The Colonel's Forum

Mitch is a politician I love to hate. Sadly, he's also my Senator. He's spent 30 years in the Senate, a career politician by definition, and in that time has done effectively zero to improve the quality of life in one of the poorest states in the nation, Kentucky. He's really good at sending pork barrel projects home though, and that has proven highly effective at getting him re-elected. This year, he's actually got a legitimate challenger. He's down in the polls. The GOP "brand" has basically got negative equity these days because the only loud voices in the party are the "I think the tea party has got some great ideas here!" types, not the moderates who are actually greater in number. Ten polls that came out in the first week of February all have him trailing her, or have them in a dead heat. It's possible for 1 poll to be off, but not 10. To put this in perspective, he's never, ever been even close to being unseated. From his first...

I have a lot of friends who identify themselves as conservatives. I used to call myself a conservative, but that's no longer the case. My views haven't changed, but the definition of conservative has. I stand for smaller government and personal liberty. That means you can marry whomever you want, you can carry whatever kind of gun you want, you can smoke whatever you want to, and we shouldn't be giving handouts to oil companies, farmers, or solar panel hippies. That's not what conservative means today though. In 2014, "conservative" means "I believe in Jesus, and I believe Fox News tells the truth, handouts to farmers are ok but handouts to poor people are shameful, and legalizing pot and gay marriage would ruin the moral fiber of our country. I believe that my religious views should be applied universally, to everyone, regardless of what the constitution says about the separation of church and state." Today we have the tea party and a rising libe...

The US response to the situation in Syria is amusing to me. To be clear, I think that what happened is a very serious situation, and not something that should be taken lightly. What I'm saying is that the manner in which the US is responding (or, at the moment, not responding) is laughable. The same goes for the Brits. I mean seriously, when was the last time the FRENCH were calling for action and it was the limeys and the yankees who couldn't get our act together? The Syrian government bombed its own people with chemical weapons. This is not in dispute, except in the mind of Vladimir Putin and the Chinese. Really, I don't think even they are questioning what happened privately, they're only questioning it publicly to put on a show. If you think they're more credible than France, then UN, and the US, oh, and the 1429 Syrians who died in the attack , I can't help you. The UN security council can't even agree on the day of the week, so anyone who suggests ...

Here's what you need to know about Delhi: skip it. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's true for most major cities in India. After spending 3 days there, I can't see any reason to visit unless you're there on business (like I was) or you're a diplomat (which I guess means you'd be there on business anyway). Delhi is bigger and "nicer" than Bangalore. By that I mean less trash in the streets, fewer stray dogs and cows, better roads, a metro/subway system, a spectacular airport. These things are all nice, but they don't make for anything particularly impressive in the sight-seeing department. I was able to go see "India Gate" which is apparently a major tourist attraction. It celebrates India's independence. It looks like the Arc du Triomphe in Paris, but it's smaller, less ornate, and surrounded by beggars and a SWAT team who expects a terrorist attack at any moment. They spend so much time posing for photos with tou...

After spending 3 days there, I decided it's time for some reflection. Bangalore is a city of contrasts. I'm told that's quite common in India, but it's new to me. The airport is 40km from the city center, so it's a haul just to get into town. There's one road, and it's awful, even by Indian standards. I say that as a former resident of New Orleans, mind you. This road had so many "diversions" (detours) around pockets of construction that our route was probably twice as long due to all the zig zagging. I suppose the construction is a positive sign, but let's talk about that for a moment. Construction is everywhere in Bangalore. Every block, every street, downtown, the suburbs. There seems to be 6,394 buildings going up, all of this are 20% complete. I'm no structural engineer, but it appears to me that none of them are being worked on. At all. It's like they lay a foundation and stack some cinder blocks for walls, then leave. Same is ...

Vincent Vega told us in pulp fiction that "they have the same stuff in Europe that they have in the US, it's just the little differences." There are a few things about European airports that I love. #1, they're quiet. No CNN blasting at you from every gate. No PA announcements on the shuttle bus. They're literally quiet. It's lovely. #2) Proper toilets. For whatever reason, in America we've come to accept bathroom stalls that offer slightly less privacy than standing in the middle of Grand Central Station. Partitions neither reach the floor or the ceiling; doors and corners have gaps wide enough to pass someone a roll of toilet paper. It is in this environment that Americans answer nature's call. Even the worst airports in Europe have stalls with 4 real walls and a proper door. After 8 hours on a plane, one appreciates this difference. Also, the Air France club lounge was spectacular. It was huge, modern, calm, and the food and drink were amazing. Bo...

Trying this one again. First post failed when I tried to attach the champagne pic.

At the Air France lounge. 8 wines on draft, fresh croissants, and mushroom and onion omelettes. These guys don't mess around.

This is my favorite feature at the Detroit airport; a water feature that resembles a 3d airline flight map. Behind it is a 747. The picture doesn't do justice to its scale. I'm flying a KLM 747 home from Delhi to Amsterdam.

As in, 1 of 9.

On my way to India!

We continue to deal with the topic of gun "control" here in the US, and I think it's a national embarrassment. It's certainly a complicated issue, but at the same time there is a real lack of logic in the arguments offered up on both sides of the issue. The key driver behind the lack of reasoned debate on the topic is an anachronistic interpretation of the 2nd amendment. This amendment was part of our bill of rights, the first 10 amendments to the constitution, in September of 1789. At the time, the weapon of choice was a smooth-bore flint-lock musket, with a rate of fire of 3 rounds per minute (if you were a skilled shooter). Its effective range is 75-100 meters, again, only if you're a good shot. Just 6 years earlier (1783) we defeated a tyrannical British government to claim our own independence. So there were legitimate concerns about a need for the people to be able to defend themselves from a tyrannical government. In the 224 years that have passed, ...

An Instagram Account Chillingly Documents The Sites Of U.S. Drone Strikes http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671238/an-instagram-account-chillingly-documents-the-sites-of-us-drone-strikes

Not sure why Mitt lost? Can't believe that a majority of Americans are stupid enough to vote for a deficit spending, big government, socialist ultra-liberal agenda? Well in that case you've been brainwashed by the CEC - the conservative entertainment complex. Remember, the primary interest of people like Fox News and Rush Wind-bag is to promote themselves and make money, not inform the electorate about reality. The truth is much less titillating than "Obama is a socialist from Kenya who wants to ruin America!" but you bought it hook line and sinker. He's a mediocre Senator from Illinois who saved us from a depression, hasn't started WWIII and is generally more palatable than Willard Mitt Moneybags III who thinks 47% of the country are a bunch of leeches. There are some real reasons that explain Romney's loss though, if you're interested. Deep down, Karl Rove knows these to be true, though he'd never admit it. The electorate is changing, considera...

Glad to see the GOP is still avoiding compromise. Wouldn't want them to be reasonable at the negotiating table just because Obama has a clear mandate and they lost a few Senate seats... Boehner Exclusive: Raising Tax Rates 'Unacceptable' but New Revenue on Table - ABC News

I had a fascinating addition to my list of life experiences this week: watching a US election from a foreign country. I was in Belgium this week for work, launching a new cloud computing project with our Europe, Middle East, and Africa account leaders. There were 30 people in total, from all over Europe plus Lebanon, Dubai, South Africa, Egypt, and Qatar. Quite a mixed crowd. We all went out for dinner on election night, and once the Belgian beers started flowing, the attendees quickly began asking us four Americans leading the meetings what we thought about the election, who we were voting for and who we thought would win. Does it matter what people from other countries think about our election process? Our President? Our nation as a whole? Chances are good that if you voted Romney, your answer is "no" and if you voted Obama your answer is "yes." If I won the lottery, I would load a plane up with some of the biggest isolationists and anti-interventionists in the ...

It's election day, and clearly I have not kept up with my 60 days 60 stats project. It was an ambitious project though, so I'm ok with making it to 50. Today's election is likely to be close, and also likely to see record turnout. I see both of these as good things. It has forced both parties to listen to the electorate. Anytime we increase the voter participation rate, our democracy strengthens. Here's what I can tell you about the next four years for the President, regardless of who wins: He will inherit an economy on the rebound We are in one fewer war than we were four years ago He will see 12 million jobs created, and he cannot take credit for any of them He will not end the ridiculous partisanship in Washington He will not balance the budget He will not end the fact that special interests have too much influence He will not fix entitlements Clearly, I am hoping that Obama wins. Mitt's pro-millionaire anti-middle class approach, combined with his pr...

3 = Number of Republican Presidents who would support Obama's decision to lower defense spending as part of a deficit reduction program. Why? Because that's exactly what they did: " Obama, in cutting defense spending, will be following in the footsteps of such Republican presidents as Eisenhower, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, who significantly reduced military spending to deal with federal deficits that exploded during their presidencies. " http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/report/2010/09/23/8355/strong-and-sustainable/

50% = percentage of our current financial mess attributable to the Bush Tax cuts. Both Obama & Romney want to continue these cuts. Obama wants to limit it to those making $250,000 a year or less, Romney wants his fellow millionaires to get them too.

20 = the number of Grammys won by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, who have endorsed President Obama for a 2nd time.  I got to attend my first Springsteen concert last night, and I was blown away. He is a hero of the middle class, and Mitt Romney openly admits he couldn't care less about anyone other than the "job creators" who need bigger tax breaks.