We're Winning

Hard to believe, but THIS was a linked article on Powerline's top menu bar:

A for-real article about boomsticks.

Now, if it had been NRO's the Corner, I would have to dig up a "wha- wha- WHAAAAT?" graphic from somewhere.

Best 50 Bucks I Ever Spent

So there I was, standing in front of the Christmas tree stand display at Stew Leonards.

"Should we really spend 50 bucks on a tree stand?" I asked the wife.

Flashback to last year: me, lying on the floor with pine needles in my eyes, tightening the bolts on our crappy old tree stand with a pair of pliers, as the wife holds the tree up. I stand up, she lets go, and tree falls over. Utter great obscenities. Threaten to convert to Judaism, Zoroastrianism, or any ism without a tree-in-the-house tradition. Repeat 6 or 7 times.

Dissolve back to Stews, Saturday night. We look at this Krinner tree stand with great hope. Fancy. New. It has a foot pedal and a cunning array of thick wire and clamps that are tightened and released by said pedal. The box says its easy. It looks easy. We buy it.

Once we hauled the tree into the house, it took maybe 15 seconds to set it up. We were so surprised, we did it twice, just to be sure. Feels like its countersunk into a foot of concrete.

Sure, maybe its a small thing, but not worrying that your tree will get knocked over by the kids or just fall over on its own is worth the 50 bucks.

Why Iran Annoys Me

Over the last 8 years, the question "What is the US going to do about Iran?" has come up about a trillion times.

Every time we ask it, the dumber it sounds, because its not actually clear that we can do anything about a country run by religious fanatics who hate us, and run their economy on oil.

Since 2001, the administration told the mullahs over and over that military force was 'still on the table,' and if Seymour Hersh is to be believed, leaked hints that the US was eager to bomb Iran into tiny bits, and then invade to kick the bits around.

Pity it had zero effect. Here's a breakdown:

Centrifuges:

Without a very special centrifuge, you can't enrich uranium and make a bomb. When Dubya was inaugurated in 2001, Iran had no centrifuges -- that we knew about. Today, Iran is running approximately 3,800 of them, and apparently wants to add another 3,000, says the International Atomic Energy Agency. International Atomic Energy Agency.

Uranium:

The IAEA says that this month the Iranians had stockpiled about 1400 lbs of uranium, which is enough to make one bomb, if they keep passing that 1400 lbs through the centrifuges. That's a big improvement over the 2001 uraniuum stockpile of 0 lbs.

Missiles:

The Iranians have been working on missiles for quite a while. Im not sure what kind of arsenal they had back in 2001. Right now they have the Shahab-3 with a range of about 1,300 miles, and they're working on the Shahab-6 which is supposed to have a range of 6,200 miles -- far enough to reach parts of the United States.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is clearly expanding its influence and aiming to become a major regional power.

If we invade them in response, they may actually USE the nuclear weapons, and I'm sure the delicious irony of setting off a nuclear conflict by invading a country to stop them from setting off a nuclear conflict would not be worth it.

One way or another, it looks like Iran is going to get some of what it wants.

The real action will take place behind closed doors in the State Department as we try to make our inevitable acknowlegement of an Iranian sphere of influence look like a dazzling victory for US foreign policy.

Don't Be A Grass-Eater

"If your first reaction to a law being horrifyingly broken is “we gotta make more laws”, you might be a grass-eater. If you believe in angels — or the Just World hypothesis — you’re probably a grass-eater. Both of these delusions indicate a desire to give up responsibility (and, therefore, freedom) to a faceless “higher” power. Grass-eaters are perfectly happy to give up liberty for a little safety — even if the only safety they get is from the consequences of their actions."
-Blunt Object
H/T to Smallest Minority, who found it on Atomic Nerds

Men Are Not Potatoes

Where does the title for this blog come from? An excellent book that you should have all read by now.

Here's an excerpt:

Are a thousand unreleased prisoners sufficient reason to start or resume a war? Bear in mind that millions of innocent people may die, almost certainly will die, if war is started or resumed."

I didn’t hesitate. "Yes, sir! More than enough reason.""

"More than enough."

"Very well, is one prisoner, unreleased by the enemy, enough reason to start or resume a war?"

I hesitated. I knew the M. I. answer — but I didn’t think that was the one he wanted.

He said sharply, "Come, come, Mister! We have an upper limit of one thousand; I invited you to consider a lower limit of one. But you can’t pay a promissory note which reads ‘somewhere between one and one thousand pounds’ — and starting a war is much more serious than paying a trifle of money. Wouldn’t it be criminal to endanger a country — two countries in fact — to save one man? Especially as he may not deserve it? Or may die in the meantime? Thousands of people get killed every day in accidents . . . so why hesitate over one man? Answer! Answer yes, or answer no — you’re holding up the class.

"He got my goat. I gave him the cap trooper’s answer. "Yes, sir!"" ‘Yes’ what?""It doesn’t matter whether it’s a thousand — or just one, sir. You fight."

"Aha! The number of prisoners is irrelevant. Good. Now prove your answer."I was stuck. I knew it was the right answer. But I didn’t know why. He kept hounding me.

"Speak up, Mr. Rico. This is an exact science. You have made a mathematical statement; you must give proof. Someone may claim that you have asserted, by analogy, that one potato is worth the same price, no more, no less, as one thousand potatoes. No?"

"No, sir!"

"Why not? Prove it."

"Men are not potatoes."