Why Doesn't the Government Do Something?

When six Service members were murdered in Chattanooga, Tennessee last week by a young Muslim man inflamed by radical Islamist teachings, the usual outpouring of anger took place across the country. Along with the usual calls for revenge was another call that one often hears at trying times like this:

"Why doesn't the government do something?"

 It's a good question without a satisfying answer.

The government doesn't "do something" for a lot of reasons. Here are a few:

1. Can you imagine Congress doing anything worthwhile, quickly?

2. Can you imagine Congress doing anything for which the President might get credit?

3. Many of the things that could be done involve intrusions into our privacy, which we absolutely hate unless it's done by big business or social media ... in which case it's okay.

4. Many of the things that could be done require limiting the freedoms we enjoy and demand as Americans. Think about possible limitations on your First (speech, press, assembly, and religion) and Second Amendment (heat-packing) rights and decide if it's what you want.

As historian Will Durant once said, “One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say.”

The last time the government did something in the heat of passion, we got the Patriot Act ... and we all know how well that worked out.

Have a good day. Always count to ten before doing anything stupid. And if you work for the government, count to a thousand. At least five times.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Sex, No. Violence, Yes. Crazy? For Sure!

I read an interesting article on Alternet a while back titled Five American Sex Norms Europeans Probably Think Are Insane. I think they're right. Hell, I think most of them are insane.

I'd like to talk about just one of those five points*: Extreme Violence in the Media Is Fine, Just Don’t Show a Nipple.

In 1999, the Senate Judiciary Committee published a report titled Children, Violence, and the Media. According to statistics cited in the report, by the time an average American child reaches the age of 18, he or she will have seen 200,000 violent acts and 6,000 murders on television. Now, one can quibble with these numbers, but there's no arguing about the prevalence of violence, much of it extreme and sadistic, on television ... two of my least favorite shows are Criminal Minds and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, both of which feature shocking violence, much of it directed against women and children.

Shows like these are very popular, and arguments against their violent content are few, far between, and generally ignored. If you want to hear real outrage about horrible things on television, you have to show a female nipple.

Some of you may recall the mighty howls of outrage that erupted across the country in 2004 when, during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII**, a "wardrobe malfunction" caused one of singer Janet Jackson's nipples to be exposed for approximately a half-second on national television. The horrifying incident led to widespread condemnation of indecency in broadcasting, and the Federal Communications Commission fined CBS $550,000^*** for the exposure of the offending nipple.

If they'd only aired something decent and responsible, such as showing a sadistic villain torturing Ms Jackson while she screamed in terror and agony, it would have been okay.

I often wonder why it is that people get hysterical over the sight of an exposed breast, when they're okay with violent imagery⁺. I'm repulsed by many crime shows on television for their glorification of extreme violence and sadism, but I have no problem with admiring a lady's body if she choses to show it. I've been to topless beaches in Europe (which, in my mind, tend to be overrated as sources of ... uh ... titillation), and I believe in the Picket Fence Theory of feminine dress: it should protect the property without obstructing the view. If you want to go topless or dress minimally, that's fine with me ... but don't be offended if I look.

Let's get upset about the right things. Why fret over exposed breasts when your socialist Muslim Nigerian president is invading Texas and getting ready to confiscate your guns and put you into FEMA internment camps?

I wonder if there's a potential market in this country for tinfoil nipple shields to go with the tinfoil hats?

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* So to speak.

** That's "38," for those of you who don't do Roman numerals.

*** The fine was later overturned in 2011 a decision of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and an attempt to reinstate it was refused a year later.

⁺ I suspect part of the reason is that weapons, especially firearms, are considered holy in this country, and criticizing their depiction and use is blasphemous.

Pictures from Pluto

After a journey of about three billion miles, using technology more than a decade old, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto last week, sending back amazing pictures of a dark and fascinating world we will not see again in such detail in our lifetimes.

The photos from New Horizons were taken with cameras designed and built ten years or more ago, and are probably sharper and more clear than the pictures you take with your top-of-the-line digital SLR camera or your cell phone. Think about that for a minute. How many of us are still shooting with a camera that old ... or even own a phone that's more than two years old*?

This is one of the pictures of Pluto's moon Charon (named for the boatman who ferried dead souls across the River Styx in Greek mythology). The dark area at the top of the image has been named "Mordor," after the realm of the Dark Lord Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, and you can clearly see a vast chasm across the surface in the upper right part of the image.

This is Pluto itself, with its mysterious heart-shaped area ...

Not close enough for you? This fantastic picture shows a closeup of a part of the icy plain that constitutes that heart-shaped space ...

And this amazing closeup shows mountains - probably of ice - on Pluto's surface.

This picture wasn't shot by New Horizons, but it's an artist's conception of the surface of Pluto, lit by sunlight reflecting off the rising moon Charon ... I think it's amazing ...

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty humble right now out here on our pale blue dot in our distant corner of the Milky Way.

Have a good day. Be humble. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Well, besides Agnes and I.

Poetry Sunday

It seems to me that nowadays people in general seem crazier than ever. I don't know if it's because of climate change, pollutants that are changing our brains, political and religious beliefs that harden into spiteful intolerance, or whatever. We're getting crazier by the day and - gawd help us - an election is coming up.

Which brings me to this offbeat poem by Donald Justice ...

Counting the Mad

by Donald Justice

This one was put in a jacket,
This one was sent home,
This one was given bread and meat
But would eat none,
And this one cried No No No No
All day long.

This one looked at the window
As though it were a wall,
This one saw things that were not there,
This one things that were,
And this one cried No No No No
All day long.

This one thought himself a bird,
This one a dog,
And this one thought himself a man,
An ordinary man,
And cried and cried No No No No
All day long.

Don't be one of those crazies who cry "no no no no" all day long. Look for ways to work with each other to get to "yes."

Have a good day, and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

We're halfway through July, and it's about time ...

James Holmes, who murdered 12 people in a Colorado movie theater in 2012, has been found guilty of 12 counts of first-degree murder; former president George H. W. Bush remains hospitalized after suffering an injury in a fall at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine; after a journey of nine years and 3 billion miles, the New Horizons spacecraft is sending back amazingly detailed pictures of the dwarf planet Pluto; four Marines were murdered on Thursday when a gunman attacked two military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee; and the Federal Aviation Administration reported that lasers were pointed at 11 commercial airliners over New Jersey, which could have blinded the pilots and caused them to crash.

Because I'm really irritated about the economy today, our selection of theme cartoons deals with matters economic ...

I think this is the right angle ...

Good observation ...

Hey, it works for them ...

This sounds like the middle of the pay period at my house ...

So does this ...

Yep ...

I think it was comedian Paula Poundstone who said that after taxes, the wages of sin was more like a just a tired feeling ...

Turning to a few random topics to round things out, there are approaches to helping you travel more comfortably by air ...

The scientific method has its problems ...

And finally, even the animals are going high-tech nowadays ...

Today promises to be an good day, as Agnes and I will be meeting our friend and fellow blogger Kathy and her husband for a visit to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, followed by a nice dinner in downtown DC. And then tomorrow we'll get to spend the morning with the local grandchildren.

Life is good!

Have a good day. Come back tomorrow for Poetry Sunday.

Bilbo

The Left Cheek Ass Clown for July, 2015

Yes, Dear Readers, it's time once again to take a cruise through the news and identify a worthy recipient for the second of three Ass Clown awards this month (yes, this is the first month since I went to the Left-Cheek/Right Cheek format that we've had three Fridays ... so you'll need to come back in two weeks and see how we cite the third recipient, there being only two cheeks on the average backside. Any ideas?

This month, I have decided to present the Left Cheek award to someone who, arguably, could have qualified for a Darwin Award instead.

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown Award for July, 2015

is presented

posthumously

to

Devon Staples

On July 4th of this year Mr Staples, who was celebrating the holiday with the traditional American mixture of beer and explosives, placed a reloadable firework-launching mortar tube atop his head and lit the fuse, with predictable results. According to Mr Staples' brother Cody, who witnessed the scene, "There was no rushing him to the hospital. There was no Devon left when I got there."

Mr Staples' death was reported to have been the first fireworks fatality in Maine since state lawmakers in 2012 voted to repeal a 1949 law banning fireworks, reasoning the industry would create jobs and generate revenue. In this case, it certainly generated revenue for the funeral industry.

For his poor choice in combining alcohol, explosives, and garden-variety stupidity, Devon Staples is posthumously named as our Left Cheek Ass Clown for 2015.

Don't try this at home.

Have a good day. See you tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday.

Bilbo

Why Bother With Laws?

It's very difficult to have a rational discussion about the gun culture in America, and so today I'll limit myself to a general philosophical question based on one of the points always raised by pro-Second Amendment partisans: that laws which restrict the purchase and ownership of firearms place an unfair and unjust burden on responsible gun owners because criminals will always ignore those laws.

Now, let's follow that argument to its logical conclusion. If we can say,

"Laws which restrict the purchase and ownership of firearms place an unfair and unjust burden on responsible gun owners because criminals will always ignore the law"

Then it follows that,

"Laws place an unfair and unjust burden on responsible citizens because criminals will always ignore the law*."

"Whoa there, big guy!" you say. "That's not the same at all!"

But why isn't it? Gun enthusiasts maintain that laws restricting gun ownership are unfair because the "bad guys" will ignore them and the "good guys," being upstanding and law-abiding citizens, will observe the laws and thereby place themselves and their families in danger. If that's so, then what's the point of laws at all? Will not most people (the "good guys") always obey them and a relatively small minority (the "bad guys") ignore them?

Laws are important because they establish the boundaries for civil behavior within which society can function. If everyone was gentle, honest, and respectful toward one another, we wouldn't need laws ... but unfortunately, we're not like that, and haven't been for a long time. God Almighty, after all, had to provide Ten Commandments** to remind people how to behave.

So, Dear Readers, please don't insult my intelligence by using the argument that laws don't work because criminals won't obey them. Of course they won't ... that's why they're criminals. The law doesn't magically make them good citizens ... it allows the good citizens to punish them for their actions.

That's all.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Or, as my father was fond of saying, if you lock your doors and windows, all the honest people will stay out.

** Compare that to the US Code, which has 54 "titles" (general subject areas) and constitutes hundreds of thousands of pages of text.

Making Lemonade from the Jade Helm Lemon

Last week I had the opportunity to listen to a very interesting presentation by Daniel Burrus, a noted business strategist and expert on global trends and innovation. Part of Mr Burrus's talk centered on identifying problems early and looking for innovative ways to skip them, head them off or, even better, turn them to one's own advantage.

I thought about that yesterday when I followed a series of web links to this article in the Houston Chronicle: Texans Organize 'Operation Counter Jade Helm' to Keep an Eye on the Federal Troops. Yes, Dear Readers, many suspicious citizens of the Lone Star State, fearful that the "Jade Helm 15" military exercises which begin today in various parts of Texas and other western states are a cover for the imposition of martial law and the confiscation of their guns, are banding together to keep a watchful eye on the troops. These would, of course, be the same troops that people in Texas (and elsewhere) have bumper stickers on their cars urging you to support, but we'll ignore that bit of cognitive dissonance for the moment.

You know how this will play out already, of course - the exercises will take place, no martial law will be imposed, no guns will be confiscated, no one will be rounded up and placed in internment camps, and the tinfoil hat brigades will claim victory ... because, obviously, the evil schemes of the Jack-Booted Government Thugs^TM were defeated by the brave, vigilant and well-armed Texas heroes.

Well, getting back to Mr Burrus and his advice to turn problem to advantage, it occurred to me that we could make some economic and political lemonade out of this gigantic lemon ...

The Army announced last week that it will cut some 40,000 troops from its ranks by 2017 as part of an effort to live with reduced budgets and the expected impact of the next round of sequestration. I suggest the Army close all military bases in Texas and relocate the troops and services remaining after the budget reductions have been achieved to other states. This action would have several positive outcomes:

1. The Army would be better able to live within reduced budgets.

2. The armed services would be able to close some installations in excess of their requirements without interference by the politically-driven Congressional base closure process.

3. The citizens of Texas would not have to worry about the threat posed by federal forces crouching in the state, ready to spring.

4. Other states would be able to benefit economically from the presence of military installations and personnel that are no longer welcome in Texas.

5. The Texan "surveillance teams" and other home-grown militia organizations could be organized into a new Texas Army to defend the Lone Star State against domestic enemies* like the federal government**. This, in turn, has two positive outcomes:

5a. It gives patriotic Texans an opportunity to stand up the "well-regulated militia" envisioned by the Second Amendment***.

5b. It gives Texans a reason to buy more of the guns the Second Amendment gives them the right to have⁺.

So, Dear Readers, what do you think about this? Adjust your tinfoil hat and leave a comment.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Military officers take an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

** Which is clearly a far greater danger than Islamic extremists, extreme right-wing militia organizations, or far-left radicals.

*** Yes, that's part of the Second Amendment, too, but nobody pays attention to it.

⁺ Not as if they needed one.

The Downside of Recycling

No matter where you live, you probably are encouraged - if not required - to recycle certain materials that you used to throw into the trash ... things like newspaper, cardboard, glass bottles, plastic containers, and cans (steel or aluminum).  If you live in Germany, you are also required to recycle your "bio" waste - the vegetable peels and other kitchen waste that can be composted.

Now, recycling is a smart thing to do, but it takes a little bit of effort. In the beginning, you had to separate all your recyclables into the various bins at local recycling centers: "glass" went into a specific bin depending on whether it was clear, green, or brown; steel and aluminum cans went into separate bins; and various kinds of plastics had to be recycled separately because of their chemical composition. Separating the various types of materials helped make the recycling effort economically feasible, encouraging waste management firms to invest in recycling technology that would end up paying for itself, or at least making a modest profit.

But people are lazy, and not everyone was good about properly sorting their recyclable material. And so the concept of single-stream recycling was born, in which all the recyclables - glass, paper, plastic, and metals of all colors and sorts - went into a single bin, to be sorted out later by high-tech machines at a materials recovery facility (or MRF).

That's good for people (who don't have to go to the trouble of sorting out their recyclables), but is it good for recycling in general? Probably not.

According to this interesting article, the use of increasingly large all-material recycling bins has tended to drive down the value of recycling because of contaminants which enter the various streams - bits of paper in the glass, melted paper clips and staples in the paper, and so on. This report from NPR provides a bit more information on that issue. The bottom line is that making recycling easier for people makes it less economically attractive for the companies who have to deal with the endless tons of commingled recyclables that can cross-pollute each other and lead to the need to periodically shut down and clean out the befouled recycling machinery.

Recycling is also becoming less attractive in other areas as well. A meme that's been going around the Internet compares the approval rating of Congress with the rate at which its members are recycled (that is, reelected)* ...

It looks as if some of our garbage will keep getting recycled, no matter what.

Have a good day. Recycle wisely.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* The Tampa Bay Times Politifact.com website examined these figures to see if they were accurate. They rated the claim to be true - that although there were small differences in the actual percentages, the point of the meme was judged to be solid.

I Wouldn't Piss Off That Wall If I Were You ...

One of the problems in major cities (and in a lot of smaller ones, too) is that of people (usually men) who have overindulged in alcoholic beverages and then feel the need to relieve themselves. Unfortunately, all too many of those men are unable or unwilling to go to the nearest toilet, and so opt to relieve themselves against the nearest available wall. This, of course, leads to unsanitary conditions and all sorts of undesirable associated odors.

What to do? Well, as it turns out, science has an answer!

Scientists have developed a specialized hydrophobic paint that actually repels liquids from a painted surface. In fact that paint, properly mixed, will not just cause the painted surface to simply shed liquids such as rain or, well, urine, but to actually repel them with great force. This means that the wall will actually pee back, causing a mess on the offending urinator's shoes and pants, as in this before (vorher) and after (nachher) depiction from Germany*, where the paint is being used** in the St Pauli red-light district of Hamburg ...

This is a marvelous invention, and reflects a practical application of the ability of some substances to actively repel unwanted pollutants. Such substances are found frequently in nature, as in the brains of single-issue fanatics who are impervious to reason and argument. They are the chemical equivalent of Faraday cages, about which I have written before (go here to read the post).

So gentlemen, if you've had a bit too much to drink, you might want to think twice before you pee on that wall. It might just pee back.

Better living through chemistry, as the old slogan says.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Considering the amount of beer consumed in Germany on any given day, one can see the value of such a paint!

** Be sure to watch the video ... it's in German, but has English subtitles.