“The Sand Trap: “It’s February, and that means once again the PGA Tour will make a stop in Monterrey, California for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. First held in 1937 by Bing Crosby and dubbed the ‘Clambake,’ the event has become infamous for its huge draw of top pros and A-list celebrities. The field of amateur-pro teams will compete on three different courses for the first three days: Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and
Monthly Archives: February 2005
The Mac Mini Trojan Horse
That’s what I’ve been saying since the machine hit the market. This is a wonderful piece of marketing from Steve Jobs and his team at Apple. We’ll know this year if it’s been successful or not.
What does the Preamble say?
This past Saturday night, I was visiting with a group of old friends. The excuse for the visit was a game of poker. But we never got around to that. We spent the entire evening in an intense political discussion about the current condition of the US and the rest of the world. The discussion got heated at times, but we all had a ball.
At one point the discussion turned to domestic issues, and more specifically, the welfare system. During that discussion, my friend Mark hit me with an old [canard](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=canard.) He asked me to recite the Preamble to the Constitution (and thanks to [[School House Rock!]] I was able to oblige him [[:-)]]). When I got to the phrase “…promote the general welfare” he hit me with a knowing glance and said “Gotcha”. Well, he didn’t get me.
It’s time for the civics lesson of the week. The following, of course, is just in my humble opinion. I do not in any way consider myself to be a constitutional scholar.
But, be that as it may, I think it’s important to establish what the document actually says and not presume that we already know.
The first thing that it is important that we remember is that the men who wrote this document were educated scholarly men. They knew the meaning of words and chose their words very carefully. We cannot attach to their words any of our modern colloquial understanding of them.
Without further ado, read on to see my take on what the Preamble says.
First, the who:
**We the people** of the United States of America,
Now, the why:
in order to form a more perfect union,
And finally, the what:
“establish justice](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=establish,) insure domestic tranquility,
I believe that this clause intends to define justice as peaceful society.
[provide](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=provide) for the common defense,
The clause mandates that the union must provide national defense (i.e. armed forces).
“promote the general welfare](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=promote,)
From the dictionary.com reference, I believe that the definition we need to pay attention to for *promote* is the second one: “to contribute to the progress or growth of; further. See Synonyms at advance.”
The mistake many of us make is our current association of the word *welfare* with our welfare system. There was no such thing when the document was written, so we must fall back on “Health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being. Prosperity.”.
So the framers wrote down that a responsibility of government was to provide an environment where the prosperity of its people is advanced.
Note that it does not say that the government must provide the prosperity. (Gotcha Mark [[:-)]]).
and [secure](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=secure) the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity,
do “ordain and establish this constitution](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ordain) of the United States of America.
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Just a quick note on a new feature… documents on [[CarneyWeb]] may now be title free… this document is an example of just that.
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Just a quick note on a new feature… documents on [[CarneyWeb]] may now be title free… this document is an example of just that.
New Dead Aims Higher
[Sci Fi Wire](http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/:) “Sam Raimi, who will oversee a remake of his first Evil Dead movie, told SCI FI Wire that he wants to reach an audience the first version never found.”
If we can find the right director with a great vision, we know that the script can be improved, and we know that the characters can be improved. The dialogue, the directing, can be improved.
Gimme some sugar! I’d love to see Ash on the big screen again! Only… would they use Bruce Campbell, or replace him with a new actor.
Random Superbowl Thoughts
** **Best Commercial*: The job search place with the monkeys
** **Worst Commercial*: Fedex/Kinkos
** **Donovan McNabb*: He’s overrated. Yes, he’s a very, very good quarterback, but he’s not nearly as good as the media would have had you think
** **Terrel Owens*: Simply put, he was unbelievable. His performance should go down in Superbowl lore as one of the most gutsy things ever. He was right and everyone else was wrong.
** **Tom Brady*: Simply put, one of the best ever. He just wins.
** **Deion Branche*: We all agreed, definitely the most valueable player
** **Score*: Was it just me or was that game way better that expected?
** **Parity*: The NFL has achieved its goal of trying to make all the teams as equal as possible. True, the Patriots have won 3 out of 4 Superbowls, but each one has been a very difficult win. This isn’t like SF wiping out Denver 55-10.
Overall, I enjoyed this Superbowl quite a bit… not as much as the first Patriots superbowl against the Rams, but it still was quite fun.
DVD Verdict Review – Scrooge
[DVD Verdict Review – Scrooge](http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/scrooge.php:) “Still, a single question lingers after absorbing the magic that is Scrooge: why is this sweet, substantial celebration of the true spirit of Christmas (outside of the religious realm, thank you) not a perennial favorite, revisited again and again like It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, or A Christmas Story? …Scrooge is a forgotten holiday classic.”
I’ve often wondered this myself. [[Scrooge]] is quite simply my favorite rendering of the classic Dickens tale.
Patriots Dynasty
Wahoo! They did it… not the blowout that I expected, but a victory nonetheless.
More thoughts tomorrow. Right now, it’s bedtime.
Are You Ready For Some Football!
Only a couple more hours until the Patriots spank the Eagles!
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