Some brief thoughts on 20 July 1969 versus 20 July 2005 can be found at my weblog Random Fate.

For the non-geeks out there, James Doohan played “Scotty” in the original Star Trek series. In real life, Doohan was a genuine World War II hero. From CNN.com: James Montgomery Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife Sarah. As he wrote in his autobiography, “Beam Me Up, Scotty,” his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children. At...

…does not seek for partisan advantage. I have cried out for that kind of leadership in my post “Our government is no place for political games for gain at any cost” at my own weblog, Random Fate. Please read and comment on it, especially if you disagree.

…through being distracted by shadow-boxing with fanatics?

…but necessary none the less. James Wolcott condemns our insular outlook, especially as it has been shown in the wake of the terrorist attacks in London, and he makes his point well. — Cross-posted to Random Fate.

A commentary on why Bastille Day should be remembered in the United States can be found at my weblog, Random Fate.

Cross-posted to Random Fate. Technical presentations tend to all follow a similar format, with a brief overview of the object of study, a description of the experiments performed, a presentation of the data, a discussion of the implications of the data, and conclusions along with directions for future work. One oddity I encounter in dealing with the different cultures and languages that are part and parcel of my job is how this format is subtly altered by word choices made under the influence of...

…and instead trying to take a wider view, I have returned from a two week hiatus/vacation with some ruminations upon “The shackles of cognitive thought” at my weblog, Random Fate. While the devil may lie in the details, you cannot see where you are going if you stare at your feet.

I am about to go on a two week vacation. After the news in recent weeks regarding the idiotic remarks of Senator Richard Durbin and Karl Rove, coupled with the ongoing Guantanamo shouting match, the passage in the House of Representatives of an anti-flag burning amendment, and the approval of eminent domain seizures in the name of private development, I need it because otherwise my incredulous anger might consume me. I have some parting thoughts posted on the Guantanamo prison, the Durbin/Rove idiocy,...

…can be found here: High court OKs personal property seizures Majority: Local officials know how best to help cities Thursday, June 23, 2005 Posted: 1450 GMT (2250 HKT) WASHINGTON (AP) — – The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses — even against their will — for private economic development. It was a decision fraught with huge implications for a country with many areas, particularly the rapidly growing urban...

I cannot recommend more highly reading this entire post by John Cole: Durbin Wrap Up. To provide an incentive, I give you a quote that encapsulates what I have been trying to convey about the prison at Guantanamo: The fact of the matter is, we just don’t know the whole story. And no matter what the blowhards and the administration apologists (and I used to be one) say, it isn’t liberal ACLU pro-terrorist anti-military crazinesss to demand the facts and to demand that we behave better...

My head just might explode, because I’m in the midst of the meeting-hell-week that I have mentioned at my own weblog Random Fate, so I don’t have much time to write here. Then, Congress goes and does this: House Backs Ban On Flag Burning By THE NEW YORK TIMES Published: June 23, 2005 WASHINGTON, June 22 – The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Wednesday proposing a constitutional amendment that would enable Congress to prohibit the destruction or debasement of the...

…after four decades, the Mississippi court system worked, resulting in a conviction on three counts of manslaughter.

…and recalling there is more to life, I have been trying to take advantage of my expatriate assignment in Europe. A few weeks ago I visited Prague, in the Czech Republic (the western part of the former Czechoslovakia). I have posted a few photos from my trip at my weblog, Random Fate. Enjoy.

When ATC Joe writes this, I agree: I’m not saying the evangelicals are bad, or that they have some sort of organized program to intimidate people into endorsing their views, but they do have a tendency to overreach when they meet with some success in their agenda. I’m convinced a large part of what the public sees as overreach on the part of the Bush administration is driven by the administration’s own evangelicals, or the debt they feel they owe them for their support in last year’s...

Joe Gandelman, the owner of this weblog, has already posted on his view of the results of the Schiavo autopsy. I believe that the intransigence of the controversy surrounding this matter points to a larger issue, one that could cost us dearly if we continue to demonize those who do not think the same as we think. I have written of my fears of the ultimate consequence of the path we appear to have chosen at Random Fate, in deference to attempting to maintaining the moderate voice of this weblog, since...

At my own weblog Random Fate I have posted a follow-up to my post here at The Moderate Voice titled “It cannot be history until you stop living it”. The new post: “It cannot be history until you stop living it… Part II“ It is not cross-posted here because it is of a rather personal bent and does not fit the appellation of a “Moderate Voice”; however, it does align with the policy of “other views” that Joe Gandelman often presents here.

Somehow, I doubt this trial will be followed as closely as the recent trial of Michael Jackson. Draw your own conclusions regarding what this means. Cross-posted to Random Fate.

Cross-posted at Random Fate. I recently posted on my own concept of honor, and how I feel the honor of my country has been soiled and continues to be soiled by the choice of our government to maintain the extra-legal prison an Guantanamo Bay. In that post, I disagreed with an assertion made by another blogger, someone whom I respect immensely. I want to make it very clear I was not saying that the Average Tobacco Chewing Joe of Cadillac Tight has no sense of honor. ATCJoe and I have had a relatively...

A note: this is the personal opinion of the author, Jack Grant, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Joe Gandelman, the proprietor of this weblog. Cross-posted to Random Fate. In an article discussing the move of Apple from PowerPC to Intel based processors I read this of all things: (The Macintosh sycophancy) …reminds me of another self-justifying group of Americans that will approve anything their party does, no matter what (apparently its leadership believes it’s reasonable...

Joe Gandelman has named his weblog The Moderate Voice, I suspect in no small part because he appears to find knee-jerk ideological views damaging to our society in the least and more likely dangerous overall. There are some issues that go beyond politics to some, however, and in my case they are matters of honor, a concept that may not exist to many in this modern world. I have been attempting to define what is a “moderate” and trying to distingish that attitude from the political view...

I recently attempted to answer the question “What is a moderate?” at my personal weblog Random Fate. My answer prompted a gratifying amount of discussion on other weblogs, but unfortunately, much of that discussion made no differentiation between “moderate” and “centrist”. In response, I offer a short addendum to my original discussion, with the promise of more on this topic later.

I have been privileged for several months to guest-post here at The Moderate Voice. When Joe Gandelman, the proprietor of this site, first asked me to guest-post he mentioned it was because he felt that I did not take ideological stances but instead thought each issue through. Recently, I’ve been reading many different weblogs who accuse moderates of being “mushy” or always “splitting the difference and sacrificing principles”. I suspect these accusations are merely...

…how long before this man is branded a traitor by those who don’t want to hear his message? Cross-posted to Random Fate. Good Intentions Gone Bad NEWSWEEK’s Baghdad bureau chief, departing after two years of war and American occupation, has a few final thoughts. By Rod Nordland Newsweek June 13 issue – Two years ago I went to Iraq as an unabashed believer in toppling Saddam Hussein. I knew his regime well from previous visits; WMDs or no, ridding the world of Saddam would...

Cross-posted to Random Fate. An unexpected conclusion is presented by Pennywit at his eponymous weblog: That’s something you don’t hear very often: That Justice Scalia does not apply his incisive views of the Constitution when his personal ox is being gored. Actually, other justices, and indeed, other judges, are far more guilty of this offense; differing strands of the law become more, or less, acceptable, depending on the judge’s political proclivities. Except for Justice Thomas,...