Sun Rise Beyond Francis Peak

2005 was a great year for the Calder family and we look forward to the dawning of 2006

A Law Unto Themselves

Several people who disagree with the Government’s eavesdropping on suspected terrorist suspects have taken the case to the New York Times. So far the NYT hasn’t made a case that any laws have been broken. What right did the disclosers have to compromise vital national operations? Did they even consult with their agencies lawyers to get a reading? The Clinton era associate attorney general backs President Bush’s NSA actions. Seems to me the best case these disgruntled folks can come up with is they have an opinion this sort of stuff should be against the law (an opinion that a good portion of Americans disagree with).

There really isn’t a gray area when it comes to the President’s ability to monitor enemy communications in wartime, but even if there was, in a democracy, the benefit of the doubt should go to the elected official, not anonymous cranks.

Some Thoughts on National Security Leaks

I must have been quite a rube when I joined the Air Force. I worked in weapon system development and my first job required the use of two file-cabinet sized safes for the classified material. I was so afraid of accidentally leaving a safe unsecured that I probably checked the doors three or four times after I had secured them. The thought of an accidental compromise was always in the back of my mind. If you wanted to push an obsessive/compulsive person over the edge just give him a safe stuffed with the government’s secrets.

Now I learn the government has taken pity on us overly cautious people. I’ve since found that one can mistakenly stuff classified documents in ones clothes and only lose your security clearance for three years. Or we can disclose national secrets direct to the New York Times without any apparent threat of prosecution (or that would have been leaked too).

Merry Christmas

This was an enjoyable Christmas for my family. Having Christmas on Sunday was a major factor - I look forward to another Sunday Christmas. Our family attended Sunday services and it set the mood for the rest of the day.

I am thankful for our Heavenly Father's love in sending His Son.

Nuclear Weapon Watch

It would only be a scandal if the administration wasn’t using radiation detectors (via Powerline)

Domestic Spying?

So… the National Security Administration (NSA) discovers an Al Qaeda phone conversation in the Middle East and determines to monitor future transmissions from these numbers. But then a call from one of these numbers happens to be made to a location within the US and NSA continues to monitor the call. If this turns out to be the basis for the “domestic spying” charges the New York Times is leveling, consider me unconvinced.

Democracy Expands in the Middle East

Ask someone who was around during VE or VJ day. They’ll remember what happened on those days. My Dad was only seven and he remembers. The Iraqi elections are as significant to our generation as the close of World War II was to the past generation, yet our nation seems ignorant of that fact. Fifteen million people, or 70 percent of the electorate, voted in a new Middle East democracy! While that fact has been reported (or even downplayed) the significance has yet to enter the national consciousness. One day it will; are you going to remember, then, the events of this week?

An Alternative to Using a Moral Compass

An Iraqi voter provides directions to those who have lost their moral compass.

Cory Maye

I suppose a factor in the main stream media’s (MSM) lack of attention for the Cory Maye case is they are also opposed to people who carry guns for protection. Perhaps they reason if Cory Maye did not own a gun, he never would have been able to shoot the unannounced intruder in his house who turned out to be a cop at the wrong address. Via Instapundit the CBSNews.com blog has picked this up; perhaps this will yet make it to the MSM.

Miscarriage of Justice

No it’s not the imminent execution of Tookie Williams (four time murderer, gang founder, and children’s book author), rather another death row inmate is the one who should get a Governor’s reprieve – see Glenn Reynolds.

Utah in Pictures

Two sites with great photographs of Utah and the West: LeggNet's Digital Capture and Blog.LorenFrench.Com.

The Panic Over Iraq

This is a must read from Norman Podhoretz (H/T Powerline).

Communication II

My neighbor went to a job interview where the receptionist led him to a boardroom with five people. A buffet had been set up and they insisted on eating first. After the meal, the folks gathered around the table to listen to my friend. When he whipped out his resume, things became a little awkward. He wasn’t the firm’s best client and they weren’t holding a job interview. No news on whether they are hiring for a receptionist

Utah: Leader Among Square States

DesNews reports on a survey of company “site selectors” concerning Utah. According to one respondent:

The state's population isn't large enough and is only "well positioned among the square states with large populations of mule deer, not people".

That’s good enough for Cabela’s

Storm Reporting

Ever notice that snowstorms in New York City get more national news coverage than snowstorms elsewhere?

Liberal bias in the media probably has less to do with intential agenda skewing and more to do with media elites (centered in New York City) covering the world that revolves around them.

Communication

An acquaintance, in charge of selling tickets for the “Nutcracker” for her child’s ballot tells of an irate call she received:

“Your ticket selling operation is terrible; I’ve never been treated so rudely. I’m going to report you to the better business bureau!”

“What happened Ma’am?!

“I prepaid for tickets and when I went to the ballot the people there acted like I never paid. They didn’t have my tickets and they finally gave us lousy seats in the balcony. I’m so furious!”

“Uh, our theater doesn’t have a balcony. Where did you go?”

Instead of going to the University theater where the children held their ballot, this lady went downtown to the City’s Metropolitan theater and badgered her way into a balcony seat.

Defeaticrat Party

Of the two speeches below, Mark Steyn, notes which one the mainstream media is running with.

Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Two voices from the Democratic party. One says he wants to declare victory and go home. The other says “don’t snatch defeat from the jaws of victory”. When it came to a vote 403 representatives said no to cut and run (including representative Murtha). The quick vote provides reassurance to the Iraqis and our troops and let the world know who is blowing smoke.

Correcting the Memory of Corporal Jeffery Starr

President Bush righted a wrong committed by the New York Times. As Michelle Malkin noted on Oct 28th, the Times wrote the following about Corporal Jeffery Starr, who was killed in Iraq last April:

Another member of the 1/5, Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr, rejected a $24,000 bonus to re-enlist. Corporal Starr believed strongly in the war, his father said, but was tired of the harsh life and nearness of death in Iraq. So he enrolled at Everett Community College near his parents' home in Snohomish, Wash., planning to study psychology after his enlistment ended in August.

But he died in a firefight in Ramadi on April 30 during his third tour in Iraq. He was 22.

Sifting through Corporal Starr's laptop computer after his death, his father found a letter to be delivered to the marine's girlfriend. ''I kind of predicted this,'' Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. ''A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances.''

Corporal Starr’s Uncle wrote Michelle Malkin the following, providing details the Times left out:

Yesterday's New York Times on-line edition carried the story of the 2000 Iraq US military death[s]. It grabbed my attention as the picture they used with the headline was that of my nephew, Cpl Jeffrey B. Starr, USMC.

Unfortunately they did not tell Jeffrey's story. Jeffrey believed in what he was doing. He [was] willing put his life on the line for this cause. Just before he left for his third tour of duty in Iraq I asked him what he thought about going back the third time. He said: "If we (Americans) don't do this (free the Iraqi people from tyranny) who will? No one else can."

Several months after Jeffrey was killed his laptop computer was returned to his parents who found a letter in it that was addressed to his girlfriend and was intended to be found only if he did not return alive. It is a most poignant letter and filled with personal feelings he had for his girlfriend. But of importance to the rest of us was his
expression of how he felt about putting his life at risk for this cause. He said it with grace and maturity.

He wrote: "Obviously if you are reading this then I have died in Iraq. I kind of predicted this, that is why I'm writing this in November. A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances. I don't regret going, everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we are in Iraq, it's not to me. I'm here helping these people, so that they can live the way we live. Not have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. To do what they want with their lives. To me that is why I died. Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark."

The New York Times never corrected the impression they left their readers.

President Bush, in his speech to Naval Academy Midshipmen, completed the record for Corporal Starr by finishing his quote.

Moon Rise Over Francis Peak

Moon rise over Francis Peak (12 November).

Delicate Arch

This was an impressive sight in person, well worth the hike. May 2004

Sunrise on Red Castle

View near our campsite in the high Unita's, Aug 2004. Brook trout in the stream and moose in the meadows. Red Castle is about three and a half miles away.

The Message on Iraq

Protein Wisdom summarizes the message that must be repeated to combat the “BIG” lie (H/T Instapundit):

Clearly, the important administration arguments are beginning to coalesce: 1) Criticism of the war is not by itself unpatriotic 2) Similarly, answering anti-war critics is not challenging their patriotism 3) But opportunistic and cynical anti-war critics who are trying to walk back their own votes and level spurious charges at the Administration (they lied to take is into war) are themselves lying 4) These lies are hurting the country and the troops. 5) The burden of proof, in a post 911 world, was on Saddam Hussein to prove he’d disarmed; we could not wait for the threat to become imminent before acting 6) The cause the troops are fighting for is just and right 7) Iraq is moving toward freedom; and things on the ground are improving daily, regardless of what the MSM and prominent Dems would have us believe.

These points, taken together, form an easy, concise, and—most importantly—a factually correct counter-narrative to the Dem / MSM narrative that has preached confusion, failure, quagmire, American criminality (torture, WP), and the relentlessness of an insurgency whose battleground savvy and knowledge of the Arab world are thwarting the plans of our confused military leaders and civilian war
commanders. Oh. But we LOVE THE TROOPS!

The Senate - Classify under Invertebrates

I disagree with Senator McCain on many things (notably the McCain-Feingold act banning political speech) but today he is spot on. He shames the Senate for wavering on support for the Iraqi people.

World Trade Center Conspiracy...

Michelle Malkin notes the DesNews story about BYU professor Stephen E. Jones and the "inside job" taking down the World Trade Centers. She provides a link to Popular Mechanics debunking these conspiracy theories.

Muslim Terrorists don't Even Exist

Deseret News and reporter Elaine Jarvik provide a front page forum for BYU professor Steven E. Jones conspiracy theory that the World Trade Center (WTC) building collapse were inside jobs and “Muslims are (probably) not to blame for bringing down the WTC buildings after all”. Unfortunately Ms Jarvik's report goes no further than to parrot Jones statements. I suppose an “Earth is Flat” expose based solely on Flat Earth Society statements is the next step for the Deseret News.

Ellen Jarvik appears not to have performed any research besides reading Jones’ paper. There is no challenge to his statement that steel buildings can’t collapse due to fire alone. I would have expected Ms Jarvik to check with structural engineers for their opinion. Much is made of the fact that WTC 7 fell even though it was not hit by an airplane. Mr. Jones claims this is unprecedented. Did the DesNews bother to check? There are probably other similar buildings that have burned but I would have liked to know if there are any that burned for 7 hours without any attempt to quench fires. If not, that certainly would make the WTC 7 an unusual case. Again, no effort is mentioned by the paper to check this.

Jones is convinced explosive squibs severed steel columns and brought the buildings down. It is hard for me to think explosive squibs were necessary for the buildings hit by planes. Surely the 767 shaped hole in one structure provides a clue. If exterior columns were severed by the airliner, I would think the same could happen to interior trusses securing floors But then if planted explosives weren’t necessary for bringing down the two larger buildings, why should I believe someone somehow snuck into WTC7 and wired it for demolition?. Further, Jones believes smoke puffs blowing outward from the building prove the use of explosive charges. Since the buildings were already burning; why didn’t the reporter ask if this could have been smoke blown out as building floors fell?” Dauntless, our DesNews reporter shows no skepticism with Jarvik’s claims. No consultation with structures or explosive demolition experts were made.

The reporter needed to ask some questions, but maybe that would have ruined a thesis running in Western papers lately - Muslim terrorists don’t exist.

More Question the Media

Joel Mowbry notices the reluctance of the media to use the M-word. At the end he asks the same question I did:

The role Islam—whether as opportunistic rallying cry, through hateful teachings in the name of the religion, or otherwise—played in the riots is something we might not know for some time. If ever. But it is certainly relevant. So why do so many in the mainstream media consider it not even worth mentioning?

Media Avoids Naming Names

Mark Steyn notes how the media fails to identify Islamic terrorists as perpetrators of terrorism they commit. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation even refuses to acknowledge terrorism exists. The Washington Post goes out of its way (with nothing to back up their assertion) that rioting in France has nothing to do with Islam (H/T Powerline including here). Why do the mainstream media de-emphasize Islamic connections with violence committed by Muslims, particularly those committing it in the name of Islam?

"Scooter" Libby

October has come and is about gone. Several items in the news caught my attention but by the time I thought of adding my two-cents, the moments passed. I’ll end the month with comments on the recent indictment of I. Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby.

I am surprised at the number of apologists from the Republican camp who think Mr. Libby should not have been indicted. I’m conservative and support the present administration; I was also disappointed to read about the indictment, but having read it, I can’t condone the alleged lying. Ironically Mr. Libby tried to set the record straight when Mr. Joe Wilson lied about the relevance of his trip to Africa. The moral is they don’t hand out indictments for lying in the pages of the New York Times but they do for telling them in front of a grand jury.

Louisiana Corruption

In a previous post I opined how corruption may have magnified the devastation due to Hurricane Katrina. Note this LA Times report.

Hate Speech – Whatever Those in Power Say It Is

Why am I against hate crime legislation? Look what has happened in Alberta (HT Small Dead Animals.) I suspect Alberta is one of the more conservative places in Canada and yet a minister can’t voice an opinion to a paper’s editor on homosexuality with out being hauled before a tribunal (and he may lose?) Guess I would be bankrupt and making small rocks out of big rocks if I was a Canadian.

Almost One Year

Almost a year ago I began publishing this blog. I estimate readership over the year may have reached into the teens. That would be my daughter and 10 folks who mistyped the URL.

My first blog was about fishing and coming up short at the Weber River. Well today I went to my favorite spot again (Devil's Slide) but it was high and murky. Unlike last year, I drove on to a smaller stream. I caught five small browns (four eight inchers and one 12 inches - it was a small stream). Its nice to know I've learned a few things over the year.

Fruits of Corruption

America is stunned at the lawlessness occurring in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Nicole Gelinas (HT Powerline).points out that the storm didn’t cause people to become criminals, the criminal element was already in place (I’m not speaking of those foraging for food, water, and other necessities).

Poverty will be cited as a major factor in the severity of the destruction and death that has occurred. Indeed, the pattern seems to be poor areas are affected worse than rich ones. With New Orleans and the Gulf States being some of the poorest in America, one would see this thesis supported.

But is being poor the cause to be cured or is it really a symptom of the larger problem of corruption? Certainly rescue efforts were hampered because of violence or the threat of violence. How about official corruption? I am reminded of places in Turkey, Armenia, and Iran where buildings collapse more frequently in earthquakes than other places. Reports come out that contractors and complicit building inspectors allow the use of lower grade concrete. Is corruption a factor in the unprepared ness of New Orleans, including a significant cause of poverty found in the area?

MSM's Glaring Omission

The enormous coverage of Cindy Sheehan actually highlights the Mainstream Media’s (MSM) failure to cover views other than those opposed to U.S. and Coalition Forces actions in Iraq. It would be great to have an intellectual debate of pros and cons covered in the press, but the MSM has become nothing more than a cheerleading section for partisans.

Anti-Semitism Finds Its Way to the Presbyterians

From the Deseret News today:

A Presbyterian committee accused five companies Friday of contributing to "ongoing violence that plagues Israel and Palestine" and pledged to use the church's multimillion-dollar stock holdings in the businesses to pressure them to stop.

The companies? Caterpillar Inc.; Citigroup; ITT Industries Inc.; Motorola Inc.; and United Technologies Corp.

Four of the five companies supposedly “support” Israeli violence:

The Presbyterians accused all except Citigroup of selling products such as night-vision equipment, wireless communications and helicopters that the Israeli military uses to hurt Palestinians and bolster control of the territories.

The Lutherans take Citigroup to task for supposedly handling money finding its way into “Mideast terrorist groups”

To demonstrate equal abhorrence of violence against Israelis, the panel accused Citigroup of being part of a conduit for funds used to support Mideast terrorist groups.

I can hardly fault the companies here for providing Israel means for defense. What next, complaints against these same companies who provide equipment to U.S. Forces?

It is blatant anti-Semitism, making it’s way from Europe’s “intelligentsia” into U.S. liberal institutions. These clergymen see Israel as “THE problem” in the Middle East. If only they would go away peace would break out all over…

It is laughable that they threw in Citigroup in an attempt to “inoculate” themselves from being cast as anti-Jewish. It just doesn’t fly. First, I don’t believe Citigroup knowing passes money to terrorist organizations; I doubt many terrorists list that occupation when signing up for a credit card. Second, I don’t see how the Presbyterians would have the inside scoop on a Citigroup/terrorism link. I surmise they threw in Citigroup at the last minute when one of the brighter persons of the cloth realized how one-sided their attack was. Unfortunately for them, it is still pretty transparent.

More on Japan and the A-bomb

Mark Steyn comments on the U.S. A-bomb attacks on Japan.

Anniversary of the Atomic Bomb Attacks on Japan

The Deseret News carried an opinion by Kai Bird and Martin J Sherwin that the U.S.’s use of the atomic bombs against Japan was unwarranted. They cite for evidence a book written by Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (Racing the Enemy) even claiming it “definitively” shows it was the Soviet Union’s entry into the Pacific war on Aug 8 that spurred Japan to surrender.

Well I haven’t read the book so I can’t comment on whether it “definitively” answers the question. I am, however, skeptical such a conclusion of such finality can be made when I have rattling between my ears the following questions:

Did the bombing of Hiroshima spur the Soviets into attacking Manchuria because they thought our use of the bomb (two days before they attacked) was going to end the war soon and they wanted to quickly gain territory?

The Japanese fought tooth and nail everywhere the U.S. encountered them. Think of Tarawa, Io Jima, and Okinawa. All of a sudden the Soviets attacked Manchuria and the thought of fighting tooth and nail on the homeland gets chucked? Come on, the Soviets didn’t even have a navy for the invasion needed in the Japanese Islands (much less the experience gained by the Americans at this time for such an invasion).

I may concede on the argument that a million American lives were saved by not having used the bombs. Experience with the Gulf wars seems to indicate pessimistic estimates before hostilities; but do Bird and Sherwin have a more “reasonable” estimate? It certainly wasn’t going to be zero. I would have dropped the bomb to save 100,000 American lives, a mere 10 percent of the number they call inflated. Obviously Truman thought there were a significant number of Americans who would have been killed if he didn’t order the atomic attack. If the 1 Million number was made up in 1947, what number was Truman using in 1945?

It is no secret that the U.S. and the Soviets didn’t like each other and that the U.S. did not want the Soviets moving in a land grab once the war seemed near a close. The only way that both sides (Soviets and US) could presume the war was near a close was the fact that the US had nuclear weapons. Otherwise the Soviets did not have the capability to invade Japan and the U.S. would have been looking at a protracted effort.

Finally, suppose Bird and Sherwin’s premise is correct. What if the U.S. only dropped the bombs because they were racing the Soviet Union in a conquest of Japan? What if the Soviets had the means to occupy more than Manchuria and a few unprotected islands in the North. Do Bird and Sherwin think life would have been better for those Japanese under a Soviet occupation? Do they think fewer Japanese would have been killed under a Soviet occupation then would have been killed by the Atomic bombs? Do they think fewer Japanese would have been killed if the U.S. had to invade?

Because they don’t ask these questions, their analysis falls short of objectivity. It would appear their only object is to attack the U.S.

Ending Islamic Terror

I wrote last about the IRA renouncing violence and opined that terrorism, seen in the light of Islamic terror, has turned the IRA’s supporters off on murder and mayhem. I don’t think the IRA has changed there spots.

A similar change needs to occur with the widespread support for Islamic terrorism found among Muslim communities. Perhaps the first place to start is for the US to increase pressure on the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia. This country is the Elephant in the living room that no one in the administration wants to recognize. They fund terror. Lets expose it officially.

I do believe the President is on a proper course in encouraging democracy, even if de-stabilizing, in the Mideast and among other totalitarian led regimes. The House of Saud wants to continue funding terrorism? Then, let us work to overthrow their regime.

IRA Renouces Violence

I read in the Deseret Morning News that the Irish Republican Army has renounced violence. I have not seen much fanfare elsewhere; perhaps because many see this as the boy who cried wolf. Nontheless, Islamic suicide bombers have given terrorism in general a bad name (if there is a silver lining to be found) and the IRA is finding itself in an untenable position. It appears that Irish-American supporters are finally seeing the repulsive IRA violence through the lens of Islamoterrorism and are cutting off funds. The IRA’s high profile organized crime forays have also taken the shine off whatever noble purpose people would rationalize for the IRA violence.

I don’t generally trust thugs and murderers to abide by their word. In the words of John Deakin (Charles Bronson) of “Breakheart Pass” “Does it surprise you that a murderer would also be a liar?” What makes the promise believable here is not the “good” word of the IRA, but the lack of support they have from their former patrons. There is definitely a lesson to learn here for combating Islamoterrorism.

No, Fox wasn't making this up

Via small dead animals here is the link to the CBC memo not to call terrorists, uh, terrorists. Oh and make sure you don’t use the term gunmen if a female happens to be a shooter (if you think I’m just being sarcastic, read the memo – you can’t make this stuff up.)

A Rose by any Other Name

I heard from Fox News that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation chooses not to use the words "terrorists" or "terrorism" in their reports. To do so would be judgmental. Seems to me the terrorists want to be described as such. Maybe the CBC will be blamed for escalating the horrific nature of attacks in attempts to break out of the "freedom fighters" or mere "bomber" description.

But lets say they are offended. I remember when I found out I was no longer to use the term "handicapped"; "please refer to them as 'physically challenged'". I thought, yeah but everyone is going to catch on and one day someone would be telling me the new term is a stigma, please use "disabled".

If we can't afford to offend head-chopping, school bombing, cretins as terrorists I suppose people will catch on to the euphemisms. Who would have thought 1984 would have been brought to us by the media.

Letter to Senator Durbin

Senator Durbin,

The Geneva Convention states that members of irregular militias qualify for prisoner-of-war status if their military organization satisfies four criteria:

(a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates
(b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance
(c) that of carrying arms openly
(d) that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war

If you think the Al Qaeda, Taliban, or even Iraqi “insurgents” meet the criteria above, then you are seriously deluded. The administration sees these evil men in the proper sense of the Geneva Conventions – Unlawful Combatants. I support that designation because it is true. Not only are your statements that President Bush has ignored the Geneva Conventions false, you sir, are the one ignorant of the laws.

Our nation is well within our rights to not only inter unlawful combatants but to execute them.

Your contention that terrorists held by U.S. forces should be afforded prisoner of war status serves to legitimize their illegal methods and tactics, not only against our troops who do fight by the rules of war, but to innocent civilians who are most often the targets of these terrorists. If you seek any credibility on this issue, you should acknowledge terrorists as the unlawful combatants they are.

Dave Calder

Envy

Powerline’s recent post “Reflections On How Things Keep Getting Better” coincided with similar thoughts I’ve had on the destructive nature of envy. I recalled taking my kids home from Sunday School years ago where two had popcorn balls and one didn’t; the unfortunate one had braces and had to turn the treat down. Naturally this was disappointing. We had an interesting conversation revealing an all too common feature of envy:

“Its not fair”, she said, “they get popcorn balls but I can’t have any!”

“I know you are disappointed, but there are many foods you can’t eat right now” I replied

“Well it’s still not fair and they shouldn’t be able to have them either!”

To make things right for this young girl would require her brother and sister not to get popcorn balls as long as she didn’t have one, never mind the fact that it wouldn’t change her situation. No thought of “how fortunate it is my brother and sister have popcorn balls to enjoy.”

The politics’ of envy embraces this childishness. “The income gap is getting wider” and “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”. If this is true, then does it follow that as far as living in the United States is concerned it was better to be poor in times past then to be poor now? I doubt it.

On the whole, our country has the highest standard of living but envy prevent many from seeing.

Memorial Day

My local news had a story about Memorial day and reported over 1,000,000 warriors had been killed in Americas wars. That figure seemed high to me. From Infoplease I found the following statistics:

America's Wars - Total

Military service during war - 42,348,460

Battle deaths - 651,008

Other deaths in service (theater) - 13,998

Other deaths in service (nontheater) - 525,256

Nonmortal woundings - 1,431,290

Living war veterans - 17,578,5004

Living veterans - 25,038,459


If one adds other deaths (nontheater) to battle deaths and other deaths (theater) the figure is indeed over 1 million, but that figure includes non-combat deaths. I regret so many have given there lives for our freedoms but am grateful for these fallen.

Blog Readability

Juicy Studio Has an readability test index that evaluates the readability of websites. I don’t know who verified the algorithms but I like the results given for Francis Peak:

Summary Value
Total sentences: 87
Total words: 732
Average words per Sentence: 8.41
Words with 1 Syllable: 459
Words with 2 Syllables: 168
Words with 3 Syllables: 73
Words with 4 or more Syllables: 32
Percentage of word with three or more syllables: 14.34%
Average Syllables per Word: 1.56
Gunning Fog Index: 9.10
Flesch Reading Ease: 66.31
Flesch-Kincaid Grade: 6.10

The Rosetta Stone:

Typical Fog Index Scores Fog Index Resources
6 TV guides, The Bible, Mark Twain
8 Reader's Digest
8 - 10 Most popular novels
10 Time, Newsweek
11 Wall Street Journal
14 The Times, The Guardian
15 - 20 Academic papers
Over 20 Only government sites can get away with this, because you can't ignore them.
Over 30 The government is covering something up

Thanks to Uncorrelated

Fox News Goofs Too

In a previous post I linked to an item in Uncorrelated about CNN’s use of a photo that miss-represents the area in Alaska Congress is considering opening to oil drilling. I noticed the same photo being used by Foxnews a couple of days ago.

Free Trade vs Gambling

The Deseret News has a story on an ongoing “trade” dispute between the United States and the island nation of Antigua:

A WTO [World Trade Organization] dispute panel ruled this past November that the United States was in violation of its international trade obligations. In other words, Antigua can't be stopped by the United States. The WTO decision, in general terms, means that laws used by particular states to limit or forbid gambling are considered by the dispute panel as a violation of "market access" principles of the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

The article states that Antigua is developing internet gaming as a replacement for its banana industry (ironically destroyed when the US and Latin American countries won a trade dispute against EU tariffs favoring former Caribbean colonies). Utah is one of two states (the other is Hawaii) were all gambling is illegal. Antigua’s grievance to the WTO focuses on Utah’s law prohibiting internet gaming. A search of the internet located this related story (cited from Business Week).

I am a free trade supporter and a backer of NAFTA but this dispute is problematic for two reasons. The first is it threatens to override the power of states to regulate gambling. The second is the ability of one country to use “trade” as a cover to change another country’s vice laws (though the US may have erred if it included gambling as a recognized “trade”). If the US loses its appeal at the WTO can Utah make a case in Federal court that the Federal government does not have the right to violate the States right in its treaty negotiations?

Howitzer Round Lands in Backyard

KSL TV reports on an errant 105mm howitzer round landing in a suburban neighborhood in Utah County. Appears a Utah Department of Transportation avalanche abatement team accidentally shot this over the mountain they were aiming at. Probably can use some gun control here.

Finally a commentary about the problem of obesity without calling for a Federal program.

Union Falls Yellowstone

Union Falls , Yellowstone, Jul 2004

Started using Bloggerbot to upload photos. This will probably be addicting... Photo of Union Falls taken during Boy Scout summer camp last year at Camp Loll, Wyoming. The camp is located between Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Park. By far the best run camp I've attended - One will have a tough time matching the excellent staff.

A trip to the falls requires an eight mile hike into the Yellowstone backcountry (16 Miles round trip). These are the second highest falls in the park. The troop did well on the hike due to practice hikes leading up to camp. About a half mile away is a creek with a pool warmed by a hot spring - the scouts enjoyed a brief swim.

Sunset on Francis Peak - Sometime in 2002/03
View from my backdoor.

CNN Misrepresents a photo

Found this by Mick Stockinger at Uncorrelated. I’m glad this stuff gets noticed.

Free Tibet

Leave it to Mark Steyn to note the obvious that the rest of us have missed:

The other day I found myself, for the umpteenth time, driving in Vermont behind a Kerry/Edwards supporter whose vehicle also bore the slogan ‘FREE TIBET’. It must be great to be the guy with the printing contract for the ‘FREE TIBET’ stickers. Not so good to be the guy back in Tibet wondering when the freeing thereof will actually get under way. For a while, my otherwise not terribly political wife got extremely irritated by these stickers, demanding to know at a pancake breakfast at the local church what precisely some harmless hippy-dippy old neighbour of ours meant by the slogan he’d been proudly displaying decade in, decade out: ‘But what exactly are you doing to free Tibet?’ she demanded. ‘You’re not doing anything, are you?’ ‘Give the guy a break,’ I said back home. ‘He’s advertising his moral virtue, not calling for action. If Rumsfeld were to say, “Free Tibet? Jiminy, what a swell idea! The Third Infantry Division go in on Thursday”, the bumper-sticker crowd would be aghast.’

Hitler Comparisons

Working a Hitler/Nazi comparison to support your argument seems to be the fashion. Senator Byrd jumps on the bandwagon by making a comparison to Senate Republicans (via Hugh Hewitt). I thought it would be interesting to do a quick little study with Google. Who gets the most hits with Hitler?

Number of hits for name “Hitler” alone – 9,200,000

Number of hits for name “Hitler” combined with the following names:

Bush 1,480,000
Stalin 730,000
Jesus 718,000
Clinton 704,000
Saddam 703,000
Kennedy 551,000
Satan 501,000
Kerry 462,000
Reagan 437,000
Goebbels 233,000
Goering 101,000
Reid 87,500
Byrd 71,000
Dan Rather 53,800
Lewinsky 38,500
Daschle 37,600
Scalia 30,700
Glenn Reynolds 27,900
Pelosi 24,000

Of interest, I noticed that Bush-Satan hits beat Bush-Hitler by 730,000. A lot of intellectual discourse going on out there.

Continued Significance of the Iraqi Elections

More support for the Iraqi elections as a Mideast Turning Point. Mark Steyn observes, in the Telegraph, the impact of the Iraqi Elections on positive developments in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Saudia Arabia:

“Why is all this happening? Answer: January 30. Don't take my word for it, listen to Walid Jumblatt, big-time Lebanese Druze leader and a man of impeccable anti-American credentials: "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, eight million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Berlin Wall has fallen." Just so. Left to their own devices, the House of Saud - which demanded all US female air-traffic controllers be stood down for Crown Prince Abdullah's flight to the Bush ranch in Crawford - would stick to their traditional line that Wahhabi women have no place in a voting booth; instead, they have to dress like a voting booth - a big black impenetrable curtain with a little slot to drop your ballot through. Likewise, Hosni Mubarak has no desire to take part in campaign debates with Hosno Name-Recognition. Boy Assad has no desire to hand over his co-Baathists to the Great Satan's puppets in Baghdad.”

Changes are mounting; today Lebanon’s government resigned.

Spring is Coming

It got up to the low 50’s today. Sun was out. Everyone in the neighborhood was out. Our family put the yard in order – cleaning out leaves stuck in the garden, sprucing up. I pruned the grape vines (every year I think I’ve cut them so far back that they won’t recover but I’m vindicated at harvest time). Were now accustomed to the Northern Utah climate; in San Antonio spring didn’t start until it was 72 degrees (of course that was the end of January…). And to think I was camping in a snow storm last week.

Turning Point

The significance of the Iraqi Election becomes larger each passing day. Its immediate effect was to topple the idol of despair the media high priests and the council of liberal elders had erected for Western masses to revere. The millions of Iraqis who defied terror’s vaunted thousands now appear to be a catharsis for Lebanese who tire of their Syrian overlords. Will the Persian empire to the east also be affected by the tremors.

(link via Powerline)

Item of Interest Today

Property rights on trial at the Supreme Court (Bainbridge via instapundit). Professor Bainbridge links to SCOTUS with a disappointing assessment.

It's Great Having Two Papers

I guess you can say the Salt Lake Tribune corroborates the Deseret New’s headline (mentioned below) with this quote regarding Rocky Anderson:

Cox [Rep. David Cox, R-Lehi] also believes Salt Lake's mayor is anti-LDS. He points to Anderson's past statements about the religious makeup of the city council. "He has a definite religious bias and is using his position to further that," said Cox, who, like an estimated 90 percent of his fellow Utah legislators, is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Cox's comments infuriate Anderson, who said "It gets to the point of being personally cruel and hurtful." "I find it extremely troubling that a person would accuse someone of essentially being a religious bigot because that person calls for a greater valuing of our community's diversity."

This is news?

Deseret Morning News: Rocky denies church gives him orders

Actually the editors must have been smiling when they wrote that headline.

Winter Campout

My assistants and I took the scouts camping in our district’s Klondike derby. This was my first, intentional, lets go camping in the snow trip (I’ve camped in below-freezing and snowy weather before, but only because the forecast wasn’t up to par).

The ten of us rolled out of home base at 4:00 pm – a half hour past schedule; some scouts are still coming to grips with the motto “Be Prepared”. Most of the district was already in place when we arrived at camp, requiring us to haul our venture further into woods. An advantage of that distance was to be isolated from the other camps.

We set up camp and had an uneventful evening, other than our camp stove didn’t work. We resorted to cooking our stew on an above ground fire pit. The boys stayed up till 11:00 pm and even in their tents continued to talk into the night. Everyone was dry and comfortable. I settled down for a pleasant rest in my one man backpacking tent with my trusty holo-fill sleeping bag and foam pad. My tent was on about two to three feet of snow resulting in a perfect surface - no rocks to worry about.

It started to snow just after midnight. It was heavy and sounded like rain lightly tapping the tent. About 5:00 am the wind picked up. It poised little problem for my tent, but the boys were sleeping in two huge spring bar tents. The combination of wind and snow on the roof caused both tents to collapse about 5:30 am. We determined it wasn’t worth putting them back up (the wind and snow were really getting difficult).

We started the day in a snow storm. It was difficult to cook (the assistants had fixed the stove after dinner last night). Snow was blowing side ways. One of the assistant’s tent blew down and rolled several yards away. The snow was wet and we became wet. The pleasant trip was now becoming miserable. Still we plugged on with breakfast, using only one burner to concentrate heat on the reaming portion of the griddle. We got the sausages and bacon cooked but only managed to get about one pancake for each boy.

We weren’t the only troop having difficulty working in the weather. The Klondike Derby events were cancelled and most of us pulled up camp shortly afterwards. We hit the road at 10:00.

The camp was a good experience. It will give the boys bragging rights. I would like to try to go lighter next time; take a few more two men tents instead and less troop equipment. We spent a lot of time hauling equipment in and then hauling it out again. A camp like this underscores what I like about about backpacking. Of course, this was my first winter camp, and we brought a lot of extra items to compensate for inexperience. I look forward to future winter camps.

Utah Legislature Website

While looking up information on the Utah Legislature’s Senate Bill 61, I came across their website. They have done a great job making information accessible to the public. You can access PDF or HTML files of proposed legislation or track the progress of bills. Here is information on S.B. 61 (note there is also a substitute S.B. 61). At the bottom of the page one can enter an email address to get a notification these bills are updated.

Death Spiral for MSM credibility?

I am somewhat surprised at the main stream media’s (MSM) reaction to bloggers regarding Eason Jordan’s resignation from CNN (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, start here). Steve Lovelady, with the Columbia Journalism Review, reflects their attitude with this quote "The salivating morons who make up the lynch mob prevail” (as reported by the New York Times). Much has been written about this mischaracterization of bloggers (see Glenn Reynolds), so I won’t bother adding my two cents.

My observation, instead, is how many people readily bypass the MSM to dig into available information direct from bloggers. I understand the phenomenon, because I’ve long not trusted the MSM; I just didn’t realize how widespread this attitude is. It underscores an underlying credibility gap that automatically starts the MSM on defense. But the MSM chose to make matters worse. Their soft-pedaling of Eason Jordan’s comments and subsequent vilification of bloggers only served to widen the credibility gap as more folks read the blogs for themselves and compare them to the MSM’s reporting of the same. I’m betting most will conclude they don’t match. Thus continues the MSM credibility death spiral.

Rights of Parents to Home School Children

I've never met Jon Yarrington but he writes a clear opinion in the Deseret Morning News "My View" section about the rights of parents to home school their children without government interference. The paper identifies Mr Yarrington as the President of the Utah Home School Education Association; they made a good choice in a President.

I've Added Trackback

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Failure of Bill Moyer’s Logic

John Hinderaker, of Powerline writes a piece in the Daily Standard about Bill Moyer’s slander of former Interior Secretary, James Watt. Mr. Hinderaker points out the slander is used to mischaracterize evangelical Christians as welcoming environmental pollution since this sign of the last days would hasten the second coming of Christ. Powerline already pointed out this assertion is ludicrous based on most Christian’s understanding of stewardship. A further point to consider: How does Mr. Moyer square his belief that right wing Christians favor environmental pollution while they adamantly oppose other “signs of the time” also ushering in the last days. To follow Mr. Moyer’s logic one would also expect these same Christians to drop their opposition to abortion and homosexual marriage.

Evacuated Wednesday

A burning tanker truck with a load of butane caused the neighborhood to be evacuated. The truck reportedly went through a red light, T-boned a turning van, then overturned on a highway about a half mile from home. Leaking fuel collected in a nearby house and finally reached an ignition source there about two hours after the accident.

The accident altered my commute home, as it did my son, who actually got off the UTA bus at the same intersection of the crash, just as first responders where arriving. He had an adventure getting home since police quickly cordoned off his normal route.

We watched the news report, discussed the excitement during dinner and then separated into our various routines. About an hour later I smelled a rotting cabbage smell. My wife noticed it also. We checked the trash and kitty litter before I thought to check outside; when I did, not only was the smell coming from the tanker, I saw the orange glow from fire lighting the sky.

Sometimes you don’t realize when a situation is dangerous. My first reaction was to call the kids to the patio to look at the fire. About a minute later sirens could be heard arriving. A fire truck began driving through the neighborhood; the driver using a loud speaker, directed us to evacuate immediately.

I told the kids to put their shoes and coats on. My wife grabbed a few things. As I opened the garage to put the emergency 72 hour kit in the car, I noticed the house across the street was lit up in an orange hue indicating the flames had grown much larger. This spurred me to have the family stop further gathering immediately and to get in the van. We probably were out of the house in three minutes from first hearing the evacuation notice.

We spent the night at my parents, about 25 minutes south of home, watching the news reports of the fire and evacuation. We were able to return at 8:00 the next morning.

Notes on President Bush’s State of the Union Speech

Reminiscent of his inaugural speech, President Bush's State of the Union Address was cast in terms of what the nation should do to ensure “a better world for our children and grandchildren”. He stated we had three responsibilities to our posterity:

1. Be good stewards of the economy
2. Pass on Values
3. Leave an America safe from danger

He presented the following proposals:

1. Holding growth of “discretionary” spending below inflation
2. Make tax relief permanent
3. Reduces/Eliminates 150 government programs
4. Help 200,000 workers trained for better career
5. Urge Congress to pass legal reforms on frivolous lawsuits
6. Health care agenda (tax credits, community health centers, medical technology, association health plans for small business, health savings accounts, and medical liability reform)
7. Energy legislation
8. Reform tax code
9. Guest workers/ immigration reform
10. Social Security Reform
- no change for 55 above
- 4% of payroll tax into personnel retirement accounts (with government controls
11. Marriage protection amendment
12. Faith based community group focus to keep young men out of gangs
13. Reauthorize Ryan White act
14. DNA training for defense counsels

He took the following stands:

1. Prevention of human embryo experimentation
2. Up or down vote on judicial nominees

He singled out the following countries to increase democracy:

1. Saudi Arabia
2. Egypt

He singled out the following countries as sponsors of terrorism:

1. Syria
2. Iran
He singled out North Korea as a country proliferating nuclear weapons.

He outlined our goals for Iraq and stated that he would make no withdrawal timetable, as it would be artificial.

Absolute Truths

I believe in absolute truths; that things or principles exist that are true and unchanging regardless of people's opinions or perspectives. One doesn't need to suppose that such a belief also makes me an expert of such truths. Only a few can I state unequivically - such as God exists (a fact I regard as the supreme truth). Most other truths I only recognize in part thus making me unable to declare them absolutely. There generally seems to be exceptions (Is this a truth?).