Thursday, May 30, 2013

Celebrate Tolerance and Diversity!

Celebrate Tolerance and Diversity!

And crush the opposition.

excerpt:

A New Jersey high school teacher is under investigation after she allegedly posted a message on her private Facebook page that she opposed homosexuality because of her Christian faith.
The Union Township school district said they are investigating whether Viki Knox violated school policies when she allegedly posted remarks saying homosexuality is a sin that “breeds like cancer” and describing it as “perverted.”
Knox also complained, on her private Facebook page, that Union High School featured a display recognizing October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History month. The display reportedly featured photos of Harvey Milk, Neil Patrick Harris and Virginia Woolf.

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Monday, May 27, 2013

Cicada Global Warming Horror Movie

The cicadas have been resting comfortably beneath the earth's surface for 17 years. When they submerged, it was unseasonably cool. They awake 17 years later to a scorched earth, a planet on fire due to man's ravaging CO2 greed. The hot temperatures cook them and they die off -- they are the canaries in the planetary coal mine, a harbinger of species wipe-outs to come. As the movie ends, gaunt humans are seen scavenging for food amid heaps of garbage and over-cooked debris.

Not.
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Friday, May 24, 2013

How to Talk to the IRS


How to Talk to the IRS: Just say "I don't know." "I don't remember." "I'm not familiar with that detail." "It's not my precise area." "I'm not familiar with that." 

And don't forget to add-- "I did nothing wrong". "I'm taking the Fifth".


Because that's the way they talk to us.




Related articles
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Friday, May 17, 2013

"The Root Causes of Poverty" -- Have We Got It All Wrong?

The End of Poverty
The End of Poverty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I've been thinking about wealth and poverty and why the West prospers and other societies/cultures languish.

You hear about "the root causes of poverty"; the analysis generally blames the wealthy and the West for being oppressive and exploitive. In other words, "it's not their fault -- it's ours". I'm thinking nations and societies here, not so much individuals, but they come into play as well.

But what if poor nations are poor because they simply don't have the cultural characteristics that tend towards wealth creation and preservation? I suspect that most of the well-meaning remedies will fail because they are based on wealth-creating assumptions, attitudes, predispositions, and values that may not be present in the host culture.

I think we've been going about it the wrong way. I've seen tons of money fall through Africa's hands and it remains as poor as ever. Here's a thought: money is not the answer to poverty, and those "Make Poverty History" signs, directed at the West, are pointed in the wrong direction.

Instead of studying the root causes of poverty, we should study the root causes of wealth, and then assess poor countries/individuals against those criteria. Why does resource-rich Zambia languish and resource-zero Singapore prosper?

I did a Google search. The phrase "root causes of poverty" gets 1.5 million hits. The phrase "root causes of wealth" gets 20,000. I noticed these hits were in the context of a longer phrase "root causes of wealth and poverty". When poverty is subtracted out of this phrase, the number of hits are, are you ready for this? -- thirty-eight. As in 3-8. So, the analysis goes 1.5 million to 38 in favor of explicating root causes of poverty rather than wealth.

I think we're going about it the wrong way. Someone should research and write a book called "The Root Causes of Wealth".

Does anyone else think I might be on the right track here?

And that's the way the Ball bounces.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The White House Appreciation Tour

English: Jay Carney giving a press briefing.
Jay Carney giving a press briefing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Watching Jay Carney's ties makes this video even more fun.

I hope you appreciate this post as much as I appreciate the chance to do it. C'mon. If you like it, let's hear some appreciation!
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Saturday, May 11, 2013

Jodi Arias: Even More Innocent Than OJ!

English: Logo of the City of Mesa, Arizona
English: Logo of the City of Mesa, Arizona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jodi Arias, candidate for sainthood.

She prays for her jury. She regrets the trial because of the dirt dished on Travis her vile abuser and attacker. Now that she has been unjustly convicted, she hopes his family will have peace and closure. If she had to do it over, she would turn that rented car of hers around and report to the Mesa police station, not because the outcome might have been different, but by golly because it's the right thing to do.

When have we ever encountered such a caring, selfless person? Here's what I want to know: how did such a saintly person ever get herself into such a mess?

Meanwhile, Saint Jodi says she wants the death penalty. The least we can do for her is hope her prayers are answered.

And that's the way the Ball bounces.
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"... nothing intellectually compelling or challenging.. bald assertions coupled to superstition... woefully pathetic"