Category Archives: What comes next

So it begins…

Posted on by

Yesterday, Harry Reid detonated the nuclear option in the Senate by arbitrarily changing the Senate rules concerning federal appointments, including the Judiciary. Before Reid’s act, appointments required a 60 vote super-majority. Reid changed that to a simple majority.

Immediately after the vote, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) called for more reforms—eliminating the filibuster for legislation. Harkin’s call for eliminating the filibuster was retaliation against Senator Ted Cruz’s and Rand Paul’s filibusters this year.

Reid’s act and Harkin’s call to eliminate all filibusters is a blatant power grab effectively making the Senate a democrat rubber stamp. The days of polite discussion, of gentlemanly discord are gone. The democrats have known this for decades. The ‘Pubs, hopefully, have finally realized the same. Politics has turned bloody. When will the ‘Pubs realize you don’t show up unarmed to a gun-fight?

I’ve said before, our current history appears to be a repeat of those days before the start of the Civil War in 1860. The issue then was not solely about slavery, although that was a very significant issue. A major issue at that time was the loss of political power by the Southern States to the more populous and economically powerful North. Tariffs and trade issues were passed that favored the North to the detriment of the South, issues that reduced the South’s trade with Europe. The result, when the South saw no other recourse,  was Secession.

Reid’s act yesterday followed immediately by Harkin’s call to eliminate all filibusters is another step that mirrors the conditions immediately before December, 1860. South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860. Is it coincidence that Reid’s elimination of 225 of Senate tradition, of a history of a balance of power, happened in November? Are we approaching a day like that of 153 years ago?

***

Positive Discrimination. What is that? It’s better known by its other name, Affirmative Action. Erick Erickson was invited to a debate on the issue at Oxford in the UK. The debate subject was “that positive discrimination is a necessary evil.”

Oxford Union Results: Winner

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  November 21st, 2013 at 08:03 PM

It is after midnight here in Oxford, UK as I write this.

Tonight, I debated in the Oxford Union — a society that has gathered each Thursday night for a black tie debate since 1823.

The proposition debated tonight was “that positive discrimination is a necessary evil.”

The side favorable to the proposition went first and vice versa to the end with me as the final speaker of the night. Each side had four participants — one student and three guests. The proponents included both Martin Castro and Ada Meloy, along with Carla Buzasi and Oxford student Toby Fuller. My side included Richard Kahlenberg, Heather McGregor, and Oxford student Martine Wauben.

I must thank Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity for encouraging me toward talk radio. I spoke for 8 minutes unaided by notes, which would have been impossible, but for two years of doing a talk radio show consisting of just me talking with no script. If you’ve ever seen the British House of Commons, you know how it went. We all stood beside dispatch boxes given by Winston Churchill. We all were interrupted by points of information by opponents.

Everyone told me I should expect to lose. Just last week the Oxford Union voted against patriotism. I simply made the point that positive discrimination, or affirmative action, is still discrimination and evil is still evil. Likewise, I pointed out that the United States is 150 years removed from the Gettysburg Address, we have our first black President, and we still have people clamoring for positive discrimination. We cannot trust that those who benefit from it will ever say we need no longer have it.

Likewise, I pointed out that we have had and will always have racism. A government that claims we are equal under the law, but still sees racism is not a government we can expect to write a law to dramatically get rid of racism.

But we do know that those negatively affected by positive discrimination will be bitter and those who benefit from it will always be under a lingering doubt that they were chosen as tokens, not on merit.

I had a wonderful time, topped off by a pint of Guinness with my wife and friends. Thanks for the prayers along the way. A guy who sounds like me somehow convinced a group of Brits that affirmative action is wrong.

My side won by 9 votes.

I agree with Erick Erickson. Discrimination, positive and negative, is evil and must be abolished. I prefer a meritocracy, myself.

mer·i·toc·ra·cy  (mr-tkr-s)n.pl.mer·i·toc·ra·cies

1. A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.

***

An act of tyranny. The FEC by a 3-2 vote, refused to grant an exemption to the Tea Party Leadership Fund allowing them to keep their donar list private. The FEC has granted exemptions to the NAACP and the Socialists Worker’s Party but not the Tea Party.

Divided FEC rejects tea party group’s bid to conceal donors

Groups said disclosure opened door to harassment

By Kellan Howell – The Washington Times, Thursday, November 21, 2013

A sharply divided Federal Election Commission on Thursday denied a request from a leading tea party group for an exemption from disclosing its financial backers to protect them from harassment.

The FEC board voted 3-2 against a motion to exempt the Tea Party Leadership Fund. The fund will have to continue to disclose donors who contribute more than $200, despite its contention that its donors should be given an exemption given to special persecuted groups such as the Socialist Workers Party and the NAACP during the civil rights era.

FEC Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub, quoting Supreme CourtJustice Antonin Scalia, said “requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed.”

Commissioner Steven Walther, who also voted against the fund’s motion, said the group was “not a minor organization” requiring special protection from the normal rules of disclosure.

The TPLF “has a lot more muscle and a lot more money,” Mr. Walther said. “I don’t think the donors are really worried about threats to themselves and safety issues that plagued the Socialist Workers Party.”

But Commissioner Matthew Petersen, one of the two Republican members of the panel who supported the exemption request, said the TPLF’s petition documenting past harassment justified the group’s request. The fund submitted more than 1,400 pages containing examples of harassment, ridicule and threats against tea party members from the media and the general public. The submission also noted the still-simmering scandal over whether the Internal Revenue Service deliberately targeted some conservative groups applying for federal tax-exempt status for special scrutiny and regulatory delays.

The case of the TPLF, Mr. Petersen said “is just as strong as, if not stronger than that of the Socialist Workers Party. I think [TPLF] is entitled to exemption.”

The FEC will grant exemptions to leftist, socialist organizations but not to conservative ones. This is what we get when Obama and the dems have unlimited power to appoint heads of federal agencies.

Tick…tick…tick…

Facebook

Trends and Portents

Posted on by

Mark Levin’s book, The Liberty Amendments, has triggered a lot of discussion on the state of the nation, the Constitution and the constant violation of the Constitution by the federal government. Just scanning national opinion pieces this morning led to these headlines. One is a piece on the state of the government, another is on national trends and polls, still another proposes the country is in a pre-revolutionary state.

What Has Mark Levin Wrought?

By James V Capua, August 18, 2013

In The Liberty Amendments Mark Levin has delivered more than advertised. He promises a credible agenda for reinvigorating constitutional government based on an approach to the amendment process which avoids the liabilities of better known options.

Continued here…

Obama Flouts the Law

By Clarice Feldman, August 18, 2013

From his first presidential campaign to the present, the president, his party and his administration have openly flouted existing laws, and it doesn’t seem there is any legal means of stopping him short of impeachment.

Continued here…

America’s Tyranny Threshold

By Eileen F. Toplansky, August 19, 2013

As he finishes up his Martha’s Vineyard vacation, Barack Obama would be well-served to recall the fiery words of Jonathan Mayhew, who is famous for his sermons “espousing American rights — the cause of liberty, and the right and duty to resist tyranny.”

Continued here…

And finally, this one. Its subject is one few want to discuss all the while its one that is being discussed more every day.  Is a second American Revolution on the horizon?

Time for a New American Revolution?

By Richard Winchester, August 19, 2013

The United States of America was born in revolution. The Declaration of Independence asserted that people have a right of revolution. According to The Declaration, “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends [such as “life,” “liberty,” “the pursuit of happiness,” and “the consent of the governed”], it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

The Declaration acknowledged that people should not, and will not, seek to overturn “long-established” governments “for light and transient reasons.” After “a long train of abuses and usurpations,” however, which are clearly aimed at establishing “absolute Despotism,” people have not only the “right,” but the “duty,” to “throw off such Government, and provide new guards for their future security.”

The U.S. has not experienced a successful revolution since the one between 1775 and 1783, despite Thomas Jefferson’s hope that “[t]he tree of liberty should be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants.”

Some think it’s time for a new American revolution. Moreover, many of the preconditions for a revolt exist.

Continued here…

One of Levin’s common quotes is that we are living in a post-Constitutional era. In other words, government, at least at the federal level, Congressmen and the Supreme Court no longer follow the constraints of the Constitution. The Obamacare decision forced by Chief Justice Roberts is a prime example of that latter segment of government. There was NO Constitutional basis for his decision. But, with his vote, he joined the liberal Justices and overrode the strenuous objections of the remaining Justices. Roberts followed the liberal diktat that the Constitution is whatever the Court says it is.

That is a lie. Few, however, were reluctant to stand up and say so.

Perhaps one of the best statements of the condition of our government and the accelerating discussion of revolution, is this article by In her article she cites the acts of Obama and the democrats in government that supports Levin’s premise that we no longer have a governing Constitution.

Today’s post as turned into a long one. I’ll close with this from Betsy McCaughey.

King Obama vs. Rule of Law

By on 8.14.13 @ 6:08AM

Have we ever seen such presidential contempt for constitutional principles and our nation’s history?

At an August 9 press conference, President Barack Obama said that when Congress won’t agree to what he wants, he will act alone. That statement, which he has made before, should send shivers through freedom-loving Americans.

The President was asked where he gets the authority to delay the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, even though the law states that the mandate “shall” go into effect January 1, 2014. The Obama administration had announced the delay on July 3, without seeking Congress’s help in changing the law.

In response, Obama said that “in a normal political environment, it would have been easier for me to simply call up the Speaker and say, you know what, this is a tweak that doesn’t go to the essence of the law… so let’s make a technical change to the law. That would be the normal thing that I would prefer to do.” 

But Obama explained that he took a different route because Republicans control the House of Representatives and ardently oppose Obamacare.

Obama’s statement reveals how disconnected this president is from this nation’s history and constitutional principles. Divided government is the norm in the United States. Most modern presidents have had to govern with an uncooperative Congress or at least one house of Congress controlled by the other major party. With the exception of Richard Nixon, these presidents — from Eisenhower, to Reagan, to Clinton, and both Bushes — have not tried to exempt themselves from the Constitution.

Article II, Sec. 3 of the Constitution commands the president to faithfully execute the law.

Courts have consistently ruled that presidents have little discretion about it. President Obama can’t pick and choose what parts of the Affordable Care Act he enforces and when. 
 

The framers duplicated the safeguards their English ancestors had fought hard to win against tyrannical monarchs. Most important, the English Bill of Rights of 1689 barred an executive from suspending the law. 

The tug and pull between the president and an uncooperative Congress is what the framers intended. It’s checks and balances in action. Obama has no patience for this constitutional system. In June 2012, the President announced that he would stop enforcing parts of the nation’s immigration laws, because “We can’t wait” for Congress to offer relief to young illegal immigrants brought into the country by their parents.

Now the President is rewriting the Affordable Care Act. Delaying the employer mandate is not a mere “tweak.” Because individuals will be required to have insurance as of January 1, 2014 or pay a penalty, some ten million currently uninsured or underinsured workers who would have gotten coverage at work under the employer mandate will now have to pay the penalty or go to the exchanges. That means more people enrolling on the exchanges, more dependence on government and a bigger bill for taxpayers. It’s not the law that Congress enacted.

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has urged Congress to vote against any continuing resolution to fund the federal government after September 30, as long as it funds this distorted version of Obamacare.

“Laws are supposed to be made by Congress, not… (by) the president,” Lee explained. If the administration is not prepared to fully enforce Obamacare as enacted, including the employer mandate, it should agree to delay the entire law and remove its funding from the budget.

Sadly most members of Congress are too busy looking out for themselves to stop the president from chipping away at the Constitution. Last week Republicans and Democrats conspired with the president to weasel out of Sect. 1312 of Obamacare, which requires members of Congress to get health coverage on the newly created exchanges. Congress was happy to let the President unconstitutionally give them a special taxpayer funded subsidy that no one else in America earning $174,000 would get.

Such self-dealing brings to mind what Benjamin Franklin warned about, as he and his fellow framers finished writing the Constitution. It’s a republic, said Franklin, “if you can keep it.”

If Congress refuses to use its power to restrain the Executive branch, we then reside in a dictatorship. No one with the ability to enforce constraints is willing to do so and thus participate in the dictatorship.

 

Facebook

There I wuz…

Posted on by

Today will be a short post…unless I get on a roll.  I had an appointment this morning that upset my normal schedule.

Today’s post is a continuation of a theme from earlier this week. A variety of groups are attempting to build a coalition to effect change within the Republican party. Some of these groups are frustrated Ron Paul supporters. Others are local Tea Party groups hoping to expand and consolidate into a viable state-wide organization with a consensus on platform and action-plans. They all are having a rough start. The biggest hurdle I’ve seen is their inability to believe that other conservatives may have legitimate opposing viewpoints.

Case in point. A large conservative social group in Missouri almost dissolved just before the primary this year. The group had been incorporated with rules prohibiting favoritism of one candidate over another. Favoritism could cause tax issues with the IRS. However, one candidate’s followers persisted in pushing their candidate in violation of the rules. The group owner dropped all of the membership and reconstituted as a closed group whose members would abide by the rules.

The election is now over. We lost. Some blame, not all, can be levied towards those who refused to vote for ABO…Anyone but Obama. i.e., Romney. He wasn’t the best candidate and some suspected he may not be as strong a conservative as some of the other ‘Pub candidates. In the end, Romney was the selected ‘Pub candidate and truly, had the only real change of defeating Obama and he did come close.

But not close enough.

Now after the election, various groups and individuals are attempting to reconstitute the people and organizations that won so many seats in 2010. 2014 is coming soon and is very important. We must retain our control of the House and expand our members in the Senate. If that is the goal…and for some, I believe it is not, we must have a united platform and a united organization. That cannot be achieved if we do not follow this rule.

You do not achieve your goals by pissing off those you wish to influence.

It’s a difficult lesson to be learned but learn it we must if we are to achieve our goals—first to control Congress and in 2016 to expand that control with winning the White House. Once we have the political power, we can begin to implement our agenda. It’s a long-term plan with short-term mileposts. The long term is limited government, the repeal of Obamacare, Frank-Dodd and other liberal legislation passed over the last seventy years.

The short term goals can only be achieved by unification. Unifying our groups, our people and laying aside those issues where we do not have consensus. When i bring up these points, I’ve been accused of selling out to the democrats, being in favor of Obamacare, being a tool of the establishment and those are just the more polite labels.

Vilifying the opposition is not a winning plan. Let’s start anew and remember Reagan’s and Goldwater’s rule: Never speak ill of a fellow Republican (Tea Partier, Conservative, etc.) Once we achieve this goal, we can begin to work towards some of those longer term goals.

Facebook

Previews of Coming Attractions

Posted on by
When I was growing up I would go to the Saturday afternoon movies.  The farm families came into town for their weekly shopping. The Capitol Theater was located at one corner of the town square.

It was the Saturday afternoon baby-sitter.

I remember seeing movie serials from the ’30s and ’40s.  I saw the original Gozilla movie there…plus a slew of B-grade westerns.

During every double feature, there was a segment called, “Previews of Coming Attractions.”

Blogging at Crucis’ Court may be a bit light and/or short this week.  My Son-in-law’s brothers are coming to visit. We will be traveling to and fro visiting here and there. It’s the only time this Fall that Mrs. Crucis isn’t tied up with baby-sitting, teaching, or working at The Master’s Closet (closed on Holiday weekends.)

I hope y’all have a very happy, healthy and joyous Holiday!

***

A Kenyan NCAA runner walked out into an Alaskan Blizzard.  He returned 48 hours later suffering hypothermia and severe frostbite.  The frostbite was so severe that both feet had to be amputated.


ANCHORAGE, Alaska | Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:03pm EST

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – A top college runner from Kenya who spent two days lost in an Alaska snowstorm earlier this month had to have both of his feet amputated due to frostbite, the University of Alaska, Anchorage said on Monday.

Marko Cheseto, a two-time NCAA All-American runner, disappeared on November 6 after leaving the university campus during a heavy storm. He walked into a campus hotel more than 48 hours later severely hypothermic and suffering from frostbite.

Both of the 28-year-old star athlete’s feet later had to be amputated because of severe frostbite, the university said.

He didn’t get lost out hunting. Nor was he snowmobiling and have a breakdown. No, it wasn’t any of the reasons we’d expect.

“As some may know, I’ve been going through a lot of personal issues,” the runner said in a statement released through the university.

…
Authorities said they still don’t know why Cheseto walked out into the storm wearing only jeans and a light coat or where he was during the time he was missing.
Well, with both feet gone I doubt he’ll be doing any championship running from this point on.
People do stupid and thoughtless things every day. Usually nothing happens. Occasionally, it can be a “learning” experience. In other times, the stupid acts are deadly examples to others, “Don’t do this!” 
For more examples, go check the Darwin Awards website.
***
A followup to my post yesterday about the Establishment, both left and right, attacks against Newt Gingrich, here’s a column by Cal Thomas that is balanced and puts those attacks in better perspective.

Searching for the perfect candidate

By: Cal Thomas | 11/21/11 8:05 PM
Examiner Columnist
Now it’s Newt’s turn. Having risen to the top in some opinion polls, the former speaker of the House is taking heat for large consulting fees paid to him by the government-sponsored mortgage company Freddie Mac for wisdom a New York Times editorial said was so simplistic it might have come from a fortune cookie.
 As Republican presidential candidates rise, only to fall when their imperfections are brought to light, Republican voters risk disappointment in 2012 by playing the left’s game on their turf and by their rules.

What they must do instead is to protect their “product” at a time when the opportunity to hold President Obama to one term, while taking the Senate and increasing their House majority, has never looked better.

The best candidate would clearly be a composite of the eight still standing: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s business sense and debating skills; Gingrich’s experience in Washington and knowledge of how to tear down the enormous bureaucracy and make government function the way the Founders intended; Herman Cain’s political passion and the added bonus of a conservative African-American; Rep. Ron Paul’s fealty to the Constitution and his call for America to rethink its military role in the world; former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s knowledge of China, which will remain important for decades; the strong moral voice of former Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Michele Bachmann (along with her singular feminine voice) in an age of societal flux; and Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s Southwestern values and evangelical faith.

Unfortunately, Republicans can’t vote for a composite; they’ll have to choose one candidate, hopefully one they won’t come to regret.

At least Thomas isn’t on a vendetta like other writers of the ‘pub establishment.

Back to Newt. That Gingrich took money from Freddie Mac, an agency he now derides, may seem like hypocrisy to some, but not to me. I, for example, think the Department of Agriculture should be closed, though I once worked for them.
I also received a student loan, which I repaid, though I am now critical of how some of the government’s student loan programs are run. I attended public schools, but believe parents ought to be able to send their kids to a private school if it promises to offer a better education. Am I hypocritical?
Gingrich could return his fees to Freddie Mac, but that wouldn’t satisfy his critics. He should only make the offer if some of those top Fannie execs who received fat bonuses also gave them back.
…

By realizing the imperfections in every candidate — and every person — and focusing on the ability of the one who is nominated to do what he promises, Republicans will have a better candidate and the country could have a better (but not perfect) president.

I still haven’t made a selection from the ‘pub candidates.  There are elements I like in Herman Cain. There are elements I like in Newt Gingrich.
I’m still here, tossing a coin.  The MO caucus is coming in 2012. I’ll have to make a decision by then.

Points for the last Monday in November, 2010

Posted on by
The Thanksgiving holiday and weekend is over. Apparently this year’s Black Friday was a success. I contributed to that success but Mrs. Crucis couldn’t find her bargain.

I think because of the Holiday, the “crisis du jour” was absent. The TSA appears to have ducked and many of the body scanner/molestation lines at airports were shutdown late Wednesday. According to the Triple-A, highway traffic was up 16%. Whether this increase was because of the new TSA procedures or if people were traveling in relief from the more recent political season. Likewise, here at the Court, I don’t have a specific topic but a couple of subjects to ponder. Case in point: Kansas City is in mourning today with the news that conservative radio host, Chris Stigall is leaving for a new job in Philadelphia as morning show host at WPHT.

philadelphia.cbslocal.com

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – CBS RADIO’s The Big Talker 1210 AM announced today an enhanced lineup of personality based programs which will begin to rollout on Monday, January 3, 2011. Leading off the day on-air and online at www.CBSPhilly.com will be one of America’s up and coming talk show hosts, Chris Stigall who joins the station from KCMO Talk Radio 710 in Kansas City where he has hosted morning drive since 2006. From 5:30-9:00AM Stigall will discuss local and national policy, the economy, the biggest news stories and issues that affect all Philadelphians, coupled with interviews of the day’s news and decision makers.

Stigall’s last broadcast day in KC is tomorrow, the last day of November, 2010. Mrs. Crucis listened to Stigall every morning. She would get up early and do her daily walk while listening to him. She wasn’t quite in shock because she’s been expecting Stigall to go national at any time. Frankly, I think he’s as good as Michael Savage and some of the other nation-wide radio hosts.

***

I believe the next generation of personal computing is upon us. In this last year there has been a shift—in reading habits. 2010 is the first year that sales of ebooks and digital magazines exceeded that of their dead-tree counter-parts.

I am a reader. I have not willingly tossed any book that I’ve bought in my life. I have lost some. I have had some damaged beyond repair due to water seepage. I have sold some paperbacks to a used book reseller just before our last move.

I mourned each loss.

A decade or so ago, Baen Books created their Free Library.They made books available for downloading in various formats and all free! I downloaded every one. I even kept copies at work and they kept me company many long nights when I was working a call center turn-up or when a network failure occurred and I worked with tech on a conference call to restore service. Like many situations, there would be minutes of intense activity followed by longer period waiting to see if results were successful. Those books help me stay awake and alert.

A few years ago, Amazon released their Kindle e-reader. Amazon was not the first. There have been a number of electronic readers for years. But the appearance of the Kindle started the flood of ebooks. I finally broke down and bought an Aluratek Libre Pro ereader last summer. It was cheap—under $100, and I could afford the investment if it failed to meet my expectations.

It did. I haven’t bought a paper book since. I’ve also saved money. Ebooks are cheaper than paper books. Since I’m now retired (officially,) that is important.

One reason the Aluratek ereader is so cheap is that it uses a LCD screen instead of the more popular eInk or ePaper technology used int he Kindle, KOBO, Nook and SONY ereaders. That technology has a very irritating affect. The page flashes black every time you change a page.

The Alurateks LCD screen also had a very irritating feature. It was dark. I like to read in bed. There’s a single lamp on the night-stand. Reading the Aluratek LCD screen in dim light is a strain. After 10-15 minutes, my eyes would be watering and my vision was strained.

So, I’ve been looking for a replacement—an upgrade. Something with new technology and something that could be used for more that just an electronic book.

As a parting perk on my retirement, I was able to buy an Android-based phone using my employee discount. I fell in love with that phone and the Android operating system. I seldom use my phone for talking. My wife is a texting addict. We text (When did a poor noun become a verb?) each other constantly during the day. Texting has replaced shouting up and down the basement stairs. It is ideal fro short communications that don’t need an immediate response—or any response at all.

The point of all that is that I’ve been looking for an Android based ereader. There are a number of Android based devices just coming on the market. Many are not phones although some, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab will be sold by some major communications carriers like Sprint and have wireless and wifi communication built-into the devices.

These are in the same class as the non-Android iPad but a $100 or so cheaper and will have the advantage of an open source operating system. Just look at the plethora of Android apps available in the marketplace.

B&N has their color Nook that uses an abbreviated version of the Android system, Borders has two versions of Velocity Micro Cruz, a reader and a tablet. Even Amazon is reported to be working on some form of color Kindle although the details are sparse.

When I saw the “Black Friday” ads from Borders and saw the $50 off on the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet, I bought one. I have an internet friend who bought one a couple of weeks ago when they were first available and she had problems. I’ve investigated the device, compared the features with its counterparts from B&N and other providers and the PRICE!

I succumbed to temptation. I bought one on-line. When it arrives, I’ll write up a review.

The upcoming year will produce more tablets or slates as some call them. There is one from HP that will use a version of Windows 7. Dell is due to release a tablet-like device but I’ve not heard what operating system it will use. There are rumors that Apple will do something to reduce the price of its iPad. ASUS, the Taiwan PC hardware manufacturer is releasing a table-like device. You can also cruise through Amazon and see all the tablets available there. Most of them are Android based and all that I’ve investigated have built-in WiFi—as does my phone. (BTW, have you noticed the spread of WiFi hotspots? They’re popping up like toadstools after a storm.)

Google has been pursuing Microsoft and their Android operating system is planned to compete with Windows. Microsoft has become complacent. They haven’t really produced anything that is innovative. Each new release of Windows is just a refinement of the previous version. Google has been smart. Like Linux, they’ve made their operating system open-source. The multitudes of Android apps is testament to Google’s success.

This coming year will be interesting for the personal computer user and the those who just surf the internet. True portable computing has arrived.

Facebook

Points for the last Monday in November, 2010

Posted on by
The Thanksgiving holiday and weekend is over. Apparently this year’s Black Friday was a success. I contributed to that success but Mrs. Crucis couldn’t find her bargain.

I think because of the Holiday, the “crisis du jour” was absent. The TSA appears to have ducked and many of the body scanner/molestation lines at airports were shutdown late Wednesday. According to the Triple-A, highway traffic was up 16%. Whether this increase was because of the new TSA procedures or if people were traveling in relief from the more recent political season. Likewise, here at the Court, I don’t have a specific topic but a couple of subjects to ponder. Case in point: Kansas City is in mourning today with the news that conservative radio host, Chris Stigall is leaving for a new job in Philadelphia as morning show host at WPHT.

philadelphia.cbslocal.com

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – CBS RADIO’s The Big Talker 1210 AM announced today an enhanced lineup of personality based programs which will begin to rollout on Monday, January 3, 2011. Leading off the day on-air and online at www.CBSPhilly.com will be one of America’s up and coming talk show hosts, Chris Stigall who joins the station from KCMO Talk Radio 710 in Kansas City where he has hosted morning drive since 2006. From 5:30-9:00AM Stigall will discuss local and national policy, the economy, the biggest news stories and issues that affect all Philadelphians, coupled with interviews of the day’s news and decision makers.

Stigall’s last broadcast day in KC is tomorrow, the last day of November, 2010. Mrs. Crucis listened to Stigall every morning. She would get up early and do her daily walk while listening to him. She wasn’t quite in shock because she’s been expecting Stigall to go national at any time. Frankly, I think he’s as good as Michael Savage and some of the other nation-wide radio hosts.

***

I believe the next generation of personal computing is upon us. In this last year there has been a shift—in reading habits. 2010 is the first year that sales of ebooks and digital magazines exceeded that of their dead-tree counter-parts.

I am a reader. I have not willingly tossed any book that I’ve bought in my life. I have lost some. I have had some damaged beyond repair due to water seepage. I have sold some paperbacks to a used book reseller just before our last move.

I mourned each loss.

A decade or so ago, Baen Books created their Free Library.They made books available for downloading in various formats and all free! I downloaded every one. I even kept copies at work and they kept me company many long nights when I was working a call center turn-up or when a network failure occurred and I worked with tech on a conference call to restore service. Like many situations, there would be minutes of intense activity followed by longer period waiting to see if results were successful. Those books help me stay awake and alert.

A few years ago, Amazon released their Kindle e-reader. Amazon was not the first. There have been a number of electronic readers for years. But the appearance of the Kindle started the flood of ebooks. I finally broke down and bought an Aluratek Libre Pro ereader last summer. It was cheap—under $100, and I could afford the investment if it failed to meet my expectations.

It did. I haven’t bought a paper book since. I’ve also saved money. Ebooks are cheaper than paper books. Since I’m now retired (officially,) that is important.

One reason the Aluratek ereader is so cheap is that it uses a LCD screen instead of the more popular eInk or ePaper technology used int he Kindle, KOBO, Nook and SONY ereaders. That technology has a very irritating affect. The page flashes black every time you change a page.

The Alurateks LCD screen also had a very irritating feature. It was dark. I like to read in bed. There’s a single lamp on the night-stand. Reading the Aluratek LCD screen in dim light is a strain. After 10-15 minutes, my eyes would be watering and my vision was strained.

So, I’ve been looking for a replacement—an upgrade. Something with new technology and something that could be used for more that just an electronic book.

As a parting perk on my retirement, I was able to buy an Android-based phone using my employee discount. I fell in love with that phone and the Android operating system. I seldom use my phone for talking. My wife is a texting addict. We text (When did a poor noun become a verb?) each other constantly during the day. Texting has replaced shouting up and down the basement stairs. It is ideal fro short communications that don’t need an immediate response—or any response at all.

The point of all that is that I’ve been looking for an Android based ereader. There are a number of Android based devices just coming on the market. Many are not phones although some, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab will be sold by some major communications carriers like Sprint and have wireless and wifi communication built-into the devices.

These are in the same class as the non-Android iPad but a $100 or so cheaper and will have the advantage of an open source operating system. Just look at the plethora of Android apps available in the marketplace.

B&N has their color Nook that uses an abbreviated version of the Android system, Borders has two versions of Velocity Micro Cruz, a reader and a tablet. Even Amazon is reported to be working on some form of color Kindle although the details are sparse.

When I saw the “Black Friday” ads from Borders and saw the $50 off on the Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet, I bought one. I have an internet friend who bought one a couple of weeks ago when they were first available and she had problems. I’ve investigated the device, compared the features with its counterparts from B&N and other providers and the PRICE!

I succumbed to temptation. I bought one on-line. When it arrives, I’ll write up a review.

The upcoming year will produce more tablets or slates as some call them. There is one from HP that will use a version of Windows 7. Dell is due to release a tablet-like device but I’ve not heard what operating system it will use. There are rumors that Apple will do something to reduce the price of its iPad. ASUS, the Taiwan PC hardware manufacturer is releasing a table-like device. You can also cruise through Amazon and see all the tablets available there. Most of them are Android based and all that I’ve investigated have built-in WiFi—as does my phone. (BTW, have you noticed the spread of WiFi hotspots? They’re popping up like toadstools after a storm.)

Google has been pursuing Microsoft and their Android operating system is planned to compete with Windows. Microsoft has become complacent. They haven’t really produced anything that is innovative. Each new release of Windows is just a refinement of the previous version. Google has been smart. Like Linux, they’ve made their operating system open-source. The multitudes of Android apps is testament to Google’s success.

This coming year will be interesting for the personal computer user and the those who just surf the internet. True portable computing has arrived.

Looking towards the future

Posted on by

We’re less than a month away from the nation-wide mid-term elections. All of the House is up for re-election and 1/3rd of the Senate. Expectations and polls favor Conservatives—not Democrats, not Republicans, but Conservatives. It’s a wave of “throw the b*st*rds out!” It originated in the lowest level of the political world and rose up to the Federal level.

There will be changes some January, 2011.

What happens after that? I don’t know. I know there is expectations of managing Obamacare to lessen the damage it is causing (note present tense) if there aren’t enough votes to repeal and overturn Obama’s veto. I expect there will be efforts to rein in the bureaucracy and the malfeasance of the liberal regulators. I expect there will be tax cuts or at least an extension of the existing Bush tax cuts.

It will be a battle.

What beyond this?

Unless Obama resigns, our foreign relations will continue to muddle along getting worse. Our military is declining. The Navy is the smallest since 1916…

The size of the fleet is much smaller. We are the smallest fleet that we have been since 1916, and our responsibilities and our interests are much greater than they were in 1916. The industrial base of the nation, something that I consider to be a strategic asset for a country is very different than it was in the last downturn. The last time we saw the budgets decline, there were six major shipbuilding corporations in the United States. Today, there are two. Our nuclear fleet – in the past would depend on eight major corporations, today there are two. The overhead costs that we experience are a result of a decrease in fleet size and not the commensurate decrease with all the infrastructure that we in the Navy posses. And the cost of operating the Navy, globally, is becoming more expensive.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead Delivers remarks at the Navy League of Denver August 24, 2010

…according to some sources and the Air Force is aging despite upgrades and becoming obsolete compared to what is coming from the EU and Russia. Both are about to produce stealthy aircraft. It will no longer be an American-only technology.

On a security front, I’m becoming to believe we’re more in danger from our southern border than we are overseas. There have been incursions into the US, most recently at Falcon Lake on the US/Mexican border, by drug cartel soldiers and even some in the uniform of the Mexican Army. One incident not long ago had Mexican “uniformed” soldiers firing on Border Patrol agents along the Arizona border. Small arms fire has been aimed toward El Paso from Juarez. There has even been reports of cartel enforcers taking control of ranches on the US side of the border during inter-cartel battles that spilled over from Mexico to the US.

All the while, the Obama government and democrat controlled congress does nothing.

This situation will continue unless the states and their National Guard units take active action. Action that I think will be short lived because Obama and the democrat bureaucracy will block and success.

At some point, the nation will have to act. Stiffening the border, removing the open sieve that it now is, will help. But it will not provide the security needed as long as the cartels control Mexico.

Let’s face it. The Mexican federal government is losing the battle against the cartels. Their Army is useless and has been heavily infiltrated by the cartels. That is why the government side of the battle along the border is being waged by the Mexican Marines! The Army cannot be trusted.

I fear that another war with Mexico is coming. Not so much a war against the government of Mexico, unless there is a total surrender to the cartels, but a war by the US against the cartels and their forces. I believe it will be more than an excursion like that of Pershing in 1914, but, hopefully less than the War with Mexico in 1846 through 1848.

Some have advocated a 200-mile buffer zone from the US border south. A zone that would still be Mexican sovereign territory but under US martial law and enforced by the US military. In many ways, it would be Iraq again after the invasion. That’s the bad part. The good part is that we now know how to handle situations where local elements are active against us and against the local governments. The tactics of the Iraqi Surge will work in Mexico as it did in Iraq.

Regardless, I don’t believe the next few years, nor the next few decades will be a peaceful one. The damage done by the liberals and leftists in our government has been heavy and it will take a long while to overcome—if we have the will.

I pray that we do.