I think, more folk might do well to read this article.
If it’s on the shelves, it’s off the streets byPeter Moskos. [Peter Moskos is an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the author of "Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District."]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303457.html
Illegality drives up the cost of the illegal substance. – What would the actual cost, with a 6% markup to provide a suitableprofit, of the more common “illegal” substance such as MJ, cocaine, & heroine? — Please note, I’m NOT saying they should be legal, just what would the comparative prices be?
Now how would this effect the crime lords? If an addict, one would have to register, of course, could buy his or her drug of choice from a legal source at realistic prices, what would happen to the economies of drug producing countries. [Of course, California would now run a surplus as the value of MJ grown in the state is in the billions of dollars.
It would be interesting to see an economic evaluation of this. maybe money is being allocated in the wrong areas.
“Limits on exec pay cause worries of brain drain! Will top bosses at bailed-out companies leave as their compensation is cut?” – MSNBC.com
Maybe the answer should be: Good, get rid of them. All they did was take money and run the companies into the ground. Maybe some new blood will get the companies moving again.
IMHO too many “executives” are vastly overpaid for the work they do. I really don’t believe, they are worth the pay. I remember reading a rumor that JP Morgan, that pillar of support for the common man, feeling that the ratio of 20 to 1 between the top salary and the lowest full time employee’s salary, should be enough. Today, 200 to 1 or higher is more like it.
However, one must realize, these executives are of such a better class of people than ordinary persons that they should be rewarded for just being better than everyone else. Just ask them.
The Japanese want to redefine its relationship with the US. Sounds good to me. Actually, I wonder, if we need to really be in the Far East at all. – Since all the countries there seem to do is gripe about the Yanks being there, why not leave them to their own devices. – Japan is apparently pushing the idea of an East Asian Community [Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere ?], a sort of Asian version of the European Union, with China at its core. Go for it. – Yes, let us pack up our toys and take them home. – There is no need for the US to be the world’s policeman. Let them all go to hell in their own hand basket. 
I am bemused by the total lack of any sort of sense of humor when Target is attached for the “Illegal Alien” costume. Maybe not completely in the best of taste, but no where near as bad as some of the so-called costumes I’ve seen shown for sale. — Then again, an illegal alien is just that: ILLEGAL. Go to jail & deport. – Yes, they are seeking to better themselves. However, so are all those folk in line for legal immigration. – Hmm, maybe the US should review its immigration policy. However, being able to speak English is obligatory. How else can someone from Korea communicate with someone from Russia? ETC.
I guess, if you don’t meet the specs of the far left, you can’t own a baseball club.
I’m NOT a ditto-head. I don’t listen to Rush nor would I go to him for insight.
However, who the hell do they think, they are in saying, I can veto you over your politics none of which are illegal.
If a Jackson or Sharpton were to try and buy a team and were told, their politics made them unsuitable, boy would you hear all the race BS flying.
Let Rush spend his money as he sees fit.
G’day, if you like the concept suggested here, please feel free to pass it on to friends and any and all politicians. We all need energy regardless of political persuasion.
——————————-
Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: 3 September 2009
California needs more energy as well as a need for more jobs. Combining these areas with an alternate, renewable energy producer may be of interest
To improve California’s energy position, and provide jobs in the “green” sector, I would like to bring to your attention and that of the California Energy Commission the concept of the Solar Updraft Tower, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower .
“In 1903, Isidoro Cabanyes first proposed the concept of a solar chimney in the magazine “Electrical Energy.”
In 1982 an experimental tower was built in Manzanares, Spain, about 150 km/95 miles south of Madrid. While intended to only operate for approximately 3 years, it did in fact produce up to 50kW until 1989. http://www.except.nl/consult/SolarUpdraftTower/solar_updraft_research.html
This paper suggests some quite interesting variations on how to develop and use the concept.
Unlike a lot of experimental technology, this one has produced power. The research data is available for study and advancement.
My suggestion to you is that California make use of this technology to produce power for the state’s energy users. I’m not unaware that the initial tower[s] will be part experimental, part power producer and part of the energy grid for California.
The capital costs for such projects will most likely be high, though the upkeep and maintenance of the Solar Updraft Towers will be quite low. My concept for a tax break, and to increase the incentive to build such a project, would be to allow a company to write off the capital expenses in, say 5 years, using accelerated depreciation. This assumes the Solar Updraft Tower would be built to last & produce power for 40 years.
Where to put the towers? I would suggest the desert portions of San Bernardino county for a start or jointly with neighboring states. The project, as I envision it, would consist of a series of towers each larger than the previous: 10 MW, 100 MW, 500 MW, 1 GW & 10 GW. Each succeeding tower would initiate construction about 3 years after ground is broken for the previous tower. These new towers would build on and incorporate new technologies and materials as well as adapting to any challenges appearing during construction and operation of the previous towers.
In 25 years since the previous tower was built and operated not only have wind turbines improved, but so have the materials needed to build a Solar Updraft Tower. They will continue to improve over the coming years.
Thank you for hearing me out.
Yours sincerely,
Society cannot exist without inequality of fortunes and the inequality of fortunes could not subsist without religion. Whenever a half-starved person is near another who is glutted, it is impossible to reconcile the difference if there is not an authority who tells him to. -Napoleon Bonaparte, general and politician (1769-1821)
No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be. -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)
If some enterprising soul would develop a “pill” which would control the sex of the child, overpopulation would be a thing of the past in about 20 to 40 years. – The experience in China typifies the fact that an overwhelming proportion of families around the world would choose to have a male child. Now granted this might start a bunch of small [?] wars where males go to kidnap women, but that is a minor consideration. – In 20+ years there would be very few women of childbearing age or potential in the world. Hence, the population of the world would plummet without having to resort to drastic measures. After all it is the number of women which controls the number of births: 1 woman plus 9 males = 1 child; 9 women plus 1 male = 9 children.
