Watch out, global warming deniers?

Dear Leader is apparently going to "get you" somehow for being evil and standing in the way of the progress he desires.

But don't worry too much. Due to the actual climate change we've had (just the opposite of what the IPCC has predicted), his brownshirts are going to have to struggle through the snowdrifts to get to your house.

The Senate moves to prolong the recession

....by voting 98-0 to extend unemployment benefits for the nation's jobless. Now having participated in the Pelosi/Reid recession myself, I understand fully how comforting it is to have a safety net when you can't find work. On the other hand, studies have documented how many people "magically" seem to find work when their unemployment benefits run out. It suggests that the best way to help the economy is not to extend benefits, but rather to reform them to encourage, ya know, work.

In other news, Israel has accused Iran of a war crime in finagling a shipment of weapons to the PLO/Hamas that was mercifully intercepted by Israel. I have to wonder whether such acts of war would decrease if Israel really treated them as acts of war and took appropriate action.

The importance of architecture

My family has recently moved, and one thing we're noticing in our "new to us" home is that it's really important how the home is designed. With fewer rooms to go to, we're spending more time together. Musical instruments long left alone are coming out.

Having a tough time getting family time? Might be a good idea to take a look at whether your house makes sense for your family. My family is learning that a well designed, and somewhat smaller, home is making a difference in our family life.

Setting the stage for the next recession

Froma Harrop writes about something I've suspected for a long time; federal subsidies to prospective homebuyers with poor credit are likely setting the stage for the next round of foreclosures, and transitively the next recession--not that I'm anticipating getting out of this one any time soon.

If I were in government, my adage would be the from the Hippocratic Oath; "First, do no harm." I likely wouldn't get along with most Congressmen, either.

Rhetorical jujitsu in the Bible

Take a quick look--or a slow one if you like--at Acts 23, and consider what Paul was doing before the Sanhedrin. Ask yourself:

Is there any chance that Paul failed to recognize (vs. 3-5) the garments worn by the high priest after decades in rabbinical school? Doubtful; what Paul is more likely saying here is that the (Roman-installed) high priest really isn't a "high priest" in the Aaronic line. I'm guessing that the point was not lost on the Sanhedrin.

Paul doesn't stop there, though; he proceeds to set the Pharisees and Sadduccees against one another by declaring he is there because of his faith in the resurrection--instantly transforming an inquisition against him (where ordinary enemies might agree for the sake of "getting" Paul) into their old argument.

In short, he realized they weren't going to listen to the Gospel, and diverted his attention and time to more fruitful activities--using the Roman courts to go to the Gentiles. Innocent as a dove and wise as a serpent, Paul avoids a trap of the devil with rhetorical jujitsu. We should take the hint.

Your tax dollars at work

Part of the "spend-u-more" plan passed by the Democrats included $300,000 to map radioactive rabbit feces in Washington state. No, I am not making this.....stuff.....up.

Democratic thinking

First Fox, then The Wall Street Journal, then the AP, now it's Edmunds' turn to fall into the crosshairs of Dear Leader. (first the 2nd, then the 13th, now it's the 1st Amendment under attack by Obama...I'll be waiting for him to send soldiers to live at my house next)

It's pretty telling as well; more or less, the White House is actually arguing that the numbers for "cash for clunkers" are better than Edmunds' reports because people could be expected to enthusiastically go out and buy cars they didn't need even if they didn't have a "clunker" to trade in. Don't believe me? Take a look.

In other words, Democratic policy-making actively presumes that people don't actually work the numbers before making a decision; in other words, that people are just plain stupid--an opinion, I must admit, makes some sense in light of last fall's election results.

On the other hand, here is Edmunds' original article, and it clearly demonstrates that while nearly 400,000 more cars were sold than the baseline in August, 150,000 of those were given back in September, and I'd guess will also be "given back" in October. So Edmunds is right here, and thankfully people are smarter when they buy cars than when they vote.

Loving my high cholesterol!

Why? Well, not only do statins have some hope of reducing the risk of colon and skin cancer, they also appear to hold some hope of preventing influenza mortality. Praise the Lord, and pass the Zocor!

Government competence

My family recently received a request from the Census Bureau to participate in a medical survey, and of course I told the survey taker that I was not going to participate because it was not part of the Constitutional charter of the Census Bureau.

The next day, I got a FedEx overnight letter asking me to participate. Now this tells me a lot about our government. First of all, they don't trust the Postal Service to deliver a letter. Second, they really don't mind throwing taxpayer money down the toilet by sending needless letters via FedEx overnight service. Third, they really don't have a clue that the Census Bureau is really authorized to ask only one question; "how many people live at this address?".

And some people want people like this to handle medical care. Yikes!

Awesome!

President Obama is now picking a fight with the AP. Hopefully journalistic types take the hint and start writing about the kind of man he really is.

(keep going, Barack, if you want to make it a very, very long four years!)

Now that we've banned incandescent bulbs....

.....can we stop the madness of Daylight Savings Time, please? Studies have demonstrated that the extra air conditioning cost of people coming home earlier in the summer exceeds the savings of lighting during the evening.

What do do with a windfall

King's post about what people have done with stimulus checks (2008 and prior) brings up the question of responsibility in finances. When citizens get a windfall (say the 2001 or 2008 "stimulus" checks), they overwhelmingly saved it--or at least used it to pay down debt. When government gets a windfall, on the other hand.....

....why is it that we so consistently send our most fiscally irresponsible neighbors to the legislatures of our nation?

More thoughts on education

I picked up my clarinet (originally my Mom's) for the first time in years yesterday, and much to my surprise, I was able to remember the fingerings and play pretty well despite the fact that I'd rarely picked it up for the past 25 years or so. Credit memory and the education I got--both in the schools and also in private lessons.

Going further, I noticed something else; I was finally able to do some things I'd never managed back in high school. Specifically, I was able to sightread and transpose music. And so I wondered why I was able to do this now, but not then.

Probably maturity has something to do with it, but probably more importantly, I'd learned to learn music far more quickly singing in church (picking out tenor and bass parts) than I ever had in school. My high school had a good band program, especially the marching band, but what we'd done there was mostly to pick a few pieces of music and learn them backwards, forwards, and every which way. We got pretty good, but in doing so, certain key areas of musicality were never really addressed--like really reading music well and music theory.

Given that a marching band is essentially a militaristic--really Prussian--idea in the same way the entire government school system is, I've got to think that one huge reason homeschooling (as anti-Prussian as it gets) succeeds is that it teaches in the day to day--like singing hymns in church--as opposed to a big production, like preparation for tests.

You can't make this stuff up....

In the October 19th issue of Time Magazine, the cover article is about why it's supposedly time to get rid of the 401K, and they (incredibly) make the argument that somehow we need to move back to pensions and such for retirement because the 401k option is too exposed to the vagaries of markets.

As if pension funds aren't invested in the very same securities held in 401k and IRA plans.

One of these days, I'm hoping that people realize that if there are no corporate and personal profits to make stock and bond investments profitable, there are also no corporate and personal profits to make pension plans profitable, and most importantly there is no tax base to make Socialist Insecurity and Mediscare solvent.

I'm finding it amazing that a journalist with a college degree had such poor thinking, and even more incredible that his editors allowed him to publish such nonsense. Does the entire staff at Time have a collective economic IQ of seven?

Jackbooted thug of the day...

....or, rather, drunken cop who "neglected" to disarm before going to the haunted house is Mr. Eric Janik of Baltimore County, who is accused of pulling his service weapon on a character in a haunted house who wielded a chainsaw.

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but hopefully Sgt. Janik will get the opportunity to pursue a career outside of law enforcement. There is no excuse for carrying a firearm while drunk, especially for those also carrying badges.