An Electrical Blackout Just For Me?

After the American Century

The storm that lashed Denmark Saturday night with hurricane winds caused a blackout at our house. We were watching television when suddenly all the lights on the ground floor went out, and the film we were enjoying disappeared. The buglar alarm began to ring, as it does when forced over on to battery power. Not its forceful full screaming mad sound, but an insistent call for assistance. Looking out the window, my wife and I immediately saw that the neighbors were not affected, and we soon found that the floors above and below us still had power. It seemed obvious that the problem could be solved by changing a fuse. We found a flashlight and a fuse, made the change, and. . . nothing happened. By this time we were getting a bit cross, missing the film, and quickly put in another fuse, also without any result.

All this time the burglar alarm continued to ring, intermittently, and we began to wonder if we might be hearing this all night. So we called the security company and asked if they could stop it, and of course also reported that the power outage was the reason. We could hear the wind howling.

It being the middle of a weekend, the last thing we wanted to do was call an electrician, because coming for an emergency on a Saturday would cost us a minimum of $200, based on past experiences when we needed a plumber or a locksmith. So I decided to go outside in the rain and wind to see if by any chance I could spot the problem. It seemed unlikely, but worth a try.

Outside there was lots of wind, but little rain, and I shone the flashlight up on the side of the house where the four electric lines come in. They all seemed very securely attached. But then, from the corner of my eye I saw and in my right ear I heard a buzzing bluish spark. One of those four lines was loose at the other end, where it joined the main line! 

We called the power company, assuming that we would have to wait, perhaps even to Monday, but glad we knew the problem. It was not a short-circuit caused by a leak, for example, which would have been hard to find, expensive to fix, and in the meantime a danger.  This was far better, as the problem was not our fault, and we would not have to pay anything.

Remarkably, a crew was on the scene in less than two hours from the time we called, and by 11 PM a truck with a lift had taken a man up to the loose wire, sizzling there in the rain, and his nonchalance made him casually heroic in the gusting wind. In less than two minutes he had reattached the electrical line and the power was on again in our house.

What does this event mean? Well, that some things work really well in Denmark. But not everything. One of the most frequent causes of blackouts is a failure to trim trees growing beneath power lines. Did I forget to mention this? The electrical line that failed is slightly entangled in a tree, and our neighbor whose windows are closer to the connection than ours, asked that someone from the city come and cut it back. Nothing was done, however, as the municipality seems to be saving money on such things.

That said, it nevertheless did seem rather amazing that of all the houses on this  street, ours should be the one affected, and only one floor, where I happened to be. After all, my last book was about electrical blackouts. Power failures are usually more widely shared, but this one was quite private.

New Danish Government Breaks its Word and Slashes University Teaching Budgets

After the American Century

Many hoped that the new socialist-led government would offer a dramatic improvement over the previous right-wing coalition. But in many areas where they promised change, they have continued the old policies. Some of the promises they have broken were made with extreme clarity, and then forgotten immediately after they came to power.

One of the most notorious examples was the promise, given in writing as an unshakeable commitment, that the hospital emergency room in Svenborg would not be closed. It serves several islands and the southern part of the larger island where I live, This written and signed promise was given and then broken as soon as they took office. Now they declare it will be closed. I firmly believe that some people will die because it will take them over an hour from the time an ambulance arrives until they can get to the only emergency room that will be left, in Odense, where I live. This is a blow to a beleaguered area that already has trouble attracting residents. Before the election, the Socialists claimed they would help such outlying areas, and not continue the policy of centralization that is killing such areas.

Likewise, the new Socialist-led government promised to roll back a sizable cut to the university budgets proposed by the old government before the election. In Denmark a certain amount is paid to each university for every student it matriculates. The old government proposed to cut this amount by 3000 kroner per student, and the new government now agrees. In 2012 Danish universities will find their teaching budgets reduced by c. 600 million kroner, or more than 100 million dollars. (Those who read Danish, see the news stories here, and here) To put this another way, support in most of the humanities will fall by 6.5% per student, but given rising costs the effect will feel like a 10% reduction. This decision will force universities to cut the number of teaching hours, put students into larger classes, fire some faculty, and slow down the purchase of essential equipment. 

These cuts are twice as large as the increases announced for research, amounting to c. 300 million kroner for 2012. These funds are not all funneled to the universities, however. For example, some research money will go to Hospitals or innovation support institutions. In any case, the research funds that do go to universities cannot be used for teaching. The plans for 2013 call for even larger reductions for teaching, which will create a severe crisis.

Before the election the Socialists said (or rather they pretended to believe) that increased funding for education was essential, because the only real asset Denmark has is its people. A highly educated and skilled population will be needed to compete in the global market, but this new government, like the old one, now is unwilling to pay for it.  SDU's Rektor Dr. Jens Oddershed, speaking for the rektors of all the universities, declared that the government had broken its word.He was being diplomatic. A more scientifically objective view would be that the Socialists are cynical prevaricators.

Readers inside Denmark know that these are just two of many examples of the socialist-led government's unapologetic refusal to honor campaign promises. Like the previous government, the Socialists lack integrity. They prolaim one thing, but do quite another. In a few areas they are better, but in general it seems that, as George Orwell put it in the conclusion to Animal Farm, "The pigs have become men."

Where might the money come from to support hospitals and education? This government has refused to roll back tax cuts given to the wealthy by the previous right-wing government. Anyone can now see that the cuts were based on miscalculations and that they were un-financed.

Why should universities and hospitals be cut instead of rolling back the tax cuts for the wealthy? This is not even remotely a socialist program. It is not even an intelligent capitalist program. The new government so far has been a severe disappointment.

What we can be thankful for on Thanksgiving

After the American Century

A cynic might say that we have nothing to be thankful about on Thanksgiving. But there are some good things. I am delighted that Sarah Palin is not Vice President, for example, and glad, too, that McCain is not living in the White House. I am pleased that US energy use (per capita) has leveled off in recent years, and that the shift to renewable energy is continuing, more slowly than I would like, but it is happening.

It is a good thing that the Cold War came to an end, and that the economies of Eastern Europe continue to improve - a story that has been rather swept aside with all the focus on Greece's deficit. Likewise, little Iceland has clawed its way back from the brink of collapse. Denmark has gotten rid of a very bad government and replaced it with one slightly better. The Germans remain willing to bail out the failed economies of Southern Europe, and the French show signs of dumping their prime minister, whom I never have liked much. Italy has finally gotten rid of that buffoon Berlusconi. As for Spain, the economy is rotten and the socialists have been cast out by the voters, but at leas the football is sublime.

Many bemoan the low house prices in much of the western world, but this is a good thing for millions of first-time home buyers, who also get lower interest rates than in a booming economy. My own house is worth a bit less, but I am not planning on moving any time soon.  The loss for me and the majority of people is more theoretical than real, and those starting out a life can get a good deal, often after years of waiting.

I am also glad that the US did not make the turkey the national bird, as Ben Franklin suggested. For in that case it might have become a protected species, and instead we might be eating genetically enhanced butterball bald eagles.

Gingrich Emerges to Challenge Romney

After the American Century

The American presidential primary season is almost upon us. Unlike 2008, only one of the parties has to find a candidate, so all the attention will be on the many Republicans seeking the chance to run against Obama. They are a rather disappointing lot, rather like a dinner consisting of warmed over remnants of better meals. I am already tired of them, one and all, from the underwhelming Romney to the inept Cain and Perry. Governor Perry, who cannot remember his own program, makes George Bush look eloquent. Cain, who apparently has not been reading the newspapers since 1964, did not know that China already has nuclear weapons and was completely out of his depth when asked rather easy questions about Libya.

And Newt Gingrich? Spare me more drivel from the half-baked "historian" from Georgia. He was a disaster as Speaker of the House and left that chamber in disgrace. Apparently, he was still in disgrace with voters, as for weeks he polled far worse that Cain, even after all the innuendo and accusations about sexual misconduct. Think about this: for weeks a Black man accused of sexually harassing white women has been polling better than Gingrich. 

But Newt did not give up, and in recent weeks he has begun to rise in the polls as Perry has fallen. Gingrich is the latest to try out for the role as the "man who is not Romney." If one averages five recent polls, the two men are almost tied, with both getting around 22%. The latest Pew poll puts Gingrich a bit further down the list, but clearly rising, while Cain can only fall and Perry has already fallen. The most credible candidate the Republicans have, to my way of thinking is, Huntsman, but he barely seems alive in the race.

Romney 23%

Cain  22%

Gingrich 16%

Perry 8%

Paul 8%

Bachmann 5%

Santorum 2%

Huntsman 1%

Romney's self depiction on his web site

With no candidate able to rally even one quarter of the Republican voters, this race still seems unsetteled even if some pundits think Romney is the likely winner. I see real problems with his candidacy:

(1) Romney was more liberal in Massachusetts in his actions than he has been in his current campaign promises. There is a major credibility problem here. Who is the "real Romney"? The man who put in a health care program in Massachusetts much like that Obama brought in nationally, or the Romney of today who attacks that health care program? He is constantly depicted, by Republicans and Democrats alike, as a flip-flopper.

 

(2) Romney is a Mormon, and this makes conservative republicans uneasy, or downright hostile. Many voters know little about Mormonism, but it is a religion that can rather easily be attacked or caricatured. They have an obsession with genealogy and want to baptize the dead into their faith, after all, and the Book of Mormon does not bear up well under close scrutiny. Mark Twain called it "chloroform in print,"and  concluded, "The Mormon Bible is rather stupid and tiresome to read." Perhaps too much reading of this text has made Romney rather tiresome, For . . .

(3) Romney has all the charisma of an accountant.

If not Romney, then who? Right now Gingrich is the man to watch.