Woke Fonts

You probably don't think very often about the art of typography, which deals with the style and appearance of printed matter. For someone like me, who appreciates the appearance and legibility of the printed word, it's very interesting, but not something I'd normally associate with the silly culture wars fanned by Der Furor and his followers ... but such is the time in which we live. 

Last week the State Department changed its policy on printed material to mandate use of the Times New Roman font for official documents. Times New Roman was the standard font used by the State Department from 2004* to 2023, when then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken directed a change to Calibri, considered more user-friendly for people with reading challenges and those who read documents online, thanks to its simpler shapes and wider spacing. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the two fonts:

I, myself, prefer Times New Roman as more official and elegant looking, and it's the font I use for documents I create myself, although I can see that Calibri could be easier for some people to read. 

As you might suspect, the change back to Times New Roman was couched in terms of the administration's rejection of what it believes are wasteful and inappropriate "DEIA" (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility) influences and initiatives across government. This is, in my opinion, a silly reason to change fonts. If the goal is an official-looking font that's more legible and less simplistic than Calibri, perhaps Garamond might have been a better choice ...

Then again, given the frequently childish and silly actions of Der Furor and his administration, a change to Comic Sans might have been more appropriate ...

Another possible choice for an official font for this administration might have been Fraktur, which would excite the Neo-Nazi fever dreams of the farthest-right wing of the MAGA movement ...

Or, given the leanings of the recently-released National Security Strategy, we could just go directly to the Cyrillic font used for Russian -

Petulantly changing typefaces. The silliest manifestation of the culture wars to date. Sigh.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Before 2004, the standard font for the State Department was Courier New.

The National Security Strategy, 2025

This past week, with none of the fanfare that has accompanied past releases of the document, Der Furor's administration released its 2025 National Security Strategy. 

The National Security Strategy (or NSS), released annually, explains an administration's view of the challenges the United States faces around the world and provides the framework around which government agencies are expected to plan their activities to implement the president's national security vision. As you might expect from an administration largely staffed with unqualified and incompetent people, the 2025 NSS is a mess, described by one commentator as seeming to have been written by either a fourth-grader or AI. Reading it, you might be excused for thinking the cover should have read a bit differently - 

First of all, as anyone who has watched one of Der Furor's Cabinet meetings could have expected, the document is heavy on effusive praise of the matchless accomplishments of the Supreme Leader ...

"President Trump has cemented his legacy as The President of Peace. In addition to the remarkable success achieved during his first term with the historic Abraham Accords, President Trump has leveraged his dealmaking ability to secure unprecedented peace in eight conflicts throughout the world over the course of just eight months of his second term." (Page 8)

"President Trump has set a new global standard" (Page 12) 

"[The] “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine is a common-sense and potent restoration of American power and priorities" (Page 15)

"President Trump single-handedly reversed more than three decades of mistaken American assumptions about China" (Page 19) 

"President Trump is building alliances and strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific that will be the bedrock of security and prosperity long into the future." (Page 19)

"President Trump’s May 2025 state visits to Persian Gulf countries demonstrated the power and appeal of American technology." (Page 23) 

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains thorny, but thanks to the ceasefire and release of hostages President Trump negotiated, progress toward a more permanent peace has been made." (Page 28) 

"President Trump’s ability to unite the Arab  world at Sharm el-Sheikh in pursuit of peace and  normalization will allow the United States to finally prioritize American interests." (Page 29) 

You could be forgiven for thinking that there's no need for any government other than the all-powerful genius of Der Furor.

While claiming to have "rebuilt our alliances" (Page i), this president has thoroughly wrecked our international standing and insulted and alienated traditional allies who now decline to share intelligence information they fear may be used to facilitate war crimes ... as if we were in an actual war Constitutionally declared by Congress.

I could go on, but I call your attention to this excellent article by Eliot Cohen in The Atlantic, which discusses the incoherence and idiocy of this NSS while acknowledging that it does contain "three ideas that, stripped of the rants and the brownnosing, are important and at least partially true*." You may also be interested in this article by Jason Horowitz from the New York Times, which looks at the "strategy" in terms of its showcasing of Der Furor's contempt for European leaders.

The "National Security Strategy for 2025" demonstrates how, in the space of a mere 11 months, one shallow, spiteful, unserious man ignorant of all but his own prejudices, aided and abetted by a servile Congress and a loftily arrogant Supreme Court, has destroyed our standing in the world and our reputation as a reliable ally.

Have as good a day as you can consistent with the destruction of our international reputation and the debasement of competent and accountable government.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* These are: (1) acknowledgement of the importance to the United States of the Western Hemisphere; (2) a change in approach to African nations from direct development aid to improvement in commerce; and (3) emphasizing the threat of uncontrolled mass migration to European nations.

Der Furor Wants His Parade

As you may recall, after visiting Paris and watching the French Bastille Day parade during his first term, Der Furor absolutely had to have a parade of his own, bigger and better than the French one, and tasked the Army with staging a full-on military parade in Washington. Fortunately, there were enough adults in his first administration to dissuade him from that staggeringly bad idea: the DC mayor fretted about the cost of repairing streets torn up by tanks, the Army reminded him of the cost (nearly $100 million), and his more historically-minded advisors reminded him that parades of heavily armed troops, accompanied by tanks and warplane flyovers, were not a tradition observed by an America that didn't like being reminded of potential repression by a powerful military.

That was then. This is now.

Der Furor has told the Army that this time, he wants his parade, and he wants it on his 79th birthday. Of course, even as towering a narcissistic buffoon as Der Furor wouldn't come right out and say that ... instead, he takes advantage of the fact that his 79th birthday - June 14th - happens also to be both Flag Day (celebrating the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes design of the American flag) and the official birthday of the US Army (celebrating the day in 1775 on which the Continental Congress authorized the enlistment of expert riflemen to serve the United Colonies for one year). He can have his motorized phallic symbol without making it obvious that it's his birthday due (although, to be fair, I would never accuse him of being that subtle).

I love a parade as much as the next guy, but my idea of a fun parade is marching bands, colorful floats, smiling, waving celebrities, and maybe a clown or two. Not rows of marching soldiers and lines of huge tanks churning their way down the streets of Washington while warplanes zoom overhead, distracting the observers from the erosion of their freedoms and the cratering of their economy.

I'm a veteran. I never actually saw combat*, although I spent 23 years in the Air Force and am proud of my service and of my country ... at least, my country as it was before the present maladministration. I don't need to have a wannabe alpha male president taking time out from his golf weekends to wave his military around as if it were a gigantic ... uh ... appendage to remind us of his desire to be a 21st century Napoleon.

Our "leaders" waste enough money buying elections. We can save quite a bit of it by not staging useless parades to stoke the ego of wannabe dictators.

Have a good day. Enjoy Macys' Thanksgiving Day parade if you need a dose of all-American marching spectacle.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* I did get shaken like a rag doll by a drunken helicopter mechanic one time (it's an interesting story, best shared over a beer), but I don't guess that really counts.

DUMBCON Update

Today is Tuesday, April 1st, April Fool's Day. Thus, it is an appropriate day to reassess the National Stupidity Condition - the DUMBCON.

We last raised the DUMBCON in February of this year, when I determined that the prevailing level was insufficient to account for the astounding level of stupidity in modern America. Indeed, the level had risen so sharply that I had to reach back to a version of the scale with enough levels to accommodate it, AND to raise the level by not one, but two steps. But now, things are even more stupid. To name just a few instances:

The Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor, Director of National Intelligence, CIA Director, Secretary of the Treasury (?). and other administration officials traded sensitive operational military information on a commercial messaging app, not realizing that they had also invited a reporter to be a member of the group.

PINO Der Furor, descending to new levels of pettiness, issued a new royal decree executive order pompously titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," in which he accused the Smithsonian Institution of "[conducting] a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth" and of "improper ideology;"

Der Furor also issued another royal decree executive order, "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," which places new restrictions and limitations on voting rights; 

In a calculated provocation and insult to the governments and populations of Denmark and Greenland, "Vice President" Vance and his wife, uninvited, visited a US Space Force facility in Greenland, where Mr Vance doubled down on US aims to take over Greenland, while soft-peddling previous administration threats to absorb it by force if necessary; and,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly allowed his wife, an executive producer at Fox News with no known security clearances or need to know, to attend multiple high-level meetings with foreign military officials where sensitive national security information was discussed.

I don't think I could make a better argument that it's time to reset the DUMBCON than this administration makes for itself every day. When I last set the level, I deliberately left room for subsequent adjustment ... and now it's time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, I am raising the DUMBCON Level to

DUMBCON MINUS FOUR

("Time to Get Ready for That One-Way Mars Mission")

You will note that this version of the DUMBCON index has ten levels. When I first created the system, I never imagined that I might need more than the five levels that mirror the military's DEFCON system ... much less ten levels. I have no idea where we go from here.

And we're only two months into this administration.

Have a good day, and remember the time when we complained about a government that, whether you agreed with it or not, was not actively criminal, unconstitutional, amoral, incompetent, and hell-bent on undoing almost 250 years of our experiment with self-governing democracy. We'll be a long time getting the country back, if it's even possible.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

The Alphabet Soup of Gender Identity

While I was doing the research for yesterday's post updating Der Furor's war on "gender ideology extremism," Mike pointed out another aspect of the issue that I hadn't thought about before, embodied in the question 

What is the longest LGBT acronym possible nowadays? 

It's an interesting question, and it relates to one of the reasons I believe Kamala Harris and the Democrats lost the presidential election: an over-emphasis on topics of gender identity inclusivity with which many Americans were uncomfortable. 

The term "LGBTQ+" is everywhere, and most of us probably can't define the gender identity terms it embodies. But as Mike helpfully pointed out, "LGBTQ+" doesn't even begin to address the entire spectrum of sexual and gender identity terms floating around out there ... as it happens, there are at least 109* (I didn't count them myself, but Mike did), and you can read about all of them here if you wish. 

When I was growing up in the 1950s and 60s, there were boys and girls. I vaguely understood that there were boys and girls who were ... well ... a little different, but it wasn't something that affected me, or that I thought very much about. The first time I personally faced the reality of the difference was when I was a 29 year old Air Force officer living in the American Arms, the single officers' hotel in Wiesbaden, Germany. I was attracted to a young woman of the same rank who was one of my neighbors, and spent weeks unsuccessfully trying to get a date with her. Eventually, a mutual female friend took me aside and gently let me know that while this woman liked me, she wasn't really interested in relationships with men.

I had finally come face to face with the "L."

Over the years since, I've met scores of people I came to know were lesbian, gay, or bisexual. As I noted in an earlier post, I have been "hit on" by other men, but dealt with it by simply telling them I'm not interested ... much as a certain lady in Wiesbaden let me know years ago. 

My point is simply that we've let ourselves get too wrapped around an unnecessarily painful axle. Like I said above, I think an over-emphasis on worshipping at the festooned altar of overly complicated gender identities helped cost the Democrats the 2024 election by harping on a topic that alienated too many voters who would otherwise have voted for Harris and Walz.

Regardless of which of the 109** different gender identities you identify with, you have to live in a world alongside the other 108. Deal with it. Quietly. We'll all be happier.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* At the moment, and subject to change.

** And counting.

The Gettysburg Address as Delivered by Der Furor

Last week we observed the anniversary of the Civil War battle of Gettysburg, and the memory of the brief, but powerful speech President Abraham Lincoln delivered at the dedication of the military cemetery after the battle ... his "Gettysburg Address" remains one of the most moving speeches ever delivered by an American president. Sadly, the quality of political oration has been greatly reduced since Mr Lincoln's time, leading Washington Post columnist Peter Marks to comment that “... if you’ve ever listened to some of the desultory rhetoric from the well of the Senate, you know that American politics has not exactly built an assembly line of Ciceros.”

All of which has led me to wonder how a speech in the style of the Gettysburg Address might have been delivered by one of the most cringe-worthy presidents and worst public speakers of our time, Der Furor ...

"Seventy-six years ago, my father brought forth your favorite president - me! - because only I can make America great again. Now the radical left Democrats have started a great culture war, testing whether my MAGA followers, our religious freedom, or our beloved Second Amendment, can survive much longer. My followers have come out to listen to my huge and unmatched wisdom. They have come to boost my ego and swell my bank accounts as I fleece the nation. It's the right thing for you to do, but you must do even more if you want to help save America. The brave patriots who stormed the Capitol have given you an example far above my great powers of intelligence and persuasion, as hard as that may be to believe. The world will forever remember what I say here, and it should, because I have the best words. But you need to keep up the unfinished work our Republican senators and representatives and judges and office holders have started, because you're very special, and we love you. You have to make sure that the heroes of January 6th - who were punished by the disgraceful Democrats for nothing more than peacefully protesting a stolen election - don't serve their prison terms in vain, that this nation - under me, of course - shall continue to stack the Supreme Court and pass laws which ensure that the white Christian right remains supreme, that we keep the freedom to carry whatever guns we want, and that government of the corporate donors, by the corporate donors, and for the corporate donors, shall not perish from Washington. Don't forget to donate to my PAC on your way out."

It's satire, of course ... but not all that far from the truth.

Have a good day. Vote in November like your country depended on it ... because it does.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Stupid Questions

I never cease to be amazed at how many news people, regardless of their network or political affiliation, suddenly become experts on the crisis du jour and ask ridiculously stupid questions during news conferences.

The thing that got me riled up on this topic* over the last week or so was the insistence by news reporters during the daily White House press briefings on obtaining an absolute guarantee from the Biden administration that EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN in Afghanistan would be whisked home to safety. This was usually accompanied by the stern outrage of the chattering classes at the realization that our government doesn't actually know how many Americans there are in Afghanistan.

This is an admission of their stupidity, not the government's incompetence.

How many Americans are there in Afghanistan? Let's see ...

The Defense Department knows how many military personnel are there because they sent them there on orders, feed them, house them, and pay them. The State Department knows how many of its personnel are there because they send them there as official representatives of the US government. The CIA knows how many of its personnel are there because they know everything, ha, ha. Civilian firms working for the government under contract know how many people they have in the country because they're billing Uncle Sam (quite exorbitantly, in most cases) for every one. 

But that's not all the Americans in Afghanistan.

There are also unknown numbers of miscellaneous aid workers, NGO** representatives, missionaries, volunteers, news reporters, tourists***, and other such people running around the country. Why are those numbers unknown? Because the State Department recommends, but does not require, unofficial visitors to foreign countries to register with the local embassy in case of emergency ... like, for example, a Taliban takeover that necessitates evacuation of Americans.

But of course, being Americans who value their personal freedoms above all else, many of those people won't register with the embassy, because they're not fearful sheep blindly following the dictates of a tyrannical government. Of course, when they need to be rescued, it's a different story. 

For all the chaos and bungling of the first day or two of the exodus, there is now a highly-professional airlift underway, executed by the world's finest Airmen† and protected by the world's finest military. I doubt that any other nation on earth could have pulled off an operation of this magnitude ... without the loss of a single American life. Indeed, as Matthew Dowd, who was the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney ticket in 2004, commented earlier this week, more than 20,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan without a single loss of an American life, while in the same period of time, 5000 Americans died from Covid-19 and another 500 from gunshots on the streets of the United States.

I wish a lot of media people who like to hear themselves talk, but don't know what they're talking about, would just shut the hell up, starting with everyone at Fox News and OANN and including self-important clowns like Chris Cuomo on CNN.

That's all. I just felt this needed a rant.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* There are a lot of things, actually, this is just the one that has me pissed off at the moment.

** NGO =  "Non-Governmental Organization," such as the Red Cross.

*** Yes, believe it or not there are people stupid enough to travel as thrill-seeking tourists to dangerous regions.

† I have been very proud to be an Air Force veteran this week.

Everything's Tactical

Here's something I found on posted the Internet the other day on a website for curmudgeons:

"Tactical. God, I loathe that word. Everything is increasingly being described as 'tactical.' You name it - pants, jackets, hats, knives, guns, flashlights, even fish hooks! I shake my fist at the word 'tactical!'”

I know what he means.

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines tactical as: "of or relating to combat tactics, such as (1): of or occurring at the battlefront; (2): using or being weapons or forces employed at the battlefront."

The reason, of course, that more and more everyday things are being described as tactical is that it makes them somehow more macho and aggressive sounding, and allows the manufacturer to increase their unit price because of the perceived boost to the testosterone of insecure customers. If you want to carry a badass-looking gun without the personal inconvenience and risks involved in joining the Army to do it, owning things you can describe as tactical lets you feel tough and ready to strut around the neighborhood, intimidating potential evildoers with the awesome power of your tactical presence as you order your lunch

or wait to take communion on Sunday, surrounded by people who may not have confessed all their sins.

And you can even carry your baby in the Tactical Baby Carrier -

It's certainly no coincidence that tactical and testicle sound very similar, since they both enhance one's manhood.

Have a tactically advantageous day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

I Love a Parade. Well, Not This One.

It's tough when reality intrudes as you come back from a nice vacation ...  I call your attention to this amazing article from this morning's Washington Post - Trump’s ‘Marching Orders’ to the Pentagon: Plan a Grand Military Parade.

It appears that Donald Trump was greatly impressed with the pomp and grandeur of the French Army's Bastille Day military parade he witnessed during last year's visit to Europe, and wants to stage a similar ... but, of course, much yuger ... parade down Pennsylvania Avenue here at home, ostensibly as a “celebration of the men and women who give us freedom.”

Well, let me be clear on this. As you know, and unlike Cadet Bone Spurs and many other loud Congressional supporters of the military in which they never found it convenient to serve, I actually did serve a 23-year career in the armed forces. I honor and respect my fellow veterans (including my two brothers) and those who serve today (including my son, who is an oft-deployed Air Force Reservist). And I would suggest that the money spent on an exciting but ultimately useless spectacle would be much better spent on military equipment, training, and the long-term care of those who have been gravely injured while performing the service so many of their elected reprehensives have declined to perform. Oh, and if you've had the matchless joy of driving on the streets of Washington, DC, just imagine how much that experience will be enhanced after hundreds of huge, heavy military vehicles finish chewing up the pavement.

During my time in the Air Force, I marched in quite a few military parades. It can be an exciting experience, but for the most part that experience can be summed up in a sarcastic comment I heard many years ago: I was one of a squadron of Wing officers standing in the broiling sun on the flight line at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, rehearsing for the grand parade that would celebrate the redesignation of Second Air Force ("Second to None") as Eighth Air Force ("The Mighty Eighth"). As we stood there for several hours, trying not to lock our knees and pass out in the heat, a crusty old Lieutenant Colonel standing behind me in the formation muttered under his breath, "The only difference between this parade and a Shriners' parade is that in the Shriners' parade, the clowns are smiling."

I'm sure Mr Trump will get his parade. It will be as huge, expensive, and - ultimately - useless as the border wall he also wants. And you know who's going to pay for it.

There are a lot of better ways to spend a few million dollars.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Season's Greetings, or Whatever

There are a lot of really stupid things going around nowadays, but one of the stupidest has to be the concept of the imaginary "War on Christmas." Along with all his other less-than-presidential acts, Donald Trump has claimed victory in this so-called war, shamelessly braying that under his magnificent and steadfast leadership we're allowed to say "Merry Christmas" again.

Now, I don't know about you, but I never stopped saying "Merry Christmas," never felt I wasn't able to say "Merry Christmas," and never knew anyone else who felt pressured not to say "Merry Christmas." The plain fact is that there never was a "War on Christmas." If you believe in that ludicrous fiction, I'm sorry, but you're just a few eggs short of an omelet.

But real or not, there has been one unfortunate effect of the so-called "War on Christmas" - it's turned simple expressions of seasonal goodwill into unwanted and unintended political statements. This year, for the first time in my life, every time I wished someone "Merry Christmas," in the back of my mind was the nagging question of whether that simple, heartfelt wish would be interpreted as an in-your-face political statement sneering that my holiday was better than someone else's.

That's the real tragedy of what the alleged "War on Christmas" has done to us. I'm adding it to the long list of things that Donald Trump and his followers and enablers will have to answer for.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

P.S. - for a more lighthearted look at this imaginary war, read Angel's clever blog post. I wish I'd had her idea first.

B.

Old McConnell's Plan

Yes, I know you were expecting to see another segment of Great Moments in Editing and Signage. Unfortunately, in an effort to be timely, I've decided to replace that post (which I'd already written, by the way), with this one. Great Moments in Editing and Signage will return two weeks from today.

Okay ...

As you no doubt know, the GOP has been working, frantically and in great secrecy, on its long-promised plan to "remove and replace" the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). Republicans hate that law for many reasons, not all of them (in my opinion) rational, but it is what it is. They've promised the minority of the voting public that elected them that they'll get rid of the "failed law" and replace it with ... something. Better or worse, we're not sure, although the House version was so spectacularly bad that embarrassed House Republicans punted to the Senate, which yesterday published a "discussion draft" of the bill* that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a few friends have drafted in great secrecy and intend to put to a vote next week after minimum review and discussion.

This is, of course, a complete travesty of the democratic process, but allowable levels of hypocrisy being what they are today, Senator McConnell and his cabal are moving shamelessly forward with this clandestinely-crafted pile of doo-doo, and will probably get away with it.

Which has inspired me to write a song about the whole sorry mess ...

Old McConnell's Plan

(sung to the tune of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm")

Old McConnell has a plan
To kill Obamacare -
He wrote it in a secret room
And just his friends were there.
Just his banking friends
And insurance friends
     GOP
     Can’t agree
     Gotta write in secrecy
Old McConnell has a plan
To kill Obamacare

Old McConnell has a plan,
To kill Obamacare.
And he says his plan will help,
But who it help’s not clear.
With a tax cut here
And a credit there,
     Here a cut,
     There a break,
     Everywhere a head fake –
Old McConnell has a plan
To kill Obamacare.

Old McConnell has a plan
To kill Obamacare.
And if you read his plan, you’ll see
There’s nothing really there.
There’s naught for you,
And there’s naught for me,
     Nothing to protect us,
     Single guy
     Or family -
Old McConnell has a plan
To kill Obamacare.

Feel free to add your own verses. And if you're one of the 23 million people expected to lose your health insurance** if the GOP rams this through ... good luck.

Have a good day. See you tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday ... God knows we need it.

Bilbo

* Good luck understanding it.

** According to the CBO analysis.

Going for the Bigger Boom

Because I'm a history buff, every day I check out various websites that offer lists of what happened on that day. It's important to know where we've been so that we can contemplate where we're going ... as George Santayana once memorably said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Less well-known is another of Mr Santayana's comments about history -

"The picture we frame of the past changes continually and grows every day less similar to the original experience which it purports to describe."

We can see this every day in the loudly-held opinions of those who absolutely know that: (a) the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation; and (b) the Founders absolutely believed that the most important right of every citizen was to be armed to the teeth.

But I digress. Here's something that actually, provably happened in the past ...

On November 1st, 1952, the United States tested the first large hydrogen bomb - a weapon with a yield of ten megatons (the equivalent of ten million tons of TNT). Not to be outdone, on October 30th, 1961, the Soviet Union tested the so-called Tsar Bomb, a nuclear weapon with a yield of 50 megatons ... the most powerful weapon ever developed. By way of comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki - the last nuclear weapon actually used in war - had a yield of 21 kilotons (21,000 tons of TNT) ... a pretty enormous explosion in its own right.

Think about this for a moment.

Other than the atomic age comparison of manly appendages, what is the military purpose of a bomb with a yield of ten million ... or fifty million ... tons of TNT?  Consider this map, which diagrams a theoretical explosion of the Tsar Bomb over the city of Paris -

The yellow circle in the center represents the size of the initial fireball of the explosion, while the larger red circle represents the "zone of total destruction."

I suppose that this represents the ultimate end of the argument that you'e got to have an AR-15 with a 100-round drum magazine for self-defense ... because you never know when some miscreant in the airport will have a gun with a 50-round magazine. 

Have a good day. Think about all the better things on which we could be spending our money and our scientific talent. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Independence Day, 2016

Yes, I know that today is supposed to be Musical Monday. But today is a special day, and so Musical Monday will not appear this week, but will return one week from today in this space. You'll survive.

Today is Monday, July 4th - the American holiday of Independence Day. It celebrates the day in 1776 on which the Declaration of Independence (from Great Britain) was formally adopted by the Continental Congress. The draft of the declaration had actually already been approved by the delegates on July 2nd, but the formal adoption came two days later. This, perhaps, marks the start of the longstanding tradition of Congress putting off doing the right thing.

The Fourth of July is the traditional high point of summer, roughly midway between Memorial Day at the end of May and Labor Day at the beginning of September. It's a day for parades, speeches, fireworks, picnics, historical recreations, and a general good time as we celebrate the birth of the United States as an independent nation.

This year, I think our celebration of Independence Day ought to be a bit more reflective. We're in a presidential election year, after all, and our ability to be governed by an elected president rather than a hereditary king was one of the reasons we chose to declare our independence from the mother country. Our first President was, of course, George Washington, often called "The Indispensable Man" or "The Father of His Country." With courage, dignity, and foresight, Washington established the parameters and initial traditions of the office that has since been held by such other towering figures as Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. And by lesser figures who have diminished it*.

This year, 240 years after the Declaration of Independence and 227 years after George Washington assumed office as our first President, we face a probable election choice between two candidates who share the distinction of having the lowest public approval ratings of any candidates in our history. You'd think that out of a population of 320 million people, we could do better.

But I digress.

One of the traditional themes of Independence Day celebrations is freedom. This is a word we Americans love, but for which we have many shades of understanding. When I was in grade school**, we were required to take Civics classes to learn about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. One of the lessons drummed into us back then was the difference between freedom and license, a difference that is pretty much ignored today. Here are the relevant definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary:

Freedom: (1) The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint; (2) Absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.

License: (1) Formal or official permission to do something; (2) Freedom to behave as one wishes, especially in a way that results in excessive or unacceptable behavior.

It seems to me that what many of today's Americans, both on the political right and left, demand is not freedom, but license. Consider the following examples:

- Many on the Christian Right define religious freedom as the right not only to live according to their own beliefs, but to impose those beliefs on others or deny others the freedom to live according to the tenets of different religions.

- Many on the Left call for the legalization of drugs, ignoring their catastrophic impact on society.

- Many on the conservative Right reject even the discussion of any limits on the possession and sale of firearms of all types and on the right to carry them openly or concealed everywhere, ignoring the carnage on our streets and in our homes that's a result of the ready availability of weapons vastly more powerful than those imagined by the authors of the Second Amendment.

- Many on the Left demand a vaguely-defined wage equality, ignoring the fact that some jobs are more responsible or more technical than others, and consequently deserve a higher rate of pay***.

On this Independence Day, 240 years after the declaration of our independence, Americans around the world celebrate not the love of freedom, but the lust for license, draped in patriotic red, white, and blue bunting and paraded to the lively tune of fifes and drums.

I think we need to bring back old-style Civics classes ... but I also think they'd be treated as an anachronism by Americans besotted with the idea that freedom should know no bounds, including those of common sense and decency.

Have a good day. Enjoy your freedoms, and let the rest of us enjoy ours as well.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Yes, W, I'm talking about you. And Millard Fillmore. And James Buchanan.

** Shortly after the dinosaurs died out.

*** A "living wage" is not the same thing, and is worth supporting.

Born in the USA. Not.

In its decision on the case Zivotofsky v Kerry (13-628, read it here), the Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional part of a federal law that allowed Americans born in Jerusalem to claim "Israel" as their place of birth in their passports.

You may not care much about the issue of what place of birth is shown in your passport, but this case has major implications. Congressional conservative supporters of Israel strongly supported the current law because it allowed them to give a de facto recognition to Jerusalem as part of (if not the capitol of) Israel ... while it has been official US government policy for more than 60 years that no single state has full sovereignty over that city.

The larger political issue (as if ownership of the most contested city in the world isn't enough) is this: who controls foreign policy? Is it the President or is it Congress?

I would argue that it's a shared responsibility (as is all of government), but that the government needs to speak with one voice - and that's the President's ... informed and advised, but not undermined, by Congress. The Constitution doesn't say much about the subject*, merely implying the ability to recognize foreign governments by giving the President the authority to "appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls" (see Article II, Section 2).

The debate over this decision will go on, much of it silly** and unreservedly partisan rather than thoughtful and reasoned. But there's one other aspect of the whole sad affair that really bothers me, considering that it was based on the notation of "place of birth" in a United States passport ... this statement by 12 year-old Menachem Zitofsky, whose passport was the original issue:

"I'm an Israeli, and I want people to know that I'm glad to be an Israeli."

Well, then, young man, I suggest you move to Israel and get yourself an Israeli passport. If you don't want to be an American, you don't belong here holding the same passport carried by US soldiers who have bled and died for their country, and wasting the time of a Supreme Court that has better things to do than validate your desire to be an Israeli.

End of rant.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Oddly enough.

** As in Justice Scalia's cogent observation that "the fact that the State Department doesn't like the fact that it makes the Palestinians angry is irrelevant."

Then and Now

I was born in 1951, a time when childhood and parenting were a lot different from what they are today. My parents spanked us reguarly when they felt we needed it. I went to a parochial grade school where the nuns regularly administered corporal punishment (I still remember old Sister Angelica storming down the aisle between the desks toward a misbehaving fellow in the back, shouting "I'm going to hit you with my fist!!" ... and doing it), rode my bike without a helmet, drank from the water hose, and walked significant distances after dark to and from my friends' homes. Somehow, I survived. So did most others of my generation.

I've seen a number of variations on this "then and now" summary, but this one is pretty comprehensive. It lacks nuance, but is nevertheless useful as a guide to how things have changed over the years. If you are the parent of grade-school or high-school age children today, you may well be shocked and amazed that your parents lived long enough to have you ...

1957 vs. 2014

Scenario 1 (Grade School): Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.

1957: Johnny quickly feels better and goes on playing.

2014: Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in state prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy.


Scenario 2 (High School): Jack goes duck hunting before school and then pulls into the school parking lot with his shotgun in his truck's gun rack.

1957: Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.

2014: School goes into lockdown, SWAT team deployed, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his
truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

                       
Scenario 3 (High School): Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.

1957: Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.

2014: Police called; SWAT team arrives and arrests both Johnny and Mark. They are both charged with assault and expelled even though Johnny started it.


Scenario 4 (High School): Jeffrey will not be still in class, he disrupts other students.

1957: Jeffrey sent to the Principal's office and given a good paddling by the Principal. He returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.

2014: Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. He becomes a zombie. He is then tested for ADD. The family gets extra money (SSI) from the government because Jeffrey has a disability.


Scenario 5 (High School): Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.

1957: Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.

2014: Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse and Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister tells the state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has an affair with the psychologist.


Scenario 6 (High School): Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.

1957: Mark shares his aspirin with the Principal out on the smoking dock.

2014: The police are called and Mark is expelled from school for drug violations. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.


Scenario 7 (High School): Pedro fails high school English.

1957: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.

2014: Pedro's cause is taken up by numerous civil rights groups. National newspapers editorialize that making English proficiency a requirement for graduation is racist. The ACLU files a class action lawsuit against the state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Pedro is given his diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.


Scenario 8 (High School): Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the Fourth of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up an ant hill.

1957: Ants die.

2014: Local SWAT teams, the ATF, Homeland Security and the FBI are all called. Johnny is charged with domestic terrorism. The FBI investigates his parents and all children are removed from their home. All the family’s computers are confiscated. Johnny's dad is placed on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.


It's a different world out there, isn't it?

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Countdown to Irresponsibility

Tomorrow morning at 12:01AM, barring a sudden and unexpected rush of sanity and adult behavior, Congress (mainly the far-right wing of the Republican Party) will partially shut down the United States government. Many thousands of government workers (including my son and daughter) and those whose livelihoods depend on their work will be furloughed, without hope of regaining pay lost during the duration of the manufactured crisis. The local and national economies will be damaged. Brainless wingnuts wearing tricorn hats will wave their Gadsden flags and trumpet their fidelity to concepts they do not understand, and the rest of the world will shake its head at our propensity for self-destructive behavior.

If you read the comments posted to online articles at CNN.com and Washingtonpost.com about the government shutdown, you will find some of the most amazing trolls you will ever hope to see, continuing the heaping of abuse on government workers that was begun by the GOP's extreme right wing. The people who keep you safe, ensure your food is wholesome, protect you from disease, allow you to fly safely, and try to prevent you from being exploited by your employers are derided as lazy, stupid, shiftless bums and jackbooted thugs^TM who "couldn't run a lemonade stand" (a quote from one amazing comment I read this morning) who all deserve to be thrown to the curb so that America will suddenly return to its imagined past paradise of untrammeled, unlimited "freedom."

This afternoon, Agnes's cousin Bernadette and her husband Richard will arrive from Germany for a visit. One of the things they'll ask me will almost certainly be the question I heard so often from people while we were in Germany earlier this month: What's wrong with you people?

Sadly, the problem is that the irresponsible and narcissistic people who are causing this needless crisis are impervious to logic and reason. A great quote from the film The Dark Knight applies ... Alfred, Bruce Wayne's loyal butler, is telling his boss a story from his experience searching for a bandit leader in the Burmese jungle. In the end, the search was unsuccessful because, as Alfred explained ...

... some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

And some men just believe so totally in their own righteousness that they're willing to take the whole country down with them.

I could go on, but I'm too angry and too ashamed of the ludicrous clown show that has replaced our government and the bizarre mouth-frothing that has replaced civil discourse. I wonder what sort of lesson we're teaching our children, and what kind of country we're leaving them.

Have a good day. Tomorrow I'll try to be more positive, and to tell you the story of this past weekend's visit to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands with the local grandchildren. Perhaps I'll be more centered, and my aches and pains a bit eased, by then.

Bilbo

One Word: Betrayal

Unless you've been vacationing in a cave in Outer Mongolia for the last week or so, you are certainly familiar with the case of Mr Edward Snowdon, the individual now hiding in the vicinity of Hong Kong who has made headlines by exposing some very secret programs of the US intelligence community. He believes he is a true-blue American who is standing up for rights he believes are being trampled by an evil government. Many people on the political left (understandably) and the political right (oddly enough) consider him a hero, albeit probably for different reasons.

I believe he's a holier-than-thou, hypocritical, treasonous ass clown who has caused immeasurable damage not just to the nation, but to people like himself. He should be arrested, tried and - if found guilty - imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Let's establish one thing up front: the program that Mr Snowdon, with all the vast, accumulated wisdom of his 29 years, exposed was perfectly legal under US law. It was approved by Congress, vetted by the courts, and operated under a network of legal and procedural oversight provisions designed to protect the rights of US persons. Reasonable people may (hell, will) disagree over whether the program is moral, as opposed to legal, and whether Congress has taken its oversight responsibilities seriously enough, but the simple fact remains that Mr Snowdon exposed for his own reasons a very expensive, very secret, very legal program intended to protect you and I ... and him ... from those who would do us harm.

Many critics thunder that we can't possibly know how evil this program is because it's secret. Strange as it may seem, there are often very good reasons for keeping secrets. The modern knee-jerk assumption that things are classified only to cover up government malfeasance is an insult to the many thousands of people who work very hard each day to protect you and I from the dangers of a very dark world. We often forget that there are lots of people out there who hate us for what we are and would happily murder us without worrying about laws, courts, rights, Congressional oversight, or any of the other things we take for granted.

There are real issues here, to be sure. Vast amounts of information are needlessly classified, or are classified at levels far in excess of their real importance. And much information that probably should be classified is not, for any number of reasons. There are serious issues that must be addressed ... but not in the court of public opinion.

As for the exposure of questionable or illegal activities, there are channels through which such allegations can be reported and investigated* ... but the front page of the daily paper is not one of them.

But returning to Mr Snowdon for a moment, one might reasonably ask this question: what does he think gives him a moral and legal authority greater than that of all three branches of our democratically elected government? And how can he claim any sort of moral authority when he himself has brazenly violated his own sworn oaths to protect the information to which he had been granted access?

I recommend you read this New York Times opinion article by David Brooks - The Solitary Leaker. It is a brilliantly written and damning indictment of the damage done by a headstrong young man who believes he knows better than everyone else what is right and wrong. From the article ...

"For society to function well, there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures. By deciding to unilaterally leak secret NSA documents, Snowden has betrayed all of these things.

"He betrayed honesty and integrity, the foundation of all cooperative activity. He made explicit and implicit oaths to respect the secrecy of the information with which he was entrusted. He betrayed his oaths."

The word betrayal is not used lightly here, for that is exactly what Mr Snowdon has done. He has betrayed honesty and integrity, his oaths, his friends, his employers, and the very cause of open government he professes to serve. And more than that, again in the words of Mr Brooks ...

"He betrayed the Constitution. The founders did not create the United States so that some solitary 29-year-old could make unilateral decisions about what should be exposed. Snowden self-indulgently short-circuited the democratic structures of accountability, putting his own preferences above everything else."

We live in an unfortunate time when honesty and integrity and the value of oaths solemnly made are worth little to a narcissistic moron who believes that the rules don't apply to him.

If you think that Mr Snowdon has done anything other than despicably betray the nation, perhaps you need to think it over again and decide what sort of moral compass you yourself choose to follow.

Have a good day. More, and happier, thoughts coming on Cartoon Saturday.

Bilbo

* And are, more often than you would be led to believe.

Bilbo's DUMBCON Structure, Updated for a Dumber Time

You will recall, Dear Readers, that we have been at National Stupidity Condition (DUMBCON) 1 - the highest level - for quite some time, as I have seen nothing that would convince me to lower the level.

However, the events of the last few weeks have convinced me that my existing DUMBCON structure, which has served us well since I first introduced it back in 2009, is no longer adequate to present an accurate measure of the level of national stupidity. The events to which I refer include the complete failure of Congress to actually do anything useful. and the rise of a "truther" movement arguing that the December 2012 massacre of schoolchildren at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax perpetrated by a Tyrannical Government^TM to allow Jack-Booted Government Thugs^TM to confiscate the hundreds of millions of guns already owned by US citizens.

We live, sadly, in a world in which truth no longer has any meaning, and the most utterly ludicrous theories have an Internet and a news outlet* to spread and encourage them. We are surrounded by people so impervious to reason, common sense, compassion, and common humanity that they cannot accept any information that does not confirm their True Beliefs ... their clue chutes are shut, locked, bolted from the inside, welded shut, painted over, and protected by an impenetrable force field of complete and utter righteousness previously found only in the worst of religious bigots.

Therefore, I have decided to revise and update the DUMBCON structure to include a level of stupidity beyond the original top end of DUMBCON 1.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are going to

DUMBCON ZERO!

Here are the new DUMBCON levels, effective immediately:

DUMBCON 5 (Code Green) - Ordinary, day-to-day level of stupidity. People actually pay attention to clueless twits like "Reverend" Terry Jones, any Middle Eastern "religious leader," Harry Reid, John Boehner, or anyone from the Tea Party; Lindsey Lohan is arrested again for something or other; people continue to listen to rap music and give a rat's ass about anyone named Kardashian. Congress is in session.

DUMBCON 4 (Code Blue) - Things are more stupid than usual. Congressional Republicans and Democrats blame each other for the crisis du jour; Congress continues to spend money on military equipment the services don't want, but which are built in the districts of key lawmakers; Hugo Chavez or Mahmoud Ahmedinejad make lengthy speeches blaming the US for everything wrong in the world back to the extinction of the dinosaurs; another al Qaeda offshoot springs up, engages in kidnapping and massacre in the name of religion, and gets 24/7 fawning air time on al-Jazeera television.

DUMBCON 3 (Code Yellow) - Things are getting pretty stupid. Congressional Republicans advocate shutting down the government if they don't get their way; mindless ass clowns continue to insist that President Obama was actually born in a stone cottage in Tierra del Fuego despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary; hard-core conservatives of the Tea Party continue to believe that all will be well if we just get rid of unions, eliminate all spending on social programs, and slash taxes on businesses and the wealthy; and Democrats continue to believe ... well ... whatever it is they believe in (they're still not sure themselves).

DUMBCON 2 (Code Magenta) - start shaking your head - it's getting really stupid out there. People continue to believe Faux News is "fair and balanced;" a lunatic massacres 20 children and six adults at an elementary school, and the NRA says the answer to gun violence is ... more guns!; the EPA once again accepts industry threats about the economic consequences of requiring them to clean up toxic wastes and emissions, and dutifully waters down the latest set of proposed environmental protection standards.

DUMBCON 1 (Code Red) - Stupidity beyond your wildest dreams. Go back to bed and hide under the pillows. Businesses increase prices to cover their "increased costs," but demand their employees accept wage cuts that will prevent them from buying the products they make; Congress postures and bloviates for months without taking useful action, then finally reaches agreement at the last possible second ... but only to delay action until a later time, at which they can bloviate for another few months without taking useful action. Each side declares victory.

And ...

DUMBCON 0 (Code Orange) - A level of stupidity far exceeding your worst nightmares. People wholeheartedly buy into ludicrous conspiracy theories that even the least-educated, religiously hidebound person in the Middle East wouldn't accept; local sheriffs announce that they will decide on their own authority which laws are constitutional and will be enforced; disgraced hero Lance Armstrong singlehandedly destroys cycling as a sport; and people actually believe that a government that can't even pass a budget - or agree on anything at all - will somehow be able to get its act enough together to confiscate weapons from the most heavily-armed population on earth.

We're at DUMBCON ZERO, and I fear we're going to be here for a long, long time.

Have a good day, but keep your head down. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* That would be Faux News.

Not Much More to Say

The horrendous tragedy of the massacre of innocent children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut last week has generated the usual outpouring of horror and outrage over the availability of high-powered military grade weapons with high-capacity magazines to ordinary citizens. Everywhere except at the National Rifle Association, of course, where the NRA website features only a Wayne LaPierre editorial from November 27^th crowing that more guns have led to less crime in Virginia.

Too bad about Connecticut.

And, of course, a tragedy like this brings out the despicable morons of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have announced plans to picket the funerals of the Sandy Hook victims.

People more passionate and erudite than I have already written more - and better - about this ghastly event than I can. Duckbutt had a marvelous post on his blog last Friday, and commentator Petula Dvorak published an excellent opinion piece in the Washington Post, in which she wrote,

The 20 young children gunned down inside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday were swaddled in federally regulated, fire-retardant blankets, rode in elaborate car seats plastered with safety stickers, and learned to ride bikes with elbow pads, knee guards and safety helmets. Some of them may never have had a Twinkie pass their lips. Cribs, bouncy seats, cough medicine, scooters, sugary snacks — we have no problem regulating the life out of those. But how do we keep our children safe in their kindergarten classrooms when we live in a culture that has persuaded itself to accept guns?

There are also the usual editorial cartoons, some of them banal and many of them devastatingly ... if I can be forgiven for using the expression ... on target. This was one of the best ...

And this one goes back a few years to yet another mass murder, but is still every bit as accurate as when Tom Toles first drew it ...

Despite all the horror and outrage, nothing will happen. Public figures will give pious speeches, memorials will be held, editorials will be written, the Westboro Baptist Church will act stupidly intolerant, and the dedicated partisans of the gun lobby will continue to chant their mantra that guns don't kill people, people kill people ... neglecting to mention that people can kill far more people, faster and more efficiently, with guns.

I can't really say anything else about this, but others will.

And nothing will be done, which is the real tragedy.

My heart goes out to the families of the murdered children and their teachers. My complete and utter contempt goes out to those who willfully ignore the lessons of this terrible event.

Have a good day. Love each other. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Map Flap

Once again, China has demonstrated that it is fast becoming a major world power like the United States ... this time, with yet another ham-handed and needless insult to the nations which surround it.

This article appeared in yesterday's The Washington Post: "Here’s the Chinese Passport Map That’s Infuriating Much of Asia." Yes, Dear Readers, it seems that the latest high-tech Chinese passports include a map on page 8 which shows many disputed territories - including parts of India and Vietnam and the entire South China Sea - as parts of China. This is the passport page in question ...

As you might suspect, nations which have territorial disputes with their gigantic neighbor are understandably upset, and are reacting to the insulting map in different ways. At border crossings to Vietnam, officials are stapling visas to the offending page in order to cover up the map. The Indian embassy in Beijing is overstamping the page with a new visa stamp which features the Indian version of the map ... which, of course, shows disputed Himalayan territories as parts of India. Several Asian nations have filed formal complaints at the Chinese embassies in their countries, and others are expected to do so.

Why do such a deliberately provocative thing? Some observers note that the Chinese government has a sense of entitlement that grows out of a perception of itself as a country long exploited by others, and so it is perfectly okay for the Chinese to do what they believe was always done to them. The problem, of course, is that in many Asian cultures it is important to save face ... and now that the offending map has been published, backing away from it would cause an insulting loss of face for the Chinese government. This is not a good thing when you are an opaque, nuclear-armed nation with a huge army and a reputation for bullying its neighbors.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

But the Chinese passport map flap raises another interesting question ... if various whiny crybaby states actually do manage to secede from the United States, what maps would they include in their passports? I imagine that Texas passports would show that nation as including large parts of Mexico, New Mexico, and other bordering states as far away as, say, New York. An independent Virginia might claim West Virginia. North and South Dakota might claim each other. It's unlikely that any newly-independent state would claim ownership of New Jersey. The possibilities are endless.

Have a good day. Visit your favorite Asian destination now, before it becomes part of China.

And come back tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday.

Bilbo