Action
10:25 Sunday, 9 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 39.6°F Pressure: 1010hPa Humidity: 93% Wind: 1.99mph
Words: 27
I'm giving some money to a local food bank here in Hector. But the opportunity to give some money to another worthwhile cause may be found here.
✍️ Reply by emailMoral Cowardice
09:41 Sunday, 9 November 2025
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Words: 665
This is an interesting post that relates both to the failures of our institutions to defend the values they supposedly promote and uphold, and to the questions addressed by knowing.
The post refers to an "internal arbiter," which evaluates a moral choice by ranking the relationship the choice poses to various identities an individual inhabits. Later, the author worries that many Trumpist individuals lack an internal arbiter.
Korsgaard begins with a description of the individual. She says we adult humans are reflective creatures. We are able to examine our behavior and evaluate it against standards we choose.
"Reflection," is another term for introspection. And I would add that we evaluate our behavior against standards that we may not have chosen, but were rather instilled in us. Standards we have adopted unconsciously, or learned from examples, often the wrong examples.
Introspection is a difficult process, and it can lead to confusion, the problem of "infinite regression." I think that introspection is very uncomfortable for many people, and rather than work with the discomfort, they seek external stimulation, distraction, which our culture provides in excess.
Therapy can be a kind of guided or assisted introspection. The "what" questions can help an individual stay on track when wrestling with uncomfortable questions that relate to one's identity and one's "goodness." And boy does this country need therapy.
… [W]e require reasons for action, a conception of the right and the good. To act from such a conception is in turn to have a practical conception of your identity, a conception under which you value yourself and find your life to be worth living and your actions to be worth undertaking. That conception is normative for you and in certain cases it can obligate you, for if you do not allow yourself to be governed by any conception of your identity then you will have no reason to act and to live. P. 122.
This was an important point, so much so that it's quoted from Korsgaard in the post. I would differ a bit in the assertion that "we require reasons for action." We don't. Much of our behavior is habituated. There may have been a reason once, but it may be forgotten and may not even be relevant to the "reason" for the requirement for action in the moment. Much of what you read on social media is habituated. Stimulus and response. Reactive, not reflective.
But the important point in the quotation is that "it can obligate you," if you embrace a concept of your identity that makes your life worth living and your actions worth undertaking. But we see, over and over again, people ignoring those obligations. Seemingly happy to embrace a lower conceptual identity that doesn't obligate them to act.
That is the conflict here between one's identity as a Christian, and one's identity as a Trumpist. Or the conflict between one's identity as a commissioned officer, or a formerly commissioned officer, and the consequences of speaking out against the leadership of the armed forces.
The "core values" of the United States Navy are honor, courage and commitment, and nowhere do we observe those core values animating the choices and actions of the officers and sailors on active duty, or the veterans who value their identity and their prior service in uniform.
"It's just a job." This nonsense about "core values," is just so much window dressing. Marketing. Bullshit.
We're just mercenaries. You give me a paycheck, I'll kill anybody you want as long as you're the "commander-in-chief."
Except for ADM Holsey, who made a choice for a reason. Whose choice has upheld the Navy's core values, even though it comes with consequences. I'd welcome more from ADM Holsey, in terms of speaking out. But actions can speak as well.
You can't claim to be a Christian, or claim to be an officer in the United States Navy if you aren't compelled to act when faced with a moral choice.
You're just a coward.
✍️ Reply by emailKnowing
Current Wx: Temp: 37.09°F Pressure: 1012hPa Humidity: 92% Wind: 1.05mphWords: 679
We had an interesting discussion in the Tinderbox meetup yesterday. I'm afraid I spoke too much, but it's not a shy group so someone could have spoken up and made their views and opinions known.
The topic was "Atomic Notes," and it was about a process for note-taking. Our guest was the gentleman who wrote, The Complete Guide to Atomic Note-Taking, a topic I responded to back in October.
Clearly I'm something of a skeptic, but I think we had a worthwhile conversation yesterday. Of course, I've been doing some background processing, or "unconscious reflection," because I woke up wanting to return to the subject today.
It's still a big hairy problem, and it's difficult to know where to grab onto it first, because wherever you begin will shape where you end up.
He uses syllogisms as examples. Major premise, minor premise, conclusion. One of the examples was, if I recall correctly:\
The best dog is the most intelligent dog.
German Shepards are the most intelligent dogs.
German Shepards are the best dogs.
I challenged the major premise, as it is not a fact, it's an assertion, which may have been chosen, consciously or unconsciously, to lead to a desired conclusion. (He owns a German Shepard.)
He replied something to the effect that if you begin challenging parts of the major premise, then you end up in the problem of "infinite recursion," and you end up getting nowhere. At least, that's what I think I recall.
What occurred to me this morning (or during the night sometime), is that "infinite recursion" is perhaps another way of looking at "contingency." The "best" dog is contingent on an individual's idea what makes one dog "better" than another. (I suspect this is also another Western idea, categorizing and ranking things according to their "goodness.")
Good, better, best. Never let it rest, until your good is better and your better is best.
One of the lessons from Nagarjuna's The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way is that everything is contingent. Facts, ideas, beliefs, concepts, crackpot theories do not exist in isolation. They are not "atomic." They are contingent.
I commented at one point that his process seemed very Western, and I think that was some part of my mind nagging at me about contingency, and it just wasn't surfacing at that moment. I'm getting old.
I suspect that Godel's incompleteness theorem is a manifestation of contingency. It's been a couple of decades since I read about Godel, and I think I've just gotten to that chapter in the book I'm reading. (Had to go look for it, because I couldn't recall the title. Yeesh. It's The Engines of Logic, by Martin Davis. I'm still in Hilbert, but I put the manual for Crush, Crumble and Chomp! on top of it on the nightstand and, "out of sight, out of mind.")
But this all points back to at least Leibniz and his calculus ratiocinator, a symbolic logic that could be exercised through algebraic means to lead to "true" conclusions, or "the truth." This is a very Western belief that reality may be reduced to "true" and "atomic" elements that may be known. Newton's determinism, give me the position at time zero and the acceleration and I can predict where a body will be at any moment in the future. Or in the past.
That seems powerful, and if there's one thing we're enamored with in the West, it is power. (And wealth, which are probably the same things, especially given the contingent nature of each.)
There's also the comfort of certainty. Certainty is a kind of "knowing," and "knowledge is power."
I think all this fascination with note-taking and "personal knowledge management," is a manifestation of the anxiety we feel in a world that feels increasing "out of control."
Anyway, it was a worthwhile distraction from the sadness that overtakes me when I think about the failure of our institutions.
Life is meaningless.
We bring meaning to life.
And when we fail to do so, then it is all just meaningless.
✍️ Reply by emailRed Sky at Night
09:35 Saturday, 8 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 45.68°F Pressure: 1011hPa Humidity: 78% Wind: 10.87mphWords: 325
Sunset the day my son and daughter-in-law departed. The weather was semi-cooperative while they were here. Very windy, some rain, but mostly cloudy and cold.
Watkins Glen State Park is closed for the season, which we learned when we went there to hike the gorge. We switched to Taughannock Falls because that remains open. My grandson seemed to enjoy the hike, and I know his parents did.
Yesterday I tried to start the Westinghouse generator I bought from Home Depot. Fail. Pretty sure I did everything right, it just won't start. I should probably just return it, but I tried reaching to Westinghouse support first. They'll get back to me whenever they get back to me, I guess.
Of course, I bought this device after watching people on YouTube setting one up and starting it on the second or third pull, and that's straight from the box. Very disappointing.
We've killed some more people at sea. Hegseth's getting his body count. His "lethality" high.
I've learned that "institution" is mostly a meaningless word used by groups of people who wish to collect money and aggrandize themselves. But the values and beliefs they supposedly uphold are in fact just meaningless adornments they use to puff themselves up. Whenever it's time to put any of that at risk to defend those values or beliefs, well, that's not their "mission."
I'll keep that in mind whenever they ask me for money.
I admire the people in Chicago documenting and bearing witness to the cruelty and brutality of the masked men terrorizing the city. I take comfort in the fact that it really seems to be getting under their skin. These aren't people who are members of an "institution." They're just Americans who can tell the difference between right and wrong and are will to do something about it. Risk arrest, or getting their car rammed, or both.
Unlike the boards and officers of America's "institutions."
✍️ Reply by emailDeep Breath
10:59 Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 51.19°F Pressure: 1020hPa Humidity: 51% Wind: 16.73mph
Words: 340
I'm checking in though I really don't have the time. I've got family inbound and more stuff to do, but this is what happens when this stuff grabs hold of me.
For the moment, I'm metaphorically taking some deep breaths. As a contractor, one of the active duty LDO commanders I worked with said, "I admire your passion. You're very passionate."
He was being polite, because I can get rather, um, assertive when I think I'm right, and when I believe it's important. Which isn't necessarily a positive character trait.
I'm taking a pause here, because I don't want to just give up. Well, I kind of do, because it just feels so frustrating. Nauseating.
Someone suggested that I write a piece for a publication that deals with naval affairs. I rejected that idea, and still reject it, because this is not a matter for polite debate.
This is a crime in progress.
Treating it as something we can "discuss," in measured, academic tones normalizes it. Dignifies it.
I can't do that, and I can't understand why more people aren't screaming about it.
And there's something else, and that's ADM Holsey. We don't know why he laid his stars on the table. We can speculate, and I think we can be pretty confident about why he did.
And when the story is eventually told, I hope America honors him in a way befitting his service and his sacrifice.
ADM Holsey is an honorable man. He has kept faith with the men and women under his command, in ways that so many others are failing to.
There are moments in each individual's life when the choices we make leave an indelible mark on our character.
It is crushing to me to witness how many are failing to meet the moment. Failing to honor the trust that our men and women in uniform place in us. To employ their service honorably. Meaningfully. In good faith.
This is a profoundly sad moment in the history of our country, and the United States Navy.
✍️ Reply by emailBloomberg
10:27 Monday, 3 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 53.85°F Pressure: 1016hPa Humidity: 62% Wind: 13.04mph
Words: 37
I learned that ADM Stavridis has written about the events in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, it's behind the Bloomberg paywall, so I don't know what he wrote. I gather it said nothing about the legality of the operations.
✍️ Reply by emailImposter Syndrome
09:47 Monday, 3 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 51.67°F Pressure: 1016hPa Humidity: 64% Wind: 13.04mph
Words: 299
It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes when I post something that matters a great deal to me, I get kind of nauseous and tired. I feel like, "Who do I think I am that I can write stuff like this?"
But I can't not write it.
It sucks.
Of course, I could be coming down with something too. Got a really bad case of the chills last night.
But, yeah, ugh.
This is stuff that I think I should be reading, from people like Jim Stavridis. He lives in Ponte Vedra, where we just moved from. He was Brigade Commander when I was a plebe. The guy writes like, all the time. And he's on CNN or PBS a lot too. That's the kind of guy who should be writing the stuff I just posted.
An admiral. Someone successful. Who had a huge job, great responsibility.
But, you know, crickets...
Maybe that's what makes you successful? Knowing when to keep your mouth shut?
No shade on Adm Stav. A good man.
Could be better, maybe.
But a good man.
Anyway, in between waves of nausea (Why? I'm risking nothing here. And why am I blogging about this? Maybe because I'm alone and Mitzi's not here, so I'm talking to the marmot.), I read this.
You should read it too, if you care about what we're doing in the Caribbean.
There are a lot of arguments on the practical merits about why what we're doing is wrong, not just the moral ones. Like, why not capture and interrogate these individuals and gather intelligence about their operations. But I think we just want to kill people. Hegseth's fetish for lethality. Man needs a body count or he doesn't feel like he's doing his job.
Anyway, I gotta go throw up.
✍️ Reply by emailMeeting a Moment
06:47 Monday, 3 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 43.18°F Pressure: 1019hPa Humidity: 75% Wind: 8.84mph
Words: 1174
Sometimes, it's just so hard to know how to get started on one of these posts. And I'm not the kind of person who will go back and do a lot of editing. So bear with me a bit.
Our society, our civilization, the larger elements of our cultural mythos, the pieces that provide context to the narrative account we construct of our time and the events that touch us are abstractions. They aren't physically real, they exist only in our minds.
So we have to construct things, artifacts, to keep them in our minds. To make them relevant to our lives.
To make them real.
One of those abstractions is the idea of "the rule of law." To reify this abstraction, we write laws, create codes, courts, processes and positions. The "justice system." These are the artifacts that make "the rule of law," real. And there are institutions that aid in that effort.
Institutions are organizations that may not be intrinsically part of the system that reifies the abstraction, but serve to embrace, promote and preserve the valuable elements of the abstraction in our minds. To offer us an important point of reference, a lens through which to view events of the day and how they align, or do not align, with the abstractions we have adopted to form our society, our culture or our civilization.
Institutions can be established for nearly any human activity. The American Film Institute is an example. The values and ideas that they promote don't have to be especially profound. They can be specific, of relevance only to a segment of society.
Professions may be regarded as institutions. They have standards, qualifications, responsibilities, authority, and, most importantly, accountability. Professional associations often serve the institution, keeping its value in the public mind. They also often serve a more pedestrian purpose, advancing the economic interests of members of the profession. But many of them have important, loftier aims, often to promote public trust in the institution.
"The press," is called an institution. It serves a public role, one that we at one time regarded as important. Perhaps we still do. "Journalism," can be regarded as a profession, though they have less rigorous standards that are not universally accepted or adopted. And "accountability," is often a hit-or-miss affair. Trust is a problem.
The armed forces are an institution. "A Profession of Arms," is a document that, in part, summarizes the values and ideals that inform and shape the role of the institution. (I urge you to click on that link and read the document. I'm not certain it will remain there long.)
Values. The Profession of Arms demands its members live by the values described in the "City on the Hill" metaphor. We must provide an example to the world that cannot be diminished by hardships and challenges. This example is based upon the words and intent of the US Constitution that each of us takes a personal oath to support and defend. Our oath demands each of us display moral courage and always do what is right, regardless of the cost. [Emphasis mine.] We are all volunteers in our willingness to serve and to place others' needs above our own. As shared values, our calling cards are Duty, Honor, Courage, Integrity, and Selfless Service. Commitment to the rule of law is integral to our values which provide the moral and ethical fabric of our profession.
Much of what is taking place in our country is without recent precedent, and we often hear about the failure of "institutions," to meet the moment.
I suspect that much of that failure is due to decay. Inertia.
I think the people who are in positions of authority within institutions are preoccupied by process. The banal, grinding day-to-day. They have lost sight of the role of the institution. It's meaning. Their duty.
Fundamentally, that role is to uphold the values of the institution. And when those values are under attack, or debased, their role, their duty, is to defend those values in the public arena.
Again from "A Profession of Arms,"
Our profession is defined by our values, ethics, standards, code of conduct, skills, and attributes. [Emphasis original.]
What is taking place in the Caribbean with respect to vessels out of Venezuela is wrong. You don't need to be a lawyer to know that it's wrong. You don't have to give the benefit of the doubt to an administration that has repeatedly demonstrated its contempt for the rule of law, and the values and ideals that have defined the American experiment.
It has fallen to us, the citizens of this nation and the veterans who have served it faithfully, with honor, to rouse the individuals in positions of authority, people who have been granted the privilege of temporary custody of the institution they serve to see their duty clearly, and to rise to it.
The "call to action," is to speak out. To articulate boldly and confidently that what is happening is wrong, that it must stop and that the American people will support the members of the armed forces who refuse to obey unlawful orders.
I am "no one of consequence." I have no connections, no relationships with people in high places.
I have my conscience and my keyboard, and all I can do is offer my thoughts and words into the ether, and hope they find purchase in minds that matter. People who can make a difference. People who can reach out to the men and women in positions of authority who are feeling the strain of these extraordinary times and bolster their courage. Remind of them of their duty, their obligation, and the privilege they have to make meaning in their lives, and make meaning real to the men and women serving in these institutions. To defend their honor, and to prevent their moral injury.
It is a rare moment in history, when something you do or say can make so much of a difference.
It's an opportunity to "meet the moment." To make meaning in your life. To serve the values and ideals, which is they have any real meaning must move us to action.
I write here and most of the time, it's just bits of personal ephemera. Passing the time. "The only blog that really cares about Dave Rogers."
But sometimes I feel like it matters. Or wish that it did.
I think I have maybe a couple of dozen regular readers. There's an email link at the bottom of this post, I'd welcome your thoughts.
If you believe that what I've offered here has some value, I ask that you share it. If you're someone who knows someone who can make a difference, please reach out to them in any way you think is appropriate.
I do have one contact, a classmate, a person in what is perhaps a minor institution who I can reach out to, and I will do so.
All we can do is our best.
Let's hope we all do.
✍️ Reply by emailChallenges
Current Wx: Temp: 47.59°F Pressure: 1026hPa Humidity: 75% Wind: 4.92mphWords: 301
I spoke to Mitzi this morning after posting here. I got rather emotional talking to her about what's going on in the Caribbean. She said I should go for a walk.
It's a beautiful day, so I did.
My achilles is finally beginning to heal. Well, it's nearly healed now. I have some minor stiffness and discomfort in it right now, but the last time I did this walk, well, I didn't do it again until today.
This is the view at the bottom of South Hill Road. The top of the road in this picture turns left and continues uphill. In total, 362 feet of elevation gain over a mile. That's probably nothing to you youngsters, but I got my heart rate up to 163, 4:55 in Zone 5 (>150 bpm). Saw some deer and a chipmunk.
And it's just beautiful here.
Did the trick.
But here's a profile in courage. SOUTHCOM was, and probably still is, headquartered at Naval Station Mayport. I'd been in that headquarters many times. I wish ADM Holsey would be a little more outspoken about why he chose to resign, er, I mean, retire. But I respect his decision, and it shows leadership where so much of it is sorely lacking.
I watched Brooks and Capehart on YouTube. I go back and forth on David Brooks, but here is an example of his stunning blindness, or naivety.
After just saying, only a couple of minutes before, that "What we're doing to those ships coming out of Venezuela is an atrocity."
Who does he think is committing that atrocity?
I'm disappointed that we haven't heard more from ADM McRaven, from ADM Stavridis.
It's an uphill climb, and it's going to get my heart rate up, but it's the only way to get to higher ground.
✍️ Reply by emailA Worthwhile Conversation
06:35 Sunday, 2 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 37.18°F Pressure: 1025hPa Humidity: 90% Wind: 3.22mph
Words: 182
It's hard, for me anyway, to kind of "come down," from a state of arousal (Get your mind out of the gutter.) like the one that compelled me to write the preceding post, and the email I wrote to a classmate before that.
I feel as though I need to do more, like start drafting the letter to the president of the Naval Institute, also a classmate. But it's also exhausting. This doesn't happen as often anymore, probably because of age, but my mind races. Also probably because of that arousal.
So I looked for something to distract me for a moment, and I watched the cold open for last night's SNL. I laughed, but it also made me kind of nauseous. I can't laugh at Trump.
Now I'm feeling somewhat sick, and I needed something to take my mind off of that.
So I watched this conversation between Jon Stewart and David Remnick. And I laughed. And I nodded. And I shouted, "Yes!" (Because that's what old men do. We shout at screens. And clouds.)
So I commend it to you.
✍️ Reply by emailIf I Could Turn Back Time
05:25 Sunday, 2 November 2025
Current Wx: Temp: 38.08°F Pressure: 1025hPa Humidity: 90% Wind: 3.27mph
Words: 409
Thought I woke up early today, but I was on time.
In the Navy, I learned that early is on time and on time is late.
I'm afraid I'm late for something else.
The President of the United States is turning the men and women of the United States Navy, serving in ships and aircraft in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific around Central America, into murderers. Assassins. Hired muscle.
This has been gnawing at me, and I've been reluctant to grapple with it. Partly because it's hideous. I never in my life expected that something like this would happen in my country. It's hard to accept. It's hard to know what to do, how to start.
But I know that I have to do something for the men and women serving our country. I'm sure they're being told that the President is the commander in chief of the armed forces, and that the Supreme Court has essentially said that he is unaccountable to the law for his actions in that capacity.
The Supreme Court has not weighed the legal jeopardy faced by active duty personnel subject to the orders of the president.
No uniformed member of the armed forces of the United States is bound by oath to obey an unlawful order. But that places them in an untenable position. Forward deployed, they have limited or no access to legal counsel. They are likely being given some guidance by staff Judge Advocates (Navy lawyers) that what they are doing is somehow considered lawful.
That's advice, it's not a fact until a court makes it so. At best, it's a fig leaf. An expediency.
We are compromising the honor and integrity of the men and women who have taken an oath to serve this country. We are using them in despicable ways. We are staining their immortal souls.
We have a duty and an obligation to speak up for them, as their capacity to speak for themselves is limited, constrained.
They are forward deployed. They can't go home at night and speak to their spouse, their minister, their attorney. They have to decide in the moment to obey an order that they may not be certain is lawful. It's an impossible situation.
We need to speak up. To stop this.
Perhaps there is some legal rationale that can make what looks very much like extra-judicial killing something "lawful." Something honorable.
But I doubt it.
We owe it to them.
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