”Knowledge and Power: The Information Theory of Capitalism and How it is Revolutionizing our World.”
Human diversity and free markets ”Enforced
by genetics, sexual reproduction, perspective, and experience, the most
manifest characteristic of human beings is their diversity. The
freer an economy is, the more this human diversity of knowledge will be
manifested. By contrast, political power originates in top-down
processes—governments, monopolies, regulators, and elite institutions—
all attempting to quell human diversity and impose order. Thus power
always seeks centralization.“
The primacy of information ”Because
the system is based more on ideas than on incentives, it is not a
process that is changeable only over generations of Sisyphean effort. An
economy is a “noosphere” (a mind-based system), and it can revive as
quickly as minds and policies can change. That new economics— the
information theory of capitalism— is already at work in disguise.
Concealed behind an elaborate mathematical apparatus, sequestered by its
creators in what is called information technology, the new theory
drives the most powerful machines and networks of the era. Information
theory treats human creations or communications as transmissions through
a channel, whether a wire or the world, in the face of the power of
noise, and gauges the outcomes by their news or surprise, defined as
“entropy” and consummated as knowledge. Now it is ready to come out into
the open and to transform economics as it has already transformed the
world economy itself.”
Entrepreneurs and the information economy ”In
an information economy, entrepreneurs master the science of information
in order to overcome the laws of the purely physical sciences. They can
succeed because of the surprising power of the laws of information,
which are conducive to human creativity. The central concept of
information theory is a measure of freedom of choice. The principle of
matter, on the other hand, is not liberty but limitation— it has
weight and occupies space.”
Disequilibrium and disorder over equilibrium and spontaneous order ”From
the equilibrium and spontaneous order of Adam Smith and his heirs, from
invisible-handed markets and perfect competition, supply and demand,
and rewards and punishments, I was pushed to theories of disequilibrium
and disorder, and information and noise, as the keys to understanding
economic progress.”
Entropy and noise ”One
fundamental principle of information theory distills all these
considerations: the transmission of a high-entropy, surprising product
requires a low-entropy, unsurprising channel largely free of
interference. Interference can come from many sources. Acts of God like
tsunamis and hurricanes have been known to do the job, though otherwise
vigorous economies quickly recover from these disasters. For a
particular entrepreneurial idea, interference may come in the form of a
more powerful competing technology. The most common and destructive
source of noise, however, is precisely the institution on which we most
depend to provide a clear and stable channel in the first place. When
government either neglects its role as guardian of the channel or,
worse, tries to help by becoming a transmitter and turning up the power
on certain favored signals, the noise can be deafening.”
Innovation, surprise and profit ”Linking
innovation, surprise, and profit, Shannon’s entropy is the heart of the
economics of information theory. Signaling the arrival of an invention
or disruptive innovation is first its surprisal, then its yield beyond
the interest rate— its profit, a further form of Shannon’s entropy. As
the market absorbs a new product, however, its entropy declines until
its margins converge with prevailing risk-adjusted interest rates. The
entrepreneur must then move on to new surprises. The economics of
entropy describe the process by which the entrepreneur translates the
idea in his imagination into a practical form. In those visionary
realms, entropy is essentially infinite and unconstrained and thus
irrelevant to economic models. But to make what he has imagined
practical, the entrepreneur must make specific choices among existing
resources and strategic possibilities. Entropy here signifies his
freedom of choice. As Shannon understood, the creation process itself
defies every logical and mathematical system. It springs not from secure
knowledge but from falsifiable tests of commercial hypotheses. It is
not an expression of past knowledge but of the fertility of
consciousness, will, discipline, imagination, and art.”
The primacy of entrepreneurs ”The
key force of economic advance is the entrepreneur, who on his own,
without governmental cues or expert consultation or even a defined
market, creates new goods, services, business plans, and projects.
Economic growth and progress, jobs and welfare, markets and demand all
stem from this creativity of the entrepreneur. Population growth,
capital accumulation, economic efficiency, and even scientific advances
are all less important than entrepreneurial creativity…Failing to see
the centrality of entrepreneurial creativity, economists everywhere have
counseled governments to attend to the money supply, aggregate demand,
consumer confidence, trade imbalances, budget deficits, capital flows—
to attend to everything except what matters most: the environment for
innovation.”
Inventions, entropy and the supply side
Entrepreneurship is devoted to creation of new goods and services.
Creativity is always surprising. That is why it cannot be planned or
demanded by governments or even by customers. As Steve Jobs put it,
explaining his contempt for market surveys, “It’s really hard to design
products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they
want until you show it to them.” As Henry Ford said many years earlier:
“If I had listened to my customers, I would have built a faster horse.”
Inventions in general express Shannon entropy. They come from the supply
side.
The brilliance of Bain and mistakes of presidents Carter and Obama ”Bain
and Andrews explained to me that tax-rate reductions were just a
special case of the strategy of aggressive price cutting on which Bain
had based much of its consulting practice. Bain itself would often do
its first project for free. “We have discovered,” Bain said, “that
aggressive price cuts can trigger a cascade of strategic benefits, not
just expanding market share, building asset values, and increasing
revenues and profits, but also gaining more knowledge of the strategic
environment and provoking overreactions and blunders by rivals.”
“Companies in trouble that raise their prices, on the other hand,” Bain
explained, “all too often begin a spiral of decline.” The market darkens
before them as they retreat from it into highly paid niches. Their
technological progress slows as their volumes decline and rivals rush
ahead into the future. Bain saw the United States under President Carter
as a company in trouble that was raising its prices in response, with
all the predictable bad effects, such as competitive losses to Japan and
Germany, lower real revenues for the government, collapsing equity
values and the famous “national malaise.” The pattern is being repeated
today under Obama.”
Against spontaneous order
“Things that are growing and changing are by definition high in
entropy. Moving from a settled past into an undetermined future, they
are always defined by their information, their news, their surprises.
Spontaneous order is self-contradictory. Spontaneity connotes the
ebullition of surprises. It is highly entropic and disorderly. It is
entrepreneurial and complex. Order connotes predictability and
equilibrium. It is what is not spontaneous. It includes moral codes,
constitutional restraints, personal disciplines, educational integrity,
predictable laws, reliable courts, stable money, trustworthy finance,
strong families, dependable defense, and police powers. Order requires
political guidance, sovereignty, and leadership. It normally entails
religious beliefs. The entire saga of the history of the West
conveys the courage and sacrifice necessary to enforce and defend these
values against their enemies.”
Against materialism ”Entrepreneurial
creation is the generation, de novo, of novelty and surprise— freedom
of choice originating in the world of ideas, and imagination beyond all
concern with chemicals. The contrary view— that all ideas are determined
by material relationships— is the materialist superstition.”
http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/02/27/these-28-quotes-may-completely-change-your-perspective-on-economics/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=ShareButtons
Friday, February 28, 2014
An Open Letter to a D.C. Lobbyist
Mr. Jack Burkman
Burkman LLC
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. Burkman:
Your P.R. firms just e-mailed to me the announcement of your endorsement of the so-called “The American Decency Act of 2014” – a piece of legislation that, if passed, would ban the National Football League from employing players who are openly gay.
I’ve got an idea for a better Act: “The Mind Your Own Business Act of 2014.” If passed, private citizens - including, of course, N.F.L. owners, coaches, and players - would be authorized to ignore you and other busybodies. Under my Act, private adults would be free to hire, fire, marry, live with, play with, play against, and generally to associate with whomever they choose on whatever terms they find mutually agreeable without having to worry that their voluntary interactions will be disrupted by the indecent pestering and obstructiveness of presumptuous intermeddlers such as yourself.
My Act, in short, would promote genuine decency in America.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
and
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
HT/DonBoudreaux
http://cafehayek.com/2014/02/an-open-letter-to-a-d-c-lobbyist.html
Burkman LLC
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. Burkman:
Your P.R. firms just e-mailed to me the announcement of your endorsement of the so-called “The American Decency Act of 2014” – a piece of legislation that, if passed, would ban the National Football League from employing players who are openly gay.
I’ve got an idea for a better Act: “The Mind Your Own Business Act of 2014.” If passed, private citizens - including, of course, N.F.L. owners, coaches, and players - would be authorized to ignore you and other busybodies. Under my Act, private adults would be free to hire, fire, marry, live with, play with, play against, and generally to associate with whomever they choose on whatever terms they find mutually agreeable without having to worry that their voluntary interactions will be disrupted by the indecent pestering and obstructiveness of presumptuous intermeddlers such as yourself.
My Act, in short, would promote genuine decency in America.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
and
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
HT/DonBoudreaux
http://cafehayek.com/2014/02/an-open-letter-to-a-d-c-lobbyist.html
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO $14 AN HOUR USING THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK!
February 26, 2014
Or, as the White House puts it on its website promoting an increase in the minimum wage, "Today, the real value of the minimum wage has fallen by nearly one-third since its peak in 1968."
Why were wages so high until 1968? Because that's when Teddy Kennedy's 1965 Immigration Act kicked in, bringing in about a million immigrants a year, almost 90 percent of them unskilled workers from the Third World.
Our immigration policies massively redistribute wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest. It's a basic law of economics that when the supply goes up, the price goes down. More workers means the price of their labor plummets.
Unfortunately, politicians spend a lot more time talking to rich employers than to working-class Americans. And the rich apparently have an insatiable appetite for cheap labor.
Having artificially created a glut of low-wage workers, now Democrats want to artificially raise their wages.
It's win-win-win-win-win for Democrats.
-- Employees who get a higher minimum wage are grateful to the Democrats.
-- Employees who lose their jobs because of the minimum wage hike are grateful to the Democrats for generous government handouts.
-- Poor immigrants who need government benefits are grateful to the Democrats.
-- American businesses enjoying the deluge of cheap labor are grateful to the Democrats.
-- Democratic politicians guaranteed re-election by virtue of ethnic bloc voting are grateful to the Democrats.
Do Republicans have any principles at all? Why isn't the GOP demanding an end to this dump of unskilled workers/Democratic voters on the country?
Democrats show how much they love the poor by importing a million more of them to America each year. But then they prevent the last batch of poor immigrants from getting decent, well-paying jobs by bringing in another million poor people the next year.
You want a higher minimum wage? Turn off the spigot of low-wage workers pouring in to the U.S. and it will rise on its own through the iron law of supply and demand.
In response to the Democrats' minimum wage proposal, Republicans should introduce a bill ending both legal and illegal immigration until the minimum wage rises naturally to $14 an hour.
Australia has a $15 minimum wage for adults -- more than twice the U.S. minimum wage. Meanwhile, their official unemployment rate is lower than ours: 6 percent compared to 6.6 percent in the U.S. -- and that's with a lousy $7.25 minimum wage.
Sound good? Try immigrating there. Australia has some of the most restrictive immigration policies in the world. Their approach to immigration is to admit only people who will be good for Australia. (Weird!) Applicants are evaluated on a point system that gives preference to youth, English proficiency, education and skill level.
Similarly, New Zealand will soon have an official minimum wage of $14.25 for adults. Even our Democrats aren't proposing that! New Zealand's minimum wage hit $10.10 -- the Democrats' current proposal for us -- back in 2006. Their unemployment rate is also 6 percent -- up from several years of 4 percent unemployment a few years ago.
Like Australia, New Zealand's immigration laws are based on helping New Zealand, not on helping other countries get rid of their poor people, which is our policy.
Instead of training the citizenry to look at the government as our paternal benefactor, distributing minimum wage laws and unemployment benefits in important election years, why don't Republicans put an end to the artificial glut of low-wage, low-skilled workers being imposed on the country by our immigration laws?
Republicans could guarantee a $14 minimum wage simply by closing the pipeline of more than 1 million poor immigrants coming in every year.
Businessmen will gripe, but maybe the GOP could explain to their Chamber of Commerce friends that they will help them by slashing oppressive regulations, reining in government bureaucracies, passing tort reform, etc. They'll also be able to cut taxes because the welfare state will shrink, a result of Americans going back to work.
But if the plutocrats insist on admitting another 30 million Democratic voters in order to get ever-cheaper labor, then, soon, Republicans won't be in a position to help them at all.
COPYRIGHT 2014 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL UCLICK
1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500
Democrats believe they've hit on the perfect issue
to distract from the horror of Obamacare in the 2014 elections: the
minimum wage.
Apparently, increasing the minimum wage was not important for American workers during the first five years of Obama's presidency -- least of all his first two years, when Democrats controlled Congress and could have passed anything. (And did!)
No. The minimum wage did not become a pressing concern until an election year in which the public's hatred of Obamacare is expected to be the central issue.
As The New York Times explained, Democrats see the minimum wage as an issue that "will place Republican candidates in a difficult position," and also as a tool "to enlarge the electorate in a nonpresidential election, when turnout among minorities and youths typically drops off."
(Unlike Republicans, Democrats consider it important to win elections.)
To most people, it seems as if the Democrats are giving workers something for nothing. But there are always tradeoffs. No serious economist denies that increasing the minimum wage will cost jobs. If it's not worth paying someone $10 an hour to do something, the job will be eliminated -- or it simply won't be created.
The minimum wage is the perfect Democratic issue. It will screw the very people it claims to help, while making Democrats look like saviors of the working class, either by getting them a higher wage or providing them with generous government benefits when they lose their jobs because of the mandatory wage hike.
Of course, the reason American workers’ wages are so low in the first place is because of the Democrats' policies on immigration. Republicans might want to point that out.
Since the late 1960s, the Democrats have been dumping about a million low-skilled immigrants on the country every year, driving down wages, especially at the lower end of the spectrum.
According to Harvard economist George Borjas, our immigration policies have reduced American wages by $402 billion a year -- while increasing profits for employers by $437 billion a year. (That's minus what they have to pay to the government in taxes to support their out-of-work former employees. Of course, we're all forced to share that tax burden.)
Apparently, increasing the minimum wage was not important for American workers during the first five years of Obama's presidency -- least of all his first two years, when Democrats controlled Congress and could have passed anything. (And did!)
No. The minimum wage did not become a pressing concern until an election year in which the public's hatred of Obamacare is expected to be the central issue.
As The New York Times explained, Democrats see the minimum wage as an issue that "will place Republican candidates in a difficult position," and also as a tool "to enlarge the electorate in a nonpresidential election, when turnout among minorities and youths typically drops off."
(Unlike Republicans, Democrats consider it important to win elections.)
To most people, it seems as if the Democrats are giving workers something for nothing. But there are always tradeoffs. No serious economist denies that increasing the minimum wage will cost jobs. If it's not worth paying someone $10 an hour to do something, the job will be eliminated -- or it simply won't be created.
The minimum wage is the perfect Democratic issue. It will screw the very people it claims to help, while making Democrats look like saviors of the working class, either by getting them a higher wage or providing them with generous government benefits when they lose their jobs because of the mandatory wage hike.
Of course, the reason American workers’ wages are so low in the first place is because of the Democrats' policies on immigration. Republicans might want to point that out.
Since the late 1960s, the Democrats have been dumping about a million low-skilled immigrants on the country every year, driving down wages, especially at the lower end of the spectrum.
According to Harvard economist George Borjas, our immigration policies have reduced American wages by $402 billion a year -- while increasing profits for employers by $437 billion a year. (That's minus what they have to pay to the government in taxes to support their out-of-work former employees. Of course, we're all forced to share that tax burden.)
Or, as the White House puts it on its website promoting an increase in the minimum wage, "Today, the real value of the minimum wage has fallen by nearly one-third since its peak in 1968."
Why were wages so high until 1968? Because that's when Teddy Kennedy's 1965 Immigration Act kicked in, bringing in about a million immigrants a year, almost 90 percent of them unskilled workers from the Third World.
Our immigration policies massively redistribute wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest. It's a basic law of economics that when the supply goes up, the price goes down. More workers means the price of their labor plummets.
Unfortunately, politicians spend a lot more time talking to rich employers than to working-class Americans. And the rich apparently have an insatiable appetite for cheap labor.
Having artificially created a glut of low-wage workers, now Democrats want to artificially raise their wages.
It's win-win-win-win-win for Democrats.
-- Employees who get a higher minimum wage are grateful to the Democrats.
-- Employees who lose their jobs because of the minimum wage hike are grateful to the Democrats for generous government handouts.
-- Poor immigrants who need government benefits are grateful to the Democrats.
-- American businesses enjoying the deluge of cheap labor are grateful to the Democrats.
-- Democratic politicians guaranteed re-election by virtue of ethnic bloc voting are grateful to the Democrats.
Do Republicans have any principles at all? Why isn't the GOP demanding an end to this dump of unskilled workers/Democratic voters on the country?
Democrats show how much they love the poor by importing a million more of them to America each year. But then they prevent the last batch of poor immigrants from getting decent, well-paying jobs by bringing in another million poor people the next year.
You want a higher minimum wage? Turn off the spigot of low-wage workers pouring in to the U.S. and it will rise on its own through the iron law of supply and demand.
In response to the Democrats' minimum wage proposal, Republicans should introduce a bill ending both legal and illegal immigration until the minimum wage rises naturally to $14 an hour.
Australia has a $15 minimum wage for adults -- more than twice the U.S. minimum wage. Meanwhile, their official unemployment rate is lower than ours: 6 percent compared to 6.6 percent in the U.S. -- and that's with a lousy $7.25 minimum wage.
Sound good? Try immigrating there. Australia has some of the most restrictive immigration policies in the world. Their approach to immigration is to admit only people who will be good for Australia. (Weird!) Applicants are evaluated on a point system that gives preference to youth, English proficiency, education and skill level.
Similarly, New Zealand will soon have an official minimum wage of $14.25 for adults. Even our Democrats aren't proposing that! New Zealand's minimum wage hit $10.10 -- the Democrats' current proposal for us -- back in 2006. Their unemployment rate is also 6 percent -- up from several years of 4 percent unemployment a few years ago.
Like Australia, New Zealand's immigration laws are based on helping New Zealand, not on helping other countries get rid of their poor people, which is our policy.
Instead of training the citizenry to look at the government as our paternal benefactor, distributing minimum wage laws and unemployment benefits in important election years, why don't Republicans put an end to the artificial glut of low-wage, low-skilled workers being imposed on the country by our immigration laws?
Republicans could guarantee a $14 minimum wage simply by closing the pipeline of more than 1 million poor immigrants coming in every year.
Businessmen will gripe, but maybe the GOP could explain to their Chamber of Commerce friends that they will help them by slashing oppressive regulations, reining in government bureaucracies, passing tort reform, etc. They'll also be able to cut taxes because the welfare state will shrink, a result of Americans going back to work.
But if the plutocrats insist on admitting another 30 million Democratic voters in order to get ever-cheaper labor, then, soon, Republicans won't be in a position to help them at all.
COPYRIGHT 2014 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL UCLICK
1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Christie and Obama
It appears that Chris Christie and Obama knew each other a
lot sooner than any of us ever imagined!
A Tea Party Editorial Response
In your recent editorial denouncing conservatives as “a clown car of
right wing extremist, I wonder did Governor Cuomo give you his talking points or
did you plagiarize from him? Didn’t he just proclaim that no life loving,
constitutional observant and respecter of law be allowed the right to live in
NY? Although you didn’t try to banish us from New Jersey, your editorial was
just as dismissive.
Your editorial demeans those who wish to run on the Republican ticket
whose concerns are to repeal the illegal Obama care laws; who understand the
broken social security system; who respect life from natural conception to its
natural death and adhere to GOD’s natural laws, not manmade laws in the
sacredness of marriage; who want a balanced budget so that the American tax payer
is not overburdened; and, who believes in a sovereign country with English as its
official language, as extreme insane notions. Wow, you just exhibited the Saul
Alinsky rule of isolate, personalize and polarize it. Ya done good comrade –
you’ve made him proud.
You, like Cuomo offended many people who believe in these principals,
and you like Cuomo, simply because you thought you had a captive audience,
assumed your attack would go unchallenged.
Let me ask, have you ever been to a Tea Party meeting? If not, I openly
challenge you to attend any chapter throughout the state, of which we are many.
We are not silent, secretive or hidden. We are truly a transparent group of
Americans whose only concern is to restore America to that GOD given document,
The Constitution.
You can ridicule us, mock us and trash us. We are not going away.
However, if you have any genuine professionalism, you’ll come back from that
meeting and apologize to all Americans as to what you wrote in your editorial
and confess that you’ve slandered a good group of people whose only faults are
to love and respect their country.
We’ll wait patiently.
Sincerely,
Joellen M. Arrabito
East Jersey Tea Party Patriot
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Would This Be Considered Republican Obstructionism?
February 25, 2014
Dear Senate Majority Leader Reid,
I am writing to convey my objection to floor consideration of the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy to the position of Surgeon General of the United States.
I have serious concerns about Dr. Murthy's ability to impartially serve as "the Nation's Doctor". The majority of Dr. Murthy's non-clinical experience is in political advocacy. As you know, Dr. Murthy is the co-founder of Doctors for America, born out of the campaign organization Doctors for Obama, and it is a project of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress and has worked closely with Organizing for America, President Obama's political organization. I have outstanding questions about who is funding these organizations, and it is clear that more transparency is needed from a group whose influence frequently impacts appointments in the Obama Administration.
The primary policy goals of Dr. Murthy's organization have been focused on advancing stricter gun control laws and promoting the Affordable Care Act. In his efforts to curtail Second Amendment rights, Dr. Murthy has continually referred to guns as a public health issue on par with heart disease and has diminished the role of mental health in gun violence. As a physician, I am deeply concerned that he has advocated that doctors use their position of trust to ask patients, including minors, details about gun ownership in the home. His organization has also advocated that physicians collect and report data on gun ownership to the Federal Government and increasing Federal funding for gun control research.
Historically, the Surgeon General of the United States has been a position with the purpose of educating Americans so that they may lead healthier lives, rather than advancing a political agenda. Dr. Murthy has disqualified himself from being Surgeon General because of his intent to use that position to launch an attack on Americans' right to own a firearm under the guise of a public health and safety campaign.
Accordingly, I will object to any unanimous consent agreement or the waiver of any rule with respect to the nomination of Dr. Murthy.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul, M.D.
Dear Senate Majority Leader Reid,
I am writing to convey my objection to floor consideration of the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy to the position of Surgeon General of the United States.
I have serious concerns about Dr. Murthy's ability to impartially serve as "the Nation's Doctor". The majority of Dr. Murthy's non-clinical experience is in political advocacy. As you know, Dr. Murthy is the co-founder of Doctors for America, born out of the campaign organization Doctors for Obama, and it is a project of the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress and has worked closely with Organizing for America, President Obama's political organization. I have outstanding questions about who is funding these organizations, and it is clear that more transparency is needed from a group whose influence frequently impacts appointments in the Obama Administration.
The primary policy goals of Dr. Murthy's organization have been focused on advancing stricter gun control laws and promoting the Affordable Care Act. In his efforts to curtail Second Amendment rights, Dr. Murthy has continually referred to guns as a public health issue on par with heart disease and has diminished the role of mental health in gun violence. As a physician, I am deeply concerned that he has advocated that doctors use their position of trust to ask patients, including minors, details about gun ownership in the home. His organization has also advocated that physicians collect and report data on gun ownership to the Federal Government and increasing Federal funding for gun control research.
Historically, the Surgeon General of the United States has been a position with the purpose of educating Americans so that they may lead healthier lives, rather than advancing a political agenda. Dr. Murthy has disqualified himself from being Surgeon General because of his intent to use that position to launch an attack on Americans' right to own a firearm under the guise of a public health and safety campaign.
Accordingly, I will object to any unanimous consent agreement or the waiver of any rule with respect to the nomination of Dr. Murthy.
Sincerely,
Rand Paul, M.D.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Who said debt doesn't matter.
The large budget deficits recorded in recent years have substantially
increased federal debt, and the amount of debt relative to the size of
the economy is now very high by historical standards. CBO estimates that
federal debt held by the public will equal 74 percent of GDP at the end
of this year and 79 percent in 2024 (the end of the current 10-year
projection period). Such large and growing federal debt could have
serious negative consequences, including restraining economic growth in
the long term, giving policymakers less flexibility to respond to
unexpected challenges, and eventually increasing the risk of a fiscal
crisis (in which investors would demand high interest rates to buy the
government’s debt).
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/45010
The Obama administration acknowledges the defense cuts are controversial but maintains they are being done with a specific intention:"...in order to sustain our readiness and technological superiority and to protect critical capabilities like special operations forces and cyber resources," Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told reporters Monday.
The CBO report finds that mandatory spending, which includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, is projected to rise $85 billion, or 4 percent, to $2.1 trillion this year.
Interest on the debt is worse. It is projected to increase 14 percent per year, almost quadrupling in dollar terms between 2014 and 2024. "We are going to be spending more in interest in a couple of years then we do on national defense," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/45010
The Obama administration acknowledges the defense cuts are controversial but maintains they are being done with a specific intention:"...in order to sustain our readiness and technological superiority and to protect critical capabilities like special operations forces and cyber resources," Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told reporters Monday.
The CBO report finds that mandatory spending, which includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, is projected to rise $85 billion, or 4 percent, to $2.1 trillion this year.
Interest on the debt is worse. It is projected to increase 14 percent per year, almost quadrupling in dollar terms between 2014 and 2024. "We are going to be spending more in interest in a couple of years then we do on national defense," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif
More Insanity
A student faces suspension and criminal charges because a fishing knife was found in his father's car, which he drove to school. His father, incidently, is a commercial fisherman. I noticed this story because it takes place in Clarksville, Tennessee, the town in which I was born and attended school. How we have changed, for the worse. http://news.yahoo.com/student-suspended-criminally-charged-fishing-knife-left-father-124606951.html
Monday, February 24, 2014
The joke is on you
The federal debt, the official figure for which
Washington is formally responsible: In Australia, each citizen's share
of the debt is $12,000; in New Zealand, it's $15,000 per person; in
Canada, $18,000; in the United Kingdom, $28,000. And in the United
States it's $54,000 per person — twice as much as Britain, thrice as
much as Canada, closing in on five times as much as Australia. And
that's before you toss in all the other junk which leaves a total debt
burden in the US of close to three-quarters of a million dollars per
family. America is on course to be the first nation of negative
millionaires.
So, while Canada's got a balanced budget and New Zealand's paying down its national debt and Australia's government debt is about 11 per cent of GDP (versus 100 per cent of GDP in the United States), Americans are supposed to be encouraged because, in a spirit of comity, the bipartisan kleptocracy in Washington has nodded through a plan to make things worse.
Everyone should be outraged by the actions of the House and Senate. Yet not a word from citizens, the media lap dogs remain quiet as usual. It would be better if no more bi-partisan agreements are passed as it costs Americans dearly every time.
It sends the message that the US is a joke. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are doing it now, not legislating fairyland cuts that kick in eight years after the legislators' terms of office end. Granted, all those countries have conservative governments, which the US is in no danger of getting any time soon.
But here's why the Republican Party really isn't good enough: it's not just that the GOP is less fiscally conservative - by which I mean fiscally responsible - than other conservative parties, it's less fiscally conservative than many left-wing governments.
If only we could get American conservatives to be as fiscally responsible as Canadian liberals.
When the left or the CBO tells you austerity, which we have never experienced , hurts the economy, look at the successful countries above. Compare them to the our pathetic recovery, our safety net which has become a joke as more Americans are encouraged to jump in, the waters fine. The job growth in the last 5 years after massive stimulus from the Fed. The millions who remain unemployed, all the while your politicians screaming we need more immigrants. The divided country as government pits business against worker, rich against poor, middle class against everyone. Those that pay for insurance against those that do not. The country vs. the evil insurers, oil companies, doctors, corporate jet owners, wealthy who refuse to pay their fair share, except Warren Buffet, gun owners, the Tea Party, Fox News. Is there anyone Obama hasn't hit yet, excluding the far left?
Maybe it's time to return to the 60's and question authority instead of remaining quiet, once again rebelling against a corrupt president (Nixon). Time for change we can believe in.
So, while Canada's got a balanced budget and New Zealand's paying down its national debt and Australia's government debt is about 11 per cent of GDP (versus 100 per cent of GDP in the United States), Americans are supposed to be encouraged because, in a spirit of comity, the bipartisan kleptocracy in Washington has nodded through a plan to make things worse.
An analysis by the Senate Budget Committee Republicans noted that 56 percent of the offsets for the reversal of the sequester come in FY 2022 and FY 2023 — a decade from now.Of course the Democrats are laughing all the way to the bank. While Republicans are making excuses.
Speaker Boehner called that "deficit reduction." I call that a fraud and everyone with any common sense would agree with me. What kind of message does it send to voters when Republican leadership is claiming that you can offset increases in spending today with cuts in spending a decade from now?
Everyone should be outraged by the actions of the House and Senate. Yet not a word from citizens, the media lap dogs remain quiet as usual. It would be better if no more bi-partisan agreements are passed as it costs Americans dearly every time.
It sends the message that the US is a joke. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are doing it now, not legislating fairyland cuts that kick in eight years after the legislators' terms of office end. Granted, all those countries have conservative governments, which the US is in no danger of getting any time soon.
But here's why the Republican Party really isn't good enough: it's not just that the GOP is less fiscally conservative - by which I mean fiscally responsible - than other conservative parties, it's less fiscally conservative than many left-wing governments.
If only we could get American conservatives to be as fiscally responsible as Canadian liberals.
When the left or the CBO tells you austerity, which we have never experienced , hurts the economy, look at the successful countries above. Compare them to the our pathetic recovery, our safety net which has become a joke as more Americans are encouraged to jump in, the waters fine. The job growth in the last 5 years after massive stimulus from the Fed. The millions who remain unemployed, all the while your politicians screaming we need more immigrants. The divided country as government pits business against worker, rich against poor, middle class against everyone. Those that pay for insurance against those that do not. The country vs. the evil insurers, oil companies, doctors, corporate jet owners, wealthy who refuse to pay their fair share, except Warren Buffet, gun owners, the Tea Party, Fox News. Is there anyone Obama hasn't hit yet, excluding the far left?
Maybe it's time to return to the 60's and question authority instead of remaining quiet, once again rebelling against a corrupt president (Nixon). Time for change we can believe in.
A new direction.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the administration’s own
actions have in recent weeks confirmed what most of us in the rest of
the country already knew: President Obama’s agenda creates disincentives
for Americans to work, incentivizes employers to hire fewer people, and
exacerbates the inequality the White House denounces.
According to the CBO, Obamacare will cause millions of Americans to work less or leave the workforce altogether. The president’s favored policy of a minimum-wage hike will cost half a million jobs, leaving more Americans earning zero dollars an hour. And the White House’s own actions, in yet another delay of dubious legality, to push the implementation of the employer mandate past the 2014 elections are a sign that employers are responding to Obamacare’s mandates exactly as critics have contended: by cutting back on workers and hours.
Here are ten policy steps President Obama can take today, all by himself, that will help jump-start the American economy:
1. Approve the Keystone Pipeline, creating thousands of jobs, affordable energy options, and reduced dependence on hostile foreign regimes.
2. Open up federal lands for assessment and exploration for energy, and implement a balanced approach to energy exportation by expediting export-license applications and export-terminal construction permitting.
3. Direct the IRS to eliminate any program that targets individuals, small businesses, or nonprofits based on their political beliefs.
4. Rein in the EPA: Scrap proposed new rules regarding greenhouse gases, which effectively bar the construction of new coal-fired power plants, and eliminate the new “cost of carbon” rule.
5. Institute common-sense regulatory budgets for each agency, which require agencies to roll back costly regulations before instituting new ones, along the lines of the One In, Two Out Act introduced in the U.S. House.
6. Reverse the executive order urging the use of project labor agreements on major federal construction projects. These project labor agreements discriminate against non-union contractors and increase costs of construction.
7. Order the Department of Education to open up the accreditation process for our higher-education system, allowing expanded accreditation from states and encouraging innovative institutions and models along the lines of reforms proposed by Sen. Mike Lee.
8. Shelve the “gainful employment” rule for schools, providing access to higher-ed opportunities for non-traditional students, such as those who decide to pursue professional training instead of a four-year degree.
9. Encourage upward mobility in the next generation: Allow Race to the Top funds to be used for school-choice voucher programs, opening up additional opportunities for low-income and minority children currently trapped in failing schools, and stop suing states over encouraging educational freedom.
10. Delay all of Obamacare’s mandates for a year, unconditionally — and grant states the flexibility they need to reform their health-care systems, through programs such as the Healthy Indiana Plan and other consumer-oriented options, without tying them to the law’s costly Medicaid expansion.
Bobby Jindal
According to the CBO, Obamacare will cause millions of Americans to work less or leave the workforce altogether. The president’s favored policy of a minimum-wage hike will cost half a million jobs, leaving more Americans earning zero dollars an hour. And the White House’s own actions, in yet another delay of dubious legality, to push the implementation of the employer mandate past the 2014 elections are a sign that employers are responding to Obamacare’s mandates exactly as critics have contended: by cutting back on workers and hours.
Here are ten policy steps President Obama can take today, all by himself, that will help jump-start the American economy:
1. Approve the Keystone Pipeline, creating thousands of jobs, affordable energy options, and reduced dependence on hostile foreign regimes.
2. Open up federal lands for assessment and exploration for energy, and implement a balanced approach to energy exportation by expediting export-license applications and export-terminal construction permitting.
3. Direct the IRS to eliminate any program that targets individuals, small businesses, or nonprofits based on their political beliefs.
4. Rein in the EPA: Scrap proposed new rules regarding greenhouse gases, which effectively bar the construction of new coal-fired power plants, and eliminate the new “cost of carbon” rule.
5. Institute common-sense regulatory budgets for each agency, which require agencies to roll back costly regulations before instituting new ones, along the lines of the One In, Two Out Act introduced in the U.S. House.
6. Reverse the executive order urging the use of project labor agreements on major federal construction projects. These project labor agreements discriminate against non-union contractors and increase costs of construction.
7. Order the Department of Education to open up the accreditation process for our higher-education system, allowing expanded accreditation from states and encouraging innovative institutions and models along the lines of reforms proposed by Sen. Mike Lee.
8. Shelve the “gainful employment” rule for schools, providing access to higher-ed opportunities for non-traditional students, such as those who decide to pursue professional training instead of a four-year degree.
9. Encourage upward mobility in the next generation: Allow Race to the Top funds to be used for school-choice voucher programs, opening up additional opportunities for low-income and minority children currently trapped in failing schools, and stop suing states over encouraging educational freedom.
10. Delay all of Obamacare’s mandates for a year, unconditionally — and grant states the flexibility they need to reform their health-care systems, through programs such as the Healthy Indiana Plan and other consumer-oriented options, without tying them to the law’s costly Medicaid expansion.
Bobby Jindal
What's Rockin' Oklahoma?
Oklahoma well she's a rockin'. 420 tremors of 2.0 in the week of Feb 12 to Feb 18.
Oklahoma has averaged about 11 measurable tremors per year in the past. In 2013 there were 291. In 2014 there had already been 250 before last weeks outbreak. What's rockin Oklahoma? Many areas of the U.S. have experienced heavier then normal seismic activity around areas of heavy drilling and fracking, although the process cannot be definitively fingered as the cause. But Oklahoma? It's not known as one of the big fracking sites around the country. So what's rockin' Oklahoma?
Thanks to highly conservative, affair having, governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma has become the dumping ground for the wastewater that is produced during the fracking procedure. Geophysicists find strong evidence that the tremors are being caused by the injection under high pressure of the waste water from fracking operations being deposited under ground in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma has averaged about 11 measurable tremors per year in the past. In 2013 there were 291. In 2014 there had already been 250 before last weeks outbreak. What's rockin Oklahoma? Many areas of the U.S. have experienced heavier then normal seismic activity around areas of heavy drilling and fracking, although the process cannot be definitively fingered as the cause. But Oklahoma? It's not known as one of the big fracking sites around the country. So what's rockin' Oklahoma?
Thanks to highly conservative, affair having, governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma has become the dumping ground for the wastewater that is produced during the fracking procedure. Geophysicists find strong evidence that the tremors are being caused by the injection under high pressure of the waste water from fracking operations being deposited under ground in Oklahoma.
Things are not always as it seems the truth about VW.
Rah Rah Rah we beat back the Union. Do you know the real truth about Volkswagen? Probably not. Since many of collect your info from FOX NEWS and a variety of other highly biased right wing news and comment sites let's look at the truth about Volkswagen.
The Union fight at Volkswagen was odd because the fight was between the Union and conservatives like the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist and Bob Corker. The company, it wanted the Union and almost needs the Union. This Union drive had nothing to do with wages, most workers are happy with their wages and benefits, but everything to do with improving company worker relations. Volkswagen Germany is accustomed to Unions and in fact the company sees it as an eventual necessity if it is to expand in the United States, as it is the way they do business. All Volkswagen plants worldwide with the exception of Chattanooga Tennessee, and the ones in China, have a Works Council. Under American law VW cannot have a works council in the plant without a Union. What does the works Council do? The works council is a management /hourly collaboration on schedules, production schedules, expansion plans for the plant,pay, furloughs and a variety of other issues that are discussed before they become major problems. So fact is the company wanted the union. The south was slated for a second Volkswagen plant but company officials now say that it is doubtful it will be built in the south if in the U.S. at all.
The union was, not surprising, defeated by a series of conservative lies. Bob Corker rode into town (he is an ex-mayor of Chattanooga) stating that if the union was defeated a new line would be developed to build a VW SUV (the plant builds the Passat) an out and out lie that the company quickly tried to squelch. The conservative talking heads talked constantly of planned job cuts which again was not true in fact with the Works Council in place the plant was expected to expand not contract.
Seems that when we are inviting foreign investment into our country that we need to understand their business concepts. We do with the Japanese because it is an acceptable plan, (Non Union), to most. If the Germans like unions and need these works councils as a part of their operations then let it be so. Another UAW vote cannot be held for a year although other unions could come in and organize the plant. That would be interesting now wouldn't it, an auto plant organized under AFSCME. Don't be surprised if it happens. Volkswagen wants the union.
The Union fight at Volkswagen was odd because the fight was between the Union and conservatives like the Koch Brothers, Grover Norquist and Bob Corker. The company, it wanted the Union and almost needs the Union. This Union drive had nothing to do with wages, most workers are happy with their wages and benefits, but everything to do with improving company worker relations. Volkswagen Germany is accustomed to Unions and in fact the company sees it as an eventual necessity if it is to expand in the United States, as it is the way they do business. All Volkswagen plants worldwide with the exception of Chattanooga Tennessee, and the ones in China, have a Works Council. Under American law VW cannot have a works council in the plant without a Union. What does the works Council do? The works council is a management /hourly collaboration on schedules, production schedules, expansion plans for the plant,pay, furloughs and a variety of other issues that are discussed before they become major problems. So fact is the company wanted the union. The south was slated for a second Volkswagen plant but company officials now say that it is doubtful it will be built in the south if in the U.S. at all.
The union was, not surprising, defeated by a series of conservative lies. Bob Corker rode into town (he is an ex-mayor of Chattanooga) stating that if the union was defeated a new line would be developed to build a VW SUV (the plant builds the Passat) an out and out lie that the company quickly tried to squelch. The conservative talking heads talked constantly of planned job cuts which again was not true in fact with the Works Council in place the plant was expected to expand not contract.
Seems that when we are inviting foreign investment into our country that we need to understand their business concepts. We do with the Japanese because it is an acceptable plan, (Non Union), to most. If the Germans like unions and need these works councils as a part of their operations then let it be so. Another UAW vote cannot be held for a year although other unions could come in and organize the plant. That would be interesting now wouldn't it, an auto plant organized under AFSCME. Don't be surprised if it happens. Volkswagen wants the union.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
And 5 years later we now know that it worked!
According to figures released by the non partisan CBO it worked. What worked you ask?
The Stimulus. Faced with depression level rates of economic contraction the Obama administration proposed and won passage of the $800 billion stimulus, which by the way was by the way far less then the stimulus proposed by Republican primary contender Mitt Romney. Chided at the time as a boondoggle by the right and not enough by the left it seems that the stimulus was just right. Where's the jobs? Well it did produce a level of the shovel ready jobs that Obama's administration forsaw as 42, 000 miles of American highways were upgraded and/or built. 110,000 miles of new broadband infrastructure was built. GDP was increased 2-2.5 % from negative growth to a small but positive growth rate of about 1%. This GDP growth boom lasting well into 2011. Temporary tax cuts were provided to 160 million American workers, and the use of online medical recording doubled in private office practices and quintrupled at hospitals. It also jumpstarted the development of a fully electric car , solar power and the use of energy saving LED lighting. So was it the silver bullet that returned us to prosperity? No. But it did save America the pain of a double dip recession or even worse a depression. On the flip side Europe chose the opposite direction, austerity, and today it remains mired in all the problems that were created by the recession and an unemployment rate that remains double that of the U.S. The biggest hindrance to growth in the U.S. lately according to the CBO, the sequester.
The Stimulus. Faced with depression level rates of economic contraction the Obama administration proposed and won passage of the $800 billion stimulus, which by the way was by the way far less then the stimulus proposed by Republican primary contender Mitt Romney. Chided at the time as a boondoggle by the right and not enough by the left it seems that the stimulus was just right. Where's the jobs? Well it did produce a level of the shovel ready jobs that Obama's administration forsaw as 42, 000 miles of American highways were upgraded and/or built. 110,000 miles of new broadband infrastructure was built. GDP was increased 2-2.5 % from negative growth to a small but positive growth rate of about 1%. This GDP growth boom lasting well into 2011. Temporary tax cuts were provided to 160 million American workers, and the use of online medical recording doubled in private office practices and quintrupled at hospitals. It also jumpstarted the development of a fully electric car , solar power and the use of energy saving LED lighting. So was it the silver bullet that returned us to prosperity? No. But it did save America the pain of a double dip recession or even worse a depression. On the flip side Europe chose the opposite direction, austerity, and today it remains mired in all the problems that were created by the recession and an unemployment rate that remains double that of the U.S. The biggest hindrance to growth in the U.S. lately according to the CBO, the sequester.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Universal Healthcare
To the Congress of the United States:
An all-directions reform of our health care system--so that every citizen will be able to get quality health care at reasonable cost regardless of income and regardless of area of residence--remains an item of highest priority on my unfinished agenda for America in the 1970s. In the ultimate sense, the general good health of our people is the foundation of our national strength, as well as being the truest wealth that individuals can possess. Nothing should impede us from doing whatever is necessary to bring the best possible health care to those who do not now have it--while improving health care quality for everyone--at the earliest possible time.
In 1971, I submitted to the Congress my new National Health Strategy which would produce the kind of health care Americans desire and deserve, at costs we all can afford. - Richard Nixon
An all-directions reform of our health care system--so that every citizen will be able to get quality health care at reasonable cost regardless of income and regardless of area of residence--remains an item of highest priority on my unfinished agenda for America in the 1970s. In the ultimate sense, the general good health of our people is the foundation of our national strength, as well as being the truest wealth that individuals can possess. Nothing should impede us from doing whatever is necessary to bring the best possible health care to those who do not now have it--while improving health care quality for everyone--at the earliest possible time.
In 1971, I submitted to the Congress my new National Health Strategy which would produce the kind of health care Americans desire and deserve, at costs we all can afford. - Richard Nixon
Friday, February 21, 2014
eight levels of control
Saul David
Alinsky, was an American community organizer and writer. He is generally
considered to be the founder of the modern community organizing movement.
(Socialism/Communism)
He is most noted
for his book "Rules for Radicals".
Died: June 12,
1972, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA.
Education:
University of Chicago.
Books: "Rules for
Radicals," "Reveille for Radicals," "How to Create a
Social State,"
There are eight levels of control that must be obtained
before you can create a social state.
1) Healthcare -
Control healthcare and you control the people.
2) Poverty -
Increase the poverty level as high as possible. Poor people are easier to control
and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.
3) Debt - Increase
debt to an
unsustainable level. That way you will be able to increase taxes - and this will
produce more poverty.
4) Gun Control -
Remove the ability for citizens to defend themselves from the government.
That way you will be able to create a police state.
5) Welfare - Take
control of every aspect of their lives (food, housing, and income).
6) Education - Take
control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn
in school.
7) Religion -
Remove belief in the God from the government and schools.
8) Class Warfare -
Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent
and it will be easier to take (tax) the wealthy with the support of the
poor.
Does any of this
sound like what is happening in the United States right
now?
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Let's see what the takers are up to this week
The incredible GDP map that shows half of U.S. output is generated by a few cities
This is an incredible map. 50% of GDP comes from orange areas, 50% from blue.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Rick, Do you know this guy? It's all in the family.
Do you know this
guy? It's all in the family
|
Who is Ed
Mezvinsky?...
Edward "Ed"
Mezvinsky born January 17, 1937, is a former Democrat
congressman.
As a Democrat, he
represented Iowa 's 1st congressional district in the United States House of
Representatives for two
terms,
From 1973 to
1977. He sat on the House Judiciary Committee that decided the fate of Richard
Nixon. He and the Clintons were very politically intertwined for
years.
In March 2001,
Mezvinsky was indicted and later pleaded guilty to 31 of 69 charges of bank
fraud, mail fraud, and wire
fraud.
He was sentenced
to 80 months in (Federal)
prison.
Ed Mezvinsky
embezzled more than $10 million dollars from people via both a Ponzi scheme and
the notorious Nigerian e-mail
scams.
After serving
five years in federal prison, he was released in April 2008. He remained on
federal probation through
2011,
And still owes
$9.4 million in restitution to his
victims.
So who is
he?
He's Chelsea Clinton's father-in law. They are in their early thirties and just purchased a 10.5 million dollar NYC apartment. Has anyone heard mention of this in any of the media? |
Monday, February 17, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Shop Seward Barrack Obama loses another one
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/14/us-autos-vw-election-idUSBREA1D1DP20140214
Obama's comments, made
at a closed-door meeting of Democratic lawmakers in Maryland, came as
the vote to allow union representation at the Chattanooga plant drew to a
close.
Obama weighs in on contentious union vote at Volkswagen plant
(Reuters) - P resident Barack Obama on Friday waded into a high-stakes union vote at Volkswagen AG's plant in Tennessee, accusing Republican politicians who oppose unionization of being more concerned about German shareholders than U.S. workers.
Obama's comments, made
at a closed-door meeting of Democratic lawmakers in Maryland, came as
the vote to allow union representation at the Chattanooga plant drew to a
close.
Obama said everyone was in favor of the UAW
representing Volkswagen except for local politicians who "are more
concerned about German shareholders than American workers," according to
a Democratic aide who attended the meeting with Democratic lawmakers in
the House of Representatives.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/15/us-autos-vw-election-idUSBREA1D1DP20140215
Loss at Volkswagen plant upends union's plan for U.S. South
(Reuters) - In a
stinging defeat that could accelerate the decades-long decline of the
United Auto Workers, Volkswagen AG workers voted against union
representation at a Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, which had been seen as
organized labor's best chance to expand in the U.S. South.
The loss, 712 to 626, capped a sprint finish to a long race and was particularly surprising for UAW supporters, because Volkswagen had allowed the union access to the factory and officially stayed neutral on the vote, while other manufacturers have been hostile to organized labor.
UAW spent more than two years organizing and then called a snap election in an agreement with VW. German union IG Metall worked with the UAW to pressure VW to open its doors to organizers, but anti-union forces dropped a bombshell after the first of three days of voting.
Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga who helped win the VW plant, said on Wednesday after the first day of voting that VW would expand the factory if the union was rejected.
The loss, 712 to 626, capped a sprint finish to a long race and was particularly surprising for UAW supporters, because Volkswagen had allowed the union access to the factory and officially stayed neutral on the vote, while other manufacturers have been hostile to organized labor.
UAW spent more than two years organizing and then called a snap election in an agreement with VW. German union IG Metall worked with the UAW to pressure VW to open its doors to organizers, but anti-union forces dropped a bombshell after the first of three days of voting.
Republican U.S. Senator Bob Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga who helped win the VW plant, said on Wednesday after the first day of voting that VW would expand the factory if the union was rejected.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Body of Missing World Traveling Texan Found
WTH?
She was found within a mile of the house and no one found her for months?
Search crews covered 23 SQ miles but not by the house because the "family" supposedly searched that area.
If it was my family, they would have scoured that area over and over day after day no matter what.
The hubby was determined not to be a person of interest initially. Now I'm suspicious. I bet the cops are too.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/14/body-believed-to-be-missing-world-traveler-found-in-texas-authorities-say/?intcmp=latestnews
She was found within a mile of the house and no one found her for months?
Search crews covered 23 SQ miles but not by the house because the "family" supposedly searched that area.
If it was my family, they would have scoured that area over and over day after day no matter what.
The hubby was determined not to be a person of interest initially. Now I'm suspicious. I bet the cops are too.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/02/14/body-believed-to-be-missing-world-traveler-found-in-texas-authorities-say/?intcmp=latestnews
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Cruz/Paul/Christie/Bush
The political world is ABLAZE with the news of the latest results from the Contract From America and TheTeaParty.net 2016 Presidential poll!
Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul lead the pack of candidates while Govs. Jeb
Bush and Chris Christie come in the last two spots.
Here some of what the Washington Examiner had to say:
"Conservative Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul top the biggest Tea Party presidential poll yet, while moderates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are dumped at the bottom, undermining their hopes of being 2016 crossover candidates.
The online poll of 62,000 grassroots activists provided exclusively to Secrets finds that conservatives and Tea Party organizers stand fully behind the heroes of their movement...
But the poll for nation's largest Tea Party group, TheTeaParty.net, and the influential conservative organization Contract from America drenched cold water on the hopes of Christie, Bush and other moderates hoping to attract conservative attention."
Here some of what the Washington Examiner had to say:
"Conservative Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul top the biggest Tea Party presidential poll yet, while moderates New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are dumped at the bottom, undermining their hopes of being 2016 crossover candidates.
The online poll of 62,000 grassroots activists provided exclusively to Secrets finds that conservatives and Tea Party organizers stand fully behind the heroes of their movement...
But the poll for nation's largest Tea Party group, TheTeaParty.net, and the influential conservative organization Contract from America drenched cold water on the hopes of Christie, Bush and other moderates hoping to attract conservative attention."
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Sometimes it takes a village idiot to say something useful
Hello AmPol et al. In the midst of a pretty brutal semester of pathophysiology and pharmacology, I came across something that I think this particular crowd should read. http://www.imshealth.com/portal/site/imshealth/menuitem.c76283e8bf81e98f53c753c71ad8c22a/?vgnextoid=12531cf4cc75f310VgnVCM10000076192ca2RCRD&vgnextchannel=5ec1e590cb4dc310VgnVCM100000a48d2ca2RCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Near as I can tell, there is no leftist connection, no worship of King Obama, and no demand for whatever else it is that many of you are afraid of losing to some slacker. It's just some numbers. I've bitched for a long time about non compliance and now as a student and prospective prescription writer someday, this kind of stuff is becoming more important to me. This article actually shows some improvement, which is great, but there is still an enormous amount of waste that has to be hung on doctors, NP's and PA's, AND PATIENT'S especially when it comes to writing inappropriate prescriptions for things like viral infections. Because our healthcare system is based on consumption and satisfying the "customer", there is little responsibility on the side of the patient and this has bothered me for a long time. I've taken care of countless people in the ICU who had a heart attack who were fat, smoked and had diabetes. Anyhow, it's doubtful I'll be back to see many responses, but I think this article is important information for people to start to understand.
While everyone hates the idea of the government controlling health care and health costs, consider something else, without government agencies that actually do studies and create treatment guidelines that are based on REAL evidence of what is the most effective way to treat something, it is not likely that providers will treat in cost effective ways. Since the early 2000's, when the CDC started to take efforts to curtail inappropriate antibiotic scrips, the number of them written HAS gone down. With this movement, some resistance to antibiotics is also starting to go down. Not every government agency is bullshit. That's not to say we can't do away some.
Near as I can tell, there is no leftist connection, no worship of King Obama, and no demand for whatever else it is that many of you are afraid of losing to some slacker. It's just some numbers. I've bitched for a long time about non compliance and now as a student and prospective prescription writer someday, this kind of stuff is becoming more important to me. This article actually shows some improvement, which is great, but there is still an enormous amount of waste that has to be hung on doctors, NP's and PA's, AND PATIENT'S especially when it comes to writing inappropriate prescriptions for things like viral infections. Because our healthcare system is based on consumption and satisfying the "customer", there is little responsibility on the side of the patient and this has bothered me for a long time. I've taken care of countless people in the ICU who had a heart attack who were fat, smoked and had diabetes. Anyhow, it's doubtful I'll be back to see many responses, but I think this article is important information for people to start to understand.
While everyone hates the idea of the government controlling health care and health costs, consider something else, without government agencies that actually do studies and create treatment guidelines that are based on REAL evidence of what is the most effective way to treat something, it is not likely that providers will treat in cost effective ways. Since the early 2000's, when the CDC started to take efforts to curtail inappropriate antibiotic scrips, the number of them written HAS gone down. With this movement, some resistance to antibiotics is also starting to go down. Not every government agency is bullshit. That's not to say we can't do away some.
Monday, February 10, 2014
If Obama can ignore ObamaCare implementation dates.
Then what's the difference in dealing elections in 2016 by a year or two or ten?
Friday, February 7, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Do schools kill creativity?... does government kill schools?
I was watching a TED presentation the other day. I know, I know, it is suppose to be a liberal mouthpiece. Well, even liberals have good ideas, even if I don’t always agree with the logic they use to get to them.
Anyway, the presentation was about our educational system and what should be done to return it and its results to the model system it use to be. The video by Sir Ken Robinson is titled “Do schools kill creativity?”. It’s about 20 minutes long, well presented and delivered with a nice amount of humor.
My take on it was the deficiency in the school structure and not that we should let students dance in the hallways... less on memorization and more on problem solving. It’s essence is that the top down, strictly regimented delivery with little allowance for deviation or creativity is killing our children’s ability to reason and imagine. It constrains teachers and administrators from trying new methods which might achieve better results than envisioned by our so-called educational heavyweights.
It occurred to me that the United States, as a country, is suffering from the very same problems in the way that it is being governed. The country is like a mature suburb community with a neighbourhood association; highly restrictive, overgrown shrubbery and cracked pavements. The difference of course is that with the neighbourhood, you can choose to live elsewhere with different rules(or few rules at all), different people with different tastes in shrubs, Christmas decorations and social environment(Except of course where the government has imposed rules from afar). Everything from education, politics, social values, personal safety and business is stifled by the idea that central planning can make us a happy and more prosperous while the ideas of independence, freedom of choice and room to be different are somehow insidious....
Some people react strongly to Ken Robertson’s admonishments... They defend the system that is in place. We are told that he is wrong because literacy and numeracy are the basis of creativity yet can’t explain why so many children leave school as functional illiterates. They say that were it not for the rout memorization we would have had no Shakespear but as Einstein once said: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Critical of his words they say that discipline in school is a far bigger problem than conformity... Seems to me that government long ago stuck its nose into that arena as well...
Einstein also said: "To me the worst thing seems to be a school principally to work with methods of fear, force and artificial authority. Such treatment destroys the sound sentiments, the sincerity and the self-confidence of pupils and produces a subservient subject."
But then again, that is some peoples idea for education in the first place.
We hear from John Podesta former Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton, advisor to President Obama and founder of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress that he can't understand why people object to Common Core school standards as "The children belong to all of us"
...In other news we hear that third hand smoke is harmful to your health....
Anyway, the presentation was about our educational system and what should be done to return it and its results to the model system it use to be. The video by Sir Ken Robinson is titled “Do schools kill creativity?”. It’s about 20 minutes long, well presented and delivered with a nice amount of humor.
My take on it was the deficiency in the school structure and not that we should let students dance in the hallways... less on memorization and more on problem solving. It’s essence is that the top down, strictly regimented delivery with little allowance for deviation or creativity is killing our children’s ability to reason and imagine. It constrains teachers and administrators from trying new methods which might achieve better results than envisioned by our so-called educational heavyweights.
It occurred to me that the United States, as a country, is suffering from the very same problems in the way that it is being governed. The country is like a mature suburb community with a neighbourhood association; highly restrictive, overgrown shrubbery and cracked pavements. The difference of course is that with the neighbourhood, you can choose to live elsewhere with different rules(or few rules at all), different people with different tastes in shrubs, Christmas decorations and social environment(Except of course where the government has imposed rules from afar). Everything from education, politics, social values, personal safety and business is stifled by the idea that central planning can make us a happy and more prosperous while the ideas of independence, freedom of choice and room to be different are somehow insidious....
Some people react strongly to Ken Robertson’s admonishments... They defend the system that is in place. We are told that he is wrong because literacy and numeracy are the basis of creativity yet can’t explain why so many children leave school as functional illiterates. They say that were it not for the rout memorization we would have had no Shakespear but as Einstein once said: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Critical of his words they say that discipline in school is a far bigger problem than conformity... Seems to me that government long ago stuck its nose into that arena as well...
Einstein also said: "To me the worst thing seems to be a school principally to work with methods of fear, force and artificial authority. Such treatment destroys the sound sentiments, the sincerity and the self-confidence of pupils and produces a subservient subject."
But then again, that is some peoples idea for education in the first place.
We hear from John Podesta former Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton, advisor to President Obama and founder of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress that he can't understand why people object to Common Core school standards as "The children belong to all of us"
...In other news we hear that third hand smoke is harmful to your health....
former
chief of staff to Bill Clinton and now an adviser to President Barack
Obama - See more at:
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/panelist-podesta-think-tank-common-core-children-belong-all-us#sthash.VFOhDGJP.dpuf
Sunday, February 2, 2014
RUH-ROH... We have been misled! Well, some of us have anyway...
A DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) "special report" shows that "firearm-related" homicides fell by 39 percent between 1993 and 2011.
It also showed that violent crime--or "nonfatal firearm-related violent victimization against persons aged 12 or older"--declined by 70% over the same time period.The BJS report was released in May 2013, but was under-reported amid the push for new gun control laws. The information in it is detrimental to many of the gun control arguments which were being propounded at the time.
For instance, while Democrats in various parts of the country were pushing legislation to end the "gun show loophole," the BJS report showed that "among state prison inmates who possessed a gun at the time of [their] offense, less than 2 percent bought their gun at a flea market or gun show."
And a subsection of the report focused on 1997 to 2004 showed that only two percent of state inmates and three percent of federal inmates used "a military-style semiautomatic or fully automatic" in the commission of their crime.
The success of the gun control lobby was evidenced by an LA Times column which ran at the same time as the BJS report. According to the Times, although "gun crime...plunged in the United States since its peak in the middle of the 1990s...few Americans are aware of the dramatic drop, and more than half believe gun crime has risen."
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Follow the Money
USA Today WASHINGTON – Democratic-aligned super PACs entered the election year with a more than 2-1 fundraising advantage over increasingly fractured Republican groups, a USA TODAY analysis shows.
Liberal super PACs focused on single issues, such as gun-control, captured the most campaign money, while once-flush organizations such as American Crossroads struggled to attract early support from Republican donors.
The Crossroads super PAC, affiliated with GOP strategist Karl Rove, raised $3.6 million last year – a fraction of the $99 million the powerhouse group raised in 2012 when it tried to dislodge President Obama and elect a Republican majority to the Senate.
The upstart Tea Party Patriots super PAC, meanwhile, doubled its fundraising during the second half of the year and posted the biggest receipts of any conservative group, new reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show.
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