08.10.06
More Nifong Opposition
Lawyer Targets Duke Lacrosse Prosecutor
Now Steve Monks is going to try to be a write-in candidate…
Stop Social Security!
The St. Louis Fed recently released a study on the financial position of the US Government. The short answer? Bankrupt, or at least careening towards bankruptcy.
The projected difference between the obligations and the tax receipts of the US is a staggering US$65.9 trillion. The reason for all of this is Social Security as the politicians in this country can’t stand up to the AARP and all the other special interests and admit that they’ve promised more than can be delivered on.
Social Security was originally created so that our elderly wouldn’t die in poverty. It was not created so that every man and women over the age of 65 could retire and vacation with a Winnebago.
Demographically, we have a real issue if all baby boomers try to take their claim on retirement… Other people have discussed it better than I can, but suffice it to say it’s not going to be pretty if/when people try.
Lets face facts and admit that Social Security will destroy the US if we don’t address it. Dump it completely, and create a new agency/program to help those in real need — the elderly that are in poverty or than can’t continue to work. Everyone else has to fend for themselves, no matter how much they contributed to Social Security over their working years.
Too many people are lined up to receive benefits that don’t really need them. We do not have a right to retirement, or an entitlement to leisure.
So, what will happen? Nothing… politicians are certainly predictable on that front. They will wait until there is enough of a political crisis to actually be able to do something. There’s no point in trying to act rationally now — any politician who tries to act rationally will get sacraficed by all the special interest groups and those benefiting from the boondoggle.
Politics is nothing if not irrational. Predictibly irrational at that.
08.09.06
Talking to Yourself…
In fact, Viktor Frankl (Man’s Search for Meaning) once opined that at some future date he believed the differences between atheists and religionists would become indistinguishable. In his view, the only difference between an atheist and a religionist is that an atheist is merely a person who, when he is talking to God, believes he is talking to himself.
In fairness, I would concede that an atheist could justifiably argue that the opposite could also be true — i.e., that a religionist is merely someone who, when he is talking to himself, believes he is talking to God.
– Robert Ringer (quoted out of context…)
08.08.06
Trust Powerball!
Lottery winners are getting smarter… here’s some news from www.powerball.com on a recent winner:
The Oklahoma Lottery announced on August 2, 2006, that the $101.8 million jackpot winner of the drawing on June 17, 2006 has claimed the prize through a trust.
“The trust format was also used because the beneficiaries wish to maintain their privacy, and they kindly and respectfully have requested that all honor their desire for privacy.”
Apparently it takes a while to set up a trust… it took the winners 45 days to claim their prize.
08.07.06
AARP Wants Me!?
I just got an AARP Membership Registration form in the mail today. How ironic.
Note to direct-mail marketers: I’m only 29 years old. I got a few years before I’m in your correct target audience. Try again.
08.06.06
Mental_Floss is Good For You
Mo Rocca interviews the guys (Duke Alumni) who founded Mental_Floss (the magazine).
08.05.06
What Can Congress Do About High Gas Prices?
Congressman Ron Paul asks What Can Congress Do About High Gas Prices? in his latest column.
The only guaranteed lever they have is their power to change the amount of taxation:
And in the meantime let’s eliminate federal gas taxes at the pump.
We have one of the silliest systems in the world where politicians (excluding the honorable Ron Paul, of course) complain about the high price of gasoline but conveniently forget that they collect more in tax revenue on gasoline than oil companies profit.
That’s right, the US Government and state governments make more profit from your pain at the pump than those “evil oil companies” that do the work of pumping, refining, and delivering the gasoline to you.
I don’t know about you, but I like and need to use gasoline. Shouldn’t my hard-earned money go to the people actually providing me a service rather than the politicians who squander it with bridges to nowhere? Even if the oil companies are getting oversized profits, at least they worked for it. In contrast, politicians take money they didn’t earn, for services they haven’t performed, and spend it on things that I never asked for.
This comes back to my old force versus persuasion argument. Oil companies have to persuade me to buy their goods. Governments do not, they force me to pay taxes. Guess which one I prefer, and even which one I have a free choice with?
08.03.06
Swarming and Stacking
Those clever people over at digg labs have put together some eye-candy for our general amusement. They put a flash presentation on the near-real time updates to their links database. You can watch different stories get additional votes (diggs) and watch it unfold over time…
08.02.06
My Name is Bono, and I’m a Rock Star
From Bono’s speech at Harvard’s commencement:
What are we rebelling against now?
If I am honest I’m rebelling against my own indifference. I am rebelling against the idea that the world is the way the world is and there’s not a damned thing I can do about it. So I’m trying to do some damned thing.
But fighting my indifference is my own problem. What’s your problem? What’s the hole in your heart? I needed the noise, the applause. You needed the grades. Why are you here in Harvard Square?
Why do you have to listen to me? What have you given up to get here? Is success your drug of choice or are you driven by another curiosity? Your potential. The potential of a given situation. Is missing the moment unacceptable to you? Is wasting inspiration a crime? It is for a musician.