I for one welcome our Robot Overlords

This little guy is amazing! watch the difference between his first attempt (with the tether) and the second. He has had some algorithm upgrades.

"Poverty" in America

I found this fantastic article today. I encourage you to read it all.
But in case you are lazy and disregard my recommendations: a few excerpts...

The overwhelming majority of [Govt defined 37 million "poor people"] have cable television, have air conditioning, have microwaves, have two color TVs...45 percent of own their own homes, which are typically three-bedroom homes with 1{1/2} baths in very good recondition... and actually have more living space than the average person living in European countries.

Uhhh... thats a bigger house than I have. I must be WAY poor!! and I only have ONE tv! WOE IS ME!! GIVE ME MONEY!!

The reason the Census Bureau is telling us that we have 37 million poor people is that it judges families to be poor if they have incomes roughly less than $20,000 a year. But it doesn’t count ... food stamps, public housing, Medicaid. All of the $600 billion that we spend assisting poor people (per year) is not counted as income when they go to determine whether a family is poor. [emphasis mine]

Dang! That is a lot of money! 600 Billion. with a B.
1 million dollars x 600,000. each year.
Why havnt we been able to solve the problem? Could it be that the solution is more complex than throwing money at it? hmmm...

The problem is that aid is given in such a way that it encourages dependence rather than helping people to become self-sufficient... Poverty was declining rapidly before the War on Poverty was created in the mid-1960s, and since that time the poverty rate has basically stagnated... All of these programs discourage work and marriage, so that they in fact are pushing people deeper into poverty at the same time that they are giving them aid.

Right. Dont get me wrong, I do sympathize with the genuine poor and down-trodden in America, especially kids. I do NOT sympathize with laziness and irresponsibility.

Our welfare system, like most things liberal, is from the heart and has good intentions... but suffers from a wholesale lack of common sense and "real world" thought. We have a system that financially encourages a single mother of 6 to stay single lest she receive a smaller handout from the rest of us. Not only that, but we encourage her to have a couple more kids to get some extra income.

We are creating an entire sub-society of people who are choosing to be locked into a perpetual cycle of handouts, selfishness and laziness.

Like I said before, there ARE a lot of people who legitimately need help for one reason or another. But we are unable to give them the attention they require because their voice is lost in the deafening roar of the hoards of people who just want a free buck.

Back like the Backstreet Boys

I got a new computer at work, and lost the link to the blog, so I've been absent. But i'm back. And i'm ready to post all the fun news leaks about the UN and other happenings. :D

Madeleine L'Engle (1918- 2007)

Madeleine L'Engle died September 6 at the age of 88. We are the richer for her life and writings. A tribute of sorts found here, at an eerily familiar blog...


Thanks to The Anchoress for the news and link.

Ever wonder what they actually do at Aberdeen Proving Grounds? Well, Josh, your secret is out!







Thanks to AoS for the link.

In 1863, Robert E. Lee said:

It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers. In fact, I discovered by reading newspapers that these editor/geniuses plainly saw all my strategic defects from the start, yet failed to inform me until it was too late. Accordingly, I am readily willing to yield my command to these obviously superior intellects, and I will, in turn, do my best for the Cause by writing editorials - after the fact.

I guess General Patraeus isn't the first, then.



Thanks to Lucianne for the quote.

Rather fight than switch!!

File this under, "Huh?" It is being reported that yesterday presidential candidate Fred Thompson credited the recent improvements we've seen in the western Anbar province of Iraq to al Qaeda's corporate no smoking policy. According to Fred, I guess when given a choice between the 72 virgins or their smokes, these Iraqi's would rather fight than switch!!*

I'm dubious. I can only hope that:

• a) this story is a joke, maybe from the Onion
• b) this is a parsed story, the full details of which will surface later, or
  
• c) the Israeli Intelligence has been experimenting on Iraqi nationals for years, and Senator Fred absentmindedly leaked their secret weapon for subduing the region (Marlboros)
  

Weird, eh?!



*For those too young to remember the advertising campaign, and therefore unable to appreciate the stunning play on words employed - this old TV commercial, this, and this. Yes sir, that taste worth fighting for!! I only wish I had the ability to photoshop an Iraqi face into the ad. Remember you saw it here first.

The 9/11 "Puts"

In the world of financial investments, you can purchase what is called a "put option" against a myriad things, from specific corporate stocks, to various indexes, to virtually anything upon which a value can be placed. A "put" is basically a bet that the value of said security will decline by a certain amount and by a certain date. It is a gamble, but with a known and limited downside. If the value doesn't decline, you loose whatever it cost you to purchase the "put", but no more. However, if it does decline, well, the money you gambled on the "put" is multiplied many times over and you can really score big. (Of course, your big score comes at the expense of those you sold you the "put", who figured you were crazy and wanted to bet against you.)

So, it turns out, someone or some group purchased a ton of "puts" against American and United airlines, as well as several of the largest financial firms, before 9/11/2001. It doesn't take much of a conspiracy theorist to think that someone knew that some event would occur to make those companies loose value, and that that someone decided to take advantage of their inside knowledge. Homeland Security says there were "huge surges" in the purchases of put options on these stocks, and whoever bought those puts made massive amounts of money.

DHS goes on to say:

Fast forward to the present day, and we have the same type of trading that took place in the days that preceded the 9/11 attacks – but on a larger scale. Nearly $1 billion of “put options” have been purchased, basically betting that Standard and Poor's 500 index will fall significantly by the third Friday in September. A large number of these options have also been purchased calling for 50% decline by September 21, 2007. For example, a 5% drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average would be the current equivalent of about 670 points. A decline of 11% would equal about 1,470 points in today’s market. Obviously, larger drops, such as a 50% decline, would cause an unprecedented market collapse. Money would be made for the purchaser(s) of the put options – but the same purchaser(s) stand to lose over $1 BILLION in the investment if the market remains relatively static through September 21, 2007. (Emphasis all theirs)

Now, markets are pretty topsy-turvey right now (topsy-turvey is a pretty specific financial term that I learned in grad school), and so it doesn't suprise me that some bets are being made against the indexes. Still, there are some things that make me go, "Hmm..."



Thanks to PW for the link...

Fred Thompon's Announces his Candidacy for President

I like this guy's style. and more importantly, his ideas and world view.

Microsoft to Customer: "We feel your pain!"

Thanks to Stubborn Facts