The Political Observations of Will Rogers

Will Rogers was a well-loved political humorous in the 1920's. Here is a sample of his observations. All these observations come from a book called The Best of Will Rogers by Bryan Sterling (1979):

• The bad part about our whole structure of paying our congressmen is that we name a sum and give 'em all the same, regardless of ability. No other business in the world has a fixed sum to pay all their employees the same salary. If some efficiency expert would work out a scheme where each one would be paid according to his ability, we would save a lot of money.
• If we could just send the same bunch of men to Washington for the good of the nation, and not for political reasons, we could have the most perfect government in the world.
• This new senator says he is going to use "common sense" in the senate. That's what they all say when they start in. But then, if nobody don't understand you, why, you naturally have to switch.
• We all joke about congress but we can't improve on them. Have you noticed that no matter whom we elect, he is just as bad as the one he replaces?
• Politics and self-preservation must come first, never mind the majority of the people in the U. S. A legislator's thoughts are naturally on his next term more than on his country.
• Never blame a legislative body for not doing something. When they do nothing, they don't hurt anybody. When they do something is when they become dangerous.
• Senators are a never-ending source of amusement, amazement, and discouragement.
• A president only tells congress what they should do. Lobbyists tell 'em what they will do.
• A politician is just like a pickpocket; it's almost impossible to get one to reform.
• Don't take politics serious, it's just another American racket.
• What this country needs is more working men, and fewer politicians.
• In 1612 some wise guy decided that he would like to live off the other Virginians instead of off the forest, so they called him a politician.
• There is very little dignity, very little sportsmanship, or very little anything in politics. It's only: Get the Job and Hold It!

What he said back then is still rings true today. For more quotations from Will Rogers you can go to BrainyQuote.com and The Quotations Page.com.

Robot achieves scientific first

From FT.com (April 2):

A laboratory robot called Adam has been hailed as the first machine in history to have discovered new scientific knowledge independently of its human creators.

Adam formed a hypothesis on the genetics of bakers’ yeast and carried out experiments to test its predictions, without intervention from its makers at Aberystwyth University.

The result was a series of “simple but useful” discoveries, confirmed by human scientists, about the gene coding for yeast enzymes. The research is published in the journal Science. [read more]

There was an AI program called Bacon written in 1987 by two computer scientists (Patrick Langler and Gary Bradshaw) that made scientific discoveries using experimental data.

Evidently, the chief creator who made the robots must have a god-complex: He named the robots Adam and Eve. He says: "Adam is a prototype. Eve is better designed and more elegant." Women around the world smile.

Black Cars are Banned

At least in California if regulators get their way. From Wards Auto.com (Mar. 24):

If California regulators get their way, auto makers may soon be forced to rewrite a cliché from the Ford Model T era and start telling customers they can have any color they want as long as it isn’t black.

Some darker hues will be available in place of black, but right now they are identified internally at paint suppliers with names such as “mud-puddle brown” and are truly ugly substitutes for today’s rich ebony hues. [read more]

The regulators want to ban the color black on automobiles because they want to decrease "man-made" global warming. Black colored cars are warmer in the interior in the summertime than white color cars because black colored cars absorb more heat than white color cars (scientifically that is true). Therefore when driving an automobile in the summertime with a black finish you will put your air conditioner more often than with a white color car so the theory goes. Putting on your air conditioner makes your car use more gas. You see where this is going hopefully.

Here's a question: How much more gasoline is used with black colored cars verses light colored cars? That needs to be answered. Also, the sun's rays come through the windows too increasing the interior temperature (probably more than any black paint). This is the greenhouse effect. That factor needs to be eliminated, not to mention the heat of the engine. So those two factors need to be controlled to get an accurate reading.

There is another issue: On cold days driving a black car would be nice because you would want the interior to be warm and would never use the air conditioner. I know California probably does not have many cold days, but if this stupid measure gets implemented in other states (17 other states follow California's regulations according to the article) that do have cold weather people will get upset. They might get upset anyway if their color options are limited.

Finally, what about houses that use black colored roofs? Wouldn't their interiors be warmer than lighter colored roofs? Thus using more air conditioning increasing "man-made" global warming? Something more to be controlled.

By the way, this is not an April Fool's joke. I wish it were, but it's not. The real joke is those regulators. But nobody will be laughing.

U.S. bill seeks to rescue faltering newspapers

From Reuters.com (March 24):

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.

Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible. [read more]

Ah, those poor, poor newspapers. It seems the gov't is bailing out every business now--which is what newspapers are. Could it be that people are getting their news online at various news sites for free like I do? If you read one newspaper you are limiting yourself news wise. Newspapers are not making money because they are not getting subscribers and advertisers. Mainly subscribers because advertisers will only advertise if there are enough subscribers to the paper. There has to be someone to see the advertisement or else the ad does not work. Newspapers can do what the New York Times did--find someone to borrow from. New York Times found a wealthy Mexican investor to make it stay afloat. No negative stories about him I guess.

As for the part they will be prohibited from making political endorsements--they'll get around that. They can do that by running stories positive for a politician and throw one or two stories that are negative against the politician for good measure and bury them in the back pages. Or they can have a reporter do a story about a politician and slam him/her then the paper can say the reporter's view is not our own.

Note that newspapers can't endorse a politician but the bill doesn't say anything about endorsing an issue like gun control, etc. I would rather have newspapers be factually accurate as possible. That's more important to me. Being bias one way or another just goes along with the territory.

Again this is not Congress' responsibility. It might even violate the Freedom of the Press right. What is next? Having TV news go nonprofit? NBC News ratings aren't very good. If that happens then Fox News could go nonprofit too. Wouldn't that make the Left happy. I wonder if the bill passes how many newspapers will be nonprofit and have the gov't tell them what they can and can't do.

Geithner Asks Congress for Broad Power to Seize Firms

From Washington Post.com (March 24):

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner [tax cheat] today told Congress the administration will seek unprecedented power to seize non-bank financial companies whose collapse could jeopardize the economy, a move Geithner said would have allowed the government to bail out insurance giant American International Group at a far lower cost to taxpayers. The government at present has the authority to seize only banks. [Darn! That's not enough power! Obama thinks to himself.] [read more]

Yes we can take over most of the economy! Can you say Hugo Chavez? I don't hear about people flocking to Venezuela (other than far-left celebrities) since Chavez got into power. Let's call this broad power what it is (even though Dems don't want to admit it): Socialism. What is the exit strategy? When does the gov't takeovers stop?

The Banking Queen, Barney Frank says we need a system like FDIC for all financial services. Swell. Who's next? The insurance companies? (Wait a second. I forget they are villains.) The pharmaceutical companies? Again the villains. Oil companies? Nope. Then again the Left could take over those companies and them into their image. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy don't it? Not that I want any of those companies to be bailed out. I don't want any company to have special treatment from the gov't. It is not their responsibility.

I noticed in the video that the wacky far-left group Code Pink was in the background with their signs. How sweet. You can always count on them to get attention.

Democrat senator trying to stop clean power effort

From One News Now.com (3/21):

Nineteen companies have submitted applications to build solar or wind facilities on a parcel of 500,000 desert acres, but Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Friday such development would violate the spirit of what conservationists had intended when they donated much of the land to the public.

Feinstein said Friday she intends to push legislation that would turn the land into a national monument, which would allow for existing uses to continue while preventing future development. [more]

So much for alternative energy. Then again the Dems are in the back pocket of the envirofascists. According to the article this land is for benefit of the public, but isn't clean energy benefiting the public too?

I always see environmentalists put on TV ads about solar energy, but when a company actually tries to develop solar energy a bonehead senator shuts it down. Don't make sense. Conservationists say solar and wind technology would hurt the desert tortoise. I don't see how. The desert is already a harsh place. I would think the tortoise has more important things to worry about like predators. Heck you cannot even touch or harass (don't call a tortoise "slow poke"--it hurts their feelings) a desert tortoise or you'll get in trouble.

Feinstein said there are other deserts for solar and wind facilities. Sure right until those deserts are off limits too.

Having Veterans Pay For Their Wounds

The American Legion was ticked (and that's an understatement) that Obama was thinking about having veterans pay (or their insurance companies pay) out their pocket for their injures incurred during service of their country. Obama said he thought this would save money. Not bailing out failed companies would save money. Then he thought let Medicare pay for their injures. Yea, that is a brilliant idea. Not! Nonetheless. Now he has changed his mine because of the outrage of the American Legion and most probably most of the American people. I am outrage to say the least. Obama is the troops Commander in Chief. That thought should not even be in his mind. Veterans put their lives on the line in service of their country. The president (and yes even the Congress) should be looking out the troops and veterans best interests. Paying for their injures is the least the gov't can do our veterans. I guess we now know what Obama's priorities are.

McCain had a good idea. He said let the veterans pick their own doctors and then the gov't would reimburse the doctors.

Think about this issue in this way. The veterans and active troops work for the gov't. The gov't is the employer. Any injury an employee has on-the-job should be payed by the employer. No different for the gov't. It's that simple.

Coatings that 'self-heal' in sun

From BBC News (March 12):

Scientists have devised a coating that when scratched heals itself upon exposure to sunlight.

The secret of the material lies in using molecules made from chitosan, which is derived from the shells of crabs and other crustaceans.

In the event of a scratch, ultraviolet light drives a chemical reaction that patches the damage. [more]

The article said the coating works on car paint. Just imagine the possibilities. Self-healing wallpaper, sunglasses, Saran rap, upholstery, etc. It is almost as if it's alive like skin.

The Rules of the Game

These are UN diplomacy rules as told by Michael Soussan in his 2008 book: Backstabbing for Beginners. My Crash Course in International Diplomacy.

1. The truth in not a matter of fact, it is a product of consensus.
2. Never get stuck with the buck.
3. The assistant to your enemy is your friend.
4. Even the paranoid have enemies.
5. Always be more polite than your enemy.

The first rule could fit the climate change alarmists. It is no wonder the UN is so screwed up.

Virtual Reality Headset

From DailyMail.co.uk (March 5):

A virtual reality helmet that recreates the sights, smells, sounds and even tastes of far-flung destinations has been devised by British scientists.

The device will allow users a life-like experience of places such as Kenya's Masai Mara while sitting on their sofa.

They can also enjoy the smell of flowers in an Alpine meadow or feel the heat of the Caribbean sun on their face. [more]

Cool! This is the first time, according to the article, the manufacturer was able to simulate smells in a VR device. I just hope the manufacturer doesn't simulate toxic smells like smoke. Firemen who using the helmet don't need to smell smoke. They might need to know if it is in a building but not need to smell it. Also you don't want the other inputs of the helmet to harm the user either. This is just common sense.

It would be a good idea if the user was allowed to control the input of the helmet. That is to allow the user to turn off the sense of smell or hearing or whatever.

If it comes to a point that VR is indistinguishable between real life and virtual life there should be a "VR" symbol in the simulation so the user can know what is real and what is not.

59% Still Believe Government Is the Problem

From Rasmussen Reports.com (February 26):

In early October, as the meltdown of the financial industry gained momentum following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% of U.S. voters agreed with Ronald Reagan that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” [more]

To a conservative like me this makes intuitive sense, and to over 50% of the American people it makes sense too. Gov't can only make things worse by getting in the way of the economy. You can't run an economy from the top down. There are too many variables too keep track of--namely people. Ask any person in the social sciences. Predicting what people will do is tricky. That is why there are so many schools of thought in psychology.

Then there is the issue of power. As Lord Byron put it succinctly long ago: Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. He was right back then, and is still right today. People are imperfect. Even if they intend to do good, they can screw up and still do bad. Multiply that by 10 for gov't. Utopia on earth is a myth.

There is a reason America has the Bill of Rights. It is to protect America from its own gov't--not the other way around. The Founding Fathers knew about gov't who had absolute power over its citizens and abused that power. Thomas Paine had it exactly right when he said: "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." Bingo.

Along the same line of thinking: 73% Trust Judgment of People More Than Politicians. It's too bad the Left don't trust the judgment of people. They are just too obsessed with gaining power and holding on to it.

Japanese: U.N. Man-Made Global Warming Theory Like 'Ancient Astrology'

From Newxmax.com ( February 25, 2009):

Japanese scientists have made a dramatic break with the United Nations’ view on man-made global warming with a report asserting that “this hypothesis has been substituted for truth.”

Three of the five researchers involved in the report disagree with the view of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that recent warming is due primarily to industrial emissions of greenhouse gases, and say it is instead driven by natural cycles.

Among the points made in the report:

• CO2 emissions began to increase significantly after 1946 and are still rising. Therefore, according to the IPCC, global atmospheric temperatures should continue to increase. However, temperatures stopped increasing in 2001.
• The global temperature increase up to today is primarily a recovery from the “Little Ice Age” that earth experienced from 1400 to 1800. This rise peaked in 2000.
• Global warming and the “halting of the temperature rise are related to solar activity.

[more]

Darn those Japanese global warming denyiers and their report! Oh, I'm sorry it's not "global warming" anymore--that's the old term. It's now called "climate change" because after all the world is getting colder. Climate change, huh. Isn't climate change just another name for the seasons?

In the article it said, "since 2003, the number of global warming lobbyists has risen by more than 300 percent." Wow! That's a lot of lobbyists. But that what happens when money influences science--science always loses. And since science is about discovering the truth--the truth looses out too. I know scientists have to make a living, but there is a line that should never be crossed. And that line is distorting or making up facts to fit a theory. If a scientist does that then any theory he devised cannot be trusted. He has ruined his reputation.

I Want America to Succeed

The press is asking people if they want Obama to succeed. Bill O'Reilly even had that question as a poll. What's important is not Obama succeeding so much is that the country succeeds and maintains its exceptualism. Presidents and even Congressmen come and go. That's how a democracy works. What is success for America? Winning the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. America having a strong dollar, high employment, low inflation, and not increasing the debt. Guarding the border so illegals and possibly terrorists cannot come in.

What is not successful is bailing out companies that cannot succeed. In other words, rewarding failure. Failure is when the universe tells you, you suck at this endeavour. Try something more align with your talents. Let's say I wrote crappy music or painted crappy paintings. Would you want the gov't funding me so I can continue to make junk? I don't think so. Whatever happen to survivor of the fittest? I thought the Left loves evolution. Failure is where America turns into a socialistic state. That would make the founding fathers roll in their graves. I am totally against nationalizing anything in the private sector. I don't care: Banks, Health care. It will destroy the economy. Gov't does a poor job of running the private sector mainly because it does not understand it. Also, it can be dangerous for the citizens because the more power the gov't collects the more the gov't becomes corrupted.

For Obama to succeed he has to keep America safe from another terrorist attack and encourage the private sector and not get in its way. Don't reward losers and punish winners. It is not right and it's not fair. That's what the free market is for. The free market is not perfect, but neither is gov't. The brain has no central neuron to control the body. Neither should the free market have a central bureaucracy to control what it does.

Which Countries are Economically Free

The partial list below comes from Heritage.org:

Hong Kong	90.0
Singapore	87.1
Australia	82.6
Ireland	82.2
New Zealand	82.0
United States	80.7
Canada	80.5
Denmark	79.6
Russia	50.8
Iran	44.6
North Korea	2.0

Wow, America is ranked 6th. Weren't we ranked first at one time? Keep in mind this is economic freedom. What the gov't tells you what you can and can't purchase, trade or invest in. We are still totally economic free. According to Heritage.org if a country gets a score of 80 or higher you are economically free. If you are 49.9 or lower you are economically oppressed. If you live in North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela (I can't believe the people gave unlimited term limits to that thug. Then again I wonder how much coercion and threats were involved) you basically are screwed and not in a good way. As soon as China takes over Hong Kong, its economic freedom score will be close to China's: 53.2 (mostly unfree).

Analysis of The "Stimulus" Bill

Or if you want to call it the Porkulus Bill. There's billions of wasteful spending going to Federal gov't employees. For example:

• $5.5 billion for making federal buildings "green"
• $198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
• $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution
• $300 million more for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees
• $522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (There's a useless agency. Even the Native Americans don't like it.)
• $100 million for constructing U.S. Marshalls office buildings. (Too bad they couldn't took this money and increased the U. S. Marshall's salary instead.)
• $300 million for constructing Federal Bureau of Investigation office buildings
• $2 billion for a FutureGen near-zero emissions powerplant in Mattoon, Illinois
• $2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars
• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI. (Actually I am not totally against this. All law enforcement deserve all the pay they get. Congress should have reduced the money for the FBI buildings and increased the money for their salaries.)

You can read more at the Reason.com website. In total this bill will cost the American public $800 billion. According to The Foundry it will actually cost $3.27 trillion.

Now, what's not in there that should be. There is no real tax cuts, that is no reduction in any of the tax rates. That more than anything would stimulate the economy and get people working like in Newt Gingrich's "12 American Solutions" plan. It's a pretty decent plan. A lot shorter than Obama's stimulus bill for sure. The E-Verify program was removed. That was an electronic system where employees could check if a potential employee was an illegal or not. Then again the Dems want the illegals over here. Here's a joke: What do Democrats call illegal aliens? Voters. Also, no money for border guards. Those guys need bullet proof vests and Uzis. I am serious. Security experts are saying Mexico is going to collapse. I just read on Stratfor.com there are three wars going on in Mexico: Drug gangs fighting each other. The gov't fighting the drug cartels and common criminals kidnapping people. It's really a mess over there. And if their country collapses where do you think the Mexicans are going to come? There is $10 million to fight Mexican gun-runners in the bill. That's good, but not enough. What about money for a border wall or fence?

It is said that no Congress person read the bill (except maybe for Nancy Pelosi--she wrote it). So, who knows what's completely in it? If I was in Congress and I was not allowed to read it completely before I voted on it--I would have voted against it. You don't allow me to examine it then I am not going to trust what is in it. That only makes sense.

Insufficient Evidence Could Force U.S. Navy to Return Suspected Pirates to Somalia

From Fox News.com (February 13):

WASHINGTON — Questions emerged Friday about whether the U.S. Navy can continue to hold a group of suspected pirates captured on the high seas and kept for now in floating jail cells ringed with barbed wire.

At issue are nine men, probably Somalis, seized Thursday from a small skiff in the Gulf of Aden. A Navy ship fired warning shots and sailors boarded the skiff and arrested the men after a distress call from an Indian-flagged merchant ship. [read more]

Pirates huh. Let's call them what they really are--terrorists. It's not that they are wearing an eye-patch and singing, "Yo ho, ho and a bottle of rum." with a parrot on their soldier. First, the Marines cannot hold terrorists on Gitmo, now the Navy cannot hold terrorists on their ships. Not surprising at all. It's too bad the Navy cannot just accidentally push them over the side. The Navy can say they must of slipped and fell over. The Navy is too decent to do that. These pirates will just go back to being pirates again if you release to Somalia.

I don't know why these ships being attacked don't defend themselves. Don't make sense to me.

Angry survivors blame council 'green' policy

From The Age.com (February 11, 2009):

ANGRY residents last night accused local authorities of contributing to the bushfire toll by failing to let residents chop down trees and clear up bushland that posed a fire risk.

During question time at a packed community meeting in Arthurs Creek on Melbourne's northern fringe, Warwick Spooner — whose mother Marilyn and brother Damien perished along with their home in the Strathewen blaze — criticised the Nillumbik council for the limitations it placed on residents wanting the council's help or permission to clean up around their properties in preparation for the bushfire season. "We've lost two people in my family because you dickheads won't cut trees down," he said. [read more]

I agree with Mr. Spooner those council people are dickheads. This is exactly what happens when people put the environment above human life. Hey, envirofascists people are part of the environment! Didn't occur to the bonehead council that the bushfire itself might destroy the trees and bush? Fires are unpredictable. It does not matter if the citizens burn the trees or nature does it. The result is the same. Sometimes I wonder if the envirofascists have a braincell in their head.

Computer says Iran will not build nukes

From The Inquirer.net (2/09):

A COMPUTER simulation says that Iran will not build nuclear weapons and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will quickly disappear from power.

Political scientist Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, an advisor to the Central Intelligence Agency built a computer model which looks at political and social indicators in various countries. [read more]

I hope the computer program is correct. The CIA says the program is 90% accurate. I have a feeling that this is the 10% of time where it is wrong.

The article did not go into the program's parameters, but I did some research. According to a Wikipedia article the program uses two mathematical models: rational choice theory and game theory. Both theories simulate rational and/or logical people making choices. The leader of Iran is not rational. He is not insane, but far from being rational. He believes he can bring on the end of days by starting massive bloodshed. This will bring back the 12th Imann from a well. Sounds like a horror movie to me--I believe it was called The Ring. Anyway, he did launch two missiles after all. I wonder if the model predicted that. Fanatical religious belief is driving him not rationality.

I having nothing personally against Mr. Beuno de Mesquita's program or even against the theories he is using. But any social theory that does not take into account emotions, instincts, and beliefs is not going to be very accurate. People are complex beings. We are not simple automatons. Economics went under the assumption people were rational beings. In his book Your Money and Your Brain, Jason Zweig challenged those assumptions.

Glenn Beck's 9 Principles

On his TV show Glenn Beck lists nine principles he believes:

1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Mr. Beck wants anyone who believes in at least seven of those principles to send him a photo of themselves to show they are not alone. I have not decided to send one or not. But I believe in every one of those principles. Of the presidents I remember of the United States, Ronald Reagan would definitely believe in all them. He embodied the principles.
If you are far left-leaning then you probably don't believe 1), 2), 4), 6), 7), and 9). Principle three is iffy. The left is looking like they don't believe Principle 5) with Obama hiring tax cheats.

MIT researchers make 'sixth sense' gadget

From Breitbart.com (Feb 5):

US university researchers have created a portable "sixth sense" device powered by commercial products that can seamlessly channel Internet information into daily routines.

The device created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientists can turn any surface into a touch-screen for computing, controlled by simple hand gestures. [more]

Fascinating. This device is what is called augmented reality technology. You combine virtual reality and real-world elements.

Obama to allow anti-terror rendition to continue

From telegraph.co.uk:

According to a detailed reading of the executive orders signed by Mr Obama on Jan 22, renditions have not been outlawed, with the new administration deciding it needs to retain some devices in Mr Bush's anti-terror arsenal amid continued threats to US national security.

"Obviously you need to preserve some tools – you still have to go after the bad guys," an administration official told the Los Angeles Times.

"The legal advisers working on this looked at rendition. It is controversial in some circles and kicked up a big storm in Europe. But if done within certain parameters, it is an acceptable practice." [read more]

So, it's not okay for the U.S. to waterboard (the new Attorney General says that) but it is okay for other countries to do it? Rendition was started in the Clinton administration to allow other countries to interrogate suspected terrorists. When those other countries interrogate those people sent to them they do not have to abide by our parameters and don't have the ACLU to worry about. Being waterboarded is the method anybody sent to those countries has least to worry about. If I was a terrorist in Gitmo I would rather be there than sent overseas to a place that hardly has any rules about torture.

When you watch these ads, the ads check you out

From Physorg.com (January 30, 2009):

Watch an advertisement on a video screen in a mall, health club or grocery store and there's a slim - but growing - chance the ad is watching you too.

Small cameras can now be embedded in the screen or hidden around it, tracking who looks at the screen and for how long. The makers of the tracking systems say the software can determine the viewer's gender, approximate age range and, in some cases, ethnicity - and can change the ads accordingly. [read more]

Interesting but a little unnerving. Instead of Big Brother it's Big Marketing watching you.

Al-Qaeda Reportedly Suffers WMD Mishap

From NTI.org (Jan. 21, 2009):

An apparent mishap during efforts to develop a biological or chemical weapon forced a branch of al-Qaeda to shutter a base in Algeria, a high-level U.S. intelligence official told the Washington Times on Monday (see GSN, Jan. 5).

The official could not say whether press reports that the accident had killed 40 terrorist operatives were accurate, but rejected the claim in the London Sun tabloid that the cause of death was bubonic plague. [read more]

Yes! I am not happy that al-Qaeda were trying to build WMDS. I am happy that it backfired on them and got some of the terrorists killed. Serves them right. I hope it was 40 or more, but I'll settle with less. Any number of dead Islamofacists is fine with me. Better them killed than US soldiers or civilians. Would you call this cosmic karma? Actually, them trying to develop WMDs is worrying but not surprising. I wonder if a militant Jihadist still gets his 40 virgins by killing himself and other Jihadists but no infidels? Probably not.

Obama and The War on Terror

So, President Obama wants to shut down Gitmo and send those terrorists overseas or to prisons here in America. Nice. Well, what if their countries don't want them then what? Or say a country like Yemen takes them back and then early releases them (or they escape) so they can terrorize another day like Said Ali al-Shihri or Khalid Duhham Al-Jawary who is about to be released.

Sensible lawmakers don't want these detainees in their states because of the threat they would cause if they happen to escape. I don't blame them. Even Obama admits there are some dangerous detainees in Gitmo. The word "some" is an understatement. "Most" is a much better word Mr. President. After all they were found on the battlefield. There might be two or three that wondered into the battlefield by mistake. I guess that could happen. A guard in Gitmo told a 60 minutes correspondent that a detainee told the guard if he were ever released he would come back and kill the guard. Not go out and have a beer with him but to kill him. After all it was the detainee's duty.

Short of putting a bullet in the head of these terrorists (after all a dead terrorist is a good terrorist--they can't terrorize again. Also, don't they want to meet their 40 virgins?) and dumping them in the water, we can prison them in Washington. I mean Obama (and most Dems) thinks these detainees are safe people right? Or at least innocent until proven guilty. Then put them in Washington. If Obama does not like that idea then he better re-think closing down Gitmo. These Jihadists are not criminals. They are warriors. Warriors don't stop being warriors until the war is over. Jihad is holy war. A military tribunal is the only court for these detainees. A criminal court is not the right venue. US security is on the line. If ever any of these detainees are released into society the judge or jury better darn make sure they are not a threat to this country. If another 9/11 happens Obama and the Dems are through being in power.

One other thing. Obama is thinking about keeping Bush's wire tapping overseas. I thought Obama was all about change.

Our world may be a giant hologram

From New Scientist.com (1/15/09):

For the past seven years, this German set-up has been looking for gravitational waves - ripples in space-time thrown off by super-dense astronomical objects such as neutron stars and black holes. GEO600 has not detected any gravitational waves so far, but it might inadvertently have made the most important discovery in physics for half a century.

For many months, the GEO600 team-members had been scratching their heads over inexplicable noise that is plaguing their giant detector. Then, out of the blue, a researcher approached them with an explanation. In fact, he had even predicted the noise before he knew they were detecting it. According to Craig Hogan, a physicist at the Fermilab particle physics lab in Batavia, Illinois, GEO600 has stumbled upon the fundamental limit of space-time - the point where space-time stops behaving like the smooth continuum Einstein described and instead dissolves into "grains", just as a newspaper photograph dissolves into dots as you zoom in. "It looks like GEO600 is being buffeted by the microscopic quantum convulsions of space-time," says Hogan.

If this doesn't blow your socks off, then Hogan, who has just been appointed director of Fermilab's Center for Particle Astrophysics, has an even bigger shock in store: "If the GEO600 result is what I suspect it is, then we are all living in a giant cosmic hologram."

Interesting. I alluded to this in my "The Holographic Universe" blog entry toward the end of the blog entry.

Obama Should Emulate Ronald Reagan, Voters Tell Pollster

From CNSNews.com (January 21, 2009):

Americans would like to see incoming President Barack Obama use Ronald Reagan as a role model.
When given the choice of Abraham Lincoln, FDR, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, JFK, Dwight Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan – registered voters overwhelmingly said they want the new Democratic president to emulate the late conservative Republican president, who held office in the 1980’s. [read more]

Not only did Republicans put Reagan on top of the poll but so did voters overall. The pollster was surprised by the poll. I wasn't. President Reagan was optimistic and stressed conservative values and beliefs. He also connected with people on a basic level and made the citizens of America feel important. Reagan had faith in the individual citizen. He is the president most people remember recently. No-one is hardly alive today to remember Lincoln, Washington, and Andrew Jackson. These were good presidents but people only remember them from history books. Older adults remember FDR, Truman, JFK, Dwight Eisenhower, and Theodore Roosevelt personally but I think none of them connected with the populous like Reagan did.
I hope every Republican running for office reads this poll. Let this be a lesson to them. Conservative values are not dead. If they emulate Reagan more often they would win more often. They don't have to act like him or talk like him--just take on Reagan's philosophy of life. If John McCain would have done this he would have been president instead of Obama.

Scientists measure methane at the source

No this is not a photo of new cow accessory. According to Popsci.com (9/18/2008):

Researchers from Argentina's National Institute of Agricultural Technology connected inflatable tanks to the cows’ first stomach, where methane is made, through a small hole between their ribs. By measuring methane production directly inside each cow, biologist Silvia Valtorta hopes to more accurately determine the country’s overall agricultural contribution to global warming. [read more]

The article does not say how much that tank weighs on the cow but I don't think it is too comfortable for it. I wonder if PETA knows what these researchers are doing. Oh well. Even cows, I guess, have to be inconvenienced for the cause of stopping global warming. The article also said they had to make a small hole in the cow's second stomach so they could put a tube in there. Ouch! The tube connects to the tank on top. I hope they tranquilized the cow before they did all that.

Are the researchers putting tanks on deer and water buffalo too? They probably contribute to global warming too I would think. Or are cows just easier to catch?

I agree with one of the comments that this is just stupid research and a waste of money. I wonder if this idea is going to catch on in America. Could be. There's people in this country that like to waste money too for stupid causes.

Earth's Magnetic Field Changes Climate

From Discover News.com (Jan. 13, 2009):

The Earth's climate has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field, according to a Danish study published Monday that is unlikely to challenge the notion that human emissions are largely responsible for global warming.

"Our results show a strong [my italics] correlation between the strength of the Earth's magnetic field and the amount of precipitation in the tropics," one of the two Danish geophysicists behind the study, Mads Faurschou Knudsen of the geology department at Aarhus University in western Denmark, told the Videnskab journal. [read more]

Well isn't that surprising! Not! How dare that darn magnetic field that blocks solar wind from reaching the earth increase global warming! I remember reading that Mars has global warming on it too. Well Mars has a magnetic field too. I wonder if its magnetic field is causing global warming for it. Global warming on Mars can't be man-made. No people are on Mars. The only other thing in common with both planets is the sun. Hmmmm. The article says that the climate is an "incredible complex system." Duh. Ask any meteorologist and they would agree.

Obama's 'climate czar' tied to socialism

This is the headline of OneNewsNow.com's website. Is this really news? It almost warrants a "duh." A climate czar is basically going to try to stop "man-made" global warming. Or as it is called now since the world is getting colder "climate change." The fight against global warming is part of the plan to try to create a one world gov't. Just a power grab. As the article states she (the climate czar) is part a group that "calls for rich countries to shrink their economies in order to combat climate change." One of those rich countries is America. So, who do you think Obama would pick as a climate czar? A meteorologist? Most meteorologists think "man-made" global warming is a hoax and it is just nature going through cycles. No, he could not pick a skeptic. He had to pick a socialistic believer.

Some people think Obama might move toward the center. I hope he does, but I am not holding my breath. Let's see. He has Congress and House dominated by the left. So, where's the pressure for him to move to the center? Does he have any conservatives on his staff? That would be a real "team of rivals" the press talks about. Having moderates on the team does not count. This climate czar is definitely not a conservative. I'm going to take a wait and see attitude about him moving toward the center.

The Hemenway-Solnick Study at Harvard

Economists David Hemenway and Sara Solnick did a study at Harvard where they asked people if they would prefer to receive an annual salary of $50,000 when others are making $25,000 than to earn $100,000 a year when others are making $200,000. Most of the respondents said they would rather earn the smaller figure.

What this is just plain envy. This emotion is also what the Left loves to exploit. Raise taxes on the rich. "Economic justice" and all that. Well, Soviets did exactly that--implemented economic justice (read: Marxism). What happened? The poor stayed poor, the rich became poor, and the gov't became rich.

The Left tells people you will feel better if the rich lose their money. But this feeling is only temporary because your situation has not changed--only the situation of the envied people are. Your envy toward the once-rich may have gone away and replaced with satisfaction but again does this in the end help you at all? Think of this: wealth is relative. If you are envious of someone else because of their wealth then someone else is probably envious of you because of your wealth. You want your income reduced? Politics is not only local, it is also very personal when it effects you.

Most people who are envious are envious of strangers. If you are envious of friends--you friendship will be harmed. If you are envious of family members--then you are causing strife in the family. Envy is a very pernicious negative emotion because you not wishing someone else well because of what they have or even because of their talents. That I think why it is one of the deadly sins.

Impulsive Behavior Can Make Life Hard

This is almost a "duh, so what." What I mean by the blog title is if you are impulsive as a child, later on as an adult you will live a much harder life. In his book The Time Paradox (2008) Dr. Phillip Zimbardo talks about a simple study that was done at Stanford University's Bing Nursery School. In this study four-year-olds were given a choice to eat a single marshmallow now or wait later on for two marshmallows. Some kids at the marshmallow later on and others waited for the two marshmallows. It did not matter what the reward was--same behavior.

Later on when the kids grew up they were interviewed. The kids who resisted the single marshmallow had developed a range of superior emotional and social competencies compared with the children who had eaten the treat immediately. The non-impulsive adults were better able to deal with adversity and stress, and they were more self-confident, diligent, and self-reliant. Even the intelligent was higher with the non-impulsive adults. It is something to ponder. I guess according to this study patience is its own reward.

Islamic Nations Push to End Free Speech at UN

From Newsmax.com (December 17, 2008):

GENEVA — Islamic proposals to ban criticism of religion, which have gathered strength since the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad two years ago, threaten to derail an already troubled U.N. anti-racism conference planned for next year.

The European Union rejects suggestions by Algeria — backed by other Muslim and African countries — that limits on free speech are needed to stop the publication of offensive articles and images.

Supporters of the proposal, who have been pushing for such a ban to be included in international anti-discrimination charters, want it discussed in April at a high-level United Nations anti-racism meeting in Geneva. [more]

Substitute "the world" with "UN" in the title and you have what the Islamofacists really want. No criticisms of Islam at all in the world. It doesn't surprise me though. You don't hear Christians, Jews, Hindus or the other religions want to ban criticisms of their religions. Sort of makes a person wonder if Islam is so strong and secure a religion why can't it take any criticism? No believer likes its religion poked fun (like Monty Python's the "Life of Brian" movie which made fun of Jesus Christ, or the new movie "Religulous") or criticized, but if they have a strong faith it should not matter to them if it is criticized.

I am glad the other countries are standing up against these Islamists. If they don't then that is exactly what the Muslim fanatics want. Total fear or submission.

eHarmony.com potential issue

I believe I found a potential issue on eHarmony.com's site. It does not filter out or allow the subscriber to filter out people (s)he does not want to date such as relatives, exes (that would be funny, if the service matched you with your ex), etc. I looked at their website closely and did not see a filter of any kind. Since I don't use their service I cannot say for sure they don't have filters, but just reading the description of their service I did not see any.

The tricky part is to create a filter. One possible way is to have the subscriber create a "block list" of people who (s)he never wants to be a potential mate. This list could contain at the very least the person's first and last name. Maybe a middle name or initial. To rule out people with the same name you want to date, a birthday field could also be included so you don't get false positives.

Is this really a problem? It could be if you have a lot of friends or relatives who use the service. It is interesting to note that eHarmony does not do background checks. So, you could potentially be dating someone who is secretly stalking you.

Good Code, Bad Computations: A Computer Security Gray Area

ScienceDaily (2008-11-03) -- If you want to make sure your computer or server is not tricked into undertaking malicious or undesirable behavior, it's not enough to keep bad code out of the system. New research shows that the process of building bad programs from good code using "return-oriented programming" can be automated and that this vulnerability applies to multiple computer architectures. [more]

Basically, a hacker hacks a website for example and rewrites some of the existing code instead of injecting his own outside code on the website to do some potentially malicious behavior. Good job for the researchers for imagining the unimaginable.

Miscellaneous Thoughts Part 12

• I may not know anything about how match-mating services (like eharmony.com, match.com, etc.) work but wouldn't their customer base drop off if they were really worked? Eventually, everyone looking for a soul mate will be happily married and won't need the business again. One exception would be is if their spouse died then they would use the business again.
• If people could record their nighttime dreams on DVD, it could be useful (you could playback a problem you solved for instance) and it could be potentially embarrassing (your erotic dream could get uploaded to Youtube). Either way dream interpretation psychologists would find the technology helpful to them in dealing with their clients' issues.
• Don't own a pet that can kill you.
• They should make alimony optional. From a feminist point of view I would think a man paying alimony to a woman would be disrespectful. I mean it says that a woman still needs a man monetarily even when they are divorced. Most women work now so why do women need alimony? Child-support I can understand. But alimony in this age where men and women are supposed to be equal? And what about a man getting alimony from an ex-wife who has more money or a better paying job than he does?
• The difference between a good man and an evil man is that a good man feels bad when he has to kill a person even in self-defense, war or in justifiable homicide.
• I wonder what a pro-abortion woman would think of a pro-life woman sacrificing her life for her unborn child. That is to say giving birth could put the mother at serious harm or even death. After all doesn't the mother have that (pro-)choice to sacrifice herself for her child?
• Two monkeys swinging in a tree is better than one monkey throwing poo at you.
• If everyone worked for the federal gov't then who would pay their salary? It is the private sector who pays for the federal employees salaries. Without the private sector there is no government workers.
• In the heart of every liberal lurks a Marxist anxious to come out.
• It is better to have the gov't poor than the private citizen poor. A rich gov't and poor citizens only leads to oppression. Like Cuba and the defunct Soviet Union.

Russia, Iran and Qatar Discuss Forming Gas Cartel

From Newsmax.com (October 21, 2008):

TEHRAN, Iran -- Russia, Iran and Qatar made the first serious moves Tuesday toward forming an OPEC-style cartel on natural gas, raising concerns that Moscow could boost its influence over energy markets spanning from Europe to South Asia.

Washington and Western allies worry that closer strategic ties between Russia and Iran could hinder efforts to isolate Tehran over its nuclear ambitions. In addition, the United States opposes a proposed Iranian gas pipeline to Pakistan and India, key allies. [more]

That sounds like something directly out of a Joel C. Rosenberg novel like The Ezekiel Option (a great novel by the way). In the novel, Russia and Iran team up against Israel (actually almost all the world is against Israel) and the president of the United States has to make a decision to support Israel or not. His novels are based on observations of the world and Biblical prophecy.

America only imports 18,352 million cubic feet of natural gas per year from Qatar. None from Iran and Russia. Most of the natural gas comes from Canada, Egypt, and Trinidad (yea, that's right Trinidad). The article mentioned Mexico but we only get 54,062 million cubic feet from them. Not bad, but not nearly as much from the above three. So that cartel won't hurt America too much. Although, The Wall Street Journal makes a good point that a natural gas cartel won't have much control over prices as much as an oil cartel does because the natural gas market is fragmented. This is just Russia trying to exert more control over their neighbor's economy. Iran maybe thinking the same way. Still, them teaming up in anyway makes me nervous.

This cartel makes sense politically. Russia and Iran has become partners in different deals so I can understand them teaming up. Qatar and Iran has teamed up too. June of last year they have backed a Hamas coup.

The Drive-by-Media Attacks Again

What the drive-by-media is doing to "Joe the plumber" (Joe Wurzelbacher) is just terrible. He is just a working guy that asked a politician a question and because of that he gets an anal exam from the media. Is he really a licensed plumber? Was he a Republican plant? All this is really misdirection from the media and the Dems. Look over here (Joe) and not at the real story (Obama showing his true colors). This isn't much of a story. It seems that either Obama is getting over confident about the polls and letting his guard drop or he must have not realized his conversation was being filmed. Either way Obama being a far-right liberal is not surprising to me. The American Conservative Union website rates Obama an eight from a scale of 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest) of being a conservative. An eight! Can you believe that? That's almost a Communist! On a side note Google's search engine got bogged down when users did a search for Mr. Wurzelbacher.

Mr. Wurzelbacher's dealings with the media reminds of another working guy that got overly scrutinized by the media: Richard Jewell. If you remember he at first was declared hero by the press because he found a pipe bomb at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia then later on the press declared him a suspect. He never was charged and later on was exonerated. He died in August 2007 from natural causes. He had diabetes, kidney disease, and severe heart disease. What the drive-by-media did to him did not help his situation.

In America the press has freedom from gov't influence, but it seems anymore they are abusing that right. It does not give them the right to ruin people's lives or give them an anal exam. There is such things as ethics and responsibility. The media never investigates their friends (Obama, Bill Ayers) but they will put a microscope on their perceived enemies or enemies of their friends. Or they will attempt to discredit people or events that could potentially negatively effect their friends. Mr. Wurzelbacher was just being an informed voter. He was just inquiring about Obama's economic policy in a calm respectful manner. What's wrong with that? We should all be that curious about people running for office. That's what makes the political system a better system. Mr. Wurzelbacher did not even say who he was voting for. For just being a curious and doing his civic duty he got a rectal exam from the media.

Anymore, the media is not about reporting the facts it is about agendas. One agenda being discredit your enemies and protect your friends. You don't have a genuine media anymore when you do that, you just have a propaganda machine. And that is just plane sad.

A Conservative Candidate Strategy

Here is a tip for a republican or conservative candidate that is running for office:
Differentiate yourself from your opponent. A political candidate is like a product you would buy. If you are buying a car and two cars are very similar to one another it does not matter very much which one you buy. You have to stand out from your opponent. Glenn Beck said about the second presidential debate it was like watching a Marxist (Obama) verses a bad Democrat (McCain). Don't be your opponent!
The way to differentiate yourself is to talk about conservative principles passionately in your own voice without using the word conservative. People who aren't politically savvy do not know what a conservative is. Talk about how entrepreneurs are the engine of the nation. That we should not punish the successful by raising their taxes. Control gov't spending. That gov't isn't the solution to most problems. That the rich, the poor, and the middle class are all Americans. Playing divide-and-conquer helps no-one other than the divider himself. President Ronald Reagan did not have to mention the word conservative. He did not have to. What he said resonated with most Americans because most believed that America is an exceptional country like he did. He got his message across without worrying what the press thought of him.
Secondly, a conservative needs to go on offense. Put the liberal on defense. Make him show his true ideology. What do you have against wealthy people? How are you planning to pay for all billions of dollars given to the United Nations for the poor overseas? Name three things you love about America?
One last thing, Reagan did not worry about the independent vote. If an independent is a conservative he will vote for a conservative candidate anyway.

The Intelligent TV

Here are some of my idea for the intelligent TV. This TV could:

• Turn down or mute the volume when a commercial comes on.
• Turn itself off when there is no-one in the room. It could do this by reading heat signatures in the room. There could be a time delay before it turns itself off.
• Mute/turn down the volume/turn itself off if all the viewers fall asleep. You don't want this action happening if someone is still watching the TV. Again a time delay could be set.
• Mute itself if a phone rings in front of the TV and you pick up the receiver. The trick is having the TV unmute when you hang up or if you don't pick up the receiver.

All functions above can be toggled.

Son of Stimulus Package

If Nancy Pelosi is talking about another huge ($150 billion) stimulus package (like the first one worked really well) what the gov't should do to get people to spend money is to send out a gift card to a store of a taxpayer's choosing. Otherwise if you just send out a check the taxpayer would just deposit it in their bank account. This is how the idea would work. When the taxpayer fills out the tax form (s)he can indicate what store (s)he wants the gift card from. The only problems are is that it will take longer for gov't to get the cards from a specific store and the store may not have a gift card in that exact mount. The gov't may have to send out out multiple cards. Hat tip from the Glenn Beck show about this idea although the guest's suggested was to send out coupons to the taxpayers. I think the guest was joking. But sending out coupons to the taxpayer restricts the taxpayer to one particular product.

Actually better idea is to send out a debit card with the exact amount of the "refund." That way the gov't does not have to worry about what stores the taxpayer goes to.

An even better idea than the above two is just scrap the stimulus package and cut every one's (not just 95% of the population) taxes and cut the payroll tax too.

Elderly riots?

Bill Clinton crony James Carville has suggested that if Obama loses by a close margin that "it would be very, very, very dramatic out there." Hmmm. Sounds like he is suggesting (and other Libs are suggesting this too) that there will race riots.

What about the flip side? What if McCain loses by a small margin? Couldn't be possible that the elderly would riot? I could see hordes of elderly people entering the streets very slowly with their canes and walkers about to protest Obama getting elected then forgetting what they came out in the street for in the first place.

The question is would Obama do the Al Gore and have a recount and turn the country inside-out if he does loose by a close margin? It depends on how power hungry he is.

Operation Chaos Part 2

If Obama becomes president and the Congress and the House become even more liberal, what the conservatives could do to possibly block stupid spending bills from passing is to put innocuous riders on them that will tick off the libs. For example, a national holiday for President Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, and President George W. Bush (the holidays do not have to be on all on the same bill). See what happens when you don't have line-item veto? Operation Chaos continues!

Putting A 'Korset' On The Spread Of Computer Viruses

ScienceDaily (2008-09-15) -- Prof. Avishai Wool and his graduate student Ohad Ben-Cohen of Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Engineering have written a program called the "Korset" to stop malware on Linux, the operating system used by the majority of web and email servers worldwide. They have modified the kernel in system's operating system so that it monitors and tracks the behavior of the programs installed on it. Quoting from the article:

If the kernel senses abnormal activity, it stops the program from working before malicious actions occur. “When we see a deviation, we know for sure there’s something bad going on,” Prof. Wool explains. [more]

Interesting article. Their approach could probably work on PC's, Apple computers, cell phones, or any other computerized device that contains software. I have always thought that individual software programs could use a similar approach by monitoring their pgm size and date modified. If either of the two have changed since installed on the computer then the pgm would not run and alert the user of a possible virus attack. Of course, if the pgm gets updated then the pgm would take this into account. On a similar note, I found this patent on the web:

A computer virus trapping device (10) is described that detects and eliminates computer viruses before they can enter a computer system and wreck havoc on its files, peripherals, etc. The trapping device (10) creates a virtual world that simulates the host computer system (28) intended by the virus to infect. The environment is made as friendly as possible to fool a computer virus into thinking it is present on the host (28), its intended target system. Within this virtual world, the virus is encouraged to perform its intended activity. The invention is able to detect any disruptive behaviour occurring within this simulated host computer system. It is further able to remove (52) the virus from the data stream before it is delivered to the host (28) and/or take any action previously instructed by a user (38).

Both are good ideas. Instead of removing a specific virus by its "DNA" or virus-print, you are removing any virus by its behavior. If a virus changes then the anti-virus companies have to update their anti-virus pgm. They always have to play catch-up.

Computer Hardware 'Guardians' Protect Users From Undiscovered Bugs

ScienceDaily (2008-10-01) -- As computer processor chips grow faster and more complex, they are likely to make it to market with more design bugs. But that may be OK, according to researchers who have devised a system that lets chips work around all functional bugs, even those that haven't been detected. [more]

This is pretty cool. Here is more from the article:

The approach keeps track of all the configurations the firm did test, and loads that information onto a minuscule monitor that would be added to each processor.

The monitor, called a semantic guardian, keeps the chip operating within its virtual fence. It works by switching the processor into a slower, bare-bones, safe mode when the chip encounters a configuration that has not been validated. In this way, the monitor would treat all untested configurations as potential threats.

Who Caused the Economic Crisis?

FactCheck.org lists on their website who they think caused the economic crises. Guess what, it's almost everyone. Below is their list. Count how many times the gov't is listed.

• The Federal Reserve, which slashed interest rates after the dot-com bubble burst, making credit cheap.
• Home buyers, who took advantage of easy credit to bid up the prices of homes excessively.
• Congress, which continues to support a mortgage tax deduction that gives consumers a tax incentive to buy more expensive houses.
• Real estate agents, most of whom work for the sellers rather than the buyers and who earned higher commissions from selling more expensive homes.
• The Clinton administration, which pushed for less stringent credit and down payment requirements for working- and middle-class families.
• Mortgage brokers, who offered less-credit-worthy home buyers subprime, adjustable rate loans with low initial payments, but exploding interest rates.
• Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, who in 2004, near the peak of the housing bubble, encouraged Americans to take out adjustable rate mortgages.
• Wall Street firms, who paid too little attention to the quality of the risky loans that they bundled into Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), and issued bonds using those securities as collateral.
• The Bush administration, which failed to provide needed government oversight of the increasingly dicey mortgage-backed securities market.
• An obscure accounting rule called mark-to-market, which can have the paradoxical result of making assets be worth less on paper than they are in reality during times of panic.
• Collective delusion, or a belief on the part of all parties that home prices would keep rising forever, no matter how high or how fast they had already gone up.

I counted six times the gov't, three times the private-sector and once the consumer. The last one included everybody. Will the economy eventually recover? Of course it will. It is a dynamic non-linear system. Those systems have a strong tendency to self-correct. But if you tamper or mess with them too much they can become chaotic and never recover their previous state. When it comes to the economy, it is the gov't (especially Congress because they enact the laws) is the one who can really make things worse. Gov't can screw up the natural workings of the economy if they do not know what they are doing. Which is most of the time.

Obama's Four Point Financial Plan

Here's is Barack Obama's four point to deal with the financial crisis:

1. Obama calls for subsidies to "working families" to beat high food and energy prices. That only drive up the price of food and energy even more because the suppliers of both will know that families are getting the subsidies, so they can raise their prices more. Also, does this include all working families? Or is there a income limit? Isn't this just wealth re-distribution? You want lower food prices then stop all subsidies to farmers. You want lower energy prices then increase the supply for energy like oil, nuclear, compressed natural gas, etc. And how about lowering the tax on gasoline.
2. Banks would subsidize bad borrowers to "protect homeowners and the economy." Why stop there. Let's have banks subsidize people borrowing money for cars, motorcycles, motor boats and other expensive items. Maybe the banks should not have gave loans to people who can't repay them. Normally, banks don't do this but in the 90's the gov't put pressure on banks to give loans to borrowers who couldn't pay off the loan because of political correctness. Think about it. Why would banks give loans to the poor? Banks like any other business are there to make a profit. The borrower has to show he can pay the loan off. It's called collateral. I suppose there are some unscrupulous bank loaners who gave loans to people just to resell their home when the borrower defaulted. If the bank had unscrupulous business practices it would not be business very long. Word would get around. A bank does not really want someones home. They have to pay someone to mow the lawn and do other upkeep on the home to sell it. There also has to be a market to sell the home. Banks really don't want to be bothered with that. Keep in mind nobody forced borrowers to borrow money. It's called free will. And along with free will comes personal responsibility. A borrower should know if he can pay back a loan or not. If you have the bank subsidize financially stupid borrowers then you are encouraging bad behavior. The borrower will not learn a lesson. It's funny banks are accused of being unscrupulous for making loans to bad borrowers but it is okay for states to have lotteries. You know who buys lottery tickets? The poor or working class. Very few rich people buy lottery tickets. They don't have to. Isn't the state taking advantage of the poor?
3. Obama seeks "new oversight and regulations of our financial institutions." More bureaucracy. Great. It is the gov't that caused the housing mess in the first place.
4. Obama seeks to empower unelected foreign entities to the same "globally coordinated (rescue) effort." Yea, right. How is Obama going to persuade other nations to help out? By sure will alone? I can see Iran, Russia, China and other dictatorships like them helping out. Friendly nations may help out but they have their own issues. The UN has been completely impotent where comes to world affairs. Iran anyone? America does not need another bureaucracy in the mix. One is enough. Then Obama wants to give billions to the UN to feed the poor countries. That's like throwing money into a black hole. Plus the leaders say that will only screw up their economies. Any corrupt regime who gets any money will take it for themselves. The starving people won't see any supplies or food.

Barack Obama Test

The Barack Obama Test which was written by Bradley S. O'Leary who is the author of The Audacity of Deceit (I have not read it) tests to see if your beliefs/positions are in align with with Obama's beliefs. I took the test and my beliefs/positions are not in align with his. According to the polls that Mr. O'Leary uses it seems that neither are America's positions are in align with Obama's either. Only one question (Defense question #2) did Obama agree with majority of Americans.

What is interesting about the test is that Obama says doctors should not give medical care to a fetus that survives an abortion. I thought universal health care means everyone. Then again he is pro-abortion and said he did not know when life begins. Er, okay. According to a Zogby poll 67.8% Americans and 68.1% of American woman think that an abortion surviving fetus should be given medical care. I do too.

And then there's this question: Do you agree or disagree that it should it be illegal for convicts on probation or on bail to have contact with a street gang? Obama agreed with 12.4% of Americans polled that said it is okay if a convict on probation or on bail to have contact with a street gang. Is this just common sense? Why would anyone want a convict on probation to associate with fellow gang members? They might hide him out somewhere. Actually, if the person is a threat to society or a flight risk he should not be given bail period. I think I get it though. Obama (and probably most liberals) say they have a constitutional right to do so. I don't know about that. If a convict does this and he is on bail he is stupid to do this illegal or not. Because doing it shows his guilt right away.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Money to Legislators

It's no wonder why Congress won't have investigative hearings on Freddie and Fannie like they do the oil companies. They are taking money from the two. OpenSecrets.org reports that Freddie and Fannie have given the total of $4,844,572 to the 354 legislators. 57% of that sum goes to Democrats. Like one of the comments noted on OpenSecrets.org this should be a conflict of interest since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is a gov't created organization. Here are some notable legislators:

Dodd, Christopher J.	$165,400
Obama, Barack	$126,349
Kerry, John	$111,000
Reid, Harry	$77,000
Clinton, Hillary	$76,050
Pelosi, Nancy	$56,250
McCain, John	$21,550
Hatch, Orrin G	$18,250

Congress won't investigate because they would have to investigate themselves.

Why Government Can't Create Private-Sector Jobs

To run a business is not an easy job to do. You have to have business know-how, a viable vision of what your business is going to produce, and certain traits to succeed. These traits include (among other): individuality, problem-solving, self-confidence, realistic outlook, conceptual ability, drive, determination, patience and a positive attitude. Also, as part of the business know-how a successful entrepreneur has to hire good management, find sufficient capital, find a good location, don't over expand the business too fast, and have a realistic business plan. Sorry, I don't see how government can create entrepreneurial jobs with what I described above. What does gov't know about realistic business plans? No fast over-expanding?, Good management? Individuality? Very little. It's not in its vocabulary especially the over-expanding part.

Even if gov't somehow created a business with the right management are they going to insist management pick certain employees? And how is gov't going to guarantee the business survives if the business does not have customers? Give it loans or grants? That's just burning tax-payers money. The Soviet Union tried testing people for certain jobs. It did not work. Mainly, because even if you find someone who has know-how to run a business, (s)he might not have the drive or passion to be an entrepreneur.

Not everyone can be an entrepreneur. It takes a very special individual to be one. Honestly, I don't think I could be one. I admire anyone who uses his own money to start a business and tries to fulfill his dream even he fails.

The best thing gov't can do for the private sector is to just get out of the way. Let the free market decide. It may not be perfect, but gov't is even less perfect.

'Sexist' witch burning banned

From Ananova.com:

Government busybodies have ordered a medieval village to drop a witch burning drama from its birthday pageant - because it's too sexist.

The spectacular blaze - featuring dummy witches - was to have been the highlight of the fair to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the ancient Polish village, Zielona Gora.[more]

Monika Platek, head of Poland's Association for Legal Education said this about the witch burning drama: "The stakes where women were burned were the result of profound misogyny [hatred of women], discrimination against women and ignorance." First, these gov't busybodies are just plain cowards. Then again they are bureaucrats after all. Second, how do you get profound misogyny and discrimination against women from witch burning? I can see ignorance. This was the middle ages after all. But misogyny and discrimination? Come on! If women were burned at the stake because of the two above reasons then there would have been more woman burned that there was. Also, there would have been no "warlocks" killed (the male version of a witch) if the reason was because of sexism. And there were "warlocks" killed. The generally accepted reason people were burned at the steak was because the Puritans thought they were devil worshipers. I think Miss Platek is being way too sensitive.

Interestingly enough, Donald Tyson in his article "The Truth About Witches" said that "a charge of witchcraft was an easy way for a rural woman [my italics], who usually possessed little or no power, to destroy another woman she hated." Hmmm. Let's see, maybe the accuser pointed at the accuse and yelled out in front of a group of people: That witch stole my boyfriend! The group of people heard the word "witch" then the imaginations of the crowd got going. And if the accuse was strange looking and had hardly any status in the community... You can see what happened next.

By the way, it was not only Christians that had witch hunts. Fundamentalist Muslims do it to this day. Look up Fawzi Falih on the Internet.

Solving Complex Problems

The worst way to solve a technological problem is to treat a particular solution as the final solution. That is to say you look at the "solution" as the best solution without looking at other potential solutions. In algorithmic terms this is called a depth-first search. You basically go down a path until you come to a dead end. If the dead end is not your solution then you back up and go down another path. This is fine if the problem is simple, but if it is complex then you need another kind of search called the bread-first search. In this kind of search you search in parallel--you search all paths at one time. This is what the free market exactly does when developing a technological solution to a specific problem. More than one technology competes until the best technology at the time is chosen to solve the problem.

Now, enter the government. Let's say there is a problem called it 'A' that the gov't wants to solve. There are ten potential solutions currently to that problem. Each solution is a business that is just in the developing stages of a solution. The gov't encourages potential solution 1 by giving it a subsidy and ignores the other solutions. To the other businesses this is unfair. But not only that but what if it turns out solution 1 had very bad side effects once it is completely developed or one of the other solutions was better at solving the problem with fewer side effects. The taxpayers' money just went down the drain. Keep in mind as knowledge increases technology changes. Because of that gov't (or anyone for that matter) cannot possible know everything about a particular problem at a given time. Also, by gov't endorsing a particular technology that sends a signal to businesses to stop researching a particular solution that is not endorsed by the gov't. Especially if there is money involved. Using my search analogy, the gov't was using a depth-first search by endorsing only one type of technology. The free market should decide the best-suited technology. If a business can get private individuals or organizations to give or loan it money to research and develop a particular technology, that's great. All the power to the business. The taxpayers does not have to foot the bill and a best solution was reached efficiently.

Five Pillars Policy of Iran

These five pillars are found in Jerome R. Corsi's book Atomic Iran (2005). These policies have been set in stone, determined and agreed upon by the Iranian gov't as directed by Ayatollah Khamenei. They are: (the bold face is mine)

1. Rule with an iron fist. Commit any crime necessary, steal children or whatever; do anything required to retain power.
2. Buy time. The Iranian gov't is winning as long as the world is kept off balance.
3. Do everything possible to destabilize the United States in Iraq. Destabilize Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan.
4. Develop nuclear weapons in Iraq.
5. With nuclear weapons in hand, Iran will assert its power and will upon the world.

You could say that this policy is Iran's equivalent of Mein Kampf. They are spelling out what their plan is. Anyone (especially gov't leaders) who doesn't take Iran's gov't seriously is naive at best; stupid at worst. Hitler was almost able to activate his plan because leaders at that time thought he was just a harmless kook. Let's not make that mistake again.

Code of Decency--The Marion Star

The following below is a code of decency from The Marion Star newspaper circa 1920. It was written by President Warren G. Harding when he was editor of the Star.

• Remember there are two sides to every question. Get them both.
• Be truthful.
• Get the facts. Mistakes are inevitable, but strive for accuracy. I would rather have one story exactly right than a hundred half wrong.
• Be decent. Be fair. Be generous.
• Boost--don't knock. There's good in everybody. Bring out the good and never needlessly hurt the feelings of anybody.
• In reporting a political gathering, get the facts: Tell the story as it is, not as you would like to have it.[my italics]
• Treat all parties alike. If there is any politics to be played, we will play them in our editorial columns.
• Treat all religious matters reverently.
• If it can possibly be avoided, never bring ignominy on an innocent man or child, in telling of the misdeeds or misfortunes of a relative.
• Don't wait to be asked, but do it without the asking.
• And, above all, be clean. Never let a dirty word or suggestion story get into type.
• I want this paper to be so conducted that it can go into any home without destroying the innocence of any child.

Source: The Words We Live By by Brian Burrell (1997).

You think this code is taught by any journalism school? It should be. It's good advice. By the way, The Marion Star is still in business. It is based out of Marion, Ohio. Here is current code for the drive-by-media:

• Remember there are two sides to every question. Get your friends (ie Liberals) side and distort the other side.
• Be truthful if you want. No need to report all the important facts. Downplay any fact that does not fit your agenda.
• Opinions, polls, and innuendo are more important than the facts.
• Be decent, fair and generous only to your friends.
• Always hurt the feelings of people you don't like (ie the Conservatives). There is never good in them.
• If Democrats are getting together make sure you spin it toward the positive. If it is Republicans are getting together spin it toward the negative.
• If there is any politics to be played, we will state our opinion in any story we print.
• Portray all the religious right as nuts.

Anyway, as always, that is my opinion of the press nowadays.

Justice Scalia: Terror Ruling ‘Endangers Lives’

From Newsmax.com (June 18, 2008):

Scalia, in his blistering dissent to the constitutional decision, says the court majority is laying the groundwork for the early release of “some very dangerous people.” He cites a report by Senate Republicans that finds at least 30 prisoners have returned to the battlefield following their release from Guantanamo.

Scalia notes that one previously released prisoner from the detention camp in Cuba was found to have detonated a suicide bomb in Iraq in May. This "return to the kill," he says, happened even after the military had concluded he was not an enemy combatant. [more]

I agree with Scalia. He is dead on. The main purpose of a criminal trial is to determine guilt or innocence. Bin Laden has never denied he is the leader of Al Quada. Therefore he has confessed that he his guilty. To him he is not breaking any law--this is war to him and people like him. Since his guilt or innocence is not in question in my opinion we only have to decide his punishment once America captures him. A bullet in the head is what I choose for him. I don't think that is cruel and unusual punishment. It is quick and relatively painless.

Also, what happens if a terrorist is put on bail by a sympathetic judge? He won't just skip the country. He'll bring terrorism to this country. Homicide bombing anyone? This is what Justice Scalia is talking about. Homicide bombing is a better term than suicide bombing because the terrorist is not just killing himself.

Another issue is discovery. This is where the defense brings up evidence to support their case. That means bringing up sensitive to classified evidence about the terrorist and procedures of the military. Not to mention the defendant has the right to know who is accusing him. This ruling is a bad idea all around.

No Occupational Diversity in Congress

Look at these statistics: Currently there are

• 197 attorneys in Congress
• 6 doctors
• 92 people in business
• 2 accountants
• 6 bankers

Why are these stats important? The stats are important because the Congress represents everyday people of America. Everyday people have occupations in the private sector. If the majority of people in Congress are attorneys then is that a fair representative of the people? I know attorneys work in the private sector (except of course for court appointed ones) but attorneys don't get business owners or doctors. They just know how the law works. Next time if two people or more are running for office and given that all else is equal vote for the non-attorney. 197 attorneys is plenty.

Source: The stats are from Congress Merge.com. You can select different criteria about a Congressperson not just occupation.

Slogans You Can Believe In

Is it me or is John McCain's slogan similar to Barack Obama's slogan. McCain's slogan is: Leadership you can believe in. Obama's slogan is: Change you can believe in. Both have the "you can believe in" part. McCain's slogan is not too bad although still kind of abstract. Obama's slogan is really meaningless. What kind of change are we talking about? Here are some better slogans for Obama following the same "you can believe in" template:

• Liberalism you can believe in. Oh, that's right you cannot imply Obama is a liberal. Okay, then how about this slogan:
• Marxism you can believe in. Better?
• Big gov't you can believe in.
• High taxes you can believe in.
• Over-regulations you can believe in.
• Class warfare you can believe in.
• Surrendering you can believe in.
• Disarming you can believe in.

Hillary Clinton could have used this slogan: Pant-suits you can believe in.

Actually, not only politicians can use this template but so could the private sector. An automobile manufacturer could say: A car you can believe in. A hamburger franchise could say: A hamburger you can believe in. You get the point.

Questions That May Haunt You

Here are answers to some questions that may haunt the reader:

• Can you cry under water? Yes, but the tears wash away.
• How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? I think you have to be a somebody high up in gov't like a president or Congressman.
• Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... But it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? The extra penny goes to the federal gov't.
• Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? I hope not. Who would want to be stuck wearing the same clothes for eternity.
• Why does a round pizza come in a square box? Square boxes I believe are easier to make than round boxes.
• How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? I don't think the Soviet Union at the time were racing to put wheels on their luggage. There wasn't a luggage race.
• Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? They are either suckers or they are looking into the windows of buildings.
• Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway. Doctors are taught in medical school that it is rude to laugh at their naked patients while they are in their presence.
• Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? It's because the companies who make toasters are controlled by a strange secret group of people who like burnt toast.
• If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him? Because it was Jimmy who wrote the song.
• Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? Probably, but it would tick off the other carpoolers because the hearse would be in a funeral procession going real slow.
• If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner? Because Wile E. Coyote is an obsessive/compulsive coyote. That and trying to kill the Roadrunner is funner than going out to eat at least to Wile.

There you have it. Now, you are less haunted.

Blocking Stupid Spending Bills

If Obama becomes president and the Congress and the House become even more liberal, what the conservatives could do to possibly block stupid spending bills from passing is to put innocuous riders on them that will tick off the libs. For example, a national holiday for President Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, and President George W. Bush (the holidays do not have to be on all on the same bill). See what happens when you don't have line-item veto? Operation Chaos continues! (Good thing I am not running for Congress or for the House.)

Hillary Clinton as an Independent Candidate?

If Sen. Hillary Clinton (HC) is not chosen or does not accept the position as VP she could run as an independent. There could be some reasons why this could be good:

1. The democratic voters in Florida and Michigan could vote for her in the general election and have their vote count.
2. She would not have to wait for eight years to run as president since Obama would probably run for another term if he won the presidency. If Obama does not win then she could be elected president or run again next time against McCain. Either way a win/win for her.
3. If HC ran as an independent then she can keep on the offensive against Obama. She would probably go on the offense against McCain too but that is the nature of the game.
4. HC would take votes away from Obama.
5. Running as an independent would cause strife and turmoil in the Democratic party. Operation Chaos continues!

If the independent party is already taken then she could run as the "pants-suit party" or something like that. Of course, she would have to pick a VP herself.

Ten Truths about American History

These ten truths are taken from 33 Questions about American History You're Not Supposed to Ask (2007) by Thomas E Woods, Jr. The truths are:

1. The Founding Fathers were generally wary of immigration and many of them warned about the consequences for the United States if immigration levels were not limited.
2. The American Indians practiced slash-and-burn agriculture, destroyed forests and grasslands, and wiped out entire animal populations.
3. A far greater scandal is that in his war against the Serbs, Bill Clinton aided and abetted the spread of Islamic radicalism into the Balkans.
4. Even in the absence of gov't, the old West was far less violent than most American cities today. Frontiersmen developed private mechanisms to enforce the law and define and enforce property rights.
5. Liberals supported all major American wars, including (initially) even Vietnam. On the other hand, traditional conservatives like Richard Weaver and Senator Robert Taft have been cautious about the use of military power, and skeptical of utopian claims about what it can accomplish.
6. As the US gov't has conceded only when forced to before the Supreme Court, the Social Security payments an individual makes are not an "insurance premium" but a tax, which does not give the individual the right to any benefit or earmark funds for him. The individual receives nothing but a promise "to tax your children to take care of you in your old age."
7. It was precisely Britain's own "living, breathing" constitution--and the oppressions it produced--that the Founding Fathers rebelled against.
8. Gov't intervention in the economy is counterproductive and ends up hurting the very workers it is supposed to help, as it hampers the very thing--capital investment--that raises our standard of living.
9. As a growing body of scholarship continues to show, the New Deal actually prolonged the Depression and crippled American capitalism.
10. Americans are actually less free as a result of changes in American labor law since the 1930s. It is simply a myth that workers have little to no bargaining power if they are not unionized.

An interesting book. If you get the chance, read it. I also have read his other book The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History (2004). A good book too.