State of the State of the Union

Tonight is the State of the Union ....oh, how I wish they would handle it the way they used to

"For example, Thomas Jefferson thought Washington's oral presentation was too kingly for the new republic. Likewise, Congress's practice of giving a courteous reply in person at the President's residence was too formal. Jefferson detailed his priorities in his first annual message in 1801 and sent copies of the written message to each house of Congress. The President's annual message, as it was then called, was not spoken by the President for the next 112 years. The message was often printed in full or as excerpts in newspapers for the American public to read.

The first President to revive Washington's spoken precedent was Woodrow Wilson in 1913."

I knew I had a reason for disliking Woodrow Wilson, other than the 14 points.

After reading Margaret MacMillian's book 1919, and gained no real zeal for Wilson's leadership skills.....of course part of that is because he got the spot that should have gone to TR in the Election of 1912.

Great, so now even that is dangerous

In the latest news, The CLI* has decided to worry us about one of the great things in life.
These groups seem to be terribly short on creativity. The report is entitled "Toxic at any speed"...a pretty cheap rip-0ff of "Unsafe At Any Speed from Ralph Nader, which killed the Chevrolet Corvair...which still aggrivates me.

CLI=Chicken Little Institute

Crazy or brilliant

We are discussing the 1974 escapades of Phillipe Petit a Frenchman who walked a tightrope between the then hated World Trade Center.

A few facts about The Towers

His story is one of the best legends associated with the towers.

Shaking not always deadly

image obtained at the USGS website.


The recent quake in the Banda Sea pales in comparison to quake that rocked the SUMATRA-ANDAMAN ISLANDS, and triggered the Tsunami that caused horrific carnage.
If this quake had rocked most major cities, it might well have caused catastophic loss of life, note how many of these quakes were smaller than this one, but luckily it happened in an area where such an outcome was not the result.

Good Man, Bad President, REALLY Bad Idea

Jimmy Carter really is a good man. His work with Habitat for Humanity is nothing less than amazing, and the Camp David Accords were a benefit to the entire world....but his legacy will forever be tainted by his leadership during the Iran Hostage Crisis, and if he is not careful, it will be further tarnished by calls like this

There is no way, unless Hamas fully renounces terrorism as a tactic in their pursuit of Palestinian interests, that any nation or organization should aid that organization with financial resourses.

A Political Gift

In what would have to be one of the most stupid political moves ever, we now here the "peace activist" and fan of Hugo Chavez, the illustrious Cindy Sheehan considering a run for the Senate Seat held by Dianne Feinstein.

Why stupid you ask?

Simple. The Senate seat in California is pretty much a lock for the Democratic Party, unless their base is split by a circus show like this promises to become.

UPDATE

Guess who showed up at the State of the Union?

Dreaming of Space, but remembering tragedy

As a child, I, like many, dreamed of going into space, especially after watching the moon landing on television. I continued to watch the moon missions, but eventually the "new" wore off, and the missions appeared to become routine.
The spark was reignited when NASA brought out the Shuttle.


The initial baby steps, with the Shuttle perched atop the the 747, the first mission in April of 1981 again made many of us remember the dream (although by that time I knew I would never be an astronaut), and again, routine set in....then came January 28, 1986.
I was on the way to class (Dr. McKinney...I think we were studying The Lost Honor of Katerina Blum) when I saw the early coverage of the tragedy on the Klassen Hall TV.
I don't remember the class, but I remember watching the coverage of the tragedy the rest of the day. The images of that day, and the phrase "go with throttle up..." still linger in my head.
My wife and I had the priviledge of attending the 1st landing of a Shuttle after Challenger. At the time the crowd that day at Edwards AFB was estimated at nearly 400,000.

It does not seem like it could have been twenty years ago.

Warning..This is not a politically correct post

I just heard this story on the hourly radio news blurb, and automatically had images of a mass surrender to a quiche.

Just what effect will Hamas' win have

The win by Hamas in Wednesday's Palestinian election has many wondering about the future of Peace Process and whether the cease fire that has been in place will survive in the face of new reality of the Palestinian political landscape...especially in light of the history of Hamas.

Liveblogging Class

We continue our viewing of "The Long Road to War"...we are looking at the November 22, 1990 UN Resolution (6781990) which set a 6-week deadline for Saddam to leave Kuwait. The resolution was asked for and obtained by James Baker (SecState). The President had gotten most of his information on Saddam Hussien from SH's fellow Middle Eastern leaders, especially President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, who was telling him that Saddam was likely to back down to a direct American challenge.

The portion of the video that examines the "Mind of Hussein" details Saddam's early life, and lays a groundwork for understanding the ethos and motivation of Saddam Hussein. The details of the violence he was involved in, and his affiliation with the Ba'ath Party are layed out in some detail, as was his rise to the zenith of the Iraqi political structure.

The video also broaches the subject of the 1963 Ba'ath party takeover of Iraq with CIA assistance. In all fairness, any analysis of that action has to take into account that the assistance was provided in a world dominated by Cold War politics.

Roots and Nature of Anti-Americanism

Foreign Policy Magazine has an interesting article entitled "David's Friend Goliath", dealing with the issue of American hegemony, and the true nature of the World's apparent antipathy for the United States.

Fouad Ajami did an excellent article on the issue of Anti-Americanism in the September/October 2003 issue of Foreign Policy, which has interesting comments on the source of much of Europe's angst toward America.

The mantra of many, that President Bush has damaged America, and our prestige abroad seems to be an oversimplification.

MY CRAZY WORLD: Temple gives up statue of ancient Egyptian queen

Nice discovery....Kudos to Greg for finding and blogging this one....

MY CRAZY WORLD: Temple gives up statue of ancient Egyptian queen

Just Stuff: I Can't Believe It's Not Fake!

Stumbled across this while looking at different blogs....especially appropriate after our experience in class today with the MREs...

Just Stuff: I Can't Believe It's Not Fake!

Don't complain about your car payment

The Barrett-Jackson Auction had a huge day yesterday, with 5 cars breaking the magical $1 million number.

First to do so was Ray Allen's 1970 LS6 Convertible Chevelle, a car with a brilliant pedigree, and only 61 miles on the odometer. ($1, 242,000).
The car that was anticipated as the top bid earner came to block just a short time later, but the 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama Concept Car matched, but did not exceed the record set last year by the F88 Concept.
The 1952 Chrysler D'Elegance 2-door Hardtop followed at a solid $1,188,000. (This car seems vaguely similar to the Bentley Continental GT)....and yes, it does have a Hemi
The bank was broken by the 1950 GENERAL MOTORS FUTURLINER PARADE OF PROGRESS TOUR BUS, which sold of an astounding $4,320,000.
The spending flurry did not end there, but continued just two lots later when $2,160,000 was paid for this prime 1970 Hemi Cuda, wrapped up with with one final member of the million dollar club, this 1953 Corvette, which was number 3 off the assembly line that year, and sold for $1,080,000. (My father once owned #8….obviously, he did not keep it and pass it on to me)

25 Years Ago Today

After the "Long National Nightmare", and 4 years of malaise...The country (well most of us) enjoyed the inaugural of Ronald Reagan on January 20, 1981. At the same time that he was being sworn in, we watched the airplane holding 52 Hostages sit on the runway until after the new President was sworn in.

On that day President Reagan gave one of the better inaugural speeches of all time.

The speech can be heard here.

Interestingly, just 10 days later he was shot and badly wounded by John Hinckley.

Interesting facts about that inaugural:
-President Reagan was the oldest President to ever be take office...he was 69, and would turn 70 on February 6, 1981.

-President Reagan's inaugural was the first to be held on the backside of the Capitol (The side facing the Washington Memorial and the National Mall.)

I may need a 12 step program to deal with my Blogging habit

The New Horizons Mission began today with liftoff from Cape Canaveral....maybe I will finish this post in 10 years.

Pray for Rex Meadows

Pray for Rex Meadows

OBL is apparently still alive

News surfaced today that a new audiotape from Exiled Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden? (Anyone else troubled by the caption calling him that?...kudos to Little Green Footballs for catching that one)

A little lighter view, on the tape here at Nihilist In Golf Pants

Interesting POV from Daniel W. Drezner

More Learned

We continued our look at PBS' The Long Road to War today with a look at the years 1980-1989 (The video will soon take a look back at how Saddam gained control of Iraq.)

Today's topics covered included a look at the events of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, including a description of the split screen of the Reagan Inaugural and the Release of the Hostages, The early stages of the Iran-Iraq War, including the use of chemical weapons in the conflict.

We also examined the nature of the Iran-Contra Scandal, and discussed briefly the role of William Casey and Oliver North.

We also had a discussion of how the Shah of Iran, and how and why the U.S. helped him take power in Iran. His exile helped spark the emergence from exile in Iraq of the Ayatollah Khomeini.

A discussion of the Soviet War in Afghanistan, including the role the U.S. decision to provideStinger missles to the Afghan Muhajadeen....a view I was taught some time ago... although some disagree with that assessment... I did forget to mention the 1980 Olympic Boycott, which was instituted by then President Jimmy Carter.

We concluded the class with a discussion of Saddam Hussien's use of Chemical Weapons at Halabja in 1988, and resulting cooling in the Iraq/America relationship.

Why the World really hates America

Plain and simple, it is the fact that we do this....no hybrids here.

The anticipated highlight will be the sale of The 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Concept, which I had the opportunity to view and photograph this summer at the Petersen Automotive Museum last summer

Why are we there?

In an effort to better understand America's involvement in Iraq, the HS US History class is dissecting PBS' The Long Road to War, which details the history and run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by coalition forces.

Key Figures, events, and concepts dealt with today:
Jimmy Carter
Ayatollah Khomeini
Iranian Hostage Crisis
Iran-Iraq War
The Enemy of my enemy is my friend

Is this a surprise?

Shocking results of a, no doubt, well funded research program.

The Market this morning

The headline this morning is proclaiming Rough Start on Wall Street, but more ominous is the the early closure of the Japanese market due to a sharp downturn.
The CNN article points toward downturns in Intel and Yahoo and other computer interests as the driver in our downturn, and it will be interesting to see if the market adjusts upwards later in the day, or whether the downturn continues. More to come as it happens.

UPDATE
10:40 A.M. PST

The market is down just over 70 points with 2 hours and 40 minutes to go. I have been telling students since 8 A.M. that anything less than a 100 point decline is a win for today, and will likely be recouped in the next two days...of course, we will see on that prediction.

Say it with me now..."Rally, Rally, Rally!"

UPDATE
12:20 P.M. PST

Less than a 100 point drop after the Japanese Market was forced to close early means that the Market has likely weathered this storm....(more than likely less than 70 pts)

The economy continues to grow, and the deficit continues to shrink.


Once again, the little feathered guy has incorrectly predicted the sky falling....

UPDATE
The market has closed, and the numbers indicate that this turned out to be a far less dangerous day for investors than originally forecast. Intel will likely recoup their decline pretty quickly, so the only danger appears to be for those who overreacted.

Final UPDATE on this topic
Bright news might be on the horizon as news breaks that the Japanese Markets rebounded in today's trading.

The Daily Docket: History Repeats Itself

Agree or disagree....this is a quality blog entry.

The Daily Docket: History Repeats Itself

Questions in class today lead me to post a link

to this blog from December on the current NSA controversy.

A weekend of flamethrowing

The weekend brought us a flurry of inflammatory comments from the leading lights of the left. The current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in '08 weighed in with this gem, while New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin provided the "Did he really say that?" moment....and his apology did not help matters much.

...and for the coup de grace, one need only look to the speech given by former VP Al Gore.

Sort of makes one appreciate the Electoral College.

So, which is it?

For several years, those who oppose the war in Iraq have been saying that the U.N. sanction package was sufficient for dealing with Iraq...but now this from Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister...

"Lavrov said years of international sanctions against Iraq had failed to change the behavior of ousted leader Saddam Hussein, Reuters reported."

...in this story which illustrates that some on the Security Council are already losing their resolve to directly confront Iran after their latest taunting of international authority.

Bad Reporting...or worse?

As Thomas Lifson points out, another major media outlet has not shown due diligence in their reporting. Is this simply laziness, or is it an orchestrated attempt to manipulate public opinion?

Some of the reporting this year have been amusing, while others have had serious, and even deadly consequences.

MLK Day

MLK day is a relatively new national holiday. It was created in 1983, when President Reagan signed a bill creating it. It was first celebrated in 1986, and was celebrated in all 50 states in 1999.

The purpose of the day is to celebrate what Martin Luther King accomplished, and remember what his efforts helped change.

From his part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, to the Selma to Montgomery March, to the March on Washington D.C., where he gave the "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial...agree, or disagree with the man, you have to respect that he risked all for what he beleived in.



Truly he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Debating Education

Politically incorrect as it might be, the debate on education is warming up.

John Stossel's Stupid in America (not exactly a PC title there) asked many questions that some of us have been dealing with for some time. His editorial raises some interesting points as well.

Thomas Sowell raises interesting points in his editorial dealing with a comparison of Then and Now.

Ryan...one of our bloggers weighed in with his read on the Florida Court Decision on vouchers last week.

This debate NEEDS to happen.

Cross-blogged

A ray of sunshine from a very rainy place

I received an email this morning from Charis, an accomplished alumi (understatement) of our little school, who is currently matriculating at Oxford, as a visiting student from APU.

Our little school is frequently the subject of rumors, mostly dealing with those that say we are closing the doors for good...and all of which have proven to be utterly false.

Charis' email reminded me that many from our humble little school have gone on to accomplish great things in the grandest of arenas...Alan and Nathan at USNA and AFA, respectively. Erlene in the ICU at Loma Linda Medical Center...and many...many others.

If you know of some of them, contact me, and we can highlight their accomplishments on this blog.

God has blessed our school, and I do beleive he will continue to do so...who will be our next student at Oxford?

I could not make this up

Unbelievable

Tragedy during the Hajj

Sophomore Medieval History spent the early part of the year studying the History of Islam., in particular, the 5 Pillars of Islam. So for many the story of the tragedy during the Hajj likely has a great deal more relevance than it would have a year ago.

For High Quality Images of the Kaabah and for those with quicktime this site of a panorama

Think this will get much play in the Mainstream Media?

My guess is that the December Economic Numbers will not get a great deal of play tonight. A 13.5+ Billion Dollar improvement over one year ago should be the lead story....my guess is that it will appear later in broadcasts, and deeper in newspapers.

The debate on Capitalism

An interesting article from Thomas Sowell

According to the Economist , capitalism is:

" CAPITALISM

The winner, at least for now, of the battle of economic “isms”. Capitalism is a free-market system built on private ownership, in particular, the idea that owners of CAPITAL have PROPERTY RIGHTS that entitle them to earn a PROFIT as a reward for putting their capital at RISK in some form of economic activity. Opinion (and practice) differs considerably among capitalist countries about what role the state should play in the economy. But everyone agrees that, at the very least, for capitalism to work the state must be strong enough to guarantee property rights. According to Karl MARX, capitalism contains the seeds of its own destruction, but so far this has proved a more accurate description of Marx’s progeny, COMMUNISM. "

....hmmmmm

Body Armor Debate

Some soldiers are taking issue with the latest Pentagon study.

This is not a new discussion. It has likely been going on since the first battles took place in human history. Armor protects, but also slows the wearer. Finding the proper balance has always been the struggle.

More opinions from soldiers can be found here, here, and here (I don't think he likes the Senator from NY)

BTW...one of ours, Easton Taylor is having knee surgery tomorrow. He is still in the Marine Corps, but because of his injury (which he sustained during his last tour), he was not able to go with his unit back into Iraq.

My apologies

Sorry about ignoring the important things like Brolie's upcoming love-child or who is going to coach the Packers next season....

I am oddly distracted by the drama that is the Alito Confirmation Hearings: Day Three. A visit to The Political Teen Blog provided some comic relief, and a look at Drudge yielded this, which seriously calls into question the line of question that Senator Kennedy has been pursuing the last few days. I would link something from DailyKos, but I want to keep this G-Rated.

Interesting to read the view from abroad...and they have a pretty good diagram and story on the Supreme Court too.

I must admit that this historical parallel has entered my mind several times over that last few days.

Alito Confirmation Hearings Day Two

Someone has way too much time on their hands.....

Humor is the only way to deal with questions that last up to 12 minutes from Congressman Biden. (Beware, some of the comments are less than classy.)

Please remember...it is satire.

Not a very good example

The Governator is in a little hot water....after his physics experiment yesterday, it was found that he did not have the proper license to ride a motorcycle....my guess is that next time he will just take the kids out in his Humvee...although that isn't always a good thing for him either.

Would it kill him not to comment on everything?

Once again we (Christians) are exposed to ridicule thanks to a comment by Pat Robertson. Now I will readily admit that I am not a fan, but it does seem that everytime he has spoken on international issues he embarrasses himself, and by inference, all Christians.

The problem with comments such as he has made, is that there are plenty of detractors eager to pounce, and paint all Christians with a wide brush of ignorance and intolerance.

Interestingly, this story has garnered wide attention, while comments made in support of Hugo Chavez have been little reported.

Alito Confirmation Hearings Have Begun

After a prolonged wait, the confirmation hearings for Judge Alito have finally begun. Judge Alito's record is pretty much rock solid. Nothing has been hidden, and if the ABA is to be trusted...and according to Pat Leahy, in this article...when he said

"Senate Democrats resuscitated the ABA's role, with Mr. Leahy stating that he regarded the group's evaluation as "the gold standard" for evaluating judges. Shortly after the nomination of Justice Owen, the ABA unanimously gave her its highest rating of "well-qualified."

...it is, then there does not seem to be much that Senate Democrats should find to attack...unless they just make stuff up

Nah...that would never happen...would it?

11,000 and beyond?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average today passed above 11,000 for the first time since 2001

While this is still well below it's historic high, it is still a remarkable number. For a short history of the Dow you might want to try this article from the "fools" at Fool.com.

Back from CES

I had the opportunity this weekend to once again attend CES. (Thank you Mr. Clair)

If you ever have the opportunity, I highly suggest it. This was my third CES, and I never cease to be amazed. Highlights of our trip included a sneak peak at Microsoft Vista...their new operating system, that is in the pipeline. Great program (although the first thing it did during our demo was crash spectacularly)...it has lots of features that I am currently enjoying on Apple's Jaguar (can anyone say dashboard and widgets?)...and a few that are truly radical.....live taskbar thumbnails and 3d Flip are truly worthy of ohs and ahs.
Creative Labs once again knocked it out of the park with their X-Fi product, and their new Live! Motion Webcam...which sets an all new standard for clarity, and features.

The Tiffen Steadicam Merlin is a product that we video geeks have dreamed of for some time....anyone have a spare $900 I can use to get one? ( :-)


You may ask yourself...Mr. L....is this History or current events?

It is current events, but it is also Economics, as much of what we say today will hit the market soon, and will become the latest must have products.

Stock tip of the week

Creative Labs-This stock looks undervalued considering the quality and marketing of Creative's products. The gentlemen over at Fool.com weigh in with their assessment of the stock.

All stock tips posted on my blog are to be taken with a grain of salt....research them yourself, and invest with caution. There are no such things as "sure bets" in the stock market, you can lose money on even the best stocks.

Runaway Rubber Duckie-An example of creative blogging

Runaway Rubber Duckie

Mining Disaster

The current uproar in the media seems a bit contrived. The media mistakenly reported a miracle, causing false hope, and now is writing process pieces on why the reporting went wrong.

This story was your classic "If it bleeds, It leads story. Combine compelling images of distraught families, throw in the possibility that it might turn out like the the collapse at Quecreek, PA in 2002, and the obsessive race by news agencies to be first, even if they are wrong (See the 2000 election), and you had all of the elements to lead to the mistakes that were made last night and this morning.

No doubt the media will wring the guts out of this story though.

Blogging Assignment

Classes....you need to start a blog...go to Blogger.com and start a blog.

Please do not put your last name on the blog.

Senior requirements:
-1 political or news blog per week minimum (you can do more, but not less)

These blog entries must have at least 5 linked sources per week

-1 stock tip blog per week with supporting links to back your stock pick

Everyone else
1 blog per week minimum on the topics we are studying.

These blog entries must have at least 5 linked sources per week

-Once you have created your blog, email me the address so I can subscribe to it.

Do be aware that anything you put on the blog is available to anyone...so keep it clean, and spell check, so that you do not look like a moron.

If you you need public domain (okay to publish) pictures, try this site.

New Year's in San Diego

We spent the weekend at our friend's (Krista and Jason) place in Escondido, and on Friday I headed over to the coast for some pictures.

I took this shot of Lake Murray on the way to Solana Beach, where I took these shots.





Nice weekend..it rained everyday but Friday, but still a nice holiday.

Charis is off to Oxford

One of my former students is off to study at Oxford...follow her adventures on her blog.