To the Rear March!

To the rear march! To the rear march! Remember that funny routine by Sargent Bilko ... where he has his troops in total disarray after a quick series of such idiotic commands. Well, the Diplomad has another precious piece describing "progressives" as typifying such Bilko-isms ... keeping its lefty lemmings off balance with it's ever-changing definition of good and evil. Again, this blog is very well written and right on the mark. (Some clever Hollywood or TV producer should give this former foreign-service worker a new career as a script-writer for a liberal comedy of manners. Or even The New Yorker might run a piece by him ... that would drive the left even more looney!)

Anyway, take a gander ... you're sure to nod your head and smile a bit ... see: Marx might have something ...

Boxed In

The U.S. economy is ill prepared for another recession. In particular, on the monetary front, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank has no leeway to reduce interest rates since it has not yet increased them after the last recession. And on the fiscal front, the federal government has little room for additional deficit stimulus since the government's debt is approaching critical levels ... see: Business Insider Story.

In this article, HSBC's chief economist, Stephen King (funny name for a doom-and-gloom sayer), lists four possible triggers for the next recession:

• 1) Wage growth will hurt corporate earnings and reduce the share of corporate profit contributing to US gross domestic product (it also doesn't help that worker productivity is low). In turn, households and businesses will lose confidence in the economy, and the "equity bubble" will burst with collapsing stock prices.
• 2) Nonbank financial systems such as insurance companies and pension funds will increasingly not be able to meet future obligations. This will cause a huge demand for liquid assets, forcing people to rush to sell despite no matching demand, triggering a recession.
• 3) Forces beyond the Federal Reserve's control, including the possibility that China's economy and its currency could collapse. Weak commodity prices could also cause collapses in several emerging markets, as could continued strength in the US dollar.
• 4) The Fed could cause the next recession by raising interest rates too soon, repeating the mistakes of the European Central Bank in 2011 and the Bank of Japan in 2000.

Or to simplify and summarize these reasons  -- domestic inflation, a liquidity crisis, an international monetary crisis, and a premature interest rate hike. This last reason is the rub ... in that, if interest rates don't go up soon, as initially stated by King, the Fed will have very little leverage to deal with the next recession. In other words, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen is pretty much boxed in.

Snub Hub

The leaders of four Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, have snubbed President Obama's Mideast summit at Camp David tomorrow ... instead sending ministerial-level representatives ... see: BBC Story. Other than Saudi Arabia, the leaders of Bahrain, Oman, and the UAE will not be there. Only the leaders of Kuwait and Qatar will be attending.

The surmised reasons for these snubs has been that these countries disapprove of President Obama's dealings in his nuclear talks with Iran and his lack of follow-through in his missile-strike threat to Syria in 2013.

However, there might be two other possible motivations for these snubs:

1) These oil-rich countries may be doing an end-zone victory dance after effectively crippling the oil shale industry in the United States ... see: CNBC Story.

2) There might be considerable resentment among some of these players about not getting their money's worth with their hefty donations to the Clinton Foundation,

As I Predicted

About 15 months back I wrote a blog entry which predicted that the problem with driver-less cars would likely not be these cars themselves but the other traffic they encounter. Then I opined:

I think that this technology will probable succeed except for one small issue ... the human driver in the other car. I know that I often look to the driver of the other car for visual cues as to what to do ... the eyes, the hand gestures, the demeanor (passive or aggressive). I think that it is unlikely that computer algorithms will ever be able to pick up such subtle visual cues. And, at least initially, seeing a driver-less car approach may cause mishaps just from the shock itself. Thus, while driver-less cars may not run into things, things may run into them.

Now it seems that my surmises may be coming true as these cars have so far been involved in at least eleven accidents just in Google test cars ... all, supposedly, the fault of the other drivers ... see: Associated Press Story for some interesting data. Although Google will not release all the important details of these accidents, I do see from what they did release that the actual problems may involve such complications as I had previously predicted.

Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

Despite four or five multi-million dollar vacations or junkets per year ... at the taxpayer expense, Michelle Obama apparently has suffered greatly as our first lady. She recently spoke at the graduation ceremony at Tuskegee University and bemoaned the travails she has had to tolerate as the first black woman in the White House ... and before  ... see: Christian Science Monitor Video. She earlier had been mistaken for "help" at a party ... she has had many sleepless nights as first lady ... she has been called President Obama's "Baby Mama" ... she has been depicted on a magazine cover as a terrorist ... but she then told the rapt audience, "to succumb to feelings of despair and anger means that in the end, we lose."

The above video of this address has gone viral with both good and bad results. The quote above was a good message ... but, what is it with many black people who still play the victims of oppression? This was the bad part that went out to these graduates and to blacks across the nation. There are, of course, many blacks who don't play the victim game ... Condoleezza Rice, Dr. Ben Carson, Thomas Sowell, and many others ... but when our pouty first lady dons sackcloth and ashes to a group of college graduates, it does nothing but perpetuate such destructive self pity and demands for special treatment.

This "we vs. them" meme is why we have rioting in Baltimore and cops around the country being targeted. Michelle Obama, you really ought to know better.

Cops' Lives Matter

The four very recent cop killings in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (see: Daily Mail Article), New York City and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho tell me that the Department of Justice's narrative about police being out of control seems a little lopsided ... see: Officer Down Memorial Page. Will Al Sharpton pay a visit to Hattiesburg (after all one of the slain cops was black)?

Perhaps President Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch have a hidden agenda after all?

(I do realize that the title of this blog is a dog whistle ...)

Afterward: As evidence of this hidden agenda: Breitbart Article.

Clinton Cachet

Politico has a fascinating story about how Hillary Clinton's campaign team swung into action early to counter the effect of the revealing book by Peter Schweitzer about the Clinton Foundation, "Clinton Cash." This deep inside look into the Clinton war room and how it coordinated with its media friends to blunt the revelations in this book really paints a primer on how politics is played ... see: Politico's Inside Look. I am also reasonably sure that some of the more putrid details of this story have been left on the cutting room floor. If you thought you knew all about the dirty pool of politics, I think you will still learn more about the warts and carbuncles that dot the faces of the players in this "profession."

No wonder Mitt Romney lost to this gang of thieving Democrat cutthroats in 2012 ... he was just too nice. And no wonder that Washington to this day still exudes the stink of the smelly swamp that it once was before its founding.

reddit Gallery CCCIII

Another excursion into the world of reddit Pictures. See: reddit Pics for sources.  Do yourself a favor and click on pictures to enlarge them. Enjoy!

Tray of Sushi

Vein of Gold

Nesso on Lago Como, Italy

Driftwood Horses

Goldfinch, Cardinals, Oriole, Bluebird

Sailboat

A sailboat … a leaky old tub of a sailboat … tacking back and forth across the political landscape trying to catch every wisp of a wind change … that is the Clinton strategy for their 2016 presidential bid. I say “their,” for it is as much Bill Clinton’s ambition to return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as it is his wife’s, Hillary’s.

The Clinton’s don’t seem to have any base set of values … at least not that benefit anyone other than themselves first. Hillary’s morality is a tabula rasa, a blank slate which can be erased and rewritten at the drop of a opinion panel’s result. Recently she has swung far to the left of even President Obama on her immigration policy … saying that she would not just grant amnesty, but a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants … see: New York Times Story. (She is also trying to box out her potential contender, Elizabeth Warren, by being the greater populist.) However, in 2003, Hillary was adamantly opposed to any quarter being given to this very same immigrant group … see: Fox News Audio.

This strategy only works of course if Hillary can keep the knowing press at bay. So she holds photo ops with high school students who won’t ask any tough questions. She has her posse check the liberal bona fides of anyone who will come within earshot of her high-ass. She seems to be in the news daily, but she is really in a cocoon of limited access … dribbling out prepared statements as though she really believes in what she is pronouncing. Her hanger-ons (barnacles if you will) also prepare push-poll results that show her popularity increasing despite the stinky miasma of scandal that constantly surrounds her.

I can’t express how depressing her whole sordid campaign is. My only hope is that her creaky scow of a boat springs a gigantic leak that can’t be plugged with all that Clinton Foundation cash.

.

Saint Anselem

In the light of the elections in Great Britain today, may I point you once again to a blog posting of W. Lewis Anselem (The DiploMad) ... see: The Greatest Threat to Europe. He is a conservative whose views are very often congruent with mine ... and, being a former diplomat, he also offers a bunch of inside-baseball facts that are fascinating.

However, one of his greatest strengths is just that he is a consummate writer.

The Heavy Hand of Government

If you can't trust the government, then whom can you trust? Well, apparently NOAA's reputation as an impartial observer of global warming has once again taking a hit as it has been revealed that, over the last two years, it has been revising down older recorded temperature data from Maine in order to make it look like things have been warming up there ... and in the rest of the country ... when in fact they haven't. John Hinderaker of Powerline has just pointed this out in his recent blog posting ... see: Powerline Blog Entry for all the sordid details.

This fast and loose revisionism is about as smarmy as a supposed "scientific" government agency can possibly become. I realize that such malfeasance might get them in good with the current Democrat administration ... but, longer term, this can't be good. I suggest that this agency now is vying with the IRS, the State Department, HHS, the Secret Service, the EPA, the White House, the VA, the CDC, NSA, and the TSA for this year's Heavy Hand of Government medal ... an award which I just coined.

Perhaps we could have an annual ceremony for the winner ... with all the hoopla of Oscar Night? With Al Gore or Michael Moore as its Master of Ceremonies?

Capture the Flag

Thanks to the blog Gateway Pundit we learn that ISIS has released a new online threat today on JustPasteIt. One part of this threat is to assassinate Pamela Geller who was apparently the focus of the recent attack in Garland, Texas in which two devout Muslims were killed … see my recent posting: First Amendment Debate. This group of religious zealots also make some other stylized threats that should now be taken seriously by those duty-sworn to protect us … see the following quote for the substance of these threats:

The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish a wiliyah [province] in the heart of our enemy. Our aim was the khanzeer [swine] Pamela Geller and to show her that we don’t care what land she hides in or what sky shields her; we will send all our Lions to achieve her slaughter. This will heal the hearts of our brothers and disperse the ones behind her. To those who protect her: this will be your only warning of housing this woman and her circus show. Everyone who houses her events, gives her a platform to spill her filth are legitimate targets. We have been watching closely who was present at this event and the shooter of our brothers. We knew that the target was protected. Our intention was to show how easy we give our lives for the Sake of Allah.

We have 71 trained soldiers in 15 different states ready at our word to attack any target we desire. Out of the 71 trained soldiers 23 have signed up for missions like Sunday, We are increasing in number bithnillah [with the permission of Allah]. Of the 15 states, 5 we will name… Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, California, and Michigan. The disbelievers who shot our brothers think that you killed someone untrained, nay, they gave you their bodies in plain view because we were watching.

I realize that it is easy to ignore such braggadocios boasts and go play some golf ... but, for one, I think we should be a little more wary of such groups and go balls out, ala Dick Cheney and the previous administration, to capture their flag.

Trust Me!

I'm generally a free trade guy. But the intrigue surrounding this new President Obama Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal has me queasy ... see: Politico Article. I suppose that, if our fearless leader had not already pulled plenty of administrative fast ones, were I a member of Congress I might vote for this "free-trade" deal. But considering Obama's past track record, I would now vote against this ultra-secret pact ... like I would vote against any Iran nuclear deal ... no matter how well it was claimed to benefit me and mine.

The current bunch of bozos in the White House just can't be trusted to do the right thing for the American people ... and this is quite a sad and dangerous indictment.

God's Gifts

In my recent tutoring in chemistry (which I have previously referenced) the subject of exothermic and endothermic reactions has come up. In researching this subject one Internet site mentions that it is fortunate that the reaction between oxygen and nitrogen is endothermic (needs energy to proceed) since otherwise our atmosphere would have burned off eons ago. This reminded me of another Junkier Science blog that I wrote almost eight years ago that pointed out many of the scientific truths that, were they not to be, we would not be here ... to which the above assessment needs to be added. Here is this older blog contents:

"The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe." - Albert Einstein

I am not a religious person but I do find it remarkable that man inhabits an ecosystem that enjoys a plethora of possibly providential coincidences … any of which, if missing, would likely doom us to annihilation. And there are other, often man-evolved extras (primarily, I think, stemming from man’s obsession toward species survival), which make our lives on Earth much more livable and tolerable. I have listed below many of these gifts, generally in order of importance, with a line separating those which seem essential versus those that are just palliative (the latter, collectively may be called civilization):

-Gravity/Celestial Dynamics – Otherwise the Earth and all of its creatures would go flying off into space
-Electricity/Magnetism – Otherwise the Sun’s cosmic rays would strip away our atmosphere and cook us all like so many shish-ka-bobs
-Atomic Fusion/Fission – Otherwise our Sun would be provide us no warmth, light, or sustenance … with predictable results
-Photons/Electromagnetic Spectrum – Otherwise we would be without light and all the benefit that light and other radiations provide us
-The Limit of Speed (Speed of Light) – Otherwise all the radiation from all the universe’s sources would be instantaneous and very likely lethal
-Number and Variety of Elements (Periodic Table) – Life could not exist without this wide array of elemental building blocks
-Earth’s Self-Regulating Atmosphere – Without these feedback mechanisms (including the ozone layer), our planet would be as devoid of life as Mars or our moon
-Photosynthesis – Otherwise the source of all nourishment on Earth would not exist and carbon dioxide might smother our atmosphere
-Light Ice – Ice, strangely, being lighter than water, floats and insulates the water beneath it … otherwise, life might only exist within our tropics
-Combustion (Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide Cycle) – Otherwise energy and what it brings to life (locomotion, warmth, etc.) would be very scarce
-DNA/Evolution/Organic Chemistry – Otherwise life, if it existed at all, would be extremely primitive and short-lived
-Vast Variety of Molecules/Inorganic Chemistry – Otherwise, most of our planet’s basics (water, carbon dioxide, ozone, etc.) would not exist
- Water's Capillary Action -- Otherwise water and its solutes could not travel against the pull of gravity and most plants would not exist
- Carbon-Based Life Forms – Other-element-based life forms are problematic and, if sustainable, would be quite inefficient
___________________________________________________________
-The Concept of Time – Keeps man grounded relative to his limited lifespan
-Human Procreation/Sex -- Enables man to ensure the continuation of his species
-Crop Cultivation – Enables man to manage his carbohydrate food supply and thus to multiply and prosper
-Animal Husbandry -- Enables man to manage his protein food supply and thus to flourish
-Language/Writing/Information Technology -- Enables man to pass on useful information efficiently and thus maintain a knowledge base
-Man’s Creativity/Tool-building Genius -- Enables man to multiply his muscle and brain power and thus to thrive
-Man’s Work Ethic -- Enables man to better utilize his time and thus be more productive
-The Scientific Method/Mathematics -- Enables man to better understand his condition and thus control life’s randomness
-Doctoring/Medicine -- Enables man to survive longer and therefore magnify his productivity with experience
-Money/Accounting/Economics -- Enables man to understand and organize his endeavors better and thus to prosper
-Social Organization/Government (occasionally benign) – Enables better cooperation and efficiency within man’s societal groups
-Man’s Emotions (Humor/Love/Fear/Hate/etc.) – Inspires man to higher levels of achievement
-Religion/Ethics – Meant to provide the society of man with more benevolent motivations and, thus, less self-destructive strife ... and religion helps mankind deal with the vagaries and randomness of life
-Beauty/Aesthetics – Provides man with a more satisfying life experience and an avenue to celebrate his uniqueness
-Taste Buds/Odor Receptors – Motivates man to eat a wider variety of foods and therefore achieve better nourishment
-Music/Harmonic Scales – Provides man with a more relaxing life experience and, therefore, less anxiety
-Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches – On toasted rustic white bread with fresh ground pepper and lots of mayonnaise

First Amendment Debate

Pamela Geller, of the Atlas Shrugs blog (which I often read and sometimes cite), engaged in a very lively and edifying debate with a CNN news anchor, Alisyn Camerota, today about the attack that took place in Garland, Texas yesterday at a free-speech event Geller sponsored in which cartoons of Mohammad were displayed ... and where two attacking gunmen were killed ... see: CNN Video. The back and forth in this video I think is well worth watching through to the end since it draws a sharp contrast between the current liberal notion of free speech and that which was expressed by our founding fathers in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In her comments, Ms. Geller repeatedly makes the clear point that she is not anti-Muslim, but she is very much anti-jihadist ... and to assume that all Muslims are jihadists is the true anti-Muslim stance. Not only did Ms. Camerota find this distinction difficult to adsorb, but following this interview, CNN then had on a spokeswoman from the uber-liberal Southern Poverty Law Center who, without blinking, said that Pamela Geller was an "extremist" and does NOT make the distinction between ordinary Muslims and radical Muslims. Apparently she either was not privy to the debate that took place immediately preceding hers. Or, if she did, her ears were so full of "progressive" wax, that she would not acknowledge Ms. Geller's claim.

As a side note, one second-amendment wag has pointed out the difference between the Jihadist attack in Paris were guns are taboo and a similar attack in Texas ... which arms its constabulary.

Afterward: Here is a video of the SPLC spox attacking Ms. Geller ... see: Breitbart Video.

After Afterward: Here is Greg Gutfeld's always-insightful take on this controversy ... see: Breitbart Piece.

[crickets]

ISIS, representing the religion of peace, has recently executed in excess of 300 Yazidi (quasi-Christian sect) prisoners in northern Iraq ... read all about the Islamic State's barbarism in the: UK Daily Mail Story.

Once more, what was President Obama's reaction to such an atrocity?

[crickets] ... or if you want the real thing: Crickets.

I suppose had it happened in Ferguson or Staten Island or Baltimore ...

reddit Gallery CCCII -- Cars

Another excursion into the world of reddit Pictures. See: reddit Pics for sources.  Do yourself a favor and click on pictures to enlarge them. Enjoy!

Over the Top

1937 Dodge Ram

1935 Delahaye

Then and Now

Beer!

Bizzaro

Hell Frozen Over

In that I am tutoring chemistry of late, I am reminded of this entry that was originally published in my blog Junkier Science in 2006:

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One anonomous student, however, wrote the following:

“First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct ... leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting ‘Oh my God.’"

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A".

Relative Things

An astrophysicist was speaking to a woman's club about the future of our sun and how, in about two billion years, it would become a red giant star and burn our Earth to a crisp. After his talk was finished a woman of a certain age frantically accosted him and asked him if he had said two million years or two billion years. He replied, "two billion years," to which she sighed and responded, "thank goodness!"

Which brings us to a similar news story about the Catalina Island off of California's shores near Los Angeles. Apparently this island is eventually going to sink under the ocean causing a tsunami which could wipe out L.A. ... but this could probably take up to three million years ... see: Breitbart Article.

I don't think that anyone other than the matron at that woman's club and Al Gore should be lying awake nights worrying about such a possibility.

Puddin Heads

At the request of a reader and fellow global-warming skeptic, I offer the following link to a survey that, although poorly written, shows the younger you are the less convinced you are about the alarmists' manifesto regarding climate change ... see: Watts Up With That.

Now I would like to believe that this is because our young'ens are keen thinkers and able to separate the truth from all this hysterical CO2 chaff being thrown at them daily ... but, in the same batch of e-mails, I also received the following video from another reader showing that the students at Texas Tech are about as puddin headed about important topics as kids in kindergarten ... see: Texas Tech Video. But, as you will also see, they are geniuses at pop culture.

This kind of depressing revelation about our young people (except for the global warming stuff) has been repeated over and over by the likes of Jay Leno, Bill O'Reilly, and Jimmy Fallon. Perhaps, just perhaps, we might consider asking that Civil War question as a requisite for voting in the next general election? Just a thought ...