This young man is a great example of who we want serving in a professional military, and a perfect example of what we stand to lose when we make stupid decisions on what we want those pros to do.
Jun 16, 2011
Jun 15, 2011
Col Wilkerson
When I piss and moan about 'honor', this is part of what I have in mind.
Larry Wilkerson is no hero owing to the simple fact that he didn't say any of this when he was in a position to make it stick, and to make a difference by coming out with it. It's possible that he was just too close to the problem at the time; or that he was living the nightmare scenario for any military pro, where you start to get the feeling that the people in charge are leading you off the cliff, but your training and experience are telling you just to keep your head down and do the work. "Theirs not to reason why" and all that shit.
In the end, though, every soldier has to make a judgement call as to whether or not his orders are inside the legal and ethical boundaries. You don't ever stop being responsible for your own actions.
Watch the whole series here.
Larry Wilkerson is no hero owing to the simple fact that he didn't say any of this when he was in a position to make it stick, and to make a difference by coming out with it. It's possible that he was just too close to the problem at the time; or that he was living the nightmare scenario for any military pro, where you start to get the feeling that the people in charge are leading you off the cliff, but your training and experience are telling you just to keep your head down and do the work. "Theirs not to reason why" and all that shit.
In the end, though, every soldier has to make a judgement call as to whether or not his orders are inside the legal and ethical boundaries. You don't ever stop being responsible for your own actions.
Watch the whole series here.
Jun 14, 2011
Ah Yes, I Get It Now
Today, Stan Collender is the smartest guy in the room.
Here's his lead-in to his blog post at Capital Gains and Games.
Here's his lead-in to his blog post at Capital Gains and Games.
On the one hand, many Congressional Republicans are insisting that they don’t have to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling because the presumed dire consequences of not acting won’t be that bad. On the other hand, they’re also insisting that not raising the debt ceiling will indeed be harmful and, therefore, the White House had better agree to do what they want.Spectacular.
Nice Try, Willard
Romney's new campaign ad takes a line from an Obama speech, and tries to do a turn-around. It fails badly, but I'm not sure anybody's gonna notice.
My question: In that one line - or anywhere in that whole speech - how exactly did Obama say unemployed people were bumps in the road?
This is typical Repub nonsense. They're so sure you have your head up your ass, they think that's how they need to talk to you. It's as if they're saying that there were so many people unemployed, it caused a recession.
If your premise is false, it's impossible for your conclusion to be true.
My question: In that one line - or anywhere in that whole speech - how exactly did Obama say unemployed people were bumps in the road?
This is typical Repub nonsense. They're so sure you have your head up your ass, they think that's how they need to talk to you. It's as if they're saying that there were so many people unemployed, it caused a recession.
If your premise is false, it's impossible for your conclusion to be true.
Jun 13, 2011
And Jesus Wept
Rick Santorum stakes his claim to the extreme. He says he wants criminal prosecution for a doctor who performs an abortion procedure, but he won't support penalties for a woman seeking the abortion. So there's the catch (and there's always a catch). These guys just want to look good for their wingnuts, and make it seem a little less than complete horseshit for the rest of us, while they push for laws that will turn out to be impossible to enforce, and overturned on the first challenge in any court.
I'm very glad the Dems are finally getting around to calling these dipwads out, even tho' the Press Poodles can't quite figure out how to ask these guys what exactly the law would require.
Scenario: You cross paths at the grocery store with a woman you're casually acquainted with. You chat, and she tells you she's pregnant for the 4th time, and you get the impression she's not too thrilled about it. You see her again 5 months later. She's obviously not pregnant now. She tells you she "lost the baby a few weeks ago", and she seems not only relieved, but kinda happy about it. Under Santorum's Law, are you obligated (as a good citizen) to report this to the local authorities so they can question her and decide whether or not there's been illegal activity?
I'm very glad the Dems are finally getting around to calling these dipwads out, even tho' the Press Poodles can't quite figure out how to ask these guys what exactly the law would require.
Scenario: You cross paths at the grocery store with a woman you're casually acquainted with. You chat, and she tells you she's pregnant for the 4th time, and you get the impression she's not too thrilled about it. You see her again 5 months later. She's obviously not pregnant now. She tells you she "lost the baby a few weeks ago", and she seems not only relieved, but kinda happy about it. Under Santorum's Law, are you obligated (as a good citizen) to report this to the local authorities so they can question her and decide whether or not there's been illegal activity?
The Wallow Fire
Still not contained, the fire has eaten over 400k acres since it started (May 30).
More great news; dry and windy weather should push it well over the current champion fire (from 2002) into first place by a fair margin.
See the progress of the beast here.
We hear practically nothing any more about AGW when these disasters pop up. Have we finally begun to notice that when one of these huge things happens - lately anyway - we're no longer looking back to the 1800s or (usually) even the early 1900s to find the previous record-setting event? So we've just kinda quietly accepted the whole thing now?
More great news; dry and windy weather should push it well over the current champion fire (from 2002) into first place by a fair margin.
See the progress of the beast here.
We hear practically nothing any more about AGW when these disasters pop up. Have we finally begun to notice that when one of these huge things happens - lately anyway - we're no longer looking back to the 1800s or (usually) even the early 1900s to find the previous record-setting event? So we've just kinda quietly accepted the whole thing now?
Typical Nonsense
Herman Cain doesn't like the term African-American because he doesn't like being "labeled". So he labels himself "American. Black. Conservative."
Jeffrey Goldberg's post over at Bloomberg:
I think what he's trying to say is about right - dissent is a patriotic thing. But in their little heads, the rubes are going to decode that message as: "my political positions may mean I'm a racist, but as long as I stand up and declare them openly, then my racism makes me a patriot; and I know this because my black friend Herman told me so."
Along the same lines (and remembering their willingness to accept revised history), support for Cain also provides the Repubs additional cover. "See? We have a black guy too. But our black is a good black guy. He's not all superior and uppity like your black guy."
Jeffrey Goldberg's post over at Bloomberg:
At a convention of the Conservative Political Action Committee in February, Cain told an enthusiastic audience: “They call me racist too, because I disagree with a president who happens to be black.” To cheers, he went on, “You will get called racist simply because you happen to disagree with a president who happens to be black. You are not racists! You are patriots because you are willing to stand up for what you believe in!”That last bit is what I've come to see as a good example of a defining statement for "conservatives" in general.
I think what he's trying to say is about right - dissent is a patriotic thing. But in their little heads, the rubes are going to decode that message as: "my political positions may mean I'm a racist, but as long as I stand up and declare them openly, then my racism makes me a patriot; and I know this because my black friend Herman told me so."
Along the same lines (and remembering their willingness to accept revised history), support for Cain also provides the Repubs additional cover. "See? We have a black guy too. But our black is a good black guy. He's not all superior and uppity like your black guy."
Jun 12, 2011
Quick Question
Gabby Giffords should be going home after almost 6 months of treatment which (so far) has included trauma surgery, many days in ICU, at least 2 high-level MedEvac style transports, reconstructive surgery, 150+ days inpatient time, etc.
I'm not bitchin' about it, but what exactly did all this cost us?
Second, what about the costs of caring for all the other victims of that one shooting incident?
I don't think it's a stretch to assume we're talking about multiple millions here. So really what I'm asking is this: On what plane of existence does it make sense for a society to spend that kinda money for the sake of a manufacturer, a wholesaler and a retailer to make $36 on a 30-shot magazine?
I'm not bitchin' about it, but what exactly did all this cost us?
Second, what about the costs of caring for all the other victims of that one shooting incident?
I don't think it's a stretch to assume we're talking about multiple millions here. So really what I'm asking is this: On what plane of existence does it make sense for a society to spend that kinda money for the sake of a manufacturer, a wholesaler and a retailer to make $36 on a 30-shot magazine?
More Happy Prospects
Radioactive Iodine:
Prepare to evolve - or mutate if you prefer.
Makes me wonder; maybe the Repubs are trying to stuff all the social programs because they believe we're all gonna be really sick as a result of de-regulation and poor enforcement, while the Dems aren't really worried about Entitlements because we'll all be dead before we qualify for them anyway.
Happy Prospects
We're looking forward to a nice economic boost because American companies have over a third of a trillion dollars in contracts pending for guns and bombs and shit.
From channelnewsasia.com, by way of The Agonist:
It's a circular process: threat of pain, application of pain, relief of pain. We're willingly participating in our own mass torture. But it's not a circle at all. It's a spiral, and it's not going anywhere good.
From channelnewsasia.com, by way of The Agonist:
In all, over 13,000 contracts are currently underway with 165 countries for $327 billion, according to Landay.Perpetual war, permanent crisis mode. Every time we turn around, there's another outrageous attempt to strip away people's rights, or to roll back a bunch of the real social advances of the last 50 years or so; along with a juicy new scandal of some kind that distracts us from those outrages.
It's a circular process: threat of pain, application of pain, relief of pain. We're willingly participating in our own mass torture. But it's not a circle at all. It's a spiral, and it's not going anywhere good.
Jun 11, 2011
They Don't Buy What You Do
Simon Sinek provides some of the best sales training I've ever heard. Also works for managers, job seekers, parents, and just plain humans.
Today's SIlliness
I can kinda see this, but I had to ask Irene - and she was happy to read it to me. Maybe a little too happy.
Jun 10, 2011
We Are So Fucked
Labor problems aren't going to get any better any time soon. We've been pumping out MBAs by the carload, and they're working up thru the system with a kind of single-minded focus on Productivity Improvement as the one true path to profitability. "Do more with less" is all well and good - everybody needs to be mindful of conserving resources and keeping costs down. But when you take any one aspect of good management and turn it into an obsession, you're asking for trouble.
Here's today's formula:
Economic Growth
- Productivity Growth
Employment Growth
So, you're either making the same amount of stuff with fewer people, or you're making more stuff with the same number of people. The thinking is that it doesn't really matter which way it tips, if you concentrate on Productivity, the bottom line stays healthy.
If you view it from inside the US, then we're just cannibalizing ourselves, and before long the whole thing craters because there aren't enough workers who can afford to buy the stuff they're making. But Capital has no respect for political boundaries or any other civilizing conventions. A market of 300 million Americans matters a lot less when your Potential Customer Pool is close to 7 BILLION. Of course, that means we're cannibalizing the whole world now, but we believe strongly that by spreading the stress over a much broader surface, we minimize the problems and (most important) we postpone the crash long enough to find some solutions. Color me dubious. In the long run, it's still not sustainable.
We have to figure out how to rebalance. There's always tension between Private and Public; Individual and Collective; Labor and Management; and and and. It's a Yin-and-Yang universe, but that doesn't make it strictly binary, where it's always and only a choice between one extreme or the other. It's not a Net Zero thing. You don't have to lose for me to win. And if everybody has to lose for me to win, then what's the point? I can scramble to the top, slaying my competitors along the way; chasing down the gazelles according to my leonine instincts; cracking bones and sucking out the marrow of every deal, blah blah blah - but what have I accomplished? In the end, I'm standing alone on a hill in the middle of a dead world.
I reject the premise that Economics has to be bloodless and dispassionate and without heart; that business has to be about conquest and consumption. I expect people to conduct themselves honorably.
Here's today's formula:
Economic Growth
- Productivity Growth
Employment Growth
So, you're either making the same amount of stuff with fewer people, or you're making more stuff with the same number of people. The thinking is that it doesn't really matter which way it tips, if you concentrate on Productivity, the bottom line stays healthy.
If you view it from inside the US, then we're just cannibalizing ourselves, and before long the whole thing craters because there aren't enough workers who can afford to buy the stuff they're making. But Capital has no respect for political boundaries or any other civilizing conventions. A market of 300 million Americans matters a lot less when your Potential Customer Pool is close to 7 BILLION. Of course, that means we're cannibalizing the whole world now, but we believe strongly that by spreading the stress over a much broader surface, we minimize the problems and (most important) we postpone the crash long enough to find some solutions. Color me dubious. In the long run, it's still not sustainable.
We have to figure out how to rebalance. There's always tension between Private and Public; Individual and Collective; Labor and Management; and and and. It's a Yin-and-Yang universe, but that doesn't make it strictly binary, where it's always and only a choice between one extreme or the other. It's not a Net Zero thing. You don't have to lose for me to win. And if everybody has to lose for me to win, then what's the point? I can scramble to the top, slaying my competitors along the way; chasing down the gazelles according to my leonine instincts; cracking bones and sucking out the marrow of every deal, blah blah blah - but what have I accomplished? In the end, I'm standing alone on a hill in the middle of a dead world.
I reject the premise that Economics has to be bloodless and dispassionate and without heart; that business has to be about conquest and consumption. I expect people to conduct themselves honorably.
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