Miscellany: 5/04/11

Quote of the Day

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success

but only if you persist.

Isaac Asimov

Let's Audit the Fed! Thumbs UP!

Update on Phoebe Prince Story

I originally commented on this case a year ago last March. Phoebe Prince was an Irish immigrant freshman in a Massachusetts high school, briefly dating Sean Mulveyhill, the popular high school football captain. Mulveyhill broke it off abruptly and heartlessly, allegedly subsequently encouraging a girlfriend and other friends to physically abuse (e.g., bump into her "by accident") and harass the girl; the final straw was when one of the Mean Girls drove past her walking on the way home from school one day, lowering her car windows to throw an energy drink at her and call her names. Phoebe hung herself in a staircase shortly after arriving home.

Mulveyhill pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor charge of criminal harassment, sentenced to community service, probation, no contact with the victim's family and no profiting off his related notoriety (e.g., a book, television or other appearance fees, etc.); the district attorney agreed to drop a statutory rape and felony charge on bodily injury. Other participants in the harassment are expected to reach similar agreements, and the other statutory rape defendant is awaiting trial.

I don't want to second-guess the district attorney here because I'm sure there is judgment regarding evidence, likelihood of conviction, etc. For instance, I'm sure that in many high schools coeds would jump at the chance to date an eligible, handsome football captain, and no doubt many young men would exploit the situation for self-gratification, saying whatever it takes, including the disingenuous possibility of commitment. Many high school students voluntarily engage in sex. Life isn't fair; parents sometimes warn their daughter about certain boys, but it can be counterproductive. Would Mulveyhill been charged with statutory rape if not for Phoebe's tragic suicide? Perhaps not. Is Phoebe's mother right? Is Mulveyhill a predator? I think so. In summary, I would have preferred to see this young man sentenced to serve at least a minimum jail term of a week or two. But if the choice was this sentence or letting this boy get away with his morally reprehensible, criminal behavior in the ongoing persecution of this sweet, beautiful young girl, whose life was precious and priceless, we at least get some semblance of justice. For Phoebe's grieving mother, Ann McBrien, no one can bring back her baby girl and the dreams she had of Phoebe's future; Phoebe will never graduate from high school and college, succeed in a career, or get married and have a family of her own.

I want to finish this commentary by quoting the Boston Herald's account of what Ann McBrien discovered as one of the last text messages written by her beloved daughter: "It will be easier if (Sean) or anyone of them handed me a noose." After 100 hours, Sean will move on as if nothing ever happened, as if Phoebe Prince never existed.

For all young people whom face others with hearts of stone, I dedicate one of my favorite Olivia Newton-John songs; live the chorus:

New Hampshire Takes a Step Backward on Anti-Bullying: Thumbs DOWN!

This is a case which one might think a libertarian conservative would agree with a lopsided vote by the New Hampshire legislature (GOP-controlled) to roll back anti-bullying legislation which seems to limit school responsibility to control bullying stops at the boundary lines of the school itself (i.e., if a school bus driver observes bullying behavior on his rides or at the bus stop, it's not the school's problem) and seeks to restore the rights of abusive behavior free speech for bullies. Look, I'm not going to argue about parental responsibility and scope creep, particularly for public education: but many bullied students are reluctant to discuss the issues with their parents (I didn't when I was in high school), and we are not talking about one-off events, but identifiable patterns of behavior of students which school personnel may encounter. New Hampshire should reconsider rolling back the clock on legislation protecting students against bully terror.

One website which tracks state legislation on anti-bullying issues is Bully Police. This website notes 5 states without anti-bullying measures and a number of states with obsolete or incomplete provisions.

Incompetent Obama Administration Communications:

What Happened At the Bin Laden Mansion?

We were initially told that bin Laden and others died in a firefight with the Navy SEALS. Now it's possible there was security resistance in the compound, but we are told bin Laden and at least 3 other men died unarmed. One report from Pakistan quotes a bin Laden daughter at the compound claiming that bin Laden was initially arrested but was not killed in the house but later. Another says that bin Laden "participated" in the firefight but did not return fire. Other accounts says that bin Laden was resisting and appeared to be reaching for a weapon.  Counterterrorism advisor John Brennan said that one of bin Laden's wives was killed (only a leg wound) and that bin Laden used a woman as a human shield whom was killed (a woman was probably caught in crossfire but was not used as a shield), all subsequently corrected. The LA Times has a story which references these and other factual conflicts .

Let me be clear: there is no doubt in my mind that a facility with high walls and barbed wire had firearms and/other other weapons in it, and Osama bin Laden knew exactly where to find them; furthermore, he had some skills with weapons in the Afghanistan resistance to the Soviet Union and vowed to die a "martyr" . I think that the Navy SEALs had zero tolerance for any move on bin Laden's part to resist, escape, etc., and knew well-documented stories of fake surrenders (e.g., during the Iraq occupation).

I do accept Attorney General Eric Holder's opinion of national self-defense under any circumstances in eliminating Osama bin Laden, even if he was to wave a white flag in the face of an incoming cruise missile; certainly there would have been value in a captured Osama bin Laden, whom had wide-ranging knowledge of Al Qaeda operations, plans, etc.

But I have to say the vacillating public communications on the event of the Obama Administration has bordered on utter incompetence and confusion. Some people now seem to think that Obama assembled a hit squad that never intended to arrest bin Laden. It leads to a convoluted conceptualization of Obama's human rights principles; Obama doesn't think KSM should have been subjected to waterboarding and thinks he should be given a civil trial, but an unarmed bin Laden, surrounded by armed SEALs, is killed? If anything, it builds sympathy for a war criminal...

Political Potpourri

Gallup today shows Obama's approval at 50% (with a net approval of 8%, which reflects an 11-point swing), the first within the bin Laden death period (although technically it won't be until tomorrow since it wasn't until late Sunday when the announcement was made). Obama is going to Ground Zero to lay a wreath, which may also be a popular event. Rasmussen actually shows a slight drop to 48%, SurveyUSA has 46%, but CBS News has Obama at  57%, with a net approval of 20 points. (I think some pollsters have a severe departure from reality.)

A Quinnipiac University poll released today showed 58% of the electorate would not consider voting either for Sarah Palin or Donald Trump. On the opposite side of the ledger is Mitt Romney, with the highest favorable and net favorable rating among the major GOP contenders. In a head-to-head among GOP contenders, Romney finished with 18%, 3 points ahead of a two-way tide between Huckabee and Palin, 6 points ahead of billionaire Trump.

Fukushima Nuclear Incident Update


Atomic Power Review:

• Wednesday morning: One of the takeaways is that TEPCO intends to install one of those external cooling systems to reactor 1 this Sunday assuming the air infiltration system is operational.
• TEPCO response to NISA: Several details are discussed, including the design for external cooling, plans for nitrogen injection (for reactor 1), and improved water-level measurement.

The Hiroshima Syndrome blogger points out TEPCO has stepped up coolant injections into reactor pressurized vessel 3 because of slightly increasing temperature and pressure. TEPCO is also working on devices to help cleanse within (more contaminated) inlet waters. He also discusses Greenpeace's rebuffed efforts to go within the 12-mile Japan limit near Fukushima Daiichi and an anti-nuke column published in the New York Times.

Political Humor

David Letterman's Late Show Top Ten

Things Overhead While Watching Raid On Bin Laden

10 "We have got to get together for covert special ops raids more often"

9 "Are we shooting this in the studio where we faked the moon landing?"

8 "Someone run to the store and get daddy a pack of smokes"

7 "Hit pause, I gotta take a leak"

6 "These vibrating chairs are the best money we ever spent"

5 "Biden, wake up!"

4 "Mind if we switch over to the Celtics game for a second?"

3 "We should totally post this on YouTube"

2 "Seriously, Joe, wake up!"

1 "I just wish Dick Cheney were alive to see this"

["No, David Axelrod... We can't use the tape for a fundraising Pay-Per-View."

"And Donald Trump thinks HE'S firing someone..."

"No, Osama, I'm not Regis. You don't get to use a lifeline..."

"I agree: that was the best tip ever from 'America's Most Wanted.'"

"You're right, Joe: this IS a big f---ing deal!"

"No, Mr. President; that French flag he's waving is not a internationally recognized symbol of surrender."

"Someone call Al Jazeera and tell them we have the final bin Laden tape."

"He's says that he's the good twin brother, Obama bin Laden..."

"No, Bill: we decided against the cruise missile idea. Thanks for the suggestion."

"Someone get George W. on the phone and ask him to guess what we're doing..."]

Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups

ABBA, "One Man, One Woman"