The commission studied thrift
stores nationwide in 1999 and found that 69 percent were
selling products that had been recalled, banned or
failed to meet safety standards, according to the
handbook.
Breaking Analysis
7/1
Youtube
Taking 'human flight' to a new level, check these guys out!
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7/1
The Bureaucrat In Your Light bulb (and Appliances) (not real title)
6/29/09 Washington Post
In February, the president directed the Energy Department to update its energy conservation standards for everyday household appliances such as dishwashers, lamps and microwave ovens. Laws on the books already required new efficiency standards for household and commercial appliances. But they have been backlogged in a tangle of missed deadlines, bureaucratic disputes and litigation.
The administration already had released new standards on commercial refrigeration. Lamps were next.
Added to 'The Bureaucrat In Your...'
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7/1
Tim Hortons to fold U.S. business into Canadian
entity
Canada.com ^ | 06/29/09 | Canwest News Service
The company has filed a notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that it wants to reorganize itself as a "Canadian public company" in order to take advantage of decreasing Canadian corporate tax rates.
Now the IRS gets 40% of nothing!
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6/21
While at the Sivanada Yoga Ashram in Canada I heard a very nice Satsang regarding an interesting perspective on thought. As discussed, controlling our thoughts is more important than controlling our actions, because when we control our thoughts we control our actions by stopping the ultimate root of that action. In addition, besides controlling our actions, we control our own overall happiness and lessen our overall suffering. We are also then capable of new positive actions that we may not have even thought of before. So, for instance, instead of being very rigid and saying, "I will not steal." and measure ones success based on action (ie not stealing). If one is able to not even have thoughts of stealing, eliminating those negative compulsions, then one will not only not steal, but also will see improvement throughout ones entire life and will be a happier, more caring, and enlightened being when interacting with others.
And this was the basic point of the lecture. When we are able to change our thoughts, through concerted effort of some kind, we brighten the lives of those around us. In other words, by not changing our thoughts we are having a negative effect on those around us, even if we don't engage in 'actions' we consider bad.
Upon reflection, if we consider thought in this way, it provides powerful motivation to further control our mental processes, quiet the mind, and make positive changes.
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6/12
Broker who predicted meltdown eyes U.S. Senate run
6/20/09 A libertarian minded Ron Paul supporter is just what Connecticut needs. Plus he has a great quote in this article:
At an investment conference last month, Schiff compared the United States to
a massive Ponzi scheme, saying the U.S. Treasury must constantly issue new debt
to refinance existing IOUs, tapping China and other overseas buyers for funds.
"I don't know why we have Bernie Madoff in jail," he quipped, alluding to the
convicted mastermind behind the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. "We should appoint
him secretary of the Treasury."
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6/11
California contemplates ultimate reform - no welfare
6/4/09 Sacramento Bee
Because of all the Federal programs and other state programs, it is not entirely true that getting rid of CalWorks would result in no welfare in California. But it would be a great first step and would probably result in the largest reduction of poverty in the state's history. Notice the remarks of the people running CalWorks. IMHO, I doubt the program is in any real jeopardy.
(Added to 'Welfare: History, Results and Reform')
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6/11
Charity Poker Game Raided By Police (food bank
money seized)
WMTW ^ | May 29, 2009
6/11
Fight Government Encroachment into Healthcare!
House.gov ^ | 01 June 2009 | Ron Paul
The battle appears to be gearing up against the massive government expansion into healthcare proposed by the Democrats. I am glad to see the AMA coming out against it:
Doctors’ Group Opposes Public Insurance Plan
6/10/09 NYT
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5/27
5/27
Pentagon Preps Soldier Telepathy Push
5/14/09 wired.com
Forget the battlefield radios, the combat PDAs or even infantry hand signals. When the soldiers of the future want to communicate, they’ll read each other’s minds.
In the future, we will be able to access the internet, email, text, perform calculations, access any information and perform nearly any task by merely thinking about it. While I doubt the defense department will impact the commercialization of the product (where the real advances will take place), it does make you wish you lived in the future!
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5/27
New Mood in Anti-Trust may target Google
5/17/09
For decades, the nation’s biggest antitrust cases have centered on technology companies. And they have all been efforts by the government to deal with powerful companies with far-reaching influence, like AT&T, the telephone monopoly; I.B.M., the mainframe computer giant; and Microsoft, the powerhouse of personal computer software.
You create a product and you are targeted by the government for 'anti-trust', which are politically charged witch hunts, in most cases. Thomas Edison should have been targeted for government action the moment he created the light bulb, as he owned 100% of the market.
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5/27
5/18/09 WSJ
Americans know how to use the moving van to escape high taxes.
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5/27
'Big Daddy' Byrd Brags About Pork
10/17/06 ClubForGrowth
This previous post has been upgraded to 'Required Reading'.
(Added to 'Required Reading')
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5/27
Alan Grayson to introduce Paid Vacation Act
5/21/09 AP
Rep. Alan Grayson was standing in the middle of Disney
World when it hit him: What Americans really need is a week of paid vacation.
So on Thursday, the Florida Democrat will introduce the Paid
Vacation Act — legislation that would be the first to make paid vacation time a
requirement under federal law.
The bill would require companies with more than 100 employees
to offer a week of paid vacation for both full-time and part-time employees
after they’ve put in a year on the job. Three years after the effective date of
the law, those same companies would be required to provide two weeks of paid
vacation, and companies with 50 or more employees would have to provide one week
France currently requires employers to provide 30 days of paid leave.
A job killing bill if ever there was one and offered in the midst of a recession. |
5/27
Venezuela police raid opposition broadcaster
5/26/09
Judicial police chief Wilmer Flores Trossel said
authorities found 24 Toyota vehicles on a property in eastern Venezuela
belonging to Globovision president Guillermo Zuloaga. They raided the property
after receiving an anonymous tip.
"The owners of the residence will have to explain what these
vehicles are doing there and why they aren't in a dealership," he said.
Human Rights Watch on Thursday criticized Chavez's government for investigating
the station. The organization's Americas director, Jose Miguel Vivanco, accused
the government of using the probe to harass critics.
(Added to
'Chavez')
5/27
Garage sales covered under new product safety
laws
kansascity.com ^ | 5/26/2009 | SARA SHEPHERD
Besides people holding yard sales, the law applies to thrift or consignment stores, charities, flea markets and people who sell on auction Web sites, the handbook says.
(Added to 'The Bureaucrat In Your...")
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5/12/09 (By Travis)
Swami Sivananda
Freedom is man's birthright. Freedom is knowledge, peace and bliss. In every heart, there is this desire for freedom, this all-consuming passion for liberty. Freedom is the birthright of man.
Political and economic freedom is essential for the welfare of a people.
Real freedom is lordship over oneself. Still the mind. Herein lies freedom and bliss eternal. Real freedom is freedom from egoism and desires, freedom from thoughts, likes and dislikes, freedom from lust, anger, greed and pride.
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5/12/09 (By Travis)
The panic regarding 'Swine Flu' continues, with a plane being diverted here in the United States with the ridicule even traveling as high as the vice president of the United States:
WASHINGTON (AP) - One day after saying he wouldn't travel in tight quarters because of the swine flu scare, Vice President Joe Biden rode a train Friday from Washington to Delaware.
Iraq is taking 'protective' measures:
Iraq will kill three wild boars in Baghdad Zoo to ward off the new flu sweeping the globe, officials said, despite experts' advice that people are spreading the virus, not pigs.
The worst panic of all appears to have taken place in Egypt:
CAIRO – Egypt's government was hoping to look strong and proactive in the swine flu scare with its decision to slaughter all the country's pigs, after taking heavy criticism at home for poor planning and corruption in past crises.
But instead, some Egyptians called the move a knee-jerk overreaction that even the World Health Organization said was unnecessary.
Egypt, which has no swine flu cases, is the only country in the world to order a mass pig slaughter in response to the disease. The move mirrored Egypt's battle with bird flu, in which the government killed 25 million birds within weeks in 2006.
Many accused the government of not taking precautions when bird flu first appeared in Asia in 2003. When the first case appeared in Egypt in 2006, the government carried out mass bird culls, but the disease has killed more than two dozen people since.
The good news is that we can learn from these stories, as it illustrates the propensity of governments and media to exaggerate, inflame, and take ill advised actions in response to a supposed 'crisis'.
The same pattern takes place in response to the 'war on poverty', war on 'global warming', or any other so-called 'crisis' that 'requires' government intervention. In my personal opinion, most of these crisis are unintentionally manufactured, just as the 'swine flu' was manufactured.
Even in the rare event that there is a legitimate crisis, the people themselves are surely more apt at adapting and finding workable solutions to the problems. Government intervention never solves what is perceived as the problem, and creates many new problems as corollary.
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5/12/09 (By Travis)
DeMint: GOP should end affair with corporate
elites
The Washington Times ^ | 2009-04-29 | U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, R-South
Carolina
Earlier this month, the United States Chamber of Commerce handed out its annual "Spirit of Enterprise" awards to those members of Congress who voted with the Chamber 70 percent of the time on its most important legislative initiatives of 2008. The only four Republican senators who did not receive the award were Jon Kyl, Jeff Sessions, Jim Inhofe and me - four of the most conservative members of the Senate.
What were the conservative offenses? We opposed the failed bailouts and stimulus. Which explains why many liberal Democrats scored higher, including Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The Republican who scored lowest of all - that is, the Republican lawmaker supposedly least aligned with the nation's business community - was Ron Paul, a strong constitutionalist famous for his strict adherence to a free- enterprise libertarian philosophy.
There is, in these facts, an important insight into the current unpopularity of the Republican Party. In an era of corporate welfare - which is lately taking on the characteristics of 1930s-style corporatism itself - the interests of big business are veering away from the interests of economic freedom and toward the interests of big government. Many Republicans in the past decade have followed a similar course, and the party - and our country - have paid dearly for the wrong turn.
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4/28/09 (By Travis)
Congressman (and Dr.) Paul on the Recent Swine
Flu Scare
Youtube ^ | 4/27/09 | Ron Paul
4/25/09 (By Travis)
Italy's Mafia thrives in global financial meltdown
4/25/09 AP
In March, Italy's intelligence services warned in a report that rising unemployment and the credit crunch could help crime syndicates tighten their tentacles around vast swaths of the nation's business sector, including supermarkets, real estate and tourism.
A main engine of the mob's recent strength—the age-old practice of loan-sharking—is thriving as banks hoard cash, allowing the Mafia to elbow in on legitimate businesses.
The mobsters are poised to "acquire control of businesses in difficulty, especially through their consolidated practice of loan-sharking," as well as to "snap up assets put on the market by enterprises experiencing liquidity crises," the intelligence report said.
In Rome, Camorra men or those in their employ have been spotted hanging out at pawnbrokers' auctions to learn which businesses might be in financial straits, said Carabinieri Lt. Col. Roberto Casagrande. Those businesses would then be approached—and offered a loan they could scarcely refuse.
The Camorra offers shaky businesses attractive interest rates, calculating that the businesses will end up part of its economic empire if the owner falls behind on payments, Roberti said.
It appears that the mafia is providing a valuable service to many Italian businesses. They are able to make loans like this because they are able to enforce contractual loan agreements made illegal by the government through mainstream financers and their loaning framework is outside the current burdensome and archaic regulatory framework of modern governments. For example, no one can require, as the US government does, that the mafia lend a certain percentage of their loans to 'low income persons' or minorities.
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4/25/09 (By Travis)
Who Owns the Rain? Hint: It's Not Always
Homeowners
Popular Mechanics ^ | April 22, 2009 | Andrew Moseman
But while rainwater may seem like a global common, nowadays it depends on where you live: By capturing rainwater, some homeowners are breaking the law. This has put city and state governments in an awkward position—smack in the middle of competing water users and advocates, often from within their own agencies, of conserving water to protect supplies.
While laws about rainwater collection are often murky, Colorado's are quite
clear: Homeowners do not own the rain that falls on their property.
A legal fight erupted last August in Utah—which, like Colorado, had a blanket
ban on rainwater collection—when car dealer Mark Miller wanted to capture
rainwater on the roof of his dealership and use it to wash cars. Utah's
legislature just passed a bill last month, which now awaits the governor's
signature, that would allow catchments up to 2500 gallons—but Dietze thinks that
won't be the end of it. After all, he manages the Utah House, the university's
model sustainable home, whose 6500-gallon rooftop rain collector breaks even the
new state law.
Entrepreneurial homeowners provide some alleviation from the water shortages caused by government regulations and 'public' ownership of water supplies, but even that is under attack.
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4/25/09 (By Travis)
Senate Proposal Could Put Heavy Restrictions on
Internet Freedoms
FoxNews ^ | Tuesday, April 21, 2009 | James Osborne
A proposed bill that would give the president widespread power to shut down the Internet in the event of a cyberattack could have sweeping implications on civil liberties. The days of an open, largely unregulated Internet may soon come to an end.
A bill making its way through Congress proposes to give the U.S. government authority over all networks considered part of the nation's critical infrastructure. Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security.
The government also would have access to digital data from a vast array of industries including banking, telecommunications and energy. A second bill, meanwhile, would create a national cybersecurity adviser -- commonly referred to as the cybersecurity czar -- within the White House to coordinate strategy with a wide range of federal agencies involved.
| 4/25/09 (By Travis)
Internet purchases soon to include sales tax
Wallet Pop ^ | Apr 20th 2009 | Tom Barlow
If you're planning a major purchase via the Internet, you might want to do it quickly. Congress is expected to introduce a bill this week that would require Amazon.com, L.L. Bean, Cabela's and other online merchants to collect sales tax on all online purchases and return that money to the state in which the purchaser resides.
(Added to 'The Internet')
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4/20/09 (By Travis)
Sweden's Single-Payer Health System Provides a
Warning to Other Nations
The National Center for Public Policy Research ^ | David Hogberg, Ph.D.
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4/20/09 (By Travis)
Preventing Banks From Repaying TARP Is Pointless
4/20/09 Businessonline
So the Treasury has decided that banks like Goldman Sachs (GS), which claim they're ready to cut a check and repay TARP, won't be allowed to return the money just yet. Only once it's determined that such a move would be "in the national interest," whatever that means, will they be able to do it.
In other words, if it makes another systemically important bank look bad, then they'll have to keep the money.
The government has given all this loan money to banks and is now retrospectively attaching conditions. In effect, the government is exerting a form of ownership over the banks. Luckily some had foresight:
Pay Rule Led Chrysler to Spurn Loan, Agency Says
Firm Claims It Didn't Need The Government Infusion
4/21/09 Washington Post
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4/15/09 (By Travis)
Conservatives mount anti-tax 'tea party'
protests across the US
The London Guardian ^ | April 15, 2009 | Daniel Nasaw
Conservatives gathered in cities across the US today in "tea party" protests to rail against their income tax obligations, in what organisers are billing as the emergence of a mass, conservative grassroots movement to counter President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress.
The protests occurred on the day when Americans' income tax returns and cheques are due with the federal government, and protesters were motivated by resentment at having to pay income taxes to fund the massive corporate bailouts and stimulus spending the White House says is necessary to right the economy.
The catch-all name of the protests is a reference to the 1773 Boston tea party, an iconic event in American history in which American colonists dumped British tea into Boston harbour to protest a tea tax levied by Parliament.
"The main theme is that we're frustrated with government spending," said Eric Odom, a Chicago-based internet activist who helped organise the protests. "It's completely out of control. There's no accountability, there's no transparency."
Odom said protests were scheduled in 760 cities in all 50 states and Washington DC.
At a cold and rainy gathering across from the White House today, protesters described themselves as true American patriots holding off creeping socialism and fascism.
"We're alarmed at the spendthrift attitude of the government," said Thomas Cranmer. "The Obama government, the Senate and the House are just absolutely out of control."
Organisers and participants insisted the protests were independent of the Republican party, which has at every turn attacked the Obama administration's budget and economic stimulus policies.
Tea Party Total Head Count Thread
4/12/09 (By Travis)
Congress to hold BSC antitrust isssues
3/25/09
Everyone from President Barack Obama on down to fans has criticized how college football determines its top team. Now senators are getting off the sidelines to examine antitrust issues involving the Bowl Champion Series.
Behind the push for the hearings is the subcommittee's top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. People there were furious that Utah was bypassed for the national championship despite going undefeated in the regular season.
The subcommittee's statement said Hatch would introduce legislation "to rectify this situation." No details were offered and Hatch's office declined to provide any.
In the House, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, has sponsored legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a football game a "national championship" unless the game culminates from a playoff system.
Congressmen! Stay out of our sports!
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4/12/09 (By Travis)
Just 53% Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism
4/9/09 Ramussen
Only 53% of American adults believe capitalism is better than socialism.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 20% disagree and say socialism is better. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are not sure which is better.
If only 20% of Americans believe socialism is better than capitalism, then why do we have Medicare, Medicaid, HUD, Department of Education, and the hundreds of other federal agencies? Why do we have socialized healthcare and socialized insurance schemes? Why have we treated this economic crisis with socialized schemes (transferring wealth from one group to another)?
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4/12/09 (By Anonymous)
Obituary
After a long struggle with illness, Capitalism was finally laid to rest in 2008.
They claimed it was suicide, but some believe it was a particularly greedy
cancer that claimed his life. Regulators operated for hours but could not halt
his ultimate demise. He passed away, almost unnoticed by the public who had
revered him all his life but will be deeply mourned by every hard working
entrepreneur and young Americans everywhere. He is survived by Socialism and
fresh government doctrines bearing his name though certainly not his spirit. In
lieu of flowers, contributions can be accepted at the Bailout Charity,
Washington D.C. or can be sent directly to AIG or an executive or union member
of your choice.
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4/7/09 (By Travis)
Pennsylvania Pie Fight: State Cracks Down on
Baked Goods
Wall Street Journal ^ | April 10, 2009 | Kris Maher
On the first Friday of Lent, an elderly female parishioner of St. Cecilia Catholic Church began unwrapping pies at the church. That's when the trouble started.
A state inspector, there for an annual checkup on the church's kitchen, spied the desserts. After it was determined that the pies were home-baked, the inspector decreed they couldn't be sold.
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4/7/09 (By Travis)
Obama Wants to Control the Banks / There's a reason he refuses to accept repayment of TARP money.
4/12/09
The chairman offers to write a check, now, with interest. He's been sitting on the cash for months and has felt the dead hand of government threatening to run his business and dictate pay scales. He sees the writing on the wall and he wants out. But the Obama team says no, since unlike the smaller banks that gave their TARP money back, this bank is far more prominent. The bank has also been threatened with "adverse" consequences if its chairman persists. That's politics talking, not economics.
The Banker Who Said No
Forbes ^ | 2009-04-03
Andy Beal, a 56-year-old, poker-playing college dropout, is a one-man toxic-asset eater--without a shred of government assistance.
A self-described "libertarian kind of guy," Beal believes the government helped create the credit crisis. Now he finds it "crazy" that bankers who acted irresponsibly are getting money and he's not.
Then came a shocker: Amid one of the most reckless lending sprees in history, regulators focused on the one bank that refused to play along. Beal's moves confused and worried them, and so they began to probe him with questions. "What are you doing?" he recalls them asking. "You're shrinking yet you're raising capital?"
Despite its aversion to credit then, the bank occasionally had to buy mortgages to meet federal low-income-lending requirements.
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4/7/09 (By Travis)
Rage follows NY’s $131.8B budget proposal
3/30/09 The Business Review
The
proposed $131.8 billion budget that lawmakers will vote on increases
spending by 9 percent and includes roughly $7 billion in higher taxes.
“We made the tough choices,” Paterson said. “If the Legislature can maintain
this [spending] discipline over the next few years,..
Raising spending by 9% in a recession is maintaining 'spending discipline'.
According to Mayor Bloomberg, 40,000 (5% of the total pop of 730,000)people in New York pay 50% of the city's taxes.
At least one of these 40 thousand has said they are leaving:
RUSH:
Governor Paterson, if this is the case -- if you don't care about the
revenue that you confiscate from me -- then call off your audit dogs,
because I've been audited for 12 straight years by New York State and New
York City! I've been audited 12 straight years. So call off your audit dogs,
if you don't care about the money that you were confiscating from me for
your wards of the state! So a governor -- a governor of a state! -- has
actually told reporters that he's so happy I'm leaving, he would have raised
taxes even sooner if he knew that would have forced me out of New York
State. I'm wondering: Has a governor of any state ever said anything like
that about a private citizen? Are you just as happy with all the other New
Yorkers who are going to leave, Governor Paterson? Because there will be
others.
Governor Paterson, do you know that you have an exodus on your hands from
Long Island, and for a long time you've had an exodus on your hands from
Long Island moving to southern states like North Carolina and Florida
because they're sick and tired of the property taxes, the state taxes, the
city taxes, and all the other taxes? So are you going to be happy that other
taxpayers decide to leave New York, or just me? Just me? What an honor! What
an honor. Folks, is there any other private citizen, any other -- who is not
a criminal; you know, who is an upstanding citizen, a man for the ages. Is
there any other governor who has ever excitedly said, "If I would have known
he was leaving the state, I would have raised taxes sooner," or what have
you? Hubba hubba. You know, I haven't even cracked any David Paterson jokes,
unlike others in the media have.
4/7/09 (By Travis)
4/7/09 AP
Elected members of the United States congress praise a tyrant and dictator that has destroyed the great nation of Cuba and spread suffering and death to many other countries in south America and Africa.
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4/7/09 (By Travis)
Almost half of French approve of locking up bosses
4/7/08 AP
On March 31, billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault was trapped in a taxi in Paris for an hour by staff from his PPR luxury and retail group who were angry about layoffs. Riot police intervened to free him.
Should we be optimistic and assume these workers are just bipolar, praising their boss equally as much when he hired them? French labor law, which makes it difficult to fire and heavily regulates working conditions, perhaps contributed to this unfortunate mob mentality.
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3/30/09 (By Travis)
Fictitious Medical Device Review Board Led
by a Dead Dog (The Value of FDA Approved)
NaturalNews ^
The next time you considering using an "FDA-approved" medical device or pharmaceutical, remember this simple truth: In America, the Department of Health and Human Services will certify a fictitious review company headed by a dog!
If the GAO can pull this off after running the sting on just 3 companies, imagine how many of the 6,300 IRBs are certifying fraudulent, dangerous or outright deadly medical devices and pharmaceuticals right now!
What this fiasco really shows is that the medical device oversight system in America today is a complete joke.
(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
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3/29/09 (By Travis)
National Health Preview / The Massachusetts debacle, coming soon to your neighborhood.
3/27/09 WSJ
(Added to 'US Government Health')
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3/29/09 (By Travis)
Singapore cash-for-organs plan raises concern
3/24/09 AP
Under existing law it is illegal for a living donor to be given cash, but the Singapore government has proposed legislative amendments that would allow financial compensation to kidney donors.
We applaud the government of Singapore for taking, what appears to be, steps in the direction of ending the government caused organ transplant waitlists.
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3/29/09 (By Travis)
Eating Too Much Red Meat May Shorten Life
3/23/08 AP
In fact, reducing meat consumption to the amount eaten by the bottom 20 percent seen in the study would save 11 percent of men's lives and 16 percent of women's, according to the study.
"The consumption of red meat was associated with a modest increase in total mortality," said Rashmi Sinha, lead author of the study in the March 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
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3/22/09 (By Travis)
3/19/09 Terrance Corcoran
The AIG bonus firestorm is a diversion from real issues , but it puts the ghastly political classes who make U.S. law on display for what they are: ageing self-serving demagogues who have spent decades warping the U.S. political system for their own ends. We see the system up close, law-making that is riddled with slapdash, incompetence and gamesmanship.
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3/22/09 (By Travis)
Brown apologises for unacceptable failings at Stafford 'Third World' hospital
3/19/09 Daily Mail
Two clinical decision units - one unstaffed - used as 'dumping grounds' for A&E patients to avoid missing waiting targets.
(Added to 'British Healthcare')
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3/15/09 (By Travis)
Mormon food bank a private welfare system
3/8/09 San Francisco Chronicle
What makes the 110 storehouses around the country remarkable is that they are part of a system run almost entirely by volunteers. They grow the food on Mormon-owned farms, and package it at the storehouses. Volunteers drive trucks and deliver the food to distant wards - what Mormons call their sanctuaries - if recipients live more than 30 miles from a storehouse. As the recession has deepened, the church says it has seamlessly kept up with demand that increased 20 percent over the past year. But the intensely private church declined to say how many people or how much food that represented.
During the Great Depression, the current concept of storehouses was formally established. The then-president of the church, Heber J. Grant, said that he had a revelation from God about the welfare system created by the New Deal.
"Our primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people," Grant said, according to church officials.
A prescient prophet.
(Added to 'Welfare Articles')
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3/15/09 (By Travis)
China February Auto Sales Rise 25% After Tax Cuts
3/10/09 Bloomberg
China vehicle sales surged 25 percent in February, the first gain in four months, after the government cut taxes on some models, helping the country extend its lead as the world’s largest auto market this year.
Corporate Oil Booms in low-tax Switzerland
3/12/09 Reuters
The tidy towns and mountain vistas of Switzerland are an unlikely setting for an oil boom.
Yet a wave of energy companies has in the last few months announced plans to move to Switzerland -- mainly for its appeal as a low-tax corporate domicile that looks relatively likely to stay out of reach of Barak Obama's tax-seeking administration.
In a country with scant crude oil production of its own, the virtual energy boom has changed the canton or state of Zug, about 30 minutes' drive from Zurich, beyond all recognition. Its economy was based on farming until it slashed tax rates to attract commerce after World War Two.
The Chinese and Swiss are giving us lessons in 'stimulus'.
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3/15/09 (By Travis)
U.S. banks may pay dearly for government aid
3/11/09 IHT
U.S. financial institutions that are getting government bailout funds have been told to put off evictions and modify mortgages for distressed homeowners. They must let shareholders vote on executive pay packages. They must lower dividends, cancel employee training and morale-boosting exercises, and withdraw job offers to foreign citizens.
Some bankers say the conditions have become so onerous that they want to give the bailout money back.
Other institutions like Johnson Bank of Racine, Wisconsin, initially expressed interest in seeking bailout funds but have now changed their minds.
A growing chorus of industry experts is warning that asking weak banks to carry out the government's economic and social policies could increase the drain on the public purse. These experts say that the financial assistance, while helpful in the short run, could require weak banks to engage in lending practices that will lose them even more money, and that the government inevitably will become more heavily involved in dictating how banks do their business.
Such commands are echoes of the 1990s, when Fannie and Freddie tried to balance dueling mandates that required them to both make a profit for their shareholders and to serve a public mission of increasing homeownership.
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3/8/09 (By Travis)
STATE SLAPS DR. DO-GOOD / INSURANCE BUREAUCRATS REJECT $79 HEALTH PLAN
3/4/09
The state is trying to shut down a New York City doctor's ambitious plan to treat uninsured patients for around $1,000 a year.
Dr. John Muney offers his patients everything from mammograms to mole removal at his AMG Medical Group clinics, which operate in all five boroughs.
"I'm trying to help uninsured people here," he said.
His patients agree to pay $79 a month for a year in return for unlimited office visits with a $10 co-pay.
But his plan landed him in the crosshairs of the state Insurance Department, which ordered him to drop his fixed-rate plan - which it claims is equivalent to an insurance policy.
Muney insists it is not insurance because it doesn't cover anything that he can't do in his offices, like complicated surgery. He points out his offices do not operate 24/7 so they can't function like emergency rooms.
"I'm not doing an insurance business," he said. "I'm just providing my services at my place during certain hours."
He says he can afford to charge such a small amount because he doesn't have to process mountains of paperwork and spend hours on billing.
"If they leave me alone, I can serve thousands of patients," he said.
The state believes his plan runs afoul of the law because it promises to cover unplanned procedures - like treating a sudden ear infection - under a fixed rate. That's something only a licensed insurance company can do.
"The law is strict on how insurance is defined," said an Insurance Department spokesman.
A possible solution that Muney's lawyer crafted would force patients to pay more than $10 for unplanned procedures.
They are waiting to see if the state will accept the compromise. Still, Muney is unhappy because, he said, "I really don't want to charge more. They're forcing me."
One of his patients, Matthew Robinson, 52, was furious to learn the state was interfering with the plan.
"The whole point is, he [Muney] found a way of paying his rent, paying his workers, and getting to see patients for the price," said Robinson.
"How can the state dictate you've got to charge more?"
State regulators frown on NYC doctor's flat fee
3/4/08 The Examiner
Supporters say flat-fee plans let doctors strip away insurance company costs and red tape to make everyday medicine more accessible and less hectic. Critics fear they siphon much-needed primary care doctors from insurance networks and raise questions about equity - especially models that promise to make doctors more available to the fee-paying patients. The American Medical Association ays retainer practices raise ethical concerns but also expand health care options.
This story is of great interest because it illustrates how and why government regulations are driving up the price of health insurance and hurting the poorest of the poor. Of course, we might question why it would even be an issue for a doctor(s) to offer 'health insurance' in this way? It might be a great business model and lower costs and increase access to care.
The problem is that health insurance is a misnomer, it is not insurance, it is a social safety net, a socialist scheme of sorts, in which wealth is forcibly transferred from one segment of the population to another. The social planners in each state constructing the complex insurance regulations are influenced by an unholy alliance of subconscious altruistic egoism, and special interest advocacy, such as the the trial bar, preexisting insurance companies, and the various subspecialty medical lobbies.
Which raises a final point. The AMA is not quite sure how to react to this, for a variety of reasons, but they are certainly not overly supportive. We should not forget that physician lobbying groups often represent a considerable hindrance as we pursue a stateless healthcare system, ironic, as doctors and their patients both have the most to gain, in my opinion.
(Added to 'US Government HealthCare')
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3/8/09 (By Travis)
Worldwide Experiments in Socialism (Medicine) [Required Reading]
liberty-page.com An excellent compilation of news stories detailing the failings of socialized medicine in other countries, even more extensive than exists on this site.
Two interesting graphs, bear in mind Switzerland has the next freest healthcare system in the world besides our own:
Perhaps this is a reason why the United States leads the world in cancer survival:
(Added to 'US Government HealthCare')
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3/8/09 (By Travis)
3/6/09 WSJ
Mr. Obama's $3.6 trillion budget blueprint, by his own admission, redefines the role of government in our economy and society. The budget more than doubles the national debt held by the public, adding more to the debt than all previous presidents -- from George Washington to George W. Bush -- combined. It reduces defense spending to a level not sustained since the dangerous days before World War II, while increasing nondefense spending (relative to GDP) to the highest level in U.S. history. And it would raise taxes to historically high levels (again, relative to GDP).
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3/7/09 (By Travis)
4 arrested in Nev. probe of anti-government
group
Associated Press ^ | 5/7/08
The The Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force is spending its resources going after these types of folks instead of real terrorists.
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3/7/09 (By Travis)
Fed Refuses to Release Bank Data, Insists on Secrecy
3/5/09 Bloomberg.com
Even Senators don't know who has received what!
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3/7/09 (By Travis)
Chávez orders to identify media "owned by oligarchs"
El Universal 3/2/08
Chávez said that "were it not for the attacks, the lies, manipulation and exaggeration of the mistakes of the government" by the private media, the popularity of his government would be 80 percent instead of 60 percent or 70 percent, as he claims to have.
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez tightens state control of food amid rocketing inflation and food shortages
3/6/08 The Telegraph
White rice, the staple for many Venezuelans, can now only be sold at a price of 2.15 bolivares (.07p) per kilo. Private companies insist that production of that kilo costs 4.41 bolivares (.14p) and that government regulations are impossible to fulfil and companies will quickly go broke. Companies that are dedicated to rice production must ensure that 80 per cent of their efforts are dedicated to white rice. The new regulations set production percentages, as companies were rebranding their products to avoid the government controls, like flavouring the rice, as the price restrictions apply only to white rice.
"Forcing companies to produce rice at a loss will not resolve the situation, simply make it worse," said Luis Carmona of Polar, a rice company that has been singled out by the government for trying to sidestep restrictions.
Venezuela's Chavez seizes U.S. food giant unit
3/4/09 AP
There is little question that rice will soon be in short supply in Venezuela. However, the question is, why don't we apply learned lessons from Venezuela's rice experiment to Health Care in this country?
Why does Medicare set prices which have no relation to supply, demand, or value to the consumer?
(Added to 'Chavez')
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3/1/09 (By Travis)
2/6/09 The Politico
WASHINGTON (Feb. 24, 2009) — Eight days after a chimpanzee kept as a pet attacked and critically injured a Connecticut woman, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act, H.R. 80, introduced by U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to stop interstate commerce in primates as pets. The bill passed by a vote of 323 to 95. The bill now moves for consideration to the U.S. Senate, where the effort to pass the legislation is being led by U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and David Vitter, R-La.
Reminiscent of the Terri Shaivo case, our elected representatives focus on the important stuff.
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3/1/09 (By Travis)
FDA Declares Vitamin B6 A Drug
Natural News ^ | 13 Feb 09 | Natural News
The FDA has effectively banned a naturally-occurring form of vi3tamin B6 called pyridoxamine by declaring it to be a drug, reports the American Association for Health Freedom. Responding to a petition filed by a drug company, the FDA declared pyridoxamine to be "a new drug."
Now, any nutritional supplements containing pyridoxamine will be considered adulterated and illegal by the FDA, which may raid vitamin companies and seize such products. See the history of FDA raids on vitamin companies here: http://www.naturalnews.com/021791.html
Pyridoxamine occurs naturally in fish, chicken and other foods
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6), putting the FDA in the strange
position of banning a substance from dietary supplements even though it is
already present in the food supply.
(Added to 'FDA Tyranny')
3/1/09 (By Travis)
Obama Declares War on Investors, Entrepreneurs, Businesses, And More
2/27/08 Larry Kudlow
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3/1/09 (By Travis)
Rush's First Televised Address to the Nation:
Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Speech
2/28/08 CPAC
Rush delivers some red meat to the CPAC delegates. However, underneath some of the rhetoric is a stirring speech on the principles of liberty and freedom:
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2/25/09 (By Travis)
Cash-rich tech companies move carefully in downturn
2/12/09 AP
Fitch estimates that the U.S. tech industry is carrying a cash balance of around $260 billion, one of the largest among all sectors. However, around $100 billion of that money is overseas, Fitch says, meaning it cannot be used in the United States for acquisitions or share buybacks without being repatriated and incurring a tax hit.
Why not get rid of this tax hit for some added 'stimulus', instead of the worthless billions pledged impoverishing our citizens (welfare), thrown down the never ending toilet of public education funding, destroying the viability of our private banking sector, or the hundreds of other democrat pet pork projects in the current passed stimulus bill.
What is going to bring up the depressed real estate market, stock market, and hence bring the recession to a gradual end is going to be when prices sink low enough where bargains are purchased by those with cash, these tech companies and especially foreign investors.
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2/25/09 (By Travis)
Girl, 15, turns in mom for allegedly smoking pot
2/20/09
Reminiscent of Mao's 'Cultural Revolution', or the 'Black Book of Communism's' documentation of the Soviet Unions use of public schools to develop familial informants. Only less so.
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2/25/09 (By Travis)
U.S. plans "substantial" pledge at Gaza meeting
2/23/09 AP
The United States plans to offer more than $900 million to help rebuild Gaza after Israel's invasion and to strengthen the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The money, which needs U.S. congressional approval, will be distributed through U.N. and other bodies and not via the militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, said one official.
In my opinion, another example of the state department playing chess, prolonging the socialism and corruption present in the PA and perpetuating the suffering of the Palestinian people and likely resulting in even further conflict with Israel. Plus, besides all this harm, what about the billion dollars being spent from American taxpayers in the midst of a recession?
(Added to 'Israel Palestine Conflict')
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2/25/09 (By Travis)
Apple investors get no satisfaction on Jobs
2/25/09 AP
The company also declined to answer questions about reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was examining Apple's conduct in disclosing Jobs' health problems, which will keep the widely respected executive sidelined till at least June.
Why is the health of Steve Jobs, a private citizen, the business of the SEC?
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2/17/09 (By Travis)
The Show US Presidents -- Then and Now -- Don't Want You to Hear
2/13/09 Rushlimbaugh.com
Rush delivers a hilarious, yet poignant monologue. My only regret is that NPR is not mentioned, now that is where the big (taxpayer) money is in radio!:
CLINTON: We either ought to have the Fairness Doctrine or we ought to have
more balance on the other side, because essentially there's always been a
lot of big money to support the right-wing talk shows, and let's face it,
you know, Rush Limbaugh is fairly entertaining, even when he's saying things
that I think are ridiculous. I never minded having somebody be heard who
disagreed with me. But if you only have one side like this blatant drumbeat
against the stimulus program, this doesn't reflect the economic reality
we're facing.
RUSH: All right, now, this is not accidental. This appears to be
coincidental. Go on a leftist host show and here comes the question do we
need some type of enforced media accountability. Has this nerd never heard
of the First Amendment? That's constitutionally not permitted! Enforced
media accountability is not permitted by the US Constitution. But it's not
just coincidental that Clinton shows up and has this question asked, and has
this answer. Here's a former president now in favor of the Fairness
Doctrine. We've had members of Congress, from Dick Durbin, to Tom Harkin,
Maurice Hinchey, they're getting ready to do something. They won't call it
Fairness Doctrine, they'll go at it in a much more stealth way, but they're
only going to go after a certain element of media, and that's conservatives
on talk radio.
RUSH: One more thing. Bill Clinton knows this. "All the big money's in
talk radio." What big money? Where does this money come from? All the
money in talk radio comes... Do you know where the money in talk radio comes
from, Snerdley? Where does...? (interruption) Well, wait a second, wait a
second, wait a second. Well, you're getting closer as you keep taking these
wild guesses. I asked Snerdley, "Where does all this big money in talk
radio come from, in any radio?" He said, "From advertisers, from big
business, from commerce." Yeah. Where does that come from? Where does
that money come from? From the audience, exactly right, the people that
buy.
Mr. President, the big money in radio or the big money in Super Bowl or the
big money in American Idol or wherever you want to go that there's big
money, in the private sector, the big money comes from our audiences. The
big money comes from listeners. Without them there wouldn't be any money.
We don't run around fundraising. We don't run around asking for donations.
Listeners! Loyal, lovable, totally appreciated listeners who purchase
products and services advertised on radio. There is no "big money." There's
no George Soros here as there is in Air America. There's no party behind
talk radio, as with Air America and the Democrat Party. There's no big
money here at all. There's certainly not any big money like you got, Mr.
President, from the ChiComs and your illegal campaign donations. We in talk
radio don't engage in crooked real estate deals.
We didn't bring in people to our studios for coffee and shake 'em down,
promising not to criticize them on the radio if they will just pay us off.
We don't bring in interns here and start using cigars in nefarious ways. We
don't have massage parties here in our broadcast studios. Well, I can't
speak for some of the long-haired, maggot-infested FM types and what they're
doing in their studios. (laughing) But I haven't had one visit from a ChiCom
advertiser. I haven't had a guy that owns a Chinese restaurant in Little
Rock walk in to some office with $200 million in unsigned money orders for
me for big money. I haven't people from Dubai, from the United Arab
Emirates, from Saudi Arabia pay me 150 to $400,000 for a speech ripping my
own country while I'm in theirs! I don't do things like this, Mr.
President. My money, our money comes (just as government's does) from the
American people -- and our money is puny compared to yours. Clinton Global
Initiative? We don't have anything like that. What big money, Mr.
President?
2/17/09 (By Travis)
Federal obligations exceed world GDP
Does $65.5 trillion terrify anyone yet?
2/13/09 World Net Daily
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2/17/09 (By Travis)
On The Dole Again (Welfare reform gutted in porkulus)
2/13/09 Cato.org
But, as The Post's Charles Hurt has reported, slipped into the stimulus bill is a provision establishing a new $3 billion emergency fund to help states pay for added welfare recipients, with the federal government footing 80 percent of the cost for the new "clients."
Plus, the bill would reward states for increasing caseloads, even if the growth came because the state had loosened its requirements for recipients to work.
This is radical change. States that succeed in getting people off welfare would lose the opportunity for increased federal funding. And states that make it easier to stay on welfare (by, say, raising the time limit from two years to five) would get rewarded with more taxpayer cash. The bill would even let states with rising welfare rolls still collect their "case-load reduction" bonuses.
In short, the measure will erode all the barriers to long-term welfare dependency that were at the heart of the 1996 reform.
By some estimates, the stimulus bill contains roughly $250 billion in welfare spending, another $6,700 for every poor man woman and child in this country, along with the erosion of the 1996 reforms. It can be counted on to "stimulate" the loss of another generation to welfare dependency.
As a state senator, Barack Obama opposed the 1996 welfare reform. As a candidate for president, he praised its results. Where does he stand now? Does he really want to return to welfare as we knew it before 1996 and put millions more Americans on the public dole?
This 'Welfare' Provision is probably the worst aspect of this 'stimulus' bill and will probably, IMO, end up hurting the poorest of the poor Americans for decades to come. Another article.
(Added to 'Welfare; History, Results and Reform')
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AuntMinnie founder Phil Berman passes away
2/10/09 Aunt Minnie.com
An inspirational life story.
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Posted 2/11/09 (By Travis)
Property seizure by police called 'highway piracy'
4/7/09 Chron.com
Law enforcement authorities in this East Texas town of
1,000 people seized property from at least 140 motorists between 2006 and
2008, and, to date, filed criminal charges against fewer than half,
according to a San Antonio Express-News review of court documents.
Virtually anything of value was up for grabs: cash, cell
phones, personal jewelry, a pair of sneakers, and often, the very car that
was being driven through town. Some affidavits filed by officers relied on
the presence of seemingly innocuous property as the only evidence that a
crime had occurred.
Linda Dorman, a great-grandmother from Akron, Ohio, had
$4,000 in cash taken from her by local authorities when she was stopped
while driving through town after visiting Houston in April 2007. Court
records make no mention that anything illegal was found in her van and show
no criminal charges filed in the case. She is still waiting for the return
of what she calls “her life savings.”
Dorman’s attorney, David Guillory, calls the roadside stops
and seizures in Tenaha “highway piracy,” undertaken by a couple of law
enforcement officers whose agencies get to keep most of what is seized.
<.>
Tenaha Mayor George Bowers, 80, defended the seizures, saying they allowed a cash-poor city the means to add a second police car in a two-policeman town and help pay for a new police station. “It’s always helpful to have any kind of income to expand your police force,” Bowers said.
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Posted 2/11/09 (By Travis)
Three 'bailout' articles:
SC Governor: We're moving close to 'a savior-based economy'
CNN 2/8/09
“A problem that was created by building up of too much debt will not be solved with yet more debt,” Gov. Mark Sanford said Sunday, making a reference to the federal deficit spending that will likely finance the federal stimulus package.
<.>
The South Carolina Republican said such an economy is “what you see in Russia or Venezuela or Zimbabwe or places like that where it matters not how good your product is to the consumer but what your political connection is to those in power.”
Newsweek: We Are All Socialists Now
newsweek ^ | John Meachum & Evan Thomas
A decade ago U.S. government spending was 34.3 percent
of GDP, compared with 48.2 percent in the euro zone—a roughly 14-point gap,
according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In
2010 U.S. spending is expected to be 39.9 percent of GDP, compared with 47.1
percent in the euro zone—a gap of less than 8 points. As entitlement
spending rises over the next decade, we will become even more French.
U.S. Taxpayers Risk $9.7 Trillion on Bailout Programs
Bloomberg.com
The $9.7 trillion in pledges would be enough to send a $1,430 check to every man, woman and child alive in the world. It’s 13 times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Congressional Budget Office data, and is almost enough to pay off every home mortgage loan in the U.S., calculated at $10.5 trillion by the Federal Reserve.
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Posted 2/11/09 (By Travis)
Some frustrated with lead mandates
St Joe News 2/4/08
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which goes into effect Feb. 10, is meant to protect children from lead-laden products. But when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gave libraries two options, get rid of all your children’s books or ban anyone under 12 from entering the library, librarians across the country waited for the punch line. But it never came.
“I was speechless,” said Mary Beth Revels, director of the St. Joseph Public Library. “To know it wasn’t a joke and those were our choices.”
<.>
But local motorcycle shops that sell kid bikes aren’t so lucky. They will not be allowed to sell motorcycles to children as of Feb. 10.
Motorcycles contain lead parts on the batteries and various other areas of the engine.
“It’s so stupid,” said Mike McBride, owner of McBride’s Yamaha on the Belt Highway. “You’d have to suck on an engine case for hours a day to get any lead out of it.”
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Posted 2/5/09 (By Travis)
Sen. Stabenow wants hearings on radio 'accountability'; talks fairness doctrine
2/5/09 Politico
This morning, radio host Bill Press brought up the recent closing of
liberal station Obama 1260 when speaking with Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow,
and talked about whether there needs to be a balance to right-wing talk on
the radio dial.
BILL PRESS: Yeah, I mean, look: They have a right to say that. They’ve got a
right to express that. But, they should not be the only voices heard. So, is
it time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine?
SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): I think it’s absolutely time to pass a
standard. Now, whether it’s called the Fairness Standard, whether it’s
called something else — I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing
accountability to the airwaves. I mean, our new president has talked rightly
about accountability and transparency. You know, that we all have to step up
and be responsible. And, I think in this case, there needs to be some
accountability and standards put in place.
BILL PRESS: Can we count on you to push for some hearings in the United
States Senate this year, to bring these owners in and hold them accountable?
SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): I have already had some discussions with
colleagues and, you know, I feel like that’s gonna happen. Yep.
Although Obama has been publicly opposed to reinstating the fairness
doctrine, conservative radio has talked nonstop about the fear of it
returning (or perhaps something like it with another name) while there's a
Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in Congress.
UPDATE: A commenter points out that Stabenow is married to Tom Athans, a
liberal talk radio executive.
It appears to me that some Democrats in the house and senate remain interested in pursuing blatant violations of freedom of speech and trampling the basic human right of free expression.
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Posted 2/5/09 (By Travis)
One question I would like to ask: where would the capital that is being sucked up by the massive issuances of government debt be, if it wasn't in the government debt? In other words, isn't all this government debt financing sucking money out of the private sector, drying up much needed capital, and further depressing the stock market? Anyone looked at any numbers on this?
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Posted 2/2/09 (By Travis)
2/2/09 Neoperspectives.com
This follows on the recent post 'Beginning Meditation'. These subtitles are more categorical then substantive, as it is not really useful to think of meditation/prayer and spiritual/religious practices as having benchmarks or labeling oneself as a 'beginner' or 'advanced' in any comparative sort of way. We just do the best we can at all times and are always are right where we are. First timers are free to try these so-called 'intermediate' exercises too and regular practitioners might find the beginning ones more useful. The best bet is to try a number of techniques and stick with what you like, or, perhaps even better, create and improvise on your own.
I gratefully acknowledge the teachers, friends, and authors who have taught me many of these techniques.
We start by assuming we are where we left off in 'Beginning Meditation'; we have been sitting for about 5-10-15 minutes and have completely relaxed our body, breath, and mind. If you do not feel relaxed enough or 'deep enough', you can try 'autosuggestion'/self hypnosis, and repeat in your mind, "I am feeling very relaxed and calm", "my body is relaxed", "my mind is clear", "my breath is easy". Others have said it can be useful to visualize a relaxing place or a scene.
Once relaxed, now we are ready to begin any number of exercises. Stick with one for as long as you like or try several during a single meditation; combinations can be especially effective. It is possible to jump into these quicker with practice and if you find the beginning 'warm-up' too boring you can start strait here. When doing these exercises the mind will stray many, many times, just gently chide it, sort of laugh at it, and guide it back.
1) Focus on God
In this exercise, one focuses on God for the entire remainder of the meditation/prayer. Ones conception of God is, of course, entirely subjective. The name itself is even irrelevant, you can use whatever word you like such as 'emptiness', 'OMM', 'goodness' depending on your background. It is worth attempting this exercise even if one is an atheist, polytheist, or another religious tradition because we are not attempting to prove or acknowledge the existence of God with this exercise, but to stimulate the neural pathways which combine thoughts of peace, love, omniscience, interconnectedness, and consciousness. For many people God is the 'common denominator' which allows simultaneous activation of these multiple pathways producing the desired effect. If God intrinsically contains negative connotations then picking another symbol (such as joy) or trying a different exercise is recommended. The idea is to clear ones mind of everything besides God and experience just thoughts of Him for as long as preferred. Sometimes it might be difficult or overwhelming to focus on God in aggregate, and so feel free to sort of 'break God down' (a strange concept!) into parts or aspects and focus on these separately before trying to combine them again.
2) Focus on subtle vibrations of your body/mind/energy
Try to focus on your whole body at once, or parts and traverse from gross feeling to subtle, feeling the smallest broadest nature of what makes up your solid body, even to the point of using ones imagination to feel cells and individual molecules and atoms vibrating. It may not be possible to feel cells or individual molecules vibrating, but to attempt to do so may be the best way to attain the desired effect of the exercise. Trying to feel subtle energies or vibrations within the body can be a powerful meditation, especially when combining this exercise number 1.
3) Focus on your consciousness
Some might consider this an aspect of God, but in this exercise try to focus on what awareness itself feels like. In other words, we are sort of presupposing there is an underlying commonality in all awareness, regardless of what particular thought or emotion the awareness happens to be directed at.
4) Observe the mind
IMHO, this is one of the best exercises. You take the role of a third party observer and simply watch your thoughts and mind. Pretend you don't know what you will experience or think of next, be surprised! This self monitoring of the mind increases awareness, allowing you to view yourself as a more objective third party observer. It also decreases attachment.
5) Observe the thoughts/feelings in the mind as they come from God
This is the same as number 4, except we presume everything we are observing comes from God. Our observed thoughts, feelings, and experiences, are 'holy', containing message, meaning, and experiential value, stemming directly from the almighty.
6) The observer is God
Taking numbers 4 and 5 one step further, we observe our mind, but we feel that 'we' or 'I', or 'it', the observer, IS/ARE God.
7) Surrender to God
A powerful emotional exercise; here we set all sense of self, pride, self worth, and judgments aside, and mentally throw ourselves at the feet of God, pledging our lives in service to God, renouncing all possessions, relationships, self love and attachments in favor of total God devotion. Not my will, but thy will. This is the path of Bhakti Yoga, yoga of devotion, perhaps the strongest path in Yoga.
8) Focus on subtle movements in your body
This is best done supine, spread eagle on the ground, the body and mind must be relaxed multiple times (sometimes tensing each part before relaxing is helpful) and the mind must be very quiet. Sometimes holding ones breath is necessary. Occasionally small motion can be felt especially in the feet perhaps because the distance from the center of gravity may act as a lever. This may be related to the Cranial-Sacral rhythm, primary respiration mechanism described in the Osteopathic literature, or fluid movement in the body related to either cerebral spinal fluid motion or blood flow from the arterial pulsations, or some other mechanism.
9) Focus on an area between and slightly superior to the two eyes on the forehead, or the heart/center of the sternum. These are called prominent 'chakras' in yogi philosophy, which appear to match anatomically with nervous plexuses. It is sometimes taught to focus on the 'third eye' if you are an intellectual person and the heart if you are an emotional person. Trying to block out everything except the feeling in one of these 2 areas is a good meditative exercise regardless.
10) Focus on the area about an inch off the skin, or just off the skin simultaneously, in areas of the body, such as the bilateral forearms, then encompassing the whole body. Around the skull is probably the best place to start, or the spinal cord. Try to subtract the normal sense of feeling from your body and observe what is left. Eastern philosophy calls this the 'energy body. It may appear somewhat bizarre to try to feel something outside your body, as by definition your nerves only run to your skin. However, regardless, this meditation can have good affect.
Which brings us to the conclusion, these exercises can be done regardless of whether one believes in them. In other words, even if one does not believe in God, attempt the exercises with God as a focus. The same with 'feeling cellular or molecular vibration' and 'feeling areas outside the skin'. All of this is not done for accuracy, but to activate certain areas of the brain. Do not feel one is being 'blasphemous', for example, by meditating that you are God observing your thoughts, or that your observed thoughts are stemming from God. These exercises are designed to increase higher thought processes, and give us separation from our normal sense of self and emotional entrapment. It appears existential types of thought activates neural areas and predisposed mindsets which facilitate positive progression and revelation.
As always, immediately after or even during meditation/prayer, monitor the effects of the exercises on your mind, thoughts, and emotions. Continue this throughout the day and observe changes in sleep patterns. This feedback is important because it increases motivation to continue these practices!
Stay tuned for 'Advanced Meditative Practices'!
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Posted 2/2/09 (By Travis)
2/2/09 USA Today
Daschle [Nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services] says he is "deeply embarrassed" by $128,000 tax mistake.
...My mistakes were unintentional."
2/2/09 Houmatoday
Timothy Geithner [nominated for Treasury Secretary] admitted making “careless mistakes” not paying Social Security taxes 4 out of the past 8 years while working for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an international employer that does not pay Social Security taxes.
How much? Geithner paid $34,023 in back taxes and $8,679
in interest.
No doubt, the US tax code is a bit confusing. The latest figures I can find indicate the total number of pages of federal tax rules rose to 54,846 in 2003. In 1913 we had 400 pages. I’m guessing no one has ever actually read all the rules.
These two stories, from supposed leaders of our government, remind me of these two quotes:
The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of
government.
Barry Goldwater
There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has
is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough
criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it
becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation
of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the
kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively
interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers-and then you cash in on
the guilt.
-Ayn Rand
Posted 2/2/09 (By Travis)
A 40-Year Wish List / You won't believe what's in that stimulus bill.
1/28/08 WSJ
"Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before."
So said White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in November, and Democrats in Congress are certainly taking his advice to heart. The 647-page, $825 billion House legislation is being sold as an economic "stimulus," but now that Democrats have finally released the details we understand Rahm's point much better. This is a political wonder that manages to spend money on just about every pent-up Democratic proposal of the last 40 years.
We've looked it over, and even we can't quite believe it. There's $1 billion for Amtrak, the federal railroad that hasn't turned a profit in 40 years; $2 billion for child-care subsidies; $50 million for that great engine of job creation, the National Endowment for the Arts; $400 million for global-warming research and another $2.4 billion for carbon-capture demonstration projects. There's even $650 million on top of the billions already doled out to pay for digital TV conversion coupons.
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Posted 1/28/09 (By Travis)
1/6/08 CNN
There was $29 billion for Bear Stearns, $345 billion for
Citigroup. The Federal Reserve put up $600 billion to guarantee
money market deposits and has aggressively driven down interest
rates to essentially zero.
The list goes on and on. All told, Congress, the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and other agencies have taken dozens of steps to prop up the economy.
Total price tag so far: $7.2 trillion in investment and loans. That puts a lot of taxpayer money at risk. Now comes President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan, some details of which were made public on Monday. The tally is getting awfully close to $8 trillion.
Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education
1/27/08 NYT
Schools, universities and child care centers would receive $150 billion
in new spending in the stimulus package scheduled for a vote in Congress.
The flood of spending continues. Everyone is getting bailed out; everyone is getting a piece of the pie. And by 'everyone' I mean special interests. Banks, mutual funds, CEOs and top executives, schools and universities, roads, bridges, construction companies, auto companies, unions, teachers unions. Everything and everybody is 'too big to fail'.
The result is the unprecedented takeover and injection into large sections of the economy by the Federal government.
Or we could move in a different direction.
So, assuming that we need to do 'something', admittedly a pretty big assumption, what should we do? Taking the positives from Rush Limbaugh's tongue in cheek plan gives us Rep. Paul Broun's plan:
Under Broun’s plan, every legal resident who filed a tax return in 2008 would receive a check for $8,895.75.
But Broun is calculating this using only one (the next) of these never-ending 'stimulus' bills. How much would each taxpayer get if we considered all spending, all stimulus bills combined?
130.6 million people filed tax returns in 2003. Government will have spent upwards of $8 trillion dollars bailing out all these folks and spreading all this money around.
Dividing the two together gives us: $61,000 per income tax filer! Many families have multiple income tax filers so to put it mildly this would be quite a bit of stimulus, on average worth about two years salary, and nearly half the price of an average home!
People could spend this paying off their mortgages, sending their kids to school, or whatever they saw fit. The market would distribute this money in an equitable way, leaving out the politician middle men, leaving out the destruction of the banking system, auto industry, and education industry, and the many other industries that are being taken over, nationalized, regulated, and the multiple other forms of mischief being foisted upon the American economy by Republican and Democrats alike.
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Posted 1/23/09 (By Travis)
1/23/08 Neoperspectives.com
Meditation/prayer, offers great opportunity to calm the mind, increase happiness, knowledge and wisdom, and become successful, with success being self defined. In fact, without regular practice of this in some form or another it is likely that extensive spiritual/religious advancement and the above benefits in plenty may be unattainable. A scientific examination and literature review of the benefits of meditation will (hopefully) be forth coming in the near future. However, if one accepts the benefits of prayer/meditation or at least is willing to give it a shot, how does one start?
First, the position. Any position where one is comfortable and able to focus will do. Any standard position of prayer, if one is coming from a particular religious background is fine. The classic position is to sit on a pillow cross legged, hands can be folded in ones lap, draped over respective knees or one can place them in the 'chin mudra' position on the knees with palms facing up and thumb and index fingers touching.
One can lay down, supine, sort of spread eagle on the ground, but be wary of a wandering mind, plus falling asleep! A spread eagle supine position is probably best as a fallback pose after body discomforts mount after a long sitting meditation.
The first step is to close the eyes and focus on the breath and general relaxation of the body and mind. Breathing should be through the nose with deep slow abdominal breaths. Spend a minute or so just focusing on the breath.
My personal preference is to begin meditation by total body relaxation through segments. In this method you start with one of your toes and feel and relax each toe, moving to the foot, feeling different parts of the foot and relaxing it, then relaxing the whole foot. Moving onto the leg in the same way and then the other foot and leg. Then feel and relax both lower extremities. Do the same for all parts of the body, with special intention to internal organs. The face is the hardest to relax, pay special attention to the eyes. Besides the general relaxation benefit, you are also igniting normally dormant neural pathways, which if activated over time can result in increased general perception of ones body even when one is not meditating.
After all parts of the body have been relaxed, try to relax the brain itself, the skull, the blood vessels in your brain, and finally your mind, so that one is completely calm and relaxed, both physically and mentally. Complete this process at your own speed, but generally this 'warm-up', if you will, should take between 5-10 minutes. You can spend another minute or two just working on relaxing the mind and then return and spend a few minutes focusing on the breath, so that the entire awareness consists of nothing but soft and gentle breathing. Sometimes focusing on the tip of the nose, as the air goes in and out can be beneficial. And then you are done! Spend another minute slowly coming out of the meditation, wiggling the extremities etc..
Another exercise worth trying is to clear the mind of all thoughts entirely, even of the breath, or even of thoughts of relaxation. Thinking 'of nothing' is quite hard to do, with success measured in the seconds. This is indicative of the control the lower thought processes have over us and how little free will we actually have. With practice it is possible to think 'of nothing' for longer.
It is important to monitor how one feels immediately after a meditation. You should feel relaxed, clear headed, less anxious, and more motivated. If you are able to meditate like this once in the morning right after getting up and once in the evening before bed, for an entire week, you might notice significant differences in your everyday experiences at work, personnel life, and even sleep patterns. It is probably advisable to start slow, without excess ambition, try to meditate like this for a week to give it a fair shot, and then you can decide if it's worth doing regularly or deepening your practice.
This beginners guide is just a recommendation. Any beginner can skip this and start with the more advanced (forthcoming) meditative exercises instead.
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Posted 1/23/09 (By Travis)
Long wait for neurology care
The Irish Times ^
| January 19, 2009 | Editorial Comment
For the three-quarters of a million people with a neurological condition, however, waiting 18 months to see a consultant and 10 months to have an MRI scan in order to secure a diagnosis is now the norm."
(Added to 'British Healthcare')
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Posted 1/18/09 (By Travis)
Chávez reopens oil bids to West as prices plunge
1/15/08 International Herald Tribune
Petróleos de Venezuela has faced its own difficulties. It claimed it produced about 3.3 million barrels a day throughout most of 2008. But other sources like OPEC, of which Venezuela is a member, place the figure closer to 2.3 million and show a fall of about 100,000 barrels a day from a year earlier. When Chávez rose to power a decade ago, Venezuela was producing about 3.4 million barrels a day.
In recent years, Chávez has preferred partnerships with national oil companies from countries like Iran, China and Belarus. But these ventures failed to reverse Venezuela's declining oil output. State-controlled oil companies from other nations have also been invited to bid this time, but the large private companies are seen as having an advantage, given their expertise in building complex projects in Venezuela and elsewhere in years past.
"Chávez is celebrating the demise of capitalism as this international crisis unfolds," said Pedro Mario Burelli, a former board member of Petróleos de Venezuela. "But the irony is that capitalism actually fed his system in times of plenty," he said. "That is something Chávez will discover the hard way."
(Added to 'Chavez')
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Posted 1/18/09 (By Travis)
Hong Kong named world's freest economy
1/13/08 Associated Press
Hong Kong has been named the world's
freest economy for the 15th year in a row,
according to an annual report released Tuesday
by the conservative
Heritage Foundation and the
Wall Street Journal that warns against
government intervention amid the
global economic crisis.
The Chinese territory, known for its low taxes and looser regulations, was followed by Singapore, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, according to this year's Index of Economic Freedom.
European countries again accounted for half of the top 20 economies considered free or mostly free, with Switzerland at No. 9 and the U.K. at No. 10.
However, the U.S. slid one notch to sixth place, dinged for increased government spending and tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product, one of the survey's authors said.
"There is no escaping the fact that the freer the economy the more it flourishes," he said.
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Posted 1/18/09 (By Travis)
Stimulus for Tax Collectors -- Internet
consumers beware
Wall Street Journal ^ | January 15, 2009
America's state and local governments have a new proposal for the Obama stimulus plan: Slip in an Internet sales tax. The National Conference of State Legislatures estimates that states could wring another $30 billion out of consumers if Washington will allow them to force out-of-state Web merchants to collect sales taxes.
(Added to 'The Internet')
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Posted 1/6/09 (By Travis)
1/5/08 Delaware Online
Employees at the Regal Brandywine Cinemas say the vice president-elect and his wife, Jill, tried to attend the 7:45 showing of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" at the theater on Concord Pike but left after they were told the movie was sold out.
Remarkably, none of the other moviegoers appeared to notice. Employees said nobody mobbed Biden or called his name or asked for an autograph.
"It didn't seem many people recognized him," said employee Becky Gingrich, 21. "Honestly, I think people were just too wrapped up in themselves to notice."
A hidden message about equality in the USA. As long as we keep our political leaders subservient, unimportant, and unnoticeable, we will be relatively well off. This story reminds me of this previously posted story:
Heart Surgeon
makes Tee time, misses Clinton
9/6/2004 CNN
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Posted 1/1/09 (By Travis)
The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, a review
1/1/09 Neoperspectives.com
I recently had opportunity to listen to The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne on audio CD and thought it was excellent. It approaches the path to enlightenment/happiness/success, whatever one wants to call it, in the genre of self help, with some emphasis on financial success, mixed with liberal doses of eastern philosophy, but using western syntax, with almost historical perspective. Certainly this unique format facilitates passage of valuable truth to those who otherwise might not receive it.
The general theme is that our thoughts make up who we are, what we attract to us, and therefore what will transpire in the future. By changing our thoughts, a very possible phenomena, we can change our future, change who we are, and increase our happiness.
If we worry about something excessively, we are increasing the likelihood that this bad event will transpire, by its constant addition to our thoughts. But the reverse is also true; if we don't worry about a future event at all, if we believe a positive outcome has already transpired, if we act as if we have already achieved a goal, then we shall no doubt achieve it.
Like attracts like is another premise; negative thoughts attract negative outcomes, doubt attracts failure, jealousy attracts insecurity, while desires, addictions, and vices attract unhappiness. Indeed, the mind is so interconnected, the neural pathways crisscross and interconnect on such a dizzying level, that one can see how this would be true. In fact, this paradigm is merely expressing in a different way the eastern law of Karma.
But again, the reverse must also true. Positive thoughts attract positive outcomes. Humility results in exultation, love of others produces reciprocal love, putting oneself last often results in triumphant personal success and happiness.
These sorts of patterns can even be seen in the medical field, although one has to be careful how one expresses perception. Although there are many cases of strength, perseverance, and positive motivations in patients, it is also likely that many patients in the hospitals and clinics were predisposed to their health problems by their unhealthy lifestyles, stemming from unhealthy mental states, stemming from unhealthy thoughts.
An ER attending once told me that many of the people in the ER or trauma rooms for shootings, stabbings, and fights received their just rewards, as their injuries were often caused by self defense of their victims or revenge for abhorrent transgressions; he even went so far as to suggest women in after being battered by their significant others had a great deal of responsibility for their situations. "They are not angels," he offered.
You can see how this sort of worldview can be perceived as insensitive and callous. Indeed, this brusqueness transpires even at Yoga Ashrams, where adverse events causing an individual great pain are brushed off by others without empathy as Karma, in the vein of, "you deserved it."
This sort of cynicism is rooted in the reality of 'like attracts alike' and 'thoughts create our world and future', but should not result in diminished compassion for people suffering as a result of these laws, but rather an increase in our efforts to help them understand the root causes of their situations and how they can break adverse cyclic patterns in their lives.
In fact, sufferings and undesirable events we personally experience are ideally viewed as joyous reminders of improvements we need to make in our own lives.
There were some chapters diverted to focus on financial wealth. A delicate digression because financial wealth is certainly subservient to overall happiness and well being, although the latter can also indirectly predispose to the former, a phenomena The Secret seizes on. After all, there is no shortage of miserable wealthy people. Neurosurgeons, for example, amongst the wealthiest of doctors, in terms of financial earnings, have the highest divorce rate in the medical profession. The point is that positive thoughts: visualizing, asking, believing, can result in increased personal success and happiness, and indirectly, financial plenty. Many, although of course not all, people who have achieved great financial success are good people, kind and generous souls, who have achieved a measure of control over their thoughts and attracted their success (including in their particular cases some combination of wealth creation, job creation, and technological advancement/discovery) by their love of others, emotional control, and strength of their higher mind. People of great wealth often give large sums back to their communities and to charitable projects. Is it not true, the more that is given the more that is received? These folks are practicing the lifestyle they likely had before they became wealthy: the lifestyle, and I am speaking of mental lifestyle, which created their wealth for them in the first place.
Happiness is created, it is not taken from anyone, there is not a set amount of happiness and suffering in the aggregate human spirit, and neither is their a fixed amount of financial wealth in the pie. Wealth can be created, literally out of thin air, by anyone.
Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.
- Calvin Coolidge
Like any good work, there are subjective criticisms worthy of mention. The emphasis on material wealth, if not viewed in the context of more general happiness and success could be a turn off. Certainly a penniless hermit can be more 'successful' and happier than the richest businessmen, and wealth should rarely be a primary focus, but a thoughtless possible byproduct of self improvement. And, as mentioned, it is also important not turn the realities of natural law into judgment against others. Just because someone has applied these methods of changing and monitoring thoughts and other practices leading to a successful and happy life does not make him or her better than anyone else. After all, it is still unclear to what extent our own volition can drive this positive change.
The author tells a compelling story about a young woman who believes she is ready for a relationship, thinks about this future reality, prays for it, accepts it as fact, but does not meet her life partner until she really begins to believe it; parking her car on one side of the garage, and moving her clothes to one side of the closet. If not explained with proper context these actions can seem reckless, a feckless gamble. For example, should one not wear a seatbelt because the mere inherent thought or action invites a wreck? Similarly, monetary charity cannot be driven by desperate want for material value. It must be given with the intention of receiving nothing in return, as part of a habit rather than a one time event, only then, paradoxically, might one be rewarded.
This leads us to, perhaps, my strongest criticism of The Secret, which is the indirect emphasis on the specific nature of requests. For example, praying for a certain amount of money or meditating on the success of ones business, even attempting to align oneself with the 'energies' of a certain residency or graduate position. :) While such practices can be beneficial, they skirt dangerously around predisposition of subconscious arrogance, resulting in the superimposition of one's own will over God's; despite The Secret's admission that the 'how', how the the fulfillment of short term goals comes to pass, is best left to the universe itself.
It appears self evident that we are often mistaken about our own role in this interconnecting computing human matrix. We allow our short term personal likes and dislikes and desires to shape our intentions and aspirations for the future; reminiscent of the country song 'thank God for unanswered prayers'. Surrender to a more objective decisions maker, which can be called God's Will, chance, energy, good, etc... would be a better option. I don't think short term prayer, energy alignment, and thought synchronization are ill-advised, but just that they should be coupled with more objective, general, and long term intention and surrender.
A last point, which is brought up more as a discussion than a criticism, is the mechanism by which synchronizations and 'like attract like' thoughts and benefits occur. The more 'scientific' mechanisms were discussed in 'Good Karma, Bad Karma', yet it appears Byrne subscribes to neither of these, although I doubt she would argue their existence and effect. She seems to implicate a more existential spiritual mechanism. What the 'Celestine Prophecies' refer to as spiritual coincidences of sorts, which appear to have both meaning and message. In other words, she is saying our thoughts affect a most fundamental energy/vibration, which in turn create the future and present around us, including observed improbable coincidences and connections, both good and bad, if it's even worth judging them as so. Additionally, when our minds are most calm and peaceful the prevalence of said events/coincidences, including positive coincidences apparently unrelated to our base energies/thoughts/personalities, appears to increase.
This may seem a bit fantastic, but I have always believed there exists a close relationship, even perhaps a degree of synonymousness, between randomness, coincidence, free will, and God's will, and Byrne describes her observation of phenomena resulting from this eclectic mixture, without fleshing out the exact mechanism. In the end, we might even question the ultimate value of such naked purist intellectual inquiry.
In conclusion, I think this book is a worthy read/listen. It approaches common direction from a different path. In the vein of Dr Amen, in his title, 'Change your Brain Change your Life' (although he is taking the pharmaceutically route, a complimentary path with its own value), Byrne's 'change your thoughts change your life' is even more illuminating, especially upon investigation into how one might accomplish this goal. Surely only through positive spiritual practices, deep introspection, focused intention, and meditation/prayer can significant change be achieved.
Added to, 'Spiritual Essays' and 'Book Reviews'
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Posted 12/26/08 (By Travis)
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Dave Barry's Year in Review: Bailing out of 2008
12/25/08 Dave Barry
(Added to 'Humor')
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Posted 12/21/08 (By Travis)
White House philosophy stoked mortgage bonfire
12/21/08 NYT
An interesting article because it is so detailed. First it details all the policies the Bush Administration put in place to increase home ownership.
So Bush had to, in his words, "use the mighty muscle of the federal government" to meet his goal. He proposed affordable housing tax incentives. He insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meet ambitious new goals for low-income lending.
"We absolutely wanted to increase homeownership," Tony Fratto, his deputy press secretary, recalled him saying. "But we never wanted lenders to make bad decisions."
As mentioned, Bush was just more or less continuing or expanding the policies of President Clinton. However, instead of blaming the Bush Administration for the massive 'good intentioned' interventions into the housing market, which spent taxpayer money encouraging the present housing crisis, the New York Times believes the opposite, that Bush did not regulate the markets enough, a surprising conclusion, given what transpired, IMHO:
"This administration made decisions that allowed the
free market to operate as a barroom brawl instead of a
prize fight," said L. William Seidman, who advised
Republican presidents and led the savings and loan
bailout in the 1990s. "To make the market work well, you
have to have a lot of rules."
But Bush populated the financial system's alphabet soup of oversight agencies with people who, like him, wanted fewer rules, not more.
Posted 12/21/08 (By Travis)
This is a great, free, and simple program to get all bugs off your comp, worked like a charm for me!
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Posted 12/21/08 (By Travis)
Let's Restructure Washington While We're at It
12/19/08 WSJ
In his study on "thickening government," NYU Prof. Paul Light found that some government agencies have 32 layers of management, compared to five layers in most well-run companies.
Take something relatively innocuous, like the requirement in the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to maintain the privacy of patient information. One effect is lots of forms -- over $1 billion worth annually. Compliance also stifles important activity: For example, research on heart-attack recovery at the University of Michigan slowed to a crawl when only one-third of the sample bothered to complete the necessary HIPAA paperwork.
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Posted 12/21/08 (By Travis)
Mother of Palin daughter's boyfriend arrested
12/19/08 Associated Press
And rumor has it the hairdresser of her second cousin once removed is illegitimate!
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Posted 12/21/08 (By Travis)
A miracle play if I ever saw one!
Permanent link here.
(Added to 'Humor')
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Posted 12/21/08 (By Travis)
With economy in shambles, Congress gets a
raise
The Hill ^ | 12/17/08 | Jordy Yager
Article 1 Section 4 United States Consitution:
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in December,)
As you can see, the founders were concerned that Congress would meet too little, now we have truly swung the opposite way. As Michael Badnarik stated in his classes on the constitution: "Go Home! Leave us along and Go Home!"
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Posted 12/17/08 (By Kyle Hunt)
Youthful Optimism and the Darkening Sky
12/17/08
Neoperspectives.com by Kyle Hunt
I know there are many reasons to be pessimistic these days. The world seems
to be going to hell and the walls keep closing in. It appears we are being
sacrificed as pawns in one gigantic chess game being played by the same
hand. And although you might be staring down the edge of an abyss, losing
any sign of light, there is much reason to be happy and hopeful.
This world is beautiful. It is a gem in space. There is the sky, which
presents us with the magnificent colors of the rainbow every day it rises
and sets. It extends into the infinite, passing through our atmosphere, into
the solar system, and traveling onward through all the galaxies of the
universe. And then there is the land, with its massive mountains, deep
caverns, scorching deserts, lush forests, and fertile plains. It has long
been our home since we moved out of the beautiful waters of this planet,
sparkling in their peace and raging in their fury. They hold mystery in
their depths and beckon us to explore.
All of the realms of this giant sphere are teeming with life. There are
creatures of all sorts, participating in the cycles of life and death. They
are wondrous creatures of such complexity that one can almost miss their
beautiful simplicity. They are all playing the game of energy and evolution.
They change over time to meet new needs with incredible innovation. And one
of the most fascinating beings in the Animal Kingdom is the human. It is an
advanced ape that has been able to use complex communication, imagination,
and compassion to become one of the most successful life forms on the
planet. It has been able to take nest building and the gathering of
resources to incredible heights of complexity to better provide for itself
and its community. And in that communal setting, the human has been able to
evolve by leaps and bounds. Ideas are able to be shared, wrongs righted, and
a sense of worth developed through the coming together of humans. Being
helpful creatures of high intelligence, they are glad to be serving
something bigger than themselves.
But what most humans no longer understand is how connected they are to all
that is around them. They fail to see that all of the people and things
around them are an integral part of them, and that they are intimately
connected to all that is, ever was, or ever will be. It is their universe
and it responds to their will. Things are only as they would like to see
them. But recently, the human has become confused, forgotten his origin, and
lost his sense of connectedness and power. One could blame the rulers, some
form of manipulation, or the system that controls them all, but none of that
really matters.
What does matter is where every human wants to go from here. There is a
blank slate upon which humanity can write its destiny. There are many
choices that can be made by each individual that will have massive effects
upon the whole. The will of an abstraction of thought, a non-living human
invention such as government, holds no power of the will of a fully realized
human who has grabbed the reigns of control and put itself in the driver's
seat. When the human does this, he becomes an actor on the stage of life, no
longer relegated to a bit part in some morality play. With the power of its
will, the human is able to become the creator of reality, painting the
pictures of its dreams.
I am optimistic as to what humanity will create. The odds may look bad, but
it is never smart to bet against the human spirit. It is has a great
history, but it is not the one that people read in textbooks, but rather the
great family tree of all that came before. Since the beginning of time,
every single thing has happened in such a way as to give rise to you, and
for you to be here experiencing the beauty of it all. Not one of your
ancestors ever dropped the ball going back to the beginning of time, even
beyond when we were but a single-celled organism making its way in this
universe, going back to the genesis of it all.
Amazing thing can happen if the human reconnects with its roots. It sees
that it too began as single-celled life. And at that stage, it knew of the
connectedness of all things. It still does, but is unable to explain in it
the language it learned later in life, which the humans invented later in
their evolution. It is something much more basic and more primal. It is what
the human feels deep in its heart when it has emotions. How wondrous that
the human sheds water droplets when it is sad and laughs when it is happy.
To better describe that which cannot be spoken, these "feelings," artists
have come along to paint the picture of life with vibrations of all sorts,
affecting all of our senses. They are the magic makers.
And even if all those things you fear will happen do come to pass, there is
no need to worry! At the end of this life, you will return from where you
came - your true home. Everything you might think you will lose does not
matter there. These objects, the materials of this world, do not matter in
the world of the spirit. But what do I know? I have only had but twenty five
years on this planet. And yet, even if it were to all end tomorrow, I would
be glad I got to see and experience it, to play my part, with all of the
good and bad and the ups and downs. These are the things that help us to
understand that we are but frequencies of energy vibrating in space, making
music with each other and with the universe.
Do what you know is right and you will not be led astray. You will be a hero
of the human race and shining star in the sky. Peace is achievable, but is
not some state of affairs external to yourself, rather the state of being
within you. Peace be with you.
For more of these 'blog-type' posts, see Archives.