Innocent Bystanders

Father and Daughter Bond With “Rolling In The Deep” July 29, 2012

Super-cute. That girl looks like she’s about seven years old, but she sings with passion. Hat tip to dad for spending some fun time with his little girl.

22 Mile Artillery Shot July 27, 2012

Pretty impressive shooting. My son said his battery only fired artillery for 3 days before they got sent out on patrols. These guys are Golf Battery 2/11, my son’s in Echo Battery 2/11.

Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., dropped the 155mm M982 Excalibur round on insurgents 36 kilometers away — more than 22 miles — in Helmand province. The strike was launched Feb. 12 from an M777 howitzer on a mountainside at Forward Operating Base Zeebrugge, in Kajaki, to neighboring Musa Qala district, Marines said.

It marks the longest operational artillery shot in history for the Marine Corps, said Capt. Joshua Kling, the battery commander.

 

Oh No! There Was Actually A Really Great “Rolling In The Deep” Cover That I Missed July 27, 2012

This is actually kind of fascinating. It’s one guy doing an a cappella version, singing all parts and also doing instrumental accompaniment just with his voice. It’s split screen, so he provides helpful signs about what the various versions of himself are doing. At the end, he gives a brief fun description of how he did it.

Weighing in on the “You Didn’t Build That” Debacle July 26, 2012

Obama’s “you didn’t build that” speech reminds me of a Biblical parable. It’s been a while since I’ve dabbled in matters religious, but I remember the parable going something like this:

The head dude tells his three minions that he’s taking off for a few months, and he gives each of them some money to work with while he’s gone. Flunky 1 stuffs it in his mattress. Flunky 2 buys a high-yield CD, and Flunky 3 buys some Apple stock just before they released the first iPhone. Head dude comes back and asks how it went. Flunky 3 wheels in barrels of cash, Flunky 2 wheels in 1 barrel of cash, and Flunky 1 brings the stash of bills from his mattress, looking quite the worse for wear.

The head dude says, “#3, you totally rock and I’m going to let you in on some bigger gigs. #2, you’re the man, and I’m going to let you in on some slightly bigger gigs. #1, you’re a waste of gravity, and I’m not touching those skanky bills.” So #1 gets a boot to the head and is kicked out.

Now consider the modern entrepreneur who has access to the infrastructure that we all share. We all use the education, the roads, the legal protection, etc. that the President cites as the government’s contribution to the entrepreneur’s success. But while all of us enjoy those features (that we paid for, of course), only a few are willing to take the risks and pour the energy into starting a business.

In the Parable of the 3 Flunkies, each of them had the same opportunities, but one went with a high-risk/high-payoff approach, and one with a no-risk/no-payoff approach. We celebrate those who follow the former path because they are exceptional, especially when they succeed. We know that while there is the occasional Facebook story, with a huge reward/effort ratio, most successful businesses take decades to get anywhere, and most of the time the pot of gold is nowhere in sight. Having the tenacity, and faith, and resilience to press on through all the vicissitudes of a small business takes someone special.

To most Americans this is obvious, but not to the President or Elizabeth Warren.

And in fact, it doesn’t take much extrapolation from their statements to find yourself well into a socialist philosophy. If business owners aren’t special – if their success is largely due to the government – then they are no different than their employees. And if they’re no different than their employees, there is no reason they should be taking all the profits for themselves. If all the workers are sharing in profits, they’re essentially co-owners, so they should participate in the decision-making as well.

Yes, just around the corner from “You didn’t build that” is “You don’t own that.”

Compare and Contrast the Reporting July 23, 2012

From the AP:

A pickup truck overloaded with passengers veered off a highway and crashed into trees in rural South Texas, killing at least 13 people and leaving 10 injured, authorities said.

Gerald Bryant, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the 23 passengers, were crammed inside the truck’s cab and bed, including at least two young children whom he saw among the dead after the Sunday evening crash

From Reuters:

A pickup truck jammed with suspected illegal immigrants crashed into a tree along a rural Texas highway on Sunday, killing 11 passengers and injuring 12 others, police said.

The AP article doesn’t mention illegal immigrants anywhere. Talk about filtering the news.

Awesome Invocation By Catholic Priest Condemning Socialism July 22, 2012

Found at Nice Deb.