Morning Coffee (110)

Weekend Coffee is as good as any Coffee, don’t you agree? There’s so much to talk about. So, shall we begin?

Gone, Baby, Gone:

This coming Wednesday, the day after voting in several so-called big states, it’s very likely that Hillary Clinton will no longer be a candidate for the Democratic nomination. Thus, our choices for President of the United States will have been whittled down to two from what seemed like hundreds just five months ago. The grind is, well, grinding down.

But it’s not over. Obama is spending plenty of his massive treasure chest with the intent of eliminating Clinton on Tuesday. According to the New York Times, he has outspent Clinton two to one in television advertising in two states. This massive spending, which he can easily afford considering he raised $50 million in February (versus Clinton’s $35 million), has helped him virtually erase the two-digit lead Clinton held in the polls a few weeks ago.

The money advantage cannot be discounted, as unfortunate as that may be. Obama is able to fly hundreds of paid organizers to wherever they’re needed. He can dominate the airwaves with his message. I’ve heard his radio ads dozens of times on one radio station. I have never heard a Clinton ad on that or any other station. I have seen one Clinton ad on TV, whereas I’ve seen at least five for Obama. Admittedly, I do not watch much TV, so I’m sure the saturation is higher. Obama is going to spend Clinton into the ground. Already, his operation has expanded into states that will hold Primaries after Tuesday. Clinton is unable to do this. She simply hasn’t the funds.

It gets worse for Clinton. While she rolls out former Democratic Representative Dick Gephardt as a supporter, Obama ups the ante and has the indie band Arcade Fire perform for him. I have news for her. Young voters do not identify with a former Congressman that most of them haven’t even heard of.

It is possible that Clinton will pull off a few wins (some call this a miracle) on Tuesday, but this would serve merely to prolong the inevitable. She may not be as mathematically eliminated as Mike Huckabee (who?), but she is most certainly philosophically eliminated. As Clinton herself knows, Hope trumps Reality; as it did for her husband, it does for Barack Obama.

So the voters will believe in a change as much as something like change can be believed in, and Obama will secure the nomination, eventually. And here’s where our system gets less interesting. Two candidates will duke it out. The policies of each will become less radical as they try to garner votes and approval from voters in the other party. While there will be plenty of fire and brimstone during debates and the like while each candidate tries to stand out, the whole affair will really be sort of watered down.

Actually scratch that. Some aspects will be vaguely interesting. For example, what will happen with McCain’s finances? McCain made some tactical decisions about money earlier in this election cycle, and it might bite him, what with various rules and such. I am not going to go into specifics at present, as there will be ample time to discuss it, but what is interesting is that the FEC doesn’t have enough members for a quorum. Thus the FEC can’t make a decision. This will not change either. Appointees to the FEC have to be confirmed by the Senate, which is presently in Democrat hands. It’s not going to happen. In this, McCain’s campaign could face considerable financial difficulties, which, if things go a certain way, Obama will not have to deal with.

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce the 44^th President of the United States, Barack Obama! Enjoy it America. You wanted it; you’ve got it.

Russian Politics:

Since I can’t seem to bore you enough with American politics, I’ll regale you with tales of intrigue from Russia. Arguably, Russian politics are more interesting than those in America, if decidedly more predictable. You might wonder why. It’s simple: the filth of Russian politics makes American politics look as though the Bald Head of Mr. Clean rules over the Election Cycle with an Iron Mop.

Let me put it to you this way. Russia’s Presidential election is today. Russia’s next President was decided in December. Does that make sense? Dmitry Medvedev, Former Chief of Staff for Vladimir Putin, former First Deputy Prime Minister, and current Vice Premier or Russia (and Chairman of Russian petro-giant Gazprom’s board) was unofficially endorsed by Putin on 10 December, and officially endorsed on 17 December 2007. Polls indicate that 79% of Russians will vote for Medvedev. Not bad for a man who has never held elected office. Putin spoke, and Russians will listen. The American media must be green with envy over that sort of influence.

How fun are elections in Russia? Your boss will tell you who to vote for. If you don’t vote, you’ll lose your job. He’ll even accompany you to the polls to make sure you cast your ballot in a responsible manner. Four hundred and fifty-thousand troops and police were deployed to make sure voting took place in a calm manner. Surely, they will not serve as an unconscious reminder to wayward voters.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the next President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev! We at the Morning Coffee apologize to Russians everywhere for that little Constitutional prohibition that forbade Putin from seeking another term, but he’ll likely be your Prime Minister, so worry not for Comrade, er, Mr. Putin.

What is almost scarier than Russian politics, however, is the American media’s lack of coverage of those politics. Considering it is Russia (and really cold and dreary) and that there are almost no foreign observers watching the election, that’s not surprising. But let’s remember, this is not an insignificant country in Africa. This is Russia, a nation in possession of strategic (nuclear) weapons and the ability to deploy those weapons right to your front porch.

The uninformed says, “But Russia’s military is falling apart, we needn’t worry about them.” Five years ago this statement would have been largely true; Russia’s military was sustaining itself by selling equipment to any and everyone. It is hardly the case now. Russia has the largest proven natural gas reserves and the eighth largest proven oil reserves. Russia is rich. And that money is being spent on its military again. Russian BEAR bombers are regularly patrolling the skies near the US and its allies, even flying a mere 2,000 feet directly above a US aircraft carrier. The Russian military is making a comeback, and will only continue to flex its muscles. I contest that this is a good thing, as it provides a potential counterbalance to the growing Chinese might. But it also means that the US needs to treat Russia as if it belongs at the Big-Boy-Table. The US has been dismissing Russia for a long time now, and Russians resent it. This cannot continue. Criticize the lack of transparency (or in this case abundant transparency) in elections all you want, but believing Russia is as inept as it was in 1996 is a mistake.

Competition Bad, Cronyism Good:

For the past few years, the need of a new aerial refueling platform to replace the current, outdated KC-135s has dominated discussion in the US Air Force. A version of Boeing’s 767 was supposed to replace the KC-135, but Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld cancelled the KC-767 program in January 2006 following the revelation of corruption in how the contract was awarded. The following year, the Air Force announced the KC-X program, which pitted Boeing against the Northrop Grumman/EADS group. Both competitors offered a refueler based on an existing platform.

Stunningly, Northrop Grumman/EADS won the contract, which would produce the newly named KC-45. This has set off a storm of anger in Washington. See, NG/EADS is partly European, EADS being the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, part of a conglomerate that builds the Airbus A-380, and a number of military aircraft. And the KC-45, which is built upon the A-330 platform, would benefit the French. We all know how well like the French are in Republican Land.

Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) said, “I’ll be calling upon the Secretary of Defense for a full debriefing and expect there will be a protest of the award by Boeing.” Senator Todd Tiahrt (R-SD) said, “We should have an American tanker built by an American company with American workers. I cannot believe we would create French jobs in place of Kansas jobs."

Brownback and Tiahrt should be educated about the merits of competition, that being that it’s a pretty good thing. See, by all accounts, the A-330 platform makes for a better KC-45 than does the 767 presented by Boeing, being able to hold a great deal more fuel, cargo, and men, should that be needed. I don’t see the problem with this. The US Air Force is getting a superior product. Apologies to Boeing, but maybe next time they’ll do better and not have to whine about fair competition.

A bane to Tiahrt’s argument, Airbus has already stated that the company would assemble the tankers in Alabama, and promised to transfer the assembly of the A-330 there as well. That does this thing called, “Create American Jobs.” What’s worse is that not only has this vow been made, but Northrop Grumman/EADS is contractually obligated to build a $600 million assembly plant in the US, likely in Mobile, AL. Thus, we put to death Tiahrt’s complaint. The heart of the matter is that he’s from Kansas, and Boeing would have built the 767-based tanker in Kansas. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that he used to work for Boeing drawing up government contracts. Go figure.

Word of the Day: Garrulous (adjective): 1. Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative. 2. Wordy. Garrulous was the Senator from Kansas, as he bloviated needlessly about the loss of American jobs.

On This Day in History: Since I missed yesterday, indulge me…

01 March: The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation (1781). The first US Census is authorized (1790). Napoleon returns to France from banishment on Elba (1815). President Tyler signs a bill authorizing the US annexation of the Republic of Texas (1845). The Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force in the Battle of Adowa, and Caesar rolls over in his grave (1896). Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity (1896). Josef Stalin suffers a stroke, dying four days later (1953). Puerto Rican nationalists attack the US Capitol Building, injuring five Representatives (1954). A bomb, planted by the Weather Underground, explodes in a bathroom in the US Capitol Building (1971).

See last year’s Morning Coffee (64) for all the cool Roman happenings on this date.

02 March: Tsar Alexander II emancipates the Russian serfs (1861). His generosity is thanked by assassins in 1881. Note to self: Do not emancipate anyone; it bodes poorly for the emancipator (see Lincoln). Tsar Nicholas II abdicates in favor of his brother (1917). Nicholas and his little tribe are also killed. Michael is smart and defers acceptance of the throne, but is murdered in 1918. The first Communist International meeting (1919).

“The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by private citizens.”

“The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colours breaking through.”

- Alexis de Tocqueville.

Morning Coffee (83)

Good Morning, dear Coffee drinkers. I hope you’ve had a chance to sample the new addition to our Coffee breaks. The Liquamen is available for consumption primarily on the website. Please, give it a try.

The sole motivating factor for getting to work early is securing a decent parking space.

Romney vs. Putin:

Mitt Romney was apparently on the Glenn Beck program yesterday being interviewed. Beck asked him what he thought about Vladimir Putin being named the Time Person of the Year instead of General Petraeus. The man was positively flabbergasted, replying, “Oh, you are kidding. Did they put Vladimir Putin on the cover?” Apparently, he had no idea, because he stammered about Beck being serious about the whole thing.

Romney was disgusted, citing political prisoners and suspicious murders and the suspension of public dissent and the press. He was angry that Putin received the award in lieu of Petraeus.

He looked foolish, because as you know from drinking yesterday’s Coffee, doing good things is not a prerequisite. He looked even more foolish when he suggested that Raul Castro be the next Time POTY because he too is a dictator (never mind that Putin is an elected official).

Don’t get me wrong, Petraeus has done some remarkable things in Iraq, but Person of the Year he is not. He and Putin are similar in that their names begin with “P” and that they were charged with bringing a nation out of smoking ruins. The difference is, Russia was a superpower that had been atrophying for 16 years or so, and Putin single-handedly brought the country back from the brink and into respectability again. After the first Iraq War, Iraq was a fringe player in its own region, and even with all the success Petraeus has had, it isn’t anywhere close to being even a fringe player again; it is instead where other regional players go to play superpower. Both countries have abundant petroleum wealth, but Russia’s the one that’s able to take advantage of the high prices of oil, not Iraq. Both had mighty armed forces once. But while Iraq’s army can barley achieve a muster, Russia’s military is conducting long range nuclear bomber patrols and sending carrier battle groups in to the Mediterranean. If the POTY is about being influential in the world, Petraeus doesn’t hold a candle to Putin. Romney, like most Americans, is too focused on America to realize someone else can be more influential than one of their own, and he clearly has barley a notion of what the “award” is about. If this is as sophisticated as his understanding of foreign relations gets, we’re in trouble. Maybe he should stick to CEO positions and governorships.

Canterbury: Nativity a Fraud:

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has assailed the traditional view of the Nativity in a recent interview with Simon Mayo on BBC. This is not to say that he believes that none of it happened, he just contends the traditional view, replete with wise men, oxen and asses, snow and such, is extremely unlikely. Sounds terribly heretical, but it’s actually quite benign. The article on the Telegraph suggests that the interview was more radical than it was (as is my title line), but reading the transcripts, the Archbishop was merely saying that our contemporary view, as indicated on Christmas cards, doesn’t really line up with what the Gospels say. I found the topic interesting, but I also found the sensationalism of the Telegraph article compared to the interview itself to be equally interesting. You can read the article HERE and the interview HERE.

Morning Coffee Does its Best Impression of TMZ.com:

Who would have thought that a person named Spears would receive two sequential mentions in the regal Morning Coffee? Nobody, that’s who. But the news on Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy has provided me with some amusement, I won’t lie. Yesterday, Lynne Spears, Jamie Lynn’s mother (who is a fantastic one by all accounts) announced that her book on parenting would be indefinitely suspended. I cannot imagine why, what with a whack-job like Britney and now a 16 year old pregnant daughter. The book was to be called, “Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World.” I guess it was a “how-to” book about raising a good family while in the public eye. Perhaps this indefinite suspension will stave off an epidemic of teenage pregnancies and pop tart meltdowns in dozens, perhaps hundreds of families. Let’s see…how to raise a family…crazy eldest daughter who blows through $700,000 a month…check…16 year old daughter on the cusp of professional success who gets pregnant by her 18 year old boyfriend with whom she might have been living…check…divorce from husband…check. Quality family successfully raised!

The question about the law has been raised, since Casey Whateverhisnameis is 18 and Ms Spears merely 16 (turned in April). In many states, that’s statutory rape, even among consensual teenagers. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Ms Spears is a very old 16. Doesn’t make it right really, but she is. She makes far more money that 99% of 16 year olds, and has been exposed to money and that lifestyle for half her life. I doubt though, that anyone will be pressing charges on Casey What’shisname. We can say one thing though, at least Britney waited until she was 20 or 21 to engage in sex. I mean, that’s what she told us, right? It should also be mentioned that, failing bashing her baby’s head against a wall, Jamie Lynn will likely be a much better parent than her sister.

CNN.com has a whole huge article with input from readers on how they’re going to tell their kids. There’s a lot of “ground ‘em for life” sentiment, which is understandable. One woman says that Ms Spears is probably really scared and it’s good that she thought the problem through. I don’t think she’s the typical, naïve 16 year old (are there any of those left anyway?) The best answer I read was, “this is why I try to be the best dad I can be – so my kids will look to me as a role model and not these celebrities.” It would be nice if kids had their parents as role models, and it would be nice if they had role models outside the home. But it doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. Our rich, elite class have become pretty messed up. We have no sports stars, musicians, or actors for our kids to actually look up to and admire anymore. But at least we have our politicians.

Word of the Day: Tocsin (TOCK-sin): 1. An alarm bell, or the ringing of a bell for the purpose of alarm. 2. A warning. The Morning Coffee and its derivatives is a tocsin. Or is it a toxin?

On This Day in History: Vespasian enters Rome and claims the title of Emperor (69 CE). He was a general under Nero. Carl Sagan, astronomer, astrochemist, author, humanist and skeptic, died in 1996 at age 62. Sagan was a pioneer in exobiology and was an advocate of SETI. You might know of him only through movie, Contact, which was based on a novel he wrote. The man was a giant and his death (of a rare bone marrow disease) a brutal robbery committed against mankind’s brilliance. And for Luke, he and Apple didn’t see eye to eye.

“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

“Personally, I would be delighted if there were a life after death, especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others, if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out.” – Carl Sagan. I’m right there with you, Carl.

Morning Coffee (82)

Another day, another cup o’ Morning Java. Goes well with a side of serfdom and debt bondage, no?

Congressional Oversight:

What do you think of when you hear this glorious term? Well, you might think of the Checks and Balances system, where Congress (the Legislative) is supposed to check, and be balanced by, the Executive and Judicial branches. Or you might think about Congress making sure the Intelligence Community is not doing anything too seedy. Perhaps you merely think of individual members of Congress overseeing their salaries rise every year. Who knows?

But what you probably didn’t think, was Congressional hearings on steroid and human growth hormone use in sports. You wouldn’t think that because it’s absurd. But being absurd, does not make it any less true. Next month we’ll have ample C-SPAN coverage of star-studded hearings in which our Congress will waste our tax dollars listening to a bunch of clean (or not) athletes complain about the rampant use of ‘roids and dirty athletes insist under oath that they don’t use them and don’t know anyone who does.

Senators and Congressmen from both parties have said that they will do what they’re paid (too much) to do; they will legislate the problem into oblivion. New laws will be enacted to make these evil substances more difficult to access and impose harsher penalties for abuse and distribution. Never mind that steroids are already a Schedule II drug, which, last I checked, means they’re illegal to possess without sufficient reason. Apparently, the 85 baseball players named in the Mitchell Report didn’t get that memo. Human growth hormone (HGH) will be reclassified as a Schedule II drug, making it equal to steroids and placing it under the watchful eye of the DEA. And thus grows the War on Drugs.

Two House panels will have hearings on this very important issue that deeply effects the lives of every single American that has ever lived and will ever live. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will “soapbox-it-up” on 15 Jan. Be sure to tune in to watch a Bunch of Bloviating Blowhards Blather away like Blithering Boneheads. I wonder if the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has ever held a hearing on a little ole government reform called “term limits.” Probably not. If they did, then the Rep Bobby Rush (D-Ill) might not still be around (since 1993) and be the chair of the Sub-Committee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, which is holding its own hearings on 23 Jan. At least they didn’t form some sort of Performance Enhancing Drugs Commission which would eventually put out a 3,000 page book available on Amazon.com. And in the end, we’ll be secure in the knowledge that our athletes are safe, and cheat free. Until the newest designer drug is designed.

We had several months in which Congress and the President couldn’t agree on funding for the “war” (whatever that is) and we faced the looming threat of widespread layoffs of civilian Department of Defense employees right before the holidays. Partisan bickering paralyzes our government in almost every conceivable way on almost every issue, but we have hearings on the use of steroids by overpaid athletes? All this by a Congress that possesses approval ratings among the lowest in approval rating history.

Putin is the “Person”:

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, has just been named Time’s Person of the Year. I say “just” because it was literally five minutes ago. Just so we all know, being Person of the Year (POTY) does not mean endorses or admires the individual (or collective as was the “American Soldier” from the past); it’s merely recognition of the influence the person has had during the year. To illustrate that, Hitler was chosen once, Stalin twice, the Ayatollah once. So, being a “good” guy is not a prerequisite.

Putin had quite the impact this year. The party he leads in all but official title, United Russia, won a majority in the Russian Parliament. He dissolved his cabinet and Prime Minister and stunned Russia Watchers by naming a relatively unknown, Viktor Zhubkov, as his new Prime Minister, and then named Dmitry Medvedev, an extremely close associate since his days in St Petersburg and his current First Deputy Prime Minister, as his choice as successor. He then said that he would be okay with being Medvedev’s Prime Minister. He has seemed to have kept his word that he would honor the Constitution by not seeking a third consecutive term as President and was against amending the Constitution to allow him to do so. But don’t think that will prevent him from holding significant power in Russia, perhaps by expanding the power of the Prime Minister at the expense of the Presidency. Or, since the Constitution only bans three consecutive terms, serving as Prime Minister for a short period of time before Medvedev steps down or becomes ill or dies. Russians love him; his approval rating is consistently above 80%. Even if you assume the figures are tainted and lop off 20 or 30%, his rate is still astronomically higher than our approval of Bush and Congress combined, apparently (and throw in Britney Spears for good measure). Apples and oranges, sure. But interesting.

Spears Gets, Um, Speared:

Speaking of the Spears family, Britney’s young (16) sister Jamie Lynn has announced that she is pregnant. Twelve-weeks so, in fact. This should really do wonders for her career; she’s an actress on a Nickelodeon show. Apparently she’s going to keep it, considering she announced it to some magazine. But needless to say, her mother was shocked. I probably would be too, if I were her. Despite Britney’s abandoning a thing called reality, Jamie Lynn has, according to her mother, always been “conscientious” and has never even missed a curfew. Jamie Lynn herself says that she was shocked for both her and her boyfriend, some guy I’ve never heard of (not Kevin Federline). I guess that, because of her burgeoning acting career, she missed the health class on sex education and didn’t realize that doing that sort of thing could end so badly. She did say to her legion of fans, however, to avoid premarital sex…just like she didn’t; i.e. role model. In fairness, she did know the kid “for years” and had been dating him “since high school” (i.e. last year), so it’s okay. Or it isn’t, because in another interview she says she isn’t dating anyone, has a bunch of guy friends, and likes to keep her legs, er, options open.

A bit low-brow for the Morning Coffee, I know. But I have to use this medium to inform people that I have an alibi – I was in Dayton 12 weeks ago, I assure you. Anyway, I find it sort of funny that such a horrible “blight” can afflict our rich, coddled, and famous.

Word of the Day: Discursive (adjective): 1. Passing from one topic to another; ranging over a wide field; digressive; rambling. 2. Utilizing, marked by, or based on analytical reasoning – contrasted with intuitive. The Morning Coffee can be described as most discursive.

On This Day in History: Three ships, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery depart England for the New World carrying the soon to be settlers of Jamestown, Virginia (1606). The Roman festival Opalia, in honor of the chthonic goddess Ops who made vegetation grow, was held.

“Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly.” – Francis Bacon

“Evil requires the sanction of the victim.” – Ayn Rand