A Little Po, a Little Pu, and a Dash of Ri

-- An article in The Telegraph wonders if the inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic was stonewalled (heh) by Freemasons. Having observed a group of Freemasons spend nearly 40 minutes discussing how to mow a strip of grass about 12 feet wide by 40 feet long, I am skeptical that they could have blocked an official inquiry into the cruise ship sinking. Now, if that inquiry had been an item of regular business during a lodge meeting it indeed might not ever have been finished, but that's because of the one brother who wants to know why everything costs more now than it did when he was 25.

-- Many magazines, online and hardcopy, carry lists like this one, of books to read that discuss the idea of leadership; it seems like I see at least two every week. The idea "Stop reading and start leading" seems not to be under consideration.

-- On this day in 1823, U.S. President James Monroe issued a diplomatic statement by his Secretary of State and eventual successor, John Quincy Adams, that suggested the nations of Europe stick to their own sandbox. The goal seemed to be the protection of fledgling democracies in Central and South America from being retaken by Spain or overtaken by some other power. Having not much of a navy and even less of an army, the Monroe Doctrine initially had success based on the willingness of the British Navy to back it up; England also favored the idea of other European powers having no automatic access to New World resources. Later on, the U.S. was able to back up the concept with its own resources, but found that eliminating European overlordship did not guarantee democratic rule in Central and South America. With a few standout exceptions like Costa Rica, those nations have proven capable of instituting dictatorships and autocratic rule all by themselves.

-- A Honolulu woman was surprised to learn her bank listed her as $1.4 trillion overdrawn on her checking account. It was caused by a software glitch. Your federal government is also surprised it's several trillion dollars overdrawn. It was caused by a voting glitch.