Chris Blask Posts

As the Arab Spring takes another turn in Egypt, the world watches and wonders what the future may hold. Supporting improved stability of local infrastructures can work to improve the opportunities of Middle Eastern high-tech entrepreneurs. The ability of these entrepreneurs to create career opportunities for the emergent Millenial population in the Middle East directly impacts the stability of infrastructure everywhere.

"My little boy, he has anger problems," said Obliviun from beneath the brim of his unusually large cowboy hat. "The wife and I sometimes don't know what that little dickens is going to do or say from moment to moment, so neither of us is without at least one 9mm piece when we are all home together. I keep a loaded Sig-Sauer in my bedside table, a Glock under my pillow and a Colt .357 in my right hand when I sleep, just in case the scamp shows up in our room at night."

The Washington Post puts the question that we all should be asking: "Which Romney Will Voters Get?
If Romney is facing a Democratic Congress that demands compromise in return for votes - the same situation he faced in Massachusetts - he'll be more like the Massachusetts moderate he presented as last night. If he's facing a Republican Congress that's pulling him to the right and threatening to reject his proposals and force him into a primary in 2016, he'll be more like the ca...

The first Presidential Debate is in a few days. Common wisdom is that this will be the last chance Mitt Romney has to distract from an endless series of misfortunes and turn around GOP hopes for the White House.
Will Mr. Romney step up to the plate better than he did when others paid #50,000 to clean theirs listening to him? Will he be able to come across as a Regular Guy not completely out of touch with the reality others live in?
Hey, how about a friendly $10,000 wager on the outcome? That's what regular people do, right?

...

Mitt Romney declared earlier this year that his job is not to worry about half of the country.

The American Conservative calls Mr. Romney:

Just Another Crude Reverse Class Warrior

...

Newsflash: Romney isn't simply a stiff. He's a jerk.

Emphasis not mine.
You all know that I am the least leftwards Moose by many measures. That I embrace capitalism and many of the points of the Right in basic principle.

But it is true that there is an air of entitlement sometimes - not always - found among those who have never suffered the stress of financial risk, who have never worried about feeding themselves or their families. This entitlement comes through as a thoughtlessness unique to those fortunate enough to have been removed from the struggles that virtually every other human has faced at some point in their lives.

Mr. Romney is not a bad person because he is a businessman. He is not a bad person because he has never engaged in the kind of entrepreneurialism that keeps American ahead of the world in innovation, an entrepreneurialism that only comes from being forced to create by necessity. He is not a bad person because he was fortunate enough to have the capital to make his living by optimizing the ideas and efforts of others.

He may not be a bad person, at all.

But he has been unfortunate enough to not have suffered as the rest of us have. To never have stared into the eyes of his child or even the mirror and wonder what he will do to provide the next meal. To feel the bottomless fear that only a parent knows when they can no longer hide from their children the emptiness in the refrigerator.

There is something missing in his soul that cannot be replaced by reading, that has to be built by experience. He is akin to a child refusing to eat their broccoli despite "starving children in China" who would gladly eat if for them, because they simply cannot conceive of the concept.

For this we should pity him, for it leaves a bitter hole in the heart.

He is asking to lead us all, though. That requires an understanding of the people to be led. An understanding that he seems to lack in abundance.

As has been pointed out, 23% of Americans who do not pay income tax are poor. 10% are old and living on fixed incomes of Social Security they have paid for all their working lives.

And 7% are like Mr. Romney: well-off to rich individuals who take advantage of tax breaks to avoid paying taxes at all.

So, Mr. Romney, which of these constituencies are not your problem if you become President of the United States? The poor, the elderly or those - like yourself - who are wealthy enough to not pay taxes? Which of your neighbors, your fellow Republicans, the children of our country are not "your problem".

And just whose problem are they?

There is something large and yellow and pointed at Dandrige, Tennessee in our driveway this morning. Already loaded up with the Modular Units (Rubbermaid Roughtotes, god bless 'em), a Gator, household furnishings and various pieces of California Coastal Redwood that never imagined the journey it is about to take.

My navigator is all jazzed up to be blasting across the American frontier with her dad. Donna, having done her part of packing returns the favor of staying the hell out of her way is working logistics while I work loading.

For many of our friends and family the idea of moving at all - much less thousands of miles - is so out of context that they are functionally unable to see the thrill of the journey. But life is in all ways a journey, without any destinations fixed to bedrock however we might like to delude ourselves to the contrary.

Life, politics, society, language, culture, knowledge. Their beginnings are forever behind us and their end is not our goal. A bad stretch of highway (Oklahoma) or a patch of desolation (Amarillo, TX) no more define the journey than an  unhappy moment with your partner defines your relationship. A moment or an epoch in politics no more defines our culture than our adolescent summers define our lives.

Bring the future, embrace the past. Revel in the flow, learn to surf the changing landscape and always, always, love your radar.
Roxy and I will post updates and pics as the miles roll by. The truck leaves the gate early Thursday, July 19th, California Time.

With the summer winding along and fall vaguely looming on the horizon, two great forces align to compete in the ritual fashion.

On the fringes of each camp zealots and True Believers burn effigies and dance to their gods. On the far right of the field of battle directionless Fear rules, on the far left unfocused Angst is emoted. Trembling fingers clutch spasmodically the china walls of genteel Tea cups in Faux colonial halls to the east, to the west scowls wreath the visages of Occupiers of empty lands.

The majority in each camp are at rest, healing from a hard road behind and focusing on a better road ahead.

Who will win, come the chill of November? Will it be the Tea-sipping shut-ins of the Right, the invective-hurling Occupiers of the Left or the vast majority in the Middle?

Consider this a Moderately Open Thread.

Last (ok, also first) call for Moose Meet Scotts Valley, July 7th and 14th. We are done with the California Experience, going back to the lake lifestyle, this time on Douglas Lake in Knoxville, TN. You will find us here in various shades of dishabille

Any Moose in the Bay Area welcome (Adept? Fog? ...?) are welcome for Saturday night bonfires and bower conversations. Any other day or night up to the 17th Moose are always welcome. Email, 408 656-8732 or just show the heck up.

Same goes for Tennessee on the other end, anytime. Pontoons and BBQ in the southern summer sun!

What does the summer hold for all you other Moose out there in the world?

Consider this a sun-soaked open thread.

Mohamed Morsy has been elected President of Egypt. There was much rejoicing, and there was much angst.

Rejoicing, because something like a democratic process has now for the first time elected the political leader of Egypt. Among some of those the rejoicing is due to the simple fact of his Muslim Brotherhood party allegiance. Among others it is due to his US education, two American citizen children and arguably moderate political positions.

Angst among some because he represents the Muslim Brotherhood at all, that he is the possible harbinger of an open Gaza border over which arms flow to fire at Israel.

The game is afoot among political pundits and prognosticators. What the future holds remains uncharted.
As usual my sunny optimism sides with Mira Tzoreff instead of Zvi Mazel in the Jerusalem Post:

While Mazel pointed to the Muslim Brotherhood's history, its rhetoric and its stated aims of an Islamic Middle East, Dr. Mira Tzoreff of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University offered a more optimistic view.

Tzoreff, who has written about the Muslim Brotherhood, said while Morsy would almost certainly spout more hardline Islamic-sounding rhetoric, there would likely be a gap between what he says and what he actually does.

In order to succeed politically and economically, Morsy will have to adopt policies acceptable to all Egyptians, including liberal and secular people, Tzoreff said.

"If he does that, he might succeed in unifying Egypt and pulling it out of the socioeconomic mire," she added.

According to Tzoreff, Morsy is "theoretically capable" of succeeding, but only if he cooperates with SCAF and other parties and does not become a captive to his Brotherhood ideology.

What say you, Moose? Is it time for Joy, Angst or Pondering in and about Egypt?

It is summer, effectively. School is out, the sun shines, vacations and family and time outdoors occupy more than the normal amount of horizon.

Those following politics and the media closely are developing strong feelings about the election coming in November. Those (like myself) enjoined in other topics let those issues stew for later contemplation.

The Republican party and its supporters are on the warpath to retake the White House, the Democrats laying defenses to keep it. As the Out party the GOP is motivated, as the In party the Dems are perhaps more contented.

Which way will the wind blow come the end of summer, oh progosticative Moose?

I've know a few Moose
Who when asked to produce
A line or five of rhythmical text,

Would take it in course
To lampoon the source
Of such an achievable quext.

It passes my mind
That in order to find
A casualtional trigger sufficients

To stampede the Meeses
Resulting in pieces
Of the conTextual arts they've proficients,

Required a hurdle
Less'r bloods which would curdle
But True Moose would span with omniscience.

So lay down, you Moose
Your pens do let loose
And fire some iambic pentameter,

You've just let a geek,
Coke-glass-ed, outspeak
A roomful of scholars who're apter.
Bring it.

Hi Mooses!

Sorry to be so unattentive lately, you remain in my heart and mind notwithstanding.

Life continues to be interesting, though news and politics do not cross my bow a lot of late (maybe that's why...).

While working undercover using my Secret Code Name Rick Blask keeps me busy,

The Industrial Controls Systems Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ICS ISAC) will provide deeper cross-industry alerting and threat communications among critical infrastructure companies, Rick Blask, ICS-ISAC executive director told Government Security News in an interview. Blask is also the founder and chief executive officer at ICS Cybersecurity, Inc.

...having a 25th anniversary last Saturday and getting a little dog rescued by our friend Maria today keeps everything else grounded.
Our Littlest Girl turns 10 on Monday, yesterday was the last single-digit school concert I will sit on the floor and take pictures at. Le Grande Damien turns 17 in three weeks and Roxy has always been more than the 12 or whatnot she wears on a given day.

With all the hard-fought successes in business in recent months that can be logically traced back to years of effort, the odd thing is that completely unpredictable amazingly good things are happening, as well. Among the strangest is the car that I have had since I was 18 - that Donna and I drove around in as kids, that we brought Damien home from the hospital in - has shown up after five years missing.

That isn't what it looks like now, but that it exists at all, has all the custom bodywork, restoration and modifications done and is being packaged off to my cousin's hangar in Florida to be painted and assembled is unlikely beyond words. That it should rear it's long-lost head at exactly the same time that years of toil are beginning to pay off is not at all short of making a non-theist scratch his head.

How about you, Mooses? Is the world getting a slice better every day in general, or is it a local phenomenon?

Hi Mooses!

Sorry to be so unattentive lately, you remain in my heart and mind notwithstanding.

Life continues to be interesting, though news and politics do not cross my bow a lot of late (maybe that's why...).

While working undercover using my Secret Code Name Rick Blask keeps me busy,

The Industrial Controls Systems Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ICS ISAC) will provide deeper cross-industry alerting and threat communications among critical infrastructure companies, Rick Blask, ICS-ISAC executive director told Government Security News in an interview. Blask is also the founder and chief executive officer at ICS Cybersecurity, Inc.

...having a 25th anniversary last Saturday and getting a little dog rescued by our friend Maria today keeps everything else grounded.
Our Littlest Girl turns 10 on Monday, yesterday was the last single-digit school concert I will sit on the floor and take pictures at. Le Grande Damien turns 17 in three weeks and Roxy has always been more than the 12 or whatnot she wears on a given day.

With all the hard-fought successes in business in recent months that can be logically traced back to years of effort, the odd thing is that completely unpredictable amazingly good things are happening, as well. Among the strangest is the car that I have had since I was 18 - that Donna and I drove around in as kids, that we brought Damien home from the hospital in - has shown up after five years missing.

That isn't what it looks like now, but that it exists at all, has all the custom bodywork, restoration and modifications done and is being packaged off to my cousin's hangar in Florida to be painted and assembled is unlikely beyond words. That it should rear it's long-lost head at exactly the same time that years of toil are beginning to pay off is not at all short of making a non-theist scratch his head.

How about you, Mooses? Is the world getting a slice better every day in general, or is it a local phenomenon?

Hi Mooses!

Sorry to be so unattentive lately, you remain in my heart and mind notwithstanding.

Life continues to be interesting, though news and politics do not cross my bow a lot of late (maybe that's why...).

While working undercover using my Secret Code Name Rick Blask keeps me busy,

The Industrial Controls Systems Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ICS ISAC) will provide deeper cross-industry alerting and threat communications among critical infrastructure companies, Rick Blask, ICS-ISAC executive director told Government Security News in an interview. Blask is also the founder and chief executive officer at ICS Cybersecurity, Inc.

...having a 25th anniversary last Saturday and getting a little dog rescued by our friend Maria today keeps everything else grounded.
Our Littlest Girl turns 10 on Monday, yesterday was the last single-digit school concert I will sit on the floor and take pictures at. Le Grande Damien turns 17 in three weeks and Roxy has always been more than the 12 or whatnot she wears on a given day.

With all the hard-fought successes in business in recent months that can be logically traced back to years of effort, the odd thing is that completely unpredictable amazingly good things are happening, as well. Among the strangest is the car that I have had since I was 18 - that Donna and I drove around in as kids, that we brought Damien home from the hospital in - has shown up after five years missing.

That isn't what it looks like now, but that it exists at all, has all the custom bodywork, restoration and modifications done and is being packaged off to my cousin's hangar in Florida to be painted and assembled is unlikely beyond words. That it should rear it's long-lost head at exactly the same time that years of toil are beginning to pay off is not at all short of making a non-theist scratch his head.

How about you, Mooses? Is the world getting a slice better every day in general, or is it a local phenomenon?

Colorado's Senate has passed a bill called "First Degree Homicide Of The Unborn Child Bill", according to njcronk on DKOS.

The stated intent of the bill is to be able to charge murderers twice for killing a pregnant woman. But such a law cannot stop there.

As LeftHandedMan says in the first comment at DKOS:

Does the Doctor and the woman both get the death penalty, or just the Doctor?

If the nurse does her job, is she guilty of second degree murder or neglegent homicide? Should she get the death penalty too? Like a getaway driver who helps a first-degree murderer get away might get in some states?

...

If a woman miscarries, is that murder or just involuntary manslaughter?

It gets both worse and, perhaps, better when you look deeper.
Worse, because according to the National Council of State Legislatures:

Currently, at least 38 states have fetal homicide laws.  The states include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. At least 20 states have fetal homicide laws that apply to the earliest stages of pregnancy ("any state of gestation," "conception," "fertilization" or "post-fertilization");

"Better", perhaps, because the link above is from November 2010 and I don't think there have been any convictions from any of those laws against doctors or women for having or performing abortions.

But each of those laws must, it would appear, have a downward pressure on medical professionals. Each is one more potential legal time-bomb, one more reason for terrorists to buy rifles and bomb making tools. And use them.

We have discussed the issue here quite a bit, and elsewhere in each of our lives much much more. Abortion is a hard and emotional issue for everyone involved. Those who honestly believe that sperm + egg = person are not acting out of ill will but expressing an honest concern. They just do not often live in the real world when they take this belief and try to make it law.

The Colorado law implicitly designates a fertilized egg as a human being. That every fertilized egg that fails to implant in the uterus wall is legally, morally and ethically equivalent to a person with family and friends being hit by a bus in the prime of life. That the 1/3 of fertilized eggs that fail to become viable in the first trimester are each precisely the same as a ten-year-old child dying of leukemia.

It means that taking birth control pills that prevent implantation of a fertilized egg is the legal, moral and ethical equivalent of planning and carrying out an execution of someone's father, brother, mother, sister. That inserting an IUD is the same as placing a bomb under a car.

I know and love some people who hold these views, but this is not a world we can all live in. It is not a world that can be legislated.

As I have said before, I do not know how we ever resolve this issue. Even removing the paleolithic superstitions (excuse me: "respected systems of Faith"), the moment of personhood remains an important and perhaps scientifically irresolvable topic.

However we work through this issue, replacing sentient consideration with the serotonin-induced hallucinations of mystic shamans is not the way. America is - by definition - a place where I do not have to be driven by the invisible people others believe are whispering in their ears. If we want to debate and even legislate the Moment of Personhood we have to demand that the opinions of magic trees, invisible deities and sacred stones are not taken into consideration.

This is complicated enough to figure out, already.