RathmannRamblings

The Coming Depression

2011-06-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

The are some troubling indications that the US is heading to some serious financial problems. Unfortunately, there is too much partisanship by economists to understand what we should be doing. Paul Krugman, as would be expected, blames Republicans.

http://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2011/06/commodity-prices-and-the-mistake-of-1937-would-modern-economists-make-the-same-mistake.html

www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1

The Troubling Partisanship by Environmental Groups

2011-06-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest mistakes that the environmental movement has made is they have gotten in bed with the Democratic Party and alienated many Republicans who would normally be natural supports. After all, the modern environmental movement was arguably started by a Republican, Theodore Roosevelt. One of the more jarring examples of this was when the Natural Resources Defense Fund sent out a fundraising letter warning of the evils of Sarah Palin. At the time, Sarah Palin was a private citizen and not running for anything while the worst US environmental disaster, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with drilling authorized by the Obama administration, was in the middle of it's destructive rampage.

Palin was also blasted by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund in 2008 for authorizing the shooting of wolves from helicopters. She was labeled as sadistic and brutal. And that someone like that did not deserve to be President

Odd, but the federal government is now authorizing all kinds of methods for killing feral hogs in San Diego county, including hunting by helicopter.

http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/02/obama-administration-suddenly-likes-palin-wildlife-management-strategy/

Freedom of Association

2011-06-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

Who knew that there was something called "Gay Softball World Series" and who know that you could be disqualified if you are not gay enough?

Three people sued because they were not allowed to participate in the Gay Softball World Series apparently because they were bi-sexual.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015209413_gaysoftball02m.html

This has a number of interesting possibilities. Apparently organizations can discriminate and select who can join. At least in some cases.

Corruption at International Agencies

2011-05-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

First we heard about some socialist official at the International Monetary Fund staying at $3,000 per night hotel rooms and assuming that assaulting housekeeping is a normal, natural benefit of his station in life. And now we hear about FIFA, the international soccer association, may have awarded a future World Cup to Qatar because of bribery.

http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/22446.html

Australia is now asking FIFA for $46 million back from FIFA to cover the costs of their bid for the World Cup. If the bidding process was dishonest, obviously Australia should get a refund.

Of course, this is nothing new. The Salt Lake City Winter Olympic bid was tainted by similar allegations.

There seems to be no one monitoring these large international organizations.

Obama and Hu

2011-01-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

The observation was made that the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner hosted a dinner for the person who put the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner in jail. And the media doesn't seem to appreciate the irony.

http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=6329595&postID=4847436525842911324&target=blog

Actually, maybe there is no irony here. The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Liu, published a 2004 article in support of Bush's war on Iraq, titled "Victory to the Anglo-American Freedom Alliance", in which he praised the U.S. led post-cold-war wars as "best examples of how war should be conducted in a modern civilization." and predicted "a free, democratic and peaceful Iraq will emerge." During the 2004 US presidential election, Liu again praised Bush for his war effort against Iraq and condemned Democratic party candidate John Kerry for not sufficiently supporting the US's wars. Meanwhile, he commented on Islamism that, "a culture and (religious) system that produced this kind of threat (Islamic fundamentalism), must be exteremely intolerant and blood-thirsty.” On Israel, he said "without America’s protection, the long persecuted Jews who faced extermination during WWII, probably would again be drowned by the Islamic world's hatred.
(from Wikipedia)

So, both Obama and Hu dislike Bush, apparently.

As for me, I can't figure out how someone who increased US death toll in Iraq and Afghanistan to a higher level than Bush in his last year got a Peace Prize anyway.

Economic Humor

2010-12-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

More Financial Planners Serving Day Care Centers
Kansas City, Kansas--Now that each child born will have a $30,000 share of a runaway national debt, more and more financial planners are serving in day care centers nationwide.

"Kids need to get a head start on their payment obligations these says," said one center worker. "So it only makes sense to add a review of future tax obligations to the mix of activities day care centers have to offer."

One financial planner said he enjoyed providing the service, but noted "the crying can get to you after a while." Still, he said, "lots of kids eventually do come to understand the need to invest a portion of their allowances in flexible foreign funds."

When asked about her investment plan, one child, Mary Stennings, said "I like gold. And pink."

Associated article: PolitiFact

http://optoons.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-financial-planners-serving-day.html

Global Warming, Part 3

2010-12-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

I am not opposed to the idea of climate change and I am concerned about the effects of carbon monoxide, and other gases, building up in the atmosphere. All lifeforms have an effect on their environment and certainly homo sapiens have a large impact.

However, I dislike the idea that "this is settled science". Science needs skeptics and there is nothing "settled".

Our Energy Secretary would like us to paint our roofs white to reflect heat and therefore reduce global warming. Meanwhile, global warming is causing ice to melt, releasing more moisture into the atmosphere which causes more rain and snow. And the snow reflects heat which causes global cooling. OK, now I see.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203513204576047741057676566.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

Humor in Government

2010-12-29T09:10:00.000-08:00

In Garden City, Idaho, 2 employees of DeBest, Inc heard some screams and discovered a person stuck in a collapsed trench, with dirt over his head. They jumped in an rescued the individual. Their reward? OSHA fined them $7,875 for not wearing a hard hat while in the trench and not fortifying the trench walls to insure against further collapsed. Unfortunately, the person saved was not an OSHA manager, apparently. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930913&slug=1720788

In Baltimore County, two men rescued a deer that had fallen through ice and was struggling. They were fined $90 each for not wearing a lifejacket while they paddled the inflatable raft in the rescue.

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/local-government-stupidity-contest/

Merry Christmas to All

2010-12-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

Every year at this time numerous conflicts arise regarding religion and society. Many people seem to believe that the law of the land is the separation of church and state and that this means that religion is barred from the public arena. There are at least two major problems with this view. The first is that the Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion nor preventing the free exercise thereof." The "separation of church and state" idea is from private correspondence written years later.

But perhaps the better argument is from Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was signed by the US.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

Now, lawyers can probably shred this into meaningless garbage but I read it as allowing the public practice, worship and observance of religion. Religion was not meant to be practiced only in the privacy of one's own home.

Joke of the Day

2010-12-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Baltimore, Maryland--With the economy tanking and a record one in six Americans taking part in various government anti-poverty programs, the Six Flags amusement park announced the opening of it's latest roller coaster.

"It's called the Obamarator," said a park spokeswoman, who said it consists of a winding but ever low-spiraling ride in cars fitted with video screens showing the latest economic indicators.

"With the latest data showing Medicaid enrollment at record highs even before 16 million people are added by the ObamaCare law in 2014, a 50% rise in food stamp participants, a 400% increase in those receiving unemployment insurance, and an 18% increase in the welfare rolls," said the spokeswoman, "we didn't have to do much more to make this one of the most frightening Six Flags coasters ever."

One man who rode on the coaster's maiden run said "After the very first turn -- where you see that Medicaid costs have jumped 36% in two years to $273 billion, jobless benefits soared from $43 billion to $160 billion, and food stamp and welfare costs have risen 80% and 24% -- I almost lost my lunch."

http://optoons.blogspot.com/2010/12/six-flags-opens-new-obama-themed-roller.html

Oregon and Tax revenues

2010-12-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

I was amused by the complaint from Oregonians about "Bush's tax break for the rich" (now to be known, I guess as "The Bush-Obama tax break for the rich"). Oregon had one of the least progressive "progressive" tax rates with individuals making $14,000 paying the same marginal rate as billionaires such as Phil Knight of Nike. Almost every other state had higher rates for wealthier individuals. But Oregon finally attempted to fix this.

"Oregon raised its income tax on the richest 2% of its residents last year to fix its budget hole, but now the state treasury admits it collected nearly one-third less revenue than the bean counters projected. The sun also rose in the east, and the Cubs didn't win the World Series.

In 2009 the state legislature raised the tax rate to 10.8% on joint-filer income of between $250,000 and $500,000, and to 11% on income above $500,000. Only New York City's rate is higher. Oregon's liberal voters ratified the tax increase on individuals and another on businesses in January of this year, no doubt feeling good about their "shared sacrifice."

Congratulations. Instead of $180 million collected last year from the new tax, the state received $130 million. The Eugene Register-Guard newspaper reports that after the tax was raised "income tax and other revenue collections began plunging so steeply that any gains from the two measures seemed trivial."

One reason revenues are so low is that about one-quarter of the rich tax filers seem to have gone missing. The state expected 38,000 Oregonians to pay the higher tax, but only 28,000 did. Funny how that always happens. These numbers are in line with a Cascade Policy Institute study, based on interstate migration patterns, predicting that the tax surcharge would lead to 80,000 fewer wealthy tax filers in Oregon over the next decade."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704034804576026233823935442.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The most important part is the last paragraph. Although one could argue now that $130 million extra is better than nothing, what will happen over the next decade if this tax leads to 80,000 wealthy tax filers leaving the state?

The Public Pension mess

2010-12-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

Private pension plans tend to be defined-contribution pensions -- in which the employer makes a fixed contribution to the employee's retirement account, rather than guaranteeing a fixed payout.

By contrast, nearly all of the more than 22 million federal, state and local public employees enjoy defined-benefit pensions -- with payouts fixed at some percentage of the individual's pay for the last year or two they worked (often including overtime and payments for unused sick or vacation days).

These public pension plans are a ticking time bomb, with an estimated $3.2 trillion in unfunded mandates, or $21,500 per household. (That is taxpayer household, not recipient household.)

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/facing_the_pension_mess_2x9CfnClQRu9usCxH5E1eO#ixzz18lqxkGci
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/facing_the_pension_mess_2x9CfnClQRu9usCxH5E1eO

State Budgets and Health Care

2010-12-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS:
"If state Medicaid spending increases by 41 percent as projected by CMS, then by next year Medicaid could end up consuming nearly 30 percent of the average state budget. Medicaid would greatly exceed all other state priorities, including education, which tops state budgets at about 22 percent. In fact, state spending on education would experience certain cuts next year.

Presumably, the state spending increase is so high because the enhancement of the federal Medicaid match will expire at the end of 2010. CMS projects that federal spending on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will decrease 7.1 percent between 2010 and 2011. The loss of federal funds will drive most of the increase in state Medicaid obligations.

Unfortunately, states have lost considerable flexibility to reduce Medicaid’s burden on their budgets. As a condition for receiving the additional federal dollars, both the stimulus bill and PPACA contain maintenance-of-effort (MOE) provisions that prohibit states from changing eligibility levels. "

http://blog.heritage.org/2010/12/20/how-obamacare-is-hastening-the-day-of-reckoning/

One of the promises of the Health Care "reform" is that the reform would "bend the curve" of medical costs and the Federal Government could actually provide health care to 30 million people at less cost than current. That made no sense but people bought it. And maybe it was true-Federal costs go down but state costs go up.

Wikileaks

2010-12-01T06:24:00.000-08:00

To save time, the following is basically what is in the quarter million Wikileak documents:

Berlusconi likes girls.
Sarkozy likes himself.
Angela Merkel is boring.
David Cameron is more boring.
Hillary thinks Cristina needs a shrink.
Benjamin Netanyahu can’t stand Ehud Olmert.
Al Qaeda hates America.
Yemen’s president hates Al Qaeda
Ahmadinejad is Hitler
North Korea likes Iran.
Saudi Arabia hates Iran
Julian Assange is Dennis Kucinich.
PFC Manning will never see the sun again.
America needs a new president.

http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2010/11/30/wikileaks-as-seen-by-dolphins/

The lessons that I learned from this are:
1. We keep too many secrets
2. The is poor control over classified documents
3. Leaking this information is good-don't we want transparency?
4. People should be fired, for writing such stuff, for leaking such stuff, for managing such stuff, and for (not) controlling such stuff.

Palin and the Main Street Media (Part II)

2010-11-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

Recently Sarah Palin made the mistake of saying "North Korea" when she meant to say "South Korea". She quickly corrected herself. As could be expected, many in the media jumped on this as another example of her ignorance. In response, Palin wrote the following (see the link to get the links in her post):

"My fellow Americans in all 57 states, the time has changed for come. With our country founded more than 20 centuries ago, we have much to celebrate – from the FBI’s 100 days to the reforms that bring greater inefficiencies to our health care system. We know that countries like Europe are willing to stand with us in our fight to halt the rise of privacy, and Israel is a strong friend of Israel’s. And let’s face it, everybody knows that it makes no sense that you send a kid to the emergency room for a treatable illness like asthma and they end up taking up a hospital bed. It costs, when, if you, they just gave, you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a breathalyzer, or an inhalator. I mean, not a breathalyzer, ah, I don’t know what the term is in Austrian for that … "

http://bigjournalism.com/taylorking/2010/11/28/media-matters-lies-about-media-coverage-of-sarah-palin-north-korea-slip/

This was followed by the media response which basically said that Palin was overstating the case and that the Palin slip-up was barely covered by the media. Ironically, that very night, Jay Leno had the following dialogue:
"Palin said that we should stand by our friend North Korea. This was followed by her stating that she was never good at geography".

Yeah, right. The media barely covered the issue.

High Speed Rail

2010-11-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

I like train travel as much as anyone and wish that we had better service in the US. However, we just seem incapable of constructing lines properly. One project is a high speed line from Tampa to Orlando. These cities are 85 miles apart and the car trip takes 1.5 hours, Interstate all the way. I guess that a "high-speed" train, if it could average 170 mph could make the trip in 45 minutes (but estimates are that the speed will end up being around 60 mph due to slowing in urban areas, stops, etc.).

However, Tampa and Orlando are both sprawling cities. My condo in Redington Shores is about 45 minutes away from the proposed Tampa train station. Once in Orlando, there will be a 10 mile or so trip to Disney World (which requires a little backtracking to Tampa). So, driving my car 45 minutes to Tampa (there is no public transportation for this), going into city traffic, paying for parking, paying for the train, riding to Orlando, renting a car or waiting for public transportation to Disney World, then either driving or waiting for the Disney buses to get around. And then plan my departure around the train schedule.

Seems a lot more convenient, and cheaper and quicker, to just drive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/16/AR2010111605823.html

Thorium as a fuel source

2010-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

"If Barack Obama were to marshal America’s vast scientific and strategic resources behind a new Manhattan Project, he might reasonably hope to reinvent the global energy landscape and sketch an end to our dependence on fossil fuels within three to five years."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/7970619/Obama-could-kill-fossil-fuels-overnight-with-a-nuclear-dash-for-thorium.html

Sounds like a better use for federal funds than short term social programs.

Fiscal Conservatism

2010-08-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Optoon Cartoons (Click to Enlarge)

http://optoons.blogspot.com/2010/08/us-presidents-on-debt-click-image-to.html

How to look good with a bike

2010-08-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

Try to get a bike that fits you, physically and symbolically

Commander in Chief

2010-08-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

From Ann Althouse:

"That picture says so much: Obama is distracted by the trivial problems of taking his wife out somewhere expensive while the poor people of the Gulf are waiting and waiting for help. The disapproving glance of his wife gets more attention than the appeals of the hurricane victims. He's fortunate enough to have the kind of weather problem that can be solved by a simple umbrella, which wouldn't be any help at all in a hurricane. And yet his handling of an umbrella in a drizzle is incompetent, so how could he deal with a hurricane? The picture says: How can Obama understand/care/do anything about Katrina?"

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/08/drudge-is-giving-obama-hard-time-this.html

Go All Blacks

2010-08-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

9/9/11-Start of the Rugby World Cup.

http://thebubble.msn.com/#/video/?id=606eccbd-b568-4e91-b68c-92f7034673a3

Education

2010-08-30T08:17:00.001-07:00

I have a lot of problems with the educational system in this country. I tend to believe that teachers are overpaid (retiring with multi-million dollar pensions) and underqualified and seem to have no ability or desire to improve education. What changes have occurred in education in the last 200 years?

Bill Gates, richest man on earth, likes the FREE Khan Academy, a one man operation that places YouTube lectures on the internet for anyone, anywhere. When will educators start making use of technological advances?

Many students can be taught in self-paced computer-based learning programs, monitored by teaching aides, with some small group teacher supervised discussion groups. Perhaps guidance counselors, physical education, arts, etc, are the only teachers that we need.

http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/08/29/0456229/Bill-Gates-Enrolls-His-Kids-In-Khan-Academy

P.S. I am taking Yale classes through ITunes U for free. No credit but perhaps knowledge is more important than diplomas.

Oikophobia

2010-08-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

Oikophobia is the word of the day. It is a combination of the word for home and the word for fear. It means fear of traditional values. We see examples of this constantly in media regarding the "Ground Zero Mosque", California Measure 8, Obama's comment about "clinging to guns and religion", etc.

It is one thing to seek improvement on the inherent problems with traditional values; it is another thing to simply be opposed to those values on the grounds that seems to be fear and to either be nihilistic or support a worse value system. To quote from Wikipedia: "The paradox of the oikophobe seems to be that any opposition directed at the theological and cultural tradition of the West is to be encouraged even if it is "significantly more parochial, exclusivist, patriarchal, and ethnocentric".

Solar Storm and Doom

2010-08-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

"Astronomers are predicting that a massive solar storm, much bigger in potential than the one that caused spectacular light shows on Earth earlier this month, is to strike our planet in 2012 with a force of 100 million hydrogen bombs."

"Similar storms back in 1859 and 1921 caused worldwide chaos, wiping out telegraph wires on a massive scale. The 2012 storm has the potential to be even more disruptive."

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20100826/981/tsc-massive-solar-storm-to-hit-earth-in_1.html

The Problem with Liberalism

2010-08-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

In my Facebook profile, I describe myself as a "Liberal RWNJ". (RWNJ=Right Wing Nut Job) What I mean by this is that I tend to hold a liberal personal value system. However, as a social scientist and someone interested in political philosophy, I am concerned about public policies that actually work. Yes, I am in favor of greater equality in wealth, extensive immigration, sexual orientation equality, elimination of bigotry, and all those liberal agenda items.

For example, we have a long line of political philosophical thought from Socrates, Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, to Tocqueville, who have developed political systems that tend to work in the long term. While the idea of a philosopher king is appealing, that is only a short-term solution and the next philosopher king may not be quite as good. That is why I support systems of checks and balances, democratic inputs, etc. They limit and handcuff government but they also prevent abuse by those in power.

Similarly, I strongly believe that for a civilization to survive, you must have a moral tradition and appeal to cultural and social norms. A power elite that tries to progress faster than the culture will allow will result in a backlash. And a civilization that somehow rejects the moral traditions will have problems.

As to the social scientist, we have to be aware of not just the anticipated outcomes of a program but also the unintentioned consequences of our policies. People tend to react to policies in certain ways, based on their culture, social norms, and self interest.

The following article from the Economist (one of the most reliable magazines IMHO) illustrate the problem. In an attempt to open up home ownership and increase equality, the US embarked on series of policies which led to the current economic downturn. (And the current downturn is especially hard on the lower middle classes.)

"The problem, as often is the case with government policies, was not intent. It rarely is. But when lots of easy money pushed by a deep-pocketed government comes into contact with the profit motive of a sophisticated, competitive, and amoral financial sector, matters get taken far beyond the government’s intent."

http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/08/inequality_and_crash_0

Why Some Women Become Lesbians Later in Life - They meet the right woman, fall in love, then feel sexual desire

2010-08-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

In his decision to overturn the voters' desires on marriage, the judge made the assertions that homosexuality was genetically based and not a matter of choice. He made this point on the basis of testimony that indicated that high percentages of gays and lesbians believed that they were born that way. Now, overlooking the fact that an opinion poll should in no way be considered the scientific proof, I questioned his conclusions. As a sociologist, I tend to believe that socialization has a lot of impact on our lifestyles. I have not studied the evidence recently and maybe the scientific evidence is piling up on the judge's side but I doubt it. For example, my gut feeling on lesbians agrees with this article: Women tend to seek love and affection and if another woman offers this love, a lesbian relationship will develop. Social needs trump genetics.

Why Some Women Become Lesbians Later in Life - They meet the right woman, fall in love, then feel sexual desire

Medicare Financing

2010-08-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we heard reports that, because of Obamacare, Medicare was not much better off financially. The unwritten message was that all of those scare tactic articles about how Obamacare was going to bankrupt the country was misplaced. If you actually read the Medicare Trustee report you notice that the writers were the Secretaries of Labor, Treasury, Health Services and the head of Social Security. In other words, all the writers were political appointees of Obama.

However, the end of the report contains a letter from the actual Actuary of Medicare who basically stated that the projections used in the report are somewhat questionable and optimistic.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/08/consider-the-source/61096/

Media Matters

2010-08-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

We live in troubling times. We just don't know who to turn to for the unvarnished truth. Or rather we have to do much more work than most of us would like to do or have the time to do.
Perhaps I am being naive here but I would hope that you have a reasonable expectation of reliable information from journalists, educators, and judges. These people are, I thought, in the objective information business. Then we discover that these people are as driven by idealogy as anyone else.

Of course they are not, in total. So, who can we trust? One would hope that maybe the slew of self-professed truth tellers out there balance the field. The FactCheck.org, Polifact, and Media Matters are three organizations dedicated, they say, to the truth. All three have made some goofy statements and seem to support a certain agenda.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/media-matters-shirley-sherrods-glenn-becks-co-hosts-with-edited-audio/

Digital Education vs. the Ruling Elite

2010-08-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

I am very proud to have worked in an industry that basically phased itself out. A handful of people do the job that once employed thousands and yet the same job is being done. But teaching has hardly changed in hundreds of years. A classroom of 20-40 with a teacher. Have educators heard of the internet? Of computers? Self paced learning? There is a better way. A cheaper way. But we won't get there until there is more pressure to modernize.

Digital Education vs. the Ruling Elite

Updates:

UK has an Open University. Low cost, lectures on ITunes and the internet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-10903088

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Saving money on books. Why pay $200 for a textbook that probably can't be sold back because of some minor changes in a newer edition?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-07-college-textbooks_N.htm?csp=34news&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Was the State Dept Supporting the Release of the Lockerbie bomber?

2010-07-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/white-house-backed-release-of-lockerbie-bomber-abdel-baset-al-megrahi/story-e6frg6so-1225896741041

Executive Power

2010-07-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Economist is perhaps the most respected and objective publication in the world. People should pay attention to their comments. In the following story, the Economist appears to come to a conclusion that many of us have also come to: that Obama gives the impression that he is more concerned about outcomes rather than process and this impression will cause harm in the future.
Yes, many of us like the concept of a "benevolent dictator" or "philosopher king" who truly has the welfare of his people as his primary concern but we also recognize that this model is unworkable. Maybe one ruler will be a great leader but without safeguards the next ruler may be corrupt. Due Process and the Rule of Law must remain strong. There must be transparency. Efficiency is not the overarching goal in a democracy.
It is truly scary that some of Obama's supporters are in favor of more executive privilege to achieve desired results. Presumably these supporters were not in favor of executive privilege when exerted by GW Bush.
We do not want Vladimir Obama.

http://www.economist.com/node/16377269?story_id=16377269&source=features_box_main

Obama and Enemies, Foreign and Domestic

2010-06-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Every President developes a National Security Strategy and Obama recently came up with his. Some have described his policy as "Bush Lite" for while he wants to pull back from unilateral actions and pre-emptives strikes he does not disavow such actions. He just says that he will only undertake such actions as a "last resort" which, I would think, Bush actually thinks that he did as well.

But the scariest part of the "Obama Doctrine" is that for the first time,his National Security Strategy warns about "the security threat posed by “individuals radicalised at home”. Sounds like a return to the days of the House Committee on Un-American Activities and McCarthism. The only change will be who will feel the wrath of the federal government.

http://www.economist.com/world/united-states/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16243791&fsrc=rss

Public Pensions

2010-06-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

The NY Times recently ran a story on public pensions in the city. 13 police officers retired at age 40 with annual pensions of $100,000 and up. And 9 additional officers were in the 30s when they retired with $100,000 annual pensions. And these pensions will go up annually, with inflation. (Curious if they will go down in the event of deflation.)

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/When-a-public-pension-is-a-trust-fund-94698759.html

Meanwhile, stiking teachers are complaining about proposed cuts in pay in California. These teachers are making an average of $100,000 per year. We have reports that public pension endowments are underfunded to the tune of $3 trillion.

There is a significant problem here. We are heading to a cliff, like Greece.

http://keithhennessey.com/2010/05/26/underfund-pensions/

Obama and His Role

2010-06-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

Obama recently explained his role as President:

"My job right now is just to make sure that everybody in the Gulf understands this is what I wake up to in the morning and this is what I go to bed at night thinking about: the spill."

Think about that. This is amazing. He thinks that when he gets people
"to think about him and how much he's thinking about what he thinks they think he should be thinking about, his job is done", according to a Wall Street Journal article.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704596504575272542364164212.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

In the book, Atlas Shrugged, a government official is infuriated that a train is stopped in a tunnel by a problem. Rather than try to understand the problem and help work toward a solution, he DEMANDS that the train continue on its way, ignoring the problem. And the train is destroyed along with everyone on it, as well as the tunnel.
" 'God damn these railroad people!' said Kip Chalmers. 'They're doing it on purpose. They want to ruin my campaign. I can't miss that rally! For Christ's sake, Lester, do something!' "

The scene is reminiscent to Obama's response to BP's oil leak. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to stop the leak and Obama believes that simply issuing orders is all that he needs to do. Obama is the one who approved this well. Obama is the one who wanted to expand off shore drilling around Florida. Complain all you want about deregulation and Palin's "drill baby drill" to obfuscate the issue.

US heading to calamity like Greece

2010-05-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Governor of the Bank of England sees similarities between the fiscal situation in Greece and the US.

The problem with Greece is that the government can no longer afford the generous benefit packages that it's citizens get and now must borrow heavily as well as make significant cuts in the benefits.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/edmundconway/100005657/us-faces-same-problems-as-greece-says-bank-of-england/

Race Relations

2010-05-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Harvard professor Henry Gates, of the famous "Beer Summit", with President Obama and the Cambridge police officer who arrested him, has an interesting book out. In it, he writes that 90% of all slaves brought to the US were captured by other Africans and sold to European traders for export to the US. It is about time that the role that Africans played in the slave trade is discussed rationally.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/henry-gates-deflates-the-reparations-balloon/

On an unrelated note, it appears that people who study racial or ethnic studies have a lower respect for members of other racial or ethnic groups. Who knew? People who study discriminatory histories tend to discriminate.

http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2010/05/a_down_side_of_racial_awarenes.html

Freddie Mac Needs another $8 billion

2010-05-05T17:28:00.001-07:00

The government has bailed out Freddie Mac with $61 billion. This corporation is supposed to be self sufficient. $10 billion in loses over the first 3 months of 2010. What is going on here?

And, perhaps more to the point, why am I reading about this in a BBC report. Where is the mass media coverage? Like the questions about General (or Government) Motors paying off the government loans 5 years early, with interest. Is this true? Or did GM just borrow from another government account to pay off the other government account? Or did the US government just buy equity in GM to give them the money to pay off the loan. Rumors are that the US owns 61% of this losing company, which puts it in the same mess as Freddie Mac.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10099793.stm

"Hi! My name is America and I am a Spender"

2010-04-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

The first step to solving a problem is to admit that you have a problem. We have a spending/deficit problem in the US. And both major parties contribute to it. Bush wanted prescription drug benefits and waged wars without wanting to pay for them. Obama wants to add billions to government subsidized medical care, expand wars, and who knows what without paying for it.

As much as people like the idea that the top 2% pay for everything such an approach is probably not very sustainable and leads to feelings of entitlement from the 98%.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704464704575208040125742672.html

Arizona and Immigration

2010-04-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am a little baffled by this new Arizona state law that seems to just mean that Arizona state and local law enforcement will enforce a federal law. I thought that all law enforcement enforce all applicable laws.
Currently, federal law enforcement is stopping all traffic on roads close to the border, including I-10, and interviewing everyone. Presumably they are making decisions on a person's status at that time. Nobody seems to be complaining about this. Now the state wants to do the same thing. And there seems to be a problem.

While I am very disturbed by the idea of just targetting people of amerindian features I am also concerned about laws not being enforced. Law enforcement should be properly trained to look for the behavior and tendencies of illegal immigrants and question people based on that behavior. And not on any racial characteristics. Obviously, illegal immigrants come in all colors.

People are often accused of following idealogy and not science. Science can teach us the likely behaviors of people engaged in criminal activity and lead to more efficient targeting of suspects. And obviously not all odd behaviors mean criminal activities and the human judgement is required. And terminate any law enforcement officer who has a problem with this.

Effective law enforcement has always focused on behaviors. I have been stopped numerous times when I was doing something deemed odd. Like looking at my GPS while standing by a bridge. This seems more effective than stopping everyone on I-10.

UPDATE: 4/28/10 A Rasmussen poll suggests that Latinos in Arizona are in favor of the law. Also, consider the idea that Mexico is more dangerous than Iraq and the violence is spilling over into Arizona.

Some Thoughts on Taxation

2010-04-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

My father was a FDR liberal, a liberal in the classic sense who believed that government could solve problems and reduce suffering in the world. Not sure how many of those liberals are around anymore. Most Democrats seem to want more for themselves; more subsidized education, more free school lunches, more salary and benefits for themselves, more grant money on projects in their community, etc. The dynamics of paying for this stuff is less important. You can't be truly "liberal" if you want to spend other people's money.

My father understood that government spending costs money and happily paid his taxes: he was fortunate to achieve some upper middle class lifestyle and wanted to help those less fortunate. Oh sure, he worked hard all his life, from the three jobs he had as a teenager and suffered through polio and other medical issues, but he understood that there was good fortune involved.

On tax day, April 15, 2010, I joined the 47% of the population who paid no federal income tax when I received my refund which equalled all of the taxes that I had paid through the year. For the first time in my adult life, I became a non-contributor. Actually, with unemployment and a "small" public pension for my part time military service, I became a net drain on the economy. I had wanted to "Go Galt" but I still have some emotional issues to deal with on this. I am not poor. I live a good life, with money left over every month and no debt. I know that there are millions not as well off as me and I should be, like my father, paying my fair share and helping those people. Frankly, it bothers me greatly that Obama, and George Bush, don't think that I need to pay taxes. They seem to think that I am too poor to pay taxes. I feel discarded and unneeded.

So, the money that once went to pay taxes is now going, by my choice, overseas to help those 2 billion or so who live on less than $1 a day.

Of course, the end may be near. In January, 2007, the per capita share of the publicly funding federal debt was just over $16,000 and by April, 2010, the share was over $27,000. And with $1 trillion annual deficits, the per capita federal debt is increasing by over $3,000 per year.

It is only a matter of time before Congress realizes that the low tax policies of Bush and Obama are unsustainable. Unless, of course, there is a major change in federal spending.

Encoaching Socialism

2010-04-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

AN overseas holiday used to be thought of as a reward for a year’s hard work. Now Brussels has declared that tourism is a human right and pensioners, youths and those too poor to afford it should have their travel subsidised by the taxpayer.
Under the scheme, British pensioners could be given cut-price trips to Spain, while Greek teenagers could be taken around disused mills in Manchester to experience the cultural diversity of Europe.

It is amazing that things that were once thought of as luxuries or charatable become basic rights. Carnegie donated millions to build libraries around the country and now libraries have become one of the costs of government and a major public employer. I am waiting for legal aid, not just for criminal defense, but for initiating civil actions is an inherent right. And the right to a car. And a boat. And continuing education.

Government Caused Obesity

2010-04-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Reagan: "Government is not the solution to our problems, it is the problem." So, government supplied school lunches causes obesity. The government provides only 1 meal a day, or actually only 180 out of the 1,095 or so someone eats a year, and does this much destruction. And the solution, in the eyes of many, is more government regulation.

WASHINGTON – School lunches have been called many things, but a group of retired military officers is giving them a new label: national security threat.

That's not a reference to the mystery meat served up in the cafeteria line either. The retired officers are saying that school lunches have helped make the nation's young people so fat that fewer of them can meet the military's physical fitness standards, and recruitment is in jeopardy.

A new report being released Tuesday says more than 9 million young adults, or 27 percent of all Americans ages 17 to 24, are too overweight to join the military. Now, the officers are advocating for passage of a wide-ranging nutrition bill that aims to make the nation's school lunches healthier.

The officers' group, Mission: Readiness, was appearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday with Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The military group acknowledges that other things keep young adults out of the armed services, such as a criminal record or the lack of a high school diploma. But weight problems that have worsened over the past 15 years are now the leading medical reason that recruits are rejected.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100420/ap_on_he_me/us_school_lunches_threat

Financial Meltdown

2010-04-12T16:47:00.000-07:00

The financial disaster that hit in 2008 was decades in the making and should have been foreseen by the powers that be. Another indication that the errors of a Presidential administration often manifests years or decades later, long after the public remembers what caused the problems.

http://www.theconglomerate.org/2010/04/one-law-professor-who-did-see-it-coming.html

The cost of our income tax system

2010-04-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX8EswfGKQw

Interesting. Sounds about right.

Krugman and Economic Theory

2010-03-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize Winner for Economics, is, unfortunately, also a liberal and when push comes to shove he applies liberal faith instead of scientific integrity. He recently accused Sen. Kyl of ignoring textbook economics when Kyl said that unemployment benefits tend to prolong unemployment. But that is exactly what Krugman and his wife said in the textbook that they wrote:

"Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of "Eurosclerosis," the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries."

It is unfortunate that a scientist like Krugman would write a book called: The Heart of a Liberal.
Is he a scientist or a liberal?

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2010/03/025752.php

Obama and the Muslim World

2010-03-05T17:24:00.000-08:00

The visit of Obama to Indonesia, where he spent some time while growing up, is protested.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_obama

I thought that the world loved us now that Bush is gone.

Al Gore Responsible for Murder-Suicides?

2010-03-02T03:27:00.000-08:00

An Argentina couple killed themselves and one of the children (and attempted to kill their daughter who survived 2 bullet wounds) over concerns about global warming. If civil laws allow assorted hate mongers being liable for murders committed by unknown followers, should Al Gore be criminally liable for this? Rhetorical question. (Answer, for those who don't know, is No. And neither should other speakers be liable when some listener takes their words too far.)

http://michellemalkin.com/2010/03/01/al-gore-is-not-responsible-for-those-alleged-global-warmicides/

Torture and US Law

2010-02-24T06:09:00.000-08:00

I have always thought that the enhanced interrogation techniques appeared to be effective and legal techniques. They were drawn up by lawyers, very specific, and did not involve anymore than minimal physical trauma. To call them "torture" seems to be over-using the word, similar to calling everything racist. Now the Justice Dept has finally agreed, apparently, and will not pursue actions against the lawyers who drew up the legal justification for them and hopefully will soon stop any actions against the CIA agents who carried out the techniques as written.

This action should have been done a year ago. To call these techniques torture is to demean all those people who have really been tortured.

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/244171

SodaHead dialogue

2010-02-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

Me: "As Winston Churchill once said "Any 20 year-old who isn't a liberal doesn't have a heart, and any 40 year-old who isn't a conservative doesn't have a brain.

It is rather sad that Gen Y'ers would need a spokesman, someone to follow. I would have hoped that they would think for themselves and not be followers.

And I would urge any Gen Y type to understand that you can be a liberal personally but when it comes to public policy you should use science and think about what public policy best leads to the results that you want. Many conservatives are liberal in the traditional definition of liberal but they believe, based on study and experience, that liberal utopian public policies do not work very well.

We are spending tons of money. My generation (60 and over) are getting all the advantages while you are getting the bill. I am opposed to deficit spending not because of any personal advantage to me but because I don't want to leave a huge debt to my children and grandchildren. You are the ones most affected by the policies done today."

Reply: "The first part is bogus contardiness. Can't argue with that last part though. You kids can thank Bush when your generation has to pick up the tab for his mess."

Me: "You may want to review the Constitution, esp. Article 1, Sec 8, Powers of Congress, and compare it to Article 2, Powers of the President. Congress controls the budget. Under the 8 "Bush" budgets, the debt went from $6.2 trillion to $11.9 trillion but about half of that increase happened after Dems took over Congress. ($2.9 trillion increase in the first 6 years and $2.8 trillion increase the last 2 years.)

In 2008, the Congressional Budget Office projected a total 10 year SURPLUS of $274 billion. In 2010, the same CBO projected a 10 year deficit of $6,047 billion.

As to the first part, unfortunately many people like the definition of liberal as "generous" and "open-minded" and have trouble when applying that to public policy. Most can't handle cognitive dissonance. Of course, most people do not pick their party based on data or facts but rather on social considerations such as who their friends are. That was the underlying purpose of the posting-people need social support for their beliefs."

D'oh Canada

2010-02-13T05:24:00.001-08:00

"VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — D'oh, Canada!

"What should have been the crowning moment of an opening ceremony years in the planning lost some of its glitter when one of the four pillars supporting the Olympic cauldron failed to rise from the floor of the stadium Friday night.

"While the four Canadian sports heroes bearing torches — hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, basketball All-Star Steve Nash, skier Nancy Greene and speedskater Catriona LeMay Doan — stood by helplessly at center stage, there was an awkward two-minute pause while flashbulbs popped and the crowd murmured in anticipation.

"The slam-bang ending went on, but LeMay Doan never got the chance to light the flame. Because of a mechanical glitch, her pillar didn't get out of the trap door that was supposed to open and release it."

There have now been 4 deaths in the long history of the Winter Olympic Games. Two of those deaths occurred during the two times that Canada hosted the games. Do they know what they are doing?

And why are they continuing the Luge competition? Why not suspend it?

Obama and Success in Iraq

2010-02-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

On Feb 10, 2010, Vice President Joe Biden was on with Larry King. During the conversation Vice President Biden, a cut-and-runner, said that Iraq was one of the great accomplishments of the Obama Administration.

BIDEN: "Well, you’ve heard me say that for the last 10 years. I think it’s the — it’s a big country. It has nuclear weapons that are able to be deployed. It has a real significant minority of radicalized population. It is — it is not a completely functional democracy in the sense we think about it. And so it’s — it — that’s my greatest concern.

I am very optimistic about — about Iraq. I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration. You’re going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer.

You’re going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government. I spent — I’ve been there 17 times now. I go about every two months — three months. I know every one of the major players in all the segments of that society.

It’s impressed me. I’ve been impressed how they have been deciding to use the political process rather than guns to settle their differences."

Can't believe that he actually said that. Obama likes to talk about inheriting 2 wars. Prior to leaving office, Bush signed the Force Agreement with Iraq, removing the US from any active, independent, military role-we would be there to assist in Iraqi led operations. Seems that would have basically ended the war. (Although Obama violated that agreement and meddled in Iraqi sovereignty:)

http://ayfs.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/iraq-investigates-obama-administration-meetings-violated-iraqi-sovereignty-and-showed-tolerance-for-terrorists/

On a related front, it is beginning to look like the recession may have ended in July, 2009. At this point, we have had 2 quarters of growth. Now, I understand that Obama supporters are right in saying that it takes time to change direction and fix problems. But if the recession ended in July, 2009, less than 6 months after Obama took office, should he get any credit for ending it? What measures did he take to end it? I guess that the $787 billion stimulus had an impact but to this day I am hearing that hardly any of that money has been spent even now. How much of it was spent prior to July, 2009 and could this realistically have a impact that soon on the economy?

World's most popular sporting events.

2010-02-09T10:42:00.001-08:00

What are the most watched sports in the world? In 2009, the top event, with over 100 million viewers, was the UEFA Champions League final. (Soccer- Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0).

Somewhat surprisingly, here is the top 20 list, by sport:

2. Super Bowl-American football
3. Grand Prix formula 1 racing
4. Athletics (100 m final IAAF world cup)
5. Wimbleton final-tennis
6. Baseball (World Baseball Classic game between Japan and South Korea) (Not the "World Series)
7. Basketball-NBA finals
8. Golf-Master's
9.Badminton
10. Motorcycling
11. Cycling (Tour d'France)
12. Ice Hockey (IIHF World Championships-Russia versus Canada with Russia winning)(Not Stanley Cup)
13. Team Handball
14.NASCAR-Daytona
15.Cricket

http://www.economist.com/daily/chartgallery/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15491106&fsrc=rss

National Identity

2010-02-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

France requires newcomers to France to sign a declaration of national values.
What a concept.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8505751.stm

Avatar in Reality

2010-02-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

A British company is going against the wishes of some locals and attempting to extract ores in India.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/09/india.avatar.tribe/index.html?eref=rss_world&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_world+%28RSS%3A+World%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Obama and Assassinations

2010-02-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Not only is Obama pursuing a policy of drone attacks on Pakistan (started by Bush) which target suspected Al Qaeda but usually kill innocent civilians as collateral damage. Not only has Obama expanded the war on terror by sending US troops into Pakistan. But Obama has also continued a policy that makes it OK to assassinate US citizens overseas, with any "due process".

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/9/obama_administration_us_forces_can_assassinate
It is astonishing really. Here is a President, elected by many who condemn Bush for "torture" (scaring people-arguably without any physical trauma), who supports assassinations of US citizens. Where is the outrage?

Birthers

2010-02-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

I am not a birther and secretly wish that they would just go away as anti-conservatives use them to define conseratives. But apparently the roots of the Birther conspiracy theory is from the Hilary Clinton supporters who tried to smear Obama with it in 2008.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-02-08/the-secret-history-of-the-birthers/full/

Obama, Environment, and the World Opinion of the US

2009-12-19T09:09:00.001-08:00

I believe that we are witnessing the end of a Fable. During the Bush 43 years, there were 2 Fables regarding world opinion of the US constantly displayed. The first is that Bush destroyed the reputation of the US in the world. But the corollary to that is the Fable that America is the Shining Light of the World, admired by all. Even an Amnesty International executive bemoaned that the US was such an admired country and had fallen so far. This is especially funny, as Amnesty International has criticized the US during its entire existence.

The fact is that the rest of the world never had the US on such a high pedestal. Oh sure, many have a favorable opinion of the US but people tend to understand that the US has problems and is not universal loved. The problem with the Fable is that many Americans actually believed it. Obama seems to have believed it. And the result of this belief is another belief that the world will follow the US once we put our ship back on course. Nonsense. It is harder than that.

Obama appears to think, as a result of the myth of US superiority, that his presence along will bring a Global Warming agreement. Now that myth is destroyed. Obama could have gotten an agreement on Climate and really changed the world if his actions matched his rhetoric. If the US really cared about Climate Change than the US should have stepped up and done a whole lot more than assist in raising $100 billion a year for developing countries. That is chum change. And apparently the US was only planning on $10 billion from itself.

If Climate Change is the threat that Obama thinks it is, the US should have pledged much more. Currently we are spending $5 billion a day more than our income. We had a deficit of $1,800 billion in FY 2009. The federal government budget is over $3 trillion. And Obama wants to spend $10 billion on the MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD?
No one seems to know where that $1.8 trillion deficit went. It did not go for infrastructure improvements and repair. It did not go for education. It did not go for environmental projects. It did not go for health care. All of that stuff hasn't even been passed into law yet. It just disappeared. How does he plan on paying for the important stuff when money is being frittered away?

The Bush Doctrine

2009-12-10T19:34:00.000-08:00

No one, except that ABC guy, is really sure what the Bush Doctrine is but many think that it includes the concepts that evil exists and that war is sometimes needed for peace. In his amazing acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama reiterated those concepts. You may call it the "Obama Doctrine" but it sounds a lot like the things that Bush43 believed in.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/12/the-obama-doctrine.html

The EPA and Carbon

2009-12-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

The EPA recently announced that it has determined that CO2, Methane, and some other global warming gases are damaging the environment and that they, the EPA, is permitted under the Clean Air Act of 1970, to regulate. I would think that Congress could pass additional legislation that would take away this right but that won't happen.

So, now the EPA is threatening Congress to pass Cap and Trade or similar legislation to control greenhouse gases or they will.

Supporters say that it is about time that we use science to make decisions. But these science supporters make no mention of behavioral sciences. The EPA can only regulate the US. It would seem obvious that manufacturing and cattle operations would simply go overseas. We live in a global community-why operates where the costs are higher?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703558004574582284174773944.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments

Narcissism and Obama

2009-12-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

It seems that narcissism is one of the key character traits of Barack Obama. He seems to lack an understanding or appreciation or even association with the contributions of others. We first saw it in his disdain for his predecessor. When he was offered a book on the negative impact of the US on Latin America by Hugo Charez, written in the 1970s, he commented that at least he was not to blame because he was 10 at the time. As someone who was taught that we should have collective guilt for the transgressions of US history, this seemed odd.

Now others are noticing this. The British have been extremely helpful to Obama on many issues, including Afghanistan, yet they, along with all those countries assisting in Afghanistan, are never acknowledged.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1234291/NILE-GARDINER-Does-Obama-Britain.html

Honduras

2009-11-30T09:39:00.000-08:00

Several months ago, President Zelaya of Honduras was removed from office by the country's highest court and the legislature. Zelaya was attempted to change the constitution and seek re-election as President. Hugo Chavez used a similar plan to change the Venezulan constitution once he was elected President and is now President for life.

The Honduras constitution does not have an impreachment procedures so the actions of the court and legislature was the only option open and the military followed their actions.

Obama condemned the removal of Zelaya. However, on 11/29/09, the Honduran people held an election and elected Lobo as President and Obama has stated that he is now satisfied by the process. The free election is a victory for the Honduran people and the rule of law. And a defeat for the Latin American socialists, including Brazil, Chile, Venezula, and Bolivia.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703939404574566150432623012.html

Obama deserves praise for changing his mind on this issue.

The World Still Hates the US

2009-11-30T09:08:00.000-08:00

What a surprise! During the Bush Administration, opponents loved to bring out global surveys that indicated that the US was despised by many. While it is true in western Europe, surveys are not quite as clear in other parts of the world. Bush enjoyed an appreciation in sub-Saharan Africa and India, for example.

Now we find that the US continues to be maligned in the Arab world. We have actually lost ground in Pakistan which is certainly understandable since Obama is using drones to kill Pakistani civilians.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703499404574558300500152682.html

Personally, I find it odd that anyone would change their opinion about a country based on the head of state. Countries tend to follow a pattern and the same country that elected Obama elected Bush. The US remains the US, as obvious as that sounds. Has your opinions of Canada changed recently? Your attitude toward Germany?

Obama Continues Bush Policy on Land Mines

2009-11-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

More than 150 countries have signed an agreement not to use land mines while the US continues it's unilateral approach and refuses to sign the agreement.

http://www.bermanpost.com/2009/11/obama-rejects-international-convention.html

The sad part here is that Obama campaigned as an agent of hope and change and putting the US back into the international community. Of course, that was either campaign rhetoric which he had no intention of following, or, more likely, Obama lacked the understanding of issues while on the campaign trail, having little experience, and now he is beginning to understand the nuances of policy.

Climate Change

2009-11-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

First of all, I consider myself an environmentalist and think that we should tread lightly in terms of our environmental impact. I also believe that the philosophy of science indicates that we know very little and all scientific theories are only the best guesses based upon our current knowledge. All theories change with more data. And now there is data that indicates for the past 10 years we have had some global cooling.

"Even alarmist Tim Flannery, confronted on Lateline with the emails of the global warming conspiracy, concedes holes in the “science is settled” argument and admits to what he didn’t before:

We’re dealing with an incomplete understanding of the way the earth system works… When we come to the last few years when we haven’t seen a continuation of that (warming) trend we don’t understand all of the factors that create earth’s climate...We just don’t understand the way the whole system works… See, these people work with models, computer modelling. So when the computer modelling and the real world data disagree you’ve got a very interesting problem… Sure for the last 10 years we’ve gone through a slight cooling trend."

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_global_warming_conspiracy_news_spreads/

Health Care Reform

2009-11-24T07:32:00.000-08:00

I am troubled by the health care legislation. I support the idea of a government providing a safety net on health care, providing some basic preventative measures, as well as catastrophic care to help financially when a major illness hits. However, I am troubled by this group warfare and the continuing shifting of benefits from the young adults to older adults. Currently, young adults are largely subsidizing the 65+ people and Medicare. With the current plans, it looks like young adults will now also subsidize the 50-64 yr olds. The plan will require that older people be charged no more than twice the premiums of young adults despite the fact that older adults use 4-5 times the medical care.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/22/AR2009112201237.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

If young adults really understand this and want this, I guess that I will support the plan but I find it very hard to believe that the young adults really want more money shifting from them to the 50 and over crowd.

US and the Global Economy

2009-11-23T20:46:00.001-08:00

So, as we move toward the European model with highly taxed entitlement societies, what do you think will happen to the US? It appears that since the post-Vietnam era, the US has maintained it's share of the world economy (from 26.3% in 1973 to 26.7% in 2009) while the European share dropped from 36% to 26%.

Depressing News of the Day

2009-11-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Apparently 4 out of 5 "orphans" worldwide actually have at least one parent. But orphanage coerce parents into giving up custody and the result is that children suffer rapes, beatings, etc in institutions. Parents tend to give up custody in part beacuse they are poor and lack the funds or food to adequately care for the child. But the institutions are worst.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8375579.stm

I was made a pledge to donate all of my charity dollars to overseas charities. My two favorite institutions are Kiva.org and ChildFund.org. 2 billion people are living on less than $2.50 per day. The infant mortality rate in Angola is 180 which means that out of 1,000 new borns, 180 will die before their first birthday.

Climate Change

2009-11-23T20:35:00.001-08:00

Climate Change scientist caught with Al Gore blow-up doll.

http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/11/scientists-advocating-man-made-global.html

P.S. This is a joke.

Obama and World Opinion

2009-11-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

While the main media has been trumpheting the new found popularity of the US since Obama got elected the reaction is not consistent world-wide. The approval for the US went up primarily in western Europe. In some other places the situation is different. As a continent, Africa benefited from Bush's policies and enjoined tremendous economic growth as was the case in India. Eastern Europe also had an appreciated for Bush.

But the country with the biggest change was Germany, where Bush was despiced and Obama greatly admired. But the situation is changing quickly. Der Spiegel, the most prominent magazine in Germany, is blunt: Obama lied to Europe. He is following the Bush plan on Climate Change. And his niceness is not producing any improvements in any relations with other countries. Der Spiegel thinks that he should adopt some Bush like toughness.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,662822,00.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,661678,00.html

Obama and Experience

2009-11-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

I am a little hung up on the legacy of Lyndon B. Johnson. As a draft age male growing up amidst daily ubiquitous reports of the causalities from the Vietnam War and knowing that all males 18-26 would be required to register for the draft, his decisions had an impact. But there is also the legacy of his legislative accomplishments.

LBJ had considerable legislative experience prior to becoming President and he pushed through an amazing agenda. He changed America, perhaps more than any President. But there is a downside to his Great Society, unintended consequences, that seem to have harmed the US ever since.

It is my fundamental belief that governments should reward behavior that they want and punish behavior that they don't want. This causes a conflict with the liberal agenda items and also makes it very easy to rally support for the liberal agenda. For example, Unemployment Compensation rewards people who are not working and thereby encourages people to not even bother looking actively for work. Aid to singe parents encourages single parent families. Meanwhile, taxes on interest earned in saving accounts discourages savings. Capital gains taxes discourages investments.

One can sympathize with people out of work and want to assist them but the assistance should not have the unintended consequence of encouraging people to remain unemployed. People who oppose aid to single parent children are not mean-spirited but may want to find another means to support the children without encouraging the behavior.

Anyway, back to the subject. Since LBJ, hardly any President has had legislative experience. Since his departure, elected Presidents have only had 16 total years in Congress, with the 6 years of Nixon, 6 years from GHWBush, and 4 years from Obama.

Now Obama is having troubles getting legislation through Congress despite the 60% majorities in both houses. And it is good that he lacks the leadership skills to improve this situation. Otherwise, his legacy would be as bad a LBJ's.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704204304574545733826430664.htm l

Wealth of Nations

2009-11-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

What makes a country wealthy? Perhaps having a government that promotes transparent transactions and allows it's citizens to keep the wealth that they have earned.

http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and-brightest-2009/world-poverty-map-1209

Palin and the Main Street Media

2009-11-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Apparently the Associated Press assigned 10 reporters to read Sarah Palin's book and look for errors. And they discovered 6 errors. Among the errors in the book is the following:

"PALIN: Says she made frugality a point when traveling on state business as Alaska governor, asking "only" for reasonably priced rooms and not "often" going for the "high-end, robe-and-slippers" hotels.

THE FACTS: Although she usually opted for less-pricey hotels while governor, Palin and daughter Bristol stayed five days and four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House luxury hotel (robes and slippers come standard) . . ."

I guess that some people will read this and wonder what is the difference "not often" using high end hotels and "usually" using high end hotels. And the Palin haters will pompously proclaim :$707.29 PER NIGHT? Is she nuts?"

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MTE2YmEyMDZkM2Y3NjAzYWZjOTRmYjExZDg4MGE0NzE=

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal discovered the following about Palin versus the health care bills:
"Number of AP reporters assigned to story:
• ObamaCare bills: 2
• Palin book: 11

Number of pages in document being covered:
• ObamaCare bills: 4,064
• Palin book: 432

Number of pages per AP reporter:
• ObamaCare bill: 2,032
• Palin book: 39.3

"On a per-page basis, that is, the AP devoted 52 times as much manpower to the memoir of a former Republican officeholder as to a piece of legislation that will cost trillions of dollars and an untold number of lives. That's what they call accountability journalism. "

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704204304574545733826430664.html

Health Care Reform

2009-11-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

Some thoughts on Health Care from the Dean of Havard Medical School. Too often the health care debate consists of Dems pushing their idealogical, partisian approach and criticizing Repubs for standing in the way of progress and Repub not offering any meaningful alternatives beyond the good ideas of increased competition and tort reform.

It should be obvious that we can not just add 50 million people to our current system without considerable costs and considerable increases in waiting times to get into seeing a doctor. And probably extra cost increases because emergency room usage will increase when people can't get into seeing a doctor otherwise. Doctors aren't just working at 70% of capacity now, waiting to provide service to all these new people.

And you can not just cut $50 billion or so, c 16%, from Medicare spending. Oh sure, you can pay less to the Doctors but they are not required to take Medicare patients. What would you do if you got 20% less for working for someone? Would you find another employer?

Somewhat is going to have to explain that we either need rationing or some customer based pricing for services. Someone who insists on motorized scooters and medical testing of questionable value should have to pay out of pocket.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539581994054014.html

Climate Control

2009-11-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

OK, Clinton failed to get Congress to pass any global warming legislation for the Kyoto Accords of 1997 and now Obama will be equally unable to get any approval for legislation for the Copenhagen meetings, designed to replace the retiring Kyoto Accords in 2012.

And yet Bush is the bad guy, apparently. Obama, with the Democratic Party controlling 60% of both houses in Congress, has no excuse, except for his own poor leadership.

http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14900648&fsrc=rss

Want to Save the Planet? Eat your dog.

2009-11-15T09:02:00.000-08:00

Pets have a rather large "pawprint. A medium size dog contributes as much CO2 as a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser driven 6,000 miles/year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ethicalman/2009/11/time_to_eat_the_pets.html

ObamaCare

2009-11-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/blog/diagnosis/rahm-emanuel-vs-obamacare

The Federal Debt

2009-11-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

Just had a look at the FY 2010 Federal Budget, the first totally controlled by Obama (although it would be wrong not to give him credit/blame for changes in the FY2009 budget).

At the end of Bush's last complete fiscal year, the debt held by the public (as opposed to on-the books debt held by the Social Security Administration, Medicare, and other governmental agencies) was $5,803 billion. It is currently, as of 11/12/09, $7,588 billion. By the end of Obama's first term's fiscal year, this debt is projected at $10,985.

At the end of the last complete Clinton Fiscal year (9/30/2000) this debt was $3,405.

So, if my math is correct, Bush added c. $2.6 billion to the public held debt in 8 years, while Obama is adding $5.1 billion in 4 years.

Note: The Total Public Debt (Federal) now is $11,986,954,033,520. as of yesterday.
The FY 2010 budget is projected to add $1,171 billion to the debt.

UPDATE: The FY2010 Budget is already off by $20 Billion with $176.4 Billion in deficits for the month. Revenues at 18% lower than expected.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/11/13/october-deficit-bigger-than-expected/

Definitions

2009-11-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

Joe Klein recently defined neoconservatism in roughly accurate terms, “as unilateral bellicosity cloaked in the utopian rhetoric of freedom and democracy.”

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1826064,00.html

I like that definition because it got me thinking of the definition of liberalism, as practiced in the US. Winston Churchill famously said that a 20 year old who is not a liberal has no heart and a 40 year old who is not a conservative has no brain. I think that this is true, with the basic reason that liberalism tends to disregard the behavior sciences and doesn't understand how people think and act.

Liberalism perhaps should be defined as “as oligarchy cloaked in the utopian rhetoric of social justice, freedom and democracy.”

Shakeup In the Obama Administration

2009-11-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

"Democratic officials said Craig(Chief Legal Counsel) was ousted because of frustration among senior White House aides over his handling of the plans to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. As the White House's top lawyer, Craig was pivotal in advising Obama to sign an executive order during his first week in office promising to shut the prison by the end of January 2010.

In a politically embarrassing move that has frustrated some of the president's liberal supporters, White House aides have since backed off that deadline, citing complex legal issues surrounding what to do with the approximately 200 terror suspects still detained at Guantanamo."

Who knew that it was a tricky matter dealing with Gitmo people? Oh, that's right-Bush.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/12/top-white-house-lawyer-pushed-out/

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

2009-11-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

Maybe Clinton's directive should be extended to religion as well as sexual orientation in the military.
Nadal Hasan openly talked about jihad, the problems with sending Muslims to fight in "Muslim" wars, etc. The Turkish Army, with strong secular tendencies, would have booted out someone like Hasan some time ago.

http//www.forbes.com/2009/11/12/major-nidal-hassan-fort-hood-muslim-opinions-columnists-melik-kaylan.html

Obama's Health Tax

2009-11-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

What is a tax? Wouldn't the requirement to buy insurance (regardless of anything you do, such as driving) constitute a tax? Certainly the dictionary would say so:
"a charge…imposed by authority on persons or property for public purposes” is commonly considered a tax."

Anyway, it appears now that there may be a 2.5% of income penalty if someone does not purchase health insurance and a 11% of income "tax" (or compulsory premium) to buy health insurance. It will be interesting to see how many opt for the penalty instead of the tax.

http://reason.com/archives/2009/11/04/obamas-hidden-fees

http://republicans.waysandmeans.house.gov/webreturn/?url=http://cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10691/hr3962SubsidiesRangelLtr.pdf

Pakistan Drone War

2009-11-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

"Obama, far from curtailing the drone program he inherited from President George W. Bush, has dramatically increased the number of U.S. Predator and Reaper drone strikes. There have been 44 strikes in Pakistan this year (two while Bush was still in office), compared with 34 in all of 2008. None of the strikes under either Bush or Obama has targeted Osama bin Laden, who seems to have vanished like a wraith."

"Under President Obama, the strikes have taken out at most half a dozen militant leaders while killing approximately 450 other people. Of those, about 75 percent are reported to have been lower-level militants, and about a quarter appear to have been civilians. The strikes appear to have killed a slightly lower percentage of civilians in the past nine months than during the earlier years of the American drone campaign in Pakistan."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/10/29/bergen.drone.war/index.html

I just do not get it. So much is being written about waterboarding 3 people under medical supervision and prosecuting those responsible for this action and yet nothing is being done to determine who authorized this undeclared war on Pakistani civilians.

Grad Student Wins Nobel Prize for Economics

2009-10-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

"Pfuffnick's Nobel Economics Prize triumph hailed by manyLONDON — The surprise choice of first-year graduate student Quintus Pfuffnick for the Nobel Prize in Economics drew praise from much of the world Friday even as many pointed out the youthful economist has not yet published anything in scholarly journals."

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2009/10/first-year-grad-student-wins-nobel.html

Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

A former member of the committe of 5 in the Norwegian Parliament can not understand why so many people care about what 5 relatively unknown people think about who should get an award for peace. Neither can I. Especially when the current group of voters in this group seem pre-occupied with influencing US actions, whether to encourage support for Palestinians (Carter 2002) climate change (Gore 2007) or sending more troops to Afghanistan or whatever they voted on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f61KMw5zVhg

http://reason.com/blog/2009/10/10/reasontv-barack-obama-wins-200

US is the most admired country in the world

2009-10-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

I find this interesting. US moved up from 7th place in 2008 to first place in 2009 in this poll of admired countries. One of the authors attributes this "astonishing" rise to the election of Obama. Congratulations to the US.
Meanwhile, Canada fell from 4th to 7th.

What I find interesting is not just those results but the idea that the US, which the media says is hated worldwide because of the policies of Bush, ranked 7th in the world. 7th! That is where Canada ranks now. And Canadians think that they are the most admired country in the world. How is it possible for the media to say that the US was despiced when it ranked as high as Canada ranks now?
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/10/06/survey-us-admired/

McDonald's at the Louvre

2009-10-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently, most French don't have a problem with McDonald's opening up at the Louvre but are amused by the non-French reaction. The French generally like McDonalds because they support French farmers and France is the second most profitably country for McDonalds.

"Even Francois Simon, France's best-known food critic and the man said to have inspired Anton Ego in the Pixar film Ratatouille, he thinks the French papers were right to ignore the story. "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8297365.stm

Cash for Clunkers

2009-09-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

I don't think much of the idea behind Cash for Clunkers. I have never owned a car or truck that qualified as a "clunker" so I would not have been able to take advantage of it. I always have believed in buying fuel efficient cars. And the Cash for Clunkers program rewards foolish people for making foolish choices.
But there is another side: Does this program help the economy? Apparently not. Nor does it help the environment.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/135862.html

My SodaHead Responses on Health Care

2009-09-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Does it seem odd that some people put down the US health care system by saying that it ranks 37th and yet they celebrate Canada's system which ranks 30th? Hardly sounds like much of an improvement and hardly looks like a model for the US. Netherlands ranks much higher and uses compulsory private insurance. Sounds like a much better model than the single payor public system in Canada and UK. One good thing about the Canadian system, however, seems to be that as a confederation, provinces have more autonomony and there is not a single Federal health insurance system-there is provincial control.

Odd that the Canadians are complaining about their low, 30th, ranking due to questionable criteria in the WHO ranking. And WHO is currently revising their methodology and withholding new rankings until they better address issues with the criteria. Rankings are always suspect. My point is that ranking 37th is not really that bad when Canada ranks 30th, Australia 32nd, Denmark 34th.

It seems to me that it is the utmost of arrogance to think that the US is #1 in everything or should be. In the first place, WHO has given up rating countries on health care because of the complexity involved. In the second place, their posted rankings are now 9 years old. In the 3rd place, I don't mind being ranked in the same area as Australia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand-all these countries have great health care. But, most importantly is this-it is not that I am against universal health care, I am just against Obama's public option. He said it best himself-"FedEx and UPS don't have a problem, the Post Office has a problem." If he would drop his silly subborn idealogical partisian insistence on the public option, health care would have a much better chance of passing. Netherlands, Germany, and many other countries who rank much higher than Canada on health care have compulsory PRIVATE insurance. Regulate private insurance. Don't put out another inefficient, ineffective, bureaucratic, government run piece of crap legislation.

The top 8 countries are: France, Italy, San Marino, Andorra, Malta, Singapore, Spain, Oman. Congratulations to Andorra, Oman et al but I don't really want to live in any of those countries. You want the US to rank with Malta?

The Value of Health Insurance

2009-09-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is just so funny. Here we are, debating health care and fretting over the 50 million Americans without health insurance. And along comes a respected researcher who studies the issue and finds, contrary to his intuition and wishes, that those without health insurance have the same mortality rates as those with insurance. Apparently doctors do nothing, for most people. And yet this little study remains hidden. Even Politifact seems like it is unhappy with this study.

http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/20/bill-pascrell/pascrell-says-22000-americans-die-yearly-because-t/

US ends non-humanitarian aid to Honduras

2009-09-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that both the high court and the legislature recomended that the Honduras President be removed for violations to the constitution, the US still wants to punish the Honduran people.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/03/us.honduras.aid/index.html?eref=rss_world

Bush 43 War Record

2009-08-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

So, George Bush volunteered for Vietnam service but was turned down because other pilots that volunteered had more experience. This seems very believable. Odd that this was not reported. Of course, either way, in my mind the main problem with the idea that Bush "hid out in the National Guard" to keep from going to Vietnam is that over 6,000 Guardsmen died in Vietnam and serving in the Guard was hardly a guarantee that you would not be sent to Vietnam. Once in the National Guard, you could be sent anywhere. Or not sent. Either way, it would not be your decision.

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/34541_Rathergate-_Mapes_Knew_Bush_Volunteered_for_Vietnam

Cap and Trade

2009-08-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

The UofWisconsin grad student who first proposed the idea of Cap and Trade now opposes it and questions whether it will work. He prefers emission taxes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125011380094927137.html

I have always (well, since 1971 or so) thought the government should have taxes to cover the real cost of non-renewable resources and pollution. Cap and Trade seems like such a silly idea, especially on the global scale. There is still time for the Senate to reconsider the House plan.

Race Relations

2009-07-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

A few thoughts on the Obama-Gates-Crowley Situation:
1. Lack of trust in the black community leads to more crime and Gates and Obama's comments will lead to less trust.
2. Disrepect for the police will unfortunately contribute to the death of an African American and the Gates and Obama comments contribute to this disrepect.
3. Racism is defined as taking a general or historic truth, such as "many young black males are criminal" or "white cops have done racial profiling" and applying these generalities to a specific case, such as "those 2 black guys are doing something illegal" or "the white cop is racially profiling. It would seem that maybe Gates, and definitely Obama, had a racist moment here.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/27/the-presidents-accidental-gift-on-race/?feat=home_headlines

http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/citizens/uppity_blacks_vs_blue_col.php

I like the comment that many are concerned about the "guilty until proven innocent" attitude toward Crowley. Like the attitude toward the Duke University Lacrosse team.

Another decline in Obama's popularity

2009-07-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Now 29% Strongly Approve of Obama's performance and 40% Strongly Disapprove.
I normally support the underdog because it is important to have a contrarian view and prevent the mob rule effect. So, if this keeps up, I may have to start writing good things about Obama.
But, for now, the main media is still doing that job. When they start looking accurately at Obama's performance, I will start supporting him.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Tom Friedman

2009-07-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

I always enjoyed reading Tom Friedman's books. The World is Flat, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, etc. But this house of his is just shocking.
We have greed in this country. We have environmental problems caused by the over consumption of resources. We have an inequitable distribution of wealth. I try to do my part by living in a 950 sq ft house, with 100% of the electricity coming from renewable means, heating with a "green" pellet stove, using a manual mower, etc. I do this from choice, not economic necessity. And I contribute a reasonable percent of my income to Kiva.com, Children's Fund International, and other charities.

Why in the world does Friedman has a house like this?

http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2009/07/25/thomas-friedman-keeping-up-with-the-saudis/

Health Care

2009-07-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

Obama has agrued, counterintuitively, that health care will actually save tons of money because American businesses have been so burdened by health care costs and his plan would save money.
Unfortunately, the CBO estimates than any savings will be very small and will not offset the increased cost of universal health care.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/kausfiles/archive/2009/07/26/orszagism-reeling.aspx

Health Care Reform

2009-07-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

I beleive that every state has a health plan. Massachusetts has a Universal Health Plan. So, how about this as a federal health care measure: Require every state to have a universal health care plan. Provide some federal funds for these plans. A lot of funding could come from simply taxing current health care benefits. It should be common sense that someone who makes $40,000 a year and has a employer provided health plan through work that costs the employer $13,000 per year has more income than someone who makes $40,000 a year and no health plan.

And all Congress members must have the same plan as their state plan.

Racial Profiling

2009-07-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

My concern here, and why I despise Obama's remarks, is that sometime soon, an African American is going to have a confrontation with the police. And the African American will be emboldened by Obama's remarks and confront the police on the perceived, rightly or wrongly, injustice of the police involvement and the situation will escalate and the final victim will be the African American.
Common sense tells me that the police don't know who you are and what you are capable of. And the wise course is to stay calm and do as you are told. If it is police harassment, bring that up later, in a less stressful environment, in a day or whenever.
An African American will be killed by police and Obama's statement will be, in a small measure, a contributing factor.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534687,00.html

Obama-Palin

2009-07-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

2 Odd News stories today. An ABC article entitled: "Sarah Palin Losing Popularity, Problems for Political Future"
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/story?id=8157536&page=1

And a Rasmussen poll that shows Palin in a statistical tie with Obama in the 2012 Presidential race.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

So, to recap, Palin is in real trouble and Palin is tied with Obama. Amazing disconnect in the main stream media.

Tonsillectomies of Greed

2009-07-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

I got to go with doctors when it comes to health care. If I had to chose between all the doctors disappearing or all lawyers disappearing, I would go with the removal of the lawyers. Why isn't tort reform or malpractice reform part of the health care plan?

http://inmycopiousfreetime.blogspot.com/2009/07/tonsillectomies-of-greed.html