J7Wise

Connections I

Where I live in Southern California, we often have skies so boring that most people don't look up much. Partly it's smog, and everybody knows about that. Sometimes it's smoke from brushfires, which everybody also probably knows about. At other times, we have clear skies but cloudless, and again, why look up?

On the other hand, over the last several years, I've noticed something strange. Southern California skies are starting to become more interesting. Take the shot above. I took that with my G1 cell phone at about 7:50 a.m. in January, 2009. It is not a typical sky around here!

What's happening? What's the connection?

10 Reasons to Stop Listening to ALL Talk Radio in America

I think I'm ready to stop listening to the so-called "marketplace of ideas" that passes for political Talk Radio in America.  I am both disheartened that I have to say it, and elated that I finally see the truth.

The truth is NOBODY HAS ANYTHING TO SAY that's worth hearing.  Both sides of an issue wrap themselves in ideological hides that mesmerize themselves into not having to think, all the while berating the other side for doing the same thing.

There are only two arguments.  One is "I'm right, and You're an idiot" and the other "They're wrong, and I'm right."  Furthermore, the only thing they both say about the other that's true has to do with blindly following the marching orders of the "leading voices" for their sides.  Both sides often refer to this as somebody drinking the Kool-Aid as he/she parrots a talking point or two.

Particles and Waves in Real Life

One of the most compelling scientific theories also has application in the philosophies of other things...
Stay tuned.

Beware the True Believers!

We've all heard the fallout from the mind-numbing Liberal/Conservative debate.  Both sides have been perceived to hold, at one time or another, the dominant position in our society.  And yet we've come to a point in time in which this "debate" no longer describes the divisions.  Our labels have been used and abused for too long, and we must, therefore, look elsewhere to lay out the field.

Fundamentally, the debate is not between Conservatives and Liberals anymore.  The debate now is between True Believers and True Doubters.  These fringe elements occupy opposite ends of the same continuum.  The Rational Majority, the other group on this continuum, is stuck in the region between the warring camps at the fringes.

What Can We Learn - and Have We?

Doctrine of Acreage

T. E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia) noted in an article about "Mesopotamia" (1920) that to properly hold it, an alien force would have to have enough manpower to cover the then 140,000 sq. miles every 4 square miles or so.  He said a minimum of 20 men per emplacement would be required.  To do this now, would require over 800,000 troops, as Iraq now covers over 168,000 sq. miles.

Let's assume that the modern war planners believed in their equipment and troops, and themselves assumed they could double Lawrence's estimate in all directions: instead of an emplacement in the center axis of a 2 x 2 grid, how about in the center of a 4x4 grid, or 16 square miles coverage by each emplacement?  That would demand coverage of 10,500 such nodes by say only 16 troops, which gives an estimated requirement of only 168,000, a number more in line with the highest magnitude of coalition troops in Iraq since the invasion of 2003.  Is this thinking valid?  Is this the thinking that appears to have severely underestimated needed troop strength in Iraq? 

What have we learned during these post-election weeks?

Mainstream media sources and the blogosphere as well have been going overboard trying to interpret the results of the 2006 midterm elections in the U.S.  Many different angles are being explored but I am simply going to take a meta view instead of adding my two cents in any one area.

This was a broad reaction to a lot of little nagging questions.  Some outlets are convinced that the results of the election reflect the general feelings about the war in Iraq.  Others talk about the cultures of corruption and incompetence that characterize the Bush Administration and Republican leadership in Congress.  Others claim it was a repudiation of all things neo-con.

Who wants to be a millionaire Congressman?

Why do people run for federal office these days?

Do they want to change the world, or do they want to get a piece of the action?

If we listen to the regular reports from our news sharks that cover politics, and which seem to go into overdrive feeding frenzies only on stories that involve salacious personal scandals, then Washington is filled with people who have lost control of themselves, who have become corrupted by money, power, and sex, and who have lost any sense of their real mission as representatives of The People.

Summer Doldrums in Politics

What could be more boring than hearing yet another pundit tell us that something is wrong?  It's summer still.  The young folks are either trying to get the last laugh out of August, or they're already in "back-to-school" clothes.  The parents are trying to squeeze in one more family vacation before Labor Day, and businesses are hoping that "back-to-school" will mean back in the black.

Ten Duties of The King

Copied from earlier writings elsewhere
Originally published 4 Apr 2005

The following is from a book by Walpola Rahula called What the Buddha Taught (New York: Grove Press, 1959, p. 84). In the actual passage, this text is cited from what is known as the Jataka text and describes the teaching of the Buddha (6th c. BC) on proper governance by rulers.

It is a hopeful sign that one ruler in history, Asoka, Buddhist emperor of India in the 3rd c. BC, applied this teaching during his reign after publicly repenting at least one of his early conquests (Kalinga) and then renouncing war itself for the remainder of his reign, which apparently continued in peace and prosperity for many years, as did neighboring kingdoms.

U.S. Health Care lags in quality, access - says Health Day News

Copied from earlier writings elsewhere
Originally published 24 Jun 2006

From Medicine.net, a report by Steven Reinberg, HealthDay Reporter, April 4 says that even though the United States spends more than twice as much per capita on health care as some other western nations, it trails them in such measures as efficiency, equity, and patient safety and access to care, according to two new reports.