Commentarama: October 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Washington D.C. Halloween Trick or Treating Guide

Halloween is upon us, and that means trick or treating. You might think Washington, D.C. would be a great place to trick or treat, right? Well, that depends on whether or not you know who's paying out and who will waste your time. So by way of a public service, here's a “voters” guide to places you should go and places you should avoid when trick or treating. [+] Read More...

Saturday, October 30, 2010

New York State of Mind

Okay, I needed a break and, well, every once in while there is an event in NYC that is just so wonderfully imaginative, that it makes me glad I live here and jealous that I wasn't in that moment. [+] Read More...

It Can't All Be Our Imagination

Yesterday (Friday, October 29), security authorities were scrambling worldwide in response to a flurry of terrorist activity. Many international flights were quarantined at airports while security personnel and the FBI investigated packages aboard any plane on which cargo of Yemeni origin had been loaded. At least two of the packages were determined to have explosive materials in them, but at the time of this writing, neither had made it to the United States. [+] Read More...

Friday, October 29, 2010

Voter Intimidation Was Just A Difference of Opinion

I feel completely chastised. Here I have been opining that the Obama/Holder Justice Department dismissed the Philadelphia New Black Panther voter intimidation judgments on racist and spurious legal grounds. There was even testimony before Congress, with evidence, that established the same mindset as mine. But now it turns out that I was wrong. It was all just a big misunderstanding. [+] Read More...

What's Wrong With Slasher Flicks?

As you know, I’m a big fan of horror movies (see the Top 25 Horror Film list for proof). But I don’t like slasher flicks. In fact, slasher films have really begun to offend me on many levels. Not only have these films become utterly pointless and uncreative in the extreme, but they’ve sunken to incredible depths of depravity. It’s time this tired genre got the chop. [+] Read More...

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Voter Fraud: Tally Me Banana Republic

The left is working hard to turn the United States into a banana republic, and this needs to stop. It’s time that law enforcement in every state, county and city, and even at the federal level (cough cough Eric Holder), started taking voter fraud seriously, and putting people in jail. Take a look at what’s been going on recently: [+] Read More...

Brother, Can You Spare A Job?

We all know that the mainstream media spin nearly everything in favorable terms for liberal and Democratic candidates. But they also do something more insidious. They twist or outright lie about matters that sound like neutral news when in fact they're attempting to make things look good for those same liberals and Democrats. [+] Read More...

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Death Comes For The Cocker Spaniel

When it comes to defining intelligent life, one of the points people often make is that intelligent life is aware of its own mortality. That seems a little inadequate as definitions go, but it got me thinking: do dogs understand mortality?

Let’s start with some facts. There is plenty of evidence for dogs to consider that they are mortal. For example, they were puppies and they grew up, and throughout their lives they encounter older dogs and puppies. This is evidence of a life cycle of some sort. Can they put that together and, more importantly, do they realize that death waits at the end of the cycle? I don’t know. But they do seem to understand that they are to respect the old ones and humor the young ones, courtesies they normally do not extend to middle-age dogs. So maybe they realize there is some meaning in this cycle?

We had a dog once who became deeply depressed when his buddy died. But that doesn’t mean he put together that the other guy died, he may just have been reacting to him being gone.

They do display instincts that make them run from danger, but fear does not equate to knowledge of mortality. . . it could just be unknowing instinct or fear of harm? Yet, dogs aren’t without reasoning skills. They are much smarter than most people realize, and indeed, smarter than a lot of people. Researchers claim that average dogs can understand a vocabulary of about 165 works, with the Einsteins of the dog world understanding as many as 250 words. . . 113 more than your average rapper. Researchers also have shown that dogs can draw inferences based on that vocabulary. They also have basic computational skills and will notice errors in simple math, all of which puts them well ahead of rappers again. So they have some reasoning skills. . . the dogs, not the rappers.

Moreover, researchers have shown that dogs are actually capable of deceiving other dogs and humans to obtain treats. Now that is an interesting skill because it means that dogs are capable of thinking outside of themselves, i.e. they can contemplate the existence of others and assess how those others think and will react in the future. That would seem to imply a high degree of self-awareness, and much more than simple re-active instincts. It also shows an ability to think in the abstract, which is the kind of thinking you would need to realize that the life cycle ends in death.

So can dogs figure out that they are mortal? I honestly don’t know. I think it’s obvious that they aren’t reacting purely on instinct. Indeed, they appear to be self-aware and they have considerable reasoning abilities. They seem to appear to understand there is a life cycle, but do they understand that it applies to them? And do they grasp how it ends? Good question. Maybe we should just ask. . . are you mortal? One bark for yes, two for no.

What do you think?

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The Last Days of Harry Reid

Harry Reid appears finished. Wishful thinking? Not really. Harry has become deeply unpopular in Nevada. His approval numbers hover around 41%, and 76% think his policies either will not help the state or will actively hurt it. What’s more, early voting has been much heavier in Republican areas than Democratic areas, something unusual. Even his campaign people admit (off the record) that Harry has “maxed out” at 47% in the polls, whereas Angle keeps crossing the 50% line. It’s possible Harry can still turn this around, but it’s looking less and less likely. How did Harry come to this? [+] Read More...

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Pelosi: Betrayed By "Secret Money" (updated)

You know the game is lost when the coach starts making excuses before the end of the third quarter. The same holds true in politics. The election isn’t until next week, and yet, the Democrats are already whining about how "secret" special interest money “defeated” them. This is interesting not only because it shows just how demoralized they are, but also because the claim is false. [+] Read More...

Let 'Em All Vote

Immigration rights advocates, Democratic hacks, and amnesty now folks, along with their leftist, progressive legislators are working furiously to get illegal and legal immigrants into the voting booths. I'm waiting for PETA and the animal rights cuckoos to start demanding voting rights for disenfranchised beasties.

The City of Portland, Maine now has a ballot measure before the voters which would allow non-citizens to vote on city measures and school matters. San Francisco is preparing to allow non-citizens with children in the public schools to vote on school issues, while Chicago and six cities in Maryland already allow non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. New York City came to its senses in 2003 and took away the citizen's right to vote from non-citizens in school elections, and several Massachusetts cities have approved non-citizen voting but can't implement those votes until they receive approval from the state legislature.

In Portland, Claude Rwaganje says he pays taxes on his income and taxes on his cars. His children are in the Portland public schools. He is a refugee from the murderous political strife in Congo, and (take note) runs a nonprofit organization that offers financial and social advice to immigrants. Therefore, he contends, it is unfair for him not to be allowed to vote. Fair, schmair. The right to vote is the major index of the constitutional republic of the United States. Unlike the Old World, America's most unifying principle is the commonality of citizenship under a Constitution rather than ethnic or historic identity. If Rwaganje knows his homeland is a deadly cesspool, and he has gained a measure of freedom undreamed of in Africa, let him start the process for citizenship.

The traditional concept of coming to America, following the rules, becoming a responsible member of the community, and applying for citizenship to obtain that one last invaluable right is rapidly disappearing. The left has been trying to destroy anything that smacks of American exceptionalism for decades, and this is one way of accomplishing that. The dubious American President Barack Obama stood before the people of Germany and declared himself a citizen of the world. Aw, nuts! American citizenship is the most valuable thing any human in the world can have, and diluting it by allowing non-citizens to vote makes us nothing more than additional fodder on the road to serfdom.

Although Rwaganje is from Congo, Portland has somewhere between 5,000 and 7,500 immigrants, and half of them have never applied for citizenship and hail almost exclusively from Somalia and Latin America. Few of the immigrants have learned to speak English, and the Somali community has been stubbornly non-assimilative. But Somali immigrant and non-citizen Abdirizak Daud says: "I like the Democrats. I want to vote for Democrats, but I don't have citizenship."

Like we hadn't guessed which party he favors without him telling us. At least he didn't announce it on Christmas on a flight over Detroit. You don't have citizenship, Mr. Abdirizak? Whose fault is that? Learn English, assimilate, start the process, learn about the true greatness of America (which isn't about freebies and special favors), and get your citizenship. Then, even if you haven't learned how destructive Democrats are, you can vote for them. But not one damned minute before that. Oh, and while you're at it, swear allegiance to the United States and leave that dungheap of a country you came from behind.

To these whining immigrants who claim it isn't "fair" not to let them vote, I say the same things my parents said to me when I as a child whined about not getting what I wanted: "Life isn't fair." To my kids, I added "The souls in hell want ice water." And besides, what's unfair about requiring citizenship in order to vote? The founding patriots fought and died to gain that right. Those who survived earned the right to frame a Constitution that establishes the rule of law, not of men. Messrs. Daud and Rwaganje, your are not the issue, and fairness isn't the issue. The rule of law and the value of citizenship is the issue. If you don't value your adopted town, state and country enough to go through the process of obtaining citizenship, then to hell with you.

The ballot issues before the voters in Portland and mostly throughout the nation involve non-citizens who are here legally. This is just the camel's nose under the tent. If legal non-citizens who have children in school gain the right to vote, why not illegal immigrants? That wouldn't be "fair." This is nothing short of death of the meaning of American citizenship in small, incremental doses. And if it's done, we can deal with the Animal Farm issue later.

While this tragicomedy is going on, five Democrat-controlled states have yet to make even minimal efforts to comply with the Overseas Voting Act which provides ballots for our armed services men and women putting their lives on the line in far-flung and dangerous places. I'm afraid I can't feel any sympathy for non-citizens who want to vote when those who are risking death or maiming to protect our right to vote are denied their ballots. It's clear that the Democrats prefer non-citizens to those who have earned their citizenship in the most difficult manner possible.
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Monday, October 25, 2010

The Pelosicrats Are At It Again

California Democrats were ticked off enough when two years ago the voters of the State of California approved an initiative which took mandatory redistricting out of the hands of self-serving politicians and put it in the hands of a civilian panel comprised of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four unaffiliated voters. But the law applied only to State districts. This year, the same thing was put together for Congressional elections.

For the Democrats (and a few "safe" Republicans) that was going a bridge too far. So we now have dueling Propositions on the November 2 ballot. Prop. 20 was done by initiative. In the initiative process, private citizens outside the government put together a proposed law, get enough signatures, and it is placed on the ballot. Prop. 27 was put together by the Democrat-controlled legislature with the assistance of the Congressional delegation led by Nancy Pelosi (largely because they want California to remain a "blue" state). In order for it not to look like a pure political ploy, the legislators used the initiative process by getting non-elected consultants and "concerned citizens" to put it on the ballot. Prop. 20 expands the citizen redistricting panel to Congressional elections. Prop. 27 not only keeps that from happening, but eliminates the citizens panel entirely and returns both state and federal redistricting to the hands of the pols.

Having two Propositions on the ballot which conflict with each other is the intent of the Democrats. They want confusion to reign on the distinct chance that voters will vote more heavily for Prop. 27 than for Prop. 20. It wasn't enough that the Democrats wanted to continue to control federal redistricting, but they figured while they were at it, they might as well get rid of any popular type of redistricting. Quite simply put, when two Propositions conflict, the one with the most votes becomes the law.

I've mentioned to you before that California is not nearly as blue as the MSM would have it, nor as blue as the district maps show. The heavy Democrat control of the legislature is largely the result of gerrymandered districts. In the wake of the 2000 Census, the Democrats controlled both the legislature and the governorship and thus had complete control over redistricting under the old system. They gerrymandered the districts so well that in the ten years since, only 5 of the 692 state and federal legislative seats have changed political hands. In the current election, even with the tremendous surge in Republican and Independent ire, it is likely that only 13 California Assembly and Senate seats (out of a total of 100) could even conceivably change party hands. As for Congress, only 4 out of 53 Congressional seats are up for grabs.

But that is under the old plan. If Prop. 20 passes, this would all change by the time of the 2012 general elections. Both state and federal districts would be more evenly drawn, disparities between size, shape and population of districts would be more evenly and compactly distributed. California has never been under any consent decrees resulting from the Voting Rights Act, so racial demographics would play a much smaller part. If any ethnic groups are affected directly by that, it would most likely mean an increase in Hispanic representation and a decrease in African-American representation, but even that is not a sure thing. In other words, to the extent humans are capable of reason, the districts would be drawn reasonably.

The concept of the people having any control over their voting districts is anathema to Democrats. A few Republicans are lukewarmly supporting Prop. 27 because they are in safe Republican districts. That lack of principle is disgusting. However, in most cases, a redistricting along fair and impartial lines would be far more damaging to Democrats and far more advantageous to Republicans. Democrat donors, and particularly the unions, have poured considerable resources into defeating Prop. 20 and passing Prop. 27.

It is estimated by several respectable authorities of both political parties that passage of Prop. 20 would add at least 10 more Congressional seats and 10 to 12 state seats into competition above the few that are already competitive. In no way does that guarantee Republican victories or even Republican control, but at least it somewhat levels the playing field.

Here's how the execrable Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez describes how desirable a return to the old system is: "Paying $20,000 is nothing to keep your seat. I spend $2 million campaigning every year. If my colleagues are smart, they'll pay their $20,000 and Democratic Consultant Michael Berman will draw the district they can win in. Those who refuse to pay? God help them."

Nancy Pelosi played a major part in drafting and foisting Prop.27 on the California voters. Her district is safe, no matter what. But since she will undoubtedly lose her position as Speaker of the House in November, she would at least like to have as many California Democrats as possible there with her in the minority party House caucus.
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Stuxnet: The Future of War Is Here

This may sound like science fiction, but it's not. It’s Monday morning. You’re sitting at work, in your firm’s cafeteria drinking coffee, when suddenly you spot a computer memory stick lying on the floor next to your table. You take it to the IT people, so they can return it to the rightful owner. They pop it into a USB port. . . it’s empty. A month later, your plant explodes. Think I’m exaggerating? I’m not. [+] Read More...

Saturday, October 23, 2010

New York State of Mind

Okay, let's just get this out of the way now... [+] Read More...

Sometimes The Obvious Escapes Us

When an opportunity to secure victory is at hand, those who ultimately win know what to do and when to do it. Still, sometimes defeat occurs, and later the loser slaps himself in the forehead and says something resembling "Wow--I could have had a V-8." It's the "I shoulda said" feeling you have after losing an argument that you could have won if only you hadn't forgotten one of your best arguments.

Such a defeat could be in the making in the California gubernatorial and senatorial elections. Although the races are close (Meg Whitman is within striking distance for governor, and Carly Fiorina is slightly ahead in her senatorial race, though within the margin of error). I kept scratching my head trying to figure what issue would energize five percent or more of the California electorate in favor of the Republican candidate, thus closing the gap and securing victory. I had that "aha!" moment during an interview highlighting Carly Fiorina and her campaign.

Whitman and Fiorina have both hammered at the most important issue of the day--the economy. Democrat responses in both races are utterly ridiculous. Brown and Boxer both have that advantage of inertia and the foolish idea that "you go with what you know." But nobody believes that liberal Democrats have the economic answers except their hardcore enthusiasts and fellow arrogant loonies. The traditional Democrats are going to vote a little less Democratic this time, and the traditional Republicans are going to vote a little more Republican this time. The inertia helps the Democrats with the independents, but the unemployment rate helps the Republicans. That's why the races are so close.

And here's where the obvious escaped Whitman and to a lesser extent, Fiorina (and me, of course). There are two huge groups of people who have been largely ignored, except for a passing remark by Fiorina commenting on what is essentially a footnote in her campaign. It was that remark that caused me my "V-8 moment." How could we have missed this? The two groups are the farm owners and the farm laborers. Normally the former would be voting somewhat Republican and the latter, larger group, would be voting somewhat Democratic.

Unemployment in California is at about 12.5% officially, but those are labor statistics with strict rules. In fact, it's closer to 17% when you count business owners who have lost their businesses and laborers who have lost their unemployment benefits or have simply given up looking for work. A huge percentage of those people live in the California Central Valley where farm bankruptcies set new records each month, and unemployment is closer to 35%. Yes, you read that right--35%.

So what was Fiorina's remark that caused me to kick myself in the rear end and wonder how it has been left out of the debates and the campaign ads? Fiorina said: "I would turn the water on." If you don't know what I'm talking about, go here before reading on: Meet The Fish That Conquered California.

Even in its current abysmal state, California is still the most productive agricultural state in the union, though one more year of drought and it could drop out of the running entirely. There's plenty of rain, snow and water to feed the thirsting farms, but the spigots are turned off to protect a damned fish that a few eco-freaks have decided must be protected at the cost of human lives and economic prosperity. Immense holes in unemployment and state deficits could be filled with the simple act of opening up those spigots, turning on those pumps, ceasing the idiotic act of letting all that water flow back into the ocean, and telling the environmental wackos that they can stick the Delta smelt up their wazoos.

The worst part is that the Delta smelt was dying out naturally. It serves no known purpose in the ecosystem. If it disappeared tomorrow, the environment wouldn't be affected one iota. But a small group of extremists and the state and federal environmental "protection" agencies are protecting the useless fish anyway. Even if that miserable fish had some small effect on the ecosystem, how does that compare with the loss of human jobs, lives and endeavor? This is what happens when green weenie Democrats get into power and turn government, logic and the human factor over to mindless, faceless bureaucrats and headline-grabbing eco-terrorists.

When I wrote the original article concerning the Delta smelt, I still lived in my ivory tower in San Francisco. The whole thing smelled (pardon the pun), and from a purely scientific and political point of view, the crazed reasoning of the ecoweenies made zero sense to me. That was all very unemotional and reasoned on my part. But in June of this year, I moved into the heartland of California--to Kern County (mentioned prominently in the original article). Although I live in the high desert, even we are somewhat affected by this problem. The biggest non-industrial activity in the area is herds of cows and horses, and those activities are down with less water for the animals. But I frequently go into Bakersfield, and on the way I see the dry, deserted fields that used to produce bumper crops for the world. I see empty farmhouses. When I get into Bakersfield, I see foreclosures galore and a depressed city previously thriving largely from agriculture and oil (they killed the oil industry here decades ago). My viewpoint is no longer reserved or abstract. I see the human misery up-close and personal.

Both Republican candidates had (and still have) an opportunity to pick up the votes that would assure victory. But minimal debating points and casual references to this immense problem have not and will not sway those vital voters. Neither candidate has made this a jewel in the crown of her campaign strategy. That was a tragic mistake. Never mind all the socialist nonsense about the forgotten man. The forgotten men (and women) are those farmers and farm workers who are waiting for someone to promise firmly that the water will be turned on, the farms will be fertile once more, and those damned fish will be ground up into fertilizer for the greatest agricultural land on earth.

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Film Friday: Bob Roberts (1992)

In the spirit of the upcoming election, I thought I’d do something you never thought I would. . . I’m going to recommend a movie written by, staring, and directed by Tim Robbins. This is another one of those richly ironic films where an über-leftist tries to expose the “evil right wing” and ends up exposing his own side. It’s also a very entertaining film. [+] Read More...