Posted 2:44 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Talking politics

Had an opportunity today, with my friend Charles, to talk to and with a group of 30 or so high school junior and senior students in political science courses at Forrest Lake High. We were there representing the Libertarian Party. At one point, I asked for a show of hands from those who consider themselves liberals, and about half a dozen responded. To the same request of conservatives, about the same result, meaning that perhaps 2/3 of them fell outside those two polarizing choices.

That result may indicate that young people are not automatically falling into the labels of their parents, but it may also reflect the general trend away from such labels. I offered the easy opinion that those old labels are almost meaningless now. Ask 3 self-described conservatives what they stand for and you can get 3 very different, often contradictory answers. It's just as true with liberals.

I enjoy high school students. It's an age when much of their thought is just beginning to settle down. They're usually still searching for truths, and most are eager for input. They're justifiably concerned about the world they will spend their adult lives in. I'm concerned for them, because the future looks as dim and uncertain as it did during the Cold War, and in some ways, far more dangerous.

Posted 11:16 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

Beam me up, oldtimer

Sometimes I think of myself as "old". Being fully-qualified as a senior citizen, and being constantly reminded that I can't do everything I once could, it isn't a stretch. Tonight, out of curiosity, I set out to find out how old the actors of the original Star Trek series are now. Of course, I knew that Bones and Scotty had already died, but what about the rest of the crew? I was quite surprised to find out that ALL of them are older than I am:

William Shatner 74
Leonard Nimoy 74
Walter Koenig 69
George Takei 69
Nichelle Nichols 72
Majel Barret 74
James Doohan 85 at death in 2005
DeForrest Kelly 79 at death in 1999

Despite following Star Trek for years, only tonight did I discover that Nichelle Nichols and DeForrest Kelly were both excellent singers. Nichols toured with Duke Ellington and Count Basie at one time. Nichols' role on Star Trek was a very important break-through part, considered the first serious television part by a black woman. In one of the episodes, she and Shatner had the first inter-racial kiss ever on TV.

Posted 12:29 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

Despite my obvious enthusiasm for baseball and the Minnesota Twins, the Twins now find themselves on my complete boycott list. For more, see Twins, you just lost a loyal fan.

Posted 9:59 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

That's baseball!

If you're not watching the Twins these days, you're missing baseball at it's best. They're playing the best, and they're beating them. Three over Oakland, plus two more (so far) from the Yankees, and it's just great baseball. Heros tonight... Luis Castillo and Justin Morneau, but include great pitching and many other players making important contributions. This one was dramatic... a come from behind in the bottom of the 9th, against a great closer. Most importantly, in order to win games like the past few, it takes a TEAM, and that's exactly what we've seen.

Posted 11:10 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

Oh yeah... Twins 5, Yankees 1

After sweeping 3 from Oakland, the Twins faced off against the powerhouse Yankees, whose lineup reads like it's from an All-Star game. Young Scott Baker, in his first-ever appearance against the Yankees, was not intimidated and pitched like an old pro... a superlative 3-hitter. The rest of the Twins backed that performance up with great clutch hitting and their usual good defense.

As I've said before, I love baseball. It's a game that almost anyone can play, but it requires so many skills to be played well. Many people think it's too slow, but to a fan, there is so much subtlety to appreciate. Shortstop Juan Castro is a great example. He's as good at fielding his position as any I've ever seen, and has a strong arm that gets the ball to first quickly and accurately. That would be enough to make him valuable, but he's also a determined batter, and we saw a great example of that tonight. With two out already, he battled with Yankee starter Mike Mussina for 10 pitches, then singled a run in to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.
THAT'S baseball.

Posted 10:31 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Ya just never know

Seems as if I'm always getting into interesting situations, at least more interesting than I anticipated. Maybe I have a knack for finding interest in situations, or just allowing interest to develop. Come to think of it, I think that's worthy of a No Force article, so rather than belabor that subject here, I'll just describe a recent "interesting" situation I found myself in. Friend Forrest ran across a dinner meeting at which the author of a book about the Battle of Midway was to speak. Knowing that I had spent a year on Midway Island, he phoned and invited me to attend with him.
It was the subtitle he read to me that got me very curious... "The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway", so not only did I accept the invitation, but got on the phone, found the book, bought it and started reading. Big book, but quite interesting; by the time of the meeting, I had finished it.

Turns out that the group was not quite what Forrest had thought it was, but it was indeed a group of submarine veterans (as is Forrest) who have met every other month for many years. Oddly, nobody we talked to seemed to know anything about the book or the speaker, or even Midway. When the author/speaker arrived he quickly noticed my copy of his book (it's big) and seemed delighted that someone had a copy of "Shattered Sword".

Using records that the Japanese Navy failed to destroy after the stunning defeat at Midway (which they actually sold as a victory back home in Japan), the co-authors and others pulled together an amazing detailed, minute-by-minute account of what actually occurred, and why, during the short battle of Midway. It's not the story we've learned through movies, but far more interesting and believable. Less inspired cunning, but a lot more almost-thoughtless heroics.

But... the interesting aspect of the evening was not, for me, the book or the author, but being among this group of submariners, quite a few of whom are WWII vets. Military service is shared by many, but when it narrows down to Navy, and then to submariners, it becomes a unique set of experiences shared by few. I've long been fascinated by submariners, because their experiences are so unique. I was in the "surface" Navy, and even more on shore. It was fun to be among sailors again, listen to sea stories, and nice to be around some men even older than me.

Sitting through the regular ceremonies, honoring the lost boats, and the vets in attendance, I noticed one thing missing... photographs of the vets themselves. Like most military settings, it was built around names on paper... like parts of a mechanism rather than individuals. I asked the group leader whether the group ever took any photos. Seems it just hadn't occurred to them, despite the fact that their WWII members are in their 80's. So... I'll be going to their next meeting to photograph at least the older members in attendance.

Posted 9:45 PM by Robert Ronald Smith

Make my day!

I'm a baseball fan, and I looooooooove the Twins, because they're a good baseball team. They don't always win, but they always play hard. They've never been able to rely on expensive star players, so they have a great farm organization, excellent coaching, and concentration on essentials.

Tonight was a great game. Toronto took an early 4-0 lead, but then the Twins got it going, and going, and going, winning 13-4. Luis Rodriguez got a homer on his first major-league at-bat. Torii Hunter hit a smashing GRAND-SLAM to go with his other hits, and had 6 RBI's himself (enough to win the game). No shortage of other heros... a total of 16 hits.

I have a feeling it's going to be a GOOD year.

Oh yeah... happy birthday, Bert

Posted 9:58 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Sounds like an April Fool joke...

but it isn't; George Mason University is in the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament. I don't know whose idea it was to invite them into the tournament, but they're patting themselves on the back for that weird move. GMU is a "nobody" in sports, from a little-known conference, but since getting into the tournament, they've upset 3 of the previous 6 national champion schools, including last year's champ North Carolina and the nation's top-ranked UConn. In the final four, there is a 2-seed, 3-seed, 4-seed, and GMU, seeded 11. Until this week, GMU had never won an NCAA game.

For some regional perspective, SIX of the Big Ten schools were in the tournament; 3 lost in the first round, the other 3 in the second round.

Libertarians know GMU as the home of several big-name free-market economists; James Buchanan, Vernon Smith (both Nobel Prize winners) and Walter Williams.

If you like rooting for underdogs, or love Cinderella stories, join the excitement tonight at 6 PM EST, 7 Central to see the Patriots take on the Florida Gators.

Posted 6:11 AM by Robert Ronald Smith

Odd morning...

Looked out the window upon rising, and saw a pig flying by, towing a large banner proclaiming "Government downsizing announced"