Update from the Heartland
No.724
26.10.15 – 1.11.15
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
Jeanne
and I took advantage of our retirement freedom to watch the Matt Damon movie “The Martian” during a Monday matinee
showing. Unlike many recent space
movies, “The Martian” came the
closest to getting the physics correct of any cinematic presentation I can recall
in recent years. This is not to
say that there were not some exaggerations to add visual drama to the story,
but they did not detract from the story, like so many other movies. Jeanne is not usually into space
movies, but she liked this one. I strongly
recommend “The Martian” to everyone
who enjoys a good movie. The movie
is an adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2011 novel by the same title. For those who might be interested in
the potential of Mars exploration, I would also recommend Kim Stanley Robinson’s
1993 “Mars Trilogy.”
The
Butler Grizzlies and our oldest grandchild Aspen Shae won their first playoff fußball
match 5-1. The next round will be the
coming Thursday in Topeka. If they
win the regional bracket, they will be off to the national championship bracket
later in the month. Good luck, Aspen Shae.
Of
course, we must a shout-out for the World Champion Kansas City Royals, who won
the World Series Game 5 by a score of 7-2 in 12 innings, and the Series in 4
games to 1 over the New York Mets.
The follow-up news items:
-- The confrontation with the People’s Republic of China
(PRC) [567, 574, 580, 589, 624-7, 649-50] continues
in the South China Sea. The People's
Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy or PLAN) repeatedly challenged the transit of
the USS Lassen (DDG-82) – a U.S. Navy,
Arleigh-Burke-class, guided missile destroyer (DDG) – in international waters,
near the disputed Spratly Islands. What the PRC is doing in the South China Sea
is wrong in every possible aspect, except from their own hegemonic perspective. This is raw, blatant hegemony in
graphic form – squatter’s rights in disputed territory.
-- Representative Paul Davis Ryan of Wisconsin
only needed 218 votes and he received 236 votes to become the 54th
Speaker of the House of Representatives [723]. The vote-count on Thursday,
29.October.2015, was:
RYAN (WI) 236
PELOSI (CA) 184
WEBSTER (FL) 9
COLIN POWELL 1
COOPER (TN) 1
LEWIS (GA) 1
PRESENT 0
NOT VOTING 3
We shall soon see how his speakership will play out.
On
Monday, a female, high school student with dark skin pigmentation at
Spring Valley High School in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina, disrupted
her classroom using her cell phone and defied her teacher to such an extent
that the teacher felt compelled to call for school security (a police officer)
to remove her from the classroom.
She refused to give up her cell phone, refused to leave the classroom, or
to obey the teacher’s or the officer’s instructions. Then, we see a limited video clip of the officer’s takedown
of the girl. Of course, the
talking heads erupted about the brutality and horror of the police officer’s
action, calling the video clip “shameful and shocking.” I am sorry, it is NOT! The FBI . . . yes, the FBI . . .
announced their intention to carry out a federal civil rights investigation
into the incident. Richland
County Sheriff Leon Lott took a whole few days to decide to dismiss Deputy Ben
Fields for violating department procedure. If he had cuffed her where he dropped her, he would have been
within the procedures. His mistake
was throwing her across the room, thus losing control of the perpetrator. What is it that has led a female high
school student to defy a police officer?
And, what is far worse to me, we condemn the police officer instead of
the parents of the defiant, disruptive student for raising such an anti-social
person. While I ultimately agree,
the deputy made a simple but critical mistake, we simply cannot continue to
paint law enforcement officers into a progressively tighter corner. This will not end well for any of
us. The deputy paid the price for
crossing the line. I advocate for
the parents to pay the price for their failure, complacency, neglect, what have
you, in raising such a near-adult, who will mostly likely not fair well in
society.
Surprise,
surprise! Congress passed what the
Press has reported to be a federal debt limit relief bill to avoid yet another
threat of a government shutdown.
From the available public information, I cannot gain a clear view of the
language of the bill, as the important bits are buried, and the Library of Congress
has not yet reported that the legislation has been sent to the President for
approval. I decided to report as
this is the week both the House and Senate passed the H.R. 1314 bill, despite
the bellicose bravado of a couple of Republican presidential candidates. We should have the definitive language
as well as the President’s assent next week.
Wednesday
night’s Republican candidates presidential debate was an interesting event,
more from how it played out than any policy statements by the candidates. I felt CNBC made a terrible mistake in
caving into the whining of the two leading Republican presidential candidates [718]; they should have called their
bluff. I am reticent to confess my
agreement with Senator Cruz; these debates are not cage matches. They are NOT entertainment! These are supposed to be serious
debates about the policy aims of each candidate, not some drivel gossip or
fantasy football. In this round,
the junior varsity round was more informative. The candidates and the Republican Party hammered CNBC and
specifically the moderator panel of this event . . . and rightly so, in my
opinion. If the candidates had
left it there, they would have had my support; but no, they could not leave
well enough alone. Then, we were
subjected to more whining about the debate format and boycotting any host that
did not adhere to their demands.
They want fewer candidates on stage, shorter programs, and more time for
them to give their spiels, i.e., they want to be in control, which is exactly
not the point of debates. Then,
Cruz suggested only Republicans should question Republican presidential
candidates during the primary portion of the silly season. In essence, more than a few of the
Republican candidates want to use the network’s and the commercial sponsor’s
valuable broadcast time to say what they want rather than response to
unscripted questions. If they want
control, they should pay for your own damn advertising and call it what it is,
period. The worst part: we have
another six months of this nonsense before we see the real candidates we will
vote into office in a year’s time.
The
Xinhua News Agency – the official mouthpiece of the PRC – reported the
government’s notorious one-child policy will end and all Chinese would be
allowed to have two children. The
announcement did not provide a time frame or any other details.
I note the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 during the
aircraft’s initial cruise phase over the Sinai Peninsula, enroute from Sharm el
Sheikh, Egypt, to St. Petersburg, Russia.
The investigators have reportedly retrieved the Flight Data Recorder
(FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for analysis. The debris field and air traffic control radar data suggests
an in-flight break-up. The crew
reported “technical difficulties” just before the loss of radio contact. An ISIL affiliate operating in the
Sinai claimed to have brought down the aircraft. However, the only units in the area with the weapon systems in
the form that brought down MH17 [657,
665, 722] that are able to reach a cruising jet at FL310 are Egypt and
Israel. At this stage, it is
highly doubtful ISIL possesses such a capability anywhere, set aside in the
Sinai. I do not know anything
about passenger, baggage and tarmac security in Sharm el Sheikh, so at this
stage we cannot rule out an onboard explosive and resultant explosive
decompression. Clearly, ISIL is
capable of an onboard explosive attack.
The investigators should recover all the bits, although spread out over
a large area of barren land, and should sort it out in short order.
News from the economic
front:
-- The Federal Reserve kept short-term interest rates
unchanged near zero, but left open the potential of raising rates at a final
2015 meeting in December. They
also indicated they were less concerned about turbulent financial markets and
uncertain economic developments overseas.
-- The U.S. Commerce Department reported the nation’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a 1.5% seasonally and inflation-adjusted annual
rate in 3Q2105, down sharply from the 3.9% pace in 2Q2015. Economic growth slowed as companies reduced
inventories, and consumer, business and government spending decelerated.
Comments and contributions from Update no.723:
“Here is some input concerning judging gays, and as you wrote,
leaving judgment to God. It seems to me it is fashionable to go around
saying and writing that people should not be judgmental. I don't even see how that is possible. We humans make judgments throughout the day.
When you and I were in the
military, one thing we were graded on in our fitness reports was whether we
used good judgment. As for who is
the Pope to judge gays, let me quote Jesus Christ, from John 7:24: ‘Do not
judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.’ In Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech ‘I
Have a Dream,’ he said he wanted his 4 children to be judged by the content of
their character. Even Santa Claus
has to be judgmental to do his job right, you know, naughty or nice. I don't get what I think is political
correctness about not being judgmental.
“Going back to male homosexuals, most countries have policies that
judge their blood to be less valuable than heterosexuals and lesbians. In
order to protect blood supplies, male homosexuals have been discriminated
against when it comes to donating blood. Although this is changing, the
thought is that there is too much risk in letting them donate. I don't
know what the Pope's thoughts are on this subject, but political correctness
will not protect blood supplies, righteous judgments will.”
My
response:
The
issue here is not judgment or even being judgmental. Each of us makes judgments daily, continuously regarding
life, and in this instance, who we choose to associate with. That is our right. That is our responsibility. When I referred to judging others in
Update no.723, I should have been
more specific. This is about
public versus private, and the limits of our use of the instruments of state to
impose on the private lives and private choices of any other citizen. The State (or in this instance, the
Church) should stay out of our private lives. While each of us makes judgments regarding the social
factors (i.e., age, race, ethnicity, et cetera), the State (and in my opinion,
the Church) should treat every citizen equally regardless of the social factors.
Science
does not support discrimination against male homosexuals. The current ban is emotional, not
rational. Just a curious FYI, I am
still banned from donating blood simply because I lived in England from 1993 to
1995, again not supported by science.
Life is like that, I suppose.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment