The Joke Has Come Upon Us

Maine Really is a Cultural Backwater

2007-01-18T14:39:00.000-05:00

For years I've heard people whine about how Maine is a cultural backwater- no theatre, music (classical and ethnic that is), or art. I never really took these criticisms to heart until I realized I'd have to drive 45 minutes to Westbrook or South Portland to see Children of Men. COM isn't an independent film, its a major action release. Oh well I can always go see Rocky 6 for the 4th time (just kidding I wouldn't let Sylvester Stalone have my money if he was starving).

Funk Self Regulating Profession's Racketeering

2007-01-18T14:31:00.000-05:00

One reason why finance is better than accounting and law: you can test into it yourself without wasting your time "earning" a degree. By making you log 200 credits or whatever to become a Certified Public Accountant and spend 3 years of your life getting a JD these professions essentially limit the members of these professions to those chosen few with enough patience to waste their time on whatever unimportant minutiae you gain from continuing your "education" in these "fields". If you aren't operating on people or building rockets you don't need in class instruction, pick up a book and learn yourself.

That's why I recommend the Chartered Financial Analyst to ambitious liberal arts degree holders. No bullshit classes, just self teaching and straight up testing. Kind of strange considering finance is more technical than law or accounting.

Obama's Catch 22- Damned cause he's black, and uh Damned again cause he's black

2007-01-13T16:21:00.000-05:00

Mainstream America wants a black president. It wants a president that embraces middle class mainstream meritocratic American values that just happens to be black. Remember even Tenessee (yee ha bang bang) almost elected Harold Ford the last time around.

What America will never accept in a president; however, is a black from the gimme gimme blacks first wing of the democratic party.

Obama's inexperience and skeletons (past drug use, shady land deals, avid smoker) are second and third to Obama's "black problem".

Al Sharpton is considering a run and many other black politicians have questioned Obama's "blackness". Obama may be forced to kowtow to this constituency to have a shot at the nomination. This is a huge problem considering that the inner city wing of the democratic party isn't well liked by um anyone. Nobody that watches Charley Rangel on CNN isn't secretly wishing that he'll shut the hell up.

Already Obama has been praising the likes of Jesse Jackson, spewing lines like "if it wasn't for Jesse's runs in 84 and 88 I wouldn't have the opportunity I have today".

The inner city wing of the democratic party has always whined about not having clout within both the government and the party commensurate with their size (a problem that could be lessened if they would actually vote in a percentage in line with other demographics), Barack Obama's candidacy may be the next victim of ther inner city political classe's vanity.

My Thoughts on Iraq

2007-01-13T16:12:00.000-05:00

Iraq is a very complicated situation and I'm not going to pretend to know enough about it to play armchair analyst.

A few thoughts though...

Having a security presence deters violence in high crime areas but Iraq is not plagued by good old self serving crime, it is an insurgency and it could very well provoke a significant amount of new violence.

Dispersing American soldiers from fortified compounds to smaller, more vulnerable locations will result in more deaths than we are presently used to.

There should be some solid protests in the next few months, not just the weak stuff launched by extreme leftists over the last 4 years.

Politically it might help Bush and McCain to have the democrats stop the troop surge by denying funding- it makes the democrats look like obstructionists. McCain can argue that the democrats lossed in Iraq if his policy isn't given an opportunity.

I'm inclined to believe that the surge will not work just because most generals believe that it won't.

Information Request

2007-01-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

If anybody gets breaking news about candidates either running for president or not running for president please let me know (call me) immediately.

I am especially interested in hearing about whether any of the major candidates that I am writing about drop out, and whether or not a juicy wild card (Mark Warner, Al Gore, Jeb Bush) jumps in.

If the information is timely enough, a good informant may get a free dinner from me, which is especially valuable considering I generally charge people to hang out with me.

Pursuit of Happyness: 3 Sentence Movie Review

2007-01-02T21:31:00.000-05:00

Not as sappy as it appears on the surface. Good ole socio-economic discrimination, no racism here. Funny that a story about meritocracy stars Will Smith's son.

Republican Presidential Breakdown

2006-12-30T15:41:00.000-05:00

John McCain would like to have his cake and eat it too. He'd like to preserve his non-partisan image and still win enough religious conservatives to gain the nomination. This is impossible. That's why he has been calling for more troops in Iraq in an effort to out-conservative all the other candidates. John McCain is too smart to think that adding more troops will better the situation; however, he knows that Bush doesn't have the political capital (his account is in the red) to pull it off. As America withdraws from Iraq, and Iraq is looked upon even more so than now as a failure, McCain will argue that America could have won if it had endured.

McCain's shift to the right is largely working; no candidate has close to the money, organization, and elite support that he has. Republicans, less so than democrats, are disposed to go with the establishment pick. McCain has been around the block, he has staying power.

With that in mind I put McCain at 40%, Romney at 20%, Gingrich at 15%, Brownback at 15%, Huckabee at 5% and the rest of the field at 5%. Romney's mormon faith and past professed support for homosexuals makes him less of a contender; however, no other republican candidate has near the executive prowess and presidential demeanor that Romney has. Gingrich's candidacy will rely much on the romance that what once was can now be: a coherent Republican machine that knows what it stands for and delivers on it's basic principles. Brownback is the most authentic conservative in the race. Though a catholic, Brownback will receive by far (we're talking 75%) the most support from the religious right (you know, the people who actually vote in republican primaries); however, unlike past religious right favorites, Brownback is a sitting senator that can not be dismissed like a Pat Robertson.

Giuliani's social beliefs make his presidential run a try out for veep, and a way to sell books and win business for his consulting firm. He would make a great addition as a veep (especially in trying to win states like Pennsylvania and New Hampshire).

Children of Men: 3 sentence movie review

2006-12-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

Best movie I've seen since The Departed. Solid dystopian fiction. Amazingly realistic urban warfare scenes.

By Popular Demand

2006-12-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

Many Readers (2 so far, comprising 50% of my audience) have wondered about my position on the Presidential race, probably since my prior post may be interpreted as fawning over John Edwards.

First things first, I did not have sexual relations with that man, my interest in him is based upon objective analysis.

Second, I was for Evan Bayh before I was against Evan Bayh (who's kicking himself for cowardly refusing the last presidential race which he could have won).

Third, I was for Mark Warner until he wussed out a few months ago. Mark Warner may still run once Clinton, Obama, and Edwards have wounded eachother if no other popular moderate condidate has emerged. Warner was in danger of peaking too early so he bowed out for "family reasons". I'd definately be a Warner man- who doesn't want a proven Governor who made 200 million (think Nextel) himself to be their president?

Edwards is in bed with the unions. I've always wondered why vehicles that allow workers to collude are legal while collusion by firms (which are treated as individuals under the law) is illegal.

In terms of policy I'm probably with Vilsack (good DNC man) . Although Richardson could convince me. Bloomberg may run as an independent, I'd be with him were it not for his trans-fat ban in NYC.

Vilsack's blandness may hurt his electability so I guess I'd have a slight preference for Richardson because I'd take any of the big six over any of the Republicans (yes, even McCain = sell out).

Long Time Coming

2006-12-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

This post is for the ten or so people who actually read my blogging sporadically in the past. It's been a year since I've posted. I don't know why it's been so long, seeing as I like shooting my mouth off.

On a personal note, I am leaving my position as a fund accountant at State Street Corporation in Boston tomorrow and I will be attending Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico for 3 months starting January 20, after which time I will decide upon whether to accept a commision and the bonus I'd be entitled to - a trip to a warm, exotic place.

In case anybody cares, here are some general and specific thoughts and predictions on the current political climate:

Handicapping the Democrats P2008 (assuming Warner and Gore don' t run) : Hillary 20%, Obama 20%, Edwards 35%, Vilsack 7%, Richardson 7%, Biden 7%, others 4%. I don't think Kerry will run (not that he would matter anyways). Kucinich is a nonfactor (though he did place 3rd in the Maine primary last time around. Senator Dodd has no niche or flare, though he may run. Clark is old news though he may run and he could find his way on to the ticket as Veep.

That's right, I said it, Edwards is the frontrunner. This is because presidential pimaries are about momentum. Edwards has proved that he has staying power and given his incredible rhetorical skills (the upside to being akin to a used car salesman) he could catch fire in Iowa. The Iowa caucus was mad for John Edwards. I've seen the guy speak, he inspires confidence in his fellow men. Edwards has been working hard to carve himself out a niche with organized labor, and distance himself from the Iraq War, something that's easier for him to do than Clinton because he's out of office.

Clinton peaked 2 years ago and she's been getting sniped at for months as the prohibitive frontrunner. She's in the worst position that she could be in at this point. All the fundraising power and elite support she has earned since her election in 2000 can't get her the nomination. There is nothing exciting about her (besides her husband). People have gotten accustomed to the fact that she could be the president and I think that means that the novelty has worn off.

Barack Obama is the flavor of the month but he's peaking too early. He can't be counted out due to his Clintonian speaking skills (something he shares with Edwards) but his executive and general inexperience will do him in. Obama talks a good game- "move beyond democrat and republican my fellow Americans, we owe this to our children... blah blah blah", but the fact remains that he's an old school liberal.

Richardson, Vilsack, and Biden constitute 3 solid tier 2 candidates. Each one should be able to find a niche and raise some dough. Richardson is the most presidential of the 6 candidates that matter. He's also hispanic, electable, and the only Westerner running. Vilsack is a popular governor with solid moderate credentials from a swing state. Being a governor is an asset by itself. Biden (unless Clark runs) is the undisputed national security heavyweight in the contest. As the chairman of the foreign services comittee he may be able exploit the Iraq war like no other democrat. Biden tendency to shoot his mouth increase the chances that he catches fire. Lastly Biden's Iraq Plan- dividing Iraq into 3 countries may make him stand out as a candidate with a plan (and I think a damn good one).

I'll probably give my republican analysis later today seeing as I get my jollies from blogging. Please do leave me some comments.

The Psychology of Congressional Iraq War Decisions/ Are you smart enough to vote?

2005-11-11T15:57:00.000-05:00

From www.cnn.com/politics.com : "President Bush Friday accused critics of the Iraq war of distorting the events that led to the U.S. invasion, saying Democrats viewed the same intelligence and came to similar conclusions."

Since I'm the least partisan person you'll ever meet, let me tell you why the Democrats were against the War, even though half of the congressional democrats voted for the resolution:

They were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't.

Think about it. Back in the winter/spring of 2003, the Democrats had just gotten their asses handed to them in the November 2002 midterm elections because September 11th made Bush's popularity sky-rocket, and because the Democrtas were seen as "weaker" (i.e, not militaristic enough) on security issues.

Acting as a unified voting block, the Democrats could have stopped a war, that the vast majority of them did not believe was justified, despite their votes. However, they would have looked like pussies. This is one of the reasons why Bush went to war. He put the dems in a lose/lose situation. War, unless you fuck it up, and always in the intitial stages, strengthens the incumbent.

If they stop it, they're cowards. If they collaborate they're accomplises, as Bush is referring to them now.

However, ask yourself this question: would Al Gore have gone to War in Iraq? Did the democrats initiate discussion over the war?

The dems are victims of political cowardice in not voting their conscious. They are not accomplises. It was Bush's War. If you aren't smart to understand the political game that Bush played then you shouldn't be allowed to vote.

The Weatherman Review

2005-11-04T00:27:00.000-05:00

I laughed, I would have cried if I didn't want Darrin to think I was a pussy.

I give this an 8.5. Acting and characters were fantastic. Humor was very dry.

"You don't need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows"... especially not one who lacks a degree in meteorology.

Ever wonder why I always like the movies I go see?

It's because I don't go see shitty movies anymore!

Anti-Baldacci Diatribe Number: Whose Counting?- Smart-Socialism and this Discontent

2005-11-03T18:36:00.000-05:00

I was listening to NPR today, and in between classical morning and music diversity hour, there was a discussion of the Duct-Tape Governor's (new Baldacci name, pass it on) new initiative,Grow-Smart Maine. Apparently, now there are two kinds of growth: what Darth Baldacci deems smart-growth, i.e, government planned economic change under his own guise, or economic change determined by the market.

Government-Growth Maine's main beef is with sprawl. Sprawl occurs when people exercise their property rights by selling their land to others for development, you know so they can have somewhere to live. This is unfortunate for natives of a given town who see their town grow and change from what it is before; however, I'm sure many of these people engaged in sprawl themselves at some point. Towns change over time, why should this period' older property owners be protected by change.? ts not fair to younger people. Its morally wrong to disallow them from enjoying the same rights that older people enjoyed at their age.

Government-Growth Maine is an archetypal example of the government controlled economy extolled by American liberals. The Duct-Tape Governor (DTG) and his minions wants you to believe that sprawl is bastard economic growth by defining the issue on their own terms. To them, "government controlled" growth is better. When has a government-controlled sector of any economy (in this case real estate) ever performed better than a market economy? I even heard the Advocacy Director of this organization laude Germany for having Wal-Marts in traditional malls rather than strip malls. I have no doubt that these fools desire a socio-economic system akin to that of continental Europe and the economic stagnation (Euroschlerosis) that these economies have sufferred for the past 30 years.

Baldacci needs an enemy to rail against so he has the semblance of a platform for 2006. He's going to try to imply that high property tax rates are caused by sprawl. This is bs, new homes in suburbs are built to expand the housing stock. This decreases the value of existing housing from what it would have been (obviously housing overall is increasing in value). It increases the tax base of townships that experience growth which more than compensates for the increased need of services in most cases.

Like most half-assed government attempts to control the economy, this initiative seeks to treat the effects of sprawl rather than the root causes: astronomical property taxes in Maine's cities and the lack of affordable housing in the cities themselves (i.e, not enough housing). Why not cut the red-tape involved with redevelopment of old, vacant city buildings (mills, etc.) to increase the housing stock in the cities so that people can afford to live where they work. Why not point the finger at inefficiently run cities that require high tax rates to miantain services?

The fact that these socialists refer to sprawl as unplanned growth shows their ignorance of how the economy actually works. Sprawl is planned growth. Individuals (usually working families) decide that city housing is too expensive and the property rates are too high. It is cheaper to buy land and develop it, and suffer the commute than live in the city. The economy allocates resources via the pricing mechanism, whoever wants something the most will pay the most for it, and they will gain the most utility from it. The economy plans these transcations with the input of millions of individuals who determine the supply and demand of all goods, services, and assets. Real estate is no different.

Furthermore, I would rather have my kids live in the burbs or the country than the city. How selfish of these Grow Dumbers to deny working Mainers the enjoyment of having a yard for their kids and a home of their own just so some old people can be satisfied in maintaining their small-town's charm. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

Lastly, it is important to mention that the intellectual ammunition for this initiative is being supplied by the Brooking's Institution. The VP of Brooking's was on NPR today and the false information that he spewed made my blood boil. He said that it is important to maintain population density in cities to fuel the knowledge-based economy. If your bullshit detector hasn't busted your eardums by now let me clue you in: the knowledge-based economy and the information age that we are in now is less geography dependent than it ever has been. The telecommunications revolution, in particular the internet (the keystone of civilization, the shared library of the world), has made this true . I hate it when experts use their information advantage over the public to advance their own political agenda. This guy spewed absolute bullshit and got away with it because most listeners feder to his "expertise", as did the NPR ditz that was hosting the show. Sprawl in the United States is going to advance like never before because firms that produce knowledge-intensive services, instead of tangible goods will not be dependent on being close to their markets and major roads in order to minimize transportation costs.

I hope some organization arises to counter these selfish socialists and educate the public about why sprawl really occurs (city governments operating inefficiently, and making it difficult to develop marginal city buildings). This initiative fits in perfectly with all Baldacci's proposals: instead of attacking root causes of problems, the foundations of these problems, Baldacci seeks policy that treats the effects with duct-tape proposals that look good in the short-term but will decrease our economic growth and happiness in the long-run. I will support any of the 3 serious Republican primary candidates against him. He is worthless and his policies are making Maine an underachieving state.

A Tale of Two Shows or The Boss is Fired

2005-10-22T00:57:00.000-04:00

I saw Bruce Springstein last night and man did he suck.

Maybe I should have known better. I knew he was performing solo acoustic, and that he was touring in support of his new monument to pretentious middle-aged-I've matured-to-folk album, "Devils and Dust".

I was unprepared for the shitfest that followed. His ex-poste E Street Band material sounds like stuff I would have written if you put me in a room with a guitar and a piano and said "play" (it was some simple shit). And Bruce aint a bad singer, but his singing can't carry the show.

I know he doesn't want to tour with the E Street Band anymore because if you keep sleeping with your ex she might think that you've gotten back together. But I'm pretty sure he could have hired some of his hack fans with musical competence to back him. The only song he played that I knew was "I'm on Fire", and I didn't know that was the song he was playing until he started singing it.

The fans ate that shit up. There were a few sensible people that left, but the vast majority pretended that the music was good because it was "Bruce", the "Boss". Fuck objectivity, he's a legend right.

The worst came at the end when he played this song that consisted of one line of lyrics- "dream baby dream" with the same 4 organ notes played over and over. Then the jerk gets up mid-song and starts singing karioke with the 4 organ notes repeating themselves in the background. If you aren't a great singer don't croon.

I know he's going to play some of his new shit. But do it after a hit song so that maybe I won't remember it; let the momentum of former greatness carry the audience through the present mediocrity.

If you are charging $55 a ticket, and you can do that because you made your name by making one of the greatest albums ever, play some of the classic hits. What a racket.

Now last Sunday I saw the Dirty Three in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts, of all places, for $20. The Dirty Three own. They are a 3 piece (who woulda thought) from Australia consisting of a drummer and guitarist that set up the violonist. Oh and they rock. A band with a violin focus that rocks. Don't believe me? Download these songs (legally of course)- "Red", "I Remember a Time when Once You Used to Love Me", "Sue's Last Ride". They were amazing. All their stuff is good. And their talent is evident, even to one with no musical background, such as myself.

One last thing about Bruce. I know his political leanings, the crowd knows his political leanings. And getting a jab in now and then if it works well with a story is ok, but it has to be spontaneous. He staged a faux-spontaneous rant about congress illegalizing "fucking" in a pork-spending bill. But he guess since he's Bruce, he can pretend to be high and pretend to make political shit up disguised as a spontaneous ramble. Come on Bruce, I'm the Boss of that.

Hitler was Resurrected and Migrated to.. Virginia

2005-10-14T15:10:00.001-04:00

If former Attorney General of Virgina Jerry Kilgore's new ads are any indication, and they must be because politicians don't lie, Hitler has been resurrected and resettled in Virginia, that bastion of fascism.

Kilgore's new ads charge that Lietenant Governor Tim Kaine wouldn't have executed Hitler if he had the chance.

Hitler reportedly reacted to the ads, and Kilgore's subsequent rise in the polls, by not killing the 10 jews in Virginia outside of the metro Washington DC, for fear of execution by a vengeful and triumphant Kilgore.

Thank you Jerry Kilgore, for engaging the issues most important to Virginia voters- forget taxes, education, and infrastructure.

Comments Have Been Enabled This Time

2005-10-14T15:10:00.000-04:00

Gerhard Scroeder, Cowardly Nationalist

2005-10-14T15:00:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you are a Western European leader with a disconted population, a stagnant economy, and no ideas or direction for the future? Vent on the United States for fun and votes!

"I can think of a recent disaster that shows what happens when a country neglects its duties of state towards its people. My post as chancellor, which I still hold, does not allow me to name that country, but you all know that I am talking about America."

So said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a couple days ago. This is the same douchebag who gained reelection 4 or so years ago by railing against the Iraq War and reminding his citizenry of his staunch and courageous stance against Bush's militarism. I'm not an Iraq War cheerleader but last time I checked, what happened in Iraq had little to with Germany. It's like I was running for the local school board and someone asked me what I thought about Global Warming.

Oh and congratulations on contradicting yourself in the same sentence asshole. Politicians that use shield issues like these are worthless.

It's Too Bad You Only Really Get to Be Yourself Once a Year

2005-10-14T00:22:00.000-04:00

Halloween is by far the most entertaining holiday. After all, it is the one day a year that people actually get to dress up- as themselves. Some of my favorite "costumes" and the corresponding likely suspects:

Fat Girls that embrace their unattractiveness by dressing as Witches.
Womanizers (male whores) dressed as Pimps.
Whores dressed as Whores.

Thats all I've got tight now, please comment if you can find some other examples.

For your information, I am gonna buck this trend and dress as a hobbit this year.

George Will Reminds Conservatives that they Used to Actually Stand for Something

2005-10-13T23:58:00.000-04:00

George Will is a conservative with integrity. In this week's Newsweek editorial "On K Street Conservatism" Will reminds conservatives that they used to favor limited government. Instead, the Bush administration and its Congressional Majority have pursued an agenda that includes: the No Child Left Behind Act (which doubled the size of the Department of Education, an institution the Republican party once desired to destroy), the largest expansion of the Welfare State since LBJ (the prescription drug benefit), a 40% increase in agricultural subsidies, a pork-laden transporation bill, a multi-billion dollar commitment to rebuild a city that ought not to be rebuilt (New Orleans), and the Terry Schiavo witch hunt.

Will is especially tough on Tommy Delay. Delay "neither knows nor cares anymore about limited government than a camel cares about calculus" and his is a "'faux conservatism'- K Street conservatism". Will takes aim at George Bush's "Compassionate Conservatism" in declaring, "Conservatives aren't supposed to be cuddly, or even particularly nice. They are, however, supposed to be competent. And to know that scarcity- of money, virtue, wisdom, competence, everything- forces choices."

This Republican party has no interest in limited government, rather, it, and its K Street Lackies desire to line their pockets with as much money as possible for pet causes and their own districts. Red States and rural areas steal from the more productive Blue State through the medium of the government. Yet, the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility?

Thoughts on Dirigo Health "Savings" and Taxing Poland Spring's Water

2005-10-12T22:32:00.000-04:00

The Dirigo Health Agency's board of directors recently supported the state of Maine's estimate of savings to Hospitals ($136.8 million) as opposed to the estimate provided by Maine insurance companies ($35.7 million). Said "savings" result from the displacement of bad debt (people not paying for medical services) and charity work because of the advent of the Dirigo Health program. Essentially, the Dirigo Health Program enshrines bad debt and charity work as part of a businesses natural transactions. Last time I checked charity work was a choice, not an obligation (as Dirigo is making it) and bad debt was something you avoided by not servicing high risk customers. Hospitals do have a heart or they wouldn't have served the deadbeats. What a reward for such service; institutionalize these de facto donations.

And way to use the same consulting firm, Mercer, that you hired to set up the incentive system for Dirigo Health in the first place, as you used to compute the "savings" to be assessed to hospitals through increased taxes Baldacci. Because there wouldn't be a conflict of interest there, no incentive for Mercer to high-ball the "savings" to drum up more business for improving the incentive scheme in the actual program. Where's the accountability?

To another topic- the proposal to put a 20 cent tax on every bottle of water extracted from Maine's cool, delicious springs and aquifers. This sucker is gonna appear on the November referendum ballot. The plan calls for the revenue raised to compensate income tax payers, which is a good idea since the highest bracket in Maine is 8% (although revenue raised would be distributed regardless of income). However high Poland Spring's profits are, they certainly are not as high as 20 cents a bottle, because if they were I have a feeling that so many companies would be setting up such operations in Maine that I could not write this rant because I'd be dying of thirst.

It's true that Maine's environmentalism has played a part in creating clean water (no one is bottling water in Texas, although I'm sure Tom Delay would if he could make money off of it); however, I am skeptical of taxing the resource (on top of the corporate tax that Poland Spring is paying). Perhaps if the resource was near being exhausted such a tax would be necessary to keep water quantity at an acceptable level (such as what we do to preserve the lobster population by giving out only a few licenses). There is no evidence I have heard of this problem. And if you're gonna tax bottled water, why not tax forestry. After all, trees are also a renewable resource that firms just go and extract for fun and profit (oh it is fun I felled a tree yesterday). This does not get my endorsement, but it might in the future.

AIM Virus

2005-10-12T22:24:00.000-04:00

Heads up. Lately there have been alot of AIM computer viruses going around. The virus comes in the form of a message from an infected user who impores you to click a link to a picture of them online.

This virus was especially difficult for me since... I get messages from girls all the time asking me to look at pictures of them online.

The upside to the virus is that you get to talk to people that never im you, or that you didnt even know had your screen name.

"You Say you Want a Revolution" - a Patriotic Piece by David Brooks

2005-10-10T01:48:00.000-04:00

"After a while, you get sick of the DeLays of the right and the Deans of the left. After a while, you tire of the current Republicans, who lack a coherent governing philosophy, and the current Democrats, who are completely bereft of ideas. After a while you begin to wonder: Did I really get engaged in politics so I could spend months arguing about the confirmation of Harriet Miers, the John Major of American jurisprudence?"

Thus begins this epic Op-Ed from David Brooks (October 9th NYT, "As Parties Grow Weary, Time for an Insurgency")

Brooks ends his piece by noting that:

"When I cut myself loose from the push and shove of today's weary political titans, and go back to basics, I find myself strangely invigorated.

It's time for an insurrection."

I agreed with everything in this piece except for the call for national service by youth and the Middle East transformation cheerleading.

Brooks hammers home the fact that the Founding Fathers would not fit into either of today's mainstream political parties. Although their reality fell far short of their ideals, our founding Fathers were classical liberals that believed in social tolerance and fiscal responsibility.

Their needs to be a Classical Liberal Party in the United States (not necessary with that name since it invokes American leftist liberalism). No, the Libertarians don't count because they are extremists and believe in shock-therapy, rather than gradual reform.

FedEx as a Barometer of Risk Management in the US Economy

2005-10-10T01:35:00.000-04:00

David Leonhardt's Saturday article in the New York Times ("Have Recessions Absolutely, Positively Become Less Painful?") examines FedEx's risk mitigation strategy as a great example of how American businesses have reduced aggregate economic volatility (i.e, recessions).

FedEx has 5 empty jets flying around the country every night, ready to respond to crises such as unexpected demand or broken-down planes form the regular fleet. The immediate result: much less risk of delays in delivery of goods. The long-term result: more stability equals more production.

2005-10-10T01:34:00.000-04:00

Junebug Review

2005-10-08T13:34:00.000-04:00

Geez! I've been seeing alot of movies lately. This one was good. Kind of on the fence as to whether it was worth $8. Definately worth seeing on video. All the jokes were pretty formulaic, an outgrowth of the cosmopolitan in the south scenario.

This is Good for a Laugh

2005-10-07T23:06:00.000-04:00

Check this wikiquote collection of ex-Washington DC mayor Marion Barry's quotes.

My favorite:
"I am making this trip to Africa because Washington is an international city, just like Tokyo, Nigeria or Israel. As mayor, I am an international symbol. Can you deny that to Africa?"

Broken Flowers Review

2005-10-06T00:10:00.000-04:00

Worth seeing, minor blue balls (not referring to the brief full-frontal nudity), amazingly engaging for a film with very little action.

LNG Can Buy Me

2005-10-04T20:03:00.000-04:00

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration believes that the country’s annual natural gas consumption will reach 30.7 trillion cubic feet , a 40% increase from 2003 consumption, by 2025.

All the reason to rejoice at the possibility that LNG terminals will soon be built in Maine. Unless you are a selfish, ignorant townie from Washington county.

Save Passamaquoddy Bay (SPB) is a group of of such people led by local artist, Lisa Assonte. Assonte believes that chronically economically depressed Washington County doesn't need the 50-100 permanent jobs and 200-300 contruction jobs that an LNG terminal would bring to the area. Instead, she believes in the "creative economy". Essentially, the creative economy consists of Mainers making crafts for rich tourists who come from areas that did not let groups like SPB retard their economic development. What a sad basis for an area's economy.

SPB claims that an LNG terminal will pollute and bring unwanted ship congestion to Washington county (i.e, ruin their view). However, the risk of LNG pollution is only great at the area where it's liquified (usually Africa). Besides that, if SPB wasn't ideologically opposed to the economic transformation of Washington county they would merely lobby the LNG builder to buy insurance against the environmental damages of an LNG spill.

Groups like SPB use rhetoric designed to make one believe that they are acting in the interest of the common man. What they are really doing is grossly overestimating the environmental risk to serve their own interest. Maybe people will see their folly when their natural gas bills continue to climb in the coming years.

Cianchette Withdraws From Gubernatorial Race

2005-10-03T20:45:00.000-04:00

Peter Cianchette withdrew from the Maine gubernatorial race today citing "family reasons". Usually such language means "skeletons in the closet"; however, it is doubtful that he could have done anything in the past 3 years since his last contest with the Sith (assuming everything dirty would have come out then.

A few highly speculative reasons why Cianchette withdrew (besides scandal)- 1) Business opportunities he simply can't pass up (Cianbro Katrina work?). 2) Senator Olympia Snowe's health will not allow her to run for another term. 3) Susan Collins wants to run for governor and abandon her senate seat.

Now that Cianchette is gone State Senator Peter Mills is the only announced republican candidate. One can be fairly certain that some right wing d bag will fill the void left by Cianchette and challenge him.

Saw Interpol on Friday Night

2005-10-03T20:41:00.000-04:00

Sounded studio live. Only downside was that they didn't play Stella.

Comments Are Now Open

2005-10-02T18:58:00.000-04:00

I have enabled Comment Verification, a feature of blogspot that I was previously unaware of, so now everyone that wants to can comment on my blog without registering.

Serenity- The Review

2005-10-02T18:49:00.000-04:00

This is the best movie that I have seen all year. I would have paid $50 to see it if I had known how juicy it was going to be in advance. The anti deference-to-authority theme is masterfully fulfilled and I personally was very satisfied by the underlying libertarian message of the film. The main character is like an Indiana Jones in space. At first glance one would think that this is a Star Wars rip-off but I never thought of Star Wars once during the whole movie.

Warning: if you do not want to have your expectations of the movie influenced before you have seen it, please do not read the paragraph above.

Maine- Big Government for a Little State

2005-10-02T12:41:00.000-04:00

From the September 19th issue of MaineBiz, Maine's biweekly business newspaper:

"Simply Fresh Maine, a lobster processing business, will use the $400,000 block grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development to buy equipment and create a work space at RBMC (Richmond Business and Manufacturing Center). The company plans to hire 20 new employees over the next two years. Simply Fresh Maine is one of a handful of companies that received a total of $1.2 million in funding during this round of grants."

Wow, 20 jobs that probably pay the same amount that prospective employees could have gotten had they found jobs elsewhere in nearby Topsham or Brunswick for the same pay ($15-20,000), at a cost of $20,000 per job to the tax payers or 2 cents per capita taxation per Simply Fresh job. Miniscule until you take into account the fact that this was only 1/3 of the grant amount in this round of grants, and that this sort of waste goes on throughtout the government everyday.

As always the Maine State Government looks for ways to duct tape their economic problems with grants and prefferred taxation programs for short term job creation instead of reforming the tax structure to reap immense long term gains. This is not just a Maine phenomenon, it occurs in every state in every branch of government. The government wastes your money left and right.

No Doc I Don't have Reoccuring Migraines... But I did Enjoy Fahrenheit 9/11

2005-09-30T23:03:00.000-04:00

Today, I was listening to Rush Limbaugh, as I always do, when the fat drug-addict decided to add some solid medical supporting evidence to his usual unsubstantiated, unqualified liberal bashing.

Rush cited fellow conservative commentator Michael Savage's latest masterpiece, "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" (Yes, that link does take you to the book's amazon listing). I think it is fair to cite Dr. Savage's academic meanderings since, after all, Michael Savage does possess a P.H.D. It just so happens that Savage received his doctorate from that bastian of conservatism- University of California- Berkely in the conservative dominated subject of... Nutritional Ethnomedecine?

Apparently before adopting the studly stage name MICHAEL SAVAGE, our hero wrote several books on homeopathic medecine under his christian, err, Jewish name, MICHAEL WIENER, with racy titles such as- "Plant a Tree", "Bugs in Peanut Butter", and my personal favorite, "Man's Useful Plants" (I am wearing a pair right now thanks to Dr. Savages unique insights into modern pants).

I like to keep my posts short but Dr. Savage is the gift that keeps on giving. Once upon a time in a galaxy that Savage probably wishes was far, far away, Savage was an associate of beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg's archive contains a letter from his good friend Michael Wiener in which, in an omen of the savagery to come, Wiener describes an encounter with a young Fijian man. Ginsberg's archive also contains a pic of Ginsberg and M. Wiener nude together.

Congratulations to Dr. Savage for defeating the liberal within and for temporarily defeating reigning uber-skank Ann Coulter and her last book- "How to Talk to a Liberal, if you Must" in the conservative race to the bottom.

Look, I can't stand liberal talk-radio either. I listened to Air America for 5 minutes and was reaching for George Bush t-shirt. But, even if you don't agree with them, at least you should respect liberal firebrands like Michael Moore, who actually seek to support their assertions with FACTS; only to be destroyed by ad-hominem arguments, instead of making bullshit one liners like Michael Savage. Citing the numbers of uninsured in America is much more respectable than challenging someone's patriotism because they don't support a bullshit war.

If Anyone Wants to Comment

2005-09-28T23:12:00.000-04:00

Comment Spam has come to my blog so if anyone would like to comment, I need to add you as a member of my blog.

I HATE BLOGSPOT FOR RUINING MY STAR WARS INTRO SCREEN

2005-09-28T22:27:00.000-04:00

When transferring my text from the create stage to my blog. Now I look even more awesome than I would have if it had posted correctly.

Return of the Sickel

2005-09-28T21:49:00.000-04:00

DARKNESS FALLS ON THE

REPUBLIC AS LORD BALDACCI

ATTACKS MAINE WITH AN

ARMY OF NEUTERED, AND CONSE-

QUENTLY, VERY ANGRY MIDGETS.

RALLYING AROUND JEDI MASTER SICKEL,

THE REBELS FALL BACK TO BOSTON WHERE

THEY FIND A GROUP OF DIRTY HIPPIES...

I finally tricked somebody into hiring me (Somebody in Boston believes that gullible is written on the wall). And if I can manage not to get fired for few months, Scott gets $500.

My training doesn't start until November 7th. In the meantime I will be in Maine.

Thoughts on a few current issues:

According to Survey USA, Governor John Baldacci has 51% approval among democrats and 40% approval among Mainers, making him fairly vulnerable. However, the likely Republican challenger, Peter Cianchette, who ran against Baldacci in 2002, will be portrayed as being close to the Bush administration, as he was the Bush-Cheney 2004 Maine campaign chairman, which will hurt big time in 2006. For what its worth (not the time it took to write this, most likely), I endorse State Rep. Peter Mills for Governor, and would change my registration to republican if I weren't moving to Boston just to vote for him in the primary. Mills emphasizes wholesale reform of the bureaucracy with a focus on accountability whereas one gets the impression that Cianchette would just focus on tax cuts and increase the state debt, ala Bush. Mills is both the better candidate and the shoe-in to defeat the Sith in the general election.
Voters are ultimately responsible for the New Orleans Katrina disaster since they elected incompetents (The Mayor, the Governor, the President) and never pressured their elected officers to pursue policies commensurate with the risk involved. You voted these morons into office, now suffer the consequences. However, if I were a democratic strategist I would use this opportunity to purge the Bush administration of political appointments in crucial posts (its full of em), such as FEMA director, and make it a 2006 campaign theme.
If I had a Supreme Court vote, I would vote for the confirmation of John Roberts. His record is full enough to determine that he can't be any worse than Rehnquist, and ambiguous enough to leave hope that he will be an O'Connor. As long as the President doesn't nominate an ultra social conservative, he should get his way. However, my bet is that Bush nominates a real winner for the next Supreme Court post in the next week that the Democrats will oppose en masse. Bush's approval is so low that he needs a way to shore up his own political base and make the Democrats look like obstructionists at the same time. If nothing gets done in Washington, maybe incumbents from both parties suffer in 2006, instead of just republicans.

What's the Point in Posting if you don't have a Job?

2005-07-14T21:43:00.000-04:00

If you haven't noticed I haven't posted in a few weeks. I figure, if I'm gonna be online for a few minutes I might as well be looking for a job. I will start posting again when the the job search has ended.

Shows You Won't See on WGME Channel 13 this Fall Unless I Become President of CBS

2005-06-09T19:35:00.000-04:00

CSI Bowdoinham-

Sheriff Guy Ledoute and his deputy Evan Conway try to keep themselves busy in a town in which the only crimes involve animal molestation, hippy's illegally living in broken down vans in the woods, and kids jumping off the bridge.. into the river.

Survivor Castine-

10 Maine Maritime Academy students try to get laid while going to a 95% male school in the middle of fucking nowhere.

In an interesting twist, viewers will be encouraged to cast votes upon the fate of the 10 lost souls. Producers tell us from the outset that 3 students will develop carparl tunnels syndrome, 2 will be slain by townies while hitting on their women, 3 will be eaten by moose, and the other 2 will turn gay. Whichever viewer guesses all ten correct by the 3rd epsiode gets a full scholarship to Maine Maritime- though none will take it after watching this show.

The Apprentice, John Baldacci Edition-

In the ultimate test of mediocrity 15 community college students will compete to become Governor John Baldacci's Lieutenant Governor.

Each will be given a small town whose name consists of a letter and a number. The first community college allstar to simultaneously run the town's finances into the ground while creating a facad of fiscal stability with Enron style accounting techniques will be the winner.

My Review of Freakonomics

2005-05-31T19:31:00.000-04:00

Economists are usually preoccupied with technical proofs that they think make Economics more of a hard science than a soft one. Picture an economist in his office adding advanced calculus to a paper just to get a hard-on.

Unfortunately Economists have never taken their true place as the authority on policy and society. Instead, they have ceded such territory to lawyers, sociologists, and other practicioners of pretentious bullshit.

Thus, it is refreshing to see a young economist seek to brand himself as a purveyor of insight into the problems that plague the real world (as opposed to the realm of academics where most economists spend their whole lives).

Steven Leavitt's Freakonomics is a series of commentaries on academic studies by Levitt that pertain to policy and society, especially the way people respond to incentives.

For instance, did you know that when real estate agents sell their own houses they hold on to the house for ten extra days, and sell the house for $3,000 more than when they sell someone else's house?

If there is a theme in Levitt's book it's that you can't trust experts. Individuals with experience have information that you don't and they may use it against you to maximize their own profits. Sure real estate agents are known to be jerks but even doctors have been found to push uneeded surgery just to make extra bucks.

Perhaps the most insightful and perverse chapter in Freakonomics concerns Levitt's conclusion that the legalization of abortion 20 or so years before was the reason that the crime rate dropped significantly in the US in the mid to late 90's. Legal abortion took the children most at risk to become criminals out of the population. Thus, in the 90's when the first wave of criminals that were never born were to hit the streets, the crime rate suddenly and unexpectedly dropped. The delicious irony here is that Criminologists had never explained this phenomenon until Levitt came around.

Oh by the way, this means that Rudy Giuliani is horribly overrated, since it was a 20 year court opinion that made New York a safer city not Giuliani's law and order campaign.

Another beautiful thing about Freakonomics is its accesibility. Methodological and technical details have been left out which makes the book a very easy and satisfying read, as well as its manageable size of 200 pages. However, the book is not yet available in paperback (I think it will be eventually because it is a best seller) and the hard cover costs $25. Anybody in Maine that wants to borrow it from me need only ask.

Gay Marriage Becoming Acceptable in Massachusetts

2005-05-29T14:53:00.000-04:00

Newsweek notes that gay marriage became legal in Massachuetts almost one year ago on May 17th, 2004.

Support for "marriage equality" in Massachusetts is at 56% right now as opposed to only 35% a year ago. Furthermore, 84% of Massachusetts citizens say that gay marriage has "either a positive, or no impact on the quality of life in Massachuetts".

Its true that the numbers would not have been so favorable for gays if respondents were asked if they supported "gay marriage", instead of "marriage equality"; however, these stats do show a significant movement towards acceptance of gay marriage in Massachusetts.

During the past year about 6,000 gay couples have been wed whereas 30,000 heterosexual couples have in Massachusetts. Contrary to what anti gay-marriage activists have claimed, Massachusetts has not became the gay mecca of the world.

It amazes me that states where gay marriage will probably never be legal, where there probably arent's many gays per-capita, spend millions on political campaigns against gay marriage. The way in which the republican party plays on people's fears regarding social policy, and then uses their political power to revamp the tax code is morally disgusting.

Furthermore, the notion that the Republican Party is the party of state's rights is absurd when seen in the context of their efforts to create a federal anti-gay marriage amendment. The best way to diffuse costly, meaningless battles over social policy is to let state's decide. But the republicans would rather run your life for you.

Waaaa! Waaaa! My Base is Closing

2005-05-25T15:42:00.000-04:00

Nothing brings out the best in politicians like a round of base closures. Currently they are all seeking to cloak their naked self-interests in justifications of military value. As is they know better than the Pentagon. Suddenly every base is essential to our national security.

Probably nobody looks more like a jackass than South Dakota Senator John Thune. A major part of this guy's platform in taking out Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last year was his claims that as a Republican he would have the necessarily clout with the Bush administration to preserve the state's Air Force base, which is also the state's largest employer. The saliency of the base as a senate campaign issue should probably clue one in to the fact that everybody knew that it was extremely vulnerable. The closing of the South Dakota base is also a counterpoint to the theory that red states profited from the realignmnet since Texas and Oklahoma were big winners.

Maine itself is one of the biggest losers. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in extreme southern Maine will be closed and Brunswick Naval Air Station (in my hometown) will be halved. About 7,000 jobs will be lost. I'm a champion of economic outcomes so this does not really bother me. Its not as though we are losing high end manufacturing or research and development facilities. As long as the realignmentt process is objective and non-partisan, then it is good for tax payers.

Perhaps the big winner in the base closings in Maine isn't the average tax payer, its me. Lost in the base closing debate is the impact of the Brunswick Naval Air Station cutbacks on my chances of getting laid. As any other verile young man in Brunswick will tell you, there is too much surplus dick around because of all these damned enlisted men.

Recently I tried to pursuade Senators Collins to abstain from her attacks on the Pentagon's Commission by reminding her that young men such as myself would be real winners here, but she was unresponsive. Maybe if I was a lesbian and had made the same argument she would have listened.

McCain and Kennedy Introduce High Stakes Immigration Bill

2005-05-15T14:51:00.000-04:00

On May 12th Senators McCain and Kennedy introduced an illegal alien amnesty bill designed to diminish immigration's black market status.

The important featurs of this bill include:

Illegal aliens currently residing in the US would pay $1,000 to apply for H-5B visas. After working in the US for 3 years, a foreign worker could apply for an additional 3 years (paying an additional $1,000) and take steps to obtain permanent residency, including learning English.
Foreign nationals (prospective immigrants) would pay $500 for their visas and would have to prove that an employer has a job waiting for them.
Both illegal aliens and foreign nationals would have to pass tough police background and medical checks (presumably to keep out those with serious medical conditions that would leech off the American medical system).

Bush has been coy considering real immigration reform. It is conceivable that he may support a bill of this nature if it does not serious inflame paleocons (old-style xenophobic conservatives). Many commentators have speculated that immigration could be the defining issue of the 2008 presidential campaign. Such analysts believe that the issue could have the most detrimental impact on the Republican party, whose 2 major factions include big business corporatists, who support immigration reform, and religious conservatives, who see immigration as a vehicle that erodes traditional values. However, such tensions would no doubt emerge in the democratic party also.

Taking stands on divisive issues isn't something that presidential contenders usually do, so one must wonder what McCain is thinking in cozying up to liberal posterboy Ted Kennedy. Maybe McCain has figured out that there is no chance in hell that he can win the republican party with a spate of conservative heavyweights ready to throw their hats in. Maybe he is laying the groundwork for an independent run. He no doubt has the name recognition and fund raising potential to do so, especially if he chooses a democratic centrist, such as Lieberman or Bob Kerrey, as his running mate.

McCain is a true conservative (if you don't believe me, check out his profile at issues 2000.org); however, he is no partisan, as evident by his willingness to actually tackle problems, thus his mainstream appeal.

It is always a good idea to bring any black market into the sphere of governance, and immigration is no exception. Economics trump morality, and the government would do well to recognize the folly in laws that push parts of the economy into the black market, where they become the business of criminals.

The Sick Man Cometh

2005-05-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

I'm back.

Note to all who read my getting out of Dodge Post- the "finding myself" reference was a joke. There should never be a self to find. One must always "know thyself". Taking time to "find yourself" is hippy code for "excuse to do nothing".

Getting out of Dodge

2005-05-03T22:48:00.000-04:00

I am leaving for Vegas tomorrow and will be driving cross-country for the next couple weeks. Hopefully I will find myself. When I return my mind will be so fertile that I will make 20 posts. In the meantime check out my links.

Bush Signals he is Ready to Play Ball on Social Security

2005-05-01T19:32:00.000-04:00

During his Thursday night news conference George Bush made a significant concession in the current social security debate: benefit cuts would fall disproportionality on the upper class.

According to the Washington Post,

"For those earning the taxable maximum, $90,000, the benefit cuts would be the steepest.
Such workers, retiring in 2055, would lose $13,000 of their promised annual benefit, or 37
percent. Those workers would be better off if Social Security were allowed to exhaust its
trust fund and then pay out only what it can afford from future payroll taxes.

Middle-income Americans would be hit as well, although not as hard. Workers earning as
little as $35,000 a year would lose a quarter of their promised benefits by 2065."

The benefits of workers currently making under $25,000 would not be affected.

A casual observer with some common sense will realize that if you pay into social security, and you don't receive benefits commensurate with what you put in, then your "social security contributions" are little more than an increased income tax by another name.

That Bush is willing to concede a progressive reduction in social security benefits shows he's ready to play ball. Up until now Bush's proposal to privatize part of social security had nothing to do with ensuring the solvency of the system. Progressivity in taxation is a liberal mainstay. Although the democrats have suceeded in stonewalling Bush up to now, they may start losing the social security reform high ground if they don't start negotiating. Bush has already signalled that he is open to raising the amount of funds that the social security tax is applied to as well as possibly raising the retirement age.

Furthermore, in his address, Bush stated that those who wanted a sure investment would be allowed to invest in treasury bonds. This is essentially a way to opt out of privatization since treasury bonds carry no risk.

In making his concessions however, Bush may have opened himself up to criticism from fiscal conservatives who abhor progressive taxation. Indeed, these critics will rightfully point out that such a reduction in benefits will surely eat away some of the tax gains made by the upper class during the Bush administrations big three rounds of tax cuts, thus tarnishing Bush's legacy as an unapologetic tax cutter.

I'm not a fan of extending progressive taxation; however, considering that Bush has already given the rich a ton of fat tax cuts, that this proposal really will help save social security, and that privatization has become essentially optional, I view this development favorably. Raising the retirement age would really sweeten the deal. But let's see what the actual legislation looks like.

The Media is Biased- Towards Bull Shit

2005-04-30T20:35:00.000-04:00

I'm a news-whore. If I had my way I'd watch CNN all day long. I love pawing through the paper for half an hour each day.

However, even respectable news organizations keep inundating us with meaningless bullshit. The top 3 bullshit news subjects:

High profile, yet insignificant court cases, often involving celebrities.
Abductions of cute little white girls and pretty white wives.
Celebrity affairs.

I don't care if Michael Jackson molested children or is Martha Stewart breaks her house arrest. That's not news. There are myriad important subjects for the corporate national news media to focus on- things that affect our everyday lives that we should know about.

Abductions aren't national news. In a country with 300 million people, individuals will be abducted every hour. And the fact that almost every friggin abductee is white and attractive shows a subtle racism in the media's coverage of this bs.

Why celebrity affairs are standard fodder for morning news programs amazes me. I don't have cable right now so I'm forced to watch Good Morning America before I go to work. So, of course, I'm up-t0-date on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' fling and the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie affair.

Some people find porno disgusting. I find worthless news much more morally abhorrent. The type of news I've described here is media smut. I feel stupider having watched this crap.

At least my blog is full of juicy tidbits that have significant relevance in our everyday lives.

Strange Bedfellows on Energy Policy- Hawks and Hippies?

2005-04-29T17:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes politics can unite two groups who would otherwise be at each other's necks. Witness how paleocons (old-style conservatives) and labor groups come together to oppose immigration reform. Another odd couple is the movement for US energy independence which combines tree-huggers and foreign policy hawks.

The economist features this special relationship this week in the context of the current debate over a national energy policy. Greens want to adopt an energy policy that is more environmentally friendly. Foreign policy hawks want to become independent of Saudi oil that sometimes falls into the hands of terrorists- if that means adopting the alternative energies pushed by the people that spit on them when they came back from Vietnam, well then, so be it.

However, Congress' current energy bill is pork city. Bush would like to add subsidies for owners of cleaner burning diesel engines, utilities that produce nuclear energy, and firms that create LNG terminals to the current legislation.

In addition to Bush's suggestions, the administration should agressively target alternative energies such as biofuels, solar and windpower, etc. These technologies could help the country become more energy independent in the long run and help poor rural areas adjust their economies. The administration should also close the loophole that allows SUV's to shirk CAFE emissions standards.

In the short term we are screwed. Saudi Arabia has the power to change the futures market overnight by tapping its excess capacity and investing more to boost long run productoin. If they were going to do this they would have done it by now. Its worth noting that during the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush said that in the event of run-away oil prices he would coerce the US' oil-producing allies into raising production. Also, the 2001 energy bill was a corporate giveaway which included $2 billion for deep-water oil drilling research. Despite his using the Clinton administration as a scapegoat during his press conference last night, Bush's hands are not clean on this issue.

Proponents of energy independence are smart to use national security to push their agenda. Security issues inspire fear, fear wins votes. Opponents of the 2004 Maine referendum question to cap property taxes successfully raised questions as to how police, fire, and medics would be funded without property tax revenue. And uh trumped-up national security threats reelected George Bush.

R.I.P- Kweisi Mfume's Maryland Senate Hopes

2005-04-28T16:37:00.000-04:00

Former congressman and NAACP head Kweisi Mfume's bid to become the Maryland democratic party's senate nominee is in the crapper now that a memo written by a former NAACP lawyer has surfaced which claims that MFume gave preference to female NAACP employees whom he was "close" to. In February Mfume commented that Maryland democrats owed it to blacks to give a black the senate nomination.

I hate it when bad things happen to bad people.

Presidential Update

2005-04-28T14:41:00.000-04:00

I would like to call this a list but it's so large it's more like a catalog. 2008 Presidential Contenders:

The Republicans:

Senator John McCain
Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Senator Chuck Hagel
Senator Bill Frist
Governor Jeb Bush
Senator Rick Santorum
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
Governor Tim Pawlenty
Senator Lamar Alexander
Senator Lindsey Graham
Senator George Allen
Governor Haley Barbour
Vice President Dick Cheney
Senator Sam Brownback
Former House Majority Leader Newt Gingrich
Governor Mitt Romney
Governor Bill Owens
Governor George Pataki

The Democrats:

Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator John Kerry
Senator John Edwards
Senator Russ Feingold
Senator Evan Bayh
Senator Joe Biden
Governor Phil Bredeson
Governor Mark Warner
General Wesley Clark
Governor Bill Richardson
Governor Mike Easly

Not all of these people are running, but there are rumors about all of them. If you want to learn more about an individual, go to www.wikipedia.org and undertake a search.

Anyone that think that Giuliani has a chance in hell of winning a republican primary is off their rocker. Giuliani had an affair that ruined his marriage; even worse, he once lived with homosexuals- ooh scary! McCain's getting old but his whoring on the last Bush campaign shows that he is considering a race, although if he votes against eliminating the filibuster I don't see how he wins the nomination. If McCain really wants to be president he should run with Lieberman as his Veep. Such a ticket could definately carry the day.

Since the republican party has been spoiled by Bush for the last 5 years they'll probably be emboldened to pick another conservative, which should hurt their chances of recapturing the presidency. However, Rove and other "permanent majority" republicans may force a "party-building" candidate on the party- thus I have listed Rice and Pawlenty.

Every sucessful red-state governor is listed as a prospective candidate so I haven't listed them all here. Hillary Clinton is the front-runner; however, she is going to be pulling buckshot out of her ass for the next three years. John Kerry and John Edwards are stupid enough to run again but they have little chance. If the Dems are serious about winning they will pick a Midwesterner or a Southwesterner- a Bayh or Richardson. Bayh could deliver all the midwestern swing states; similarly Richardson could deliver New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado.

Oh and it doesn't matter if a politician says he's not running. Any one of these people who can raise enough money will throw his hat in.

The Onion Explores Sexual Discrimination Against Americans in Europe

2005-04-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

The Onion's International Affairs Department has shed light on what has been a scab on every American's European study abroad experience since George Bush took office.

In an article entitled "Report: US Foreign Policy Hurting American's Chances of Getting Laid Abroad", the Onion profiles a young American in Amsterdam who says, "I offer to buy them a drink, and they tell me I shouldn't just stand by and watch Bush destroy the world. Look, if I had that type of pull with the president, I obviously wouldn't be out trolling for anonymous Dutch pussy."

Another victimized American relates that he "... asked a group of German girls at some Eurotrash disco to dance and they started yelling at me... They said that by paying taxes to the American government, I am no better than a fascist. Well, they would know, I guess."

I was in Belgium in Spring 2003 and I can attest to George Bush' historic cock-block, otherwise known as the Iraq War. Those of you who have seen me may question as to whether I would have gotten laid if I had studied abroad in Normandy, France after WW2; to this I say there were other guys in my program that would have been pulling on a regular basis back home that had a real hard time too.

Once again fake news proves to be the most accurate.

Comprehensive Tax Reform in Maine?

2005-04-27T16:23:00.000-04:00

The two Chairmen of the Maine Senate Taxation Comittee, Senator Joe Perry (D, Bangor) and Rep. John Woodbury (I, Yarmouth), have submitted legislation that can truly be called "ambitious" "comprehensive" tax "reform".

The major facets of this legislation are as follows:

A flat state income tax of 6%
Lowering the sales tax to 4%
Expanding the sales tax to encompass goods and services such as: curently untaxed groceries, energy fuels, and amusements.
Increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, which subsidizes low-income Mainers.
Raising the property tax break for low-income Mainers to $3,000.
Raising already-high "sin taxes"; taxes on tobacco and alcahol.

Numbers 1, 3, and 6 will hit poor Mainers hard (flat taxes are regressive by nature, and the sales tax is a flat tax since everyone pays the same tax) and for that reason 4 and 5 are included, which are more favorable to the poor. The bill's sponsors claim that the bill is "revenue neutral", meaning that it will take in just as much in taxes as the current tax system; however, the Maine Revenue Service has not yet assessed it.

I think the flat income tax is a great idea, as is expanding the sales tax. The sales tax should be uniform for all goods and services. Flat taxes are the most efficient taxes in terms of not distorting economic decisions. However, the sales tax should stay at 5%, at least until Maine's finances are back in order. I don't think anybody should be exempt from the property tax, here's why: lets say your local and state property taxes amount to 2% and they go up from $2,000 to $4,000. It sucks to pay $2,000 more in taxes, but this would mean that your house had doubled in value from $100,000 to $200,000. If you can't afford the taxes, sell and move somewheres else. If you don't want to move, take out a reverse mortgage. People that claim they are too poor to afford their property taxes are trying to have their cake and eat it too. I'm not a fan of the earned income tax credit either. I don't see why we should support poor people with this credit unless they have children, which are such an important externality that we should subsidize them big time. Politicians always raise sin taxes to raise revenue because nomatter how high the rates are people keep buying shit that hurts them; I'm really not a fan, although in Maine's current financial situation.....

When asked what he thought about the proposal, a spokeman for Governor Baldacci said "We all share a common goal and collective action is the best way to achieve that", which is Baldacci speak for "I'm against this but I'm too much of a spineless worm to tell you that outright".

Overall the reform seems better than nothing, however, I do prefer the Sickel plan.

An Economics Lesson for Lou Dobbs

2005-04-26T18:44:00.000-04:00

Lou Dobbs is a Harvard-trained economist. He is also the host of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight. He has won numerous awards for his reporting on business, finance, and economics. He is also a Horse's Ass.

One of the greatest contributions that economists have made to humanity is international trade theory, which holds that international trade is beneficial for all countries involved. As an Economist you would think that Lou Dobbs knows this. However, if you have watched his show during the last 2 years you have probably heard him bitching about how free trade and immigration are ruining, or "Exporting" America.

I'm so glad that Lou Dobbs cares about protecting shitty service sector and manufacturing jobs for Americans. If Lou Dobbs had his way I guess we'd all be producing T-Shirts and weeding gardens.

First off, some jobs wouldn't be there if there weren't Mexicans to take the jobs at low wages. Millions of gardens would go unweeded and million of hotel rooms uncleaned. Americans won't take these jobs. They think they are too good for them (even though many are not). I don't blame Mexicans for taking these jobs to improve their lives, I blame the US government and racists like Lou Dobbs for making it illegal for a Mexican to come over here and do us a favor. Immigration should be safe and legal, like abortion. Mexicans don't even usually want citizenship, they just want to be able to work for free to send money home to little Pedro and Juanita.

Lou Dobbs should know better, he's supposed to be an economist. You can't stop the economic undertow pulling Mexicans to the US border where they can make 4x as much in the state's as they do back home selling their bodies and engaging in subsistence farming.

Regarding free-trade, let me give Lou Dobbs an economics lesson. If US citizens are running a huge trade deficit, then the dollar should depreciate because demand for it goes down relative to other currencies. When the dollar falls foreign goods become more expensive. When foreign goods become expensive, US goods look better and manufacturing will bounce back a bit. The dollar has fallen big time during the past three years and its still got a ways to go. This kind of process is called an "automatic stabilizer".

When shitty manufacturing jobs are lost, its because a firm in another country if offering a cheaper product. So a few Americans lose their jobs so the other 300 million Americans can have cheaper stuff. On the whole, America is better off.

Instead of protecting domestic industries, America should reorient its economy to capture new markets for its exports. Americans are the smartest people in the world. We should concentrate our energies on intellectualy-intensive goods and services that offer higher wages.

When faced with foreign competition there are two things you can do:

Protect your domestic industries like a pussy.
Show the rest of the world why you are the mother fuckin United States, the most intelligent, most entrepreneurial country in the world.

Lou Dobbs is an economic coward and needs to go back to school to relearn his economic principles.

And for those of you who think CNN is a liberal network, check this site which shows the Lou Dobbs contributed cash to Bush in 2001: http://www.newsmeat.com/media_political_donations/Lou_Dobbs.php .

What's the Matter with Vermont?

2005-04-25T18:11:00.000-04:00

On April 20th Senator Jim Jeffords, who left the Republican Party on June 5, 2001 and temporarily gave the democrats control of the senate, announced his retirement from the senate at the end of his term in January 2007 due to his and his wife's ailing health.

Another "independent" is aiming to take Jeffords' place in the senate, Bernie Sanders, the state's only representative . However, unlike Jeffords, who independence was a product of his centrism, Sanders is an independent because he lives in the United States instead of Europe. In other words, Sanders is a socialist.

Sanders has been a member of congress since 1991. Although an "independent", Sanders mostly votes with the democrats and is a member of 54 strong House Progressive Caucus, a group of extremely liberal democrats united by their desire to make the democratic party as unelectable as possible.

Democratic leaders have hinted that they would let Sanders run without a Democratic opponent against Governor Jim Douglas. Yes, this means a de-facto endorsement of a self-proclaimed "socialist". I would rather the Democratic Party had one less senate seat than have a socialist in the Democratic caucus. Howard Dean needs to return to Vermont and run himself.

Selection Effects in Academia, the Media, and the Military

2005-04-24T15:36:00.000-04:00

Marginal Revolution is a blog run by two George Mason University economists, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok. The material is economically oriented but is generally accessible, i.e., not too technical in nature.

One of Alex's recent posts struck me as very thoughtful and worth passing on. Across the country recently there has been alot of noice from conservative groups and state lawmakers about what they see as intellectual discrimination at colleges and universities. They cite several studies which, not surprisingly, find that the proportion of liberal professors far exceeds that of conservative professors. Of course, this is overwhelmingly true for professors of the social sciences and humanities, but it is even true for the hard sciences and economics.

Tabarrok cites a recent study that found that the more conservative a college or university, the poorer the quality of that institutiion. The fact is that universities do not discriminate against conservative professors, they merely desire the best talent they can find for their university. As a social liberal, it does not strike me as strange that intelligent people are generally also socially liberal.

So, how does the conservative right recommend that we fix this "problem" of liberals dominating academia?

And while we're at it why don't we add some ideological balance to the military. Like academia, the military is responsible for the education of millions of young impressionable minds. Why has no one had the sense to recommend some sort of ideological affirmative action program yet for the military?

Oh wait I know, because we wan't hicks and inner city-toughs conditioned by their lackluster upbringings to fight our wars instead of pussy-ass liberals. Just like we don't want close-minded conservatives teaching college students.

Certain types select themselves to certain professions. The so-called "liberal media" is populated by social liberals. However, on the other side of the coin, I don't think there is a sympathy for economic liberalism in the media in general. The media was pretty unquestioning of the Bush tax cuts and has let the social security debate unfold in an objective fashion. However, the media has continued to write on the fiscal challenges facing the US, especially the unprecendented US deficit.

I hate to break it to you, but the media is smarter than you. They are not insulated from the world, as is the military and academia. They witness the way the world is changing from both an objective and an analytical point of view. So though the Front Page will be filled with objective reporting, the opinion page will be filled with analysis from people who actually know whats going on.

Every industry has a type that it attracts. Unless you want to introduce an ideological affirmative action program whenever you don't agree with some groups, shut up. Nobody forces liberals to join the military (at least not yet), and nobody forces conservatives to read so-called liberal newspapers, like the New York Times. Let the free-market, as epitemized by the All Volunteer Force and the presence of a whole spectrum of ideologically oriented media outlets, carry the day.

Senator Specter pushes Stem-Cell Research

2005-04-21T22:57:00.000-04:00

Today is a lucky day for those who suffer from medical conditions that they be treated by innovations resulting from stem-cell research. Today Arlen Specter sported a new hairdo as a result of his undergoing of chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin's disease.

Specter, along with conservative Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, and liberal senator Dianne Feinstein of California, has introduced a bill to legalize therapeutic cloning while introducing harsh punishments for human cloning.

For those who are unfamiliar with Specter, he is a RINO, or a "Republican in name only", which is republican speak for "free thinker".

Those who support stem-cell research are pro-life. Those who are against it are pro-death. Arlen Specter's life is worth more than a single-cell embryo's.

Greenspan Ratchets up Deficit Rhetoric

2005-04-21T21:48:00.000-04:00

Testifying before Congress earlier today Federal Reserve Chief Allan Greenspan said that the federal budget is on an "unsustainable path " that could lead the US economy to "stagnate or worse".

Greenspan has been repeating this mantra ever since the return of large deficits in 2001. However, according to David Wyss, Chief Economist at Standard & Poors, "Every successive testimony I can see him getting more and more impatient... It's like, 'Why don't you idiots get this- that you can't continue spending more than you take in?'".

Its true that Greenspan was a big supporter of the Bush administration's early tax cuts, however, his enthusiasm waned as it became evident that although Bush came to office with the help of the Republican party's reputation for fiscal responsibility, earned by Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America in the 1990's, Bush himself is a big-government conservative who is more interested in political power than fiscal austerity.

In related news the Senate passed an $81 billion spending package for Iraq and Afghanistan (but mostly for Iraq, although including Afghanistan adds legitimacy) bringing the official cost of the wars to $300 billion, even though the padding effects on the military's budget no doubt brings the cost much higher.

To put Iraq spending in perspective, remember that the 2004 fiscal year deficit was $412 billion.

The Washington Post points out the obvious in saying that, "Inflation and interest rates have risen, stock valued have plunged, a tank of gas induces sticker shock, and for nearly a year, wages have failed to keep up with the rising cost of living. Yet in Washington, the political class has been consumed with the death of a brain-dead woman in Florida, the ethics of the house majority leader, and the fate of the senate filibuster". Furthermore, the only explictly economically oriented bills passed this year- restrictions of class-action law suits and more stringent bankrupcy legislation- have undoubtedly hurt the little guy.

When are Americans going to start caring about their own livelihoods and those of their families and stop letting the GOP majority run amok on domestic issues as a result of exagerrated security threats?

Pope Hitler The First

2005-04-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

At first I wasn't surprised when conservative Cardinal Ratzinger was chosen as the next pope. Of course, just because he's German and the first thing that comes to mind is "Nazi" doesn't mean we shouldn't give the guy a chance, right?

However, once again ethnic stereotyping has proven true. Cardinal Ratzinger was a German soldier from 1943 to 1945. I can excuse the guy for being a member of Hitler youth, every young man was forced to join. I can even excuse him for being forced into the German army. But it took the asshole 2 years to desert.

If you aren't going to hold the pope to a higher moral standard who are you going to hold to a higher moral standard?

It amuses me that critics were talking about there being a Hispanic or Black pope, but instead they chose... a Nazi. Woa, didn't see that one coming!

Other highlights from the career of Pope Hitler:

Wrote in 1986 that homosexuals have a "tendency toward an intrinsic moral evil" and an "objective disorder".
Has proclaimed other christian sects "deficient".
Wrote a book called "Truth and Tolerance" in which he argued that "tolerance is an excuse to distort the truth".
Reigned over the same section of the Vatican responsible for the Inquisition.
Said in 2004 that one who voted for a pro-choice or pro-euthanasia candidate was "cooperating with evil".
Said in 2002 that less than once percent of priests were guilty of child molestation.

I'm so reassured that only one out of every hundred priests is a child molester! You can be sure that this jerk was in charge of the red-tape Vatican bureaucratic maneuvering that let priests get away with child molesting.

I could go on and on but I seem to have lost a bet with Satan that there would never be another Nazi Head of State. Anyone have 30 pieces of silver I can borrow?

Get by with a Little Help from my Friends

2005-04-18T18:42:00.000-04:00

If anybody out there has any suggestions on how I may obtain gainful employment I am open to suggestions. As you five know, I graduated from George Washington last semester with majors in Economics and International Affairs. I'm looking for a job where I can learn alot, and where there is opportunity for advancement, or any job in Maine where I do not have to engage in "customer service".

Any advice about the job-finding process welcome. If you bullshit me, I'll block you.

Amityville Horror is Solid

2005-04-17T23:52:00.000-04:00

Just got back from watching the Amityville Horror. No surprises but plenty of scares. I guess the only surprise is that the studio actually believed we would buy that a chic that hot would have a 12 year old kid.

On an unrelated note, make sure that nobody died in your house before you buy it. There seem to be alot of those these days.

Illegal Immigrant Social Security Contributions Amount to a Tenth of the Social Security Surplus

2005-04-17T19:35:00.000-04:00

This is fascinating.

From the "Numbers" feature of Time Magazine (April 18th issue).

Illegal immigrants pay $7 billion in Social Security Taxes a year. This accounts for 10% of last year's Social Security surplus.
Illegal immigrants also pay $1.5 billion each year in Medicare taxes.
Illegal immigrants will receive none of these benefits.

I would like to see the stats on how much we spend on border control if anyone knows where to find them. However, this shows that illegal immigrants are indrectly paying at least a large amount of it.

Immigration reform is one of the rare instances where I'm wholeheartedly with Bush on an issue. But lets see what the final proposal looks like...

Forgot about WMD?

2005-04-17T18:49:00.000-04:00

In the midst of positive Iraqui election results and decreases in insurgent attacks on American military personell in Iraq the Bush administration has been on the rhetorical offensive concerning our continued engagement there.

On March 31st the commission in charge of investigating the intelligence failures that the Bush administration would have use believe led us to the War in Iraq published its findings. Of course these "findings" are mere window dressing. They shield the Bush administration by blaming the US intelligence community.

Never once has the Bush administration been able to convince me that their decision to attack Iraq was based on intelligence informing them that Hussein had WMD that he was ready to use against the US at a moment's notice. A couple of the reasons why I am sure that the Iraq War was primarily a political decision:

When did the intelligence community ever believe that Iraq was more of a threat than North Korea?
Why didn't Bush start campaigning to invade Iraq after he came into office; when he was privy to the most up-to-date intelligence on Iraq?

Not only did the Bush administration mislead America into war, the nation building effort that followed is regarded as having been piss-poor. However, as the Daily Show has pointed out, this hasn't stopped the various personalities within the Bush administration from being rewarded for their subpar performances:

National Security Advisor Condosleeza Rice has been promoted to Secretary of State.
Undersecretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz has been promoted to head of the World Bank.
John Bolton has been nominated for US Ambassador to the United Nations.
George Bush and Dick Cheney have been re-elected despite having made the worst foreign policy decision since Johnson's escalation of the Vietnam War.

I'd like to see a Bolton type go in to the UN as US ambassador and tell those corrupt, pretentious UN bastards to go fuck themselves; however, a review of Bolton's role in dealing with North Korea and Iraq show that his demeanor yields him unqualified (check out this Washington Post article on the recent confirmation hearing).

To anybody who thinks I'm a liberal cry baby, I say that the decision to go into Iraq drained our country of treasure, military resources (we're tied down), and international political capital. A decision of this magnitude cannot receive enough scrutiny, and those who failed us should be held accountable.

Bayh Watch

2005-04-16T19:15:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday Senator Bayh threatened to delay the confirmation of former Ohio representative Rob Portman as US Trade Representative. Bayh has nothing against Portman, rather Bayh is seeking to draw attention to China's abusive trade practices which Bayh claims are the cause of the United States massive trade imbalance with China.

Bayh would like Congress to pass a bill he has sponsored to have the Commerce Department institute duties on Chinese imports. Bayh claims that China subsidizes industry by writing off large loans, giving free factory space to firms, and pegging their currency to the dollar.

On the first two counts, Bayh is probably right. The currency matter is not as easy to judge as it may seem. Yes, undervaluing their currency enables China to export more products since it makes their goods cheaper; however, it also makes their imports more expensive. In a way, China style currency manipulation actually subsidizes US consumption. Its true that some American factory workers lose their jobs but the gains in lower prices to American consumers far outweigh these losses.

The most salient point of Bay's move is its ability to position him politically. This is a power-play by Bayh. Bayh is unilaterally drawing attention to the issue. He is seeking to make himself the voice of the democratic party, and especially the working class in Congress. Bayh's move is definately a political move. Bayh knows that even redressing our legitimate trade grievances against China will have only marginal significance in terms of saving American jobs. Bayh is reaching out to organized labor and carving himself a niche in the democratic party. He is once again moving himself to the left in an attempt to outmaneuver skankocrat Hillary Clinton.

If Bayh suceeds in drawing attention to the issue without it backfiring on him (he is unilaterally undertaking a blatantly obstructionist move) it could mean big time political capital for Bayh and the democratic party, whom the public seems to trust more on economic policy.

However, I am a big fan of free trade, and it is one issue I dislike seeing politicized. Usually when politicians rail against free trade, even when they have legitimate grievances, it is in order to protect a powerful interest, usually organized labor, or the environment. But if you have to win Ohio, this is the way to do it.

MMM... Farm Subsidies, the Hypocrisy is Delicious

2005-04-16T18:03:00.000-04:00

Go to rural, "red-state" America and ask them what they think about welfare. They will probably tell you that welfare should be cut because its not fair for hard-working types like themselve to be supporting lazy welfare recipients.

Then ask them why hard-workers like themselves need farm-subisidies. Remind them that subsidies are a form of welfare since they are given to those who can not compete on their own.

They will say, "Its totally different, its necessary to maintain the American way of life by preserving the family farm".

Ask them why their way of life is any more American than yours. Then ask them why most subsidies go to large corporate farms instead of sole-propriator, or "family farms".

Ask them if they think that we should have subsidized cloth weavers in the early 19th century and wool sorters in the late 18th to preserve their "way of life".

Don't let farmers fool you, welfare is welfare, and its not fair for farmers to rail on urban welfare recipients while at the same time claiming that what they receive is not welfare. If you like being a farmer so much, take the pay you deserve and let the rest of your compensation be the piece of mind you get from preserving the "American way of life".

I think the yuppie working for some corporation in a nameless city that pays the taxes that support whiny farmers is more American than they are.

Not only do we spend billions each year in actual subsidies, but subsidies make food cost more. This makes us poorer by making the things we buy more expensive.

As part of its promise to cut the deficit in half, the Bush administration had said that it would get rid of $5.4 billion in agriculture spending. Apparently the House Budget Committee thought Bush meant to cut food and nutrition programs for the poor instead of subsidies. Now it looks like only $2.8 billion or so will be cut. A small drop in the bucket

The Federal Government is just one big feeding trough. If a republican is in power, corporations carry the day. If a democrat is in power, the poor. Either way fat, lazy farmers always win.

The joke has come upon us.

5 Ways to get in the Paper in a Small Town

2005-04-16T17:16:00.000-04:00

Since my exile to Brunswick, Maine I have had plenty of time to read Brunswick's hometown newspaper, the Time's Record, and I've had plenty of time to think about bullshit that has no relevance or importance whatsoever. So here are the 5 best ways to get into the paper in a smalltown.

5) Hit a single in a Babe Ruth baseball game.
This may be difficult if you are over 16, but if you're short enough just tell em you're new in town and grab a bat.

4) Participate in some multiculturalism bullshit at your local high school.
Once again, it would help to be a high school student here, or maybe one of those "volunteers" that helps out at high schools because they are worthless and/or stalkers. It also helps to be a member of the "Gay-Straight" alliance (meaning you're gay) or to be a poor 9 year old El Salvadorean boy.

3) Kill somebody or deal Coke and get busted.
This will be front page news for weeks. Just make sure its not during baseball season. Baseball playing kids are real show stealers. Or just deal coke or kill someone at a little league baseball game.

2) Come home from Iraq.
This is pretty easy but you have to plan in advance. If you enlist now, you may be able to come back from Iraq and make the local newspaper for the May 13th, 2007 issue.

1) Die.
Some serious qualifications here. Old people dying is pretty weak, even for a local newspaper. You'll only make the Obituaries. Make sure you die young. Then it will be "tragic" and people will invent hypotheticals- i.e,- "He always said he wanted to be president someday, and whose to say he wouldn't have". Suddeny you are a future billionaire, pope, and moviestar, all in one.
Be creative, dying in a car crash is not very original. How about eating leaches, or playing chicekn with cars on the highway?

And don't forget to click on that google add at the bottom of the page. For every click I get a tenth of a cent, and I haven't eaten for weaks.

Wal-Mart-o'-Nomics

2005-04-06T20:36:00.000-04:00

People are always shitting on Wal-Mart- "Wal-Mart pays their employees shit!", "Wal-Mart doesn't promote women!", "Wal-Mart hires illegal immigrants!", "Wal-Mart puts mom-and-pop stores out of business!"

Wal-Mart is all of these things and then so much more. Wal-Mart is the anti-Buddha of the liberals- it is all things that liberals hate at all times.

Most importantly, Wal-Mart is a retail jugernaut that got where it is now by outcompeting its rivals, including those overpaid mom-and-pop joints that everybody whines about but never goes to. People vote with their pocketbooks and they have voted Wal-Mart. Get over it.

Even if you don't particularly need anything, Wal-Mart is worth the trip for the people-watching. Its like the county fair, 365 days a year. Touchdown!

Yeah Wal-Mart pays their employees shit. This makes plenty of sense when you consider that these people have no real job skills. If they want more money they can learn some new skills. No matter how stupid you are you can always get a better job. There are plenty of jag-offs that I graduated with that I'm smarter than that are making more money than me. More power to them. If you can't support a family on a Wal-Mart pay check then... don't have a family.

Sure, Wal-Mart should get whacked by the Justice Department for discriminatory promotion practices. However, isn't it hard to get promoted by Wal-Mart when Wal-Mart doesn't promote anybody? Economic theory holds that a firm that does not take full advantage of a potential labor pool should suffer decreased profitability, but Wal-Mart keeps on chugging baby.

I feel bad for Wal-Mart, having to invest millions into a stupid public relations campaign. I hope you hippies are happy now that I'll have to pay an extra 2 cents a sock.

Bayh Watch

2005-04-05T17:46:00.000-04:00

A recent poll conducted in Indiana found that 2/3rds of Hoosiers believe that Evan Bayh has "the personal qualities necessary to be a good president". 70% of Hoosiers approve of Bayh's performance in the senate. 49% said they would vote for him as President. Stuart Rothenberg (a hotshit political pundit) says "I think he can make the case as a democrat running for President, he can carry his own state".

Although Bayh has not of yet made major overtures to the left that he needs to make a play for the democratic nomination (which will tarnish his centrist image), these numbers show that Bayh has true support at home, unlike John Edwards, who never had a snowball's chance in hell of making a dent in Bush's poll numbers in either of the Carolinas. Bayh's image as a man of family values will make a real difference in the mid-west, a constant electoral necessity for the Democratic party and a region which has been trending republican.

Stalking Made Easy

2005-04-01T00:34:00.000-05:00

It used to be that to stalk somebody you had to devote significant time and resources to get the job done right. Binoculars don't grow on trees. A good pair will run you a couple hundred bucks.

Now everything has changed. Let the good times roll. With facebook and instant messenger you can know not only phone numbers and other good personal information, but maybe even exactly what a person is doing at the time that you are engaging in your open-source stalking.

And check this out, if you are lucky enough to live in Maine you can even zoom in on someone's backyard with this aerial photography GIS catalog from the state government. Hell, I can even see all the dead cars in my dad's yard. Haven't added them up to create my supercar yet though...

So next time you leave an away message saying "I'm in the shower, lol, brb", think about what weirdos could be reading on the "dark side of the internet".

How to Make Downloaders and Record Companies Happy at the Same Time- SICKSTER

2005-03-31T20:53:00.000-05:00

Currently before the Supreme Court is the Case of Grokster (the file-sharing program) vs. MGM studios. MGM rightly claims that Grokster was created explicitly to facilitate the theft of digital media. Grokster's best defense is that a ruling against it could be used as a precedent to cripple other technologies, such as the Apple Ipod, and thereby discourage their development. Grokster also sites the 1984 Sony Betamax Supreme Court Decision in which the major movie studios tried to illegalize the video cassette recorder in its defense.

Here are the bare facts of the file-sharing controversy:

People know they are stealing and largely don't care.
No amount of whining about morality is going to stop downloaders, its too easy.
Fighting software firms that facilitate transfers will not solve anything; new ones will just keep springing up.

I'm going to solve the indutry's problem for them. Since some asshole is going to read this genius proposal online (right) and I am never going to see a penny of the profits from my idea, I would at least prefer that it be named after me, that it be called "Sickster".

What are the drawbacks to downloading illegal music? Well you have no piece of mind because you're stealing, and you can't always get what you want. The only viable file-sharing program here at the University of Maine Orono is Direct Connect, and UMO students have the musical taste of high school cheerleaders.. garbage, garbage, garbage.

What are the drawbacks to downloading legal music? Well, one of these downloads often costs $1 each. One may wonder what advantage there is to downloading if you pay roughly the same amount to download an album as you do to buy a cd, especially when one cosiders how profitable it is for record companies to hawk music online, thus saving them big time on distribution, retail, marketing, and advertising.

Any economist will tell you that you price a product where profit is maximized. I believe that profit in the music industry would be maximized if downloads cost $.25 each, simply because people would buy so much of them that the $.75 difference between my hypothetical selling price and the current price wouldn't matter. This would not have been true 7 years ago, but it is the hard truth now that downloading is here and it is unstoppable.

Record labels could develop their own programs that are superior to rip-off programs like Grokster. To overcome the "I hate paying for music and then finding out it sucks phenomenon", labels could let users develop groups with other users where they shared recommendations.

This way labels are better off- they can make more money. Consumers are better off- they can get more music for less and not have to steal. Indeed, the only ones that wouldn't be better off would be the lawyers, but then again lawyers don't count because they're not real people.

I'm Voting Republican in the Next State Election, Whos with Me?

2005-03-31T18:28:00.000-05:00

On a party-line vote Maine's democrat-controlled legislature passed Maine's next two year budget yesterday. The most contentious piece of the budget was a $450 million revenue bond to be paid back over 14 years to balance the budget and pay down the state retirement system's debt.

To put Maine's budget deficit in context, recall that the 2006-2007 budget shortfall will be $733 million. Thats $366.5 million per year. If we divided this annual deficit by the population of Maine- 1,274,923, we get a rough projected deficit per-capita figure of $287.47. At a time when Maine's economy is relatively healthy, the state's deficit per-capita is almost $300. What happens if we dip back into recession? This is a structural deficit that desperately needs to be attended to with solutions other than those cosmetic ones that Governor Baldacci is so fond of throwing over the public's eyes (selling the state's liquor business, proposing to sell the state's lottery revenues).

Some democratic legislators will try to tell you that they are making tough choices. There are only three choices that a politician can make when faced with a budget deficit:

Raise Taxes
Cut Spending
Borrow Money

The first two choices are honest and unpopular. The 3rd is cowardly. This is the path that the Republicans who are in control in Washington have chosen, and indeed it is the path that the Democrats in control in Augusta have chosen. Anybody who thinks that Maine is going to grow its way out a deficit this large is dreaming.

To understand how desperate state democrats were not make an honest choice consider these 3 proposals that were made to raise revenue:

Raise the fine for first time offenders of the mandatory seat belt law to $200.
Charge a $10 registration fee on Canoes and Kayaks.
Charge hikers and birdwatchers fees.

Thank goodness there was enough dissent in the democratic ranks to defeat these cherrypicker proposals.

Its true that its easy for state republicans to whine about the budget since, as the minority party, they do not the face the tough budget tests that the dems have failed, as they will not be held accountable for this budget decadence.

However, the fact remains that Governor Baldacci and most of the dems in Augusta are spineless. The only dissenting dem in either legislative body (I'm not counting the two reps who voted against the budget because they wanted more money in it for specific programs) was Senator Nutting of Leeds who said, "We're digging a bigger and bigger hole with this barn shovel, and I'm not going to have my hands on the shovel". Neither am I and unless the Republicans nominate a right-wing nutjob I'm voting Republican for governor in 2006 and Republican for senate and representative in my hometown of Brunswick. I advise all 5-10 of you to do the same.

Dude, Where's My Free Speech?

2005-03-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

Several high profile news stories have been in the headlines the last few weeks with the common theme that the protagonist's free speech is being challenged.

Exhibit A: Larry Summers.

Famed economist, Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton, and present President of Harvard University. In January Summers made a speech in which he suggested that the differences in performance between males and females in math and the physical sciences might be due to differences of the male and female brains. Summers' comments touched upon possible social and biological factors. Summers' was a call for further research; however, the unscalable walls in the minds of many on the extreme left would not allow for meaningful discourse on this intriguing subject. The criticism that Summers has received from the extreme left was to be expected but the criticism that he has received from his own academic community is reprehensible and contrary to academia's spirit of scientific inquiry and free thought. On March 15, 2005, Summer's received a vote of no-confidence (253-137-18) from Harvard's faculty. This does not mean that he will lose his job. However, it does mean that Harvard's faculty does not deserve such an accomplished individual as their President.

Exhibit B: Ward Churchill

Ward Churchill is the University of Colorado- Boulder (UCB) professor who wrote an essay (excerpted in the Wikipedia article linked to above) after the 9/11 attacks that referred to 9/11 victims as "little eichmans", rather than innocent civilians. Churchill has portrayed the United States as an immoral imperialist empire throughout his time as a professor and activist. Surely, the guys an asshole and he's wrong about everything. The question is- should UCB fire Churchill for his comments? Furthermore, should Hamilton College have disinvited Churchill from its panel, "limits on dissent, after Uber Fascist Bill O'Reilly waged a Fox News Holy War on him? If Churchill had advocated treason, as in saying something to the effect that "foreigners should take up arms against the United States", I'd say yes. However, what Churchill has been saying in effect is "no wonder the United States got wacked". If Churchill should lose his job its only because he teaches a bullshit discipline, ethnic studies, not because he's an asshole who is wrong about everything.

Exhibit C: Bloggers

This is ridiculous. The Federal Trade Commission would like to extend the McCain-Feingold campaign reform legislation to blogs. Advertising expenditures on the internet are already accounted for. The FTC would like to track how much time and computer resources (memory, electricity) , and links are devoted to specific politicians and causes, so as to count these as campaign contributions. This means that I may have to provide a valuation of the time I devote to opining in favor of Senator Bayh's 2008 Presidential Candidacy. I may also have to count how many times people click on my links to Bayh websites. And I guess the electricity on my computer while I am blogging for Bayh? Fuck the FTC. The internet is one sphere of influence that democrat-leaning individuals control and now the Republican party is launching a witch hunt against us. I and my 5 loyal readers will not stand for this.

Truly Care about a Cause? Put your money where your mouth is assholes.

2005-03-23T15:16:00.000-05:00

The Maine People's Alliance (MPA) is a borderline socialist organization devoted to having the government take over healthcare and pushing environmental policies that go to far. They believe that insurance companies set rates too high because of "corporate greed and mismanagement". MPA seems to be insinuating that insurance companies are functioning as an oligopoly- setting prices above market rates by collusion. Usually when companies do this they are busted by the Justice Department, since this is illegal. It is possible that this occurs to some extent, however, one would have to undertake an incredibly detailed study of several firms accounting books to prove it.

What pisses me off about the persistent whining of groups like MPA is that if you think that insurance companies are price fixing, why don't you just start your own insurance company and undercut them all. Then you could 1) lower prices and 2) use your profits to buy Phish albums, I mean help the needy. MPA boasts a membership of over 22,000. What if all these "members" each donated $1000 for an insurance company start up, and received stock in the company in return? Yes, I know- "hippies don't have money". But maybe some of them inherited cash from their hard-working parents to make up for the poor hippies. $22 million isn't much capitalization. But, if insurance companies are price-fixing like MPA claims they are, then said hypothetical insurance firm could make some serious cash. Then MPA could talk all the shit they wanted. Of course, MPA would never do this, because they are lazy hippies, all they're good for is whining, and their only source of power is their votes.

Unions Looking for Continued Relevance in the 21st Century? Look no further.

2005-03-23T15:15:00.000-05:00

I dislike unions. Yes, at one time Unions were a vehicle for lifting the working masses out of their persistent poverty. Today, unions are holding America back. While unions fight for higher wages, companies take their jobs overseas. So, while its great to be in a union, it sucks when you're job is outsourced because an American company deems union labor to dear.

Times, they are a-changing and unions should change to. Instead of adopting adversarial relationships with the firms they work for, unions should work with firms and provide their members with services beyond threatening strikes for higher wages. For instance, unions could push their members to obtain further education to boost their income within the firm and make their hiring prospects elsewhere better.

Right now is an opportune time for unions to provide a new service that they are in a perfect position to provide since they are trusted by their members: financial stewardship. According to a USA Today poll done over the weekend, 23% of Americans feel uncomfortable managing their own money (this poll was done in the context of social security privatization, which isn't going to happen). This is understandable; however, almost any American if given some education and guidance could manage their own assets. This would be especially true if a trusted organization, such as a union lended a helping hand. But then again, just like any other organization, unions are only interested in their own self-preservation, and financially independent workers would probably need unions less.

Terry Schiavo is Already Dead you "Right-to-Life" Morons but thanks for the Hypocrisy, I'm out of Ketchup

2005-03-23T15:14:00.000-05:00

Once again the "Right-to-Life" movement is proving that they are a bunch of oxymorons, this time by devoting their valuable time to advocating that Michael Shiavo keep his dead wife alive instead of bombing abortion clinics and harassing innocent people like they usually do.

Neurologists have concluded time and time again that Schiavo is in a persistent vegitative state from which she has no hope of regaining consciousness. This means she is essentially dead. She is a shell of a human being. What is the point in devoting scarce medical resources to keeping the heart the beating of a woman with insignificant brain activity?

Sometimes I forget why I'm a democrat and I need the religious right to give me a good jolt. These people have no respect for science; they would rather base policy on their emotions. Forget state's rights, the rule of law, and the fact that congress and the President have bigger fish to fry. The fate of a woman who is already dead is more important than our $500 billion deficit.

The hypocrisy of the GOP's champions on this issue is delicious. House Majority Leader Tom Delay introduced the bill that Bush signed asking the Florida judge in charge of the case to order Schiavo's feeding tube reinserted. I think Delay is playing a high profile role in the Schiavo contovery to take attention off of his own ethics violations, which are becoming more of a problem for him. So I was happy today to find this LA Times' article detailing Tom Delay's own decision to remove his father's feeding tube in 1989. No inconsistency here!

Not to be outdone, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, himself a noted surgeon, has offerred his own professional diagnosis based on the videotapes he has seen of Schiavo. Usually doctors don't make such statements without, you know, seeing the patient in person, and I dunno.. maybe running some tests. It truly seems as though "Frist has his eye more on the Iowa Caucuses than on the Hippocratic Oath".

Finally, George W., as governor of Texas in 1999 signed a law which allowed hospitals to remove feeding tubes if they deemed that a patients condition was hopeless.

I was hoping that Schiavo would die today so that the religious right could hold her up as an even greater "martyr" than she already is (it's Easter) but I guess my prayer will go unanswered. Hopefully my other prayer, for a political backlash against the religious right and the Republican Party will find favor with the Lord (pronounced Looooooord).

The NAACP is a Racist Organization and Kweisi Mfume is what's holding African-Americans back

2005-03-16T20:27:00.000-05:00

A syllogism:

A = A

NAACP stands for "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People".

The NAACP is a racist organization.

Besides the fact that the name of the NAACP by itself implies a race-based agenda, the NAACP is a pillar of the continuing segregation of America. This time, African-American leaders are leading the movement for their own political gain. Essentially, because black leaders keep telling blacks that they are different than whites, blacks buy into this fallacy.

So I was quite annoyed when I read the USA today last week and saw an editorial, "Blacks Deserve something in return from Maryland Democrats". This jerk's point is that because blacks vote democrat consistently in Maryland, the Maryland democratic party owes it to them to nominate a black. And what better candidate to be the beneficiary of this proposed extension of affirmative action to the United States Senate than Kweisi Mfume, the former CEO of the NAACP. Usually when people forward a candidate for a nomination they, you know, talk about what would make said person a strong candidate. But I guess it suffices that Mfume is black.

I guess my favorite Mfume fact is that Kweisi was born Frizzel Gray but then changed the name his parents gave him because he must have somehow felt a closer connection to the African lands that his descendents came from 200 years ago than to his parents. Mfume's name choice is a microcosm of what black elites have been doing in America for the past 30 years: willfull segregation. Mfume has chosen to distance himself from mainstream America by choosing a foreign name. Think about it: why do blacks need the NAACP to fight for their rights?; is the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) not good enough for them? And what about entertainment? I understand that there is a niche for an urban entertainment channel (Black Entertainment Television, or BET) but I don't see Country Music Television calling itself "WET".

As a poor white who grew up in a trailer park I feel morally wronged by policies such as affirmative action which use skin color as a proxy for background when decisions such as employment offers and school admissions are at stake. I am also angry that I cannot see a black person on the street without consciously recognizing that that person is black. It is black elites who keep telling America that blacks are somehow different than whites because of their skin color. Thus, poverty and lack of education among people who happen to be black become race issues when they are merely.. poverty and lack of education issues. Most black elites use an invented identity to maintain their own power (as all politicians do) but they get away with it because people are afraid to talk about skin color; as witnessed by Mfume's name change. When ever the subject of race comes up, a heightened censorship enters your mind. This is why these assholes get away with their narrow race-based agendas.

Maine's Economy Continues its Descent into the Crapper

2005-03-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

Front Page of the Bangor Daily News today- "MBNA to close call center in Rockland". 300 unskilled jobs lost. To put this figure in its small-state context, consider that MBNA is the 5th largest employer in the state with about 3,500 employees. Futhermore, MBNA's Maine operations can be viewed as a key component of Maine's "export base" in the sense that the services provided by MBNA's Maine operations are largely performed for out-of-staters. The phrase export is properly used specifically in an international context; however, I know of no better term, so I will use it with this qualification. A loss of employment in a state's export base is much worse than a loss in retail or state government employment since the retail and state and local government components of the economy are compliments of the population attracted by an economy's export base.

Maine's 3rd largest employer with about 6,500 employees, Bath Iron Works (where my daddy works), is currently being threatened by a Navy proposal to have only one builder of DD(X) Destroyers contracted for the next round of these ships. Bath Iron Works (BIW) and Ingall's Shipbuilding of Mississippi are the only firms that build DD(X) Destroyers. If the proposed plan is undertaken and BIW loses the bidding, BIW's operations and employment would be significantly cut back.

Other Maine worries include the ongoing possibility that the Brunswick Naval Air Station of Kittery Naval Shipyard will close.

Maine's is a small economy and having critical employment spread among only a handful of empoyers is unfortunate. The long-term solution to the lack of diversity among critical employers is to cut taxes, which will attract out-of-state firms and retain more young, educated Mainers, while enhancing Maine's already solid education system.

The United Nations is Garbage, Yet it is Indispensable. Contradiction? No

2005-03-14T19:09:00.000-05:00

The only thing I love more than a panty-wearing liberals praising the chronically corrupt United Nations is some right wing nutjob saying that the US should withdraw from the UN.

The United Nations is not a form of world government. Its decisions are not binding. The United Nations is not a threat to US sovereignty; don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

It is true that the United Nations is a feeding trough for corrupt 3rd world politicians, as made evident by the Oil for Food Scandal. As the largest contributor to the United Nations (the United States funds 22% of the General UN Budget) the United States should use its financial clout to ensure the appointment of honest officials, more overall accountability, and the elimination of hypocrisies of moral equivalence implied by actions such as letting Syria, Lybia, and Sudan sit on the United Nation's Human Rights Commission.

Despite its shortcomings the United Nations is still an important forum for countries to come together and.. well.. talk. And therein lies its only true current justification.

No great insights I'm just tired of seeing one-sided UN arguments.

In Sunny Arizona

2005-03-10T19:18:00.000-05:00

If you haven't noticed, I havent't posted for a few days. That's cause I'm in Arizona until Sunday. When I get back I'll get my blog fix and the 5 people that actually read this can check back in.

Stop Kidding Yourself, if You are Against Stem Cell Research then you are Anti-Life not Pro-Life

2005-03-03T21:09:00.000-05:00

The stem cell research debate is the most disgusting example of right-wing politics driving important scientific policy. For some people stem-cell research may be a matter of continuing life or certain death. I don't claim to understand the science of the issue, but I defer to experts who are ready and willing to expore any potentially useful avenue to defeat the ills of mankind. If you know someone who has cancer, spinal damage, muscle damage, heart problems, or even baldness, and you vote for a political candidate who does not support stem-cell research then you should be ashamed of yourself. You value the "lives" of single cell organisms over people who are already living. People that are mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers. Think about it. I hope right-wing nut jobs who lead the fight against stem-cell research get cancer and "see the light". If not then I would not feel sorry if the joke came upon them.

Baldacci Sucks Volume 1

2005-03-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

Wanted: credible politician fed up with Tax-and-Spend John Baldacci's mortaging of Maine's future. Republican acceptable if bigotry minimized.

When a country has a deficit it can issue new debt nearly indefinately. A state cannot do this. Recently Moody's Investor's Service put Maine on it's "watch list" for a possible downgrade due to the Governor's $197 million proposed bond package. Some of the proposed spending is on worthwhile infrastructure and education projects. However, a quarter is for land conservation. Land conservation should be a long-term goal, but land is not going anywheres, thus it shouldn't be a short-term priority.

Maine is in no position to borrow more money. The 2006-2007 budget will run a $733 million deficit. Baldacci keeps using magic tricks to hide the true fragility of Maine state finances. Last year Baldacci sold the state's liquor business. Now he is proposing selling the state's $400 million in lottery revenues over the next ten years for a $250 million lump sum now. Baldacci needs to cut some programs and put off property tax cuts until the state's fiscal position improves.

In the lottery scheme, Democrats have found a fiscal issue that they can stand up to Baldacci on. Maybe they should look for a better gubernatorial candidate for 2006. Or maybe Baldacci will break so many ribs that he won't be able to run again.

Bayh Watch

2005-03-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

Evan Bayh continues to raise his national profile and assemble a first rate team to take on frontrunner and aspiring skankocrat in chief Hillary Clinton. It seems a foregone conclusion that Bayh will run. Indeed, Bayh has been positioning himself to be president since he was a child.

In today's Roll Call, Stuart Rothberg concludes that, "if Bayh can overcome all the obvious hurdles to winning the presidential nomination, he'd pose a huge problem for the Republicans." During his past two decades in political office, Bayh has been criticized for being "overly cautious" and for "lacking charisma". However, I think these supposed failings amount to nothing when compared to Bay's ability to connect with white middle class voters. Evan Bayh could be the candidate for white southerners with confederate flags on their pickup trucks.

An Evan Bayh presidential campaign wouldn't involve cherrypicking among swing states, this man could hold his own in the reddest of the red states. Evan Bayh will win Ohio. Evan Bayh will win Iowa. Evan Bayh may even be able to make Indiana and Kentucky into swing states. If you are considering an anti-Hillary candidate that will strike fear into the heart of the republican party, Evan Bayh is your man.

Fox News Fair and Balanced?... Right, and Kerry was the Real Deal

2005-03-01T00:31:00.000-05:00

If we were having a conversation... and I stopped every two minutes and said, "I'm really honest, you can trust me", ... you'd probably think that I was a lying sack of shit right? Well that's what Fox News does everyday and somehow they run neck and neck with CNN in ratings due to their uncanny ability to reinforce the thoughts of those who can't think clearly. If you feel the need to repeat the manta "Fair and Balanced" every time the period of your listener's short attention span has run out then you are obviously practicing some thinly veiled brainwashing technique.

I love it when Fox News is debating some indefensible liberal mainstay like... political correctness on their flagship buddy "bipartisan" show- Hannity and Colmes- and the liberal happens to be either some no name with the debating skills of an elementay school student and the conservative is Cotton Mathers incarnate hailing from some A list conservative think tank like Heritage. Whats more fair and balanced than someone with a sling shot fighting someone with an oozy?

But hey its perfectly "Fair and Balanced" for your bi-partisan buddy show to feature an ultra-conservative alpha male and a weakling centrist who can't talk half the time because Hannity's dick is stuck halfway up his ass and the pain is just unbearable...

Sometimes I like to flip back and forth from CNN to Fox News just to exercise my own fairness and unbiasedness. It always seems that there is some military related piece on Fox News, probably "War Stories" with Ollie North or a piece on the "War in Terrorism", which Fox News seems to have confused with the Iraq War since, even though, as George Bush has admitted, there never were substantial contacts between Saddam Hussein and Al Quaeda.

Apparently Bob Shrum and all the other Kerry Campaign morons thought that the tried and true technique of repeating a falsety until people accept it would be perfect for Kerry's lack of charisma and general appeal, thus the campaign slogan: Kerry, the Real Deal. If you were the Real Deal, would you have to tell people you were the Real Deal?, would you have to constantly remind them? The only people this spin was effective on were Dean lovers who wanted someone more "electable".

At least Bill O'Reilly's looking out for me (he is right?)

Social Security "Reform"- Trojan Horse

2005-02-28T20:07:00.000-05:00

When I first heard about George Bush's proposed Social Security "Reform" I was pretty psyched. Hell yeah I wanna place a third of my social security in the stock market, let it roll baby!

Of course there is a catch- the Feds charge you the Treasury rate (about 3%) on your "privatized" accounts. Historically, the stock market has earned about 6.3%; although some economists, such as the ubiquitous Paul Krugman believe that future returns will be lower.

So maybe we get an average 2% premium on a third of our social security, or 4% of our total wages. How does this ensure the financial solvency of the system? The key feature of this scheme is that the interest on the debt necessary to free up the funds for partial privatization is paid by the 3% surcharge that one pays for using one's own funds. The only way this could marginally help the system is if it provided a stimulus; however, 3 rounds of fat tax cuts and historically low tax rates have left the American economy with no viable vein left to tap.

An overlooked benefit of privatization would be the substantial appreciation of currently-held assets. Unfortunately, most of these gains would accrue to the wealthy, because.. the wealthy hold most assets (although it's true that ordinary Americans hold assets through IRA's, 401 K plans, etc).

If the Bush administration was serious about Social Security Reform they would propose a plan that cut benefits and/or put more money into the system. However, the widespread unpopularity of cuts in benefits and Bush's aversion to higher taxes make either solution unlikely. Raising the retirement age to 70 and indexing benfits to inflation, rather than wage inflation, as well as raising taxes to Clinton levels would do the trick.

I share Bush's vision of an "ownership society", or rather, I believe in the principle as something other than a rhetorical tool, which is how Bush is using it. People should welcome the challenege of ensuring their own financial viability; social security should evolve from the redistributional pyramid scheme that it is now to a system of mandated savings. However, Bush's strategy of creating a crisis by ruining the country's finances should not be rewarded with another windfall to wealthy asset holders and the financial services industry.

Step 1: Get your house in order (its the deficit stupid)
Step 2: Undertake ambitious and needed reforms.

Oh and for all you partisan republicans who claimed that Kerry was using the "politics of fear" in warning seniors that Bush was threatening their social security, I guess the joke has come upon you.

If You really loved Me, You'd make sure the Canadians paid as much for Prescription Drugs as I do

2005-02-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

It is a great hypocrisy that other rich countries (Canada, western Europe, Japan) pay 35-55% less for brand-name prescription drugs than do Americans. The price differences are mainly due to the price controls set by other countries. This means that Americans pay most of the cost for the research and development of new drugs, thus indirectly subsidizing our lazy socialist peers.

Were the United States government to import drugs from Canada, prices for drugs would roughly equalize. However, the Bush administration's principled stand against the reimportation of drugs from Canada rests on the ridiculous assertion that these drugs, which are for the most part manufactured in the US, are somehow unsafe to reimport. Montana governor Brian Schweitzer points out the great hypocrisy of disallowing the reimportation of drugs when we have recently allowed imports of Canadian beef to enter the US after Mad Cow disease was found in a Canadian cow just last year. Furthermore, according to Schweitzer, a former top Food and Drug Administration official told him once that there has never been a case of tainted Canadian drugs in the US.

If the US were allowed to import drugs from Canada and other wealthy countries with price controls, prices for brand name drugs in the US would go down about 10-20%. This would imply huge savings for US consumers, and for future US taxpayers. Remember that Prescription Drug Benefit that originally was going to cost 400 billion over ten years when passed in September 2003? Yeah, the one that then became 534 billion last September? The same one that Medicare Chief Mark McClellan "admitted" would cost 720 billion on February 8th? But which will really cost 1.2 trillion when the "several major savings and offsets" that McClellan claims never materializes? Well what's 10-20% of 1.2 trillion? You do the math.

Look, I know that lowering the profits of drug firms will decrease the incentives of these firms to produce new drugs; however, I'd rather have the drug firms lobbying the Bush administration to force lazy Canadians and Europeans to pay higher prices for US made drugs than I would have US citizens indirectly subsidize dirty Canucks.

As South Korea goes...

2005-02-28T18:28:00.000-05:00

Last wednesday the South Korean Centreal Bank let it be known that it will sell of some its US holdings in favor of other currencies. Foreign Central Banks hold approximately 800 billion in US Treasury Bills, or a fifth of total US foreign debt, Asian Central Banks being by far the largest investors. As noted in a previous post (geez, which of the five could it be), nearly all of the budget deficits generated in the last two years have been financed with foreign money. If foreigners are having cold feet about holding US Treasurys, how are we going to finance this nearly half trillion dollar deficit? What would God, I mean BillClinton, do?

Here is your liberal arts degree.. Now go be Somebody!

2005-02-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

Recently I graduated from the George Washington University with a degree in International Affairs. I was astounded to find out that my "studies" hadn't actually taught me anything that I couldn't have learned from lets say.. reading the newspaper everday. For those of you who are not familiar with International Affairs, its like a pimped-out poli sci degree. We all know that no matter how slick the rims and how expensive the stereo system, a Ford Escort is still a Ford Escort.
Social science and humanities majors are worthless and don't let your liberal friends tell you otherwise. If you aren't sure whether or not your major is worthless, I have taken it upon myself to list the most worthless majors below:

1) Communications
2) Communications
3) Communications
4) Anything major whose titles has the word "studies" in it.
5) Any major with the word "environment" in it that doesn't teach you how to rape the world of its natural resources.
6) Psychology (unless you are opening up people's brains to study how chemicals affect behavior, then you are fucking awesome)
7) Sociology
8) Political Science
9) English
10) Made up majors, because chances are pretty good that if you made up your own major you are a hippy looking for a free lunch.

A couple indicators that your major is worthless: 1) You are pretty sure you are going to law school; 2) Your classes consist of students giving opinions about articles they didn't even read, and the professor pretends that all opinions are equally valuable, even though they are mostly bs. 3) You don't learn anything that you couldn't have read from a book on your own, you lazy asshole.

A couple weeks ago I was reading the University of Maine Orono student newspaper when an editorial caught my eye (make sure you scroll down to the heading "Career fair not fair for all involved"). It seems that some people were upset that "Students majoring in UMaine's largest college, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and other less-featured majors were essentially left empty handed, or with very little to choose from. Choices for non-forestry or engineering majors were largely limited to retail jobs - the kind someone can get without a college education if they work for a company long enough".

Unfortunately for the moron author of this editorial (who is probably a journalism major and is therefore screwed) jobs aren't giveaways, they are a mutually beneficial trade. There are two ways to react to the problem of your skills not being marketable: 1) You suck, 2) Someone else sucks, in this case, the Career Center. Stop lashing out at the world and go back to school.

Look, I'm not innocent here, all I learned to do in school was more pursuasively whine. But at least I know I suck and am taking steps to address this problem. If you are young and have a worthless major, stay in school a little longer and avoid being worthless.

The Joke has truly come upon me.

The Emperor has no Clothes, but there always seems to be a good Whore around when he needs one

2005-02-22T11:38:00.000-05:00

When asked recently to comment on the Bush administration's environmentally unfriendly agenda, White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said, "The president makes policy decisions based on what the best policies for the country are, not politics. People who suggest otherwise are ill-informed." Thanks Ken. No need for a logical argument here supported by facts. Its completely obvious that lifelong failure George W. Bush and his whore, err spokesman are much better informed about global warming than lets say.. the entire scientific community and all their silly PHD's combines. But thats cool because if the earth becomes uninhabitable, then we can always pray for a new one right? I love Faith-Based science.

Note to all: preserve your self-dignity, never work in public relations.

The Rise of the Libertarian Democrats?

2005-02-21T22:32:00.000-05:00

On Sunday David Brooks had an eye-opening editorial in the New York Times: "In the Midst of Budget Decadence, a Leader Will Arise". The thesis of Brook's piece: "The living and well organized are taking money from the weak and the unborn. Over the past decades we have seen a gigantic transfer of wealth from struggling young families and the next generation to members of the AARP." We are told time and time again about the economic crisis occasioned by entitlement programs that benefit the elderly at the expense of youth; however, Brook's appeal is unique because he posits this crisis as a moral, rather than an economic, issue.

Brooks believes that this enormous transfer of wealth from youth to the elderly will spawn a 3rd party movement fueled by the unfairness of the present fiscal situation. I disagree though with Brooks' opening sentence's association of this hypothetical political movement to Ross Perot. The Reform Party never had the potential to be anything more than a group of protectionists and xenophobes on the conservative fringes of the republican party. Perot's electoral sucess was due to the appeal of populism in general. The kind of movement that Brooks suggests would have both an ideological and a generational base. These individuals would probably be economic liberals in the classical sense. Being young, they would also likely be socially liberal. There are large amounts of young, educated, economic liberals who are also socially liberal. If you don't believe me do a facebook search for "libertarians", you will find a few dozen people at each school (these people aren't true "shock therapy" liberatarians, most merely have libertarian sympathies). You may also notice that these people tend to be democrats. Indeed a 1998 Washington Post article described one in ten democrats as being "libertarian" in orientation- "These Democrats hate the government, are fiercely independent ... But they dislike religion in politics even more than they despise big government".

If such a group were to break with the democratic party (and no doubt bring many like-minded but dissaffected individuals with them) it could constitute a legitimate third party. Of course, this would come at the expense of the Democratic Party. More likely, the democratic party would seek to co-opt this popular feeling for their own gain. If so they had better nominate a fiscal conservative in 2007. Which brings me back to my current raison d'etre- Bayh for President 2008!

You Create a Budget with the President you have not the President you elect

2005-02-20T01:45:00.000-05:00

Conservative politicians have somehow tricked people into believing that whether or not homosexuals in Massachusetts are allowed to marry in that state is more important than fiscal issues such as taxes and government programs. But politics is, or should be, all about money. The biggest fiscal issue that the United States faces is the deficit. The deficit is a complicated subject that touches all other issues; however, suffice it to say that deficits do matter. If nothing is done the US deficit will reach a critical point where foreigners, who have financed nearly all of the deficit created by the Bush's tax cuts, will refuse to continue buying US treasury securities. In 2004 the United States spent $322 billion dollars on interest payments, or about 14% of the entire federal budget. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that interest payments will account for 668 billion dollars by 2015.
Without further ado, a very rough estimate of what the federal deficit would have been in 2004 with Al Gore as president.
First off, there would have been no Iraq War, period. I know democrats went along with the Iraq War, but this was because they were cowards caught in a Catch-22: if they resisted the war, they would be labelled as cowards, if they went with the war, as they did, they were accomplises. Al Gore was consistently against the War. Therefore the 100 billion additional discretionary spending in 2004 (vs. 2002, after the War in Afghanistan) would not have been needed.
Second, no large scale tax cuts. During the 1st Clinton administration, Clinton and Gore responded to the recession by continuing the policy of George H.W Bush's administration- cutting spending and raising taxes, which worked. I do not cite this strategy as one that should be autmoatically applied to any recession; however, based upon Gore's prior sucess using it, its safe to say that that is the strategy that Gore would have applied. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation the 2001, 2002, and 2003 tax cuts cost the US $276 billion in 2004.
Thus, if Al Gore had been president, the 2004 deficit would have been roughly $36 billion ($412 billion 2004 deficit minus $100 billion from the Iraq War and $276 billion from 3 rounds of tax cuts).
Some additional assumptions: 1) The effects of supply-side economics is ambiguous; i.e, the tax cuts did not make the economy grow any faster, thereby raising income and revenues collected as a percentage of income; 2) That there would have been a Prescription Drug Benefit, although this is also doubtful since Gore would have had trouble compromising with the Republican congress; 3) That the Irag War didn't itself hamper economic growth, and thereby lower income and the revenues collected from income (uncertainty distorts investment decisions).

Bayh for President 2008

2005-02-19T01:00:00.000-05:00

The presedential election has just ended, long live the presidential election. Yes, I am already looking forward to 2008. Is this silly? No, if you believe so, then you are the silly one. The presidency is the most powerful position in the world, as such, I intend to do what I can to make sure the right man gets elected. Who is the right man? The right man has the right mix of politics and policy (my political identity will become manifest in ongoing posts). This man is Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. Mostly, because he is extremely electable. Some say, "democrats shouldn't have to forsake their core values for electoral gain". I say "look where this attitude got you last election morons". Politics is compromise (unless you exaggerate national security threats and scare the shit out of people: see; fascism) and it shouldn't be a zero sum game. Besides, many people thought that Bill Clinton was too conservative for the democratic party in 1992, and I bet most would agree that his administration was more liberal than expected.

The bottom line is that if the Democratic Party is going to win the 2008 presidential election they need a moderate midwesterner. The Democratic Party cannot win without the midwest, particularly Ohio. Looking at the slate of possible presidential candidates (Clinton, Edwards, Kerry, Feingold, Clark, etc.), no candidate has positioned him or herself so well in the values debate to win in this neck of the woods. If you don't believe me, note that Evan Bayh wrote a book about Fatherhood. Yes, that's right. This guy is a winner. Why take a chance on Hillary if you have a ringer like this at your disposal?

Of course Evan Bayh is the head of the Democratic Leadership Council, and is so perceived as "too moderate" for the Democratic party. To this I say, if your daddy's senate seat was taken away by Dan fuckin Quayle, and you represented one of the most solidly republican states in the union, you're voting record wouldn't be very liberal either, because if it was, nobody would consider you for statewide office.

For the next four years I will incessantly push the candidacy of Senator Evan Bayh, and I enourage anyone reading this to do the same. I recommend starting a Facebook Bayh for President group at your school that can serve a jumping point for a Bayh campus organization when Senator Bayh formally announces his candidacy.

Introduction

2005-02-19T00:47:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog. It has occured to me recently that I am addicted to both my own opinions and the internet. Here I will satisfy both these needs. I promise that reading my blog will be informative, entertaining, and enlightening. Enjoy.