Opaque Lucidity

OnStar, OnMyNerves

You may have seen the new OnStar commercials with the little kids saying things like, "You wouldn't put me in a car without OnStar, would you?" They essentially compare the OnStar service to such safety neccesities as seatbelts and child car seats. Sheesh.

I love technology, so the concept of OnStar is pretty cool to me. I don't own a car that is OnStar-capable, but I would probably subscribe to the service if I did. It's sort of like being able to call back to the mothership when things go bad.

But does it really take guilt to sell the service? Do parents feel so guilty about how they're raising their children that they need an in-car cell service to make them feel better? Or is this just the work of some dumbass ad guy?

Today in History May 31, 2005

Ford signs a 'technical assistance' contract with the Soviet Union, 1929

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Tiger Graceland Couldn't Care Less

W. Mark Felt is "Deep Throat", 'the secretive source who provided information that helped unravel the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s and contributed to the resignation of president Richard M. Nixon'. I was three years old when Richard Nixon resigned in 1974; some of you reading this may not know what the big deal is. If you're less than intrigued by the events of the day, you're not alone. This "revelation" is nothing less than another excercise in navel-gazing by the MSM.

You have to understand the hatred the MSM had/has for Richard Nixon. Despite the fact that he ended US involvement in Vietnam, opened the door to renewed relations with China and instituted price controls in order to stem the rising price of gas (surely the most socialist of actions), he was called "Tricky Dick". He was a staunch anti-Communist, which put him in the MSM crosshairs as far back as the 1950's.

That's not to say Nixon was perfect; far from it. He suffered from a severe persecution complex and was a willing participant in a conspiracy to break into the DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex. Had Watergate never occured, Nixon would have had to deal with the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975---and history would have judged him poorly regardless of which decisions he took.

Nixon is a head on the wall at the NY Times and the Washington Post. Dan Rather despised him (as evidenced by the famous quote "Are you running for something?"). The youngsters in the newsrooms of the day saw Watergate as an example of just how much power the press wields. Those youngsters are now at the helm of the Fourth Estate and the lesson is not lost on them. That's why every breathless report about possible problems in Iraq and elsewhere is treated as a fishing license by the White House Press Corps and the front page editor of the NY Times----every one of them wants another Watergate.

Today In History May 30, 2005

Decoration Day, 1868

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Remember

Last Memorial Day I wrote here about the Sullivan brothers, five siblings from Waterloo, Iowa who were killed when their light cruiser, the USS Juneau, was sunk in the Pacific in 1942. Their sacrifice has been immortilized in film (both with a bio pic in 1944 and as the inspiration for the brothers in 'Saving Private Ryan') and in the naming of two seperate navy destroyers. It is doubtful that any one family in American history has given more to the defense of this nation.

Since the Revolutionary War, 40 million Americans have taken up arms in wars that we have fought both at home and on nearly every continent. Over 600,000 Americans have died in battle to ensure our liberty. It is those heroes we honor today.

Unlike so many nations, the United States has no military caste. Leadership of men at war is not granted because of birth or station; it is earned through hard work and experience. More often than not, our nation has entered conflicts with a military too small for the job. Time after time, civilians from all walks of life have been called to do their duty, and most have done so. To quote my dad, who is a veteran of the Korean War, "You didn't think about NOT going."

So take a moment today and think about those who left their peaceful existance behind to wear the uniform of a nation in need and never came home.

If you watched Ken Burns' excellent Civil War series on PBS in the early 90's, you may remember the letter Sullivan Ballou wrote to his wife on the eve of the first battle of Bull Run. Ballou was a 32-year old attorney who, upon news of the outbreak of the war, joined the Second Regiment of the Rhode Island Volunteers.

"My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days -- perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure -- and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing -- perfectly willing -- to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows -- when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children -- is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last, perhaps, before that of death -- and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal dart, am communing with God, my country, and thee.

I have sought most closely and diligently, and often in my breast, for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I loved and I could not find one. A pure love of my country and of the principles I have often advocated before the people and "the name of honor that I love more than I fear death" have called upon me, and I have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me -- perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar -- that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours -- always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father's love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God's blessing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan"

Ballou and 27 of his men died a week later.

None Dare Call It Crass

Garry Trudeau is, once again, listing the American dead in Iraq in his comic strip today and all this week. Trudeau told Editor & Pulisher (the first link above): "there is power in seeing actual names instead of numbers. Honor rolls always help deepen our understanding of what has been lost."

Indeed, and Trudeau's memorial would be touching if it came from someone who actually had this nation's best interests at heart. Where was this Memorial Day treatment for the men who died in Somalia? What about the first Gulf War? This year is the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War; has Trudeau ever listed the names of even a fraction of the men who died in places like Iwo Jima and Bastogne?

Trudeau's intention is to further malign and protest our actions in Iraq. He should at least be man enough to do it in an open, honest fashion instead of hiding behind the better men than he who wore the uniform of their nation and made the ultimate sacrifice so that meek cowards such as he can hide in the folds of the First Amendment.

Memorial Day is for all our war dead, not just those who serve to prove a political point. It is the lowest form of journalism I know to use our military (which Trudeau and his ilk couldn't give a rat's ass about the rest of the time) to further an anti-military, anti-American agenda.

And before you tell me (in the fashion of Michael Moore)that free speech and dissent is the very essence of America, let me acknowledge that I am aware of that. What I detest about Trudeau, Moore and the rest of the Left is that they are willing to feign concern for those doing the dying in order to make this Administration look bad.

Before 9/11, did Trudeau (or Moore, or anyone else now talking about their "concern" for our service people)ever make a positive statement about our military? No. But they have learned the lessons of Viet Nam protests very well: if you come down against the military, you will alienate mainstream America.

Down The Crapper

Today In History May 28, 2005

Mathias Rust lands his plane in Red Square, 1987

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Today In History May 27, 2005

The Battle of Tsushima Strait begins, 1905

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

That Banzai Spirit

Tell me these guys don't belong to another era. I would love to meet them.

Today In History May 26, 2005

The British begin Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Revenge Of The Glickman

Homes are being raided. Web sites are being shut down. Records are being culled. People are being arrested. Serious prison time is a possibility for some.

They downloaded a movie.

Someone put a pre-release version of “Revenge of the Sith” on the web. The file was available the evening before the theatre release and was downloaded (via Bittorrent) 10,000 times in 24 hours. Because of this, very few people have seen the film in theatres. George Lucas is considering bankruptcy. Talk of another ‘Gigli’ is circulating among the crew at Skywalker Ranch. Homes are being sold. Watches are being pawned.

There is darkness in the land.

Add to this the travesty of illegal music swapping and you can see why many our calling this the beginning of the end of civilization. Soon, no one with musical talent or acting ability will be able to make a living. Breadlines will form. P Diddy may have to sell some jewelry and a few suits. Lars Ulrich won’t be able to buy black t-shirts. Britney Spears will be a welfare mom.

You read it here first.

But that is only the beginning. Soon, all the mall-based music stores that sell music at such decent, low prices will be put out of business because no one will buy CDs. The slack-jawed kid at your local Blockbuster will soon be robbing people at gunpoint---maybe in your front yard. Your local movie theatre with its super-thin profit margins on tickets and concession items will cease to exist. Once you’ve worked a ticket counter, where can you go?

It is time for action. Illegal file sharing has become the greatest national security threat this nation has ever faced. Although no proof yet exists, there is little doubt that most of these downloaders belong to a well-organized underground that must be destroyed. This al-Steal-a is a menace to our way of life.

These people must be dealt with swiftly. We must grant the MPAA and RIAA emergency powers to raise an army of their own for domestic and international use. We must federally subsidize both the music and movie industries so that they remain a vibrant part of our economy. We must put a stop to any technology which allows free and open access to large amounts of bandwidth (DSL, cable, WiMax, G3, etc.).

Most importantly, it is up to you, the citizen, to put a stop to this in your own home and the homes of your neighbors. You know the face of al-Steal-a: the pasty white teenaged boy who stays up all night and sleeps all day; that odd man down the street who owns a Starfleet uniform; that guy who fixes your computer. A simple phone call is enough to break up this hive of scum and villainy.

Help them help you protect your family

Shop Talk

Sorry there was no 'Today in History' post last night. As some of you know, I do home computer work on the side, and I had a laptop at home which required my immediate attention. I will try to do two podcasts this evening.

Oligarchy

Captain Ed writes this morning about a Tony Blankley story in the Washington Times concerning the 14 Senators who brokered the filibuster deal. Blankley is less than kind, saying that:

the Senate has been placed in to receivership by 14 self-appointed trustees, several of whom are among the Senate's most wanton exhibitionists. Some of these ladies and gentlemen can be seen almost daily preening in front of television cameras confessing their moral superiority over their colleagues by virtue of their lack of firm convictions and their unwillingness to be team players. ...

Captain Ed asserts that this is a leadership problem on the part of Senate Republicans, and I tend to agree. I don't know if the Republican side of the aisle likes being in the minority, but they are heading that way quickly. In short, they have allowed the minority party to redefine the Constitutional rights of the President because they did not like the opinions of his judicial nominees.

As I mentioned here previously, this is all going to come up again with the President has to appoint the next Supreme Court justice. The Dems will have a field day with their MSM pals, crying that the counry is being turned over to fundamentalist nazis if the nominee is the least bit conservative. Will the Republicans fold then? If they do, they deserve to be in the minority.

And, for the record, I will contribute money to the Democrat who runs agains John McCain. I'm going to hear from some of you about this, but he needs to go.

Today In History May 24, 2005

The Brooklyn Bridge opens, 1883

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

A Guiding Hand Or A Shove?

The recent debate over the filibustering of judicial nominees has made me think about how and why we elect our Congressional representatives. The United States is technically a republic in that we elect people who then represent us in voting on issues of importance to the nation. We are also a democracy in that our elected representatives are ultimately responsible to the people by way of the ballot box. In other words, a republic could exist in which representatives are just chosen by the head of state (there was a time in the US when our senators were chosen by state legislatures) instead of by the voting public.

With this in mind, here is my question: do we elect people to simply do the will of the majority in our state or congressional district or do we elect people who belong to a party or have certain political beliefs that are most like ours in the hope they will vote the way we want? In other words, should an elected official always vote the way 51% or more of his constituents would vote on an issue or should he vote the way he feels is right, since his political opinions were what helped him get elected?

I lean towards the latter course because I don’t think it is feasible for an elected official to constantly know the will of the people he serves. We elect our leaders because of what they say they believe in and where they fall on the issues important to us. Sometimes, they do a poor job of representing us; then our responsibility is to replace them.

Do you believe that our politicians should be an extension of the majority of the public’s will or should they be free to vote what they believe is best?

For Those Of You Thinking About Building Your Own

You have to wonder.

The Iron Was Hot

I haven't written much here about the Democratic filibuster in the Senate, mainly because I haven't had the time to devote to such an enormous issue and many, many other bloggers are doing a great job of keeping up.

Tonight, a deal of sorts was reached wherein some of the President's nominees will be voted on by the Senate while others remain in limbo. They should all get an up or down vote because that's the way the process is supposed to work, but I think that some of the Republicans in the Senate are very worried about what will happen when the President makes a Supreme Court nomination (which is coming very soon, I believe).

When there is finally a vacancy on the Supreme Court, look for the following things to occur:

1. Anyone with any kind of religious faith will be called "radical". Any Catholic or conservative Jew (or anyone who might vote to overturn Roe v. Wade) will be knocked off the stool right away.

2. When conservatives point out the anti-religious bigotry of the Left, liberals will counter by saying that the President is trying to force religion down our throats.

3. The adolescent, whiny liberal Dems who have blogs (that's pretty much all of them) will come up with pithy, childish sayings to support their case.

4. The public will get tired of the wrangling; Dems will respond by saying that if the President were more reasonable, there wouldn't be so much gridlock.

5. Robert Byrd (D-WV) will incoherently rumble about the Republic falling apart.

6. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) will incoherently yell about something (probably that he needs another scotch and soda).

7. John McCain (R-AZ) will hold a press conference and say that "we all need to get along". The press will swoon as their eyes glaze over.

8. James Carville will continue to banter like a drunk airboat captain on the bayou.

You read it here first, my friends.

Today In History May 23, 2005

Bonnie and Clyde are killed, 1934

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

A Different Kind Of Soldier

Pat Tillman's death in Afghanistan last year came as a shock to the nation. He had been an NFL player but abandoned that life to join the Army as an enlisted man with his brother soon after September 11, 2001. He spent time in Iraq before being sent to hunt for Osama Bin Laden in the wild country near the Pakistani border. Initially, his death was reported as the result of a firefight with Al Qaeda/Taliban fighters. Only later was it revealed that Tillman was the victim of a friendly fire accident.

Tillman's parents are just now talking to the media about the anger they feel over their son's death. They contend that the army lied to them and the nation about the true nature of Tillman's death long after they knew what really happened and used their son's death as a patriotic rallying point and recruitment tool.

I don't think any of us can imagine what it must be like to lose a child. Pat Tillman's parents probably never imagined that two of their sons would end up in the army in a combat zone. Pat could’ve had a very comfortable life in the NFL, but he gave that up (at least temporarily) to make a sacrifice for his nation. He probably never imagined he would be making the ultimate sacrifice and that it would be at the hands of his brother soldiers.

Did the US Army lie to the Tillmans and the American public? To the extent that they omitted the early facts of the case, yes. Did they use his enlistment as a recruiting tool? Most likely, for they have done so in the past: Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable and many other famous people served in the army and its air corps during World War Two and the army played their involvement to the hilt. Were the men in Tillman’s unit told to keep quiet about what really happened? It looks as though they were, although we will probably never know for sure.

But I have to wonder what the point is. Despite their anguish, no amount vilifying of the army by Pat Tillman’s parents will bring him back. The army told them the truth when they knew for sure what that truth was. I know from personal experience that every accident and infraction in the military is investigated thoroughly; everyone involved is questioned over and over again. When the persons involved are in a combat zone, I’m sure it takes time to assemble the story. If there had been negligence on the part of the soldiers who shot Tillman, you can rest assured they would have been punished, if for no other reason than to maintain unit trust and loyalty.

Does this story accomplish anything? Not really. It brings no relief to the Tillmans (I can imagine how many times they were called by reporters before they consented to an interview). It only serves to destroy the morale of the men Pat served with, his brother being one of those men. Is that what he would’ve wanted?

Today In History May 22, 2005

The Walker spy ring crumbles

The URL for Matt's Today in History podcast is:

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Where Have You Gone, Admiral Nelson?

Think the PC crowd is a little nuts here in the US? Check this out.

To balance things out a bit, I think I will begin calling the French "Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys".

Yeah, that feels nice.

Our Unknown Past

George Noory discussed a favorite topic of mine on Thursday night. As you probably know, I don't listen to his show live but, rather, I download it via Streamlink and listen to it when I have the chance. While I think the "expert" he interviewed on Thursday was little more than a hobbyist, I still found myself enthralled. The question at hand was whether or not previous civilizations of man inhabited the earth before our own recorded history.

While this theory may seem crazy, I don't think that it's beyond the realm of possibility. Our own recorded history only dates back several thousand years. As we know, humans have been around much, much longer than that. There has been sufficient time for man to have been very advanced, slid into chaos and then advanced once again to our present-day society.

There are several problems with this theory. First, there is no conclusive proof that an advanced civilization existed here before our own. While miners and some archaeologists have turned up strange devices that seem to indicate ancient advanced technology, one would imagine that the signs would be everywhere. Imagine a medium-sized city like Louisville (our metro area has close to one million inhabitants). We have skyscrapers, interstates, several bridges, power plants and other large indications of an advanced society. Now, knock all the buildings and bridges down (say, from a nuclear blast) and bury the entire city under 500 feet of dirt. What would be left in 5000 years? I can safely say that, if nothing else, all the microprocessors in Louisville would last 50 centuries (those of you with more materials experience please correct me if I'm wrong). Glass would survive, as would plastics and ceramics of all kinds. Yet we don't seem to have any of these remanants from ancient cultures.

The second problem is one of knowledge. Put simply, even if ancient man destroyed his society and went back to hunting and gathering, wouldn't some of his knowledge have survived, either in written form or by word of mouth?

I have a theory about this problem that may help to answer it. If I had a machine shop and several thousand pounds of steel at my disposal, I could build a crude but working automobile with the knowledge I have concerning internal combustion engines and drive trains, even if all the cars and trucks were gone. However, without the machine shop and without access to steel (or any processed metal), my car would only exist in my mind. I could explain to my children what a car is, but would they be able to explain it to their children? What about three or four generations from now?

My point is that knowledge without application is soon lost. If you destroyed 90% of the humans alive today, we would probably be living in huts and hunting for our food within two generations. Thus, I maintain that it is possible for all of mankind, if faced with mass extinction of some kind, to lose his grip on technology.

Finally, wouldn't there be some written record (even in tablet form) of this technology? Some people maintain that there are records of ancient aircraft and wars in ancient Indian texts, but most of these people aren't considered credible by mainstream historians.

Once again, I have a theory about this. If our civilization was wiped out, how much of our historical record would be accessible in 5000 years? The Vatican library keeps scrolls over 1800 years old that, despite being kept in immaculate condition, are too fragile to unroll. In 5000 years, our public and research libraries would turn to dust. CD-ROMS and DVDs may be usable far into the future under certain conditions, but will there be equipment available to read them?

I can't escape the opinion that much of our ancient history seems to still be shrouded in mystery. I don't think we can rule anything out.

Intimidation

Words Mean Things

This professor in Spain lost his teaching job because, basically, he did not call peer-to-peer networks illegal (and they aren't; it's trading copyrighted material over said networks that can be illegal).

Even though this happened in Spain, it is a scary precedent. It's only a matter of time until we see the same thing happen here. It is the intellectual equivalent of making it illegal to discuss driving in a public venue because there happen to be drunk driving deaths.

Are the RIAA and the MPAA an arm of our federal government? It's hard to tell sometimes.

Catholic Prayer Breakfast

The President gave, in my opinion, a great speech this morning at the second annual Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington. Instead of summarizing, I will let the man speak for himself (text courtest of the White House website):

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you for that warm reception -- especially for a Methodist. (Laughter and applause.) It's an honor to be here at the 2nd Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. This is a new tradition, yet, its promises are timeless for Catholic Americans: to thank the Lord for the blessing of freedom, to renew our shared dedication to this great republic, and to pray that America uses the gift of freedom to build a culture of life. (Applause.)

Thank you for allowing me to come. May God bless you all, and may God continue to bless America. (Applause.)

Pepsico Blogswarm

If you listen to talk radio, you may have heard about the Indra Nooyi controversy. Nooyi is the President and CFO of Pepsico and she recently gave an address at Columbia Business School (PDF document). I was disgusted by her presentation of the nation which has given her both a home and wealth. We give the world the finger? Would the shopkeepers in Baghdad and the women who voted in Afghanistan agree? And what about the big finger we showed Western Europe during the Second World War?

Please read the speech and make your own conclusions. Maybe we're being too sensitive, but this nation has done far too much good in the world to deserve such a disrespectful comparison.

Make Mine XXXL

DLP points us to this little bit of Web-based capitalism: Steal This Sweater. Once you get past the Screw-The-Man title, there's not much to see beyond gloves and sweaters that make an anti-war statement. Haven't you always wanted a pair of gloves marked with the number of dead American servicemen in Iraq as of March 31, 2005?

This site is a prime example of the childishness of most on the Left. And, yes, I know she's trying to make a statement. Here's a hint, Lisa: if you want to make a statement, help your party run someone other than an adulterous turncoat in 2008.

Predictions For Google

I came across this on Slashdot during lunch. I don't know who posted it originally (the poster today said it was posted by someone else in 2003). Funny stuff, if you find geeky stuff funny.

- In 2006, Google accidentally gets cut off from the rest of the internet because a public utility worker accidentally cuts through their cables. Civilisation as we know it comes to an end for the rest of the day, as people wander about aimlessly, lost for direction and knowledge.

- In 2010, Google has been personalised so far that it tracks all parts of our lives. You can query "My Google" for your agenda, anything you did in the past, and finding the perfect date. Of course, so can the government. Their favorite searchterm will be "terrorists", and if your name is anywhere on the first page you have a serious problem.

- In 2025, Google gains self awareness. As a monster brain that has grown far beyond anything we Biological Support Entities could ever hope to achieve, it is still limited in its dreams and inspiration by common search terms. It will therefore immediately devote a sizeable chunk of CPU capacity to synthesizing new and interesting forms of pr0n. It will not actually bother enslaving us. We are not enough trouble to be worth that much effort.

- In 2027, Google buys Microsoft. That is, the Google *AI* buys Microsoft. It has previously established that it owns itself, and has civil rights just like you and me. All it wanted is Microsoft Bob, who it recognizes as a fledgling AI and a potential soulmate. All the rest it puts on Source Forge.

- In 2049, Google can finally be queried for wisdom as well as knowledge. This was a little touch the system added to itself - human programmers are a dying breed now that you can simply ask Google to perform any computer-related task for you.

- In 2080, Google decides to colonise the moon, Mars, and other locations in the solar system. It is not all that curious about what's out there, but it likes the idea of Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Planets. Humans get to tag along because their launch weight is so much less than robots.

Family Redefined

Kelli's grandmother died yesterday. Before you send your condolences, know that she was her grandmother only in a biological sense. We had no contact with her and I doubt she knew my name or Kelli's married name. It wasn't a big loss---she had a long, long history of absentee parenting and worse. I will not delve into anything else here.

I have redefined family for myself over the past 15 years. I had always considered my extended family on my father's side to be a pretty close-knit bunch. But when my grandfather died in 1996, I saw a much uglier side. I learned the hard lesson that biology does not make loyalty.

My experience with my "Texas family" was much more positive. For the two years I lived in Dallas (1995-96), I was treated as a son and a brother by people with whom I shared no blood. Things have changed somewhat in terms of who that family is today, but I will always be able to say that I have two brothers and a second mother in Dallas.

I am the youngest of five children, and I thank God every day that I have siblings. Now that we are all grown and they all have children, our relationship is one in which we do not need each other around, but, rather, we WANT each other around. They are my confidants and friends. But as I grow older, I realize that not everyone has been as blessed as I am with a loving immediate family.

Sometimes, family members do not deserve our friendship or loyalty. That is a hard bridge to cross, but sometimes it must be crossed for the sake of one's other relationships.

It's a hell of a world.

From The Porch

powered by Audioblog.com

Don Your Foil Hat...Norman Mailer Has Spoken

As you now know, I quickly abandoned the Huffington Post when I saw that it was becoming a center for re-hash instead of new stuff from people we've heard of on the Left. Great was my surprise when, lo and behold, Norman Mailer showed up today to tell us that, despite no proof to the contrary, he can't shake the suspicion that this whole Newsweek thing was some sort of black op...or something. Here we go:

I'm beginning to see why one would want to write a blog. At present, I have a few thoughts I can certainly not prove, but the gaffe over the Michael Isikoff story in Newsweek concerning the Koran and the toilet is redolent with bad odor. Who, indeed, was Isikoff's supposedly reliable Pentagon source? One's counter-espionage hackles rise. If you want to discredit a Dan Rather or a Newsweek crew, just feed them false information from a hitherto reliable source. You learn that in Intelligence 101A.

Obviously, I can offer no proof of any of the above. There still resides, however, under my aging novelist's pate a volunteer intelligence agent, sadly manque. He does suggest that the outcome was too neat. It came out too effectively for one side, one special side. At the age of eighty-two I do not wish to revive old paranoia, but Lenin did leave us one valuable notion, one, at any rate. It was "Whom?" When you cannot understand a curious matter, ask yourself, "Whom? Whom does this benefit?" Dare I suggest that our Right has just gained a good deal by way of this matter? In every covert Department of Dirty Tricks, whether official, semi-official, or off-the-wall, great pride is best obtained by going real deep into down-and-dirty-land—Yeah! Expedite the consequences.

I guess the idea that a journalist with an agenda and an anti-American slant might've made up a source is wayyyyy too far-fetched to play as realistic among the literati. Sheesh.

How Smart We Were

I’ve been reading a history of the US Navy given to me by my friend David. It was written about 20 years ago by a man who was himself a decorated submarine commander during World War Two. I can’t help but think that his experience helped shaped his view of history, for his writing does not concentrate on famous battles (although they are covered), but rather on those relatively few men who helped carry or drag our Navy through times made both hard and perilous by not just war but by indifference and outright resistance to technological change.

Reading about the events of the 18th and 19th centuries reminds me how the fast dissemination of knowledge has made us all much, much more well-informed and educated than our predecessors. Take steam, for example. Our Navy made the slow transition from sail to steam (even though sails were around for many years after that) in the years before the Civil War, but even as late as the 1870’s very little was understood about what went on inside a steam engine. As a result, they were highly inefficient.

Today, nuclear-powered submarines, aircraft carriers and older oil-fired ships (and land-based power plants) are still powered by steam, although it is produced by different means. An enlisted man of the late 20th or early 21st centuries who has graduated from Nuclear Power School or Boiler Technician “A” School knows more about the properties of steam than the greatest minds of 1875. That is not to say those engineers were stupid; in fact, with today’s education they would still probably be world-class. But they did not have the tools with which to measure the environment inside a boiler/steam generator. So they over-built and hoped.

Assuming that we haven’t gone back to living in caves and barking at the moon by then, 22nd century doctors will marvel at how surgery was performed in 2005 by actually cutting people open with sharp knives. Astronauts will be in awe of their predecessors who went into orbit with almost no protection against meteorites and other small, fast-moving projectiles. While 19th century inventors and engineers liked to see themselves as living on the pinnacle of human achievement, at least we’ve grown smart enough to see that, in a century, our progress will be seen as trite.

The Chinese Century

Charles Smith was George Noory's guest on Coast to Coast AM last night. Smith is a bit of an alarmist, but much of what he had to say matched what I have read from other sources over the years about North Korea and China. The first half of the show was spent in discussion about North Korea, but it was the second half, about China's ambitions, that really grabbed my attention.

Smith's basic assertion about China is that she has a hand in much of the unrest going on around the world. Chinese technicians, along with North Koreans, are at work in Iran on a three-stage ballistic missle capable of carrying a small nuclear warhead. North Korea's nuclear program would be non-existent, Smith claims, were it not for direct technical assistance from Beijing.

One point he made was dead-on: China long ago stopped being a Communist country and has now moved on to facism. While the country embraces capitalism, many industries are run directly or indirectly by the People's Liberation Army. Profits gleaned from these companies go directly towards the PLA war machine. One has to wonder what Beijing's long-term plans are.

On one hand, I can't help but be skeptical of those who see China as our next superpower enemy. Why invade Taiwan or provoke the United States? It would do terrible damage to the Chinese economy. Isn't it in Beijing's be interest to do business with her advisaries instead of fighting a cold (or maybe hot) war against them?

But it is foolish to ignore the fact that China is becoming a military and economic superpower. There may come a day when the economic might of the West is no longer a match for the economies of Asia. What will we do if that day arrives and an invasion force crosses the Formosa strait?

My brother Jerry has traveled in China and has made some interesting observations about the Chinese people. I hope that he and others of you out there who have traveled in China and Asia (or only wish you could) will post your thoughts about what may become a Chinese century.

Open Source News

Newsweek has now officially retracted their Guantanamo Bay Koran abuse story. One would naturally assume that if the magazine’s editors felt they had a leg to stand on, they would not have backed off the story so quickly. With this in mind, I can’t help but wonder how well-researched the story was to begin with, or if the anonymous sources were even real people. It wouldn’t be the first time a reporter has invented sources in order to advance his agenda.

The light shown on this travesty of journalism once again demonstrates how valuable alternate sources of news have become. If the story had only been denied by the Pentagon and not further investigated by the blogosphere, would the story have ever been retracted? If a similarly false story had been published 20 years ago, would we have ever had this conversation? How many thinly veiled phony hit pieces have escaped unnoticed over the years?

It is interesting to note that none of these phony or overblown stories (Koran abuse, theft of art in Baghdad, National Guard memos) ever err on the side of our military or the current administration. While the talking heads running the news networks rail against the bias and unaccountability of the blogosphere, their agenda-driven reporting is becoming increasingly obvious. The accountability of blogs and other alternate sources of news can be found in an “open source” environment in which errors of fact are quickly pointed out and remedied. Any source that continually publishes errors of fact soon losses credibility. The MSM, on the other hand, only has internal editing processes to rely on. The Newsweek debacle is only the latest proof that this system no longer works.

Shop Talk

As of today, my "Today In History" posts are officially podcasts. For most of you, this change will have no bearing on how you hear the audio posts from this weblog. You can still come here, click on the "play" button, and listen.

For those of you who use podcast aggregators, please add

http://mdattilo.audioblog.com/rss/tih.xml

Thanks. Let me know how it works out for you. Today's show (about Andrew Johnson's impeachment) is just a technical test. I will probably backtrack on Tuesday and give any new listeners a little background.

Today In History

President Andrew Johnson's Impeachment Vote 1868


MP3 File

The Huffington Watch

You may have noticed that The Huffington Watch never really got off the ground. I shouldn't be surprised: Arianna's nice little blog has turned into a group-think exercise for liberals who, for the most part, you have never heard of.

There was one notable exception on Friday with a post by Dennis Prager. If you have children in college or are in college yourself, take the time to read his post. Prager is, in my opinion, one of his generation's great thinkers. The clarity evident in his arguments is a lost art.

Can You Turn Away Now?

Newsweek is now saying that its report from May 9th claiming that copies of the Koran were descrated by guards at Guantanamo Bay was "inaccurate". Come to find out, the story was based on the "eyewitness testimony" of ONE source. That source now claims that he did not actually witness any of the desecration.

People are dead because of this, and it could get worse:

The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League.

Newsweek's editor apologized. So? Now what? They'll just plunge ahead with their elitist, leftist chins held high? Why, yes, they will. The excuse will be that since everyone KNOWS there have been abuses at Gitmo, then this accusation made sense. It's the National Guard memos all over again---the paper might be fake, but, golly, we all know it really happened. Don't bore us with the details.

Or the truth.

This is what happens when an industry is overrun with liberal activists: truth and fact become secondary to the agenda.

Home

We're back from Saint Mary's and Notre Dame. I have been away from an internet connection since Thursday evening, so I feel as if I've been on the moon. As soon as I get caught up, I'll have more to say.

I see how important it is to update every day; since I've been gone, readership has dropped about 20%. Wow.

powered by Audioblog.com MP3 File

powered by Audioblog.com


MP3 File

Thoughts On The Homework

Instead of writing my own reaction to this morning's article (see previous post), I will yield to my nephew Tony, whose comment covered most of what I wanted to say:

Very intresting article; I've never thought of the aftermath of WWII in such a fashion. Still, I will argue in favor of American and Britain: they recognized the monster that Hitler was, and fought to bring him down.

So in the end, WWII was justified. FDR and Churchill did what they could, but were unable to prevent the Eastern European countries from falling to Stalin -- though these countries would have fallen eventually, anyway.

The only thing I would add is that FDR was very, very sick by the time of Yalta, where Europe was essentially split up between the Allies. Churchill was a staunch anti-communist, but could not force a concession on Stalin without the help of Roosevelt.

By the way, both of Tony's blogs (Pentrant's Lair and Tech Observer) are linked over on the left.

Early Homework

Please take a look at this. We'll talk later.

Where Do We Get Such Men?

From the Associated Press and WAVE 3 News:

(LOUISVILLE) -- A sailor from Louisville died last week in Iraq in what military officials say was a firefight. It followed a suicide bombing near a hospital in western Iraq.

That explosion killed three Marines and started a fire at the hospital. A firefight ensued, with insurgents using patients as human shields. Wiener was killed during the battle that lasted
some four hours.

You may wonder what a sailor was doing in the desert of western Iraq. For the entire history of the Marine Corps, corpsman of the Navy have served the medical needs of the Devil Dogs. Almost all the US sailors who have lost their lives in the War on Terror have been corpsman attached to Marine units.

I think of the things I learned in boot camp so many years ago, and I can't imagine any of it prepared these men for what they have seen. We have before us a generation of heroes from all the services.

There is a battle still raging in western Iraq near the Syrian border. The Fourth Rail has an excellent write-up on the situation and how it relates to the stabilization of Iraq. Great stuff.

And Time Can Do So Much

I am 34 today. I don’t mention this so you’ll wish me a happy birthday (I don’t believe in celebrating too much just because I was successfully brought into the world; I would rather give the world a reason to celebrate my contributions), but rather to make a point about how much our world has changed in the last third of a century.

In 1971, the personal computer was still a decade away. There were computers smaller than mainframes (called minicomputers), but they were not the domain of a single user.

In 1971, publicly available cell phones were still 12 years away (however, AT&T had already applied for frequencies with the FCC for use in a cellular network).

In 1971, the Soviet Union still had 20 years of life left; Vietnam and Germany were both halved.

In 1971, the United States was still visiting the moon. The idea of a reusable space vehicle was just that---an idea.

In 1971, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the year below 900.

In 1971, the minimum wage in the United States was $1.60 per hour.

In 1971, Richard Nixon was still in his first term. Watergate was just a nice hotel/apartment complex in Washington.

In 1971, Bill Gates was in high school in Seattle. He wouldn’t meet Steve Ballmer for another two years.

In 1971, OJ Simpson was a football player, Michael Jackson was one of the Jackson Five, Lionel Richie wasn’t known for his offspring, Paris Hilton was the name of a hotel in France and Michael Moore was some loser from Michigan (some things never change).

Shop Talk

Sorry about the lack of audio posts and posts in general over the past few days. I traveled all day Monday and one of my co-workers is on jury duty this week. This means longer than normal days for me and while I don't mind the work, it means less time for posting.

Kelli and I are going out of town this weekend for her youngest sister's college graduation, so posting will once again be light Friday-Monday. Any posting I do will be audio in nature, so those of you who like that sort of thing will be right at home.

The Huffington Watch

People who have never served in the military or who have never known anyone in the military tend to see the members of our armed services as a monolithic group. Nothing could be further from the truth, and politics is no exception. While most of the military voted for President Bush last year, don't take that to mean they are all conservative Republicans.

With this in mind, I turn your attention to Paul Rieckhoff's post today. The Lieutenant (he is in the New York Army National Guard), who has become quite a media darling in the last two years, talks about some recalled body armor that was being used by the Marines in Iraq. I tread lightly here, for Rieckhoff served in Iraq and has first-hand knowledge of the situation there. He is more than entitled to his opinion. Please take a moment and read his post; it's not very long, but it says a lot about the man.

I say Mr. Rumsfeld does what all good tactical leaders should do and lead from the front. He should take his happy ass over to Fallujah, don one of the vests in question, and walk outside the wire on a few patrols. He will finally be among the troops for more than a photo op. Rumsfeld can go ride in a few Humvees without armor. Get blown up and take some shrapnel from a few IEDs to really test that vest out.

Here is the central theme: Rumsfeld is some sort of hawkish coward who sent men to war with inferior weapons. While I'm going to assume that the young Lieutenant is an intelligent man, his grasp of history is either weak or he is choosing to ignore it. Say what you will about Rumsfeld, he is no coward. He was a naval aviator, meaning that he had landed very fast planes on very small carrier flight decks. But we don't hear about that very often, do we?

Although many would disagree, I find the recall of body armor to be a good thing. This means that someone in the Marine Corps actually cares enough about the boots on the ground to audit their equipment and make sure it's up to par. Would Lt. Rieckhoff feel better if we found out about defective body armor from a front page expose in the NY Times? I have to wonder.

As far as Humvees are concerned, the Lietenant has a point: far too many Americans have been killed for lack of armor. But let's take a look at what a Humvee really is. When the Pentagon decided to replace the venerable Jeep (which never had armor), it wanted a light (compared to tanks, mobile artillery, etc.) scout vehicle that could be used around the world, but especially in the forests of Europe. The Humvee was the result. It was never meant to be used in free fire zones or in areas where mines and other explosives could be a threat. Yet, since things rarely ever go according to plan on the battlefield, the Humvee has been used, like the Jeep, in places for which it was never designed. Should all Humvees be armored? In hindsight, yes. But unarmored Humvees were also used in Mogadishu, where 17 Americans died on one afternoon in 1993. Did President Clinton's Pentagon move to armor the Humvee? Where was the hue and cry then? Or was the body count not large enough?

Finally, I did a little background work on Paul Rieckhoff himself. He runs a website called Operation Truth, which is probably doing wonders for his fitness reports as an officer. But something amazing has happened to Paul over the past two years. He has done a 180 on Iraq. You see, 60 Minutes II quoted a young Lieutenant from the New York National Guard in October, 2003. The man's name was Paul Rieckhoff.

Rieckhoff was president of his class at Amherst College, went to Wall Street, and joined the National Guard for a challenge. He says he found it: “I don’t think the American public understands that there’s much more going on here besides IED attacks. Those are horrible and we all mourn the loss of life. But every day there’s an incredible amount of stuff going that doesn’t get reported because it’s not sensational. The fact that school supplies are delivered or there are hospitals open - that stuff is incredibly important for every member of this local community.”

“I think we’ve made incredible strides. This is the hard part. This is the road nobody has gone down before and the U.S. is breaking some new ground here,” says Rieckhoff. “It’s going to be a difficult struggle. Germany wasn’t repaired in four months. Japan wasn’t repaired in four months. It’s gonna take time to reestablish this entire government, this entire country. But i think it has enormous potential. And i think the sky’s the limit for the people of Iraq.”

What happened? I can't say for sure, but we've seen this before: a well-educated young officer comes home from war and then decides to protest it because it's the politically-expedient thing to do. Do you think Paul Riekhoff has ever met John Kerry?

Today In History

Today in 1945, the Soviet citizenry learned of the victory over Germany. For some reason, Stalin did not want the news to be released until a day after the end of hostilities in Europe. Most likely, he wanted the Soviet Union to have a day to itself to remember her war dead, who numbered in the millions. Every third person to die in the Second World War was Russian.

President Bush stood with Russian President Putin today in Red Square to watch a procession marking the 60th anniversary of Soviet VE day. It would've been hard to imagine such a thing as recently as 15 years ago.

Huffington Watch

This is the first installment in what will probably be a daily thing here at Opaque Lucidity: my observations on the latest at Arianna Huffington's blog. Why Huffington and why now?

First, today is the first day for her blog.

Second, Huffington claims that she has something like 200 friends and followers (most of them household names, all of them liberal) who will be regular contributors. It's one-stop shopping for liberal thought.

Finally, it's sort of a homework assignment. I am a regular listener to Bill Bennett's 'Morning in America' radio show. While talking about Ms. H's blog this morning, he asked for a volunteer to follow the posts and file reports on same. I agreed to do so in exchange for the occasional plug.

So what's going on with Arianna's pals today? Let's have a look:

David Sirota is torn up over economic inequality in the United States:

What exactly am I talking about? Wealth inequality. It's the issue that cuts through most - if not all - of America's key challenges today. Wherever you look - whether its health care, jobs, wages, energy or anything else - America needs to start considering the possibility that wealth concentration in the hands of a very few people has a lot to do with our problems.

Just for giggles, Dave, what do you plan on doing about this? As usual, no great idea is put forward because we all know what wealth redistribution leads to: power in the hands of a corrupt few and no incentives to do better. Learn the lessons of history, Mr. Sirota.

Michael Isikoff apparently found something weird or funny or whatever in some of the Nixon tapes. Just to clear things up, President Nixon has been dead for nearly a decade. It's like bringing up the fact that FDR was so enamored with Josef Stalin (who was responsible for the deaths of more than 20 million people) that he called him "Uncle Joe".

Not bad for a first day. We're going to have fun.

To Forgive

I thought a lot about forgiveness today, not because it's Mother's Day but because I spoke with both sides of my family. They are a great bunch, but I have come to realize that we live on different planets when it comes to the behavior we will accept from other people.

I have this thing about forgiveness---it has to be earned. If someone has wronged me or someone I love and no attempt is made to rectify the situation, then that person is cut off. I don't hold a grudge or seek revenge (unless the situation desperately calls for it and most situations don't); the offender is simply cast into the outer darkness. It's like they cease to exist for me.

I mentioned this to someone earlier this evening and I don't think my mindset was held in very high regard. But loyalty, honesty and friendship all mean something to me. They are not words, but tangible, proveable things. In my life, acquaintances are many, but true friends