The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart
this you will build your life by, and this you will become.
James Lane Allen
Misspelled Names--Again
I remember writing about this topic around the time of the underwear bomber.So imagine my "surprise" to hear that the FBI had failed to detect the now deceased older brother Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev's 2011 trip to Russia after an earlier Russian intelligence's tip about his radical Islam ties because his name was misspelled during trip processing. Depending on the computer software used, matches may be very specific--even a simple typo, case-change (capitalized characters or mixed case) won't qualify a match. But fuzzy match technology has been available in conventional software for years. For example, in Blogger and other Google applications, if I make a typo, the word is marked in the editor and correctly spelled alternatives are available via a right-click.
As a former MIS professor, I just don't understand how the FBI's was not tested for fuzzy match capabilities before the software was ever rolled into production; your system is one fat finger away from public safety consequences.. One also has to wonder after the underwear bomber case, why there wasn't a comprehensive initiative by the Obama Administration across the national intelligence infrastructure--and if there was, why the FBI gap persisted.
The Rand Paul Drone Kerfuffle
After Rand Paul's historic filibuster of the Brennan CIA chief nomination based on AG Holder's procrastination to his question over domestic attacks on citizens without, at minimum, court oversight of Bill of Right individual liberties.you would figure the last thing he would want to do is send a mixed message on a signature issue, but that's what he did on a Fox News segment (here's an overview by a conservative critic of Paul; I do not agree with the critic).
Paul now has been criticized--quite wrongly in my view--of flip-flopping. I do think Paul did a poor job of expressing himself, particularly in the context of attacking a liquor store criminal.
Let me address the issue more comprehensively. The original issue was executing an American terrorist suspect overseas without due process, at minimum without judicial oversight. In essence, Obama has been approving kill lists. Since the use of drones domestically is being promoted by the Obama Administration, do the same rules apply? Paul opposes either type of bypassing court authorization.
What I believe the conversation in the Cavuto segment references was the use of lethal force by law enforcement in apprehending a suspect. I think if and when a suspect threatens law enforcement with lethal force, there is a right of self-defense by the officer being threatened. It's hard to see how most criminals are a threat to a drone. The first principle is that a policeman should consider the use of lethal force as last resort. Paul seems to be suggesting is that once the police are under attack and the use of lethal force is justified, it doesn't matter whether the weapon is a gun, a sniper's rifle, from a police helicopter, or yes, even a drone.
Obviously the judge doesn't intervene directly in the middle of a gun fight. But it is not the function of law enforcement to serve as judge and jury. Would or should a drone have been been used in the case of the Boston bombers? Maybe for tracking, but I would have had road blocks heading out of Boston and a more thorough, less heavy-handed search.
Syria, Obama's Line in the Sand, and US Involvement:
Don't Do It
The conservative websites were abuzz about Syria's rogue government, which has allegedly used chemical weapons against the resistance; I went on the neo-con Weekly Standard website briefly today, and it seemed to dominate all other issues. I think Obama was ill-advised to put a line in the sand; I suspect that he hoped Assad wouldn't risk further American involvement. Syria has all the elements that scream "be really careful of what you wish for". The use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity, but I see this as more of a regional than American problem.
A Dubious Achievement Obama Hopes No One Will Notice
The shale revolution as Bakken and Eagle Ford exploration and production have offset slowing production elsewhere (e.g., Alaska) and lowered dependence on unfriendly foreign producers (not to mention moderating the trade imbalance). Obama's environmental policies have hampered attempts to close the gap by further putting obstacles in drilling new, more promising targets on federally-controlled property, both on-and offshore. Obama tries to take credit for new production off private- or state-controlled territory, including newly abundant natural gas, which have made more difference in reduced carbon emissions than all his alternative energy boondoggles and subsidies put together. Still, the chart below is hard to explain away to environmental ideologues.
 |
| Courtesy of Carpe Diem |
George W. Bush is, by any reasonable analysis, the most honorable and decent of the last 3 Presidents, inclusive. He made some some bad policy errors (among them, nation building in the Gulf Region, expanding an all but insolvent Medicare program, failing to veto excessive spending bills, naming Bernanke as Fed chief, starting us down the path of eroding individual liberties with the Patriot Act, failed to reform Fannie and Freddie, his handling of the economic tsunami was mistake-ridden, etc.) But he also provided extraordinary leadership in the aftermath of 9/11, nominated some very good, able judges, expanded free trade, and provided leadership on long-overdue tax, social security and immigration reform.
Epic Laffer Rant
I love Laffer''s blistering attack on whom I would call Warren "Bait-and-Switch" Buffett: in particular, the theoretical taxation of unrealized capital gains. Consider the CEO's own company;
And then there’s the legendary investment adviser Warren Buffett, whose unique skills have created tremendous value for shareholders over the past 46 years. Berkshire’s per-share book value grew from $19 to $95,453 [last year], at a rate of 20.2% compounded annually.Now there are all sorts of methodological problems with taxing unrealized capital gains--even if you get past liquidity issues, how do you know the future price of any asset: your house, the Picasso on your wall, never mind shares of businesses whose models will be undermined by future competitors or bad decisions. For more liquid investments, there are still issues: for example, if I buy or sell Coca-Cola shares from my retirement accounts, the lots would be quite limited and not material to the price of the security--but Berkshire Hathaway has a boatload of Coca-Cola shares, and unwinding that position would likely move the share price (down). Do we really want to encourage hit-and-run investment and discourage long-term ownership and investment?
Perhaps some innovative policies could be designed to encourage prepayment of expected future taxes,e.g., Roth-like asset accounts where taxes on assets are exempt from the listed beneficiaries or inflation-adjusted tax payment bonds.
Political Humor
A new report found that the worst job in the U.S. is being a newspaper reporter. They say it's better for writers to just focus on fiction and become
[..an Obama White House apokesman]
All five living presidents will gather for the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. President Obama says he hopes he can pick up some ideas for when he builds his. It's going to be called the “Blame George W. Bush Presidential Library.” - Jay Leno
[They have so much in common--two daughters, a love for drones, budget deficits, low employment and economic growth, immigration reform, losing the House of Representatives,...]
Political Cartoon
 |
| Courtesy of Steve Kelley and Townhall |
The Temptations, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"
