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The Triumph of Hope over Experience

Archive for category Current Events

Ellen DeGeneres Goes To The Dogs

Oct 17

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events, TV | No Comments

I don’t watch Ellen DeGeneris so I missed her emotional meltdown the other day:

For those who missed out on her shaggy-dog edition of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” here’re the condensed version: DeGeneres and her partner adopted Iggy, an adorable Brussels Griffon mix, on Sept. 20. But Iggy didn’t get along the couple’s cats, so after giving it the ol’ celebrity try (about 10 days?), they decided to give him to DeGeneres’s hairdresser and her two daughters. Unfortunately, DeGeneres forgot to tell the pet adoption agency, which requires notification for any change of ownership, and when the agency learned of this transfer, it told DeGeneres she had violated their contract and repossessed the dog.While unpleasant, this kind of story is hardly unusual. What moves it into the realm of OFF/beat is that DeGeneres spent long, painful chunks of airtime dwelling on her clerical error. “I feel totally responsible for it and I’m so sorry. I’m begging them to give that dog back to that family,” she bawled in a near-fetal (albeit seated) position. “It’s not their fault. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have given the dog away.”

As a dog lover, I can relate to how tough it must have been. What I cannot understand, though, is why DeGeneres would bawl her eyes out on national television. And then it hit me like a Great Dane to the chest: damage control.

With her emotional and peremptory elocution, Ellen avoided being mauled by the tabloids and, more important, avoided disappointing her adoring fans. Rather than deny and explain, she confessed and begged forgiveness. And by crying those tears, whether alligator or not, she most likely won over even more fans. Think I’m being too cynical? Watch the video and decide for yourself.

I didn’t watch the video. I did read the comments, and boy were they interesting as they showed a couple of things – the spirit of Bob Ford is alive and well, and a lot people love to complain about how other people get things done.

I’ve adopted a dog from a rescue organization and yes they were extremely thorough — the application was several pages long, the references were actually checked, we had a home visit. We felt it was excessive, but then we aren’t out rescuing dogs. It was made abundantly clear to us that if we were no longer able to keep Trooper, he went back to the agency and no one else. That’s the agreement you make to get the dog. Don’t like it, get a dog from somewhere else.

But back to Ellen D’s meltdown – is it real, or is it for show? I don’t know – how would I? On the one hand, it’s mighty convient as well as excessive, but on the other, most celebrities seem to have emotional issues that cause them to want the attention of celebrityhood.

Torture 2007 Style

Oct 8

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | No Comments

In light of this junk article out of the Washington Post about WWII interrogators criticising modern ones, I thought this article was just chilling: CIA May Threaten Detainees with Senate Hearings. Now that would make anyones blood run cold.

Back to the cranky old men, what do we know?

They illegally violated the Geneva convention on reporting the capture of prisoners, and let’s be clear here, they knew exactly they were in the wrong and there was no question that the people they were interrogating were legitimately covered by the convention as lawful combatents.

They were not interrogating terrorist true believers who were ready to die for their cause. According to the article, they were interrogating soldiers and scientists. Clearly, some of the participants were quite willing to talk.

It’s not clear how much real information they really did glean since the real intellegence story of WWII is that the Allies broke most if not all the important Axis codes during the war (especially Japan’s codes). The problem was how much action to take on the information gained so that the enemy wasn’t tipped off.

The claim is that they discovered submarine tactics – without naming them. Well, lest we forget it was the British capture of U-boats that led to the breaking of the Naval Enigma code. It wasn’t knowledge of U-boat tactics (such as the details of Wolfpack operations), but the use of long range patrol aircraft to cover the North Atlantic that put an end to the U-boat menace.

Another claim is that they learned groundbreaking secrets of rocketry – which could well be, but the Allies didn’t capture Werner von Braun his team of scientists until May 2 1945 and Von Braun was trying to surrender to Americans. So we know they came willingly, and they came too late to have any effect on the war.

The final claim was that they learned secrets of microwave technology. Since they weren’t interrogating British scientists, perhaps what they mean is they learned about the strengths and limitations of German radar, as the British invented microwave technology and together with the United States held the lead in microwave and radar technology. And when would they have captured a German microwave scientist? Again, it couldn’t have been until late in the war.

Stop Excusing Vick

Sep 5

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | No Comments

I never put much stock in the whole “white privilege” notion, but I’m reconsidering a bit. The bit is that as a white person I don’t feel the need to defend someone just because they are white. That doesn’t seem to be the case for people of non-pallor, or at least it’s the only reason I can think of that Whoopi Goldberg (among others) defended Michael Vick’s torture and murder of dogs:

Goldberg pointed out that Vick was raised in the South. “This is part of his cultural upbringing,” said Goldberg.

So was slavery Whoopi, so was slavery. If it were, for instance, Trent Green who was in the dock, would Ms. Goldberg be defending him?

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I return (again)

Sep 4

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events, Me | 3 Comments

You may have noticed I haven’t been posting much around here. There are several reasons, from being busy, to not having much unique to say, to being tired of most of what passes for polical discourse these days (You’re evil! You’re eviler!! You’re evilest!!! You’re evil infinity!!!!!), and to self-imposed standard that after not posting awhile I have to have post that makes up for the time away. So I’d like to thank Carl, still desceased according to the Stanford Alumni Association, for writing a blog post that makes up for my not posting for months on end.

So let me do an incomplete speed round on while I’ve been gone:

Larry Craig – he did the right thing by resigning, and yes we should actually have police officers maintain order in public bathrooms so they don’t become nothing but tea-rooms. I’m not a fan of the put all our police in one basket theory of law enforcement for two reasons – (1) it’s the typical cry when somebody is caught doing something illegal that the police ought to be concerned with real criminals, and since there is a worse criminal for everyone except for the actual worst criminal, it’s just a cop out, (2) theory and practice have shown that you need to sweat the small stuff when it comes to keeping order which should be the main function of police work.
I don’t imagine the police like such duty, but somebody has to take out the trash.

I happened to be in an Apple store this weekend (or the Temple as I affectionately call it) and noticed two things – it was a lot more crowded than anywhere else in the mall, and the iPhone is a joy. I hate my cell phone, and if I could persuade myself, let alone the funWife, that it was worth all that money I’d own one. The interface is simply amazing and, yes, intuitive. I was able to navigate and have a ball just from having read a review.Based on sales figures, America agrees with me to the tune of making it the best selling smart phone out there. [full disclosure, I own Apple stock.]

Why doesn’t Congress provide benchmarks for all of our Government activities? And isn’t all the testing requried under No Child Left Behind benchmarks?

1998 isn’t the hottest, fourth hottest, or even 1 millionth hottest month on record. Not if the record stretches back more than 150 years, but actually is the record of our best estimate of global temperatures over the eons.

That’s all I have time for today, thanks for your attention, and tune in again next time (whenever that is).

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Enforced Virtue

Jun 22

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | No Comments

I used to feel strange driving a car. As opposed to a minivan or SUV, that is. Back when I used to do my parental duty and take the Fruit of the Murphy Loins to functions for children, I often had the only car on the lot. And it didn’t matter how green or blue the drivers were. Since then I’ve noticed that typically a person’s politics don’t have much impact on the kind of car they drive. People who complain about sending American jobs overseas have no trouble driving a foreign car; people who warn me about global warming and green house gases have no trouble driving some giant SUV; ardent free traders who loathe unions will only buy American cars.

I am not trying to call hypocrite here because it’s way overused and I don’t think it’s accurate in this case. The point is a lot of factors go into the decision of what kind of vehicle to drive, and as with all parts of life, we have to make comprises and balance competing priorities. That’s life. And that’s why I support free markets in general – they allow the people living with the consequences to be the ones making the decisions.

But in light of the whole CAFE standards issue, more relevant than ever, I have to note while the politics don’t seem to play a large role in what kind of car people drive, it does play a large role in support for CAFE standards. I’m against them, for the simple reason if people prefered gas milage over other features, then we’d be driving high gas milage vehicles. The CAFE standard is based on the illusion that we can all drive vehicles that get better gas milage all other things being equal. They aren’t – there are always tradeoffs. The reason I don’t support increasing CAFE standards isn’t because I don’t support increased gas milage in the abstract, it’s because I know it comes at a price, and a price people aren’t willing to pay.

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A Window On A Wider World

Jun 20

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | No Comments

The thing I enjoy most about the editorial page at the St. Louis Post Dispatch is the letters to the editor. Some are clunkers, and I often get the impression they pick the more extreme letters on a given subject, but I do love reading them. Perhaps I was in an especially good mood this morning, but I like this one so much I’m sharing:

The story “A return to the old ways” (June 14) considered the Tridentine Mass, which is not “the 1,600-year-old Mass” nor is it the “Mass of the Ages.” It is the result of the Catholic Reformation of 16th-century Europe.United in the Catholic tradition are 23 different churches, each with its own ancient rite. In the ninth century, Pope John VIII (872-882) decreed that the Mass need not be confined to the then-traditional Latin, Greek or Hebrew languages. His decision made possible Mass celebrations in Slavonic. This defended the missionary work of St. Methodius and set a new precedent.

If there are those who wish to celebrate the mere 400-year-old Tridentine Mass, let it be. But the claim that this one limited form of the Mass is somehow more Catholic than other forms is a denial of the rich Catholic tradition.

May the Post-Dispatch, which gave front-page coverage to the Tridentine Mass, now report on the more important news about the destruction of the ancient Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq.

Wayne Hellmann | St. Louis

Robert Phenix | St. Louis

The letter is brief but informative, tart without snark. But then what else would we expect from a couple of scholars – a chairman of the Theology Studies department and an adjunct professor of Biblical Studies.

Since the Post will never get around to providing coverage on the destruction of the ancient Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, here are some links: background, blogging, news of a synod, and more sad news. One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic.

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Lileks: Reality’s Mole In The Liberal Belly

May 12

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events, Media Criticism | 1 Comment

It is said that the Strib was being foolish in demoting Mr James Lileks to a beat reporter. And I have no doubt that is true from the standpoint of the pecking order at newspapers. But I’d like to take a step back and take a second look.

Have you ever read Lileks? I happen to love his writing, but 90% of it is about the mundanities of life – fully half of it revolves around going to Target, being at Target, the trip home from Target, and just thinking about Target and Target-like stores. The crazy thing is he manages to make his experience of the Sturgeon part of life seem fun and interesting. The other 10% he weaves in revelations on modern life – politics, architecture, pop art and culture, home improvement – that astound.

Have you read the news part of a newspaper recently? Dull stories written from an uncritical liberal point of view that are leavened with 20% liberal pieties. News that might reflect poorly on any oppressed people (i.e. anyone who isn’t a white male, or white males in journalism and academia, the two honorary oppressed while male groups) is routinely suppressed from the paper or omitted from stories.

Just think what the impact of having Lileks write some of these stories. Readership might actually go up, as (non-liberal and liberals alike) people actually began to read the news part of paper again. Spot the Lileks could become a local pastime and even a college drinking game (not that we endorse that sort of thing here at FunMurphys). And at last, news stories wouldn’t be written from that insufferable liberal viewpoint and instead of liberal pieties we would get real insight along with all the relevant facts. What a deal!

The blog debate over newspapers isn’t about whether they’ll die, but when. And the Strib intends to do something about it. They are going to put their best writer on the one topic everybody agrees should be the strength (but isn’t) of local newspapers – local news reporting. So what’s the reaction from all those people who’ve been telling newspapers to do exactly that? Outrage.

So I’m going to have to disagree here, this makes perfect sense from the Strib’s point of view, and Lileks will have to make up his mind whether he wants to be reality’s mole in the belly of the liberal beast, or does he want to sever his ties with an organization that needs him more than he needs them. I’m hoping he choses the mole job, but fully expecting him to sever away.

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Ann Coulter Robot Post

Mar 9

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | No Comments

I’m just going to post this every time Ann Coulter comes up:

The problem with Ann Coulter is that whenever she makes some good points she discredits them with terrible hyperbole and insult. Her problem isn’t uncommon in partisans who are forever overreaching, but far too often she misses provocative and lands squarely in revolting.

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Wall Street Insider Trading – Is That All There Is?

Mar 2

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | No Comments

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad after reading this article about a Wall Street insider trading ring:

Earlier this year, the SEC asked at least 10 Wall Street firms to turn over stock-trading records for the last two weeks of September, seeking to determine whether they leaked details about big stock trades to favored clients.The government said yesterday that it broke one of the biggest insider-trading cases since the 1980s. According to the SEC, which brought a civil suit against 14 defendants, the scheme stretched over five years, included hundreds of tips and produced more than $15 million in illegal profits.

At a meeting at the Oyster Bar in New York’s Grand Central Station in 2001, Mitchel Guttenberg, an executive director in UBS’s equity-research department, and hedge-fund trader Erik Franklin hatched one of the schemes, the SEC claims.

Guttenberg, 41, offered to settle a $25,000 debt to Franklin, 39, by slipping him analyst ratings in advance, the agency said. To avoid getting caught, the men used disposable mobile phones to send each other coded messages, according to the SEC’s complaint.

Should I feel sad because it indicates widespread and pervasive fraud in the securities market?

Should I feel happy because it’s such small beer – a 25k debt, a total of $15 million for 14 people for 5 years of work – we’re talking just over 200k per anum per person, which doesn’t compare well with what I guess an executive director at a big name securities firm in New York makes, never mind the $10 billion per anum in fees these firms take in from hedge funds alone. But believe me, I’m not surprised people would risk so much for so little. But then I wouldn’t be surprised if the SEC didn’t add another zero to the take at a later date.

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The Married Man Defense

Feb 23

Posted by Kevin Murphy in Current Events | 2 Comments

The jury is still out in the Scooter Libby case, but I’ve weighed the evidence and have to agree that community service of this sort would be appropriate.

OK, according to the offense, I mean the prosecutor, the case is about Mr. Libby lying when he claimed he had forgotten that he had earlier learned about Mrs. Wilson from VP Cheney and other official channels and it was as if he had heard it for the first time from Tim Russert. According to the defense, the case is did Mr. Libby hear about Mrs. Wilson from Tim Russert as Mr Libby testified.

I have to say the case is about how many married people there are on the jury. If I were the defense, I would have offered up the married man defense – if I had been allowed to mount a memory defense unlike the actual accused. I can’t tell you how many important things I have relearned over the years as if for the very first time despite hearing it from my wife earlier (or at least that’s what she claims). “I told you that” — what married man isn’t familiar with that refrain. How many a married man has forgotten an anniversary, a birthday, or some other significant event?

So as a married man, a man who looked over at his son at Night At The Museum and said “You wear glasses?” to the immediate scorn of both wife and son, I can believe that Scooter Libby forgot something, something that people telling him thought vital, something that even he thought vital. I have no idea if he did or not, but I can believe it.

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