I am hoping this is a fake, but I fear it isn't.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
The Instapundit notes "Hillary performs badly in debates, so the process was structured to protect her." Then he excerpts:
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) believes the Democratic Party is using its meager primary debate line-up to rig the nomination process.At least the Republicans are having a free for all that is interesting and exciting.“I do,” Sanders reportedly responded when asked Friday whether he agrees with former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s assertion that the debate schedule is “rigged.”
The two Democratic presidential candidates were speaking at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Summer Meeting in Minneapolis on Friday.
“This sort of rigged process has never been attempted before,” O’Malley said in his speech earlier Friday.
The DNC has drawn criticism for scheduling only four debates before the early primary states cast their votes, and six total throughout the election cycle.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
From the lede:
The past several years have been bruising ones for the credibility of the social sciences. A star social psychologist was caught fabricating data, leading to more than 50 retracted papers. A top journal published a study supporting the existence of ESP that was widely criticized. The journal Science pulled a political science paper on the effect of gay canvassers on voters’ behavior because of concerns about faked data.This is a follow-up to a 15 June 2015 article by the same Reporter, Benedict Carey, "Science, Now Under Scrutiny Itself".Now, a painstaking yearslong effort to reproduce 100 studies published in three leading psychology journals has found that more than half of the findings did not hold up when retested. The analysis was done by research psychologists, many of whom volunteered their time to double-check what they considered important work. Their conclusions, reported Thursday in the journal Science, have confirmed the worst fears of scientists who have long worried that the field needed a strong correction.
The vetted studies were considered part of the core knowledge by which scientists understand the dynamics of personality, relationships, learning and memory. Therapists and educators rely on such findings to help guide decisions, and the fact that so many of the studies were called into question could sow doubt in the scientific underpinnings of their work.
Science needs to do better. These days, when I hear that this or that is bad for you I always project ahead 15 or 20 years and ask if the findings will have been reversed by then.
Of course, climate change is "proven science".
Regards — Cliff
[Stephen] Hawking focused on something called the information paradox, which continues to puzzle scientists who study black holes. In a nutshell, the paradox involves the fact that information about the star that formed a black hole seems to be lost inside it, presumably disappearing when the black hole inevitably disappears. These things cannot be lost, according to the way we think the universe works, and physicists generally believe that they aren't really lost. But where does the information go when the black hole that's absorbed it goes kaput?Stephen Hawking, believes he’s solved a huge mystery about black holes. But, the InstaPundit has his own view:
ACTUALLY, WHEN A STAR BECOMES A BLACK HOLE, THE “LOST” INFORMATION APPEARS ON A THUMB DRIVE IN HILLARY CLINTON’S LAWYER’S OFFICE.Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
A young black man arrested by police in Portsmouth, Virginia, on the same day that one of the city’s officers fatally shot an unarmed black 18-year-old, has been found dead in jail after spending almost four months behind bars without bail for stealing groceries worth $5.This should not pass for justice no matter the findings of the autopsy.Jamycheal Mitchell, who had mental health problems, was discovered lying on the floor of his cell by guards early last Wednesday, according to authorities. While his body is still awaiting an autopsy, senior prison officials said his death was not being treated as suspicious.
Per a comment in Professor Althouse's post, "It sounds like Mr. Mitchell died of bureaucracy."
Too right. The laws and the process needs to be improved.
Hat tip to Ann Althouse.
Regards — Cliff
She continued, saying it was “the height of irony that a party which espouses small government would want to unleash a massive law enforcement effort—including perhaps National Guard and others—to go and literally pull people out of their homes and their workplaces, round them up, put them, I don’t know, in buses, boxcars, in order to take them across our border.”For its headline to an article by Reporter Alex Griswold, Mediaite titrates this down to "Clinton: Republicans Want to Round Up Illegal Immigrants, Shove Them in Boxcars".
Thus, Godwin's Law has been fulfilled, and very early in the campaign. Ms Clinton appears to be the winner.
Sometimes we get our historical metaphors mixed up. Neither Donald Trump or any other Republican Candidate is advocating rounding up American Citizens and deporting them a strange land, there to be gassed and cremated. There are some who say that illegal immigrants should be returned to their current homeland. There is a difference. To not recognize this distinction is to suffer from Invincible Ignorance
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
Donna Brazile, a prominent Democratic political operative, praised President George W. Bush’s response to Hurricane Katrina on Thursday, just hours before President Obama’s speech in New Orleans marking the storm’s 10th anniversary.There is no doubt in my mind that Ms Donna Brazile is a Democrat, but I have thought of her as a straight shooter, and still do.Brazile, a Louisiana native, has applauded Bush’s Katrina response before. But she made her latest comments on board Air Force One while flying to the Big Easy with Obama, who has previously criticized’s his predecessor’s handling of the storm recovery.
“Under President Bush’s leadership, we got it right,” she told reporters.
Brazile said Bush’s initial response to the storm was “slow,” but chalked that up to chaos plaguing state and local governments along the Gulf Coast.
It is nice when someone from one side says something nice about someone from the other side.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
Her point is that after 9/11 we talked about Police and Fire Fighters as being the First Responder. As she notes, on that train ordinary citizens, a French Banker, an American College Professor at Le Sorbonne, a Brit and three relative young Americans were the First Responders.
From our time when an aircraft hijacking meant a quick trip to Cuba, we have been accustomed to letting the "authorities" handle it. Since 9/11 we have more and more had to make do as civilians. For example, it was a civilian who initially dealt with the "underwear bomber".
We must face up to the fact that we are now the first responders.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
The so what has to do with Host Amy Goodman. She keeps burying the lede. Today she was talking about the shooting, yesterday, down in Roanoke, Virginia. She tells us the shooter was Black, but she neglected to tell us he was Gay. That is news that has been out there since yesterday. Here is the money quote picked up by Law Professor Ann Althouse—"The fact that he kept his job was because he was an African-American gay man. That’s pretty hard to say no to." That is a quote in a Daily Beast article, taken from former news producer Greg Sextro.
The point is, the shooter identified as a Black Gay man.♥ He is making a point about who he is, in a Black Community that is fairly anti-gay. Was the shooter disturbed? Maybe, but I am always careful of asserting that too quickly, in that I would never wish to encourage a Government to use "insanity" as an excuse to put anyone away. However, it is clear a crime was committed. Punishment or rehabilitation must follow. In this case, the shooter took his own life, so that is moot.
Hat tip to Ann Althouse.
Regards — Cliff
♠ LTC Channel 8 at 0800, to 0900, right after City Life.
♥ The shooter, addressing a Judge in 2013, in a discrimination lawsuit, said: "I am hereby requesting a trial which will be heard by a jury of my peers.... I would like my jury to be comprised of African-American women."
Mr Healy will serve for up to 90 days, while the City Council looks for a new Auditor, to replace outgoing Auditor, Ms Hannah York, who has served for 15 months.
I am sorry to see Ms York leave us. My sense is that Ms York has been doing a fine job.
That said, I expect Mr Healy will do a fine job as the "Interim".
Regards — Cliff
Don Orsillo, the affable and popular play-by-play voice on NESN’s Red Sox telecasts since 2001, will not return next year, according to multiple industry sources.Of all of the bad moves this year with regard to the Red Sox this is the worst.His contract expires at the end of the season and he will not be offered a new one by NESN. NESN wrote on Twitter that Orsillo will be replaced by Dave O’Brien, who currently is part of the Red Sox radio broadcast team on WEEI and also has a high-profile, multi-sport play-by-play role at ESPN.
Kudos to "Dennis and Callahan" for breaking the story.
Hat tip to my Wife.
Regards — Cliff
From The New York Daily News we have "Sen. Robert Menendez may have had sex with underage hookers in Dominican Republic: prosecutors". As the first three paragraphs of the story point out, Senator Menendez brings this on himself by asking the question. But still, it looks funny, given that the Democrat Senator from New Jersey has gone against the President on the Iran Deal.
Federal prosecutors said Monday that they aren’t convinced claims U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez cavorted with underage hookers – widely seen as discredited – are false.Yes, it does look like the Administration is messing with Senator Menendez. Punishing him for opposing the President on a President high priority issue. It is the Chicago Way.Lawyers for the New Jersey Democrat last week asked a federal judge to dismiss charges that the senator took bribes from a Florida eye doctor, Salomon Melgen, and in exchange used his power to do business and personal favors for him.
The defense said the case is bogus because it sprang from "easily disprovable" claims that Menendez slept with underage prostitutes while hosted by Melgen at a Dominican Republic villa.
Regards — Cliff
At the same time we have an OpEd in The Daily Caller—"Obamacare Gives Big Windfall To Insurance Companies As Quality of Healthcare Declines". The author is Mr David Williams, who is president of some Political Action Committee, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ That would be "Obamacare" to some. If we are going to provide it a name I would go with "Reid / Pelosi Care".
Here is the lede:
From following the news, you’d think that immigration was strictly a U.S. problem, one brought to the fore by Donald Trump. But although Trump has certainly moved the debate to a new level here at home, other parts of the world are facing an immigration crisis that is, if anything, worse. And there are lessons in that.So read the whole short OpEd.
And think about how uncontrolled immigration can disrupt a nation economically and politically. Immigration of the poor to more prosperous nations will not provide a better standard of living for all. At the same time, if there are pockets of poverty across the globe it is our responsibility to ease those problems, if the poor areas are prepared to cooperate in their own advancement. If an area believes Communism is the only solution, they are going to suffer, and it is not our responsibility to force them to change their approach, or let them immigrate to our country to bring their economic errors.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
Then she said that Turkey had just opened up a base in the United States. It did? The Turkish involvement in the fight against Daesh is very confusing, including the fact that Turkey is taking advantage of the Daesh (ISIL, George) problem to deal with the Kurds. Taking and Ms Goodman elided this whole thing.
Regards — Cliff
Lois Lerner had yet another personal email account used to conduct some IRS business, the tax agency confirmed in a new court filing late Monday that further complicates the administration’s efforts to be transparent about Ms. Lerner’s actions during the tea party targeting scandal.It is Day 838 of the IRS Scandal. That is a long time. The good news is that the Courts in our system of Government are allowing this to go on and not shutting it down, like we were some sort of dictatorship, without the protection of a separation of powers.The admission came in an open-records lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest law firm that has sued to get a look at emails Ms. Lerner sent during the targeting.
IRS lawyer Geoffrey J. Klimas told the court that as the agency was putting together a set of documents to turn over to Judicial Watch, it realized Ms. Lerner had used yet another email account, in addition to her official one and another personal one already known to the agency.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
Yet another who claimed to be a victim of "McCarthyism" was exactly the traitor he was believed to be.I am for civil liberties, but I also realize that not everyone who is on our side is on our side.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
The idea that disrupting and protesting Bernie Sanders speeches will change what is wrong in America is lunacy. The ‘BlackLivesMatter’ movement is focused on the wrong targets, to the detriment of blacks who would like to see real change and to the benefit of its powerful white liberal funders using the attacks on Sanders for political purposes that mean nothing for the problems that face our community.In USA Today, today.
Read the whole short article.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- More than 50 North Korean submarines are apparently away from their bases for operations, a sign that the North is gearing up for combat while participating in high-level talks aimed at easing tension, an official here said Sunday.Again, from Yonhap News (South Korea) we have "N. Korea forward deploys amphibious landing crafts carrying special forces"."Seventy percent of North Korea's submarines left their bases, and their locations are not confirmed," the South Korean military official told reporters.
Special Forces are a big deal in the North Korean Army.
Here is something from China (PLA is China's Peoples Liberation Army), "PLA troops head to DPRK border as North-South tensions mount".
So, is this move to (1) deter ROK-US forces, (2) restrain DPRK forces, (3) join DPRK forces, or (4) some combination of the three? The thing to keep in mind is that deploying troops any distance is not a free lunch. It costs money. It disrupts the free flow of commerce (which costs citizens money and the Government taxes). It is disruptive of normal training activities.
One of the problems for DPRK Leader Kim Jung Un is the question of if he mobilizes and gives guns and ammunition to all military personnel he will not be sure who the guns will be pointed at. Kim Jung Un has killed many of the military elite in the last 3 years because he did not trust them, but now he will have to give ammunition to people who he can not trust at all, and who may not trust him. Then there is the pressing 10 Oct event, where North Korea may need excuses as to why they can not meet what they promised. That could be ugly. War may be easy.
Then there is this:
DPRK News Service @DPRK_News
Foreign Ministry weighing offers from Dennis Rodman, Donald Trump, and Kim Kardashian to mediate present crisis with south Korean puppets.
[It is a fake Twitter site.]
Regards — Cliff
The good fallout from the incident is the idea that we can resist, fight back, and win. Not always, but if you are going to die you might as well fight back and try to prevent it.
The bad news is that people are thinking that TSA should step in and make us safe on trains. Here is an article from The International New York Times. The headline is "Train Attack in Europe Puts Focus on Vulnerability of U.S. Rail".
I like the Acela. Let us be very clear about this. The Acela is NOT high speed rail.&nbssp; All that said, I can leave my home, drive to the local "128 Station", park, walk to the elevator, ride down to ticket area, pick up my ticket, walk out to the platform five minutes before the train is due, and call my wife on my cell phone, talking to her as I board and while the train is pulling away from the station for the ride to New York, Philly or DC. Once in a while I see a policeman and his dog.
The article catches this:
Amtrak, particularly on its high-speed train, the Acela, has cut into the airlines’ share of passengers in the busy Northeast corridor because of frustrations with airport screenings. Between New York and Washington, Amtrak said, 75 percent of travelers go by train, a share that has grown steadily since the Acela began service in 2000 and airport security tightened after 2001.The intervention of TSA to "make us safer" will ruin this situation. I will again consider driving.
How much safety do we want and at what price?
Regards — Cliff
To start off, it is Mr Lang's fair and square. It is in his contract.
On the other hand, when I was in the Air Force I had no sick leave—although my duty location could be the hospital or "sick in quarters". As for vacation (leave as we called it), I earned 30 day a year between June of 1964 and June of 1970, which would be 180 days. But, you could not "carry over" more than 60 days of leave.
Frankly, after pilot training I had little time for leave—Two F-4 courses, Viet-nam and then Germany, where the squadron had 24 backseat pilots (PSOs as we were known, Pilot System Operators♠). In addition to flying, our squadron pulled five lines of alert♥ for a month and then for the next month six lines, followed by a month with five lines of alert with half of the squadron at Gunnery Camp, in North Africa (alert every other day for two weeks, then 1,000 miles away for two weeks).♦. Basically, you were on alert every fourth day throughout the year.
By law, at the end of the Fiscal Year, one could carry over 60 days of leave. Needless to say, losing leave was a normal event for everyone in the squadron, but especially the backseaters. With no compensation. Not even a kiss on the cheek.♦ That said, when you retired, or otherwise terminated, you got to take all the accumulated leave, and you could work at your new job while on leave, much like Mr Jay Lang.
Needless to say, I don't grieve for those who don't take their leave, if they can. In fact, knowing the value of vacation in helping people recharge their batteries, so they can do a better job going forward, and in a more healthy condition, I think taking leave is important. There should be a punishment for not taking leave. In fact, as I recall, taking leave was considered a military duty, even if the military might prevent you from doing it ("needs of the Service" and all that).
The thing that should give people pause is that this is a public employee and his severance pay is $91,256.
Going to the interactive map (City-Data Dot Com), we have some crude numbers. From the bar graph, the overall City number for 2013, median household income, was $42,270.♣
Salary Dot Com has the median teacher income as $57,437 (as of August 2015). So, Mr Lang is taking out of the system the median salary of a Lowell Teacher.
The question is, is this a wise use of our money. Put another way, do we have to offer what looks like a Public Servant golden parachute to attract talent?★
Back to the article,
Mayor Rodney Elliott, a vocal proponent of eliminating the sick-time buyback benefit for school employees, said the payout is another example of valuable resources going out the door to "huge compensation packages."Mayor Rodney Elliot is not wrong here."It's a significant financial burden, and it's past time for us to put a cap on this buyback and vacation," he said.
Regards — Cliff
♠ Thus the question, what is more worthless than one PSO?
♥ That is five aircraft on alert, for a 24 hours alert period, aircrews and crew chiefs eating and sleeping at the Alert Facility, seven days a week. Gassed up and ready to go. For a while we even had college classes in the alert dining facility.
♦ Because of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, for Fiscal Year 2008 and up through FY 2015, Congress eased the limit to 75 days.
♣ I always wonder about the categories used. Do the Portuguese get their own group? I don't think so. What about Brazilians? Where do those who trace their parentage back to the Indian sub-continent fit it? I assume they are Caucasian, but does some demographer in Washington, DC, think they are Asian? Or are they part of the best off group, American Indians, at $62,549. No, I don't think so.
★ Which is the "bottom line".
The point of the Editorial Board is that the Success Academy Charter Schools in New York City, with 11,000 students across the City, is now the top system in the State. The hidden point is that Mayor de Blasio is fighting Charter Schools, notwithstanding their success, even with disadvantages students. Maybe Mayor de Blasio recognizes that the Success Academy Charter Schools are skimming the best students.
These scholars didn’t start off as the cream of the crop: The only thing that set them apart from any other child in the city public schools is that their families applied and won the lottery to enter Success.Yes, parental involvement. Yes, Success Academy Charter Schools have parents who are, in some way, to some degree, involved in the education of their children.
For me this is one of the reasons Ms Kim Duggan Scott's effort to revitalize the Lowell Citywide Parent Council is so important. You can follow the Lowell Citywide Parent Council on Facebook.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
Reporter Jake Swearingen claims "We combed through data to find the auto each state secretly loves."
The result for our fair Commonwealth:
In Massachusetts, the Volvo XC70 sells at 305 percent the national average. Another four Volvo models, the V60 Cross Country, S80, XC90 and XC60, each have market shares equal to more than twice their national market shares.For our neighbor to the North, New Hampshire, which is suffering from an influx of people from Massachusetts this is the report.♠
In New Hampshire, the Volvo V60 Cross Country sells at 597 percent of the national average.As for Maine, our former colony, set free in 1820:
In Maine, the Volvo V60 Cross Country sells at 554 percent of the national average. In addition, five Subaru models, including the Impreza, Forester, XV Crosstrek, Outback and Legacy, all have market shares more than twice their national market shares.Looking immediately South, to Rhode Island:
In Rhode Island, the Hyundai Elantra Coupe sells at 452 percent of the national average. In Rhode Island four Volvo models, including the V60 Cross Country, XC70, S60 and XC60, all sell at a rate more than twice their national averages.Going Southwest, toward NYC, we have Connecticut:
In Connecticut, the Subaru Impreza sells at 441 percent the national average, while five Volvo models, including the XC70, V60 Cross Country, S80, S60 and XC60, all have market shares in Connecticut more than twice their national averages.Then there is Vermont:
In Vermont, the Volvo V60 Cross Country sells at 841 percent of the national average. In Vermont three Volvo models, including the V60 Cross Country, XC70 and S80, each sell at a rate more than four times their respective national averages.In this quick survey I ignored New York, which is a whole different world, and not really part of New England. It is obvious from this unofficial survey of sales that New England is Volvo country.
I like Volvos. We bought one in 1970 and kept it for almost ten years and then gave it to our Daughter, who rolled in onto its top on a dirt road in Alaska. Fortunately a troop of Soldiers were passing by and rolled it back over. And it drove back out and you had to look to see the indentation on the roof.♥
Me? I once owned a Morgan +4.♦ Today I drive what my wife drove before her new car. Works well for me.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ Reminds me of Orange County, California, which was very conservative in the 1950s, and then became fairly progressive in the next two decades, as people moved in from LA County.
♥ We did have it checked out and replaced all the fluids, but it was fine.
♦ Owned it for ten years, but sold it when our Volvo went down for eight weeks. We had to do a "short block" in Naples, Italy, which took a couple of days, but the original offending part, a pot metal bracket for the distributor, was not available in Italy. Fortunately I had to go to Oslo, Norway, to give a briefing on TASMO to NATO's Above Water Warfare Working Group (BARBARA) and when I arrived in Oslo I went straight to a Volvo dealer and purchased the needed part for installation upon my return. But, we couldn't afford, with three teenage sized kids, to be down to a two-seater if the other car broke down. Fortunately our friends the Tuels helped us out with the loan of their Beetle for part of the time. Bought a Peugeot station wagon.
"Socially controversial science topics on Wikipedia draw edit wars". The sub-headline is "The accuracy of what you see depends on whether people are happy about a topic."
I think using Wikipedia for a quick overview is good. It is also a good source for looking for references to check out. But, as the story shows, it is not a guaranteed reliable source. Wikipedia "truth" can change from one minute to the next.
NATO has a good expression with regard to Doctrine, "It is authoritative but requires judgement in application".♠ I feel the same way about Wikipedia, except to add, don't cite it as an authoritative source in a paper—exploit it for all you can, including the footnotes, but don't cite it in your paper's footnotes or endnotes.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ AAP-6(V) NATO Glossary of Terms and Definitions.
From Mr David Orr, who has written a new book, The Road Not Taken (Penguin Press), we get the following quote:
Orr writes that “The Road Not Taken” is “a thoroughly American poem. The ideas that [it] holds in tension — the notion of choice, the possibility of self-deception — are concepts that define . . . the United States.”At the end of the day you have to decide for yourself what something means. Critics are helpful, but they are only an input and not the people to dictate understanding.It is also, as critic Frank Lentricchia writes, “the best example in all of American poetry of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Like their Orthodox brothers and sisters, Catholics formally will mark Sept. 1 as the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis has decided.For those of you who are all up in the trees over the Pope's recent Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si',♠ On Care For Our Common Home, I have read it and the focus is not so much on the specifics of climate change as it is on our mutual responsibilities toward our fellow human beings as we share our limited global resources. I would say that the Pontiff has less faith in the operation of free markets to raise people out of poverty than I have. That said, the belief in the ability of governments to make things better, like the poor, will always be with us. The true problem is that often, when people lose faith in the Marxist Communist dream they turn to unhelpful alternatives. For example, Benito Mussolini created Fascism when he lost faith in Communism. We know how that worked out.The day of prayer, the pope said, will give individuals and communities an opportunity to implore God's help in protecting creation and an opportunity to ask God's forgiveness "for sins committed against the world in which we live."
Pope Francis announced his decision to add the annual prayer day to the Catholic calendar in a letter to Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and to Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Regards — Cliff
♠ The title comes from a line from Saint Francis of Assisi, “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. This is part of his Canticle of the Sun. I have sung this at Prayer Meetings (as much as I sing).
But, with this item from Ars Technica (Reporter Sean Gallagher), we have two scandals running. Should they run in parallel or should the days be additive? Anyway, here is the headline: "IRS’ estimate of tax records stolen by fraudsters soars to over 300,000". The sub-headline is "Using data from previous corporate breaches, fraudsters frolicked in IRS transcript data."
Regards — Cliff
Yes, if you read it, there will be no School Committee names (either Committee) on the Preliminary Ballots. Thus, no chance for those candidates to get a hint as to their ranking, although for Greater Lowell Technical High School it will be like an election in the Old South—where the Primary WAS the election. With two seats and two contestants, it is pretty much a wrap. Congratulations to Ray Boutin and Curtis J. LeMay.
Regards — Cliff
Does Donald Trump's appeal have anything to do with his policy positions? Republican political consultant Matthew Dowd says it doesn't — Trump's rise, he argues, is all personality, no policy:Well, how do we understand it? Here is Mr Ezra Klein's shot at it:trump's voter support has nothing to do with any issues. it has to do with gut and bravado.This is, for Republicans, the more comforting interpretation of Trump's emergence — he's a candidate powered by a potent mix of celebrity, outrage, and chutzpah, but he's not really a Republican, and as the primary grinds on, Republican voters will figure that out.
But there's another possible interpretation — this one more worrying for Republicans. In this interpretation, part of what makes Trump dangerous is that he's willing to cater to the opinions of the Republican base in ways that the Republican establishment wouldn't dare. And in doing so, he can exploit longstanding cleavages between the Republican Party and the voters it represents.There is a slight problem with this explanation. It stands on two legs.
But, this is the United States. Aside from the odd individual (e.g., Bernie Sanders in the US Senate), you are either a Democrat or a Republican. A very Anglo-Saxon way of organizing things.
One of the issues Mr Klein hammers in his article is immigration. I thought this item, "Floodgates Open: Top Democrat Professor says 'I've Never Seen Any Politician' With Better Immigration Plan Than Trump", from Brietbart made an interesting point. That "top Dem Prof" would be Norm Matloff, a professor at UC Davis, who has written extensively about H-1B visa abuses.♠
Matloff, a self-described Democrat and “longtime admirer of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT),” gave Donald Trump’s H-1B policy “an A+”...Then there is this view put out by Mr Ron Radosh, "Populism Is Back, on Both Left and Right". Note that he says "Populism", not "Progressivism". The sub-headline is "Will the ideas of Trump and Sanders guide the election just as prior populist movements have?". Good question.
Here is the lede:
Populism from both the right and the left is sweeping the country, represented by Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Trump says he is a conservative while Sanders says he is a democratic socialist, but labels aside, the issues they are emphasizing which are drawing the big crowds often parallel one another.Interesting. Sometimes candidates don't so much articulate their ideas as allow us to project our ideas onto them.This week, Trump unveiled his immigration plan. Emphasizing “jobs, wages, and security” in a section titled “Put American Workers First,” Trump writes:
The influx of foreign workers holds down salaries, keeps unemployment high, and makes it difficult for poor and working class Americans — including immigrants themselves and their children — to earn a middle class wage.If you check some of Sanders’ speeches, he says the exact same thing.. . .
We need to control the admission of new low-earning workers in order to: help wages grow, get teenagers back to work, aid minorities’ rise into the middle class, help schools and communities falling behind, and to ensure our immigrant members of the national family become part of the American dream.
In an interview with Ezra Klein in Vox, Sanders rejects “open borders” as both a Koch family desire as well as that of those he calls “the right-wing.”
Then there is this from Mr Kurt Schlichter,♥ writing in Town Hall—"The GOP Establishment Will Learn the Wrong Lessons from Donald Trump".
Let's be absolutely clear – Donald Trump is entirely the fault of a GOP establishment that lied to conservatives and refused to do what it promised it would do. Trump is no secret Machiavellian genius cunningly outmaneuvering his enemies from his super-classy Atlantic City volcano lair. He's a finger-to-the-wind charlatan who will say whatever he needs to say to maximize his own personal adulation. And he would still be merely a tiresome reality TV catch-phrase generator if the GOP establishment had not treated the rest of us like dirt.Bonus: Mr Schlichter talks about drinking Glenlivet with John Boehner. I am not so impressed with the John Boehner thing as with the fact that Mr Schlichter was at a party that served Glenlivet.Donald Trump will be beaten, but it sure as hell is not going to be the establishment that does it. Instead, it is hard-core conservatives like me and you who are getting out there and making the case that serious conservative renewal requires actual serious conservative candidates. You know, ones who never voted for Obama or gave money to Hillary – conservatives who were conservative before conservatism was cool.
Hat tip to the blog Memorandum.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ The article says "his work is widely cited in the H-1B reform community".
♥ I wonder if local Lawyer Jim Hall, also an Army War College Graduate, knows him.
Yes, I called LTC a minute ago. Got the operator's recorded message.
On City Life, yesterday, the issue of colonialism came up, regarding Puerto Rico, and eventually slid over to the Philippines. It was suggested that we colonized the Philippine Islands as a racial thing—we were "White" and the people of the Philippines weren't. Perhaps at some level that might be true, if you believe that Caucasians of both the Christian and Muslim persuasions, as religious people, wish to spread their understanding of God to others. And, if you believe that urge is inherent in their Caucasianness. Interestingly, Jews don't have this same urge.
But, when we won the Spanish American War there were those in the US, including in the US Congress, who felt it was our duty to bring Christianity to the Peoples of the Philippines. That would be the Protestant version of Christianity, given that many Filipinos were Roman Catholic As a result of the Philippines being colonize out of Mexico in 1565, under the explorer Miguel López de Legazpi, the Philippines gradually became Catholic in the northern island, while remaining Muslim in the Southern Part. Mexico was the Colonial master until 1821, when Mexico broke away from Spain. From that point on, Spain ruled the Philippines directly. And Roman Catholicism was the state religion.
We paid Spain $20 million in compensation for them losing the Philippines, and later paid $7.2 million to the Vatican for large tracks of land owned by various friaries. Back in those days that was real money.
So, the exit question is, why are Filipinos not Hispanic?
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
UPDATE: I called LTC about 1000 and got through. I explained the problem and asked them to call me back when they had resolved it. Ten minutes later they called back. They had made adjustments to synch up the audio and video. Excellent.
Regards — Cliff
The lede:
Nassim Nicholas Taleb recently tweeted: "The free-market system lets you notice the flaws and hides its benefits. All other systems hide the flaws and show the benefits.”Well, there is more at the link, but that is the basic story.This drew a response: "The most valuable property of the price mechanism is as a reliable mechanism for delivering bad news." These two statements explain a lot about why socialist systems fail pretty much everywhere but get pretty good press, while capitalism has delivered a truly astounding results but is constantly besieged by detractors.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
TOKYO — Using the carefully chosen words that govern reckonings with Japan’s militarist past, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated his country’s official remorse for the catastrophe of World War II on Friday, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the war’s end.Then there is the Emperor, who is still respected in Japan. Here is a Wall Street Journal article on the Emperor's statement. The reporters are Mssers Alexander Martin and Peter Landers.In a nationally televised address, Mr. Abe described feelings of “profound grief” and offered “eternal, sincere condolences” for the dead. He said Japan had inflicted “immeasurable damage and suffering” when it “took the wrong course and advanced along the road to war.”
But in a potentially contentious break with previous expressions of contrition by Japanese leaders, he did not offer a new apology of his own.
The decision, a product of months of deliberation, appeared calibrated to draw a line under what Mr. Abe and many Japanese see as an endless and enfeebling cycle of apologies for decades-old offenses. But Mr. Abe sought to do so while still addressing lingering resentment in China and South Korea, nations that bore the brunt of Japan’s often brutal empire building in the first half of the 20th century.
TOKYO—Japanese Emperor Akihito expressed “deep remorse” over World War II at a memorial service, deviating from his customary script in what could be seen as a veiled reproach toward Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative policies.An interesting question is how long will the rest of the world hold Japan down for its activities before 1945? At the WSJ link is a chart of attitudes amongst various Asian and Western Pacific nations. This question is a two edged sword, in that Japan has grown and prospered under its Constitution, renouncing war, and under the US Nuclear Umbrella.For many years, the emperor had delivered a virtually identical address at the annual Aug. 15 service for the war dead. But this year, marking the 70th anniversary of the war’s end, he made several additions, including the mention of remorse and a statement that Japan’s postwar prosperity rested on the people’s “earnest desire for the continuation of peace.”
The remarks Saturday came just 18 hours after Mr. Abe, in his own statement marking the anniversary, declined to deliver an explicit apology for the war in his own words, alluding instead to apologies issued by predecessors. The prime minister also said he hoped future generations wouldn’t have to apologize.
The war-anniversary statements came in the middle of a vigorous debate in parliament over Mr. Abe’s push to expand the role of Japan’s armed forces by reinterpreting Japan’s postwar constitution. A majority of voters oppose that move, according to polls.
Regards — Cliff
The free-market system lets you notice the flaws and hides its benefits. All other systems hide the flaws and show the benefits.But then I like the free-market system.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
It appears she was being held in an ISIL weapons warehouse that was attacked by Jordanian Air Force F-16s. The Jordanians had attacked the warehouse previously, partly damaging it. The Writer asks why they would go back. I respond, to finish the job. While for the targeteers 50% area coverage may be good enough, for the fighter pilot flying the mission, 50% area coverage isn't really good enough.
But, the story touches on the fact that the Daesch leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was repeatedly raping Ms Mueller. She was his sex slave. If you read The Washington Post story from today, Mr Baghdadi was also torturing Ms Mueller, and the FBI has told her parents.
These stories follow a story in The New York Times, by Mr Rukmini Callimachi, from 13 August of this year. A long read, some 14 minutes, it details how Daesh has been raping its way through new territories, with the theological belief that it is what God authorizes and wants. A young Yazidi women who escaped quoted the ISIL fighter who kept her and a 12 year old girl as sex slaves as explaining his repeated rape of a 12 year old with:
"And having sex with her pleases God," he said.But, why these three stories, now? To these three outlets (Old Gray Lady, Wash Post and New Yorker)?
I wonder if this is providing preparation for the public for an announcement that we are going to take new actions in Iraq or Syria or both.
The President's base doesn't want boots on the group, but if this kind of inhumane activity is ongoing it could justify the United States taking a strong hand. We will see.
Regards — Cliff
The Althouse bottom line:
Isn't it obvious? They're going to have to play the Elizabeth card.In the unlikely event Senator E Warren were elected President we would have to have someone to run for the US Senate in 2017. I recommend we consider co-oping Lawyer Marisa DeFranco.
Hat tip to Ann Althouse.
Regards — Cliff
The sub-headline is:
Democrats on wrong side of history when it comes to Planned Parenthood's crimes against innocent unborn.Here is the lede:
Democrats like to talk about the importance of being on the “right side of history.” This phrase was invoked frequently during the same-sex marriage debate. Yet when faced with a series of videos detailing grotesque human rights abuses against unborn children by Planned Parenthood Federation of America doctors, Democratic Party forces have eschewed all concern for historical or moral rightness.Yes, I get that the videos are questionable with regard to the ethics of journalism. I have read what Reporter Carl Prine has said about that. And Carl is a pro-life kind of person.Pope Francis has correctly described the unborn as “the most defenseless and innocent among us.” But in the sordid tale of strategic crushing of the unborn to better harvest their hearts, lungs and livers, many Democrats have incredibly cast an organization with a roughly $1.3 billion annual budget in the role of the innocent and defenseless. Hillary Clinton emerged as Planned Parenthood’s highest profile protector Monday, decrying the “assault” against her allegedly helpless campaign donors.
That said, there is a problem here. Ms Powers sees it. I think even The New Yorker sees it. On 13 August of this year they had an article by Jedediah Purdy, headlined "Environmentalism’s Racist History". It is focused around Mr Madison Grant (Yale College 1887, Columbia Law School) and talks about how early Twentieth Century Environmentalists were also Eugenics fans and were concerned about the future of mankind. For example, in 1916 Mr Grant published his The Passing of the Great Race, or The Racial Basis of European History.♠ I was amused at how The New Yorker described the book:
...a pseudo-scientific work of white supremacism that warns of the decline of the “Nordic” peoples.Funny how something we now reject is considered "pseudo-science", as though there was no real scientific effort put into it. I bet Mr Grant's work was considered "settled science" by the Bien-Pensant of the day.
Of interest, Mr Grant was involved in the writing of the Immigration Act of 1924.
No, Ms Margaret Sanger was not mentioned in article by Mr Purdy. On the other hand, there is this, perhaps based on the idea that her work was "pseudo-science". Actually it is a group of Black Pastors, led by a Harvard Law School Graduate. The Breitbart headline is "Remove Bust of Racist Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger from National Portrait Gallery". Makes sense to me.
As a final thought. The abortion issue may be a case of groups not being willing to take yes for an answer. While I am personally opposed to abortion, this is a Democracy and everyone gets a vote. A large majority of us believe abortion should be legal. A large proportion of us believe that late term abortions, except for the life of the Mother, are wrong. I would think there is a compromise at about 20 to 22 weeks. Not all I want, but also better than the current approach.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ I was surprised as to the number of different versions of this almost 100 year old publication that is probably of questionable taste. Although reading it might help us understand how we got to where we are.
The problem is, the article is about Republicans in the State House (of course, it IS the State House News Service). Well, they did mention National Committeewoman Chanel Prunier, who backs Senator Rand Paul.
Here is a sample from the fairly long article (1760 Words):
Gov. Charlie Baker, in a radio interview on Thursday, criticized Trump, who has been in the news for days after initiating a spat with Fox News host Megyn Kelly over her pointed questioning during the debate. In the aftermath, Trump has made several comments considered to be disparaging toward women.In reading this offering we should keep in mind "the latest figures put together by political scientists at Georgetown and Princeton universities", as reported in The Boston Globe (9 August 2015):Though Baker has been reluctant to share his opinions on national politics in great detail, and is unlikely to endorse before the general election, he served up a pointed admonishment of Trump on Boston Public Radio.
"I was raised by my parents, you know, in a certain way and I find a lot of those comments to be reprehensible, outrageous and ridiculous, and I wish he would take them back," Baker said.
House Minority Leader Brad Jones is equally unimpressed with his party's surging frontrunner at the moment.
"To me, Donald Trump is the letter to the editor you write late at night and hopefully put in your top drawer and never send," said Jones, who called himself "not the biggest Trump fan."
It’s not that Massachusetts Democrats are particularly left wing. Relative to legislators in a number of other states, they’re fairly moderate. In New York and Vermont, the Democratic caucuses lean further left, and the same is true in a handful of redder states, like Arizona and Wisconsin.That should tell you something right there. And, you should ask, what are the real Republicans thinking? What we are seeing is the views of the "down town [Boston]" Republicans, who hope the "grass roots" Republicans will just fall into line. The problem is, those of us out in the sticks may not be like those on Beacon Hill. If you are looking for a watchword, it might be that Mr Donald Trump is the replacement for Andrew Breitbart, mining the seam of unhappiness that is out there. The unhappiness with Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) and with the PC Police.The reason Massachusetts ranks so high on the list of liberal legislatures is that there are almost no conservative members. Not only do Democrats control about 80 percent of both houses, but the few Republicans who do hold seats are pretty centrist. They have roughly the same political preferences as Democrats in Oklahoma, and they’re actually further left than Democrats in Arkansas.
As you read the article, ask yourself where were the comments from the Chairpersons of Town and City Committees? Where were the comments from the Greater Lowell Tea Party? Where were comments from MARA, the Massachusetts Republican Assembly?
Will there be companion pieces talking to what local Republicans think? I would hope so. When you look at the article you note that not even Lowell's surrogate Republican Legislator, David Nangle, was mentioned.
Actually, it is worse. When the folks from Beacon Hill come to Lowell they don't bother to meet with the folks in the trenches, the folks who are part of the official Lowell Republican City Committee. It is truly the "down town" Republicans vs the "grass roots" Republicans.
As a side note, I am not for Mr Trump. I am for Governor Scott Walker.♠ Just saying. And, back on 5 March of this year I picked Governor Walker for the Republican nominee.
Not everyone sees it that way—Talking to you, Rick.
Regards — Cliff
♠ If you read The New York Times, that would be "Governor Scott".
The Election will be Tuesday, 29 September 2015.
That means the deadline to register to vote is Wednesday, 9 September 2015.♠
That means the deadline for an absentee ballot will be Noon Monday, 28 September 2015.
Regards — Cliff
♠ Yes, it would be nice if we had same-day registration. But, like everything else it will cost us money to do that. So, what is the trade-off? How many people would take advantage of this opportunity? Why didn't they behoove themselves to register by 9 September? And, of course, there is always the integrity-of-the-election question. What is the chance someone could exploit this to stuff the ballot box?
Playing into the hands of Ukrainian nationalists, a monument to the so-called Ukrainian "Holodomor," one the 20th century's most famous myths and vitriolic pieces of anti-Soviet Propaganda, has been erected in the US capital.Well, we know that New York Times reporter Walter Duranty, winner of a Pulitzer, denied the existence of the Holodomor. But then he denied everything and whitewashed Joseph Stalin.♠
Memories are long in Eastern Europe and denial is strong.
The Russian line (remember, Russia has recently occupied part of Ukraine, notwithstanding recent treaty agreements) is that the Ukrainian nationalists are really the Nazis come back to oppress Russia and that the Russian oppression of Ukraine, while Dictator Joseph Stalin tried forced collectivization of Ukrainian farms, never happened.
Regards — Cliff
♠ It reminds one of the North Koreans starving due to mismanagement of the economy, and especially the farm economy. Centralized planning, while promising efficiencies, tends to be very inefficient. Centralized planning is a code word for Communism (and Fascism).
If I would have asked them what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.It is important to pick the proper people to write requirements. Having someone in there with a little vision is always helpful.
Regards — Cliff
TWEET OF THE DAY: “The earnestly naive Bernie Sanders is who the Democratic party wants to be. The corrupt and venal Hillary Clinton is who they are.”Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
1732—Folks are filtering in.
1734—City Councilor Jim Milinazzo calls meeting to order and recognizes City Manager, who introduces the presenters.
1735—City Traffic Engineer introduces the topic and talks to the intersection of VFW Highway and Bridge Street.
1740—City Coucilor Bill Martin asks about when traffic is congested.
1741—There is some discussion of dealing with the traffic and the lights.
1745—City Councilor, not on the subcommittee, asks about southbound on Bridge, turning east on VFW Highway.
1746—Response is two left turn lanes there.
1749—Councilor Leahey, of the subcommittee, asks if these will be smart lights.
1749—Each lane will have its own detection, helping to run the "phases". It runs through a complete cycle, but it adjusts. A long gap between vehicles may terminate that specific phase.
1752—City Councilor Leahy asked about the down ramp at the Hunts Fall Bridge rotary.
1752—Told that the merge is either at the top of the ramp or the bottom. No advantage to a two lane down ramp.
1755—CC Kennedy asks about the problems during construction.
1755—September to September 2016. Originally an exclusive and a concurrent phase, but going to an all concurrent phase.
1758—CC KennedyLength of Light Cycle.
1758—About 90 seconds.
1759—CC Samaras asks if the High School student traffic was considered
1759—Yes. And we have extended the signal time.
1801—What happens with smart lights when emergency vehicles interrupt the light cycle?
1801—The main line will typically come back.
1802—Contractors will remove the asphalt medians, the monument will come out, going back in different location. Islands will be rebuilt.
1805—MassDOT promises one lane in each direction and two during rush hour.
1806—Gas folks are doing their work now. Storm drains are being tied it.
1807—Michael Harrington. Currently work now being done at night but soon switching to daytime. Only sign re work time has only one sign, under the rotary bridge. [Promise to move signage.] Alternate route is is down 1st Street, which is crowded. Anything being done to help? What about the old down ramp Reed Street exit? Can someone come to our next Centerville Neighborhood Meeting? [Promise to attend.]
1813—Sarah White. My interest in the Lord Overpass, especially as it impacts local peds. Need walkability between East and West Dutton Street. And the railroad tracks and those hazards regarding Peds.
1817—City Manager says item on City Council Agenda for tonight re Lord Overpass, so presentation in the offing.
1818—Ann Marie Page. Merging and yielding is something that people have trouble with. Parking? [No spaces lost. Illegal parking is another issue, for the City.] I remember the Hunts Falls down ramp. Problem was no route for emergency vehicles. Re the monument, we were promised it would be cleaned and refurbished, with a black wrought-iron fence.
1824—Paul Early. Count down light for Peds?
1824—Motion to accept report. Made and Passed.
1824—Motion to adjourn. Made and Passed.
Regards — Cliff
The source is PJ Media and the writer is Mr J. Christian Adams. It was published on 10 August.
Commended to you.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
The InstaPundit notes that "The Laws of Economics haven't been repealed."
I think the minimum wage increase works for food servers and others if we, the customers, are willing to pay. However, some customers have to actually budget their money, even if it is only in a rough way. When someone says to themself (or to their spouse) "I think the prices at X are just a little too high" that is an economic decision. The person is going to look a little down scale or is going to look for another option or is going to eat at home.
The fundamental question is if the Middle and Lower Middle Class families have the marginal dollar free to pay the extra wage. The cost per person is going to be small, but when it becomes noticeable it may change spending habits. Time will tell.
For those who say it should come out of company profits, I like that idea, but if the investors find that there is more profit in other investments, then that will adversely impact jobs, over the long run. Everyone is looking for an edge.
Hat tip to the InstaPundit.
Regards — Cliff
The writer focuses on the Republicans and passes over the incident with Candidate Bernie Sanders. That was fine. You can only cover so much of the waterfront within the word limit of the OpEd Page. That said, I think he should go back and look at that issue at some point. Why Senator Bernie Sanders? Less security? More news benefit? Something else?
Back to what Mr Blow did write, here is what I take to be the two key paragraphs (in the first of them he is referencing Governor Scott Walker's response to a question):
Both the question and the answer focused an inordinate amount of attention on police conduct and not enough on revealing that they are simply the agents of policy instituted by officials at the behest of the body politic.I like the idea of examining the overall system and not just this or that part. This isn't just taking the car in for an oil change. This is asking about how the car as a whole, as an overall system, as part of a larger system of roads and parking and traffic controls, works.This deficit of examining systems exists all across this debate. It fails to indict society as a whole, as I firmly believe it should. It puts all the focus on the tip of the spear rather than on the spear itself.
We need to ask what is going on in our nation. A friend of mine, whose Parents are from China, says he sees racism in some circumstances. On the other hand, the quotas at Harvard didn't keep him out. I wonder about it in Lowell, with our 20% of the population from Southeast Asia. I don't see it in the trenches, but then I don't live in the trenches. I am on the License Commission, but I am thinking we are working hard to help minorities, especially those who are recent immigrants. On the other hand, we as a nation obviously have problems, as the one year anniversary of the Furguson Incident shows.
Mr Blow calls for us "to indict society as a whole". I agree, but that is going to be hard. Part of that examination needs to be to see if underclass culture is compatible with the rest of society. This touches on what Daniel Patrick Moynihan discussed way back in the Johnson Administration. That phase of the indictment would look like blaming the victim, something that is currently very unpopular. But, it is an issue to be faced. When I drive through Washington NE I am not concerned about safety. When I drive through Washington SE, or parts of it, I am. I see Black culture in both, but different Black cultures. Why has one prospered and one not? Or am I missing something? This problem is too important to not ask questions and to not speak up.
Remember, a systems approach. Examine the whole system.
Regards — Cliff
