Remembrance Day

I was thinking I might wear my Veteran baseball cap today. After all, I am a Veteran, and I did serve in time of war. The Vietnam War was just as stupid as the wars today. In retrospect anyone with half a brain can see that we should never have gone into Vietnam. All you have to do is change this to Iraq to modernize it.

Anyway, I was going to wear my Veteran's hat today, but then I find out that this isn't even officially called Veteran's Day anymore. It is now Remembrance Day. Sort of like Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. What a load of crap.

I did actually serve in the Army during the Vietnam War, so I am a Vietnam era veteran. But I served in Frankfurt, West Germany so my time in uniform wasn't nearly as hazardous as those poor bastards who were sent to Vietnam.

Most soldiers sent to Vietnam were cooks, or telephone repairmen, or clerks. But the few who actually did shoot and kill and fight went through hell; they came back pretty screwed up too. After just one tour of duty. Imagine the trauma that these kids today in Iraq and Afghanistan-Pakistan are suffering. Tour after tour after tour. Many of them really will be screwed up for the rest of their lives.

And we don't even have the balls to call it Veteran's Day anymore. Civilians just want to ignore the Bush wars, and try to pretend that these young people who are so terribly messed up don't exist. No doubt the Republicans are trying to scheme some way into reducing these soldier's benefits, and then through more tax cuts to the rich, stealing the money.

I took the picture in Verdun.
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LINK TO WIKIPEDIA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

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Substantially Cutting Social Security

If any legislator wants to commit political suicide, just try voting to reduce Social Security. Old folks and employers paid a lot of money into the mythical trust fund over their 40 year working careers.

Just try screwing with old folks. We vote. We know we won't be around that much longer, so we are not afraid to do what needs to be done. I'm not sure what I mean by that, but elected officials really shouldn't risk messing with Grandpa or Grandma.

It is clear, if big cuts need to be made in the Federal budget (an assumption) then begin with the military and intelligence.

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The Uninsured Keep Growing

According to a CDC analysis that was reported today by Reuters, 22 percent of adults aged 18 to 64 in America do not have health insurance. The CDC analysis found that in the first quarter of 2010, an estimated 59.1 million people had no health insurance, which is a dramatic increase from 58.7 million in 2009 and 56.4 million in 2008.

The Republicans who have just taken over the U.S. House of Representatives keep loudly and repulsively saying that one of their highest priorities is to completely cancel the new health insurance law.

Republicans sometimes wonder why I find them so loathsome and revolting. The Republicans represent rich and racist people who have no concern at all for their fellow man. They wrap themselves in the flag and thump the Bible, while they are canceling the health insurance on people. This is inhumane. It doesn't fit traditional American values nor Christian-like behavior.
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Sticking up for the powerless is not the moral equivalent of sticking up for the powerful.

These disgusting Republicans who intentionally take away health insurance coverage from people just to save a buck are the lowest form of life that America has yet produced. They can be fairly compared with the KKK and the Nazis.

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Who Is Responsible For The National Debt?

The Republicans like to say that the Democrats are fiscally irresponsible, but in fact the exact opposite is the case.

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These right wingers lower taxes on the rich, and start expensive wars that they don't raise taxes to fund.

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Two thirds of the total national debt is from the last 3 Republican presidents...the 2 Bushes and Mr. Rayguns.

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Let me emphasize that: 2/3 of the entire National Debt is because of the intellectually bankrupt policies of the last three Republican presidents. Bush I, Bush II, and Reagan.

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The Correct Focal Length For Portraits

Perspective depends upon camera and subject location, not lens focal length. All focal lengths in this blog entry are based upon the 35mm full frame (Nikon FX) format. If you are shooting with a camera that has an APS-C sized sensor (Nikon DX) you will need to do the mental conversions. For example if you put a 50mm lens on a DX Nikon camera it ends up having an equivalent 35mm focal length of 75mm.

In real life photographers normally try to fill the frame with the subject in order to maximize quality and resolution. This means that if you are using a 16mm super wide angle lens, you need to put the camera right up in the face of the subject. This does tend to annoy the person being photographed. It also distorts reality greatly by making the person's nose appear very large in relation to their ears.

If you are using a standard 50mm lens you move somewhat further back and still fill the frame, but your camera is still close enough that the subject's nose is somewhat enlarged. An 85mm takes you further back, and a 105mm even further.

You will hear old and wise photographers say that an 85mm lens or a 105mm is best for portraits. But whether they know it or not, these are just conventional wisdom and old wife's tales. These focal lengths are chosen more for their cost, availability, or convenience.

When shooting with a 35mm film camera, or a digital camera which has an FX full sized digital sensor, using “a 135mm lens the perspective and amount of subject matter are just right for a pleasing portrait.” That is a quote from the 1955 edition of the famous Leica Manual And Data Book as recommended by Ansel Adams.
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Most of the concepts related to light, perspective, lens distortion, focal lengths, aperture, and shutter speed are determined by physics and the laws of nature, and they are the same now as they were a half century ago. So when shooting with a digital camera that uses an APS-C sensor this would mean shooting with a lens which has a focal length of 90mm.

So your 105mm lens would be good for DX cameras like the Nikon D40, D70, D80, and D300 but if you have a full sized FX sensor like in the Nikon D700 you should use a focal length of 135mm if possible. These focal lengths are long enough that you should either use a tripod or a fast shutter speed – say 1/200 second or shorter. Vibration reduction would be helpful too. Choosing a fairly large aperture like f/2.8 or f/2.0 will lower the depth of field thus blurring the background.

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Panasonic Microwave Oven

My microwave died last night.

It was the very first microwave I ever owned. A full size, very powerful unit. It had been a part of my life for around 30 years. When I moved to South Louisiana it came along. Then I moved to Europe, and I brought it with me. It worked fine on 50 hz electricity, just a bit weaker.

Then after 15 years in Europe when I moved back to America it came along. It was happy to be fed 60 hz current and got strong again. That was 3 years ago.

So we have travelled a long way together.

Since I have a smaller, weaker backup unit sitting on the counter in my kitchen there is not a tremdous urgency about replacing it. These things weigh about 30 lbs. Rather than buying one at Target or Wal-Mart today, having to put it in my cart, put it in the car, etc., I just ordered one from Amazon. No sales tax, free shipping, their price was marked down $50, and it will be delivered right to my front door.

I decided on another Panasonic full size, powerful unit. The old one served me well for many years. It seems like when I bought the first one it cost a lot of money. Now it is not that I am more wealthy, but prices on microwave ovens have actually been deflationary over the years.

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Ignorant & Dishonest Elected Officials

So Governor Perry and all you other ignorant right wing politicians, what was that you were saying about how your policies had made the Texas economy so much better than other states?
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LINK: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/texas-two-step/

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Sagrada Familia - Barcelona, Spain

The Pope has been visiting Spain, and among other things he has finally opened (consecrated) the famous church begun by the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi in 1882 in Barcelona.

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It still is not nearly completed, but enough work has been done that they are going to begin holding church services there.
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I looked through my archive photos this morning of Barcelona. I had many pictures, and I found three of the Sagrada Familia that I thought might be worth using; but for various different reasons each was fairly poor. Two of them had the problem associated with many architectural photos, where the building appears to be be leaning over significantly. After I used my photo software to improve them, I made composites showing the original photo and what I was able to do with it using the computer. These pictures were taken with a Nikon 3500 digital point and shoot camera and were modified using Photoshop Elements 8.

If you click on the pictures they will enlarge.

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LINK TO WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia

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The Nikon 135mm DC lens rules!

Ken Rockwell says, “The Nikon AF 135mm f/2 DC is Nikon's, and arguably the world's, greatest portrait lens. It has a very similar smaller brother, the 105mm f/2 DC.

The 135mm DC is also Nikon's sharpest 135mm lens, and an extraordinarily great lens for nature and landscape photography. It is worlds sharper and freer from spherical aberration than any of the the old manual focus 135mm f/2 lenses.”

I have read where people claim that this is the finest lens one will ever own. I'll bet that is a little bit of hyperbole. If price is an indicator that may be correct. Time will tell. I need at least a few days playing with a lens before I can properly judge it.

All the lens pictures come from Ken Rockwell's website.

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LINK TO KEN ROCKWELL'S WEBSITE: http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/135mm-f2-dc.htm


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Unwed Mothers in America

According to an Associated Press story today, “Seventy-two percent of black babies are born to unmarried mothers today, according to government statistics.… The black community's 72 percent rate eclipses that of most other groups: 17 percent of Asians, 29 percent of whites, 53 percent of Hispanics and 66 percent of Native Americans were born to unwed mothers in 2008, the most recent year for which government figures are available. The rate for the overall U.S. population was 41 percent.”

These high numbers amaze me. It is really difficult being an unwed or single mother, and these children suffer from effects as well.

I don't have any great words of wisdom and certainly not any solutions. But I do see clearly that this indicates a basic sickness in American culture. It will have negataive effects on the future, of that I am certain.
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LINK TO ARTICLE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101106/ap_on_re_us/us_unwed_births72_percent


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Pompeii

Many people have complained over the years about the poor upkeep of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Having visited the sites extensively, I am convinced that the Italian government has not invested enough money in preservation. I understand that there has been significant mismanagement and looting too.

This morning when the site was opened for visitors it was discovered that the 2,000-year-old "House of the Gladiators" had collapsed and lay in ruins. This is causing fresh debate about whether the Italian government is doing enough to protect these world treasures which sit on the bay of Naples right under the still active Mt. Vesuvius.

This is a link to a Reuters article about it: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A51BE20101106

This is a link to my flicker photo collection of pictures that I took at Pompeii and Herculaneum: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_garland/sets/72157600579901237/

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Speaker Of The House Of Representatives

Nancy Pelosi was the first female speaker of the house, and she was the most effective speaker of the house in a lifetime. Maybe in the entire history of the nation.

In the recent mid-term elections large numbers of conservative, right wing, Blue Dog Democrats were given their pink slip by the voters. So the remaining Democrats in the House look far more like genuine Democrats, rather than Republicans masquerading as Democrats. The Democratic House is now much more progressive and interested in helping people, rather than only helping out the super rich, Wall Street, and the bankers like the Republicans want.

The right wingers are now absolutely outraged that she has not resigned from Congress and slunk away with her tail between her legs. These people on the right wing are so far out in space. Delusional. She was effective and still can be. Maybe the right wingers are just afraid of her and her capabilities.

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Are The Republicans Brain Damaged?

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and are still out of work because of the insane policies of deregulation allowed to rule during the Bush years. Latest projections are that it will take many years to fully recover from the Bush Recession.

Millions of Americans have lost their houses, and it looks like millions more are going to be foreclosed upon. The massive fraud in the housing and mortgage market was a direct result of the deregulation allowed to rule during the Bush years. And the Republicans want to invalidate the minor, tepid re-regulation that has occurred under the Obama administration.

Millions of Americans still do not have health insurance, even those with serious diseases like cancer. Yet the Republicans are adamant that they want to kill the very modest health care reforms passed under Obama.

Millions of Americans are suffering horribly, yet the top man in the Republican party has stated very clearly that their Number One priority is to make sure that President Obama doesn't serve a second term. These guys are not problem solvers; they are problem causers.

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Blue Dog Democrats Get Asses Kicked

The right wing did very well in the mid term elections. The Democrats in the House of Representatives have gotten more progressive and liberal. This is because so many of the Blue Dog Democrats lost their cushy jobs and were sent packing. Out of a prior 54, only 23 of them still have their jobs.

It makes sense. Among Democrats there has been general concern that President Obama's actions, as opposed to his rhetoric, were timid at very best. Universal Health Care became Cost Control. Ending the wars morphed into radically increasing troop levels and military funding. Financial industry re-regulation ended up being timorous at best. The Obama administration seemed intimidated and browbeaten by the big money of the bankers and Wall Street. His legislation to keep people in their homes, when their home is now worth half of what they owe on their mortgage, has been a complete failure. He has been an absolute disaster for the gays and the environmental community. His tenure so far has not supported the working man or Unions. Good talk, very little action - or in many cases even counterproductive action.

So the biggest concern among Democrats has been that Obama's behavior has been quite similar to what one might expect from a Republican President. The right wingers say he is too liberal and progressive, whereas the reality is he incorporated too many of their ideas into his legislation.

These Blue Dogs oppose much of what the Democrats traditionally have believed in. They almost seem like Republicans who are just pretending to be Democrats. It is good that many got sent away. I doubt that the 23 remaining are bright enough to learn the lesson: Support the policies that Democrats want. Decent livable wages, Universal Health Care, pro-Unions, pro-environment, anti war, and genuine support for the nation's workers rather than the greedy bankers and Wall Street.

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Open Letter to President Obama

President Barack Obama
Washington, D.C.

Dear President Obama:

I see in the news today several accounts which say that you think American voters are frustrated with the speed of economic recovery, and that is why us Democrats suffered the largest debacle in 50 years. This is a part of it, of course, but not the biggest problem.

Young people, liberals and progressives, gays, the environmental community, the Universal Health Care folks, the financial industry re-regulation people, and the anti-war people are all really disgusted with you Mr. President. To them YOU are the problem, far more than the economy. They feel like they have been used by you and then just cast aside.

In their guts they feel like you lied to them, time and again, so they have lost faith and trust in you.

Yes the economy is really bad after all that time with Bush and his loser right wing advisers. But you surrounded yourself with the same type of Republican and right wing advisers who got us into the mess in the first place, with all their fanatical and radical deregulation.

You expanded the war and killing greatly, you authorized drilling in environmentally sensitive areas which even Bush didn't dare, you turned your back on DADT, your financial industry re-regulation legislation is extremely weak, and your health care plan is very far from anything even resembling Universal Health Care.

If you keep this dishonesty up, not only will you not serve out two terms, but you won't even be viewed as a good one term president. You will go down in history as one of the worst and least effective single term presidents.

Stand up for what the Democrats are for and people will at least respect you. But if you continue to always take positions which closely resemble what the Republicans have supported, of course you will keep losing support.

Sincerely,


H. Paul Garland
El Paso, Texas

Gays In America

Gays, lesbians, cross dressers, same sex marriage types, and all the other varieties of gender confused people make up far less than 10% of the American populace.

President Obama has sure shown that he doesn't care about their problems. He pays them lip service, but he isn't about to spend one dime of his political capital helping them. Every time that the voters get the opportunity they very clearly show that they think marriage is something that a man and a woman need to do before they have children. Gay marriage and same sex living together partner benefits are just not issues that the American voter cares about.

I really don't want to see the Morality Police breaking down doors to get into people's bedrooms at night, or good soldiers being kicked out of the service because they are found to be gay or lesbian. All the homos I have ever known have been really nice people.
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But the queers need to accept reality: In America being a homosexual is not considered “just as good” as being a normal heterosexual...not nearly. Americans still view this as an unhealthy aberration.

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Openly Buying Elections

Sometimes voters in America are badly deluded, but more often the wisdom of the American voter is overlooked.

Carly Fiorina, the ex-Hewlett Packard CEO, and Meg Whitman, the overbearing boss at ebay, each spent many millions of dollars of their own money trying to get elected to top political positions. A Governor and a Senator. Thanks to the resounding wisdom of the California voters, both are still out of work.

The California voters also refused to kill off their climate legislation (like the oil companies wanted), and they did not approve the idea of making marijuana fully legal. Bravo Californians!

In many ways elections are indeed subtly bought by wealth in America. But not quite as blatantly and openly as these two arrogant nouveau riche women tried.

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The American Way – Tyranny Of The Majority

Part of the American myth is that after the elections are over we all come together, even supporting our former opponents. If this fantasy ever existed, in the 21st century this of course has become a total load of hogwash. The people I disliked and campaigned against but won are still dishonest, elitist, poorly educated, racist bastards. And they still revolt me. Just because they told enough lies to get the good guy defeated in the election doesn't somehow mean that now I should accept and embrace them.

Last night one of the more intelligent political analysts was on television. With a couple of colleagues he was discussing Obama's responsibility in this rout of the Democrats by the right wing Republicans. He mentioned the irony. Once the “world saving” President was elected, we began to see that he really didn't want Universal Health Care at all, and that the market-based, right wing approach was just just fine with him. Nor does Mr. Obama actually support the issues that the gay community cares about. He just lied and pretended to so that he could get elected. This analyst actually said that Mr. Obama's behavior is that of a Republican, and I fully agree.

So where do we go from here? The tyranny of the majority has won. Or at least the majority of people who registered to vote and then actually voted; so the wishes of far less than a majority of Americans has won.

Most Americans, hence most voters, are a bit racist, quite self-centered and arrogant, and generally avaricious and greedy. They don't much like foreigners or having to obey laws. These people and their right wing elected officials have driven America down from Number One to less than Number Ten on many important issues. And America is continuing this decline.

Acceptance. That is what is appropriate in this situation. America's time in the limelight is over; well and firmly over. And it is very probable (actually rather likely) that it will never recover its former glory. So just accept it. Make sure that your kids and grandkids learn a useful second language (not just America's second language Spanish and certainly not ancient Greek or Latin). You will need to decide for them which it should be: French, German, Chinese, or Arabic. They certainly do not have the life experience or knowledge to make an intelligent decision.
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The adaptable ones, the survivors, will be emigrating. You can be sure of it. You may be too old, but these young people may not have that much choice in the matter.

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Death Of The American Dream

Over the last few years I have begun seeing more and more articles which show that America is well past its glory days. We are no longer number one, sometimes not even in the top ten, in a great many important areas like infant mortality. The latest analysis I have seen came out yesterday. It was published by Der Spiegel in Germany. Germany is certainly one of our top allies and friends. We saved their ass sixty years ago, and they still have not forgotten it.

Sometimes one needs to back off a bit and get a global perspective to really see what is happening; the forest and the trees, etc. Their article is called “A Superpower In Decline.”
LINK TO DER SPIEGEL ARTICLE: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,726447,00.html

The American decline really began in the 1970s, but it has finally gotten so apparent that it is no longer possible to ignore. Just like when the doctor tells you that you have incurable cancer, there are evolutionary stages that one goes through. Americans are currently in the Rage stage. Anger, blind lashing out, etc. Political gridlock, road rage. We are seeing a dramatic increase in corruption among elected officials and civil servants; the same phenomenon in business. Companies no longer feel any loyalty or obligation towards their employees. Acceptance of the importance of rule-of-law is viewed as quaint, and civility has vanished. Gun ownership has grown so fast it is almost beyond the ability of gun and ammunition suppliers to cope.

The rich are getting richer (and paying lower taxes), and the poor really are growing and getting poorer. The top managers of companies now earn hundreds of times more than the actual workers, and this trend is growing. The middle class in America is dying. It could be described as the Central Americanization of North America. A significant and growing part of the population in America now only speaks Spanish. English speakers are unable to communicate with them. Health care is continuing to decline. The American Dream is no longer just tarnished, it is almost dead.

America is a long way from reaching the Acceptance stage where it might be able to rationally see what is happening and take sensible, corrective action. Between here and the beginning of healing there is going to be lots of lashing out due to our own arrogance. Currency and trade wars will have disastrous effects on the entire world's economy.

The death of a tremendous superpower like America will be felt all over the world. The Berlin wall fell and the USSR ceased to exist, and it all ended up just being a blip on the screen. The world is now so interconnected that America's woes will cause major damage in lots of other countries. At least for a generation or two America is going to be going through some very tough times.

It is possible that after that we will be able to rebuild the country into a much poorer but socially fairer place. Sort of like England or France. But there are no guarantees. One doesn't have to look far to find has-been cultures and countries which never did recover any of their former glory and are still third world countries: The Aztecs, Iran, Greece, Egypt.

Whatever happens to the country, on an individual basis the people who are most adaptable will be the survivors. The drug addicts, the alcoholics, the arrogant and uneducated, and the morbidly obese will fall along the wayside.

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Why The Democrats R In Trouble

George Bush and the Republicans are revolting and despicable...but it is clear what they stand for: Greed and The Almighty $ Above All Else. With a bit of racism thrown in.

What do the Democrats stand for? The Blue Dog Democrats are just Republicans who are afraid to use that name. Do the rest of the Democrats sincerely believe in ending poverty; that everyone in America should have health care and a job that pays a decent, livable wage? Who knows? Are the Democrats in favor of further deregulation? They clearly are afraid to tax the super rich the way the wealthy were taxed back when Reagan was at the helm. Are they in favor of DADT and the agenda of gay folks? What about women's rights issues like abortion? How about racism and civil rights? Where do they stand on ending the wars or on immigration? Honesty yet freedom in the press?

The Democrats no longer stand for anything of value other than staying in power and becoming more wealthy.

I guess they are better than the Republicans. I think it would be more accurate to phrase it negatively: That the Republicans are even worse than the Democrats.

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