This new blogger interface isn't cooperating. I updated that old post hoping that it would be forced to the top. Instead, I am copying it verbatim and reposting it here. It is especially relevant today.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
When it comes to this Climate of Hate stuff, I am reminded of the story of the Frog and Scorpion. It took me a long circuitous route in order to get to this conclusion and it requires some explanation.
This charge being made of "vitriolic" rhetoric that is somehow connected to the shootings in Arizona appears to me to very dishonest. It is the kind of dishonesty that you find in liberals. Surely they are not so dumb as to believe that a few words is going to cause bad things to happen, for if they really believed that, they would tone down their own language. Liberals are not necessarily stupid, despite their appearances sometimes. They just have this problem with basic concepts like integrity, honesty and honor. Use those words around a liberal, and you'll get a sneering response. It is so old fashioned to them.
It reminds me of what Leo Durocher used to say: "Nice guys finish last." Politics is a tough competitive occupation, not unlike competitive sports. Knocking the other guy silly in order to get an edge is okay if you can get away with it. In fact, it ought to be expected. Hence you get the response that the Mahablog had, in which I referenced in an earlier post. Any complaints about the rough tactics are attributed to weakness on the protestors part. Never mind the fact that it is the very same thing that the critics are saying themselves. The critics want their adversaries to tone it down, but that won't be reciprocated. Even more, not only will it not be reciprocated, but any complaints will be characterized as crybabying.
But their is no honor no integrity in the charge. Never mind that, they'll say. Nice guys finish last.
It may be a little starry eyed of me, but I do think that conservatives do care more about honor and integrity than the liberals. I'll buttress that opinion with a few facts which can't be denied. When a conservative breaks a promise, like George H.W. Bush's "read my lips" promise not to raise taxes, the betrayal is taken very seriously. But if a liberal, like Clinton says he "didn't have sex with that woman", and it turns out to be a lie, nobody seems to be shocked. The two sides are judged by different standards. Or to put it more accurately, one side gets judged by its own standards and the other doesn't get judged because it has no standards to begin with.
When I think of liberals, I think of them as the Al Capone types. That may seem a bit harsh, but let me explain. In his book "Success Through a Positive Mental Atttitude", Napoleon Hill discusses his interview with the notorious gangster. When Hill asked Capone why he did the things he did, Capone said "I had to." He felt it was necessary for him to be dishonest. But Hill points out that necessity has nothing to do with the choice of being dishonest. Dishonesty is a choice, nobody forces anybody to be dishonest. Nobody forced Capone to be a gangster. That was his choice. Yet Capone no doubt believed that he was being forced into becoming a gangster. People can rationalize any behavior if it suits them in some way. If it suits the liberals to lie about the conservatives, in particular about a certain tragic event, why they'll just say that they have to. And they'll feel perfectly justified in doing so.
So that brings me back to the Frog and Scorpion parable. It is in the Scorpions' nature to sting the Frog while the Frog is carrying the Scorpion to safety even though it will kill the both of them. The Scorpion can't help itself. It would prefer death to them both than to have his enemies succeed or survive. The Scorpion isn't motivated by good will, but by enmity. Therefore, you can't believe what the "Scorpions" say. If you do, and you trust them, you go down the drink with them.
Update:
This is being reposted from almost two years ago after the Gifford shooting in Arizona. It is about the "Climate of Hate" charge leveled at the right and how the left was attempting to say that this climate caused the shooting.
It is especially important now with what is happening in the election. They may charge the same climate of hate is what is bringing Obama down, if that is indeed what is happening ( Obama going down).
The gold standard is the truth. Obama didn't trust us with the truth. His excuse will be the same as Capone's.
Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sandy equals God's Wrath?
More temptation to make connections to events that may have no connection whatsoever.
We've got this superstorm that is happening right at an election. We have a major brewing scandal that is happening right at an election.
Is it all a coincidence, or is it an Act of God? One is tempted to jump to conclusions.
The terrorist attack at Benghazi was man made. The response to it was man made. The election of Barack Obama was man made.
But the storm is not man made. It is hitting in a "blue" region, just like 9-11. The coincidences are startling.
Political manipulation is man made. It has been going on for years. I've been warning about it for years.
If Obama was wrong in 2008, he is certainly wrong now. Nothing has happened that has changed that opinion. Events have shown the opposite.
Those who manipulate are having the tables turned on them. Poetic justice, or an act of God?
How far can reason guide the affairs of men? The answer to that question may be disturbing if you believe in the ability of reason to guide the affairs of men.
We've got this superstorm that is happening right at an election. We have a major brewing scandal that is happening right at an election.
Is it all a coincidence, or is it an Act of God? One is tempted to jump to conclusions.
The terrorist attack at Benghazi was man made. The response to it was man made. The election of Barack Obama was man made.
But the storm is not man made. It is hitting in a "blue" region, just like 9-11. The coincidences are startling.
Political manipulation is man made. It has been going on for years. I've been warning about it for years.
If Obama was wrong in 2008, he is certainly wrong now. Nothing has happened that has changed that opinion. Events have shown the opposite.
Those who manipulate are having the tables turned on them. Poetic justice, or an act of God?
How far can reason guide the affairs of men? The answer to that question may be disturbing if you believe in the ability of reason to guide the affairs of men.
Advice from a wise head
Don't go overboard with this Benghazi stuff. via Instapundit
I agreed in advance.
Update:
But the temptation is hard to resist.
Update:
Very, very hard indeed.
Update:
Nixonian statements: "I am not a crook."
I agreed in advance.
Update:
But the temptation is hard to resist.
Update:
Very, very hard indeed.
Update:
Nixonian statements: "I am not a crook."
Monday, October 29, 2012
Big Idea: Bring Back the "Cold Fusion" Dream
discover magazine via Instapundit
Comment:
Who cares what it is called? Or how it works? Imagine forcing the lights to be turned off because no one had a theory for electricity, nor knew how light bulbs worked.
So far, Larsen still has only a theory and some circumstantial evidence. But if LENRs could be proved and tamed—a very big if—the effect could be transformative. Dennis Bushnell, chief scientist at NASA Langley, wrote in an online article that LENRs could potentially satisfy the world’s energy needs at a quarter the cost of coal.
Comment:
Who cares what it is called? Or how it works? Imagine forcing the lights to be turned off because no one had a theory for electricity, nor knew how light bulbs worked.
Coaster no. 16, thrust estimates based on Shuttle performance
A look at some Shuttle performance data. If the coaster can match this, it can give us an idea of what to expect.
The caption to the pic below calculates thrust per pound of hydrogen expended. Question: Can the coaster expel a pound of hydrogen per second? If so, the thrust would be 1104 lbs thrust ( I think).
A quick look at chamber pressure. It is lower than the hydrogen tanks for fuel cell vehicles that I've seen. At just under 3000k psi, it is significantly less than the 5000 psi that I've seen for those. This appears feasible, by those standards.
Some general performance data to throw in there.
The rocket equations that I've have on spreadsheet show some anomalies. If mass is increased, delta v goes down---all other factors equal. I need to look at that closely when time permits.
It now appears that the coaster cannot launch itself. How to launch then, from the moon?
Thought: what if you were to use hunter gas gun for this?
You can use the gas gun to send up fuel for a reusable rocket system that could land on moon and return to be used again and again. This system can also deploy coasters.
Miscellaneous thought: reusability problem: have to carry mass with you if you want full reusability. That's why you're stuff needs to be small. Gas guns get around part of this problem. Small projectiles to deliver fuel are not wasting so much matter. Won't matter so much if they are not fully reusable.
The caption to the pic below calculates thrust per pound of hydrogen expended. Question: Can the coaster expel a pound of hydrogen per second? If so, the thrust would be 1104 lbs thrust ( I think).
 |
| 274.71 gals/sec;1864.88 lbs-sec/gal; 1.69 lbs/gal; 1104.39 ratio of thrust per pound |
Some general performance data to throw in there.
 |
| Shuttle combustion chamber reaches 3315 C. That's hotter than the goal for the coaster. May need to get the temperatures up for the coaster. It may not be hot enough. |
The rocket equations that I've have on spreadsheet show some anomalies. If mass is increased, delta v goes down---all other factors equal. I need to look at that closely when time permits.
It now appears that the coaster cannot launch itself. How to launch then, from the moon?
Thought: what if you were to use hunter gas gun for this?
You can use the gas gun to send up fuel for a reusable rocket system that could land on moon and return to be used again and again. This system can also deploy coasters.
Miscellaneous thought: reusability problem: have to carry mass with you if you want full reusability. That's why you're stuff needs to be small. Gas guns get around part of this problem. Small projectiles to deliver fuel are not wasting so much matter. Won't matter so much if they are not fully reusable.
Strange days
This could be a rather interesting week. What are the facts regarding Benghazi?
We may never know that. But it has been fairly clear that Obama must have known what was going on there at the time and that the violence wasn't because of a video. This is what he subsequently claimed and it is false.
It looks as if the administration was at odds with itself. Speculation was increasing about the division between the Secretary of State Clinton and Obama. Somebody was going to take the fall for this, and it looked like the Clintons decided it wasn't going to be them. Now that appears to be changing.
The Democrats probably decided that this was very dangerous to their interests and so they are probably circling the wagons. In my opinion, they are going to brazen it out until the end of the election and then deal with the outcome afterward.
In the meanwhile, the news networks are not reporting the obvious fact that the President has lied about Benghazi and that he is doing so for political reasons. I suspect that this is being done in order to build up the story that the President is being run out of office for racial reasons.
This is setting up future unrest no matter what the outcome of the election is. For, if the Democrats lose, they will claim racial injustice--- and the Republicans will claim treason if they lose. This is a witches brew of instability being concocted here.
The truth would go a long way towards calming things down, but instead the thing is being whipped up into an emotional quagmire of mutual suspicion. The suspicion builds as the speculation builds about what the truth actually is. But the truth will not be reported because it is very damaging to the interests of the Democrats. The Democrats control the media, so the voters are not likely to be allowed to know the facts of the situation. Many would not believe it even if it were reported accurately.
It is like a war, where the truth is the first casualty.
In the meantime, it is being reported as being a tight race. We could have another election controversy as in 2000 and this could add to the emotional mix. Things were a lot better in 2000, the country could handle that. But could it handle another election controversy like that in these conditions?
There needs to be a resolution to this, but it doesn't look like it will be a clear one. That's of course, if the news that the election is actually close. It may not be. But is probably is.
If the facts remain as hidden as possible, it will allow the bad guys to escape. There will be bad feelings all around no matter what the outcome. A clear outcome is not desired, I suspect. The more confusion, the better. It may well succeed.
Things could get dicey if those on the losing end decide that they cannot accept the outcome. There are vague threats out there. Riots perhaps? Mutiny amongst the military? States leaving the Union?
We may never know that. But it has been fairly clear that Obama must have known what was going on there at the time and that the violence wasn't because of a video. This is what he subsequently claimed and it is false.
It looks as if the administration was at odds with itself. Speculation was increasing about the division between the Secretary of State Clinton and Obama. Somebody was going to take the fall for this, and it looked like the Clintons decided it wasn't going to be them. Now that appears to be changing.
The Democrats probably decided that this was very dangerous to their interests and so they are probably circling the wagons. In my opinion, they are going to brazen it out until the end of the election and then deal with the outcome afterward.
In the meanwhile, the news networks are not reporting the obvious fact that the President has lied about Benghazi and that he is doing so for political reasons. I suspect that this is being done in order to build up the story that the President is being run out of office for racial reasons.
This is setting up future unrest no matter what the outcome of the election is. For, if the Democrats lose, they will claim racial injustice--- and the Republicans will claim treason if they lose. This is a witches brew of instability being concocted here.
The truth would go a long way towards calming things down, but instead the thing is being whipped up into an emotional quagmire of mutual suspicion. The suspicion builds as the speculation builds about what the truth actually is. But the truth will not be reported because it is very damaging to the interests of the Democrats. The Democrats control the media, so the voters are not likely to be allowed to know the facts of the situation. Many would not believe it even if it were reported accurately.
It is like a war, where the truth is the first casualty.
In the meantime, it is being reported as being a tight race. We could have another election controversy as in 2000 and this could add to the emotional mix. Things were a lot better in 2000, the country could handle that. But could it handle another election controversy like that in these conditions?
There needs to be a resolution to this, but it doesn't look like it will be a clear one. That's of course, if the news that the election is actually close. It may not be. But is probably is.
If the facts remain as hidden as possible, it will allow the bad guys to escape. There will be bad feelings all around no matter what the outcome. A clear outcome is not desired, I suspect. The more confusion, the better. It may well succeed.
Things could get dicey if those on the losing end decide that they cannot accept the outcome. There are vague threats out there. Riots perhaps? Mutiny amongst the military? States leaving the Union?
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Admiral Ackbar's "It's a trap!" scene
This could be a General Custer type of thinking that is too convoluted and likely to be wrong. I got the impression from the Mahablogger that she knew something and this whole thing about Benghazi just seems too easy.
Now the Democrats are circling their wagons. They may be angling for some kind of situation in which they can discredit Republicans. So, Republicans had better watch out. This was too easy. Clinton may have been running some type of false flag deal where she was in conflict with Obama. They may be thinking that they can outsmart the Republicans and pull off a coup.
In other words, it's a trap!
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