Well, the Holidays are over and the hibernation will be interrupted long enough for the current thoughts and ramblings of the gray matter…..
Another State of the Union address and again we call for the elimination of the current method of delivery. It is pure political theatre and propaganda. Regardless of what party controls the White House the prevailing showmanship of the delivery should be stopped. For well over 100 years the State of the Union was a straightforward written report to Congress from the President. We need to really tone down this useless drama show. It should be a business meeting between the Executive and Legislative branches of government. Put it on C-span and no applause and distractions. Let the President and his Cabinet present facts and figures about our economy, national security and society. Let the Congressmen ask questions and challenge the data and assumptions and proposed policies. It should be give and take. The Presidents written report should be no longer than 20 pages in length, anything more and you’re getting hyperbole and fluff.
Saw a shooting star the other night. It was the first one I’ve seen in a number of years what with all the bright lights of the city and trees and roof lines. It was quite dramatic and very bright as it descended to earth. So large that I actually listened for a boom. Did see one so large and close that it produced a loud boom decades ago. Better than any fireworks display when they are that large.
Not at all surprised that so many people were having their private insurance policies cancelled due to Obamacare. Those reading these pages remember that I said that would happen back in ’10 when the thing was passed and I actually read the bill. It provided that the policies being grandfathered in could only be those that never changed. “Any” change meant they no longer met the standard of a “qualified” plan as approved by the bureaucrat in charge, the HHS Secretary. So if your premium in the plan you liked was $300 per month and it increased by $5 per month then that change would kick you to the exchanges and you had to get the government approved plans, period.
Fighting wars half-heartedly is always a recipe for disaster. Korea and Viet Nam are probably the worst examples but Afghanistan isn’t far behind with that current guy in the White House view of the military and the mission there. The object of any military action should always be to destroy and subdue your enemy and do so with all the resources at your command. History teaches well the old maxim that when you go against and remove the King you better get rid of all his heirs also. If we aren’t committed to eliminating the Taliban as a force then we might as well get out completely and go back in at our pleasure when we detect specific threats. If our guys can’t conduct aggressive offensive operations as of now then they are merely becoming targets for the attacks of the Taliban at their pleasure.
Read another detailed and thorough article this week about the probability of our magnetic field starting another flip. That means the magnetic poles will switch places and your compass would point south, not north. If that is beginning to occur then it makes a mockery of the concern over alleged global warming. The process could take thousands of years and the effects on Mother Earth would be enormous. Weather would change for sure as would the overall climate and the effects of the increased radiation from the Sun would tear apart much of our modern infrastructure built on electrical power and electronic machines of all stripe, not the least of which would be your handy computer. The magnetic field has flipped many times over the eons and many scientist believe we over due for another anytime. The magnetic field has already weakened and some view that has the harbinger of the flip. So another item to add to your list of worries but this one is real, the danger is only a question of time, not an if.
About two weeks before we dropped the first A bomb on Hiroshima a US sub made one of the most unusual attacks of the entire War. The sub had already sunk several Jap ships in a harbor and was due to return to base but the captain noticed a railroad trestle right on the shore line that was used by the Japs to transport supplies to the war making factories nearby. They couldn’t have used a torpedo but were innovative both captain and crew. They decided a shore party could attach a explosive device to the tracks and get the next train to pass after installation. It took several days to figure out how to do it. They used the explosive charges that normally are used only to scuttle the ship for the pow factor. But then they had to devise a method to make the “bomb” explode at the right time to take out the train. They jerry-rigged a trigger from a battery and copper wires. The trigger was to be placed under the metal rail after they dug out a small pit for the explosives and then when the train passed over it would depress the rail a bit and that would close the electric circuit and ignite the device. In the dark of the night a couple of nights later the landing party of 8 went ashore, dug the pit and placed the device there. As they were heading back to the sub in a rubber dingy a train pulled into sight and then onto the trestle area embankment and sure enough it worked and everything went sky high. The Captain was already a Medal of Honor winner when this took place. Needless to say it was the only sub to take out a train during the War.
Even the Fed is beginning to taper. Now if we could only get Congress to “taper” also and spend less. I don’t feel like I get a bang for my tax bucks paid, er, extorted, to the Federal government, do you?
“Liberty alone demands for its realization the limitation of the public authority, for liberty is the only object which benefits all alike,…” Lord Acton, British historian http://www.olcranky.wordpress.com