The war (not so) at home

Last Sunday's Washington Post featured a remarkably insightful editorial written by a Soldier named William Quinn. After serving a tour in Iraq from 2005-2006, he returned to attend Georgetown as an undergraduate. "The only feeling I've ever had that was more surreal than arriving in a war zone," he begins, "was returning from one."

I find it frustrating that Facebook is a bigger part of most students' lives than the war...I may be prejudiced, but many of my college peers seem self-absorbed. I didn't want to end up like that...

I have lamented in the past about the decline of the American University, particularly Chicago, but Quinn's perspective is uniquely suited to demonstrating its shortcomings. The war in Iraq has no analogue within American History, because it's minimal impact on the civilian population is unprecedented. It is present on campus, but only as an "issue" - an opportunity for self-promoting advocacy and intellectual masturbation - often having the remarkable effect of demonstrating self-delusion rather than the intended inflation of already bloated sophomoric egos.

The fact that the average college student is unaffected by the war is as much a consequence of an increasingly relativistic and self-promoting educational system as it is a side-effect of a technologically advanced military unlike any in the world. It is almost ironic, then, that the very tools by which we are able to prevent drastic changes in the civilian way of life during war (avoiding the draft, incredibly low casualty rates, revolutionary weapon and intelligence technology), have led to a less engaged and supportive civilian populous because of their separation from the conflict.

It shouldn't surprise Quinn, therefore, that the average student is much more concerned with resumes and reactionary politics than self-sacrifice and "the culture of duty" - never before has a population been asked to do so little as part of a war effort. It is only a sad but predictable outcome, then, that they choose to do just that.

Sony OLEDs - At last!

Now for something completely different - Sony has finally set a release date for their first commercial OLED TV. One of several competing technologies to be the "Next Generation" of HD, OLED is certainly the most exciting, and the farthest along.

The next generation television has a screen with a thickness of just three millimetres (0.12 inches), which was made possible because the organic display is self-luminescent and does not require a backlight.

Such screens, which sandwich a very thin layer of organic material between two plates, use less power and offer brighter images and wider viewing angles than liquid crystal display panels.

The real kicker:

Weighs 2 kgs
Measures 287 × 140 × 253mm
Contrast ratio 1,000,000:1
960 x 450 resolution

While the contrast ratio is drool-worthy, the resolution seems deceptively small. But remember these are only 11 inch screen, and the first product that have released in their OLED line. They demoed a 27 incher at CES last year, so it shouldn't be more than 12 months before we see the good stuff.

Of course Japan gets the goodies first (Official Sony Page here in Japanese), but a US release will certainly follow. For those who have been following, Gizmodo first picked this up early this year, (and later here) and now have a comprehensive post with pictures.

March of the Pigeon Doves

On a hot tip, I checked out the trailer and media coverage of the forthcoming Redford/Streep/Cruise Drama "Lions for Lambs". No surprises here, of course, but I can't help but be a little more disappointed than usual with Hollywood's "slice like a hammer" subtlety. The plot, which switches excitedly between three simultaneous stories, bludgeons the viewer with the "truth" about the war in Iraq that has been so craftily hidden by its proponents - namely that it is a complete failure (of course), an outright sham, and that our brave soldiers are merely victims of their own deluded patriotism.

First, and foremost, the claims of a supposed lack of volition, and intellectual fortitude and foresight, on the part of our armed forces volunteers is the worst form of soft bigotry. But the most telling and intellectually dishonest line from the trailer has got to be Streep's quip to Cruise that his demands for a continued involvement in the War on Terror are easy for "the man in the air conditioned room." This, of course, from the woman in the air conditioned movie studio, being paid 7 figures to assault a war and an administration that she and her colleagues have opposed since before they began. If one who is not on the front lines of combat is unfit to support the war, than how exactly does one become fit to disparage it? After all, blind support is no match for blind antagonism. As Redford's character laments, "The problem is with us, who do nothing." Except, of course, those of us who make movies.

Ironically, of all the times for this movie to begin its media blitz, it comes in the wake of an upbeat report from General Petraeus, collaborating testimony from the New York Times and an encouraging drop in Iraq casualties to a 14 month low (the fourth month straight of declines). And while momentum for a withdrawal is stalled in the Senate, it seems to be all the rage on the left coast, where a lineup of like-minded cinematic endeavors await anxiously in the wings for their chance at a "limited release", brief box office disappointment, and eventual place in Nancy Pelosi's Netflix queue.


(Hat tip: Acai)

Richardson - Tax and Spend... and Spend?

It's tough out there for a second tier candidate. In the course of trying to catch up via increased levels of pandering, Bill Richardson managed to discover a novel solution to the "Tax and Spend" label that has dogged Democrat candidates for some time: Spend and Spend!

In a brief piece titled "Money for schools, not for war," MSNBC reports that the long shot candidate, in a speech to the National Education Association, declared:

"We need to get out of Iraq, where precious lives and needed dollars have been wasted ...We could use these resources to improve our schools..."

Say what you will about his understanding of how the Federal Budget works, but at least he knew his target audience. The problem was that he had already spent the money - the same day!

Earlier that day, Richardson had called for universal health coverage, increased Medicare subsidies and boosted preventative medicine, to the tune of $100 + billion a year. And what's more, he declared he wouldn't have to raise taxes to do it. How, then, to finance the latest "Health care Crisis" panacea? Iraq funding of course!

The New Mexico governor said he could provide coverage to the 45 million uninsured without raising taxes. Instead, Richardson said preventive care would save the nation billions of dollars and additional money could be diverted from spending on the Iraq war.

Richardson, Dodd and others are doing their best to stay in the game, but when you're campaign promises start to contradict each other in the same day, you might be getting a little bit desperate to keep up.

Welcome (or perhaps Welcome Back)

For those who were readers of Maroonblog, you may have some sense from my farewell post as to the intended nature of this forum, but whether you are a faithful reader or first time visitor, welcome.

The quote that sits below the title of this blog, by Jacques-Louis David, conveys nicely the reasons I returned to blogging. I believe it is the duty of any engaged citizen to be in constant analysis of all the world within which he lives.

The name, of course, finds its root in the mythic "Oath of the Horatii," immortalized in the painting of the aforementioned Jacques-Louis David, and seen below. I found it to be uniquely fitting with my goal of returning to the blogosphere to pursue my civic duty, and engage in inspirational, insightful and articulate commentary and debate. Enjoy, and I encourage you to join in.