Photon Torpedo Tube's Blog

2009-11-09T07:15:00.001-05:00

On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall - a physical and symbolic boundary between communist East Germany and democratic West Germany - began to come down, ending decades of separation and marking a turning point of the Cold War. Widely regarded as one of the most influential events of the 20th century, we felt it important to recognize this historic moment.

Southern Avenger on Code Pink Hypocrisy

2009-11-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

The Southern Avenger is Jack Hunter. Here he provides commentary on the the Obama Administration's lack of change in the Bush foreign policy. He observed the hypocrisy of Code Pink.

Audit the Fed: HR-1207

2009-11-08T20:50:00.000-05:00

Last week I posted about Representative Mel Watt (D. NC)'s decision to gut Ron Paul's Audit the Fed Bill, HR-1207. That post, and this one featuring South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint (R. S.C.) have details about the Bill.

An audit of HR-1207 is necessary because the unelected Wall Street bankers that operate the Federal Reserve are currently engaged in secret activities (involving huge transactions with domestic and foreign banks and governments) that, by law, are now hidden from Congressional oversight. It is deeply distressing to see that our elected representatives will not immediately vote to change the current law and give Congress full and unfettered authority to audit the Federal Reserve.

The image captured on the YouTube video below shows the edits made by Representative Watt to continue to preserve the Federal Reserve's secret activities. Ironically, Watt's edited the End the Fed law just makes oversight even more difficult.

Boeing Cartoons Show Regional Bias

2009-11-07T00:01:00.003-05:00

In a typical Yankee show of regional southern bias, the Seattle Times posted the following cartoon. The cartoon is a bitter response to Boeing's decision to invest in a North Charleston 787 manufacturing plant. Boeing has numerous plants in Washington and that State hoped to persuade Boeing to put the new facility in western Washington.

South Carolina cartoonist Mike Beckom of The Palmetto Scoop issued a cartoon response. See the Palmetto Scoop's response below.

United States Economic Freedom Standing

2009-11-06T00:01:00.001-05:00

The economic freedom chart below is a joint project between the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. The data for the analysis of the freest economies was gathered from data about 183 economies across the world.

The data from the economies are measured by examining ten elements:

Business Freedom | Trade Freedom | Fiscal Freedom | Government Size | Monetary Freedom | Investment Freedom | Financial Freedom | Property rights | Freedom from Corruption | Labor Freedom. Here is a link to the 2009 Index of Economic Freedom. The USA is ranked 6th, trailing Hong Kong and Singapore. The USA lost some of its economic freedom since 2008. Our situation is not improving. We rank the lowest in the categories of government size and corruption.

Southern Avenger on Corporatism

2009-11-05T00:01:00.001-05:00

The Southern Avenger is Jack Hunter. He is a conservative commentator (WTMA 1250 AM talk radio) and columnist (Charleston City Paper) living in Charleston, South Carolina. His language is somewhat aggressive, but the points he makes are quite sound. Here, he discusses the issue of corporatism referencing Governor Sanford and outspoken Representative Allen Grayson (D FL).
Not only should Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson not have apologized for calling the Federal Reserve's top lobbyist a "K Street Whore"-- he should have expanded his argument.

Gamecocks Versus Razorbacks

2009-11-04T00:01:00.005-05:00

Gamecocks Face Defensive Challenge

The Razorbacks second year coach, Bobby Petrino, has the Arkansas team playing at a very high level on offense. Last Saturday, the Razorbacks scored over sixty points against Eastern Michigan. The red bar on the graph below shows the point total by opponent. The white bar represents how many points the Gamecock defense has surrendered. (The South Carolina State game was omitted).

The following chart shows the offensive yardage output for the Razorbacks.

The Razorbacks are very impressive on offense. Their offense is ranked second in the SEC, averaging 438 yards per game and 36 points per game.

The Gamecocks are fifth in total defense (295 total yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (19 points a game).

Arkansas offensive strength has been in the passing game. It is ranked first in the conference by a mile, averaging almost 300 yards passing a game. However, their strength is matched up with the Gamecocks strength, pass defense. The Gamecocks are ranked second, giving up only 141 yards per game through the air.

What can the Gamecocks do to stop the Razorbacks?

The chart below shows the sacks allowed per game by the Razorback offense. This indicates that when opposing defenses are able to pressure the Razorback passer and sack him from time to time, the Razorback offensive production substantially decreases.

The Gamecocks are averaging over two sacks per game. That ranks them fifth in the SEC among defenses. If the Gamecock defense can put pressure on the Razorback quarterback, statistics suggest the Gamecocks will slow down the Razorback offensive attack. Hopefully, Lorenzo Ward and Ellis Johnson will dial up a few blitzes that will shake up the Razorback passers.

Technorati Tags: Razorbacks, Gamecocks, Offensive, Statistics, Graphs, Sacks, Yardage, Analysis

Health Care Lobbyist Influence

2009-11-03T00:01:00.002-05:00

Max Baucus (D. MO) is the Chairman of a powerful Senate Finance Committee. He is using his post as Chairman to reform the nation's health care system. The Sunlight Foundation graphic below shows the connections between Baucus and powerful lobbyists. Notice how several of the lobbyists are former staff members.

If you are cynical like I am, you may conclude that the lobbyists will basically write the health care law Baucus is sponsoring. This is the system in which our current government operates. It does not matter if the Democrats or Republicans control it. The people need to somehow wrest control back from the special interests.

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Clinical Trial Data Secrecy Act

2009-11-02T00:01:00.002-05:00

Congress, Federal Bureaucracy Block Patient Access

Boy! I didn't have to look far to find another egregious example of How Corporatism Works.

In 2007 the Senate debated a bill called the Medical Device User Fee Amendments Act. That law, if it had been enacted, would have required companies to report the results of their clinical trials when they were finished, provided that the drugs or devices received FDA approval.

At the same time, a House bill, H.R. 2900, required that the clinical trial results must be made available to the public whether or not the drug or device being tested had been approved by the FDA.

Medical device and drug manufacturers far preferred the Senate version, arguing that publishing information about products that had not received approval could hurt their bottom line.

Both Legislative bodies passed their versions of the bills and they went to the conference committee. The Bill that emerged from the Committee, 422 pages, was available for members to read for only one hour before debate. On September 9, 2007, the House voted 405 to 7 to approve the new law, and the Senate followed suit the next day, passing it by unanimous consent.

The House language, which would have required that results data for unapproved products be made available, was gone.

No problem. The National Institute of Health was authorized under the law to issue regulations. However, as is indicated by the attached list of comments to the proposed legislation at Regulations Dot Gov, lobbyists descended and killed disclosure. Not even patients can find out the data now.

Below is a video with one of the patients impacted by the federal corporatism policy related to medical devices, Bray Patrick-Lake.

The Heart of the Matter from Sunlight Foundation on Vimeo.

Information about this post was found at The Sunlight Foundation.

How Corporatism Works

2009-11-01T00:01:00.003-04:00

This is how corporatism works.

You pass a nice sounding “safety” law and create a federal bureaucracy to implement regulations. The bureaucracy is staffed with lobbyists of big corporations who write the new regulations. The bureaucracy enacts regulations written by lobbyists. The regulations mandate onerous testing requirements and oversight on the products in the industry.

The cost of compliance with the new regulations is so high only the largest corporations, who benefit by economies of scale, can afford to pay the cost and remain profitable.

Small American owned businesses cannot pay for the high upfront cost to comply with regulations required before they may market and sell their products. The small business profit margin is destroyed. The small businesses are driven out of the industry.

The big corporations continue on. They laugh because they have eliminated small business competition. The corporations raise prices and make a lot of money. They also use their compliance with new safety regulations as a shield to defend against troublesome products liability actions brought by injured children hurt by their products, most of which are manufactured overseas.

In the long run, costs goes up, and safety go down. As collateral damage, unemployment goes up because small business in American is the true source of job creation.

The elected representatives in Congress are insulated from the damage to America. The elected representatives collect large campaign contributions for their work.

The cycle continues.

Small toy manufacturers are the latest example of small business industry being killed by corporatism. In August 2008, the United States enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act which does all of the things I just described above.

We should not get mad at Democrats that created the law that killed small toy manufacturers. The Democrats just happen to be the party in power. Corporatism like this has been going on for years, and a lot of the Republicans are as guilty as Democrats.

Here is a link to a New York Times article describing the most recent example of corporatism in modern America. See Leslie Wayne, Burden of Safety Law Imperils Small Toymakers, NY Times (Oct. 30, 2009.

We need to figure out which of the politicians are wedded to facilitating corporatism. We need to get rid of them.

Technorati Tags: corporatism, toy, manufacturers, safety, regulations, cost, small, busness, campaign, contributions,

End the Fed Bill in Trouble

2009-10-31T09:21:00.005-04:00

According to an news article yesterday, Federal Reserve Policy Audit Legislation ‘Gutted,’ Paul Says, Bloomburg (October 31, 2009), the "Audit the Fed" Bill pending before Congress is in deep trouble.

It appears that a Bank of America toady from North Carolina has damaged the bill unless it can be repaired on the House Floor. The action to gut the Bill was taken by Mel Watt (D. NC), from the 12th District in North Carolina. That district includes Charlotte, headquarters for Bank of America.

The bill, with 308 co-sponsors, has been stripped of provisions that would remove Fed exemptions from audits of transactions with foreign central banks, monetary policy deliberations, transactions made under the direction of theFederal Open Market Committee and communications between the Board, the reserve banks and staff, Paul said today.

“There’s nothing left, it’s been gutted,” he said in a telephone interview. “This is not a partisan issue. People all over the country want to know what the Fed is up to, and this legislation was supposed to help them do that.”

. . . .

Paul, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina, has eliminated “just about everything” while preparing the legislation for formal consideration. Watt is chairman of the panel’s domestic monetary policy and technology subcommittee.

Keith Kelly, a spokesman for Watt, declined to comment and said Watt wasn’t immediately available for an interview. Watt’s district includes Charlotte, headquarters of Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender.
Watt can be contacted at the following addresses:

CHARLOTTE
1230 W. Morehead St.
Suite 306
Charlotte, NC
28208-5214
Tel. (704) 344-9950
Fax (704) 344-9971

WASHINGTON
2304 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC
20515-3312
Tel. (202) 225-1510
Fax (202) 225-1512

Keith Kelly
202-225-1510

email generator.

Go Gamecocks

2009-10-31T09:09:00.003-04:00

Afterburner the Vols

Joe Person's Blog, The State, said it best about the upcoming game at Rocky Top:

I’ve had my fill of the gas-pumping saga.

Enough talk about Lane Kiffin, I-40 rockslides, David Reaves’ recruiting tactics, and the other UT/USC storylines – few of which have any real bearing on Saturday’s game in Knoxville.

Time for some good, ol’ rompin’, stompin’ SEC football. Halloween night on Rocky Top.

RON PAUL IS BACK IN SOUTH CAROLINA

2009-10-31T00:01:00.001-04:00

Representative Ron Paul of Texas will deliver a lecture, “The Politics of Tolerance”, at the University of South Carolina on Monday, November 9 at 7:00 PM in the Carolina Coliseum.

His lecture will highlight the importance of civility and tolerance -- in politics and everyday life.

The event, sponsored by Midas Resources, is free and open to the public.

Young Americans for Liberty, Campaign for Liberty, the USC Honors College, and the Carolina Debate Union will host the lecture and encourages you to bring you and your family.

Afghanistan: Matthew Hoh's Resignation Letter

2009-10-30T00:01:00.004-04:00

Captain Matthew Hoh resigned as from his job serving in a key role within the United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. His four-page letter is embedded below.

Hoh speaks with the authority of a man with first hand knowledge. He served the last five months as Political Officer in Afghanistan. Before that, Hoh spent six years serving as a Marine Captain in Iraq.

Hoh's letter notes that 2009 marks the eighth year of United States involvement in Afghanistan--the same amount of time as the Soviet Union was embroiled in the country. Hoh describes the period as just another part of the ongoing thirty-five year civil war.

Hoh's letter explains his frustration about the increasingly muddled and confused American policies in the Afghanistan war. He questions the stated goals of fighting terrorism and states that the effort appears futile, and unworthy of the continuing sacrifice being made by our young soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen.

Matthew Hoh first US official to resign over Afghan War

Tax Cuts Set to Expire Soon

2009-10-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

The chart above shows how tax cuts spurred an economic expansion in the early part of this decade.

The Bush Tax Cuts are due to expire in 2011. In addition, more and more Americans will face tax increases as the Alternative Minimum Tax impacts more and more people due to creeping inflation.

Taneyhill's 1992 Tennessee Halloween Victory

2009-10-28T00:01:00.005-04:00

1992 Gamecock Team Upset Vols 24-23

Looking back at the overall 5-6 record, the 1992 season doesn't seem that special. But there was a lot of moments in that 1992 season that made it very special.

The season, the Gamecocks first year in the SEC, started off 0-5. Moreover the 1991 season had ended with a four game slide so the team was on a 9 game losing streak after the blowout loss at Alabama.

The Head Coach, Sparky Woods, was under pressure and he made some comments to the media after the Alabama game that upset his players. The players called a meeting. According to lore, the players took a vote in which a substantial percentage of the team voted for Woods to retire. The team then left the vote totals up on a board for Woods to see when they left the meeting room. The Columbia media got wind of it, and called it a "players revolt."

The upshot of the revolt was that Woods installed freshman Steve Taneyhill as his starting quarterback. The 1992 Gamecock team turned around the season and finished with five wins out of the last six games, including a victory at Clemson.

Along about half way through the turn-around winning streak, the Gamecocks faced a strong Tennessee team on Halloween. Before 1992, South Carolina had not beaten Tennessee since 1903. The 1992 game had one of the greatest plays in Gamecock history.

The play, called "the stop," took place as time was running out when the Volunteers were trying to tie the game on a two point conversion. It was made by linebacker Hank Campbell against the Volunteer's great running back, James "Little Man" Stewart. (Stewart was later selected in the 1st round of the NFL draft (19th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft.)

The video below shows the Gamecocks making "the stop."

Gamecocks Versus Volunteers

2009-10-27T00:01:00.008-04:00

Vol Passing Attack Is A Serious Threat

The Gamecocks play the University of Tennessee Volunteers this coming Saturday night (Halloween) in Knoxville, Tennessee. This post looks at some of the statistics generated by the Volunteer offense, and produces the data in two interesting graphs.

At first blush, most college football fans acknowledge the Volunteer offense because of its bruising running game. However, the two graphs below illustrate a little known fact . . . the Volunteers have a very dangerous passing attack, an attack that is producing significantly more yardage than the running game.

On October 10, 2009, the Georgia Bulldogs discovered this fact first hand in a 45-19 Volunteer blowout victory. The Vols passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns against the Georgia pass defense.

Below are two graphs. They take a bit of focus because there are data on both of the Y axis. First the rushing graph.

The first graph shows the Volunteer offensive yardage (orange line) cross-referenced against the opponent's relevant NCAA FBS defensive rank shown by the bars.

Until it was held to just 76 yards rushing against the Alabama run defense, the Volunteer offense averaged a modest 144 yards per game against some pretty average run defenses. Average would be a fair way to describe the Gamecock run defense. (The Gamecock rushing defense is currently ranked 70th nationally.)

The next graph shows the Volunteer passing yardage. The Volunteer offense has thrown the ball well against some highly ranked passing defenses.

The Gamecock pass defense is ranked 3d nationally. Only the Florida (2) pass defense among the past Volunteer opponents is more highly ranked.

It will be interesting to see if the Gamecocks defense can play as well against the pass as did UCLA (ranked 25) and Florida early in the 2009 season. Both of those pass defenses held the Volunteers to only 93 yards. However, nobody has approached any level of defensive containment of the Volunteer passing attack recently. It generated 267 yards per game on average over the last four contests . . . including a 265-yard game against a very stout Alabama Crimson Tide defense.

Technorati Tags: Gamecocks, Volunteers, Rushing, Passing, Yardage, Graphs, Opponent, Ranks

How the World Became a Corporation

2009-10-26T00:01:00.002-04:00

Here is an interesting video by a writer who is looking into the issue of how corporatism in America affects interpersonal human relationships. He suggests the corporate structure undermines incentives for neighborly treatment of others and separates people from the fruits of their labor.

Psalm 73--Walking With God

2009-10-25T00:01:00.012-04:00

Keep a Spiritual Perspective

Our Bridgepointe Bible study group is studying the Psalms this quarter.

This week, we looked at Psalm 73, a poem about a man of God's internal struggle with perceived injustice. The writer, Esaph, was unhappy because God did not make his life easy, and he thought that arrogant, ungodly men had an easier time in life than did God's people.

Esaph didn't say anything to anyone about his feelings. However, Esaph's internal doubts about God's justice, hampered his relationship with God. It corrupted his heart and limited his walk—at least until Esaph discovered the joy of God's presence and gained a new perspective in life.

Esaph lived around 1,000 BC, at the time when King David was the leader of Israel. He was a member of the Levite Tribe.

When David became King, he made changes in Israel's ongoing worship practices. One of those, was installation of certain Levite musicians to tend to temple worship services. Asaph was one of the musicians appointed by King David. 1 Chronicles 6:31; 39.

Esaph is credited as the author of Psalm 73, and also eleven other Psalms (Psalms 74 - 83, and 50).

The beginning of Psalm 73 sites a truth about God. “God is indeed good to Israel, to the pure in heart.” Psalm 73:1. That truth represents the theme of Asaph's poem.

There is a lot of depth to the truth. The Lifeway Lesson Guide states that a pure heart means that a believer's heart is devoted exclusively to God. In the human experience, only God has the power to create a heart of that quality. See Heart of Stone, Heart of Flesh.

What happens when we choose to devote our hearts to God? The Lord stated, “Blessed are the pure in heart, because they will see God.” Matthew 5:8. Thus, Jesus promised that people with pure hearts will see (or experience a relationship with) God.

To achieve the fullness of this most important relationship in a person's life, one must trust the Lord above everything. Nothing in life—neither our family nor ourselves—should have a greater priority than dedication to God. See Luke 14:26. When a man makes God clearly first in his life, then his heart is pure, and then God's presence will be felt.

The story of Psalms 73 is about Esaph's impure heart. It was troubled. He did not fully trust God, because he, as he testified, was envious of the wealth and circumstances of others and he secretly thought God was being unjust.
2 But as for me, my feet almost slipped;
my steps nearly went astray.

3 For I envied the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psalm 73:2-3. Esaph felt jealous because God gave unbelievers perceived easy lives while he, the Levite, struggled. In Esaph's heart, he blamed God for the injustice.
13 Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?

14 For I am afflicted all day long,
and punished every morning.
Psalm 73:13-14. Esaph doubted God's character as a person who is totally just. See Trusting God to Be Just.

Esaph recognized that he was not alone in doubting God's character of perfect justice. His Psalm testifies that many of God's people (past and future) are led astray by similar doubts:
10 Therefore His people turn to them
and drink in their overflowing waters.

11 They say, "How can God know?
Does the Most High know everything?

12 Look at them—the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.
Psalm 73:10-12. Esaph kept his feelings about the perceived injustice bottled up. He began to feel hopelessness.
15 If I had decided to say these things [aloud],
I would have betrayed Your people.

16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless
Psalm 73:15-16.

You get the picture from the first part of Psalm 73 that Esaph, one of David's worship leaders, was living a pretty miserable life. He was trying to be a good a servant of God, but on the inside he was twisted up with anger about what he felt was God's injustice toward him.

Then, attending worship one day, Esaph felt God's presence. The presence of God changed Esaph's perspective about everything. It seemed hopeless, “until I entered God's sanctuary.” Psalm 73:17.

In Psalm 73:26-28, Esaph focused on the blessings that accompany God's presence in one's life. He stated the new perspective about his eternal relationship with God made him a strong witness.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart,
my portion forever.

27 Those far from You will certainly perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.

28 But as for me, God's presence is my good.
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
so I can tell about all You do.
One of the interesting aspects of Psalm 73 is that Esaph re-discovered his relationship with God in the sanctuary.

The Lord stated in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.” Perhaps this is one reason why the Bible teaches that believers should, "not stay[] away from our meetings." Hebrews 10:25. Psalm 73 suggests that even when believers enter the sanctuary with troubled hearts, they can still encounter God's presence. This testifies to the importance of finding a worship home where one can meet with other believers.

In verse 26, Esaph says, "God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever." (Emphasis added).

The reference to "my portion" suggests the Levite portion defined in Deuteronomy. Unlike the other eleven tribes of Israel, the Levites did not receive any land; however, their portion was the Lord.

At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the LORD's covenant, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to bless in His name, as it is today. For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God told him.
Deuteronomy 10:8-9.

Verse 26 thus reflects Esaph's new understanding that the Levite portion on a spiritual level was much greater than the physical land inherited by the other tribes. Believers would do well to discover, like Esaph did, that our portion, i.e, being with the Lord forever, is a great inheritance.

Technorati Tags: psalm, 73, relationship, with, god, worship, priority, pure, in, heart, see, god, lifeway, explore, the, bible, when, i, have, doubs

End the Fed Update--Federal Reserve Accountability Act

2009-10-24T00:01:00.003-04:00

Titans of Wall Street and Federal Reserve Behind New Senate Bill?

Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bob Corker (R-TN) have introduced the Federal Reserve Accountability Act. The new Bill purports to require an audit the Federal Reserve. However, Corker's Bill waters down Representative Ron Paul's (R Tex) simple plan, and an already pending Senate Bill. See Senators craft dumbed-down Federal Reserve audit bill.

In the video below, Ron Paul addresses the new Senate Bill and speculates that the Wall Street power brokers and Federal Reserve are behind the Senators cosponsoring new Bill. He calls them "friends of Wall Street." He says the Senate Bill is an attempt to obstruct. Paul states he will resist the Senate Bill.

The Senate Bill excludes important areas from the Audit and permits the Federal Reserve to continue to operate in secret, particularly in its dealings with foreign central banks and foreign governments. It also permits the Federal Reserve to "white out" names of banks and people with whom it is dealing.

Senate Bill 604 (S 604), a proposed law that tracks Paul's companion Bill in the House (H.R.1207), is cosponsored by 30 Senators including South Carolina Senators Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham.

Representative Paul also addresses South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham's claim Paul is attempting to "hijack" the Republican Party.

Nuclear Power School

2009-10-23T00:01:00.003-04:00

Summary of NAVY NF Schools

Emily intends to get through Navy Boot Camp around the beginning of 2010. She has joined the Navy with the intent of becoming a Nuclear Field (NF) Machinist Mate. Here is a short rundown of the schooling she gets in the first year and a half in the Navy.

When she makes it through Boot Camp, Emily will then be ordered to her A-School. After A-School, she will be assigned to Nuclear Power School. Finally, she will be assigned to the Nuclear Power Training Unit.

This post looks at the three enlisted NF schools on her horizon. I interspersed the school descriptions (which I re-wrote for clarity and brevity) with some unedited testimony from "ex-Navy nuc" who posted about his experience on the Internet.

Machinist Mate Nuclear Field A-School
Charleston, SC
(3 months)

This course provides basic knowledge of technical mathematics and a basic understanding of the theory and operation of a steam power plant. Students learn to operate tools, test equipment, and system components; read blueprints; practice rigging techniques; and perform maintenance procedures such as packing a valve or aligning a pump coupling.

Nuke Power School School
Charleston, SC
6 months

This school teaches sailors about a pressurized-water Naval nuclear power plants. Students will learn such exotic technologies as (1) reactor core nuclear principles, (2) thermodynamics, i.e., heat transfer and fluid systems, (3) plant chemistry, and (4) materials, mechanical and electrical systems, and radiological controls. Cool and weird stuff.

TESTIMONY
Ex-Navy Nuc here.

Reactor Operator, no less.
It's a mentally TOUGH program. Nuc Power School in one of the toughest technical schooling programs in the nation, getting mentioned in the same breath with Cal Tech and MIT (though not QUITE as hard as those two!). If your son [daughter] is serious about it, the program will teach him [her] study habits that [s]he never had before, and will not only fill his [her] head with knowledge that has application over a lifetime, but will teach him [her] things about his [her] own ability to achieve.

The program has a HIGH washout rate, but even washouts tend to excel in other programs, and in life.

Essentially, take a BS degree in nuclear physics, add in secondary majors in Electronics, Electricity, and Hydro-Mechanical systems, strip out all the 'soft' sciences and humanities stuff, and cram it into six months. That's school-phase.
Nuclear Power Training Unit
Ballson Spa, NY or Charleston, SC
6 months

This course amounts to a laboratory where students put to practical use the theoretical knowledge they have gained in the first two schools. Students are assigned duties in simulators. An instructor inputs failures, events, and emergencies that require the students to react under pressure. Naturally, the laboratories teach the sailors oral communications skills.

The Nuclear Power Training Unit teaches sailors unique knowledge of how to safely operate a complex Naval nuclear power plant. They learn about practical dangers of nuclear radiation, and how exposure to radiation hurts human beings and organic matter. NF sailors in training work with NF Officers in training. Everyone learns command and communication skills so when they hit the fleet these NF navy personnel can efficiently operate a nuclear watch team in case of a crisis. Enlisted students have to learn to deal with uptight Officers under the watchful eye of the Chief.

After successful completion of the Power Training Unit, selected MM graduates are given additional training as Engineering Laboratory Technicians or Propulsion Plant Operator Welders. Emily is hoping she is assigned for training as the latter.

TESTIMONY
Ex-Navy Nuc here.

Now take all that theoretical knowledge, and put it to the test in a REAL reactor, under the watchful eyes of instructors. That's Prototype-phase.

Not everyone that can hack the school can hack the prototype. Some people simply cannot convert theory to practice, which is why there are two sections to the schooling. I watched the #2 guy in my class (8501) rock-out (fail) of prototype because he couldn’t absorb the material from the technical manuals, and wound up falsifying his point count to avoid remediation. Bad idea! On the other hand, I watched the class anchor (lowest academic scores in school) do quite handily in prototype - not a genius level performance, but quite creditable.

So - Six months or so of school, six months or so of prototype, and if he makes it, it's off to the fleet, where he'll have to learn a whole new reactor design all over, but he'll have the basic know-how, will have done it once before, and will have both longer, and more help in getting qualified.
TESTIMONY about Nucs in the Fleet
Ex-Navy Nuc here.

Nucs work hard and long - we're the first to arrive before sailing, and the last to leave, after hitting port, but it's a prestigious job, one that gets premium enlistment and reenlistment bonuses, and get specialty pay as well.

Nucs have a very high divorce rate - the job is long ,hard, and stressful, above and beyond most jobs in the Nav. Best advice for any young Nuc is "wait - get married AFTER you make 1st Class." Advancement is fast - Nucs are smart, and kick butt on their tests, and they're technically oriented, so do well elsewhere in their duties, typically getting pretty good Evals.

After the Nav, the mental attitudes and skills I learned have landed me a VERY good job doing something almost completely unrelated to nuclear power. The study skills, troubleshooting skills, and willingness to simple buckle down and get the job done are extremely valuable to my employer, and keep a roof over my family's head quite handily.

I loved every second of the job, even when I was cursing it with a fine rage. I miss it, and would go back in a second, if I weren't old, out of shape, and with a family.

RNC Supports Dierdre Scozzafava

2009-10-22T00:01:00.007-04:00

She is a Bailout Republican in Name Only

The Republican Party has run into a fire storm in New York over its selection of Dierdre K. Scozzafava.

Republicans have tried to tap into the Tea Party movement by sliding into the speaker's list at ralleys. However, the movement is resisting attempts by Republicans to co-opt the freedom movement, particularly when voting records indicate the politician is nothing more than your typical big government Republican.

Knowing the momentum of the movement has inspired huge protests, the Republican leadership including Micahel Steele, still hand-picked Scozzafava. Newt Gingrich endorsed her. The Republican National Committee also confirmed Friday that it was making a six-figure transfer to the National Republican Campaign Committee to help in that race.

Scozzafava supports big government Democrat policies such as massive tax increases and the Democrat-sponsored Union legislation called “card check.” That Card Check proposed law would create legal advantages for organizing workplaces by eliminating secret ballots in union campaigns. She has raised taxes so frequently in the past that even her Democrat opponent is using her history of voting for tax increases against her. She also supported President Obama's Trillion Dollar stimulus//porkulus law enacted earlier this year, and the $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout.

Scozzafava is affiliated with government entangled organizations like ACORN and the SEIU.

She is also pro abortion and refused to respond to questions about whether she might support health care reform that included federal funding for abortion. In a debate, Scozzafava indicated she would favor public funding for abortion. Faced with tough questions about that issue by a Weekly Standard reporter, Scozzafava called the police. She was also a member of the Planned Parenthood Board. Here is a YouTube video of her accepting March 10th, 2008, Margaret Sanger Award.

In response, Republicans have created a split in the party between the liberal RNC candidate, Scozzafava, and a conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman. Tea Party blogs across the nation are linking Doug Hoffman for Congress and Dump Dede to their sites. St. Louis Tea Party.

The RNC has entered a battle with Tea Party freedom fighters. This controversy over a New York's 23d district shows that the RNC leadership continues to be completely out of touch with the freedom movement.

Technorati Tags: tea, party, dierdre, Scozzafava, new, york, 23rd, district, rnc, rino, michael, steel, newt, gingrich

Gamecocks Against Commodores

2009-10-21T00:01:00.006-04:00

Commodore Line Stuffed Gamecocks in 4th Quarter Last Year

Considering a schedule that includes contests against the conferences best rushing defenses, Mississippi State (4th), Ole Miss (8th), LSU (6th) and Georgia (5th), Vanderbilt still has a statistically respectable seventh best rushing offense. It averages 179.57 yards per game on the ground.

The Commodore running game this year has been at times spectacular, and at times less so. Take the spectacular game against Western Carolina when the Commodores amassed 433 yards rushing. That's a huge rushing total against anybody. On the other hand, Mississippi State held Vanderbilt to just 33 rushing yards.

The chart below illustrates the rushing yardage by opponent for the Vanderbilt offense.

After giving up 264 yards rushing against the conferences best running team, Alabama, the Gamecocks have now slipped to 9th in the conference in rushing defense. (See the garnet bars on the chart, which show a bad trend.)

Gamecock fans probably remember the 24-17 loss to Vanderbilt in 2008. The Vanderbilt offense received a punt with 2:34 left in the game, and it ran the clock out by rushing the ball six times for two first downs and 23 yards. They stuffed it down the throat of the Gamecock defense.

After the game, Vanderbilt tailback Jared Hawkins, who rushed for a game-high 84 yards on 17 carries, stated: "We're trying to let people know we're not a blow-off game and we're not a blow-off team. We're going to come out and we're going to hit you in the mouth."

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the Vanderbilt coaches' 2009 game plan. Turn the game over to the big uglies.

Vandy has a big, salty offensive line. Vandy will start four redshirt seniors and a redshirt junior across their line. The line is anchored by a huge right guard, Eric Hensley (6-6 / 322).

Vanderbilt is dealing with injuries on the line this week. Thomas Welch (6-7 / 310), a senior tackle, is reported as questionable with a sprained ankle. If Welch cannot play, the Commodores will play Ryan Seymore (6-5 / 294), a redshirt freshman. The starting tight end, Austin Monahan (6-7 / 255), has been lost for the season.

Bobby Johnson is going to try to pound out rushing yards against a Gamecock defense that has appeared vulnerable to ground attacks. Johnson let everybody know after the 2008 game that he was not terribly impressed by the Gamecock team.

"I was surprised so many people thought it would be real hard for us to beat them," Johnson said. "We beat them last year [2007], and I don't know why everybody thought they got so much better than we were getting."

On Saturday, Johnson turned his criticism against his own offensive line, which allowed the Georgia defense to harry the Vandy quarterback. According to The Tennessean, a Nashville newspaper, the Vanderbilt linemen were none too pleased. "When Vanderbilt returns to the practice field Tuesday in preparation for this week's trip to South Carolina, don't expect the offensive line to be in a pleasant mood."

Hopefully, the Gamecocks defense will stuff the Commodores running game, despite a highly motivated and angry Vandy O-line. The Gamecocks need to give Bobby Johnson, a former Clemson coach, some reason to pay the Gamecocks a bit of respect. After two years of futility against Vanderbilt, it is high time Johnson got his comeuppance from the Gamecocks. More importantly, the Gamecocks really need to sneak out of this dangerous game with their sixth win of the season.

Psalm 56--the Cave of Adullam

2009-10-20T00:01:00.003-04:00

How A Man Can Defeat Fear

David was on the run from the King's men. They were chasing David down to kill him. David went into a cave in Adullam afraid for his future.

When he went into the cave, David's life wasn't worth a plug nickle because King Saul was trying to kill him. David was innocent, but Saul had all the resources of the Kingdom at his disposal, and King Saul didn't give a flip about David's innocence.

David, alone and scared in a cave, made a decision. As unjust and as bad as his circumstance seemed, David would trust God and stop being afraid. He went in scared and alone, but David came out of the cave with no fear. He would trust the Lord to take care of him.

Many people in America are like King David in the cave at Adullam—afraid. They are afraid of what the future will hold.

Psalm 56 is David's testimony about how he defeated fear by deciding to trust in God.

David shows us in Psalm 56 that you can trust the Lord in the face of a hopeless, dire, and unjust situation. This post looks at David's story, and shows us how Psalm 56 is a model for us in similar situations.

David became famous amongst the Hebrew people when he, as a youth, defeated the Philistines champion, Goliath, a nine feet, nine inch giant. Goliath taunted the Hebrew army across the valley, and he taunted their God. David heard the taunts and asked King Saul for permission to meet the challenge and fight Goliath. David knew then that the living God would protect him against Goliath.

After David defeated Goliath, the Hebrew army routed the Philistines and chased them back to their land. The army returned to Jerusalem and the women greeted the returning army with a song:
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his tens of thousands.
1 Samuel 18:7. The song made King Saul jealous of David. Still, David became a Commander for Saul and fought many battles for him against the enemies of Israel.

Over the same period, King Saul chose more and more often not to follow the God's plan. Saul began to do his own thing in battles and in worship. The spirit of the Lord left Saul, and Saul became plagued by evil spirits, evil plans, and unwarranted suspicions.

Saul began to imagine that David, who was working for Saul as a Commander of the Army, was conspiring against him. Psalm 56:5-6 suggest that Saul listened slander about David. Saul became convinced that David was conspiring to take his Kingdom. Therefore, Saul decided to murder David before David could become King. David was forced to flee for his life. 1 Samuel 20.

David fled to Gath, a Philistine city, Goliath's home town. Alone in Gath, some of the Philistine people there identified David and reported his presence to King Achish. David was summoned before the King of Gath. David feigned insanity so that King Achish would not recognize him. 1 Samuel 21:10-14. Achish let David go.

No longer safe as an anonymous refugee in Gath, David fled again. Eventually, David, “took refuge in the cave of Adullam.” 1 Samuel 22:1.

You get a sense that David was desperately afraid when he entered that cave in Adullam. However, God (Jesus ) commands followers not to worry:
Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't He do much more for you—you of little faith? So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:28-34. In the cave, David showed us how to stop worrying. We just need to decide to trust God. In Psalm 56:3-4; 10-11, David wrote:
When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.

In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
----
In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,

In God I trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
If we strengthen our faith by trusting God more, then we can, like David, get rid of our fears. Sometimes our situation can get pretty scary, but I doubt that it often is as dire as David's circumstance. If David could trust in God hiding out in a cave while authorities were hunting him down, maybe we can too. We should follow David's model as an inspiration for our own circumstance.

In Psalm 56:13 David concludes the Psalm (song or prayer):
You delivered me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.
In reading Psalm 56, you get a sense that when David emerged from the cave of Adullam with a peace and confident assurance. He knew God would take care of his future no matter what happened. Psalm 56 shows us how we should pray about our fears when we face adversity.

Technorati Tags: David, Fear, Trust, Jesus, God, Lifeway, Explore, the, Bible, When, You, Are, Afraid

Review of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story

2009-10-19T00:01:00.007-04:00

Moore's Movie Great, But It Misses Target

My sons and I went to an interesting movie last weekend, Capitalism: A Love Story.

The website describes the movie as a story about, “the disasterous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans.” In my opinion, this is definitely a movie worth watching. Here is my review and analysis.

Number one, I want to compliment Michael Moore. He does a superb job of laying out his argument against socialist corporatism. Oops, that isn't his title is it? Moore calls the bogey man, “capitalism.” However, what he is really attacking is more accurately described as socialist corporatism or crony capitalism. More on that issue later.

Moore's movie starts with a definition of capitalism. “A system of giving and taking . . . mostly taking.” The actual definition of capitalism incorporates the idea of a "free market." The free market environment is lacking in America so we do not have true capitalism here. Truly, we have a system of socialist corporatism, and that is a corrupt system worthy of Moore's critical movie.

Moore starts off the movie by advocating on behalf of unions. He sites Congressional testimony by Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, the hero pilot who saved lives by landing a disabled aircraft in the Hudson River. Sully stated that cost cutting in the U.S. airline industry may jeopardize passenger safety and the quality of aviators that carriers hire. Moore then shows how the salaries for some pilots flying some non-unionized commuter airlines are so low that the pilots must find second jobs or apply for food stamps to make ends meet.

Moore then turns his attention to a despicable practice (by a long list of giant American corporations) of buying life insurance policies on the lives of employees. Moore sites several specific examples and reveals that the industry calls the life insurance policies, “dead peasant insurance." Moore shows us several internal corporate documents in which bean counters lament the low mortality rates among their employees.

Moore next interviews several Catholic priests and bishops who state that capitalism is a sin. The priests state that capitalism is unjust and evil.

Next Moore describes how deregulation of the banking industry created an “insane casino” called the derivatives market. Moore interviews finanicial experts who stumble with trying to describe how derivatives work, and who boast that they are too complicated for government regulators to understand. Moore shows how deregulation and derivatives are destructive practices that permitted bankers to “bet on our homes.” He shows how prominent Senators, including Democrat Chris Dodd, received sweetheart deals from Countrywide as “friends of Angelo” to overlook the dangers to America. Moore asserts that the economy collapsed due to the insane casino, causing massive unemployment amongst the peasants.

Finally, Moore deals with the $700 Billion bailout of Wall Street (triggered by the economic collapse). Moore played clips of “Chicken Little himself” (i.e., George Bush). The movie showed how the main stream media drank the alleged economic collapse koolaid.

Moore interviewed two politicians, Marcy Kaptur (D. OH) and Elijah E. Cummings (D. MD). They suggested that the timing of an alleged banking emergency linked to a $700 Billion bailout just before an election was orchestrated and planned by Wall Street capitalists. Moore said he would call what happened in September 2008 a "financial coup d'etat." Representative Kaptur (D OH) says, “I agree.”

Moore concludes his movie by suggesting that the greatest fear of major corporations is that the peasants may exercise their democratic voting rights and end the corrupt capitalistic system. Moore offers hope that the election of President Barack Obama indicates the people are finally rising up against capitalism (corporatism).

Ominously, Moore points out that the jury is still out on Obama as a leader. Moore shows that these same corporations have paid millions to the Obama's campaign. He hints that President Obama could fail to act as the leader the people need. Moore's notes that Obama appointed Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary. The movie describes Geithner as a person, "who has pretty much been a failure in everything he has ever done." It describes Geithner as a puppet of the Wall Street capitalists.

Moore's movie is great except for one glaring problem. He does not attack the true problem in America which is socialistic corporatism. Libertarians and socialists and all of the American people (except our politicians) should agree that corporatism is a deadly problem in America.
The big corporations hire lobbyists to protect their own interests in their respective industries. The lobbyists go to Washington, D.C. and influence lawmakers to pass laws that give special advantage to the corporations. So, in essence what we have is corporations cozy in bed with the government while Joe Citizen sleeps naked on the floor.
Marc Gallagher, Michael Moore: It’s not Capitalism, silly man; It’s Corporatism, Liberty Maven (Sep. 25, 2009).

Interested in the problem of corporatism? A piece by Anthony Gregory, Corporatism and Socialism in America, Freedom Daily (Nov. 2004), nicely summarizes the historical disintegration of the American free market into socialist corporatism.

Moore's movie advocates for a grass roots uprising by the people. In my opinion, that uprising phenomenon is best represented by the Tea Party movement. Moore's movie about exposing corporatism and crony capitalism should be watched by all freedom loving Tea Party folks. His ideas about corporatism could harnessed to a proper definition of the true problem in America, crony capitalism. Moore's criticisms of corporatism could be linked to the real American cause célèbre—greater liberty and freedom in America.

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