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Monday, December 20, 2004

Now quit asking about things none of us can understand!   …But this is a vital and important relationship, and it's a relationship where -- you know, it's complicated. It's complex rather than complicated. It's complex because we have joint efforts when it comes to sharing intelligence to fight terrorism. We've got work to do to secure nuclear materials. I look forward to working with the Russians to continue to expand cooperation. I think one of the things we need to do is to give the Russians equal access to our sites, our nuclear storage sites, to see what works and what doesn't work, to build confidence between our two governments. Obviously there's a lot of trade that's taking place between Russia and -- and -- and the West and the United States, and that trade relationship's an important relationship. I told Vladimir that we would work in a new term for -- to see if Russia could be admitted to the WTO. I think that would be a positive step for relations between our two countries. And I'll continue to express my belief that, you know, balanced government, the sharing of power amongst government, will lead to a -- will lead to stability in Russia. And the relationship's an important relationship, and I would call the relationship a good relationship. Q Thank you, Mr. President. Several Republican lawmakers recently have criticized Secretary Rumsfeld. What does he need to do to rebuild their trust? PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, first of all, when I asked the -- the secretary to stay on as secretary of Defense, I was very pleased when he said yes. And I asked him to stay on because I understand the nature of the job of the secretary of Defense and I believe he's doing a really fine job. The secretary of Defense is a complex job. It's complex in times of peace and it's complex even more so in times of war.     9:39:50 PM    comment []

Discovered Humor   It’s too late to bid on this autographed picture of Donald Rumsfeld by now, but I found it when there were a few hours left in the 7-day listing. Looks like the free market has spoken again.     5:26:48 PM    comment []

International Autopen Company Model 80   The Autopen Model 80 is the simple, reliable signing machine. This system uses a signature matrix to reproduce various types of handwriting. The rewritten script is virtually indistinguishable from the original script and the result is superior to other known methods of signature reproduction. All that, while utilizing any type of writing instrument. This time saving device is most often used for general business and public service purposes. The Model 80 is used primarily for signing office correspondence, direct mail materials, fundraising letters, diplomas, and awards. An Autopen signature can be placed on almost anything that needs the attention of a written signature. It can be equipped with security features, enlargement capabilities and other custom configurations to meet your specifications. The signature matrices can be stored in the optional cabinet to prevent unauthorized use of a matrix. The standard Model 80 writing area is approximately 1" high by 3" across. The model 80LF is available for applications requiring larger signatures, up to 1½" X 4½", the model 80LF uses a higher precision template to provide larger writing sizes. A book signing model is also available.     Just as I arrived home, I heard that All Things Considered was doing a feature on the Autopen, which I had found at work today (slow day) by some intensive Googling. Seems a lot of autographed pictures are done with this device, including some items found on eBay. Some of them do specify that they are not authentic signatures while others do not. I’m not sure if this is the model that was used by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in his latest “scandal,” but it is one of the top end models made by Damilac Corporation. These things have been in use since the 1930s and have recently been updated with computer interfaces.   Of all the evils Rumsfeld has wrought, this one has gotten an unfair amount of attention for such an insignificant act. Of course he doesn’t have time to sign every individual letter of condolence to families grieving a member fallen in combat in Iraq. That would have required 1000 signatures over the past year and a half (apparently non-combat deaths don’t merit a letter). I am surprised instead that the White House announced that President Bush actually did sign each letter. I don’t believe them and predict that the truth will out. Each autopen signature will be an exact duplicate of the one the system was trained to copy. All a reporter has to do is bring any two letters to a handwriting analyst and the truth will be known immediately.   Update: You know what would be cool? If they could train the Presidents autopen to veto spending bills. So far, he hasn't had the time to do that. William Henry Harrison was in a coma the 10 days or so he was President before he croaked, so he had an excuse. Every other President used the veto.     4:26:38 PM    comment []