Gongol.com Archives: 2016 Weekly Archives
October 8, 2016
Now it's official: US accuses Russia of hacking
"These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process [...] We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities."
Donald Trump is an unqualified pig
And it brings shame on the nation that he's gotten this far
And while the scandals make headlines...
...we're still failing to have a serious debate in this country about what to do with our entitlement programs. This is going to break us because it seems like we aren't going to really look for a solution until it's too late. Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are talking about it on the campaign trail, but they've been all but totally ignored.
How technology influences writers
The medium at least somewhat affects the message
Photos of western Nebraska -- minus the cliches
Really worth seeing
October 7, 2016
Hurricane Matthew's low pressure: 938 mb
That's 27.70 inches of mercury, or a drop of 2.22" from the standard pressure at sea level, which is 29.92 inches of mercury. For perspective, using the conversion of 1" Hg to 13.57" of water column, this says that under normal conditions, atmospheric pressure would be enough to push a column of water 33.83' up a vacuum tube. At the center of Hurricane Matthew, there's only enough atmospheric pressure to push a water column 31.32' up into a vacuum. There is so much less air pressure above the eye of this storm that water loses about 2.5' of lift into a vacuum. That's a tremendous difference -- illustrating just what a powerful storm this is.
"Six reasons conservatives should not vote for Donald Trump"
A corollary: "The Honorable Alternative: A conservative case for Johnson/Weld in 2016"
Chicago now examining rules to dial back police force
Oversight matters
"Nightwatch" continues at the USAF
We don't want to think about nuclear war, but the Air Force still has to be prepared for it to happen
Donald Trump has no real foreign policy. Hillary Clinton was the chief executive of the Obama foreign policy, which does not appear to have given us a more stable, peaceful world. Gary Johnson offers an alternative, and while it is probably more engagement-averse than most Americans might expect, it's also safe to assume that most Presidents end up drawn into more engagements than they expect -- not fewer. So starting from a low baseline, a Johnson administration might still find itself drawn into more than expected. Given the alternatives, it's worth serious consideration.