Happy Birthday America!

Here an excerpt from an article that Matthew Spalding, Ph. D. wrote about the Declaration of Independence:

As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence publicly announced to the world the unanimous decision of the American colonies to declare themselves free and independent states, absolved from any allegiance to Great Britain. But its greater meaning--then as well as now--is as a statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority and the proper ends of government, and its proclamation of a new ground of political rule in the sovereignty of the people. "If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence," wrote the great historian Samuel Eliot Morrison, "it would have been worthwhile."

Although Congress had appointed a distinguished committee--including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston--the Declaration of Independence is chiefly the work of Thomas Jefferson. By his own account, Jefferson was neither aiming at originality nor taking from any particular writings but was expressing the "harmonizing sentiments of the day," as expressed in conversation, letters, essays, or "the elementary books of public right, as Aristotle, Cicero, Locke, Sidney, etc." Jefferson intended the Declaration to be "an expression of the American mind," and wrote so as to "place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent."

The structure of the Declaration of Independence is that of a common law legal document. The ringing phrases of the document's famous second paragraph are a powerful synthesis of American constitutional and republican government theories. All men have a right to liberty only in so far as they are by nature equal, which is to say none are naturally superior, and deserve to rule, or inferior, and deserve to be ruled. Because men are endowed with these rights, the rights are unalienable, which means that they cannot be given up or taken away. And because individuals equally possess these rights, governments derive their just powers from the consent of those governed. The purpose of government is to secure these fundamental rights and, although prudence tells us that governments should not be changed for trivial reasons, the people retain the right to alter or abolish government when it becomes destructive of these ends. [read more]

Here’s some information about the men who signed the Declaration:

Nine of the signers were immigrants, two were brothers, two were cousins, and one was an orphan. The average age of a signer was 45. The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, who was 70 when he signed the Declaration. The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr., of South Carolina, who was 26.

Eighteen of the signers were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers, and four were doctors. Forty-two signers had served in their colonial legislatures. Twenty-two were lawyers--although William Hooper of North Carolina was "disbarred" when he spoke out against the Crown--and nine were judges. Stephen Hopkins had been Governor of Rhode Island.

Although two others had been clergy previously, John Witherspoon of New Jersey was the only active clergyman to attend--he wore his pontificals to the sessions. Almost all were Protestant Christians; Charles Carroll of Maryland was the only Roman Catholic signer.

What happened to some of the signers after they pledged to each other their Lives, their Fortunes and their sacred Honor?

Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis's New York home was destroyed and his wife was taken prisoner. John Hart's farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey and he died while fleeing capture. Carter Braxton and Thomas Nelson (both of Virginia) lent large sums of their personal fortunes to support the war effort, but were never repaid.

Finally, here are some quotes about the Declaration:

I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory; I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph.

John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776

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There! His Majesty can now read my name without glasses. And he can double the reward on my head!

John Hancock (attributed), upon signing the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

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We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.

Benjamin Franklin (attributed), at the signing of the
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

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The flames kindled on the 4th of July 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who work them.

Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, September 12, 1821

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Independence Forever.

John Adams, toast for the 50th Anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826

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I have said that the Declaration of Independence is the ring-bolt to the chain of your nation's destiny; so, indeed, I regard it. The principles contained in that instrument are saving principles. Stand by those principles, be true to them on all occasions, in all places, against all foes, and at whatever cost.

Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" July 5, 1852

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Our Declaration of Independence has been copied by emerging nations around the globe, its themes adopted in places many of us have never heard of. Here is this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights. We the people declared that government is created by the people for their own convenience. Government has no power except those voluntarily granted it by the people. There have been revolutions before and since ours, revolutions that simply exchanged one set of rulers for another. Ours was a philosophical revolution that changed the very concept of government.

Ronald Reagan, address at Yorktown, October 19, 1981

If you wondering who did the painting above it was done by Armand-Dumaresq circa 1873.

Ancient Egyptian Statue Apparently Rotating on Its Own

From independent.co.uk (June 23):

Bosses at Manchester Museum have been left puzzled by the mystery of an ancient Egyptian statuette which - a video has revealed - seems to turn itself around 180 degrees in its display case.

The 10-inch tall statue of Neb-Sanu, which dates back to 1800 BC, was found in a mummy’s tomb and has been at the Museum for eighty years.

And now a time-lapse video clearly shows it turning on its axis during the day, apparently of its own volition. During the night, however, it remains still.

Campbell Price, an Egyptologist at the museum, suggests the museum may have been struck by ancient curse. [read more]

Spooky. I don’t know about a curse causing this rotation but something is causing the statue to move. Maybe, get an infrared camera or even an ultraviolet camera (I’ve been watching too many Ghost Hunter episodes. Ha!) to maybe find out what’s causing the mysterious movement. Even use a portable EMF meter to pick up any electromagnetic fields on the statue. This would be a interesting case for the Ghost Hunters International (GHI) crew.

I’m not so sure about the physics professor’s “differential friction” explanation. If vibrations caused the Neb-Sanu statue to move wouldn’t the same vibrations cause the statue next to it to move too? One way to test that theory is to put a piece of cardboard or paper between the glass and the bottom of the statue and see if it still moves. Or better yet, put a device that measures vibrations next to the statue. GHI could do these experiments. Also, usually vibrations wouldn’t cause the statue to move in a nearly perfect circle and only in the daytime.

I am thinking either a mischievous demon is causing this motion or a really strong spirit (of the mummy?) that has to rest during the night. Hey, rotating statues takes a lot of energy for a spirit. You just never know.

Now, if the statue levitates (that would be great to get on video!) that definitely would be paranormal.

Congressional Wasteful Spending in 2012

Congress spend $132 million dollars in 2012 in wasteful spending. Like what you might say?

• In West Virginia, thousands of dollars were spend to reconstruct a historic streetscape… out of Legos.
• More than the $300,000 USDA is spending to tell Americans to eat caviar.
• Out-of-this-world Martian food tasting – (HI) $947,000.
• $2 million in financial assistance provided to cupcake specialty shops.
• An unused Ohio bridge — not even connected to a road or trail — received a half-a-million dollar makeover this year.
• Professional sports loophole – (Taxes) $91 million.
• Junk food, luxury drinks, soap operas, and billions of dollars in improper food stamp payments – (Department of Agriculture) $4.5 billion.
• Oklahoma keeps unused airport open to collect federal checks – (OK) $450,000.
• Moroccan pottery classes – (U.S. Agency for International Development) $27 million.
• When robot squirrels attack – (CA) $325,000.
• Bailed out tourist boat sinking private business – (AK) $3.3 million.
• The government pays as much as $2 million annually in monthly service fees to maintain about 28,000 phantom grant accounts that are empty and have expired.
• A penny made is two pennies wasted – (Department of the Treasury) $70 million. In fact, the cost to produce a penny in 2012 is more than two times its actual value.
• Call me for free, maybe – (Federal Communications Commission) $1.5 billion.
• Powerful routers installed in tiny rural libraries and schools – (WV) $24 million.
• Relive prom week with National Science Foundation video game – (CA) $516,000.
• Pulp and paper companies could reap a $268 million tax windfall by asserting an industrial waste byproduct of the wood-pulping process - referred to as “black liquor” - is actually an alternative fuel.
• Beverly Hills, often noted for its affluence, and the city of Santa Fe Springs will sell $206,426 of their Community Development Block Grant dollars this year to other cities, in exchange for $145,662 in general revenue.
• Russian weapons institutes recruiting new scientists with U.S. funds – (Department of Energy) $15.0 million.
• NASA has been working on a number of out-of-this-world apps, games, and other entertainment programs to beef up its marketing efforts. These efforts will cost taxpayers at least $1.6 million.
• Three Smokey the Bear statues cost taxpayers $13,938 this year alone, and a set of Smokey road signs cost another $4,438. The total spent on these statues, signs, and balloon appearances was $49,447.
• Speed reading faces – (WA) $30,000. A study supported by the National Science Foundation was done to find out if people could determine if someone was gay or not just by looking at his/her face.
• More than $1 billion overpaid annually for products and services – (Government-wide) $1 billion.
• The National Endowment for the Arts has allocated $1 million to organizations throughout the country to “read, discuss, and celebrate one of 31 selections from U.S. and world literature.” Perhaps offering the most unique selection of activities is the Shrewsbury Public Library, which received a $10,800 federal grant. The library will host the traditional book discussions, but it will also include “a tour of the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, a ghosts and graveyards tour for teens in Boston, a picket fence decorating contest, an old-fashioned county fair celebration for children, fishing lessons, [and] a performance by a Mark Twain historic interpreter.”
• Nebraska steered $505,000 of Community Development Block Grant  funds provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., which specializes in pet shampoo and toothpaste.

Source: Wastebook 2012 by Senator Tom Coburn, M. D.

Here is another list of wasteful spending: The Waste List.

Miscellaneous Thoughts Part 29

• The new pope is the anti-Obama. Humility is the key here.
• I think Germany and Japan should have their own military. America can’t afford anymore to defend them and that “probation” period after the WW II should haven’t been permanent. Ten years would have been long enough. Then see if they’re peaceful neighbors or not.
• Jesus once said: No man can serve two masters. He will love one and hate the other. Well, the Left better take heed. They worship money and power. Or are at least obsessed with both. Obsession can be a master too.
• King Louis XIV said he was the state. Hitler probably thought that too. So, did Stalin. I wonder if Obama thinks the same way.
• It’s hard to stop an ingenuitive and determined person hell bent on committing an evil act.
• Do you think Obama’s presidential library will contain any of his Harvard term papers? Or maybe his teleprompter? Or those columns of his first inauguration? More likely a painting of him walking on water. Or a photo of him standing with terrorist Bill Ayers. Or a bust of Karl Marx? Just wondering.
• Since the Left likes “comprehensive reform” platforms here are some more platforms for them: Comprehensive abortion reform, comprehensive affirmative action reform, comprehensive trial-lawyer reform, and how about comprehensive big labor reform.
• Ignorance isn’t bliss when it comes to voting for candidates or issues.
• A quantum computer would take the square root of 10¹⁰⁵⁰ moves to make in a chess game. The 10¹⁰⁵⁰ moves is how long a non-quantum computer would take to make.
• The US constitution is a contract with the American people. Some believe that this contract is a living, evolving document. Well, can any contract live and breathe too? If so, you better be careful with who you make contracts with.

Quotes from the “Tolerant” Left about Conservatives

The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.  -  John Kenneth Galbraith

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned how to walk forward.  - Franklin D. Roosevelt, radio speech, 26 October 1939

A conservative is a man who believes that nothing should be done for the first time.  ~ Alfred E. Wiggam

Conservatism is the policy of make no change and consult your grandmother when in doubt.  - Woodrow Wilson

A conservative is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits.  - Woodrow Wilson

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.  -  John Stuart Mill

Some fellows get credit for being conservative when they are only stupid. -
Kin Hubbard (1868 - 1930)

There are no black conservatives. Oh, there are neoconservatives with black skin, but they lack any claim to blackness other than the biological. They have forgotten their roots. - Stephen Carter

All conservatives are such from personal defects. They have been effeminated by position or nature, born halt and blind, through luxury of their parents, and can only, like invalids, act on the defensive. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be conservative requires no brains whatsoever. Cabbages, cows and conifers are conservatives, and are so stupid they don't even know it. All that is basically required is acceptance of what exists. - Colin Welch

A conservative is a man who is too cowardly to fight and too fat to run.  -  Elbert Hubbard

Conservatives have no understanding of modern capitalism. They have a distorted understanding of the traditional values they claim to defend. -  Christopher Lasch

 

Now you know why I put quotation marks around the word “tolerant.” The Left has a tendency not to be tolerant of anyone who doesn’t follow or agree completely with their “perfect” ideology.

Spontaneous Order: Awakening the Sacred

As scientists begin to unlock the principles that order complex systems like ecosystems and economies, they are revealing the power of spontaneous order. But might they also be rediscovering the sacred?

[Physicist and Nobel Laureate Steven] Weinberg argued that to understand “big” phenomena we always peer downward: we travel from large objects like societies to groups, to individual people, to organs, to cells, to chemistry, to physics. Finally we might arrive at a set of ultimate laws that explain everything—Weinberg’s dream of a “final theory.” Causality points upward, from parts to the whole. Everything thus reduces.

Theoretical biologist Stuart Kauffman, in the vanguard of complexity sciences at the Santa Fe Institute, disagrees. In his book Reinventing the Sacred, Kauffman argues that we can find a new sense of the spiritual in the behavior of complex systems like the biosphere and the economy. These systems, Kauffman argues, cannot be reduced. Their complexity is beyond Weinberg’s final theory.

In a 1972 article titled “More Is Different,” Nobel Laureate physicist Philip Anderson argued against reductionism in physics. If we think of causality as an arrow, it does not just point upward from particles, thought Anderson. As the size and complexity of something increase, “entirely new properties appear” that cannot “be understood in terms of a simple extrapolation of the properties of a few particles.” Things are not just the sum of their parts. More is different.

There is no way to define the possible functions of a box of Legos, since the function largely depends on the context and what has already been created. With each change, new combinations and possibilities appear that can disrupt previous functions. New forms become the pieces for still newer combinations and forms.

The economy works this way too. Think of all the possible uses of a simple screwdriver: open a can of paint, defend oneself in an assault, use as a paperweight, open coconuts on a desert island, and so on. The number of uses explodes exponentially as you include any new object that could be combined with a screwdriver (like an electric motor to make a drill). And, of course, the new form’s properties would depend, in some sense, upon the environment in which it’s used. For example, it would not be a drill in 1800, because electric motors co-evolved with the advent of electrical grids. Electrical grids created the possibility of the electric drill.

In markets, humans search through these endless networks of possibility, combining and recombining resources and technologies with never-ending freshness in ever-changing contexts.

The human economy is massively more complex than a box of Legos. The “econosphere,” as Kauffman calls it, roils with novelty and creativity, just like the biosphere. Markets are the collective expression of our creative work, and they are more than the sum of individuals that compose it. We do not fully understand them, and we cannot predict them. We never will, because things will always suddenly appear and change the course of their evolution. But in their creativity, Kauffman believes we can rediscover the sacred. To sacralize, after all, is to venerate the sources of creativity that are beyond any one mere human’s own powers of creation. For many in the past this was an all-powerful Creator God. For Kauffman, it is the natural creativity of the universe.

Source: “Spontaneous Order: Awakening the Sacred” The Freemen. Volume 63, No. 4. May 2013.

A system is complex if its degrees of freedom of movement is two or more. That is to say it has two or more choices or options it can take. See complexity theory or what’s sometimes known as chaos theory for more information.

Power and Character

Power corrupts as Lord Byron once said.  And the possibility that it will corrupt is inversely proportional to the character a person in power has. Without character you have no humility. No humility means a higher chance of corruption and abuse of power. The founders knew this principle well. That’s why America has the Constitution.

Character for a leader is more important than intelligence and charisma. Both intelligence and charisma may help a leader, but aren’t necessarily good traits for the people he rules. Most dictators can have both intelligence and charisma. But all dictators don’t have character.

If a leader is willing to learn he can learn what he needs to learn for the job. Or he can delegate to smart people he trusts that follow the rule of law.

Character and charisma are the only traits that cannot be learned. Given a choice I would choose character for a leader 100% of the time. Hitler, Mussolini, Sadaam Hussein, Stalin and most other dictators have charisma. Like I said earlier, all dictators don’t have character.

 

The fear of God is instruction in wisdom, and before honor is humility.  -- Proverbs 15:33.

Put on humility, because God sets Himself  "Against proud ones, but He gives grace to the humble." (Proverbs 3:34) – Peter 5:5.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. --  Abraham Lincoln.

To lead the people, walk behind them.  -- Lao-Tzu.

A leader leads by example not by Force.  -- Sun Tzu.

A man is only a leader when a follower stands beside [my emphasis] him.  -- Mark Brouwer.

A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.  -- John C. Maxwell.

Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.  -- Tom Peters.

It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.  -- Niccolo Machiavelli.

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.  -- Benjamin Franklin.

Excerpts from "Freedom Is Good for Design: An Interview with Adrian Bejan"

Adrian Bejan is a professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University. So why on earth are we talking to him? Bejan is the first person to articulate what could be one of the most important ideas since Darwin’s theory of evolution. He calls it the Constructal Law. It goes like this:

For a finite-size system to persist in time (to live), it must evolve in such a way that it provides easier access to the imposed currents that flow through it.

All this may sound highfalutin. But the idea is this: Systems survive when things flow better over time—all kinds of systems. In fact, this is what “life” is: flowing  and changing  (morphing) freely to flow/move more easily. From natural systems to human systems, when things low better, we start to notice patterns in nature that are products of good flow. And if Adrian Bejan is right, this is one of the most important—and underappreciated—aspects of our world. Combine the insights of Hayek, the
mathematics of Mandelbrot, and the biology of Darwin and you get something that might transform the way you see the world.

Adrian Bejan: Put another way, a rigid flow system (dammed river, rigid society) is not natural and is destined to be replaced by one that is free to morph, because the future points toward configurations with greater and greater low access. This is why freedom is good for design.

The Freeman: You have discovered an important relationship using constructal thinking: the relationship between energy and the wealth of nations. Can you help us understand this in layman’s terms?

Adrian Bejan: Look, everything that moves does so because it is being pushed or pulled. Nothing is moving by itself. The river water is pushed by the earth heat engine, which drives the climate (winds, oceans, and so on), the animal is moved by the work derived from food, and we are pushed by our engines—by the work derived from fuel. All this work is destroyed (dissipated), and the visible phenomenon is movement with evolving design.

With the Constructal Law, we had predicted that our movement on the globe should be hierarchical, with few large and many small (as in the mass traffic of airways), and that it should be increasing over time, to spread more, to bathe the world map more.

The Freeman: With a few major arteries and many minor streets and roads, for example.

Adrian Bejan: Exactly. Then we discovered that the big channels (the few large) in this global basin of human flow are the inhabitants of the affluent countries. So, because more flow means more fuel spent, we made an x-y plot with all the countries, showing (x) the annual fuel  consumed, versus (y) the annual wealth—i.e., the gross domestic product (GDP). We found that the intangible “wealth” is proportional to the fuel spent, which means
that wealth is movement, and wealth is physics.

The Constructal Law governs not only the hierarchical, vascular designs—i.e., few large and many small movers—but the future design, which consists of more movement over time and greater wealth and fuel consumption for every group on earth. This is why every group is racing upward on the line indicating the proportionality between energy use and wealth.

The urge to have wealth is a manifestation of the Constructal Law. It is the urge to have more movement, fewer obstacles, and more freedom.

Source: “Freedom is Good for Design. Freedom Is Good for Design: An Interview with Adrian Bejan” The Freemen. Volume 63, No. 4. May 2013.

N.J. Bill Would Allow Cops to Look Through Your Phone After an Accident

From The Blaze.com (Jun 11):

Those involved in car crashes in New Jersey might need to prepare themselves to hand over their license, registration and cellphone — no warrant required — to police if new legislation introduced by the state Senate becomes law.

According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, such a law would assist in accident investigations by allowing police to see if a hand-held phone was a contributing factor. Such hand-held devices are illegal to use while operating a vehicle in the state.

Others though are protesting the legislation saying it violates Fourth Amendment protections against a search and seizure of private property without a warrant.

Here are the perspectives of both sides as presented by the Star-Ledger:

“Think about it: The chances of the cop witnessing the accident are slim to none,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. James Holzapfel (R-Ocean), the bill’s sponsor, who has worked as a county and municipal prosecutor. “He’s dispatched, and by the time he gets there — unless they’re unconscious and the phone is in their hands, or some passenger says they were on the phone — then he’s got to do what? Subpoena the service to see if the phone was actively used or not?”

The measure is troubling to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, which said it is “likely susceptible to a constitutional challenge.”

“This bill is problematic because it infringes on the privacy rights of citizens,” said Alexander Shalom, the ACLU’s state policy counsel. “Our state and federal constitutions generally require probable cause before authorizing a search, particularly when it comes to areas that contain highly personal information such as cell phones.”

[read more]

If the police suspect you are under the influence when they pull you over, they have to ask you if you want to walk a straight line or take a breathalyzer test. You have to agree to do either test. I believe this is what is the procedure in most states. I believe it should be the same with the cell phone when you are stopped.

Now, I would hope most police officers would ask to see your phone if you are involved in a car accident even if this law passes. It’s just a courteous thing to do. Is the police going take the phones of both parties involved in the car accident?

I mean if you are hit from the rear wouldn’t it be the fault of the other car? Even if you were using your cell phone at the time it would be almost impossible for you to cause the accident unless by chance you slammed your breaks on or your car just happen to break down. Then slamming on your breaks would show skid marks and if you had a car malfunction an analysis of the car would show that. And if you slammed your breaks on, that wouldn’t necessary be your fault if you got rear ended. You could have slammed your breaks on because you had to make a quick stop to avoid hitting something. The driver rear ending you could have his brakes go out if there are no tire marks but then an inspection of the brakes would show this. 

Side on collisions is a little more complicated. If you hit someone on the side that mean you or the other driver ran a stop sign or a red light. Both of which could be caused by the driver or caused by the brakes not working. Front-on collision are even more complicated to analyze. They are usually caused by one of the drivers. It’s complicated because now you have to decide which driver is at fault. I don’t see how a car malfunction could cause this kind of accident. Although, I guess it is possible. In both these two cases, I can understand the police taking the cell phone, but still I think they need a search warrant.

If the police are trying to figure out if you were distracted before the accident what are they going to do about “non-cellphone” distractions like sneezing or just reaching for something under the dash or even glancing away briefly from the road? Or even talking to a passenger or yelling at your kids to settle down in the back seat. How can the police or even the driver prove any of these distractions unless a witness or a camera saw it? Then again if a camera or witness saw the distraction, then both would have seen the driver use his/her cellphone. Then what would happen if you used your cell phone then had a stroke or heartattack a second after using it? Looking at the cell phone wouldn’t show the true cause of the accident.

World Murder Rates and Gun Regulations

Looking at the murder rates around the world the highest is would you believe Turkey (184.053 per 1 million people). Since the Left likes to blame a lot of murders on guns (like that’s the only way to kill someone) let’s look at Turkey’s gun regulations. In Turkey, civilians are not allowed to possess automatic firearms and semi-automatic firearms. Those are assault weapons aren’t they not?  Also,  in Turkey, private possession of handguns (pistols and revolvers) is permitted under license. An applicant for a firearm license in Turkey must pass background checks which consider criminal, mental, domestic violence, medical, and addiction records.

Next highest murder rate per capita is Belarus. It’s rate is 100.35 per 1 million people. What about its gun regulations? In Belarus, civilians are not allowed to possess handguns unless awarded for military service. Belarus has background checks too. In Belarus, third party character references for each gun license applicant are required.  So, if only people with  military service are allowed to have guns why are there any gun homicides at all? The rate is low. The highest was 0.8 in 1995. But still you think it would be zero. Are the only ones committing gun homicides military people? I don’t think so.

The third highest murder rate per capita is Lithuania at 81.84 per 1 million people. In Lithuania, the right to private gun ownership is guaranteed by law. In Lithuania, civilians are not allowed to possess automatic weapons (category A), military sniper rifles, unmarked firearms, craft weapons, armor-piercing ammunition. Again these are categorized as assault weapons. Lithuania has background checks too.

Albania has the forth highest murder rate. It’s rate per capital is 80.637 per 1 million people. Here is it’s gun regulation policies: The regulation of guns in Albania is categorized as permissive. Not sure what “permissive” means. In Albania, licensed gun makers are required to keep a record of each firearm produced, for inspection by a regulating authority.

What about America’s murder rate per capita? I don’t know. I couldn’t find it on Nation Master.com. But America wasn’t listed in the top 37 countries. Although, Wolfram Alpha.com had the murder rate 5.65 murders per 100,000 people.

Now, if you are curious about gun homicides  around the world, the country with the highest count is South Africa. As of 2002, they had 31,918 gun homicides. That’s because of lax gun laws right? No, not really. In South Africa, the right to private gun ownership is not guaranteed by law. So, no 4th amendment for them. In South Africa, civilians are not allowed to possess semi-automatic firearms without special endorsement, automatic firearms and specifically modified firearms. In South Africa, private possession of fully automatic weapons is prohibited. In South Africa, only licensed gun owners (with competency certificate) may lawfully acquire, possess or transfer a firearm or ammunition. S. Africa has background checks. You got to have 3rd party character reference to get a gun. Licensed firearm owners in South Africa are permitted to possess 1 firearm per firearm license. One other gun fact about South Africa: It has gun free zones.

Next highest in gun homicides (21,898) is Columbia. In Colombia, the right to private gun ownership is guaranteed by law. In Colombia, civilians are not allowed to possess pistols and revolvers of caliber superior to 9.652mm, automatic arms, semi-automatic rifles and carbines over 22 caliber LR, arms with military-style devices (infrared and laser sights, grenade launchers and silencers) and ammunition for these arms. Does the drug cartels in Columbia know this? In Colombia, private possession of fully automatic weapons is prohibited with only narrow exemptions. In Colombia, private possession of semi-automatic assault weapons is prohibited with only narrow exemptions. Again with the “narrow exceptions.” Applicants for a gun owner’s license in Colombia are required to prove genuine reason to possess a firearm, for example, personal protection, security, hunting, target shooting, collection. Like who is going to say their reason is to kill someone.  Yea, I am wanting to start up a hitman business. And yes Columbia has background checks too. It has gun free zones too. Actually, I counted 19 countries (America is one) that have gun free zones. Do these really work? I doubt it.

A lot of countries with high gun homicides either restrict assault weapons or ban them altogether. Most countries have background checks. A lot of countries you have to have a character reference and/or a genuine reason to own a gun. In countries where there is no “right to own a gun” like the United Kingdom, Japan and China there are still gun homicides. Why? I thought regulation is supposed to stop gun homicides. In the UK handguns are completely prohibited. In Japan you have to be an accomplished sports shooter to own a gun. All you amateur sports shooters are out of luck. In China you have to be a hunter and have permission. 

If you are wondering America is ranked 4th in gun homicides.

So, what’s the point of this essay? The point is gun regulation doesn’t really have that much affect on murders.

Surveillance USA

From the guardian.co.uk (June 5):

The National Security Agency is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of US customers of Verizon, one of America's largest telecoms providers, under a top secret court order issued in April.

The order, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, requires Verizon on an "ongoing, daily basis" to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its systems, both within the US and between the US and other countries.

The document shows for the first time that under the Obama administration the communication records of millions of US citizens are being collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing. [read more]

Keep in mind that the gov’t is looking at all Verizon customer records not just some. If the NSA can look at records of Verizon what’s going to stop them from looking at the records of other cell phone company records?

The Obama administration justifies this surveillance on “national security” reasons. So, I guess all terrorists use Verizon phones, huh?

A NSA whistleblower William Binney told Glenn Beck on his radio show Friday that the NSA has been snooping on Americans for more than a decade and that they are not just looking at the records of the phone calls but the content of the phone calls and emails. Binney said that “the NSA is collecting data on 3 billion phone calls every single day.”

Well, it’s not like the NSA is tapping directly into servers of nine major American Internet companies (Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Apple).  Oh, wait. It is. Not only them but so is the FBI. The agencies are not only looking at the content of emails, but almost everything else including video chat.

At least the Post Office is not photographing every mail it receives. Wouldn’t it be funny if the Post Office did that? The jokes on America. It does. That’s how the ricin suspect was tracked. As The Washington Post.com states:

According to FBI Agent James Spiropoulos, investigators accessed a Postal Service computer system that “incorporates a Mail Isolation Control and Tracking (MICT) program which photographs and captures an image of every mail piece that is processed.” Agents were able to obtain front and back images of about 20 mail pieces that had been processed “immediately before the mail piece addressed to Mayor Bloomberg.”

Highlights of Rand Paul’s Obamacare Rant

With the implementation of Obamacare, doctors will soon be required to use roughly 122,000 [my emphasis] new medical diagnostic codes to inform the federal government of injuries sustained by Americans.

The new codes include classifications for “injuries sustained from a turtle,” “walking into a lamppost” and “injuries sustained from burning water skis.”

312 new codes for injuries from animals; 72 new codes for injuries just from birds; 9 new codes for ‘injuries from the macaw.’

Injuries sustained from a turtle.

A code for … walking into a lamppost. There’s also a code for ‘walking into a lamppost, subsequent encounter.’

A code for injuries sustained from burning water skis.

[read more]

Senator Paul asks physicians around the country if they have ever seen injuries from a macaw. No one has.

As for turtles, he jokes that they are of course dangerous, but why have two codes for them? Your doctor has to inform the gov’t if you have been struck or bitten by a turtle.  Turtles can be dangerous if you let them. And because they are so slow they can sneak up on you quietly. Watch out for them. While you think they are being harmless munching on their lettuce or whatever they are eating, they are planning your demise. As the saying goes, a turtle’s hit is worse than it’s bite.

Rand Paul says this about the gov’t: “Your government just wants to take care of you. They don’t think you’re smart enough to make these decisions.” Duh. My thoughts exactly. The gov’t thinks its citizens are like Homer Simpson or worse like cows.

What Conservatives Are For

On April 22, 2013, Senator Mike Lee (R–UT) addressed an audience at The Heritage Foundation outlining a conservative vision of a free society based on American first principles. Two institutions lie at the core of American freedom, said Lee: free enterprise and civil society. American-style freedom brings people together, while big-government policies divide people into interest groups and turn citizens into dependents. Lee flatly rejects the liberal claim that conservatives oppose progress, and he makes the case that elected conservatives must do a better job of presenting the conservative vision to the American public.

Here are this four key points:

1. The conservative vision of American freedom depends on free enterprise and civil society; the great obstacle to realizing this vision today is government dysfunction.
2. A new conservative reform agenda should center on three basic principles: equality, diversity, and sustainability.
3. Equality means everyone plays by the same rules with no more preferential policymaking. Diversity is another name for federalism. The federal government makes too many mistakes because it makes too many decisions. Most of them it doesn't have to make - and therefore shouldn't. The states, however, should.
4. Once we eliminate policy privilege and restore policy diversity, we can start ensuring policy sustainability. When the federal government stops doing things it shouldn't, it can start doing the things it shouldn't and do them better.

[read more]

The real-life tricorder

 

From the dailymail.co.uk (May 23):

The tricorder, a medical device that scan patients in seconds, originally shot to fame in Star Trek - but now a California firm has made it a reality.

The Scanadu Scout can measure your heart rate, temperature, blood oxygen levels, respiratory rate, blood pressure, ECG and emotional stress - just like Spock's handheld gadget.

It can be placed on the user’s forehead and within ten seconds uses Bluetooth to send the results direct to their smartphone after an array of sensors and a camera scan the patient.

It is also able to store previous results meaning that patients can track changes in their vital signs.

'The Scout puts your body’s information where it belongs: in your hands,' the firm says.

'Share it with your doctor and others to take health conversations – and discoveries – to a new level.' [read more]

Health discoveries to a new level? Hmmm. Don’t know if that sounds good or not. Discovering something about your body is usually not a good thing. Although, hypochondriacs would love this device.

Somebody commented that it needs to monitor blood sugar and hormone levels. Maybe in the next version.

I wonder if this gadget will be required when it gets fully developed and the Unaffordable N0-Care Act (Obamacare) kicks in. The gov’t could want all of its citizens to upload their health data using this device to a national database. Good for Scanadu (they make a lot of money) but not so good for the consumer.

How police can find your deleted text messages

From money.cnn.com (May 22):

Smartphone forensics experts can retrieve just about anything from any phone. Police will often seize and analyze phones for evidence of things such as indecent photos and videos, what calls were placed when and to whom, browser history, calendar events and explanations of a suicide or murder.

All of that can be uncovered whether or not a user deleted it from their phone.

"It makes it much, much harder, but wiping a phone doesn't always mean you can't get the data," said Courtney Lancaster, forensic analyst with IT consulting company TCS, at the CTIA wireless industry trade show in Las Vegas.

Forensic analysts have dozens of tools that allow them to access many layers of data on a device.

A so-called "physical" analysis can typically retrieve deleted information that is hidden deep within a smartphone's memory. When a photo is saved, for example, the device's operating system will typically store variations of that image in several different locations -- a thumbnail view may still be available even if the original isn't. [read more]

If computer forensic experts can look at a PC’s contents why not a smartphone’s contents? Both are basically computers. You have the right tools you can just about analyze any computer or smartphone.

Small Businesses Startups and Job Growth

The Kauffman Foundation has done extensive research on job creation. Kauffman Senior Fellow Tim Kane analyzed a new data set from the U.S. government, called Business Dynamics Statistics, which provides details about the age and employment of businesses started in the U.S. since 1977. What this showed was that startups aren't just an important contributor to job growth: they're the only thing. Without startups, there would be no net job growth in the U.S. economy. From 1977 to 2005, existing companies were net job destroyers, losing 1 million net jobs per year. In contrast, new businesses in their first year added an average of 3 million jobs annually.

When analyzed by company age, the data are even more startling. Gross job creation at startups averaged more than 3 million jobs per year during 1992-2005, four times as high as any other yearly age group. Existing firms in all year groups have gross job losses that are larger than gross job gains.

Half of the startups go out of business within five years; but overall they are still the ones that lead the charge in employment creation. Kauffman Foundation analyzed the average employment of all firms as they age from year zero (birth) to year five. When a given cohort of startups reaches age five, its employment level is 80 percent of what it was when it began. In 2000, for example, startups created 3,099,639 jobs. By 2005, the surviving firms had a total employment of 2,412,410, or about 78 percent of the number of jobs that existed when these firms were born.

Source: The last chapter in John Mauldin’s 2011 book Endgame: The End of the Debt Supercycle and How It Changes Everything.

Startups are fragile. It’s hard enough getting and retaining customers and trying to be better than your competitors. Then I read that start-ups are prime targets for cyberattacks. Geez.  And when gov’ts over-regulate and over-tax the start-ups it doesn’t make running a business any easier. More obstacles to overcome.  Then when they grow, the gov’t punishes them unless they do business with the gov’t—ie crony capitalism.

Is There a Moral Basis for Capitalism?

From FEE.org (August 1983):

The contemporary indictment of capitalism usually takes two basic forms. First, there is the economic indictment. Those who make the attack from this perspective argue that capitalism is not viable because it is afflicted with insurmountable contradictions which result in a permanent state of crisis, or problems which can only be temporarily resolved by palliatives. Second, there is the moral indictment. Capitalism, according to this view, is the exploitation of man by man, the profit motive and the rule of money supreme, with an inevitable cruel injustice everywhere manifest.

The claim that capitalism provides the best economic structure for man’s moral development, long a virtual article of faith in American life, is met with derision these days by politicians, journalists, university professors, and theologians. Clergymen daily rage with indignation against the “evils” and “injustice” of the competitive market. Capitalism is, so we are told, “intrinsically immoral.” “Soul dead, stomach well alive,” was Thomas Carlyle’s estimate of the market system, and all the cultured despisers of commercial civilization are in hearty agreement.

The critics are right when they demand that our economic system rest on a firm moral basis. If it can be shown that it does not, then we should abandon it immediately and seek to establish a more just order. At the outset, however, important distinctions and clarifications must be made. Arthur Shenfield calls attention to one of the most vital, viz., “the economic system called capitalism is a system of relationships. It is a composition of markets, and markets are by definition systems of relationships, not purposive bodies. It follows that we can apply the tests of morality to capitalism only by considering the behavior of individuals who operate within it, not as a system capable in itself of being moral or immoral.”

It is Shenfield’s contention that since capitalism is “a system of relationships it cannot be moral or immoral in the sense that a purposive group can be . . . .” He denies, however, that such a system is morally neutral. “If its essential characteristics on balance positively nurture or reinforce moral or immoral individual behavior, it is a moral or immoral system in its effects.”

Economic freedom is born and thrives only in nations or communities where reverence for all human life is widely held to be a supreme value, where the personal safety of the neighbor and his family is generally regarded as inviolably sacred, and where compassionate individuals, acting either alone or through voluntary associations, are encouraged to offer substantial assistance to the poor and needy. This differs radically from the command society of socialism, whose adherents are frequently found not only approving but actively promoting violence, terrorism, and the destruction of the middle class. In such societies (and this would include the Welfare State) “compassion” is institutionalized, and becomes a monopoly of the state.

The seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” teaches us, as does the ninth commandment, that contracts must be honored and double-dealing scorned. “The historic link between the biblical idea of binding covenants and the Western idea of binding contracts,” writes Gary North, “is obvious enough.” The very idea of contracting for joint benefit presupposes a high level of moral integrity and faithfulness on the part of all the parties engaged in the transaction.

In socialism the paternal state seeks to vitiate the necessity for the sanctity of contracts by substituting its omnipotent controls and decrees. Opportunity for moral development and the growth of trust between free men is thereby suppressed.

The right of private ownership is based on the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, this commandment requires “the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.” The commandment forbids “whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbor’s wealth or outward estate.” The eighth commandment “means that the Bible countenances private property—for if a thing is not owned in the first place it can hardly be stolen.” [read more]

Just as I thought. God’s a capitalist. (Just joking! Then again…)

Variations, Stability, and the Economy

Variations also act as purges. Small forest fires periodically cleanse the system of the most flammable material, so this does not have the opportunity to accumulate. Systematically preventing forest fires from taking place “to be safe” makes the big one much worse. For similar reasons, stability is not good for the economy: firms become very weak during long periods of steady prosperity devoid of setbacks, and hidden vulnerabilities accumulate silently under the surface—so delaying crises is not a very good idea. Likewise, absence of fluctuations in the market causes hidden risks to accumulate with impunity. The longer one goes without a market trauma, the worse the damage when commotion occurs.

Source: Antifragile. Things That Gain from Disorder. (2012) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

It’s too bad the powers-that-be don’t learn the lesson above. They think and fear the “crises” will last indefinitely so they have to do something anything to prevent the crises from getting worse. But it does get worse when they interfere with the economy. That’s why the Great Depression wasn’t just a normal depression. The economy will self-correct in its own time. It’s non-linear.

Then there are those leaders who are just control freaks and love regulating the economy to death. Or near death.

The author lists what he calls people who have “skin in the game”: citizens; merchants, businessmen, artisans; entrepreneurs; laboratory and field experimenters; gov’t of city-states; writers. Those who have no skin in the game: Bureaucrats; consultants, sophists; business (my input: if businesses keep their entrepreneurial spirit they would be better off I think); corporate executives (with suit); theoreticians, data miners, observational studies; centralized gov’t; editors.

Mr. Taleb has a suggestion to deter “too big to fail” and prevent employers from taking advantage of the public:

A company that is classified as potentially bailable  out should it fail should not be able to pay anyone more than a corresponding civil servant.

He has a point. If you take money from the government don’t expect there won’t be any conditions or strings attached. If it is a loan and you pay back the loan then the strings should go away. Then that of course that means less power for the gov’t. Because if there are conditions then fewer businesses won’t go to the gov’t for money. Hence, no crony capitalism.

Finally, toward the ending of chapter 24 he has these thoughts:

       But the good news is that I am convinced that a single person with courage can bring down a collective composed of wimps.

       And here, once again, we need to go back into history for the cure. The scriptures were quite aware of the problem of the diffusion of responsibility and made it a sin to follow the crowd in doing evil---as well as to give false testimony in order to conform to the multitude.

The Fiscal Cost of Unlawful Immigrants and Amnesty to the U.S. Taxpayer

From Heritage.org (May 6):

Executive Summary

Unlawful immigration and amnesty for current unlawful immigrants can pose large fiscal costs for U.S. taxpayers. Government provides four types of benefits and services that are relevant to this issue:

• Direct benefits. These include Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation.
• Means-tested welfare benefits. There are over 80 of these programs which, at a cost of nearly $900 billion per year, provide cash, food, housing, medical, and other services to roughly 100 million low-income Americans. Major programs include Medicaid, food stamps, the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit, public housing, Supplemental Security Income, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
• Public education. At a cost of $12,300 per pupil per year, these services are largely free or heavily subsidized for low-income parents.
• Population-based services. Police, fire, highways, parks, and similar services, as the National Academy of Sciences determined in its study of the fiscal costs of immigration, generally have to expand as new immigrants enter a community; someone has to bear the cost of that expansion.

The cost of these governmental services is far larger than many people imagine. For example, in 2010, the average U.S. household received $31,584 in government benefits and services in these four categories.

The governmental system is highly redistributive. Well-educated households tend to be net tax contributors: The taxes they pay exceed the direct and means-tested benefits, education, and population-based services they receive. For example, in 2010, in the whole U.S. population, households with college-educated heads, on average, received $24,839 in government benefits while paying $54,089 in taxes. The average college-educated household thus generated a fiscal surplus of $29,250 that government used to finance benefits for other households. [read more]

All that money for future Democrat voters. What a waste. Maybe there should be provision that says for illegal immigrants: You can’t vote for 20 years until you make yourself legal. And from the Blaze.com (May 10), it looks like there is a biometric ‘national id system’ tucked inside the immigration bill:

The section in the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act called “Identity Authentication Mechanism,” which describes a “photo tool,” is what has some on alert.

The section states that an employer hoping to hire an individual would need to verify the identity of the said person “using the photo tool.” Such a tool would be developed and maintained by the Secretary of State allowing employers to “match the photo on a covered identity document provided to the employer to a photo maintained by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services database.” [read more]

Nice. Real nice.

EU Proposes Now Controlling…Seeds

From The Blaze.com (May 8):

The European Commission is proposing legislation that would have the government regulate what can be planted to its “tested, approved and accepted” list of seeds. Some worry the legislation, in addition to being over-regulation by the government, would lead to less biodiversity and that it could set a precedent that could someday criminalize the average gardener planting so-called banned seeds.

According to the European Commission, the Plant Reproductive Material Law seeks to update existing legislation by cutting down 70 pieces of law to five and reducing “the red-tape on processes and procedures for farmers, breeders and food business operators (producers, processors and distributors) to make it easier for them to carry out their profession,” the press release stated.

The commission believes its package modernizes and simplifies rules “guiding the operation of the food chain” in the best interest of protecting health.

“The package responds to the call for better simplification of legislation and smarter regulation thus reducing administrative burden for operators and simplifying the regulatory environment. Special consideration is given to the impact of this legislation on SMEs and micro enterprises which are exempted from the most costly and burdensome elements in the legislation,” the press release stated. [read more]

This is all about control. Yea, I know the EU is regulating seeds to “protect” the health of the general population. So, they say. They know best, I guess. Well, nearly 43,000 people signed a petition saying “don’t tread on my seeds!” To be fair the seed Nazis EU made some concessions:

• Home gardeners are now permitted to save and swap unapproved seed without breaking the law.
• Individuals & small organizations can grow and supply/sell unapproved vegetable seed - as long as they have less than 10 employees.
• Seedbanks can grow unapproved seeds without breaking the law.
• There could be easier (in an unspecified way) rules for large producers of seeds suitable for organic agriculture etc, in some (unspecified) future legislation – maybe.

See, the EU is a nice bureaucracy after all. Instead of confining you to a small box they’ll confine you to a medium sized box.