Pres. Fibs To Gin Up Support For War; Chinese Order To Smoke Withdrawn; Welcome To The “Murder Castle” May 7, 2009

Chinese Gov't Must Be Pleased With This Taxpayer

No Forced Smoking:  The a county Government in China recently ordered government workers to increase their smoking collectively by several hundred thousand or face a fine.  The idea was that the county needed to increase its tax revenue.  After a hue and cry, the order had been rescinded with the county officials claiming the order was not for all cigarettes but only for the local brand as they were trying to encourage those who smoked to smoke local.  This illustrates a situation I have envisioned in this country.  The government sued tobacco companies for their product.  The tobacco companies had to pay millions and millions. But, state governments need people to smoke to help their budgets.  What would happen if the tobacco companies decided it was not worth the potential litigation costs to continue to sell their products in this country?  Then you’d have all of these states way short of money.  Think the very people who sued the companies in the first place would then tell them they had to sell cigarettes in their states?  If the product is so dangerous as to merit a lawsuit, then ban it.  But, the government doesn’t do that because it needs the money.  A great case of duplicity on the part of government.  Another example is the banning of smoking in public places.  It’s a legal product used properly by people of age.  But the government forces private business owners to prevent their patrons from using the product.  If it was such an annoyance, then businesses that allowed tobacco use would go out of business and those who did not would flourish on its own.  But, since thats not the case, then government intervenes.  Again, if its that much of a danger to the public welfare, then ban it.  But again…they need the money. As it is, state and local governments are taxing it so heavily that people just may quit.  The useage goes down and voila…empty government coffers.  When that happens, lets see how those governments make up the short fall…by raising taxes elsewhere…also watch the smuggling of cigarettes increase.

 

Chicago Murder Castle

On This Date In History:

On this date in 1896, a notorious serial murderer was hanged.  His name was Herman W. Mudgett and he had secretly built what was called the “murder castle” or the “torture castle” in Chicago.  The events are too gruesome for me to relay.  If you want to read about it, be my guest. Here’s the link below.  The only reason I put this in is to remind you that there have been dangerous nutbags in the past so don’t think that any heinous goofs that are produced today are anything new.

Herman W. Mudgett

 

Lusitania Sank Awfully Fast

On this date in 1915, the German submarine U-20 sunk the RMS Lusitania helping to sway American public opinion against Germany and eventually helped lead the US into World War I.  All British shipping was ordered to travel at full speed and in a zig zag pattern as a precaution against German U-Boat activity.  Germany had already declared unrestricted submarine warfare against all shipping in the Atlantic providing munitions or aid toward the allied effort in the war.  The Lustitania was a luxury passenger liner and it was filled with civilians as it ran into fog. The captain slowed the ship and stopped zig zagging.  It was an easy shot for the U-Boat.  Some 1200 went down with the ship including 128 Americans.  The attack resulted in a letter of protest from President Woodrow Wilson.  The Germans claimed the ship was carrying munitions.  The US denied the charge and the American public grew quite angry as passions against the Germans grew.  The sneak attack on perhaps the most luxurious and largest passenger liner at the time created the image of the ruthlessness of the Germans.  That and the later Zimmerman Telegram , in which the Germans proposed that Mexcio attack the US should the Americans enter the war, led to the US entry into the Great War.

Here’s the rub.  The Germans were right.

Wilson Lied?

When the U-20 slammed it’s torpedo into the starboard side of the liner, almost immediately a secondary explosion rocked the ship.  The torpedo explosion probably wouldn’t have sunk the ship but the second explosion caused a huge gash in the hull and the great liner sunk in just 18 minutes.  The story told the American public was that the germans fired several torpedoes.  That was false.  What the people did not know is that the passenger liner was indeed carrying about 128 tons of munitions and supplies for the war effort.

I have yet to read anything in historical annals that say that President Wilson lied.  I suppose he had plausible deniability and historians have given him a pass.

SPC Severe Threat Thu8am to Fri8am

Thu 8am to Fri 8am Tornado Probability

Weather Bottom Line:  I was right…Wednesday was a wet day.  Look for the boundary to the south to more or less wash out and so we will be warm and humid for a good chunk of the day.  We’ll probably push to the upper 70′s to around 80.  That may be sufficient to kick off a few isolated afternoon t’storms.  That will become much more general from the late afternoon into the night as a wave sweeps up along an approaching cold front.  Even though its at night, the SPC has us in the slight risk area for severe storms.  As mentioned yesterday, the biggest threat would be for hail and high winds.  The fact that the risk area pretty much only extends eastward to our area indicates that the overnight hours should reduce the threat….thus..we’re on the fringe of the area.  The rain should be over by midday on Friday but then ramp up again on Friday night into early Saturday with another frontal boundary.  We could see some decent storms with that as well.

DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK  
  

SPC Hail Probability Thu 8am to Fri 8am

 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   1230 AM CDT THU MAY 07 2009
  
   VALID 071200Z – 081200Z
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS FROM OK/KS NEWD INTO THE WRN OH
   VALLEY…
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS STRETCHING FROM THE MID
   ATLANTIC STATES SEWD INTO THE GULF COAST STATES…
  
   …SYNOPSIS…
   WNWLY MID LEVEL WINDS AT 50-70 KT ARE FORECAST TO EXTEND FROM THE
  

SPC Severe Wind Probability

PACIFIC NW INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS AND EWD INTO THE MID ATLANTIC
   STATES THROUGH THE PERIOD. WEAK EMBEDDED SHORTWAVE TROUGHS WILL
   PROGRESS THROUGH THIS FLOW…THOUGH NONE OF THEM ARE FORECAST TO BE
   STRONG ENOUGH TO RESULT IN HEIGHT FALLS OR AMPLIFY THE ZONAL FLOW.
   AT THE SURFACE…A WEAK FRONT/REMNANT OUTFLOW BOUNDARY WILL LINGER
   EAST OF THE APPALACHIANS SEWD INTO GULF COASTAL STATES. ANOTHER WEAK
   COLD FRONT/TROUGH IS FORECAST TO EXTEND FROM THE WRN GREAT LAKES
   SEWD INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS BY LATE AFTERNOON.
  
   …NRN/CENTRAL MO EWD INTO THE LOWER OH/TN VALLEYS…
   SHORTWAVE TROUGH…WHICH WAS MOVING THROUGH WY WED EVENING…IS
   FORECAST TO MOVE INTO NRN MO THU AFTERNOON AND INTO IL DURING THE
   EVENING. LARGE SCALE LIFTING ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM… COMBINED
   WITH EFFECTIVE SHEAR AT 40-50 KT AND MLCAPES FROM 1000 TO 2000
   J/KG…FAVOR ORGANIZED SEVERE CONVECTION DEVELOPING EWD THIS
   AFTERNOON/EVENING FROM MO INTO THE WRN OH VALLEY. VEERING WINDS AND
   STRONG 1 KM SHEAR MAY SUPPORT A TORNADO THREAT…ESPECIALLY ACROSS
   PORTIONS OF MO…WHERE SURFACE DEWPOINTS SHOULD BE AT LEAST IN THE
   MID 60S AND STRONG LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL EXIST. HOWEVER… THE
   PRIMARY SEVERE THREAT IS MORE LIKELY TO BE WIND DAMAGE…GIVEN THE
   STRONGER FLOW ALOFT AND MOSTLY UNIDIRECTIONAL WLY FLOW ALOFT.
  
   …SERN KS/SWRN MO/NRN AND CENTRAL OK/NWRN AR…
   MOIST BOUNDARY LAYER…DEWPOINTS AOA 70F…AND AFTERNOON HEATING
   WILL LEAD TO A VERY UNSTABLE AIRMASS…MLCAPES IN EXCESS OF 3000
   J/KG. HOWEVER…LACK OF ANY EVIDENT DYNAMICAL FORCING AND STRONG
   CAPPING BETWEEN 800 AND 700 MB WILL LIKELY INHIBIT STORM DEVELOPMENT
   THROUGH THE DAYLIGHT HOURS. SHOULD ANY STORMS FORM… DEEP LAYER
   SHEAR AND INSTABILITY WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF SUPERCELLS WITH VERY
   LARGE HAIL. HOWEVER…THUNDERSTORMS ARE MORE LIKELY OVERNIGHT AS
   BOUNDARY SAGS SLOWLY SEWD INTO FAR SERN KS/SWRN MO/NRN OK AND LOW
   LEVEL JET/WARM ADVECTION INTENSIFIES. GIVEN THE DEGREE OF
   INSTABILITY…30-40 KT MID LEVEL WNWLY FLOW AND SURFACE
   BOUNDARY…AN MCS WITH HAIL AND BOWING SEGMENTS/WIND APPEARS
   LIKELY…MAINLY AFTER 05Z.
  
   …MID ATLANTIC STATES SEWD INTO THE GULF COASTAL STATES…
   MODERATE INSTABILITY WILL OCCUR IN AREAS WHERE MOIST AIR MASS IS
   WARMED FROM MORNING/EARLY AFTERNOON SUNSHINE. STORMS SHOULD READILY
   DEVELOP DURING THE AFTERNOON ALONG A WEAK BOUNDARY LOCATED IN THE
   REGION. MID LEVEL WLY WINDS AT 25 TO 40 KT WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR
   MULTICELL SEVERE STORM CLUSTERS. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS
   SHOULD BE THE PRIMARY SEVERE THREATS…DUE TO THE DEGREE OF
   INSTABILITY AND MOSTLY UNDIRECTIONAL WLY FLOW ABOVE THE BOUNDARY
   LAYER. STRONGER STORMS WILL BE DIURNALLY MODULATED… WITH ACTIVITY
   EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AROUND SUNSET.
  
   ..IMY/JEWELL.. 05/07/2009

alphainventions

http://alphainventions.com/

 

Government Continues Attack on Civil Liberty July 31, 2008

The remnant of Dolly will be moving across the region on Wednesday night. A few strong storms are possible but not necessarily probable. The updated SPC OUTLOOK has a slight risk just to our west. There will probably be a fair amount of lightning and some of the storms coming out of Missouri have had a history of hail and they were rambunctious enough for the SPC to issue a Tornado Watch well to our west. However, it’s not enough for me to come in to work as we suspect the greatest problem with this may be the amount of rain we get. You can just feel the heavy moisture content. This morning it reminded me of my grandparents house on Mobile Bay. Sorta had the same smell…but maybe that was the barn. Nevertheless, it was enough for me to put the goats, the horses and the donkey in the barn for the night. I can’t afford to get those guys mad at me and I don’t think they take too well to lightning and I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate getting dumped on with rain. I hope the rain helps my baby tree named Horton. I’m sure kelsaroo the hydrangia wil be happy too.

LA Considers Banning Fast Food Establishments in Lower Income Neighborhood. While it’s often unpopular, I have from time to time opined about how we are relinquishing our freedoms under the guise of good intentions. I suppose it’s the Libertarian in me that flares up from time to time. No, I’m not talking about Federal efforts to fight terrorism and work toward better security for the nation. I”m talking about little things…and those little things are now becoming big things and may even get bigger and more intrusive. Already we’ve had governments taking people’s homes so that they can increase the tax revenues. If the government thinks that your home would make a good place for a shopping mall, they can take it. All of this starts with our willingness to allow restrictive laws on relatively minor issues and nos the government is grabbing for more. So far, we have let them and soon we may not be able to stop them.

Many states have made it mandatory to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. The excuse from most people is that they don’t want to pay for, or have their insurance premiums go up, when some gets in a wreck when they aren’t wearing a helmet. I suspect though that people who don’t wear helmets probably result in lower hospital costs because they are more likely to die and not be in the hospital at all. Same thing for seatbelts.

I’ve always worn a seatbelt and always will. I think it’s stupid not to wear a helmet on a motorcycle or go seatbeltless in a car. If you don’t wear a seatbelt, the odds increase that you die and stay off the healthcare roles altogether. But, it’s a small infringement on our freedoms under the shroud of public good. Same thing with smoking.

All of the bans go up all over the place. I don’t smoke and never have. But, if an owner of a bar wants to allow adults to use a legal product in his establishment, then he should not be forced to prevent his patrons from using the product. If it is so dangerous and so unhealthful, then the government should ban them altogether. But…they don’t. Why? Because so many states rely on taxes from the tobacco industry. It’s such hypocrisy. On the one hand, they sue the tobacco companies but on the other, they welcome the tax revenue. They prevent law abiding bar owners from allowing people to use a legal product and also require them to enforce the law. Yet, they still need desperately the taxes collected. If the public is so in favor of a smoke-free environment, then they could let the free market decide. My guess is that the smoke free bars would go out of business and the smoking bars would flourish. Just imagine if the tobacco companies decided the cost of doing business was too high in the US and they stopped selling their products in the United States. Then the states would be suing to force them to sell those products because every state would have a huge budget shortfall…and a substantially large angry portion of the electorate. Oh..by the way, statistics show that smokers have more health related issues…but they also show that they die younger…again…off the healthcare rolls altogether.

I think that all of these relatively minor surrenderings of our liberty will lead the government to reach even farther. There have been some localities that have tried to make it illegal for someone to smoke in the privacy of his own home! Remember a couple of years ago when New London, CT used eminent domain to toss people from their perfectly good and safe homes to make way for a commercial establishment? The Connecticut Supreme Court said it was for the public good because it would stimulate the local economy. It seems like a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. These guys didn’t search, they just seized law abiding private homeowners property altogether. And once New London was able to ge away with it, other cities soon followed. This story got the attention of 60 Minutes , but the American people remain silent.

Now, Los Angeles will vote soon on a measure that would ban any further construction of fast food establishments in a neighborhood that is largely less affluent. The rich neighborhoods can continue to welcome new business with open arms whereas the poor are deemed unworthy of making choices on their own. What is next?

You know, if you really want to get down to it, the Global Warming issue has its base in population. If there were still about 2 billion people on the planet instead of the over 6 billion today, then the pollution and carbon emissions would be greatly reduced. If we keep on this path, then is it not totally unreasonable for one to think that some day the government would limit the number of babies a family could have? Sound far fetched? China does it today and here is a student from the University of Pittsburgh that thinks China’s one child per family rule is “sensible.”

Just some things to think about. For the record, I think the greatest danger to our losing our liberty is through the prism of good intentions and I think we are closer than many people care to think.

Here is the LA Times Story