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| Graham Ledger |
Monday, October 20, 2014
OANN: Good News
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The new, upstart One America News Network (OANN) is certainly worth a look -- in my view, an extended look. One could say, painting with a fine brush, that Fox News Network (FNN) owns the conservative message for TV viewers; it is to television what Rush Limbaugh is to radio. Fox has become enormously successful because it has enjoyed the distinction of being the only news and opinion TV outlet for conservative voices. Which is not to say that it is a good or intellectually consistent outlet. The Marxist ruling class (the Institutional Left) may rail against Fox as an instrument of right-wing extremists. And from their perspective it is. From my own it is nothing of the kind. A generation ago Fox would have been seen as politically centrist, and that's how I see it today. *
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Federal Government Lurches Toward End-State Dysfunction
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End-state bureaucracies eventually crumble when four conditions obtain: 1. confusion about or deliberate perversion of mission (purpose, policy); 2. alienation of markets or constituents; 3. ever-expanding maintenance costs; and 4. institutional arrogance that forecloses adaptive change from within.
But even in a clearly moribund and declining state, inertia of scale may prolong their existence for long periods. In these times they are deceptively fragile and unable to survive crises of their own making. That would seem to be the condition of several agencies of the federal government -- State, EPA, Justice, BATFE, Agriculture, Education, DHS and, most recently brought to public attention, CDC.
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| Bloat and Mission Creep |
End-state bureaucracies eventually crumble when four conditions obtain: 1. confusion about or deliberate perversion of mission (purpose, policy); 2. alienation of markets or constituents; 3. ever-expanding maintenance costs; and 4. institutional arrogance that forecloses adaptive change from within.
But even in a clearly moribund and declining state, inertia of scale may prolong their existence for long periods. In these times they are deceptively fragile and unable to survive crises of their own making. That would seem to be the condition of several agencies of the federal government -- State, EPA, Justice, BATFE, Agriculture, Education, DHS and, most recently brought to public attention, CDC.
Dance of the Sugar Plum Glocks
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The Left seems to have convinced themselves that firearms have somehow acquired their own agency. That they have the power to act independently of human beings. Or, as Bob Owens says, in his entertaining article they are believed to have cargo cult properties that -- via magic -- take possession of persons who touch guns and cause them to make murder and mayhem. But I find myself wondering if, instead, gun haters don't bring the "possession" to the gun and not the other way round. Breaking that down, what people often bring to the gun is a combination of fear, hostility and the illusion of superiority. I'll get to that later, but now I want to discuss the simple fear of guns.
The Left seems to have convinced themselves that firearms have somehow acquired their own agency. That they have the power to act independently of human beings. Or, as Bob Owens says, in his entertaining article they are believed to have cargo cult properties that -- via magic -- take possession of persons who touch guns and cause them to make murder and mayhem. But I find myself wondering if, instead, gun haters don't bring the "possession" to the gun and not the other way round. Breaking that down, what people often bring to the gun is a combination of fear, hostility and the illusion of superiority. I'll get to that later, but now I want to discuss the simple fear of guns.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Dealing With ISIS and Other Enemies in the Middle-East
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[Updated on 10/16]
Now, I think, is the time for America to "lead from behind", or follow from the front(?) or essentially continue to do almost nothing. We should arm the Kurds and support them (and only them) from the air with special forces ground support. Not more, beyond playing the role of dishonest broker among the major powers: the Arabs, the Turks and the Persians. About this, more later.
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| Kemal Atatürk |
[Updated on 10/16]
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| Erdoğan and Obama |
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| Keeping in Touch with his friend Rouhani |
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
This Administration Really Is the Most Transparent in History
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Not, perhaps, in the way Mr. Obama intended convey, but transparent none the less. The prime metrics for transparency are consistency and predictability based on past performance. We know what has been done and what will be done. There are no secrets. All actions/initiatives are and will be:
1. Lawless and corrupt
2. Dishonest and unaccountable
3. Totally politicized
4. Anti-capitalist
5. Afro-centric
6. Pro-Islamist
7. Anti-Semitic
In the matter of transparency, what more could we hope for?
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The reader will note that I didn't list incompetence. This is a highly competent administration. Charges of incompetence are generated from within as an instrument of disinformation -- used as an excuse and smokescreen to conceal pernicious intentions and strategies.
Not, perhaps, in the way Mr. Obama intended convey, but transparent none the less. The prime metrics for transparency are consistency and predictability based on past performance. We know what has been done and what will be done. There are no secrets. All actions/initiatives are and will be:
1. Lawless and corrupt
2. Dishonest and unaccountable
3. Totally politicized
4. Anti-capitalist
5. Afro-centric
6. Pro-Islamist
7. Anti-Semitic
In the matter of transparency, what more could we hope for?
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The reader will note that I didn't list incompetence. This is a highly competent administration. Charges of incompetence are generated from within as an instrument of disinformation -- used as an excuse and smokescreen to conceal pernicious intentions and strategies.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Ukraine. Once Again Obama Strikes Fear in the Heart of Vladimir Putin
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Tall tales and humor often have a way of putting human foibles into perspective. Beyond that they may project them upon a larger stage.
I am reminded of an old but instructive yarn. After the passing of years, I may remember it imperfectly, but the gist of the tale remains in tact.
Once upon a time when the old West was being settled there lived a rancher, his wife and two adolescent children. They had staked out and improved a sizable spread of fertile grassland, stocking it with cattle and horses. The rancher had built a sturdy pole house and dug a year-round well that furnished sweet, clean water. The family was happy and self-sufficient.
Tall tales and humor often have a way of putting human foibles into perspective. Beyond that they may project them upon a larger stage.I am reminded of an old but instructive yarn. After the passing of years, I may remember it imperfectly, but the gist of the tale remains in tact.
Once upon a time when the old West was being settled there lived a rancher, his wife and two adolescent children. They had staked out and improved a sizable spread of fertile grassland, stocking it with cattle and horses. The rancher had built a sturdy pole house and dug a year-round well that furnished sweet, clean water. The family was happy and self-sufficient.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Throw the RASCALS Out
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There is a school of thought that advocates turning over federal and state legislatures in a clean sweep. The reasoning, as I understand it, is that there comes a time in the life of a congressman that his loyalties turn from his constituents toward his own and his party's survival. The legislative body follows the model of bureaucracies in which the desire for increased power eventually trumps the mission -- the protection of turf becomes equivalent to the protection of self. There may be some superficial merit to this argument, but until the time arrives when all politicians are certifiably corrupt, there is greater merit in the exercise of prudence.
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| No Honest Man |
There is a school of thought that advocates turning over federal and state legislatures in a clean sweep. The reasoning, as I understand it, is that there comes a time in the life of a congressman that his loyalties turn from his constituents toward his own and his party's survival. The legislative body follows the model of bureaucracies in which the desire for increased power eventually trumps the mission -- the protection of turf becomes equivalent to the protection of self. There may be some superficial merit to this argument, but until the time arrives when all politicians are certifiably corrupt, there is greater merit in the exercise of prudence.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Open Inquiry to Republican Leadership. And Their Response
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Honorable members of Congress and of the RNC. I beg your indulgence to consider a scenario and solicit your reaction to it. While, on its face, it may seem frivolous or even silly, it raises questions that I think have serious implications regarding our political precepts.
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| Neighbors |
Honorable members of Congress and of the RNC. I beg your indulgence to consider a scenario and solicit your reaction to it. While, on its face, it may seem frivolous or even silly, it raises questions that I think have serious implications regarding our political precepts.
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