Posse Incitatus

A Mile Wide & an Inch Deep

For many of us who worked in journalism and public affairs way back in the pre-Internet age (aka the stone age), social media has gone through our careers like a tornado, leaving wreckage and longterm damage in its path. In my case, it has forced me into a radical career change, which I will discuss in a future Posse posting. But for today, I'd like to explore the ramifications of social media and the Internet.

While our digital landscape has provided many benefits, including jobs, e-commerce, and a fast, inexpensive way to inform the public about threats, to name a few, I fear the negative fallout is taking its toll.

Traditional newspapers and magazines are dying off, as consumers turn to social media, news aggregators and RSS feeds to keep them abreast of developments. Companies and organizations that used to publish respected monthly magazines or quarterly newsletters have phased them out in favor of Facebook posts, Twitter tweets and blogs. Consequently, the dogged research and investigative efforts journalists used to put forth to hold local officials' feet to the accountability fire are often being scaled back or eliminated.

While social media boasts immediacy -- it's a lot quicker getting the news out with a Tweet & hyperlink to the company website than dealing with the lag time of traditional publishing deadlines and hard copy distribution -- it also tends to be superficial, fosters rumor and hearsay, and often disregards depth and substance.

Facebook posts generate the inevitable "Like" tally (for what it's worth), plus various responses, some so incredibly inane it's downright embarrassing. Tweets can also generate a flurry of retweets, rushed responses and general muddle. Great quantity in clipped missives doesn't jibe with penetrating prose or considered thought.

The other day, my wife brought home a recent issue of "Sports Illustrated" because it featured a story and photos on the football team of Temple University, my son's alma mater. The Temple Owls, it turns out, are off to a 7-0 start (the best in the team's 121-year history) and ranked No. 21. Tonight they will face Top 10 Notre Dame in a nationally televised tilt on ESPN.

My son enjoyed the article, but remarked on how thin the magazine was. I informed him that thinner magazines and smaller page sizes were widespread in the magazine industry, while many publications have scrapped their hard copies altogether and gone online.

I am a person who would much rather read a hard copy of a book, magazine or newspaper than to use Kindle or scroll through articles on a website. But even I don't read hard copy newspapers much anymore. The two Detroit dailies are available online for those of us Michiganders who want to keep up on our news, weather and sports. Ditto for a boatload of other publications covering myriad topics.

But even the online publications don't tend to have the lengthy, well-researched and skillfully written "think pieces" of old. That is one reason I love reading the weekend Wall Street Journal: It usually has several in-depth stories on important, relevant topics -- ISIS, jobs and the economy, trends in technology and health care -- plus excellent editorials and guest opinion columns.

And I can't help but wonder: Is the proliferation of content available on the Web, including videos, Tweets, Facebook posts, plus video games, pornography and sports gambling, detracting from young people's desire to engross themselves in long stories, to really mull things over without flitting here and there every 3 seconds? 

Consider the "Watters World" feature on "The O'Reilly Factor." Jesse Watters conducts impromptu "man-on-the-street" interviews (okay, person on the street) about history, politics and current events. The level of ignorance and stupidity coming from the respondents is astounding, and makes me fear for the future of our nation.

Which leads me to my recommendation of a great book I read recently: "The Shallows -- What the Internet is doing to our brains."

Author Nicholas Carr masterfully describes how new technologies, from the map to the printing press to the clock to radio, TV, computers and finally the Internet have affected the ways in which we think and learn. He refers to the Internet as a "distraction machine" and says it impairs users' ability to engage in deep reading, comprehension and information retention. The blizzard of hyperlinks, videos, RSS feeds and colorful graphics makes it way too tempting not to stray from your text.

The book gets into the phenomenon of neuroplasticity, which means neural pathways and synapses of the brain are physiologically altered by our thoughts and emotions. The parts of the brain that engage in contemplative reading, deep thinking and critical thinking can literally atrophy when people cannot control their short attention spans and keep checking out different stimuli on the Internet, Carr posits.

This utterly makes sense, when one looks at the lack of critical thinking, the ignorance of history, the inarticulate babble and the void of knowledge of classic literature sadly exhibited by so many young people who, not coincidentally, are Internet addicts.

It is a good read, and I would highly recommend it. The book actually came out about five years ago, and I read a review of it, jotting it down on my "to read" list. And finally, a few weeks ago, I got around to checking it out of the library.

It turns out that allowing a smart phone and digital technologies to rule your life can have even more negative consequences than preventing human contact and conversations with your significant other or walking into a light pole. It can also shape your brain into a form that makes you less informed and engaged.

Isn't it ironic that we have so much information at our fingertips, yet paradoxically, that vast "cyber library" in some respects dumbs us down and causes us to have less knowledge since the need to remember things and the ability to associate facts and ideas are being supplanted by Google algorithms?

Incompetence by Design?

Many people who despise Barack Obama and adamantly disagree with his policies accuse him of being incompetent. In many respects, they are correct. But what about those who suggest the President is not really incompetent due to cluelessness, but by design? That he actually wants to sabotage this nation, its institutions and its allies? Well, they may have a point.

The current meltdown in the Middle East, which is spilling over destructively into Europe, appears to be a prime example. Consider the ham-handed meddling of the Obama administration during the so-called "Arab Spring" of 2011, which resulted in the ousting of Hosni Mubarak and ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as the killing of Moammar Gaddafi, leading to the rise of various terrorist groups in Libya, plus general ineptitude and vacillation with regard to Syria.

Hundreds of thousands of Arabs from these and other nations are fleeing war, violence, failing economies, poverty and general squalor and flooding Europe with a destructive wave of future welfare clients (not to mention disruption on the social front due to a refusal to assimilate).

President Obama seems to love upsetting the apple cart. He's violated the constitution with radical immigration policies that let thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans into the United States, and is also allowing scores of Muslims from the Middle East into this country without vetting any of them for terrorist leanings. His apparent ineptitude in the Middle East is going to transform several European nations within a generation, as many of these new immigrants have large families who will quickly overwhelm the native populations. (This is the antithesis of Europeans, who typically have no children or perhaps just one or two.)

Already, health care experts in Europe are being besieged with patients plagued by illnesses that were eradicated in Europe many decades ago. And Muslim males who expect free healthcare refuse to be treated by female physicians or nurses. This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as future turmoil caused by this destructive wave of immigration.

Barry is loving every minute of it. Incompetent? Hardly. It's straight out of Saul Alinsky's playbook. Anything the Manchurian Candidate can do to harm western civilization, he'll do. And our corrupt press will never figure it out, or if they do, they'll remain silent.

Oh, Canada!

You'd think Canadians would have learned their lesson by now: Leftist leaders bring about miserable economic conditions and foster social chaos. After nine years of conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, our neighbors to the north have tossed him out and elected Justin Trudeau, son of the former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Justin appears to be a chip off the old block: ultra liberal, a dapper ladies man, and someone who will undoubtedly pay far more attention to environmental issues and skirt chasing than to the economy, jobs, crime, the threat posed by unvetted Muslim immigrants, or social pathologies such as drug abuse.

Mark my words: The quality of life in Canada will decline under this leftist, just as it has in California under a hard-left legislature and leftist Gov. Jerry Brown, and in New York City under uber-liberal Mayor Bill DeBlasio.

I suspect a fairly large number of Canadians who voted for Trudeau either weren't born or were too young to remember when his late father presided over high unemployment, stagnant growth and inflation, all the while cavorting with oppressive dictators almost as enthusiastically as he did with an endless parade of paramours.

Perhaps the saving grace for Canadians is the nation's parliamentary system of government, which, if Trudeau proves as disastrous as his counterpart in Washington, D.C.,  could oust him from office in short order.

We can only hope...

Sports blogging at the Posse

Some readers may have noticed my football commentary was nonexistent last week.  There were two reasons for this.

1.  I had found myself becoming obsessive over the sport and it was ruining my enjoyment of the season.  I therefore decided to take the week off and avoid sports news or conversations as much as possible. 

2.  Based on the lack of comments and traffic data, no one seems to find my sports posts interesting.  This tells me that if I with to continue opining about sports, I should do it on a sports site.

Unless I get feedback to the contrary, I'm going to abstain from sports blogging for a while.  I may still note events which I think are politically or culturally significant, but week-by-week analysis is time-consuming and if no one reads it, it's not worth the bother.

Gun Review: Walther 380PK

There are legends among gun makers, and among experienced shooters merely speaking the name invokes powerful images of quality and perfection.

Walther is one of those names.

Fans of James Bond know that the Walther PPK is the master spy's proven weapon (though it has been given quite magical properties in the movies).

Beyond film and fiction, Walther has designed a series of outstanding weapons, including the standard German side arm during World War II, the P38 (later continued as the P1).

These days Walther seems to be focusing on the smaller caliber self-defense market and I have to say they have a variety that can induce compulsive buying in most firearms enthusiasts. 

Being German, Walther likes metric calibers:  9mm and 9mm Short (aka .380 Auto).

Many of Walther's signature weapons use .380, which seems to inspire a peculiar variety of hate in certain corners of the firearms community.  Wherever one falls in the caliber debate, the fact remains that the 380PK is a fine piece of machinery.

Let us first address that most important aspect - the feel of the weapon.  It is profound.  It is captivating.  It is difficult for me to recall a handgun that meshed better with my grip than the PK380. 

In terms of action, it has the double-action/single-action mechanism that is so popular in autoloaders these days.  Unlike any others I've encountered, there is no slide release nor is there a catch to hold it open.  The only way to lock the PK380 open is to insert an empty magazine.  The chamber will remain open if you remove the magazine - and the only way to close it is to remove the magazine and rack it back.  Only then will it close.

In a way, this simplicity is refreshing.  There are less gadgets to play with which is both good and bad - autoloaders are supposed to have lots of levers, right?  If we wanted something simple, we'd be using a revolver.

The PK380 transcends this divide and manages to achieve simplicity and sophistication at the same time.

The slender single-column magazine holds 8 rounds - ideal for concealable personal defense. 

Fully loaded, the weapon is light and handy.  It points well.  It aims well.  And then you pull the trigger...

If you thought that .380 was a pansy round akin to a .22, you will be surprised.  The small frame and light weight give it a crisp report.   One of my fellow testers described it as "lively."  It is still very controllable and remarkably accurate, but it took me a few shots to get used to the idea that this wasn't a tame little 'mouse gun' like all the caliber fetishists insisted.

In fact, this goes to a larger point that recoil is not all about the caliber.  The weight of the weapon is a huge factor in felt recoil.   That is why even modest cartridges (like .38 special) can have serious recoil when put through feather-weight short-barreled revolvers.

Yet there is also another factor at work and that is the ergonomics of the grip.  The grips of the PK380 are small and well-shaped.  This makes it very easy to control.  One of the young women who accompanied us (who is barely five feet tall) took a try and was immediately addicted.  It jumped more than the .22 she was used to shooting but she quickly came to appreciate its accuracy and ease of use. 

It was only with difficulty that we prevailed upon her to let someone else have a turn.

Walther's marketing department likely are aware that young women are the fastest growing demographic in the US gun market.  It has everything a woman could want for self-defense:  It is accurate, small, lightweight and offers a pleasing aesthetic.

The bullet bubble has largely faded (despite the efforts of the president to support it - I wonder, does he have stock in ammo manufacturers?), but .380 remains expensive and relatively difficult to find.  I mentioned this to a retailer who replied:  "It's all the women.  They love .380.  I have piles of .45 ACP because they rarely shoot something that large."

Quite true.

If you are looking at a reasonably-priced self-defense weapon, the PK380 is an outstanding choice.  It is not what you would call a utility handgun - unlike a heavy revolver it has no hunting application - but it does what it is designed to do very well.

I will admit that I had taken a dim view of the .380 as a self-defense cartridge in the past.  However, this weapon is so handy that I've actually considered using it over my Taurus 85 as my carry piece. 

 

 

Ignorance is Democrats' Best Friend

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I actually watched some of Tuesday night's Democrat presidential debate in Las Vegas.

Before I rip the leftists, I have to give some props to Marine Corps veteran, former U.S. Navy Secretary and former U.S. Senator from Virginia, Jim Webb. He's a decent, level-headed guy; a patriot; a realist. What in the world is he doing in this god-awful lineup? I wish he'd wise up and become a Republican. But on to my main points...

As you'd expect, the candidates complained bitterly about income disparities, the greedy wealthy, the hollowed out middle class, the need for more gun control, blah x 3... But the people who support Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and other Democrats don't seem to acknowledge that their guy has been president for seven years, AND he had an all-Democrat Congress for two years. Under whose watch has the economy cratered? Even the Democrats realize it's too late and utterly pathetic to resort to their old knee-jerk reaction: Blaming Bush.

Clinton had the gall to rail against big banks, just a few months after accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaker fees from Godman-Sachs. Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders received a huge applause when he said, "I think the American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damned emails!"

Confirming the audience's ignorance was a post-debate focus group conducted by pollster Frank Luntz and broadcast by Fox News. If you, too, are a masochist, check out the comments about Hillary's email problem starting at about 2:30.  One of these respondents described the email problem as "a non-issue." I heard another person on a radio newscast who described the email fiasco as "just a personal issue."

Come again? Are these people really that dense? Have they ever heard of Chinese and Russian hackers? Do they know who Julian Assange and Edward Snowden are, and the damage Wiki Leaks has done? Do they realize that state secrets including information on human spies, spy satellites and other espionage activities, as well as U.S. plans, concerns and strategies, have most likely been hacked? And that humans have in all probability been tortured and executed as a result of this information getting out there?

No, I don't think so. They are much more concerned about the WAR-ON-WIMMEN and ensuring that free birth control pills for all and abortion on demand are readily available. And let's not forget free college for everyone, forgiveness of all student loan debts, and single payer health care.

In probing the state of the Democrat cerebrum, I am reminded of Roger Waters' erie, echoed vocals in "Comfortably Numb": 

Hello, is there anybody in there?

Just nod if you can hear me

Is there anyone home?

 

Of Putin and Potemkin Villages

Seven months ago, I wrote about Russian President Vladimir Putin in a post titled, "Red Bully." My opinion of him and his Asperger-like behavior has not changed. But what has changed is that now I believe the icy, calculating and ruthless Vlad is just what the Middle East needs to stamp out the Nazis in head rags, aka ISIS.

Russia has rushed troops and military equipment into western Syria to bolster the regime of its ally, President Bashar al-Assad and fight against rebels seeking to overthrow the Assad regime. The Obama administration, still utterly deluded into thinking it can support "moderate" rebels and knock off Assad, eventually resulting in a good government taking over, is upset at Vlad & the Ruskies. Obama and his chief press hack, Josh Goebbels -- um, make that EARNEST, decry Russia's involvement and still insist that "Assad must go." 

Amidst the blizzard of lies and misinformation coming from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the administration regarding the Benhazi affair, it's difficult to ascertain exactly what the late ambassador Chris Stevens was up to in Libya during the weeks and months before his untimely demise. But the theory has been put forth, and it sounds entirely plausible to this cynical blogger, that the United States was funneling weapons to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups seeking Assad's overthrow.

Think about it: The same administration that gave us "Fast and Furious" probably thought, in its infernal arrogance and megalomania, that it could get in bed with one devil to take down another devil. I wouldn't put it past this gang for one second.

But back to Putin. The Russian leader has made no bones about his intent to crack down hard on any rebels who seek to overthrow Assad, be they the so-called Free Syrian Army, ISIS, al Qaeda, al-Nusra, Ahrar Souriya Brigade, or any of the other dozens of groups. And if Barry don't like it, tough cookies!

It was clear the petulant Obama was livid after his meeting with Putin a few weeks ago, because he finally met someone as arrogant and power-hungry as he is. And if there's one thing Obama cannot stomach -- something that probably causes him ulcers -- it's someone who is entrenched in opposing him, won't respect him, and won't kiss his ass. In that respect, I'm a big Vlad Putin fan!

Thirty-five years ago, I cheered as the Mujahideen shot down Soviet choppers, laid land mines for the invading troops, and turned Afghanistan into the U.S.S.R.'s Vietnam, a lengthy quagmire that cost the communist empire dearly in blood and treasure. Little did my naive 20-year-old brain realize that we were planting the seeds -- or at least nurturing them -- that would come back to haunt us in a few decades.

But back to 2015: ISIS, which burns people alive in cages, crucifies, beheads and rapes 8-year-old girls, is a scourge that must be stamped out. ISIS is what the Nazis were 80 years ago, but probably won't metastasize to the same extent. The Obama administration has been utterly feckless and incompetent in trying to oppose ISIS. (Some have even suggested the administration supports ISIS as an entity that can take down Assad, and simply tries to make it appear it opposes them.)

Putin, with Iranian allies including Hezbollah, and possibly with the aid of the Chinese (who have their own Muslim problem on the western frontier), will take no prisoners with these savages. Without even realizing it, due to his weak and listless leadership, Obama has stepped aside because he can't do the job, to make way for someone who can and will do the job.

Meanwhile, stateside, the administration keeps on constructing those Potemkin villages with regard to our moribund economy, and the brain-dead news media is fully compliant. The September jobs report was abysmal (employers added 142,000 jobs, far short of economists' projection of 203,000 jobs; July and August new jobs figures were also revised downward by a combined 59,000 positions).

Just once I would like to hear one of the useless Washington press corps stand up and ask Josh Earnest to explain how things are getting better when 93 million Americans are not in the labor force, 50 million are on food stamps, the poverty rate is 14 percent, wages are stagnant and a huge portion of the new jobs created are low-wage and/or part-time.

But then, why risk incurring the wrath of the administration? The weasel Earnest would probably reply with a sarcastic, caustic rebuttal (working in an insult of the questioner's intelligence), and the administration would undoubtedly begin wiretapping the reporter's phone, hacking his or her computer (see Sharyl Attkisson), and siccing IRS auditors on the beleaguered scribe.

As the Wicked Witch of the West screamed while she was melting away into nothing, "Oh, what a world, what a world!"

Spartans survive, Skunk Bears coast

Looking over last week’s prediction, I’m forced to quote the wisdom of Maxwell Smart:  “Missed it by that much.”

As I predicted, Indiana came ready to play and I think without both its starting QB and running back being taken out with leg injuries, they would have won that game.  Losing one was bad, both was catastrophic.

This softened my own agony over Purdue’s stubborn refusal to go down and stay on the mat.

I had a sense of foreboding when Coach Dantonio chose to punt on an otherwise achievable fourth down at midfield.  That disastrous punt gave Purdue new life and it is interesting to speculate how the game would have gone had the Spartans scored on that drive.  If the score was 28-0, would Purdue have still had the will to rally?

No one can say, but one of the few benefits of surviving scares like that is that it builds renewed resilience in a team.  MSU should have done better, but the Spartans saved themselves.  They earned the victory with a crucial stop, which is vital to building confidence.  Indeed, I think part of the problem with BYU’s collapse in the Big House was that they had been living on the edge, relying on Hail Mary passes for their overall winning record.  It can save you once, but only a fool relies on it.

Meanwhile, the Skunk Bears demolished a pathetic Maryland team that will probably go coach shopping.  I watched a little of the game once again it was clear that the Shouting Harbaughs are nothing to write home about.  A soaked, sloppy game that featured four turnovers and 6-0 halftime score isn’t that much to brag about, particularly over the hapless Terps (known local as the Derps). 

Still, hope springs eternal in Ann Arbor that Michigan! Is! Back! and thanks to this victory, they are halfway to their goal of a sweep against the bottom of the Big Ten East (Rutgers is a home game, so they have that to look forward to as well).

Speaking of a State of Disgrace (New Jersey) the Spartans have an evening game against a Scarlet Knights this weekend, which should help keep the team focused.  Last year they demolished Rutgers and hopefully with some of the injured players coming back in, MSU will be able to put together a complete game as they prepare to slay the Harbaugh dragon.

This would also be a good game to unleash Connor Cook and let him finally throw to his heart’s content.

MSU 45, Rutgers 6

MEANWHILE, AT THE TAN PANTS CAPITAL OF THE WORLD:  Who would have thought that the Skunk Bears and Wildcats would both be ranked teams coming into this game?  Certainly no I.

Tis no secret that I’ve sold the Wolverines short, though one must be cautious as many a Skunk Bear team has won the September National Title only to crash in burn amongst the October rains.

Northwestern has put together a surprisingly good team this year, and wins against Stanford, Duke and Minnesota demonstrate some real resiliency.   The vaunted U-M defense (a reputation built on pounding cupcakes, naturally) will finally face a serious challenge.

Normally one can’t go wrong betting against the Wildcats – perhaps the most mercurial college team in the game – but here I’m forced to give them the benefit of the doubt.

It is true that Northwestern has repeatedly lost to Brady Hoke-coached teams who were clearly inferior to their current foe, but at the time the Cats were also engaged in a divisive and pointless attempt to create a players’ union.  With that useless distraction behind them, Coach Fitz is now able to focus his team on righteous vengeance.

Last week the Skunk Bears had four more turnovers, and despite those gives the Derps could do nothing.  I doubt Northwestern will be so generous.

This could be a game of vintage pounding Big Ten football and I have to say that Northwestern probably has more depth –particularly on the offensive side of the ball since yet another one of the Leaders and Best is facing felony charges.

I must temper my enthusiasm by acknowledging that St. Harbaugh has a solid defensive coordinator and the inmates in Ann Arbor may finally be getting their money’s worth out of their talent.

This will likely be a low-scoring slugfest (which makes the point spread outright insane) but I’ll give a narrow edge to the Wildcats:  17-14.

Progressives shoot themselves in the foot on gun control

I have to admit I'm surprised that progressives are going all-in on gun prohibition.  Do they not realize that they've just exposed themselves as liars and vindicated the "crazies" of the NRA?

While we talk about polarization, there is still a center out there in the hinterland, a generally apolitical faction that holds moderate opinions on the dominant issues of the day.  For them not every single issue is an us-or-them deathmatch.

Once upon a time, gun controllers understood this, which was why they tried to set up astroturf front groups like the Million Moms and now Moms Demand.  Bloomberg's sock puppet demanding "gun safety" is yet the latest in this effort to try to push "moderate, common-sense" gun laws.

And when the gun rights community noted that these were all simply smokescreens to advance the goal of total firearms prohibition, they were denounced as paranoid conspiracy theorists.

Well, I guess we don't need to pretend any more.

Here's the thing:  Lying matters.  People don't like being lied to.  And while it may free the progressive id to scream "Just ban them all!" it isn't going to help their favorite party's electoral chances.

As long-time readers know, the notion that guns are something owned only by old white men is totally out of date.  The current generation sees guns as empowering and women are buying them in large numbers.  Telling them that their means of self-defense and empowerment will soon be confiscated is not going to earn their vote.

The last few months of this administration are going to be brutal.  I think the left is going to go into one massive tantrum as they realize that their dream of a socialist utopia is fast-fading away.  At the same time, America's enemies are going to be pushing and humiliating the president at every turn.

Buckle up, it's going to be a rough flight.

 

Another non-shooting from the gun-free paradise of Australia

So the new goal of gun control supporters is apparently to embrace full-scale confiscation of private weapons as Australia did in the 1990s.

Apparently only this will end the scourge of gun-related crime.

Meanwhile, back in Oz...

Two men are reportedly dead after opening fire on NSW Police headquarters in Parramatta

Holy crap!  But, but, they banned guns!   Why President Obama himself said that if only we embraced the gun control of Australia...

Yeah, so guess what:  it doesn't work.

Oh, and for the clowns who keep chanting that Australia has ended the threat of massacres, try looking up the Sydney coffee house shooting.

I can see how you might have overlooked it, since it was less than a year ago.

You know, I was willing to cut the gun controllers some slack years ago when international news was slow so you could forgive them for not knowing that yes, massacres still happen in countries with strict gun control.

But given both the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the fact that a train massacre was stopped through the heroics of a a handful of American GIs on vacation - you know, stories that actually got a lot of media attention - I am now convinced that these people are completely, irredeemably stupid.

Logic will not penetrate the fog that surrounds their brain.  They are so loyal to their tribal beliefs that facts are powerless before their invincible ignorance.

Just once I'd love a reporter to ask the president that if gun control will solve these crimes, how come countries with the kind of gun control he wants are still seeing them?

Yeah, I won't hold my breath on that one.