The Political Journal

Hedy Lamarr on Leadership

2011-04-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.

- Hedy Lamarr

More on Hedy Lamarr.

How the Internet Began

2011-03-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

A revelation with an Incredibly Big Message (IBM):

Well, you might have thought that you knew how the Internet started, but here's the TRUE story ....

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband: "Why dost thou travel so far
from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her - as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said: "How, dear?"

And Dot replied: "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price.

And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with
the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP)

But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete
himself inside Abraham's drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham's business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted - for insider trading.

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung.

They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land.

And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say: "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."

And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known. He said: "We need a name that reflects what we are."

And Dot replied: "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators." "YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE)

And that is how it all began.

Dale Carnegie on Leadership

2011-03-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

- Dale Carnegie

More on Dale Carnegie.

Hope Gets Bombed

2011-03-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

It was at Algiers in North Africa in 1943. Bob Hope was there with his USO tour to entertain the troops and to meet General Eisenhower. Ike promised Hope a night of peace and quiet but unfortunately, the Germans chose that night to fly bombers over the town.

As the bombs fell, the general and the star evacuated to the wine cellar. Ike later send Hope a note regretting that Hope had to resign himself to a night in the cellar instead of a bed. Bob Hope replied that it wasn't the cellar that bothered him; it was the stuff flying overhead.

Don't Overlook This

2011-03-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

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Next is Syria?

Syrian dictatorship has been part of the Middle East equation since Israel's beginning.

Arab League to Reverse Itself on Libya?

2011-03-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here's the story in today's Washington Post. First, they had endorsed the "no-fly zone" military intervention in Libya; now that it has actually started, they want to reverse themselves. What are we to make of this?

1) Acording to the story, the Arab leadership had not properly negotiated the meaning and the scope of "the no-fly zone". How could such an endorsement have been issued without the proper understandings having been reached?

The suspicion cannot be helped. They were just playing politics. Blame the West for the rebels loosing but now that their bluff has been called, the new line is to blame the West for intervening.

2) Why could the members of the Libyan League not have intervened themselves? Just how weak is the Arab World both politically and militarily?

The bottom line summary of this potential reversal is to underline the political and military weakness of the Arab nations.

Below is a summary of the day's operations.

Who Are the Libyan Rebels?

2011-03-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

This is a really big unknown. Surfing through all of the news reports on the Libyan Civil War, the story that we would expect to see is the very one we do not. The one definite thing we know is that when the British sent in Special Forces to help the rebels, the rebels killed them.

Meanwhile, the question is what can the USA and NATO do in Libya? We've got one aircraft carrier Enterprise can provide air attacks. Amphibious ships, Kearsarge Ponce, and Bataan can provide ground attacks on the coastal cities but then what?

Another important fact is Egypt's support of implied Quaddafi (they oppose US intervention).

At the end of the day, it will be up to the rebels to win their own war. We can help but there's got to be limits.

Picture: Official Navy photo of launch of Tomahawk missle from USS Barry today. They are designating the Libyan operation, "Oddysey Dawn".

Benchley on Success

2011-03-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.

- Robert Benchley

More about Robert Benchley.

Picture: from "How to Sleep". The short film became his best-known work, and earned him an Academy Award.

Libya Fact File

2011-03-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

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As we watch the civil war in Libya, here's a few facts to refer to.

Population 5 million

Fertility rate: 2.8

Monetary Unit: Libyan dinar (LD)
GDP: 106,000 million LD or $87,000 million US$. US GDP: $14,000 billion

International reserves: $92,507 million US

Exchange rate (LD to US$) 1.2

Libya fact: Armed forces: army 50,000 + 8,000 navy + 18,000 air force = 76,000.

My Summary:
This is a smallish power but it is still challenging. At this point, air power might not be enough to stop Quaddafi. If we send in the army, probably around 100,000 will be needed, allowing roughly 20,000 combat troops on the ground.

FDR's Fireside Chats

2011-03-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

In his day everyone stopped to listen to the President of the United States give one of his famous "fireside chats" on the Radio. Of course, this was before television had come into use. Rush Limbaugh hadn't been invented yet, either.

Presidential radio addresses do not get the same degree of public attention as they did in Roosevelt's day. Fox News wouldn't allow it.

A couple of years ago the President was a Republican. His radio programs didn't get much attention, either. FDR's ghost wouldn't allow it.

Or maybe I'm giving ascribing too much power to Fox and FDR. MTV hadn't been invented then, either.

House Budget Chairman Summarizes National Debt

2011-03-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a very informative article about an interview the House Budget Chairman gave on the state of the national debt and its impact upon the economy.

Police Union Threaten Businesses

2011-03-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

In retribution for the public employees bill in Wisconsin, unions, led by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association delivered ultimatums last week to businesses (we do not know how many). Their ultimatum set a deadline of March 17 to either come out in opposition to the Republicans in their state or else suffer a boycott.

The letter also listed a number of business organizations including the Chamber of Commerce and "requested" companies to disclose their contributions to them.

What's the country coming to?

Joe Dendy Elected Cobb County Republican Chairman

2011-03-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

Attended my first county convention in 10 years yesterday. Governor Nathan Deal spoke. A bunch of resolutions were passed. There was a right-to-life resolution which combined abortion with a whole bunch of other issues. It narrowly passed. 300+ people attended.

That’s Joe and me in the picture.

Trish Pridemore

2011-03-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

Went to a meet and greet with Trish Pridemore last night at her home. Nice home, nice person, too. According to people I spoke with in the crowd, she's an incredibly hard worker. Of course, these were her supporters. I can independently note that of all the candidates for state and local office this year, she's the only one who called me personally.

She's running for Georgia State Chairman. County conventions are today.

The Iron Chancellor on Leadership

2011-03-11T01:00:00.000-08:00

Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war observe the rules of politeness.

- Otto von Bismark

More about Otto von Bismark.

Picture (cc by-sa 3.0) by SPBer.

Why Defunding PBS Is Important

2011-03-10T20:05:00.001-08:00

With the national debt now over $14 trillion, something’s got to be cut. PBS, through TV and radio provide news and entertainment. Does the government need to provide this?

The government provides us:

Safety (from internal threats – police; from external threats – military)
Education
Medical Emergency services
Transportation support (roads, air traffic control)
News and entertainment services

One can add other services that the government provides. In the list, which item would you cut? What cut hurts the least?

When we make decisions for our family, this is what we have to question. This goes for government budgeting, too.

If we cannot cut PBS, then it is unlikely that any meaningful cuts will be made anywhere.

The GOP Made Obama Do It! Huh?

2011-03-09T06:55:00.000-08:00

Re: Gitmo. The new spin is that the Republicans made him follow Bush's policies. Now, there is something to this.

Remember Reagan's deficits were accompanied by loud cries in the establishment media about how necessary for him to "compromise and cooperate" with the Democrats in Congress. In his time, the Democrats controlled the House and also at the end controlled the Senate, too. It was unfair to lay all the blame for the deficits on him and it may be unfair to blame all that's wrong on Obama, too.

However, the President is the one guy in the position to do things if anybody is. One gets the sense that Bush was really right on these national security issues and that, more than the politics, is what's driving Obama's Gitmo decisions.

Obama’s Re-election Prospects

2011-03-08T10:14:00.000-08:00

Tony Blankley reminds us that Obama enjoys the incumbent’s advantages. He also reminds us that these advantages depends upon other factors. In modern times, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George Bush all failed to win re-election. However, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush did. Thus, the history.

Bad/good Economic times are a factor. Obama has gotten a lot of mileage claiming, “Remember, we inherited this mess.” The Republicans and the press has been remiss in reminding people that the Democrats controlled the Congress and that key Democrats were Chairman of powerful Congressional committees and that they had made sweetheart deals with the Finance Industry in the two years before the crash. Obama could still face this point in the 2012 election campaign, however.

Worse for Obama, is explaining how the current economic problems became so bad. If the aftermath of the crash was always going to be intrinsically bad, despite the best policies (which Obama claims he implemented), then why did not he or his party say so beforehand? Instead, he goes into 2012 having to explain why his policies did not take a bad situation and make it worse.

The above has to be put in the perspective of bad economic times continuing for the duration of his presidency.

Then there’s the Health Care issue. It is shaping up to be a mess. Already it is being repealed in a death of a thousand cuts. 1,000 waivers have already been issued - and not by Republicans, but by Obama’s own administration.

There’s the half trillion dollars that’s being counted twice.

A major component of Obama’s Health Care Bill CLASS, standing for Community Living Assisted Services and Support, has been declared “totally unsustainable”, again not by just Republicans but by Obama’s own cabinet secretary for Health and Human Services.

Millions of people have already seen huge increases in their health insurance premiums. In the years ahead, millions will face practical restrictions in health care access as doctors cut patients due to the HC Bill’s regulations.

These are consequential items.

After Obama tires of having to explain his domestic problems, he can look abroad. His foreign successes peaked with his Nobel Prize. Since then, his every initiative has been rebuffed.

What is significant is the degree that he has antagonized so many foreign leaders who have been otherwise supportive of American Presidents. In future crisis, he is unlikely to receive the support that Presidents have in the past.

So, much of the advantages of the incumbent will be neutralized by three area of economic policy, health care policy, and foreign policy which are likely to be disadvantageous to the President.

Islamic Radicals and Congressional Hearings Thereon

2011-03-07T04:22:00.000-08:00

The House opens hearings on the radicalization of Muslims in America (the King Hearings, named for the chairman of the committee holding them). How can this be any more anti-Islamic than hearings last century on the Ku Klux Klan? (The KKK recruited mostly from Christian churches.) Terrorism is terrorism, whether the source is domestic or foreign; whether it uses Christians or Muslims, whether the problem was last century or this one. Our country dealt with the KKK last century, we can deal with this quaisi-Muslim stuff this century. Government can use the same techniques for both.

First step is to identify the problem and learn about it. Denying that we have one was not the answer last time. It only lengthened the scope of the KKK’s reach and power. Denying the problem of Muslim extremism will not work this century, too.

The King Hearings in the House are a necessary corrective to the culture of denial of the problem by the Obama Administration and too many of the Muslim community.

More info

From Baghdad to Benghazi

2011-03-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

My take on Charles Krauthammer's latest. His column was published in the Washington Post.

Summary: Obama once derided G.W. Bush's views on democracy in the Middle East; now events are imposing those views on him.

Quote:

Now that revolutions are sweeping the Middle East and everyone is a convert to George W. Bush's freedom agenda, it's not just Iraq that has slid into the memory hole. Also forgotten is the once proudly proclaimed "realism" of Years One and Two of President Obama's foreign policy - the "smart power" antidote to Bush's alleged misty-eyed idealism.

My Views: I've written before bemoaning the left's attitude that all that was necessary was to denounce Bush's policies and then turn their minds off. In reading K's little essay, I wonder if Obama deserves no credit whatsoever for softening anti-American attitudes in the Middle East. Is he really sure that Obama's kind speeches and other out-reaches to the Arabs have not had anything to do with the less anti-American moods that he now detects?

Charles Krauthammer is a more establishment columnist. He came to punditry by way of psychiatry (at Massachusetts General Hospital) via the New Republic Magazine. He appears on TV where you never see his wheelchair. Here's his Wiki bio.

I am drawn by the substance and the thinking than any particular writing flair.

Half Trillion Dollars Off

2011-03-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Obama Administration admitted today that 1/2 trillion dollars of the Health Care Budget has been double counted. The money is being applied to Medicare and to expenses at the same time.

Would that we could all do that. I've got $50. I want to pay my $50 utility bill and I want to drop $50 at the local tavern. Why cannot I just take that $50 in money and spend it in both places at the same time? After all, Obama does it - and he even tacks a few zeros on it, too!

Stevenson on Leadership

2011-03-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding; and it is not to be found in foreign lands, but in the heart itself.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

More about Robert Louis Stevenson

Marines to Libya?

2011-03-03T07:41:00.000-08:00

The key fact in that part of the Libyan story that concerns US intervention, is what the Obama administration is contemplating sending in if it gets involved: 2 warships and 400 marines. Do they really expect to make a difference with such a small amount of strength?

Civil War in Libya

2011-03-02T06:13:00.000-08:00

If Libya is on the verge of a Civil War as they say, then that means that Quaddafi is not going down anytime soon. It means that he has enough supporters to wage one. I'm not sure that the failure for one regime to go down is, by itself, a moral wrong. However, Quaddafi has done so much wrong, he ought to be thought of as one of the bad guys for all those other things he did.

Middle East Revolutions

2011-03-01T06:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a neat country by country summary.

Surprised that Quadafi in Libya is going down. Thought that his ruthlessness would see him through.