Sekhmet's Lament

It has been a while since I have spoken of the war in Afghanistan. I have not been paying too much attention, for I had not been aware that there was a timetable set to draw down troupes next year. This became highlighted recently with the incidence of the improper conduct of General McChrystal.

I knew basically that President Obama was following in the footsteps of the last two presidents, in assuming that the US has to nation build in order to fight or find the terrorist. The gives the US an out and supposedly prevents these wars from becoming like Vietnam. I am not sure if it is the Americans or the foreign policy juggernaut and the current pols that wanted these wars to have been great versions of morality plays; democracy versus communism, now, democracy versus the Islamist. I never saw nation building as a strategy to bring down Al Qaeda. I think our mission should have been strictly to destroy Al Qaeda and capture Osama bin Laden and his top cohorts and bring them to justice. I believe this should be our only purpose in the Afghanistan region. It is the United States responsibility, we were attacked. If I were a stranger observing this war I would assume that the US was protecting the Afghans and Iraqis, that the US was fighting their wars.

Taking this path, the US has put itself in less ethical position than its wants to present to its citizenry. We have lost the mission and made contracts with the devil in order to save face with the world and hope that others can contain the Islamist terrorist.

A few good men

In some places there are calls for discussions among groups to discuss how to stop the violence in the community. The latest calls have been sparked by the death of Derrion Albert. His death has even gotten the attention of the Obama administration. The Attorney General and the Education Secretary are in Chicago this week to meet with the Chicago's Mayor and officials to develop strategies to combat the violence.

There has to be a way that we can solve problems without commissions, round-tables or summits. I think by now studies, talk, statistics and research have covered all the causes and solutions. One big problem is implementation. I do not mean there has to be no organization, but I do think there should be direct confrontation with the young people who engage in violence by adults that are not law enforcement. However, these adults should not be easily intimidated. It would be advantageous if someone from the military would volunteer.

Postmillennial

Many thought that the major disaster of 2001 would be January 1, but instead it became September 11. In these years after the turn of the century's pivotal event, the world seems to be in a time warp. I feel like I am living in my childhood during the fifties. The odd behavior of this nation, for the first time having to deal with erratic behavior of terrorist, has reverted to old habits. The suspicion, fear, which have led to witch hunts, and the comfort in xenophobia and racism has grasps many of our citizens. The war on terror has once again lost sight of its purpose, while many tire of it and eight years later there is no justice for the victims from the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers.

We should have burned down this sucka in 1968.

Calmer voices eventually prevailed.

I'm at my last nerve. I feel as I did then. There has been a line crossed, the consequences are unknown.

Glen Beck and his forces have successfully destroyed one of President Obama's advisers, because the Color of Change was waging a successful campaign to boycott Beck advertisers. What is unusual, that person had not been affiliated with the group for two years, but no matter, any proxy for Obama is good enough. In their minds it doubly justifies their righteousness, since Obama's intention is to poison the minds of children. I guess it is not right for Black folk to boycott like the folks who boycotted Whole Foods. The response to that, was to create a buycott; not destroy the organizer life. You know different standards for different folks.

This concerted effort to portray Obama as a stealth agent of Al Queada , Lenin and Trotsky, Hitler and Goering, and Chairman Mau and giving credence to every nut case and encouraging them to "take back the country" is making me believe that passive resistance and civil discourse will not be a solution next time.

I am at my last nerve.
I am close to lighting a match.

Economics is not science

I had two survey courses in Economics, maybe not enough to make this statement, but I have been immersed in math at times and feel that economics is more closely related; a cross between math and psychology. I had never been able to argue why it is not science. I cannot say that he thinks as I, but a fellow blogger, Emil Jung has wrote a post which perfectly describe my thoughts. I can not adequately paraphrase his post, Proof, not truth . It is written so that I would have to quote the whole post. Follow the link.

There are those that follow a specific theory of economics as if it is the absolute truth and think that the unfettered free market will solve all problems of society. It is interesting that when the markets failed recently there was never a question that somehow they could not rely on their economic theory, only that there were variables that kept it from being a true market. Okay lets look at the variable, a mathematical term. They can prove a specific outcome if every variable is known and when it applies to science, experiment has to define these variables. In a sentient world where there is consciousness outside of the natural world, those variables can change in an instant following no particular pattern. Human behavior is not like Quantum Physics. The best predictor of human behavior is another human not mathematics. In the PBS series, The Ascent of Money, Niall Ferguson interviews a top hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin. He describes how mathematics and intuition plays a role in assessing risk. Here is the interview, it is within the first three minutes of this video.

Risky Business(A Financial History Of The World)

To protest what?

If it is legal to openly carry an assault weapon in public, then why is it a protest to do so. I see it as a threat, not a protest, to do so in the line of site of the President.

As they say, gun don't kill people, people do. Well, I think some of those people would.

Why is this?

It seems that even the mention of President Obama in any context evokes seizures and spastic utterings. These were the White House Choices of the Medal of Freedom, as with any administration's.

I was surprised at the comments.

Patient No.5

Patient No. 5 - I am here for my 2 o'clock appointment.
Receptionist - Sign in and have a seat.

5 minutes later

Receptionist - Patient No.5!... I need your referral and Insurance ID.

Patient No.5 - My referral should be in the system.

Gives receptionist ID and she says, " Sir, you will need to call your doctor, because it is not in the system and have them fax the referral to us.

Patient No.5 calls his doctor and his receptionist tells Patient No.5 that their last submission has been rejected, because his insurance has been canceled. He tries not to lose his cool and ask that his records be checked again. Again the same answer. He is seeing the doctor for a test, he'll see if he can be billed for the test until he straightens his insurance out. The receptionist tells him they cannot bill but he could use his credit card. Wishing not to use his card, he cancels this appointment and reschedules, with the hope that everything will be OK by the time of the next appointment.

When he arrives home and listens to his voice mail. He had missed his doctor's call. He knew that his employer had change their coverage, didn't change insurances, though. How did he fall through the cracks? It must be that the stars had converged to create this bad karma.

Patient NO.5 calls insurance company and tells the representative what has happened. The rep gets his personal information, pulls up the account and tells him that he's been dropped because of a pre-existing condition,

Patient No.5 - That can't be, I have not changed companies, there is a law.

Ins. Rep - Sir, that has not been the case since 2012, regulation governing health insurance had been rescinded. We sent you that info, when we sent your statement of benefits.

Patient No.5 - I want to speak to No. 1.

No.2 - May I help you, Sir.

Patient No.5 - Are you No.1?

No.2 - No! ...

Patient No.5 thinks to himself that he fairly well off, he will do some shopping and after all there is Medicare. Hangs up, downloads a list and proceeds to call the first. The list is rather short, since in the last decade there has been much consolidation. After he's interviewed by the last on his list, he realizes that he can not afford the coverage to include his precondition or he cannot be insured. Since he is 65, and he thinks that program has to take him, although he abhors public insurance, but he has no choice, that test is essential. He calls and finds out that the age he would be eligible had been raised to 70. He had not been paying attention, since what he favored, free market health care with no government influence to skew the system, lower to no taxes on his income and the government he longed for was in power.

Hospital Clerk - PATIENT NO.5!

Patient No.5 - YO!

Shouting is necessary to be heard over the crowd.

Urban Renewal

In recent years "Urban Renewal" had been tagged "Black Removal," because most neighborhoods that were effected were Black, usually mixed income. When I was young most black people hadn't caught on to the gimmick. We truly believed we would get a fair price for our property and that when the highway was built there would be new homes built and low income and moderate housing would be in the mix. This was supposed to improve the neighborhood. In my home town, there were a few apartments built and homes for the aged, but no invigorated neighborhood; that didn't happen until 40 years later when gentrification came. In order to fill in the highway for over 50 miles, not only were homes razed, but two hills. The terrain was totally changed, so the 8 square block area in which I lived disappeared. I can not drive or walk by the old house, show my son where I went to elementary school or walk around the river where one hill was cliff like. I think the pictures that my father had taken years earlier in the thirties were thrown out when my parents had to move to assisted living. There may be one surviving picture of my younger sister and bother with our cousin in front of the house. Not only did that change the neighborhood, the highway changed the city from a walking city to a city like the suburbs. It also disperse black people and created new neighborhoods that would further isolate the poor and create instability. Over time even those neighborhoods became gentrified and the poor Black folks seem to disappear.

I can not go home.

A reader had sent me an e-mail to tell me about a neighbor who had suffered form being displaced from New Orleans and recommends that I read this article, Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans. The author William River Pitt, describes the feeling of missing his home and describes the events surrounding hurricane Katrina, then laments the hole left in the Ninth Ward and how New Orleans has changed since this catastrophe.

What does it mean to miss New Orleans? It means knowing that one of the most golden citadels of our shared history - a cradle of multiculturalism, the birthplace of jazz, seed corn of so much that is America - was allowed to die of neglect, disdain, racism, greed and simple stupidity right before our eyes. A city stands where New Orleans once was, but it is not New Orleans, not really.

After Katrina there were many blog voices bashing the poor with all the trite, racist and ignorant assumptions. There was no understanding of the make up of the population of New Orleans, it was seen as a Southern Disneyland, albeit a salacious one. They didn't see any middle class folk as victims of the storm or how most could not rebuild, because insurance companies reneged. They were also blind to folks that were working class or working poor who owned and lost property to the hurricane. They projected the whole of the city as dependent and helpless, because they have been coddled by the government. Their code words implied black folk on welfare, undeserving of any help. This prevented many from seeing victims as they were. This was done while some were saying donate to the Salvation Army or Red Cross. The survivalist came out of the woodwork convinced they would have been heroes. These were such strange messages. I am not saying that there not any bloggers who were speaking the truth about the victims, but it was far too much Katrina victim bashing. I think it had a great impact on how the city was treated and the ineffective governing and policy making could always be shifted to the moral failure of the citizens of New Orleans. I have seen this theme reoccur over four years and expect to see more of it as the anniversary gets close.

William River Pitt said: "All that was the city, all that it gave this country, and so many of the people who lived there, are gone forever. " His city has disappeared. In time, I think sooner than forty years it will become gentrified and the folk who lived in the Ninth Ward will have disappeared and been fogotten. A highway will not have caused Urban Renewal, but a Cat 5 hurricane.

HT JK

Intuition

noun
the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.
Concise Oxford English Dictionary

This is not a paranormal ability, the understanding comes from experience. From the day we are born our minds are learning, creating connections, and storing important survival knowledge. Our eye give us cues that we are getting close to an edge of a precipice, our noses tell us where there is smoke there's fire and we feel heat as we approach something hot.

We usually don't think of emotion as a sense, but we learn from our reactions to words and deeds, a way to avoid the unpleasant actions. The caustic intonation, the contortion of a face and an aggressive body movement have been learned as a source of distress.

When everyone has been hardwired, so to speak, why do some people have to be smacked in the face with an action, to believe what others have been intuitively saying?

Be careful for what you wish for.

I have read some information about the election in Iran and the protest that have followed. Granted that I don't believe the elections were fair and I am upset about those murdered, but I would be cautious in supporting their cause.

There are many blogger who see this as a call to democracy and freedom, the Green Revolution. They see the government's repression as naturally giving the protesters righteousness. I have no problem of those who give the protesters the means to speak, but outside of understanding that they think they have been robbed of an election, I have no idea what kind of government they want.

I question who is this reformer; is he indeed a reformer or the lesser of two evils who would give only superficial appearances? I remember the fervor in which the young people and women embraced the Ayatollah Khomeini after the repressive regime of the Shah. What followed was a disaster in my eyes, something I could not support. The cause just replaced one form of oppression with another. It was another set of people being murdered, not so much of the old political dissidents, but women.

A more rigorous examination.

They could have gone to Paris.

The President and his wife had a date in New York City. Michelle and Barack Obama have had dates as a married couple before he became president. Perhaps this has help keep their marriage sound. So why is the RNC, with many of their spokesmen known for serial monogomy, complaining?

UPDATE: I spoke too soon.

A Bunch of Wires

I could document the post and comments I see on blogs, but I think those who would agree with me already know this and those that don't, wouldn't believe me anyway.

I do think the most paranoid people on earth are bloggers. Has the internet provided validation to many conspiracy theories and the incubator for more? Maybe the geek mentality dominates, in that they think their ideas are always suspect to others outside of their sphere?

You would think

Edward W. Brooke III would be the elder statesman of the Republican Party. But do they think?

Grubs and Mushrooms

If you view the Astronomy Picture of the Day, everyday, on my sidebar, you eventually get to realize how vast the size of the universe. Man's ego cannot make us small, even though we are. In a religious sense some of us see an end, but that also includes the universe, not just the end of man. The rest of us do not see the end of man as a species. We think our technology, our humanness, that our ability to adapt will kept our species from becoming extinct or at least marginal.

Technology whether simple or complicated require resources. The simple tools of farming; plow, pitchfork, shovel, wagon, and a working animal, can not produce any crop if the soil is spent. When there is virtually little fuel left, it would more likely to use it to keep us warm and for cooking, than for reprocessing or reclamation. Machines will wear out and lie dormant, when parts can't be made to repair them. Innovation can also lie dormant for centuries. We have seen where in certain religious or political climates, innovation has been stifled on purpose.

We never think that this will happen. We think we can change the environment, slow global warning or we don't think of it at all. We hardly ever think of slowing ourselves down. As we grow in population we will pave over topsoil and move our food supply to each country until there is none left. Only in a crisis do we think grow locally. So far the crisis hasn't lasted long to influence all of us. We will shift out energy resources for oil, but when that happens, our use will be as great. Not to worry, there is plenty of wind; not thinking that the transmission of energy still takes its toll on resources, the copper, the fiber, the machines.

There will be creatures that will adapt without technology, that will live in the niches of the environment humans have left. We have to learn that innovation and technology can not always save us or we may fall into that niche, where we will be eating grubs and mushrooms.

Is there nothing new under the sun?

Twice this week I have been told that since the events on 9/11, partisan politics has been stronger than ever. Divided to the point where we have become two countries; Us and Them. This morning I saw an educational project on TV which gets students involved in solving problems. Some novel ideas were presented to some old problems, which made me think that in the future, there has to be a new approach to government and problem solving in order to maintain the integrity of this country. I had once thought that the constitution was a document that would forever be the idea. The parties quarreling does not reflect that we are now in the 21th century with problems no eighteenth century person could have imagined. We as a society do not even define the role of government in maintaining a civil society. We are stuck, in trying to define ourselves by the past. I would hope that our youth find a different approach to government and be wary of ideology guiding their creativity. Our technology is new under the sun, that is in human history, so why not our philosophy and politics.

Dagny Taggart she ain't

Sarah Palin is being adored because to some she is the embodiment of their fantasy woman, Dagny Taggart, the brash individualistic heroine of Atlas Shrugged. This seems especially evident since the Republicans didn't have a counterpart to Barack Obama.

I have gotten old enough, where the allusions I make are not understood, but I did have to say this.

Experience

In situations at work, when a decision needs to be made, and senior management will not step up to the task; I am often heard saying

"How do they manage their personal lives, if they can't make a decision?"

Sometime in family situations, decisions have to be made that affect lives profoundly. There is no one else to do it. It may not be a right decision, but most of us will make the best decision with the choices we have.

My initial issue with Sarah Palin was wondering if her governance would lead to more imposition of religion on the state, since she wold have a high probability of becoming president if the McCain-Palin ticket won.

After reading articles about Palin and blog about the rumors about her pregnancy, her judgment after her water broke, this late breaking disclosure of her daughters pregnancy, I am now clearly questioning the maturity of her experience. I am not blaming her for her daughters pregnancy, but you would think she would have told this to John McCain. It has been 4 days that the rumors have been floating, so why had it taken so long to explain her daughters pregnancy.

H/T Plezworld & News

My View

This is not a proper forum; the inverview at at Saddleback Church of Senators Obama and McCain by Pastor Rick Warren. I think this is quite different, than a candidate attending a church and giving a speech.

Beware! Black and White World

The fear that collectivist will create the next Nazi like regime exist.
Creates fear in this persons mind, that it will be the individualist who actually does this.

In defense of liberty, their idealism so perfect, that imperfection can not be.
They will demand that I see.
O me, an imperfect being, a person oppressed.
My liberty suppressed.