South Of Someplace

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Dear Governor

Dear Governor,

Please don't permit Syrian refugees to settle in our state. Our safety and well being should be your first priority.

- A concerned citizen

P.S. Can you do anything to reduce the high price of cigarettes?

(Hopefully that wasn't too subtle a comparison between the risks of dying from terrorism versus tobacco-related illness.)

How To Feel Safe

How to feel safe:

1. Stock up on guns and ammo (even though guns kill tens of thousands of people per year, both accidentally and on purpose, and they make your home less safe than it would be if you didn't own one).

2. Ban refugees (who haven't hurt anyone and who wouldn't be refugees if they actually liked to kill people - they could just join ISIS instead).

That ought to work!

Monday, November 16, 2015

Syrian Refugee Swap

Here's a plan for the Syrian refugees. Admit 100,000 refugees to the USA and send 100,000 Tea Partiers to Syria. Think win-win!

Actually, if Syria will double down and accept 200,000 Tea Partiers, we'll throw Dr. Ben Carson in for free. What a deal!

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Evaluating Anti-Terrorism Effectiveness

In the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2015, the government of the United States was compelled to take action. The scale of the terrorist attacks that occurred on that day was unprecedented. The world expected a response, and our citizens demanded it.

Over the next several years, the U.S. government -

- established secret prisons (one of them, a permanent installation).

- tortured prisoners.

- established a new classification of defendants as 'enemy combatants'.

- set up secret military courts with almost no transparency of process.

- consolidated power into a massive Homeland Security agency under the direction of the Executive Branch.

- implemented wide-reaching clandestine domestic surveillance programs.

- waged war in two countries, eventually installing a new government in one of them.

The price of the two wars was staggering:

- US $2 trillion (million million) expended.

- 5,269 American servicemen and women killed (and counting).

- tens of thousands of American servicemen and women afflicted with severe physical and psychological injuries.

- hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties in the theaters of operation.

This was a massive response, but just about everyone felt that it was necessary. Some of the ideas that were employed were controversial; our leaders assured us that this was the price of security, that we had to do these things to ensure some level of safety against future terrorist attacks.

But was America's response effective? Did it achieve its stated goal of combatting terrorism?

- Clearly, terrorism still exists. Deadly terrorist attacks occur globally almost every day.

- The Taliban still exists and still wields influence throughout Afghanistan.

- Al Qaeda not only still exists, but it has expanded into North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

- Boko Haram, which didn't exist previously, is actively terrorizing Nigeria.

- ISIS, the terror organization started by remnants of the Iraq's deposed military, has rapidly emerged as the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world.

Cause and effect is difficult to determine in complex situations. Al Qaeda was already a powerful organization. It might have expanded regardless of Western actions.

ISIS, or something like it, might have evolved even if the Iraq war had never happened. Instability in Syria might have been enough to trigger its genesis.

What is clear is that America's post-9/11 response did not eradicate terrorism. It didn't even do much to slow it down.

Moving forward, new solutions must be devised. I'm certain that everyone has ideas as to how to prosecute such a battle, from the nuanced to the draconian.

The important ideas are to select strategies with a high probability of success (i.e. better than what we have tried in the past), to evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies in real time, and to modify or abandon methods that don't produce results.

Now, in the aftermath of the horrible attacks on Paris on Friday, 13 November 2015, fourteen years, two months, and two days since the 9/11 attacks in the USA, the world once again is demanding a response. Let's do our best to ensure that it is effective.

Friday, November 13, 2015

New York Minute 23 - Walking With Daddy

Yesterday morning, I saw a well-dressed man walking slowly while holding the hand of his very young daughter. The little girl, who was probably barely two years old, was dressed in a bright red coat with white stockings and tiny black shoes.

The father was attentive and seemed delighted with the child's every step.

The pair passed a coffee shop where a man sat on an outdoor bench. The little girl pointed toward the seated fellow and exclaimed with excitement, "He's a MAN!"

It was so cute! I see so many bizarre and ridiculous things in this city. Watching a child out for a walk with her doting father, watching her discover the sights and sounds of the world, that really did my heart some good.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

New York Minute 22 - Rest Stop

While walking, I came across a double-parked police car. No officers were sitting in the car, so I looked around to see what they were up to.

A few paces later, I saw an officer standing next to a parked black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) writing a parking ticket. (It might have been a Chevy Suburban or a Cadillac Escalade, but I didn't take time to note the model.)

This type of vehicle is popular with drivers from the Uber and Lyft services. That said, I didn't see a sign in the vehicle's window, so I can't assume that it was an Uber car. It might have been from a private limousine service.

The police officer lifted the windshield wiper on the passenger side and placed the ticket under the wiper.

Where was the vehicle's operator, you might wonder. He was right there, sitting in the driver's seat, fast asleep. His head tipped back and his mouth was wide open. If someone is that tired, I question whether they should be shuttling passengers around on busy city streets.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

What's In A Name?

I have concerns about Airbnb. Even the name worries me. What if the "nb" stands for Norman Bates?

Friday, November 6, 2015

Discrimination Against Women

If a company tries to limit the healthcare options that it makes available to its female employees, but it makes no such restrictions on male employees, wouldn't that be discrimination and therefore unconstitutional?

Religious Authority and Logical Fallacy

I had a Social Studies teacher whose family was active in the mission field. One day she spent a few minutes talking about the part of the world where her missionary relatives were stationed. "They're lovely people," she said. "But we know that we're right and they're wrong." The sheer audacity of the statement shocked me. Her perspective was completely arbitrary. She assumed that her religion was the one true religion solely because it was the one that she had been born into. I found it reprehensible that a teacher could subscribe to such a fallacy and not recognize the folly of it. From that day forward, I vowed to respect all peaceful religious and cultural traditions. I am proud to be a believing and practicing Christian, but that doesn't give me license to dismiss someone else's religion as false. If we feel compelled to dismiss someone else's belief system, it betrays a lack of confidence in our own. I am comfortable being a Christan. I don't have to run around telling other people that I'm right and they're wrong.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

My Secret Productivity Tip

I accomplish more before breakfast than most people do all day. That might sound boastful or incredible, but I'm going to tell you my secret. It's quite simple, really. I never eat breakfast.