Man, I admire this man for a lot of reasons. He is about as responsible as they come, isn’t he?
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/Library-Waives-Fee-for-Sullys-Waterlogged-Book.html
Technorati Tags: Heroes
Friday, August 21, 2009
Seattle Police Make Arrest in 25 Year Old Case
From Seattle PI Crime Blog writer Casey McNerthney: –( Link)
A 50-year-old man was arrested Friday for an August 1984 cold case that was reopened three years ago, police said.
Gracey, a retired furrier seamstress lived alone in the house and was found in her bed by three neighbors who entered the house after their calls went unanswered.
Officers said DNA linked the suspect to the crime earlier this year. Seattle Police Det. Mike Ciesynski told the Seattle Times the man arrested was Gracey's neighbor and his mother was a friend of the victim.
Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel acknowledged the Times article but would not elaborate on the case. Officers said the suspect was arrested at police headquarters.
Gracey's son, Gilbert Bagley, told the P-I in 1984 his mother had been concerned about prowlers and had been burglarized once before. Bagley, who lived in Spokane, died April 26.
Read the 1984 report here.
McNerthney and his colleagues at the Seattle PI Blogs are part of one of the first online-only efforts, and thus far the results have been very good – according to this article in the New York Times:
“Industry analysts called it a long-shot experiment, but Seattle PI.com has kept most of the reader traffic it had as a newspaper site. Hearst will not say whether it makes money, but it says that audience and revenue are ahead of projection.” (Seattle Times Resurgent as Solo Act) The reference is in an article primarily outlining the great financial results of the Seattle Times, since the PI print version was halted.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Queen Anne Architectural Gem is Offered
If you are interested in architecture check out the article posted below. If you are interested in Andrew Willatsen, responsible for bringing the Prairie Style of Frank Lloyd to Seattle. One of the rare Willatsen homes in Queen Anne is the Tracy Strong home on Bigelow.
If you’re interested in the personal history of the home – the experiences and stories about the lives lived there, the extensive restoration by Caty Burt, the recent visit of Tracy Strong Junior, the son of the man that built the home in 1921. At 93, he clearly recalled many things about the house and the neighborhood, even though he was six at the time.
There are several other interesting items about the property in this article in the Queen Anne News. You can read the story here.
Any questions, ask me, I am an expert on this home. It’s my family’s home! And for those who are interested, but not interested enough to click on the link:
8/19/2009 3:52:00 PM
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Historic Hilltop gem goes on the market, The Strong House boasts architectural legacy
‘a simple yet stately family home in the Prairie style’
Jennifer Rice
Special to the News
Technorati Tags: Queen Anne Hill Seattle,Andrew Willatsen. Seattle home architecture,notable Seattle houses,Seattle Real Estate
One of the best things about living in Queen Anne is discovering and rediscovering this neighborhood's hidden gems. The quaint staircases, unique restaurants and abundant parks are all part of what make Queen Anne unique. But the plethora of historic houses residents can enjoy while walking the Hill's charming streets are perhaps the largest contributor to Queen Anne's allure.
A stroll around the "crown of Queen Anne" will take you past dozens of stately mansions, adorable bungalows and, unfortunately, the empty plot of land where the Black House once stood. The Black House at 222 W. Highland Drive, designed by Northwest Prairie-style architect Andrew Willatsen (1876-1974), was torn down amid controversy in 2004. But if you continue walking around the "Crown," across Queen Anne Avenue, over to 1622 Bigelow Ave. N., you will pass a lesser-known historic hidden gem designed by that same architect that still stands intact. Known as the Tracy Strong House, it's been lovingly restored - and enjoyed by only three families over the past 90 years.
The Tracy Strong House, designed by Willatsen and built between 1921 and 1922, is currently owned by the Burt family. Willatsen was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright and a major contributor to the development of progressive architecture in the Northwest. He and his partner Francis Barry Byrne are often credited with bringing the Prairie Style to Seattle more than 30 years before Wright's first Northwest commission.
The Burt Family plans to put this home on the market and will host an open house on Sunday, Aug. 23. Open houses and house tours are like "candy" for the closeted architecture fan. It's a rare treat to experience, even if only for a moment, what it's like inside a historic architectural treasure like this one. It's even rarer to hear first-hand what it was like living inside the home almost 90 years earlier. This past June the Burt family got an unbelievable surprise when the original owner's 93-year-old son, Tracy Strong Jr., returned to Seattle for a visit. He spent time with the Burt family and showered them with fascinating tales of what his childhood was like living inside their home long before the Great Depression.
Caty Burt remembers, "It was such a special afternoon and I will never ever forget it. It felt like travelling back in time, and I couldn't believe how much he remembered and how detailed he was about what this street was like in the 1920s. He talked about playing on Bigelow's empty lots, walking to the old John Hay School, and sitting on the front porch for his daily dose of castor oil and orange juice. He told me he still can't tolerate orange juice to this day!
"My kids really enjoyed hearing about the gigantic outdoor Christmas tree they decorated each year. He said it was so big you could see it from Capitol Hill - and even downtown!"
It's hard to imagine Bigelow Avenue with empty lots, but that's just how Tracy Strong Jr. remembers it. And back then a good portion of the land surrounding 1622 Bigelow Ave. was owned by his grandfather, Sidney Dix Strong. Sidney Dix Strong was an outspoken community leader who served as minister to the Queen Anne Congregational Church. His son, Tracy Strong Sr., commissioned local architect Willatsen to build a simple yet stately family home in the Prairie style that took advantage of the site's spectacular view. Tracy Sr. was a social reformer and child welfare advocate. He was responsible for the YMCA's boys' programs, Camp Orkilla, and he went on to become general director of the world YMCA in Geneva, Switzerland. Later career highlights include amnesty work for war prisoners and displaced European families from World War II.
Tracy Strong Sr.'s sister, Anna Louise Strong, was an outspoken activist, local and national journalist, and an elected school board member (who was later recalled due to distrust of her progressive ideals). A prolific writer, Anna Louise maintained friendships with many notable persons, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Leon Trotsky, Lincoln Steffens and Upton Sinclair. Her many books are still available today in the Seattle Public Library. The Andrew Willatsen archives and historical documentation on the Tracy Strong House are available in the University of Washington Special Collections. Inquiries on the sale of this home should go to Randie Nelson at Windermere
Queen Anne resident Jennifer Rice owns up to being a "closeted" architecture fan.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated – Pretty Easily, It Turns Out
An interesting article was published online in a forensic journal indicating that DNA evidence can be manufactured even without any blood or tissue from the targeting profile.
The implications for courtrooms is hard to overstate, and in fact the authors of the study are associated with a Tel Aviv genetics lab that is marketing a means for forensics labs to distinguish between faked and genuine samples. The company, Nucleix uses a molecular technique that allows technicians to tell if a sample has been fabricated. The technique relies on the fact that amplified DNA — which would be used in either deception — is not methylated, meaning it lacks certain molecules that are attached to the DNA at specific points, usually to inactivate genes.
Abstract for FSI Genetics Article
NY Times Article by Andrew Pollack
Of course, as DNA has become more and more commonly used, and in general it has been regarded as being impossible to fake – and unlikely to be mistaken – it has taken on a huge and pivotal role in adjudicating guilt or innocence in criminal cases. How many cases in the future will end with reasonable doubt because the results might possibly have been faked? Absent some system such as that offered by Nucleix, I think there is the potential for a lot of them, to say nothing of the appeals of existing cases.
I’m going to be looking for more on this topic – especially to hear if other scientists agree with the Nucleix folks about how easy it would be to fake evidence. Stay tuned.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Seahawks Win First Preseason Game
Preseason is not a time to think much about wins and losses, and early preseason games don’t give me too much of an idea how the team that ultimately opens the regular year is going to look and play by then. There were a couple things that I thought were encouraging in tonight’s preseason opener in San Diego, won 20-14 by the Hawks in Jim Mora’s first game as the new head coach.
First, there were no injuries to note. After the last couple of seasons in particular, when guys seemed to go on the injury lists just getting from their cars into the practice facility, it was great to get through a game (albeit one in which almost every starter either didn’t play, or did a quick ole and hit the showers) without any injuries. It may be just an easy and coincidental observation that a number of players commented in various ways about how ‘fit’ they felt already. Could it be that Mora’s focus on conditioning and physical play is already paying some dividends in the form of fewer injuries? If so, will it continue throughout the year? If it is just a coincidence will it please continue all year, Oh Grand Pigskin Deity?
Second, the Charger’s first offensive play from scrimmage was a Seahawk sack of Philip Rivers, and it set a nice tone for the Seahawks defense, which looked to me to be quick, physical and it seemed to me that a lot of the defensive play was occurring at the line of scrimmage, not so much with four to six guys converging to smother a runner three or four or five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. I think every Seahawk fan would love to see a defensive front that contested the play at the line of scrimmage, and we saw that a lot tonight.
The Hawks ran the ball often tonight, and though the average gain was unimpressive, it was a clear sign of the new philosophy at work when the Hawks ran the ball thirty-three times and threw it only thirty-five. The new blocking approach hasn’t gelled yet, clearly, but it will be fun to see what this team can do with a tough defense and a commitment to running the ball, and doing it well. Overall, it was a nice start to the new era – essentially meaningless I know, but despite that , I admit that I found myself revving up a bit. Could be that I sensed some encouraging elements in the Hawks play, or schemes, or philosophy, or, I suppose it could just be that the NFL is back and I LOVE that every year just a little more than the year before.
I will admit that I did miss the sight of Mike Holmgren, and the potential – Vesuvian as well as mad scientist-like that always seemed to be simmering just beneath the surface. I enjoyed hearing that Mora is just as committed to accountability as Holmgren was, but according to one of the players where Coach Holmgren might see something he didn’t like on the field and go Krakatoa on a player, Mora’s style relies more on visual aids (unless you count volume, an impossibly bright red face and a glare so intense it could be used for welding). He tends to run video of a play, stop the video and make it clear that he didn’t want to see that type of thing (be it bad technique, missed reads, sloppiness, whatever) again. In some ways I’d say that approach is even more directly calling a player out than the red-faced tongue lashing. When done with film and slow-motion replying of the play, Mora makes his point, and uses the entire team to hold the player (and by extension every other guy who might need to learn from the error he’s shown) accountable. It is a different approach, but it doesn’t sound like a soft one to me. And the knock on Mora (probably from idiots like me) has often been that he’s a ‘player’s coach’. The implication in that remark is that the coach is soft and doesn’t hold his players accountable. I don’t know that this description fits Mora, or if it ever has in this sense. But if the tone I’ve heard from his players continues, and his means of holding himself, his coaches and his players accountable is in fact similar to what the players have described, I think Coach Mora will put paid to this particular vague and uncertain ‘knock’ on him pretty quickly.
(I think no matter how well any coach does for the Hawks, I will always miss Coach Holmgren much as I still miss Lou Piniella after all these years…)
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Footnote to a Nice Little August Mariners Win
Seattle managed to salvage a win today in the fourth game of a four-game series with the Yankees at Safeco field. Rookie pitcher Doug Fister earned his first major league win with seven innings of three-run ball and the great control (no walks) he’s shown in his minor league career.
If you’re looking for signs of encouragement about the new Mariners brain trust, players…well, just about every tangible and intangible thing you can call to mind or spreadsheet is loaded with such signs. Are the Mariners developing talent better than in recent years? YES. Evaluating talent better? YES. Managing on the field better? YES. Showing better defense, situational batting (getting the bunt down, hitting it to the right side, working counts deeper)…YES. In so many of the ways baseball teams, players and front offices are apt to be evaluated and compared to give fans an idea of whether the team is getting better, the data is showing not just progress but significant progress. With the exception of offensive production, this is a team that has done a whole helluva a lot right since this time last year, starting with the hire of Jack Zduriencik, Don Wakamatsu and their respective staffs, and going right down to the players commitment to hard work, winning attitude and a great clubhouse cohesiveness. Pitching has been outstanding and the club defense has been brilliant.
Perhaps the best quick indicator of just how far this team has come in one year, is the little footnote to which I refer in the header. I witnessed win number 61 last season on the season’s final day, in a stadium full of freakish ‘local’ mascots, kids trying to figure out what sort of super hero mascot these oddballs were, and where the few people watching baseball were rooting for the Ms to lose the game in hopes of securing the top pick in the baseball draft. Alas, the Mariners won number 61, avoiding the first overall pick, my kids were able to figure out only 17 of the 20 mascots (even AFTER we read the descriptions in the program). This season, though the playoffs are a long shot for the Ms, the team won the 61st game more than a month earlier than last year, and the winning pitcher was rookie Doug Fister just one of the many stories that have made this season exciting and encouraging. Baseball is fun again in Seattle, and anyone who isn’t encouraged about the direction of the club is plain and simply and Eor (and couldn’t they have got Eor from Winnie the Pooh for mascot day last year, instead of recyclable burlap sandwich bag man, just as an example?).
I can’t wait to see how this season plays out, and I find myself calmly expecting great things from this organization over the next few years. Yep, here in Seattle, with our own Mariners.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Seattle Tries Unusual Drug Strategy
Last week, Seattle Police contact a group of small-volume drug dealers. The cops had plenty of evidence to successfully prosecute the dealers, but the contact didn’t include arrests. Instead, the repeat offenders and known small-volume dealers were invited to a community meeting. That’s right, they were invited to a community meeting, and no arrests were made. Instead, Seattle police and county prosecutors held a community drug impact meeting and asked the dealers to remain after the public meeting broke up. In a nearly unique approach (I know of only one other example, in North Carolina, where it has worked well for a couple years now by all accounts), the law enforcement officials outlined for the dealers what they were proposing. The deal: you guys quit dealing now, and we will not prosecute you.
Eighteen dealers attended the meeting and it sounds more like a Rotary meeting than a get-together of drug dealers. City Attorney Tom Car said that the attendees were networking, getting contact information from each other, police and county prosecutors. “They were in a kind of shock”, he said, and the frustrations that police have had with constantly re-arresting the same small-volume guys seemed at times to be a kind of drug-dealer Whack'-a-mole.
The attendees were informed of the evidence against them, but were told that if they stopped the dealing now, they would not be prosecuted. Police are not making the same offer to big-time drug sources, but for the small-volume guys it amounts to one free pass. The community presence at the first part of the meeting serves a purpose as well: it lets the dealers know that the community has tired of their activity and will not be so ready to look the other way in the future. It is a type of peer pressure that seemed to make an impression. Police also provided drug treatment counselors and resources after the meeting in an effort to make it as easy as possible for the small-volume dealers to make a break with their past.
If the project is successful in the Central District indications are that it will be rolled out in other parts of Seattle. The real question is, how long will this work? So far, it has worked for a couple years in North Carolina. Seattle is yet to be determined.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Don’t be Afraid to See What You See*
I’ve always thought that this brief sentence was profound. So many times we are afraid to see things as they really are, whether because of fears, ideology, embarrassment,whatever. What is really happening will go ahead and happen whether we acknowledge it or not, and sometimes the consequences of avoiding or ignoring what is happening can be pretty serious. An example: Well, most people who have heart attacks don’t acknowledge that they are having a heart attack. Perhaps they are afraid of dying, or afraid that it will be embarrassing if they call an ambulance but turn out to just have gas. I’m sure there are myriad reasons why we don’t acknowledge the reality that we are having a heart attack,but the reality is that about half of us deny that little voice inside us when it says “You’re having a heart attack.” This advice, taken to heart and applied just to heart attacks would save thousands of lives each year.
In a more ethereal, but no less important way, it is impossible to achieve deep personal emotional development without accepting this simple idea. Psychologists understand that we are only able to fully develop as people, parents, artists, athletes, leaders, etc, if we are willing to look at ourselves and accept the truth of what we see. Introspection is the essential ingredient in personal development, and in achieving our potential in most every activity or role we play in life. Without the willingness to ‘see what we see’; to examine our actions, motivations, beliefs and desires, we simply cannot adapt them, or adapt our behaviors to achieve better results or deeper fulfillment, happiness, etc.
I believe that most of the time, we know what our failings and shortcomings are, just as we know most of the things we need to do to accomplish the things we desire. Sometimes we choose to acknowledge these, and we are able to improve upon them and achieve, or find deeper personal fulfillment. To a large extent the role of a therapist, coach, clergyman, etc., is to facilitate in us a greater level of introspection. I know that they also provide information that helps in our development (dribble the ball with your fingertips, for example), but a large part of what they do is help us to face our fears and see what we see.
“Accept the things to which fate binds you… Love the people with whom fate brings you together…do so with all your heart.” ---Marcus Aurelius
*-I am only giving attribution for the quote here at the end because I wanted to avoid the extraneous prejudices and resulting sidetracking of the idea that various opinions of the person to whom this quote is attributed would have caused. The quote is attributed to Ronald Reagan.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Mariners Option Vargas, Call Up Fister
I’m looking forward to seeing Doug Fister, called up from the Rainiers today, in his first Mariners start on Tuesday. He’s done okay at Tacoma and I think he will do better in Seattle than in AAA. Why? He has great control, and with friendly confines at the Safe, and the outstanding defense the Mariners field, I think he’ll benefit. Add to it that he’s 6-8, and that it will be the first time any big-leaguers will have seen him, and I think he’ll do well the rest of the season. Hope so, anyway.
I feel badly for Jason Vargas, but with an ERA over ten since the All-Star break, and winless since June, the M’s couldn’t give him more time to get back on track with the big club. And, truth be told, since he relies so much on his changeup, I’m not sure he’d have done much better now that he’s been seen and scouted by most teams. His change doesn’t come in nine flavors like Jamie Moyer’s…
And finally, I wonder if anyone but lame bloggers will actually use the naughty headline that I bet occurs to many when they see Fister has been called up…hint: replace ‘er’ with ‘ed’.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Not All Men are Created Equal
Sergeant Seth Howard of the 3rd Battalion, Third Special Forces proves that in battle, one man can do the impossible in defense of his brothers at arms. Don’t miss this story, whether in the more restrained Army Times article Ten Soldier Receive Silver Star, or in the perfectly awed Badass of the Week article. Here is a real life hero, and an amazingly resourceful, personally courageous and incredibly loyal soldier. Thank you for your service 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces.
And thank you Sergeant Howard for making sure the men in your unit made it home.
Technorati Tags: Special Forces,badass,Silver Star,Afghanistan war,Sergeant Howard,Green Berets,heroism
Sunday, August 02, 2009
How Stuff Works: Near Death Experiences
I find the NDE research fascinating – perhaps the point at which science cannot prove that there is no consciousness independent of the brain, and at which faith cannot prove that the experiences are other than chemical and electrical phenomena:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-life-after-death.htm
Friday, July 31, 2009
Mariners Active at the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline
In some ways the Mariners made it easier on GM Jack Zduriencik with blowout losses to Cleveland in three straight home games, plus the first game of the Toronto series. Now 8 games back, the team had given the GM an out if he decided to become a ‘seller’ – to trade mature talent on the team for prospects or young players with good upside, and build for the future.
That’s not what has happened, though. Zduriencik managed to improve the team for next year while at the same time coming very near to holding his own for this season. First, he managed to pick up Jack Wilson from the Pirates, where he’s been an excellent fielding shortstop with respectable offensive production to boot. Much as I like Ronnie Cedeno (his attitude and effort, but not so much the batting average that makes the Mendoza line seem lofty), the player Zduriencik traded along with three lower minor league pitchers and Jeff Clement, Wilson is a better shortstop and a career .270 hitter, and will make the M’s better when he walks on the diamond. From the Mariners point of view, Clement has been a man without a home since he injured his knee and Adam Moore’s star has risen as the M’s catcher of the future.
He has moved Betancourt – an undisciplined player at the plate and in the field – as well as Vladimir Balentien, who has yet to become the sort of hitter the Mariners had hoped for, and certainly not the sort that justifies keeping his mediocre-at-best glove in the lineup. And when he traded Washburn – knowing that even if Wash wanted to re-sign, with Scot Boas as his agent it is likely he’d still go on the market as a free agent – he managed to bring in both an excellent pitching prospect for the future and a good pitcher to step into the rotation and burn some innings this season.
In every trade thus far, the Mariners new GM has managed to both improve the club for the future AND keep the team competitive this season. And, though I hate to pile on, beat a dead horse, etc., I am compelled to point out that the Mariners prior GM seldom managed to do either – let alone both.
Mariners Players Traded Players Received
Jarrod Washburn Luke French
Mauricio Robles
Vladimir Balentien Robert Manuel
Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement, Jack Wilson
Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, Ian Snell
Nathan Adcock
Isn’t it refreshing to feel that the team is getting better for the future, and still competitive for today?
Technorati Tags: Seattle Mariners,baseball,Mariners trades,Jack Zduriencik,Jarrod Washburn,Jack Wilson,Luke French
Monday, July 27, 2009
CDC Recommendations for antiviral treatment of people already infected with H1N1 Swine Flu
With Swine Flu cases continuing to surprise epidemiologists by spreading during the normally dormant summer months, no one is quite sure what to expect this fall. Will the disease re-emerge from a host population in a more virulent form that lodges deeper in the respiratory tract, as the more deadly pandemic flu strains of the past century have done, or is it simply mutating in minor steps while in circulation during this abnormal summer pattern? There is substantial debate, and some experts are definitely concerned about what the fall may bring. With that in mind, I thought I’d offer this bit of information about treatments for people already infected with H1N1.
Why the Slippery Slope Argument is Not Always Wrong
For years we’ve heard the sneering directed at the ‘slippery slope’ argument made by the NRA that they must contend every perceived infringement of what they view as a Second Amendment guarantee of the right to keep and bear arms or the first chink in the armor would simply be a beachhead to further restrictions and ultimately to a complete elimination of the private gun ownership. Pragmatists have often argued that the NRA could make minor concessions in situations where the perceived infringement of gun rights were in the public good and would not harm legal gun owners. This slippery slope view was a constant source of derision by many, who saw it as a silly and inflexible argument – a revealing sign that the NRA was extreme and unwilling to be reasonable in the gun debate.
Over the last few years I have begun to wonder if the slippery slope was, after all, more prescient as an analysis than I’d thought. When the governments at all levels began to take action against smoking to protect people who were being exposed to second-hand smoke, that seemed a good and proper thing. It was harmful to them, in whatever degree, and it seemed appropriate to ensure that people who did not wish to be exposed to smoke would not be forced to do so in public places. Next, however, we began to see specific taxes directed at penalizing people who smoked and I began to wonder “Who gets to decide which behaviors our society will target, and restrict the individual right to eat, drink, drive, smoke, exercise or not exercise, etc., as he or she sees fit. Where does the public or government point of view begin to supersede the individual person’s choices for their own behavior and lifestyle? Who gets to decide what free citizens are allowed to do with their own bodies?
Well, the answers are beginning to seem to me to argue that the slippery slope view was more correct than I had believed. Legislatures have begun debating financial penalties (read: new taxes), criminal penalties and product restrictions when those government elements reach a decision that those substances, behaviors or activities are ‘wrong’ or ‘harmful’.
Should Big Macs be taxed at say, $5 a piece, because too many will promote obesity and heart disease? How about Twinkies? Or perhaps just the deep fried Twinkies at the fair? Obesity? Should we refuse to provide expensive treatment for adult-onset diabetes because a person’s behavior contributes to the contraction of the disease? Should we ban advertising for foods or other products that some legislator or mayor or governor thinks adversely affects this amorphous ‘public good’? Some argue that the tax would be a constant reminder to people that what they were buying wasn’t ‘good for them’. Maybe I should be allowed three days in a county jail to re-think my choices if I don’t document that I got at least twenty minutes of aerobic exercise three times each week. After all, exercise is good, right? And if I don’t do it then it would clearly be in my best interests to do whatever is needed to ‘help’ me do what is best for me. What if, like dear old Dom Delouise, food makes one happy? Perhaps we should amend the Declaration to say “the pursuit of happiness (if said pursuit includes only behaviors which are deemed ‘healthy’ by appropriate authorities). Even if a person is making poor choices, is it the role of government to intervene? Should we be made to buy food with cards that track the items we buy and refuse to allow us to go over some caloric, or fat content value that has been determined by the government? Or maybe we should create devices to attach to the naughty bits and be required to gain approval before engaging in ‘adult behavior’ with a partner. That way, if both partners didn’t have recent and approved STD results on file, a jolt (note that I am assuming an unpleasant and deterrent jolt) would be issued to the bits of the party not approved for whatever form of intimate congress. In fact, when you think about it, things that were far-fetched a decade ago are actually being considered now. Is that not a slippery slope? Perhaps we could put controls on the car that refuse to start the vehicle if the person in the drivers seat hasn’t had a minimum of six hours of REM or deeper sleep – that would end the scourge of drowsy driving, right?
I could go on and on, and looking up I think I have. But I am definitely beginning to wonder if the slippery slope is in fact the best logical argument for the incredibly rapidly expanding intrusion of government into personal, private lives and choices. What worries me more and more each day are these questions, and the variety of proposals I am reading and hearing about almost every day on the news:
- Who decides what is best for me? When the city/county/state/federal government needs new tax revenues will they come up with a new way to ‘help’ me and all Americans by taxing me – say a 50% excise tax on processed meats, which would help me to avoid the hot dog at the baseball game, or fund the latest underfunded stimulus package item? Isn’t it a public service when I am stupid and self-destructive with a Hebrew National in one hand and a Red Hook in the other at the ballpark? Taxing me for that behavior, rather than putting me in the corner to “think about what I have done”…is that responsible parenting by my new parent government entities of all levels?
“Thank you sir, may I have another?”
- What means are appropriate to ‘help’ me do what is best for me? Taxes? Fines? Jail time? Public humiliation (a la prostitute patrons whose names are published)?
- What if I am not instilling properly healthful habits in my kids? Say junior comes in at 20 pounds overweight, should the tax deduction I get for him be withdrawn? Or maybe we should both have to take classes on parenting and growing up appropriately?
- Am I crazy in wondering if this sort of tax-the-behavior-that- costs-money-in-health-care reasoning might one day lead to taxing people who reproduce if they have genes that increase the risk of increasing health care costs?
- If in fact, research proves that caloric restriction over a lifespan not only extends life expectancy meaningfully, but reduces health care costs as well, would it be reasonable for government to restrict calories? Or tax overeating even when it did not produce overweight? Or might we want to then encourage overeating so that we wouldn’t have the costs of people living longer?
The slippery slope reasoning seems to be a slippery slope itself, and I have now officially given myself a headache. Which makes me wonder: might we tax blogs that cause stress, headache, anger, irritation or anxiety? After all, those things all drive up health care costs.
As always, the problem with regulation is less about the idea of regulating, and much more about who does it, how they do it and what means are allowed. I would once have thought these things stupid and extreme thoughts. But then, they weren’t in the Congressional Record and every major newspaper then. I disliked the Nanny State talk almost as much as the slippery slope argument – thinking them sort of paranoid. The events of recent years are making me wonder whether the folks warning about both have been on to something all along.
Links:
Plain drinks are fine, all that flavored stuff is wrong, wrong, wrong.
http://www.freemarketproject.org/articles/2009/20090527121042.aspx
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/Content/Article.aspx?rsrcid=49658
(Do a couple of quick Google searches and you’ll be amazed at how many proposals there are right now. I was.)
PS---Isn’t this the same sort of argument that was made early in the AIDS epidemic? Didn’t we hear that money shouldn’t be wasted finding cures for a disease that people ‘brought on themselves’?
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Perhaps Darwin was Wrong…
If you like, watch all the comments in this video, they are a hoot. But please don’t miss the first speaker. I’d be happy to send a buck to the first person who can come up with any reasonable explanation of her comments. And all you slave-holders back east? We’re on to you now!
A Bad Economy, Complex Problems, Plummeting Polls
President Bush only had high numbers when the nation was rallying after attack. President Obama has managed to get less than six months into his first term before his numbers dropped below fifty percent. I wonder if a President will ever again have high approval for more than a fraction of his term? Why doesn’t anyone care that Congress has ratings far lower than either President? Can anyone govern in the polarized polling environment today? How is anyone supposed to lead when difficult responses to no-win situations are called for? It doesn’t matter all that much what the response is, there will soon be polls showing that most of us don’t like it. I can see why kings and emperors often justified themselves as having only one seal of approval- the Divine approval. Having to lead our society in this time with polls thrice a day and hoards parsing every word to catch one in a faux pas…man, who would WANT to be President now?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday at the Open Championship
The weather has indeed changed today, with some overnight moisture and winds picking up a bit (but not bad by Scottish standards). This has pushed back against the driving average distances and accuracy with more fairways missed and the average drive about 15 yards shorter. Steve Marino has moved into the lead at six under while Miguel Angel Jimenez has dropped back to –3. Tom Watson was at one point +5 for his round today, but has since birdied numbers 9, 11 and 16 to get back to just one over for his round through 16 and one off the leader at –4 for the tournament. Mark O’Meara blew up to a +7 score today, but may still make the cut at +4 for the tournament. Mark Calcavecchia is –1 for the day and –4 for the tournament in a tie for second with Tom Watson. So, some of the over 40 crowd came back to earth on Day 2, but at least a couple are still at the top of the board. Oh, and Daly? He’s +2 for the day, even par for the tournament so it looks like he’ll be around for the weekend.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Watson Turns Back the Clock
At age 59, and some 32 years after his victory at the Turnberry course, Tom Watson shot a five under par 65 to set the pace today at the Open Championships. With a number of players still on the course, it is possible that there will be a lower total posted for the day, but probably not a more memorable round. Watson played nearly flawlessly in his opening round, with five birdies, thirteen pars and no bogies. Watson hit twelve of fourteen fairways, fifteen of eighteen greens in regulation and putted well, requiring just one putt on eight greens and two putts on ten greens. In fact, Watson compared favorably with the field to this point (3:30 PM British Summer Time) in nearly every category:
this player field average
driving distance (yards)
299 287.92
fairways hit
12 /14 8.68 / 14
greens in regulation (gir)
15 1.65
putts per round
28 30.86
sand saves
0 / 1 0.52 / 1.02
I do enjoy it when older players in any sport shake off the effects of age and even for a while return to the form they held in younger days:
- Nolan Ryan throwing his seventh no-hitter - and striking out sixteen batters - on fan appreciation night at age 44 (just one year after throwing his sixth no-hitter)
- Jimmy Connors run to the US Open semifinals at the age of 39. On his birthday, he defeated 24-year-old Aaron Krickstein, coming back from a 2–5 deficit in the final set before finally bowing in a semifinal to the reigning French Open champion, Jim Courier.
- Jack Nicklaus’s sixth win at the Masters (at age 46) came with a great late charge and is symbolized by an amazing shot at the par three sixteenth. After hitting the ball, Nicklaus quickly bent over to pick up his tee, and never did watch the ball in flight. His son, caddying for Nicklaus, uttered an encouragement for the ball to “be good” – to which his father replied, “It is.”
- Hale Irwin wining the US Open at 45.
- John Elway finally getting that Super Bowl win at age 38
- Jamie Moyer helping the Phillies in their run to the playoffs and World Series at age 45
There are many more, and I do love it when the athletes who are past their physical prime manage to set aside the effects of age for a time and give us a memorable round, or run, or even sometimes that big win or no-hitter. There’s something affirming in these feats that seems to say that we all might have our best within us yet, no matter our age. And who doesn’t want to be reminder of that, now and then?
To follow the Open Championship Leaderboard go here: 2009 Open Championship Turnberry Leaderboard
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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Sunshine on Discovery Bay
As always, the photos we use are either my own, or in the public domain. Please let me know if there are any errors and I'll correct them immediately.
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