2.12.2010
It's On
Tomorrow the Mavs contest is slated to occur. Much fanfare, a lawsuit, and hopes for good conditions and big surf. While it's a facet of surfing, I'm not that intrigued. Don't get me wrong - I respect what the surfers accomplish - it's just that for me, the fun factor is not proportional with size. Anyway, here in town it looks like the swell will wrap in and provide some fun surf - over the weekend. It was nearly flat for the week prior, with the last swell showing on - you guessed it - the weekend. And it is fortunate for all those folks who live for an xtreme weekend. Just a note for Penguin, took another surf trip to the Gate and caught a couple of fun ones. Just like old times - your favorite. Well, we've seen storms come and go, and the kelp is still matted as thick as ever; entrenched as cockroaches. Still, some great waves to be had at the right spots - Jackson was there and snapped the picture above.
Next Up: In September 2008, as the worst of the financial crisis engulfed Wall Street, George W. Bush issued a warning: "This sucker could go down." Realism at it's best - and I kinda miss it. Today I heard Olame-a state that he doesn’t begrudge the million-dollar pay-outs made to two of Wall Street’s most powerful men because, after all, “there are some baseball players who are making more than that.” Fuck You - If a high-priced baseball player - say Derek Jeter - does not perform, he's dropped. The government doesn't provide him with 20 homers and gold glove stats to see him through. He works hard, fills the stadium, and helps his team win - period. These bankers failed, got propped up by Corpgov, and then through virtually no effort or creativity of their own, received mega payouts. It's an insult to the ball players to hear this comparison of free-market values. And then this: "I, like most of the American people, don't begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free-market system." What free-market system is he talking about - Corporate socialism? Success? These guys lost billions of investor's money - retirement savings for countless who relied on them - they fucked up - blinded by easy profit and greed, and then got rewarded for success? SPB.
And on the foreign front - Lawyers for five Blackwater guards say they were acting in self-defense, but witnesses and family members of those killed maintain that the shooting on 16 September 2007 was unprovoked. Brought to justice in the US; District Judge Ricardo Urbina said the US justice department had used evidence prosecutors were not supposed to have. Blackwater employees escaped justice and a defending lawyer's statement celebrates: "It's tremendously gratifying to see the court allow us to celebrate the New Year the way it has, it really invigorates your belief in our court system." I am left wondering what belief he has in our justice system – moreover; I wonder what the Iraqi families who suffered losses are thinking. There is a lot of wonder - Ordinary Iraqis are left wondering at the apparent double standards of a legal system, which could pioneer rendition, imprisonment and torture based on far less evidence, but fumble a case like this.
Health care cost about $7,681 per person in 2008. Taken at face value, this means that even a single-payer program would require each American to pay $$$$. It’s clear changes in health care would have to be more encompassing than what single payer would bring. Hard negotiation leveraging a single payer market, associated innovations and moderation on costs - who knows - I understand the Japanese model contains some lessons.
At his State of the Union address, President Obama called for a three-year freeze on non-security federal discretionary spending. The Pentagon will be exempted from the freeze, as will the Department of Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. The freeze would cover many domestic areas, including education and the environment. This is scary news – military state with no educational opportunities except if linked to the military. Essentially, lets build a castle and live in austerity and ignorance while the world moves on. This guy is a fucking joke.
I understand there is a group here in the state that wants to legalize carrying loaded guns - why? I heard it said-
“Only a man who carries a gun needs one” Angel and the Badman - 1947