Remembering the Holocaust
January 27th, 2012
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, created in 2005 by a UN General Assembly resolution, coincides with the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945. This is the first of a series of three articles being re-published to observe this solemn day of remembrance.
By Tom Carter
The Auschwitz concentration camp was formally liberated by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945 (video). In the 67 years since, Auschwitz has come to symbolize the Holocaust. However, Auschwitz (where about 1,200,000 people died) was only one, albeit the most efficient, of six specialized “death camps,” all of them in Poland. The other five were Treblinka (800,000), Belzec (600,000), Majdanek (360,000), Sobibor (250,000), and Chelmno (250,000). Other camps, mostly devoted to slave-labor industries, were not specialized death camps, although millions died in them from disease, maltreatment, and execution.
Fatigue Is a Parent’s Worst Enemy (and Constant Companion)
January 26th, 2012
An almost unavoidable part of parenting – unless, I suppose, you have a cadre of full-time nannies – is exhaustion, both physical and mental. Too little sleep, too few respites, and too little time dedicated to your own needs can all contribute to a state of deep fatigue that leaves you, at best, lethargic and unmotivated and, at worst, depressed or physically ill. And exhaustion leaves you without the energy to send healthy messages to your children to boot.
Even worse, fatigue leads to expediency – one of the most harmful words in parenting – which means acting in your self-interest rather than what is best for your children. Unfortunately, “self-interest” and “good parenting” don’t play well together. If you’re exhausted, you’re naturally drawn to doing what requires the least amount of effort and energy. If you’re being expedient, you have probably given up on sending healthy messages to your children. So, for example, you give your daughter the cookie before dinner to stop her from whining even though it will ruin her appetite or you buy your son that toy in the supermarket checkout line because you don’t want him to make a scene. Easiest short-term solution? Definitely. Best long-term message? Definitely not.
Confesssion: I Did Not Watch the SOTU Last Night
January 25th, 2012
By Dan Miller
I had three good reasons: there wasn’t enough rum, it was past my bedtime and our dogs, fearing for what little remains of my sanity, wouldn’t let me.
However, I have read much of the commentary and based on that will provide a post-partisan analysis in keeping with the spirit of the occasion. It was an excitingly dull non-political campaign speech passionately proclaiming with little vigor the urgency of rebuilding the consensus American Dream — fair poverty redistribution by taxing rich capitalist leeches and a robust, growing economy without further obstruction by the Republicans who infest the Congress.
After the State of the Union: Who Can Defeat Obama?
January 25th, 2012
By Tom Carter
As I watched the President’s State of the Union address last night, this question was rattling around in my mind: Who can defeat Obama? Based on performance quality in delivering a prepared speech, the answer is that none of the current Republican contenders is up to the task. That highlights a defining characteristic of the Obama presidency — rhetoric and visuals mostly unencumbered by substance.
I found myself completely wrapped up in the speech, only now and then flinching at a baseless claim. I fleetingly noted that there was little mention of the Affordable Care Act — the hallmark of his presidency to date — or of anything else even slightly controversial for which he must accept blame instead of credit. Of course, he did take credit for everything under the sun that’s been even remotely positive, even if he had little to do with it. But that’s in the nature of State of the Union addresses. They’re all mostly political speeches, even in non-election years.
Let’s All Vote for President Obama
January 23rd, 2012
By Dan Miller
There are excellent reasons!
Trust me — Obama supporters told me and they must know.
You people make me sad.
Sadly, our appreciation of President and Mrs. Obama has not kept pace with reality and we have disappointed them.
Five Building Blocks of Positive Life Change
January 23rd, 2012
In my last post, I described how difficult changing your life can be and the four obstacles that you must overcome to achieve meaningful and long-lasting change. Yes, change is difficult, despite the “quick and without any effort” claims of motivational speakers and self-help books.
The reality is that nothing of value in life, including life change, is easy or fast. In attempting to change, you are swimming against the tide of many years of those four obstacles: baggage, habits, emotions, and environment. But if you can dismantle those obstacles (no small task, admittedly) and commit yourself to a new direction in your life, amazing things can happen and positive change can actually occur.
But even before you can begin the process of change (to be discussed in my next post), there are five building blocks that you must put into place as the foundation of positive life change.
Get Ready for Higher Gas Prices
January 22nd, 2012
By Dan Miller
Why an oil refinery in the U.S. Virgin Islands will shut down by mid-February.
An oil refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, will shut down by mid-February. It is owned by Hovensa, a joint venture of U.S.-based Hess Corp. and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA).
Losses at Hovensa … have totaled $1.3 billion over the past three years and were projected to continue due to reduced demand caused by the global economic slowdown and increased refining capacity in emerging markets, said Brian K. Lever, president and chief operating officer of Hovensa LLC.
There are various other causes for the shutdown and this may be among them:
Success Is Great!
January 21st, 2012
By Dan Miller
If at first the jerks try to stop you, try again.
Laura Dekker, a then thirteen year old young lady from the Netherlands, had long wanted to sail solo around the world in her twenty-six foot sailboat Guppy. Although delayed by Dutch officials she didn’t yield and was eventually able to do it. Now sixteen, she is scheduled to arrive today back at the Dutch island of St. Martin, from whence she finally was able to start her voyage on January 20, 2011.
I wrote about her rocky and governmentally impaired start here. I then observed,
We need a Reasonable Everything Board (REB)
January 20th, 2012
By Dan Miller
Six reasonable Democrats in the House (please excuse the redundancy) want a Reasonable Profits Board (RPB) to impose additional taxes on sellers of oil and gas.
Six House Democrats, led by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), want to set up a “Reasonable Profits Board” to control gas profits.
The Democrats, worried about higher gas prices, want to set up a board that would apply a “windfall profit tax” as high as 100 percent on the sale of oil and gas, according to their legislation. The bill provides no specific guidance for how the board would determine what constitutes a reasonable profit.
The Gas Price Spike Act, H.R. 3784, would apply a windfall tax on the sale of oil and gas that ranges from 50 percent to 100 percent on all surplus earnings exceeding “a reasonable profit.” It would set up a Reasonable Profits Board made up of three presidential nominees that will serve three-year terms. Unlike other bills setting up advisory boards, the Reasonable Profits Board would not be made up of any nominees from Congress.
Pros and Cons of the U.S. Higher Education System
January 20th, 2012
By Justin Herbert
American education and higher education has taken a hit in the media in recent years. Education professionals continue to flood our news reports saying that America has fallen behind and that our education system needs to be radically reformed. The fact is, however, that higher education in the U.S. is actually gaining momentum. Let’s take a look at some of the Pros and Cons of the Higher Education system in the U.S. today.
Pros
Starting off on a positive foot, consider this: Which country has 35 of the top 50 higher education universities on the planet as ranked by the “Academic Ranking of World Universities 2011” report? That would be the United States of America. Further, the U.S has a virtual monopoly on higher education in our world region with 47 of the top 50 ranked universities in North and South America. Consider the fact that America, by the same rankings, has four of the top five universities in the world, eight of the top ten, and 17 of the top 20. Impressed yet? How about the fact that on average, each state in the U.S contains approximately 115 higher education institutions? Or the fact that the latest report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) states that there are more than 14 million students enrolled in American higher education?
Enlightened Self-interest and International Relations
January 18th, 2012
By Dan Miller
In theory, it may beat commonly praised alternatives. But to what extent can we rely on it in practice?
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell (1872 – 1970) was a British mathematician and philosopher. He wrote prolifically in both disciplines and also wrote a few mediocre short stories. He stood three times, unsuccessfully, for a seat in Parliament (N.B. In Britain, politicians stand for legislative seats; in the United States, they run for them. Perhaps we are more interested than our British cousins in watching politicians exercise before being seated). In his later years he was often referred to as “a very intelligent old silly,” not without reason. A pacifist during the First World War, he was briefly imprisoned. He opposed Hitler and generally supported the allied cause during the Second World War and, having seen Communism through perceptive eyes, did not approve. In 1956, he wrote Why I am Not a Communist. There he stated,
Four Obstacles to Positive Life Change
January 18th, 2012
Change is essential for your growth and development as a person. Without change, you are assured of staying just the way you are and doing things just the way you have always done them. For some people, that’s a good thing; they’re happy and fulfilled in their lives. But for many people, the current path they are on lacks meaning and satisfaction and they feel stuck. They want to change, but can’t seem to figure out how to change.
The reality is that change is difficult. How difficult? Well, given the robustness of the self-help industry and the fact that no one has yet come up with a definitive path to change, the answer is “extremely difficult.” Add in the low success rates on everything from New Year’s resolutions, stopping smoking, and losing weight to improving self-esteem, feeling less anxious, and having better relationships and the picture is not at all pretty.
The Republican Marathon Is Distracting and Dangerous
January 17th, 2012
By Tom Carter
The seemingly never-ending Republican primary season drones on, sucking the oxygen out of the national discourse and obscuring things that really are more important. With hundreds lots of debates behind us and more to come, with some candidates behaving like fools and hurling ridiculous charges at other candidates, the mainstream media is transfixed by the circus that’s playing out across the land.
Meanwhile, try finding in-depth, serious reporting on real problems. Iran’s looming nuclear weapons capability and it’s threat to peace in the Middle East? North Korea’s actual nuclear weapons and the sword it dangles over South Korea and Japan? Ever-higher tensions among Israel and the Arab (and Iranian) nations that are dedicated to destroying Israel? The nascent disintegration of Iraq since the U.S. washed it’s hands of the whole mess? The disintegration that will surely follow U.S. departure from Afghanistan? Growing loopy leftism in Latin America and the implications for U.S. policy? Continued dangerous American reliance on foreign oil, while abundant domestic sources go untapped? Serious economic problems at home that aren’t being adequately addressed? A dysfunctional Congress and a bunkered President who can’t do their jobs?
Should Politics and Foreign Policy Affect Our Military Justice System?
January 16th, 2012
By Dan Miller
The military justice system demands justice for our troops, not revenge upon them to curry favor with others.
The video of U.S. Marines who apparently urinated on Taliban corpses has gone viral and not only the Islamic world is watching.
Fact and Opinion in the News
January 14th, 2012
By Dan Miller
All the news and opinions that fit.
Letters from Art Brisbane, the New York Times’ public editor, on the subject of “liberal” bias in opinion pieces, are excerpted here. A problem is that the line between fact and opinion, to the extent that one is a recognizable, can often be unclear. If I write, “my thermometer indicates that it’s ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit three feet from my front door,” that is an objective statement of fact — even if my thermometer may be off by a few degrees because the statement merely reports what my thermometer indicates. I may have misread my thermometer, but that’s a different matter, subject to objective correction. If I write, “it’s terribly hot,” that’s a subjective statement of opinion. Others may disagree but that does not necessarily make my opinion wrong. If I write, “I think it’s terribly hot,” that’s an objective statement of the fact that such is my opinion. In politics, religion and other areas where people disagree, often vigorously, the line separating fact from opinion becomes less recognizable.
Italian Cruise Ship “runs aground”
January 14th, 2012
By Dan Miller
It has been widely reported that the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia “slammed into shallow water off Italy’s western coast.”
Authorities are looking at why the ship didn’t hail a mayday during the accident near the Italian island of Giglio on Friday night, officials said.
“At the moment we can’t exclude that the ship had some kind of technical problem, and for this reason moved towards the coast in order to save the passengers, the crew and the ship. But they didn’t send a mayday. The ship got in contact with us once the evacuation procedures were already ongoing,” Del Santo said.
According to Business week,
Might President Obama Morph into an el Presidente Chávez?
January 12th, 2012
By Dan Miller
President Obama ain’t no el Presidente Chávez. Yet. But what if he gets another four years in office and a compliant Congress?
When el Presidente Chávez took office in 1999, he began only slowly to implement his “reforms.” To a casual observer, few changes were apparent in Venezuela between 1997 when my wife and I first arrived and late 2001 when we left, probably never to return. We had a few concerns about the future of the country under Chávez but they were low on our list of reasons not to buy land and build our home in the state of Merida, up in the Andes. Mainly, we wanted to continue sailing and Merida is inconveniently far from an ocean.
Chávez’ initiatives increased dramatically in number and in magnitude only when he was well into his seemingly endless terms in office. Maybe he had heard the story of the frog put into a pleasantly warm but slowly heating pot of water. The frog failed to realize until too late that he was being boiled for dinner. By then the frog had become unable to jump out of the pot.
Ron Paul and Double Standards
January 12th, 2012
By Seth Forman
Now that Ron Paul has achieved electoral respectability in the Republican primaries, the media is in high dudgeon over his extremism. Paul, according to the procurators of good taste at the New York Times, “long ago disqualified himself for the presidency” by, among other things, “peddling claptrap proposals” such as “cutting a third of the federal budget.”
The Times doesn’t bother to explain why it feels cutting the federal budget by one-third is radical enough to disqualify a person from the presidency, but increasing it by one-third, as Obama did his first year in office, is “exactly what the country needs.” But now Paul has “made things worse” by not adequately repudiating newsletters from the 1970s in which he claimed that “95 percent of Washington’s black males were criminals,” that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is a “Hate Whitey Day,” that the U.S. has a “disappearing white majority,” that Mossad was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and that some gay men deliberately spread the AIDS virus.
Should We Change the Republican Candidate Debates?
January 11th, 2012
By Dan Miller
An article about debates among candidates for election as Venezuela’s president made me wonder whether this is a good idea:
This week Globovision started a new series of shows, with a real debate that is not a debate. In short: they taped on the same day the 6 candidates with more or less the same questions and without the other ones knowing what the heck they replied. And they are playing these shows every night at 8 PM starting last night with Diego Arria. I suppose the format is better in that you do get to see the candidate more in depth than the previous “debates”….
That couldn’t be much worse than our current debates; even having them moderated by stars of Daily Kos and Team Obama might be an improvement — at least they might feel a need to seem objective. Strike that; they wouldn’t. In any event, the Globovision format could be an improvement over the absurd ways in which our presidential candidate debates have generally been conducted.
How Sincere Was the Grief Shown at the Death of Kim Jong-il?
January 11th, 2012
By Dan Miller
Some of it probably came not from the heart.
Authors
Recent Posts
- Remembering the Holocaust
- Fatigue Is a Parent’s Worst Enemy (and Constant Companion)
- Confesssion: I Did Not Watch the SOTU Last Night
- After the State of the Union: Who Can Defeat Obama?
- Let’s All Vote for President Obama
- Five Building Blocks of Positive Life Change
- Get Ready for Higher Gas Prices
- Success Is Great!
- We need a Reasonable Everything Board (REB)
- Pros and Cons of the U.S. Higher Education System
- Enlightened Self-interest and International Relations
- Four Obstacles to Positive Life Change
- The Republican Marathon Is Distracting and Dangerous
- Should Politics and Foreign Policy Affect Our Military Justice System?
- Fact and Opinion in the News
- Italian Cruise Ship “runs aground”
- Might President Obama Morph into an el Presidente Chávez?
- Ron Paul and Double Standards
- Should We Change the Republican Candidate Debates?
- How Sincere Was the Grief Shown at the Death of Kim Jong-il?
"She was sometimes harder on her husband’s team than he was...and the tensions grew so severe that one top adviser erupted in a meeting in 2010, cursing the absent first lady." -- Jodi Kantor, NYT
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