The Noble Pundit

A Neat Little Site

Kind of interesting. I can now find out about other bloggers in the same general area.

Via: The Commissar at the Poliboro Diktat

2/23 Briefing on Army Aviation

Since I started my new job, articleslike this have become tremendously more fascinating to me than they were before.

Personally, I still don't like what they're doing with Comanche. I believe that we need to push the technological envelope if we are to maintain a vast technological advantage on our opponents.

But I do like what they're planning on spending the money on. Job security, you know?

For those who are interested in the most boring of details about military matters, this article is for you.

One More Reason Not To Like John Kerry

Kim Jong Il does.

Gees, will Saddam and Osama publically back Kerry next?

Or even more politically damaging, Al Gore?

Keep racking up the endorsements, John! You're off to an excellent start!

Guilty, Guilty, Guilty & Guilty

Those were the verdicts on the four remaining charges against Martha Stewart. After the judge threw out the most serious charge, the jury nailed her on the other four.

And I think that they were right.

Martha Stewart was not just a happy homemaker investing in the market. She was an astute businesswoman; she was a former stockbroker.

Got that?

A former stockbroker.

That statement right there, I believe, changed the whole set of standards by which she should have been - and was - judged. When I earned my Series 7 license back in the day, I was told that passing the 7 was the same as proving that you knew more about investments, investment law, and the regulations surrounding the stock market than 85% of the population. After having done my tour of duty as a broker, I believe that it is pretty close to an accurate statement.

For the 7, and the Series 63 blue sky exam (which allows you to be registered in different states), one of the biggest focuses of the law portion of the exam is insider trading. Martha has to have known the laws - which is why she was able to concoct a good enough story to beat the insider trading rap (it was never filed).

But what she forgot is that by virtue of having been a broker, she is held to a higher standard. My 7 lapsed last week. But still, I have a filing cabinet full of papers related to various trades, actual or considered. I have anything that might be considered pertinent if there was ever a question as to why I made a particular trade. Martha should have had the same. It's part of the ongoing price to pay for having played in the industry.

And that's why I feel no real sympathy for Martha. She had an opportunity (neigh: obligation)at the time of the trades (and before) to accumulate the documentation and reasonings that would have proved her contention - if it were true.

But instead, she failed to do what was required of her. She allowed herself, likely through neglect, to arrive in a situation where she could be endangered by a person's word. She had an opportunity to give herself an airtight defense, but instead she allowed herself to be impeached by a 27 year old drug user.

Do I personally buy the story of the stop order at 60? Not really. I would have expected the broker to do more than to make a handwritten notation in Martha's position statement indicating the sell order. Maybe it's just me, but if that is what Bacanovic really did, I would almost say that he's guilty of a breach of fiduciary responsibility (a very bad thing in the investment world, believe you me).

There are just too many things that don't add up in the parts of the story I've been able to follow. Martha's explanation just doesn't really seem to be up to snuff.

Hopefully her Jailhouse Living edition will be.

Frustrating

I tried tonight to bring back the "Blogs Linking Me" section of the sidebar tonight but I keep having problems with the Technorati scripts. The original one I had did a much better job of listing other blogs that linked me, but it kept timing out when I tried to update the site. The other script I've found seems to work without a problem, but it basically just finds every internal link on the site. Out of 25 sites listed one was not mine. Not what I wanted. So my quest continues.

I do have three articles I was looking at, but that I'm just too tired to post anything on tonight:

Paper: Kerry to toss McAuliffe from DNC - Party unity expressed through a purge. How wonderfully Communsitic. The Commissar must be proud indeed.

Film critics miss message behind Pilate's lack of courage - Something just doesn't sit right about this. Seems to be a little too simplistic, but I can't put my finger on exactly why.

Memos Might Reveal Profit Motive in Senate - Potential concern? Absolutely. But I'd like to see the proof. Not cool to throw around an accusation like this without some kind of backing...

Why The World Doesn't Vote For President

The Independent in the UK has a wonderful little column on their website which I found to be just a regular riot.

If the human race as a whole, rather than 50 states plus the District of Colombia, could cast a ballot this coming November, John Kerry would surely win the presidency by a landslide.

Unfortunately for President Bush-haters around the world, only the 200 million United States citizens of voting age will have that right...

Well, how 'bout that? Only Americans can vote for the American President. How quaint!

The problem that I have with columns and articles like this is that, in this matter, the opinion of the rest of the world doesn't matter. The President of the United States is elected to promote and defend the United States of America, period. He is not chosen to be the head global citizen. He is not chosen on his ability to get along with others. He is chosen to work for America first - and only.

Now quite often our goals line up with the rest of the world's and the President can find ways to work with others and to generally be a nice, multilaterelist guy. But in the end, he still needs to watch out for America's interests and only America's interests.

Listening to John "I'm-not-a-Frenchman,-I-want-to-be-the-second-black-President" Kerry, I don't think that he's capable of putting America first. I think that the idea of coalition and conference is so ingrained in his being that he would be wholy incapable of dealing with another 9/11. He is a wuss when the office demands a warrior (Before running off with the Vietnam stuff, read my opinion on it here. Pay particular attention to the first sentence of the fourth paragraph. Thank you.)

The rest of the world - they like John Kerry because they know that, unlike President Bush, he won't put America's interests first. In an attempt to prove himself to be a great internationalist, he will sell this country's interests up the river when it comes to global issues.

It is up to us 200 million voting Americans to make sure that that doesn't happen.

Gay Marriage Dealt A Setback In NY

Finally, a government official who understands his duty. Eliot Spitzer, the Attorney General in New York, has come out and said that he personally supports the gay marriage movement, but that he is required to uphold the law as written - despite his personal beliefs.

Spitzer is absolutely correct in his position. His attitude towards the existing law should be the attitude that every member of the executive branch, whether they be President, Governor, AG, or mayor.

The proponents of gay marriage keep pushing this issue all the wrong ways. Instead of trying to change the law from within, they are attmepting all these extralegal manuevers which I think are doing nothing more than seriously polarizing the issue. The advocates for gay marriage had a relatively favorable environment for making their case a year ago. When the general population was relatively apathetic towards the issue, it was easy to swing the fence sitters to the pro-marriage side. But through their actions, the proponents have mobilized the anti-gay marriage forces and have given them ammunition to use in the form of the legal end-arounds.

The gay marriage proponents need more Eliot Spitzers and fewer Gavin Newsoms or Jason Wests. Too bad it's probably already too late.

How To Tell That You're A Failure As A Terrorist Leader

So, you're the tyrannical leader of a terrorist organization. One of your senior advisors - one that was good with the PR BS that you have to conduct with the West in order to keep the funding flowing - gets assassinated while leaving work. What's a good terrorist to do?

Well, if you're Yassar, you hold an urgent meeting and give an EU like scowl of disapproval, maybe even going as far as to call the act "dirty."

Now I probably would have also included the words "dastardly" and "despicible," but then it might sound too much like an episode of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

But what kind of leader are you if the best you can do is to hold a meeting? Yassar is no longer "a man of action." He is now "a man of angy congregations."

It's funny that a sociologist would be talking about the loss of confidence in social institutions when the PA is proving itself to its citizens to be such an impotent, corrupt institution. Why would people lose confidence in an organization like that, especially when it starts taking crisis reaction tips from the EU?

The assassination is a tragedy - no one deserves a summary execution like that - but Yassar's response is comical. It is one of the few ways in which he could have made the situation worse.

The Army Of The Future?

With this post I've decided to open a new category on the Military. See the category menu in the left-hand sidebar for links to all my categories. Previous posts will not be reclassified.

Global Security.org has an article about the new proposed high-tech Army of the next decade. It all sounds really cool, but it does raise concerns, I think, about the true security of our communications systems.

All these high tech toys and gadgets are going to be next to useless if we don't have a way to survive the loss of constant communication. The loss of UAVs can be countered by increased human scouting. It creates a more dangerous situation, but it is easily workable.

But what happens if a foot soldier's "mule" goes on the fritz and takes off at top speed heading every which way except where the soldier wants it to go? How do we deal with the soldier who loses half of his gear as he comes over the last ridge into the battle? What do we do when a ammo laden mule runs over a landmine and the resultant explosion takes out five or six guys?

I like the fact that the Army is thinking ahead and looking at all these cool toys that will make the soldier more effective and his life easier. The Objective Force Warrior suit sounds like it is a great, great idea. For what it's worth, I recoiled when I first read about commanders being able to monitor individual soldiers. In the civilian world, I would consider that to be an unacceptable invasion of privacy. Way over the line. But in a military environment, I think it may be one of the best aspects of this whole system. It gives the commander access to critical information about the actual physical capability to press on or if it would be wiser to rest to battle another day. It will no longer be discretion, but intelligence, that is the better part of valor.

Heck, I even like the idea of the exoskeletons and think that we might be fast approaching a point at which the are not only workable (I think that technologically we're already there), but also affordable. Personally, I think that they would be a much better way to go than using a remote control mule.

For some reason, I just feel like the Army hasn't thought through the whole mule concept yet. I think it is placing too much dependence, in too critical a spot, to justify the risks. If a soldier's mule goes haywire and takes off like a Radio Shack remote control car on Christmas day, it will reduce the effectiveness and morale of the soldier - maybe substantially.

And how do we ensure that enemy soldiers can't hijack the mule? Losing a UAV via a remote control hijacking is one thing. They are usually unarmed and simpe. But if we lose a mule, we could be losing ammunition, weapons, food, basic necessities: all the things an enemy army would just love to capture from an American soldier. Send the mule back packed with lots of cheap explosives and...well you get the picture. The mule seems to be too critical and too dependent on constant secure communication to be truly safe and effective.

I don't think that it's time to start trying to get the infantry guys used to carrying the lighter load just yet.

Cool Pic

From NavLog.org where it was captioned: "How's This For Flying?"

Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday is finally here and it looks like John Kerry is going to sweep the day, virtually ensuring that he will be the Democratic candidate in the fall.

For the Bush campaign that has got to be thrilled about the this. Defeating Kerry will be much, much easier than Edwards (more stupid stuff to harp on).

Plus, Kerry helps the Republicans with brilliant quotes like this:

President Clinton was often known as the first black president. I wouldn't be upset if I could earn the right to be the second," he told the American Urban Radio Network.

At least he didn't refer to himself as African-American given the uproar when his wife was correctly referred to by that term. But maybe, just maybe, his handlers should point out to John Kerry that he's, well, white.

Or maybe it would be better to let Kerry just continue to make an idiot out of himself...

This Should Be Happening In More Places (Like San Francisco)

The mayor of New Paltz, NY has been criminally charged for marrying homosexual couples in his town.

He only faces $500 in fines and potentially a year in jail (which I would seriously doubt will happen), but it still sends a pretty strong message - and one that needs to be sent: the laws must be obeyed, even when they are disagreeable.

The mayor of a town, a burg, a village, or a metropolis has no right to decide to violate a law with impunity. He is as bound to them as the rest of us. No person is above the law.

I really hope that they do throw Mayor West in jail. It would set a powerful and chilling precedent for other potential righteous mayors.

Some people will have a problem with that statement saying that it would also cast a chilling effect on the national debate surrounding gay marriage. I disagree.

Just as we must seperate the illegal marriage cerimonies from the debate, we must also seperate the consequences of the illegalities. The issue is distinct from the acts that are occuring.

Where this really needs to happen, though, is San Francisco. Gavin Newsom needs to be charged like this. He, like the mayor of New Paltz, has openly and deliberately violated the law. A criminal act is a criminal act. Period.

Oh Yeah, One More Thing

Before I go cozy up in bed and try to go to sleep before the little people, I also wanted to set one thing straight.

Over the last month or two, I've been talking a lot about the Democratic Primaries and the quest to find a candidate with half a chance against Bush.

There was only ever one Democratic candidate I would have even considered voting for: Joe Lieberman. When he dropped out of the race, I was at that point watching for fun.

For what it's worth, I think that John Kerry's service in Vietnam was commendable - and his actions after coming home, contemptible. His record surrounding Vietnam does not answer any questions regarding John Kerry and national defense, but I think that his voting record since he was elected to Congress does. I think that he is far left of the mainstream in general and is a utopian pacifist in military matters. Which is not a good combination for the country.

John Edwards, despite having listened to him in the debates, I don't think that I know enough about him to make an informed decision. Maybe he's a good choice, maybe not. I simply don't know.

Kucinich and Sharpton are like the comic relief of the campaign. They are so far out of the mainstream as to be a joke. Never could I imagine a set of circumstances that might make me even consider voting for either of them.

So where does this leave me? Actually in the same position I've been in all along. Barring some kind of monumental unforseen calamity, I will be voting for George W. Bush come November. Overall, Bush has done a fairly good job in office, in my opinion. There are certainly some things that he's done that I disagree with, immigration "reform" and the Medicare bill being two notable examples, but it's not enough to make me vote any differently.

Just so everyone knows.

The First Day At My New Job

Today was my first day as a part of the vast military-industrial complex. So far, so good.

I'm just beat right now. Was up at 5 so that I could be out the door by 5:45 - and now that's basically going to become routine (just as I was getting used to sleeping in until 7:30!)

Hopefully I'll be able to blog some good stuff about the primaries tomorrow. Until then, I got to get to bed early tonight.

Recipe For Success?

A wonderful quote from a spam mail I got overnight last night:

"Good afternoon. To swear off making mistakes is very easy. All you have to do is to swear off having ideas."

Well that certainly sounds a brilliant recipe for sucess now doesn't it?

Morons.