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Richard S. Beam

35  He Who Will Not Be Named

7/24/2015

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I have tried to keep politics from being a part of these postings (not always completely successfully, I admit) but there has been a political phenomenon during the past few weeks which has been so outrageous that I have to break that practice or explode.  Not desiring to turn myself into small, fast-moving pieces, I hope that readers will indulge me.

I speak, specifically, of the disastrous recent events within the Republican Party.  Now I have to admit that I have had greater sympathy for the progressive (dare I even say “Liberal”?) ideas of the democrats of recent years, but I actually have had some respect for Republican ideas and the people who have held them, even when I have felt they were wrong.

That started to change a few years ago with the rise of the so-called “Tea Party Patriot” movement.  All the evidence which I have seen suggests that this didn’t really start as the grassroots populist uprising which it is often portrayed as.  No, it’ seems to have been largely bought and paid for by a few of the mega-wealthy, and without this support the whole thing would probably collapse.  Since it has the support of some of the mega-wealthy, however, there seems little danger of it going away, since the idea has seemed to be proven to be true that all that is necessary to obtain votes is to have enough money to devote to supporting the people one owns by keeping their names in a positive public light while spending even more money on advertising intended to portray their political opponent (and ANY position that candidate supports) as crazy, un-American, un-Constitutional, anti-Christian and/or downright dangerous.

Once you do that, it’s not necessary to actually have an actual platform yourself, you’re just against anything the other guy is for and want to make sure that “those” ideas are stopped.  I am reminded of the wonderful speech given by President Andrew Shepherd in The American President a few years ago which I have slightly edited below:

             … whatever your particular problem is, I promise you (these people are) not the least bit
             interested in solving it.  (They are) interested in two things, and two things only: Making
             you afraid of it, and telling you who's to blame for it.  That, ladies and gentlemen, is how
             you win elections.  You gather a group of middle age, middle class, middle income voters
             who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and 

             American values and character and you ... scream about patriotism.  You tell them   
            (someone else is) to blame for their lot in life. 

And it’s worked!  The extreme Right (ultra Conservative, reactionary Evangelical) seem to support the idea that the mega-wealthy are somehow eventually going to get around to “trickling down” those good jobs they have been promising since the 80’s when they got that handsome actor to be President, since he could learn his lines and say them with confidence and assurance.  (Who knows, he might even have believed some of them!)

One doesn’t have to be terribly old, however, to see that there doesn’t seem to be much real reason to believe in the “ideas” of the Tea Party Movement, at least by us average people, since the primary beneficiaries of those “ideas” seem to be the mega-wealthy who have supported the whole thing in the first place.  Yes, we can get the satisfaction of seeing an extreme social agenda advanced.  After all, would we want “those” people (people of color, members of other religions, people who are different from us in almost any way we can imagine or make up) to have such important things as voting rights, the right to marry, the right not to be discriminated against in the workplace and in public accommodations, the right to worship as they see fit, all the basic civil rights which we expect and demand?  


This has even gotten so nutty as to have some folks go out of their way to make it more difficult for college students to vote.  Now, these are our own kids, but apparently we are supposed to believe that even they will be “improperly” influenced by colleges and universities which are full of advocates for the “Liberal” arts and sciences, so we have to make sure that such influences are kept to an absolute minimum by making sure that it’s difficult to impossible for such people to vote.  I find the voter ID laws which have been advanced to prevent the “voter fraud” which there is no evidence exists especially amusing since many of them require a “state issued” photo ID, but won’t accept a “state university issued photo ID.”  Obviously, not all state institutions are created equal.

Anyway, since such forces have seized control of most of the Republican Party (what hasn’t been given to FOX News), it has been almost impossible to get anything accomplished in Washington.  That’s what happens when enough folks have a “mission” to make sure that only what they want is even considered, knowing that those ideas aren’t going to win majority support to pass through the legislative process.  No, it’s better to shut the government down than make a compromise with the “enemy” which would allow anything to get accomplished.  Apparently, doing nothing is better than doing anything.

It’s been said that “Politics is the art of the possible.” which means, “It's about what you can actually get done.”  There would appear to be a lot of truth to that.  While poking around the web, I found this rather interesting quote.

          Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican]
          party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem.     
          Frankly, these people frighten me.  Politics and governing demand compromise.
          But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't
          and won't compromise.  I know, I've tried to deal with them.”
                                                                                                                                               ― Barry M. Goldwater


It seems to me that Goldwater still should have reasonable “conservative” credentials, but maybe I’m wrong about that, although I think he predicted the current situation rather well.

Anyway, all of this seems to have come to a head in the past few weeks since a certain member of the mega-wealthy actually decided to become a candidate for the Presidency and (reportedly) had to hire folks to attend his announcement so that there would be “supporters.”  Since then, this individual (He Who Will Not Be Named) has completely dominated ALL aspects of the political scene mostly by making one outlandish statement after another, all suggesting that because he is rich; he knows more than anybody else, is smarter than anybody else, owes nothing to anybody else and, basically, anyone who disagrees with him is a “loser.”

Now, I have yet to hear one practical suggestion resembling anything like a platform from HWWNBN, but I have heard him say that the Mexican government is purposely sending us drug dealers, murderers and rapists, although I guess we are supposed to take his word on that since he hasn’t even offered anything resembling evidence.  He HAS suggested that we should charge the Mexican government (I think $100,000 a head) for the illegals “they are sending over our border,” but I have heard nothing about how we are going to collect these “fines” short of armed invasion (which HWWNBN has not suggested, but which seems to be the only way it could happen).  He seems to think that we should just go to the Middle East and TAKE the oil we want because we want it.  Sounds like another war to me (and one not likely to achieve the desired ends), but what do I know?  I won’t even start to get into his “John McCain isn’t a war hero because he was captured” discussion.  That would take more time than any rational individual should spend on such a point.

Anyone who disagrees with this blowhard is a “lightweight,” a “loser,” and/or “an idiot.”  Yet this is a person who wishes to control a major, nuclear-equipped military force and be in charge of the foreign affairs of our country.  Anyone want to guess what the reaction of the rest of the world would be when the leaders of our allies (to say nothing of those with whom we disagree) are labeled as “idiotic, lightweight, losers?” 

Yet, he is playing by the rules that the Republican Party allowed FOX News to set, so he will be a part of the upcoming “Republican” debate as if we should take him seriously.  What seems a bit scary to me is that, apparently, we need to do so.  After all, the Republicans are so afraid of HWWNBN just running off and being an independent candidate (he hardly seems to be in the mainstream at the moment and the most recent case of having an independent presidential candidate actually seems to have had no significant effect of the actual outcome [look up the data, don’t rely on the myth]) that they will do almost anything to placate him, even as they try to condemn him for blatantly engaging in personal attacks on everyone else in the party who is running for President (which seems to be about everyone else in the party).

The reason I have chosen to refer to this blow-dried clown as “He Who Will Not Be Named” is because I think that it’s time that we all see him as the distraction he is.  I’ve seen no evidence that he doesn’t seem to think that he can run a country the same way he is running his campaign, out of his hip pocket and according to his personal whim.  I wonder if he has actually READ the Constitution?  Does he understand that the powers of the President are, in fact limited; that he can’t just fire anyone who disagrees with him?  The sooner we simply all start to ignore his presence, the sooner we are going to see some sort of a meaningful campaign start to develop.

Of course, the press is having a wonderful time, as HWWNBN creates good copy cheaply.  All one has to do is follow him around, put out what he says and then report on what the pundits say about it.  It’s quick, easy and cheap.  You don’t even have to worry about what the other candidates (from either party) are doing or saying, because you have plenty of copy from HWWNBN.

Personally, I won’t put his name in these postings.  I wish other folks would follow the lead of The Huffington Post who recently said,

             After watching and listening to ****** ***** since he announced his candidacy
             for president, we have decided we won't report on *****'s campaign as part of
             The Huffington Post's political coverage.  Instead, we will cover his campaign as
             part of our Entertainment section.  Our reason is simple: *****'s campaign is a
            sideshow.  We won't take the bait.  If you are interested in what T** D***** has to    
            say, you'll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette.


He sooner this clown is recognized as the egomaniacal jerk which he is, the better off the country as a whole will be.  I would urge the national media, in all it’s forms, to simply refuse to waste the time, space and energy to cover this so-called campaign.

By the way, I just heard that The Glenn Beck radio show has decided not to spend any more time covering HWWNBN.  I thought that that was considered to be a “conservative” show?  Maybe my idea is spreading….

LLAP

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34 When Will NASCAR Get Serious About “Accidents?”

7/12/2015

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I see that during the Daytona Coke Zero 400 early Monday morning on July 6, 2015, there was a pretty serious last-lap crash involving Austin Dillon’s car which became airborne and flew into the catch fence injuring five fans.  Now, this is far from the first time that fans have been injured at a NASCAR event, and I have real doubts that it will be the last.  I think it’s time that NASCAR got serious about protecting the “NASCAR Nation.”

I must confess that I have never followed NASCAR all that closely and I wasn’t watching the race, although, like most people, I have seen the replays on the TV news.  What I believe to be much of the problem might be summed up in a few lines from the 1990 movie, Days of Thunder.  The lines I refer to are between crew chief Harry Hogge and the NASCAR rookie driver Cole Trickle.


            Harry Hogge: Cole, you're wandering all over the track!

            Cole Trickle: Yeah, well this son of a bitch just slammed into me.

            Harry Hogge: No, no, he didn't slam you, he didn't bump you, he didn't nudge you... he “rubbed” you. 
            And rubbin, son, is racin'.

I think that Harry’s lines suggest (actually they state) that contact between cars is simply a part of the sport, although I know of no suggestion that the Coke Zero 400 incident was deliberately caused.  However, one of the most popular NASCAR drivers of all time was Dale Earnhardt who was often referred to as “The Intimidator” due to his aggressive driving style and his practice of spinning out drivers when he felt it was necessary to gain an advantage.

Now it’s often been said that people go to NASCAR events for a few reasons: 1.) to see cars going around the tracks at the ragged edge of control; 2.) to be as close to the event as possible, especially at races on so-called “oval” tracks which vary from short tracks (one half mile or so) up to superspeedways (about two and a half miles long); and, unfortunately, 3.) to see crashes, because they add excitement to the event. I think this combination is a recipe for disaster.  Let’s look at each of these ingredients….

I think it is true that those of us who are fans of any form of auto racing do expect to see drivers push themselves and their vehicles as hard as possible, which means that they are often just on the edge of control.  That means that we expect to see an element of risk in racing.  The character Niki Lauda in Rush, has the line “I accept every time I get in my car there is a 20% chance I could die, and I can live with it, but not 1% more.”  By the way, the real Lauda was a three time Formula One champion (1975, 1977 & 1984) and the movie is, in part, about his 1976 racing season during which he had a major crash in a race at the Nürburgring (at that time a 14 mile road course) and which he had tried to get cancelled due to the lack of adequate safety provisions.  He would go on to finish second place in the driver’s championship despite his horrific crash at the Nürburgring, missing two races due to his injuries from that crash and withdrawing from the final race of the season because of unsafe conditions. 

The quoted line from the movie is not an authentic quote (as far as I can tell) and is almost certainly an exaggeration, but it is true that drivers in all forms of motorsport are aware of the fact that they are taking chances and at least some of them have been in the forefront of demanding changes to reduce the inherent dangers.

Yes, while most of my friends may not know it, I have been a fan of Formula One for a long time and, while I’ve never attended a race, I watch them as often as I can.  Personally, I’ve never been a real fan of “speedway” racing, although I did go to a practice session at Indianapolis when I was in college and did enjoy that experience.  And, yes, I acknowledge that like most racing fans I, too, have a fascination with watching a driver maintain control under highly challenging conditions and I have great respect for drivers who push themselves and their equipment to the limits.  To me, that is what racing is all about, but let’s get back to our list….

If we accept that pushing to the limits of control (#1) is the basic nature of all racing, then any problems have to lie within #2 &/or #3.  Item number two refers to the idea that fans want to be “close to the action.”  This is a major concern.  Formula One has taken significant measures (especially since the death of another three-time driving champion, Ayrton Senna, in 1994) to make both the cars and the tracks safer.  What I perceive is that safer for drivers usually ends up being safer for fans.  When there is a wreck (yes, they still do happen, but not as often as one might suspect) they are often rather spectacular as the cars are designed to shed parts exterior to the monocoque (where the driver sits), wheels are tethered to the vehicle so that they can’t fly around when they come off (which they do), runoff areas are provided so that cars can avoid smashing into the “wall,” chicanes have been introduced to break up some of the longest straights, guard rails seem to be much stronger and better placed than seems common in NASCAR, and fans are simply not allowed to be so close to the most dangerous areas of the tracks and they are not close behind so called “catch” fences, but are pushed back a bit, since distance means safety.

That is, I think, a problem NASCAR has.  The fans usually sit so close to the racing surface that debris from wrecks not only rip the fences up, but the fences don’t stop the debris which then flies into the stands full of people.  In the recent crash, the driver, Austin Dillon, walked away with a few bruises, but five fans suffered injuries (thankfully not major ones).  In 2013, more than twenty fans were injured during a crash in an Xfinity Series race.  As far as I’m concerned, fans being injured is unacceptable.  Drivers shouldn’t have to die for “entertainment,” but at least they are (or should be) aware of the risks and have accepted them (see the Lauda quote above).  Fans, on the other hand, should be protected to the greatest extent possible with seating at reasonably safe distances and “catch” fences which actually catch debris.  Yes, some fans wouldn’t like these ideas, because they want to be “on top of the action,” but it seems that other wildly popular forms of racing have done a great deal more to protect fans, and I think NASCAR needs to do more as well, even if that means moving them back a bit and having safety fences which actually provide safety.

Of course, the biggest problem, as I see it, is the culture of violence which seems to be rewarded in NASCAR.  In Formula One, even pretty minor “incidents” are investigated and penalties are assigned.  While there are many possible infractions, to the best of my knowledge, EVERY form of contact or unsafe maneuver while on the track is (at least seems to be) investigated by a panel of experts (which always includes at least one, usually retired, driver) and penalties from “stop and go” penalties, to time added to the finishing time, to moving a driver back on the grid at the next race, to a variety of other penalties are assigned.  Quoting from the FIA’s (the sanctioning body for Formula One) Sporting Regulations for 2015:


          16.1 "Incident" means any occurrence or series of occurrences involving one

          or more drivers, or any action by any driver, which is reported to the stewards

          by the race director (or noted by the stewards and subsequently investigated) which :

          .            a)  Necessitated the suspension of a race under Article 42.

          .            b)  Constituted a breach of these Sporting Regulations or the Code.

          .            c)  Caused a false start by one or more cars.

          .            d)  Caused a collision.

          .            e)  Forced a driver off the track.

          .            f)  Illegitimately prevented a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre by a driver.

          .            g)  Illegitimately impeded another driver during overtaking.

I have added some emphasis, but please note that causing a collision, forcing a driver off the track and preventing overtaking through improper means are all subject to penalties.  That doesn’t mean that a driver has to just let anyone pass them, but there are rules for both “passer” and “passee” about how to “legitimately” get by someone else without creating excessive danger for either party.

Now it’s certainly true that there are major differences between open wheel racers (like Formula One) and “stock” cars (which are nowhere near what one could buy from a car dealer, they are just as specialized racing vehicles as are used in Formula One).  Still, the idea that one driver purposely banging into another is just racing routine, seems like a bad idea to me unless the whole idea really IS to have crashes.  If deliberately hitting another driver’s car isn’t slamming, bumping or nudging, it’s just rubbing and “rubbin’ is racin’” (see above), then we have an environment in which considers it “normal” to increase the inherent risks not just to the drivers, who are paid to take them and should be aware of them, but to the paying audience who are NOT.  I think that something really needs to be done about this before more people are killed. 

If all NASCAR has going for it is the “excitement” of crashing cars and throwing the wreckage at the fans, it needs to go the way of the Dodo.  Of course, it’s interesting to note that NASCAR has taken to running some races every year on road courses (which use many of the safety features used in Formula One) and, while there are, of course, crashes, I haven’t been able to find one in which fans were injured and there seems to be somewhat less of the “rubbin’ is racin’” sort of environment in that situation. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if NASCAR could figure out a way to bring the excitement of racing to its oval tracks without making fans take their lives in their hands to enjoy a race?  Shouldn’t NASCAR have to finally get serious about the accidents which occur during their races, especially when there is a fair likelihood of them affecting fans?  It seems to me that not doing so just seems to be admitting that the real appeal in their races is bloodlust, which I think is too bad and I don’t think is their intent.




LLAP
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    Just personal comments about things which interest me (and might interest others).

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