Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds

Determinism vs. Free Will

2012-02-13T17:03:00.000-05:00

The discussion of determinism vs. free will has been going on since the days of the Greek philosophers, and will probably never be settled. Is it possible that both views are correct? How could that be true?

Before I get into the various arguments, I want to set up the following assumptions:

(a) There is a one-to-one correspondence between the state of the brain and the subjective experience occurring at any given time

(b) Since the brain is not an isolated system, it must be part of a larger system – the body, sense organs, the body’s immediate surroundings, etc. - which obeys certain deterministic laws.

According to determinists, every move we make is dictated by our previous experiences, situations, conditions, etc. – everything which has gone before. The feeling that we select courses of action in response to immediate circumstances is an illusion. The subject can no more change the decision than a planet can change its orbit. If all our decisions are no more than the transmission of the push of the past, what becomes of responsibility? The criminal does not deserve punishment, nor does the hero deserve commendation. We are left in a world of moral chaos.

On the other hand, champions of free will also have a problem. Suppose a decision was made which was a complete break with the past. Somewhere in the brain a connection was made that led to the new decision. Some errant neuron, some straying chemical or electrical connection, some chance quantum deviation, or perhaps some creative tendency in the brain flipped the connections into a new path. But if so, is that better? the decision was determined by chance! This is even further from what we mean by free will. It is as if every decision were made by the flip of a coin.

How does the feeling of free will arise? Throughout our lives there are situations where we can exert some control over our environment, and thus achieve a desired result. We decide upon a course of action, and meeting no obstacles, we attain our goal. In other situations, some intervening event causes us to fail. We soon learn to classify all situations as one of these two types. Therefore we are free to the extent that whenever we are confronted with a situation that enables us to realize our goal, we succeed.

Free will proponents feel that this is not truly the genuine article. They are sure that true free will has no room for the assumptions as stated above. I believe this is because they perform a thought experiment and misinterpret the results. For example:

Suppose you select steak from the menu in a restaurant. After you eat your steak, you recall the experience and say to yourself, “I could have selected chicken. But instead I chose steak. Therefore, since I could have chosen chicken and decided to have steak instead, my will is free.”

Of course, it is immediately obvious that the final sentence begs the question; there is an a priori presumption of free will built into your reasoning.

Free will believers will point out that my original assumptions have not been proven. This is correct, but the preponderance of evidence indicates that they are true. The dependence of thinking and behavior upon brain physiology is shown by the effects of drugs, alcohol, sleep deprivation experiments or Alzheimer’s disease, among others.

Free will advocates also disbelieve the contribution of quantum deviations. After all, the experienced world is based upon an average of billions of such deviations; one deviation could not possibly lead to a macro effect. Consider another thought experiment:

A plane carrying a hydrogen bomb is flying across a highly developed continent. The bomb will be deployed at the first click of a Geiger counter. The click is completely dependent upon a chance quantum deviation, so it is obvious that such a deviation can have macro effects under the right conditions.

It does not help the free will argument to posit a supernatural cause for the altered brain state which leads to a free decision. If the God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is omniscient, does He not know every detail of the future? And if God has such knowledge, are not our decisions determined? And if our wills are not free, how can God hold us morally responsible? On the other hand, if our actions are unpredictable, then God cannot be all-knowing. In addition, if our decisions are caused by random events, how can God hold us morally responsible?

In the first thought experiment, when you chose steak instead of chicken, the decision was indeed yours, in the sense that it came from inside your head. But was the state of your brain determined, was it the result of an internal event, or was it influenced by some outside event? Another thought experiment:

A toy turtle crawls over the floor because of the action of an internal spring; another is pulled by a child on a string. Does the one with the spring have free will because its actions are controlled from the inside, while the one pulled by the child is deterministic because its actions are controlled by an outside source?

I contend that both arguments are correct as defined above. The vast majority of decisions are determined, but occasionally a creative tendency causes a change in the brain path. Whenever that happens, something new – an idea, feeling or insight – has been born.
I have just a few words to say about moral responsibility. Along with many others, Clarence Darrow was a great believer in determinism. He contended that criminals should not be held responsible for their acts because they had no control over them. But he failed to consider that neither did those who punish them – policemen, attorneys, judges and the rest of the criminal justice system.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

It's Gotta Be This Or That – Or Does It?

2012-02-06T15:34:00.000-05:00

     One of the oldest truisms(?) about old age is, “Old age is the time when your broad mind and narrow waist change places.” While it may be true in some cases, for me it's more like, “Old age is the time when your broad mind and narrow waist get closer together.” My problem is that the older I get, the more I can see both sides of many controversies; as a result, I have trouble deciding which side I agree with.
     Two examples from this past week come to mind. The first is the Healthcare Act's requirement that all employers who offer health care insurance to their employees must include contraception costs for those who request it. At first reading this sounds OK to me; not surprisingly, the Catholic church disagrees, to the extent that many Catholic organizations are planning to discontinue coverage rather than comply.
     Because the Catholic church is not a government organization, it seems to me that Catholic institutions have the right to do what they please with their money.
     But what about non-catholic employees of those institutions, such as nurses aides and maintenance people in Catholic hospitals, teachers and others in parochial schools, and professors in Catholic colleges – why should they be denied the employer-paid coverage enjoyed by those who hold similar positions in non-catholic institutions? And because Catholic hospitals and colleges do receive government money for various purposes, should not the government have some say over how it is spent?
     I am sure the question will eventually be decided by the Supreme Court, and if it comes up before the current court, the church is almost a sure winner. But whichever way it is decided, I, along with many other people, will think it is partly right and partly wrong. So much for the wisdom of aging.
     The second recent example is the flap over the Komen Foundation's “off again on again” decision about contributing funds to the Planned Parenthood organization. Ostensibly because Planned Parenthood funds abortions, the Foundation first decided to cut off their funding for breast cancer examinations. Planned Parenthood does not do such examinations, but does refer clients to facilities that do, and also provides payment for women who cannot afford them. When the decision went viral over the internet, the Foundation reversed the decision.
     Again, I believe that as a private entity, the Foundation has the right to determine how its funds should be used. But as a matter of principle, cutting off funds for breast cancer examinations because of performing legal abortions sounds like extortion.
     The Foundation first claimed that it has a policy of not contributing to any organization that is under investigation. In this case, one Congressman is asking that a non-criminal investigation be conducted to assure that none of the funds provided to Planned Parenthood by the government are used for abortions. Not a Senate committee nor the FBI nor the IRS – just a request from one pro-life Congressman! Give me a break!
     I am quite sure this issue is not over, and again I am ambivalent toward it. It ain't easy getting old.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

A Healthy Economy

2012-01-31T16:54:00.000-05:00

     The ideas presented here are excerpted from the book, “The Price Of Civilization” by Jeffrey D. Sachs. I highly recommend reading the entire book.

      Not surprisingly, President Obama's recent State of the Union Address was his opening shot across the bow of the presidential campaign, but if examined from a high enough level of abstraction, it spelled out the requirements of a healthy economic system. I hate to think the whole thing was just campaign rhetoric, but based on his past performance I am inclined to take a “wait and see” attitude concerning progress in that direction.
     Generally speaking, there are three major attributes of such a system: efficiency, fairness and sustainability.

     Efficiency:

     Ronald Reagan was partly right – too much government control of the economy causes problems, but he was also partly wrong – uncontrolled free markets also lead to trouble.
     The relationship between government and free markets is not one of opposition – it should be complementary. If both limit themselves to performing those jobs they are best equipped to handle, overall efficiency is promoted. Where there are many customers and many suppliers for products, the free markets, by means of Adam Smith's “invisible hand,” will weed out the inefficient and reward the efficient. At the same time the customers will receive the benefit of lower prices through competition.
     But the free market model breaks down in other situations, e.g., take the case in which a single product or service is required for many customers. Society does not need competing armies, courts and legal systems, police forces, power grids or highways. These are tailor-made for government control.
     While free market entrepreneurs provide financing for “applied” research, “basic” research is a function best performed by the government. The United States will be competing with China and others in technologies that may presently be on the drawing board, and the free market does not normally invest in such areas. In addition, some are so expensive, e.g., space technology and nuclear physics, that no private enterprise could afford to finance them.
     As long as the major incentive for the market is the bottom line, certain aspects will require some oversight. Such things as toxic waste disposition and the emission of climate-changing fumes, e.g. carbon dioxide, must be controlled, and the free market cannot be expected to police itself.
     Lastly, sellers often have information that is not available to buyers, which is a recipe for fraud and waste. Doctors can run unnecessary tests to increase fees, and wall street financiers can sell “toxic” assets to unsuspecting investors. For these and other reasons, government and free markets need to perform functions which they are best equipped to perform.

      Fairness:

      Of course, one aspect of fairness is in the way the government treats its citizens, including levying taxes, awarding contracts, distributing transfers, etc. Fairness requires that the rule of law treats all citizens fairly; money should not buy justice.
     Fairness also refers to the distribution of income and well-being within the general population. According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center of the People and the Press, 63 percent of Americans agree with the statement, “It is the responsibility of government to take care of people who can't take care of themselves.” It is unfair that some people are super-rich while others are homeless and children are starving.
     This is not to say that assets should be confiscated from the rich and given to the poor, a la Robin Hood. Whether by taxation or other means, such transfers need to be made under due process. But with our resources, no one in the United States should be homeless, and no child should go to bed hungry.

      Sustainability:

      Sustainability requires that resources should be available not only for the current generation, but for generations to come. Society should not rape the earth to the detriment of our descendants' well-being; it should not foul their air with poisonous gases, nor their waterways with toxic chemicals. Sustainability requires stewardship. It is the product of a healthy society – a society which cares about the future inhabitants of planet Earth.
     Can we create such a society? Only if we can break the cycle of sending money to Washington in exchange for power, and using the power to send money back to those who already have plenty.
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     My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Forget Foreign Affairs

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

    The Associated Press recently printed an article entitled “Positions of the Candidates”, which outlined the opinions of five Emmett Kelly understudies, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, on various campaign issues. (For younger readers, Emmett Kelly, who based his sad faced “Weary Willie” on depression era hobos, was perhaps the most famous clown in circus history.)
    The issues discussed were Abortion, the Economy, Education, Energy, the Environment, Health Care, Taxes and Terrorism. No mention was made of what is probably the most important of all presidential responsibilities: Foreign Affairs. Why would that be?
     Here are a few possibilities:

Not even one of the greatest group of comedians in history thinks that management of foreign affairs is as important as these other “hot button” issues.
Newt understands the meaning of the word “affairs” only when it is not preceded by any modifiers.
They think that their knowledge of the subject is so far above the intelligence of the voters that the electorate would not understand it.
They believe the voters do not care about the relationship between the United States and the rest of the world.
They think that the subject became superfluous after the deaths of Sadam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

Of course, the simple explanation is that someone at the AP decided not to include the subject in the article. As usual, the media always decides what the public wants to know.
But really, if the voters are not interested in the candidates' thoughts on Foreign Affairs, we are in really bad shape.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Corporate Influence On Elections

2012-01-17T16:53:00.000-05:00

     On October 24, 2011, I wrote about the ridiculous decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, “In January 2010, using a logic that defied common sense, in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission five Supreme Court Justices suddenly transformed corporations into human beings, with a power that flesh and blood humans do not have: they can spend unlimited amounts of money in order to buy elections.”
     Although most of the comments I have received have been favorable, I have been taken to task by “Pennsylvania's #1 Conservative Jungle Cat,” Phil Gruber. According to him, “American law has long held that corporations should be treated as people in the eyes of the law. After all, a corporation is just a group of people who use shared capital to make a profit. Grunenberger simply feels broadsided by facts he did not know.”
     While it is true that from a legal standpoint, corporations can do many of the same things that natural persons do – buy and sell property, hire and fire, sue and be sued, and so on – there are limits. Among other things, they cannot vote in any elections, run for office, go to jail or testify in court. Why? Because they are “artificial” persons for the purpose of conducting a business.
     After the American Revolution, corporations remained small institutions, chartered at the state level for specific public purposes, such as banking, education, religion, helping the poor, constructing roads or canals, etc. Corporations could only exist for a limited time, could not make any political contributions, and could not own stock in other companies. Their owners were responsible for criminal acts committed by the corporation, and the doctrine of limited liability for shareholders did not yet exist. Governments kept a close watch on how these corporations were being run, regularly revoking charters if corporations were not serving the public interest.
     Slowly though, corporations were gaining power. Arising out of the Industrial Revolution, a new wealthy class began influencing policy making, changing the rules governing the corporations they owned. Charters grew longer and less restrictive. The doctrine of limited liability – allowing corporate owners and managers to avoid responsibility for harm and losses caused by the corporation – began to appear in state corporate laws. Charter revocation became less frequent, and government functions shifted from keeping a close watch on corporations to encouraging their growth.
     Now we are in the midst of the first Presidential race since the power of unlimited political contributions was granted to corporations. How is it working out?
     A Las Vegas casino mogul has pledged $5.0 million to a Super PAC for Newt Gingrich. That PAC, Winning Our Future, intends to spend $3.4 million on an ad campaign attacking Romney’s role in eliminating jobs when the private investment group he once led — Bain Capital — bought and sold companies.
     The Factchecker gave the Bain documentary from which this ad was drawn Four Pinocchios: “[W]ithout evidence, the film claims that “tens of thousands” of people have lost their jobs because of actions taken by Romney and Bain Capital. ... Only one of the four case studies directly involves Romney and his decision-making, while at least two are completely off point.”
     The point I want to make is that one corporation's contribution can have an influence mega-times the influence of a natural person, and it need not be based on facts! No one is responsible! If a corporate board wants to back a candidate who will favor, say, not levying an extraction tax on natural gas, it can contribute many times $5.0 million to back his campaign without having to account to anyone.
     It seems to me that if a corporation really is to be considered a natural person, its contribution should be limited to the same amount as that of a natural person: $2,500.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Suppose The Mayans Got It Right

2012-01-05T16:45:00.000-05:00

     Let's imagine for a minute that scientists discovered that the Mayans got it right – the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. How would you want to spend your time until that day? The answers would probably run the gamut from “party unceasingly” to “pray unceasingly.”
     As for me, I would probably come down somewhere in the middle. I am pretty happy with the way things are now, and I would want to continue as is with one addition: my immediate family is spread across the country, and I would like to get them all together for a visit – kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. If I have wronged anyone over the years, I would ask for their forgiveness, and anyone who has done me dirty, I would forgive you. There is a saying, “The best revenge is to live well.” I've done that.
     Come to think about it these are good ideas, at least for me, even if the Mayans are wrong.
     I think it would be a good exercise to ask yourself what you would do. Then perhaps you should do it.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Things It Would Be Nice To See In 2012

2012-01-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

Although 2011 was not a very good year for planet earth, at least for the humans living there, if I am going to be truthful, it was an average year for me personally. Except for climbing stairs, or even walking uphill, I do not think my physical condition is much worse than it was a year ago. (Of course, it's definitely not any better.) But I have been warm and well fed, and the fun times have outnumbered the other kind many times over. But as with most old accountants, in order to keep from losing my balance I need to formally close the books on the old year, and set things up for the new. Literally!

We keep reasonably accurate financial records throughout the year, and I like to use them to get some idea what to expect in the new year. For example, the Social Security Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) amounts to 3.6%. That's not bad, although considering there has not been an increase since 2009, it's not really a world-beater. The government said inflation was not a factor in the base years. Really? Apparently the government does not buy gasoline or prescription drugs or any one of a number of things that we post-youths consider necessities.

But I digress. Assuming that things do not go too far out of whack, we will probably break even in 2012. One has to believe, doesn't one?

As for New Year's Resolutions, I have resolved not to make any. I guess in order to avoid a self-referential paradox I should rephrase that: I am not going to make any formal resolutions. But there are a few things I am hoping to see in 2012.

For example, I hope to finally get around to tossing out anything we have not used since we moved in here five years ago. Chances are good that we will not ever need it, and it would be nice to be able to get the car in the garage without having to be exactly centered so that we can get the doors open on both sides. Perhaps I can utilize (1) the Dumpster, and (2) some nice shelving.

I am hoping to witness some measure of cooperation and common sense among our elected “representatives.” I do not feel that any person or party that makes it the number one priority to hold any president to one term deserves to be in office. This is particularly true when it appears the wheels have fallen off of the world's economic systems. There is important work to be done – petty crap should go the way of the Edsel.

Speaking of the wheels coming off, today is caucus day in Iowa; this is the first step toward final selection of a nominee for the GOP residential race. I shall be very happy when the convention makes the final choice. After that the rest of the clowns can go back to where they belong: Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show On Earth.

I am not optimistic about the possibility of getting out of Afghanistan, but it would be nice to see a little progress. As I recall, our mission there was to get Osama bin Laden. We got him, what's the problem?

Oh, I know, the Afghans are in no position to govern themselves, but neither are they going to be governed by anyone else – a fact that Alexander the Great, the Mongols (twice), the British (Twice) and the Soviets have long ago absorbed. There is a saying, “A fool learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” Take note, Washington.

One other little thing – let's break the money strings between the puppets in government and the puppet-masters on Wall Street and in the corporate towers. If we don't, I am very concerned for the future of our country. Any danger we face from a nuclear-armed Iran is minor compared to the danger from our inner confrontation of the classes.

I hesitate to put world peace on my list of things to hope for, because I am afraid that the only way that will happen is to eliminate its only obstacle: the human race.

Happy New Year.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

A National New Year's Resolution

2011-12-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure the domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Preamble to the Constitution of the United States

While we as a nation have never completely achieved the high ideals outlined in the Constitution, we have got ever closer over the last 224 years. And why is that? Because as a people we have kept our eyes on the prize. And I think that although we still have our eyes on the prize, it has become more of a moving target, and it is moving away from us. Washington is following the new Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rule.

An October report issued by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office spells out who is getting the gold: between 1979 and 2007 the top 1 percent of Americans with the highest incomes have seen their incomes grow by an average of 275 percent; the rest of us saw our incomes grow at a rate of just under 40 percent. During the same period the top one-fifth of earners in America earned more money than the bottom fourth-fifths combined.

And now the Supreme Court has decided that corporations are entitled to free speech (read: political campaign and lobbying contributions) the same as natural persons, except that corporate contributions are unlimited, while those of natural persons are capped at $2,500.

It is not surprising that politicians, Democrats and Republicans, are in the pockets of the wealthy. When your local representative holds a “town hall” meeting, he is listening but he is not hearing. If you wish to participate in the best government money can buy, you need to approach him with a $50K check in your hand.

As a result, the middle class is getting smaller, the homeless class is getting larger, at least five applicants show up for every job opening (although there have been reports of over 50 for some jobs), school budgets and programs are being cut and classes are getting larger, union-busting is going strong, and Republicans now want to privatize Social Security and all other so-called "entitlement" programs.

And Washington's response: "Tighten your belts – we are all in this together." Bullshit! Our current crop of politicians is in it for their puppet-masters; the rest of us can sink or swim. So much for forming a more perfect union, insuring domestic tranquility, yada, yada, yada. Congress almost shut down the country this past summer over a normally routine procedure: raising the debt limit.

So I suggest a New Year's Resolution for everyone: Let's elect representatives who really represent their constituents – leaders who will try to do what is good for the country regardless of whether it fits their ideology. And let's work to pass a constitutional amendment limiting personhood to human persons.

On another matter, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wisc. was heard saying that, “[Michelle Obama] lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself."

And here is a quote from Rush Limbaugh: "I'm trying to say that our first lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you."

Here are pictures of these two gentlemen; I concede that both might be experts on the subject of overweight. We are so lucky to live during a time when there are no more important matters in Washington to discuss than the First Lady's butt.

In order not to offend anyone, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and/or a (insert your own holiday).

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Executive Salaries.

2011-12-08T12:33:00.000-05:00

     Much heat has been generated on the subject of the huge salaries received by the CEOs of major corporations. One popular method of illustrating the obscenity is by showing the CEO's salary as a multiple of a typical production worker's salary. It is not unusual for the CEO's salary to be equal to 300, 400 or even 600 times the hourly workers income.
     The following table is a listing of the 2010 salary and other income paid to the heads of several of our largest corporations.* Much of the “other“ income is not taxed until it is actually received. Because much of it consists of stock options, it may be considerably more valuable at that time then as shown here; options will be taxed at a maximum rate of 15%.
     Also shown is the executive's total earnings per minute, based on 40 hours per week for 52 weeks.

   Company Total    Salary Other      Per Minute
General Electric 21,428,765 7,300,000 14,128,765 171.20
Halliburton         14,893,916 1,358,500 13,535,416     119.34
IBM                   31,718,608 1,800,000 29,918,608     254.16
Gen. Dynamics   13,751,115 4,500,000    9,251,115     110.19
Ford                  26,520,515 4,550,000   21,970,515     212.50

     During the two minutes you have spent reading this article, the CEO of IBM would have earned $508.32. The earnings of a median worker would have been $.54.
     Not too bad.

* Earnings reported by Executive Paywatch.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays

2011-12-05T17:04:00.000-05:00

Meaning (më‛ning), n. what is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated. (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary).

At this season a large number of letter-writers to the editor of any newspaper express concern over the use of the term “Happy Holidays” instead of the traditional “Merry Christmas.” The writers feel that the holiday is somehow demeaned by the former greeting.

The meaning of any expression is what the speaker intends it to be – nothing more, nothing less. If the listener takes some other meaning from the expression for any reason, e.g, the speaker has expressed it badly, the listener did not hear it correctly, or even if he disagrees with the speaker, it has no effect on the meaning. For this reason, the speaker should be careful to say exactly what he means. If he is a Christian, and Christmas has its usual deep meaning for him, he should say “Merry Christmas.”

In return, if the listener truly intends for the speaker to celebrate the holiday in a meaningful way, he should reply in kind: “Merry Christmas.”

If the speaker means only that the listener should enjoy the spirit of goodwill which the season implies, there is nothing wrong with “Happy Holidays.” The most devout Christian, Jew or Muslim should take the greeting in the spirit in which it is offered: a goodwill wish for joy and celebration.

But what about the banners and signs in business establishments?

Again, it is the preference of the store management which guides the choice. It is definitely not out of line for, say, a Christian bookstore to have a “Merry Christmas” banner. But not wishing to offend any customers - Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc. - a large department store will probably opt for “Happy Holidays.”

Political correctness has been blown way out of proportion. Although a word is only a sound we make to convey a meaning, there are some words which almost all people consider to be offensive, e.g., George Carlin's seven dirty words, or certain other words which are deliberately meant to be racial, ethnic or religious slurs. When these words are used, the speaker has demeaned himself far more than the object of his venomous outburst.

But whatever expression a speaker uses to convey goodwill, peace and joy, the listener should consider the intent behind the expression and accept the offering graciously, even though he might say it differently.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Political Rite.

2011-11-29T14:31:00.000-05:00

Rite (rīt), n. Any customary observance or practice. (Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary.)

Rite, n. A religious or semi-religious ceremony fixed by law, precept or custom, with the essential oil of sincerity carefully squeezed out of it. (Ambrose Bierce – The Devil's dictionary.)

The local newspaper recently announced that our district representative to Congress is scheduling a series of “town hall” meetings with his constituents in order to discuss his plans for creating jobs, and to listen to the participants' ideas on the subject. He holds these meetings several times throughout the year, so I feel justified in considering them “rites” under the first definition above, and it has been my experience that they also satisfy the second definition.

His ideas for creating jobs are not really ideas - they are ideology: (1) cut taxes, particularly on higher income taxpayers, and (2) cut government spending. These are the same trite recommendations which he makes in good times and bad, prosperity and depression, war and peace . . . ad infinitum. They are the prescription for any economic condition.

His mantra is, “Government cannot create jobs – only private industry can do that.” This begs the question, “What do you call the positions held by those 19 million people on the Federal, State and Local government payrolls?” (http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apes.html). And if the Federal government decides to order the next generation of fighter plane from Boeing, what do the workers on the project have, if not jobs? How about those involved in building highways or high-speed rail lines?

If his ideas for creating jobs do not constitute squeezing out the oil of sincerity, I don't know what does.

How about his plans for listening to the participants' ideas? The only way this guy listens to the ideas of participants is if they come with large campaign contributions. If you belong to the middle or lower income classes, you might as well talk to a box of rocks.

But he is not unique; on the contrary, he is typical of politicians of both parties. I realize that sounds cynical, but look at the record. The following is a list of President Bush's programs that were supported by big money and opposed by a majority of the electorate. What did President Obama do about them?

Bush wanted tax cuts for all households; Obama and the electorate wanted cuts for 95% of them. Obama continued cuts for all.
Bush supported large deficits. Obama continued them.
Bush bailed out banks and auto companies. So did Obama.
Bush and Obama supported immigration reform. Obama did nothing.
Bush favored nuclear power and deep sea oil drilling. So does Obama.
Bush's advisers came from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. So have Obama's.

It is not surprising that both parties court big money; the first rule of politics is get elected, which is getting extremely expensive. But when they pretend to be listening to the electorate, whether at town hall meetings or otherwise, that is a rite which falls under definition two.

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My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

An Open Letter To Joe Paterno

2011-11-14T13:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Joe,

First I want to congratulate you on your record as a coach, and on the many honors and awards you have received over the years. I especially want to applaud your stressing of academic achievement as well as athletic ability for your players. Such an effort is an important contribution toward the goal of turning out good, well-rounded citizens.

I know that you reported what you heard to your bosses, which is exactly what the law requires. But Joe, you know that as an exemplary citizen that is not enough.

I am reminded of the attack on Kitty Genovese in 1964. She was stabbed, but managed to escape her attacker for a short time. He came back 10 minutes later, raped her, and finished her off. Reportedly, several neighbors heard or saw parts of the attack, but no one called the police - If only one person had, she might be alive today.

I know this is not quite the same, but the principal is similar. Kitty lost her life, and these young boys lost a portion of their childhood.

So what was it, Joe? Sandusky was a friend? You didn't want to get involved? You thought you did your duty by reporting it to your boss? You were afraid it would hurt the team? All of the above?

I feel as if Santa Claus was caught stuffing mom's silver candlesticks into his sack after distributing the toys. Or the Easter Bunny took the garden gnome back to his nest.

To be fair, I don't understand why Mike McQueary didn't pick up a baseball bat and beat Sandusky over the head when he came across him. Mike had to know what was going on – if one sees a grown man with his penis in a 10-year-old's butt, it's as obvious as an elephant in a sock drawer – but he walked away.

Think of it this way: Put the football team on your left and the little boys on your right. Now ask yourself which is more important in the scheme of things: (1) A bunch of big kids pushing around a bag of air, or (2) The well-being of the little boys?

It's all about the kids, Joe.

Enjoy your retirement.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

How To Have Your Cake And Eat It Too – Join the GOP

2011-11-05T12:16:00.000-04:00

Who said, “. . . more spending is not what California or this country needs,” and “. . .congressional Democrats and the administration continue to insist that we can spend our way out of this recession and create jobs, but the numbers just don't add up?" A Republican? Right.

And who said, "We don't spend money on defense to create jobs. But defense cuts are certainly a path to job loss, especially among our high-skilled workforces. There is no private sector alternative to compensate for the government's investment?" A Democrat? Wrong! Both comments were made by the same person – Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif!

In the first case, Rep. McKeon was speaking about President Obama's $825B stimulus package in 2009. In the second instance, McKeon, now Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, was speaking about the military budget, which faces spending cuts of up to $600B if the bipartisan deficit cutting panel can't find a compromise within the next 18 days. I wonder if he would say the same thing if one of the largest government contractors, Boeing, were not located in his home state.

This also brings up the question: Given that Pentagon spending is as large as that of the next twenty nations combined, how much do we need to spend in order to be safe from such dangerous predators as Kim Jong II of North Korea or Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe?

And getting back to the 2009 stimulus, this past August the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that in the second quarter of this year alone, the spending package increased the number of people employed by between 1 million and 2.9 million.

It seems to me that if either the Federal or state government decides to hire someone to repair a highway, dam, post office, whatever, that person has a job that did not exist before.

But not according to the GOP. Apparently if the government wants to build a war plane, the workers have a job. If the government wants to repair a highway, the workers have a . . . what?

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback,

or at the Kindle Store.

An Objective For Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

Since medieval times, corporations have been legal formats created by the government, such as the Crown, Governor, Legislature, etc., to enable citizens to do business as a group. As the American colonies developed and won their independence, corporations for the most part remained in the background. (The Boston Tea Party, wherein the Sons of Liberty dumped 342 crates of British East India Company tea into the ocean, was a notable exception.) The vast majority of Americans at the time lived and worked on small family farms.

The real threat was the unilateral, unaccountable power of King George III, and the founders of a new nation, skeptical of that kind of power, formed a government of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from getting too powerful. Although corporations were not mentioned in the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson famously noted that representative government’s purpose was “to curb the excesses of the monied interests.”

After the American Revolution, corporations remained small institutions, chartered at the state level for specific public purposes, such as banking, education, religion, helping the poor, constructing roads or canals, etc. Corporations could only exist for a limited time, could not make any political contributions, and could not own stock in other companies. Their owners were responsible for criminal acts committed by the corporation, and the doctrine of limited liability for shareholders did not yet exist.

Governments kept a close watch on how these corporations were being run, regularly revoking charters if corporations were not serving the public interest. For example, in 1832, President Andrew Jackson refused to extend the charter of the Second Bank of the United States, and the State of Pennsylvania revoked 10 banks’ charters.

Slowly though, corporations were gaining power. Arising out of the Industrial Revolution, a new wealthy class began influencing policy making, changing the rules governing the corporations they owned. Charters grew longer and less restrictive. The doctrine of limited liability – allowing corporate owners and managers to avoid responsibility for harm and losses caused by the corporation – began to appear in state corporate laws. Charter revocation became less frequent, and government functions shifted from keeping a close watch on corporations to encouraging their growth.

In January 2010, using a logic that defied common sense, in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission five Supreme Court Justices suddenly transformed corporations into human beings, with a power that flesh and blood humans do not have: they can spend unlimited amounts of money in order to buy elections.

It now appears that the only way the Citizens United decision can be overturned is by a constitutional amendment. In January a Hart Research survey found that 87% of Democrats, 82% of Independents and 68% of Republicans favored the passage of such an amendment.

I believe that if the Occupy Wall Street movement were to channel all its energy into calling for a constitutional convention to overturn this ridiculous decision, its goal of breaking the tie between big money and Washington could be accomplished. Passage of such an amendment might even bring a little sanity to the current political climate.

Get more information at www.freespeechforpeople.org

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Occupy Wall Street Movement

2011-10-15T13:20:00.002-04:00

     It was no surprise that all the articles on the National News page of Monday's newspaper were concerned with the “officially” ended recession and various reactions to it. The major story discussed whether the ongoing “Occupy Wall Street” (OWS) movement is here to stay or will just fade away as so many social movements have done in the past. I will get to the other articles shortly.
     The OWS movement is based on the premise that the one percent of households who control the “vast majority” of the nation's wealth do so while the remaining 99% are suffering as they struggle to make ends meet. Just as the Missouri mule skinner had to get his student's attention by hitting him with a baseball bat, I believe the term “vast majority” was picked out of the blue in order to get the attention of potential sympathizers; I do not believe that using fictitious figures will help the movement.
     Don't misunderstand me – the true figures are daunting enough. According to a study conducted by the Sociology Dept. of the University of California at Santa Cruz, as of 2007 the top one percent of households owned almost 35% of all privately held wealth – a substantial amount, but nowhere near a vast majority. However, if one includes the 50% wealth ownership by the next 19% of households, it indeed becomes a vast majority; the bottom 80% of households holds just 15% of the wealth.
     And the situation is deteriorating – another of the articles reports that during the “official” recession – December 2007 to June 2009 – the median household income fell 3.2%; during the period from the end(?) of the recession and June 2011 the median income fell 6.7%. The article speculates that the drop has been a result of (1) an increased number of unemployed people who have given up looking for work, and (2) the pay of the employed has not risen as fast as the inflation rate.
     A third article illustrates what Congress is doing to remedy the situation. Actually, when our representatives could not agree on whether to raise taxes or cut spending, they shuffled the whole problem onto a “Super committee,” which apparently cannot agree on what to do any more than Congress as a whole could. The committee has until November 23 to come up with $1.2T in additional deficit reduction steps to be undertaken over a ten year period. Any such recommendations by the committee are subject to an “up or down” vote by the Congress. If they don't pass, a “trigger mechanism” would automatically make across the board cuts of $1.2T in both military and domestic spending.
     Personally, I don't see how this translates to more stability for the nation's economic situation, but perhaps I don't need to; there is an emergency exit – none of the cuts would take effect until 2013, which means that next year Congress could pass new legislation which would void the whole thing.
     The last article quotes House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi as to the hypocrisy of certain Republican Congressmen. In particular, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is concerned about the “growing mobs,” and criticized “Occupy Wall Street” rooters as supporting “class warfare” by the “pitting of Americans against Americans.” This is the same Eric Cantor who, on September 12, 2009, told Tea Party partisans that they were “fighting on the fighting lines of what we know is a battle for our democracy." Pelosi is correct – when it comes to being two-faced, Cantor puts the god Janus to shame.
     Back to the movement; the mule skinner has an agenda to follow once he gets the mule's attention. According to Adbusters, a primary protest organizer, the central demand of the OWS protest is that President Obama "ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington." Good luck with that – neither the President nor any other politician is going to bite the hand that feeds his campaign.
     Among the rank and file OWS participants there seem to be two lines of thought about creating a formal agenda: (1) Draft specific demands about the unequal distribution of wealth in the United States, or (2) Keeping the agenda non-specific and allow the protest to grow. Hopefully the average voter will be persuaded to elect representatives sympathetic to the movement's central demand.
     All of this is going to require a huge amount of money, and getting money from the very people OWL is opposing, the well-to-do, is tantamount to a gnat bringing down an elephant.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

High-speed Neutrinos

2011-10-09T15:50:00.000-04:00

On September 23rd researchers at CERN, Europe’s main physics laboratory, announced that subatomic particles called neutrinos had apparently sped from the lab’s headquarters near Geneva, through the Earth’s crust, to an underground detector 730km (450 miles) away, around 60 billionths of a second faster than light would take to cover the same distance. If this observation turns out to be true, it will mean that Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, which sets the speed of light as the limit of velocity in the Universe, is in need of tweaking.
According to the Special Theory, traveling faster than light would open the possibility of travel through time, which would lead to several paradoxes. For example:

There was a young lady named Bright,
Who could travel faster than light.
She took off one day,
In a relative way,
And came back the previous night.

Could a person travel back in time and kill his grandfather before the time-traveler's father was conceived?

And a joke brought on by the neutrino finding:
The bartender says, “Sorry, but we don't allow faster-than-light neutrinos in here.”
A neutrino walks into a bar.
(You can't kick a neutrino out of a bar he has not yet entered.)

     But I digress. Although it could be that the neutrinos took a short cut through another dimension, interacted in an as yet unknown manner with the matter through which they passed, or any of several other exotic possibilities, the smart money is that a more mundane error will be found, e.g., in the synchronization of the clocks used in measuring the velocity.
     Whether or not this discovery turns out to be correct, the whole episode is a beautiful example of the way science works.
     Whenever a new scientific theory is suggested, scientists around the world immediately attempt to confirm or disprove it. Since 1905 Einstein's Special Theory has been confirmed in millions of observations, but as the neutrino finding suggests, scientists are still subjecting it to scrutiny. If even one confirmed result were to contradict the theory, the theory would be expanded to accommodate the finding, or in the extreme case, abandoned and replaced by a new one.
     In this case, it is highly unlikely that the Special Theory will need to be abandoned. Just as it expanded Isaac Newton's theories to accommodate new findings, the Special Theory will probably be adjusted to include the new discovery.
     Although science is built upon a foundation of prior discoveries, it is primarily a method of inquiry – not a structure. It will always be tentative – always subject to correction. Contrary to the other system, religion, for understanding the Universe, that is its strength. Science asks questions that may never be answered – religion gives answers that may never be questioned.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Opinion vs. Knowledge

2011-10-07T14:20:00.000-04:00

     Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. - Isaac Asimov.
     Isaac Asimov (1920 – 1992) was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. A prolific author and editor of more than 500 books and 90,000 letters and postcards, his interests ranged from science fiction to popular science to humor, and are listed in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System. Paul Krugman, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, has stated that it was Asimov's concept of psychohistory that inspired him to become an economist.
     In my opinion, the above quote is one of the most incisive statements Asimov made during his lengthy career. Following are some well-known examples of popular opinions that are contrary to the facts of the situation.

     Climate Change – Millions of Americans believe the opinions of talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are just as good as the knowledge of tens of thousands of climatologists worldwide who have devoted their lives to a study of climate change. It's happening – check it out with people who know.

    Evolution – Some 60% of Americans believe that opinions coming from Rick Perry and the Texas and Kansas boards of education are just as good as the knowledge of over 93% of biologists concerning evolution. In addition, proof of its existence has come from the fields of genetics, biology, bacteriology, physics and almost all other branches of science. This opinion should not have been relevant since 1925, but it is.

     Vaccinations Cause Autism – In 1998 British Dr. Andrew Wakefield published a paper in which he attributed an increase in autism to measles, mumps and rubella vaccines. In spite of the fact that four independent studies have shown that there is no such link, and Dr. Wakefield's admission that he manipulated the data, the opinion persists. As a result, there has been a recurrence of these sometimes fatal diseases. Kids have died as a result.

     Congressional Health Insurance – In the opinion of a large segment of the population, members of Congress have wonderful free health insurance. The fact is that they choose their insurance from the same list of about 300 private plans, such as Blue Cross, Kaiser, etc., which is available to over 8 million federal employees, retirees and their families. The government pays up to 75% of the premiums. Congress persons, but not their families, are eligible for care at military hospitals, and are billed at rates set by the Department of Defense.

     Psychic Phenomena – Psychics, clairvoyants, astrologers, ghost hunters, etc., supposedly are able to converse with the dead, predict the future, control everyday events, cure illness or detect spirits of the dead lurking in all kinds of places. Of all the practitioners who have ever undergone investigation, not one has ever demonstrated an ability beyond normal probability to perform any of these marvelous feats. Yet many people swear by the existence of some or all of these charlatans. As Carl Sagan said, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” Demand it!

     This is a short list of popular opinions which, to the extent they supersede knowledge, tend to disrupt the fine-tuned functioning of democracy. Information concerning these and other wide-spread opinions can be found at www.snopes.com and www.factcheck.org.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Pivotal Points In Military History (Part 2)

2011-10-04T15:29:00.000-04:00

     Session two of the four part series was presented by Mahlon Fuller, the watch supervisor of the Pittsburgh International Airport's control tower and radar room on the morning of 9/11/01. He participated in the shutdown of the nation's air space; with some 4,000 planes in the air, the mission was accomplished in less than three hours.
     Shortly after the Pentagon was hit, Fuller evacuated the radar room and control tower after a hijacked plane, later determined to be United 93, was spotted heading directly for the facility. When he returned to the radar room the plane was off the scope. Although he was indoors and did not see the it, Fuller believes the plane passed directly over the tower before crashing near Shanksville. eight miles beyond Pittsburgh's radar coverage.
     His narrative was accompanied by an NTSB animation of the last three minutes of United 93, showing not only the flight path, but also the air speed, altitude, horizontal situation indicator, compass heading and control position. As the passengers rushed the cabin, the pilot attempted to throw them off balance by rapidly banking the plane left and right.
     During the last thirty seconds the plane turned upside down, then dived into the earth at over 500 miles per hour. The NTSB has calculated that the tail of the plane reached the nose in less than 1/10 second.
     The resulting hole was approximately 40 feet x 20 feet x 25 feet deep. The largest piece found was about four feet long. Bits of wreckage and body parts were even found up in the nearby trees.
     Fuller has gone to the scene at least once every year since the crash, and is active in promoting the memorial. His slide show included pictures of the progress of the construction to date, as well as renderings of the project as it will be.
     He told of meeting many of the survivors' friends and families, and he has had dinner with a pilot who was the best friend of Flight 93's captain. The man told him that he never expected to be a bigot, but that he hopes that every Muslim will die a prolonged, painful death.
     Then Fuller compared that sentiment to that of the Amish after the massacre of five little girls at the Nickel Mine School in 2006. On the day of the shooting, a grandfather of one of the murdered Amish girls was heard warning some young relatives not to hate the killer, saying, "We must not think evil of this man."
     Another Amish father noted, "He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now he's standing before a just God." One Amish man held the shooter's sobbing father in his arms, reportedly for as long as an hour, to comfort him. The Amish have also set up a charitable fund for the family of the shooter.
     After 10 years Fuller, a Quaker, is still visibly shaken when speaking of the events of that day. He said that his personal journey has been one of Tragedy, Grief and a Hope that somewhere between those two extremes of attitude we will someday find a way to reconcile our differences and get along together.
     So do I.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Pivotal Points In Military History (Part 1)

2011-10-02T16:12:00.001-04:00

     The retirement community which I call home is presenting four seminars on the title subject of this blog entry. I attended the first, Flight 93, last Monday. The movie on A & E was nominated for eight Primetime Emmys, and won two of them. If you have not seen it, you should.
     It is the story of one of the four ill-fated airliners that were hijacked by Muslim terrorists on September 11, 2001. Three of them hit their intended targets, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but thanks to heroic efforts by the passengers, Flight 93 missed its intended target, believed to be either the National Capitol or the White House.
     Through cellphone calls to their families, the passengers learn about the fates of the other three planes, and it gradually dawns on them that they are also on a flight destined to end in death. The scenes go back and forth between the passengers, their families, and the authorities, and the pressure to do something builds along with the tension.
     The passengers finally decide to use one of the plane's service carts to ram the pilots' cabin and try to take over the controls. When they finally put their plan into action, the amateur terrorist pilot loses control as they crash through the door, and the plane slams into the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
     The last words to the ground are to the wife of the passenger who is leading the charge: “Let's roll.”
     The movie is available on DVD, and I should warn you to have two handkerchiefs ready when you watch it.
     Our next session is a talk by the watch supervisor of the Pittsburgh International Airport control tower and radar room on 9/11/01. I will keep you posted.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Shades of Gray

2011-10-01T16:16:00.000-04:00

     It would be nice if there were just two sides to every question, but it's just not true. For example, if I were to ask what needs to be done to end the current recession, the answers would run the gamut from more government spending to cutting spending to the bone, from increasing taxes on the wealthy to cutting taxes for everyone, and countless other real and imaginary solutions.
     Even in court the question ostensibly is guilt or innocence of the defendant, but we all know that the verdict goes to the attorney who successfully convinces the jury that his analysis of the “shades of gray” is the correct one. If it were not so, no “guilty” party would ever later be set free on the basis of better evidence.
     One of the problems with growing older is that one can discern the gray shades; as a result one's judgment swings back and forth between the “sides” of the question. It can get very confusing.
     Such a case is in the headlines today: Was the killing of the terrorist, al-Awlaki, a native-born American citizen, legal? Amendment V of the Constitution states that “No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law . . .” That seems clear enough.
     The government is taking the stand that the killing was justified as “due process in war.” Officials say Awlaki's emails inspired accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan. Awlaki also helped plan the failed Underwear bomb attack, and was part of the plot to bring down cargo planes with explosives inside computer printers.
     According to CBS News national security analyst Juan Zarate, ". . . based on the rules of self-defense, based on the principles that we're at war with al-Qaeda and the fact that he was a part of the group, self-professed, all of that suggests that it's lawful and appropriate to go after him and to kill him."
     This begs the question, “Are we really at war.” Referring again to the Constitution, Article I, Section 8 says that, “The Congress shall have the power . . .to declare war. . .” Although the Congress has authorized extended military combat against al-Qaeda, it has not officially declared war.
     But the Constitution does not say “due process of war;” it says “due process of law.” While Awlaki may very well have done all the nefarious things of which he is accused, “due process of law” means “. . . a presentment or indictment of a grand jury . . .” (Amendment V)
     In my heart I feel no remorse over Awlaki's death, but here is another question of black and white: Are we or are we not a nation of law? I hope so, in which case I think this act, although I approve of it in my heart, is constitutionally questionable in my head. As I said, seeing both sides does not clarify the issue – it confuses it.
     What do you think?

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Evolution vs Intelligent Design

2011-09-20T12:16:00.001-04:00

There is considerable controversy at the present time between the competing “theories” of natural selection and intelligent design. This disagreement has several roots, but I believe one of the most important ones has to do with a misunderstanding of what it is that scientists do. Even many scientists seem to have forgotten.
        When a scientist is doing science, he is testing a theory and reporting his observations. For example, he may have a theory that if he mixes vinegar and baking soda, he will observe that oxygen will be formed. To his dismay he finds that when he actually performs the experiment carbon dioxide appears instead. He must retest and update his theory under all conceivable conditions.
        But when he issues a report of his findings to other scientists, he will not say that carbon dioxide is “caused” by mixing vinegar and baking soda; he will report that mixing the two is followed by the appearance of carbon dioxide. In short, he will say what he observes as a result of his experiment, but he will not hazard a guess as to why. The so-called laws of nature do not state what nature must do; they describe what nature consistently does do. Science is descriptive, not prescriptive.
        If an Eskimo and a central African are placed in a room in which the temperature is 40 degrees, they will probably disagree on whether it is too hot or too cold, but both can read a thermometer and agree that it is recording a temperature of 40 degrees. They can agree on what they observe objectively, but may have widely divergent opinions on what they think subjectively. For this reason science advances on the basis of observations and not opinions.
        This is not to say that a scientist may not have an opinion as to why things appear as they are. He may very well believe that God designed the earth and guides its daily activities. However, the scientist will also realize that this is his opinion, not an observation, and thus outside the purview of science. It is as out of place in a Science class as algebra would be in a Sunday School class.
        He may disseminate his opinion in conversing with friends, in his Sunday school class, or anywhere else he cares to, but not in the Science class that he teaches part time at the high school or university. Why? Because as an opinion rather than as a theory, it cannot be tested.
        There is no reason intelligent design could not be discussed in a class on Comparative Religion, History, or most appropriately in today’s climate, Political Science.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

It Is Possible To Discuss Anything Civilly

2011-09-15T13:35:00.000-04:00

     Despite the goings-on in Washington, it is possible for people to disagree substantially on a given subject, and still discuss it openly and civilly. I know our fractured society indicates otherwise, but I attended two events yesterday which supported my contention.
    Event one was lunch with a small group of men, seven to be exact, with whom I worked many years ago. Most of them lean toward the conservative side, although I do not think any of them would consider himself to be a “tea party” member, although one of them did state that Obama is the worst president that has served during his lifetime of, here I am guessing, 85+ years. Disappointed as I am with Obama, I am not ready to go quite that far, although I was unable to muster any argument which I thought would change his mind.
     But I did mention that I thought Senator Mitch McConnell's statement, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president,” was the worst statement I have ever heard from any politician.
     Even the most conservative members of the group agreed that the most important achievement for any politician should be doing what is right for the nation – not instigating a vendetta.
     The subject of the race for the Republican Presidential nomination came up, and although there were huge disagreements on the qualifications of Perry, Romney, Bachmann, Gingrich, et al, no one got upset, and no one's mind was changed.
     We all parted as friends, and agreed to meet again in two months.
     Later in the day I attended a community forum on the subject, “Is America An Exceptional Nation?” The group of approximately 35 ranged from pastors to agnostics, from far right Republicans to far left Democrats, from farmers to engineers, and from high school dropouts to college graduates - as to be expected, the opinions ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. And again I doubt that any minds were changed, although I can't be sure.
     The point is that good people can discuss controversial subjects without rancor or bitterness. All it takes is for everyone to realize that the other guy has come through a different set of experiences, which results in a different worldview.
     As Grey Owl is reported to have said, "Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his moccasins.”
     Smart man, that Grey Owl. I wonder if he could be talked into running for Congress.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Conspiracy Theories.

2011-09-07T14:05:00.002-04:00

Although ten years have elapsed since 19 people from Saudi Arabia, at the bidding of Osama bin Laden, murdered 3,000 Americans in an attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, conspiracy theories about the event still persist. Today I want to examine not only those theories pertaining to the 9/11 attack, but a couple of others which have been around for some time.

    The World Trade Center Attack: The “9/11 truthers,” as they call themselves, claim that the U.S. Government either knew of the attack in advance and did nothing, or else actively orchestrated the attack in order to justify launching wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, curtail civil liberties, and consolidate and extend the powers of the Bush Administration.
      One of the more vocal organizations has been the group Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. To support its claims, the group points to the "free fall" pace of the collapse of the buildings, the "lateral ejection of steel," and to the "mid-air pulverization of concrete," as indications that the towers fell because high explosives were placed at various spots within them. Investigations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) have concluded that the buildings collapsed as a result of the impacts of the planes and of the fires that resulted from them.
     Several other organizations have disagreed with the official findings for various reasons, but as Bill Moyers stated, they all "...threw out all the evidence of al-Qaeda's involvement, from contemporaneous calls from hijack victims on the planes to confessions from al-Qaeda leaders both in and out of captivity that they had indeed done it. Then, recycling some of the right's sophistry techniques, such as using long lists of supposed evidence to overcome the lack of any real evidence, the "truthers" cherry-picked a few supposed "anomalies" to build an "inside-job" story line."
     In addition, any government coverup would involve a vast number of people and records. The “truthers” would have us believe that after ten years, not one person who knew about the conspiracy would have become a whistle-blower. But regardless of the facts, 9/11 conspiracy theories will be around for a long time.

     The Roswell Incident: On July 7, 1947, a rancher 75 miles northwest of Roswell, New Mexico, told the local sheriff that he had found a part of a “flying disc.” The next day the Public Information Office of the Air Force issued a press release stating that a flying disc had been recovered. A few days later the Air Force identified the object as a weather balloon with its attached radar target. The fact that the balloon was really part of a top secret US Air Force project code named MOGUL was not released at the time. MOGUL was an attempt to pick up the sounds of Russian nuclear explosions from thousands of miles away.
     In 1984 the Majestic-12 (MJ-12) papers supposedly “leaked” top secret documents indicating that a UFO crash happened near Roswell, and the the government was involved in a conspiracy to hide the saucer and alien bodies from the public.
     The term Majestic-12 had first appeared in a one-page “Secret” teletype message dated November 17, 1980, which came into the hands of author and UFO researcher William Moore. (In 1983, Robert Todd, a competent UFO researcher showed that the teletype message was a hoax.)
     Then in 1983 Moore sought UFO researcher, Brad Sparks', reaction to a plan of his to create counterfeit government reports. Moore told Sparks he believed that counterfeit documents could be used to induce military officers to speak out about what the government really knew about UFOs and the coverup. In 1984 a film cassette with photographs of MJ-12 was mailed to Jaime Shandera, a maker of documentaries. The conspiracy was under way.
     Occam's Razor is a principle that generally recommends that when faced with competing hypotheses that are equal in other respects, accept the one that makes the fewest new assumptions. For conspiracy buffs I am proposing a new principle that I call Macco's Razor, which states that for any event, one should take the simplest explanation and reduce it to its most complex form.

     Marilyn Monroe's “Suicide”: Marilyn Monroe's association with John and Bobby Kennedy is central to conspiracy theories surrounding her death. One scenario claims that the relationship had got too personal, and was jeopardizing the future of the boys, so Joseph Kennedy, or maybe it was Bobby Kennedy, or it could have been J. Edgar Hoover, ordered a “hit” and the ensuing coverup on the blond bombshell.
     Another believes that Bobby went to Marilyn's bungalow for some R and R, only to find her in the throes of a drug overdose. He called an ambulance, but on the way to the hospital, she died. Realizing that his presence would not look good on his and John's resume, he had the ambulance return to the bungalow. The body was laid out on the bed and the room was straightened up, then a call was placed to her psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Greenson, who got official credit for discovering the body. Bobby was long gone by that time.
     There is no doubt that the Kennedys treated Marilyn as a plaything, and there are some unanswered anomalies in the autopsy report that lend some credence to the idea of foul play. But because all the main characters are long dead, we may as well accept the official cause of death: probable suicide.

I could discuss conspiracy theories for many more pages, e.g., high-level government authorities were involved in the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy, the New World Order or Illuminati controls all major world events, Lady Diana was a sacrificial Satanic princess, etc., etc., ad nauseum. But you get the idea.
According to Wikipedia, conspiracy theories generally have several common threads:

They claim to explain what institutional analysis cannot. They appear to make sense out of a world that is otherwise confusing.
They do so in an appealingly simple way, by dividing the world sharply between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. They trace all evil back to a single source, the conspirators and their agents.
They are often presented as special, secret knowledge unknown or unappreciated by others. For conspiracy theorists, the masses are a brainwashed herd, while the conspiracy theorists in the know can congratulate themselves on penetrating the plotters' deceptions.

I might add that the truth has as much effect upon the conspiracy believer as a mosquito has against a window pane. As someone said, “Belief is the death of intelligence.”

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Not In My Back Yard

2011-09-03T14:11:00.005-04:00

      According to an old joke, a Missouri mule-skinner was called in to train a very recalcitrant mule. The first thing the trainer did was to take a 2x4 and hit the mule over the head. When asked why he did that, the trainer replied, “Well, first I have to get his attention.”
    If it served any useful purpose, the “tea party” managed to get the attention of the American public regarding the national deficit. Although the timing is bad, the concept of deficit reduction has been accepted by the majority of people. That's “the concept,” but according to a recent Gallup Poll there is very little agreement on the details. In fact, the only item which garnered a majority of public approval for cutting spending was foreign aid.
    The pollsters asked the persons in the sample to “please say whether you favor or oppose cutting government spending in each of the following areas.” Here are the results:

Category	Favor %	Oppose %	No opinion %
Foreign aid	59	37	4
Funding arts and sciences	46	52	2
Aid to farmers	44	53	3
Homeland security	42	56	3
The military and defense	42	57	1
Anti-poverty programs	39	55	6
Medicare	38	61	1
Social security	34	64	2
Education	32	67	2

     Probably most of us expect the savings to come from areas which constitute a relatively small per cent of the total budget. For example, most of the public believes that foreign aid makes up ten percent of the budget. It doesn't; foreign aid, combined with the entire budget for the state department, makes up only one percent of the total.
    The GOP is planning to save trillions of dollars over the next ten years without any revenue increases. The chart indicates that their favorite programs for drastic cuts, i.e., Medicare, Social Security and Education, are the most popular. Good luck with that. NIMBY.

    The dare and double-dare contest continues between the President and the GOP. House Speaker John Boehner has refused President Obama's request to speak to the House to present his jobs program on September 7. The speaker told the President that several votes were scheduled for that time, but it would be OK to speak on September 8. Historians say no previous speaker has ever refused such a request.
    Several major GOP presidential candidates have scheduled a debate on the seventh, and it is believed that is the reason for Boehner's action. But really, a debate among candidates for an election 16 months away takes priority over the President of the United States speaking about job creation during a recession. Give me a break.
    Of course, the GOP is pushing the President around because he allows it. His campaign slogan was, “Yes we can.” We should have asked, “Yes, but will we?”

     Today's newspaper has another case of presidential caving in: At the demand of the GOP and business leaders he has halted the issuance of tighter smog rules that were unanimously approved by a panel of scientific experts. Please, please Mr. President, grow a pair.

     You may have noticed a recent addition to “Thoughts Before The Alarm Sounds”: a weather gadget in the right sidebar. While it gives the forecast for Lititz, where I live, you can get maps, forecasts and radar information for any continental area by clicking on the links beneath the graphic. I hope you will enjoy its many features.
                                 ******
    My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Party Of Non-science

2011-08-31T12:38:00.000-04:00

      If you have been following my blog, you know that I am not very happy with President Obama's approach to solving the country's problems. But at least his activities are grounded in reality – I do not believe they are based on a disbelief of modern science. I cannot say the same about any of his Republican rivals, and that has me concerned.
    The recent hurricane has people asking the question: Was Irene a result of global warming? And the answer has two parts: (1) No one knows, and (2) That's the wrong question. It is impossible for anyone to say whether a particular phenomenon is a result of global warming; hurricanes have been around since long before global warming began.
    The proper question is: Should we expect more such catastrophic phenomena as a result of global warming? And the answer is: Absolutely, including not only hurricanes, but also extremes of temperature, droughts, floods and tornados.
    As the glaciers melt, the water level in the oceans rises – as a result, any oceanic surge caused by a meteorological phenomenon, e.g., a hurricane or a tsunami, will cause flooding further inland. In addition, the primary energy source of a hurricane is water vapor; as the oceans warm, more water vapor will be created which will lead to stronger hurricanes.
    A study released in January, 2009, concluded that, “Human-induced global warming is real, according to a recent U.S. survey based on the opinions of 3,146 scientists. However there remain divisions between climatologists and scientists from other areas of earth sciences as to the extent of human responsibility.
    “The strongest consensus on the causes of global warming came from climatologists who are active in climate research, with 97 percent agreeing humans play a role... Petroleum geologists and meteorologists were among the biggest doubters, with only 47 percent and 64 percent, respectively, believing in human involvement.”
    "The petroleum geologist response is not too surprising, but the meteorologists' is very interesting," said Peter Doran, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and one of the survey's authors. "Most members of the public think meteorologists know climate, but most of them actually study very short-term phenomena."
    However, Doran was not surprised by the near-unanimous agreement by climatologists."They're the ones who study and publish on climate science. So I guess the take-home message is, the more you know about the field of climate science, the more you're likely to believe in global warming and humankind's contribution to it.”
    Compare that with recent statements on the subject by the current front-runners for the Republican presidential nomination:

    Mitt Romney (06/04/2011) “I don’t speak for the scientific community, of course,’’ Romney said. “But I believe the world’s getting warmer. I can’t prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And number two, I believe that humans contribute to that … so I think it’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you’re seeing.’’
    Mitt Romney (08/24/2011) “Do I think the world’s getting hotter? Yeah, I don’t know that but I think that it is,” Romney said, as reported by Reuters. “I don’t know if it’s mostly caused by humans...What I’m not willing to do is spend trillions of dollars on something I don’t know the answer to,” he added. Blogger: Waffles anyone?
    Rick Perry (08/17/2011) "I think we're seeing almost weekly, or even daily, scientists that are coming forward and questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change. He said some want billions or trillions of taxpayer dollars spent to address the issue, but he added: "I don't think from my perspective that I want to be engaged in spending that much money on still a scientific theory that has not been proven and from my perspective is more and more being put into question." (It's true the theory is being questioned, but not the way Perry means it – more and more climatologists are questioning whether forecasts of dire consequences are strong enough.)
    Perry's home state of Texas releases more heat-trapping pollution carbon dioxide – the chief greenhouse gas – than any other state in the country, according to government data.

    Recently, 97% of biologists surveyed replied that there was no controversy within the field between intelligent design and evolution. Neither intelligent design nor creationism has any scientific support.
     But biology is not the only science dependent upon evolutionary theory for its success. If evolution is not factual, radioisotope decay rates are not constant, and the entire theory of nuclear physics crumbles. A collapse such as that would destroy all of physics, followed by chemistry, biology, geology, palaeontology, thermodynamics and cosmology. What do our candidates have to say about that?

    Mitt Romney (While governor of Massachusetts.) “In my opinion, the science class is where to teach evolution, or if there are other scientific thoughts that need to be discussed...If we’re going to talk about more philosophical matters, like why it was created, and was there an intelligent designer behind it, that’s for the religion class or philosophy class or social studies class.”
    Mitt Romney (05/11/2007) “I believe that God designed the universe and created the universe...And I believe evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body.”
    He was asked: “Is that intelligent design?”
    “I’m not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design,” he said. “But I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body.” Blogger: More waffles?
    Rick Perry (08/18/2011) In response to a question from a little boy in New Hampshire, "I hear your mom was asking about evolution...That's a theory that is out there - and it's got some gaps in it."
    Perry then told the boy: "In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution. I figure you're smart enough to figure out which one is right."

    State education experts told the Texas Tribune that Perry is not quite right about what's taught in the Lone Star state's public schools. David Bradley, a conservative member of the Texas Board of Education, told the Tribune that nothing prevents a teacher from talking about creationism but "it is not specifically in the Texas curriculum."
    Other Republican runners are equally hostile to evolution - Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and Ron Paul support the teaching of creationism.

    It appears the Republican Party candidates, and by inference, the Party itself, has decided to disbelieve the well established underpinnings of modern science. How many science-illiterate students can we graduate before the competitive edge of the United States disappears? Can we afford to regress to the 19th century? It could happen if these throwbacks get control of the educational purse strings.
                                                                  ******
My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

We Need A Singable National Anthem

2011-08-27T16:54:00.000-04:00

      An article in this morning's newspaper is headlined “Mennonite college drops U.S. anthem.” The article goes on to state that Goshen college in Indiana is dropping the national anthem in favor of “America The Beautiful.”
     The school had never played “The Star Spangled Banner” before sporting events until last year, saying the image of bombs bursting in air was too violent for a college whose motto is “Healing the World, Peace by Peace.” At that time the college opted for an instrumental version of the song, with a review after one year.
     The year is up, the “Star Spangled Banner” is out and “America, The Beautiful” is in at Goshen.
     Of course, this decision is not very popular with many people, who consider it unpatriotic.
     But I don't understand why this is so. Regardless of the song played primarily at sporting events, I still love my country; I see no reason why it cannot have an anthem with beautiful words, and a melody in a singable range.
     Some of you may remember that I wrote about this subject on January 28, 2010. I am taking the liberty of repeating that posting here:
     Congress adopted “The Star Spangled Banner” as our national anthem in 1931, although it had been recognized for official use by the Navy in 1889. For most of the 19th century, “Hail Columbia” was used at official government functions, and “My Country, ‘Tis Of Thee” was also used prior to 1931.
     Originally a poem written by Francis Scott Key after viewing the bombardment of Fort McHenry in 1814, “The Star Spangled Banner” was later fitted to the melody of a drinking song written for The Anacreon, a men’s social club in London. The following are the words to the first of six verses comprising the Anacreontic Song:

To Anacreon* in Heav'n, where he sat in full Glee,
A few Sons of Harmony sent a Petition,
That He their Inspirer and Patron wou'd be;
When this Answer arriv'd from the jolly old Grecian,

"Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
No longer be mute,
I'll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot,
And, besides, I'll instruct you like me, to intwine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's Vine.”

     In my opinion, Congress chose the wrong song, and I know I am not alone in this. An octave and a half in range, there is no key in which to write it that is comfortable for most singers. If it is in a decent range for the sopranos, the basses can easily hurt themselves on the high notes, and if it’s OK for the basses, the sopranos have to be suffering from laryngitis to hit the low notes.
     One song that has been suggested as being “better” is “God Bless America.” There are several reasons why this is not a good choice, but the primary one is that it does not fit the definition: Anthem, n. a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism. (Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary.)
     “God Bless America” does not fit that definition - it is more of a prayer than an anthem. Besides, what is the meaning of the phrase “…and guide her, through the night with a light from above?”
     My personal choice is “America, The Beautiful.” It fits the definition, it is a reverent poem of praise set to beautiful music, and above all, it is easy to sing. It’s range is only a ninth, four notes shorter than the “Star Spangled Banner.”
     But that’s just my opinion.

*Anacreon (Greek Ἀνακρέων) (570 BC – 488 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Difference Between “Old” And “Age”

2011-08-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

     I recently attended the 65th reunion of my high school class. It was a simple affair – it consisted of a buffet lunch, looking at old pictures, and drifting around the room greeting people we had not seen for many years.
     But we didn't need a special program. It was surprising how quickly and clearly memories of long forgotten events came flashing back upon hearing a key word or two. Most were good memories, although there were occasional recalls of events that perhaps would have been better left in the hidden section of the mind. I do not think anyone deliberately mentioned any forgettable event – they arose as a byproduct of some more pleasant discussion.
     In some cases it was not even necessary to say anything to bring back a memory. I was introduced to one lady who turned out to be a flame which was extinguished at graduation. (I almost said an old flame, but with post-youths such as I am, I hesitate to use the term “old” when referring to anyone my age or younger.) Anyway, she is still a nice looking lady, although definitely no longer my type if she ever was, but it was nice to see her again.
     Some recalled events brought back that fleeting feeling of immortality which teenagers seem to have in excessive amounts, even though at our present age we would frown on that type of hijinks. These were events that illustrate perfectly the saying that middle age is the time when one's narrow waist and broad mind change places (fortunately).
     During the get-together I came to the realization that, even though all of us were retired, and had all come through the same boom times and recessions, Republican and Democratic administrations, wars and peace, etc., I was looking at two almost mutually exclusive types of post-youths. (By this time you may have guessed that I hate the term “senior citizen.”)
     Type one reads the news, gets excited about parties (wine and cheese as well as political), travels, emails and “friends” on Facebook; in other words, type one enjoys reaping the fruits of all those years of labor.
     Type two sits in the house watching the Game Show Network or reruns of I Love Lucy and Texaco Star Theater featuring Milton Berle. It is as if type two individuals are just sitting around waiting to die.
     I realize there are some of us who, although unable to participate in the passing stream of events for physical reasons, have no choice but to sit quietly while life passes them by, and for those I truly feel sorry. But I feel even sorrier for those who could actively participate in life, but choose not to.
     I have come to the conclusion that “age” refers to how long one has walked the earth; “old” is a state of mind. There is no connection between the two.

******

My books, “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Government Regulations And Common Sense

2011-08-18T12:45:00.000-04:00

     I live in a retirement community, which has, as a part of its facilities, a Healthcare Center for those elderly people who need 24/7 nursing care. As such, the Center is subject to state standards of operation.
     Government inspectors come in, sometimes without warning, to assure that the required standards are being met. Such a drop-in occasion occurred on a recent Saturday morning.
     Because no such center is perfect, our center received some deficiency tags; it is my understanding that the average inspection turns up an average of eight such tags. Here are a few of the deficiencies for which our Center got tagged:

The inspectors were at our premises for four days. During that time they spotted three flies in the building. A tag was issued for a pest control deficiency.
One patient arrived at the facility on Friday afternoon, the day before the inspector showed up at 9:00 am. The patient brought with her a small container of artificial tears, an over-the-counter medication which she needed because of a dry eye problem. She had the container on the table next to her bed. A tag was issued because she had a medication that the doctor had not prescribed.
Four patients were seated at a table waiting for lunch to be served. The meal came for three of them, but the forth had to wait a few minutes for his meal. A tag was issued for the lack of dignity which he suffered.

I realize that standards are necessary for nursing facilities, but it seems to me that there are enough sub-standard situations which actually affect the comfort, safety and well-being of patients, without nit-picking such as this. Am I wrong?

******

     According to Wikipedia, a spoonerism is an error in speech or a deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched.
     Distortion of Construction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

      “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

News Flash: Obama Has Switched To The GOP

2011-08-16T11:59:00.000-04:00

     Not officially, of course, but the recent actions of the Great Comproloser certainly mirror those of his “loyal opposition.” In spite of Dick Cheney's remark that “deficits don't matter,” the Republican strategy for insuring that Obama is a one term president consists of carping about, what else? The deficit. (Cheney would probably not be conservative enough to run for office as a Republican in 2011.) And it might work, but Obama should know better than to join them.
     But the problem is not the deficit, it's jobs, jobs, jobs.
     On August 5, 2011, Standard and Poors lowered the Federal Credit Rating from AAA to AA+, a rating that most businesses would love to have. Expectations were that the government would have to pay a higher rate of interest in order to borrow money through T-bills, Treasury Bonds, etc. One week later, August 12, interest rates on government securities were at an all time low. Lenders still consider Uncle Sam the worlds safest debtor.
     The reason given for S & P's action was that the bickering between Congress and the President over cutting expenditures gave the impression that the government was incapable of controlling costs. So a compromise was fashioned which guaranteed that if the various branches could not come to some sort of agreement, costs would be cut using an ax rather than a scalpel. I predict that they are going to need the ax.
     Now I will let you in on a secret, or more likely a subliminally known fact, which no one wants to acknowledge: just as there is no free lunch, there is no free government funding cut. Someone always, always pays. If education is cut, kids pay immediately through a smaller number of available courses and larger class sizes, and eventually everyone pays because of an under-educated work force. If fire and police and air traffic personnel are axed, everyone is less safe at home, in the streets and in the air. If highway construction and maintenance are reduced, expect more potholes and other dangerous conditions. (In Pennsylvania alone, of the 25,000 state-owned bridges, 6,000 are considered structurally deficient. Some day soon someone is going to drop into the river.) If health care expenditures are cut, a smaller number of people have access to medical attention and more people die due to untreated conditions. I could go on, but you get the idea.
     The government should be taking advantage of today's historically low interest rates to create jobs by upgrading and building highways, power grids and other public utilities, airports, railroads, national parks and conservation projects. It does not take a huge stretch of the imagination to understand that working people buy products, which creates more demand, which leads to more working people.
     Recessions are not cured by cost cutting – they are cured by prosperity. The great depression of the 1930s might still be with us if that greatest of all stimuli, WWII, had not come along.
     This does not mean that prudent cost cutting is out of order. Here are a few possibilities:
     The tax code should be rewritten to set fair rates, and to eliminate loopholes and credits for businesses that send jobs overseas. Profits should be taxed where they are earned instead of where “corporate headquarters,” in some cases only a post office box, is located.
     Megafarms, those with annual profits in the millions of dollars, should not receive subsidies.
     Stock traders should pay a small tax per share traded, say, a quarter of a cent, in order to correct the artificially high stock market value, which today is set by high frequency traders. It would cost the trader of 10,000 shares a mere $25, but the HFT who trades ten million shares per day would pay $25,000. At a profit of .02 per share, such a trader would be forced to compete instead of running rough-shod over the market.
     Cutting the Pentagon budget is also under consideration in the Congress. As to be expected, the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, is claiming that we would not be able to adequately defend the country with less resources. That would be more believable if we were not already spending as much on defense as are the next twenty countries of the world combined. In addition, considerable money could be saved if we were to limit our wars to countries which present a danger to the U.S.
     The so-called entitlements need to be tweaked to provide for future recipients. (I don't understand why “entitlements” are a bone of contention – it's not as if the people receiving them had not paid for them.)
     The suggestions listed here are only a beginning – I am sure that many more projects and savings can be found. In any case, we need a real leader who can bring them to fruition. I cannot think of a single such person in either party.

******

     Not so in English. Obviously, the wrong word order can completely change the meaning of a sentence.
This characteristic of the language is a source of jokes for Category 5, Distortion of construction.
     Distortion of Construction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

      “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

You Don't Have To Pay Your Bills ...

2011-08-06T15:30:00.000-04:00

     … if you are the United States of America. At least that's some many members of Congress seem to think. That's what the recent Debt Ceiling debacle was all about.
     The U.S. does not borrow money to pay current expenses – it borrows money to pay items for which it is already obligated. If Congress wants to cut expenses, it should do so by curtailing spending through the budget process - not by refusing to pay bond-holders, government contractors and Social Security recipients, any more than an individual should just refuse to pay his mortgage or utilities.
     The standoff was not a matter of the two sides being unable to reach an agreement; the idea that there was a disagreement was invalid from the start. It was similar to the case of a firefighter who lights fires because he likes to extinguish them.
     Columnist Donald Kaul has come up with a good analogy:

     The commentators who say that the two sides were for so long "unable to come to an agreement" are laughable.
     It's as though your unpleasant neighbor has come to your door and said: "Give me your dog."
     "No," you say. "I like my dog."
     "If you don't give me your dog I will shoot him," the neighbor says.
     "You can't do that. It would be wrong," you say.
     At which point the neighbor shoots your dog. You take him to court to seek justice and the judge says, "It seems to me your dog is dead because you two couldn't reach an agreement."

      What is this Debt Ceiling? In 1917, as the U.S. entered World War I, Congress authorized the Treasury to issue long-term bonds to finance the war, but in order to convince the public that our representatives were keeping an eye on things, they placed a limit on the amount of debt that the government could issue. It has been routinely raised many times since then.
     The question is: What good is it? What does it accomplish? And the answer is: Nothing. Why bother. If you create the obligation, pay it. If you don't want to pay it, don't make the obligation. It may be that too much is being spent, but you need to curtail the expenses – not abandon the obligation to pay them. Control them through the budget – not through an artificial limit.
     That appears to be pretty simple, but our representatives don't seem to understand it.
     Unfortunately there are many more horses' asses than there are horses, but why do we keep electing them?

******

     In some languages the subject of a sentence is indicated by its ending. If words are written out of their normal sequence, the reader can still make sense of the sentence. For example, in such a language, if I write “man bites dog” when I really mean to write “dog bites man,” the reader still understands what I mean to say because the ending of “dog” indicates that it is the subject, not the object, of the sentence.
     Distortion of Construction – There Are Only Seven Jokes

      “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Recession Guaranteed

2011-08-01T16:47:00.000-04:00

Our Congressional economic experts have finally agreed on a compromise that will enable them to raise the government's debt ceiling. That's good news, right?

Well, yes and no. Yes, because the nation will be able to keep its promises to creditors, and no, because they have just guaranteed that the longest recession since WWII will continue.

The agreement cuts government spending by more than $2 trillion over the next decade. The exact targets of the slashing ax are yet to be established, but supposedly all expenses are on the table.

If Congress cannot agree on the exact items to be cut by the end of 2011, spending cuts of $1.2 trillion across much of the federal budget, including the Pentagon, domestic agency budgets and farm subsidies, will be triggered. Many federal benefits programs, however, would not be hit by this contingency, including Social Security, Medicaid, veterans' benefits, and federal retirement benefits.

A reduction in Federal spending means that jobs are going to be cut; whether it will be Federal employees directly, or employees of Federal contractors and subcontractors, people are going to be thrown out of work.

A portion of the savings is expected to be obtained by winding down the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Adding hundreds of thousands of service people to the domestic labor market, which is already losing tens of thousands of jobs each month because of the normal increase in population, will only compound the problem.

Subsidies to the states will be cut, leading to more job losses. Highways and other Federal and State construction projects will be canceled. Given the makeup of the current Congress, the healthcare system will be a big casualty.

However, if you are dependent upon the financial world for a living, your disruptions, if any, will be temporary and minimal. Read the series, “The recession is over for some people...” dated February 16 through March 18, 2011, in this blog to find out why.

******

Although Category four is probably home to some non-ethnic jokes, I couldn’t find any. Because I promised an example for every category, I submit the following with my sincerest apologies:

Distortion of Pronunciation – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are

available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

What Is The Role Of Government In Our Lives?

2011-07-31T15:23:00.001-04:00

The founding fathers left us with two concise views of the role they expected government to play:

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “...all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men...”

The Preamble to the Constitution states, “...in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, [we] do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Because of the makeup of society, however, the fathers were not quite as principled, at least by today's standards, as one would expect from the foregoing statements. Electors in federal elections were required to have the same qualifications as the most numerous branch of the state legislatures, which in every state was made up of landowners. Thus to the fathers, the word “men” meant landowners – renters, servants, women, Indians and slaves were excluded. (Although most civilized nations had outlawed slavery by this time, the fathers were forced to either ignore it, or face non-ratification by the southern states.)

The resulting government turned out to be what we today would call “libertarian.” With the above exceptions, citizens were assured equal basic liberties, and the distribution of income and wealth was determined by a free market. And at least in theory, everyone was free to pursue his own conception of happiness.

But in practice the theory soon broke down. Because of differences in family income, social status, gender, race, etc., some people had a societal handicap which could not be overcome regardless of the effort they expended. Just as today Bill Gates's son has a better chance of finding happiness than the son of an absentee father and a crack-addict mother, so the son of a Virginia tobacco planter was more likely to find happiness than the son of a pioneer hacking out a log cabin on the frontier. The playing field was level, but through no fault of their own, some people found the goalposts further away than they were for others.

The first effort to overcome the accidental disadvantages of birth was the institution of compulsory public education. Although enacted in Massachusetts as early as 1852, it was not until 1918 that all states required children to attend at least elementary school. By means of Head Start programs, job training, subsidized housing, healthcare, etc., the movement for equality of opportunity has made significant headway, especially during the past fifty years,

But there is one inequality that no amount of government tinkering can equalize, nor should it: people are born with different talents and attributes, e.g., musical ability, good health, physical attractiveness, mathematical aptitude, athletic ability, etc. In particular, if an individual is born with an attribute that society values, he has a great advantage.

Think of Derek Jeter's ability to hit major league pitching, or Albert Einstein's capacity for theoretical thinking. In an earlier society, say, during the Spanish Inquisition, Jeter would have been considered the village good-for-nothing, and Einstein would probably have been burned at the stake.

Of course, these examples are exceptional - most people are born with both advantages and disadvantages clustered around “average.” As a result, there will always be some people who do better than others. In my opinion, this is as it should be; unless people can profit through their efforts, there is no incentive.

But there is a caveat: people should not get rich to the detriment of lower social classes. And it is on this point, again in my opinion, that government has gone astray.

The founders retained a healthy fear of corporate power, and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. They were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society. The privilege of incorporation was granted selectively to enable activities that benefited the public, such as construction of roads or canals. Enabling shareholders to profit was seen as a means to that end. In theory, anyone could strive to compete and win.

Compare that view with the power of corporations today. Many international corporations have greater assets than some nations. In 2010 the Supreme Court decided that corporations are persons – they may do anything a natural person may do, except vote, e.g., they may donate any amount of money they desire to influence an election, with the exception of direct contributions to a candidate, without having to disclose how much they spent. In 2010, over 11,000 corporate lobbyists doled out almost $500M to politicians. The fact that corporations cannot vote is unimportant – they can have the best government money can buy.

The Supreme Court did not take into consideration the fact that a corporation has only one goal: profit. Every move a corporation makes is with that goal in mind; even charitable contributions are made in anticipation of furthering public relations. A corporation has no heart, no soul, no feelings, no empathy. It will replace workers with machines, ignore environmental safeguards, and even leave the United States in order to avoid taxes and move jobs, all with the ultimate prize, profit, in sight. The fact that the lower social classes are hemorrhaging money, jobs, healthcare, housing and other necessities means nothing.

Now don't get me wrong – I realize that only corporations can invest in the research and development required to develop and improve our lifestyle. For example, according to PhRMA, the U.S. pharmaceutical industry’s advocacy group, it costs $1.3 billion (in 2005 dollars) to bring a new drug to market. Corporations are indispensable, but their power is out of control.

Why do we keep electing politicians whose interests are so contrary to our own? It's because our corporate controlled media keeps feeding us the rags-to-riches stories a la Bill Gates and Steve Jobs: Work hard and you will succeed. We never hear the true story: A kid from the poorest fifth of all households has a 1% chance of reaching the top 5 percentile income bracket, while a kid from the richest fifth has a 22% chance. Polls indicate that a majority of Americans think the richest fifth of them own 59% of the wealth; the actual figure is 84%.

I am not sure that in this case the truth will set us free, but it can't hurt. Only by curbing corporate power can government return to its primary role: securing the right to the pursuit of happiness. As regards corporations, the founding fathers had the right idea.

******

Category three, distortion of spelling, is the home of many, many puns, so love them or hate them, it's pun time. Puns, or "groaners" as some folks like to call them, are fun. Try them on your friends and relatives, but keep a straight face when you tell them and be prepared for GROANS... then you'll see why they are so called . . . so enjoy them and pass them on!

Distortion of Spelling – There Are Only Seven Jokes

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are

available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Inmates Are Running The Asylum

2011-07-20T13:29:00.000-04:00

     The decision to raise the debt limit of the United States Government should be a no-brainer, but the idiots in Washington seem to be unable to rise to that level. When a person, organization, and especially a nation makes a promise to pay, one should be able to expect that promise to be kept. Is it asking too much to assume the United States will pay your government bond when it comes due?
     I find it hard to see the difference between demanding concessions for keeping one's word, and someone who takes a hostage and demands money for a safe return - both are bandits! This whole thing reminds me of little boys holding a pissing contest behind the barn.
     I know there are legitimate arguments concerning government revenues and expenditures, tax reforms, entitlements, discretionary items, jobs, recession, wars, and a host of other subjects, but whether or not to throw the government into default is not one of them. Most of them should be settled during the budgetary and appropriations processes.
     Of course, these jerks are following the number one rule of politics: get elected, and all the posturing is for the benefit of the folks back home who will be doing the electing. But as one of the folks back home, I am more favorably impressed by the few who are honestly trying to find a way to get the job done, regardless of their party affiliation.
     Why do we keep electing these other idiots?

******

     Not surprisingly, most locker room humor finds a home in this [distortion of body parts] category. In fact, any joke fitting this category is almost by definition risqué, if not actually lewd.
     However, I have managed to find a couple of rather long examples that avoid “potty mouth” language and sexual situations, although because of the delicate nature of the settings, I suggest you consider them rated TVMA14 - D.
     Distortion of Body Parts – There Are Only Seven Jokes

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Some Really Big Numbers

2011-07-16T15:03:00.000-04:00

     The numbers being bandied about in Washington these days are so big that most non-mathematicians, especially politicians, can't conceive of their magnitude. So let me see if I can give you some idea of what these guys are talking about.
     There are thousands of web sites one can visit in order to visualize large numbers, but for my purpose I wish to focus on just one number: $10B. You can either do the arithmetic or take my word for it: this would be a stack of one-dollar bills approximately 678 miles high.
     Now let this $10B be represented by a standard pack of playing cards. The question is: If we piled up packs of cards to the height of the Federal Budget (Note 1), how many packs would we need? The answer is 345 packs, or a 17.4-foot-high stack! Keep in mind: each pack represents a 678-mile-high stack of one-dollar bills!
     But of that 368 pack budget, 211 packs have been set aside as entitlements – such things as Social Security, Medicare, Health Care, Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, Child Nutrition and Tax Credits, Supplemental Security for the Disabled and Student Loans; the amounts of these items are dependent upon circumstances that are beyond the immediate control of the President and Congress.
     That leaves 134 packs for “discretionary” spending – items that are negotiated each year between the President and Congress through the budgeting process. By far the largest of these amounts, 67 packs (50%) goes to the Department of Defense. That leaves just 67 packs for Health and Human Services (8), Education (6), Housing and Urban Development (4), Justice (3), Agriculture (3), and all other government expenses (43).
     Let's take a look at the Pentagon's budget of $671B, which is as much as the combined military expenditures of the next 19 countries. Are we preparing to take on the world? To top it off, if fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan (which is not included in the budget) is an example, the equipment we are producing is not designed to fight 21st. century-style wars.
     Obviously, some minor shifts in priorities are called for. For example, moving two packs of cards from the Department of Defense to Education would add 40% to the Education budget and still leave us ahead of the next 17 countries in military expenditures. That sounds like a reasonably good trade-off. With a little study, other such adjustments become obvious, except, of course, to politicians.
     Another large number is the amount of government debt – money owed on Treasury bonds. Estimates are that the current limit of $14.29T will be reached by August 2, 2011. This would be represented by 1,429 packs; a stack 72 feet high. Using 2010 figures, the International Monetary Fund places the total U.S. debt at 96.3% of GDP, ranked 12th highest against other nations.
     But we are moving up. Is that what we really want?

      Note 1. Budget figures are based on President Obama's budget presentation for fiscal year 2012.

******

     In the previous chapter I explored the first of seven categories, each representing a distortion of reality; every joke fits into one of the categories. In this chapter I take a look at the second category: distortion of body parts.
     Distortion Of Body Parts – There Are Only Seven Jokes

      “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Words Of Wisdom From Washington - An Oxymoron

2011-07-09T16:10:00.000-04:00

Of all the wise politicians (another oxymoron) in Washington, who do you think made the following remark: “Government has to start living within its means, just like families do. We have to cut the spending we can’t afford so we can put the economy on sounder footing, and give our businesses the confidence they need to grow and create jobs.”? Rep. John Boehner R-OH), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) or Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).
Although it could have been any of these, the quote is actually from President Obama's last weekend address to the nation. Apparently he was either joking, taken leave of his senses, or joined the Republican party. This is the same old gibberish the GOP has been mouthing since the days of Herbert Hoover. Let's look at these suggestions one at a time.

“Government has to start living within its means, just like families do.” The government is not a family – one excellent way to put the brakes on any recovery is to cut spending. There is a fear that the debt will rise to a level equal to the Gross Domestic Product. If a family were to limit debt in that way, it would have to hold its mortgage, car payments, etc. to not more than its income. Only millionaires would own real estate.
“We have to cut the spending we can’t afford...” Of course we have to cut spending...eventually. But at this point we need to build roads, repair bridges, upgrade outmoded equipment, etc. Government policy should be to level the peaks and valleys of the economic cycle, and the time to cut back is during peak activity, not during a recession. If the President wants to behave like a family, he needs to save for the bad times during periods of prosperity. If Dubya had done this with the surplus he inherited from Bill Clinton instead of returning it to his upper-income friends while simultaneously fighting two wars, perhaps the recession might not have been quite so bad.
“...and give our businesses the confidence they need to grow and create jobs.” Presently businesses are not lacking confidence, they are lacking customers. They are sitting on $1.8T domestically, with trillions more stashed overseas because they would have to pay tax on it if they brought it home.

Jobs could be created, and paid for, by eliminating (1) tax breaks for machinery and software which replaces human workers, (2) subsidies for mega-farms and energy companies, and (3) the capital gains rate (15%) for hedge fund managers' income. (The top manager received almost $5B last year.)
Where is the dynamic Barack Obama we elected? It's time for him to step up and become a leader rather than an appeaser.

******

Although their I.Q. range is pretty much the same as that of the population as a whole, certain sets of people, e.g., blondes, Irish, Jews and other ethnic groups have been singled out for special ridicule. Supposedly the gullibility of these folks makes them easy targets for the lie, therefore many of the jokes at the expense of these groups fall into this category.
Distortion of Truth – There Are Only Seven Jokes

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

How Is Your Recovery Going?

2011-07-06T15:15:00.000-04:00

It should come as no surprise to readers of this blog to learn that the transfer of resources to the super-rich from everyone else is well underway. For details see the series “The Recession Is Over For Some People...” posted between 16 February and 18 March, 2011. A May, 2011, study by the Center for Labor Market Studies of Northeastern University, Boston, confirms it. For my purpose, two findings from the study are relevant:

(1) Using the lowest point, 30 June 2009, of the recent recession as the base figure, as of 30 April 2011, real corporate profits increased 39.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 45.8%, and Average Real Weekly Earnings of the Private Sector decreased 1.0%.

(2) During the same period, Annualized National Income grew by $505B. While corporations' share of the growth was 92%, the share going to wages and salaries was 0%.

     A recent article in Forbes provided further evidence of the transfer of resources: “The Hay and Equilar executive pay surveys show that in 2010 the average pay package for the head of a large U.S. company was over eight million dollars – an increase of about 25 percent from the previous year.
     The pay difference between the top and the bottom in large corporations has expanded tremendously since the early 1980s (roughly speaking, it has gone from 100 to 1 to 500 to 1).”
     Now the super-rich have come up with another scheme to accelerate the upward flow of resources. According to The Washington Post, a powerful coalition of more than two dozen business groups and corporations, e.g. the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and technology giants Apple, Google and Microsoft, have come up with a seemingly great offer to the government: Give us a big tax break, and we’ll give you $50 billion or more in fresh revenue.
     Currently, U.S. companies can avoid paying taxes on foreign profits until they bring the money back home. The coalition is proposing a one time reduction in income tax rates, say to 5% instead of 35%, on “repatriated” funds. Supposedly these funds would be used to improve the economy.
     But which economy - the corporate economy or the not-so-rich economy? Keep in mind that corporations are presently sitting on the largest aggregate domestic cash amount in history - $1.8 trillion dollars. For starters, why not inject some of that into the general economy?
     What does history tell us about repatriated funds amnesty? The Homeland Investment Act was enacted in 2004. The Washington Post reports “In the most recent study of the 2004 law, to be published in June, a team of researchers from MIT, Harvard Business School and the University of Illinois found that up to 92 percent of the estimated $299 billion brought back to the United States went to shareholders. That happened despite language in the statute aimed at forbidding companies from using the money to raise dividends or repurchase shares, the study found.”
     According to a recent study by the University of California at Santa Cruz, 91% of the stock is owned by 20% of the shareholders, the very wealthy, leaving 9% for the rest of us.
     A second objection to the amnesty proposition is that it appears to be a reward to those corporations which shipped jobs overseas.
     A popular metaphor for the “trickle-down” theory of economics is that of a horse (business), to which you feed oats (resources). Supposedly some oats will pass through undigested which will feed the sparrows (the rest of us) on the ground. The horse is rapidly developing a bad case of constipation.

******

To give you a head start, the categories are distortions of: truth, the human body, spelling, pronunciation, construction (topsy-turvy language), idea, and double entendre.
Introduction – There Are Only Seven Jokes

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Some Interesting Statistics

2011-07-05T12:42:00.004-04:00

If you are not into mathematics, don't worry – you can skip that part and still understand the discussion. But here are a few items that I find somewhat intriguing, and I hope you do too.

     The Monty Hall Problem: I discussed this subject on 9 March 2010, so you can read the details there if you wish. Briefly, Monty Hall was the emcee of the game show “Let’s Make A Deal.” The contestant had a choice of three doors to open; behind one was a prize, and goats were hidden behind the other two. After the contestant chose one of the doors, Hall, who knew where the prize was, opened one of the doors behind which was a goat. The contestant was then given a choice: he could either open the door which was his original choice, or he could switch and open the other closed door.
     Not surprisingly, most people opted to stay with their original choice. It seems logical that since there are now only two doors from which to choose, there is a 50/50 chance the prize is behind either door.
Unfortunately, that’s wrong! The chances of winning are twice as good if one switches! To see why the apparently illogical choice of switching is actually better, one must understand that before the host opened one of the three doors, the contestant did not know the location of the prize; thus when a door was chosen, he or she had a 1 in 3 chance of being right.
     That does not change even after the host opened a door. If the probability of the first door the contestant chose remained the same, and there were only two doors left, that meant either of the remaining unopened doors must have had a 2-in-3 chance of being right — that is, it had twice the chance of holding the prize.

OK – So it doesn't have much practical value, but I think it's an interesting illustration of a counter-intuitive real world event.

Even if one is not a sports fan, everyone has heard of the next item.

Joe DiMaggio Had At Least One Hit In 56 Consecutive Baseball Games: I believe this record will never be broken, in fact, I don't believe any record in any sport will surpass this one. First, the mathematics. This has been figured many ways, but I will use the simplest method I can find.

     The probability of any particular event's occurrence is represented by a fraction. For example, the probability of getting heads on a single coin flip is one out of two, or 1/2. The probability of getting heads on two flips in succession is 1/2 x 1/2, or 1/4; three heads in succession is 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2, or 1/8, a probability of .125, and so on. The odds of three heads in succession are (1-.125)/.125, or 7 to 1 against.
     To make it easy, let's assume that DiMaggio came to bat five times in every game. His lifetime batting average was 325. Now you can take my word for this: The probability of his getting at least one hit in five tries was approximately .861. In 1,000 games he would average at least one hit in 861 of them. So his probability of getting at least one hit in 56 consecutive games was .861 x .861 x .861...56 times. That works out to .00022918. Converted to odds, they are 4,362 to 1 against.
     With all the baseball games being played, that doesn't really sound like impossible odds, and it isn't. In fact, in a 2008 New York Times op-ed column, Cornell’s Samuel Arbesman and Steven Strogatz wrote that they let a computer replay Major League Baseball’s 135 seasons through 2005, 10,000 times over. And of these simulations of baseball history, 42% of the time there was at least one streak at least as long as DiMaggio’s. Fewer than three times out of 1,000 did the record-holder himself reach that mark. So why do I believe his record will never be broken?
     The way I calculated the odds above, I assumed the various games were independent, that is, the outcome of one game did not depend upon any previous games. When one flips a coin, it doesn't matter how many consecutive heads came up previously – the outcome of the next flip is still 1/2. But that's not true of a hitting streak.
     Suppose a hitter today gets a long streak going: 20 games, 30 games, etc. As the streak goes on, imagine the mounting pressure he faces. He is constantly being besieged by reporters and fans. He will soon feel that he is letting the team down if he doesn't get a hit. Most importantly, opposing pitchers nibble at the corners of the plate in an effort to get strike calls on questionable pitches. Umpires are under pressure to make the right calls. The longer the streak goes on, the more the pressure mounts.

As I said, it's possible for DiMaggio's streak to be broken, but it would surprise the heck out of me.
Perhaps you can make a little money from my last item.

     The Birthday Problem: In a room full of people, what is the probability of finding two who celebrate their birthday anniversary on the same date? Most people have heard that the odds are 50/50 when there are 23 people present, but what if you would like better odds? Here are a few figures:
     2 to 1: 29. 3 to 1: 32. 4 to 1: 35. 5 to 1: 36. And the real surprise, if you can find a sucker in a group of 42 people, the odds are 10 to 1 in your favor.
     If you really want to know the math, here it is, but be warned, you are going to get into some really, really big numbers:
     The probability for a group of size k = 1-(365 x 364 x 363 x ...(365-k+1)/(365 x 365 x 365...k times)).

If you make any money on this item, please remember, you heard it here.

******

Each of my next seven chapters will be devoted to exploring one of the categories of jokes. In addition, I shall attempt to give an example or two of jokes which I think fit each category.
Introduction - There Are Only Seven Jokes

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Sometimes It Is Just Semantics

2011-06-27T16:19:00.003-04:00

     Even after observing the passing scene for over 80 years, I am still amazed at the emotions that are aroused by some words. In his 1933 work, Science and Sanity, Alfred Korzybski coined the phrases, “The word is not the thing” and “The map is not the territory,” indicating that knowing the name of an item does not mean that you know everything about the item itself. He recommended that new entities be observed on the silent level – a time for observing the reality without preconceptions. But it seems that many people fail to appreciate the wisdom of keeping these bits of advice in mind.
     I live in a church-sponsored retirement community, which is in the process of constructing new facilities: a chapel, theater, gift shop, a small meeting room and a large community meeting room.
     As explained at a recent residents' meeting, the administration discussed various names for the meeting rooms. For the smaller room, the choices boiled down to “bistro” or “pub.”
     One definition of bistro is “A small, modest European-style restaurant.” Since neither food nor anything else is going to be sold in this room, that name was rejected.
     Although some pubs are taverns, an alternative definition of pub is “A public room or house,” so the smaller room became a pub.
     While a majority of residents accepted the explanation, a few reacted as if it had been decided to call the room “the den of iniquity.” Although the naming of facilities is beyond the purview of the residents, it was even suggested that we put the name to a vote. However, most of the residents seemed to think the subject was not even worth talking about, so eventually the discussion moved on to other matters.
     The room in question is a nice little place to hold small group meetings or receptions (maximum capacity 29), play cards, or just sit and talk with friends. It has a few tables and chairs, counter, refrigerator, sink and even a dishwasher; in short, it's just a small gathering place.
     So I got to wondering why the word “pub” would raise such a violent reaction. I realize it may have a connotation of tavern, which is a place where alcoholic beverages are sold, but this innocent little room is far from being a tavern.
     Granted that some of our residents are conservative Christians, I still didn't quite understand it. Christ changed water into wine, not grape juice. One would think if he really was against it, he would have changed it into Koolaid or vinegar. So I dug a bit deeper.
     The God of the Israelites had many proscriptions against wine – apparently he was a teetotaler. But while in the New Testament there are many passages against drunkenness, it has very little to say against wine itself.
     I found the answer at 75 Bible References On Drinking Alcohol:
“ ...verses to show God approves of wine are speaking about unfermented juice. Verses that expose the evils of wine are speaking about intoxicating wine.”
     Uh-huh.

******

     You must realize that the Times article appeared over one hundred years ago, so most of the jokes appearing therein are so out-of-date that modern readers wouldn’t even understand them. For example, one has to do with women’s suffrage, and was probably very funny at the time, but today it falls flat with a loud thud! So to spare my readers, I shall attempt to find jokes that are more up-to-date than 100+ years of age.
     Introduction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

     “There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Where Have All The Jobs Gone?

2011-06-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

     Some time ago I mentioned Ross Perot's “giant sucking sound” of jobs leaving the country in the wake of NAFTA (See February 16, 2011). As I stated, “If that sound is a whisper, today's sound of American jobs heading all over the globe is a space shuttle liftoff.” As of today that sucking sound has grown even louder.
     According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US unemployment rate for May was unchanged from the April figure: 9.1%. Private sector employment increased by 83,000; this is really a net loss because 125,000 new jobs are needed each month just to keep up with the increase in the number of individuals entering the labor force.
     Also in May the number of long-term unemployed increased by 361,000. That number now stands at 6.2 million.
     It is important to note that the BLS's definition of unemployment includes only job seekers who have looked for work at some time during the past four weeks. It does not include those who have been out of work for so long that they have given up looking, nor does it include anyone who is working part time but really wants a full time job. Economists estimate that if these people were included in the definition, the rate would be in the neighborhood of 16%.
     A recent poll by the Business Roundtable Survey showed that 51 percent of CEOs polled expect to increase hiring in the near future. In addition, more than 60 percent plan to buy more items such as computers, software and machinery. And this brings me to the subject of today's posting.
     According to a New York Times article on June 9, 2011, “Workers are getting more expensive while equipment is getting cheaper, and the combination is encouraging companies to spend on machines rather than people.” The article goes on to tell of a company that has invested $450,000 in new technology during the past year, while in the same period it has hired only two new workers.
     During the recently ended industrial era, when an employer purchased a new piece of equipment, he usually needed a new employee to operate it. But not any more. Now when a company invests in new equipment, software or other technology (often made in China or other off-shore location), it usually replaces human workers.
     Now I am not against technology – far from it – but it seems obvious to me that the practice of giving huge tax breaks to stimulate the purchase of equipment to replace workers is counter-productive to job creation.
     But to be fair, I must admit that American workers today are priced out of the world-wide job market. An employer would have to be insane to pay $20 per hour when he can get an unlimited supply of workers for $10 per day in China.
     During the industrial era, the mantra for success in business was “location, location, location.” Today location, particularly of manufacturing facilities, is immaterial in light of our vast communications and transportation networks.
     The current conservative mantra is “lower taxes, lower taxes, lower taxes.” During forty years as an accountant, not once did I hear of any business that laid off or hired an employee because of the tax consequences. The rationale behind such decisions has always been customer service.
     So the mantra in today's post-industrial era is what it should have been all along: “customers, customers, customers.” And they can be found wherever the jobs are, whether it's in the USA, China, Peru or anywhere else in the world.
     So what do we hear coming out of Washington? The national budget, the debt ceiling, and getting rid of President Obama and “Obamacare.”
    What should we hear? Because the s-word is a no-no these days, I will offer a few concrete suggestions aimed at getting money into customers' pockets:

Make it easier for people with mortgage problems to renegotiate their loans.

Exempt a portion of wages from payroll taxes.

Create employment by repairing and upgrading highways, railways, electrical grids and other public sector facilities.

Create business tax incentives for investment in people instead of equipment to eliminate employees.

Of course the conservatives will howl that the liberals are back to their old budget-busting ways, so here are a few suggestions as to how to pay for these items:

Discontinue our “adventures” in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and anywhere else which is not a threat to the US.

According to Wikipedia, the US is trying to police the world by deploying troops to 150 different countries. Bring them home from every location which is not essential for national defense.

Give the Pentagon enough resources to maintain an adequate national defense instead of what the generals ask for, or what some Congressman thinks they should have.

Eliminate foreign aid to unfriendly nations, e.g. Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Today Perot's “giant sucking sound” could also apply to the sound of resources rushing from the pockets of the have-not-so-much to those of the already-super-rich.
Without a serious reality check on the part of the government, the training for tomorrow's jobs will be simple: Memorize the following: “Would you like fries with that?”

******

The Freudian system has been analyzed countless times since it was first created, so in this book I am going to zero in on the Times system; not only is it more easily understood, it is more fun.
Introduction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Festival of the Rose

2011-06-07T12:02:00.000-04:00

     Sunday I attended the paying of the rent by Zion Lutheran Church in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Paying rent doesn't sound like such a big deal – one writes a check and hands it to the landlord – but in this case it was a payment that started 239 years ago.
     In 1762 (Baron) Henry William Stiegel and two partners purchased a tract of land on which Stiegel laid out the town of Manheim. In 1772 Stiegel, a devout Lutheran, deeded a tract of land to the church for “for five shillings and in the month of June yearly hereafter the rent of One Red Rose if the same shall be lawfully demanded.” According to tradition, Stiegel received the annual rent only two times, and apparently did not lawfully demand it thereafter.
     In 1892 the present church was built, and except for two years during WWII, the annual payment of the red rose has been paid to a descendant of Stiegel ever since.
     The 2011 payment was made to Wallace Stiegel of Windemere, Florida, an eighth generation descendant of the Baron. Mr. Stiegel's daughter and granddaughter were also in attendance, thus guaranteeing that “landlords” will be available for quite a few more years.
     One would think it might be difficult to find descendants of the Baron, but in 1977 the Reverend Raymond Foellner completed a genealogy of the lineal heirs. In past years some have come from as far away as Colorado, and they seem as interested in keeping the tradition alive as the members of the church.
     The ceremony itself was quite impressive – the church's attorney presented the rose to the heir, both signed the receipt book, and Mr. Stiegel made a short “thank you” speech. The church was beautifully decorated with, what else? red roses.
     Hopefully this beautiful ceremony will be repeated annually for another 239 years or so.

******

In my opinion a more practical and intelligible system is to be found in an article published by a “Humor Expert” in the New York Times on May 2, 1909. Entitled “New Jokes? There Are No New Jokes, There Is Only One Joke,” it goes on to say that all jokes are a distortion, and lists seven categories of distortion; as in the Freudian system, every joke will fit into one of the categories. I believe that repetition, whether of seven techniques or seven distortions, changed the original concept into “seven jokes” a la the children's game of Whisper Down the Lane.
Introduction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

It's The Jobs, Stupid

2011-06-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

     The Labor Department's hiring report for May came out in Saturday's newspapers, and it wasn't pretty. Just 54,000 jobs were created – far less than the expected 150,000. Although the private sector added 83,000 workers – the lowest monthly total in the past year - they were offset by the loss of 28,000 jobs in local governments – firefighters, police, teachers and clerks. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that up to 300,000 new jobs a month are required to significantly affect the unemployment rate.
     Meanwhile, back in Washington, the figures elicited what can best be described as a collective “ho-hum,” as Congress decided to dance around the subject of raising the debt ceiling. Without such action, the nation will soon begin defaulting on its debts, with a corresponding increase in interest rates. Through April, interest on the national debt for fiscal year 2011 is on track to surpass 2010's total of $4.13B. That's 413 followed by nine zeros! Imagine, if you can, the effect of a rate increase!
     But I digress. Congress is not dillydallying about an increase in the ceiling so much as on tying such an increase to a balanced budget requirement.
     And how does one create such a budget? According to the Republicans, it is done by giving tax cuts to the rich and paying for them by some or all of the following:

Emasculate the National Labor Relations Board.
Kill the funding for Obamacare.
Eliminate all taxpayer funded payments for abortions.
Eliminate all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Public Radio.
Hamstring the Environmental Protection Agency.

     Even if I thought some of these “suggestions” have merit – which I don't – I believe they are subjects that should be discussed during the preparation of the budget – not the raising of the debt ceiling.
     In the meantime, any meaningful discussion about job creation has been pushed to the back burner. The focus has shifted from economic pragmatism to ideological purity. The budget is due for completion in September – jobs are needed now!
     Where are legislators who can prioritize and enact what is good for the country? Where is Henry Clay when you need him?

******

     Today I will begin posting excerpts from my latest book, “There Are Only Seven Jokes.” Enjoy.
     The statement “There are only seven jokes - all the rest are variations,” has been around for a long time, but no one ever seems to know what the original seven were. The concept of exactly seven (not six or eight) original jokes has usually been attributed to Sigmund Freud, whose 1905 book Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious defined seven joke techniques: Absurdity, Allusion, Analogy, Exaggeration, Faulty reasoning, Play on words and Reproach. In order to classify a particular joke in Freud's system, it is first necessary to understand his definition of Analogy, Exaggeration, etc.
     Introduction – There Are Only Seven Jokes.

“There Are Only Seven Jokes” and “The Spirit Runs Through It” and are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The GOP's Medicare Plan Is A Real Winner . . .

2011-05-30T16:52:00.000-04:00

     . . . or is it? On Monday August 29, 2009, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele appeared on ABC-TV's Good Morning America. In introducing the Republican National Committee's “Seniors’ Health Care Bill of Rights” (SHCBoR), Mr. Steele stated, "We should protect the seniors' ability to access health care.”
     The first item promised by the SHCBoR was, “. . . [to] protect Medicare and not cut it in the name of health care reform.” Mr. Steele claimed that the health care plan being proposed by the Democrats would cut Medicare funding by $500B. Actually the proposed savings, none of which came from cutting benefits to seniors, was $219B.
     Jump forward to April 5, 2011. The new House Republican majority introduced a budget called The Path to Prosperity. If Congress follows “the path,” current recipients and future Medicare beneficiaries age 55 and older will see no change in benefits.
     But starting in 2022, Medicare as we know it will be gone! New retirees will be enrolled in the same kind of “wonderful” health care program that members of Congress enjoy . . . almost.
     Future retirees will be able to choose a plan that works best for them from the same list of guaranteed coverage options that government employees use. The government will make payments directly to insurers for a portion of the premiums.
     Here's the catch. While the new plan and the government employees' plan may be on a par at the start, the government pays 75% of its employees' premiums regardless of how much they increase. Non-government retirees will get an increase indexed for the inflation rate.
     As we all know, the rate of increase of health care costs is much higher than the overall inflation rate. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that under The Path to Prosperity, by the year 2030 the typical 65-year-old will be paying 65% of his health care insurance premiums, while the government employee will still be paying just 25%.
     So much for SHCBoR! New retirees may be able to get the same insurance plans as government employees, but they will get nowhere near the same health care plan.
     Last Tuesday Kathy Hochul, a Democrat and an almost certain loser scored an upset victory in one of New York state's most conservative districts. Ms. Hochul's campaign focused almost entirely on the Republican Medicare proposals, which were backed by her opponent, Jane L. Corwin.
     Although both parties spent millions in the district, Republicans outspent Democrats by a 2 to 1 margin. Not surprisingly, GOP officials are busily reexamining their approach to Medicare.

******

Ordinary usage implies that Russell was correct in saying that under certain conditions causality has some usefulness as a shorthand mechanism. It is a quick and easy way for a scientist, or anyone else, to describe an event, but it is necessary to keep in mind that causality is a creation of language ― a way of talking about the world; it is not an objective real world event. In order to avoid misunderstandings, one needs to be sure that the certain conditions underlying his shorthand mechanism are in sync with those of his listeners. This is especially true when an expert addresses laymen, e.g. when a scientist speaks to an audience of non-scientists.
Causality – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

GOP Zipper Malfunctions.

2011-05-24T11:07:00.000-04:00

     The history of politicians being caught with their pants down, literally, goes back a long way, but until Bill Clinton's adventures came to light, no one seemed to care very much. And it seems as if the burden of infidelity has fallen more often on stalwarts of the Republican party.
     Oh, I know the Democrats have had their free-swingers, e.g. Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, John Edwards and the fore-mentioned Bill Clinton, but they are not the ones who are out there preaching “family values” as part of their party platform. And although the Democrats have often engaged in “left-wing social engineering,” they are not attempting to highjack must-pass bills, e.g. raising the debt ceiling, by attaching “right-wing social engineering” anti-abortion and anti-gay riders to it. (Left-wing and right-wing social engineering terms were raised by Newt Gingrich on the May 15th telecast of Meet The Press. On May 17th he asked everyone to forget he ever mentioned them.)
     Here are a few of the macho GOP studs whose careers went from “up and coming” to “hanging their heads” because of ZCF (zipper closure failure):

      Rudy Giuliani – In 1968 Giuliani married Regina Peruggi. They were divorced in 1982, after Giuliani started dating Donna Hanover, a Washington TV personality. In addition to a civil divorce, he had to have a Catholic annulment, because he “didn't know” Peruggi was his second cousin; he thought she was his third cousin. Giuliani and Hanover were married in 1984.
     In 1997, Vanity Fair magazine reported there was a romantic link between former City Hall communications director, Cristyne Lategano, and Giuliani. Both denied the report and it was never confirmed. However, Hanover blames Lategano for seriously damaging her 16-year marriage to the mayor. At a news conference confirming their divorce in 2000, Hanover didn’t mention Lategano by name, but said, "For several years, it was difficult to participate in Rudy's public life because of his relationship with one staff member."
     In 1999 Rudy began a relationship with Judith Nathan, a twice-divorced sales manager for a pharmaceutical company. Beginning in summer 1999, costs for his New York Police Department security detail during weekend visits to her in Southampton, New York were charged to obscure city agencies. In early 2000, Nathan began getting city-provided chauffeur services from the police department. Giuliani and Nathan were married in 2003. It was the third marriage for both of them.

      Marshall “Mark” Sanford served as Congressman from South Carolina from 1995 until 2001. In 2002 he was elected governor, and was reelected in 2006.
     Between June 18th and 24th, 2009, he disappeared from sight. Even though members of his staff didn't know his whereabouts, they told reporters he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. Upon his return, he admitted he had spent the week in Buenos Aires with María Belén Chapur, an Argentine woman. In revealing an affair that had gone on for about a year — and which he said he had disclosed to his wife, Jenny, five months prior — he said: “This was selfishness on my part.” He was later censured over the affair because of misuse of state travel funds.

      Newt Gingrich married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, in 1962, when he was 19 years old and she was 26. In the spring of 1980, Gingrich left Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther. According to Battley, in September 1980, Gingrich visited her to discuss the details of their divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from uterine cancer surgery. Newt and Marianne were married six months after the divorce became final.
     During the time Newt was leading the perjury and obstruction of justice charge against Bill Clinton in connection with his adventures with Monica Lewinsky, Newt began an affair with Callista Bisek, a House of Representatives staffer. She is 23 years younger than he is. They were married in 2000, shortly after his second divorce became final.
     The divorce discussion was a case of deja vu; it took place a few months after Marianne was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I would advise Callista not to get sick.
     Newt has an explanation for his frequent problems with ZCF. In a recent interview on The Christian Broadcasting Network, Newt, who recently converted to Catholicism, explained, "There's no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate."
     I would think that the harder one worked, the less time one has for tom-catting around.

      Arnold Schwarzenegger's problems began at least 13 years ago, at least as far as we know, because he has a suddenly discovered son, Joseph, of that age. His mother is 50-year-old Mildred Baena, a 20-year member of the Schwarzenegger's household staff until she resigned this past January. Joseph and Arnold's youngest legitimate son, Christopher, were born within five days of each other.
     In 2003, as Schwarzenegger was running for governor in a hastily-called election following the recall of Gov. Gray Davis, the Los Angeles Times published a story in which six women said he'd groped them sexually without their consent. The story appeared five days before the election; by the time the polls opened, 16 women had come forward with the same claim. Shortly after the story broke, Arnold admitted he had “behaved badly.” His wife, Maria Shriver, stood by him.
     Rumors are flying that the Governator has fathered two more children out of wedlock, and at least one woman has come forth claiming that Arnold could be the father of her child. She is asking for a DNA test.

******

According to Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, information cannot travel faster than the speed of light (approximately 186,000 miles per second). But there are things which can travel faster than that, at least theoretically. For example, suppose one could build a circular wall, similar to a wall around a castle, with a radius of approximately 29,600 miles. Such a wall would be 186,000 miles in circumference. At the center of the circular wall there is a laser which projects a spot on the wall. If the laser revolves at the rate of one revolution per second, the spot will move along the wall at 186,000 miles per second. If the wall is moved say, 500 miles further away from the laser, the spot will move about 189,125 miles per second, which would violate the theory.
Causality – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Bizarre , Wacky and Unique Holidays

2011-05-19T16:39:00.000-04:00

     I came across an item on Today which stated that Saturday, May 14th was World Naked Gardening Day. Thinking it was some kind of a gag, I did a little research, and it not only was not a gag – I discovered a couple of other nude holidays: June 11th is Naked Bike Riding Day and June 21st is Nude Hiking Day. Who knew?
     Although I know some gardeners, I am pretty sure that none of them celebrated WNGD. I can't blame them because the weather was rather cold and damp, although that probably had nothing to do with their non-celebration of this great event.
     I also know some bikers and hikers, and while the weather will probably be more agreeable in June, I doubt that anyone I know will be celebrating these little-known holidays. But I'll keep my eyes open, just in case.
     During my research, I discovered that there are many unusual holidays; in fact, every day of the year has two or three. I have compiled a list of some that I thought were interesting for no particular reason - one for each month:

January 16th – National Nothing Day. The idea is that we do nothing on, for or about this day. To promote it is to violate the spirit of this day. It's a day to non-celebrate...nothing.

February 27th – How appropriate, my birthday is on National No Brainer Day. This is the day to eschew anything that requires thinking, study, research or analysis. To think that I've been celebrating this day all year long, and didn't even know it!

March 21st – Fragrance Day. Guys, buy your sweetie something that smells good today. In the old days when people bathed Spring and Fall whether they needed it or not, perfumes and other fragrances were the only things that kept the world livable. These days fragrances make the world delightful. If you do buy her a fragrance, don't get yourself into a situation like the following:

The silly fragrance that Willie sent,
Was very displeasing to Millicent.
Her thanks was so cold
They argued, I'm told,
Because of the silly scent Willie sent Millicent.

April – The Monday after Easter – Dyngus Day. This is a day of fun inherited from Poland. Using squirt guns, buckets or other containers of water, the guys attempt to drench the gals. More romantic guys use cologne instead of water. On Tuesday the girls get back by throwing dishes or crockery at the guys. A strange way to meet potential mates, but I understand it works very well in Polish-American communities. Perhaps this is the forerunner of speed dating.

May 8th – No Socks Day. It's self-evident how one celebrates this day. If you are such a celebrant, you may notice that your friends tend to stay upwind. If you don't celebrate it, you will probably figure out very quickly who does. This holiday is copyrighted by Wellcat.com.

May 9th – Although the two are not technically related, I couldn't mention No Socks Day without tying it in to Lost Sock Memorial Day. If you have loads of unmatched socks, you need to be celebrating this day. And give some thought to disposing of the unmatched ones; the matches never show up.

June 3rd – Repeat Day is a good day to do something you enjoy over and over. Repeat Day is a good day to do something you enjoy over and over. Enough said? Enough said?

July 27th – Take Your Pants For A Walk Day is easy to celebrate, just take a walk – unless you are wearing a skirt, your pants will go with you. You can doubly celebrate by carrying a second pair.

August 13th – Left Handers Day is for 10% of the world's population, including me: the lefties. As every lefty knows, it's a right-handed world. If you doubt it, I suggest you try the following: (1) Pick up a scissors and use it in your left hand, or (2) Use your computer mouse with your left hand. We lefties deserve a day of our own. Remember: Everyone is born left-handed; you get switched over when you commit your first sin. Question: In the town of Left Hand, West Virginia, is everyone a Left Hander?

September 1st – Emma M. Nutt Day commemorates the date on which a woman first became a telephone operator. Today electronic switching has practically eliminated the job. Emma once said she was "very thankful that my first name was not Imma." I'll bet she was.

October 7th or 14th – There is some confusion over which day Bald and Free Day is to be celebrated, but it is definitely either the 7th or the 14th - take your pick. On this holiday I really appreciate the freedom from thinking about such things as, “Will I lose my hair? What can I do about these bad hair days?” and other assorted worries. Although I do need a haircut every five or six weeks, I smile when I see other guys spending time and money on hair sprays, combs and other such “necessities.” In addition, it is part of the tradition that on this day all bald jokes are outlawed. Remember, God made only a few perfect heads – the rest He covered with hair.

November 9th – Chaos Never Dies Day recognizes the disorder in both the cosmos and the daily life. Scientists use the word “entropy” to describe the rampant disorder in the cosmos. The rest of us use the term “hectic” to describe the disorder in daily life; such things as frenzied deadlines, unruly teenagers, traffic snarls, unexpected emergencies, etc. Today is the day to draw a bubble bath, light a candle, read a book and get away from it all.

December 18th – National Suckling Pig Day. A suckling pig is a piglet which has not been weaned from its mother. Today is the day to roast one, although you may have to look up the recipe. If you can't find it, go out and order one at a restaurant. It's the day to take a little time off from the holiday hubbub.

That does it – 13 odd holidays. If you want to see a thousand or so more of these, Bizarre , Wacky and Unique Holidays is the place to look. Or create one of your own.

******

One problem with the [Russell] theory was that there are some events that look like they are a “persistence of something,” but are not, and Russell’s theory could not distinguish between real causal processes and so-called pseudo processes. For example, a moving spot of light at time t on a wall seems to be related to the spot at t-1 and also at t+1, but it’s not. Each manifestation of the spot is related to the interaction of the light source and the wall, not the preceding spot. Likewise, a shadow appears to be related causally to itself in the interval between t-1 and t+1, but again it is related only to the interaction of the light source, the intervening body and the ground.
Causality – The Spirit Runs Through It.

“The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Political Science 101: Serve Those Who Finance Your Campaign...

2011-05-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

     ...and ignore those who elected you to office.
     The Marcellus Shale was deposited almost 400M years ago in an area running from Ohio through West Virginia, western Maryland, western and northern Pennsylvania, and into southern New York state. Far beneath the surface of the sea which covered the area, organic material trapped in the shale formed into pools of oil. Some liquid petroleum can still be found in the western area; further east the oil was converted to natural gas during still deeper burial some 240M years ago.
     Because of the continuously increasing cost of fuel, recovery of natural gas from shale has become economically feasible. The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that the Marcellus contains 252 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, and that volume could increase as more advanced technology becomes available. The Marcellus is the second largest source of natural gas in the world; some estimates place the total value of recoverable gas at one trillion dollars.
     With the exception of Pennsylvania, all Marcellus states have passed various restrictions on drilling until environmental problems are investigated. For example, Maryland and New York have gone so far as to call a halt to drilling pending assessment of the environmental consequences.
     And consequences there are: as a result of the chemicals which are pumped into the shale in order to release the gas, wastewater treatment plants are encountering chemicals they are not equipped to handle. At the request of the Environmental Protection Agency, the PA Department of Environmental Protection has asked drillers to voluntarily stop taking wastewater to Pennsylvania treatment plants by May 19. This is tantamount to asking the Philadelphia Eagles to please stop playing so rough.
     A March, 2011 survey conducted by Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, done in conjunction with several Pennsylvania newspapers and TV stations, shows a majority of adult Pennsylvania residents favor an extraction tax on the state's rapidly growing natural-gas industry - a step vehemently opposed by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. Every other state in the U. S. in which drillers operate has imposed such a tax.
     Gov. Corbett has stated that if we impose such a tax, the drillers will leave the state. The question is: where will they go? They will leave an area with billions of dollars in potential revenue and go – where? especially in a state where the DEP spends as little as 35 minutes reviewing requests for permits before dragging out the rubber stamp. According to the AP, “Of the 7,019 applications that DEP has processed since 2005, only 31 have been rejected — less than one-half of one percent.“
     Which brings me to the heart of the matter: In view of a projected state budget deficit of 4B dollars, why does Gov. Corbett refuse to even consider what a majority of adults in Pennsylvania would like to see – an extraction tax on natural gas?
     Let's follow the money. Of all the industries donating funds to Corbett and Cawley's (lieutenant governor) election campaigns, the oil and gas interests led the way with $1,094,395, over $283,000 ahead of the second place insurance industry.
     Here are the top five individual contributors from the natural-gas industry:

Name	Occupation	Employer	Contrib.
K. Pegula	Housewife, Exec.	(1) East Resources, Inc.	180,000
T. Pegula	Executive, Ret'd.	East Resources, Inc.	100,000
C. Toretti	Owner	(2) S.W. Jack Drilling	92,513
T. Rees-Jones	Pres., CEO	(3) Chief Oil & Gas	50,000
R. Long	Businessman	East Resources, Inc.	28,000

The moral of the story is: A few hundred thousand dollars will get you the best government money can buy.

(1) East Resources has leaseholds in excess of 650,000 acres in key southwestern and northeastern Pennsylvania areas of the Marcellus. East has drilling rights in roughly 1M acres of the entire Marcellus. The company was purchased by Royal Dutch Shell in 2010.
(2) S. W. Jack Drilling Provides drilling services in Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
(3) Chief oil and gas is engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas reserves in several fields in the Appalachian Basin, northern Texas, and Central Utah. As of November, 2009, Chief's holdings were reported to be in excess of 650,000 acres in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

******

In 1948 Bertrand Russell, who had previously rejected the notion of causality, suggested that under certain conditions the idea had some usefulness as a shorthand mechanism, primarily in scientific inductive reasoning. Briefly, his theory suggested that “a persistence of something, a person, a table, a photon, or what not” may be considered as a string of events having a causal connection with each other. Under Russell’s definition, a chair at time t is connected to a chair at time t-1 and also at t+1. As he put it, “Given a certain event at a certain time, then at any slightly earlier or slightly later time there is, at some neighbouring place, a closely similar event.” The chair at time t is caused by the earlier chair (at t-1), and is the cause of the later chair (at t+1).
Causality – The Spirit Runs Through It.

“The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

What Is The Definition Of Recession?

2011-05-10T14:01:00.000-04:00

     The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which includes the price of gasoline and food, shows an increase of 2.7% over March, 2010. Gasoline at the pump rose 5.6% in March alone, and is now 27.5% higher than it was a year ago. Food is 2.9% higher than it was at March 31st, 2010.
     Economists generally consider the core-CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, to be a better indicator of long-term inflation. At March 31st this index was just 1.2% higher than it was a year earlier – hardly a harbinger of runaway inflation. Unfortunately, most of us have to live with short-term inflation; regardless of what the price at the pump will be in six months, we have to deal with it today.
     According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLS), in spite of a 0.6 increase in average weekly hours worked, real average weekly earnings for all employees decreased 0.4% between March 2010 and March 2011. People are working longer and getting paid less! Even though the inflation low, employees are less able to cope with it in 2011 than they were in 2010. For people who depend on their paycheck for a living, the recession is getting worse.
     As they say on infomercials: “But wait – there's more.” A few days ago the news media were all trumpeting the USBLS announcement that 244,000 new jobs were created in April, thus proving that recovery is under way. However, the small print in the announcement stated that the unemployment rate increased from 8.8% to 9.0%. The number of new jobs created is not keeping pace with the number of people entering the job market! This is coming out of a recession?
     But the stock market is going great – the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gone up 20.14% in the last year. Multinational corporations are sitting on trillions of dollars. How can this be?
     Here is an example: In 2005, 51% of General Electric's employees were in the U.S. By 2009 only 47% were - the actual number decreased by 27,000.
     In 2009, GE reported a profit of $14.2 billion; $5.1 billion was from within the U.S. The U.S. corporate tax rate is 35%. How much U.S. tax did GE pay? 35% of $14.2B or 35% of $5.1B? Guess again. They claimed a U.S. tax CREDIT of $3.2 billion. It appears the company's slogan “Imagination at Work” applies to its huge (over 900 attorneys and accountants) Tax Department as well as to its products.
     Don't get me wrong – GE is not an isolated example. On February 1st the New York times reported that, “Over the last five years, ..., Boeing paid a total tax rate of just 4.5 percent, according to Capital IQ. Southwest Airlines paid 6.3 percent. And the list goes on: Yahoo paid 7.0 percent [and] Prudential Financial, 7.6 percent.”
     A recent headline proclaimed that “CEO pay exceeds pre-recession level.” According to the AP, “The typical pay package for the head of a company in the Standard and Poor's 500 was $9 million in 2010.” Those huge salaries were paid out of the pockets of American taxpayers.
     Like beauty, recession is in the eye of the beholder. If one is beholding down from the top, recession does not exist. It has a far different definition if one is looking up from the bottom.

******

The action of the Spirit holds each atomic nucleus together and tethers its orbiting electrons to it; the Spirit also holds planets, comets and other stellar bodies in their orbits. An interaction of the Spirit between an occupied volume and an empty volume of space/time is called a force, as is an interaction between two occupied volumes of space/time, e.g. gravity.
Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It.

“The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Doomsday Predictions

2011-05-09T13:33:00.000-04:00

     When I read in yesterday's newspaper that the Rapture was coming on May 21st at 6 pm, I thought about calling my attorney to make sure that my estate, such as it is, would go to persons among the chosen few. Then I realized that I had no way of telling who would be chosen and who would not.
     Further reflection convinced me that it doesn't matter – those chosen would not need what little pittance I had planned for them, while those remaining behind would be too busy suffering the events of the Tribulation.
     Perhaps a little digression would be good at this point. According to Wikipedia, the Rapture is a reference to 1st Thessalonians 4:15-17, in which Paul cites "the word of the Lord" about the return of Jesus to gather his saints.

...and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be raptured (or "caught up") together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.

The Tribulation refers to Matthew 24:21 and other passages of the New Testament. Christian doctrine varies on the timing of the Tribulation, but generally it is described as:

...a period of worldwide hardships, disasters, famine, war, pain and suffering, which will wipe out 75% of all life on the earth before part two of the Second Coming takes place.

Doomsday predictions have been ongoing since the beginning of Christendom, and probably long before. Here are a few recent ones:

1982 - Pat Robertson said "I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world."
1997 – The 39 members of a San Diego UFO cult (Heaven's Gate) determined that the comet Hale-Bopp was being followed by an alien spacecraft which would take them all to Heaven. In preparation for liftoff, they committed suicide. For them, the world did end between March 24th and 26th, 1997. Whether they were picked up by the UFO has been neither proved nor disproved, although the probability is considered to be very low.
Circa 1600 – Famed psychic Nostradamus wrote, "The year 1999, seventh month / From the sky will come great king of terror." This was taken to be the psychic's vision of Armageddon.
Y2K – Who can forget the many predictions that the failure of computers world-wide would result in catastrophe at the turn of the century? Perhaps because of the predictions, computers were reprogrammed to make the century ending changeover with only minor glitches.
1992 – Harold Camping published the book 1994?, in which he made the statement, "No book ever written is as audacious or bold as one that claims to predict the timing of the end of the world, and that is precisely what this book presumes to do." He dated this catastrophe September 6th, 1994. Obviously, it didn't happen.

     Go to The Doomsday Listl for many more such “audacious” predictions.
     Returning to the newspaper article I mentioned above, the Rapture prediction was made by non other than Harold Camping, back again for another try. He based his corrected prediction on certain Jewish feast days, the lunar month, the Gregorian Calender, some unclear Biblical information, and what appears to be numerology. (He admits he may have made some calculation errors on his 1992 prediction.)
     His arithmetic may have improved, but because of his track record, I don't think I will call my attorney just yet.

******

The atomic nuclei which followed were somewhat less stable. The hierarchy continued with the capture of electrons, the accumulation into stars, the formation of the heavier elements, planets, etc. Each tier in the hierarchy, although still relatively stable, was somewhat less so than its predecessors.
Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It.

“The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

The Republican Medicare Plan

2011-05-04T16:02:00.000-04:00

     One of the ways Republicans are trying to sell their Medicare proposal is by claiming that beneficiaries would “be enrolled in the same kind of health-care program that members of Congress enjoy.” Let's examine that claim.
     Suppose that on the date the “Roadmap for America's Future” becomes effective, a government employee and a non-government employee are enrolled in a family health care plan for which the total annual premium is $7,600. The government pays $5,700 (75%) of its employee's plan and allows a $5,700 tax credit for the non-government employee.
     Assume that the next year the premium increases by $50 per month for an annual premium of $8,200. For the government employee his employer will pay $6,150 (75%) of the premium – he will pay the usual 25%.
     The non-government employee will also see an increase in his tax credit, but it will be based on the inflation rate. Suppose the rate is 3%. The tax credit will be, at most, $5,871, just short of 72% of the premium; he will pay 28%.
     The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that by the year 2030 the typical 65-year-old will be paying 65% of his health care insurance premiums – assuming no change in the law, the government employee will still be paying just 25%.
     What about the claim that beneficiaries would “be enrolled in the same kind of health-care program that members of Congress enjoy”? It's a lie! They might be in the same health care insurance plan, but they will be in a far different health care program.

******

     In the previous chapter I discussed how the physical universe progresses by means of the Spirit’s activities on the space, atoms and molecules that comprise it. But our language is composed of a different kind of construct, i.e. words, which carve out volumes of space/time from the surrounding flow of events. This chapter will examine how we use language to talk about this process.
     An In-Depth Look At The Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

      “The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Should We Rethink Our Strategy?

2011-05-03T15:17:00.000-04:00

     Many TV crime dramas have a plot similar to the following: A crime boss goes into hiding. The police form a special undercover unit to find him. After months of questioning suspects, following up leads, etc., they locate his hideaway. A swat team raids his hideout, and he is killed in the ensuing gun battle.
     Change “crime boss” to “Osama bin Laden,” the “undercover unit” to “CIA and SIS (Pakastani secret service),” and the “swat team” to “79 heroic Navy Seals;” now you have the story the U.S. has been waiting for since September 11, 2001.
     The point is that bin Laden was found, not by the coalition forces in Afghanistan, but by good police-style work. He wasn't in Afghanistan. Although the armed forces were the best-trained in history, they were looking in the wrong place!
     The old story goes that one night Johnny found his friend, Billy, crawling around on his hands and knees under a street light. Billy explained that he was looking for a quarter he had dropped. Johnny asked, “Approximately where were you when you dropped the quarter?”
     Billy pointed into the darkness. “About 50 feet over there.”
     “Well, why aren't you looking for your quarter over there?”
     Billy replied, “Because, there is more light here.” The coalition had the same chance of success as Johnny had.
     General Petraeus has estimated that the number of al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan numbers about 100. The coalition forces are estimated to number about 140,000. At approximately $1M per year per fighter, that figures out to $140B per year. (Incidentally, this is money that is not included in the “cut spending” resolve of the current Congress.)
     Could we be using the wrong strategy for fighting the war on terror? Could we bring most of our fighters home, save billions of dollars, and get better results by turning the war over to personnel who are highly trained in finding people in hiding?

******

     The culmination was the appearance of the least stable tier of all: life itself! Living organisms did not come into the universe; they came out of it! We are all created from stardust!
     Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It

“The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Faster Funds Transfer To The Rich (Part 2)...

2011-04-30T14:53:00.000-04:00

     ...or starve the government beast – take your pick.
     On April 24th I wrote about Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis) “Roadmap For America's Future,” and its planned changes to our income tax structure. Today I will look at the Roadmap's proposals for the health care system. Although there is a connection between the health care system and Medicare, I will defer discussion of Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security until a later date.
     Under the traditional system, people buy medical treatment either by paying cash for services or by buying insurance. Those who cannot afford either method may be eligible for Medicaid, and those over 65 years of age get partial coverage under Medicare. Medigap insurance is also available to cover the difference between Medicare coverage and actual medical expenses.
     The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a federal statute that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. This Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (signed into law on March 30, 2010) collectively make up the Health Care Act of 2010. The Act becomes fully operational in 2014.
     The primary purpose of the 2010 Act is to provide coverage for some 32M Americans who were not previously covered by health insurance. Illegal aliens will not be covered.
     A second major purpose of this Act is to reduce the federal deficit. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the legislation will reduce the deficit by $143B over the first decade and by $1.2 trillion in the second decade.
     The GOP's congressional economic experts decided that the professional economists in their own budget office were blowing smoke, hence the following “improvements” are proposed by Ryan's Roadmap.
     First and most important, despite the fact that a large majority of Americans support most of its provisions, the 2010 Act must be repealed in its entirety. Never mind that 32M Americans citizens will not get the health care coverage they have been promised.
     Instead, they will get a tax credit of $2,300 (single) or $5,700 (family) for the purchase of health care insurance. The government will remit the credit directly to the insurance company. Keep in mind that many of these people have not been insured in the past because they could not afford to purchase insurance. Most of them have too little income to pay taxes, hence a tax credit is as helpful to them as hip boots in the Sahara.
     Of course, actual health care costs keep spiraling upward much faster than the inflation rate. Even if the tax credit is indexed for inflation, how long will it be before the credit is swamped by rising medical costs?
     The Roadmap also provides for state-based health care insurance exchanges - the states would be allowed to create their own criteria for health insurance requirements.
     States would also be provided with tools to help them set up high-risk pools so that people who would be turned down for regular insurance because of pre-existing conditions could find “affordable” insurance. (Under the 2010 Act, insurers are not allowed to reject an applicant because of pre-existing conditions.) With state budgets already in dire straits, one can bet the family farm that such plans will quickly fall short of covering rapidly inflating medical costs.
     Ryan's plan for controlling health care costs is to encourage competition by requiring that information regarding price and quality of various plans is “transparent” so that “this critical information [is] readily available before someone needs health services.” Unfettered competition between health care providers and insurers got us to where we were before passage of the 2010 Act. How did that work out?
     Oh yes, the feds would assist states in establishing solutions to malpractice litigation. Perhaps a better idea would be to find a way to pay providers on the basis of the quality of their care rather than on the of the number of patients treated and tests performed.
     The insurance companies love the Roadmap - it's a great way to speed up the flow of assets into the pockets of their investors. It's also a giant leap toward balancing the Federal Budget on the backs of those least able to afford it. And it's the same old Scroogican Screwgican(?) BS.

******

For over 13 billion years the Spirit has been transcending and transforming point/events to adjust to their immediate surroundings. The primeval constructs were the most stable: quarks, electrons, etc.; constructs with such complete internal adjustments that they are impossible to tear apart. These were the "clay" from which atoms, the basic building blocks of the physical universe, were constructed.
Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It.

“The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

Faster Funds Transfer To The Rich...

2011-04-24T17:15:00.000-04:00

     ...or starve the government beast – take your pick.
     As with all such plans, Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis) “Roadmap For America's Future” contains numerous changes to our national priorities. Today I wish to write about the changes Ryan and the Republican Party would make to our income tax structure. I will discuss other facets of the Roadmap in upcoming days.
     The Roadmap would not repeal our current personal income tax structure, but would set up a simplified system parallel to it. Taxpayers would be allowed to choose which system they wish to use.
     Under the simplified system there would be only two tax brackets, 10% on the first $100K of taxable income for joint filers, and 25% on taxable income in excess of $100K. It would allow a generous standard deduction and personal allowance ($39K for a family of four). The only credit allowed would be a healthcare credit, which I will discuss at a later date. In short, for the vast majority of taxpayers, the Roadmap would guarantee that they would pay no more under the new system than under the current system.
     However, those taxpayers with gross income of more than $137,300 (2010 rates) would pay considerably less. For a family of four with a gross income of $1M, the savings would be almost $60,000. The higher the income, the greater the savings.
     But that's not all. A large portion of the income of most high bracket taxpayers consists of interest, dividends and capital gains. Under the Roadmap, the tax on these items would be eliminated.
     As I have noted previously, (see March 9, 2011) some hedge fund managers have incomes of over $1B, with one of them taking home $5B. Since that income consists of capital gains, the current 15% tax would drop to zero! Admittedly, this is an extreme case, but you get the picture.
     To top it off, the Roadmap would replace the income tax on corporations with a “consumption” or Value Added Tax (VAT), a term which the Roadmap is very careful to avoid. From the standpoint of the end user this is essentially a price increase. The Roadmap suggests a rate of 8.5% - about half of the lowest VAT rate in the European Union. At each stage of production, manufacturers would pay the tax on the value they have added to the product. Responsibility for the collection of the tax would be shifted from the government to the manufacturer.
     I see two problems with this: (1) Based on the experience of countries operating under a VAT system, it is doubtful that a rate of 8.5% would be enough to pay the government's bills, and (2) there are tremendous opportunities for gaming the system in the company's favor, particularly for those organizations having manufacturing facilities in countries such as India and China, which have no VAT.
     It appears that the “Roadmap for America's Future” is more of the same old GOP crap, with the intention of (1) speeding up the moving of resources into the pockets of the already rich, and (2) starving the “government beast,” with the ultimate aim of returning our economy to the good old days of 1929.

******

     While it is not difficult to apply the assembly line metaphor to external constructs, it is not so simple to picture how it applies to internal constructs. How can a noun such as love, pain, joy, jealousy or beauty apply to a volume of space/time?
     An In-depth Look At The Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

      “The Spirit Runs Through It” and “There Are Only Seven Jokes” are available in paperback, or at the Kindle Store.

New Book Available

2011-04-08T12:00:00.001-04:00

     In the unlikely event that readers did not notice the new heading for this blog, please look at it now. It's true – I now have two books for sale on the internet.
     The radio show Can You Top This? ran on NBC from 1940 until 1954. As many as 6,000 jokes per week were submitted by the radio audience. Emcee Peter Donald read those selected to a panel of three comedians, “Senator” Edward Ford, Harry Hershfield and Joe Laurie, Jr. It was up to each of the three panelists to “top” Donald's joke with another on the same subject. Judgement was rendered by a “laugh meter,” which measured the reaction of the studio audience to each joke. Contestants whose jokes were used on the air received ten dollars; each time one of the panelist's jokes did not top Donald's joke, the contestant received an extra two dollars.
     During one of the airings, one of the panelists made the statement, “There are only seven jokes.” Unfortunately, he didn't elaborate.
     I have heard the statement repeated many times over the years, and no one ever knew what the seven jokes were. So I decided to do some research on the subject. The book, There Are Only Seven Jokes, is a record of what I discovered.
     For any of my readers who may be on Facebook, you are invited to join the group, “There Are Only Seven Jokes.” If you have ever wondered about the seven jokes, this is the group where you can find answers.
     The book also contains a collection of short stories which I have put together over the past 14 years. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.

******

Both books are available in paperback. “The Spirit Runs Through It” is also available on Kindle.

Man vs. Machine

2011-03-30T16:32:00.000-04:00

     Intelligence (in teľ i jәns), n. Capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meaning, etc. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary.
     According to the New York Post of March 29, 2011, “Man again proved no match for machine yesterday during a much-hyped "Jeopardy!" challenge - with Watson, IBM's latest and greatest in artificial intelligence, crushing its two human opponents.”
     For humans Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, Jeopardy! is a souped-up version of Trivial Pursuit, the popular game of the 1980s. The two humans did not lack the storehouse of trivia necessary to beat the machine; their nervous systems simply could not compete with the electronic speed of the computer.
     In the words of David G. Myers, Psychology 4th Edition.New York:Worth Publishers Inc,1995: 43: “Depending on the type of fiber, the neural impulse travels at speed ranging from a sluggish 2 miles per hour to, in some myelinated fibers, a breackneck 200 or more miles per hour. But even this top speed is 3 million times slower than the speed of electricity through a wire."
     Imagine a giant lying on the earth with his toe in the water at the South Pole, and his head at the North Pole. If a shark were to bite his toe at midnight on Saturday, the pain would not reach his brain until Tuesday afternoon. The return message would reach his toe on Friday morning. By that time the electric current would have gone around the earth 405 million times. Watson did indeed crush his human opponents in reaction time – not in intelligence.
     Alan Turing, the British code-breaker of WWII, said that an intelligent machine would give answers to questions that were indistinguishable from those of a human. With a few exceptions, Watson came pretty close.
     But Turing's definition missed one attribute humans have that computers are not close to acquiring: creativity. Watson could not design and build his successor.

******

When an inventor or scientist has an idea for an advance in his particular field, he creates a physical construct in the form of a model, experiment, etc., which becomes available to the surrounding society. An idea for making stronger steel may make it possible to build higher buildings, or the discovery of a new tropical plant may provide a cure for a previously fatal disease. As new constructs proliferate throughout society, the society’s internal beliefs, customs, etc. gradually change, which leads to further external individual and group changes. Every new situation, whether a philosophy, an idea, a tool, a design, even a casual remark to a friend or the sight of a falling apple, is instantly available for the Spirit’s use in all categories.
A Comprehensive Example – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon.

The Best Congress Money Can Buy

2011-03-28T12:07:00.000-04:00

I have devoted several blog entries to indicating how our economic system moves money from the not-so-deep pockets to the very-deep-pockets of our society. Today I am going to list the top ten corporations that donated to Republican candidates, and the top ten who gave to Democratic candidates. Amounts listed are in millions of dollars, and include donations to state candidates:

Corporation	Total Contribution	Republican Recipients
Perry Homes	12.24	11.13
TRT Holdings	5.26	5.26
Chartwell	3.34	3.30
Altria	3.14	2.07
Goldman Sachs	3.06	2.08
Bank of America	2.80	1.68
Koch Industries	2.52	2.27
Home Depot	1.53	1.04
Wells Fargo	1.72	1.13
Exxon Mobil	1.62	1.30
Totals	37.23	31.26

Corporation	Total Contribution	Democratic Recipients
Time Warner	.98	.80
Google	.96	.70
D.E.Shaw	.58	.56
Prudential Financial	.55	.40
Cablevision	.46	.33
Qualcomm	.43	.33
Sony	.40	.30
Tishman	.39	.39
Carnival Cruise Lines	.37	.29
Corning, Inc	.37	.26
Totals	5.49	4.36

      The top ten corporate donors to each party contributed over seven times as much to Republican candidates as they did to Democratic candidates!
     What do they get for their money? Generally they claim that their donations are not bribes for passing specific legislation; instead the money buys access to lawmakers for top corporate executives and lobbyists. I assume that the larger the donation, the more access the company gets.
     One more point: these tables illustrate amounts that corporations are required to report to the Federal Elections Commission. Last year the Supreme Court decided that corporations are “persons,” with the right to contribute unlimited and unreported contributions to political campaigns. The amounts shown here do not include any of those funds.
     Stay tuned.

******

In the first seven chapters I discussed the Spirit's activity in the macro world ― constructs which can be sensed, or inferred through the use of special instruments. In chapter eight I wrote about the micro world ― the space/time world of point/events. Now I wish to examine the connection between the two. First let me take you through a short history of the universe.
Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon.

Religious Conservatives and the Constitution

2011-03-25T17:00:00.001-04:00

     I received an email purporting to quote Billy Graham's daughter, Anne Graham Lotz. According to the email Ms. Lotz was speaking at a “Superintendent of Schools Seminar.” When she was asked what she thought was leading to the decay of morality and self-respect in the young students today, she supposedly replied, “...when the Courts [decided] to take God (Lord's Prayer) and respect for our Country (Pledge of Allegiance To Our Flag), and took down the symbol of our Country (picture of George Washington) out of the Classroom".
     An exhaustive search failed to find any evidence of Ms. Lotz having spoken at such a seminar, nor could I verify that she had ever made such a statement. The closest I could find took place on CBS's “The Early Show” on September 13, 2001. Interviewer Jane Clayson asked, "I've heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God let this (the September 11 attack) happen? To that, you say?"
     Ms. Lotz replied, "I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools...”
     There are two lessons to be learned here. The first is that unless you know that a forwarded email is absolutely true, check it out at www.snopes.com or www.truthorfiction.com. It is possible that whoever originated the email had an agenda, and was not above some exaggeration.
     The second lesson is that some Christian evangelicals, e.g. Ms. Lotz, and many other conservatives who should know better, are also spreading a false message: God has been taken out of our schools. It's just not true!
     The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In the immediately relevant case, Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 (1963), the court held that “When the power, prestige and financial support of government is placed behind a particular religious belief, the indirect, coercive pressure upon religious minorities to conform to the prevailing officially approved religion is plain.” In other words, the government, including the school authorities, were forbidden from leading or requiring any religious activity. Nothing prohibits any student, at any time, from praying; God is there for individuals.
     This is in keeping with Christ's instruction in Matthew 6: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others...But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.”
     Ms. Lotz also may have been about talking about the efforts of atheist Michael Newdow to have the words “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. In this case the Court decided that the phrase did not convert the pledge into a prayer, therefore it could stay.
     Personally, I think that not reciting the Pledge is extremely disrespectful, but in this country we are free to ignore any speech with which we disagree. If Mr. Newdow does not wish to say “under God,” he is perfectly free to skip the phrase, or even the entire Pledge.
     The email which I quoted goes on to say, “If Muslims can pray on Madison Avenue, why are Christians banned from praying in public and erecting religious displays on their holy days?”
     The short answer: neither public praying nor religious displays, Christian or otherwise, are banned. A case in point is the protesting at military funerals by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. If a Muslim group were to try this, I believe we would have our first lynching in many years.
     As for religious displays on public property, the rulings have been unpredictable. In these decisions, the Court has relied heavily on a close examination of the particular history and context of each display. In one case the court stated that a nativity scene in Pawtucket, RI simply recognized the historical origins of the holiday; one that has secular as well as religious significance. In those circumstances, the justices concluded, the nativity scene did not reflect an effort by the government to promote Christianity.
     Five years later the Court ruled that a nativity scene on the staircase of a Pittsburgh, Pa., courthouse was unconstitutional. In that instance, the court concluded that, unlike the previous situation where the crèche was shown together with more secular symbols, the Pittsburgh crèche was prominently displayed on its own and thus amounted to a government endorsement of religion. Whether the appointments to the Supreme Court of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito will clarify the picture remains to be seen.
     I could not find any instance in which the courts ordered removal of George Washington's picture from a classroom, or anywhere else.
     Although the originator of this email probably does not realize it, he or she is spreading beliefs inimical to the Constitution.

******

     It took the next 300,000 years for the nuclei to start capturing electrons to form neutral atoms. Matter, in the form of complete atoms of the light elements, was born!
     Some 300 million years later the first stars ignited, enabling the formation of approximately 90 heavier natural elements within their interiors. These elements were ejected into the surrounding space as "stardust."
     Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It.

      The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon.

Wanted - 535 Good Men

2011-03-21T15:34:00.000-04:00

Please take a good look at this list:

03/24/1998 Jonesboro, AR 5 11
04/20/1999 Littleton, CO 15 24
03/12/2005 Brookfield, WI 8 4
03/21/2005 Red Lake, MN 10 5
01/31/2006 Goleta, CA 7 1
10/02/2006 Nickel Mines, PA 5 5
02/12/2007 Salt Lake City, UT 5 4
04/16/2007 Blacksburg, VA 33 25
12/05/2007 Omaha, NE 9 4
02/07/2008 Kirkwood, MO 5 2
02/14/2008 Dekalb, IL 6 18
04/03/2009 Binghamton, NY 14 4
11/05/2009 Fort Hood, TX 13 30
01/07/2010 St. Louis, MO 4 5
01/08/2011 Tucson, AZ 6 14

     This is a small sample of gun related massacres in recent years in the United States. The numbers in the two right hand columns refer to the number of dead and wounded.
     In the Tucson shooting a United States Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was seriously wounded, along with 13 other innocent bystanders. A U.S. District judge, a community outreach director and a nine year old girl were among the six bystanders who were killed.
     The weapon used was a 9mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with a 33-round magazine.
     I would love to have someone answer the question, “Outside of the military and law enforcement organizations, why does anyone need a semi-automatic or automatic assault weapon?” These weapons are designed for only one purpose: to kill people. No sane person hunts, or even shoots targets with them.
     We license those other deadly weapons, automobiles, and legislate the specifications under which they are allowed to be used. We ban unsafe ones from the highway. When are our legislators going to grow the stones to exercise similar controls over weapons of deadly force? How many people need to die before our Washington pea-brains decide to do what's right and tell the NRA where to stick their bribes?
******
     The first two of these constructs includes all physical entities; things that occupy a volume of space, however small or large, and exist for a period of time, however short or long. They include entities as small as a subatomic particle which can be detected only by a vapor trail in a cloud chamber, or as large as the entire physical universe.
     Because these entities have extension in space and time, I define these constructs as external, and divide them into an external individual construct (EI) and an external group construct (EG).
     When we observe an individual person’s appearance or activities, a fish, a tree or an auto we are referring to a member of the EI construct. The EI construct also includes physical entities that are usually hidden from view, e.g., a neuron, a kidney, an atom within a rock, an undetected comet in deep space, etc.
     Constructs For Understanding The Spirit – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle from Amazon.

Disasters Redux.

2011-03-19T17:12:00.000-04:00

     In the first two and a half months of 2011 the world has experienced an unprecedented string of floods, earthquakes and a cataclysmic tsunami. Now man has added a major disaster of his own: nuclear meltdown. Because Japan has been through all of these calamities before, it is probably the best prepared nation in the world to withstand these events, but the results indicate that no matter how extensive the preparations, they can be overwhelmed by nature.
     Of course, this does not mean that we should not prepare for unexpected disasters to the best of our ability. It does take, however, something we do not seem to possess: the will. Here is an example of where we stand in that department:
     According to The Christian Science Monitor, the Obama administration had decided to run a simulated terrorist 'dirty bomb' attack on Las Vegas last May. The test was canceled after Senator Harry Reid (D, Nevada) objected, saying “[To] simulate a nuclear detonation in the heart of the city would unacceptably harm the Southern Nevadan economy." I presume Senator Reid expects to be in Washington in the event of a real attack.
     But what can we do to prepare for such emergencies? As I wrote in January, 2010, here are a few measures we could work on:

     1.) Map vulnerabilities via a National Community Disaster Impact Assessment. The federal government should invest in a solid foundation of information for decision-makers, and establish a national program to assist states and localities in undertaking formal assessment and disclosure of potential risks and regional impacts.
     2.) Develop state-level disaster preparedness plans. Using the information assembled through the NCDIA, state and regional planning agencies, in conjunction with FEMA, should develop improved management plans for emergency preparedness in the event of unexpected disasters.
     3.) Set financial disclosure requirements for documented threats. Estimates of potential risks and resulting liabilities should be incorporated into public disclosure requirements for property owners and managers of publicly traded companies.
     4.) Establish a national fund for critical infrastructure investment. Building on the example of the National Highway Trust Fund, a dedicated resource should be established to meet new and growing threats to homeland security at both the national and community level.
     5.) Build smart micro-grids for emergency energy security. To reduce costs and improve system reliability and reaction times in the event of blackouts and service disruptions from natural disasters, it is essential to invest in smart and secure micro-grids. These would include on-site generation of renewable electricity sources that can withstand interruptions in flows of natural gas and electricity, while continuing to ensure critical services like traffic signals, pumping stations, emergency response services, and other critical energy needs.

Of course, all this will require some resources, but Mother Nature has a way of sneaking up on you. Ask the Japanese.

******

The internal conditions of the brain do not cause or lead to joy, depression, et. al.; these conditions are joy, depression, happiness, etc. Because the animal body is a group of point/events which are fully imbedded in nature, these conditions are irrevocably subject to the actions of the Spirit. I shall have more to say on this subject in a later chapter.
An In-Depth Look At The Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle.

The Recession Is Over For Some People (Part 5)...

2011-03-18T17:04:00.003-04:00

...but it is going to last a long time for the rest of us. In order to speed up the flow of assets from the bottom of the economic pyramid to the top, the rich have acquired the services of a powerful ally: the U.S. Supreme Court. Observe the following:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce

      According to its web site, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce “...is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations...As the voice of business, the Chamber's core purpose is to fight for free enterprise before Congress, the White House, regulatory agencies, the courts, the court of public opinion, and governments around the world.”
     In view of that declaration, note the following from the Daily Kos of March 14, 2011: Carter G. Phillips, who often represents the chamber and has argued more Supreme Court cases than any other active lawyer in private practice, reflected on its influence. “I know from personal experience that the chamber’s support carries significant weight with the justices,” he wrote. “Except for the solicitor general representing the United States, no single entity has more influence on what cases the Supreme Court decides and how it decides them than the National Chamber Litigation Center.”
     The Chamber of Commerce is funded by the dues of its members; larger members are assessed higher dues. Presumably they also have more input to the Chamber's activities, hence to the Court.

Corporations

      Corporations are established by legislatures; a corporation exists subject to state laws specifying requirements for its creation, management organization, records to be kept, taxes to be paid, etc.
     Although we generally think the purpose of a corporation is to make money for its shareholders, there are also non-profit and charitable corporations: entities organized in the corporate format in order to give them legal standing. Their purpose is to establish a framework for the efficient collection and distribution of money for whatever causes their contributors deem worthy. Note that regardless of a corporation's purpose, it exists strictly on paper.
     Because of the ability of corporations to raise large sums of money, Congress has limited their role in political activity ever since the 19th century. In particular, there have been various laws and precedents regarding political advertisements targeting individual candidates for public office. The theory was that although shareholders could speak out individually in order to influence elections, allowing corporations to exercise such activity collectively would unduly tip the campaign playing field. The corporation was not a person, so regulation of its First Amendment rights was acceptable.
     Not any more! According to the Supreme Court, a corporation is now a person! A little background is in order.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

      Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit organization produced a political documentary movie, Hillary: The Movie, which was critical of Senator Hillary Clinton. The group then ran a series of television commercials promoting the movie, which was scheduled to air on DirectTV, but the government blocked it.
     In January 2008, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the commercials violated provisions in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (McCain–Feingold) restricting "electioneering communications" 30 days before primaries. Though the political action committee claimed that their film was fact-based and nonpartisan, the lower Court found that the film had no purpose other than to discredit Clinton's candidacy for President. The Supreme Court docketed the case on August 18, 2008, and heard oral argument on March 24, 2009.
     The purpose of the appeal was to determine whether the commercials were in fact banned political activity. Let me digress for a moment.

The U.S. Supreme Court

      Stare Decisis is a legal principle derived from the Latin maxim Stare decisis et non quieta movere: "to stand by decisions and not disturb the undisturbed." In a legal context, this is understood to mean that courts should generally abide by precedents and not disturb settled matters. Here are some comments on the principle by current justices of the Supreme Court:

      John Roberts' confirmaion hearing: “To avoid an arbitrary discretion in the judges, they need to be bound down by rules and precedents.”
     Samuel Alito's confirmation hearing: “...[Stare decisis] is not an inexorable command," but there must be a strong "presumption that courts are going to follow prior precedents."
     Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearing: "...stare decisis provides continuity to our system, it provides predictability, and in our process of case-by-case decision making, I think it is a very important and critical concept."
     Antonin Scalia – A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law: “However, there is still room within an originalist paradigm for stare decisis; whenever the plain meaning of the text has alternative constructions, past precedent is generally considered a valid guide, with the qualifier being that it cannot change what the text actually says.”
     Anthony Mcleod Kennedy - Further Readings: "The obligation to follow precedent begins with necessity, and a contrary necessity marks its outer limit."

      From these remarks one would expect the Court to simply decide whether the Citizens United ads constituted political activity, but instead the Court decided to answer a question no one had asked: Should the restrictions on political activity by corporations be declared unconstitutional?
     After giving lip service to the doctrine of stare decisis, these five justices decided to overrule 100+ years of precedents! Corporations were suddenly upgraded from paper to personhood! With the stroke of a pen the Court brought the Golden Rule up-to-date: He who has the gold makes the rules. Heaven help the non-rich!

******

Subjective nouns are a description of the internal states of certain portions of the brain. An external analogy would be the comparison of a container to its contents. If I say there is a glass of milk on the counter, and state further that the contents are buttermilk as opposed to whole milk, chocolate milk or 2% milk, that is analogous to saying that the internal conditions of my brain are such that I am joyful, as opposed to depressed, happy, or in pain.
An In-Depth Look At The Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle.

The Elderly Don't Hear the Same

2011-03-12T17:14:00.001-05:00

     A few weeks ago I heard a concert by the Artie Shaw Orchestra. Younger readers wil not be familiar with Artie, but he was a clarinetest, composer and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s. At the height of his popularity he was reportedly making $60,000 per week, which was pretty good for those times. While I did see most of the popular bands of the 1940s, I never did get to see his, although I did hear him speak at a jazz festival about 25 years ago.
     But I did listen to his records – in fact, I still do. And I am sure that 80% of that audience a few weeks ago also listened to his records, and according to a show of hands, a huge majority had actually heard him in person, and came to the concert because they liked his band. I know that is true of the 30 people in the group with which I attended.
    And here is the surprise – most of the group did not enjoy the concert! The band played Artie's arrangements, and although individual band members played ad lib solos, the leader played the same notes that Artie played on the original records. It was exactly the same music, almost note for note, that they listened to 65 or 70 years ago. What happened? Here are some possibilities:

Memory is tricky. We can say we remember an event, but we pass that memory through an unconscious filter: a dynamic pattern of attitudes, habits, internalized values, and modes of thinking. What we remember is only a pale image of the original event. As Mark Twain said, “It isn't so astonishing, the number of things I can remember, as the number of things I can remember that aren't so.”
The fidelity of the 78 rpm recording process was not very good. Although we didn't realize it at the time, the music sounded as if it was being played in the next room through a closed door.
The acoustics in the auditorium, which was designed primarily for stage plays, was not the same as that of the old ballrooms, which were specifically designed for that type of music. As a result, it sounded much louder and more harsh than it did in more favorable surroundings.
When we were younger we were accustomed to loud sounds.
Here is a theory of my own: we hear sounds differently. I have noticed, both on TV shows and in normal conversations, that people are either speaking more rapidly or I am hearing more slowly. Even when the sound seems perfectly fine, I do not catch everything that is being said. Since I doubt that people are speaking faster, I must not be hearing, or at least processing sounds, as fast as I did when I was younger. Has anyone else noticed this?

Anyway, I enjoyed the concert, but then, I was a Stan Kenton fan. His band was loud from the get-go.

******

In the previous chapter we discussed how the Spirit works through the use of certain special constructs: internal and external, individual and group. This method of investigation is useful as a crutch, and while it has the advantage of being easily understandable, it has the disadvantage of giving an incomplete picture.
An In-depth Look At the Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle.

The Recession Is Over For Some People (Part 4)...

2011-03-09T16:25:00.001-05:00

      ...but it is going to last a long time for the rest of us. There is one more activity which is going to further increase the flow of assets from the not-so-rich to the very rich. It is called high-frequency trading (HFT) or “black box trading.” In comparison to the outflow of jobs, government incentives and pension liabilities, it has received relatively little publicity, but it is a one-way conduit for the average small investor's assets.
     HFT uses high-speed computers to analyze incoming data and to process a huge volume of transactions at very high speeds. In 2009 only 2% of the 20,000 equity trading firms used HFT, but they accounted for 73% of the volume of transactions.
     HFT users are usually hedge funds, and compete primarily with each other. Generally they hold short-term positions in equities, options, futures and other items that pass through the markets in huge lots; thus they do not compete directly with the small long-term investor. They are looking for small, rapid and consistent returns, and earn their profits through the extremely high volume of transactions.
     Their advantage lies in their ability to analyze and act on opportunities that may last anywhere from fractions of a second to several hours; thus their object is to respond to a deal more quickly than their competitors can. For example, if a fund can respond to an offer in 1/20 of a second while the competition requires 1/10 of a second, it has a huge advantage. Assuming that the profit on a given transaction is, say, two cents per share, and the transaction is for 100,000 shares, the fund has just made $2,000 in 1/20 of a second. HFT users operate around the clock, so they can potentially make billions of dollars per day! Do the arithmetic.
     Of course, such opportunities do not come along 20 times every second, so HFT users have some other tricks up their sleeves. Many have arranged with some exchanges to get a look at incoming orders a fraction of a second before the orders are released to the national market system (a so-called “flash trade”), a legal but ethically questionable tactic.
    The advance peek reveals the quantity the buyer wants, but does not tell how much he is willing to pay. If the HFT user can determine the buyer's maximum price, he has a real advantage over the normal seller, who may make an offer well below the buyer's limit.
     Suppose a flash trade comes in offering to buy X number of shares of corporation C. If it can be determined that the buyer is willing to pay, say, $10.50 per share, and corporation C shares are available on the open market for $10.30, the HFT user wants to price out anyone who is willing to sell for the lower price. So he offers to sell a small lot, say 100 shares, at $10.30 with the condition that the buyer accept immediately or the transaction is subject to cancellation, (an IOC order).
     If the transaction is accepted, he makes another small offer at $10.35 on an IOC basis. He continues this until he gets over $10.50, at which point the buyer cancels. Now the HFT user knows how high the buyer is willing to go, so he offers the remaining number of shares at $10.49. The buyer has had to pay his maximum price before the rest of the market even knows his offer exists! Other schemes are also in use.
     So cannot the small investor just invest in a hedge fund, the same as a normal mutual fund? Well yes, provided he can meet the minimum investment requirement, typically $100,000 or more. Small investors are not welcome.
     If you doubt the value of the HFT system, consider this: Last year the USAs top 13 hedge fund managers earned an average of $1B each; in fact, one of them earned $5B.
     A recent nerws item mentioned that the New York Stock Exchange has been purchased by a German company. Put that together with the 73% I mentioned earlier to see how the small investor is being edged out of the market.
     As one Letter to the Editor recently put it, “What's next? The Statue of Liberty?”

******

But creative interference can also lead to healthy competition, as when athletes compete in sports and games. In some cases it can lead to peaceful coexistence between nations or religions; in others it can lead to war. "Good" and "bad" results such as these are obvious.
An In-depth Look at the Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The Spirit Runs Through It is available in paperback or on Kindle.

The Recession Is Over For Some People...(Part 3).

2011-02-28T16:23:00.000-05:00

     ...But it is going to last a long time for the rest of us. My last two postings listed several reasons why I believe the recession is going to be permanent for the non-rich. (See February 16 and February 21). Today I want to highlight another problem which will hinder the US from returning to the employment position which prevailed prior to the Bush years: Government pension committments.
     According to researchers at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, state and city governments are committed to paying pensions in the amount of $3.574T for which no funds have been provided. In addition, estimates of unfunded Federal pensions are $600B, for a total of $4.174T. (The number doesn't look so big untill it is written out: $4,174,000,000,000). The New York Post estimates that current payments for all governmental pensions amount to $81,500 per year per household. That money comes out of our taxes and it does not include any provision for chipping away at that unfunded debt.
     Nevertheless, that debt will eventually come due. In order to meet it, governments of all types will have to (a) cut costs, or (b) raise taxes. The current attitude considers tax increases to be an anathema, which leaves major downsizing as the alternative. Government workers - clerks, police, air traffic controllers, teachers, etc. - will lose their jobs en masse, and with the jobs will go their buying power. Additionally, such things as highway maintenance, health care, the environment, education – you name it – will suffer drastic cuts in funding.
     How did we get into this situation? By ignoring a primary rule of common sense: you save when times are good so that you will have resources when times are bad. It is so easy, not only for politicians, to make future committments when the cash is rolling in. Unfortunately, the bill eventually comes due.
     How will this affect our affluent class: the people who are at the top of the economic pecking order? Remember, although jobs are growing by leaps and bounds in China, India and other emerging countries, pension committments and other postponed perks which we have been taking for granted have not been made. A business buys its resources, including labor, where it can get the most for the money.
     And markets exist where people have jobs. With their huge populations, China and India alone can provide an almost unlimited supply of laborers/customers. When a CEO looks at the bank account he cannot tell, nor does he care, where the money came from.
     If the GOP wants to start cutting government costs, perhaps they should be looking at the bonuses being handed to corporations for shipping jobs overseas.
     It gets worse – stay tuned.

******

[The first definition of a construct] covers anything from a physical bird nest or beaver dam to a jet plane or a super highway, and carries the connotation that the constructor has some definite use planned, either consciously or instinctively, for the construct.
Constructs – The Spirit Runs Through It.

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The Recession Is Over For Some People...(Part 2)

2011-02-21T11:56:00.001-05:00

     ...But it is going to last a long time for the rest of us. As I wrote on February 15th, “The conservative mantra that 'offering tax incentives and other perks to business will stimulate job recovery' is true, but the jobs will not be in the USA.” The tax incentives being offered today will exacerbate the problem in still another way.
     The major offering to business is allowing the manufacturer to deduct up to $500,000 of new equipment in the current tax year. In the past the cost of such equipment had to be spread over the life of the equipment. (In the interest of being “fair and balanced,” this tax break has been available for several years, although on a smaller scale).
     For example, suppose a manufacturer buys $500K worth of equipment that is estimated to last for 20 years. In the past he could deduct 1/20 of the cost each year for 20 years. If his tax rate was 35%, he would reduce his taxes by $8,750 each year. With accelerated depreciation he would save $175,000 the first year. And he can buy more equipment every year and save big money every year in taxes.
     So if a manufacturer can buy automated equipment— equipment which will replace humans on the production line— and save $166,250 in taxes, he will do so. In other words, the government is giving manufacturers tax incentives to eliminate jobs! Go figure.
     In my last blog I also told about a Massachusetts firm, Evergreen Solar, that received over $43M in state aid to open its new plant. After only three years the company is closing the plant and moving the 800 jobs to China.
     If you think that was an isolated case, check this headline from the January 25th Business Section of the local newspaper: Chinese Sales Drive GM's Comeback. The article goes on to say that “...in 2010 GM sold more vehicles in China than in the U.S. for the first time.” That's 2.39M vehicles, roughly 136,000 more than in the U.S.
     It would be wonderful if GM had manufactured those vehicles in the U.S., but according to The Economic Populist, 1.03M of those vehicles were manufactured in China by Chinese owned companies in joint ventures with GM—Chinese companies using their own factories, their own manufacturing techniques and their own workers. Experts estimate that wages and benefits for Chinese workers amount to about 1/10 of their cost in the U.S.
     According to a May 18th, 2009 article in TIME, GM executives are planning to build their own factory in China in the next few years. I can understand that from a business standpoint, but does the government need to subsidize them?
     GM received $49.5B in government bailouts when they were facing bankruptcy. According to Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), they have repaid about $23B, but the government still needs to receive $26.4B in order to recoup its entire investment.
     On February 15th the AP reported that GM plans to pay about $400M in bonuses to its workers. GM is reportedly sitting on $25B in cash. How about using some of that money to make a payment on their loan from the other 300 million citizens of the U.S.?
     The point of all this is to illustrate that government incentives do not necessarily create jobs, at least not in the U.S.
     Even more later.

******

About 5 billion years ago, a small star on one of the outlying arms of the Milky Way Galaxy was ignited. We call it the Sun. The solar system, including our beautiful Earth, coalesced out of the surrounding stardust about 4.5+ billion years ago. At least for us, it was the Spirit's crowning achievement. We still get stardust as well as occasional other visitors (meteorites) from outer space.
Matter Matters – The Spirit Runs Through It.

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The Recession Is Over For Some People...(Part 1)

2011-02-16T12:48:00.001-05:00

     ...But it is going to last a long time for the rest of us. At last the rich have managed not merely to stack the deck in their favor, but to cut the not-so-rich completely out of the game. Not only that, they have managed to get rewarded in the process. It is as if, after having been mugged, we told our attacker to come along home – we have more money there.
     For those who measure prosperity by stock market indexes, the recession is over; people for whom the job market is the basis of measurement strongly disagree. I am going to let you in on a little secret: In today's post-industrial society the two are polar opposites! Unless something drastic is done, the unemployment rate is going to rise and fall in tandem with the equity market indexes.
     During the industrial era, manufacturers had to rely on workers to produce products, and they still do to some extent. But in the information era, production is not necessarily tied to geography. With high-speed transportation and computer networks, factories can be anywhere in the world.
     Suppose you are the CEO of a large corporation. You pay your employees the going rate of thirty dollars per hour, plus pay the lion's share of their medical insurance, and contribute a percentage of their wages to a retirement plan, all according to your union agreement. There is a limit to how high you can set your selling prices, and your personal income fluctuates with the net income of your operation. What do you do?
     According to www.globalperspectives.info (05 February 2011), here is what one company did: In 2008 Evergreen Solar received at least $43 million in state aid to open a plant for manufacturing solar panels in Devens, Mass. The factory provided 800 “green jobs“ - jobs which are vital in overcoming our dependence on foreign oil.
     One year later the New York Times reported that company officers were talking to Chinese officials who could offer labor for $300 per month compared to $5,400 per month which the company was paying in Massachusetts. The Chinese also offered low interest loans and other incentives.
     In January of this year the company announced the closing of the plant, leaving 800 employees without jobs. This is not an isolated incident.
     In spite of all the benefits America has received through capitalism, there is one problem which was not apparent during the industrial era: its success is measured by net income, not by the number of jobs it provides.
     What about the currently popular belief that we can retrain our workers in the skills needed in the information age? This immediately brings up more questions: Where will we find all the teachers? How long will it take? People in China, India, Mexico, Chile and others are already getting that training; will our specialists be willing to work for the same wages as their counterparts in those countries?
     And one other question which is, for all practical purposes, dead on arrival in today's political climate: Will the government provide such retraining? If not, who will?
     Ross Perot described the “giant sucking sound” of American jobs going south to Mexico with the passage of NAFTA. If that sound is a whisper, today's sound of American jobs heading all over the globe is a space shuttle liftoff. The conservative mantra that “offering tax incentives and other perks to business will stimulate job recovery” is true, but the jobs will not be in the USA.
     Something needs to be done quickly, or else the only training an American job seeker will need is to memorize the phrase, “Welcome to Walmart.”
     More later.

******

At no time is there any hint of what the “product” is becoming; only the materials here and now are available for transcendence and transformation. This eliminates “…the notion of top-down causation [which] is incoherent [in] that it involves spooky forces exerted by wholes upon their components.”1
Eventually an infant is born.

1 Carl F. Carver and William Bechtel, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program, Washington University, St. Louis.
An In-depth Look At The Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It

The book or a free download is available in paperback or on Kindle at Amazon..

Some Thoughts On the Tucson Shooting

2011-01-19T15:54:00.000-05:00

     As a result of the January 8 shooting in Tucson of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford by Jared Lee Loughner, much heat and a ray of light has been generated. Name-calling began almost immediately, with the political left blaming the incident on the rhetoric of the right, and the right, correctly in my opinion, pleading innocence.
     According to the left, the onus fell upon Sarah Palin and her “gunsight” icon, which targeted several Democratic Congressional Districts, including Rep. Gifford's. Much is made of the supposed “fact” that such rhetoric is becoming worse, with the result that the popular culture is becoming more violent.
     A few examples from the past indicate that there is nothing new about repugnant speech against political opponents:
     During the John Quincy Adams vs. Andrew Jackson presidential campaign, Jackson claimed that Adams used public money to buy “gambling devices.” As a matter of fact they were a chess set and a billiards table, which he purchased with his own money. At the same time, Adams claimed that Jackson’s mother was a prostitute and he was the son of a mulatto, which was also untrue.
     Even earlier, John Adams called Alexander Hamilton a "bastard brat of a Scotch pedlar," who had a "superabundance of secretions which he could not find whores enough to draw off." Finally Adams decried "the profligacy of his life; his fornications, adulteries and his incests." Despite numerous denunciations such as these over the years, the American culture has survived; today's epithets seem rather mild by comparison.
     As for the effect of such speech upon the American culture, while it may tend to desensitize an individual's attitude toward violence, it does not cause anyone to pull the trigger. Whether because of strong emotions such as rage, or a chemical imbalance, or faulty cranial wiring, that decision originates inside the head of the trigger man. Only Jared Lee Loughner committed this crime.
     President Obama's call to discontinue the finger-pointing and maintain an attitude of civility was just the ray of light the nation needed to offset the heat coming from both ends of the political spectrum.
     This is not to say that public speech does not affect individuals; it certainly does, as evidenced by the success of the advertising profession. It indicates only that the resulting decision, whether to buy or not to buy, to shoot or not to shoot, etc. takes place between the ears of the individual. While many individuals in our materialistic society may have trouble with the “buy or not to buy” decision, almost all of us make the correct “shoot or not to shoot” decision.
     However, the events in Tucson do make one wonder whether anything can be done to stem the increasing tide of violence which appears almost daily in the headlines. I believe this incident illustrates one shortcoming of our culture: we do not allocate enough resources to rooting out those individuals that are predisposed toward making decisions to commit violence.
     According to reports, Loughner showed signs of abnormality in the Army, at school, and with his friends, but no one attempted to get him the help he so desperately needed. Attention was directed at his behavior, but no attempt was made to find the cause.
     This is one area in which we must do better.
     Also as a result of the Tucson shooting, there appears to be rising support for a discussion of gun control. Although I understand the desire of hunters to own guns, I cannot think of any reason why anyone outside of law enforcement or the military needs to own an AK-47, Uzi or other rapid-fire weapon. Such weapons are designed for destruction of human beings – the NRA notwithstanding, no one uses them for hunting or target practice.
     As for hunting rifles, shotguns or handguns, I see no reason why any qualified individual should not be allowed to own them under the proper conditions.
     In the wrong hands automobiles can be far deadlier weapons than hunting rifles or target pistols. Anyone may own and operate one after proper training and licensing. Why not guns? Come on Congress, grow some cajones.

******

Although he was writing about pornography when he said, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material but I know it when I see it,” Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart might just as well been speaking about causality. Philosophers have been trying to explain, or even to define, causality for twenty-five hundred years, and have yet to reach an agreement. The physicists have come closest to agreeing, but even they are floating competing theories.
Causality – The Spirit Runs Through It.

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Waiting For The Other (Economic) Shoe To Drop

2011-01-05T14:47:00.006-05:00

NEWS FLASH – In its first disappointing action for 2011, the Obama Administration has reversed its decision to include references to annual end-of-life counseling in the ground rules for Medicare's new annual checkup. (See End-of-life Planning Is Back – December 28, 2010). According to an administration official, “This should not affect beneficiaries’ ability to have these voluntary conversations with their doctors.” The administration said the reversal was based on procedural reasons. Not political? Ri...ght. In similar news Lindsay Lohan has permanently quit drinking.

      At the beginning of a new year it is customary for writers to prepare one or more of three lists: (1) Resolutions for the New Year, (2) Noteworthy Events of the Previous Year, (3) Predictions for the Upcoming Year.
     In spite of my good intentions, my New Year's Resolutions usually wind up as a list of things to do (or more likely not do) for the first couple of weeks, or less, of the new year. Therefore I have narrowed the resolutions for this year down to one: Make no resolutions this year(?).
     As for noteworthy events of 2010, I shall review them as occasions arise in which such a review would be of value. For example, if I wish to discuss shortcomings and disappointments of the Obama administration, I may bring up past events as illustrations. In the meantime, if anyone is interested in reading such a review, there is a myriad of such lists available from countless commentators on the internet.
     That leaves me with a list of predictions. I will make only one: The United States is heading toward a double dip recession, and recent developments have ratcheted up the likelihood that its occurrence is immanent.
     Although some of our most prominent economic spokespersons are heralding an increasingly speedy recovery from the recession, there is a chorus of background economists who are saying otherwise. Why the disagreement?
     As usual, the best way of getting to a source is to follow the money. Generally the “optimists” are working for large financial institutions or the government - organizations which have a vested interest in prosperity. In order to (a) get reelected, or (b) sell stocks, bonds,mutual funds, etc., the dissemination of optimism is an absolute necessity.
     Most of the “pessimists” (realists?) are university professors whose primary objective is to understand their area of expertise; in this case, the financial universe. They are tenured – they have nothing to sell except knowledge. Their warnings are drowned out by the resources of the salesmen.
     Let's do something that some economists, particularly the “optimists,” either have not done, or have chosen to ignore: Take a look at history.

     In 1929 the economy was bustling along, and the Gross Domestic Product value was at an all time high of $103.6 billion. Then the depression hit, and by 1933 GDP had sunk to $56B.
     At that point the New Deal took hold, and the government began spending money on job creation projects: highways, dams, conservation, construction, etc. By 1937 the GDP had climbed back to $102B, and FDR decided it was time to submit a balanced budget. Expenditures were cut back, and over the next 13 months the GDP dropped back to $87B – a decline of 15%. Spending for lend lease and military supplies started at that time; the GDP took off and never looked back.
     From 1942 through 1945 the biggest deficits in the history of the country, ranging from 12% to 28%, were accumulated. How could we ever hope to recover from this period?
     The answer: prosperity. Johnny came marching home to shortages, which led to mass employment. The standard of living rose drastically over the next 35 years. (From June 23, 2010, Recovery or Double dip?)

     Let me emphasize - The New Deal and its spending programs were working until the budget hawks took over. And that is indicator number one that the second dip is on the horizon. President Obama was on the right track with his stimulus plans, and then he began listening to advisers who insisted on budget cutbacks. And the problem is going to be intensified by the recent election to office of those who insist on a balanced budget. Hopefully they will enjoy their two years in office.
     The Republican House of Representatives, where revenue bills must originate, has taken aim at “non-security discretionary spending”: such things as highways, dams, construction and research, as well as departments and agencies such as the Center for Disease Control, Law Enforcement and the Courts.
     Additionally the new Congress is prepared to throw money at big business. It's not as if corporations are low on cash - just the opposite, they are sitting on more cash than they have had in many years. The money to be received from Congress plus their cash on hand will be used for automation equipment and software, and the export of labor intensive jobs to areas of the world where people are willing to work for $5 per day instead of $30 per hour.
     The second indicator of a looming double dip is the pressure of promises made by the Federal Government in the form of Social Security and pensions, the so-called non-discretionary expenses.
     Bernie Madoff is sitting in jail for running a Ponzi scheme almost exactly like the government is running with Social Security. Previous patches to the system have been similar to putting a Bandaid on cancer, and the present Congress has no more guts to apply a permanent fix than any previous one. And in addition to Social Security there is the tremendous pressure of pensions promised to government employees without providing reserves to cover the cost – a second Ponzi scheme.
     A third indicator is the predicament of the States. Governors, even GOP governors, are counting on the Federal Government to bail them out. According to an estimate by Reuters they are sitting on, not a pension liability, but a pension shortfall, of over a trillion dollars. That's over $1,000,000,000,000. It takes the assets of a million millionaires to total one trillion. Highway maintenance, education – all state services will be drastically cut, and even then it is doubtful if the states will be able to meet their liabilities.
     It is for these reasons that I predict a second economic dip, perhaps even deeper than the first one, in 2011. We have not learned a simple lesson from the past: governments need to level the economic cycle by spending on job creation projects when times are bad, and cutting back, especially on promises, when times are good.
     Will we learn this time? Perhaps, but in the process the United States may be forced into becoming a developing nation.

******

     When we look at constructs which require both cooperation and a limitation on component size, the idea of creative interference needs to replaced by a more subtle construct. What controls the size of organs within a human body? Why would not the Spirit continue to increase the size of a kidney, liver, pancreas, etc. until the organ crowds out all the surrounding organs? Is there some organizing center that controls the construction of the various body parts?
     An In-Depth Look At the Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The book or a free download is available in paperback or on Kindle at Amazon.

End-Of-Life Planning Is Back!

2010-12-28T14:10:00.000-05:00

     Just when you think President Obama has abdicated his leadership, he comes through with something to indicate that the ability is down there waiting to assert itself. For example, witness the flurry of progressive activity that he has got through the Congress since his party's “shellacking” on November 2 (see Dec. 23, “An Early Christmas for the President”).
     Now he has done it again. According to the New York Times, an early December Medicare regulation deals with annual wellness visits, and includes "voluntary advance care planning" as an item that will be covered. Beginning January 1, Medicare will reimburse physicians who advise patients, in voluntary discussions, about their preferences for end-of-life care treatment during their annual Medicare "wellness visit." By having Medicare cover these voluntary consultations, beneficiaries will be able to get information that will help them make their own decisions about their care and what they would or would not want at life's end.
     As part of the preparation of a living will and the appointment of a health care proxy, the physician may ask such questions as, “If you have another heart attack and your heart stops beating, would you want us to try to restart it?” A patient dying of emphysema might be asked, “Do you want to go on a breathing machine for the rest of your life?” And a patient with incurable cancer might be asked, “When the time comes, do you want us to use technology to try and delay your death?”
     The end-of-life-planning consultation, Section 1233, was dropped from the original healthcare reform bill after Sarah Palin claimed it would set up “death panels,” which allegedly would pass judgment, not only on older people's right to healthcare, but on others' as well. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) also chimed in, saying the bill would "start us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia if enacted into law."
     Actually end-of-life-planning is something that most people of sound mind and body have been doing all along: getting advice and making decisions on how they wish to be treated in the event of fatal accident or illness. Virtually all entities that deal with the elderly: doctors, hospitals, hospices, counselors, etc. have been advocating such a procedure for years.
     Maria J. Silveira, MD, MPH, of the VA Center for Clinical Management Research and University of Michigan, and her colleagues found that patients who documented their wishes for limited or comfort care received it approximately 90% of the time. The few who requested all possible care didn't always get it (five of 10) but were much more likely to get aggressive care than those who didn't request all care possible, Silveira's group reported.
     But the dark clouds of ideology are beginning to gather. Elizabeth D. Wickham, executive director of LifeTree, which describes itself as “a pro-life Christian educational ministry,” said she was concerned that end-of-life counseling would encourage patients to forgo or curtail care, thus hastening death. “The infamous Section 1233 is still alive and kicking,” Ms. Wickham said. “Patients will lose the ability to control treatments at the end of life.”
     In an attempt to downplay excessive controversy the administration said Sunday that the end-of-life planning provisions aren't new to health care services provided by the government. According to White House spokesman Reid Cherlin, "The Times story is wrong. This benefit was signed into law under President Bush. The only thing new here is a regulation allowing the discussions - authorized in 2003 by the prescription drug benefit - to happen in the context of the new annual wellness visit created by the Affordable Care Act."
     If Palin, Boehner, et al have not already availed themselves of end-of-life-planning, they are even dumber than I thought.

******

     It is important to understand that the Spirit is operating throughout the entire universe simultaneously for all point/events. Imagine that each instant in time corresponds to a station on an assembly line. This organic line differs from the usual mechanistic assembly line in that there is no overall blueprint for the product being assembled. Each station must take whatever point/events are passed to it, and through the action of the Spirit, make its own transformation. In this way constructs are built up, and their constant expansion and jostling makes up the world we see. Each construct at all times attempts to adjust itself harmoniously to the other constructs in its environment.
     An In-depth Look At the Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It

     The book or a free download is available in paperback or on Kindle.

The Best Christmas Ever

2010-12-25T15:04:00.000-05:00

     In his column this morning, Andy Rooney asked the question, “What is the best Christmas present you ever got?” In thinking about it, I don't know the answer. I do know that I have had many very good Christmases, but I also realize that the good/bad rating of Christmas had nothing to do with what gifts were received.
     When I was three years old, I went to live with my grandparents on the farm because of the Great Depression. I don't know where my grandparents got the tree, but I do remember filling the bucket from the coal bin to hold the tree. Next the bucket had to be wrapped in tissue paper, usually red, and filled with water. That was supposed to keep the needles from falling off, but it didn't work very well - there were needles all over the place when the tree was taken down.
     Then the lights had to be strung. It was necessary to test the lights first, because if one bulb was burned out, the whole string went dark. You had to check each individual bulb in order to find the guilty one. Even though multicolored lights were popular, Grandma always liked blue ones.
     Of course, to me as a kid, the success of Christmas did actually depend upon the gifts received. At that time if you wrote a letter to Santa, your name and what you wanted was read on the radio. I don't know when Santa decided not to go on the air, but that was always exciting to hear him read your letter – you could be sure he had received it.
     One year the hootenanny, a drawing toy, was the toy of choice – every kid wanted one. It was later reintroduced as the Spirograph (see http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_collectibles/60s/spirograph.php). (This is not exactly the same thing, but it is very similar.) Anyway, I was delighted when Santa put it under the tree.
     Another year I wanted a cowboy suit and pearl-handled six-shooters. Again Santa came through, and again Christmas was wonderful.
     Perhaps the most joyous Christmas occurred while I was awaiting permanent assignment after completing basic training at Fort Knox. I was unexpectedly given a ten day pass just a couple of days before Christmas. To the surprise of my parents, I arrived home on Christmas Eve. It was wonderful!
     I also remember another Christmas Eve when I was busy assembling toys, installing batteries, etc. until 4:00 am. The boys usually woke up by 7:00 on Christmas day - If they didn't, we awakened them - but in spite of the short night, I enjoyed every minute of it.
     There have been many other happy Christmases, but the point is, it is not the gifts that made them happy; it is an intangible spirit that I can't explain, nor do I need to explain it to anyone who has experienced it. As the song says, ”Oh, if we could only see such spirit through the year.”
     And above all, there is the story which Luke recounts in his second chapter, preferably in the beautiful language of the King James Version.

An Early Christmas for the President

2010-12-23T16:58:00.000-05:00

Apparently Santa Claus has decided not to wait until Christmas Eve to start making his annual deliveries. President Obama, in particular, has received an early visit from the Christmas Eve flier, raising the conjecture among Washington's “in” crowd that the sprightly old elf is a Democrat. Be very careful, Mitch McConnell, you may wind up on the naughty list.
As evidence of St. Nick's presidential visit, observe what has happened since the “shellacking” the Democrats received in the mid-term election. Along with almost everyone else, I expected that the remaining two months of the lame-duck Congress would exhibit a gridlock that would make Los Angeles freeways look like kids playing with toy cars in a sandbox. But lo and behold, the Congress came up with a bipartisan output that must have had Mitch wondering whether the “party of no” members had all gone home for the holidays. Observe:

Congress passed a two year extension of the Bush tax cuts. The President had to give up his request not to extend the cuts for taxpayers making more than $250,000. As part of the same package, the Republicans agreed to extend unemployment benefits through 2011.

The START Nuclear Arms Treaty with Russia was ratified by the Senate. The Treaty was originally signed on April 8, and has been awaiting Senate approval ever since. The President has lobbied long and hard for its passage, claiming it is the vital centerpiece of his relationship with Russia. Opposition centered upon what was considered to be an inadequate verification system, and the treaty's possible interference with a potential missile defense system.
Proponents claimed that if it had been negotiated by a Republican president, it would have been ratified months ago.

The “don't ask, don't tell” policy toward gays and lesbians in the military was repealed. The repeal was approved by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In addition, a Pentagon review found that allowing gays to serve openly posed only a “low risk” of disruption.
Opponents of the bill fought to the bitter end: As late as Tuesday Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was trying to move, without debate, an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would have required the military service chiefs to individually certify the process.

The Health and Compensation Act for 9/11 workers and survivors has passed. Opponents focused on the cost of the bill, which was originally set at $6.2B. The amount was reduced to $4.3B to assure passage.

     After the November 2 election, chances of any of these bills passing were estimated to be practically zero. That they passed is due to compromises from both sides of the aisle; apparently Republicans responded to their constituents' demands for action, while the President realized that he needed to move toward the center of the political spectrum.
     It appears that the official congressional leaders of the Republican Party, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, are as dedicated as ever to making President Obama a one term president. Fortunately, individual members of the party voted for what they believed was best for the country instead of for the party line.
     In the TV show, A Charlie Brown Christmas, the song Christmas Time Is Here contains a line ,”Oh, if we could only see such spirit through the year.” Although not intended by the songwriter, the line has Congressional implications.

Merry Christmas

******

     It is easy to see how ever expanding constructs can interfere with each other. Thorns can choke out plants, changing economic conditions can ruin a business, and cats can wipe out a colony of field-mice. Within the human brain, bigotry can destroy understanding, and fear can prevent creative thinking.
     An In-Depth Look At the Spirit's Activity – The Spirit Runs Through It.

     The book or a free download is available in paperback or on Kindle.

Impressions of the Western Caribbean

2010-12-21T12:16:00.001-05:00

     I came away from my recent trip to the Western Caribbean with a few impressions I would like to share with you.
     Of the three places I visited - Roatan, Belize and Cozumel - I got the best vibes from Cozumel. It is too bad the big ships have so few places to dock on the islands; like the railroads always go through the seediest places in town, the ships always dock in a not too nice area.
     Roatan and Belize have managed to “beautify” the area directly adjacent to their docks, but unfortunately, once you leave that immediate vicinity you have to go through the slums to get anywhere.
     On Roatan, some really nice houses have been built, mostly by immigrants. High points both figuratively and literally, these spacious and luxurious homes have a breathtakingly beautiful 360 degree view of the entire island.
     I also visited a tropical beach: a showplace complete with the obligatory fine white sand, palm trees, an outdoor bar, and of course, a luxurious hotel. I could envision spending some time there.
     Belize was a disappointment for me. Although the real estate ads assure me that there are some very nice homes available, I didn't see any.
     After an hour and a half bus ride through what I can only describe as jungle, the Mayan ruins were magnificent. But we returned through Belize City, which for poverty, garbage in the streets and barely inhabitable housing, can match any of the slums in our big cities.
     In both Roatan and Belize I would suggest to the powers that be that they make an effort to show tourists some of the nicer aspects of the area.
     Cozumel has built up an attractive and prosperous area along its entire seawall. In addition, there is Mexico Park, which has an excellent display of Mexican art. The bright colors and extremely fine detail on some of the exhibits are attractive and cheerful. In addition there are many beautiful models of Mayan ruins, cathedrals and other public buildings. Add an extremely knowledgeable docent to the mix, and it makes a very interesting day.
     For pictures of all these places, log on to http://cruisethewesterncaribbean.shutterfly.com and click on more... > Slide Show.
     I learned two things on this trip:
     (1) A GPS is worth its weight in gold. When one is barreling through a city at 65 miles per hour, it is great to have a voice tell you, “In .9 mile take exit 42 to the left, then bear right.” You don't get that from a map.
     (2) Never again will I drive all day on four successive days. My legs can't take it.

******

     A comet is captured by the gravity of the sun; subsequently it falls into a path which will take it from deep space to within a few million miles of the earth. Long before it is visible to the unaided eye, a modern astronomer spots it through a telescope. Immediately he informs NASA, which has been waiting for just such an opportunity. After a few months of feverish activity, a space probe, which will pass through the tail of the comet and return information regarding its chemical composition to earth, is launched. The probe is successful. Because of the current civilization’s belief in the importance of science, a great deal of information regarding the early makeup of the universe is now widely available.
     In the meantime, when the comet becomes visible to the human eye, it is spotted by a primitive tribesman deep in the jungles of West Papua. The tribe’s Shaman declares that this is a sign that the gods are angry. The tribe immediately begins a series of activities designed to appease them: huge bonfires, dances and other rites. Since the omen eventually passes from sight without incident, the tribe believes its appeasement efforts have been successful.
     Concepts for Understanding the Spirit – The Spirit Runs Through It

The book or a free download is available in paperback or on Kindle.

Vacation Time

2010-11-19T14:55:00.000-05:00

I will be offline, or perhaps I should say “unplugged” for the next three weeks. We are leaving Sunday to drive to Georgetown, Texas, where we will visit friends over Thanksgiving. On Black Friday we will drive with our friends to Galveston, where we will see the sights on Saturday, the 27th, and on Sunday we will take a cruise to Cozumel, Belize and Honduras. After the cruise we will drive home.
Check back for more blogging about December 13th. In the meantime, if you get bored, buy the book.

******

The fact that there is a great deal of controversy regarding the physical creation as outlined in the book of Genesis is not new, and the disagreement will probably continue for a long time, perhaps forever. So I will ignore the details of physical creation and concentrate on the spiritual matters related in that wise book.
The Wisdom of Genesis – The Spirit Runs Through It.

The book or a free download is available in paperback or on Kindle.