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Opinari - Latin term for Opinion. Opinari.net is just what it seems: a cornucopia of rants, raves and poignant soliloquy.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Head Spinning from Katrina:

The events of the last 48 hours have been simply unbelievable. The flooding of an entire metropolis. Looting. A childrens' hospital barricading its doors to protect itself from a mob. Officers and looters shooting at one another. The inevitable fuel supply fears. Rumors of death tolls in the thousands. Lots of questioning and blame being passed around.

Take a deep breath.

This tragedy is of epic proportions. There is no questioning that. But the time for being a Monday-morning quarterback is not now. Asking why and how should happen later. Understand that tens of thousands of people are displaced or homeless. Hundreds are dead, and that is a conservative estimate. Fellow Americans, entire families, are devastated and need help.

So I'm doing my part, and I am asking everyone I know to do the same. ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) has set up a Relief Fund. I'm sending them $100 and my employer is going to match the donation. I would like to encourage anyone and everyone to identify a trustworthy charity, open up your checkbook, and do the same.

And stop the post-game analysis. There will be plenty of time for that.

Oh, and go hug your spouse and kids. If you're sitting here reading this, you should consider yourself damned lucky.

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.: posted by Dave 3:13 PM


Monday, August 29, 2005

To reiterate a post from several days ago:



Gas prices are NOT at a historical high.

Thanks to the WSJ for the graphic.

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.: posted by Dave 4:44 PM


Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Pat Robertson suggests that the US adopt a policy of pre-emptive assassination regarding Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Folks from the left and the right are outraged. I tend to share some of that dismay, but I have to ask - where was the MSM's outrage when Randi Rhodes called for President Bush to be killed or the "Kill Bush" merchandise that was being peddled on Cafepress?

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.: posted by Dave 11:10 AM


Weighing in on the Iraqi Constitution:

NRO's Andy McCarthy asks:

And for all of us who have said, time and again, that Islamic reform – which can only be done by Muslims themselves – is a crucial part of winning the overall war, how would establishing Islam as the Iraqi state religion achieve that? What is the incentive for reform if the United States thinks Islam, as is, is worthy of being established as the state religion in a place we have committed great effort to securing.

For days, I have been asking myself this and similar questions. Why is it so damned important for the Iraqis to accept a constitution that plainly will devalue Iraqi women? Do we really want to endorse the acceptance of a document that installs Islam as the "national religion" of Iraq? The founding fathers of America saw the danger of this mentality, and they guaranteed no such imposition here. Why is it then that U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad urges the Iraqis to work "in spirit of compromise" and "take the national interest into account" when considering the new national constitution of Iraq?

It is my view that the State Department sees stability as preferable to decency. Now, I am not one to criticize deposing Saddam Hussein, or encouraging a democratic movement in Iraq. However, if the Iraqi constitutional convention is any indication, the international community and the suits at Foggy Bottom could use a little history lesson. That lesson - theocratic rule leads to despotism.

Ultimately, a document that views women as second class citizens (as most forms of Islam do) and endorses Islam as the basis for governance is not worth the papyrus upon which it is printed. Yet, this is what we are encouraging in Iraq. Instead, we should be cultivating a spirit of debate and discussion, to ensure that what is best for everyone is what takes place. Urging the adoption of a constitutional theocracy in the midst of the most volatile region in the world is no way to accomplish that goal.

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.: posted by Dave 10:43 AM


Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Michael Silence looks at escalating gasoline prices, and links to some Tennessee bloggers who have something to say about it. I've decided to throw in my $0.02 (which, right now, buys me about .008 gallons of petrol).

Gasoline prices are rising very quickly right now, far outpacing inflation. I have to admit having a bit of sticker shock lately, watching the price here in East Texas climb from $1.98 when I moved here to $2.52 now. However, a few points bear mentioning:
  1. President Bush is not the cause of inflation as it relates to gas prices. Period. Could the President help mitigate costs in the short term? Yes, by releasing oil from the SPR (as his predecessor did in the 90s). But the President, unlike his critics, does not wish to play politics with a commodity that is the lifeblood of the Western economy.
  2. Much has been made in the blogosphere about the "profiteering" of "Big Oil". This argument is very similar to the one being made that pharmaceutical companies are gouging the public with their pricing schemes, and it is just as specious. Global supply of crude is not the problem; refining capability is. Oil companies see the global demand for fuel, and need to acquire additional refining capacity to keep up. Much of the profit for the oil industry is reinvested in exploration, refining capacity, and technology. This is just how the business works. Further, these companies do not exist to provide a cheap commodity. They exist to maximize the return on investment to the shareholder. Remove the incentives to profit, and then watch how quickly the global oil supply dries up.
  3. Finally, gasoline prices, and crude oil prices for that matter, are not at all time highs in terms of real dollars. The peak occurred in the late 70s/early 80s during the OPEC oil embargo. Gas prices in today's dollars were around $3 per gallon. Crude oil was around $90 per barrel.

So please... don't blame the President, don't cry about the "greedy oil companies", and don't kid yourself into thinking gasoline prices are at an all time high. Like it or not, we are not entitled to $1, or even $2 gasoline. I don't like paying $45 for a tank any more than the next guy, but the market dictates such pricing, and I am certainly not for any sort of Keynesian intervention by the benevolent government. If you don't like the prices we have to pay, don't pay them. If enough people agree with you, prices will come down.

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.: posted by Dave 8:47 AM


Monday, August 08, 2005

2005 - The Year TV News Changed Forever:

First, Tom Brokaw rode off into the sunset. Then Dan Rather resigned as a result of his involvement in Memogate. More shocking to me though was the news that yesterday, Peter Jennings, long time ABC anchorman, died of lung cancer at the age of 67.

I have some lasting memories of Peter Jennings. I recall him as the co-anchor with Frank Reynolds, who would die himself while employed at ABC News. I recall Jennings' introduction of the day's top stories: "We begin tonight with..." I recall his occasional Canadian-ness: about spoken as a-boot is always a personal favorite. But mostly, I will recall that it always seemed to be Jennings that was on the television when something awful happened. When Challenger exploded in mid-air, when Reagan was shot, and, most recently, when the Twin Towers plummeted to the ground, it was the coolness, the commanding presence of Jennings that took over. When I was last in Knoxville, I stopped by the September 11th Memorial downtown and watched with attentive recollection the way that Jennings handled himself during the crisis. How he made it through the entire broadcast on September 11th is beyond me, but he did, and he did it well.

Many of us like to talk about how ideologically left of center broadcast news is, and Jennings was no different. I stopped watching network news a long time ago, but the things above are how I will remember Peter Jennings, not his political leanings. Truly, Peter Jennings not just as a news anchor, but as a father, as a husband, and as a man, will be missed.

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.: posted by Dave 7:55 AM


Friday, August 05, 2005

Why I Hate Nextel:


As I entered the men's room after lunch looking for some much needed... er, relief, I happened upon one of my colleagues, toilet seat cover in one hand, and Nextel phone in the other. As he carefully covered the latrine lid and closed the door to the stall, he decided that this would be the perfect time for an impromptu meeting with one of his subordinates. Enter the infernal chirping of the Nextel walkie-talkie.
    Chirp.

    Hey, John.

    Yeah?

    Have we shipped those units yet from the 584 line?

    No, I don't see a bill of lading.

    [poot]

    Well, can you let me know if you find it? The distribution center is awaiting their arrival.

    [plop]

    Ten-four.

Let me be clear. The bathroom is not the place to conduct business... at least, not the kind of business that can be conducted outside the bathroom. Thanks a lot, Nextel.

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.: posted by Dave 2:29 PM


The danger in our midst, one heretofore unidentified:

Wearing trendy flip flops could kill you, according to new research.

The fashionable footwear - ideal for the beach in hot weather - are putting the lives of road users at risk.

Three in every four motorists have admitted they find it hard to drive in flip flops and road safety experts have warned that wearing the sandals in the car could be a lethal decision.

Let me be the first to call for a wholesale ban of flip-flops. On the wrong feet, these things can be downright dangerous. Surely the nanny-state can regulate this awful menace before it is too late. After all, we cannot be trusted to choose and wear our footware responsibly, now can we?

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.: posted by Dave 2:22 PM


Maxine Waters, conservative activist? When it comes to private property rights, yes.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) probably won't take her place among the great economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman as a conservative hero. Actually, she never will. But the famously fire-breathing left-wing congresswoman from Los Angeles has emerged in recent weeks as one of the nation's most outspoken defenders of property rights. "Government should be in the business of protecting private property," she told me in an interview, sounding every bit a member of the free-market group the Club for Growth. "Private property is precious in America."

Coming soon, Ms. Waters pens editorials for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times as she prepares to guest host the Rush Limbaugh Show.

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.: posted by Dave 9:53 AM


Wednesday, August 03, 2005

A journalist writes about Basra in the New York Times, and is murdered for it.

R.I.P. Steven Vincent.

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.: posted by Dave 9:33 AM


Neal Boortz fisks a review of his new book, The FairTax Book.

I should be receiving my copy today, and I hope to be able to post a review of my own. Of course, I have to finish The Historian first.

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.: posted by Dave 9:22 AM


Some random thoughts:

  • How much is it going to cost to pay for the changes in I.T. systems that will be brought on by the change in daylight savings time? After all, there are some time-dependent systems that will require changes, not to mention the patching required for desktops and servers.
  • If blogs are supposedly being added to the blogosphere at the rate of one per second, who is going to eventually pay for the server space (since most of them are free services)?
  • Who the heck decided $135 was a reasonable price to pay for a seat belt violation? If there is anything I have disliked about my move to Texas, it is the exorbitant fine I got for not wearing a seat belt.

          • Labels:

          .: posted by Dave 9:13 AM


          Byron York points out in the National Review the stark contrast between the Bush and the Clinton White House:

          There have been lots of “it all depends on what the meaning of is is” jokes and lots of flat-out statements calling virtually everyone in the White House a liar. But a more fair-minded look at the situation suggests that it is the differences, and not the similarities, between the Bush and Clinton administrations that are striking in this case. When faced with an independent-counsel investigation, figures in and around the Clinton White House formed a joint defense agreement, asserted novel legal privileges, and spent much of their time publicly attacking the prosecutor in the case. This White House, by comparison, has done nothing of the sort. Even their enemies should give them credit for that.

          I'm not holding my breath.

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          .: posted by Dave 8:32 AM


          From Yahoo News:

          Many U.N. diplomats say Bolton will be judged on his performance here, not on his past, which features sharp criticism of the world body and resistance to his appointment as U.S. ambassador.

          "No one should make prejudgments on reputation," said Chile's U.N. Ambassador Heraldo Munoz. "One must do it on the merit of the facts, when we see what happens here."

          "He's a colleague like any other and will be received as such," said Denmark's U.N. Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Loj, who noted that in many countries no confirmation of ambassadors is required.

          "Honestly, I'm looking forward to working with him," said Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Baali, whose two-year term on the Security Council ends in December. "I worked with him several years ago, and I enjoyed working with him."

          "He's a very smart guy who can be very constructive, who can be very creative. So I think it will be very interesting to spend a few months with him in the Security Council," Baali said.

          Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Konstantin Dolgov said Bolton was well known in Moscow and "as far as I know he is a negotiator with quite some background."

          Odd that the U.N. constituents seem to have the utmost respect for John Bolton, yet a minority of U.S. Senators conspired to obstruct his nomination. Tainted candidate? Too much baggage? I hardly think so.

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          .: posted by Dave 8:24 AM


          Tuesday, August 02, 2005

          Well, I just picked up the morning news and read a headline: "Bush: Schools Should Teach Intelligent Design". Of course, the implication here is that the President insists on a single view, intelligent design, over the prevailing scientific view, evolution. At least, that's how I and a co-worker read it.

          However, if one digs deeper into the story, one sees that the President is actually advocating the teaching of multiple schools of thought. Bush argues that "people ought to be exposed to different ideas." The headline could have just as easily read: "Bush: Students Should Hear Both Sides of the Origin of Life Debate".

          But that wouldn't sell as many papers, now would it?

          UPDATE: (Cross-posted in Michael Silence's comments.)

          "I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought, and I'm not suggesting -- you're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes."

          All Bush said was that he wanted to encourage divergent ideas to be taught. I still don't see why there is an uproar about this. Similarly, I didn't see why there was an uproar when evolution was being taught in school. Teach both. Let the plebes decide what they believe.

          An aside: let this be a lesson to you. Don't rely on the schools to teach your kids the things you want them to know. Take that responsibility yourself.

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          .: posted by Dave 8:54 AM


          Monday, August 01, 2005

          To Dick Durbin, Ted Kennedy and the rest of the left: a recess appointment is not a usurption of the Constitution. Your pal, Bill Clinton, did it 140 times. It's well within the President's right.

          Also, quit with the cries of how "tainted" John Bolton is. Bolton had the imprimatur of a majority of the Senate. He works for President Bush, not you boys on Capitol Hill. Furthermore, if you whiny babies had allowed a vote, this wouldn't even be an issue. Bolton is in until 2007. Deal with it.

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          .: posted by Dave 10:29 PM


          As a baseball fan I am growing sick of hearing about steroids tainting the game. Even if Orioles' slugger Rafael Palmeiro was "juiced", he still had to put the ball where there ain't no fielder over 3000 times. Do you seriously think steroids make better hitters in baseball? I doubt it. As for questioning his ethics, how about questioning the moral aptitude of two of baseball's leading poster boys for integrity: Ty Cobb (unabashed racist) and Babe Ruth (well known for his lifestyle exploits).

          If Cobb and Ruth survive the litmus test, then so should Palmeiro. Although he likely harmed his status as a first ballot HOFer, it is highly doubtful that 3000 hits and 560+ home runs won't get the guy in, steroids or not.

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          .: posted by Dave 10:24 PM


          Opinari AWOL -

          "So where have you been lately?", my three remaining readers ask. It seems that buying and moving into a brand new house, working 10-12 hour shifts for an IT shop supporting 1300 users, and preparing for another new arrival in the Opinari household have cannibalized all of my time. Heck, we still have most of our furniture in the basement. Add to that the unfortunate circumstance of not having high speed data available for several weeks, and the need to learn how to use the Treo's thumbboard in order to blog, and you can see why the blogging just hasn't occurred much lately. By the way, I'm up to 30 WPM on the thumbboard... Before you know it, the blogging will be as prolific as before! Now if I can only figure out an efficient way to hyperlink from Blazer into Vagablog, we'll be good to go.

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          .: posted by Dave 10:16 PM


          Forays in Mobile Blogging -

          I just watched a kid drive off with his textbooks still sitting on his car. He apparently forgot that he had left them there. As he entered the highway just now, seven lanes wide with oncoming traffic, there went his semester's work, all across the landscape of East Texas. The moral? Don't carry paper, and watch what you're doing... this coming from a man who blogs while driving in said traffic. Oh well. Here's hoping that you're having a better day than Mr. Textbooks-on-Highway.

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          .: posted by Dave 5:23 PM


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