A month ago, I posted about the U.S. dollar being in trouble. Things have progressed in the short time since then, with a slew of new headlines culled from around the Net.
Let's start with the New York Post article Dollar Loses Reserve Status to Yen & Euro. In it, we learn that 63% of money being put into reserves by banks went to the Japanese Yen and the E.U. Euro in the last three months. Traditionally, around 66% would be put in the dollar, but only 37% was. Over at Bloomberg, they report the same while pointing out that world leaders are following through on their threats to diversify. Apparently, they don't approve of how U.S. economic woes are being handled by the new administration.
In another article at Bloomberg, they report that the dollar is down 10% against other currencies in the eight plus months Treasury Secretary Geithner has been in charge. In fact, they go so far as to call it the Obama Dollar. At this point, the current mess is now owned by the Obama Administration so I think the honeymoon is over. Meanwhile, the Pound Sterling is having problems as well, based on the fear that inflation is decreasing in the United Kingdom.
It looks like the shift from the Anglo currencies has finally begun, as the economies of the United States and Great Britain have lost the confidence of foreign investors. Interestingly enough, these are the two countries that enacted the biggest stimulus packages during the current economic downturn. I don't think this is a coincidence.
Runaway hyper inflation is around the corner, what with oil going up and consumers unable to spend more due to being tapped out on credit,with many losing jobs and giving up on full employment. I don't blame other countries bailing out on the dollar, as it is a race to get any kind of value back from what they sank into our treasury bonds before they become worthless. Talk of another stimulus will just continue the flight from the dollar and I think our political elites in both parties have failed the country and the world completely in how they've handled things.
It took a world war to bring the country out of the Great Depression. I hope that won't be required this time.
Reviews of movies, anime, and the occasional TV show mixed with warnings on Blogger spam. Also to be found are musings on whatever I am thinking about - all from the point of view of being left to watch everything from the sidelines of life.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
The World Is Insane: Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize
Yes, President Obama, he of nine months in office and no foreign achievements other than appeasement or waffling, has been awarded the Nobel Peace prize. No joking, check any online news source or the TV. I won't bother to link to any commentary, because everyone has said all there can be said about this lunacy. Both the political Left and Right are reacting with stunned disbelief.
When I read the headline, I thought it was a joke but wasn't surprised when it turned out to be true. Things have spun so far out of control worldwide that very little is surprising these days. Too many people have run from reality and truth for too long, this kind of madness has to be expected.
I'm not sure what can be done to combat it. Perhaps we need to make sure the following books are in every high school curriculum: Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and finally The Prince and Discourses by Nico Machiavelli. Two movies could be added to the mix, Being There and The Music Man. That way we can combat some of the style over substance in politics, starting with the most vulnerable voters -- the first time voters.
Don't know what to do about the older folks so easily conned by empty suits, it may be too late for them. A depression bigger than the Great Depression might work as an educational exercise. Funny how that appears to be on the way...
When I read the headline, I thought it was a joke but wasn't surprised when it turned out to be true. Things have spun so far out of control worldwide that very little is surprising these days. Too many people have run from reality and truth for too long, this kind of madness has to be expected.
I'm not sure what can be done to combat it. Perhaps we need to make sure the following books are in every high school curriculum: Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and finally The Prince and Discourses by Nico Machiavelli. Two movies could be added to the mix, Being There and The Music Man. That way we can combat some of the style over substance in politics, starting with the most vulnerable voters -- the first time voters.
Don't know what to do about the older folks so easily conned by empty suits, it may be too late for them. A depression bigger than the Great Depression might work as an educational exercise. Funny how that appears to be on the way...
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Stargate: Universe
Watched the first two episodes of Stargate: Universe (SGU) on Hulu.com yesterday to see what the hubbub was about. In the Stargate fandom, there has been a lot of resistance to the show, mainly as it was seen as an excuse to cancel Stargate: Atlantis in its prime, due to rising salary costs after five season contracts expire. Rumor had SGU would be more edgy and darker, not exactly what the Stargate legacy has been about. So I decided to check on the show myself, despite a lack of interest, and streamed it from Hulu.
First impression:
Well, that was... bad. Catastrophically bad.
I'll try not to spoil the details in this review, so on to detailed impressions.
In an attempt to make an "adult" Stargate television series, what was aired is not a Stargate series like fans of the franchise have grown to love. Stargate has always been about adventure, with heroics leavened by good natured humor and a feeling that there was unlimited potential out there on other planets. With SGU, there was no sense of humor other than the cameo by Lt. General Jack O'Neil and little in the way of heroics. Instead it is clear that SyFy Network wanted a clone of Battlestar Galactica (the new one) and that overwrought, gloomy atmosphere is what was delivered. Galactica had a strong start, if oversexed, but decayed into a depressing amoral mess by the second season.
I will try to say one positive thing about the SGU. The CGI effects were very good, especially the assault on the base in the beginning. There, done with that.
The negatives... Everything else about the show. Bad acting, hackneyed writing, and terrible pacing were topped by the unlikeable characters. With nobody to root for, it was hard to get emotionally involved amidst all the chaos and canyon sized personality flaws. Though I will say some of the characters had no personality at all, so they can be excused from the latter.
The bane of all good camera work, the 'shaky cam', was ever present, sometimes distractingly wrong for the content of a scene. My guess is that it was used to make things feel more 'real' and to heighten tension for dramatic effect. It failed miserably on both counts.
Emotionally charged is what the makers were most likely going for, but the execution was hamfisted at best. Without spoiling too much, in the second episode one of the characters makes a major sacrifice that was clearly supposed to be the lynch pin of the hour. What were supposed to be a series of highly emotional scenes were curiously flat and mechanical, failing to evoke any emotion. Slow motion was used to interminably drag out the big scene and I could see this being MST3K'd very easily. Given that the following scenes depended on the big impact that didn't even dent and it has to be considered an epic fail in the annals of drama.
Bleh. I went in with low expectations and still managed to be disappointed.
Unfortunately, there has been a trend toward nihilistic and dreary television for some time. Stargate was a welcome refuge from that and sadly, that refuge is now lost. Comparing this two part premiere with Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis makes Stargate: Universe look even worse. There were engaging characters and villains introduced in each, with a real sense of wonder present.
Much has been made online about the sex scene early in the first episode and yes folks, Stargate is no longer family friendly. It was another thing that made one of the main characters unlikeable. All I can think is that there had to be network pressure involved in this, because of the past history of the pilot for SG1.
Back in 1997, it debuted on Showtime and the producers were made to have a full frontal nudity shot of an actress that went on at some length. The producers were upset as they had a goal of Stargate being a family friendly series that would be syndicated on broadcast TV. After the pilot, they got their way and earlier this year released to DVD a re-edited version sans the nudity (plus some other questionable things) as Stargate: Children of the Gods. It is hard to reconcile this attitude with the new show.
Bleh. This dismal entry into the Stargate mythos is another example of how the word 'adult' has lost its meaning, or more accurately, has had it twisted. Instead of a word describing maturity and responsibility, it is used in place of other, more appropriate words: adolescent, sophomoric, and juvenile. Sex, explicit violence, nihilism, and characters with selfish motivations are all attractive to the young and rebellious. Our culture is doing its best to extend childhood with the result being a perpetually adolescent populace. Sadly, 'adult' was co-opted by the pornography business years ago and now the slide is complete in the rest of the entertainment biz.
So the new 'adult' Stargate is a huge disappointment and I think a name change is needed for accuracy. I now dub it BattleStarGatica.
Monday, October 05, 2009
A Community Effort: The Yucatan Sign
In the coming harsh economic times (we haven't seen anything yet), people will have to start pulling together to make it. Divided we fall is a true principle and this urge to scatter apart will not serve us well in trying times. Because of growing difficulties in our little part of Houston County, there has been a conscious effort by those of us on this end of our road to start doing things to help each other. So we've been exchanging home grown foods and the like, something that used to be common place in rural culture. It is a good thing that has been lost in our profligate era of debt and materialism over the past few decades.
So what started this local change of behavior? It started with a sign.
In the early 1990's, the local Yucatan Supper Club shut down and took their sign down. That sign had been used as a way point by UPS, FedEx, and other delivery services for ages. Some of us got together, led by my late mother to put up a sign on the corner of the crossroads as a replacement. It was a simple design, with the added bonus of a flower box at the bottom.
Over the years, it served us well, but age and weather caught up to it. In recent years, all the stain had worn from it, with the wooden letters blending into the boards and beginning to fall apart. We often talked about repainting it, but never got around to it.
A deck project changed that, with leftover stain inspiring two of our neighbors to get moving on the long talked about restoration. The sign was dismantled, new letters purchased, flowers planted, and leftover paint used to do most of the painting. Donations and labor were contributed by Mern Flatten, Randy Roland, the Rykhus family, my dad and me. On August 24th, we bolted the sign back up:
Bank Failures Coming Closer to Home
Houston County, we have a problem.
Yesterday, this article jumped out of the headlines, as Spring Grove is a town I spent a good chunk of my school years in or around. Jennings State Bank was the 95th bank to fail in the United States in 2009 and the first local one. It may not be the last. The FDIC has warned Security State Bank of Lewiston to correct their lending practices and their Hokah branch is in Houston County. Until recently, Houston County had been unaffected, not a surprise for a small county. It is a temptation to say we are too small to fail, but realistically that is not the case.
It is clear we are not done with bank failures, whether they be local or national. Today brought another round of gloomy news, with a report from the special inspector general appointed to look into the banking stress tests conducted a year ago. The biggest banks were said to be financially sound when Treasury Secretary Paulson knew otherwise. To wit, he lied about it. Citigroup and Bank of America are singled out in the article, but there have been rumblings that Wells Fargo is not in good shape as well. Apparently, the "too big to fail" argument won out over honesty with Bernanke and Paulson.
None of this inspires confidence at any level. When cover ups begin, they are usually due to one of two things: the desire to protect oneself from trouble or blame and the other being paralyzed fear of large consequences too horrific to contemplate. My suspicion is that the latter is the case. In the end, no amount of running from reality will make bad things go away.
Time to prepare for reality on an individual basis, as the current crop of politicians and bureaucrats have no desire to face it.
UPDATED:
Looks like the national level isn't as big as it gets, the question now being posed is whether the World Bank is going to fail.
Yesterday, this article jumped out of the headlines, as Spring Grove is a town I spent a good chunk of my school years in or around. Jennings State Bank was the 95th bank to fail in the United States in 2009 and the first local one. It may not be the last. The FDIC has warned Security State Bank of Lewiston to correct their lending practices and their Hokah branch is in Houston County. Until recently, Houston County had been unaffected, not a surprise for a small county. It is a temptation to say we are too small to fail, but realistically that is not the case.
It is clear we are not done with bank failures, whether they be local or national. Today brought another round of gloomy news, with a report from the special inspector general appointed to look into the banking stress tests conducted a year ago. The biggest banks were said to be financially sound when Treasury Secretary Paulson knew otherwise. To wit, he lied about it. Citigroup and Bank of America are singled out in the article, but there have been rumblings that Wells Fargo is not in good shape as well. Apparently, the "too big to fail" argument won out over honesty with Bernanke and Paulson.
None of this inspires confidence at any level. When cover ups begin, they are usually due to one of two things: the desire to protect oneself from trouble or blame and the other being paralyzed fear of large consequences too horrific to contemplate. My suspicion is that the latter is the case. In the end, no amount of running from reality will make bad things go away.
Time to prepare for reality on an individual basis, as the current crop of politicians and bureaucrats have no desire to face it.
UPDATED:
Looks like the national level isn't as big as it gets, the question now being posed is whether the World Bank is going to fail.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Around the Web in 180 Minutes
Okay, it depends on how fast a reader you are, but the following links should keep a person busy for awhile. My room finally has a ceiling again which needs "mudding" and a few gaps filled yet. One day I'll get to sleep in my bed again...
Unbalanced Balance
Lately I've been seeing PC's infected by trojans posing as anti-virus software that traces back to the Russian mob. That caused my antennae to go up and so I found the latest trojan very interesting as it does more than stealing passwords or extorting money to regain control of the computer. They've finally made one that can intercept and steal money from online banking sessions. At this rate nothing will be secure on the Net.
Ruining the Hacker's Picnic
Then again, maybe ants are the solution. At least for corporate networks there is a new technology being explored that may counter trojans and other malware faster. Unless this is used by ISP's I don't think it will be of much benefit for home users. Still it is a fascinating idea and I look forward to hearing more about it.
Need MoreSun Cosmic Rayscreen
With the sun being shy of late, refusing to warm the Earth as much and generally not putting out solar flares, another problem has arisen. Now we are being exposed to increased amounts of cosmic rays. I wonder which of the Fantastic Four's powers I'll get. If it is a new ice age coming, I'll hope for the Human Torch's abilities.
So How's That AK-47 vs. M-16 Rivalry going?
Political interference kill business success from what I've seen and no nation is more politically corrupt than Russia. The AK-47 is one of the most popular weapons of the modern age due to its simplistic ruggedness and reliability. However, not even that toughness can withstand the corrosive politics in Russia. I'd still prefer to have an AR-15 variant than the Kalashnikov, but it is amazing how far things have fallen over there. At least the knockoffs of the M-16/AR-15 are superior to the original and it is still being made.
We Aren't Out of the Recession
It is getting to be a weary task to type about all the things going wrong with the economy and Obama's Administration. There is simply too much material and it is too easy to do, which makes for a depressing exercise. As a result, I'll be posting more about other things. But one point has to be made and that is the dishonesty about there being an economic recovery right now. It simply is not happening and there are no concrete signs of it happening soon. Unemployment is still rising, now at 9.8% but closer to double that if you count those who've given up on finding work or taking part time jobs. Manufacturing is down, durable goods orders are down, credit card and loan defaults are up, and the 95th bank failed for the year.
But the biggest indicator to me that things are going to get worse is the problems charities are facing. When they are having to assist their own workers, things are dire. We'll be seeing soup kitchens and tent cities in the future. I pity the young, for they most likely will never know the standard of living we've had since the 1950's.
Unbalanced Balance
Lately I've been seeing PC's infected by trojans posing as anti-virus software that traces back to the Russian mob. That caused my antennae to go up and so I found the latest trojan very interesting as it does more than stealing passwords or extorting money to regain control of the computer. They've finally made one that can intercept and steal money from online banking sessions. At this rate nothing will be secure on the Net.
Ruining the Hacker's Picnic
Then again, maybe ants are the solution. At least for corporate networks there is a new technology being explored that may counter trojans and other malware faster. Unless this is used by ISP's I don't think it will be of much benefit for home users. Still it is a fascinating idea and I look forward to hearing more about it.
Need More
With the sun being shy of late, refusing to warm the Earth as much and generally not putting out solar flares, another problem has arisen. Now we are being exposed to increased amounts of cosmic rays. I wonder which of the Fantastic Four's powers I'll get. If it is a new ice age coming, I'll hope for the Human Torch's abilities.
So How's That AK-47 vs. M-16 Rivalry going?
Political interference kill business success from what I've seen and no nation is more politically corrupt than Russia. The AK-47 is one of the most popular weapons of the modern age due to its simplistic ruggedness and reliability. However, not even that toughness can withstand the corrosive politics in Russia. I'd still prefer to have an AR-15 variant than the Kalashnikov, but it is amazing how far things have fallen over there. At least the knockoffs of the M-16/AR-15 are superior to the original and it is still being made.
We Aren't Out of the Recession
It is getting to be a weary task to type about all the things going wrong with the economy and Obama's Administration. There is simply too much material and it is too easy to do, which makes for a depressing exercise. As a result, I'll be posting more about other things. But one point has to be made and that is the dishonesty about there being an economic recovery right now. It simply is not happening and there are no concrete signs of it happening soon. Unemployment is still rising, now at 9.8% but closer to double that if you count those who've given up on finding work or taking part time jobs. Manufacturing is down, durable goods orders are down, credit card and loan defaults are up, and the 95th bank failed for the year.
But the biggest indicator to me that things are going to get worse is the problems charities are facing. When they are having to assist their own workers, things are dire. We'll be seeing soup kitchens and tent cities in the future. I pity the young, for they most likely will never know the standard of living we've had since the 1950's.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Searching for Where the News Can Be Found
Or a Personal Quest for Journalistic Quality
I've always been fascinated by history and current events (which is simply "live" history), seeking out knowledge wherever I could. This dates to the stone age before the Web, back when we had to read newspapers, magazines, books, and watch Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News. Eventually, as cable finally made its way into our family life, there was the news addict's dream made real by CNN and then the quick fix provided by CNN Headline News. Heady (or headliney) times, it couldn't get better than this!
Of course, it wasn't easy to get some of the quality newspapers as The New York Times and The Washington Post were only available at the library. But I did have a subscription to Newsweek for a couple of years that I treasured. That fell by the wayside due to a lack of money brought on by disability, but in the early 1990's I purchased my first computer, a Packard Bell 486SX-25 with a 2400 baud modem in it. After perusing bulletin boards on dial-up, I received one of those unavoidable America Online floppies in the mail. I joined the service and began to find news in virtual print once again.
Watching Less, Reading More
In the meantime, various cable news networks had popped up and while available on satellite TV, I felt there had been a decay in quality slowly becoming evident. By the mid-90s, format changes were making it all feel more tabloid like, more entertainment and personality driven. Cable news hit its zenith during 1991 when covering Operation Desert Storm and never quite hit that level again. I watched it less and less.
So I turned toward content I could find online, though it wasn't easy or convenient to find. The Web came into being and I dipped my toe in the water via AOL's built in browser. As internet service became available locally, I signed up to the very primitive connectivity in my rural area. After giving up on it and returning to AOL, the service finally became reliable and I signed up again using OS/2 Warp's Web Explorer to crawl around the new web. I remember that new place called Yahoo just starting up, then Netscape taking the web browser to a whole new level. By that time the OS wars were over and I was stuck with Windows95. At last came a new piece of software that looked like it would fulfill all my dreams of news gathering in one place.
A News Junkie's Dream
That program was called Pointcast and it was wonderful! I could set it up to download the news from all sorts of sources, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. It all flowed into the program in the background when I was dialed into the Net and I could read it once disconnected. That was needed, because even a 56k modem in 1996 took awhile to get any content off the copper wires. It was bliss, news nirvana, and I couldn't stop extolling it to others I knew.
Of course, it didn't last. The infrastructure wasn't there yet for so much data being downloaded at once, it was overloading servers in business environments which were the main users of Pointcast. Missed opportunities and the rise of Yahoo killed the endeavor within a few years. I mourned that software's passing almost as much as OS/2 Warp's.
Signs of the Times
Thankfully, the newspapers and news cable stations had discovered the value of the Internet by then. It meant I had to read while online, but the content was still there. However, I started to see the same symptoms of rot that I'd seen with news TV. The New York Times in particular was becoming less a journalistic bastion of integrity than a source of polemics. By 2003, the Jayson Blair scandal broke and I wasn't surprised, as my trips to their website had gone from multiple times a day to once daily. The rot had become visible. At that point, it was a slow road to infrequently visiting the once venerable institution. These days, articles are written the same way as editorials and there really is no difference.
At least The Washington Post kept it's integrity, I told others. For the most part, it did until the 2004 election drove it over the edge. While not going into the absolute free fall that has turned the Grey Lady into a very bad joke, it did become more openly partisan. Of course it was always a left wing newspaper, but a very respectable one. After John Kerry's loss in the Presidential race, the paper began to go down the same road as it's New York rival.
This was unpleasant to recognize, because I didn't feel like I had much in the way of alternatives. Oh there was the rising blogosphere, but that wasn't developed enough at the time. Talk radio never appealed, because it is primarily personality driven with a penchant for theatrics. NPR is possibly the best antidote for insomnia, between its nonstop leftist slant and gray drones speaking in the academic cadences of those who've never really lived life.
Signal Degradation
What of cable news? Infotainment at best, rarely any journalism present these days. Sensationalism is the main content, with talk radio style theatrics thrown in. Not a surprise as many shows are hosted by talk radio hosts. Most cable news networks are far left, with MSNBC on the lunatic fringe side of the spectrum and CNN catering to the left base. Fox News is still tabloid in style, which I despise. At least they report the stories the other networks refuse to, since that is where the ratings and eyeballs are. I feel as if I am praising Fox with faint damning's. The other networks are more concerned with being an active component of the Democratic Party than in being journalists. That includes the tattered remnants of the once proud broadcast network news shows.
A New Media: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss?
These days, the blogs are where to find information that the left wing media suppresses. Still, there is a huge amount of emotionalism to this new media and one has to sift them to get good information. It reminds me very much of the yellow journalism days of the 1800's. The idea of journalistic integrity is a late 20th Century idea and I often wonder if there ever has been such a thing. But trying to obtain that illusion at least keeps things more grounded in reality and honesty.
Currently, society in the United States is fragmenting rather than uniting. The rise of blogs is a good indication of that, with the constant wars fought between even those claiming to be on the same side. Just search for LGF or LittleGreenFootballs along with the word 'banning' to see the kind of wars that get fought, as that blog goes further left. Of course, that is an exaggerated example as that blog has turned into an intolerant, totalitarian cult-like place. Once upon a time it was in my links on this blog, but hasn't been for some time now.
Looking Across the Pond
So where to find the news? I suggest reading the full links from various blogs, getting the original articles in case things have been misinterpreted or spun. You have to work to find out the truth, don't expect anyone to deliver it to you on a platter. For traditional news that hasn't totally degraded, check out newspapers from the United Kingdom, such as The Telegraph and The Times. It was a link on Drudge that inspired me to write this post, as I discovered I was part of a trend. Imagine that, me being trendy!
It appears that there are more than a few of us American news junkies reading the newspapers of Great Britain to get news about our own country we don't get in print here. What a sad and alarming thing statement that is! I don't think our newspapers are dying due to a lack of an audience, but due to becoming completely out of touch with the majority of Americans.
The Death of an Independent Media?
Now there is talk of the government bailing out the liberal newspapers, consolidating the leftist message by turning them into possessions of the government. Because the majority of the federal government is made up by bureaucrats, it doesn't matter which party is in possession of the Oval Office. Those faceless feds tend to be very liberal, which means the papers will be semi-official organs of big government no matter what.
Pravda anyone?
Sadly, that question won't mean a thing to many too young to remember the Soviet Union. When a government controls the news, there can be no freedom. It is up to us, the American people, to prevent this from happening. Do we have enough people willing to fight for their freedom in this fragmented society? It isn't enough to defend the Constitution, we must make sure that a vibrant and independent media exists, otherwise the First Amendment is just words.
Me, I'm wondering if I'll have to keep searching for honest journalism in the future. The fact I'm looking to British newspapers for news isn't good.
I've always been fascinated by history and current events (which is simply "live" history), seeking out knowledge wherever I could. This dates to the stone age before the Web, back when we had to read newspapers, magazines, books, and watch Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News. Eventually, as cable finally made its way into our family life, there was the news addict's dream made real by CNN and then the quick fix provided by CNN Headline News. Heady (or headliney) times, it couldn't get better than this!
Of course, it wasn't easy to get some of the quality newspapers as The New York Times and The Washington Post were only available at the library. But I did have a subscription to Newsweek for a couple of years that I treasured. That fell by the wayside due to a lack of money brought on by disability, but in the early 1990's I purchased my first computer, a Packard Bell 486SX-25 with a 2400 baud modem in it. After perusing bulletin boards on dial-up, I received one of those unavoidable America Online floppies in the mail. I joined the service and began to find news in virtual print once again.
Watching Less, Reading More
In the meantime, various cable news networks had popped up and while available on satellite TV, I felt there had been a decay in quality slowly becoming evident. By the mid-90s, format changes were making it all feel more tabloid like, more entertainment and personality driven. Cable news hit its zenith during 1991 when covering Operation Desert Storm and never quite hit that level again. I watched it less and less.
So I turned toward content I could find online, though it wasn't easy or convenient to find. The Web came into being and I dipped my toe in the water via AOL's built in browser. As internet service became available locally, I signed up to the very primitive connectivity in my rural area. After giving up on it and returning to AOL, the service finally became reliable and I signed up again using OS/2 Warp's Web Explorer to crawl around the new web. I remember that new place called Yahoo just starting up, then Netscape taking the web browser to a whole new level. By that time the OS wars were over and I was stuck with Windows95. At last came a new piece of software that looked like it would fulfill all my dreams of news gathering in one place.
A News Junkie's Dream
That program was called Pointcast and it was wonderful! I could set it up to download the news from all sorts of sources, including The New York Times and The Washington Post. It all flowed into the program in the background when I was dialed into the Net and I could read it once disconnected. That was needed, because even a 56k modem in 1996 took awhile to get any content off the copper wires. It was bliss, news nirvana, and I couldn't stop extolling it to others I knew.
Of course, it didn't last. The infrastructure wasn't there yet for so much data being downloaded at once, it was overloading servers in business environments which were the main users of Pointcast. Missed opportunities and the rise of Yahoo killed the endeavor within a few years. I mourned that software's passing almost as much as OS/2 Warp's.
Signs of the Times
Thankfully, the newspapers and news cable stations had discovered the value of the Internet by then. It meant I had to read while online, but the content was still there. However, I started to see the same symptoms of rot that I'd seen with news TV. The New York Times in particular was becoming less a journalistic bastion of integrity than a source of polemics. By 2003, the Jayson Blair scandal broke and I wasn't surprised, as my trips to their website had gone from multiple times a day to once daily. The rot had become visible. At that point, it was a slow road to infrequently visiting the once venerable institution. These days, articles are written the same way as editorials and there really is no difference.
At least The Washington Post kept it's integrity, I told others. For the most part, it did until the 2004 election drove it over the edge. While not going into the absolute free fall that has turned the Grey Lady into a very bad joke, it did become more openly partisan. Of course it was always a left wing newspaper, but a very respectable one. After John Kerry's loss in the Presidential race, the paper began to go down the same road as it's New York rival.
This was unpleasant to recognize, because I didn't feel like I had much in the way of alternatives. Oh there was the rising blogosphere, but that wasn't developed enough at the time. Talk radio never appealed, because it is primarily personality driven with a penchant for theatrics. NPR is possibly the best antidote for insomnia, between its nonstop leftist slant and gray drones speaking in the academic cadences of those who've never really lived life.
Signal Degradation
What of cable news? Infotainment at best, rarely any journalism present these days. Sensationalism is the main content, with talk radio style theatrics thrown in. Not a surprise as many shows are hosted by talk radio hosts. Most cable news networks are far left, with MSNBC on the lunatic fringe side of the spectrum and CNN catering to the left base. Fox News is still tabloid in style, which I despise. At least they report the stories the other networks refuse to, since that is where the ratings and eyeballs are. I feel as if I am praising Fox with faint damning's. The other networks are more concerned with being an active component of the Democratic Party than in being journalists. That includes the tattered remnants of the once proud broadcast network news shows.
A New Media: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss?
These days, the blogs are where to find information that the left wing media suppresses. Still, there is a huge amount of emotionalism to this new media and one has to sift them to get good information. It reminds me very much of the yellow journalism days of the 1800's. The idea of journalistic integrity is a late 20th Century idea and I often wonder if there ever has been such a thing. But trying to obtain that illusion at least keeps things more grounded in reality and honesty.
Currently, society in the United States is fragmenting rather than uniting. The rise of blogs is a good indication of that, with the constant wars fought between even those claiming to be on the same side. Just search for LGF or LittleGreenFootballs along with the word 'banning' to see the kind of wars that get fought, as that blog goes further left. Of course, that is an exaggerated example as that blog has turned into an intolerant, totalitarian cult-like place. Once upon a time it was in my links on this blog, but hasn't been for some time now.
Looking Across the Pond
So where to find the news? I suggest reading the full links from various blogs, getting the original articles in case things have been misinterpreted or spun. You have to work to find out the truth, don't expect anyone to deliver it to you on a platter. For traditional news that hasn't totally degraded, check out newspapers from the United Kingdom, such as The Telegraph and The Times. It was a link on Drudge that inspired me to write this post, as I discovered I was part of a trend. Imagine that, me being trendy!
It appears that there are more than a few of us American news junkies reading the newspapers of Great Britain to get news about our own country we don't get in print here. What a sad and alarming thing statement that is! I don't think our newspapers are dying due to a lack of an audience, but due to becoming completely out of touch with the majority of Americans.
The Death of an Independent Media?
Now there is talk of the government bailing out the liberal newspapers, consolidating the leftist message by turning them into possessions of the government. Because the majority of the federal government is made up by bureaucrats, it doesn't matter which party is in possession of the Oval Office. Those faceless feds tend to be very liberal, which means the papers will be semi-official organs of big government no matter what.
Pravda anyone?
Sadly, that question won't mean a thing to many too young to remember the Soviet Union. When a government controls the news, there can be no freedom. It is up to us, the American people, to prevent this from happening. Do we have enough people willing to fight for their freedom in this fragmented society? It isn't enough to defend the Constitution, we must make sure that a vibrant and independent media exists, otherwise the First Amendment is just words.
Me, I'm wondering if I'll have to keep searching for honest journalism in the future. The fact I'm looking to British newspapers for news isn't good.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Decline of Polite Culture and Other Items of Interest
I started this blog for the purpose of being something of a journal so that I could look back and see what was going on in my life. Unfortunately, between being a private person and not having much of a life, I see most of my posting being about things outside of my control. That is, politics and world events.
Ah well, it beats being a narcissist, I suppose.
In case anyone else is reading, a few things that caught my interest while being quite ill the past two weeks:
Victor Davis Hanson has a wonderful piece on the decline of polite behavior that is well worth reading through.
If you want good insights into the problems of the Middle East, few countries embody all the difficulties faced more than Lebanon. That's where Michael Totten's work has been invaluable and his account of meeting Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader is absolutely fascinating. Read the whole thing.
Drew Emmer at Wright County Republican has posted Gov. Mitch Daniels' (R-Indiana) op-ed on the coming reduction of tax revenues governors across the United States will be facing. It is time for government to tighten their belts just like everyone else. There are a lot of people struggling financially right now, including me.
Facebook is not a secure or safe place to be, unfortunately not a lot of people know how to make it safer. Several weeks ago, a young friend of mine had his laptop infected by a hostile ad on Facebook that took quite a bit of doing to kill. Watch out for anything claiming to be an antivirus that spawns popups like crazy!
Ah well, it beats being a narcissist, I suppose.
In case anyone else is reading, a few things that caught my interest while being quite ill the past two weeks:
Victor Davis Hanson has a wonderful piece on the decline of polite behavior that is well worth reading through.
If you want good insights into the problems of the Middle East, few countries embody all the difficulties faced more than Lebanon. That's where Michael Totten's work has been invaluable and his account of meeting Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader is absolutely fascinating. Read the whole thing.
Drew Emmer at Wright County Republican has posted Gov. Mitch Daniels' (R-Indiana) op-ed on the coming reduction of tax revenues governors across the United States will be facing. It is time for government to tighten their belts just like everyone else. There are a lot of people struggling financially right now, including me.
Facebook is not a secure or safe place to be, unfortunately not a lot of people know how to make it safer. Several weeks ago, a young friend of mine had his laptop infected by a hostile ad on Facebook that took quite a bit of doing to kill. Watch out for anything claiming to be an antivirus that spawns popups like crazy!
I Know Seminary Is Hard, But...
Also found this on Drudge today: a report on a Satan worshipping teen setting fire to a church in California. It turns out the fire was set in the chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orangevale. Being a Latter-day Saint myself, of course it caught my attention. Since the fire was set shortly after 7 AM and the girl is fifteen, I knew she'd done it during Seminary.
One of the best things about my church is the religious education program that encompasses more than just 'Sunday school.' Since I converted late in life, I missed out on two of the better ones, Institute and Seminary. Where Institute is for college & college aged members, Seminary focuses on that most precarious of times in one's life -- the teenage years. In a modern world filled with all kinds of self destructive behaviors pushed by our culture, it is a refuge for kids trying to make the shaky transition from child to proto-adult.
Every school day morning, teens go to seminary early in the morning, before public school classes begin. That requires a real commitment by the teen and by their parents, who have to get up just as early to run them to Seminary classes. Besides teaching the Gospel, this requirement of hewing to a daily routine teaches perseverance and the ability to make and keep commitments. Yes it is hard to make that daily commitment and see it through. That's no reason to set a pew on fire, however tempting that may be in the throes of teenage angst.
A quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley illustrate the simple blessings that can come from attending:
In dealing with such cases, we need to follow the example of the Savior on the cross who said of those who crucified him, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34
One of the best things about my church is the religious education program that encompasses more than just 'Sunday school.' Since I converted late in life, I missed out on two of the better ones, Institute and Seminary. Where Institute is for college & college aged members, Seminary focuses on that most precarious of times in one's life -- the teenage years. In a modern world filled with all kinds of self destructive behaviors pushed by our culture, it is a refuge for kids trying to make the shaky transition from child to proto-adult.
Every school day morning, teens go to seminary early in the morning, before public school classes begin. That requires a real commitment by the teen and by their parents, who have to get up just as early to run them to Seminary classes. Besides teaching the Gospel, this requirement of hewing to a daily routine teaches perseverance and the ability to make and keep commitments. Yes it is hard to make that daily commitment and see it through. That's no reason to set a pew on fire, however tempting that may be in the throes of teenage angst.
A quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley illustrate the simple blessings that can come from attending:
“We urge all for whom it is available to take advantage of it. We do not hesitate to promise that your knowledge of the gospel will be increased, your faith will be strengthened, and you will develop wonderful associations and friendships”Sadly, it appears this young woman hasn't taken full advantage of what has been offered her, instead she has allowed herself to be led down a dark path. When kids start worshipping Satan, there are major problems below the surface. That's why I'm gratified to see how the local Church and authorities are handling this in a truly Christian way -- by requesting that she not be punished and that she be given the counseling she so obviously needs.
In dealing with such cases, we need to follow the example of the Savior on the cross who said of those who crucified him, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34
70 Years Ago in Poland and Obama's Appeasement Fetish
I was reading The Drudge Report today and ran across the following fact.
September 17, 1939, Joseph Stalin attacked Poland as part of a deal with Hitler to split the country. How do you commemerate this day if you are President Barack Obama? You sell out the Poles to the Russians again! Representatives from the administration are in Poland and the Czech Republic to tell them the missile defense shield is off, something Putin has been demanding for some time. For a newly elected president who was supposed to be so intelligent, so smooth, so diplomatic and knowledgeable, Obama and company have shown themselves to be utterly tone deaf in foreign dealings.
There is a chance this callous behavior isn't born of ignorance and stupidity, though. News has come down that Russia will be assisting Venezuela in obtaining nuclear technology. The same Chavez run socialist state that has given assistance to Iran, a state rushing headlong toward the atomic bomb. Meanwhile, recent diplomatic caving ins to Iranian and North Korean negotiating demands puts us in a very weak position regarding nuclear proliferation. The pattern of wooing enemies and alienating allies from Honduras to Poland suggests a desire to oppose everything America has stood for in the last century. It appears to be a rejection of everything done to protect the United States in the last sixty years.
At one point, people thought Jimmy Carter was the worst comparison to Obama that could be made. Right now, he's making Carter look good by comparison. We live in very dangerous times and weakness is the last thing we need to be showing right now.
September 17, 1939, Joseph Stalin attacked Poland as part of a deal with Hitler to split the country. How do you commemerate this day if you are President Barack Obama? You sell out the Poles to the Russians again! Representatives from the administration are in Poland and the Czech Republic to tell them the missile defense shield is off, something Putin has been demanding for some time. For a newly elected president who was supposed to be so intelligent, so smooth, so diplomatic and knowledgeable, Obama and company have shown themselves to be utterly tone deaf in foreign dealings.
There is a chance this callous behavior isn't born of ignorance and stupidity, though. News has come down that Russia will be assisting Venezuela in obtaining nuclear technology. The same Chavez run socialist state that has given assistance to Iran, a state rushing headlong toward the atomic bomb. Meanwhile, recent diplomatic caving ins to Iranian and North Korean negotiating demands puts us in a very weak position regarding nuclear proliferation. The pattern of wooing enemies and alienating allies from Honduras to Poland suggests a desire to oppose everything America has stood for in the last century. It appears to be a rejection of everything done to protect the United States in the last sixty years.
At one point, people thought Jimmy Carter was the worst comparison to Obama that could be made. Right now, he's making Carter look good by comparison. We live in very dangerous times and weakness is the last thing we need to be showing right now.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Eight Years from 9/11
I remember when the numbers 911 came in for emergency calls and it took awhile to adjust to that, but in the end they became a standard part of the language. Those numbers took on a whole new meaning eight years ago today. Instead of "nine-one-one" the first thing I think when I see the numbers in "Nine-Eleven." It is a simple but profound change that affected many others, I suspect.
So I will remember the lives lost that fateful day and most likely will watch United 93 on DVD again. It is difficult to because of the anger it provokes, but I vowed to never forget that day. Sadly, too many people have fallen prey to insane conspiracy theories or moral relativism regarding the events that cost over 3,000 people their lives. The evils of Islamic fundamentalism still exist and we are slowly becoming complacent again. The consequences of that will not be good.
So I will remember the lives lost that fateful day and most likely will watch United 93 on DVD again. It is difficult to because of the anger it provokes, but I vowed to never forget that day. Sadly, too many people have fallen prey to insane conspiracy theories or moral relativism regarding the events that cost over 3,000 people their lives. The evils of Islamic fundamentalism still exist and we are slowly becoming complacent again. The consequences of that will not be good.
ACORN Has a Problem with Prostitution
Yes, ACORN, those community organizers who once had President Obama as a trainer, have a problem with prostitution. What is bad about that, you think? All of us should have a problem with prostitution, after all it is degrading and dehumanizing. Well, ACORN's problem isn't that they oppose prostitution, it is that they more than condone it no matter what they publicly say.
Two young journalists in training decided to concoct the wildest scenario they could and approach an ACORN office in Maryland with it. The premise was simple: a young would be politician and his girlfriend/prostitute are looking for federal help in finding housing for her to use as a brothel for underage El Salvadoran girls brought into the country illegally.
That should have been crazy sounding enough to get them tossed out, right? Or get the police involved at the very least. Instead, the ACORN workers went out of their way to show them how to use this all for a tax shelter while giving practical advice on how to avoid the fictional pimp harassing the "prostitute." They didn't bat an eye at child prostitution and exploitation either, advising them to only declare three of the girls as dependants for tax deductions.
So what, you say? Just a couple of bad eggs in one office don't show a problem in the organization.
Well... the two young investigators went to an office in Washington, D.C. next and check out what happened there. Big Government has done a great thing exposing this story.
ACORN is a profoundly evil organization and needs to be shut down ASAP. The fact they are getting billions of dollars from the stimulus is horrendous given their behavior and voter fraud cases going forth in the courts. Good grief, they are encouraging child prostitution! I can't think of a more evil thing.
The two workers in the first video have been fired, but the big media is refusing to report on this outside of Fox News, talk radio, and conservative blogs. There is something very, very wrong with our country right now, when such evil is being protected by the media. I doubt we'll see much in the way of punishment for ACORN, they are joined at the hip with the Democratic Party and especially Obama.
Just disgusting.
Two young journalists in training decided to concoct the wildest scenario they could and approach an ACORN office in Maryland with it. The premise was simple: a young would be politician and his girlfriend/prostitute are looking for federal help in finding housing for her to use as a brothel for underage El Salvadoran girls brought into the country illegally.
That should have been crazy sounding enough to get them tossed out, right? Or get the police involved at the very least. Instead, the ACORN workers went out of their way to show them how to use this all for a tax shelter while giving practical advice on how to avoid the fictional pimp harassing the "prostitute." They didn't bat an eye at child prostitution and exploitation either, advising them to only declare three of the girls as dependants for tax deductions.
So what, you say? Just a couple of bad eggs in one office don't show a problem in the organization.
Well... the two young investigators went to an office in Washington, D.C. next and check out what happened there. Big Government has done a great thing exposing this story.
ACORN is a profoundly evil organization and needs to be shut down ASAP. The fact they are getting billions of dollars from the stimulus is horrendous given their behavior and voter fraud cases going forth in the courts. Good grief, they are encouraging child prostitution! I can't think of a more evil thing.
The two workers in the first video have been fired, but the big media is refusing to report on this outside of Fox News, talk radio, and conservative blogs. There is something very, very wrong with our country right now, when such evil is being protected by the media. I doubt we'll see much in the way of punishment for ACORN, they are joined at the hip with the Democratic Party and especially Obama.
Just disgusting.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sick Yet Again
It started with a sore throat on Monday, that lasted a couple of days before moving into the sinuses and now chest. Oh for an immune system that worked right!
The brain no worky, so the only thing I have to post is what may be the prototype for the ultimate cat toy: levitating mice!
The brain no worky, so the only thing I have to post is what may be the prototype for the ultimate cat toy: levitating mice!
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Is the US Dollar Dying?
One of my regular reads is the online edition of the Daily Telegraph published in the United Kingdom. It was interesting to see what the most read stories were today and I think you will see a unifying theme in them:
1. Barack Obama accused of making 'Depression' mistakes
2. China alarmed by US money printing
3. UN wants new global currency to replace dollar
Then on the other side of the page was Gold hits $1,000
With the Obama administration printing more green to buy government bonds because the Chinese won't, you know something is wrong. Then you hear that the Chinese are moving slowly over to gold in order to keep their investments from deprieciating radically and off in the distance alarm bells begin to ring. Finally, there has been talk between Russia, China, and India about starting a new currency because the dollar isn't looking sound, but hey, that's just a bunch of wannabe's talking, right? Except now the UN is talking the same proposal a few week later. Yeah, there is something seriously wrong with the US dollar when the biggest holder of US debt is publicly complaining and planning to move to something else.
Is the dollar actually dying? Time will tell, but one thing is certain -- it is very, very ill.
1. Barack Obama accused of making 'Depression' mistakes
2. China alarmed by US money printing
3. UN wants new global currency to replace dollar
Then on the other side of the page was Gold hits $1,000
With the Obama administration printing more green to buy government bonds because the Chinese won't, you know something is wrong. Then you hear that the Chinese are moving slowly over to gold in order to keep their investments from deprieciating radically and off in the distance alarm bells begin to ring. Finally, there has been talk between Russia, China, and India about starting a new currency because the dollar isn't looking sound, but hey, that's just a bunch of wannabe's talking, right? Except now the UN is talking the same proposal a few week later. Yeah, there is something seriously wrong with the US dollar when the biggest holder of US debt is publicly complaining and planning to move to something else.
Is the dollar actually dying? Time will tell, but one thing is certain -- it is very, very ill.
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