Sunday, July 26, 2009
Running Santa Cruz's Wharf to Wharf!
Ran the Wharf to Wharf today. A Scenic 10k route overlooking Santa Cruz beaches with bands playing throughout. Heard everything from bagpipes and ukuleles to metal. Race kicked off at 8:30 in front of the old arcade on the boardwalk. It was insane 15,000 people, the first mile pace was a yo-yo, at times a standstill, to running with the bulls in Pamplona, then back to a walk again,took 9 min 47 seconds. Second mile of the course started opening up, still a lot of bobbing and weaving, some people bobbed when they should of weaved, which was rather entertaining. Next couple miles were good, finally settled into a good pace. Fifth mile started feeling the burn, this is where the bands really fire you up for the final stretch. Right before the 5th mile marker I spotted my buddy Will from work whaling a way on the drums, it was awesome and just what I needed for the last push. When I heard the race official shout 40 minutes 55 seconds as I crossed the 5th mile marker I realized I had made up the time I had lost at the beginning of the race and I could finish under my goal of 50 minutes. Pushed it the rest of the way, finished at 48 minutes 15 seconds. Good time, next year I'll be shooting for 42 minutes!
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Racial Reacharound!
First, the republicans newly appointed top dog of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions coughed up a proverbial hairball of utter nonsense during Sotomayor’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing. He said;
“You voted not to reconsider the prior case. You voted to stay with the decision of the circuit. And in fact your vote was the key vote. Had you voted with Judge Cabranes, himself of Puerto Rican ancestry, had you voted with him, you could’ve changed that case” (Referring to the Firefighter Law Suit).
This is wrong in so many ways, but I’ll just point out the hypocritical one for now. Much of the line of questioning and reservations from republicans during the confirmation hearing has been that Sotomayor would cast her votes on the lines of racial bias and would be an activist judge. If that is your concern, why in the hell would you make a comment that if she had just voted like the other Latino judge the ruling of the firefighter lawsuit would have been decided in the same manor as the supreme court. Also the Supreme Court had to amend the statute to come to there conclusion and clarify the difference between their ruling and past precedence, hum, sounds a lot like judicial activism. This is a common tactic of the privileged and powerful; always blame the opposing side of committing the grievance while you’re the real offender.
Next, we had (R) Senator Todd Tiahrt speaking before the House of Representatives regarding taxpayer funded abortions in DC. He reasoned;
“If you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that will be put in place, paid for by tax dollars that will encourage women who are single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in a similar circumstance. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it? And what about Justice Clarence Thomas”
Ok Todd, African Americans aren’t the only impoverished people in this country and I have yet to meet a woman who is looking for either the opportunity or incentive to have an abortion.
Finally, we had the old crotchety coot Pat Buchanan who has apparently been recently diagnosed with the Poor Rich White Man Syndrome, which will hereto be referred to as PRWMS. Although PRWMS is not a deadly disorder it can have adverse effects upon one’s aptitude for rational thinking, compassion and has been known to cause mood swings and sometimes whipping its sufferers back to a 1950’s Deep South mindset. I’m not sure which quote to use of Grandpa Pat, there’s quite a few this week. In an interview with Rachael Maddow on her MSNBC show, the two were discussing equality in past Supreme Court nominees. Maddow asked Buchanan why he thought that 108 of the 110 Supreme Court Justices had been white. He replied;
"White men were 100% of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100% of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, 100% of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to 100% of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built basically by white folks, who were 90% of the nation in 1960 when I was growing up and the other 10% were African-Americans who had been discriminated against. That's why".
Although Pat’s whole line of thinking here is utterly preposterous and needs no further delving, how about a little fact check? First, African Americans and Latinos were not allowed in the decision making that formed this country, hence the lack of ability to give the old John Hancock. Secondly, African Americans and Latinos fought in Vicksburg and Normandy while Latinos were the only one’s to fight at Gettysburg, there just not as recognized for doing so.
Gettysburg:
Though recruiting of African Americans for Union service began in early 1863 and "US Colored Troops" saw combat action in various places that same year, there were no regiments of African-American soldiers attached to the "Army of the Potomac" in 1863.
Mexicans in the United States lived in poverty, and offering small incentives for fighting could easily lure large crowds of Mexicanos and Tejanos into fighting. Most fought on behalf of the Confederacy, who were well known for supporting political and social issues that Mexican Americans did not (unfortunately this still happens).
Vicksburg:
There were two Plaques dedicated to United States Colored Troops regiments that fought in the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign and related Civil War battles in the Vicksburg National Military Park between 1903 and 1942, the year they were removed from Park. The plaque is now placed at Grant’s Canal, an obscure location across the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Contemporary Park historians have denied that black troops participated in the Vicksburg Siege. The Monument, however, tells a different story.
Latinos fought the same as they did in Gettysburg.
Normandy:
The All-black 320th Antiaircraft Artillery Balloon Barrage Battalion.
7000 Latinos made up half of the 2nd Infantry division.
In Summation I hope this week has torn a small hole in the veil of entitlement and superiority these men feel surrounds them. I also hope people will remember their statements when it comes time to vote.
“You voted not to reconsider the prior case. You voted to stay with the decision of the circuit. And in fact your vote was the key vote. Had you voted with Judge Cabranes, himself of Puerto Rican ancestry, had you voted with him, you could’ve changed that case” (Referring to the Firefighter Law Suit).
This is wrong in so many ways, but I’ll just point out the hypocritical one for now. Much of the line of questioning and reservations from republicans during the confirmation hearing has been that Sotomayor would cast her votes on the lines of racial bias and would be an activist judge. If that is your concern, why in the hell would you make a comment that if she had just voted like the other Latino judge the ruling of the firefighter lawsuit would have been decided in the same manor as the supreme court. Also the Supreme Court had to amend the statute to come to there conclusion and clarify the difference between their ruling and past precedence, hum, sounds a lot like judicial activism. This is a common tactic of the privileged and powerful; always blame the opposing side of committing the grievance while you’re the real offender.
Next, we had (R) Senator Todd Tiahrt speaking before the House of Representatives regarding taxpayer funded abortions in DC. He reasoned;
“If you think of it in human terms, there is a financial incentive that will be put in place, paid for by tax dollars that will encourage women who are single parents, living below the poverty level, to have the opportunity for a free abortion. If you take that scenario and apply it to many of the great minds we have today, who would we have been deprived of? Our president grew up in a similar circumstance. If that financial incentive was in place, is it possible that his mother may have taken advantage of it? And what about Justice Clarence Thomas”
Ok Todd, African Americans aren’t the only impoverished people in this country and I have yet to meet a woman who is looking for either the opportunity or incentive to have an abortion.
Finally, we had the old crotchety coot Pat Buchanan who has apparently been recently diagnosed with the Poor Rich White Man Syndrome, which will hereto be referred to as PRWMS. Although PRWMS is not a deadly disorder it can have adverse effects upon one’s aptitude for rational thinking, compassion and has been known to cause mood swings and sometimes whipping its sufferers back to a 1950’s Deep South mindset. I’m not sure which quote to use of Grandpa Pat, there’s quite a few this week. In an interview with Rachael Maddow on her MSNBC show, the two were discussing equality in past Supreme Court nominees. Maddow asked Buchanan why he thought that 108 of the 110 Supreme Court Justices had been white. He replied;
"White men were 100% of the people that wrote the Constitution, 100% of the people that signed the Declaration of Independence, 100% of the people who died at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, probably close to 100% of the people who died at Normandy. This has been a country built basically by white folks, who were 90% of the nation in 1960 when I was growing up and the other 10% were African-Americans who had been discriminated against. That's why".
Although Pat’s whole line of thinking here is utterly preposterous and needs no further delving, how about a little fact check? First, African Americans and Latinos were not allowed in the decision making that formed this country, hence the lack of ability to give the old John Hancock. Secondly, African Americans and Latinos fought in Vicksburg and Normandy while Latinos were the only one’s to fight at Gettysburg, there just not as recognized for doing so.
Gettysburg:
Though recruiting of African Americans for Union service began in early 1863 and "US Colored Troops" saw combat action in various places that same year, there were no regiments of African-American soldiers attached to the "Army of the Potomac" in 1863.
Mexicans in the United States lived in poverty, and offering small incentives for fighting could easily lure large crowds of Mexicanos and Tejanos into fighting. Most fought on behalf of the Confederacy, who were well known for supporting political and social issues that Mexican Americans did not (unfortunately this still happens).
Vicksburg:
There were two Plaques dedicated to United States Colored Troops regiments that fought in the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign and related Civil War battles in the Vicksburg National Military Park between 1903 and 1942, the year they were removed from Park. The plaque is now placed at Grant’s Canal, an obscure location across the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Contemporary Park historians have denied that black troops participated in the Vicksburg Siege. The Monument, however, tells a different story.
Latinos fought the same as they did in Gettysburg.
Normandy:
The All-black 320th Antiaircraft Artillery Balloon Barrage Battalion.
7000 Latinos made up half of the 2nd Infantry division.
In Summation I hope this week has torn a small hole in the veil of entitlement and superiority these men feel surrounds them. I also hope people will remember their statements when it comes time to vote.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Some Thoughts on Czars
It seems that czars were started by Nixon with a lull for some years then revived by Bush. The best credible estimate of the number of Obama’s czars is around 20, which is more than Bush.
I’m on the fence with this one, it looks as if Bush wasn’t that affective with this approach, mostly because he assigned incompetent people to the positions but if used correctly you can side step a lot of bureaucracy and really get something accomplished. If I understand it correctly, what ever policy issues the czars are overseeing there role is to manage, oversee and report to the President. Any monies that would be directed to these issues would still be done by congress. This could work well seeing how it assigns responsibility for overall progress, no more passing the buck or decisions being bated around by other top level officials, while nothing ever gets accomplished. I do have some concerns though, like many other bestowed, attained or ceased powers there is an increased chance of corruption without proper oversight. So at the end of the day it comes down to whether or not you trust the President’s competence and ethics. I feel Obama for the most part has more than many that have come before, at least I hope, will have to see.
Here are a couple links on czars.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_07/019025.php.
This one shows some of the people bush put in charge. WTF come on George!
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=wish_upon_a_czar
I’m on the fence with this one, it looks as if Bush wasn’t that affective with this approach, mostly because he assigned incompetent people to the positions but if used correctly you can side step a lot of bureaucracy and really get something accomplished. If I understand it correctly, what ever policy issues the czars are overseeing there role is to manage, oversee and report to the President. Any monies that would be directed to these issues would still be done by congress. This could work well seeing how it assigns responsibility for overall progress, no more passing the buck or decisions being bated around by other top level officials, while nothing ever gets accomplished. I do have some concerns though, like many other bestowed, attained or ceased powers there is an increased chance of corruption without proper oversight. So at the end of the day it comes down to whether or not you trust the President’s competence and ethics. I feel Obama for the most part has more than many that have come before, at least I hope, will have to see.
Here are a couple links on czars.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_07/019025.php.
This one shows some of the people bush put in charge. WTF come on George!
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=wish_upon_a_czar
Clean Energy Tech Vs. Nuke Power
I think much of our worry concerning energy demand could be for not, with a little proper direction. It seems that localizing much of our national grid is part of the solution, especially with growing energy demand and impending uncertainty of weather conditions. Companies and other research facilities like MIT have produced printable solar inks that can recover energy across the whole spectrum and can be applied to a number of different substrates (no more silicon). One such company Konarka uses all recycled materials and estimates a cost of $1 a watt in the next couple of years and 10 cents a watt when production is ramped up. Just imagine you could purchase a 5000 watt residential solar system for $500. This would create millions of jobs (no more dangerous than being a roofer). You could solarize 5 to 10 million homes for the cost of 1 nuclear plant, that's not even including the cost of running, maintaining and water usage of the power plant.
Currently there are two ways solar can be used or stored.
1. Directly connected to your houses electrical system where you use the electricity in your house and if there’s excess it’s sold back to the power company.
2. Store the electricity in batteries for later use (Peak demand).
The problem with the latter solution is our current battery technology but these hurdles are on the verge of becoming history. EEstor a rather secretive company out of Texas is looking promising with a type of ceramic capacitor. Scientists at MIT have even recently demonstrated how a genetically modified virus can be used to construct both the cathode and anode of a lithium-ion battery (nanoscale). Just as the brilliant minds of our time have conceived and developed our nuclear technology over the past few decades, the minds of today are forging forward with new ideas and solutions of tomorrow.
Now that the "free market" is finally catching on, we're finally starting to make some progress. If we would have kept Carters energy plan in the 70's who knows where we might have found ourselves. There might be a role for the government to help push this along. Remember the tax credit 2008, $600 for single $1200 for Couple. Well there's your solar system, the home owner would just pay for the install.
Not to bash on Nuke energy, it could play a part in industrial demand but I believe there are solutions for that as well that are less expensive in comparison and just as efficient. I for one feel we should start backing our scientist and the further development of clean energy technologies that are completely feasible, safer, and potentially more efficient.
Currently there are two ways solar can be used or stored.
1. Directly connected to your houses electrical system where you use the electricity in your house and if there’s excess it’s sold back to the power company.
2. Store the electricity in batteries for later use (Peak demand).
The problem with the latter solution is our current battery technology but these hurdles are on the verge of becoming history. EEstor a rather secretive company out of Texas is looking promising with a type of ceramic capacitor. Scientists at MIT have even recently demonstrated how a genetically modified virus can be used to construct both the cathode and anode of a lithium-ion battery (nanoscale). Just as the brilliant minds of our time have conceived and developed our nuclear technology over the past few decades, the minds of today are forging forward with new ideas and solutions of tomorrow.
Now that the "free market" is finally catching on, we're finally starting to make some progress. If we would have kept Carters energy plan in the 70's who knows where we might have found ourselves. There might be a role for the government to help push this along. Remember the tax credit 2008, $600 for single $1200 for Couple. Well there's your solar system, the home owner would just pay for the install.
Not to bash on Nuke energy, it could play a part in industrial demand but I believe there are solutions for that as well that are less expensive in comparison and just as efficient. I for one feel we should start backing our scientist and the further development of clean energy technologies that are completely feasible, safer, and potentially more efficient.
Thoughts on Stimulus and Economic Status.
I hope Obama is doing what I think he is. So far he’s only let out 11% of the stimulus money to the states. Which in my view is brilliant, let out a portion of the money and monitor its usage. Why? You ask, in this time of fiscal crisis. To prevent the all too common wasteful spending associated with our federal and state government. This money is intended to be spent on projects that will stimulate our economy, hence the name. Much of the 11% has not even been used and good portion of the rest was used to offset state deficits. It seems as if the president was aware this might happen and set up the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board as a watchdog for the use of Recovery Act funds. If they follow through with their mandate, soon, we should start seeing some strong arming by the administration on governors and state legislators to start spending the money in the best interest for economic recovery or future stimulus monies might be withheld.
Newly created sites like Recovery.gov and Fedbizopps.gov are providing a level of transparency and attempted efficiency yet seen in our Government. If you look beneath all the sensationalized news reports and articles there really seems to be an underlying reconstruction of our governmental operations. Sure, Obama will make a few missteps along the way (already made a couple) but I’m willing to stick with him if he believes the majority of what comes out of his mouth and he stays dedicated to untangling the mess of bureaucracy, corruption and outright wastefulness that we are all too used to.
I must remind everyone that we are a representational government, meaning we pick our representatives. If you don’t trust the government or think it does a lousy job, then that is a direct result of you or your fellow citizens who are not paying enough attention or getting involved. Unfortunately due to the lack of true journalism left in our major news outlets and their resulting corporate interest corruption, it has become increasingly hard to find the facts, which would lead to rational thinking and problem solving. Now were blessed with this constant tit for tat, back and forth bullshit that calls itself news. Stop being sheep and search for the facts you’ll be surprised people. If it helps try to think of our government as a giant nonprofit who’s mission is only to protect and serve its citizenry. It’s efficiency and its overall usefulness relies on all of us to pull our heads out and pay attention. I seem to hear this constant drum beat of “let the free market decide”. This seems truly naïve that we would base our social welfare decisions on an economic philosophy which relies on how successful a business is in attracting customers and making a profit. Really WTF people?!!!
It’s way too early to be so squirelly.
So sit back, relax and sorry if you have to pay a little extra tax.
Give this thing called change a chance.
You just might find your lives truly enhanced.
Newly created sites like Recovery.gov and Fedbizopps.gov are providing a level of transparency and attempted efficiency yet seen in our Government. If you look beneath all the sensationalized news reports and articles there really seems to be an underlying reconstruction of our governmental operations. Sure, Obama will make a few missteps along the way (already made a couple) but I’m willing to stick with him if he believes the majority of what comes out of his mouth and he stays dedicated to untangling the mess of bureaucracy, corruption and outright wastefulness that we are all too used to.
I must remind everyone that we are a representational government, meaning we pick our representatives. If you don’t trust the government or think it does a lousy job, then that is a direct result of you or your fellow citizens who are not paying enough attention or getting involved. Unfortunately due to the lack of true journalism left in our major news outlets and their resulting corporate interest corruption, it has become increasingly hard to find the facts, which would lead to rational thinking and problem solving. Now were blessed with this constant tit for tat, back and forth bullshit that calls itself news. Stop being sheep and search for the facts you’ll be surprised people. If it helps try to think of our government as a giant nonprofit who’s mission is only to protect and serve its citizenry. It’s efficiency and its overall usefulness relies on all of us to pull our heads out and pay attention. I seem to hear this constant drum beat of “let the free market decide”. This seems truly naïve that we would base our social welfare decisions on an economic philosophy which relies on how successful a business is in attracting customers and making a profit. Really WTF people?!!!
It’s way too early to be so squirelly.
So sit back, relax and sorry if you have to pay a little extra tax.
Give this thing called change a chance.
You just might find your lives truly enhanced.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
