RattlerGator Blog

Reversing the Decay

This morning I came across a good opinion piece by Jonathan Sacks in the Wall Street Journal discussing the recent riots in Britain. The following sentence especially caught my attention:

[A] tsunami of wishful thinking [has] washed across the West saying that you can have sex without the responsibility of marriage, children without the responsibility of parenthood, social order without the responsibility of citizenship, liberty without the responsibility of morality and self-esteem without the responsibility of work and earned achievement.

This is an outstanding summation of our times, wouldn't you agree?

That nugget was soon followed by a necessary acknowledgment: there has been an equally disastrous corollary to the decay found in our social fabric within the financial markets. It has resulted in something of a "hook-up" mentality that seeks a free lunch, so to speak, in a world where there are no free lunches. Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, went on to write:

Freud was right. The precondition of civilization is the ability to defer the gratification of instinct. And even Freud, who disliked religion and called it the "obsessional neurosis" of humankind, realized that it was the Judeo-Christian ethic that trained people to control their appetites.

Yeah, buddy. Insatiable appetites. Gluttony.

I'm sure I'll have more on this "reversing the decay" theme later, and the return to religion solution suggested by Last, but that is all for now.

Check Out Cobb, Y'all

Cobb, always worthy of a serious read, has (as usual) been pumping out some interesting material. Check him out at cobb.typepad.com -- we need to get this man a bigger platform.

Hot As Hell

A few quick thoughts as the spam attacks go crazy on my blog and cyber attacks are in the news:

Well, I picked the wrong spring/summer to try and plant some grass out in the yard. It has been so hot and so abnormally dry that I have little hope of the planted grass surviving. Next time around I suppose.

So . . . Michelle Bachmann is the blocking horse, situated in the primaries to block Sarah Palin for Mitt Romney, huh? Interesting.

Personally, I'm not interested in any political debates of any sort at this time. It just strikes me as bizarre and very controlling. New Hampshire debates? In June? Who the hell cares!?!

I'm still mourning the loss of the Heatles to the Dallas Mavericks. I'm very happy for Dirk, though. And I still love me some LeBron James and I don't care what anyone says or thinks about that.

Great win by the Baseball Gators over Mississippi State; I screamed like crazy when that three-run homer left the ballpark. Might as well go to Omaha and win it all now, gang.

Disappointing loss by the Baseball Noles to Texas A&M at home. I'll say this, though. The attendance figures for baseball at Florida and Florida State are very close but the Noles have a "crowd-advantage" in baseball similar to ours in football. That crowd stuck around last night until the very end and was extremely enthusiastic. Very impressive. That said, it's time for Mike Martin to go -- FSU needs some fresh blood as head of their baseball program.

The Democrats are manufacturing a meme on Governor Rick Scott (unpopular, blah-blah-blah -- question: how did that popularity help Charlie Crist, huh???) that we shouldn't be too concerned with right now but the Governor and his people must start effectively countering it right now.

Yes, I still think Barack Obama is toast . . . as long as our side doesn't fall for the obvious intra-party scrap that turns into something of an unnecessary civil war. Job number one: Obama must be defeated.

Job number two: Obama must be defeated.

As long as we reach some sort of accommodation between the Republican establishment and our grassroots that is genuinely attentive to and -- hopefully -- respectful of the grassroots, the enthusiasm out in the country to get Obama out will carry the day.

I believe we're predicted to have 100-degree days for the next two or three days. With high humidity, of course.  Bring it on, Florida Boy can hang.  Would be nice to get some soaking rain in the afternoon, though.

Later, Gators.

Good Perspective about Japan's Fukushima Problem

Because I found it extemely useful, I'm re-printing in full Galrahn's latest post at Information Dissemination about the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power facility in Japan, that nation's oldest nuclear site:

There is a lot of hype and even some stupid nonsense being thrown around in the media about the nuclear situation at Fukushima. If you don't understand nuclear power, seek out discussions on the topic from the retired Navy communities, many of whom work on civilian reactors today and are discussing this issue in numerous places all over the web. A good place to start is the comments of this post at Bubblehead. Also see Dr. Josef Oehmen's comments here, a very useful read for context and perspective.

A few details that folks might want to note:

The reactors that are being discussed in the news were successfully shut down. The problems are related to post shutdown safety.

People who compare Fukushima and Chernobyl don't know anything about Fukushima or Chernobyl. This is like comparing the safety, survivability, and resilience of row boats and battleships. Everything that made Chernobyl a disaster - lack of safety, redundancy, etc.. - is what is making Fukushima a successful containment of a serious problem.

This event in Japan is the worst case scenario. First you have a 9.0 earthquake, then you have this massive tsunami, then you have the freezing weather that compounds your water problems. In the case of Fukushima the earthquake knocked out the power, forcing them to move to generators. The tsunami came along and knocked out the generators, forcing them to move to battery power.

The battery power has very limited life, somewhere between 8-24 hours, and we are somewhere north of 54 hours on battery power now at the nuclear plants. Obviously that creates a serious problem with these old reactors that require electricity for cooling. BTW, worth noting, the new nuke tech does not require electricity to cool.

Observing that this is the worst case scenario and that Fukushima is Japans oldest nuclear power plant; worth highlighting that there is still no evidence that there has been loss of containment or a leak that represents a public health concern. The leaks to date have been controlled and regulated as part of the safety procedures. Keep your head on folks, all of the public safety being done from iodine to evacuations is part of the stated Japanese nuclear safety plan which can be found online (I have not seen an English version).

The Fukushima plant situation is serious, but it is not some emerging catastrophe some are making it out to be.

Good points, all. The extensive (and well-worded for the layman, such as yours truly) response by M.I.T's Dr. Josef Oehmen was absolutely phenomenal!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I write, it's a bit after midnight and officially Thanksgiving Day. A family friend has just dropped off a beautiful cake he bought for us in Atlanta.

This holiday is especially reflective of that kind of spirit so in honor of Thanksgiving, here's a link to a fantastic rendition of "What A Wonderful World" by John Legend.

We have so much to be thankful for, ladies and gentlemen. Lay down your burdens and give yourself permission to enjoy this holiday.

Englishman Praises America's Tea Party

This, today especially, is a must-read: James Delingpole in the London Telegraph sounds the right note on the cause of freedom and liberty. On his return flight back to Britain from the United States, this is his first thought: "God how I wish I were American right now." That's quite a statement and, in truth, he's written quite a column in praise of the grassroots tea party movement. Of America, he writes:

[T]hey do still understand the principles of “don’t tread on me” and “live free or die.” Not all of them, obviously – otherwise a socialist like Barack Obama would never have got into power. But enough of them to understand that in the last 80 or more years – and not just in the US but throughout the Western world – government has forgotten its purpose. It has now grown so arrogant and swollen as to believe its job is to shape and improve and generally interfere with our lives. And it’s not. Government’s job is to act as our humble servant.

Roger that.

What’s terrifying is how few of us there are left anywhere in the supposedly free world who properly appreciate this. Sure, we may feel in our hearts that – as Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe put it in their Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party manifesto – “We just want to be free. Free to lead our lives as we please, so long as we do not infringe on the same freedom of others”. And we may even confide it to our friends after a few drinks. But look at Australia; look at Canada; look at New Zealand; look at anywhere in the EUSSR; look at America – at least until things begin to be improved by today’s glorious revolution. Wherever you go, even if it’s somewhere run by a notionally “conservative” administration, the malaise you will encounter is much the same: a system of governance predicated on the notion that the state’s function is not merely to uphold property rights, maintain equality before the law and defend borders, but perpetually to meddle with its citizens’ lives in order supposedly to make their existence more fair, more safe, more eco-friendly, more healthy. And always the result is the same: more taxation, more regulation, less freedom. Less “fairness” too, of course.

Damn, he seems to get it entirely. Later, he explains why he's so passionate about this moment in history:

[S]ince Climategate (RattlerGator: Delingpole blew the lid off the scam that is the insistence that modern humans are causing "global warming") I’ve been dedicating far more of my time than is healthy to exposing the great Global Warming scam. This is not because I’ve suddenly realised I’m a scientist manque who wants to spend the rest of his life obsessing about forcings, feedbacks and solar radiation. It’s because I understand that “Environmentalism” is but one strategically significant theatre in a much greater ideological war being waged across the world. It’s the same one Toby Young is fighting over education; the same one the likes of Rod Liddle, Andrew Gilligan, Nick Cohen and Mark Steyn are fighting over political Islam; the same one Melanie Phillips is fighting over Israel; the same one Douglas Murray is fighting on pretty much everything.  And its ultimate outcome is at least as important as those of the ones we fought in 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. At stake is exactly the same thing the Greek alliance fought for when Western Civilisation was born at Salamis in 480 BC; the same thing we citizens of the West have been fighting for ever since: the right to forge our own destinies as free men and women, rather than remain infantilised, oppressed and enslaved as vassals of a tyrant state.

The greatest civilization in the history of the world has improbably been built and a dedicated caste of "professional political mandarins" disrespect what built, and what maintains, that civilization and have embarked on a worldwide quest to tear it down and substitute it with their perceived utopia.

No, thank you.

Bill Kristol Continues to Miss the Point

As I continue to inch closer to one decade as a full-fledged Republican (somewhere around 2013 will mark the spot, 2004 was when I first voted for a Republican persident; as I look back, however, it was the Clarence Thomas / Anita Hill "high-tech lynching" that seriously began my movement away from the Democrats) I'm trying to take note of certain markers that strike me as remarkable.

This year, the remarkable thing has been the incredible blindness many established Republicans have displayed with respect to Christine O'Donnell. Unfortunately, many neocons and Jewish Republicans demonstrate the problem. Bill Kristol, for example, has this throw-away line in a post discussing the very good prospects facing Republicans seeking to win their election on Tuesday (here, he's speaking specifically about the United States Senate):

If Republicans have to win 2 out 3 of WV, CA, and WA to take the Senate—for reasons Jeff explains—I think the odds of that are 50-50. Still would be nice to have Delaware.

No, it wouldn't. Not if it means electing Mike Castle during these midterms. You might as well elect the out-in-the-open Democrat rather than a stealth candidate.

No, it wouldn't. Not if it meant bringing into the Republican ranks a "Republican" who can't find it within himself to actively support the Republican nominee. It is nothing short of outrageous that this simple point can't be acknowledged by more establishment Republicans, neocons, and Jewish Republicans. Absolutely outrageous.

Any Republican who can't support the winner of the Republican primary should not be serving as a Republican in the United States Senate. Mike Castle is directly and unequivocally saying he would rather have Chris Coons represent Delaware than Christine O'Donnell. To any clear thinking sentient being that I know, this means that Mike Castle, if elected to the Senate instead of Christine O'Donnell, would effectively be a Democrat plant within the Republican caucus -- and extremely damaging to the cause of reversing the advance of the big government leviathan that is animating rank-and-file Republican enthusiasm this election cycle.

Why in the hell would Republicans want that?

I've been blown away by the attempted knee-capping of Christine O'Donnell. Completely blown away. Karl Rove's initial rant was jaw-dropping. And I love Karl Rove! I keep thinking to myself, who the hell cares if she's not your cup of tea? Do you or do you not understand anything about the big tent? How in the heck can you countenace advancing the cause of a former Marxist over that of Christine O'Donnell? She won the damn primary; support the woman!

When I run into something remarkable like this, I know that I've stumbled across a hidden power dispute. And this hidden power dispute is about the fear of the great unwashed. The fear of average Americans. And I am always (when forced to choose; and I don't like being forced to choose) more suspicious of establishment folks who fear average Americans than I am of average Americans.

The entire point this election cycle for the animated base of the Republican Party is not some kind of purity test but it is to put in place a principled core of legislators who, first and foremost, understand the imperative to restrain government and, secondly, to absolutely not seek to elect anyone who can't stomach a (1) social-issues nominee inspired by the grass roots tea party or a (2) fiscal-issues nominee inspired by the grass roots tea party. The social-issues folks don't have a problem with this. The outrage has been the evident fact that the fiscal-issues folks are less accepting, and far more biased.

Incredibly, they appear to want to take advantage of this wave but selectively deny their partners of taking advantage of the same. Which leads me to question whether Bill Kristol is the one missing the point . . .  or am I?

Revenge of the PUMA's

There's an obvious issue at play in this election that is being seriously overlooked. Democrats aren't just in trouble because Republicans are convinced they've overreached. They are deeply in trouble because many P.U.M.A.'s are still extremely upset over the top-down treatment given to Hillary Clinton in the Democrats 2008 primaries.

And they are intent on extracting their revenge via an "I can show ya better than I can tell ya" strategy.

Top-down is out, ladies and gentlemen, this election cycle and in the forseeable future.

It is superficially being ignored by the media and Democrats but it fits entirely with the Tea Party anger seen on the Republican side of the aisle. It is a revolt against the top-down manner in which politics has been increasingly dictated in America. Barack Obama never, ever, could have occurred without a top-down mandate forced on Democrats who absolutely knew he wasn't ready to be President and Commander-in-Chief.

Clearly, Republicans *and* Democrats are sick and tired of it.

Here's what I noticed at Hillbuzz this morning (it may be rank speculation and entirely wrong but it certainly is plausible) in a post that asserts Christine O'Donnell is, in fact, leading in Delaware:

[H]ere’s how it works:

Some % of the Democrat party were turned into P.U.M.A.s when the BHO machine stole the nomination from Hillary. For each state, take the number of Hilary primary voters and guestimate the % of them that are like HillBuzz and have vowed revenge for what was done to Hillary. Those voters will be MOTIVATED to vote for the Rep over the Dem, in order to set the stage for the return of the Clinton wing of the party (no matter what that party is called).

So, do the math: Take Delaware, and estimate the number of Hillary supporters who want revenge, and subtract them from the Coons count, and give them to O’Donnell. Give the rest of the Dems to Coons. Then guestimate the number of Indies (like me) who feel Hilary was ROBBED and toss us onto O’Donnell (as revenge votes against the tainted Democrat brand) and then give the rest of the Indies to Coons. Then, give all the Rep voters to O’Donnell. Check for who is in the lead.

You can do the same in each state. All you need to do is make a reasonable guess of the number of HillBuzz-like folks in a state, and then run the spreadsheet.

Wow! If true, history is going to be made on November 2nd in an incredibly big way.

Welcome Aboard, Juan Williams

I don't say welcome to the ranks of the Republican Party; that isn't necessarily his destination nor should it be. But welcome to the ranks of those who will no longer accept the nonsense of the Democrats. Their willing ignorance. Especially their unwillingness to think, to accept the humanity of their political adversaries, and especially to not question the racism and sexism regularly showered on conservatives. By the leftwing and by Democrats.

For an especially good take on the journey Juan Williams is inevitably taking right now, please read an excellent piece from Thomas Lifson in the American Thinker.

There is no question in my mind that Juan's ideological differences with me have been based on his immersion in the liberal political culture of Washington, DC, with its baseline assumptions that government largesse equals compassion for the poor, government bureaucrats are motivated by concern for the powerless, and that the private sector is based on greed.  I perfectly well understand how a good man could believe these things, because I once believed them, too, when I lived within the bubble of self-satisfied arrogant liberalism on America's elite university campuses.

It takes a questioning attitude and open mind (and sometimes a shock) to break out of these assumptions, because they can be very comforting. Believing oneself to be a good person because of one's liberal politics smoothes out a lot of the edges in life. When most people in your social and work circles are also liberals who agree that liberals are better people, it is almost impossible to break out. Who would willingly give-up the admiration of people around them?

Indeed.

Hang in there, Juan. Yes, you've been financially taken care of. But your social circles have been forever affected. So be it. You are on the right path and America is with you.

Gramscian Intervention Blocked

I operate on the periphery of academia, and have many friends and acquaintances who work at institutions of higher education. The video presented below, therefore, is of great interest to me and might be of interest to you, too:

KC Johnson on Dispositions Theory from FIRE on Vimeo.

My goodness.

KC Johnson, of course, was prominent in exposing the outrageous treatment of the Duke Lacrosse players and I commented on it on more than a few occasions back then (see, for example, here). Johnson has performed an extremely valuable service by acting as a soldier on the front line and stopping the advance of a misguided effort that clearly was destined to be used for nefarious purposes.