To warm the hearts of geeks everywhere, the account of IBM Watson's victory at Jeopardy!
This is a reminder to us all in the US of the good we are capable of, if we're willing to dream and work toward goals together. Anything's possible, if we are willing to work for it, long term, patiently, not always focusing on pumping this quarter's results.
This sort of thing happens in places that have freedom as a bedrock value, the rule of law, the profit incentive firmly in place. This sort of thing does not happen in places like Russia, or Saudi Arabia, or Venezuela. It happens in places like the US, Canada, and the other handful of still-functional countries around the planet.
It's a genius piece of marketing, both for IBM and Sony, owner of the Jeopardy! brand.
It's a very slickly produced piece of short film, and kudos to their creators.
This is inspiring. This shapes the culture in some very good ways, if we direct it to good ends. This is not for Goldman-Sachs to employ in creating another generation of fraudulent securities, or for the next nutcase regime to use to create nukes.
This really could spark the next Renaissance, if its creators and purchasers make good decisions.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Illinois SB 136: Home Schoolers Push Back Against A Venal State Government
Lessee, now, ya'll. The Great State of Illinois is facing a $15 billion (that's with a 'b') budget deficit this year.
(And ya got'cher $80 billion in unfunded pension obligations on top of that, by the way.)
The bond rating is worse than Mexico. Taxes have been raised, and businesses are fleeing.
The public schools are a shambles.
(If you view this link, scroll about half-way down the page to see how students in 4th and 8th grade fare on national reading and math assessments. Gow'-won! Double-dog dare you to see for yerself.)
So, what do the Dems who run the Illinois legislature want to do?
Easy! Require every home-school family in the state to register and submit to the State Bored of Edukashun, the people who brung yew the stellar results listed above.
As one might imagine, the families are not amused, and descended (peacefully) upon the state capitol to register their feelings. They, unlike the public school teachers of Wisconsin, did not stage a 'sick-out' of their taxpayer-funded jobs in order to rally and curse the legislature.
If you 'do' Facebook, the group is named 'STOPSB136'.
If there is one 'snapshot' example needed of why Illinois is in such shambles, this should do.
The home-school families pay every tax levied for the support of the state's failed school system, and undertake the expense, hard work, and often reduced earnings that home-schooling imposes upon the parents. In turn, their kids generally do much better academically, are probably not much worse off socially, and are physically much safer than their peers in publik educashun. To be sure, there are some true LooneyTunes amongst the home-schoolers, and OS has met his share. There are also some lazy parents who do not truly get the job done, and again, OS has met a few of those as well. But, on the whole, in the aggregate, the home-schoolers far outperform the state-run sector; and since they do not consume the resources of the state while paying taxes to it, they are actually net contributors to the fiscal bottom line.
Makes the Left apoplectic, the thought that someone out there is succeeding.
Without them.
Here's an idea for the Illinois legislature: Leave them the hell alone. You've got other, more pressing matters to attend to. Like a $15 billion deficit, a bond rating worse than Mexico, and $80 billion in pensions you can't pay.
And a GOP Congress that will not bail your sorry selves out.
Good luck, boyz.
(And ya got'cher $80 billion in unfunded pension obligations on top of that, by the way.)
The bond rating is worse than Mexico. Taxes have been raised, and businesses are fleeing.
The public schools are a shambles.
(If you view this link, scroll about half-way down the page to see how students in 4th and 8th grade fare on national reading and math assessments. Gow'-won! Double-dog dare you to see for yerself.)
So, what do the Dems who run the Illinois legislature want to do?
Easy! Require every home-school family in the state to register and submit to the State Bored of Edukashun, the people who brung yew the stellar results listed above.
As one might imagine, the families are not amused, and descended (peacefully) upon the state capitol to register their feelings. They, unlike the public school teachers of Wisconsin, did not stage a 'sick-out' of their taxpayer-funded jobs in order to rally and curse the legislature.
If you 'do' Facebook, the group is named 'STOPSB136'.
If there is one 'snapshot' example needed of why Illinois is in such shambles, this should do.
The home-school families pay every tax levied for the support of the state's failed school system, and undertake the expense, hard work, and often reduced earnings that home-schooling imposes upon the parents. In turn, their kids generally do much better academically, are probably not much worse off socially, and are physically much safer than their peers in publik educashun. To be sure, there are some true LooneyTunes amongst the home-schoolers, and OS has met his share. There are also some lazy parents who do not truly get the job done, and again, OS has met a few of those as well. But, on the whole, in the aggregate, the home-schoolers far outperform the state-run sector; and since they do not consume the resources of the state while paying taxes to it, they are actually net contributors to the fiscal bottom line.
Makes the Left apoplectic, the thought that someone out there is succeeding.
Without them.
Here's an idea for the Illinois legislature: Leave them the hell alone. You've got other, more pressing matters to attend to. Like a $15 billion deficit, a bond rating worse than Mexico, and $80 billion in pensions you can't pay.
And a GOP Congress that will not bail your sorry selves out.
Good luck, boyz.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Curveball Quote Of The Day/Week/Year: The Liar Who Helped Send Us To War
The news of Curveball, the Iraqi 'intelligence source' who fabricated the entire Saddam Hussein 'Weapons of Mass Destruction' scenario out of thin air, has hit the press and airwaves.
His interview with The Guardian is here.
One must always take anything in The Guardian with a huge grain of salt, but this account is worth reading, in any event.
Here is the quote:
I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the regime," he told the Guardian in a series of interviews carried out in his native Arabic and German. "I and my sons are proud of that, and we are proud that we were the reason to give Iraq the margin of democracy.
The end justifies the means and any tragic collateral damage, in other words.
This is the stuff of John LeCarre novels, only beyond the ability of any novelist to invent.
The tragedy required not only a willing and accomplished liar, but a receptive ear, a willingness to believe. Given Saddam's known record of brutality, it was not too great a leap of faith. He had used chemical weapons on his own people. He had invaded and raped Kuwait. He was a cold-blooded, amoral killer. This proffered tale fit the profile.
Since we had no intelligence operatives on the ground, thanks in great part to the gutting of the CIA in the 1970's, confirming or discrediting the tale was a tough job. We chose to not believe the UN reps who visited, because their record of credibility was so open to question.
And, the West was still rattled by September 11, 2001.
Combine all ingredients, stir gently, heat to a boil. Kill tens of thousands of people.
I wonder how Curveball would fare telling his story locked into a room with the families of all those British, Canadian, and US service members who died as a result of the invasion and subsequent civil war?
We'll never know.
His interview with The Guardian is here.
One must always take anything in The Guardian with a huge grain of salt, but this account is worth reading, in any event.
Here is the quote:
I had the chance to fabricate something to topple the regime," he told the Guardian in a series of interviews carried out in his native Arabic and German. "I and my sons are proud of that, and we are proud that we were the reason to give Iraq the margin of democracy.
The end justifies the means and any tragic collateral damage, in other words.
This is the stuff of John LeCarre novels, only beyond the ability of any novelist to invent.
The tragedy required not only a willing and accomplished liar, but a receptive ear, a willingness to believe. Given Saddam's known record of brutality, it was not too great a leap of faith. He had used chemical weapons on his own people. He had invaded and raped Kuwait. He was a cold-blooded, amoral killer. This proffered tale fit the profile.
Since we had no intelligence operatives on the ground, thanks in great part to the gutting of the CIA in the 1970's, confirming or discrediting the tale was a tough job. We chose to not believe the UN reps who visited, because their record of credibility was so open to question.
And, the West was still rattled by September 11, 2001.
Combine all ingredients, stir gently, heat to a boil. Kill tens of thousands of people.
I wonder how Curveball would fare telling his story locked into a room with the families of all those British, Canadian, and US service members who died as a result of the invasion and subsequent civil war?
We'll never know.
Venezuela Posts Always Strike A Nerve
Every time OS posts anything about Venezuela, the page views jump dramatically. He doesn't understand exactly why, except that it's like watching, from a long distance, two freight trains approaching each other on the same track. Nothing to be done except watch in morbid fascination.
What does one say about a country with the world's largest oil reserves...
...that has to ration gasoline for its own use?
Perhaps, there is a useful object lesson here: Socialism kills liberty, and leads to poverty. Everywhere and each occasion it's attempted.
And, let's remember, the Hopey-Changeys love Chavez and Castro.
Maybe, that explains it.
What does one say about a country with the world's largest oil reserves...
...that has to ration gasoline for its own use?
Perhaps, there is a useful object lesson here: Socialism kills liberty, and leads to poverty. Everywhere and each occasion it's attempted.
And, let's remember, the Hopey-Changeys love Chavez and Castro.
Maybe, that explains it.
Quote Of The Day: Andrew Sullivan's Response To Himself's Budget In Today's Atlantic
To all those under 30 who worked so hard to get this man elected, know this: he just screwed you over. He thinks you're fools. Either the US will go into default because of Obama's cowardice, or you will be paying far far more for far far less because this president has no courage when it counts. He let you down. On the critical issue of America's fiscal crisis, he represents no hope and no change. Just the same old Washington politics he once promised to end.
This is Andrew Sullivan, a Lion of the Left, writing for the most East Coast of all the East Coast Establishment brands. Whoodathunkit?
This is the sort of tone one spouse takes to the other as she's walking out the door to visit her newly-engaged attorney. This doesn't allow for any kiss-and-make-up moment later.
It's dawning on him, and many on The Left, that Obama is a nihilist at heart. The Empty Shirt the rest of us have always known him to be.
OS was curious as to why today's 11:00 am press conference was so hastily called. Given the reaction OS has been able to garner from Himself's posse on the left, the event seems less surprising. It was damage control, pure and simple. It was all dodging and weaving and calling for 'adult conversations' and 'compromise', anything to change the subject.
Problem is, unless this subject is addressed, the other subjects don't merit discussion. It's the situation of the wife who discovers the husband's other wife and family tucked away in San Diego. No need to discuss the color scheme for the bathroom remodel just now.
This is Andrew Sullivan, a Lion of the Left, writing for the most East Coast of all the East Coast Establishment brands. Whoodathunkit?
This is the sort of tone one spouse takes to the other as she's walking out the door to visit her newly-engaged attorney. This doesn't allow for any kiss-and-make-up moment later.
It's dawning on him, and many on The Left, that Obama is a nihilist at heart. The Empty Shirt the rest of us have always known him to be.
OS was curious as to why today's 11:00 am press conference was so hastily called. Given the reaction OS has been able to garner from Himself's posse on the left, the event seems less surprising. It was damage control, pure and simple. It was all dodging and weaving and calling for 'adult conversations' and 'compromise', anything to change the subject.
Problem is, unless this subject is addressed, the other subjects don't merit discussion. It's the situation of the wife who discovers the husband's other wife and family tucked away in San Diego. No need to discuss the color scheme for the bathroom remodel just now.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sense of Events: How deep is our debt hole?
Sense of Events: How deep is our debt hole?
Donald Sensing, at Sense of Events, has a wonderful ability to get to the point, quickly.
He shares this video with us:
Obama's proposal of 'we'll just freeze spending and it'll all be alright' is simply not credible. He knows it. Congress knows it. Congress knows that he knows it. He knows that Congress knows....etc....
HellsBells, ya'll! Not even the Washington Post is willing to drink the Kool-Aid anymore. These people never met an entitlement they didn't love, and they ain't buyin' it.
They call Himself The Punter In Chief. Oprah called Him 'The One', and the Nobel Committee award him the Peace Prize. Chris Matthews felt that famous 'thrill up my leg'...reality is beginning to set in.
He is completely out of his depth, and it is just dimly dawning upon him that he has done immense damage to this culture. Now, many contend, including OS, that this was His intent all along. He just didn't realize how shitty it would feel, and that he would be blamed, and instead of appearing to be The One, or a modern-day savior, he is on the way to joining James Buchanan and Jimmy Carter on the list of WorstPresidentsEver.
In the mid-1990s, and in the 1980's, a spending freeze+economic growth plan might have worked. But every time it was proposed, the Left and their homeboyz in the media would immediately begin the demagoguery about 'cuts', how children would starve and old people would freeze.
Well, ya'll on The Left--yah got'cher way. Economic growth has been stabbed in the liver, and expenditures and unfunded obligations are ToTheMoonAlice. The Cloward-Piven Moment approaches.
Time to let the grownups take over, and see if we can't steer this ship away from the rocks.
Donald Sensing, at Sense of Events, has a wonderful ability to get to the point, quickly.
He shares this video with us:
Obama's proposal of 'we'll just freeze spending and it'll all be alright' is simply not credible. He knows it. Congress knows it. Congress knows that he knows it. He knows that Congress knows....etc....
HellsBells, ya'll! Not even the Washington Post is willing to drink the Kool-Aid anymore. These people never met an entitlement they didn't love, and they ain't buyin' it.
They call Himself The Punter In Chief. Oprah called Him 'The One', and the Nobel Committee award him the Peace Prize. Chris Matthews felt that famous 'thrill up my leg'...reality is beginning to set in.
He is completely out of his depth, and it is just dimly dawning upon him that he has done immense damage to this culture. Now, many contend, including OS, that this was His intent all along. He just didn't realize how shitty it would feel, and that he would be blamed, and instead of appearing to be The One, or a modern-day savior, he is on the way to joining James Buchanan and Jimmy Carter on the list of WorstPresidentsEver.
In the mid-1990s, and in the 1980's, a spending freeze+economic growth plan might have worked. But every time it was proposed, the Left and their homeboyz in the media would immediately begin the demagoguery about 'cuts', how children would starve and old people would freeze.
Well, ya'll on The Left--yah got'cher way. Economic growth has been stabbed in the liver, and expenditures and unfunded obligations are ToTheMoonAlice. The Cloward-Piven Moment approaches.
Time to let the grownups take over, and see if we can't steer this ship away from the rocks.
The State Of Wisconsin v. The Public Employee Unions
The Chicago Tribune reports that Gov. Walker has the votes needed to end collective bargaining between the government and public employee unions.
The unions, especially the NEA, are not amused, and use Wisconsin as a case in point about those gweedy, wascawy Wepubwikans who are starving chilluns and depriving them of their futures.
Wisconsin, for example, faces a two-year budget deficit of $3.6 billion. Ellsworth Community School District in Wisconsin is slashing 24 of its 150 school personnel positions to save $1.1 million.
One of the educators not returning next year is Shelly Moore, a 13-year English and drama high school teacher at Ellsworth Community High School. Moore teaches grades 9-12. She also is the school’s only Advanced Placement instructor. Moore took her message to Congress last week, reminding lawmakers that investing in education is the right thing to do for students, communities and the nation.
“This is devastating,” said Moore. “How am I going to look at my students in the eye and tell them I won’t be here next year to help them? In all my years teaching, I’ve never seen so little regard for our future. We have to put students first.”
Ms. More's tale of woe is further detailed here.
OS keeps looking for NEA's proposals to stop the arterial bleeding of red ink from both state and federal budgets, and only encounters these stories of heartbroken union members.
They also spend a lot of time and energy going after any alternatives to the 'single-provider' government system.
Hmmm....
NEA and their state organizations have always been the frontline troops for the left edge of the Democrat Party. They helped push Jimmy Carter over the top in 1976, and were rewarded with the Department of Education, which has become a vast black hole of increasing expenditure and decaying returns. Any program, anywhere, anytime, that increased the cost, size and reach of government was loudly supported, and still is. Their support of Obama was breathless.
Obama kept his promise, and mainlined boatloads of borrowed cash into the states to prop up the unsustainable system, gambling (literally, putting the future wealth of the nation on the table) that this would generate enough votes to consolidate control in 2010, when he could really really really get on with the borrowing and spending to set up for 2012, when he really really really get on with the borrowing and spending from 2013 onwards.
Reality has finally set in, just a bit, and the painful cuts (long overdue) are now just being proposed. The worst is ahead.
Now, Himself is finally giving a news conference, talking about having 'an adult conversation', a 'full open debate with the American people', etc. etc. Is this the same guy who in 2009 was holding public speeches about letting the Republicans join in, as long as they 'rode in the back of the bus'?
It's time, long past time, to send the NEA on its way, for the counties and townships and states to take back their school systems from the Federal government and the unions. And, if the unions remain imbedded at the state level, it's time for the localities to take their schools back.
The current system has failed. It began failing in earnest in the 1970's, with the rise of the NEA. It is time to change course.
Now.
Or, alternatively, we could just print up a whole-lotta moh' hot money, and helicopter it down to the states. That's what The Left tells is the answer. That's what they've always told us.
The unions, especially the NEA, are not amused, and use Wisconsin as a case in point about those gweedy, wascawy Wepubwikans who are starving chilluns and depriving them of their futures.
Wisconsin, for example, faces a two-year budget deficit of $3.6 billion. Ellsworth Community School District in Wisconsin is slashing 24 of its 150 school personnel positions to save $1.1 million.
One of the educators not returning next year is Shelly Moore, a 13-year English and drama high school teacher at Ellsworth Community High School. Moore teaches grades 9-12. She also is the school’s only Advanced Placement instructor. Moore took her message to Congress last week, reminding lawmakers that investing in education is the right thing to do for students, communities and the nation.
“This is devastating,” said Moore. “How am I going to look at my students in the eye and tell them I won’t be here next year to help them? In all my years teaching, I’ve never seen so little regard for our future. We have to put students first.”
Ms. More's tale of woe is further detailed here.
OS keeps looking for NEA's proposals to stop the arterial bleeding of red ink from both state and federal budgets, and only encounters these stories of heartbroken union members.
They also spend a lot of time and energy going after any alternatives to the 'single-provider' government system.
Hmmm....
NEA and their state organizations have always been the frontline troops for the left edge of the Democrat Party. They helped push Jimmy Carter over the top in 1976, and were rewarded with the Department of Education, which has become a vast black hole of increasing expenditure and decaying returns. Any program, anywhere, anytime, that increased the cost, size and reach of government was loudly supported, and still is. Their support of Obama was breathless.
Obama kept his promise, and mainlined boatloads of borrowed cash into the states to prop up the unsustainable system, gambling (literally, putting the future wealth of the nation on the table) that this would generate enough votes to consolidate control in 2010, when he could really really really get on with the borrowing and spending to set up for 2012, when he really really really get on with the borrowing and spending from 2013 onwards.
Reality has finally set in, just a bit, and the painful cuts (long overdue) are now just being proposed. The worst is ahead.
Now, Himself is finally giving a news conference, talking about having 'an adult conversation', a 'full open debate with the American people', etc. etc. Is this the same guy who in 2009 was holding public speeches about letting the Republicans join in, as long as they 'rode in the back of the bus'?
It's time, long past time, to send the NEA on its way, for the counties and townships and states to take back their school systems from the Federal government and the unions. And, if the unions remain imbedded at the state level, it's time for the localities to take their schools back.
The current system has failed. It began failing in earnest in the 1970's, with the rise of the NEA. It is time to change course.
Now.
Or, alternatively, we could just print up a whole-lotta moh' hot money, and helicopter it down to the states. That's what The Left tells is the answer. That's what they've always told us.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Venezuela: The Cracks In The Economy Are Beginning To Show
We must remember that the HopeyChangey folks love Chavez, and Castro, just as the New York Times loved Stalin in the 1930's. (That worked out well, did it not?)
The two most recent posts from The Devil's Excrement are illustrative.
First, the food shortages are showing up on grocery store shelves, as are shortages of other basic necessities of life. Like diapers and cleaning products.
The author reports:
I don’t know if I have been distracted lately or if I was just not paying attention. I have been hearing for weeks about the problems with shortages of diapers and sanitary napkins (an almost daily topic of discussion by the women in my office), but to tell you the truth, I was stunned when I went to the supermarket on Tuesday and saw all the empty or semi-empty shelves. Thinking that it was just coincidental, maybe the shelves had not been replenished from the weekend, I thought by today things would go back to normal.
No such luck, the shelves looked even worse. On the left you can see the paper products shelf, looking truly empty, only one brand of diapers available.
OS looked through the comments section on this post, and saw a most poignant comment left by one CarlosElio. Well worth the time invested to read.
The second post is an eye-wateringly detailed account of the Venezuelan bond market, and how it is now used by businesses as an end-run around currency controls imposed by Chavez.
Remember, ya'll. The Left loves Chavez and Castro. This is what they have in mind for us here, if we allow it. A friend just returned from a visit to Cuba. He loves the friends he has made there, but the poverty and lack of freedom are just stunning.
OS hopes one and all take time to read these posts, and pass them along.
The two most recent posts from The Devil's Excrement are illustrative.
First, the food shortages are showing up on grocery store shelves, as are shortages of other basic necessities of life. Like diapers and cleaning products.
The author reports:
I don’t know if I have been distracted lately or if I was just not paying attention. I have been hearing for weeks about the problems with shortages of diapers and sanitary napkins (an almost daily topic of discussion by the women in my office), but to tell you the truth, I was stunned when I went to the supermarket on Tuesday and saw all the empty or semi-empty shelves. Thinking that it was just coincidental, maybe the shelves had not been replenished from the weekend, I thought by today things would go back to normal.
No such luck, the shelves looked even worse. On the left you can see the paper products shelf, looking truly empty, only one brand of diapers available.
OS looked through the comments section on this post, and saw a most poignant comment left by one CarlosElio. Well worth the time invested to read.
The second post is an eye-wateringly detailed account of the Venezuelan bond market, and how it is now used by businesses as an end-run around currency controls imposed by Chavez.
Remember, ya'll. The Left loves Chavez and Castro. This is what they have in mind for us here, if we allow it. A friend just returned from a visit to Cuba. He loves the friends he has made there, but the poverty and lack of freedom are just stunning.
OS hopes one and all take time to read these posts, and pass them along.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
From Sense of Events: Letter Home: We're doing just fine
Sense of Events: Letter Home: We're doing just fine
One of the contributors, Daniel Jackson, writes home from Israel in light of recent events.
It is very interesting reading, and drives home some cogent points in a friendly and literate tone.
It's the second nice day in a row in weeks, and the golf course beckons.
One of the contributors, Daniel Jackson, writes home from Israel in light of recent events.
It is very interesting reading, and drives home some cogent points in a friendly and literate tone.
It's the second nice day in a row in weeks, and the golf course beckons.
A Glimmer Of Hope In Cairo: The Cleanup
This set of pics from the BBC details the cleanup of the square in Cairo, by the citizens who occupied during the protests.
Encouraging to see both the sense of civil ownership and evidence of cooperation.
It will be needed in days ahead.
Congrats to them in the meantime.
Encouraging to see both the sense of civil ownership and evidence of cooperation.
It will be needed in days ahead.
Congrats to them in the meantime.
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