Shots Across the Bow

Time to call it a night Thanks to all of you for stopping by.
Hope to see you again. If you have any comments on what you've read, e mail me at the address to the left, and we'll talk about it.

Taking his cues from Todd Beamer Jessica Wehrman, writing for Scripps-Howard tells about a new course to combat fear of flying.

When Don Detrich boarded an airplane a few weeks after Sept. 11, he expected to get some guidance from the airline on how to handle any dangers that might arise during the flight. But no help was offered.

"I did a little research to see if the airlines or government were planning to do that and the answer was no," he said.

Months later, Detrich's company, Flight Watch America of Sacramento, Calif., was training fearful potential passengers how to handle air rage, hijacking, emergency landings and medical problems.

Leave it to the private sector to come up with an airplane protection scheme that will work.

Most of the negative comments in the article dealt with overzealous passengers going too far. It seems to me that given the proper training, that possibility would actually be minimized.

10 Signs you've blogged too much

1. You insert links into an interoffice memo.
   
2. The symbols on your angle bracket keys are worn out.
   
3. You're banned from Google for wasting bandwidth searching for yourself.
   
4. A mention of your blog by Glenn Reynolds causes you to call your family to brag, to which they respond "What's a blog?"
   
5. You require antidepressant therapy when Blogger is down.
   
6. You quit your job because one person leaves money in your tip jar.(That's it! I'm a professional now!)
   
7. You blog a critique of your child's first play. In realtime. On a laptop you brought to the performance.
   
8. You want to name your next child Infapundit.(C'mon, honey. It's perfect!)
   
9. Your future ex-wife forces you to choose between her and the blog. (god, I'm going to miss her!)
   
10. You write humorous lists in a blatant attempt to draw more traffic to your site. (Err...um.....)
    

Update Will Vehrs of Quasipundit gave me some new additions to the list, centering on a certain blogger whose endowments have been the subject of much discussion lately

• You swoon over a blogger's cleavage when "Celebrity Nudes" is only a click away on your "Favorites."
  
• You start planning a trip to Croatia.
  
• You start thinking that becoming a libertarian might be a good way to meet chicks. (Is it?)
  

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse I remember the Tony Martin case when Britain convicted and incarcerated for life a homeowner who shot two burglars in his home killing one of them. That was bad enough, but now, courtesy of Samizdata comes this story of a man who was held for two days, and is facing potential criminal charges for stabbing to death a man who broke into his house, put a knife to his wife's throut and demanded money.

John Lambert, 58, of Spalding, Lincs, is understood to have been at home watching television with his wife when Darren Taylor, 29, and another man allegedly broke in and confronted them.

One of the robbers is believed to have held a 12-in knife to Mr Lambert's wife's throat and demanded £5,000. It is thought that in the ensuing struggle Taylor, of Market Deeping, Lincs, was stabbed to death.

Hey England, if you want to know why y'all suck when it comes down to a fight, it's because you are systematically cutting the balls off of any one of your citizens with the gumption to avoid being a victim.

To John Lambert, and any of his country men who share his courage, I say Well Done!

UPDATE:

It seems I have inadvertantly struck a nerve with our friends over the pond. I received this e-mail from Team Samizdata just a few moments ago:

Rich,
Britain did not loose *any* of its many wars in the 20th century.
Suck when it comes down to a fight? I don't think so.

The Samizdata Team

My reply:

Youch! I must have hit a nerve. I hereby apologize to all the nice Brits I offended in my ire over the gross actions I was commenting on.

In my own defense, I did congratulate all who shared John Lambert's courage.

I erred in public, I apologize in public.

NPR means... No Potential Revenue? This article in the American Prowler on the attempt of NPR to go all private reveals what most of us already know.

But the NPR bigwigs got quite a shock from their meetings: "No one thought they could do it. They were told NPR offered literally nothing marketable beyond their current nonprofit audience and sponsors. That says something about the kind of programming they are producing," says the radio producer.

Even more amusing is NPR's reason for trying to go public. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has directed them to be less biased in their reporting.

"There are several CPB board members who clearly are antagonistic toward the current NPR programming approach," says a senior NPR producer for several of its news shows. "[The NPR honchos] are hearing that in return for federal funding, CPB wants 'fair' airing of all sides of an issue, shows that feature equal numbers of liberals and conservatives. These people aren't going to change their programs just because their bosses want them to. That's why they are talking to outside money men."

I nominateKathleen Parker for Undersecretary of State in charge of condoms and their use.

Powell -- because of his natural diplomacy and easy rapport with all ages and races -- may be just the right person to bridge the gap between those who want to hand out condoms with Kiddie Meals and those who seem to believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, that humans are perfectible.

In that case, Powell didn't go far enough. Once he decided to discuss condoms, here's what he should have said:

"The best defense against disease and pregnancy is abstinence. I'd like to talk about that for a minute. I'm not naive, and I understand the power of sex. I also know that some of you, regardless of what I believe about the importance of postponing sex for marriage, are going to ignore me. Therefore, if you're already sexually active, I urge you to use condoms as minimal protection against disease and unwanted pregnancy.

Read the rest yourself.

How many times do we have to find evidence that the Saudis are deeply involved in terrorism before we admit the truth?

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — NATO authorities who raided a Saudi aid agency last fall found computer files containing photographs of terrorist targets and street maps of Washington with government buildings marked, a senior U.S. official disclosed Thursday.


The October raid of the Sarajevo office of the Saudi High Commissioner for Aid to Bosnia also netted a computer program explaining how to use crop duster aircraft to spread pesticide, and materials used to make fake U.S. State Department identification badges and credit cards, the official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Are we supposed to think this is just another coincidence?

Putting N'sync into orbit Lance Bass from N'Sync wants to be the next space tourist.(insert your own joke here)

Can we hope for a one way flight?

Gimme $500 on the Bandit MGM is releasing a couple of movies for download over the internet. They want to discover if hackers can break the encryption which prevent the movies from being copied and only allow them to be played for 24 hours.

Along with Paul Williams, my money is with the bad guys...

He's Back! According to this story by the Associated Press, Al Gore is back on the campaign trail from his home in Arlington VA.

So much for mending fences with Tennessee, eh Al?

Hitler was charming too...Reading this story

At a banquet later on Thursday, Jiang serenaded his guests with the Italian classic ``O Sole Mio'' and danced with three leading U.S. ladies in a display of hospitality unthinkable last year.

``He was kicking up his heels and singing songs,'' said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. ``It really was just a delightful touch.''

Jiang danced with Laura Bush, Condoleeza Rice and the wife of U.S. ambassador Clark Randt as the People's Liberation Army band played such American favorites as ``The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You,'' ``Moon River,'' and other tunes.

reminds me just how weak our news agencies can be. I don't really care about whether the man sings and dances well.
Is he going to keep selling missile technology to folks who want to kill me? Is he going to keep brutally repressing the free expression of religion in his country?

These are the issues that need exposure, and they are buried towards the end of this piece.

If I want puffery, I'll buy People

I have daughters.... A reader sent me the following rules, which I think are perfectly appropriate and reasonable.

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter:

• Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool.
  
• Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight.
  
• Places where there is darkness.
  
• Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness.
  
• Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat.
  
• Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay.
  
• Hockey games are okay.
  
• Old folks homes are better.
  


Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch A couple of weeks ago, I entered a discussion of the origins of the Civil War. Both William Sulik and Douglas Turnbull took me to task for claiming that slavery was not the proximate cause of the war. Doug's commentary can be found here, while William's can be found here.

I made a mistake in terminology in making my point, and need to clarify. (Notice I slickly avoid using the words, 'I was wrong?' This is a skill which must be mastered if you wish to survive in punditry)

One of my tasks at work is to perform root cause analyses for incidents and accidents which occur during the performance of a job. If I look at the War Between the States as such an incident, it is apparent that the proximate cause was the election of Abraham Lincoln, who was seen by the South as beholding to abolitionist groups. This represented a threat to the economy of the Southern States, which were already being pressed by the tariff and tax policies, which favored the indutrialized Northern states. Therefore, the threat of forced abolition was indeed a contributing cause to secession, and the war which followed.

However, in accident analysis, the proximate and contributing causes are secondary to the root cause. Correcting either of the first two will not prevent further accidents, although it may mask them. You have to address the root cause. In the case of secession, the root cause was the continuing battle between State Sovereignty vs. the role of the Federal government. This conflict was the dominant force shaping the first one hundred years of our history. We have to remember that secession was a concept adopted by the Southern states, and actually originated in New England, and for similar reasons, although in this case tariffs, not slavery, was the main issue.

It is easy to make the case that the War between the States was actually a war fought between the States and the growing power of the Federal government. Since the end of the war, it is clear that the Federal government is increasing it's power at the expense of the states, to the point where Seward's comment after Appomatox, "State's rights are dead," has come true.

And now, I'm off! But you knew that already.

And another Ken Goldstein, of The Illustrated Donkey has a very informative and entertaining blog, originating just up the road from me.....in New Jersey.

I travelled through New Jersey on my way home after being stationed in Ballston Spa NY. I had heard all about how dirty is was, and how the people were rude and unfriendly. Being from the south, I figured I shouldn't even stop there, but should drive straight through.

Fate had other plans for me though, and my car broke down on the Turnpike right in front of the toll booth in Paramus. I hae to tell you that if you are going to break down, directly in front of a toll booth is the place to do it.
The tow truck was there within 3 minutes, had me jacked up, lashed down and on our way. The driver took my car to his shop, where they discovered I had a bad alternator. The manager told me it would take 2 days to get the alternator and fix my car.
I told him I had planned on seeing NYC anyway, so that wasn't going to be too much of a problem. The manager then took me in his car to a nearby motel, and got them to charge me the local's rate. He then showed me where the bus stop was to go into the city, and told me to call him for a ride back to the shop when I was ready to go on.
I stayed maybe 20 minutes from the Port Authority terminal, in a decent hotel, for about $45 a night for 3 nights. I paid no parking fees, and they only charged me $120 for the tow and the repairs. I figure breaking down on the turnpike saved me about $300.

Don't let anybody tell you anything about the people from New Jersey. In my experience, they're just as nice as people anywhere else, and will go out of their way for somebody in a fix.

The Jersey cops, on the other hand, well, that's another story.