An interesting article.   Seems a little bit like manufacturing the results one needs.  Tsk, tsk!

The scandal we see and the scandal we don’t.   Why it matters

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/30/crugate_analysis/

When does a Liberal become a Conservative?  When he or she gets mugged.

When does a Conservative become a Liberal?  When he or she loses their job & health insurance.

I’m looking forward to moderating the panel on the Solar Updraft Tower at LOSCON on the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I have 2 PhDs & a novelist on the panel.  No fuel [well, there is the sun]/no waste, just energy.  Sounds good to me.

Looking for seed money for a 15 billion dollar long term project. 

The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic’s creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God. -Andrew Dickson White, diplomat, historian, and educator (1832-1918)

“Congress shall make no law that  applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to  the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies  to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the  citizens of the United States”.

The so-called Westboro Baptist Church is again in the news.  All I can think of is that Sauron would be smiling.  This family, and that is about all the Westboro Baptist Church is composed of, is anything but God fearing or holy.  They insult the truly religious.  –  I have a further question.  Who is paying for them to do this?  They are all over the US bleating out their message of hate & bigotry.  Are they rich and can afford all the travelling they seem to do?  Maybe someone is behind these simple minded puppets of hate and bigotry.  It would be interesting to follow the money, as the expression goes.  –  A good primer on dealing with terrorists, [And I consider the so-called Westboro Baptist Churc as such.] such as this group, is found in a very interesting SF novel by Dean Ing: “Soft Targets.” It came out at the end of the 70’s. Well worth looking for.

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.

It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument. -William G. McAdoo, lawyer and politician (1863-1941)