US-IRAQ: Generals Seek to Reverse Obama Withdrawal Decision
I just don't want to see photographs of Iraqis outside the US Embassy as US Army helicopters take off the roof and Al Qaeda progresses toward the panicked throng.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Monday, February 02, 2009
The Third Jihad
The Third Jihad
Powerful movies from this group. I have not watched, but respected voices suggest you and I should.
Powerful movies from this group. I have not watched, but respected voices suggest you and I should.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Conservative Book Service
Conservative Book Service
I am in the process of assessing the status of Conservative story telling. I am fascinated by Mr. Breitbart's attempt to improve pop culture by forcing room for Conservatism in Hollywood.
The story telling, though, is going to be the ultimate source of his project's success. The audience will absorb the story, not the politics of the actors. When the story and the actor's politics are one and the same, you end up with a chicken and egg problem. Do audience come for the actor or the story. Mel Gibson has proved that this cycle can be broken with a Conservative story. So truly no dilemma. We just need to have Breitbart's project open the doors to more story telling.
So I am studying what stories already exist for when Breitbart's project succeeds. Is the terrain for the battle already well prepared and advantageous?
As I begin my search, I quickly found this Conservative Book Service page. The first impression I had was that the literature overview has one small entry for fiction amid a sea of philosophy, social science, and history.
This snapshot is frightening. Most people read fiction for enjoyment. This is the best opportunity to reach them with challenging ideas: when their defenses are down. This has been a method for success for Socialists going back to Jean Jacques Rousseau. Tell stories. His Confessions tell his story. It is easy to follow his life story. The persuasion comes second.
Conservative literature reminds me of a friend of mine that wishes to persuade everyone with the force of his logic and facts. The problem is few who matter to him will listen to him long enough for him to complete the argument. Admittedly, this is a personal weakness of mine, too, but I am striving. That effort is the key reason for my research of the topic.
Returning to the Conservative Book Service page, the writers Tom Wolfe and William F. Buckley jump off the list as Conservative writers, but few big names and many books that are about stories or literature but little story telling beyond the grandees Wolfe and Buckley.
Further Google efforts fail miserably, even on the phrase "Conservative Story-telling".
One reference I saw alluded to Reagan's gift of storytelling as part of his success. I have read that many times before. His speechwriters were known to take advantage of it. Then we have had the Bushes, Dole in public, and McCain. Dull as dirt in conveying stories to a crowd. Remember late November 1996 when Dole came out his shell and started telling stories in his own voice? The shock that hit even the Republicans?
Storytelling leads to natural humanity: humor, connection, pathos. Ivory towers? Interesting to understand the mechanics of the Economy, but little for the busy American who looks to Hollywood and Washington for frivilous and serious relief, respectively, from their own daily grind.
Take that same focus on storytelling, expand it to the arts writ large: painting, photography, plays, movies, etc. We need Conservatism to surround us. A new voice and image to represent the Founding Fathers' vision and lessons in the modern world.
I am in the process of assessing the status of Conservative story telling. I am fascinated by Mr. Breitbart's attempt to improve pop culture by forcing room for Conservatism in Hollywood.
The story telling, though, is going to be the ultimate source of his project's success. The audience will absorb the story, not the politics of the actors. When the story and the actor's politics are one and the same, you end up with a chicken and egg problem. Do audience come for the actor or the story. Mel Gibson has proved that this cycle can be broken with a Conservative story. So truly no dilemma. We just need to have Breitbart's project open the doors to more story telling.
So I am studying what stories already exist for when Breitbart's project succeeds. Is the terrain for the battle already well prepared and advantageous?
As I begin my search, I quickly found this Conservative Book Service page. The first impression I had was that the literature overview has one small entry for fiction amid a sea of philosophy, social science, and history.
This snapshot is frightening. Most people read fiction for enjoyment. This is the best opportunity to reach them with challenging ideas: when their defenses are down. This has been a method for success for Socialists going back to Jean Jacques Rousseau. Tell stories. His Confessions tell his story. It is easy to follow his life story. The persuasion comes second.
Conservative literature reminds me of a friend of mine that wishes to persuade everyone with the force of his logic and facts. The problem is few who matter to him will listen to him long enough for him to complete the argument. Admittedly, this is a personal weakness of mine, too, but I am striving. That effort is the key reason for my research of the topic.
Returning to the Conservative Book Service page, the writers Tom Wolfe and William F. Buckley jump off the list as Conservative writers, but few big names and many books that are about stories or literature but little story telling beyond the grandees Wolfe and Buckley.
Further Google efforts fail miserably, even on the phrase "Conservative Story-telling".
One reference I saw alluded to Reagan's gift of storytelling as part of his success. I have read that many times before. His speechwriters were known to take advantage of it. Then we have had the Bushes, Dole in public, and McCain. Dull as dirt in conveying stories to a crowd. Remember late November 1996 when Dole came out his shell and started telling stories in his own voice? The shock that hit even the Republicans?
Storytelling leads to natural humanity: humor, connection, pathos. Ivory towers? Interesting to understand the mechanics of the Economy, but little for the busy American who looks to Hollywood and Washington for frivilous and serious relief, respectively, from their own daily grind.
Take that same focus on storytelling, expand it to the arts writ large: painting, photography, plays, movies, etc. We need Conservatism to surround us. A new voice and image to represent the Founding Fathers' vision and lessons in the modern world.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Lawyers turn to Facebook to serve legal papers - Yahoo! News
Lawyers turn to Facebook to serve legal papers - Yahoo! News
Could this lead to service of process rules through electronic service? I can think of innumerable cases of mine where the use of established email communications for service would help.
Could this lead to service of process rules through electronic service? I can think of innumerable cases of mine where the use of established email communications for service would help.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Who Is at Fault for the Decline of the Big Three? - Michael Barone (usnews.com)
Who Is at Fault for the Decline of the Big Three? - Michael Barone (usnews.com)
Great analysis of why Big Union came to exist in its current form and why it is fighting a cause that died in the 1970's. This fight has lead to the Big 3's problems.
Great analysis of why Big Union came to exist in its current form and why it is fighting a cause that died in the 1970's. This fight has lead to the Big 3's problems.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Whitewashing Fannie Mae - WSJ.com
Whitewashing Fannie Mae - WSJ.com
The source of the problem with Fannie Mae is getting buried by the Democrats.
The source of the problem with Fannie Mae is getting buried by the Democrats.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The American Spectator : Mark to Market Means Mayhem
The American Spectator : Mark to Market Means Mayhem
Good, quick explanation.
Here is FASB 157. Note that the issue date was September 2006 and the required, effective date was November 1, 2007. My! how fast bad ideas do their damage. We have gone how many centuries with recognizing gains and losses when a transaction took place. In 2 short years of ignoring the tried-and-true, the whole system falls down around our ankles!
Some of this was even foreseen. Not the whole consequence but the first necessary steps of writing off billions of dollars at banks. FASB 157 has been a mess throughout. FASB couldn't even agree how to implement it after it went into effect.
What we do is not easy, but the answer is definitely give up on this revolutionary concept that adds little benefit to the system.
Does it make sense for a performing asset like a mortgage to be artificially devalued on the books because similar assets go down in value? It is performing! Why force a re-evaluation unless an actual transaction that can be recorded as history occurs.
The problem with this whole process is that it started with the presumption that accountants could guess what market value was at any moment for any asset. Now we learn that accountants can only track history well. Everything else is an educated guess.
To me as a businessman, I need to know what is history and what is a guess. Good accounting practice makes history clear and labels all else as pro formas.
This FASB mess has muddled the two concepts.
Good, quick explanation.
Here is FASB 157. Note that the issue date was September 2006 and the required, effective date was November 1, 2007. My! how fast bad ideas do their damage. We have gone how many centuries with recognizing gains and losses when a transaction took place. In 2 short years of ignoring the tried-and-true, the whole system falls down around our ankles!
Some of this was even foreseen. Not the whole consequence but the first necessary steps of writing off billions of dollars at banks. FASB 157 has been a mess throughout. FASB couldn't even agree how to implement it after it went into effect.
What we do is not easy, but the answer is definitely give up on this revolutionary concept that adds little benefit to the system.
Does it make sense for a performing asset like a mortgage to be artificially devalued on the books because similar assets go down in value? It is performing! Why force a re-evaluation unless an actual transaction that can be recorded as history occurs.
The problem with this whole process is that it started with the presumption that accountants could guess what market value was at any moment for any asset. Now we learn that accountants can only track history well. Everything else is an educated guess.
To me as a businessman, I need to know what is history and what is a guess. Good accounting practice makes history clear and labels all else as pro formas.
This FASB mess has muddled the two concepts.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
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