Flatmate Having a "Dinner Party"

I'll be using this as an excuse to FWTM, a game we expand to Fuck With The Moonies.

They moved their NYC HQ from near my old apartment to near my new apartment, dotcha know.

When You Tripe A Letter

If your friend, acquaintance, or unknown appears to have made an error, consider the multiple causes for it?  They were unfamiliar with the facts (ignorance), they had been misapprised of the situation (duped, for any of the reasons), have the wrong facts at hand (stupid), or being intentionally deceitful (evil).

Without mentioning the last, unless it comes to blows, give the error-prone a choice.

My Recommendation for Soccer (aka Football)

I understand, how, in primitive times, straight lines seemed the way to go, but the proper lines for a goalie box should reflect the goal itself.  Therefore it should be an ellipse and not a square.

To Jack Abramoff

Who says I have the moral courage not to give in to the desire to eschew all the temptations that a politically connected guy like Jack Abramoff didn't?  An accusation against a Justice Department official appeared today in the C-SPAN chiron.  But, honestly, the offer of millions of dollars has never come across my doorstep (unless a housemate or neighbor picked it up) and how can I really say?

We did not build this, or any other city I can think of, on Rock & Roll.  Sweet Begonias Behinds.

Could we get Representative Gingrey out of there?  It's not like awfulness is in such short supply that he couldn't find another job.

A Physics Question

I want, at least want, causality to be part of the theory of time travel.  I do not want to consider the alternative, however right it might be.

If causality is real, and we can't go back and support Adolph as an art student, preventing his move into politics, does that mean all "time travel" is impossible?  I think not.

Perhaps the real question is "Will we ever meet aliens smarter than ourselves or not?" and I don't think the rational answer is "Awesome the bestestest!" Claims by the current leadership of the United States of America notwithstanding.

Anyway. Perhaps it is possible that causality prevents time travel, that does not prevent time viewing.  Time Viewing could use information available in the current time to deduce what things were like earlier, and display them.   Perhaps nothing meaningful, more likely nothing meaningful, will come of this viewing, except in a few instances, for example, the Kennedy and King assassinations.

My Suggestion for a Constititutional Amendment

I would suggest, for future Constitutions, or an amendment to our own, that there is provided a method for State Legislatures to repeal laws.  If 3/4 of the States vote against the law, it is repealed.

A lot of people talk about how amazingly smart the American Revolutionaries were when they drafted the Constitution.  We are taught Montesquieu's "separation of powers," with the uniquely American system of "checks and balances" between the three branches of the Federal Government, works to prevent too much power in any one set of hands.

There is one major flaw in this design, which appeared right away, and there is no sensible way to deal with the problem.  From the Kentucky and Viriginia Resolutions, to the Nullification Crisis in South Carolina, to the Civil War itself, States have (naturally) resisted actions of the Federal government.  Although the three branches might be able to check each other, there is no direct way for the States to resist Federal law.  None whatsoever.

The Constitution can be amended, but the process by which the States can do that is intractably flawed and has never been exercised.  If 2/3rds of State Legislatures want a Constitutional Convention, they can convene one and then Amendments could be proposed.  The first problem is that the State passing the resolution for Convention is not deciding what the Convention will be about.  We all know that the Second Constitutional Convention far outstripped its original mandate.  But more importantly, what if they just want one law changed, and not the whole Constitution?  Out of luck, Chuck! 

What the "checks and balances" clearly have not done is prevent the increase in Federal Power at the expense of the States.  That is not to say that Federal Officials, William Rhenquist for example, haven't sought to reduce Federal jurisdiction. 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.

Look, I know this is, effectively, a State's Rights proposal.  That doesn't actually make me a Republican.  What it shows is that I can see problems (in this case, a very old problem) and present solutions.  So there!

Susan Schwab, Our Braindead Trade Representative

She says the Colombia Free Trade deal is different, because most of Colombia's products (92% she said) get into America duty-free anyway, so this will be "leveling the playing field."  That blew my mind, that a human being could actually think that is not incredibly surprising, but that someone who works in the field could say that makes me throw up.

Then she acknowledged the narco-trafficking problem.  Lots of cocaine is grown in Colombia or is transited through there.  She said the trade deal might help that because people might turn to coffee or cut flowers instead of coca.  Did she not just fucking say that 92% of Colombian stuff gets in duty free already?  COFFEE GETS IN DUTY FREE.  Ergo, this can't make any ***-damned difference to coffee growers, and, in fact, will hurt them as some US imports replace domestic production. 

Susan Schwab, 100% Braindead Corporate Whore.

Education Ideas

I believe part of the problem with public schooling today is that we used to force all women into the teaching and nursing professions, which meant that very bright women, barred from professional careers, became teachers.  I would not go back for the world.  Another major problem is that 11% of students go to private schools and "[e]ighty percent of political contributions come from the wealthiest one-quarter of 1 percent of the population."[1]  If there is significant overlap, it means that most of the people who fund US politics have no direct concern with public education.

In order to teach better, I believe the school year should be shredded and reorganized.  Another major benefit will accrue to students who can jump ahead or fall behind.  I'm thinking classes should be three and four weeks long.  When the Marine Corps had to teach its anti-academic "students" the particulars of their military jobs, they taught them in modules of 1 to 2 weeks, eight hours a day.  I am thinking to make sure English, Math and Physical Education are taught for an hour each day, meaning it would be about a half day for the module class.  Students would, just like now, get 5 minutes an hour, to stretch their legs.  Now that time is used between classes, here it would not.  When I was in first grade, a student was held back.  He peed himself.  If a student is held back from his "Vocabulary 1" class they will still advance with their peers in all other fields, and some way down the line will repeat Vocab1 when their peers go to Vocab2. Students who "skip" grades are usually better at math or english.  Being able to skip ahead much less than a whole year, for example skipping Addition2, will make that transition smoother.

In order to increase parental involvement, each classroom will be video recorded and available online, live during the day, to parents. This is slightly fascistic, but legally they are just kids.

This argument is for all the libertarians and free-marketeers out there.  If the average wage for teachers is lower than the average wage, won't we inevitably bring education levels down?  The average teacher wage should be at least as high as the average wage.  People don't often think of teachers as part of government, but a popular government(elections, juries) simply will not work if popular ignorance prevails.

The last suggestion is the most well known.  Class sizes need to be much smaller.

PTSD and the Rand Study

C-SPAN hosted Terri Tanielian to talk about a year long report by Rand called Invisible Wounds of War, about PTSD.

What I found interesting was the way she completely dodged answering some questions from callers.  For example, one caller said that diagnoses for PTSD are entirely based on forms filled in by the patient.  The caller said that there are physical based tests (stress reaction?) for determining PTSD more accurately.  Terri didn't address that at all.

Another caller had two good points which Terri avoided completely.  Are soldiers getting discharged so the military can avoid paying benefits?  This article from the Nation says that they are being pushed out on a personality disorder discharge.  Terri pretends the question was never asked.  Then the same person said that, at Ford Hood at least, members of the VA used to help soldiers fill out their forms, to maximize their benefits, but then the military stopped them from helping.  Terri talks, but never comes close to addressing the actual question.

By the way, even though she did an abysmal job, dodging questions, she always fucking said "That's a really good|important question."

Terri admits that although 25 people supposedly worked on this report for nearly a year, one peice of information they did not bother to collect was what military job (Military Occupational Specialty) the former servicemembers had!

Pentagon Using Media to Propagandize Americans

You are surprised?  The NY Times has the story.

Long story short?  Ex-military guys repeat Gov't propaganda on the air.

Why does God want America to Lose in Iraq?

Deep inside I know it is a punishment for the sins of Democrats and other traitiors, and that America still has to pay for the stain on her soul caused by that Bill Clinton, and I'm not trying to second guess God, but couldn't the Almighty have found another way for America to pay for its dalliance with liberalism? 

For example, God can part waters, cause floods and storms, and yet, it seems like the only really big, killer storm hit Louisiana and Mississippi.  Couldn't there have been a sandstorm that raged for years that caused Baghdad to disappear from the face of the Earth, like Tanis did in Raiders of the Lost Ark?

I know that God's Chosen One will have to suffer a noncomprehending populace, so I know that is why President Bush's poll numbers have reached record lows for his term. 

Since starting to write this, I have figured out that God really does have it all in hand, and I don't have to worry about anything.  This clear, lordly thinking has caused me to redouble my efforts to ban homosexuality and abortion.  When it comes right down to it, far more people have been killed by Liberal Democrats than all America's soldiers in all wars put together.

To redeeming the forty million dead abortion baby holocaust, and then on to Victory in Iraq!

Very Bad Guess

How will tomorrow's speech by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of England, go?  Here's a bad guess

In the name of her Royal Brittanic Majesty
Queen Elizabeth the Second
I hereby
unilaterally revoke
the 1783 Treaty of Paris
Henceforth
the United States of America
and her subsequent posessions
shall be faithful to
and loyal servants of
the Crown of Britain
[pause for effect]
You will notice no differences
At first

Execpt where it concerns
Foreign Policy

I Eat

I eat Kasugai brand super gummy candies, especially: Litchi, Kiwi, Peach, Apple and Mango.

A Question of Differences

ERRATA: It does not appear as if there are state laws that require babies to be born in hospitals.  I had been told there were, long ago, by someone I trusted to know what they were talking about.  However, on the topic of infanticide, you could consider the (passed in 2005) Born Alive Infant Protection Act.
Do you believe it would be considered an "extreme" pro-choice position to want to repeal State laws that require births to be conducted in a hospital?

Without such laws, infanticide is easier.

Alexander Hamilton wanted laws on this to be easier, so that women could retain their dignity, and hope to join polite society. At least according to Richard Brookhiser's book "What Would the Founders Do?"  Link from Google Books.  Section begins "As a politician, Hamilton spoke up for single mothers." and ends with "Morris married an unwed mother because he thought for himself."

You know who has no privacy?

Dogs have no privacy.  In the monitored state, it would be fair to say people were living like dogs.