A Modern McNamara?

With the death of Robert S. (for Strange! seriously) McNamara, I've seen a few online pieces comparing the Iraq War's own Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, with the infamous "architect of Vietnam". In the future, will Rumsfeld be universally reviled, as McNamara evidently was? I don't think so. Sure, there are similarities: both presided over wars that were seen as disasters of planning and of execution, both were notorious micro-managers, both had put their stamps on war plans. But whereas Kennedy and Johnson were never able to sell their quagmire (sorry, but I'm legally obligated to use that word, since this is about Vietnam) to a skeptical and eventually outraged public and press, Bush, Cheney, and the neocons did a fantastic job of duping a complacent public and a lapdog press corps.

Sure, there will be moments when Rumsfeld feels the wrath of the public [aside: explain to me what a multi-millionaire is doing riding the bus? Part of me is impressed that he's willing to take public transportation, part of me wonders if he's really just incredibly cheap]. But I think that those moments will be few, compared to the many public excoriations that McNamara faced. And while I admire that this father confronted Rumsfeld at that bus stop, I wonder how much good it does, other than making the guy feel better (after his blood pressure returned to normal). Rumsfeld was already an old man, long-bereft of any idealism or sense of justice after various roles in government, when he assumed his last government post - very different from McNamara, who was 44 when he became Secretary and was, by all accounts, broken by the War.

Ah, Summer!

Sustainable Seafood, Recession-Proof Beverages

This ranking of supermarkets by the sustainability of their seafood operations (according to Greenpeace) makes me all warm and fuzzy because we frequently buy fish at Wegman's, but less-than-fuzzy because we also buy occasionally from Trader Joe's. Anyone else surprised that this hippie grocery enclave appears so far down on this list? Anyone not surprised that a chain called H.E. Butt is in last place?

What will we have with our fish...a nice IPA, perhaps? Recession-be-damned, we're [read: the U.S.] still drinking at about the same clip as we have since 1947, according to Callup (do these Gallup folks have a poll for everything?).

Beer: How Cold Is Too Cold?

Any true beer lover already knows this - well, maybe not the exact numbers, but he/she definitely has a feel for the right temperature range - super-cold beer doesn't always mean good-tasting beer. [The simple equation: colder = less carbonation = less aroma/taste] So the coldest beer in Baltimore, as found by the City Paper, at 30.2F? Waaaay too cold for a decent beer. Probably just right for Bud Ice; almost no chance that you'll actually have to taste it!

Of course, that helps explain why brands like Coors Light trumpet their cold-indicator bottles and cans. Some small amount of credit should be given to the marketing geniuses at Coors, though; at least their thermochromatic ink activates within the correct temperature range for lagers.

Olbermann Turns Critic, Positive Developments

Keith Olbermann is generally viewed (rightly so) as a big Obama supporter/cheerleader, so it's a bit surprising - but very gratifying - to see him smacking the administration around on its continuation of the Bush Secrecy Doctrine.

At the same time - and since I've been so negative towards the Prez on his economic policy and the above constitutional issue - he's kicking ass on plenty of issues:

• Gates' Defense budget - it actually makes a lot of sense! Never mind that it has no chance of getting through the House; too many districts are home to weapons-making factories. But it's refreshing to see. Next, any chance of getting cuts across the board, and shrinking the war industry in general?
• Obama is reaching out to Iran, both in his recent video to the Iranians, and his decision to become involved in current nuclear talks. And there are no signs that he asked Israel's permission! Quite to the contrary, actually.
• The government's long-standing (an largely ineffectual) policy of isolating Cuba might be coming to an end.
  

Can The Small Stuff Add Up?

When it comes to climate change and reducing carbon footprints, most attention is paid to the big-ticket items: wind farms, solar, hybrid vehicles, battery technology. But could capturing portions of lost energy be as worthwhile, collectively, as pursuing the big targets? From the heat energy lost in the normal operation of the typical combustion engine, to the energy absorbed by the ground as it's walked on, to the flushing of a toilet - will these sources of "free energy" ever be harnessed at a large enough scale to make a difference? Or will attempts to collect, store, and re-use this energy remain on the fringes of the green movement?

Here's the latest device - similar to the toilet retrofit above - coming soon to a sink near you (?)

Dirty Larry

Sure, there was plenty of corruption and likely war profiteering in the Bush administration. But we figured Obama's presidency would be different, right? Well, I certainly did.

Wrong.

Creeping Doubt

So lemme get this straight - Obama and his financial wizards give Wall Street how many hundreds of billions, with few real strings attached, and then go after Detroit and G.M. over a few billion in loans? They must still believe that Wall Street is the economy, they're too spineless to stand up to the money lenders and High Lords of Finance, so they're going to act tough by interfering with an industry that actually produces things! Mr. DeLorenzo, putting aside his ever-present hyperbole, sums it up well in his March 29th entry. Does Wagoner deserve some blame? Sure. And nobody's going to lose sleep because a multi-millionaire is out of a job. But the double standard is certainly troubling. It's yet another depressing example of insiders cashing in, while the political sleight-of-hand directs the public outrage over all of these bailouts towards an appropriately hapless target. The truth is that if GM was one of the favored Wall Street brokerages or investment banks, Wagoner probably would be working for Obama at Treasury instead of getting fired by him.

Coupled with the administration's adherence to some of the previous administration's bad habits regarding secrecy, detention, and the surveillance state, and my disillusion is beginning to spread.

Update: This blog post might convey my meaning better than I did (although my post was first!); not that Wagoner didn't deserve to go (I really can't say, since I've never run a car company), but that this administration is guilty of gross inconsistency/hyprocrisy in its dealings with Detroit and Wall Street. [Elected officials inconsistent and hyprocritical? In other news, the Sun will rise in the East tomorrow.]


Update II:A few more thoughts (from various perspectives) from the Electronosphere about Obama, Wagoner, U.S. industrial policy, et al:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31holstein.html
• http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123846388674472223.html
• http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2009/03/31/rand_lenin_and_obama/index.html
  

Aptera Sighting in DC!

I almost missed it b/c I was looking the wrong way, but then noticed everyone else on 17th Street staring at the same thing...Aptera is in DC to chat with some politicians about (what else, these days?) loans, manufacturing loans to be specific.

I was just getting used to seeing Smart cars every once in a while, but this was much cooler to see in person; the first future-car technology that I've seen - live, in motion, on a city street - that actually looks like it belongs in the future.

B/c Mr. Grau requested, nay, demanded it, more info on Aptera:

Their web site. Not a lot of concrete stats or numbers yet, but they're supposedly forthcoming. They're also rumored to be delivering the first production model to a real-life customer by the end of this month! Sales to California residents only, though. They're also going t have two initial versions of their 2-seater, an all-electric and a hybrid. They've hinted at a regular ICE as well, possibly in two flavors (gasoline and vanilla, um, diesel).

Here's the test drive by Road & Track last month. They really liked it!