Cascajun

The adventures of a Cajun in Cascadia

November 14, 2008

Juxtaposition

Filed under: General — Tags: — Randy @ 3:03

From the PeoplesARTCoOP:

The obliviation of antediluvian excrescences postulates a didactic promorphistic inclusionary ascensional sine qua non, perhaps rectifying the recidivisual deconcurrence of reductive influences, remaining not ineffectual per se though expressing a certain contradissonance trending towards mass disembarkation. We seek to reconfirm the aforementioned while attaining a hitherto unforeseen unknowability.

I know those guys; they really do trend toward a mass disembarkation.

Debating climate change and the next ice age

Filed under: Environment — Tags: , — Randy @ 7:26

Was Earth Headed for the Mother of All Ice Ages Before Global Warming?

Before we humans came along with our Industrial Revolution and our greenhouse gases, the earth was hurtling towards an intense ice age that could have covered much of the northern hemisphere with deep ice sheets as soon as 10,000 years from now, according to a tentative new study.

There’s quite a bit of commentary about climate change and ice ages on the NYT science blog.

November 12, 2008

Intelligence Policy - not much will change

Filed under: Current Affairs, Politics — Tags: , — Randy @ 2:12

The Wall Street Journal reports: Intelligence Policy to Stay Largely Intact. “President-elect Barack Obama is unlikely to radically overhaul controversial Bush administration intelligence policies, advisers say, an approach that is almost certain to create tension within the Democratic Party.”

November 9, 2008

Carbon Trading and Moral Hazard

Filed under: Economy, Environment — Tags: , , , , — Randy @ 8:22

The causes of the current financial crisis are complicated, just wait until we start trading carbon. Lawrence Solomon writes about risk in the carbon allowance trading markets:

The ‘marketplace’ for carbon allowances will be one in which both supply and demand are set by governments, in which intense corporate lobbying for changes to both supply and demand is all but certain, and in which moral hazard — in the form of an expectation of a government bailout — is an absolute certainty. Valuing the toxic instruments created by Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, that corrupted the pool of debt securities, will seem like child’s play in comparison.”

Hat tip: Belmont Club

November 7, 2008

Conscription

Filed under: Politics — Tags: — Randy @ 7:35

Wikipedia defines conscription as “a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority.”

This is from President-elect Barack Obama’s official transition web site (This is a link to the original, cached version. See the update comment thread, below.):

Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.

This sounds like conscription to me. I understand this is a well meaning plan, but as the saying goes: “The road to hell path to destruction is paved with good intentions.”

Update: The America Serves web site has been updated since my post and no longer uses the word require. It also includes details about refundable tax credits. As it reads now, Obama’s America Serves project is a substantially different proposition than outlined previously. I’ve updated my link above to hit the cached version. I’m not sure how long that will work.

As I noted in the comments, I think it’s fine for local school districts to include public service in their curriculum. I don’t believe the federal government should mandate it, especially for college. I’m all for public service, as long as it’s voluntary. I have volunteered (i.e. served) in the military and with various civic organizations. The experience was great and I encourage everyone to volunteer.

November 4, 2008

Election Day

Filed under: Current Affairs, Politics — Tags: — Randy @ 7:08

Election Day is finally here. Go cast your ballot, if you haven’t already. Then take some advice from Glen Reynolds, “Whoever wins, chill a bit.”

October 29, 2008

Buying the Presidency

Filed under: Current Affairs, Politics — Tags: , — Randy @ 6:31

From the Washington Post:

Obama Accepting Untraceable Donations, Contributions Reviewed After Deposits

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is allowing donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor’s identity, campaign officials confirmed.

Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign has also chosen not to use basic security measures to prevent potentially illegal or anonymous contributions from flowing into its accounts, aides acknowledged. Instead, the campaign is scrutinizing its books for improper donations after the money has been deposited.

October 13, 2008

Skyline Divide Hike

Filed under: Outdoors — Tags: — Randy @ 7:31

I hiked the Skyline Divide trail with some friends on Sunday. Here are a few photographs I took.

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October 9, 2008

Hiding from his past

Filed under: Politics — Tags: , , — Randy @ 6:01

Roger Simon explores the incongruent reality of Barack Obama.

The inescapable conclusion is that Barack Obama is a highly deceptive, often dishonest individual. Again, many would say this is standard operating procedure for politicians in our culture (and most others too). But Obama presents himself as something different, a new kind of post-modern politician above the conventional dirty dealings of backroom politics.

Like Roger, the crux of my problem with Obama is not his left wing past, but that he tries to hide it. It’s the dishonesty that is troubling. The willful, even enthusiastic, participation of the MSM in promoting the lies and deception disturbs me.

October 6, 2008

1960’s Radical?

Filed under: Current Affairs, Politics — Tags: , , , — Randy @ 6:38

The MSM keep referring to William Ayers as a 1960’s radical, as if his politics have moderated. Here’s some fairly recent video of Ayers being interviewed by Luis Bonilla-Molina, President of the Centro Internacional Miranda, where he shares his views on the role he believes critical education can serve in the promotion of Bolivarian Revolution.

[Three minutes and fifty-eight seconds into the interview.]

Ayers: One way of looking at is the Weather Underground was a great teaching moment; and to the extend that we didn’t fully realize what we attempted we were bad teachers.

It is obvious Ayers, the Chicago education reformer, has radical views about the role of education in politics, and vice versa. I don’t know exactly when this video was filmed, but I’m pretty certain it was after the years Obama and Ayers worked together at the Annenberg Challenge.

As Stanley Kurtz points out, “Ayers’ radicalism isn’t something in the past. It’s something to which Obama gave moral and financial support as an adult. So when Shane says that Obama has never expressed sympathy for Ayers’ radicalism, he’s flat wrong. Obama’s funded it.”

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