accessorized with shiny handcuffs.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
I wonder what they are doing to us.
From Megavote:
Genetically Modified Organism Food Labeling – Cloture Vote Rejected (48-49, 3 Not Voting) The Senate rejected a McConnell, R-Ky., motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House message to an unrelated bill (S 764) with a Senate amendment containing the genetically modified organism food labeling measure. The amendment would have blocked state and local labeling requirements for genetically engineered food and seeds. It also would have required the Agriculture Department to establish a national voluntary labeling standard for bioengineered foods, and later would have required the department to issue a mandatory standard if there is not at least "70 percent substantial participation" in voluntary labeling. Sixty votes were required to invoke cloture. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen voted NO Sen. Kelly Ayotte voted YES
" Motion to invoke Cloture on the motion to concur in the House message to an unrelated bill with a Senate amendment containing the GMO food labeling measure. "
What in Hell does that mean? Are we for GMO labeling or against it?
All I know is my democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen voted NO, and my good republican senator Kelly Ayotte voted yes. I think Jeanne Shaheen is slime, and I trust Kelly Ayotte. But it would be nice to know if Kelly's NO meant she was stopping the GMO labeling bill or promoting it.
This is an example of modern Congressional procedure, make everything so opaque that the voter's don't know which way their rep or senator voted. Give the Congress critters the option of claiming they were both for it and agin it, all in one opaque vote. The vote should have been, do we pass this GMO labeling bill, yes or no. Then at least we voter would know what is going down.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
What the Euro's ought to be doing
After the Brussels airport atrocity, the Europeans need to tighten things up. First off, they need to catch the perps, and most important, once caught, put them on trial and convict them of premeditated murder, and sentence them to death. And force the courts to get it done within six months from the arrest. And actually carry out the death sentence, not take ten years of appeals and welfare for lawyers. The deterrence effect of conviction and punishment wears off over time. When the courts take ten or twenty years to render a decision, nobody cares. I can't get excited about a ten year old crime. Too much time has passed. But I can get excited about a fresh horror.
BTW, US courts need to get on the stick too. For instance they haven't done a thing about Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber and it's been three years.
Second, Euro cops need to develop some sources, informants, who can tip them off to bad guys setting up to do bad. The cops need to be where the perps live. They cannot write off the Molembeeks and the banlieus as "too tough to bother with". You gotta have cops, on foot patrol, making contacts, and developing informants in the places that the bad guys live. You start with the shop keepers and the landlords. Let them know that hordes of government inspectors, tax audits, and other official badness will descend upon them if then don't become informants, and finger bad guys. Every small time criminal they catch, is offered a choice between cooperation with the cops, or prosecution. A few months of this will develop some sources.
Then the EU needs take real military action in Syria. Like send in an army, occupy the place, blow Assad and his government away, execute what ISIS people they catch. Set up decent law enforcement, fire protection, and get the schools open and operating. Make sure they are real schools and not Islamic madrassahs. Do land reform, namely dispossess the landlords, and give the land out to the farmers who actually work the land. Give those farmers good titles to their land, and make sure the courts enforce the new titles. Set up land offices to record exactly who owns what. Fix up the irrigation systems, canals, reservoirs, dams, pumps, locks, and such. Get the local industry back into business, hiring people and paying wages. Give military protection to any place that employs people (out side of family members) Set up some banks to finance business. Make Syria a decent place to live, with jobs and a rule of law and then the Euros won't have all those Syrian refugees swarming into Europe.
This might take a few years and cost a bundle, but it's worth it.
BTW, US courts need to get on the stick too. For instance they haven't done a thing about Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber and it's been three years.
Second, Euro cops need to develop some sources, informants, who can tip them off to bad guys setting up to do bad. The cops need to be where the perps live. They cannot write off the Molembeeks and the banlieus as "too tough to bother with". You gotta have cops, on foot patrol, making contacts, and developing informants in the places that the bad guys live. You start with the shop keepers and the landlords. Let them know that hordes of government inspectors, tax audits, and other official badness will descend upon them if then don't become informants, and finger bad guys. Every small time criminal they catch, is offered a choice between cooperation with the cops, or prosecution. A few months of this will develop some sources.
Then the EU needs take real military action in Syria. Like send in an army, occupy the place, blow Assad and his government away, execute what ISIS people they catch. Set up decent law enforcement, fire protection, and get the schools open and operating. Make sure they are real schools and not Islamic madrassahs. Do land reform, namely dispossess the landlords, and give the land out to the farmers who actually work the land. Give those farmers good titles to their land, and make sure the courts enforce the new titles. Set up land offices to record exactly who owns what. Fix up the irrigation systems, canals, reservoirs, dams, pumps, locks, and such. Get the local industry back into business, hiring people and paying wages. Give military protection to any place that employs people (out side of family members) Set up some banks to finance business. Make Syria a decent place to live, with jobs and a rule of law and then the Euros won't have all those Syrian refugees swarming into Europe.
This might take a few years and cost a bundle, but it's worth it.
Trump is still ahead, Cruz is not dead yet
According to FiveThirtyEight.com Trump now has 754 delegates, Cruz has 465. Trump won Arizona, Cruz won Utah. To clinch the nomination, you need 1237 delegates by convention time. If no one has 1237 (a real possibility) then all kinds of wheeling and dealing take place at the convention to select a nominee. We have a lot of heavy duty primaries still to go.
Cruz must be out talking to all the delegates won by candidates who dropped out, and Kasich who might drop out. We can assume he is saying " Get behind me, we can beat Trump, and I'll reward you with cabinet jobs, the vice presidency, and some nice pork to take back to your district." Whether anyone is listening is unknown.
Whether Trump or even Cruz will collect the required 1237 delegates before the convention is too close to call. Trump is really good on TV, and stands for taking names and kicking ass. Lotta people like that. He also has a lot of enemies, and the worst unfavorable rating of anyone in politics, worse even than Hilliary, who is pretty bad herself. The anti Trump people, who include the party establishment have three more months for Trump bashing. It might work, although it hasn't been very effective so far.
Cruz must be out talking to all the delegates won by candidates who dropped out, and Kasich who might drop out. We can assume he is saying " Get behind me, we can beat Trump, and I'll reward you with cabinet jobs, the vice presidency, and some nice pork to take back to your district." Whether anyone is listening is unknown.
Whether Trump or even Cruz will collect the required 1237 delegates before the convention is too close to call. Trump is really good on TV, and stands for taking names and kicking ass. Lotta people like that. He also has a lot of enemies, and the worst unfavorable rating of anyone in politics, worse even than Hilliary, who is pretty bad herself. The anti Trump people, who include the party establishment have three more months for Trump bashing. It might work, although it hasn't been very effective so far.
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