5 Thoughts for March 10, 2015

Ten thoughts, it seems, can be a bit long to write down, so I'm paring it back to five thoughts.

1. Politics: US Senate GOP members sent a letter to Iran, warning them about signing a nuclear treaty with President Obama. As I understand it, this is a violation of the US Constitution, with Congress breaking the Treaty Clause by contravening the President's explicit Executive power to negotiate treaties. The Senate has the power to advise and consent, but it does not have the power to intervene between parties. The irony should not be lost, that Republicans are trying to go to the Supreme Court to adjudicate what they perceive as a constitutional crisis, while in effect they're the ones who are creating their own constitutional crises.
2. Race: It seems that ever since Republicans and conservative members of the Supreme Court announced that we were in a post-racial society, all we've seen is incident after incident to indicate widespread racism. Even Fox News's Megyn Kelly knows what's going on -- you see, if you're not white, you don't often receive these emails, but once you get into the chain, it's enlightening just how pervasive racism is. Let me tell you, a lot of people will come out and tell you that they are disappointed by the actions of a few, and frown upon racism, but their own actions betray their lies. Racism lives...it just became less overt. Racism isn't the problem it was, 20 years ago, but anyone who says that we're in a post-racial world is clueless.
3. Technology: Apple's WWDC kicked off with Tim Cook insulting Google. It makes me grin to think that a CEO of one of the world's largest companies, feels threatened by a competitor so much as to annually throw insults at them. I find it especially amusing that he continues to knock down Google, even as his own company follows Google into new areas of competition (wearables, self-driving vehicles, Street View maps, etc.). I fully expect Apple to announce VR next year, and with it, insults at Google about using cheap materials -- cardboard.
4. Climate: Global warming gives the false perception that there are uniform effects (warming), and consequently disparate effects contradict global warming. That is why there is a push to call it Climate Change. I mention this because the west has seen its warmest winter on record, even as the east and midwest has been pummeled with snow.
5. Shopping: Bought this Neewer Monopod via Amazon, yesterday. After struggling for years to take sharp macro photos using my Fotodiox Extension Tubes, I've caved in and decided that it's okay to carry my camera around, with a monopod attached. If I want to get longer depth of field, I need the monopod. Oh, and it's only $12.