Sunday Funday

(un)common sense, weekend edition!!

Debate on "I'm spiritual, not religious" individuals
So, this might be the most interesting article I've seen on CNN in quite some time, not that I personally agree with it.  Like the nature of the article or not, at least CNN is allowing someone to take a stand on something.

Fixing the Capitalist Machine 
Article from the Economist.  I quite like the magazine, and the article offers some common sense critiques and approaches to get the economy started again - starting with the embracing of capitalism.

Peggy Noonan

I really enjoy Ms. Noonan's articles.  She is a conservative, but I think she is extraordinarily fair, and has an uncanny ability to connect with the people who read her writing. She's on Meet the Press on NBC on Sunday mornings quite often.  This article is about the Presidential debates coming up, the first of which being this Wednesday at 9:00 PM Eastern.  TUNE IN!!!



 "Obama Phones" and Racism
If you haven't seen the video, here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio and you should watch it to understand the article.  The outrage on the right comes from this woman, who is poor, inarticulate, obnoxious, and black, saying that she's voting for President Obama because of the free things he's given her, including an "Obama Phone".  I think this article does a good job saying that the video itself isn't racist.  The cameraman and interviewer probably had no idea what this lady was going to say. They had every right to ask these Obama supporters, protesting at a Romney event near Cleveland, why they were supporting the President in the upcoming election.  There are legitimate concerns when someone says they will continue to vote for someone because of all the free things they have received from them (an incorrect proposition, as the article points out) and that they don't support the opposition because he "sucks".  However, the the debate about the racism comes when conservative media outlets, including the Drudge Report and the Rush Limbaugh program, spread the video of this stereotypical poor, black woman in order to cause an uproar with their base.

One side note.  The "Obama Phone" program is called the Lifeline program and administered by the FCC.  It is payed for by surcharges on cell phone bills.  The article claims that this is not a tax, because people aren't paying for it out of their personal income taxes.  This is an incorrect assumption.  A "surcharge", in this case, is additional money payed to a federal agency to pay for a program to help low-income individuals.  The cell phone surcharge is typically transferred to the consumer, because the cell phone companies certainly aren't going to eat the cost, meaning that your cell phone bill is higher each month to pay for the program.  THAT IS A TAX!  If this program didn't exist, you would be paying a few dollars less each month for your cell phone bill.  THAT IS A TAX!  Sorry if it wasn't clear the first time.

Two Posts, One Day...

Hey all!  Here are some more of the things that I have been reading recently.  Enjoy!

How to Grade Teachers

QE3 Explained...

The Fed recently announced it would begin purchasing $40 Billion per month of mortgage-backed securities in an effort to spur economic growth which will should to lower unemployment.  Theoretically.  The idea behind Quantitative Easing Round 3 (QE3) is purchasing these mortgage-backed securities will lower mortgage interest rates. With lower rates, first time home buyers will have more disposable income post-home purchase (because they will not be paying as much to their mortgage issuer) and will therefore be able to spend that money elsewhere.  That will raise demand, which will lead to companies to hire more people, which will lower the unemployment rate.  Lower rates also help those who wish to refinance their mortgage, and they, too, would then have more disposable income.  QE1 and QE2 have already occurred, with indeterminable results.  We'll see what effect this fed "pumping", with newly printed money, will have on our economy.

What a debacle.....

Is anyone happy with the replacement officials?  I mean, other than the Seahawks?












BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

And this.... this is just too funny... 

This is a short post, but just listen to these interviews.  The first is of Nancy Pelosi's daughter interviewing backwoods Mississippians who will presumably vote Republican in the election (if they vote at all).  The second is of a Howard Stern staffers interviewing Obama supporters in Harlem.  What do these videos say about the American Electorate?

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/03/12/pelosis_daughter_interviews_southerners_for_segment_on_mahers_show.html

http://realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/09/24/howard_stern_interviews_obama_supporters_2012.html

Please feel free to leave comments!

Another Day, Another (billion) Dollar(s)

Hello again!  Here is an update of what I've found interesting on the internet over the past few days!

How much money do regulations cost the US Economy?
In this article, a libertarian-based organization's estimates that regulations cost up to $1.8 trillion annually.  The deficit this year was just over $1.1 trillion.  Is it time to reduce some of the nonsensical regulations that throttle growth and instead grow deficits?

http://www.usdebtclock.org/
If you really want to get depressed, just watch the numbers on this clock.  #chaddereddreams

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Surprising Prediction

Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she thinks that the Supreme Court will likely take up same-sex marriage in the next year or so.  The challenge would be to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which is set for a hearing this month in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Obama Administration disagrees with the law and has deemed it unconstitutional, therefore they are not defending it.  I also disagree with the law, but the Administration has a Constitutional duty to protect the laws of the land.  The Supreme Court has the sole role to rule on Constitutionality, not the President.  Anyway, that's a bit off topic.

Considering the current make up of the Supreme Court, I'd say DOMA has a decent shot of being overturned.  Barring a Romney win in November, a subsequent vacancy of a liberal on the court, and replacement of that seat with a conservative, the court could very well turn over DOMA and make gay marriage legal across the country.  Then, we could get past this silly issue and start talking about more pressing things, such as debt and entitlement spending.

US Women's Soccer Domination
The US Women's National Team head coach Pia Sundhage won her final game as coach for the US Women's Team.  The US defeated Australia 6-2 in a friendly, which brought Pia Sundhage's record to 91-6-11.  She coached the US to two Olympic gold medals and a second place finish in the Women's World Cup in 2011.  Sundhage is scheduled to coach the women's team for her home country, Sweden, starting December 1. What a legend!

A Li-Liger?

A liger is a hybrid between a male African lion and a female tiger.  This liliger comes from a male African lion and a female liger.  Ligers tend to be giants compared to tigers or lions, oftentimes reaching well over 700 pounds (one male liger currently weighs 900 pounds!).  Who knows how this second-generation hybrid will get!  Imagine taking a 900 pound ferocious cat for a walk down the street.  That would sure make your pit-bull look meek.  Despite the ethical questions of cross-breeding wild animals in captivity, a 900 pound giant predator is still pretty amazing.  Also, they typically live long, healthy lives, which isn't always the case with animal hybrids.

I hope you enjoyed the links!

A New Direction

I think a new direction for this blog is in order.  Due to my time constraints recently, I have not been able to discuss current events in any sort of capacity but I would still like to point people to stories that interest me.  For this reason, I am going to start posting articles that I find interesting, disagreeable, funny, or the like.  It seems to be a better format than posting stories on Facebook (we all know how annoying that is).  Basically, this is going to be an outlet for me to show you all what it is I read on the Internet.  I might give brief descriptions of the articles, reasons for liking or not liking the content, etc. for the things I post.  I don't really want the blog to turn into a "news aggregate" site, but I guess that is the risk that is involved with just posting stories or links.  Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this new format.  Please make sure to follow the blog, because I will be posting stories that are relevant to our current political discourse, humorous videos, and things that you may well find interesting.  Thanks again!

A little something about the Chicago Teacher Strike

The strike is very telling to me about teacher unions.  Also about an inherent monopoly unions have over their members.  No competition generally tends to make the sole proprietor of a service lax.  Without competition for the service, there is no need to innovate to "beat out" other competitors.  I know it seems impractical to have unions compete for business, but it is worth investigating.  The author of this article is a proponent of a voucher system, which he paints in a very positive light.  I'm obviously not an expert on education, and I have some reservations about a voucher system, but it seems like it could be a positive step.


Libya and Egypt Protests

First and foremost, there was tragic loss of life in Libya today, and that should not go unmentioned.  In light of that, the events open up discussion on the role of our country in the Middle East (which I have included to mean Northern Africa).  In previous posts I have been both sympathetic to the Administration and the State Department for their role in supporting democracy across the Middle East.  I've also written about how American interventionism in the Middle East has historically produced lousy results (support for Bin Laden against the Soviets, support for Saddam Hussein against the Iranians, etc.).  Are recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya, the heart of this supposed "Arab Spring" a snapshot of what lies ahead in the region?  Did American interventionism again provide the catalyst for radical change in the Middle East?  With the American Embassy in Egypt attacked yesterday, and our Ambassador to Libya murdered early this morning, the direction of the fledgling democracies is in question.  The United States supported the overthrow of two relatively stable (though sometimes reprehensible) regimes for two big unknowns.  What will be the price?  Should the United States always promote democracy at any cost?  I don't have the answer.  NOTE:  The State Department have put other US Consulates in the region on alert for other protests.  Murder of an ambassador and his staff seems like a bit of an overreaction for offense cause by a movie.  I trust that you'll agree with me on that.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/57849/big-ten-power-rankings-week-3-3

My two favorite teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the Indiana Hoosiers, are ranked dead last in the NFL and Big Ten Power Rankings, respectively.  Sad day for this Hoosier...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ktlincoln/how-to-streak-at-a-sporting-event-and-get-away-wit

And I leave you with this link, about how to get away with streaking at an athletic event.  If that's your thing!