Me and Dolly

 In August of 1981 I started work at Warner Communications at 75 Rockefeller Plaza. I did not have to arrive until about noon, so by 11 AM I was entering into the building on the south side. My elevator was to the 24th floor. Traffic was low in the lobby so I just walked into an open elevator. Now I am 6' 3" and inside was this 5' buxom blond, wig most likely. It was Dolly Parton! I had now joined the entertainment industry starting day one. I was in my pin striped blue suit from Brooks with a vest! What a contrast.

She looked up at me as if I were the empire state building, I wanted to push the button for 24, but she slapped my hand and said: "I'll push the button young man."

Now at the time I did not realize I was older than her. My first "star", up to the 24th floor. Frankly I was terrified, I had no idea how to deal with these folks. KGB officers were fine, but music folks, not so fine.

Some 25 or so years later when writing a book on my fathers ship, I went to Tennessee and instead of going to the left and Dollywood, I went to the right and visited a retired minister and shipmate of my father's. It was the land where she had come from, before the dress, hair, and glitter, poor but honest folks.

Sad to see her pass, my prayers for her, great person. 

 

 

Ben Hur Redux

 I guess today the Emperor will have a redo of the famous chariot race but this time with autos of some repute. It is bad enough to get around DC not to close off its heart for this automotive chariot race may be a bit over the top.

In the Navy

 My father was in the Navy in WW II. He managed to return once to the US in late 1944 after the Battle of Surigao Strait and the friendly fire on his ship by the USS Denver. A short period where I lived with my mother in Berkeley. There was no cell phone, Zoom etc. His mother never complained to the Navy Department, she was dead.

Now I read about mothers, fathers, mother-in-law and the like front page complaining about their wonderful children not being fed well enough and being far from home too long!

One must be kidding! Imagine what the shipmates may think of "Little Billy" not having his favorite ice cream of Fruit Loops! This is why they call it a war!  

Think of what the Marines or Army soldiers go through, no water, poor food, and a rather aggressive enemy.

The Navy is not a subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line, it is a military organization. "little Billy"may now be the most underappreciated sailor on board! 

Plan B or even C

 As one looks at the issues of blocking the straits, one really must ask what Defense (eg War) planners were doing. This was always a clear single point of failure. Since the late 70s after the overthrow of the old Iranian Government, the threat was imminent. The Saudis had built a modest plan B to the Red Sea but on to the Med had been in place since the 80s but became unworkable after the many conflicts.

There is talk about building a new pipeline. One would assume that given the master builders we have in DC that building a pipeline across a desert would be super easy. Just money and people which we seem to have plenty of. 

We have millions looking for work, this is a great place for them. We can even gold plate parts and name for important donors!

Just a thought! 

Bayeux Tapestry

 After 9/11 I was stuck in France for ten days. Instead of staying in Paris at the Four Seasons, a prominent Saudi watering hole, I took my associate and drove to Bayeux. The tapestry was a significant token of western advances and managed to assuage the mutilation of friends and colleagues in New York. The town of Bayeux is quaint bu wonderfully Norman.

The tapestry was displayed in a simple museum. What amazed me was despite my Latin being then some forty years old, as I walked about the display I could readily read most of the tapestry. It was less a recognition of my lasting Latin aptitude  than it was of the limited Latin of its makers. 

But it was a truly unique emblem of western civilization. The telling of a story of Norman success against Saxon indulgence. 

Hopefully the Brits do not damage this wonderful emblem of an evolving civilization. 

Hiroshima 1945

 From my book about my fathers ship in WW II:

On the 6th of August, 1945, Ensign Hartung reported to me that he had heard a news broadcast over the wardroom short wave radio saying that a new powerful bomb had been exploded over the Japanese city of Hiroshima and that President Truman had issued an ultimatum to the Japanese to surrender or experience “a rain of destruction such as the world has never known.” Ensign Hartung literally lived by the wardroom radio during the next few days and kept me advised of the bombing of Nagasaki and the Japanese surrender.

On the day of the surrender I ordered that two cans of beer per man be served in the mess hall and opened a bottle of medicinal whiskey in the wardroom to drink a toast to victory. Normally the beer was kept under lock and key and taken ashore for picnics on atolls. Drinking on board ship was forbidden by Navy regulations, but I felt that the occasion warranted bending the rules. From the crew perspective the end was a bit more enthusiastically received.

Carlson recalls:

“THE WAR WAS OVER!

Terry McGarty, a fire control man and myself were sitting together on deck when we heard the news and both of us cried like babies. So what, we, before long, would be with our loved ones. We had been planning to invade the islands of the Japanese because we had now became a part of the 12th Fleet.

Before that we had always been with the 7th Amphibious Fleet under Admiral Kincaid. We had been issued all sorts of cold weather gear to travel to Alaska on our way to invade Japan.

Unlike the Iran war, Truman acted on his threat. The end was not only in sight but achieved. 
  

Happy 4th

 From NASA telescope. I shall be working in the field of lilies. 

D Day

 

D Day, September 13th 2001. Two days after 9-11 I was staying in Normandy, out of Paris until the flights to North America resumed. I visited the Normandy beaches. Each year we remember Normandy, and we should equally remember Saipan, where my father and thousands of others attacked and stormed the beaches, allowing the annexing of Tinian, the airfield for B-29s and Hiroshima. 

Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant

The gladiators fought with their gladius, the mid sized sword used in the Roman legions. The gladius was often chipped from battle, made of a Roman steel blend, iron with a charcoal mix of carbon, then heated and sharpened.

I gather the White House has installed a Roman like gathering with brutal fighters. Gold fixtures, all we are missing is golden leaf crowns! 

55 Years Later

 In June 1971 at my doctoral ceremony, the only one I went to in those days, all others I got via mail, we had a a small short ceremony. Viet Nam was still afoot, there were no job recruiters on campus that year, Nixon's economy was starting to explode, off gold standard and massive tariffs, so we had no useless speaker, and we all were trying to figure out how to support ourselves. Frankly we could not even get drafted! Too old and probably physically exhausted.

Now above is this years Engineering doctoral students. You could not recognize this class if you were from 1971. First we never had hats, second the doctoral gowns were black, the hoods were simple. Below is MIT 1960.

 

One wonders what these folks will contribute 55 years from now? 

Memorial Day

 

Burial after Battle of Surigao Strait, October 1944, on my father's destroyer. Almost a third of the crew, from friendly fire, the USS Denver.

Yes or No

 One of the things I learned as an expert at trials is to answer yes or no to a question that allows that. Such as: "Have you ever traveled to Russia?", "Yes". Now I find that the younger generation, it now includes almost everyone, cannot do this. The have to tell you stories. 

For example if one asks a patient:

Miss Jones, have you had this pain for several days." 

The answer is a yes or no. Instead one gets what she had for dinner last night, how she arrived by Uber today at the clinic, where she went last weekend with her boyfriend, and on and on until you repeat the question as if she never heard it, and you get another set of desiderata. 

I see this across many environments. I assume they are not avoiding an answer it is just that they want to share their social life; meals, contacts, places, pets, etc. This phenomenon has become more so as social media has exploded. 

I just wonder if it is due to age or my lack of social media contact. It is great for an attorney since the witness will just ramble on telling you everything without aver asking. 

The Earth is Flat

 The fatal flaw of AI is that it relies solely upon masses of prior information. It takes everything as truth with no balance or fact checking. Thus if one does a simple thought experiment the fault would become clear. Consider if AI existed in 1300 AD. Fear not, just AI nothing else new. I then ask the AI engine if the earth is flat. The answer clearly is yes because all of the documents it relied upon says so. 

Thus the fatal flaw of any AI system is the "fact base" it relies upon. As someone once relayed to me, "There was a young boy whose father placed him on a high table. He opened his arms and said jump. The boy jumped, the father withdrew his arms and splat! The father then said to the boy: Trust no one not even your father" 

Sixth Avenue

 As an old New Yorker I still call the Avenue of the Americas, Sixth Avenue. The bridge across the Hudson the Tappan Zee Bridge. Penn Station is Penn Station. Grand Central is Grand Central. The Hudson River is the Hudson River. He sailed up it in 1609 so I guess that is just fine. Newark Airport is just OK. I cannot get used to Newark Liberty. 

Don't start changing names. Idlewild is now JFK. Easier to say I guess. LaGuardia,  well I guess it is OK, after all he allegedly signed my birth certificate. Build a victory arch, name it for the Emperor? The above is in Aosta, but beware Constantine went through it on his way to conquering all of the Empire. 

Rights and the Individual

 Turley’s latest book, Rage and the Republic, is a highly readable and compelling presentation of the fundamental issues that created the American Republic as we may know it.

 I begin by noting that on the west side of Morristown, NJ, on the way to the wintering grounds of Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War, is a small park, a pond and a wonderful statue. Fortunately it was not torn down during the rage on past people, it remains but a lonesome edifice to the past. It is a statue of Thomas Paine, with his writings held in his hands. I suspect that few visitors have any clue who this person was. I have sat in the shade many times in warm weather looking up at old Tom and wondering is he remains a well known character anymore. Then along comes Turley and enlivens Tom as a key player and essential writer to the Revolution’s cause. Paine flows in and out of Turley’s work and one must understand him to get to understand the theme of Turley’s book. Turley provides such an understanding in a brilliant and readable manner.

 Turley presents many of the issues in readily understandable terms. For the many who have little if any knowledge of the “ideas” that led to the American Revolution and in turn to the French Revolution, Turley’s presents them in understandable terms.

 One his earlier discussions if the use of natural law and natural rights. In my opinion, natural rights precede natural law. Natural rights is a concept that has a long standing existence. In simple terms natural rights are those things that people believe that have or should have. Such as the right to speak freely, the right town and control property, the right to a fail trial, the right to believe in one’s own religion. By the time of Paine and Rousseau, the American view and the French, these rights were somewhat commonly held. Natural law then is the law that provides the legal basis for ensuring these rights. Turley depicts the Founders as true believers in these rights and the basis in law for their protection.

 Turley points out as US Senator who questions natural rights and in turn natural law. I have seen this Senator in action and clearly in my opinion his comments are baseless at the very least and reflect perhaps a gross ignorance of both history and facts. But alas it is politics, where ignorance is oftentimes a virtue, it allows one to purport statements that satisfy a political position independent of the facts.

 In addition to the first two above, Turley depicts the Founders and their actions as supporters of the individual, and in turn individualism. The Bill of Rights, based upon Natural Rights, are rights for the individual, not the collective. Freedom of speech is freedom for the individual, as is freedom of religion, and of the press. The rights are furthermore equal for all individuals. In the American Revolution, people became citizens nor subjects. One should not in England to this day people are subjects, subjects of the Crown. Whereas in America, citizens hold equal and inalienable rights. Turley does an excellent job in presenting these concepts.

 Let me consider several points that Turley makes throughout the book.

 On p 34 he speaks of Mayhew and Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Paul stated: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.

 Now one must question this on its face. After all one could hardly say that following Herod or Nero were established by God! Indeed Mayhew and Paine broke from this well established idea of divine selection. However it should be noted that Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham in the 14^th century predated Mayhew and Paine in denying this divine assignment of rulers. In fact they espoused the rights of individuals, rights that superseded the divine or royal. Unfortunately the plague of 1348 quieted this movement for some 400 years.

 On p 62 is the discussion of Paine and unicameralism. Namely only one house for legislation. I felt that the failure to cover Montesquieu in this place was a fault. For it was Montesquieu who had developed a government with a balance of powers, a form inherent in the Constitution. How much of this Paine accepted in uncertain.

 On p 167 the author begins with de Tocqueville and his understanding of the Americans. Now I believe it is useful to see Tocqueville in the context of three of his works; that on America, the French Revolution and Ireland. Most of the attention is on America. But Tocqueville saw the French Revolution as a revolt against the centralization of all governmental power in Paris and lack outside. It is a somewhat different view but worth consideration. In his work on Ireland he commented upon the near slave like existence of the Irish under English rule. Brutality, death, starvation and the total depletion of any claim to a right.

 From p 173 forward the author considers contemporary responses and indeed contemporary rage. Most of what he writes here is a reiteration of current acts by people and politicians. For example on p 176 he discusses the assassinations of Kirk and Thompson. He contends that these acts were done by American Jacobins. In the context of the French Revolution the Jacobins were the “Jacques”, the common man. Similar acts were common with earlier “Jacques” call Jacquerie, a 14^th century band of “common men” who roamed France slaughtering those whom the believed were infringing on their “rights”. The question that needs answering is what drives these people? What makes an otherwise normal human being become an assassin? This is not a new set of events, it is common, albeit it ebbs and flows with the time and place.

 On pp 184-185 the author discusses the fumbling and bumbling U.S. Senator and his denial of the existence of natural rights. Now there are centuries of writings on natural rights and at the time the Founders wrote the Constitution there were well of many centuries of thought of these issues. But to have a Senator from Virginia of all places to espouse such grossly inaccurate remarks makes one wonder. The author uses this well placed discussion to make a point.

 On pp 187-196 the author discusses Professors. I was at MIT in the 60s, as a junior faculty member so I managed to see both worlds, student and faculty. The “age” then was against the Vietnam War. The SDS was a well organized Marxist group whose action were often poorly targeted but damaging. My office were threated by fire bombs, my exam rooms got bomb threats, and smoke from Harvard square worked its way down Mass Ave. But the protests were focused on the war. I was even an adherent to Chomsky’s views, albeit a bit of a fringe personality. But now the Chomskyites are pervasive, often Marxists through and through. But what I found later was that Chomsky was a sophist par excellance. He wrote brilliantly but managed to twist facts to his desired conclusions.

 On p 233 the author discusses property rights, on of the natural rights. If one labors and the fruits of that labor are the creation of legal acquisition of property one has an inalienable right to that property.

 On 260 to 264 the author discusses AI. Here as with many other authors I ask how does one define AI. One looks about and everything is now AI supported, even one mobile phone. In reality there are multiple niches wherein the use of computers, the collection of massive amounts of information, the tools to enter queries and obtain responses via complex processing of the query and the databases is called AI. But in reality AI is in the eye of the beholder, it as the Supreme Court noted in pornography, you know it when you see it. Thus it use and ultimately its regulation is clouded in uncertainty.

 Overall this is a superb book. It lacks the excitement and fire of Paine but it balances facts, history, and politics in a superb manner. It is a book written by an academic, providing facts and interpretation but accessible to every reader. I would highly recommend a read of this book, not just once, but several times.

A New Zealand View

 Now New Zealand is an English speaking country but in many ways an outlier. In a Nature article the authors discuss Toxic Masculinity. They state:

The term toxic masculinity was coined in the 1980s, and expresses the idea that some of the traits that many societies consider stereotypically ‘masculine’, such as dominance and aggression, can have damaging social impacts. Today, the phrase is often used to describe all manner of behaviours, from sexual violence to a disinclination to help with chores around the home. The concept has proved helpful in many ways — highlighting how gender-based expectations can contribute to depression in men, for example, and encouraging men to see value in being open about their emotions. But it can also be problematic, researchers say. Casual use of the term might falsely imply, for example, that all societies think of manliness in the same way, that all masculine traits are negative or that all men are toxic. Researchers have delved into similar concepts, including hegemonic or patriarchal masculinity, which examines how a dominant, culturally idealized view of manhood upholds the patriarchy. But the term toxic masculinity hasn’t had as much academic attention. “Nobody measures it,” says psychology researcher Steven Sanders at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Some psychologists are now trying to pick apart and quantify its aspects.

 Now clearly the authors have not been examining the trends of American XX in the recent decade of protests. Dominance and aggression is an understatement. Ruthless, assertive, and provocation are more the likely assessments of XX. 

 The XY groups try to keep their own but clearly the behavior is dominated by the aggressive XX groups. But alas this is New Zealand.

 

Cloudflare Messes Up Everything

 More and more web sites demand use of Cloudflare. Time and time again it messes everything up. It asserts that my IP address is a risk. I have used it for three decades! No risks. It fails to learn. It then inhibits log in to common sites. You spend time working around it.

I agree we should be careful. But it appears Cloudflare despises users! Security should be better at what they charge. If all else fails listen to the customer. They clearly do not.

March of the Turkeys

 It is sub zero but these guys seem to be bouncing around. They are on their way to Davos to meet the rest of the clan!

OK, Who Died?

 

 

In the old days, one studied the Trivium. Simply, the use of language, grammar and logic. Now if one looks at the above, it is a memorial to now two people, not just the one. Thus did someone pass away that we did not know of. I am truly amazed by the blatant ignorance of language. 

Happy New Year! The fun never ends! 

Social Media

 I do not use social media, unless you consider my 20 year old blog one. But the blog is purely one way, I really do not care what anyone thinks, it just reflects current issues.

But I am being bombarded with Facebook stuff from family members. Frankly it is 99% advertising, selling stuff I would have no interest in. Then it includes the politically correct junk that must mean something to someone. 

What had struck me was that as I had projected years ago it is a psych profiling and psych motivation system. Why would anyone knowingly subject themselves.

The companies operating these useless and dangerous systems must be making a fortune on targeted ads. Why would anyone click on an ad on Facebook? Where would it take you, how would it profile you?

Try writing a letter, you know, paper and pen, then envelope, then mail it. No ads!