Just a quick note on a new feature… documents on [[CarneyWeb]] may now be title free… this document is an example of just that.

Just a quick note on a new feature… documents on [[CarneyWeb]] may now be title free… this document is an example of just that.

[Golfweb.com](http://www.golfweb.com/story/8179509:) “..never could see the cliffs so clearly because of a large cypress tree. But that tree is no longer there, wiped out by holiday storms. It should make the par 5 play easier, because any tee shot that strayed too far to the right was blocked by the tree. Players either had to go over or around it… Rain that deluged California six weeks ago also washed out a small section of the 18th fairway about 280 yards from the tee, making the landing area a little tighter. Plus, the two cypress trees replaced in the middle of the fairway were planted about 20 yards farther out than they were.”

The 18th fairway has been attacked by Mother Nature for past decade. I hope they can keep it together. It’s one of the most spectacular holes anywhere in the world.

[PVRblog](http://www.pvrblog.com/pvr/:) “Engadget has started a ‘TiVo Deathwatch’ with almost 50 comments from users. This does not bode well…”

Sorry TiVo, but we’re declaring this deathwatch until further notice. We hope you’ll seriously turn things around—you know what you need to do. We’ll be updating this post periodically to reflect new developments until TiVo either declares bankruptcy, gets acquired, or (hopefully) reports a profitable quarter.

Can’t they just get the deal with Comcast done?!?!?!?!!? I’m sick of my Comcast DVR freezing up right in the middle of recording so I end up missing half of a show. The TiVo software is so much nicer!

[Boston.com](http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2005/02/09/connection*to”lombardi”more”than”just*numbers/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+–+Sports+News:) “Dear Vince,
I hope that it’s OK to call you Vince… Anyway, I’m writing to tell you about this pro football team we have here in New England… Maybe you’re getting tired of hearing about how Bill Belichick is a genius and has a 10-1 playoff record. People keep talking about how he’s topped your postseason record of 9-1, but don’t be annoyed because Belichick isn’t having anything to do with the phony comparison. He reminds everyone here that you won five NFL Championships. He knows the reason you won only two Super Bowls is because they didn’t invent the ultimate game until the end of your reign with the Packers. We all know that.”

Yes, we do. But you know what? Just the fact that the comparison is even mentioned is an incredible complement to our guy Bill.

“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

[Peter Lewis](http://www.fortune.com/fortune/ontech/0,15704,1025608,00.html?promoid=macintouch:) “The Mac mini is a Trojan horse….a sneaky way for Apple to get its secret weapon–creative software–in front of all those Windows users who are fed up with the other kind of Trojans–the worms, viruses and other scumware that feed on the Microsoft Windows operating system like vampires and leeches. For an investment of less than $600, Windows users can see for themselves what all the Mac fanatics have been raving about all these years.”

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.

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.

Just a quick note on a new feature… documents on [[CarneyWeb]] may now be title free… this document is an example of just that.

Just a quick note on a new feature… documents on [[CarneyWeb]] may now be title free… this document is an example of just that.