Oldest 14 Year Old

Baseball

2012-01-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

01/11/12 on Fangraphs

1:01

Comment From MarinerDan

Do you like the DH or would you prefer pitchers to hit in both leagues?

1:01

Dave Cameron:

I don't get why anyone likes watching pitchers hit.

From your mouth to God's ears.

It Can't be Said Better

2011-11-05T13:10:00.001-07:00

It Can't Be Said Better....

2011-10-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain responded to a question about the Occupy Wall Street protests by saying, “Don’t blame the big banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.”

Now pay attention while Heidi Schierholz explains for him (and maybe you) in simple words:

Here are the facts: This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released new data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showing that there were nearly 3.1 million job openings in August. However, we know from other BLS data that there were 14 million unemployed workers in August. In other words, there were nearly 11 million more job seekers than job openings.
The ratio of unemployed workers to job openings is now 4.6-to-1

Heidi Scheirholz, Economic Policy Institute. (emphasis added by poster)

Now, this is simple arithmetic. Do you suppose that the several other rich men who have made similar statements in the last year can't add it up? Or do they have another agenda, probably not in your best interests? See below.

It can't be said better.....

2011-09-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Social Security is not a retirement account, it’s an anti-poverty program that provides some dignity to seniors.

via Balloon Juice... Nicolas Wilbur at Muddy Politics

It is structured as a mandatory personal retirement account with mandatory employer contributions to provide the "Security" part of the name. The funds are husbanded by the government to insulate them from losses that would be incurred along with gains from ordinary private investment accounts. Hence, again, the "Security" part of the name.

The "Social" Part?

See that red line? See where it drops from the highest poverty rate (over 1/3!!) to the lowest poverty rate? That's Social Security and Medicare. Screw with it in any of the ways the Republican Party is publicly advocating, such as making its funding mechanism individually insecure (private accounts) or increasing eligibility ages (for Social Security or Medicare) and you are headed back to the territory where seniors have the highest poverty rates. They need to make THAT case. Why should we do that? Or, maybe, we shouldn't do that....

The simple fix for Social Security is to raise the income cap. Given that even the low inflation rates in the long run have had significant effects, that, like fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax just makes sense. And then that is fixed and we aren't talking about condemning Grandma and Grandpa to a short, nasty retirement in poverty as a fix anymore, which is just stupid anyway. But that doesn't starve the beast until it can be drowned in a bathtub. And now you know why they don't want to make that case. So why do we want to starve THIS beast? It serves us and has served us well.

Starving the beast only makes sense when 'government' is an undefined bogeyman of undefined evilness. Good government makes our lives better. Less government does not equal good government unless it does, but they will not discuss whether this or that makes life better because then the 'beast' becomes 'cow, horse, dog' not 'wolf, minotaur, cyclops' and the picture of what tax cuts for all do for you and me becomes clear. Only the amoral and powerful thrive in an anarchy.

Miniature gaming

2011-09-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

Chuck Hammack, newly moved to West Richland, invited War Eagles over to christen his new game room. He gave us an American Civil War scenario with Regimental Fire and Fury as the rules. It's a beautiful table, with lots of eye candy, 15mm scale figures. Photos, as always are posted at full resolution, click to embiggen if you want a closer look.

The terrain represents a gap which the Union must take and clear of Confederate troops. A few Rebels are visible as the Union brigades deploy, but after completing their deployment, the remaining four regiments of the Rebel brigade appear on the far right of the Union forces.

The left brigade, four regiments of infantry under my command advanced without consideration of the sudden appearance. Shooting commenced.

The infantry fire on the left was inconclusive, but Union artillery shattered the Rebel arty's infantry supports:

(This is exaggerated, we miscalculated at first. Only three stands of the regiment rather than five of eight were destroyed by a single, well executed round of artillery fire, but still....)

In a move worthy of Phil Sheridan, the Rebel regiments (in open order!) charged the advancing Union lines. Successfully. The entire Union brigade was thrown back in some disarray.

While the Union brigade hauled itself back into order, the Rebels, playing only for time, fell back to their original positions. Meanwhile, the Union center brigade deployed to the right to face the ambush. The Rebels advanced into the woods, then fell back before the boys in blue, never intending to get into a fight there. The Union general (John Hayes) filtered the artillery's infantry support through the woods and pursued through the open fields with the center brigade. The artillery deployed forward after decimating the Confederate regiment manning the fence.

The rebels and the bluebellies had a lively time on the ridge line in the center above, while the Union batteries suppressed and destroyed the Confederate guns. That leftmost regiment surrendered some casualties to the rebel enfilade fire before the artillery could get into action, but were still a fighting unit when the Rebs took a stand.

Continuing the pattern of Rebel aggressiveness two regiments on the right charged the Union line with cold steel. In a flurry of die roll 10's, the furious charge was broken and then smashed to oblivion. I suspect that Gary expected (not unreasonably) the leftmost brigade (shown here only by their casualties} to last at least the turn. But, alas, the dice of death had other ideas today and by this time we had the calculations down....

Meanwhile, on the other flank, after a brief Rebel defense of the hillcrest, the Union brigade under my command has finally driven the rightmost regiment into headlong retreat while in another miraculous die roll, the single regiment facing the Confederate sharpshooters (off the picture to the left) has held their gap in the ridgeline....

The Union general has eleven game turns to clear the gap before dark. At the end of turn eight, the table looks like this:

(You may want to click on the photo to enlarge it to full size.) On the Union right, the gallant confederates are outnumbered and overlapped. In the center, the rebel artillery has been destroyed, a last section limping away. The regiment assigned to support it is hiding behind the terrain, spent in the first turn by massed artillery fire. On the left, one regiment is in headlong retreat, the other must either retreat or face Union troops from front and rear. The scattered Confederates can't consolidate and hold out and will inevitably be swept from the field. So I say. Y'all may think differently.... ;o)

La Bataille de la Moscowa, 10:00 AM

2011-09-12T18:25:00.000-07:00

We have moved along to the 10:00 AM turn.

The story thus far:

The start, through 7:00 AM
Through 8:00 AM
Through 9:00 AM

Little of substance has changed since the 9:00 hour began. The Converged Grenadier Division is now nearly completely destroyed rather than two thirds destroyed, Eugene's assault on the salient to the right of the Great Redoubt has stalled in a massive firefight, Davout is now chewing up the division in the scrub brush that moved to extend the Converged Grenadiers flank.

Oh, you want it in pictures....

The situation for the Russian left wing is dismal. The French cavalry have taken and consolidated the fleche area, all but destroying the Converged Grenadiers.

(I could not get this photo to focus properly. The last remaining counter with the last two strength points of the Converged Grenadier Division is that blur in the middle.)

In a more general view of the situation, the French cavalry reserve owns the fleches. The 27th division is flanked and under fire from horse artillery hence in serious trouble, with only artillery support from behind them. Friant and Desaix continue to chew up the left end of the Russian line, taking a few casualties, but destroying a regiment or two of Russians a turn. The end is inevitable, and Davout's III Corps will still be a fighting unit at the end of it. This is bad news for Russia.

For the Russian artillery on the ridge behind Semenovska, it is a question of whether the infantry supports can reach them in time or Murat and the cavalry can overrun the remains of the 27th Division and get at them first.

On the Russian right, Platov and the Cossacks have crossed the Moscowa to give Eugene food for thought. The Russian 7th Division has also crossed to support them. Eugene has moved a third division (there are two assaulting the salient, I think) up to work another assault across the river, but those pesky Cossacks have forced the left end of it into square, making an admirable target for the artillery across the river.

And the Russian 12th Division has mounted a counterattack on Eugene, with some success, ejecting the rightmost regiment. It remains to be seen if this is a strategic error, depriving the center of needed infantry, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to envelop that flank.

I will add a casualty report when I get the data.