Thursday, May 06, 2004

Exceptional Men

Think what you will about the United States’ involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, elsewhere.  I do not care if you come down on the side of the fence against it, or for it.  That is your decision. 

What gets me, is, those who are against U.S. involvement, who seem to take pleasure from the fact that U.S. military personnel are being killed.  I consider this nothing more than sick, demented blather.  I respect the men and women who voluntarily serve, at least the majority of them, considering the recent revelations about Abu Gharib, and mourn the facts of their death, as I mourn the fact of the deaths of innocent Iraqis or Afghanis.

Here are some stories about those who voluntarily serve, with fortitude.  The piece is titled “2003: A Season of Valor, Sacrifice - and Many Heroes."

Via McQ at Questions and Observations.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/06 at 07:54 AM
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Collectively Speaking, We Can Make it Better

What happens when too many cooks are in the kitchen?  The soup gets spoiled.  What happens when too many planners are gathered together in a state operated planning commission?  Buildings get spoiled, or nothing.

Thomas Sowell casts his eye on the Planning Commission in the city of San Mateo, which, in its collective ineptness, is keeping a builder from constructing six condominiums, for seniors, for reasons that leave me agog.

The piece is titled “No-cost decision-making." The concluding paragraph.

"Collective decision-making has had such a bad track record around the world that, by the end of the 20th century, even socialists and communists were turning more decisions over to the market. But apparently the word has not yet reached San Mateo."

Posted by John Venlet on 05/06 at 07:40 AM
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It's All in Your Head

Experiencing fatigue, after a long day doing something you enjoy, can be a real pleasure.  For example, after a day of chasing trout and hatching mayflies, upstream and downstream, I typically experience a pleasant fatigue, and revel in it alongside the campfire with a beer in my hand.  Though if I heard trout rising in the stream, which runs through my property, I’d once again quickly don my waders and have at it again.  What about athletes though?  When the initial onset of fatigue seeps into their muscles, is the show over?

Alex Tabarrok, at Marginal Revolution, links to a piece which delves into muscle fatigue and athletes in a post titled “Mind over muscle or Where is Fatigue?" The post references the research into this done by Timothy Noakes, and links to an article in New Scientist on the subject matter.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/06 at 06:16 AM
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"We voted on it." Redux

The other day, I linked to an essay at Catallarchy titled “The Hanover Street Shoe-Shine Boys," as a lesson for my sons, who have recently experienced the joys and tribulations of joining the work force, and being subjected to taxes.  Richard Nikoley, at Uncommon Sense, noticed the Catallarchy piece also, posted a link to the piece, and received an email message regarding the essay.  The message Nikoley received, intimated the sender had “The Truth,” and that Nikoley didn’t.  Read Richard’s response to the email.  It’s titled “Don’t Let Your Brains Fall Out."

Billy Beck noted Richard’s post here.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/06 at 06:04 AM
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Not Good Enough for the NYT

In a New York Times piece this morning, Joseph Berger bemoans the plight of immigrants who must commute.

“4-Hour Trek Across New York for 4 Hours of Work, and $28."

The above link is the actual title of the piece.  As is usual, the NYT feels this is deplorable, but I would like to point out some excerpts from the piece, which, if you would think about it, demonstrate how un-deplorable this actually is.

"Still, some workers in all corners of the city are willing to travel breathtaking distances — sometimes for as many hours as they work — for few dollars and virtually no benefits. They do this because whatever small amount they make is essential."

Notice the words “workers” and “willing.”

Then there is the following, from an individual the writer Berger gathered data from to write the piece.

""I keep telling them to look for something in the Bronx,” she said of her agency. “They say, `We’re going to find for you.’ If I leave this job, I have nothing. So I’d rather take this job than do nothing.” Agency officials declined to comment."

Must I point out the salient words in the above quote?

And then there is the following.

"But she said she took heart in what her mother told her.

“I’m proud of you,” she recalled her mother saying. “For an Arabic woman to do what you’re doing now. You’re working like a man’s job."

Pride comes from earning your own way, rather than from being a ward of the state.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/06 at 05:29 AM
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Lame

"Family members of an Army reservist photographed with naked Iraqi prisoners said Tuesday she was merely a “paper-pusher” who was in the “wrong place at the wrong time."

The family members mentioned in the above quote are the family of Spc. Lynndie England.  The cigarette dangling from the mouth, thumbs up, with a big grin photographed reservist army gal.  I don’t know about you, but if I find myself in the “wrong place at the wrong time,” with untowards happenings going on around me, I hightail my ass out of there.

From an article in the Baltimore Sun titled “Family Backs Reservist in Iraq Prison Case."

Via Drudge.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/06 at 04:51 AM
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Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Meth Makers Purchase Supplies at Grocery Stores?

I know very little about the manufacture of methamphetamine, though I’m certain it wouldn’t be difficult to find the information for manufacture on the net.

I mention this because while following some links on marijuana stories this morning, I came across a MSNBC article, from April 7th of this year, regarding Okalahoma’s signing into law a bill restricting the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines, as a method of crimping the manufacture of meth.

I fail to see how this will be effective against the manufacture of meth.  Think about it.  Do you really think that meth manufacturers, who, I would assume need vast quantities of the drug pseudoephedrine, the drug in cold remedies, to manufacture meth, on a profitable basis, are going to walk into the grocery store and purchase a bottle of Sudafed, or Claritin-D? Be serious.

The article is titled “Oklahoma restricts purchase of cold pills." Missouri and Iowa have enacted the same type of laws.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/05 at 07:45 AM
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Sanitizing St James, for the Muslims You Know

"A statue in a Spanish cathedral showing St James slicing the heads off Moorish invaders is to be removed to avoid causing offence to Muslims."

Then there’s this little blurb, posted under a photo of St James, via the link below.

"The church wants to emphasise St James’s kinder side."

How sweet.

“Church to remove Moor-slayer saint."

Via Sasha Castel.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/05 at 05:11 AM
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Perturbed About Pertussis, Vaccine

If you’ve ever served in the military, you’ve been subjected to more shots, for more diseases, than most individuals.  It’s kind of funny, when I think about it, because even with my questioning nature, I never actually questioned the shots I was receiving.  Things are a bit different, today.  Think anthrax shots and smallpox shots, and the refusal of some to receive them, and the vociferousness of those who urged not taking them, because of possible problems.

How does an attitude of refusal to receive a vaccine, or anti-vaccine drum beating, take hold?  A piece written by William John Hoyt, Jr. may help explain.  The piece is titled “Anti-Vaccination Fever." The piece looks at this in relation to one vaccine, the vaccine for whooping cough.

Via Arts & Letters Daily.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/05 at 04:56 AM
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Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Looking at the Pro-Palestinian Label

"CONSIDER WHAT’S required to wear the label “Pro-Palestinian.”

To start, you have to appear non-judgmental about innocent Palestinian children being raised to become human bombs.

You must refer to those who send such children on suicide/mass murder missions as “political leaders” or, even better, as “spiritual leaders.” Call them militants if you must, but never terrorists.

To be thought of as pro-Palestinian, you must cite the plight of the Palestinian refugees as a key motivation for violence, ignoring the fact that there would have been no refugees had Israel’s Arab neighbors not launched a war to destroy the tiny Jewish state immediately upon its birth."

From a post at Israpundit titled “To be ‘pro-Palestinian’ is to live in a world of delusions."

Posted by John Venlet on 05/04 at 12:01 PM
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A Bold Undertaking

While Googling the words “metaphysics and physics,” I stumbled upon a site which is named On Truth and Reality. The site is run by Geoff Haselhurst, who currently resides in South Western Australia.  An area of the world I do recall fondly from my visits there.  Anyway, Haselhurst’s site is chock full, and I mean chock full, of links dealing with philosophy, evolution. physics, metaphysics and theology, not to mention being peppered with quotes from famous minds.  It’s worth poking around in.

Here’s the introductory statement from On Truth and Reality.

"I must admit that I have spent considerable time thinking about writing an introduction to this website on Truth and Reality.
The problem is perplexing, yet simple.

I am a philosopher / metaphysicist, and these subjects (along with all human knowledge) are founded on Reality, this being the source of all Truth and Wisdom.
The problem is that I am now quite convinced that Reality has been discovered, that this is very important to humanity, and yet at the same time I realise that very few people will believe this, or make any effort to understand it to determine its truth. (And I accept there are many valid reasons for this apparent apathy and cynicism.)
I figure though, that the best I can do as a philosopher is to write the truth as clearly, concisely, simply and sensibly as I am able, then I have done my job, and it is up to you to make up your own mind as to its truth and importance.

So lets start by very briefly summarising the main idea.
Currently we represent Matter as particles generating forces that act on other particles in space and time. This discrete particle conception of matter is incomplete (as Einstein realised) but his error was to try and describe reality as a pure field theory (he failed). Instead, we must combine the waves discovered by Schrodinger and de Broglie (foundations of Quantum Theory) with the Absolute Space assumed by Newton, to describe matter as Spherical Standing Waves in Space. Thus the Wave-Center of the Spherical Standing Wave causes the particle effect of matter, the interaction of the spherical In and Out Waves cause the ‘force fields’.
Most significantly, we are describing reality from One thing, Space, and its properties as a Wave Medium, rather than from Many things, Matter, and their properties of generating fields (that cause the effect of Space, though how particles do this is never explained). This then explains Hume’s problem of Causation and Necessary Connection, as it is the One thing Space, that connects the many things matter (as spherical waves in space). Now I realise it is a little confusing to begin, but it is very simple once known. (Please see below for further details.)
Most importantly, as our world now faces many crises, it seems to me that this knowledge of reality, if it is true, is critical to humanity and our future survival.

Unfortunately, we now live in a post-modern culture that does not believe it is possible to know Reality, and thus to have Absolute Truth. All knowledge is relative to cultural constructions, which are ultimately merely ideas, not real things existing in themselves (Kantian Idealism). I suspect it would be ‘academic suicide’ to even use these terms of Truth and Reality in a title as I have done (though they accurately reflect the content). You are asking to be branded a ‘crackpot’, either ignorant of our current ‘enlightened post-modern’ knowledge, and thus deluded, or allowing ego and imagination to sway reason and good sense.
In my defence, which is really a defence of Philosophy and Science, I reply;
Over the past ten years I have taken the time to study the great minds of human history (there are many beautiful and brilliant minds to read). This becomes clear as you read this website, which is filled with thousands of quotes from many great minds over thousands of years.
Now this in no way means that what I write is true, my point is more that by presenting the existing knowledge from the original source, explaining the problems and how they can be solved, this then allows you to make up your own mind as to the validity of the argument. (As I see philosophy and science, you can’t tell someone the truth, but you can show them how to work it out for themselves.)
And based upon this knowledge of philosophy, physics and metaphysics, it is now clear to me that the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter is a far better way to describe reality than the current paradigm of particles and forces in space and time.

Anyway, the purpose of this introduction is to encourage you to take the time to browse the brief summaries of articles (sorted by subject) which follow this introduction. If this knowledge of the Wave Structure of Matter is correct then it is clearly very important to Humanity, and has the power to solve many of our problems, both in the spheres of human knowledge, and how we are to live on Earth (without destroying ourselves and the Nature which created us, and upon which we depend). As I see it, the world needs our help, and this help must be founded on the truth, not just our good intentions, if it is to actually work and make things better.
For now, this is my brief / abrupt introduction. (It is a work in progress!, so please write and tell me your thoughts so I can improve it.)"

Posted by John Venlet on 05/04 at 11:01 AM
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"We voted on it." (Linked as a lesson for my sons)

When I was growing up, on Saturday nights I was assigned a task by my father.  I was tasked with shining my Dad’s, my own, and my five brothers’ pairs of shoes for Sunday church.  There was no vote, and I didn’t get paid for it.  One distinct benefit of this, though, was that I was never once gigged for having unpresentable footwear while in the military service.  But this post is not about that, though it is related to shining shoes. 

The Guest Writer at Catallarchy has an essay posted titled “The Hanover Street Shoe-Shine Boys" that is worth a read.  What do you mean you don’t want to read it?  We, whatever that means, took a vote, and you must.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/04 at 08:44 AM
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More Money, Yeah, That'll Solve the Problem

John Kerry is attacking George Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” legislation. Rightly so, I’d say, as the legislation is simply part of the smoke and mirrors the government wields to obfuscate the problem with kids not learning in school.  Unfortunately Kerry’s solution is the same as Bush’s, more money, that’ll fix the problem.  Right.  Real original solution, John.

As I read the above linked Bloomberg article, noting Kerry’s unhappiness with graduation rates, and Bush’s smoke and mirror act, the following verse, from an Iris DeMent song, immediately came to mind.

"We got high-school kids running ‘round in Calvin Klein and Guess
who cannot pass a sixth-grade reading test
but if you ask them, they can tell you
the name of every crotch on mTV
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free"

From Iris DeMent’s WASTELAND OF THE FREE (Iris DeMent)
(c) 1996 Songs of Iris ASCAP

The verse sums it up quite well, for me, and throwing more money at the issue will not solve the problem.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/04 at 08:29 AM
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"Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"

Remember Gomer Pyle, and the line, above, used in the title to this post?  I don’t think the individual in the story I link below, was thinking about Gomer Pyle.

"Their eyes locked.

Then Barbara Holland saw the barrel of the gun.

She lay on the floorin her house after an intruder had knocked her down while pushing through her side door. While on her back, she drew a 9mm handgun from a holster on her waist.

Her assailant’s glare suddenly changed.

“He looked surprised,” Holland said.

Then she pulled the trigger."

“Detroit woman tells of self-defense shooting."

It will be a good day when those who initiate force against others are not surprised that inidividuals stand up and protect themselves.

Via The Volohk Conspiracy.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/04 at 07:41 AM
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Milwaukee Cops Imitate Cookeville Cops or "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

Remember the Cookeville cops who killed the family dog?, during an erroneous stop?  I posted on it back in January 2003. Well, the Milwaukee cops must have taken a lesson or two from the Cookeville cops, as they have also killed a family’s dog during an erroneous burgular response.

“Police kill dog while stopping at wrong house on alarm call."

Are dogs considered armed and dangerous or what?

Via Hit & Run.

Posted by John Venlet on 05/04 at 07:14 AM
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