Couldn't agree more! Much more pleasing and refreshing look than the parchment.
It started looking like a cult site.

I understand the seductive nature of disappearing up your graphic fundament. I also find that the almost zen like concentration it requires lets the subconscious work away on the deeper thought processes. The next essay should be clearer for it. And I too prefer the latest iteration.

Beautiful, Bill. It really is.

Now, it gets me thinking about Ejectia's graphical map / welcome screen. Rather than a village set in a lush, green valley, I now see in my mind's eye a cloud-city like endeavor, like Return of the Jedi's Bespin.

Your excitement is contageous. Looking forward to the next 'explosion' of great commentary.

this is good....it's nice to see Rachel active again too...it's been too long.

Hey Bill, one question while were waiting...how's that bird you toted across the country on the trailer coming along? I don't remember seeing any updates recently.

Just curious...

I liked the parchment look, but then I'm an antique sort of person.

Blue's my favorite color, however, so this works, too.

Since you've changed things, and email didn't work last time, let's try this again. I'll focus on the single large banner at the top of the page. Currently the HTML that embeds it in the page says

<img alt="4%20center.jpg" src="http://www.ejectejecteject.com/archives/4%20center.jpg" width="904" height="232" />

It's the alt="4%20center.jpg" that is telling vision-impaired people, users of text-only browsers, or those who simply have disabled graphics, what the heck that thing is. And it isn't telling them Jack Schidt. (That would require something like alt="Jack Schidt".)

If you could replace the bit in quotes with something meaningful like
alt="[Picture of jet pilot who has ejected from his plane and is still strapped into the rocket-propelled seat] TITLE: 'Eject! Eject! Eject!' SUBTITLE: 'AD ASTRA VOLEMUS SELLA TONANTI'"

Or whatever other words you want people to see who can/will not see your purty pitchers.

Changed again! Oh my!
Again, looks good- I have but one complaint, and that's the sidebars- they're set to 20% width in the table description... which, on my 1920-pixel-wide monitor is almost twice as wide as the image they contain.
Still looking forward, to see what will come... following the comments just makes me more excited

While I also liked the parchment look, this definitely works better with the ejection seat/galaxy/cloud bank graphics.

It's also more energizing, at least to me, though my thinking juices get flowing pretty good perusing the comments.

I do like the look much better, like you say it feels more optimistic. The only thing i can think of that could match it might be a shining city on a hill.

Definitely has a more "To the Stars!" feel to it. I liked the parchment, but the black borders gave an overall ominous look; especially when evil smiley was at the top of the page.
On Rachel's page, I liked the other tag line, but then I'm biased.
My daddy always said that you should never ask a man where he's from. If he's from Texas, he'll tell you, and if he's not, you don't want to embarrass him ;>)

Website viewers supposedly dislike horizontal scrolling, so you might consider either moving all the banners/links to one side or finding a way to shrink some of the columns.

Finding the right look can be a long process.

I check in today and find out that

1) Bill has a new post up and a newer site design and

2) Rachel Lucas is back in business

Kind of a good way to start the day.

Well thought and well done, Bill. The unexpected redesign put a smile on my face. It definitely better conveys the optimism of open, navigable sky that I associate with you. Where can we get the T-shirt and coaster set?

Hey, just had a thought because I was over in the last thread, which has over 350 comments now. Bill, you might want to consider adding a button or link at the top of the page for people to go to the bottom of the page, so they don't have to scroll down to the bottom after adding a comment. Or you could just send the person to the bottom af the page after submitting a comment.

Just something to think about.

Now, where's the free ice cream?

Hehe.

Very nice, Bill. Yeah, the scroll look just wasn't a good fit. Now those polyester bellbottoms on the other hand....

Patience and Confidence.

We all experience occasional premature ejection.

The new look is great. It's much easier to read and a lot more "visually pleasing". I agree with WayneB, it is more energizing.

WayneB,
Just hit the "End" button. Takes you to the bottom of the post.
At least it does with IE.

Hmm... Apparently, my rememberer was screwed on weird. For some reason I was thinking that you had to use [Shift][End], and that a fair number of people would have a hard time remembering that. Must have been working in other software too much, where [End] only takes you to the end of the line you're on.

Blech, I hate when I do that.

The parchment never *felt* right.
This is perfect.

I like this much better. But then, like Skye, my favorite color by far is blue.

David March, if you have commented recently before and I failed to say it, HI! Good to see you back.

More fun with POV-Ray. I went through some old projects and adapted something to make the coin of the realm?

You guys are going to make me start Photoshopping things together...

- MuscleDaddy

WayneB,
No worries. I've cross-threaded my rememberer more times than I care to... er, remember.

ERIC LAING, Ladies and Gentlemen! The southernmost member of CONSPIRACY WEEK IN REVIEW!

Hey buddy! Just got an email from "Rocket" Ron Smith yestiddy, wanted to know if I'd been injured in an automobile lately

(Apologies for all the in-jokes)

As for the polyester, I'm washing it right now. With a hose. Out by the Bar-B-Q pit. Ketchup and hot dog juice comes right off, good as new!

ooooh ahhhhhh, tres man-ye-feek. Me likey! And you put back the Dang! That's a t-shirt me want.

Beautiful! The site that refreshes.
So, is your polyester in jumpsuit form? Like a Flying Elvis ejecting from a plane?

Oy oy!

This may not be the place for it, but my mom told me, back in the day, of a dream she had. In the dream, she was in a ship of some sort, whether it was on the ocean or not was unclear. The living areas of the ship - bar, restaurant, lounge, were all very dark on the walls and sleek and modern; but the sleeping quarters were all painted white and built into the walls.

Something ... unusual... what if you built a ship from the inside?

Just thinkin.

Rachel,
It's great to see Sunny again!
Looks more like disdain to me.

YES, looks MUCH better, Bill.
Looks bright, hopeful - instead of, well..um. Not.

Bill, Bill, Bill.
Ketchup and hot dogs? We're talking first principles here; classical values.
Granted I have to buy the stuff in the economy 5 gallon bucket at my house, but that's for the kids.
Hot dogs and MUSTARD. Preferably the spicy brown kind.

Sunny looks like my dog does when someone tries to offer him a vegetable.

Is Digger still around?

Ah, yes. The weatherbuff in me likes it, too. Refreshing, clean, optimistic.

New Look II: I liked the parchment because it reminded me of the old documents this country is founded on. I like the blue and clouds better because the galaxy becomes so much more prominent and become a destination for the those pulling the eject cord and headed to the stars in that very loud chair. Overall the focus changed from the past into the future. And the Dang! is back. Good move Bill.

When one ejects, one would hope for a clear, cloudless sky.

The Sky Arrow is a nice addition.

Awesome! Much better than the last (I've never been a fan of the black background) and the blue really pops!

I have an idea for the guy on the banner...can you (Bill), or one of the gurus here turn him into a favicon, so that it will show up in the URL box? That would be way cool.

This update says "Welcome, lets see whats new". The other said to me, "Not much future here..all in the past". I am tired of the past. I like what the future holds. I can improve in the future. Can't do diddly squat about the past.

Love the commentary that you provide. It has focused what I have always wanted to say. Now, I am better prepared when I open my mouth. I have already used this focus in my discussions with lefty loons here in Canada. Can't wait for the next essay.

Regards,
Viper117

Labrat - yep, Digger is still around, but he's on a pretty swift downhill slope. It sucks. I'm going to write about it on my blog.

About the cloud theme - I, too, find it fantastically optimistic and hopeful. I liked the parchment but I like this better. Just makes sense.

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that.

I have definitely been there.

Man. Miss a few hours and this well fills up. I like the new look better. It clarifies the title. It doesn't need to look old and wise. New and wise works just as well.

Skye, I don't think the pilot would work for a favicon, because he's too detailed. In both Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, I get 16x16 resolution for favicon.

Maybe something more like this will work as a favicon

The, maybe a bit lighter color against the blue when it's that small?

Am I being too casual? (tee-hee)

daddyquatro (I keep wanting to call you D4) - I told you my rememberer was broke today: I forgot which floor my car was on in the parking garage today... :)

Monster - I have to agree with Otto, I think the E!3 symbol's color would stand out better if the background was lighter.

Craig, good buddy, someone once said that the past is prologue. I can't remember who, but the sentiment strikes me about right. We can't change the past, but we must damn well understand it, if we hope to build a future. I'm not picking on you, pal, just making a point. The intellectual template already exists. Western civilization began with the Greeks. And from the fountain of Greece an entire world civilization took form. We are all Greek. We could be Egyptian, Persian or Chinese in our outlook, but we're not. We're Greek. The whole edifice of Western Civilizaiton is based on a Greek model. What did the Greeks have that contemporary civilizations did not have? Wrong question. It's what the Greeks lacked that allowed them to be great. No god kings, becasue supreme secular and religious authority did not exist in the Greek city-states. Then you get little things like freedom of thought, freedom of enquiry, freedom to debate, and empiricism. (I'm not picking on Craig, I'm just impatient and and a little bit punchy tonight.) Our civilizaition was founded two-thousend, five-hundred years ago. Nothing has changed. Nothing! Today we bear witness to a world civilization from Tokyo to Tierra del Fuego, and from Archangel to Tasmania. All the same! Rational, liberal, and with the bonus that each of us enjoys prosperity beyond the wildest dreams of the god kings from times past. I had to eat sand from hard-boiled eggs in Cairo before I understood (a literal fact). Nothing like looking into the decayed teeth of a mummy to bring the lesson home. There's not a king from Egypt that has better teeth than I do. Snick-snack, Jack Kerouac, you idiot corpses from the past, you can't even compose random verse, becaue your mouth is stuffed with herbs. A fitting gag, I say. And damn them all, but Greece. The Greeks stood firm against all odds. By the mind and by the sword the Greeks invented modernity. We have the model, brothers and sisters, and none better. We are sons and daughters of Greece.

WayneB,
Since we're at E!3, D4 seem quite appropriate. Might take me a while to realize you're talking to me though. Can't tell you how tired I am of typing daddyquatro in the comment box. Think I'll have to assign a keyboard macro to that.

Mark Paules, you're on fire!

I never deleted the link to the hater of grackles, it's wonderful Rachel is going to blog again. Are you setting a good example again Bill?

Otto, you're right about the color. It was a quick demo to show Skye the limitations of 16x16. Now that I'm done whacking the serifs off the font for the coin, I went back and redid the favicon with a totally white background. Check it now.

(The "The" is something I added to the nick because I found that some sites already had a "Monster" registered. If you want to be informal, "Monster" is just fine.)

I just got back from a play. I never go to plays. And tonight reminded me why. But it was free, so I couldn't kvetch about the cost... and it was "Camelot." Interesting story, great sets, fabulous music... wretched acting.

It starred Michael York (of "Logan's Run" infamy) -- which is like watching Martha King (of the King pilot training video series) doing Hamlet -- but despite all that, it struck me as highly relevant, for some reason.

I don't know. Just thought I'd tell you guys... here... where we're trying once again to form a more perfect union. It just, sorta' -- I don't know -- reminded me of something.

So where were we? Talking about color schemes?

GHS

Greetings, All.
Though I am not a pilot, (always WANTED to be, but...), I've long remembered the "management maxim" that "Your Altitude is determined by your Attitude..." Bill, the new banner and look of the page take my attitude "up, up, and away," as I anticipate this growth experience-to-be!
GREAT look!
And "dittos" to Mr. Paules re. our civilization's debt to Greece.

Mr.Paules,
And yet the Greeks, in the end, fell victim to the same internecine strife that we see here today. The islands were unable to unite even in the face of certain destruction. Can we, their inheritors, do better than they? Can we rescue this fragile, fragile flower that is freedom from those who would crush it? Can this band here, and others like it around the world stand against the hordes? We aren't the 300... yet. But today we are 100, next month one thousand, and after that...
That's why I'm here.

Well, it rather does help that unlike the Greeks, we have a concept of a nation-state rather than a city-state.

Kind of tough for them to get over the idea of cooperating with the bunches of bastards they'd been trading recreational wars with for the last twenty generations to the extent of complete civilizational defense.

They kind of remind me of the European Union in a way.

Although the idea of an Olympic Games between American states suddenly seems awesome, in a slightly perverse way. Baseball, basketball, football, rodeo events, shooting matches, and what the hell, interpretive dance if we have to give the weenie population something. Given that notoriously liberal areas like Boston and New York can practically move themselves to tribal warfare over baseball, imagine if we expanded the whole enchilada to the modern pentathalon.

Labrat,
Hockey! You forgot hockey! My poor Devils:(
Anyway, I propose a combo of all 7. You throw a football at a target, while riding on a bull who of course is on ice skates! All the while, theme music from St. Elmo's Fire is blasted from a 50 year-old speaker system. Give me some time and I can work in the others. Ejectia now has a sport!

LabRat, Chase,
LOL!
(No, really; my daughter asked me why I was laughing at words on the computer. Try explaining that to a five year old.)
Thanks, I was starting to get queasy up on that soapbox.

D4,
We aren't the 300... yet. But today we are 100, next month one thousand, and after that...
That's why I'm here.
Heavy stuff! Too late at night for me to think, but I like that analogy!
Kinda why a lot of us are here. I've never served in the military, and that's my only regret in life. Defending this Country in other ways - through words of support - is how I fill that void. Makes me feel more as if I actually deserve to be here.

Monster, you out there?

I knocked out my variation of the 'coin of the realm' and was wondering if you'd put it up, since I don't have a place to do that...?

- MuscleDaddy

And science has forged us a sword unlike anything the Greeks could have imagined. It is not the temper of the steel, but the strength and will of the arm that weilds it, that is the great question of the age.

Aaah...

The Riddle Of Steel.

(one of te most under-noticed/appreciated parts of that entire franchise)

- MuscleDaddy

Chase,
I've never served in the military, and that's my only regret in life.
Dude!
Are you absolutely, positively SURE that you're not me. (or maybe I'm you. Want four kids?)
At 43 I've missed my chance to serve my country by force of arms, but I can still serve my country here, and at the local VA, and everyday, wherever I can lend a hand.

"Come to me, my child. Come! That is strength,Boy! That is power!"

We face an enemy who can convince their best and brightest to walk off the parapet. Are our "arms" strong enough?

As my father, now departed, used to say, "Can't never did a @%*m thing..."
Now is the time for confidence and optimism as we prepare our forces... and build our strategy. Tempered (as steel is tempered) with realism and critical thought, to parrot a thought or two from Mr. Whittle's writings.
(Smiling as I ponder the collective force of this esteemed collective).

Well argued, Mr. Paules! Makes me regret not taking more of an interest in the classics in school. Only now in my adult life, seeing the danger we're up against from without and within, am I in a position to appreciate the importance of understanding our Civilization's foundations, that we might hope to carry that rare and precious light forward...

I'm very much enjoying the good company here all around. Thanks all!

Hello, west coast wussies.
(i tried to figure out, How do you spell the plural of Wuss?)
Where are you?
I've got four kids in bed, plus two sleepovers!
I've been throwing grenades all night! And Bill still thinks it's OK to put ketchup on a hot dog!
OK. too many beers for Stan.
Nighty,night.
DCMSly. TAMN!

Are our "arms" strong enough?

Oh, HELL yeah! The question is how hard is it going to be to beat off the smothering influence of moral relativism, telling us that they aren't bad for convincing their children to do that.

> I can improve in the future. Can't do diddly squat about the past.

Ya can only improve in the future if you LEARN from the past... or, at least, to paraphrase Bismarck, "To learn from others' past".

;-)

> Maybe something more like this will work as a favicon

Looks too much like a smiley face with a closepin on his nose.

P.S. why ain't thisa thing rememberin' me personal info when I checka da box?

OBH: You may be blocking cookies. The 'Remember personal info?' box sets a cookie in your browser. If you are blocking cookies, you will need to set an exception for the ejectejecteject.com domain. Otherwise the personal info will not be remembered.

Essay's done!

Who knows about these things, but...I think it's a corker. Now it's out for proofing and we'll all know on Monday! That's a promise.

BW

Allow me to say, in a most dignified manner....

YAAAAAAY!

WAHOO!!!

YIPEE!!!!

(Does snoopy dance)

Thank you for your indulgence.

I can improve in the future. Can't do diddly squat about the past.

Impoving the past is easy, Comrade!

:)

MuscleDaddy, I'm here. Not sure what difference that makes, though.

What a nice morning! Awakened too early because after our four month old German Shepherd puppy woke me up to go outside and I went back to bed it started pouring down rain.
The wet pup leaped into bed with my wife...
After all that I get online and, since it's too early for the usual haunts to be up and running, I clicked on E3 and saw A NEW SET OF GRAPHICS and a note that the Grackle hatin', .22 shootin', dog lovin' queen of the North Central Texas bloggers is writing again.
I must thaw a Porterhouse to celebrate.
And, to make life absolutely complete, Bill is late with a promised essay, some things never change. Those late essays are always worth the wait.

I'm still feeling punchy this morning. Maybe I should do something like reoranganize my library. Let's see what we have here: Plato's Republic, Charles Darwin Origin of the Species, Adam Smith The Wealth of Nations, The Federalist Papers, a very worn copy of Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, and a whole slew of stuff by Robert Heinlein. Now how is it we're having trouble with a people whose sum thinking is represented by The One Book? When it comes to the world of ideas, the enemy is just a bit short of a full library. Seems to me, we sons and daughters of Greece should be able to think our way out of this mess. After all, we've dealt with theocracies before. Where's the weak spot? I need to think about this more.

I must confess my ignorance, Mark: what is "The One Book" you're referencing?

. . .

Oh, wait . . . as I type my question, the answer forms before me. But let me seek clarification, since I'm already here. Are you referring to the "enemy" of lunacy that resides on our own shore, or the hooded one encamped on the far shores?

Mark Paules asked: Where's the weak spot?

Its the small matter that reality is the ultimate bitch. She wants to be what she is and won't put up with anyone who wants her to be different. Her laws aren't just laws, they are Judge, Jury, and Executioner of anyone who attempts to break them. You go along with her OR ELSE!

Lance, think on it a little bit.

Lionell, if you are right, then left to itself, Islamic society will implode on its own. The next question is how do we prevent them from taking us down with them?

Regarding Mr. Paules train of thought:

First to set the stage...From way back in Electia history:

If the strength of E!3's ideas represent the force we are going to exert, and our objective is to cause a significant (effect) movement in the large mass that is civilization, the presentation (marketing and sales) of those ideas is the lever.
Posted by: Unquiet Mind | May 3, 2007 4:48 PM

UM, let me expand a bit on your lever metaphor. Archimedes said that with a big enough lever he could move the earth. Quite right. But we should recognize that a lever has three parts. There's the lift side where force is applied. At the other end you find the load side, the object you're trying to move. Of course, it's not a lever unless you have a fulcrum. In more concrete terms it works as follows. You want to change public opinion on a particular issue; that's your load. You're going to need sufficient energy (or force)at the other end of the lever. That's where this site comes in. Bill is not talking about 1500 people; I believe his figure was 150 million. That's enough human energy to move anything: change a government policy, move a multi-national corporation, or pitch a very bad idea into the gutter where it belongs. Placing the fulcrum is the easy part. Every bad theory, rotten institution, and corrupt government has a weak point. That becomes your fulcrum, the point of attack. Apply enough force and it will move provided the lever is sufficient to the task. I'll bet the brainiacs on this site could construct a methematical equation on what it takes to move American public opinion. UM, you're right, action must take concrete form. Jkrank, I concur with you as well. The news of the day is nothing but distraction. We are talking about universal, basic principles, elementary logic, and a pledge to carry it through by moral means. If Bill Whittle can generate the requisite energy, the rest will follow. It's simple physics.
Posted by: Mark Paules | May 3, 2007 7:02 PM

I will need you all to work with me on this it is a little rough (to say the least).

I would like to propose, as we await The Essay , that we use this approach as a way of focusing and organizing our issues\arguments:

Object (load side; change in public opinion)
Force (lift side, energy we exert)
Fulcrum (the weak point; the point of attack)
Lever (the big ? that exerts the leverage)

We can have a proposed list of Objects and then pick them off and work identifying the other parts.

So, using the current topic under discussion as an example we would have:

Object: Not clearly stated but: After all, we've dealt with theocracies before.

Fulcrum: This is were we are working.
- Mark Paules: Where's the weak spot? I need to think about this more.
- Lionell K. Griffith proposed: small matter... reality is the ultimate bitch. ... laws aren't just laws, they are Judge, Jury, and Executioner

I had more but, gotta go play with the kids. Have fun. Can't wait till Monday.

I'm not sure yet if I've asked the right question. Somebody help me out here. We need to frame the question correctly before we can attempt an solution.

Personal observation: My experience in the Arab world has convinced me that the average Arab is neither violent nor full of hate. If I had to define the mindset of the average Egyptian, for example, the word would be complacent. Anybody who knows this culture is familiar with the word inshallah, the general translation is "if God wills it". The word indicates a tendancy towards fatalism as a national characteristic. The average Egyptian is a rather subdued creature. Not prone to much in the way of premeditation or proaction. Apparently state run media can whip the masses into a frenzy of hatred, but left to themselves, the average Arab is fatalistic to the point of idleness. Or perhaps what I saw was mainly the attitude of the poor and downtrodden? I'm not sure how this observation will fit into the equation, if at all.

Mark Paules asked: The next question is how do we prevent them from taking us down with them?

Make the observation that had we actually left them alone, they would have imploded long ago. However, western technology and wealth developed their oil and western collectivist politicians gave it to them without a whimper. Otherwise, they could not have possibly developed it on their own. Everything they have received from it since the 50's is stolen wealth. This is based upon the principle it takes more than being an ignorant savage who shits an pees on the land to own the wealth that can be produced from it.

The second thing is to take them at their word. They say they intend to take over the world and impress their psychotic notions upon the rest of us - dead or alive. Combine that with our ABSOLUTE right to defend ourselves by ANY means necessary. The conclusion is its either they or us but not both.

Because of the stupidly irrational behavior of our politicians - past, present, and, it appears,future - now all we can do is destroy their ability to acquire wealth without actually earning it. That may be short of turning the middle east into a huge radioactive crater. Then again maybe not.

See what we did to Japan and Germany last century for instructive details.

The west has the means but it does not seem to have the will. It may be one of the more important goals of this virtual city-state to rekindle that will.

Actually, "one-book" thinking is the enemy beyond just Islamicism- for some people the book is Mao's or Marx's. (Name any other predictable tome here.) It's the hallmark of the kind of thinking that must make reality conform to fit the narrative.

....I would totally love to be in on today's brainstorming, but as soon as I finish my lemonade I have to be out of my seat, because we're doing a big push to finish the last two hundred feet of our fence this weekend.

Maybe I can leverage this into some sort of glorious city wall metaphor.

No. It's still sitting in the yard looking like two hundred feet of picketless rails and nothing more inspiring. Bloody hell.

*SIGH*

Lionell,
The western dependence on oil has locked us into circular thinking. We can be energy independent (nuclear, oil shale, coal) but, as long as the cheap oil is there, we lack the will (and economic incentive) to make those hard choices.
Now, I'm off the the park.
Carry on.

I think Unquiet Mind has effectively set up a simple rubric for navigation, but I think the compass heading for our first waystation is a bit off.

The problem, IMHO, is not theocracies as a category. I think this notion misses the mark on two fronts:
1) it wrongly focuses on faith as the source of those evil intentions, and
2) it wrongly focuses on the form of government as a proxy for that society's evil intentions.

Unless this is going to take the turn to a debate of faith vs reason (a false dichotomy), the problem is not faith-as-faith, which is usually what people are really railing against when asssailing theocracy in general. Likewise, the form of government that evil ambition cloaks itself in is irrevelavent. Plato's benevolent philosopher king model is to be esteemed far more than Palestinian-style democracy, which used the tools of the democratic trade to hand power "legitimately" to the thuggery of Hamas.

No, the problem isn't faith or theocracy (which is, for those of the Christian persuasion, the very end-game scenario of Christ-as-King revealed in the Book of Revelation). Rather, the problem is the common denominator of evil.

Islamofascism's stated goal of global subjugation is evil not because of its source (faith) or form (theocracy), but because of its intentions and methods. It seeks to remove from the world one of the most fundamental gears built into the natural system by our Creator: freedom. It seeks conversion by conquest, and propogates its message by murder. In contrast to Jesus' instrution to his disciples to pick up their cross and follow him (a call to self-sacrifice), the Islamofascist's call is to take up a cross and find an infidel to nail to it. The Christian call of self-sacrifice is predicated on one's life being freely given so that others may prosper in the love of God. The Islamofascist's notion of self-sacrifice is to that concept what Bizarro was to Superman: it uses manipulation (guilt, fear, etc.) to produce "martyrs" whose act of self-sacrifice is aimed at murdering scores of innocent mall patrons, cafe diners, and would-be-policemen.

Evil is our target, and he is a shifty bandit. I see Bill's essays as a software upgrade for our targeting systems. With each new installment, we are able to refine and focus our field of targets to the deadliest of evil ideas. Soon, we shall get another. Let's just make sure we've got our eyes and systems locked on the right target, lest the bogeys get too close and we find ourselves having to quote one Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell: "I'm too close for missiles; switchin' to guns."

No, we don't want that.

Our thread is running all over the place. Random thoughts, however profound, are not the basis for good dialectic. So here's another random observation to add to the chaos :P

Spain became the preeminent European power in the 16th Century based on gold and silver looted from the New World. But rather than invest the money in banking, commerce, industry or invention, the Spanish monarchs squandered the windfall on luxuary goods and useless wars of conquest. When the windfall ran out, Spain hit the skids. For the next three-hundred years she became a football kicked about by her more powerful rivals. Does anyone other than Arab petro-crats not see the obvious lesson?

Lance, much better. I could do this all day, but I'm behind on my chores. See you later on.

Wow, two really super-outstanding ideas among the rest of the merely outstanding ones.

Unquiet, your idea of running with Mark Paules' lever analogy, and breaking each task down into those four components -- that's effin brilliant. There's a lot going on with me right now, but don't let that idea slip away: I want that on a main page, along with Marks comment.

And Marks remarks mark marketable wisdom regarding Arab culture and the whole mindset. I heard first-hand from someone who spent time in Egypt, as you did Mark. That fatalism is a CULTURE topic that needs to be developed further.

Also, with any luck, I will have a Rachel Lucas post within an hour or two.

Work with me here. I am going somewhere.

Mr. Griffith, (can I call you Lionell): While I agree with you sentiment, I am hesitant to concur with your direction of action or attack (Fulcrum). I just don't think there is any solution that requires military force that lies within the foreseeable future. Even if we disagree with the perception and presentation of recent events, the momentum is all the other way. That momentum involves so much mass in motion pushed by a variety of forces, I just can't think of any possible set of actions that enables ejectia to change the direction of the momentum against use of military force. I'm not saying I agree with that momentum, just dealing with it as a reality.

Now, I totally agree with your observation about unearned wealth. Take a look at any society where wealth just shoots out of the ground unearned. Over time, that unearned wealth attracts parasites, who eventually by either military force or subversion assumes control of whatever government is in place, democratic or otherwise, and assumes the means of using and distributing said wealth. The wealth of the Middle East, Venezuela, Bolivia, etc. is all derived from oil (and gas) resources, initially developed and exploited by multinational oil companies, then based on a claim (warranted or not) against the raw resource, both raw resources and the means of exploiting it were ceased by the governing authorities and turned into a faucet of unearned wealth. There are few, if any, cases were this unearned wealth did not corrupt said authority over time.

Venezuela is the classic case study. They nationalized their oil in just 1976 and initially the government was fairly benevolent and the society as a whole flourished. Crime was low, employment was high, infrastructure was expanded, optimism for the future was high. (I lived there from 1975-1978 and it was almost paradise. A 12 year old blond kid with blue eyes could wander Caracas alone with only minimal precautions.) Look at Venezuela now: a military strongman purporting to be the next Simon Bolivar, is using the surge in oil revenue to expand his realm of influence under the guise of forming a socialist utopia in South America. Meanwhile the oil industry infrastructure built 30 years ago is showing signs of falling apart because nobody wants to take the risk of investing there with the knowledge that any "excess" profits will be ceased.

Sorry, I am losing focus. Back on track: The problem is: the unearned wealth of petro-dollars is providing these corrupt governments in both the Middle East and South America with too much leverage and influence. We can't do anything about currently accumulated wealth. That is water under the bridge. Is it possible ejectia could do something to reduce future flows of wealth to these governments through petro-dollars?

This is where I start talking WAR. In my opinion we, as a society need to attack these government right in their petro-dollar dependent hearts and expend the kind of effort and resources we did to send a man to the moon to stop funding their corruption of society. I want to start a full fledged war on their revenue. Anything we can do to reduce it is a small win but the big enchilada is some technology that credibly puts a light at the end of the tunnel of our dependence on oil. Once that end of the tunnel is even in sight, their power and leverage starts to decline.

Sorry, I just could not find a way to say this briefly. Hopefully, I will get better at brevity over time.

Paul

Paul:

Please don't feel compelled to sacrifice the tenderness, juiciness, and protein-richness of a steak like that just for the sake of making it microwaveable. I, for one, not only can handle but welcome the 30-minute stand by the grill waiting for a well-cooked piece of meat.

(That's the verbose, Food Network way of saying "brevity, schmevity!")

Speaking of savory t-bones: whither Bill?

Question: I'm no finance guy, so help me out: How would nationalizing the Venezuela banks HELP their economy, if their whole idea is to evenly distribute wealth? Here, as an individual, if my bank were to invest in a lousy idea - I'd take my money somewhere else. Just like if I own stock in a company that's full of bad ideas, I sell it and invest in something else. I understand how a Government bail-out, for an airline for example, saves jobs in the short term - but it helps no one in the long term. And Everyone ends up paying for it.
One more thing - going to war to gain property and riches is the good 'ol fashioned way. And as you were saying, a war not with arms but with Benjamins. But I suppose that's what they are trying to do to US, and hitting us where it really hurts. I'd love to fight back, but building support for that would be tough. I can barely afford to fill my tank for $50 - nevermind $75 - for corn oil that only takes you half the distance.

Hey guys. Can I ask a favor? Would any of you who are interested e-mail me and briefly tell me what YOU envision this Ejectia! Thing to be?

The essay body is really solid. The only part that concerns me is the very end where I talk about some of the things I have in mind.

There's been so much great mental work done in the comments that I would be very interested in reading a paragraph or two (or eleven, or thirty) on what YOU envision.

Thanks!

Rachel post is up!

Chase,
That's just the thing. Nationalizing doesn't help, but that's a lesson thugs never learn. Chavez put price controls on food to help the poor. Guess what happened? The farmers couldn't afford to produce at a lower profit margin, the stores couldn't afford to sell at a lower margin and now you can't get staples anywhere but the black market at 10 times the fixed price.
Happens everytime it's tried, but somehow the latest thug thinks He can make it work.

Archimedes said "Give me a lever and a place to stand and I'll move the earth" I guess this could be one place to stand. I've read most of the comments regarding Ejectia and the whole identity question. Somewhere in there someone compared signing your full name, real identity in Ejectia to the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Standing up and being counted for what you believe in and staking your all on it. That's a good idea. But the signers signed a document that still exists today. In doing so they said "We ascent to this" Signing into Ejectia wouldn't quite be the same, but signing the Declaration of Ejectia might do the trick. So somebody get a pen and write up the Declaration of Ejectia. Where do I sign?

Economists know that wealth is infinite.

Unfortunately, people think about economics with a brain that evolved to view all resources- mates, food, shelter- as finite, because they WERE in fact finite for last several million years of our existence.

Any system that assumes that finiteness makes complete sense to a monkey brain. It's why people who haven't worked at making that rational leap keep on trying it even though it invariably fails.

(Bill: will do later. It deserves more time and ability to concentrate than I'll have until late this evening at the earliest.)

Unquiet Mind asked: can I call you Lionell

That's my name. Use it with my blessing.

I would make a few observations about your other comments.

1. Given their accumulation of wealth and weapons along their willingness to use them, we may soon not have a choice about military action. If not there, then it will be here were we live.

2. Unearned wealth has a way of destroying those who acquire it. A man's wealth cannot be bigger than the man. Most despots are despots because they are very small men of even lessor minds and character.

3. If we can replace their oil we use for mobile energy sources, their unearned income would dry up almost overnight.

4. The problem is that the three laws of thermodynamics are at work and we have no choice but to accept and work with that fact. The so called ecology movement refuses either to accept the three laws or work with with them. There is no such thing as a free lunch but that is what they seem to expect.

5. If we can address 2 through 4 well enough and fast enough we just might be able to avoid the ultimate military action option of turning them into a huge radioactive crater.

6. My implication was to use our lever and the fulcrum of our virtual city-state to move the will of our culture towards taking early, effective, and sufficient action - military or not as required.

I see a number of problems ahead:

1. The American populace is largely ignorant about economic theory. Thus do we get stupid ideas like "if we all refuse to buy gas on Mondays, we can damage oil company profits."

2. Every time Congress attempts to address a national problem, take the last energy bill as an example, the legislation morphs into some sort of monstrosity that doesn't address the issue, or only exascerbates the problem.

3. Market capitalism for all the benefits it creates, is also completely amoral. No one, least of all multi-national corporations, is going to sacrifice profits even if national security is at stake.

Whatever plan takes shape must be a grass-roots effort.

Lionell, I largely agree with your points. I am just going to refer by number because there are not too many comments between. (After rereading this #1 of these are quibbles or just opinions.)

On #1: Although they my have purchased a lot of weaponry and are willing to use them, there is no opposing force out there with anywhere near the required ability to project conventional weapons force to seriously threaten the U.S. or even Europe seriously. This is true to an even greater degree when considering the need to sustain that projection of force over any significant period of time.

That limits them to projection of unconventional weapons force of which only nuclear and biological have sustained impact. (Chemical may but I have seen credible arguments it could not be done on a scale to have a significant sustained impact on a entity the size of the U.S. I wish I had the reference links to back this up. Anybody?)

At this point, I realize I am getting in over my head and have no facts to back up my opinions. Take it for what it is and I will leave\cede the field on this one because there are better fish to focus on.

2-6, You have stated it more clearly than I did. Thank You.

I would like to pick up on your The so called ecology movement refuses either to accept the three laws or work with with them. from #4.

You have hit where I was headed dead on. The Environmental movement in the U.S. in particular but also globally has, (or at least those portions of it which are effectively preventing any change to the status quo of our energy resource planning, exploration, acquisition, production or use\application) mounted a very effective campaign to deny us the ability to defend ourselves from petro-thugs. They have been at this for 30+ years, or at least all of my cognizant life. They have become entrenched like a fortress in our media, academia, politics, bureaucracy, laws, regulation, judiciary and public opinion. But, anything that large is going to have weaknesses. They have been so successful they must be getting fat and lazy. Why do I say this? I have no proof. I need some ( Please somebody, insert facts here ;-)

I propose we endeavor to identify those weaknesses and develop our levers to break down the fortifications and let the light of reason expose the trolls in the basement, to disable their offensive weapons, to feint them into misallocation or ineffective allocation of their forces; whatever it takes to seize back the initiative and get us back into the mental state and opinion of ourselves we had in the 60's when we put a man on the moon in 10 years.

There is a lot of action happening now. Perhaps we can resume this in the next lull.

Unquiet,
See Ayn Rand "The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution." Published in 1970. (I had to find my copy) All of my cognizant life. When the bloom was off the rose of communism, the hard lefties moved to the environmental movement. What better way to attack American and capitalism than to blame them for the demise of the world?
I think, in a way you may be right. Most of the foot soldiers of this movement are merely the sheeple they accuse us of being. They follow the loudest bell.
Hell, haven't they heard it since they were in elementary school? Factories ruin the environment; pollute the rivers, yadda, yadda, yadda. I do believe the people at the top of the pyramid may be "fat and happy" because their world view has been so mainstreamed. But the mainstream has changed. It won't be long before the 5:00 news isn't. Thanks to the "Roe Effect" the current generation is much more conservative that the previous. They also search for info here, on the web. Not TV, not print. There's your point of weakness. There's your fulcrum.

Unquiet one, I can offer a point of attack on the enviro platform and it's tailor made for this channel. When the media announced en masse a few weeks back that "the science is in" on global warming, my internal alarms started going off. If the science is so rock solid, why was the media attempting to stampede public opinion on the issue? Why are they attempting to close the debate? My suspician is that much of the science is either flawed or outright bogus. I'm not a scientist, but certain people who gather here know how to read scientific reports for flaws in methodolgy, questionable formulae, and flawed interpretation. Imagine the possibilities? "Bloggers Debunk Global Warming." Using the power of the Internet, we might re-open the debate. It would be a worthy endeavor. Imagine how Al Gore, inventor of the Internet, would feel about that!

Speaking from a position (somewhat) within the environmental movement, I CAN tell you that the people who are really committed to conservation- the core, the base, call it what you will- are fed up with the movement's mainstream faces and voices. My Sierra Club membership is gone- it's become a wholesale arm of the Democratic Party, and I'm far from the only person to realize that. Give them a realistic other choice for a major representative and they will leave.

One of the positions I've changed somewhat on actually is global warming; I believe it's a reality but

*ducks hail of fruit and vegetables*

What I doubt is that it will progress to the point predicted. You know, the "Alaska falls into the ocean" extreme scenarios. I also think anthropogenic causes are pretty minor compared to what I think is mainly a normal, natural- but real- climate change. A huge amount of the extremity of the predictions the media is using to scare the hell out of people rely on theorized feedback loops; if you dig into the literature, the "scientific consensus" is arguing about the reliability of these models due to these not-really-knowns, like whether increased cloud cover will accelerate warming by trapping heat or slow it by blocking sunlight. For a beginning point on research, try the fellow over here:

http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/

He's done a lot of homework and he's working from a realistic libertarian perspective. Much of it is linked in his sidebar.

And what I know for damn sure is that cheap oil will not last forever and what the greens seem to be working for- a lifestyle of global asceticism- will NOT work, but will in fact make the problem worse. Solar and wind power are in their infancy as useful, efficient technologies, if that's what they'll ever become; it's oil or nuclear at this point.

Mark, Unquiet one, ... LOL! I know, I am alomost, but not entirely unlike, quiet . ;-) Google my nick and you will see... it fits and I did my research, it hides any comment I make under over 1,000,000 hits. Who me? says the single blade of grass in the great plains of the midwest.

Good Sunday to all, (since I write from China, where I am working right now).

Bill asked:
"Hey guys. Can I ask a favor? Would any of you who are interested e-mail me and briefly tell me what YOU envision this Ejectia! Thing to be? "

Being small of mind and certainly limited of intellect, my response is most likely quite minimal in scope and effect. But I will begin with the primary concerns that initially drew me to this site. Those include the following:

1.) The abysmal decline in appreciation for the foundations of Western Civilization that has become pandemic to the western masses.

2.) The "weakening of the wall" said decline has created in the defenses of Western Civilization.

3.) The widespread denial in so many quarters that Western Civilization is under existential assault.

As one who consults and advises in the manufacturing performance arena, I find myself constantly "going back to basics" in assisting companies to become profitable again... It may sound a bit idiotic, but too often companies get sidetracked with the latest technology, marketing whiz-bang, or whatever, and forget that the point of a business is that "cash in must exceed cash out." Once re-focused on that, it becomes possible to direct efforts to that end, and succeed once again.

Perhaps that is at least a part of what the mission is here.

I see Ejectia! as having at least one of its missions to re-educate (or EDUCATE) so many who have lost their foundations in critical thinking and the most rudimentary elements of the underpinnings of our civilization. When we see so much insanity apparent everywhere, (the "Truthers," the "No Blood for Oil crowd," the "America-haters," and others), it is easy to feel isolated, powerless to make a counter-prevailing voice heard.

The Old Media floods our senses with so much drivel. As its influence declines, I dismiss efforts to change that as futile and generating diminishing returns, if any.

It is in the New Media that I look for hope, and eventually, action. It is in Ejectia!, for one, that I hope to band with my brothers and sisters in the struggle for the survival, nay, the VICTORY, of Western Civilization over the ignorance and evil that would destroy it.

To that end, my inclination is to suggest that one focus for the site be the cataloguing and dissemination of the nuts and bolts wisdom of the basics of the development of Western Civilization. From before the birth of logic, through the triumph of scientific rationality, (which itself is under assault from the "global warming 'consensus, it's settled' crowd"), from the great experiment of representative democracy, and the force of the freedoms we have, to the achievement of individual self-actualization available only under those freedoms, we have an important story to tell.

Mr. Whittle, with the essays and their compilation into the book, has provided an incredibly solid, firm foundation for the work ahead. I am struggling with how we take that foundation, and build on it to bring it all to the forefront of consciousness of those who need it most -- the complacent, the mis-informed, the unconcerned, the minimally involved.

For I think it possible that concentration on specific policies, (war, pacification, what country/entity next, and so on), can be more divisive than it is profitable in propagating the appreciation that there is even an existential threat involved, here. And I think the creation of that awareness is one mission-critical aspect of the survival of our civilization.

I'll say once again that I see this as ONE of the aspects of the Ejectia! I envision. Am I thinking too small, here... too much "inside the box?" Is such education even possible at this juncture? I say with confidence and optimism that this erudite, esteemed, well-spoken/written crew can achieve no less!

Paul A,
...Stands ...Clapping.
Bravo!
Where you been, man?
Come on over to Chase's. I'll buy you a beer.
I think you're absolutely right. Now is the time for strategy; tactics come later.

Would any of you who are interested e-mail me and briefly tell me what YOU envision this Ejectia! Thing to be?

For millenia, there has been a struggle between civilization and its enemies. Empires have risen and fallen, and with them knowledge that had to be painfully relearned over long Dark Ages. Today, the dissemination of knowledge is in a strange flux: The frontiers of knowledge have expanded to encompass more volume than ever before, but the common citizens in the most powerful countries are inexplicably learning less of that knowledge from our schools, and the media fill their heads with nonsense. That these institutions are controlled by ideology that is poisonous to civilization is no coincidence.

We are engaged in a war on two fronts: The external enemy, though formidable, could be defeated by a united civilization. But we are also torn from within. When half of a nation would rather see it lose than allow a politician from another party to win, we sow the seeds of our destruction. There is a very real risk that The United States of America will cease to be in a meaningful sense. Arguably our disunity has already belied the name. The country my grandchildren are growing up in is not the same one my father was born in.

We need to act to prevent that fall if possible, and to plant the seedlings of rennaissance if it is not. Fortunately, the Internet provides a way to bypass the failures of the education and mass media machines. Ejectia is a perpetual potluck dinner where we can each bring a dish of knowledge to serve the others, and snack on what our friends have brought. It won't matter that the public school system isn't teaching multiplication correctly if we have a node that does it right.

One of the most important kinds of brain-food is what you have provided in your essays: The knowledge that the battle is worth fighting, and that we are the Good Guys. (Our internal enemies have taught that there are no Good Guys, because there is no Good and Evil, and that we are somehow worse than the other side, despite the contradiction of those two statements.) To win this war, we have to use intellectual ammunition such as that to bolster the confidence of the civilized people, and help win the hearts and minds of the vast hordes of fence-sitters who hear sound-bites from vacuous celebrities whom they are conditioned to believe.

Mark,

"the science is in" on global warming, my internal alarms started going off. If the science is so rock solid, why was the media attempting to stampede public opinion on the issue? Why are they attempting to close the debate? My suspicion is that much of the science is either flawed or outright bogus.

That is exactly what I thought! At that time, I thought that was the central topic of Bill's next Seeing the Unseen III essay.

I would love to see the enviros compare and contrast with honesty their stated