Conservatives Are From Mars. Liberals Are From Venus

Posted on November 29, 2012 by

Have you ever wondered or asked out loud why Congress can’t get along? “Why can’t they just compromise!? After all, we are all Americans who love our country.”

Well, things are not quite that simple. Years ago, of course, those statements would likely be true. In recent decades, however, the two competing ideologies in America have taken divergent paths that have led conservatives and progressives to polar opposites. Conservatives are entrenching themselves in the traditional ideas of America. Progressives are regressing (how do you like that word play!) back to their Marxist-Socialist roots, or at the least to a European form of Social Democracy. But I repeat myself.

Rated terms by party ID.gif

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Romney’s Rapid Return to Relevance: Doing lunch at the Obama’s

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Since President Obama first stated that he wanted to have a private meeting with Mitt Romney we have been speculating that the tenet of this audience would be to offer the former Governor some sort of cabinet position within the President’s administration. Whether it would be to fill the President’s newly proposed Secretary of Business position, or just to get some new and fresh ideas from the former GOP candidate, still remains to be seen. But I for one am very curious as to what topics they will be discussing or offers that are made.

Yahoo News|

President Barack Obama will welcome Republican Mitt Romney to the White House on Thursday for a private lunch—reporters are not welcome.

“There will be no press coverage of the meeting,” the White House said in its announcement that the former rivals would hold their first postelection talks.
Obama soundly defeated Romney after a hard-fought, often bitter campaign that offered contrasting visions of taxes, spending and the role of government in boosting the economy. While polls throughout the campaign suggested a close race, Obama ultimately carried 332 electoral votes, far more than the 270 needed for re-election. The former Massachusetts governor won 206 electoral votes.

Obama had said in his election night victory speech that he aimed to sit down with Romney “in the weeks ahead” for a conversation “about where we can work together to move this country forward.” [...]

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Work Just Isn’t Very Profitable Now Days

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Zero Hedge made some interesting points about the nation’s economy and the welfare system. I won’t simply cut and paste the post he put effort in producing, so I’ll include some of his findings pulled from various agencies. I recommend reading his post.

  1. For increasingly more it is now more lucrative – in the form of actual disposable income – to sit, do nothing, and collect various welfare entitlements, than to work.
  2. The single mom is better off earnings gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045.
  3. For every 1.65 employed persons in the private sector, 1 person receives welfare assistance
  4. For every 1.25 employed persons in the private sector, 1 person receives welfare assistance or works for the government.
  5. 110 million privately employed workers; 88 million welfare recipients and government workers and rising rapidly.

John Hinderaker at Power Line states the obvious.

We are constantly told that it is difficult to find any state or federal spending that can possibly be cut. This suggestion is, I think, ludicrous. Let’s start by cutting welfare, and cutting it deeply. Not only because it is wasteful, but because by devaluing work it threatens to cripple not merely our economy, but our culture. An America where you are better off cashing welfare checks than working is an America that cannot long survive.

Here is a chart from the Heritage Foundation that breaks the myth that we have a revenue problem. We have no such thing. We have a spending a problem.

Federal Spending Exceeds Federal Revenue by More than $1 Trillion

I’m looking forward to the so called "balanced approach" in dealing with the fiscal cliff. But I won’t hold my breath.

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John Nichols and Liberal Overreach on Obama Mandate Speculation

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

If there ever was a word which explained the Liberal reaction to President Obama’s victory it’s”overreach.” A fine example of this proclivity is John Nichols, a writer for the liberal publication, The Nation.

Mr. Nichols’s latest article is a veritable treasure trove of exaggerations, exacerbation’s  and extravagance in reasoning when it comes to analyzing President Obama’s victory. When he attempted to tackle MSNBC’s Joe  Scarborough’s challenging of conventional liberal wisdom that the President is the recipient of a directive from the people on dictating the terms of the so-called Fiscal Cliff negotiations he jumps the shark. Let’s take a look at Mr. Nichols’s claims and appropriately debunk them.

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Japan Increases Military Presence in Asia; And No the US Isn’t Leading From Behind

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

I’ve written a few posts on Realism as of late. Obviously from those readings you could peg me as a Realist as it pertains to international relations. When one unequivocally endorses a theory over another, the likelihood one is to be called an ideologue. International Relations isn’t quite that simple. Paradigms in the international system are far more lasting and concrete than domestic politics. Realism is the dominant theory in international relations for good reason. Realism comes closest to explaining and interpreting the world as it exists. It considers both human nature and behavior of states in a practical sense. That is not to say Realism is the only theory. When it comes to power capabilities shared across the system, and the need for states to gain security over their competitors; Realism is the only theory that can explain the whys and what fors.

Having said that, news that Japan is increasing its military and security role in the Pacific is welcomed news.

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Einstein Really Was a Genius

Posted on November 27, 2012 by

That statement goes beyond his theories and general contributions to science. According to researchers who have studied Einstein’s brain, there are some highly unusual characteristics that may have contributed to his highly unusual mental ability.

A study of 14 newly discovered photographs of Einstein’s brain, which was preserved for study after his death, concludes that the brain was indeed highly unusual in many ways. But researchers still don’t know exactly how the brain’s extra folds and convolutions translated into Einstein’s amazing abilities.

The detail’s of Einstein’s brain after his death was heavily documented. Researchers cut the brain in sections and made has many as 2,000 slices from the sections for microscopic examination. In addition, each section and slice was heavily noted and photographed.

Some of these studies did find interesting features in Einstein’s brain, including a greater density of neurons in some parts of the brain and a higher than usual ratio of glia (cells that help neurons transmit nerve impulses) to neurons. Two studies of the brain’s gross anatomy, including one published in 2009 by anthropologist Dean Falk of Florida State University at Tallahassee, found that Einstein’s parietal lobes — which might be linked to his remarkable ability to conceptualize physics problems — had a very unusual pattern of grooves and ridges.But the Falk study was based on only a handful of photographs that had been made available by Harvey, who died in 2007. In 2010, Harvey’s heirs agreed to transfer all of his materials to the U.S. Army’s National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring.

For the new study, published Nov. 16 in the journal Brain, Falk teamed up with neurologist Frederick Lepore of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and Adrianne Noe, director of the museum, to analyze 14 photographs of the whole brain from the Harvey collection that had never been made public. The paper also includes a “road map” prepared by Harvey that links the photographs to the 240 blocks and the microscopic slides prepared from them in hopes that other scientists will use them to do follow-up research.

The team compared Einstein’s brain with those of 85 other people and found that the great physicist did indeed have something special between his ears. Although the brain is only average in size, several regions feature additional convolutions and folds rarely seen in others. For example, the regions on the left side of the brain that facilitate sensory inputs into and motor control of the face and tongue are much larger than normal; and his prefrontal cortex — linked to planning, focused attention and perseverance — is also greatly expanded.

“In each lobe,” including the frontal, parietal and occipital lobes, “there are regions that are exceptionally complicated in their convolutions,” Falk says. As for the enlarged regions linked to the face and tongue, Falk thinks that this might relate to Einstein’s famous quote that his thinking was often “muscular” rather than done in words.

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Another Example of How Progressives and Feminists Are Out of Touch

Posted on November 26, 2012 by

Feminists and their progressive allies are continuously on the march for equality. Anything, and I mean anything, that is or appears to be gender biased, will soon find itself within their cross hairs. Oddly, these targets are rather innocuous to most people.For example, their victory over the Masters proved to be a historical accomplishment. Provided you are a feminists, of course.

But these feminists have always had their sights on the truly male dominated institution within society: the military. They even made a movie about it called GI Jane. After winning a case against the Virginia Military Institute, which allowed women within its ranks during the ’90s, these feminists wanted more for women!

They want women to be allowed in combat infantry units and potentially face the rigors of combat just like men. Most women, on the other hand, wish feminists would stop doing them so many favors. Those women who actually know what goes into military training and the rigors of physically demanding operations readily recognize the physical inequalities between men and women.

That isn’t intended to be a knock on women. It’s a biological fact. Are some women tougher then some men. Sure. Are tough women as tough as tough men. Absolutely not.

In a July article in Marine Corps Gazette titled “Get Over It! We Are Not All Created Equal!” Capt. Katie Petronio said she suffered from restless leg syndrome, severe muscle atrophy and infertility resulting from 10-month and seven-month deployments, respectively, to Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, she commanded 30 Marines who were building patrol bases in Helmand province, one of the most dangerous areas at that time.

“At the end of the seven-month deployment, and the construction of 18 [patrol bases] later, I had lost 17 pounds and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which personally resulted in infertility, but is not a genetic trend in my family), which was brought on by the chemical and physical changes endured during deployment,” Capt. Petronio wrote.

Nonetheless, Marines are experimenting by allowing women to tryout for its Marine Officer Infantry Course. This was a directive from civilians within the DoD and Pentagon. Surely, the feminists’ hard work to free women of male dominated institutional restraints has unleashed a flood of untapped manpower..er womanpower, for the Marines, right?

Not exactly. Out of 80 eligible female Marines, only two volunteered. One washed out on the first day. The other was dismissed two weeks later for medical reasons. Why the high washout rate? Well, its a tough course and lots of male volunteers washout, too.

You can read the entire story here.

Posted in American Society, Military | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Will There Be Room for Realism In Obama’s Second Term?

Posted on November 26, 2012 by

It is a question worth asking considering the likelihood of a Susan Rice appointment to Secretary of State. Rice during her brief time on the stage as UN Ambassador to the United Nations, has shown she is an interventionists in the liberal mold. Walter Russel Mead stated it this way.

The Obama administration is moving from a realist, in some ways Jeffersonian approach to foreign policy—limiting commitments, looking for compromise solutions with opponents regardless of ideology—to something more Wilsonian: giving democracy promotion and human rights a higher profile in the national security portfolio.

Mead then follows up with Realists Stephen Walt’s points of concern.

It’s a question of balance, and my sense is that the administration’s world-view is getting narrower over time. Realists like Robert Gates have been gone for some time, and Clinton will be gone soon. James Jones left the NSC years ago, and independent thinkers like the late Richard Holbrooke are no longer with us. Instead of vigorous and creative debate and a willingness to rethink past decisions or priorities, we’re likely to get groupthink and a tendency to circle the wagons and defend past decisions…

In other words, both men worry over the prospects of more direct US involvement and interventionism instead of balancing and containment.

Susan Rice will continue to push towards a more engaged and ideal driven foreign policy—replacing what one could call the conservative internationalism of the neocons with the more traditional but equally ambitious liberal internationalism that many Democrats prefer.

What exactly does Realism offer? Realism offers are strength, security, and balance. All of these can be achieved without conflict for the US while maintaining its level of predominance in the international system.

What exactly does Realism prescribe? Realist theory prescribes that if great powers wish to maintain their security and advance their interests, they should balance against other great powers and contain minor powers by virtue of their hegemony and power capabilities.

I state these prescriptions because the system is an anarchical and brutal arena where states look for opportunities to take advantage of each other. This is not to be understood as chaotic but rather is the absence of any authority above the state to guarantee security and execute justice. Therefore, states provide for their own security in the form of self-help. Since one state cannot know the intentions of another, a premium must be placed on relative power vis-à-vis other states. From a Realists perspective, power and survival means military and economic capabilities.

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Nate Silver and the predominance of Sabermetrics in political polling.

Posted on November 26, 2012 by
Nate Silver

Nate Silver (Photo credit: jdlasica)

One of the most distinct features of the 2012 Presidential election was the polling wars that took place. The copious amounts of data seemed to tell two completely different stories. The first was that President Obama would handedly win the election by a significant amount while the other side showed former Governor Romney delivering a victory by the smallest of margins. The division on how to read the polls caused quite a stir among the Right and the Left. Well…in all reality neither sides forecast was quite that accurate with the exception of NY Time’s blogger, Nate Silver whose probability model accurately predicted the results in 50 of 50 states as well as the margin of victory.

What makes Silver so special  is that he is what is known as a sabermetrician, not your standard political polling operative. According to Wikipedia, Sabermetrics is the technique of “specialized analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity.” He has adopted these SABR techniques and uniquely fit them to prediction models which are far more accurate than those presently used by standard polling agencies. Below is an article from Foreign Policy which highlights the effects sabermetrics are going to have political polling and how Silver successfully pioneered this innovation in the world of politics. Very interesting read if you are curious as to what happened.

Foreign Policy|

Before Billy Bean and the sabermetric revolution upended baseball and ushered in a new era of statistically driven baseball analysis, old-timers insisted that the young eggheads and their spreadsheets were no match for a time-worn scout. Experience, gut feeling, and a sense of the intangible qualities that make up a quality prospect — these were the things that the old guard argued could never be captured by an Excel spreadsheet, let alone a statistical model.
By and large, they were wrong, and Billy Bean’s scrappy Oakland Athletics squads showed that the so-called eggheads could see further into the future and with greater clarity than had previously been thought possible.

The same statistical revolution that changed baseball has now entered American politics, and no one has been more successful in popularizing a statistical approach to political analysis than New York Times blogger Nate Silver, who of course cut his teeth as a young sabermetrician. And on Nov. 6, after having faced a torrent of criticism from old-school political pundits — Washington’s rough equivalent of statistically illiterate tobacco chewing baseball scouts — the results of the presidential election vindicated Silver’s approach, which correctly predicted the electoral outcome in all 50 states. [...]

If the GOP was smart they would approach Silver and offer him triple the salary that the Times is currently paying him and get him to head up their polling operation. It would be a first and great step to catching up the with the Democrats.

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The Real Expendables: The French Foreign Legion

Posted on November 24, 2012 by

No other force in the world has known so much war for so long.

Forget your civilian reflexes. War has its own logic. Be smart. For you the fighting does not require a purpose. It does not require your allegiance to France. The motto of the Legion is Legio Patria Nostra. The Legion is our fatherland. This means we will accept you. We will shelter you. We may send you out to die. Women are not admitted. Service to the Legion is about simplifying men’s lives.

Read the rest of this interesting writeup at Vanity Fair.

 

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The GOP Dilemma: Minorities, Whites, and Political Modernization

Posted on November 24, 2012 by

Contrary to popular belief, President Obama’s victory in 2012 was not a result of a shifting demographic trend in the United States. Accordingly, it resulted from the Democrat’s aptitude for effectively organizing and mobilizing increased voter turnout among populations which are favorable to their cause. Additionally, this fact combined with Republican campaigning lethargy and their failure to connect their candidate with the appropriate voters, let a golden opportunity for victory slip through their fingers.
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Posted in American Politics, American Society, Race | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Wither, Romney?

Posted on November 17, 2012 by
Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts,...

Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts, 2008 US presidential candidate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the aftermath of the 2012 elections, Republicans and Conservatives alike are finding themselves lost, hollow, and angry, scurrying around trying to make sense of their loss. At first it seemed that everyone from the electorate to pundits to party bosses were looking to lay blame at someone’s feet and those feet belong to Mitt Romney. And why shouldn’t they? After all he was the candidate whom the GOP chose to nominate and eventually run against President Obama. He was billed as the efficient manager whose data driven business sense and organizational prowess would not only challenge but eventually overtake the President’s highly impressive Chicago machine. Beyond this there was also the President’s abysmal economic and fiscal record to consider. This led many to incorrectly assume that these two phenomenons combined would weigh down his re-election attempt and add a major advantage to Romney camp and increase their chances of victory. Well…they were wrong.

Now, at least according to Ben Smith of Buzzfeed, Republicans just want Mitt and the baggage of 2012 to take a hike and forget it ever happened.

Ten days after at least some Republicans were surprised to see Mitt Romney lose the presidency, the candidate is gone without a trace.

There appears to be no Romney Republicanism to propagate. No Romney strategy to emulate. No Romney technology to ape. No generation shaped by his failed effort. And no Romney infrastructure to inherit, though he may still be asked to write and bundle quite a few checks. Romney’s bewildering post-election explanations of his defeat — Obama, he said, had bought off Americans — drew almost universal condemnation from leaders of his party, but the comments were more excuse than cause; party figures from Ari Fleischer to Bobby Jindal appeared to be waiting to kick Romney to the side of the road. The candidate did them a favor when he complained that Democrats had simply bought off young people and minority voters, a churlish line that erased any lingering Republican affinity for him as, when all else failed, a good-hearted guy.

Romney is being erased with record speed from his party’s books for three reasons. First, many Republicans backed him because they thought he had a good chance of winning; that appeal, obviously, is gone. Second, Romney had shallow roots, and few friends, in the national Republican Party. And those shallow roots have allowed Republicans to give him a new role: As a sort of bad partisan bank, freighted with all the generational positions and postures that they are looking to dump.

“Romney is now a toxic asset to unload,” the historian Jack Bohrer remarked Saturday. “The only interesting thing left to his story is how they dispose of him.”"

Regardless of the criticisms you can raise against the former Governor and his campaign I think that Smith’s observations are circumspect. And people should remember Richard Nixon’s famous quote after his loss in 1962 for the California governorship to Pat Brown, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”

We all know how that turned out.

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The Federal Reserve: A few things you might not have known.

Posted on November 14, 2012 by

The nice folks over at OnlineMBA.com asked us if we would be interested in running the below video. Usually, I am little hesitant when we receive requests like this since you never quite know what sort of outlandish rubbish you might be opening. However, the one they provided was on the Federal Reserve, our nation’s central bank, and was actually rather informative. Regardless of your feelings towards the FED you might find their assessment illustrative and educational.

If you liked this one hit them up at the link, they have a few more which you may also find instructive.

 

Posted in American Society, Blogs and Blogging, Casual, Economics | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

All This Talk of Secession

Posted on November 14, 2012 by

When they began popping up there was no doubt a level of humor to be taken from the online secession petitions to the White House. They were political statements more so than  declarations. Furthermore, the petitions hold no political weight whatsoever. Something as extralegal as secession would have to be decided at levels higher than a few hundred thousand activists.

However, they are not so funny anymore. They are indicative to the mood and outrage of the nations itself, and they are growing. I’d like to state upfront that it isn’t solely because of President Obama. Is he to blame? Absolutely, but so are his 43 predecessors who each did their part to expand the powers of the presidency while in office. Yes, every one of them. The only difference between them is that some did more to expand those powers than others. It’s called human nature.

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