Posting may be a little thin, perhaps nonexistent for Christmas week. I am going to spend the holidays with my children, and may not get around to posting til I get back.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Rehashing Ancient History on NHPR
Way back in 1953, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were tried, convicted and executed for passing the secret of the atomic bomb to the Russians. As far as the judge and the jury were concerned, the Rosenbergs had given the secret of the ultimate weapon to our mortal enemies. The Left (we called them communists back then) in those days called the Rosenbergs innocent victims of a judicial murder. In later years declassification of the "Venoma Papers", intercepted communications between the Soviet embassy and Moscow, showed the Rosenbergs guilt.
And so, better than 60 years later, NHPR ran a lengthy piece, rehashing the whole affair. Apparently there are two Rosenburg children, still alive, who are petitioning Obama to posthumously pardon Ethel Rosenberg, their mother. They feel she is innocent, and apparently, since they are only asking in her name, they finally think Julius, their father, was guilty as charged.
I'm so glad NHPR brought this bit of ancient history back to life, and as befits NHPR's rather lefty stance, they give the Rosenbergs a very sympathetic treatment.
And so, better than 60 years later, NHPR ran a lengthy piece, rehashing the whole affair. Apparently there are two Rosenburg children, still alive, who are petitioning Obama to posthumously pardon Ethel Rosenberg, their mother. They feel she is innocent, and apparently, since they are only asking in her name, they finally think Julius, their father, was guilty as charged.
I'm so glad NHPR brought this bit of ancient history back to life, and as befits NHPR's rather lefty stance, they give the Rosenbergs a very sympathetic treatment.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Executive Action by Tom Clancy
I wonder if Donald Trump has read it? In this novel, Tom Clancy's hero, Jack Ryan, becomes President of the US. Ryan receives plenty of sage advice on how the Presidency works, and the good guys win in the end. Plenty of US political ideas get tossed around, and in some cases nailed to the carpet. It's a fun read.
Should you warm up your car engine in winter?
Popular Mechanics and Road & Track are saying "NO!" I say yes. In proper cold weather, say below zero, your engine oil gets stiff and sticky. The oil pump may be be able to force enough thick and sticky cold oil thru the engine bearings to prevent damage to the engine. And, the defroster won't throw any heat til the engine warms up.
What you ought to do, is give the engine 20-30 seconds at idle to get the deep chill off it. Then drive away gently, no foot to the floor acceleration, until the temp gauge gets up somewhere near normal, or the defroster starts throwing a little heat. Takes a few minutes and then all is well.
There is no need to leave the car idling for 10-20-30 minutes before driving it, but you do want to keep your foot out of it until the engine is warm.
What you ought to do, is give the engine 20-30 seconds at idle to get the deep chill off it. Then drive away gently, no foot to the floor acceleration, until the temp gauge gets up somewhere near normal, or the defroster starts throwing a little heat. Takes a few minutes and then all is well.
There is no need to leave the car idling for 10-20-30 minutes before driving it, but you do want to keep your foot out of it until the engine is warm.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
The NRA counts coup
The new American Rifleman magazine, the NRA house organ, got to me today. In it, the NRA leadership spent several pages patting themselves on the back for Donald Trump's win. NRA backed Trump from the very beginning and are overjoyed at his win.
Aside from a few Democrats bad mouthing the NRA, the MSM hasn't let out a peep about how effective they were. Actually, the NRA has several million dues paying members, mostly single issue, support of second amendment voters. The NRA magazine goes to all of them. Every election American Rifleman will have a two page center spread, listing every office in each state, from US senator down to dogcatcher, and naming all the candidates, and giving each candidate a grade, A thru F, on where they stand on the second amendment. The membership reads the magazine and finds it highly credible, much more so than any of the MSM.
I'm thinking that several million motivated single issue voters swung more weight in the election than anything the Russians could even think of doing. Funny that the MSM never writes about it. Probably the MSM writers are all city boys who don't like guns.
Aside from a few Democrats bad mouthing the NRA, the MSM hasn't let out a peep about how effective they were. Actually, the NRA has several million dues paying members, mostly single issue, support of second amendment voters. The NRA magazine goes to all of them. Every election American Rifleman will have a two page center spread, listing every office in each state, from US senator down to dogcatcher, and naming all the candidates, and giving each candidate a grade, A thru F, on where they stand on the second amendment. The membership reads the magazine and finds it highly credible, much more so than any of the MSM.
I'm thinking that several million motivated single issue voters swung more weight in the election than anything the Russians could even think of doing. Funny that the MSM never writes about it. Probably the MSM writers are all city boys who don't like guns.
How "Identity Politics" failed Clinton
"Identity Politics" as played by Hillary, amounted to identifying some group[s], blacks, women, Hispanics, LGBT, and others, naming them, and asking them to vote for Hillary. Some did, just being named is powerful, but many did not, because Hillary never addressed their wants and grievances. She just asked for the votes. No quid pro quo. No campaign promises.
In some cases, the "identity group" wants something repellent to the rest of the country. Hispanics want easier immigration and a path to citizenship for the illegals allready in the country. This is anathema to large number of regular voters. Women want free contraceptives and abortion on demand which is anathema to large numbers of voters.
To do "indentity politics" well, you need some genuine members of the group, leaders, come out and campaign for you. Hillary didn't have any prominent blacks, hispanics or LGBTs on TV, calling for Hillary's election. Actually The Donald did better in this respect. He had Ben Carson, a highly respected black man, come out and publicly support him.
My advice to the Democrats in the aftermath of this year's election, is to go back to political basics, come up with a party platform, that states issues, that actually mean something real to voters. This requires some head banging within the party to accept some controversial issues. What to do about pipelines and transmission lines, oil exploration, charter schools, taxes, law enforcement, and more are all controversial inside the Democratic party. One reason Hillary never campaigned on any of them is that doing so would have brought a storm of criticism down on her from the numerous opponents of each and every issue.
In some cases, the "identity group" wants something repellent to the rest of the country. Hispanics want easier immigration and a path to citizenship for the illegals allready in the country. This is anathema to large number of regular voters. Women want free contraceptives and abortion on demand which is anathema to large numbers of voters.
To do "indentity politics" well, you need some genuine members of the group, leaders, come out and campaign for you. Hillary didn't have any prominent blacks, hispanics or LGBTs on TV, calling for Hillary's election. Actually The Donald did better in this respect. He had Ben Carson, a highly respected black man, come out and publicly support him.
My advice to the Democrats in the aftermath of this year's election, is to go back to political basics, come up with a party platform, that states issues, that actually mean something real to voters. This requires some head banging within the party to accept some controversial issues. What to do about pipelines and transmission lines, oil exploration, charter schools, taxes, law enforcement, and more are all controversial inside the Democratic party. One reason Hillary never campaigned on any of them is that doing so would have brought a storm of criticism down on her from the numerous opponents of each and every issue.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Companies need to train their employees
Companies are wailing that they cannot find workers with the right skills to fill some 5 million job openings. Stop wailing. Hire some likely young guys (and girls). Run 'em thru a training course, on company time and on payroll. Flunk out a few losers, and in a few months you have all the new skilled workers you might need.
But, after we spend money on training them, they quit and go to work for our competitors. That mean you aren't treating them right, not enough pay and benefits, or an unpleasant work environment (dirty dingy shop, nasty foremen, crummy hours, and other things)
The public schools need to teach the three Rs, reading riting, and 'rithmetic. It's unreasonable to expect them to teach CNC machining, vapor reflow soldering, digital signal processing, use of logic analyzers, operation of bulldozers and backhoes. This sort of specialized state of the art technology must be taught by industry, not public high school. Let the schools teach fundamental things of use anywhere and let companies teach their special technologies.
Judging by the corporate whining about lack of suitably trained workers, I don't think many American companies understand this.
But, after we spend money on training them, they quit and go to work for our competitors. That mean you aren't treating them right, not enough pay and benefits, or an unpleasant work environment (dirty dingy shop, nasty foremen, crummy hours, and other things)
The public schools need to teach the three Rs, reading riting, and 'rithmetic. It's unreasonable to expect them to teach CNC machining, vapor reflow soldering, digital signal processing, use of logic analyzers, operation of bulldozers and backhoes. This sort of specialized state of the art technology must be taught by industry, not public high school. Let the schools teach fundamental things of use anywhere and let companies teach their special technologies.
Judging by the corporate whining about lack of suitably trained workers, I don't think many American companies understand this.
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