Squirrels

IT'S SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY!

But I suggest that you avoid giving squirrels beer, because it leads to this:

Which can lead to this:

So, please, celebrate responsibly.

Friday: Time For Boobies

A fine pair.

Shane Rickman

(Happy Narwhal by Shane Rickman.)
Sadly, my friend Shane Rickman was struck and killed by a train on Monday. In addition to being a kind and generous friend, Shane was a gifted and talented artist and a compassionate member of the local community. We are mourning a kind soul who will be truly missed.

"I paint to inspire, to wake the spirit from its slumber and to remind myself of the splendor and beauty of life."

You can view more of Shanes artwork here:http://www.shanerickman.com/index.htm

(Turtles Library by Shane Rickman.)

MLK Day Turns 25

This is the 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday. Sadly ironic that we celebrate the life of a man who advocated non-violent political action while still in the wake of another round of political violence and unjust wars. Many remember Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, but he was just as eloquent about war:

The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of people normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more on military 'defense' than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence

I'm old enough to remember how powerful and effective an orator Dr. King was, and how fierce the battle over civil rights and the Vietnam war was. We could use someone like him today.

Also, today is the 47th birthday of First Lady Michelle Obama, a fitting legacy for Dr. King.

RNC Reduces Bloggers Snark

Looks like we won't have Michael Steele to kick around anymore. Which is somewhat sad, as he was a constant source for easy blog snark (not that I took advantage of the opportunity all that often). At least he left with his own style, saying "Exit, stage right" and then walking off stage left.

I doubt that his replacement, Reince Priebus, will give us as much comedic fodder, other than from spellcheck alternatives, but we can hope. Already, several folks have noticed that if you remove all the vowels from "Reince Priebus" you get: "RNC PR BS", which is a fine start.

Meet Newly-Elected RNC Chair Reince Priebus

Must Be Time For Boobies

Happy Friday.

A Simple Thought

I really wish that I lived in a society where mental health treatment would be as affordable and available as a gun.

Today's Historical Abomination

On January 11th, 1973, the "American" League of major league baseball adopted the "designated hitter" rule, an abomination that has tainted the purity of baseball ever since. When "god" (whoever she is) created baseball, it was ordained that a lineup consisted of 9 players. Allowing a 10th player is just plain wrong, and the world has been going steadily downhill ever since. If we really want to save America, I believe that an excellent first step would be the elimination of the designated hitter.

Three Year Delay

Tom DeLay Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison. It took a while, but the corrupt 'Hammer' has gotten the sentance he deserved.

In The Aftermath

There's a lot to think about in the aftermath of yesterday's tragic Tucson shooting. I'm avoiding the issue of political motivation, except to agree that the violent political rhetoric in recent years has become too over the top to be acceptable to decent people. I'm also going to skip over Arizona's gun laws, which allow pretty much anybody to carry guns pretty much anywhere. Both are very valid issues for debate, but not the topics I chose to focus on.

Instead, there are two major areas that are in my thoughts in the wake of this horrible tragedy. First, this is really bad for representative democracy. Rep. Giffords was shot while making herself directly available to her constituents, as good elected officials should do. The aftermath of this incident is certainly going to frighten her peers into greatly increasing security and reducing public access. That will be a logical reaction for politicians of all political stripes, very few of whom have the courage to risk their lives just to meet with their electorate. Our system of representative democracy was already seriously endangered by the big money in politics reducing the influence of regular citizens. More and more of our elected officials are distant out of touch elites, and the aftermath of this incident will only increase their isolation from the 'populace' that they in theory represent. In the recent past, I could sit down and speak directly with my (recently defeated) congresswoman, and while I doubt I had any influence on her actual votes, she heard my voice as an actual human constituent. Now members of congress will only be meeting with people who are pre-screened (TSA like) and pre-vetted (donors) in the audience. The bubble of isolation will be expanded and strengthened in the wake of this tragedy.

But the even bigger issue in my mind is the appalling lack of mental health treatment in America today. Long time readers may remember that I spent many years as a mental health counselor, working to help seriously disturbed individuals in an incredibly dysfunctional system. I ranted about this in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, and I'm looking at the exact same issue today. How many times have we heard that a mass murder was the act of a "disturbed" individual? Among my clients when I was a counselor, I had several I felt were capable of acts of explosive violence, and the most important part of my job was preventing that.

Today, we hear the alleged shooter, Jared Loughney's internet postings, and it's easy to conclude that this young man was seriously "disturbed" (I'd bet on a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia) and probably delusional. While I don't know if he or his parents ever sought mental health treatment, the fact is that real treatment is generally unavailable and/or woefully inadequate. Unless you are wealthy, treatment only becomes available after you have endangered yourself or others. Clearly there is no guarantee that counselling will prevent acts of violence, but the lack of treatment does guarantee that we will continue to have more tragedies like yesterday. Because we have very many "disturbed" individuals in our society who need help but aren't getting it in our current system.

There will be an excess of finger-pointing in the media, but I doubt that I'll see much talk about helping the "disturbed" individuals before people are killed. So we'll have more tragic mass murders. It's a given, because prevention by helping people is not one of our society's priorities.

Tragedy-Rep. Giffords Shot

Truly tragic news: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been shot in Tucson, while hosting a "congress at your corner" event outside a Safeway store.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head while holding a public event in Tucson, Fox News and National Public Radio reported on Saturday.

Fox said 11 other people were shot when an unidentified gunman ran up and began shooting indiscriminately as Giffords addressed supporters.

Giffords was shot point blank in the head, Fox said.

The network said the gunman was in custody.

Giffords, 40, a Democrat, is married to U.S. astronaut Mark Kelly. She took office in January 2007, emphasizing issues such as immigration reform, embryonic stem-cell research, alternative energy sources and a higher minimum wage.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2011/01/representative_giffords_shot_in_arizona_gunan_held.php?ref=fpa

Rep. Giffords is one of a truly rare breed, an Arizona liberal.

NPR has now reported that she has died from her wounds:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and six others died after a gunman opened fire at a public event on Saturday, the Pima County, Ariz., sheriff's office confirms.

The 40-year-old Democrat, who was re-elected to her third term in November, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson when a gunman ran up and started shooting, according to Peter Michaels, news director of Arizona Public Media.

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/08/132764367/congresswoman-shot-in-arizona

I'm not going to speculate on the motive behind the shooting, but I will point out that Arizona's "open carry" laws allow pretty much anyone to walk around with a gun. By meeting openly and publicly with her constituents, she showed herself to be a responsible representative with courage.

Incredibly tragic.

Update: There are conflicting reports as to whether she is alive in surgery. I'm hoping for the best.

Update 2: Now confirmed that she is alive and in surgery. I struck out the report of her death.

Update 3: Giffords is out of surgery, in "critical" condition. Also, federal judge John Roll was killed in the shooting.

Football and Beer

This post is further evidence that I am shallow and easily amused, but it's playoff time. For those who don't follow football, tonight's game between the reigning champion Saints and the Seattle Seahawks looks like a fluke. The Seahawks won the wretched NFC West with a losing record, which had never happened before.

But tonight, the Seahawks will be putting every ounce into the game:

"We received a copy of the YouTube video showing the quantity of liquid served in the 16 oz. beer cup is the same quantity that fits into the 20 oz. beer cup. This is the first time we have been alerted to this fact. Upon our internal investigation this afternoon, we discovered the cups that are marked 16 oz. hold 20 oz. of liquid.

"Fans who purchased a 16 oz. beer actually received 20 oz. of beer for the 16 oz. price. Fans that purchased the 20 oz. beer received the amount they purchased. We are working with Levy Restaurants to follow up with the cup vendor about the measurement and to determine how long this has been occurring at Qwest Field.

"We are determined to find a solution as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we will serve domestic beer in the 20 oz. cup at tomorrow's playoff game to ensure all fans receive the amount they purchase, and we will charge the 16 oz. price."

Here's the YouTube video exposing the difference -- or lack of difference.

Quite the oddity. As most regular bar patrons know, the standard bar "pint" holds 14 oz., not the 16 oz. of a true pint, making this is opposite of the standard practice. So Seahawks fans should have at least one reason to be happy.

2011 Boobies

Well, no. Not 2,011 of them. But I have decided to continue posting the Friday Boobie in 2011. I debated dropping them as a topic that had run its course, but then I'd have to find a new idea. And I'm not that creative. Besides, the Boobies assure at least one post a week, so people won't think this blog is dead.
Added: Come 2012, I may replace the Boobies with republican presidential candidates. There certainly appear to be plenty of them, and they all seem like boobs. Your thoughts?

Symbolism Failure

As symbolic gestures go, reading the constitution on the house floor falls in the "mostly harmless" category. Of course, the repubs skipped over some parts they decided were "irrelevant" because they didn't quite fit the agenda. So most every representative decided to skip the reading. Heck, new speaker John Boehner held a press conference right in the middle of the reading.

I'm glad that the 112th congress is starting on such a serious note.

Spying Vultures

Report: Saudi Arabia Captures Israeli Vulture For Being Mossad Spy

Of course, nobody really trusts vultures. They're very sneaky and not trustworthy.

(h/t to Rants From The Rookery)

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2011, everybody.

And for the 52nd consecutive year, the calendar begins with my birthday. So happy birthday to me.

An Ice Cave

So my lovely, slightly crazy neighbor decided to gather up all the snow around our apartments and use it to build an ice cave.

Inside the ice cave. It's tall enough for me to stand up straight inside (and I'm 6'3").

Partying inside the ice cave. We're planning to ring in the New Year with a toast inside the ice cave tonight.

One Last Boobie for 2010

Last Boobie of the year. It's been a good year for Boobies.

My Best Of 2010 List

As the year comes to an end, it's customary to list the best (and/or worst) of the year. For me, it's a very short list:
1: The San Francisco Giants WON THE WORLD SERIES!
Understand that I've been a Giants fan since I was a small child, and this had never happened before. I think I celebrated for at least two weeks, and I still get a slightly intoxicated smile every time I utter or hear the phrase "World Champion San Francisco Giants." I'll get to continue feeling that buzz until at least October, if not longer.

I fully realize that many more important things occurred this year, like health care, the repeal of DADT, the rescue of the Chilean miners, and others. But for the rest of my life 2010 will be remembered as the year the Giants won it all!
(I know I'm being rather shallow. Please feel free to leave your "best of 2010" in the comments.)

Merry Christmas. Here's Some Thoughts.

That's for all of us oldsters who remember Walt Kelly's "Pogo", a truly wonderful comic strip. My Father loved to sing "Deck Us All" on Christmas, and it's still a bit of a family tradition for my sisters and I. My nieces think we're rather weird.

Growing up in San Francisco, we never got a "white" Christmas. But my father was very much a traditionalist with all the wintery decorations. Snow seemed so beautiful back then. Now that I live in a place where it actually snows during winter, snow is not so romantic. This year we have a little snow on the ground from a midweek storm, but it's melting into slush. And I'm perfectly content with that.

One thing I truly do not 'get' is the whole idea of a "war on Christmas". Apparently diversity is some how a "threat" to Christianity. When I was growing up in San Francisco, I knew that many groups around me didn't celebrate Christmas. Heck, my Grandmother was Jewish (although not strictly devout) so we also had Chanakkuh. That our neighborhood was diverse was why we often said "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" because virtually every culture has some sort of winter/solstice celebration (and it was a lot of fun to go to different types of parties). Now that I'm a grown up secular atheist, I still enjoy Christmas/solstice/winter celebrations. Doesn't seem like a cause for conflict.

Another thing I really don't get are Christmas car commercials. I do understand that there are some people who are rich enough to buy someone a new car as a Christmas gift, although it's sickeningly decadent. What I don't get is the commercials where the car is in the living room by the Christmas tree. Who has a drive-in living room?

I'll be spending the day hanging out with a few friends, sharing a bit of "cheer". My family is small, and spread around the country, so getting family together isn't practical. But I'm very happy that I have good friends to share the day with.

Hope you have a wonderful day sharing warmth with family, friends, loved ones, or even a kind stranger.

Here's an absolutely worthless gift (which you're free to exchange at any major retail outlet) for you: Sarah Palin!

(special thanks to Lockwood of Outside the Interzone for "Deck Us All")

A Christmas Eve Boobie

With festive red feet.

Quiet Diplomacy

While the media hasn't paid much attention to it, one of the more important pieces of news of the past few weeks might be Bill Richardson's "unofficial" trip to North Korea. Remember the heightened tensions between the two Koreas around military exercises? Then North Korea did a sudden about face, backing down from the militaristic posturing, with Richardson's visit.

Funny, but it's the BBC reporting it, not the American media:

Bill Richardson has emphasised that his visit to North Korea - at a time of very high tension on the Korean peninsula - was in an unofficial capacity.

A former US ambassador to the United Nations, he has visited North Korea on several occasions in the past.

"My sense is the North Koreans realise that they have moved too negatively against negotiations, that they have taken some very bad steps and they wanted to move in the right direction," Mr Richardson said.

"They agreed to the proposals that I made.... Now there has to be deeds, not words."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12047097

I've always considered Bill Richardson to be a very savvy, shrewd diplomat. While it's not clear what he did (or could) offer North Korea, it is clear that they backed down from a very dangerous position. North Korea does have a long history of not negotiating in good faith, so this may end up going nowhere. But at least the tensions are being ratcheted down a bit. And that is "news".

Lame Duck Cramming

(OK, that title sounds wrong. I may change it.)

So the senate acted like a recalcitrant college student (albeit no where near 'good looking'), slacking through the semester before cramming like mad for the final. We've all known or been that student. Hoping to do well enough on the final to get a passing grade overall.

Well, they did put up a pretty strong finish:

Senate Passes 9/11 First Responders Health Care Bill

Senate approves nuclear arms pact

Along with this past weekends DADT repeal, it was a very busy week.

So what sort of overall grade should we give the senate? Their semester was a completely unproductive miasma of parties and vacations, and the midterm exam (election) clearly got a "fail" grade. I really expected their "final" to result in an "incomplete", but this final has actually impressed me. I'm actually ready to give the senate a "passing" grade. Which is a bit of a shock.

The Solstice Eclipse

Late tonight/early tomorrow morning (depending on your time zone) there will be a total lunar eclipse, roughly coinciding with the winter solstice. But it doesn't look like I'll get to see it. Local weather: rain storm, completely overcast for today through the next few days. Bummer.

Guess I'll just have to hope for better weather for the next one.

Lunar Eclipse

NASA eclipse page:

Added: Went outside around 1:00 am. Completely overcast. No visible evidence that the moon even existed.

Boobies on a Branch

Happy Friday!

(sorry about the lack of 'real' posts. I'm about a quart low on enthusiasm lately.)

A Fine Plan

This is my plan.

More Boobies

Under construction.

Playing By Different Rules

To somewhat follow up on my previous post and expand on a few observations, the tax cut battles clearly show that the two parties are clearly operating on a very different set of rules and have very different goals. It's no longer about different philosophies or policies, it's now about different tactics and standards. "Winning" and "losing" have very different definitions for the two parties.

As a clear starting point for this rant, it's important to look at and understand the use of the 'filibuster' in the senate, which is the barrier that Obama has been unable to overcome in this battle. The republicans have used their 41 seats in the senate to block any and all bills until their demands are met, and they've been unwavering in this "lame duck" session. Given that the filibuster rule cannot be changed until the beginning of a new congressional session, it's a very effective tactic. Different rules.

Which is why I sort of break from my fellow liberals who say they want Obama to "fight" against the republicans on the tax cuts for the rich. I've read the analogy that Obama "brought a knife to a gunfight", but the reality is that the republicans brought a nuke. The republican line in the sand was "give to the rich, or we'll blow up everything" and with the looming Christmas deadline it was a very credible threat. If anybody can show me where Obama could have gotten even one republican to back down and cross over, I'd be happy to support the "fight" idea. But last weekends votes on the tax cut proposals showed that the republicans were firm in their unity. Different rules.

Which clearly illustrates the difference in the two parties agendas. While Obama and the democrats were attempting to engage in "governing" the republicans were clearly focused on "winning" at any cost. The democrats tried to do what they felt was "good for the country and the economy" whereas the republicans only wanted to help the rich and weaken Obama. Very different priorities and behavior. Different rules.

If Obama had "stuck to his guns" to "fight" the republican obstruction, the results would be disastrous. I don't say this lightly. The tax cuts would end for all, and the resulting economic mayhem would be blamed (unfairly, but loudly) on Obama and the democrats. Everything else would be blocked: no extension of unemployment benefits, no debate on START, DADT, food safety, budget, or anything else. The republicans would merely run out the clock and wait for the new congress in January. Different rules.

This is why I find the "outrage" toward Obama so misplaced. It is the republicans, who in their craven desire to "win", were willing to sacrifice the well being of the majority of Americans to grant the wishes of the rich few. Remember that the republican leadership has clearly and repeatedly stated that their only goal is to "defeat Obama" regardless of how it impacts the American people. That is where the real outrage should be focused: one party has put the desire for power ahead of governing for the people. Different rules.

Last evening, during a discussion at a bar, I was told "both parties do it" but that is demonstrably factually false. I asked the person to show me even one example during the past forty years where the democrats threatened to (or actually did) shut down the government for political gain. Believe me, the media would have been screaming about it if the democrats had engaged in such a maneuver. The media clearly has different rules.

It's time to confront the false equivalency of the "both parties" paradigm, because reality now shows clearly and starkly the difference in the two parties philosophies. The democrats believe in "governing" (no matter how ineptly or incompetently they actually are at engaging in it) while the republicans only believe in "power" (or "wealth" if you prefer). That may sound harsh, but I cannot draw any other conclusion based on the republicans behavior. This wasn't done for some "grand principle"; it was obstruction merely for the sake of obstruction. Call it "extortion" or "blackmail" or, as I did in my previous post, "terrorism", but you certainly can't call it "governing" for the American people.

The republicans forced Obama in to a lose/lose situation, and he chose the "least bad" option. We all wish that he had been a better tactician and been more forceful earlier in the tax cut debate (should have fought prior to the midterm election, IMHO), but at this time that is pure unicorn farming. It's time to direct the outrage, and all your pitchforks and torches, at our true enemies. And that isn't Obama; it's the republicans who forced this upon us.

Ransom Paid, Hostages Freed

What a great day! "Bipartisan" compromise on tax cuts achieved! Everybody's happy!

Or maybe not...

Obama and the Democrats are getting lambasted from the left for conceding on tax cuts for the rich, which is quite fair but is only half of the story. I wish I was reading as much screaming about the total venality of the Republicans agenda.

In a nearly perfect terrorist operation the Republicans were able to hold the middle class, poor, and indeed the entire national economy hostage for the sake of tax cuts for millionaires. They were truly ready to destroy everybody in the service of the rich. Priorities. Give the millionaires even more, or we'll start killing the poor. Might just be the clearest ransom note in the history of political terrorism. Perhaps we should start calling them the "terrorist" party.

The democrats tried a 'rescue operation' in the form of last weekends senate votes on tax cuts for the non-millionaires. It failed. Thanks to the Republicans standing in lockstep and the senates arcane filibuster rules, the hostages remained held. The class war is over; the rich have won.

It's easy to criticize Obama and the Democrats for their weakness, and perfectly valid. Obama is a lousy negotiator and the Dems lack the spine (or unity) to truly fight effectively. They caved.

But...

Let's be really clear who the villain is here, rather than forming a circular firing squad. It was the Republicans who took the hostages. It was the Republicans who greedily put the rich ahead of the good of the country. It was the Republicans who chose the terrorist hostage taking tactic in order to get their demands met.

Not that the political media, or the majority of voters, will notice.

So Obama caved in and paid the ransom. That's certainly not something to be proud of. But there weren't any real alternatives (despite what some liberal blogs are saying on their unicorn farms) that wouldn't be worse. The Republicans were perfectly willing to prolong the recession, shut down the government, and kill (literally) the unemployed in the service of millionaires. It's easy to say that "you don't negotiate with terrorists" until the dead hostages (likely children) appear.

So I want to be perfectly clear: Yeah, Obama caved. But the true crime was perpetrated by the Republicans. They are the party that put the wishes of millionaires ahead of the well being of the country. The Republicans are the party that chose to engage in the terrorist tactic of holding the country hostage until their demands were met. That is the crime. They are the criminals.

Added: For better or worse, Obama seems to be on the same wavelength that I am. During todays press conference:

"I've said before that I felt that the middle class tax cuts were being held hostage to the high end tax cuts. I think it's tempting not to negotiate with hostage takers unless the hostage gets harmed. Then, people will question the wisdom of that strategy. In this case the hostage was the American people and I was not willing to see them get harmed."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/12/not_a_winning_message.php?ref=fpblg

Not sure how well that will work, but at least he said it.

Pardon the Coin Mutilation

Proving that he's in touch with the important issues, President Obama issued the first pardons of his presidency. Nine people received pardons for their crimes, including one Ronald Lee Foster who was convicted in 1963 of the serious crime of mutilating coins:

_Ronald Lee Foster, of Beaver Falls, Pa., sentenced in 1963 to a year of probation and a $20 fine for mutilating coins.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101203/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_pardons

I can't wait for the (never) right wing to attack Obama for being soft on coin mutilation, and I'm expecting a huge wave of chopped up quarters to plague the nation in the coming years. Pennies everywhere will end up littering railroad tracks (like they already do here in Flagstaff) and nickels will be repeatedly plugged for target practice. Where will it end?

A Baseball Glove

The passing of Ron Santo yesterday (Ron Santo died on Thursday) brought a twinge of nostalgia for me. My first "real" baseball glove was a "Ron Santo" edition (I think it was made by Wilson, but I may be mis-remembering) that I received when I was eight, about to turn nine. I spent a number of years dreaming of playing like Santo, even though I was a Giants fan and he was a Cub, because third was my position of choice. And Santo was a truly classy baseball player.

Now I'm thinking about baseball gloves for another reason entirely. My son (who I had no hand in raising) called me last week with a request: my grandson (who is now eight) wants a baseball glove more than anything else for Christmas. For clarity, my son knows absolutely nothing about baseball while my grandson loves the game and dreams of being a ballplayer. When I asked my grandson what position he wants to play, he said without hesitation "third base" which certainly warmed my heart. So my son wanted advice about what would be a good glove for an eight year old, but I told him "I'll take care of it" because I'm going to have to shop around a bit. I'll be glove shopping this weekend with a kind of 'holiday spirit' that I don't usually indulge in.

The memories of that first "real" baseball glove and a child's dream of being a ballplayer are such an essential part of baseball's everlasting romantic beauty. It feels good to be passing a tradition on to a new generation (even though I'm sure that they don't make a "Ron Santo" model anymore).

Do you remember your first baseball glove?

Fresh Boobies for Friday

"It's December, and it's so cold that my feet are turning blue!"

(actually it's unseasonably warm here today, but it was cold earlier in the week.)

Plutocracy in Action

Two million Americans lose unemployment benefits because the 'thugs are more concerned about tax cuts for 375,000 millionaires. Congress has priorities, and they aren't "the people".

Another fine example of why I find it too depressing to write about politics lately.

Today's Serious Issue

It's snowing. It's Sunday.
I'm out of brandy.
This is a problem, as brandy is my usual tool for handling snowy Sundays.
Where's a St. Bernard when you need one?

Black Friday Boobie

Go shopping? I don't think so!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Hope everybody has the best of food and loved ones. Friends, football, and beer for me.

In the spirit of the holiday season, I give you How To Wrap A Cat For Christmas.

TSA Security Theater

I may be the only known blogger who doesn't have a strong opinion on the TSA's "enhanced" screening. Really, I'm rather ambivalent. Honestly, I have no plans to fly anywhere anytime soon. So if this post ends up having a rather pointless point, well, so be it.

I'm not feeling the 'outrage' about the 'invasion of privacy'. This is likely due to the fact that I'm not a 'modest' person. I'm comfortable with the naked human body in all its forms. The scanner shows what I look like naked? OK, but I doubt that you'll find it all that interesting. And that's true for most of the rest of the population; more of us look "average" than are candidates for modeling careers. Although I might be tempted to go Samuel Wolanyk on them.

There is the concern about radiation exposure, which is understandable. So instead you have the option of the "pat down" groping, which sounds rather invasive. Except that it's standard procedure at many concerts and sporting events (admitted that they're searching for alcohol or weapons rather than explosives), and I haven't heard any screams of protest about that. And, as I said in my previous post, some folks will enjoy getting the rare fondle.

What is more troublesome is that I seriously doubt the effectiveness of these security measure. Our procedures are purely reactive. Shoes came off after Richard Reid. Liquids became restricted after the chemical explosives plot was foiled. Now we are reacting after the 'underwear bomber' tried to blow up his crotch. And the main thing that all three plots had in common? All three were on flights that originated outside the United States. So instead of closing the barn door after the horse has left, we're locking up a barn that never had a horse.

I also have doubts about the competence of the screenings, based on my own most recent experience with air travel last month. Due to multiple snafu's, I got to go through the exact same screening three times in a 24 hour period. Admitted that it was the traditional metal detector rather than the new full body scanners, but here's the point: I have two large metal plates in my right shoulder which were present for all three screenings. The results? One time the machine went off, the next it didn't, and the third time it couldn't quite decide. Flagstaff's Pulliam Airport is tiny, and only has one metal detector, and it was the same TSA screener all three times (who was very polite and amused by our third visit) so the results should have been consistent. I don't know much about the technical side of the new scanners, but given that the country bought them from lobbyist and former homeland security director Michael Chertoff, who's much more 'corrupt' than 'competent', I'm skeptical. And there's the human element. The screeners will be looking at thousands of people a day, which will get rather boring fairly quickly. How much attention will they be paying? They're pretty ordinary folks (at least the ones I've met), not highly paid super humans.

In reality these screening procedures are merely TSA's attempt to appear to be 'doing something' to prevent terrorism. It's an elaborate theater production, because 'doing nothing' is politically unacceptable. Of course, the screenings are also politically unacceptable. Terrorists will continue to terrorize regardless of our security procedures. It's what they do. And the administration will be criticized regardless of their actions or results. That is America today.

As a bonus, Juan Cole explains. Mr. Cole is one of the most brilliant people, always well worth reading, and here he explains the threat of PETN that the screenings are intended to prevent.

TSA Fetishism

So, all the kerfuffle about the TSA's 'enhanced' security pat downs kinda got me wondering: what about that segment of the population who would enjoy the fondling? As anybody who's surfed the internet knows, somewhere there is a fan of any type of fetish you can possibly imagine. So I'm sure that there are people out there thinking "The TSA will touch my junk? Yeah, I like that." After all, there are lots of folks who can't get anyone else to touch their crotch.

Imagine the scene at the security checkpoint:

"I'll take the pat down."

"Yes, yes. Oooh, a little more to the right."

"That's the spot. Please, don't stop."

And after the 'happy ending', the passenger slips a twenty in the security screeners belt

I'm willing to bet that a story like this will be coming out soon, followed by a bunch of TSA fetish porn on the internet. Anybody wanna take that bet?

Boobies Face TSA Scrutiny

"Did ya' hear that the TSA is scrutinizing Boobies?"

"Maybe we should just avoid flying."

Stopping START

Just to be clear, Arizona senator Jon Kyl is so conservative that he even conserves on letters in spelling his own name. So I'm not surprised that he's regressive about nukes.
Kyl and the Republicans are refusing to ratify the New Start arms control treaty with Russia, because they are still fighting the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Even after Obama conceded to spending billions to 'modernize' our nuclear arsenal, Kyl still intends to block the ratification of this treaty.
This is insanity.
The new START treaty still allows both the U.S. and Russia to maintain ridiculously large numbers of nuclear weapons, just somewhat fewer than currently available. Still plenty for either to destroy the planet, which is supposed to deter either country from actually destroying the planet. In other words, "MAD" (mutually assured destruction) is still in place.
Reducing nukes would make us slightly (but only slightly) safer, which is why Kyl is opposed. Sen. Kyl's only goal is to make President Obama fail, so he's only too happy to make the world a more dangerous place.

Prop. 203: Now What?

Okay, Arizona's proposition 203, the medical marijuana initiative, has passed. Yay!

Except there are still a few details to be worked out before anyone can legally fire up:

Voter approval of a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana in Arizona is just the beginning of getting pot to patients dealing with severe, persistent pain.

Now, the state Department of Health Services must come up with formal regulations to determine who can get medical marijuana and who can sell it.

Many unanswered questioned remained about the implementation of the measure, including how growers will legally obtain marijuana seeds, what will qualify as chronic pain, and whether dispensaries will be allowed to have physicians on site who make patient recommendations for medical marijuana.

"The truth is we're not going to have answers to those questions for a few months," Humble said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/11/15/20101115arizona-pot-measure-what-now.html

So the "regulations" still need to be created. And, this being Arizona, some will probably be quite odd:

Other preparations will include developing a computer infrastructure that can identify cardholders and monitor how much pot they receive.

Humble also wants to track every marijuana seed from the time it's planted until it reaches a patient's possession, possibly using a bar code system. "What we need to do is flush out the details in the initiative so we've got a responsible system at the end of the day, and that's going to take a lot of work," Humble said.

Staff time to set up the system could cost as much as $800,000, which Humble hopes eventually will be covered by fees that come from medical marijuana users and sellers.

(My bold) I didn't know that you could put a bar code on a pot seed.

The health department plans to post an initial informal draft of its regulatory rules on Dec. 17 followed by a public comment period. People can weigh in on the draft electronically or in person at three public meetings in February.

The department then will post the final rules March 28 and expects to accept the first applications for medical marijuana cards and dispensaries in early April. That's when dispensaries can begin the growing process.

"Between now and April is the really heavy lifting," Humble said in a video addressing the public about the measure.

Going to be an interesting few months.