Category Archives: Short Takes

Brief comments on new of the day or whatever else has caught my attention.

Somali Pirates Do It Again But Will the Navy Do It Again?

UPDATE 2:
Yesterday, another sailing boat was been captured by the Somali Pirates, this time the crew is a family with three children aboard! The pirates, knowing what happened just a week ago, have peremptorily announced that if the navy, anyone’s … Continue reading

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Nice Quote!

In my blog I have often railed against the idea of natural cycles in business and elsewhere. Now this great quote from a commenter on James Kwak’s Baseline Scenario blog….
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”
- Mark Twain
“History doesn’t … Continue reading

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Changing the Game

As a leader, it is his job to create that army. To do so, he must enunciate a clear vision of a possible and desirable future and initiate action that is consistent with that aim. It’s a risky job, no … Continue reading

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It’s the Story Stupid!

Okay, I know that in most peoples’ minds, I am going over the top with this but Obama’s capitulation (compromise?) to the rich and powerful reminds me of the story of the plight of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto.
The … Continue reading

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Race to the Top?

“Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.”
Bertrand Russell

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The Road to Sanity

I’m not against free markets! I favor a society in which entrepreneurs are free create products and services and bring them to market to be judged as such by customer audiences.
As I said in a previous blog entry, the only … Continue reading

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That Uneasy Feeling

Recently, my son, a young journalist, wrote an interesting story for the Santa Cruz Sentinel: “Despite significant health challenges, 15-year-old Santa Cruzan Tess Dunn finds herself rocking out …”
The Online Etymology Dictionary explains the origins of the concept of “disease” … Continue reading

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Paul Krugman is Lost in the Funhouse

In his NYT column today, “The Renminbi Runaround“, economist Krugman complains that the Chinese are playing unfair currency games.
“China’s exchange-rate policy is neither complicated nor unprecedented, except for its sheer scale. It’s a classic example of a government keeping the … Continue reading

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A Killing Spree: Avenging 911

We have been doing quite a bit of killing lately. So who must we kill to avenge 911 and make the world safe?

The suicidal jihadis on the jets that flew into the Twin Towers? (Already dead)
Bin Laden and his enraged … Continue reading

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McChrystal vs. Obama: It’s Just Personal!

June 23, 2010 NYT – There has been vigorous debate within the administration about how to proceed in Afghanistan, but General McChrystal and his aides did not overtly criticize administration policy.Rather, the differences were personal, and publicly aired.
Huh!?
Some pundits are … Continue reading

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Drill Baby Drill?

NYT – A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday blocked a six-month moratorium on deep-water drilling projects that the Obama administration had imposed in response to the vast oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Am I getting this right? … Continue reading

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Proof that (many) Americans are Incapable of Thought

Chris Good is a staff editor at TheAtlantic.com, where he writes for the magazine’s Politics Channel and almost certainly gets paid for thinking. Yesterday he wrote “The Case Against Making BP Pay” in which he suggests that the law capping … Continue reading

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Bad Week in Santa Cruz Harbor

Purely in the interest of a personal catharsis — call it therapy — I humbly submit the following chronicle of a boat maintenance job gone bad because of a crazy-bad man, in which yours truly gets “the shaft”. It’s was … Continue reading

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Over the Ramparts Mr. Obama!

In his June 4th NYT Op Ed, “Don’t Get Mad, Mr. President. Get Even“, Frank Rich cuts through the BS about Obama’s stealthy politics and implacable demeanor  with a hot knife. Before a leader can lead he must tell his friends … Continue reading

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Government Jobs Don’t Count?

Today’s NYT headline reads, “U.S. Adds Jobs in May, but Private Hiring Disappoints“. This headline reflects a perverse and pervasive wisdom that infects the minds of people at all levels of American society — government work is wasteful work!

People like … Continue reading

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