Cassi Creek: Someone else’s words will suffice this morning.
Fines lower drivers’ use of cellphones
The campaign against distracted driving has provided another illustration that American drivers are more likely to respond to safety initiatives when they carry the threat of punishment.
We can fix the unemployment problem, but won't, writes Paul Krugman: "a destructive passivity has overtaken our discourse. Turn on your TV and you’ll see some self-satisfied pundit declaring that nothing much can be done about the economy’s short-run problems (reminder: this 'short run' is now in its fourth year), that we should focus on the long run instead. This gets things exactly wrong. The truth is that creating jobs in a depressed economy is something government could and should be doing. Yes, there are huge political obstacles to action — notably, the fact that the House is controlled by a party that benefits from the economy’s weakness. But political gridlock should not be conflated with economic reality. Our failure to create jobs is a choice, not a necessity — a choice rationalized by an ever-shifting set of excuses."
Finding good homes for lighthouses
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By Steve Vogel, Published: July 10
For sale: Historic waterfront property with a spectacular, 50-foot-high view of Lake Michigan. Featuring solid, century-old cast-iron construction, painted distinctive red. Comes with its own Fresnel lens for signaling ships.
Posted at 09:59 AM ET, 07/11/2011
Sarah Palin as Newsweek cover girl — again
As celebrity glamour shots go, Sarah Palin’s cover photo on this week’s Newsweek is danged good! The best-selling author and reality-TV star looks young and vibrant. Her devil-may-care countenance aided and abetted by the wind conspicuously blowing hair back. And while her outfit might be laid back, there’s no doubt she’s in total control. But when Palin’s cover shot is viewed through the prism of presidential politics, it’s a dud.
The death penalty and the costs of an obsession
The unseemly love affair some American politicians have with the death penalty is bad for justice and bad for our country’s standing in the world. It inflicts a wholly unnecessary moral stain on a nation that rightly preaches the rule of law to everyone else.
Even more remarkable is the indifference that five Supreme Court justices have shown to such considerations.
9th
Sunset for Saratoga
9 July 2011
Ex-USS Saratoga (CV-60) sits alone now, at Pier 1 at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. Her sister, the more famous Forrestal (CV-59) has been towed to Philadelphia, and likely the scrapyard. A similar fate probably awaits Sara, as the immense cost of preparation and upkeep for museum ships is too formidable for most, particularly a ship as large as she. Yet, even as she rises and falls with the cold tide, Saratoga retains a regal majesty that only the breakers will be able to erase.
USS Saratoga was once an engineering marvel beyond compare, and when commissioned in 1956 dwarfed her older sisters of the Essex class, and even the late-war Midways. The second of the four Forrestal-class “supercarriers”, her class would set the standard for American carrier design that remains with us to this day. Displacing more than 76,000 tons fully loaded, she could make 34 knots, and handle nearly one hundred aircraft. The photo below shows her alongside Essex, CV-9, and the difference in size is striking, despite fewer than a dozen years between designs.
Cassi Creek: Lots to think about as the GOP/teavangelists try to gut our economy for their own profit and that of their moneyed bosses. Obama has to grow up and realize that they will never like him or help him.
We had a quiet, lovely weekend floating around the pool, grilling kabobs, and enjoying each other’s company. Back onto the routine path today. And that path is pretty good, too. Did some firearm maintenance this morning after Loki and I made the hike with Mike. Most likely dinner will be salad or soup and leftover salmon patties.
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