Letter to the editor of the week

In response to last week's lead story in The Economist, a letter to the editor that says what many men may feel:

In defence of men

Many years ago when we noticed that women were not doing well in school or work we did not tell them to face up to reality and adjust (“Men adrift”, May 30th). We changed reality to accommodate them. The changes, as might have been predicted, are now showing up in schools and work as ever more men fail to achieve the success they did in the past. Your solution, to persuade young men that nursing, teaching and hairdressing are things they should aspire to, inspired me to absolute despair. Frankly, I’d sooner lie on a couch, drinking beer and watching television—and I hate couches, beer and TV.

The qualities men bring to the mix are what transformed the Western world from a backwater in the 1600s to where we are today. The countries that have harnessed those male qualities of enterprise, discipline, energy, focus and a fierce desire to win have powered themselves to success.

We too could return to success by allowing men the space to do what they do best without being constrained to level the playing field. Perhaps we could create Special Enterprise Zones where males go to school and start businesses following male cultural norms. Think Silicon Valley before society noticed it was not inclusive enough.

PAUL JAMES

Whitby, Canada

Except for the part about hating beer, of course.

Release the hounds.

Norway Day 3: Resistance, Whales, and Reindeer

On Facebook this morning, I got into a back and forth with someone who read yesterdays report and commented "Who goes to Norway for steak?" after I had indicated I was headed to dinner at the Big Horn Steakhouse.  His point of course, that Norway is famous for seafood.  My point back was that I didn't come here for steak, I came here for work.  But that I liked steak.  That said, if the taste of the ribeye I had last night at one of the better places in Bergen is a sign of Norwegian talent for the art, then perhaps I should avoid it.

Big Horn--Nice decor, steak needs help

Bergen, 2230 hrs

After dinner, I spent the evening screwing around online and watching movies--to include Kingsman  (pretty good, very bloody) and "I Am Legend" (also pretty good).  Making my evening even more fun was the very straightforward geographically, but still cool to experience personally, long evening in of daylight.  It simply was harder to get tired while it was still light out.  Every so often, I'd run downstairs and pop out of the hotel to take a picture and to feel what a city alive and lit by sunlight at 2230 hrs actually felt like.

At midnight, I closed the room darkening shades, put my mask on, and put my earplugs in, thinking I'd wake by nine, have a few coffees in the room, hit the gym and then get to the (free) breakfast served here by 1000.  And then I woke up at 1030.  Ordinarily not a bad thing, but I felt like I was behind, and I would now have to pay (more) for both of my meals today, whereas under the old plan, one of them (breakfast) would be free.  So after a few slugs of coffee and a quick expenditure of 350 calories, I headed down the street to what had been recommended to me last night as an authentic Norwegian Restaurant.  I would not suffer the indignity of a second day of gustatory criticism.

Lunch Restaurant

Lunch Restaurant

The restaurant was great--really attractive on the inside, and chock full of great things on the menu.  I determined that everything I ate this day would be Norwegian, and I took this self-mandate seriously, starting with the most interesting thing on the starter menu, "Whale Carpaccio".  It was delicious, but it made me feel a bit like the Marlon Brando character in the movie "The Freshman", who holds dinners in which his guests dine solely on fare consisting of endangered species.  After this delight, I had a heaping cup of an authentic Norwegian Fish Soup--and it was extraordinary. So far so good on Norwegian food.  On my way out, I made a dinner reservation for myself.

Whale Carpaccio

Fish  Soup

For today's cultural moment, I ambled up the wharf to the ancient fortress that guards this quiet harbor.  I did touristy things, I walked and took photos, I read placards.  But my real quest was to get to the Museum of the Resistance, a place noting the exploits of the Norwegian resistance against the Nazis in WWII.  There were some really brave people here, a land that the Nazis did a number on--though not on the scale of Russia, or Poland.  Lots of great memorabilia (radios, sabotage equipment) and informative exhibits.

Smoked Salmon

I returned to my room at about 1500, where I dove into work for a few hours, before breaking off at 1915 to....eat again.  Having had time at lunch to peruse the menu, I knew exactly what I would have.  Wanting to indulge my red meat
cravings, I had already settled on reindeer for my main course, with a starter of smoked salmon.  Again, all of it was sublime--but especially the reindeer.  Oh my.  This was some really good meat--and it had a sauce with it that was to die for.  I am very pleased with finding this restaurant, and will return.

Rudolph...Delicious

Rosenkrantz Tower

Got to get up early in the morning, exercise, pack, check out, and head across the harbor to where I'll stay for the next three nights.  They'll probably not check me in that early, so I'll leave my bags behind and take off on a day-long train/boat tour of Western Norway.  The weather appears to want to cooperate, so I got that going for me.

HackGate: Questions for your consideration

Lost in such important controversies as white-to-black passing and the comparative awesomeness or tedium of Hillary's re-launched campaign for president, the media has largely moved past what may be the most catastrophic national security failure since 9/11, the massive hack of the federal government's employee database. "May be"? Well, nobody has died yet, but that does not mean that the enemy who stole this information -- probably the People's Republic of China, and, yes, we are nuts not to regard this as the act of an enemy -- will not turn it to some horrible advantage. Leverage matters, and the power of that leverage is far greater because we now know that the enemy compromised the database used to store information supporting national security clearances.

This raises a few questions, to wit:

Does the enemy now have secret information about Barack Obama that might be released if he were to retaliate? His Columbia transcript, maybe, or the roster of the Choom Gang?

Seriously now, the White House needs to explain why the enemy is not in a position to blackmail countless thousands of federal employees.

One remedy would be simply to fire all federal employees in positions of influence who might be subject to blackmail so they cannot be turned. That might disrupt the federal government for a while, but it seems less dangerous than simply hoping for the best. The government needs to explain clearly why it is not doing this, and no squishy "because fairness" reasons ought be allowed.

If the government cannot protect this information, why should we have any confidence that it can protect any other? What business in its right mind would surrender any confidential information to federal regulators unless it were absolutely required to do? Somebody needs to explain how this breach does not completely shatter the willingness of anybody to share any valuable secret with the United States Government.

Last month, the Department of Commerce demanded under penalty of law that each company in the biomedical industry provide it with detailed information about its cybersecurity. Can the DOC now give credible assurances that it can protect that information, or can we safely assume that it has just helpfully aggregated the defenses of a major American industry in a useful hackable searchable database?

If the enemy can steal the government's security clearance data, does anybody believe that it cannot also steal the entire database of the Internal Revenue Service? Gee, I doubt there are any opportunities for blackmail there...

Does anybody think that Hillary Clinton, she of personal server fame, is the right person to restore our shattered confidence in the information security of the government of the United States?

People -- hilariously, including Bill Clinton -- bemoan a "trust deficit" in government. Well, this is an opportunity to close that deficit by addressing the questions above directly and clearly, if only Barack Obama will avail himself of it.

UPDATE: More along the same lines, with a vastly more influential readership, from Glenn Reynolds.

Norway Day 2: Arrival and etc.

This post comes to you from the lobby of my hotel in Bergen at a few minutes to 2PM local time.  I have apparently selected a very popular hotel, and when I arrived at noon was told the room would not be available until 3 PM.  So I went out and killed a little time as I will recount, but then decided to come back to the hotel and kvetch using the lobby internet.

The flight(s) was (were) relatively uneventful.  As I relayed yesterday, the plane was a 2-4-2 configuration and I had the starboard, outboard aisle.  I got on the plane without ceremony and took my seat (20H), awaiting the arrival of the tiny person with a gigantic bladder who would hopefully occupy the seat next to me.  Just then, a surly fellow arrived, and he was very, very disappointed to see that he had the window seat.  "Do you want to switch with me?" he asked.  I thanked him for the kind offer, but declined.  He then said, "well, my profile says aisle seat.  I don't know how this happened.  I'm just tellin' you, I'm gonna get up a lot during this flight."  I smiled wanly and nodded.

A bit later, a fetching young woman arrived to take the aisle seat across from me.  This may be sexist, but my experience is that women tend to like window seats.  Could be wrong, but that's my finding.  And so I leaned in and asked if she would like to switch with the gent next to me, and she readily agreed.  I put the offer to him, he was happy, and I dispatched with the prospect of having that unsavory fellow sitting next to me for 7.5 hrs, replacing him instead with what turned out to be a PhD candidate in Applied Math and NASA employee semi-hottie.  Adding to the upgrade, she was chatty and made no bones about it.  And she was from South Jersey originally, so we had that in common.

Conversation with her and dinner took up three hours, and then I put the mask on and earplugs in, and headed off to la-la land for what amounted to the balance of the flight.  Arriving in Amsterdam, I fortified myself with a number of coffees before heading to the gate for my 90 minute flight to Bergen.  I had interceded in the ticketing process Friday morning and paid twenty bucks or so to get an extended economy seat--one of which selling points was the marketing ploy that told me that I was "closer to the front of the plane and would board first".  Except that the latter part wasn't true, as our entire departure lounge hopped on an airport bus (green, solar powered, natch) to take us out to the outlying part of the airport where our plane was--and so then the cattle all had to get off the bus and then up the staircase, and seating rows went out the window.

We arrived on time at Bergen where I was met by a half-Jamaican half-Norwegian sailor whose job it was to whisk me to the hotel.  This fellow had been born in Canada, and had moved to Norway when he was four.  Still sounded Canadian in his English.  He dropped me at my hotel where I was informed that I had a few hours to wait.  Still in my travel rig, I tucked in my shirt, stored my bag, and went out to tackle this issue of meal #1 of the day.  This involved a meandering stroll up and down the streets of this fair city, in a steady wind, with ever-darkening clouds.  To my dismay, most of the establishments where I would be able to find something to eat did not open until 1300, but I finally found a little spot where I was able to get an a cheese omelet and bacon.

On the walk back to the hotel, it began to freezing rain, and so I ducked into the Museum of the Hanseatic League and poked my snoot around a bit as a tailgater in an English language tour group of two dozen Minnesotans.  Thus enlivened with a bit of culture for the day, I then headed back here to the hotel where I now sit among a growing number of other people in the same boat as I, which probably means a line a little later.  There is some kind of interesting event going on here, as there is a non-stop stream of middle aged women coming through the door, all of whom seem to know each other.  Perhaps I've stumbled upon the Norwegian version of MaryKay?

As soon as I get into the room, I'll change into proper gym wear so that I can hit the elliptical and make some caloric room for my trip to The Big Horn Steakhouse down the street for dinner, before I collapse for ten or so solid hours of sleep.

My driver tells me it will stay light tonight until nearly 2300.  I'm tempted to stay awake to see what that is like.  But not tonight.

Dispatch from the Road: En route Bergen, Norway

This dispatch comes to you from a quiet part of the A terminal at Dulles Airport, about one hour and fifty minutes before I am to board a KLM flight to Bergen, Norway, connecting through Amsterdam.  I'll have a few airport /travel nuggets for you later, but first let's get acquainted with why exactly it is I am going to Norway.

The short answer is that I'm going because I was invited.  The good folks in the Norwegian Navy reached out and asked me whether I'd like to join them for their annual seapower symposium, all travel paid and as Carl the Greenskeeper says, "a little somethin' for the effort".  I have been asked to give an American view of European naval power, with the suggested title "Are the Europeans Up to It?"  Adopting a faux Clintonian approach, I indicate that the answer depends on what you believe "it" to be.  Although if "it" involves anything to do with the defense of Western Civilization, the answer is unfortunately, no. And so I will aver.

The great thing about this strip is the pace....I have really only two things to do--show up Tuesday night at a dinner, and then spend the day Wednesday at the conference (including my speech and a "panel debate" later in which ostensibly the Euros will beat me up about global climate change and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea).  I'll arrive in Bergen around noon locally (six hours ahead of you lucky East Coasters) Sunday and then have Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday to pursue my own agenda.  I don't return home until Friday, and so I get to do the same Thursday.  I figured as long as they were going to pay to get me there and pay for a couple of nights hotels, I could swing a couple on my own and use this as another work/play trip, a la my jaunt to Jamaica earlier in the year.

So the way things are looking, I'll work from my room on Monday and then take a day-long train and boat tour on Tuesday--which conveniently appears to be the best weather of my stay.  We're looking at temps in the forties and fifties throughout, though one forecast sees a balmy 60 on Tuesday.

I am wearing standard travel rig, track pants, trainers (I love writing that), a yellow polo shirt and the suitcoat for my plain blue suit which will do double duty as sportcoat for the dinner Tuesday and suitcoat for the speech Wednesday.  All is tucked neatly into a carry-on, with a computer bag along too.  I've become a huge believe in Cube Packing methods, and so was able to easily accommodate everything I need for the next six days in two thirds of my carryon, with the other third devoted to two additional pairs of shoes, non-liquid/gel toiletries, and the various power cords, re-chargers, and power transformers required for modern, connected, international, travel.

The plain from Amsterdam landed ten minutes ago, the one turning around to take me there at 1745.  It is a comely shade of blue, which portends a good flight I believe.  I have my laptop for work, my iPad for play, a couple of vast right wing conspiracy mags, noise canceling headphones, a mask and earplugs.  This flight is a 2-4-2 configuration, and I am on the starboard outboard side, aisle.  I interceded an paid a few Krone to upgrade myself to some variant of Gucci economy, probably paying ten dollars per additional inch of legroom.  My plan is to drink nothing but water until I am asleep (no more coffee); I'll stay awake long enough to enjoy whatever dinner it is they send my way (the protein and fat portions, that is--though I do have a fat 1110 calories to mess with for the rest of the day). I will then watch a movie--either something provided on the in-flight entertainment, or one on my iPad--probably "I Am Legend", a movie of which I watched fifteen minutes the other night and it hooked me.  I'll probably skip breakfast on the plane, try and just drink coffee in at Amsterdam, and then get lunch when I get to Berger mid-day.

I'm staying in a hotel right down on the scenic port (photos to follow) for the first two nights, and then switching to another hotel on the port for the conference itself and the final night.  I had a ton of Hotels.com cred built up, and so I put it to use on this trip.  I know virtually no Norwegian language, no do I have a good sense of what I will be doing for food while there.  But the Norwegians I've seen all seem to be lean and handsome creatures, so I figure what's good for them is good for me.

A little travel curmudgeonry for you?

1.  Not nothing destroys my spirits when traveling faster than coming up to a security screening line and being behind a clueless family with young children and an urban assault vehicle pram.  Such was the case today, but luckily, the line split and I was able to alight ahead of them to avoid their inefficiency.  Frequent readers are already familiar with the steps I take to ensure efficiency, but nothing will destroy all that planning faster than a clueless bunch with an infant.

2.  Here's something I don't understand.  I signed up for the Trusted Traveler program with the US government, which allows me to use TSA "Pre" security checks.  Said security checks are administered by officers of said U.S. government.  However, KLM is not a "partner" in the program, which means that I had to pass through security with the plebians (see #1) rather than speeding through with the global elite.  Again--as luck, laziness, or randomness would have it, I was ushered into a lane in which all the TSA Pre niceties were followed, and so I did not have to disrobe, de-shoe, or unsheath my laptop and liquids.  All worked out for the best.

3.  Should you be reading this and be a traveler who actually uses a backpack for his or her carryon and WEARS it as a backpack (hard to imagine any such people reading this blog, but hey, maybe), you must begin to consider that when wearing it, you are approximately twice as wide, and when you twist from side to side, that load on your back becomes a protuberance subject to impact with your fellow travelers.  Pay heed.

4.  The woman whose family was ahead of me in the security line (see #1) exposed me to something very new today, and that is the wearing of yoga pants (often times, a plus), while seemingly also wearing some variant of an adult diaper.  How--you may ask--did I know?  Let's just say I have a keen eye, shall we.

5.  The number of air-traveling dogs is exploding. Little dogs in little bags, bigger dogs to provide "comfort" to their owners.  Rare indeed is the "seeing eye" dog of the past.  I'm not sure I approve.

Ok, that's enough for now.  I imagine I'll get back to you tomorrow afternoon/evening from my room in Bergen with some initial impressions.  Tune in then.

Nancy Comes Through, TAA is Dead (at least for a week)

A big shout out this morning to Nancy Pelosi and the left wing of the Democrat Party (as if there were any other) for standing with their principles (and their union minders) and voting down this obscene power grab by corporations and the Obama administration. It appears the socialists/fascists/communists are indeed good for something.

Personally I'm just beside myself. I never thought I'd see the day when a guy like Paul Ryan would advocate voting on a bill which no one is allowed to see (except politicians behind closed doors) which will impact the American economy profoundly for years to come, and which gives away our sovereignty all the while screwing the American worker. This sounds made to order for leftist Democrats, which is why it's so confusing. It's just incredible to me how far down the rabbit hole the Republicans have gone to appease their Chamber of Commerce benefactors.

How much more of this shit are we going to put up with? I read everyday things like Disney importing H1B1 visa workers from India and the Americans have to train these people TO DO THEIR JOBS before being fired. Microsoft lays off 18k workers but lobbies their corporate asses off to maintain the steady flow of cheap labor from Asia. At what point do you think we've had enough, or is it racist to not give away your livelihood to a person with more melanin than you?

Back in the 70s and early 80s business made the argument to folks like us (free economy types) that they were being overly regulated, that unions were too powerful and that American enterprise and ingenuity was being irreparably harmed... and we responded. We went to bat for big business. We elected Ronald Reagan and got this country moving again. And this is how we get repaid? The Dems said they would screw us in the end, I guess they were right.

Look I understand, business is in the business of making money. I get that. That's their function and I'm certainly not opposed to making a buck. But it's the function of our politicians and the government to make sure business doesn't sell our enemies (or competitors) the rope we are hanged with (to paraphrase Lenin). The money grubbing elites in this country are out of control, to the detriment of the middle class. We either demand accountability from our politicians or in a generation (if it takes that long) we will be as Europeans, just livestock on a farm there only to make money for the farmer.

Big Fat Friday Free For All

What's bothering you, friend?  Outed as white by your own parents?  Your killer expose on a GOP candidate's driving foibles backfire?  Share your pain--better out than in!

Progress made this week, weighed in at 162.4--this means 2.5 lbs to go in 15 days.  I leave for six days in Norway tomorrow, so I've got to really watch myself while I'm there to not get into a bind.

Somewhere, Eddie Murphy Shakes His Head

NAACP and civil rights leader outed as white.  By her parents.

Jeb Bush: It's Early Yet

The Washington Post is up with a story today on all of the troubles with Jeb Bush's campaign (well, not really a campaign yet).  There are several mis-steps here worth considering--which is what I did when I picked Rubio--but the bottom line is that it is early...way early...and Jeb is a great politician.  Don't start kicking dirt on his grave just yet...

Jamie Dimon and the importance of having some stones

JP Morgan's CEO made headlines today by actually saying what everybody knows he must think, that Elizabeth Warren may not "fully understand the global banking system." Whether or not Dimon's suspicion is correct on the merits -- and I'm going to put my stake in the ground and say it is -- the news here is that he actually stood up to a politician who has been grandstanding at his company's expense. Few CEOs of public companies are willing to do that, mostly out of fear that the politician in question will find some way to retaliate, so it is refreshing to see Dimon turn "too big to fail" in to "too big to cow." It is also important, because political grandstanding without any resistance only begets more grandstanding, and that makes me despair for my country. Since meaningless pledges are all the rage, maybe we should demand that politicians take an anti-grandstanding pledge.

Now, if Dimon were willing to say something negative about Janet Yellen, who is JP Morgan's regulator, that would veer in to the realm of malfeasance, because only an idiot embarrasses his regulator.

A Little Perpsective

Marco Rubio's Palace

Hillary's Fixer-Upper

Secretariat vs. American Pharaoh

Those of you of a certain age may recall an episode of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" in which Lou Grant and somebody else argue over the greatest team in the then-prevailing history of college football, Lou arguing for Army 1944 and the other dude insisting on Nebraska 1972. Such arguments seem less common these days, perhaps in part because of the instant availability of statistics to sustain or refute any case. I'll go out on a limb and say that more or less any BCS winner of the last few years would have destroyed Army '44, its massive recruiting advantage notwithstanding.

Anyway, in Triple Crown racing we can make these comparisons a bit more directly. If you have somehow missed this elsewhere, take a look at this cool side-by-side video of Secretariat and American Pharaoh running the Belmont Stakes in 1973 and 2015, respectively. Track differences, schmack differences, the difference is still arresting.

Crawling across broken glass: Why Democrats do not care about Hillary's scandals

If you follow conservatives on Twitter, rarely a day passes when you don't see a tweet like this one:

Prediction: there'll be more than two dozen news stories between today & November 2016 about Hillary Clinton that would end a normal career.

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) June 8, 2015

True, dat. The Clintons weather scandals better than North Face weathers weather, surely in part because they have already survived so many. People have settled their opinions, expect the Clintons to behave in a certain way and their opponents to react in a certain way, and when both sides follow the script exactly nobody changes their mind. One either cares or does not care. Don't believe me? Google "Clinton scandals fatigue" and see how many stories there have been over so many years.

There is another consideration that reinforces these tendencies for the 2016 election. The Republicans control both houses of Congress and have a critical edge on the Supreme Court heading in to 2016, and liberals are literally terrified of a GOP sweep of the federal government, which terror is only amplified by contemplating what a Republican could do with Barack Obama's approach to regulatory power. To Democrats a GOP sweep would fulfill the apocalypse, and they would crawl across broken glass, eat corporate food, or vote for Elmer Fudd to prevent it. The Republicans could nominate Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt and the Democrats could put up Jimmy Carter and James Buchanan and virtually every liberal would still vote for the Democrats in 2016 "because SCOTUS" or some other tweetable reason. The election will be decided in maybe seven states, and in most of those by turning out the base rather than by recruiting the declining population of centrist ticket-splitters. Therefore, the value, such as it is, in talking about Hillary's scandals is to stimulate the same fear on the right as currently prevails on the left. Which, of course, changes no minds, and will lead to another president with no mandate for governing the country other than the bare fact of victory.

Silent Coup or Will America Invade?

At the beginning of Obama's first term I would point out certain things Obama said or point to certain actions Obama had taken (or intended to take) and suggest (but never said) he may be at his core anti-American. I recall a dustup with CW over the Lockerbie bombing terrorist "transfer" from Scotland to Gadaffy's Libya on humanitarian grounds. CW went into a tizzy and said my accusation that Obama gave at least tacit approval was groundless and tantamount to "treason" and demanded an apology, which, against my better judgement I gave (but I'm not bitter).

I would like to state right now that Barack Hussein Obama is NOT an American (regardless of where he was born), does not have America's interests at heart and is in fact working overtime to destroy America. He is an enemy of freedom and democracy, a liar, a breaker of oaths and I personally have come to believe him an Islamist. There is ample evidence to back up my conclusion from his anti-Israel policy to facilitating Iran gaining a nuclear weapon (AND delivery system which no one talks about) to his "come one come all" illegal immigration policy. His focus, in my view is to create an Islamic military super-power and an as weak as possible America before he leaves office.

Incidentally, I was wrong. At first I though Obama a man of the left, sometimes socialist, sometimes generic authoritarian, sometimes fascist...but always of the left. But statism by its nature is centralized power and Obama has used leftist tactics and policies as just a track to run on. He has taken the common ground occupied by statists (whatever their ideology) and used it in a masterful way for the dual purpose of appeasing his "blame America first" base AND setting up the country for destruction. Tell me, if you were of a mind to take a country, would it be easier to take that country if power and wealth were dispersed or all political power concentrated in one town and 99% of the wealth in the hands of a few?  Would you be conducting military exercises in urban locations around the country? Would you be quietly "seeding" communities? America has been living off debt for 6+ years with pretty much zero interest rates. Suppose with the flick of a switch that debt were called in, inflation lit up like a brushfire and interest rates shot up to 30-40%. America (and the world) would be plunged into a depression that would make the 1930's seem tame by comparison. But this time we have 35 million illegal immigrants (as well as millions of LEGAL immigrants) fighting for the scraps. How prepared would or could we be to fight a China or Russia or a unified pan-Islamic nuclear state?

Look, in all honesty I don't know what the guy is up to, but his policies are creating conditions for some potentially very bad things. Military planners consider all contingencies however remote or unlikely. All I'm saying is so should we, and some of the scenarios I've just suggested are a helluva lot more likely than America invading Australia.

At least you don't look like this guy

It's never made sense to me that baseball managers have to suit up in uniform.  60-year-old men with paunches look ridiculous in a baseball uniform.  Basketball coaches wear suits...football coaches (except Belicheck) wear appropriate sideline attire.  Why is baseball different?

Normally, though, the actual players look just fine.  

Chris Christie in a charity softball game
 

Not this one. 

  

150's By 50 Weight Goal in Serious Jeopardy

I have weighed the exact same thing, 164.8, the last three Friday weigh-ins, even as I have assiduously managed my eating and exercised regularly.  With 21 days to go and 4.9 lbs to lose, I must lose 1.63 pounds each week to weigh in at 159.9.

This post is not an invitation to provide all of your stories on how I can drop the weight in the time allotted. I assure you, I am on this.  But the entire six months I've been at this, there hasn't been one stretch like this, as long as this.

A six day trip to Norway between now and June 27th is unlikely to help much.

But worry not, I'll do it.  And then I'll drop another 10 just for good measure.

The Romney High School Haircut Story, 2016 Edition

This is only one of many in a series of ridiculous stories our intrepid press will produce over the next 17 months so that we may learn how deeply flawed the GOP candidates are.  In this chapter, we learn that Mr. and Mrs. Marco Rubio like to drive fast.  The NY Times is ON IT. 

         Actually, this is even dumber than the haircut story, but I look forward to the commentary on what it indicates about his character.

How Did We Come to This?

We've got secret legislation, star chambers, domestic spying on our own citizens, open borders and an out of control bureaucracy aligned with a corrupt administration supported by a press that would give Pravda pause. All the while the Republicans act as if it's just another day at the office and/or are so intimidated they jump on the Democrat bandwagon so as not to appear too irrelevant. They have turned into the fake opposition of Bob Michel who famously said "I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and KNOW I'm going to lose today" and he did.

The Republican Party can no longer be depended upon to advance and preserve our values. They are weak and afraid, otherwise with their majorities which WE gave them Obama would be hobbled and just riding out his time. If we want change, change back from the Euro-socialist, statist, in your business and in your wallet Democrat policies we are suffering through presently, then don't count on Boner or McConnell, they ain't got the balls.

We need new management. We need a political Billy Martin to shake things up. These moderate Republicans are killing us, our party and our country.

President Obama, The Art of Lying, and the Iran Deal

Five years ago, I wrote a blog post here on what I considered to be the unusual level of support the President had from groups of people who had a vested interest in the near certainty that he was lying to them, that the things he was saying in public in no way reflected his private views.  I rerun that post in its entirety here to re-acquaint you with its central points:


"I'm sure I'm not the first to recognize this, but as I sit back and think about our President and his first few months in office, I've come to an important conclusion. Never before in presidential politics have so many people been so invested in a hope, and a dream--and that hope and dream are that the man they voted for is lying to them.

If you are a pro-choice voter, then you hope the President was lying during his speech at Notre Dame where he suggested that the debate over abortion should continue. That's the last thing you want, as you see the pro-life movement gathering steam year after year.

If you are in favor of gay marriage, you have to hope that the President is lying when he says that he believes marriage should be reserved for one man and one woman.

If you are in favor of ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military, then you're hoping that he is lying when he says his administration is not going to tamper with the current policy.

If you believe that the United States has alienated itself from the rest of the world through its ham-fisted pursuit of the war on terror, you're hoping that the President is lying when he signs Executive Orders reinforcing the practice of "extraordinary rendition", or the snatch and grab of suspected terrorists in other countries (started incidentally, but Bill Clinton).

If you believe that the US has trampled upon international law and the rights of those who took up arms against us as unlawful combatants, you are hoping that the President is lying to us when he says that the "newly constituted" military commissions are the best way to try these people.

If you believe that the US government took upon itself too much power and authority in pursuing a worldwide enemy dedicated to the destruction of western civilization, you are hoping that the President is lying when he advocates for sweeping implementation of the State Secrets Act to protect sources and methods of intelligence gathering.

If you believe that the US government has violated the privacy rights of law-abiding Americans by warrant-less wiretapping, and that those corporations who cooperated with the federal government should bear civil or criminal penalty, you are hoping that the President is lying when he says that such corporations should be protected from prosecution.

The list goes on, and on. But what we have is a whole group of voters who just KNOW IN THEIR HEARTS that the President REALLY WANTS to do the opposite of what he is doing and saying, but that the timing simply isn't right. So one thing or another is true. Either he isn't the man they elected, or he is lying to all of us. One or the other must be true.

I repeated the above in order to set up the thoughts I have on the nuclear negotiations ongoing with Iran.  It seems Iran's Supreme Leader has been making a number of public statements that completely and thoroughly undercut major aspects of the deal on the table, none more than the requirement for inspections of military facilities.  Into this morass steps Ilan Goldenberg, a former Obama Administration official and now Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.  In a piece called "THE AYATOLLAH DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH: KHAMENEI’S POSTURING ON A NUCLEAR DEAL"  In it, Mr. Goldenberg goes out of his way to assure us that irrespective of what it is that the Supreme Leader says, we should ignore him.  Ignore his statements on inspections.  Ignore his statements on eradicating the State of Israel.  Why?  Because we know what he really means.  We know what he really wants.  And of course, what he really means and what he really wants are....exactly what the Obama team wants!  See how this works?  They've taken their entire approach to governing and are now applying it to the dangerous matters of nuclear weapons and international security--where words and deeds MUST align.

With all due respect to the background and experience of Mr. Goldenberg, this dog won't hunt.  I urge members of Congress to continue to demand tough concessions from the Iranians that are both signed for "..on the line which is dotted..." (name the movie) AND that are publicly supported by regime leaders' statements.  We can accept nothing less.

The Conservative Wahoo Endorses Marco Rubio

Senator Marco Rubio, the next President of the United States

I'd like to announce that I am supporting Marco Rubio for President.  I've thought long and hard about it, and I decided this evening that making up my mind makes me feel better than being undecided.

The growing Republican field has always been fairly small to me.  After Mitt broke my heart, there were really only three--Bush, Walker, and Rubio.  Bush and Walker had what I like most--executive experience.  I've written about it here before, and I value it immensely.  I've been under no pressure to pick a candidate, as I'm not so important that Presidential campaigns were pressuring me to sign on.  I have talked with a couple, and there just didn't seem to be any reason for me to pick yet.  But the longer I went without knowing where I was going to invest my time and energy, the more out of it I felt.  And so throughout the day today (Tuesday), I decided to decide.

I am supporting Rubio because 1) his temperament and ideology appeal to me and 2) I think he has the best chance of beating whomever the Democrats run.  This was the same logic I applied to my choice of Mitt Romney in 2012.  A month ago if you held a gun to my head, I would have said I was a Jeb Bush man.  And if Rubio weren't running, I would be this year.  Jeb was a fantastic Governor, and he would be a terrific President.  I will proudly and energetically support him if he wins the nomination, and for those of you wondering, I will support WHOMEVER the GOP nominates.

But in the past month--a month in which I studied all three men (including Walker) very closely---and then toward the end gave Carly Fiorina a long look--Rubio just rose in my estimation.  He is smart, likable, and positive.  I think this last point was what did it for me....Marco Rubio in whatever venue I've seen him in--speeches, interviews, you name it--he seems genuinely happy to be wherever he is.  This is a skill and a talent if it is not true, and if it is true, it is a blessing.  I don't see this in all the candidates.  I surely don't see it in Hillary.

And so, hopefully I'll do a bit of writing here and there about Marco Rubio over the next 17 months, and perhaps in November of 2016, we'll finally be able to put the Obama nightmare behind us.

I look forward to a great campaign full of ups and downs, and I can't wait until September when we debut the newly invigorated site with a few more bloggers.

Let the fun begin!