Danielmedley.com

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Battlestar Galactica

Typically, I dislike most science fiction. In fact I’ll go out on a limb and state that I hate Star Wars and, with the exception of Enterprise, I would rather vomit than take in an episode of Star Trek. Granted, Enterprise has its fair share of cheese, but it seemed to accept that fact and, often times, relish in it.

After stating the above, I will now state that after watching a few episodes of the new version of Battlestar Galactica, it is one of the best shows on television.  It’s heavy, gritty, and by God I’ve yet to see one alien, ray gun, or cheese. The writing and acting is very good for the most part. It is easily as good as anything on television.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Media Bias

Probably more obvious this election cycle than any other.

The traditional media are playing a very, very dangerous game—with their readers, with the Constitution and with their own fates.

The sheer bias in the print and television coverage of this election campaign is not just bewildering, but appalling.

I must say that I agree. It used to be that mainstream media was arguably biased. Now it’s a matter of fact and it does not bode well.

Monday, October 27, 2008

I’m Sorry, But …

Generally speaking, much of what Obama espouses is Marxist light. Anytime you talk about “redistributing” wealth, you are treading on Marxist territory. Ok, call it socialism, but socialism is Marxism light. What I don’t understand is why everyone gets up in arms about pointing this fact out. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, it damn well is a duck for all intents and purposes. Even if it ain’t a duck, it may as well be a duck because it does everything a duck does.

Obama’s tax proposal relies heavily on wealth redistribution. His so called tax cut for all but those making more than 250 K holds more than the average person is aware of. One fact that people seem willing to overlook is that this so called tax cut program also gives tax money to people who don’t pay taxes at all.

Also, it seems that many people aren’t aware that the top 10 percent income earners pay something like 80 percent of all taxes. The bottom 40 percent pay nothing.

Also, no matter what measures government takes to increase taxes on corporations, corporations simply do not pay them. Oh, they fork over the money to the government, but they then pass down that expense, like all expenses, to customers, workers, etc. If it gets bad enough, many of them will simply pack up and move their operations to another, more tax advantaged country. Tell me, how does that help middle class America? Answer, it doesn’t.

Which is why the prospect of an Obama Presidency is not too appealing to me. 

I’m just saying.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Pushing For Level 2

Next Saturday I’ll be testing for level 2 in Krav Maga. I’ve been trying to go as much as possible in preparation and it’s been kicking my ass which is what it’s supposed to do. Last night we were working on some ground techniques; the kind of thing you might employ if someone has you down on your back, on top of you, and pummeling the shit out of you. We were doing some arm trap techniques—trapping the arm, rolling them over, pound them in the nuts a couple of times and escape. As a result, my shoulders and arms are sore.

The ground stuff in Krav is pretty basic. Against a real good grappler—ground fighter you’d probably be in a world of hurt, but most people aren’t experienced ground fighters. Your average attacker, if he does get you on the ground would be play meat to a knowledgeable Krav practitioner.

A couple of months ago I had surgery on my left elbow and I was forced to take a few weeks off. Just before the surgery I was in decent shape considering the atrocious condition I was in before I began taking Krav on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t some overweight couch potato, but I was just not in good shape. When I came back after recuperating from the surgery I thought I was going to die. The first two weeks back I was puking my guts out every time I worked out. However, the last two weeks I haven’t tossed my guts yet. I did come close last night though.

Anyway, it’ll be good to get the level 2 out of the way. Then the fun really begins.

Going Political

Like I’ve said before, I’m hesitant to get political on this blog because of experiences on another site I used to have. People have a tendency to get out of hand. But to hell with it, I’m going to go political. You are welcome to comment as long as it’s not stupidity. If you want to have an intellectually honest discussion, go for it in the comments. But if—when—the comments go stupid, I’ll simply not let them be posted.

I remember, growing up, the old adage of never discussing politics or religion. I’ll agree with the religion aspect because discussing something based solely on faith and belief is a losing proposition. However, as far as politics are concerned, there is no reason why they can’t be discussed. The only people who will get offended are those who refuse to participate in an intellectually honest discussion and those kinds of people usually have other motives in mind. In fact, I believe that politics should be openly discussed and during that discussion, the participants should be willing to change their minds in the face of facts and historical precedent. There have been many times that I’ve altered long held beliefs in the face of a well reasoned, intellectually honest discussion. Changing beliefs does not change the facts and in matters of politics and culture, “beliefs” should play a small role in lieu of empirical, historical facts. 

Sure, to cast aside any form of “gut feeling” or belief would be superhuman, but to let blind ideology stand in the way of reason does no good for anyone or any culture. I believe that any belief that we hold should be willingly held up to scrutiny and that willingness to let it go, no matter how dear we hold it—belief that is—is simply intellectual honesty.

To be sure, this blog is mostly centered on writing, but dammit, sometimes I just gotta vent!

A Campaign Like No Other

Okay, history is replete with shenanigans from both sides of the political spectrum, but this time around it seems to be most evident in Obama’s camp.

It turns out that half of Obama’s haul in 2008 has come in contributions of $200 dollars or less. These small donations do not require public disclosure under FEC guidelines, and the Obama campaign refuses to make public its list of contributors. Obama earlier announced he’d accept public financing if the GOP nominee did the same (and then, of course, broke his pledge in June after realizing he’d far surpass previous fundraising records). So there’s a pattern. By keeping his donor list secret now, the Illinois senator has heightened speculation of financial impropriety.

What strikes me is that the media can go all gaga over Sarah Palin’s wardrobe, yet not even pose a rudimentary question as far as Barack Obama’s questionable campaign contributions.

I mean, this kind of thing is alarming.

the Obama campaign refuses to screen credit card contributions for potential fraudulent transactions, and thus any individual could make unlimited contributions using infinite aliases.

It turns out, for example, that credit card companies deploy a variety of security measures to guarantee the processing of electronic transactions. For campaign giving, the key safeguards are vendor address verification, country of residence, and proof of citizenship. We now know that Obama operatives at the campaign’s website have disabled the security settings on vendor identity to expedite online donations, gifts that then speed through to fund election activities that would be flagged as illegal under normal FEC reporting standards.

Allapundit at Hot Air has shown that, as the news of Obama’s open-access credit card procedures went viral across the conservative blogosphere, readers conducted dozens of “experiments” to see if the Obama campaign would accept their money. In no time, the Obama campaign was accepting money from the likes of “JarackBoe BOamabiden” and “Nodda Realperson.” It’s unlikely that these donations will be flagged as fraudulent once the original credit card transactions clear. Thus, while amassing its illegal campaign-contributions war chest, the Obama campaign brazenly flouts the federal election regulations enacted during an earlier reform era of “hope and change.” Meanwhile, the pro-Obama liberal press looks the other way, partnering with the very corruption and duplicity the media industry has attacked during eight years of Republican power in Washington.

Make no mistake, the Democratic nominee may now be running the biggest underground finance operation since President Nixon deployed the “plumbers” as his key operatives for CREEP in 1972.

What’s particularly ironic is that the door to this form of “change” was opened by McCain himself with the absurd McCain- Feingold campaign finance reform act. 

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Who Needs ACORN When You Have Salt Lake County

Today was a momentous day for me and my wife, Anna. This morning, along with 195 others from 62 different countries, my wife raised her right hand and took the oath of citizenship of the United States of America. Immediately after the oath, a microphone was passed around to various new citizens who were given the opportunity to publicly state what being a U.S. citizen meant to them. The heartfelt statements coming from people hailing from Palestine, Venezuela, Russia, Canada, U.K., India, etc was enough to cause me to come to the conclusion that no matter how divided we seem to be now, this country--the principles upon which it was founded--is far more robust than what I realized. At the end of the ceremony, the new citizens were reminded that there was still time for them to vote and were advised to take their new certificates of citizenship with them to the Salt Lake County Courthouse and register. My wife has been looking forward to being able to participate in this election for some time.

At the County Clerk’s office, Anna filled out the voter registration form and handed it to a young woman who took it, said “thanks”, and turned to walk away. “Excuse me,” Anna said. “Do you need to see any kind of ID?”

The young woman looked at my wife with true bewilderment.

“I have an accent, I’d think you would want to make sure I’m even eligible to vote.”

“Uh, okay,” the voter registration woman said.

Anna pulled out the certificate of citizenship and held it out to the woman who barely put in the effort to look at it before walking away.

This didn’t sit well with my wife. Her view is that the very foundation upon which this country is built is the election process. To treat the process so shoddily is shocking. So, while driving home, she decided to call the County Clerk’s office and ask them just how, exactly, do they determine the eligibility of those registering to vote. She’s only been a citizen for an hour and already she’s raising hell. Gotta love her.

She actually managed to get a hold of someone and expressed her concern at not being asked for some form of ID or proof of eligibility to vote and wanted to know what processes were employed to verify the eligibility of voters. Anna was told she had no need to worry about it, that measures would be taken. She pressed the County employee about the measures and was told that that was privileged information. 

“Privileged? asked Anna. “I pay taxes that pay your salary. I have every right to expect you to tell me about the measures you take to verify the eligibility of voters.” At this point, she was forwarded to a higher-up who basically told her that they “trust” people. When asked why they don’t at least check ID’s, the higher-up told her that doing so makes some people angry.

Huh?

Anna’s take is that there should be some sort of verification of eligibility to vote especially if you are obviously not a natural born citizen.

I think that she’s right. It just leaves too many holes through which voter fraud can take place. I used to be against the notion of a requirement that all U.S. citizens have a passport, but now I’m thinking that the possession and display of a passport should be the requirement to both register and vote.

I’m just saying. 

Monday, October 13, 2008

Those 401(k)s Should Be Left Alone

Apparently, Barak Obama is laying out a new economic plan. I haven’t gone through it thoroughly, but one thing is unsettling.

Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings – up to a maximum of $10,000 – without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year.

I work in financial services. Daily, I work with people dealing with matters of retirement, IRA’s, and 401(k)’s. For many, their 401(k) is the only retirement that they will have. If this aspect of Obama’s economic plan is implemented, there will be many more people who will be insufficiently funded for retirement. If government must interfere, it should interfere on the side of strongly encouraging people to actively plane for and contribute to their retirement, not making it easier for them to screw it up. 

Going John Galt

Here is an interesting take on the painfully partisan politics of our day in reference to Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.

Perhaps the partisian politics we are dealing with now is really just a struggle between those of us who believe in productivity, personal responsibility, and keeping government interference to a minimum, and those who believe in the socialistic policies of taking from others, using the government as a watchdog, and rewarding those who overspend, underwork, or are just plain unproductive.

Of course it’s much more complicated than this, but, in general terms, it pretty much sums up what I believe to be the view of many.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Single With Howling Dispair

My wife is my absolute best friend, period. Somewhere, back in some sequestered section of my brain, I vaguely remember being single and--God forbid--dating. Oy, what a nightmarish thought. For those of you out there in the dating world I pity you.

“Don’t tell me that you and your wife have an arrangement’”; “Don’t hit on my friend(s) first. Yeah, I saw that”; “Don’t ever say to me, ‘Your breasts don’t look like the ones in my magazines’”; “Don’t lick my face - I get flashbacks from Silence of the Lambs”; “Don’t ask me if my friend might be interested in a threesome”; “Don’t try to guilt me into something - you are not my mother, and you don’t have her skills.”

Apparently we men must adhere:

...to impress, men need to be hugely successful, but pretend that they are not. And this is only one aspect of the almost impossible balance that needs to be struck. Men need to convey sexual desire without sexualising the person in front of them, need to be authoritative, opening doors, paying bills, deciding where to go and so on (recent research found that 60 per cent of women would consider it a bad first date if they paid), yet treat women as absolute equals. They need to flatter without seeming overly impressed, they need to care about their appearance (but not too much), and when it comes to chatting up, they need to take the initiative, and absorb any humiliation that comes their way, without seeming at all arrogant or pushy.

I can tell you right now that if I was still single, date night would consist of a six pack, a roll of duct tape, and my right hand. 

The Night Before The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life

Earlier, my wife and I watched a splendid film entitled Les Invasions Barbares--in English it translates to The Barbarian Invasions. If you don’t mind reading subtitles, I highly recommend it. One thing that struck me was the stinging indictment the writer/director delivered concerning Canada’s version of socialized health care. The film isn’t about Canada’s socialized health care system, to be sure. But I can’t decide if the filmmaker was indeed making a statement or if he was simply portraying a fact of life in a Canadian hospital; much of the film takes place in a hospital. You know, if you make a film, say, about a bunch of skiers in a mountain town in the Colorado Rockies, the film isn’t about the Colorado Rockies, but mountains will be present in the film as a simple matter of fact. If the film’s treatment of Canada’s health care is even remotely indicative of reality, I’m telling you right now that I want no part of it. Just saying.

Okay, moving on. Related to my previous post I direct you to this article. It touches on the notion that, basically, most American voters are probably not well enough educated on the political issues of the day to be voting. Well, to be honest, I may be throwing out a bit of hyperbole, but you get the drift.

Studies of this sort make it pretty clear that political ignorance ­matters—­not only for individual votes, but also for election outcomes.

Gee, ya think?

For example, a team of psychologists led by Alex Todorov established that candidates for governor, senator, or representative who are rated as “competent” by people judging them solely on the basis of photographs are considerably more likely to win ­real-­world elections than those who look less competent. Brief exposure to the ­photographs—­as little as one-tenth of a ­second—­is sufficient to produce a significant correlation with actual election outcomes. A ­follow-­up study showed that the electoral advantage of ­competent-­looking candidates is strongest among ­less ­informed voters and those most heavily exposed to political ­advertising.

It makes one wonder how the hell any democracy can work. Again, this all comes back to the above hyperbole. Should there be some kind of test to determine who should be able to vote? Should voting be relegated to those who have a vested interest, such as tax payers? I mean, it’s amazing to me how many people don’t even know who their representatives are, or can’t identify the three branches of Government. Granted, knowing the basics of how our country works does not guarantee political sophistication, but, at least, if someone is interested enough to give a damn, they may have a better chance of being able to cast a reasoned vote, right?

Alas, it all may be a valiant attempt at pissing up a rope:

For one thing, voters’ perceptions may be seriously skewed by partisan biases. For example, in a 1988 survey a majority of respondents who described themselves as strong Democrats said that inflation had “gotten worse” over the eight years of the Reagan administration; in fact, it had fallen from 13.5 percent in 1980 to 4.1 percent in 1988. Conversely, a majority of Republicans in a 1996 survey said that the federal budget deficit had increased under Bill Clinton; in fact, the deficit had shrunk from $255 billion to $22 billion. Surprisingly, misperceptions of this sort are often most prevalent among people who should know ­better—­those who are generally ­well ­informed about politics, at least as evidenced by their answers to factual questions about political figures, issues, and textbook civics. If close attention to elite political discourse mostly teaches people to believe what the partisan elites on “their” side would like to be true, the fundamental premise of books such as Rick ­Shenkman’s—­that a more attentive, politically engaged electorate would make for a healthier ­democracy—­may be ­groundless.

If the above is true--and I’m leaning towards it--than it does not bode well for the future of any democracy.

Let’s see, started out the post discussing a fine film and a question regarding it, then ended on this note.

Probably time for bed.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Politics, Obama, McCain, And The Economy

I am loath to talk about politics on this website for many reasons, one of which is the propensity of ideologues to “go off the deep end”. But, this is an election year and, like most election years, I’ve noticed a lot of people simply reacting to feelings, catch-phrases, talking points, and ill-informed rhetoric. If I hear one more Obama supporter who justifies their unwavering support on “We need change!” I can’t vouch for the appropriateness of my reaction. The same goes for McCain’s claim to fame being the word “Maverick”. If your political sophistication is only as deep as “change” and “maverick” you probably shouldn’t be voting.

Anyway, I digress. Choosing a candidate to vote for should be something that is well researched, thought out, and based on a fundamental understanding of history—globally, nationally, and on the individual candidate’s lives. Like when it comes to stories there is very little that is truly new and unique, the same can be said when it comes to politics and national/global policies. Trust me, all the change in the world has already been done or tried, and history is replete with mavericks.

I guess the point that I’m making is that if you are an Obama supporter/leaner who has enlightened yourself enough to actually research his proposals beyond “change” you should be be doing more than going to the Huffington Post simply to buttress your leanings. Likewise, if the “Maverick” is tickling your fancy, you’d do better than simply visiting Townhall to make yourself feel good. Instead, it would be wiser and much more sensible to research aspects relevant to issues of the day and then apply said research to—not the candidate’s stated positions—their actual histories and voting records. Granted, such an approach is not nearly as easy as reading a pro Obama/pro McCain—anti Obama/anti McCain website. Yeah, it’s a whole lot easier to turn on the TV and watch CNN, FOX, NBC, CBS, and watch a news person spew the news through a prism of personal bias, but by doing so, you’re not doing yourself or anyone else any favors.

For instance, the economy is the focus today. If you hear a blanket statement that the economic woes of today can be attributed to “Bush policies” run, don’t walk from that source. Likewise, if you hear that the tumbling credit markets are the sole responsibility of the Democratic Party. Both approaches are inanely simplistic and dangerous. The reality is that both Democrats and Republicans have been involved to some degree. You would be better served at researching the many root causes, following the chain of events, and seeing how various actions have effected the situation.

Start by Googling “Community Reinvestment Act”. This is a good starting point because from here you can jump to an almost endless source of information.

Next, with regards to a governmental reaction to the current economic downturn, I would suggest Googling “crash of 1929” and “crash of 1987”. Compare the causes and length of each downturn. Before determining what governmental fix you think you’d support, go here, here, and here. These are just examples. Don’t let it end at the links I’ve provided. Follow it through and then look for points of view that may differ. But don’t look at points of view that are not supported by facts and well-thought out discourse. When discussing politics or current events with your friends, ask them to explain and support their positions. Don’t settle for “feelings”, talking points, or banal gotcha tactics.

Above all, be intellectually honest and be open to having your mind changed regardless of what your heart says.

I’m just saying.

Oh, and right now it’s snowing. Damn, two days ago it was in the mid 70’s and now it fargin’ snowing.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

If Tom Petty Was Dead …

He’d be rolling over in his grave.

Some years ago when the Utah Jazz were good enough to make it to the finals, but not good enough to beat the officiating there were a number of people who were able to parlay the event into something larger. One of these was a guy who started making fan-boy Jazz rah rah songs fashioned after popular hits. He’d take a popular song and change the words into some tune about Karl Malone or John Stockton.  It was entertaining I suppose, but one couldn’t help but notice the fact that his singing and musicianship were verrrry marginal.

After the Jazz did what was expected and lost to the Bulls, this guy picked up a few gigs doing jingles for advertisers using the same formula.  To this day, while listening to the radio, I will hear this guy’s annoying voice butcher some tune pimping some local company’s wares. I’ve yet to remember the name of a single paying customer of his though.

Anyway, on the way home this evening I heard this guy’s verrry marginal singing and musicianship skills being put to use by anally raping Tom Petty’s Free Falling. It was way too much.

And we got freeeeeee, free toppings. Freeeee, free toppings …

Oy, obviously it was a jingle for a pizza place. I don’t remember who it was, but when I hear this abomination on the radio again I will make sure to catch who it is for the sole reason of making sure I never go to this place.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Disposable Moments

Autumn, often times, seems to bring about this mood that I can only describe as deeply poignant. For some reason I tend to recollect various moments from the many lives it seems I have lived. I feel almost overcome with a certain kind of nostalgia that drapes over me and puts me somewhere between melancholy and regret, with a small pinch of dread thrown in. Where the hell dread comes from, I don’t know.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the kind of nostalgia in which one longs for the past and wishes to somehow recapture it. No, there’s nothing about my past that I wish to recapture, not even the best moments. I love my life too much now.

This morning I woke up to weather that can only be described as typical early Fall in Utah. As a result I’ve found myself thinking of various people I’ve known over the last twenty five years or so. I remember some faces from my early twenties when I was deep in my “rock and roll band” life. These are people that I haven’t necessarily forgotten, but rather that I just haven’t thought about. Suddenly, someone will come to mind and it serves to remind me just how many substantial relationships I’ve let slip away over the years.

During that particular life I felt perhaps the most camaraderie among peers, friends, and acquaintances as I’ve ever felt. We were idealistic vagabonds living a tenuous existence. Though not aware of it at the time, we depended on each other far more deeply than we could have ever known.  I can’t tell you how many times one of us was literally saved by the others. Sometimes it was a losing cause, but all in all we took care of each other pretty well. As precarious as life was at that time, it was a simple, less complicated existence. 

I don’t long for the past, but I am curious about what some of these people are doing now. I know Danny Jo no longer on this earth. Neither are Gordy, Stevo, and a few others. Some I have no idea if they are alive are gone, but I have a good idea.

Some of the people I’m most curious about I don’t even remember their names. I remember their faces, though, and I remember their personalities.  Only a very small handful managed to keep a real presence in my current life from all those years ago.  I suppose the only regret that I have looking back is that I wish that I would not have lived life so quickly. I wish that I’d known that moments—no matter how small—are not disposable. I wish that I would have taken the time to stop, consider, take a breath, and take stock of what life was around me. 

But trust me, it’s never too late to start.

Friday, September 05, 2008

OK, Time To Come Back

Well, it's time to get my lazy ass to blogging again. Really, I'm going to do this. But, in the mean time, I'm just going to post a pic of me and my Spawn during our last vacation.

This was on the Snake River in the Hells Canyon.