27 August 2012

Update no.558


Update from the Heartland
No.558
20.8.12 – 26.8.12
Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- Norwegian, confessed, mass murderer, Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people on 22.July.2011 [501].  On Friday, Judge Wenche Elisabeth Arntzen in Oslo, declared Breivik sane and sentenced him to 21 years of “preventive detention” – the maximum under Norwegian law.  However, such sentences can be extended, if an inmate is considered dangerous.  The 33-year-old right-wing extremist Breivik has often been compared to Timothy James McVeigh, 26-years-old at the time of his crime; unfortunately, however, Breivik will not meet the same consequence as McVeigh.
-- According to the Press, an anonymous, former, SEAL team member has written a book – “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden. The book was written under the nom de plume Mark Owen, and was not authorized or sanctioned by the Department of Defense, as required by law.  In what appears to be somewhat a tête-à-tête, a “military official” identified the author to the Press – Matt Bissonnette, 36, of Wrangell, Alaska, a former member of SEAL Team 6, and apparently a participant in Operation NEPTUNE’S SPEAR [489, 490, 503] and the rescue of SS Maersk Alabama [382].

On Saturday, 25.August.2012, Neil Alden Armstrong, 82, passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.  I was a midshipman serving aboard USS Mississinewa (AO-144) and returning from shore leave in Civitavecchia, Italia, at the moment he made history, when he broadcast from the Moon to the World, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” [20.July.1969].  Godspeed and following winds, Neil.  May God rest your immortal soul.

I have been waiting for this particular video clip.  The Mars rover Curiosity descent video:
Magnificent achievement, NASA!

I vacillated on this issue and eventually succumbed to the irresistible temptation.  I feel the urge to apologize, however . . .  
            Representative William Todd Akin of Missouri, the Republican candidate for Senate, said a week ago, Sunday, in a televised interview:
“It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare.  If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”
“Legitimate rape”?  Really?  Sure, being a staunch social conservative, he probably meant “forcible rape,” since that is a big term for such ideologues, with shades of the antiquated doctrine of coverture; or, he might have meant “bona fide rape,” to separate such violent criminal acts from false claims or accusations, since many of these men truly believe women bring rape upon themselves.  The problem I have . . . he probably spoke his mind quite clearly.  Akin is quite comfortable supporting a constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion for any reason.  His demonstrated paucity of understanding regarding human biology is shockingly medieval and devoid of science.  Beyond the foolishness of his thinking and misspeak, the flash fire represents precisely why prohibition, elimination, or even restraint of abortion cannot be achieved in the public, political domain.  I have absolutely no problem with anyone’s personal opinion from the absolute prohibition of abortion to free abortion on demand for any woman who wants it.  I am also quite comfortable with the individual private choices of citizens.  My position narrows substantially when someone suggests passing a law to enforce their personal opinion.  The State has no place, and I respectfully submit no authority, to intrude upon a woman’s very private medical decision.  If we want to end abortion as a medical procedure, let us find solutions to the underlying, root cause issues that lead to abortion.  Prohibition will never work; such an action would only force women to the back alley butchers.   We must extract ourselves from this non-productive, ideological flagellation.  We need respectful solutions, not mindless rhetoric.

I read the Supremes’ recent FCC v. Fox Television [565 U.S. ___ (2012); no. 10–1293] ruling; it is hard to call it a decision as it involves yet one more remand “for further proceedings consistent with the principles set forth in this opinion.”  I also bounced around whether to even mention the latest rendition.  You may recall the previous version of this issue – FCC v. Fox Television [556 U.S. 502 (2009); No. 07-582] [385] {28.April.2009}.  The case involved the same three broadcast television incidents of alleged indecency, for which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received “public” complaints.
·      First, Fox Television Stations, Inc., broadcast the 2002 Billboard Music Awards [10.December.2002], in which the singer Cher exclaimed during an unscripted acceptance speech, “I've also had my critics for the last 40 years saying that I was on my way out every year.  Right.  So f *** ‘em.”
·      Second, Fox broadcast the 2003 Billboard Music Awards [10.December.2003], while presenting an award Nicole Richie made an unscripted remark, “Have you ever tried to get cow s*** out of a Prada purse?  It's not so f ***ing simple.”
·      Third, ABC Television Network broadcast an episode of NYPD Blue [25.February.2003] that showed the naked buttocks of an adult female character for approximately seven seconds and a momentary glimpse of the side of her breast, as she was preparing to take a shower, when a child portraying her boyfriend’s son entered the bathroom.
Before the FCC issued their Notices of Apparent Liability to Fox and ABC, NBC broadcast the 2003 Golden Globe Awards [19.January.2003], during which the singer Bono exclaimed after winning the Best Original Song award, “This is really, really, f ***ing brilliant.  Really, really great.”  As a result, the FCC declared the “F-word actionably indecent,” as “one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language,” and thus “any use of that word or a variation, in any context, inherently has a sexual connotation.”  On 18.March.2004, the FCC issued its Memorandum Opinion and Order, Complaints Against Various Broadcast Licensees Regarding Their Airing of the “Golden Globe Awards” Program, (AKA Golden Globes Order) [FCC 04-43; 19 FCC Rcd. 4975, 4976, n. 4 (2004)].  The broadcasters claimed the FCC’s progressively more stringent enforcement since 2001, against the broadcasting of fleeting expletives was arbitrary, vague and without sufficient explanation or notice.  In this latest Fox decision, the Supremes agreed and sent the case back to the lower courts one more time.  Justice Ginsburg wrote the only concurring opinion, since she could not pass the opportunity to take a shot at a long standing precedent case – FCC v. Pacifica Foundation [438 U.S. 726 (1978); no. 77-528] [347] – the 3.July.1978 Supreme Court decision based on George Carlin’s “Filthy Words” routine, broadcast Tuesday, 30.October.1973.  Justice Ginsburg got it right; the FCC Golden Globes Order is constitutionally invalid AND Pacifica should be overruled and eliminated as precedent in such cases.

News from the economic front:
-- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the default execution of Title I of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) [PL 112-025; 125 Stat. xxxx; 2.August.2011] {AKA the Sequester, the fiscal cliff, or Taxmageddon} [503, 504] will plunged the Nation into a deep recession during the first half of next year, if Congress fails to avert nearly US$500B in tax hikes and spending cuts set to hit in January.  The massive round of New Year’s belt-tightening would disrupt recent economic progress and push the unemployment rate back up to 9.1% by the end of 2013.  Let us not forget the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction [519], charged by Title IV of BCA to achieve a solution to avoid the Sequester.  Congress had the opportunity to solve the problem a year ago.  I do not hold much hope they will stand up to the mark this time.
-- The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee indicated they are preparing new stimulus to boost the recovery, if the economy does not show substantially stronger signs of growth “fairly soon.”
-- The British Office of National Statistics revised the country’s 2Q2012 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up to -0.5% from -0.7% after adjustments to the construction and production sectors.

Comments and contributions from Update no.557:
Comment to the Blog:
“I see we still disagree on transparency in government. Official secrecy has always been used to cover up incompetence as well as corruption, and Operation Fast and Furious will be a particularly damning example of that, I think.
“The end of secrecy in general is in sight. Julian Assange is only one example of people who are making pretty much all government and corporate operations open, ready or not.
“Why Harvard would use DNA to encode language is beyond me.
“The point of knowing Governor Romney’s tax rate is to understand whether he could ever empathize with ordinary Americans. I have my doubts.
“Your discussion of the Supreme Court decision eludes me in its entirety.
“Governor Brewer continues to assert her imaginary right to defy the Federal government. We may hope that in time she will go too far and be removed from political life. In the meantime, the Native American part of me revels in the irony of Europeans complaining about the later immigrants threatening their way of life.
“I marvel at how easily you and your friend find people driving slowly on the freeways. The legal speed limit seems a reasonable measurement of that. I drive very close to the speed limit, and I encounter a slower driver about once in fifty to one hundred miles. That would be one in several thousand drivers. People driving at dangerously slow speeds elude me. I have seen people drive at lower than ten miles under the speed limit on freeways about five or six times in the thirty-five years I have been driving. Perhaps those who find themselves highly annoyed should learn to plan their time more effectively and to deal with their stress. Keep in mind that your rage changes nothing about anyone else but can affect your own health. I wish you well.”
My response to the Blog:
Calvin,
            Re: government transparency.  I do not presume to know or understand the reasons why the administration needs to withhold Fast and Furious information.  They are entrusted with protecting this Grand Republic.  History and the law catches up to everyone, but public disclosure of classified information is not the way.  Are there bad people who try to use classification to hide their malfeasance?  Yes!  However, public disclosure of means and methods is not the way to nab the bad guys.
            Re: secrecy.  We need it for a host of reasons, especially in wartime.
            Re: encoding DNA.  Beyond me as well.  No one has yet stood up to explain why.
            Re: Romney taxes.  Again, I think it a bogus, red herring.  There are plenty of other ways to establish his empathy.  If you don’t like the amount of taxes Romney pays, tell you representatives and senators to change the tax code.  I have no doubt Mitt has complied with the law.
            Re: SCOTUS SB 1070 ruling.  I will not attempt to rehash the significance, unless you really would like to get into it.  The most significant element was in Alito’s dissenting opinion that the Court’s decision establishes precedent of enforcing agency policy rather than the law.  The potential consequences of the SB 1070 ruling are comparable to Citizens United . . . that to me is enormous.
            Re: Brewer.  Arizona is caught between a rock and a hard spot – damned if they do, damned if they don’t.  I do not take kindly to Brewer’s confrontational approach, but any action is better than inaction.  The point of the dissenting opinions was that the USG is choosing not to enforce the law, which is a policy decision.  Further, Congress passes laws, then denies resources necessary to enforce the law, and turns around to condemn Arizona for making a stab at enforcement.  Arizona did not supercede the Federales; they in fact followed the law.
            Re: traffic.  So, you are saying it is OK for a citizen to use his vehicle to enforce traffic laws and regulations as he sees fit, but it is not OK for citizens to protect their communities?  I have absolutely no problem with anyone who chooses to drive at or below the speed limit.  All I am saying is have a little respect for the flow of traffic.  Conversely, I do not condone reckless driving, e.g., large speed differentials.  If you wish to drive at or below the speed limit, move to the right and let others pass.  If someone is driving recklessly, let the police deal with him, or pull over and call 911 to report him.  I am only asking for a little respect and courtesy.  To say my irritation or displeasure is rage or road rage, would be a misnomer.  There are others among us who are not so tolerant.
   “That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap                        :-)

20 August 2012

Update no.557


Update from the Heartland
No.557
13.8.12 – 19.8.12
Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- The Republican-led House filed a lawsuit in federal court to enforce a subpoena against Attorney General Eric Holder, demanding the government deliver records related to Operation Fast and Furious [550] – the gun-tracking operation gone wrong.  This is going way beyond the barely-tolerable threshold of political intransigence in Congress.  I have lived through more than a few constitutional crises.  In this instance, we have the infantile bickering between Republicans and Democrats in the legislative body politic.  I am not aware of an action this corrosive and this divisive in the history of this Grand Republic.  The Executive is NOT subservient to the Legislative Branch.  If this ever makes it before a judge, I trust s/he will dismiss the case outright as a political stunt.
-- Julian Paul Assange [450, 453] took refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London on 19.June.2012, after losing his appeal [462, 468, 480] to avoid a Swedish extradition writ and prosecution for sexual offences including rape.  President Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado of Ecuador has reportedly made the decision to grant the fugitive Assange political asylum for reasons unknown, since he is a fugitive from criminal justice.  The British in turn issued another arrest warrant for Assange, breaching his bail conditions.  Assange may well be confined in the Ecuadorean embassy for a very long time.

Brigadier General Tammy S. Smith, AUS, Director, Army Reserve Human Capital Core Enterprise, became the first openly homosexual, flag rank officer in the U.S. military.  Her first star was pinned on by her wife, Tracey Hepner.  Good luck, godspeed, and following winds, General.

OK!  This one is beyond me.  Harvard University researchers encoded an entire book into the genetic molecules of DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA) – the basic building block of life – and then accurately read back the text.  Other researchers have used DNA to encode poetry and popular music inside the living cells of bacteria.  The Harvard effort stands out for the sheer enormity of scale.  I can appreciate the molecular mechanics, but I do not understand why – other than we can.  If anyone has a higher level of knowledge, please share it with me (us).

Presumed Republican presidential candidate and former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts announced that he has paid an income tax rate of at least 13% in each of the last 10 years.  Don’t we all feel better now?  That said, this whole Romney tax kerfuffle is a red herring – a diversion.  If Romney did not pay enough taxes, commensurate with his income, then the fault lays with Congress, not Romney.  They are the ones who created and maintain our complex tax code that favors the wealthy who can afford their armies of lawyers, accountants, lobbyists, tax havens, and such.  Romney is simply using the loopholes created by Congress; he did not make them.  So, if we want to display our outrage, let us focus on the proper target.

Nearly two months ago, the Supreme Court of the United States of America invalidated most of the actionable sections (but not all) of Arizona’s Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (AKA S.B. 1070) – the state’s immigration enforcement law [436].  Associate Justice Anthony McLeod Kennedy wrote for the 5-3 majority – Arizona v. United States [565 U.S. ___ (2012); no. 11–182].  {Justice Kagan did not participate in this case.}  We reviewed the original district court decision – United States v. Arizona [USDC AZ case 2:10-cv-01413-SRB (2010)] [450]; and, we reviewed the 9th Circuit’s review – United States v. Arizona [9CCA no. 10-16645 (2011)] [487].  Kennedy concluded, “The United States has established that §§3, 5(C), and 6 of S. B. 1070 are preempted.  It was improper, however, to enjoin §2(B) before the state courts had an opportunity to construe it and without some showing that enforcement of the provision in fact conflicts with federal immigration law and its objectives.”  As a consequence of the SB 1070 decision, most but not all of the state’s enforcement provisions were rejected as an unconstitutional violation of Article I, §8, Clause 4, and the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (AKA IRCA, or Simpson-Mazzoli Act) [PL 99-603; 100 Stat. 3359; 6.November.1986], and must be preempted as an “obstacle to the federal plan of regulation and control.”  Oddly, Kennedy also noted, “Unauthorized aliens who remain in the State comprise, by one estimate, almost six percent of the population,” and “[E]stimating that unauthorized aliens comprise 8.9% of the population and are responsible for 21.8% of the felonies in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix.”   In his dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Antonin Gregory Scalia observed, “[O]ver the past decade, over a third of the Nation's illegal border crossings occurred in Arizona.”  The consequences to Arizona are staggering.  And yet, those consequences boil down to a fine line interpretation of the law.  Scalia went on to conclude, “But to say, as the Court does, that Arizona contradicts federal law by enforcing applications of the Immigration Act [PL 99-603] that the President declines to enforce boggles the mind.”  In another dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., wrote, “The United States suggests that a state law may be pre-empted, not because it conflicts with a federal statute or regulation, but because it is inconsistent with a federal agency's current enforcement priorities. Those priorities, however, are not law. They are nothing more than agency policy. I am aware of no decision of this Court recognizing that mere policy can have pre-emptive force.”  For this reason, I believe the dissent was correct, not the majority.  To the strict constructionists, judicial interpretation of the Constitution should be and must be confined to the Federal enumerated powers and leave the remainder to the states.  The Bill of Rights was a compromise to acknowledge that the People need some protection against the pervasive power of the State – both Federal and state.  The continuing debate, often labeled judicial activism or judicial overreach, centers upon the definition of Federal Judicial authority.  To the strict constructionists, the People are largely on their own to exercise their power at the ballot box, while the more progressive jurists see the Constitution as the means by which to homogenize individual rights across the several states, e.g., the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.  The SB 1070 decision may not have quite the panache of Citizens United, yet it is equally impacting on our society.

After the Supremes’ SB1070 decision (above) and the Obama administration’s publicly proclaimed leniency for young, illegal immigrants, Governor Janice Kay “Jan” Brewer of Arizona issued an executive order to deny driver's licenses and other public benefits to those same, young illegal immigrants.
“Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer blocks undocumented immigrants from receiving public benefits”
Fox News (Associated Press)
Published: August 16, 2012

Then, we have a related, thought-provoking opinion:
“Article 1, Section 8 requires compromise”
by Jonathan Capehart
Washington Post
Posted: 5.August.2012; 06:00 PM ET

News from the economic front:
-- Preliminary data from the Cabinet Office of Japan indicated the country’s annualized growth was 1.4% in 2Q2012, significantly below the 4.7% in 1Q2012 and well short of the 2.3% forecast by economists, as weak exports and industrial production dragged down a surge in public investment in the disaster-stricken Tohoku area.
-- The Financial Times reported that the German and French economies showed signs of resilience as the eurozone’s two largest countries beat market expectations for second-quarter growth.
-- Russell Wasendorf Sr., the chief executive of Peregrine Financial Group, was indicted on 31 charges of lying to government regulators regarding the failed brokerage's operations, and faces a maximum sentence of 155 years' imprisonment and fines of about US$7.75M.  As they say, the cover-up is always worse than the crime.
-- Standard Chartered has agreed with the Superintendent of Financial Services Benjamin M. Lawsky of New York State to pay US$340M in fines for illegally laundering over US$250B for clients in the Islamic Republic of Iran by hiding more than 60,000 financial transactions over a decade in defiance of international sanctions.  As part of the settlement, Standard Chartered agreed to be monitored and audited by Lawsky's office to ensure compliance with U.S. Federal money-laundering laws.  Both British and U.S. Federal governments proclaimed their displeasure with the New York action.  From the public information, there appears to be little difference between this case and the Arizona immigration case noted above.  I will watch this situation with interest, to see if the Obama administration pursues New York as it has Arizona.

Comments and contributions from Update no.556:
            “My belief is that these are people who want to commit suicide and cannot do it themselves. They are driving there hoping that someone will "ROAD RAGE" and do it for them. If this does not work they will eventually pull a gun on a police officer. I don't know that is just my opinion. I could be wrong.
            “And I have seen it enforced. I was coming out of Chicago on I 90.  I will admit I was attempting to drive over the speed limit. On my third failed attempt to get around the driver on the right flashing lights got everyone's attention. I thought I was going to get a ticket for something. However, the officer pulled in behind the left lane slow poke and pulled him over.  Sometimes there is actually a cop around when you need one.”
 . . . my reply:
Darrel,
         Great to hear from you.  I hope all is well with you, and you are enjoying life.
            Great observation . . . suicide by road rage!  Quite plausible!
            Also, great to know that the slower-traffic-keep-right laws are enforced somewhere.
  Take care and enjoy.
Cheers,
Cap

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap                        :-)

13 August 2012

Update no.556


Update from the Heartland
No.556
6.8.12 – 12.8.12
Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,

I often wonder what a person is thinking as he trundles along in the left lane (except in the UK & other right-hand drive countries) with a quarter mile of open lane ahead of him, cars stacked up behind him, and car after car passes him on the right.  What is he thinking?  Whatever he is thinking, it must be so profound that he is compelled to ignore reality around him.  Is it actually too much to ask a driver to regularly scan his side and rearview mirrors?  California used to have a law that required slower vehicles to pull-over even on two-lane roads, if five or more vehicles were stacked up behind him.  Kansas has a slower-traffic-keep-right law, but I have never seen it or heard of it being enforced; when enforcement is most needed, doing so would only make traffic more difficult.  In Italy, common courtesy requires slower vehicles, not willing or able to maintain the flow of traffic, move to the outside lanes; and, Italian drivers show that courtesy to other drivers, near universally.  Why is it American drivers feel so compelled to clog up the flow of traffic like an embolus in a vein?  These are baffling questions to me.

The follow-up news items:
-- The intended assassin of Representative Gabrielle Dee “Gabby” Giffords of Arizona [473] – Jared Lee Loughner – pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty.  Given the plea deal, it is expected that he will spend the remainder of his days in prison.
-- The attacker at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin last weekend was identified as Wade Michael Page, a discharged U.S. Army soldier and a neo-Nazi, white supremacist member of the Volksfront group.  Apparently, he unilaterally sought to “inspire” other white supremacists to take action.  Wounded by police officers, he committed suicide.  The Volksfront group was new to me – no longer.
-- After the successful landing of the Mars Rover Curiosity and the start-up of the rover-mounted Mars Science Laboratory [555], I watched and strongly recommend the National Geographic Channel program “Martian Mega Rover.”  If you have even the slightest interest in understanding the complexity of the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) phase of the mission and the incredible engineering involved in the exploration system, I have seen nothing better.  Live long and prosper!

Well, the too-big-to-fail bankers win another one!  The U.S. Department of Justice decided not to charge Goldman Sachs or any of its employees, following a year-long, high-profile investigation of the bank’s subprime mortgage deals. Goldman Sachs was accused of misleading investors about bundled mortgage deals, including Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDO) such as “Abacus” and “Hudson Mezzanine”; and then, they bet against the very same instruments with short-sells.  The cynicism of such conduct is disgusting and breeds distrust of bankers, investment advisors and the financial system in general.  The Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations conducted an official congressional inquiry and recommended prosecution of Goldman Sachs to the Department of Justice.
            Goldman publicly claims they were cleared of any wrong-doing – pretty freakin’ audacious, if you ask me.  I have not read the legal documents, and I am not likely to do so – judicial inbox too full already.  As I read multiple press reports across the political spectrum, I would say the Federal prosecutors decided they had insufficient evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, to convict the Goldman executives and employees; that is a far cry from “cleared” or “vindicated.”  The Department of Justice indicated the “burden of proof” could not be met for a successful prosecution.  Not a good result from my perspective.

We finally have the principal field set for November’s presidential election.  Former Governor Willard Mitt Romney of Massachusetts chose Representative Paul Davis Ryan of Wisconsin to be his running mate.  The official announcement came on Saturday with the retired USS Wisconsin (BB-64) as a backdrop in Norfolk, Virginia.  Now, the silly season graduates to a more intense level.

News from the economic front:
-- The People’s Republic of China (PRC) reported their consumer price inflation rate slowed to 1.8% in July, from 2.2% in June – now, the lowest level in 30 months – another sign the world economy is sputtering. 
-- In another negative sign, PRC exports rose 1.0% year-on-year in July, a six-month low and down from an 11.3% pace in June – well below expectations.  In the wake of the PRC’s weak industrial production data for July, the trade figures suggest that the government will likely take steps to stimulate growth.
-- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed loan servicers evaluate homeowners' applications for loan-assistance within 30 days of receiving an application and would be barred from going ahead with a foreclosure until a final decision has been reached on a borrower's application for help.
-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its estimate for the U.S. corn crop by 16.9%, just 10.779B bushels, as the drought ravaging the farm-belt had destroyed a sixth of the country’s corn crop in just one month. The report sent benchmark corn futures up more than 3% to a record peak of US$8.4375 a bushel.

Comments and contributions from Update no.555:
Comment to the Blog:
“I’ll keep this one brief. I agree with just about all of your points concerning the Chick-Fil-A discussion, but doubt the usefulness of your having a battle of wits with unarmed opponents.
“A friend of mine has a gift for simplicity. He suggests that Mr. Cathy of Chick-Fil-A set up the entire incident as a way to increase store traffic. If we follow the money, that’s the strongest explanation I’ve heard of the entire situation. Segmenting markets makes directed marketing possible and profitable. This situation exemplifies that. Chick-Fil-A had already lost the business of people like me, but we are a very small segment of a very large market. Mr. Cathy does not need the business of every American. If he can appeal to the intellectually challenged likes of your opponents, he has plenty of people to use in making money. On top of that, he need never make sense. That’s not a priority for those people.”
 . . . my response to the Blog:
Calvin,
            Thank you for your opinion.
            I believe it is important to include aspects of any debate.  I offer my opinions to stimulate or instigate public debate on contemporary issues.  I seek all opinions.  I want citizens to confront my opinions.  Public debate helps me understand, see other facets, and refine my thinking.  Hopefully, such exchanges help other refine their thinking as well.
            Re: Cathy’s motive.  Your observation is plausible, but reflects a very cynical view of humanity and business, which apparently, for Dan Cathy, is equally plausible.  I see this whole episode as rather sad.  We have so much to learn.

The continuation of last week’s thread [555] regarding the Chic-Fil-A kerfuffle, or homosexuality in American society:
 . . . comment from contributor 3:
“There is no argument that can be used against the ‘anything goes’ crowd.  Once perversion is accepted as normal because there is no longer a moral standard to govern behavior the argument against this behavior gets reduced, at best, to one of public hazard -- AIDS, pedophilia, hepatitis contagion, etc.  Of course, even that isn't enough to stop the ‘anything goes’ crowd.  They even go so far as to make it a Constitutional right!  I'm sure that the founding fathers would have an objection to that.  The 10th Amendment reserves to the States the right to make laws to govern their affairs without the Federal government overstepping their bounds to enforce nationwide perversion anti-discrimination.”
 . . . to which the host added:
“For over a decade I've been using that term I think I coined:
“CREATIVE RATIONALIZATION AND THUS JUSTIFICATION.
“This moral and ethical decay is directly a result of the loss of God.  There is a new belief in our society that as you say ‘anything goes’ and there are no consequences to one's decisions, actions and general behavior.   This is not only attributable to the cultural-generational decay permeating our country, but applies when we can engage strangers from a Predator drone in foreign lands, and not even confirm that the humans on the ground are truly our enemy.  How many weddings have now had Hell Fire missiles/rockets come blasting into their most happy day in life, to make it misery?  We do not even call it ‘collateral damage’ any longer because it is so frequent and the calculations in targeting were so skewed.  Why it is not even our military half the time, it is a complaint someone must make to CIA.  How dangerous is this? When will those drones target Americans on American soil without due process of defense, trial, lawyer and judge?
“We are at our destination and much of our cumulative choices directed us here whether as individuals, groups, or a nation.
“People who want some moral decency from their nation are now called ‘haters’ and ‘bullies’ and oh, those so terrible attributes of being ‘intolerant’ and ‘homophobic.’
“Did you see yesterday Rosanne Barr who in my opinion should be a nobody, she has zero talent and sold her soul out long ago, well she said she hopes the Chic-Fil-A supporters get cancer.  Yet, they all say Chic-Fil-A's Dan Cathy made ‘hateful statements’ when he said he could not, because of his Bible, support same-sex marriage.
“Here's a technical blogger's comments I just came across yesterday, on the Chic-Fil-A supporters on 1-August:
“‘Unintentionally hilarious line, from one of the thousands of stories on the horde of angry white overweight people proudly showing Chick-fil-A that they, too, hate the gays...’
“About our rapid decline: I've dealt with the ‘anything goes’ crowd ad nauseam in my profession.  I've seen the parties and attitudes, and lack of civility and courtesy to the average person.  Many of those people crashed, lost their luxury cars, homes and marriages.  I am the guy that calls stretch limousines in Gas Lamp Sodom and Gomorrah on wheels.
“We have a great price to pay when we lose our humanity.  And while much of our nation's masses narcissistically take PRIDE (false before that big fall) in thinking they are loving, tolerant, non-haters, non-judgmental.  Though truly they have lost much their humanity and suffer from a seared conscience.  Anyone and all of us are susceptible and never-ever immune.
“We are in the days where a great distortion of truth is the reality.  White is black and left is right.  The more confused the populace is, the better the advantage by the entities who benefit from it.”
 . . . my response:
            Re: morality.  We can play the morality game, if anyone wishes.  The simple variant definition of morality is, what each of us does when no one else is watching.  Regardless, the bottom line is, morality is between the individual and God.  Private morality should not and cannot be legislated or enforced in a free society.  Either we are free or we are not.  Public morality is the domain of the State, thus our laws against murder, rape, robbery, assault & battery, et cetera.  We can debate private morality all we wish, but the State must confine itself to the public domain.
            Re: the so-called "anything goes" crowd.  A snappy moniker does NOT rationalize or justify the denial of equal protection under the law.  The label implies an anarchistic mentality, presumably embraced by non-heterosexual citizens.  By what right, law, or authority, does contributor 2 [Craig] refer to regarding the dictation of private conduct? 
            Re: 10th Amendment.  Indeed, contributor 2 [Craig] does properly state the meaning and intent of the 10th Amendment.  However, the Amendment does NOT authorize anyone, state or federal, to impose upon an individual citizen’s fundamental rights without due process of law.  Here, we must face the root question: What is the overriding public interest that would justify the State’s imposition upon the private choices of any citizen, and in this instance, specifically non-heterosexual citizens? contributor 2 [Craig] is entitled to his moral condemnation and avoidance of the choices of other citizens with whom he disapproves or disagrees; he does NOT have the right to dictate how they should choose; and, the 10th Amendment does not supercede the Constitution.
            Re: moral decay.  You know, the Temperance movement that blossomed in the 19th Century used precisely the same argument.  Alcohol was the moral corrosive of American society.  It took nearly a century to enact the 18th Amendment, to codify the teetotalers’ moral condemnation.  The entire nation paid a grievous price for their dictum.  I respectfully submit, the moral decay was orders of magnitude worse and far more pervasive under Prohibition than prior to the enactment.  Let us not get too self-righteous here.
            Re: drone attacks.  A rather broad corollary, but hey, what the heck.  Personally, I believe you have grossly over-simplified the process of drone attacks in the War on Islamic Fascism.  I could cite numerous jumps in warfare that were condemned in their day.  Regardless, the implication that these notional “weddings” included innocent people is a rather large stretch.  RMS Lusitania, Nanking, the Blitz, Dresden, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, et al ad infinitum, can all be cited in similar fashion, and they were orders of magnitude less discriminating in their collateral damage.  You ask, “When will those drones target Americans on American soil without due process of defense, trial, lawyer and judge?”  My answer: our vigilance, suspicion and inquisitiveness must protect us.  I cannot and will not say, never gonna happen; because, I know that such government action is possible, and the closer we get, the easier it becomes.  Anwar al-Awlaqi (30.9.2011) [511] was our closest approach to date, and there was little to no doubt he was a clearly defined and self-espoused enemy of this Grand Republic.  Please, let us not go too far down that road with this supposition.
            Re: “moral decency.”  Really?  What moral decency do you speak?  This debate seems to be hung up on our moral condemnation of non-heterosexual citizens.  I have and intend to continue to defend every single citizens fundamental right to choose his “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.”  If anyone wishes to impose heterosexuality on every citizen’s private conduct, then you must demonstrate the public interest and necessity for such dicta.  So, let have it.
            Re: Rosanne Barr.  A foolish thing to say . . . ‘nuf said.
            Re: Dan Cathy & Chic-Fil-A.  A privately-owned business does not supercede the Constitution either.
            Re: your business.  I am sorry that you must endure bad people.  A limousine is not a private conveyance anymore than Chic-Fil-A is a private store.  Both may be privately owned, but they do business in the public domain.  Your threshold of tolerance is probably well beyond the publicly tolerable threshold of conduct, and you would have every right to reject fornication, nudity, intoxication and such in your limousine.
            Re: “seared conscience.”  I’m not sure what you mean here?
            Re: “distortion of truth.”  Not sure what you mean here either?
 . . . to which was added a parallel sub-thread; this is contributor 4:
“Here is that post, sent out July 27th, and I do believe you did send it out.   But perhaps you did not read it.    We all get so much so that's quite possible.   But the history of pederasty in high society, and perhaps society-wide, was common in some ancient societies and even ignored or promoted.    If you observe the history and compare it with the recent exposure of pederasty in the Catholic Church and other religious institutions, it's easy to know it just went underground.  Now as homosexuality is looked on as legitimate and a ‘live and let live’ sort of validation is becoming the common view, you can see its just a matter of time until pederasty or pedophilia, also becomes legit or valid.   We live in a highly immoral time.   I see it coming.”
[the 27.July post noted above]:
“History does not just rhyme.   In all too many cases it repeats almost verbatim.    Consider this, granted, a too brief example of a woefully forgotten history.
“So society has once *again* officially condoned homosexuality by law.  It took a few thousand years for populations to become desensitized towards homosexual depravity and to once *again *accept it.   And society as a whole is *again* fully responsible for this sorry advent, by its apathetic acceptance and complicity by default, but this time for its historical amnesia.
“Will pederasty be next??   Think about it: Pederasty has been practiced in the Catholic religious system, worldwide, perhaps from its inception, and no doubt by other religious institutions, that have received much less attention.   But why NOW, did the crime of rampant pederasty in the Catholic Church see the light?   And pederasty is no unknown object in the sports world?   It is in fact much more common than widely documented.    Why now did the crimes of Sandusky, after allegedly 15 years of total silence by the knowing related sports celebrities who worked with him, as well as the knowing officials of the university, suddenly come to light?   Could it be smooth conditioning, just like society has been conditioned for ages to accept homosexuality, first by reporting the wide array of its negativities--until they became all too common, just as the values of societies themselves were transforming??
“Pederasty was legal in ancient Greece and accepted to varying degrees in various bordering Hellenic States at the time.   It was wholeheartedly recognized during the time of  Socrates, one of the most celebrated philosophers----a homosexual and a pederast, whose literary works are honored to this day by the literati. Socrates writings on his leanings towards homosexuality and pederasty.  They are available for all who care to see.     For yours truly, they were a main course of my ancient Greek language lessons at a young age.
“Homosexuality and pederasty were so rampant in that ancient pre-Christian period, they adversely affected marriages and births.   Socrates was finally put to death and boys up to a certain age, if I recall, 15, were not permitted alone with any man but a brother or father.
“According to Plato, legal and social norms did not clearly condemn or prohibit homo-eroticism.   In Sparta, a Hellenic city State, homosexuality was institutionalized in the military. Male homosexual warrior fraternities operated with flourish. Men took boy lovers at quite a young age into the military with them, to foster close bonding between males from a young age.
“As you heard or saw on TV, the military just last week endorsed a full military dress parade in San Diego, by its homosexual military members.     Society is no longer being conditioned.   The queer agenda is a fait accompli.    The majority looked the other way or it became too decadent itself to care one way or another, during the years of value transformation by change agents in an increasingly lurid entertainment environment and then in academia.    That's how creep and then the establishment of the introduced agenda becomes the new normal.  In his grave, German propaganda Minister Goebbels is banging his sides with mocking laughter.    A long history shows human beings are quite easily brainwashed.   They are corrupted with not much effort by appealing to their materialistic whims and hedonistic urges.    Lurid TV sitcoms and "everything-in-the-open" interviews, celebrity shows, did their large part in indoctrinating the younger generations, most who are now unchurched, just lurching about with no moral compass.
“Did you foresee, years ago, the advent of the official acceptance of homosexuality in your lifetimes?   What about this:  Can you foresee the possibility then of the next step in advanced queer debauchery, coming to the military----what might in the foreseeable future be accepted, quietly at first, but more openly in due course? Pederasty:   a Greek term for lover of boys:  one that practices anal intercourse especially with a boy.
“Accepted or legalized homosexuality lived on into the Roman Empire, from the Greek, when Emperor Justinian banned it.    While homosexuality has always existed and always will, the establishment of the Christian Church banned the practice as immoral and unhealthful and it was sequestered to the closet until our new epoch of trial and tribulations.
“Following once *again* history's misbegotten tread, societies must experience the mass damage by the endorsement of homosexuality as a ‘normal’ lifestyle, to be followed by pederasty sometime in the future, as the conditioning of same sex practice is viewed as ‘perfectly normal’.  Pederasty has been, for some years, promoted by the Man-Boy homosexual group which, believe it or not, was endorsed as a legitimate organization by the UN some years ago--whether it still is or not, I have not checked.
“My two cents on the current homosexual agenda:
“Personally, (and no doubt many others feel this way), I'm sick and tired and nauseous, of having the blatant, in-your-face, like-it-or-not... queer agenda slapped into my face, day after day, as if it were a bona fide human right I must adopt as valid or be persecuted and condemned if I do not.   Who in Hell is running this agenda at this profound level and why?   Many at the top are queers, you can bet.
“It is NOT a valid right, just because a segment of society practices sexual deviancy and a powerful influence on their side in the shadows forces it down our throats.  Just because sexual deviancy is portrayed as OK in this muddled modern age...and it's cacophony blares out there as all the rage, does not make it right, moral or healthy, anymore than at any time in history. Period.
“Just take a look at the average age of homosexuals, which last I checked in a medical report, was 52; and their high suicide rates; their abnormally vicious crimes of sexual passion with each other and the various ailments that befall them because of their sexual choices--the most famous---the AIDS virus, for a long time known as the homosexual disease, until its spread more widely and an active propaganda machine to constantly remind the world.   Homosexuality, male or female, is not conducive to anything good or healthy.     Of the many reports read on the subject, only one that I've seen, and that one written by a Lesbian, refuted other reports that claimed ‘adopted kids of homosexuals do not conform to the homosexual lifestyle.’    The Lesbian sociologist was honest enough to say ‘not so.’  She went on to report that just as all kids are models of their environment, so too are the adopted kids of homosexuals.   Most will adhere to that choice.   What a terrible and disgraceful legacy we have awarded to a growing number of kids by allowing homosexuals to adopt.   I won't be around, but today I foresee a future similar to ancient Greece's and an end to the decadence, just like it, forced by serious necessity.
“Now, get this... here we have the ‘rights’ of a tiny minority catapulted into the limelight at any cost, arrogantly driven ahead of the right of a business to operate and create jobs, ahead of the right of a business to express its own first amendment views.   This, at the expense of society, and with the imprimatur of government officials, no less.   This is very alarming and very, very wrong.     Where are the voices in support of Chick-Fil-A  and its proprietor.
“This society is uncaringly and what seems like unmovingly, diving into the deepest cesspool so fast, its breathtaking, to say the least.”  
 . . . to which I replied:
            Where do I begin?  No wait, I give up!
            There is just enough history woven into the post to make it believable, and yet I remain gobsmacked at the reasoning and projection.
            To equate pederasty with homosexuality is quite akin to equating pedophilia or rape with heterosexuality.  If you believe these pseudo-intellectual efforts, then the debate becomes moot.
            I shall rest on one simple principle: condemn all you wish, but the State must be removed from and remain out of the private domain.  Private, non-injurious conduct is a moral issue, and thus between the individual and God, not a matter of State interest.
  “That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap                        :-)