Category Archives: Society

TSA, not here to protect you

Posted on by

I have illustrated the lapses in the so called increased security at airports lately.  But in case you have been living under a rock or actually think being strip searched, fondled, and irradiated are good for you and mean that the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is there to keep you safe and ensure that the bad guys are not going to blow up or hijack your aircraft should think again.

This morning, this article was in our local news.  Drinks Bought Inside Airports Tested (WTOP).  Lest you think that is a typo and should read Drinks Brought Into Airports Tested, no, it is not.  The TSA is testing drinks, purchased inside the secure area for explosives because:

Vendors and employees at airports are not screened every day

As George Carlin would say: "Let me say that again, because it sounds, vaguely important." Vendors and employees at airports are not screened every day. I can understand that there is a certain level of expectation of, oh, call it goodness in those that run the airport.  FAA air traffic controllers, airport management, and life safety officials (police, fire, rescue) are all subjected to numerous, one would hope, rigorous background checks.  They have access to areas of the airport that the average person would never get to go (like the runways for example).  But to extend this assumption to the vendors, many of whom are not US citizens - at least here in DC, and I am sure in other places - is ludicrous.  Worse, to think that they are more trustworthy than the traveling public, which includes numerous people with higher clearances, and more intense background checks than those who are working at the airport is just absurd.

The TSA's job is to protect the traveling public.  Their focus, since their creation, has been on improving the perceived weaknesses in air safety. They have failed.  Utterly.  This is only the latest example of their short comings.  How many more are we, their paymasters, going to allow?

Fiddling while Rome burns

Posted on by

The classic image of the Emperor Nero playing the fiddle while around him Rome burns has been used in everything from Bugs Bunny cartoons to various political campaigns.  But on the heels of lack luster economic reports indicating that retail sales are slumping as we go into back-to-school season, it would take only the most blind of individuals to wonder if Congress is the organization doing the fiddling.

As we roll into full on election season, it is easy to target the Office of the President as responsible for the poor economy.  After all, the Representatives are the ones bringing home the bacon, in theory, to their districts, while the President sits in Washington, fiddling with the economy.  Of course, anyone with a modicum of economic theory knows that this is absolutely not the case.

Gasoline prices are up.  That is normal during the summer driving season, but also because of additional sabre rattling in the Middle East, mainly in Iran, with additional pressures from speculators hoping to make a quick buck and processors who have sliced production capabilities.  All of this is not the fault of a single individual, but is the result of a complex market.  But it is something that Congress has a bit of control over.  Least of which is the massive incentives that the oil companies have been given for everything from tax credits for pretending to search for alternative energy solutions to tax credits for cleaning up their own messes.

Congress has been dragging their feet over several other issues this summer.  The biggest two are the extension of the Bush era tax cuts, and extending the Federal Highway funding.  The latter was passed at the last minute, but the uncertainty that it would be passed put a significant number of workers, and companies on edge.  Would you go out on a limb and hire someone if you were unsure the money you had been counting on was not approved?  The same is true with the tax cuts.  Congress is generating enough uncertainty over extending these cuts, that the average consumer is bogarting their limited funds.

Finally, a report out this morning should come as a cold splash of water in the face of even the most head-in-the-sand Representative.  The  Aerospace Industries Association has concluded a study that indicates, unless Congress gets off its collective ass, upwards of two million government contractors will be out of work if the cuts implemented as part of the debt ceiling debacle late last year and the failure of the Super Committee to come up with a realistic workaround.  This is an additional million over reports out of Lockheed Martin earlier this year.  And these are only the jobs lost at the primary level and does not include jobs lost as a result of the primary level not spending money.  If retail sales are down now, can you imagine how back Christmas will be if Congress does not act?

When you go to the polls in November, and cast your vote for President and Congressional representative, think hard about the damage that Congress has been doing to the economy over the last four years.  From the failure to reach a consensus on cuts needed to avoid the loss of jobs, to the give aways to companies that are securing record profits, these are issues that only the Congress can deal with.  The President is little more than a figurehead in all of this.

On Insanity

Posted on by

Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted for the 33 time to repeal the Affordable Care Act.  (If the Republicans call the ACA Obamacare, do they call the Massachusetts law it was based on Mittmanagement?  Nah...it was outsourced...).  There is an old saw that says the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.  Well, no one ever said our representatives were sane...

I can understand why the Party of No wants to repeal the law. They feel that health care is a privilege, not a right, and therefore it should only be available to those that can afford the privilege and as for the rest, it is natural selection...er...the creator's choice.  Fair enough, but how do you feel about fraud, waste, and abuse?

Have I got your attention yet?  I am serious.  If the vote to repeal the ACA only took 10 minutes, from introduction to total count of votes, that means Congress has wasted 330 minutes of time.  That translates to five and a half hours of Congressional time, essentially one complete day.  And they do not work that many days to begin with.  But let me put it in more economic terms.  Each member of Congress, House and Senate, earns a minimum of $174,000 year.  That is $83 an hour, based on a normal work year of 2080 hours (and we all know Congress does not work normal hours.  Feel free to argue the number to yourselves).  At $83/hr, that is $456.50 per member of the House.  There are currently 435 voting members of the House, which means these symbolic votes have cost the American tax payer $198, 577.50.  Or a little more than the annual salary of one member of Congress, and certainly more than the annual salary of many Americans...in fact, it is a little more than 4 years of salary based on the median household income statistics from 2011.  Let me say that again.  The symbolic vote cost the American Tax payer 4 years of their salary.

Now, that is the conservative estimate.  We all know there was debate, and discussion.  There were photocopies and staff time.  The number does not begin to consider tertiary costs either.  For example the cost of running the Capitol - heat, light, air conditioning, etc.  If we bump the time to 30 minutes, which is reasonable for introduction, discussion and vote, we are talking about a little more than 16 total hours and a cost just under a half a million dollars.  To attempt to repeal a law that has no chance of currently being repealed.  If that is not insanity, then it is certainly fraud, waste, and abuse of the American Tax Payer.

But more to the point, what else could the Congress be doing?  Well, if you have been paying attention, quite a bit.  Yet they seem to have decided not to.  For example, the Congress waited until the 11th hour to renew a jobs bill that funded infrastructure.  If they had not been busy wasting time trying to repeal a law that had no chance of being repealed, they could have passed the reauthorization and keep people from worrying whether they would have a job the following morning.  Or, how about the upcoming Sequestration?  Conservative estimates indicate that as of Fiscal Year 2013, which begins October 1, 2012, a month before the election, more than one million defense jobs could be lost if Congress does not step in and do something.  Let me stress these million jobs are at the primary level.  It does not count the supply chains, or tertiary jobs losses.  The loss of a million jobs will be more than have been lost since the financial melt down in 2007 and could rival the Great Depression if it comes to pass.  But Congress was too busy to worry about that.  Sure they jobbed out a letter to a few defense contractors, but they were more concerned about repealing ACA.  After all, that is what was important.

When the candidates come knocking for reelection this year, ask them what they did during their time in Washington.  And if they said, I voted to repeal Obamacare, ask them why?  And then ask them, why they were not doing more for their constituency.  Failing that, perhaps suggest a good therapist.  Because clearly this form of insanity is contagious and needs to be curtailed.

Conservatives threaten to move to Canada following the SCOTUS Upholding the US Health Care Law

Posted on by

I am Canadian.  I am not going to discuss the merits of the United States Health Care law.  There are enough people talking about it.  But I am going to bring up one interesting point that I found in an article on yahoo.

An alarming number of Twitter users, Buzzfeed noted, declared their intent to move to Canada

It should be noted, in the context of the article, that this group of individuals threatening to invade Canada are those who were opposed to the health care law.  As George Carlin might say, these people seem to be of a group that left their brains at home, or did not have a lot to work with to begin with.  Canada has, at the provincial level, mandated health care.  Each province handles it differently.  In Ontario, where I grew up, it is a payroll tax that covers the payments for medical needs.

Fortunately, most of these conservatives will find that living in Canada is much harsher than the cushy life they are enjoying in the United States.  For example, there is a lovely tax, called the Harmonized GST.  That is a combined provincial and federal tax on good.  And it is very inexpensive. Only 14%, down from I believe 16% before it was harmonized and the carbon tax removed.  If they move to Toronto, they will have to sort their garbage, carry their own bags (Toronto has enacted legislation to ban single use bags, like the ones you get in grocery stores) and pay restaurant tax, provincial income tax, federal income tax and if I read the story right, TTC tax (a percentage of the residential tax in Toronto goes to funding the Toronto Transit Commission.  That amount went up, and thus, property taxes are going up).

So be my guest.  Welcome to Canada.  Please leave a credit card on file with Revenue Canada so we can more easily collect what you owe.

Field Day 2012

Posted on by

Field Day 2012Every year, Amateur Radio operators (also know as hams - a term, personally, that I despise), take to the field

To work as many stations as possible on any and all amateur bands (excluding the 60, 30, 17, and 12-meter bands) and to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. Field Day is open to all amateurs in the areas covered by the ARRL/RAC Field Organizations and countries within IARU Region 2. DX stations residing in other regions may be contacted for credit, but are not eligible to submit entries. (ARRL)

Field Day 2012 is Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24 and plans are well underway.  Clubs and individuals alike are busy pouring over the rules, trying to determine how many stations they can put on the air, how they will power them, how close they can put their antennas without causing interference and how they will dragoon, cajole and otherwise convince friends, family, and elected officials to visit, operate, and participate.

I have not participated in Field Day since 2008 for a number of reasons, least of which is lack of time.  Field Day takes a lot of energy out of those that participate, even more out of those that organize, and organizing Field Day, if you do it as a show piece, takes a great deal of energy over and above the energy needed to operate.  But I would encourage you to find your local club and check out the goings on.  You will find a number of interesting technologies and techniques that you probably do not associate with Amateur Radio.  In fact, I would suspect you will be amazed by what these hobbyists can do.  And Amateur Radio operators are purely hobbyists - we receive no money for our public support activities, and we generally own all of the gear that we use.  At any Field Day site, you will encounter hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in gear, antennas, and parts, whether commercial off the shelf or lovingly handmade.  Each one treated with respect and care.  And each operator willing to talk to you about what they are doing, and why they love the experience.

Amateur Radio is not, despite several lists to the contrary, an obsolete technology.  In fact, Amateur Radio, and her experimenters are on the cutting edge of communications technology, responsible for wireless communications, satellites, and other forms of telecommunication that are the backbone of today's interconnected world.  And without any form of government funding, Amateurs have come to the aid of their communities in the event of disaster, and lent their support, providing a life line out from the disaster sites until regular communications can be restored.

So while you are out and about over the weekend of the 23rd and you see antenna towers on an empty field, take a moment and drop in.  You will be amazed what you will learn.

Because

...when all else fails...

Tennessee Law Makes Me Question Their End Goals

Posted on by

I was sent an article about a new Tennessee law.  At first I thought it was a joke.  Something left over from April Fools Day, poking fun at the sometimes backward thinking of Appalachia.  They could not possibly be serious.  But it would seem that this is not a joke, despite the new material the State has just given the late night talk shows.

The law:

Under the law, Tennessee teachers could be disciplined and speakers from outside groups like Planned Parenthood could face fines of up to $500 for promoting or condoning "gateway sexual activities." (MSNBC)

Gateway sexual activities? "Kissing and hugging are the last stop before reaching Groin Central Station, so it's important to ban all the things that lead to the things that lead to sex,"says Gov. Bill Haslam.  Clearly Gov. Haslam has forgotten what it was like to be a teenager.  And clearly he cannot read, because any governor putting forward and abstinence only program of sex education should at least have paid a bit of attention to the numerous studies about the failures of abstinence only programs.  A quick search of the Internet will show that these programs do not lead to a reduction of teenage pregnancies or reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.  And as the article points out, Tennessee  has the seventh-highest teen birth rate in the nation and the 11th-highest HIV infection rate in the nation.  By ignoring this fact alone, the government of the state is doing its citizens a disservice.

Said State Rep. Jon Lundberg:

The shift is that the main core needs to be an abstinence-based approach. Not, 'hey, I know everybody's having sex, so when you have sex do this, do this, [and] do this.’ That's not it

What Mr. Lundberg fails to take into account is that the kids already have sex on their minds.  It is biological, fueled some say by media (something that I do not fully support) and it is unavoidable.  Rather than putting your head in the sand, you should be teaching the kids exactly what to do, how to do it correctly and how to prevent bad things from happening.

Because simply telling them they cannot, is not a workable solution. It never has been and it never will be.

What “holiday” weekend?

Posted on by

On my way to work this morning, I heard a very odd statement from the weather guy. He said, ...and for this holiday weekend... which made me look at the radio and ask "What?"  What holiday weekend.

For those who actually live in a country that officially recognizes Easter, Friday is, of course, Good Friday and Sunday is Easter Sunday, but this is the United States and I am pretty sure even the Federal Government does not get this Friday off, so there is no holiday.  And if you live here, you know that there is indeed a double standard.  It is the only official unofficial holiday, and in fact Sunday will see a number of places that are open, closed.  Now over the years I have ranted about this double standard, and either because of consumer demand or some other, unmeasurable value, stores that used to be closed up tighter than a drum on Easter Sunday are now recognizing that they need to be open because people expect them to be.  This has nothing to do with religion (well, actually it does, and I am sure some non-Catholic could make a good arguement that this sort of thing is a bit of an insult), but let us face facts.  Sunday is only one of two days that most people have free to do their shopping, whether for neccessary items, like food, or recreational items, like clothes and to be closed, especially with such a spotty observation of the day, is not beneficial to either the customer or the company.

The Easter weekend is a religious observation.  Nothing more.  It is not a reconginzed holiday any more than Yom Kippur or Ramadan is.  So to call it such, is offensive.  To imply that anyone gets the day(s) off, is a joke.

You’ve heard of the Constitution right?

Posted on by

Occasionally I am completely baffled by those who call themselves conservative here in the Excited States of America.  I am generally baffled by those that yell, at the top of their lungs one thing, usually completely in contradiction to what is the law of the land, or already a granted right.

For example, those that feel that abortion is wrong yet support the Second Amendment to the extent of prying their guns from their cold dead hands.  How can you be opposed to one and in favour of the other when the end result is potentially the same (and here's a hint, I am not talking about security).  Or better, complain that security needs to be tighter, as long as it does not impact their ability to move or do the things they are used to doing.

But lately, it is the radical religious conservatives that have me really scratching my head.  Today, I read this:

Greenwell Springs Baptist Church pastor Dennis Terry introduces Rick Santorum: “I don’t care what the liberals say, I don’t care what the naysayers say, this nation was founded as a Christian nation…There is only one God and his name is Jesus. I’m tired of people telling me that I can’t say those words.. Listen to me, If you don’t love America, If you don’t like the way we do things I have one thing to say – GET OUT. We don’t worship Buddha, we don’t worship Mohammad, we don’t worship Allah, we worship God, we worship God’s son Jesus Christ.”

I point you to the Constitution of the United States, Amendment 1, The Bill of Rights:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

If the Founding Fathers really believed that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, then why did they explicitly ensure that there would be no restriction on the exercising of religion, any religion, practised by the people of the United States, citizen or otherwise (yes, the Constitution applies to all persons, citizen or not, residing, or visiting the United States.  If you do not believe me, feel free to look it up).  Christians in the United States are allowed to feel that this country was founded as a Christian nation, but, despite the history, or maybe because of it, the Founding Fathers took a stand, and opened their arms to all nations, religions and races.

So, as a right granted to you by the Constitution, feel free to worship Allah, or God, or your shiny toaster if you want.  That is your right, and as hard and as often as the conservative base of the Republican party want to, or try to, that is not something they can take away from you.  Annoy a Republican, tell them you have read the Constitution but question if they have.

The real Republican base?

Posted on by

In the movie Goldeneye, M (a woman) refers to James Bond as a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War...  If that is what a woman thinks of Bond, what do women really think of the Republican party?  Based on the current voting, I have to wonder what happened to women's liberation?

With the current trend towards Santorum, especially in the South, a man who makes Bond look hip, modern and connected to his feminine side is saying that he will be the Republican nominee come November in the race for the White House.

So could someone tell me what it is about the major religions on this planet that seem to feel all women should be covered from head to toe, and kept out of sight?  If you think I am only referring to Islam, guess again.  In this case I am specifically targeting the words Mr. Santorum has written in his own book.  I would hope that this is not the general thinking of the average Republican.  But over the course of the last few months, I have begun to wonder.  What is the thinking of the Republican base.  The real Republican base.  Because if it mirrors that of those who claim to represent the party, women in the United States are in for a serious awakening.  And they will not like what they are about to discover.

When was the last time you wrote something?

Posted on by

The question is not rhetorical.  When was the last time you actually sat down to write something.  On paper, with a pen?  Sure, in this hustle and bustle most of us live in, we all spend our days "writing," but that writing is almost always with a keyboard and the ink is electrons on a screen that are as tenuous as the power needed to make them appear.  But when did you write something?  Do you even remember how to write?  Not just fill in a form for a new job or for tax reporting, but a letter, written longhand.

Back in January, unknown to most, was National Handwriting Day was celebrated by Fahrney's Pens here in Washington, DC with a little contest.  Write, longhand, on paper, a letter about one of three topics.  The winner would get a new Parker pen.  Well, I did not win, but I did enter and was a runner up on the topic of Cursive Handwriting Being Eliminated from Public Schools.

So, here is the essay I wrote, and Fahrney’s Entry is the actual submission:

Your opinion on cursive handwriting being eliminated from public schools curricula throughout the country

A report I read, not so very long ago, indicated that in the very near future, the average American would not be able to fill in a simple government form. And it was not that they could not understand the language of the form, but that their handwriting would be so bad, that even if they could fill it in, it would not be legible. And that is only the tip of a very large iceberg. For generations, people have made fun of the medical community for their handwriting, or rather their bad handwriting. And there have been as many studies done indicating that it was this poor writing that has lead to numerous medical errors.

But this is 2011 people will argue and with computer technology all around us, who needs to be able to write? I find this argument to be, well, short sighted. For example, if you have ever travelled by air to another country, you will discover that you need to fill in a form in order to enter that country, or return to the United States. And those forms are not electronic, they are paper, and you need to use ink to fill them in and they need to be legible. Many a delay is caused because the agent at the counter cannot read the document. Similarly, when applying for a job, or completing initial paperwork, most of those forms are still hard copy, requiring you to fill them out and sign them on the spot. Sloppy handwriting will only delay the implementation of your benefits

But is that enough justification to spend valuable class time learning how to properly form our letters? Education experts argue that it is not. These are the same experts that argue that recess is not required and more time needs to be spent on the basics. And I would agree, time needs to be spent on the basics, and handwriting is one of the basics. The experts focus on the formation of letters, but handwriting is so much more than just the letter. It is the flow, from letter, to word, to thought, to completed sentence. The experts do not argue, for example, that we no longer teach children how to add, or their times tables. After all there is no reason they cannot use a calculator for this simple arithmetic. But it is more than learning the number, just as writing is more than just learning the letters. Handwriting is the basis for good and proper word usage. It forces you to pay attention to what you are doing, and ensures that your thoughts are focused on the task at hand. It is much harder to be interrupted by the trivial when you are concentrating on your writing. And, at the end of the day, when it comes to communicating with our fellow human, there is nothing more powerful than the written word.