The Iron Law Of Bureaucracy

This explains a lot.

Formulated by the science fiction writer Jerry Pournelle:

In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.

With a reformulation:

...in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. The Iron Law states that in all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.



In other words, any large bureaucratic organization eventually is run by those most focused on perpetuating and strengthening the organization regardless of its original intended purpose, indeed, even if it is detrimental to its original intended purpose.

I'm Hungry, You?

Where's dinner?  If you're hungry there's more at Serious Eats.

Which reminds me - when we're in Wisconsin we always stop at Culver's for a
Bacon Butter Burger!!  I swear that they soak the buns in a tub of butter.  It doesn't get any better!!

Effective Learning Techniques

It helps to be a wildebeest.

Lessons In Anti-Trust Law

This blog remains committed to expanding the horizons of its readership (see, for instance, Estate Planning For The Undead).  In furtherance of this mission we present to you this excerpt from the seminal 1958 lecture on anti-trust law by "The Old Perfessor", Casey Stengel.  In addition to his academic responsibilities Doctor Stengel also held the position of Manager, New York Yankees at the time.

Doctor Stengel's lecture was given at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee to which he was invited to testify in light of his recognized expertise* in the field.  It is believed, though it is not certain, that Doctor Stengel's statement was in support of maintaining baseball's anti-trust exemption.

At the end of this excerpt you can also hear some additional commentary from Assistant Perfessor Mickey Mantle.

Listen to an Excerpt from Doctor Stengel's lecture.

You can find the entire transcript of Doctor Stengel's talk by clicking here.




*At the time of his testimony Doctor Stengel had won six World Championships and hit .368 for the 1922 New York Giants as well as two game-winning home runs for the Giants against the Yankees in the 1923 World Series.

His home run in game one was the first World Series roundtripper hit in Yankee Stadium and was a dramatic inside-the-park job stroked with two out in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 5-4 victory.  At the time it was one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and provoked waves of overwriting by New York sportswriters topped by this from Damon Runyon:

This is the way old Casey Stengel ran . . . 
His mouth wide open
His warped old legs bending beneath him at every stride
His arms flying back and forth like those of a man swimming with a crawl stroke
His flanks heaving, his breath whistling, his head far back

London Calling

Picture via Reddit

On September 7, 1940 the German Air Force launched what became known as The Blitz with a daylight raid on London consisting of 348 bombers and 617 fighter aircraft.  The Blitz lasted until May 16, 1941.  During that time more than 100 major city raids were conducted with London targeted 71 times (including 57 nights in a row at one point), Birmingham, Liverpool and Plymouth hit eight times each and twelve other cities also being struck.  More than 40,000 British civilians were killed and more than 1 million homes destroyed.

The change in German strategy that led to The Blitz, although horribly destructive in its results, may actually have saved Britain. 

Smoky Joe Versus The Big Train

In May, this blog featured Ty Cobb going into the stands to beat up a fan in a game that took place in the 1912 season in the post Take Me Out Of The Ballgame.

Continuing the story of the 1912 season, one hundred years ago today the most publicized game of the regular baseball season was played at Fenway Park.  It was a staged pitching duel between Walter Johnson (The Big Train) of the Washington Senators and Smoky Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox. 

The American league pennant race was over by that time.  The Red Sox held a 13.5 game lead over the second place Philadelphia A's and a 14 game lead over the Senators.  But earlier in the season, Johnson set an new American League record by winning 16 games in a row, a streak that had only ended with a relief loss on August 26.  Now, Smoky Joe had won 13 straight, threatening Johnson's brand-new record.  Public interest in both of the pitchers was enormous and the ball clubs saw the opportunity for a huge gate and lots of publicity.  Even before the start of the 1912 season, Johnson was acknowledged to be the best young pitcher in the American League and now, with his streak, Smoky Joe was challenging The Big Train for that title.  The Senators were coming into Boston to play the Red Sox and Walter Johnson was scheduled to pitch in his normal rotation on September 6, but Smoky Joe was not due to start until September 7.  Nonetheless, in order to set up the match, the Red Sox agreed to move Joe's start up and pitch him on three days rest.
 (Wood & Johnson before the game)