Veterans Day 2013
"President Obama said in his Veterans Day proclamation that the country's obligations to those who have served "endure long after the battle ends." He said their courage, self-sacrifice and devotion represent the American character at its best and he encouraged everyone to honor every service member who has ever worn the country's uniforms."
Howard! Gadzooks!
ReplyDeleteNoam Scheiber in The New Republic on Elizabeth Warren in 2016 [Click]
Senator Warren sounds very good on domestic issues, but aside from parroting a bit of the standard pro-Likud stuff she was handed during the previous national campaign, I find no clues to her positions on (or knowledge of) foreign affairs. Any observations from Massachusetts?
--Alan
Here's some good info for you, Alan:
Deletehttp://my.firedoglake.com/wigwam/2012/03/19/elizabeth-warrens-stance-on-foreign-policy/
It sounds like this article was written during her Senate campaign. If we're seriously thinking of her as a possible Presidential candidate in 2016, we'd want more up-to-date info.
DeleteBut Blumenthal is quite right about listening to what she is actually saying. I have been quite disturbed by the people who got all hot and bothered that Obama did what he said he was going to do rather than following the values they had projected onto him.
Thanks, listener; that's the best I could find, too. About the best face I can put on it is that she was being obedient to the Obama administration and campaign apparatus. More realistically, she appears to be seriously uninformed, disingenuous, or both. I swear that recent US "diplomacy" is making me a bit nostalgic for Henry Kissinger.
Delete--Alan
I still think that Richard Nixon was a very intelligent man, and that he did far more good than many people give him credit for. But he certainly did have a serious nasty streak in him.
Delete--Alan
Sorry for the cut-and-paste entry, but here is some further musing on picking presidential candidates three years before an election:
Deletehttp://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/7-ways-clinton-and-christie-could-bungle-2016-20131106
And now to do some pruning. (Mostly roses, I think.)
--Alan
I was especially struck by the final two paragraph of that article: "Remember 2005. The election is three years away. It might as well be three decades away given the speed of modern culture. In 2005, three years before the Obama-McCain general election, USA Today published the result of a poll showing New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as the front-runner for the 2008 GOP nomination.
Delete"Among Democrats, Clinton lapped the pack with 40 percent support. She led both Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards, the 2004 ticket. Obama was not even mentioned. That raises the question: Who is the 2016 dark horse?"
Here, of course, the question would have been, "Who in 2001 would have mentioned that obscure governor of the tiny state of Vermont?"
I agree that Nixon was a very smart man who did a lot of good. His problem was that he learned at a relatively early age that politics and moral scruples don't mix. *Everybody* cheats, so he had to as well. (Not that I believe that. But he sincerely did.)
DeleteNixon was intelligent and serious. Without his solid anti-Communist credentials he could not have opened China or brought about detente with the U.S.S.R. It is often forgotten that he established the EPA with the Clean Water Act. He was no romantic nor activated by altruism; recall that the methadone treatment system, which worked, was discontinued after the election, having apparently been nothing more than crass electioneering. But I've always thought that if Watergate hadn't happened, or if it had been more adroitly handled and not discovered, he would be considered one of our best presidents. And I agree, whatever Kissenger's failings, he did a lot of good in the Middle East.
DeleteSpeaking of the Middle East, did you all see on the news recently, they think Arefat(sp?) was poisoned after all. Not that I ever had much doubt on that score.
Yes, I heard about the evidence Arafat was poisoned. First time I remember hearing that there was any question about his death.
DeleteNixon also made adjustments to several Great Society programs that made them work better.
Delete--Alan
Oh, and another thing...I have no way of knowing, but I consider it plausible that Nixon ended the draft with the intention of making it impossible for the US to ever again get involved in anything like the Vietnam War. I have always considered it a poisoned apple for the republic, since it was likely to (and indeed did) bring about a socially and politically distinct military caste. When so many young men were pressed into service, there were greater similarities between military and civilian populations, IMO.
Guilt Free Chocolate Mousse
ReplyDelete* ripe banana
* 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder * * (raw cacao is much more of a superfood)
* A tiny splash of liquid (almond milk, coconut milk, water)
* A splash of real vanilla (generous if you like vanilla taste)
* A generous sprinkling of cinnamon
Put all of the ingredients into a blender. Keep the liquid to a minimum so it won’t be too runny. Blend until smooth (or if you’re adding walnuts, you can keep them as chunky as you like). Serve in a parfait cup to complete the dessert experience. Delight in the simplicity and deliciousness of this treat.
If you want more of an ice-cream temperature and consistency, put it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so.
Though (perhaps because of my Celtic heritage) I tend to feel guilty about a lot of things, chocolate mousse has never been one of them. *grin*
DeleteLOL!
DeleteA banana is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR A MOOSE!
Delete[He ducks...or rather he dodges...no, that's not right either...]
--Alan
Listen! Beowulf opening line misinterpreted for 200 years
ReplyDeleteInteresting, and it does seem eminently sensible.
Delete--Alan
I have seventeen quizzes online, with Number Eighteen under submission and more nearing completion. Need to concentrate on the one for my current stage in Adventures in Authoring. The stage requires the creation of a quiz with "wrong" or "left" in the title. Mine is "My Baby Left Me: Jazz Edition." Already started the Country and Rock editions, though they are going rather slowly. The Jazz/Pop one has all the questions finished; now I just have to finish all the research for the Interesting Info sections. I enjoy that part, but sometimes it's a little tiring. I want to be able to submit this one as soon after "All Eyes on Engelbert" goes up as possible so as to move on in the adventure quest game. I also have follow-ups planned for the quiz that went up yesterday. It's a pity I don't get paid for this, because I really enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteWeird phone call a little while ago. Guy who claimed to be a Microsoft certified technician said that "we" had received a signal that my computer had a virus and offered to guide me through how to fix it. Now why didn't I believe him?
ReplyDeleteGood move, Bill.
DeleteSad how many people are taken in.
Well spotted, Bill. I agree with listener's observation. An awful lot of people are gullible and thus vulnerable.
DeleteDentist appointment this afternoon. Piece of cake! Didn't even need anesthetic and was out of the chair in less than an hour. She replaced one small filling in a front tooth, rebounded another, and ground down the sharp point where a tiny corner of the tooth had chipped off. Done!
ReplyDeleteSounds good.
ReplyDeleteVerily!
Delete--Alan
Miscellaneous notes...
ReplyDeleteNSA revelations unleash flood of new customers for privacy products [Click]
Didn't get as much done today as I had hoped, but got a fair amount done. I gave up for now on unclogging an arguably superfluous section of drain pipe around one corner of the house, but I cleaned out another that was more important. Some pool cleaning, some rose pruning. (In this climate the roses never go completely dormant, so it is necessary to remove a lot of leaves before and during pruning to see where to prune.)
For you Mac users out there: I downloaded and installed (on my laptop) the new version of Mac OS X about a week or ten days ago; it arrived over the Internet, as is usually the case, in the form of a disc image [kind of like a zipped file in MS] and seemed to install and work just fine. After about a week it started getting kind of wonky--I could only boot in safe mode, not regular mode. I tinkered with it as time permitted, then today called up Apple Support and we tried a few more things. The support fellow said it sounded like I needed to reinstall. Reinstallation, in the event, proved to be from a virtual drive "in the cloud" with no compression. It looks like it's going to take about twelve hours...currently ten and counting.
--Alan