Frisking the Books on Bush...

Backing high school my coach used to tell us, "Look at the score board when you go into the game, and look at it when you come out. That is how you judge your contribution."

I always took that to mean that if you the score was higher when you came out, no matter what the stats may say, you contributed to improving the teams lot. If you scored 30 points, and the team loses because you are there, that is less valuable then the person who scores 5 or none, but a win is managed.

So here we are in a new administration, and the Census Bureau has just released a scorecard, of sorts of the previous administration as reported by Ron Brownstein.

So the summary page on the economic experience of average Americans under the past two presidents would look like this:

Under Clinton, the median income increased 14 per cent. Under Bush it declined 4.2 per cent.

Under Clinton the total number of Americans in poverty declined 16.9 per cent; under Bush it increased 26.1 per cent.

Under Clinton the number of children in poverty declined 24.2 per cent; under Bush it increased by 21.4 per cent.

Under Clinton, the number of Americans without health insurance, remained essentially even (down six-tenths of one per cent); under Bush it increased by 20.6 per cent.

Adding Ronald Reagan's record to the comparison fills in the picture from another angle.

Under Reagan, the median income grew, in contrast to both Bush the younger and Bush the elder. (The median income declined 3.2 per cent during the elder Bush's single term.) When Reagan was done, the median income stood at $47, 614 (again in constant 2008 dollars), 8.1 per cent higher than when Jimmy Carter left office in 1980.

It is definitely worth a read. And honestly any republican politician who parrots the continual tax-cut as miracle remedy needs to answer for these numbers.

So that is the score we have of the bast 8 years. Well that and 2 wars, and ballooning deficits.

-Cheers

Why Health Care Reform is necessary

All you have to do is read a article like this to understand why you need federal guidelines for health insurance. Why letting insurers compete across state lines would just lead to a race to the bottom (like credit card companies). We can talk about rescission or pre-existing conditions such as diabetes or asthma.

But tell me how after reading this article you can justify the insurance practice.

Being a victim of domestic abuse is a pre-existing condition

It turns out that in eight states, plus the District of Columbia, getting beaten up by your spouse is a pre-existing condition.

Under the cold logic of the insurance industry, it makes perfect sense: If you are in a marriage with someone who has beaten you in the past, you're more likely to get beaten again than the average person and are therefore more expensive to insure.

In human terms, it's a second punishment for a victim of domestic violence.

We can talk about the "wonders" of a free market. But sometimes and in some areas of our lives, profit should not be the primary motive.

-Cheers

Word of the Day

Once again we have another installment of the fabulous "Word of the day"!

This weeks word comes from the amazing world of philosophy. Also I find it incredibly fun to say!

Epistemological

One would think by its very nature epistemological studies would lead to a certain humility, instead, it seems to cater to the most pedantic qualities of most.


-Cheers

Things that annoy me....

1) Socialism is not a form of government. It is an economic scheme. People who talk about it like it is have no idea what they are talking about. And more importantly shouldn't be listened to.

2) The Constitution doesn't say what you think it says. In particular how the First Amendment is generally misunderstood. What it relates to is the government silencing descent, not to the back and forth between non-government entities.

3) And Kanye West. He is kind of a Douche Bag. Seriously girlfriend is like 12 and did put together a very nice video and song.

4) Generally I talk about race baiting and "dog whistle" politics from a minority perspective. But this is just appalling, those who are involved should be absolutely ashamed of themselves, and should not be allowed to hold public office. I do not know Steve Cohen, but this just beyond the pale.

Some might say this stuff is just semantics, I say fie upon them! Words and language matter. How we communicate says a lot about our thought process. All I ask in any debate is that there is agreement on what the terms will be. When individuals are allowed to misuse language it damages that relationship.

-Cheers

Ask A Spy ---- Ex Avoidance

It has been a little while, but we have some more advice from Mr. Weston! This time on how to ditch and ex that may be following you.



I will add one thing, if you do not have the resources or support team to fake your own death. Faking a move or long work work assignment may also fit the bill!

-Cheers

This is just sad.

This year is the anniversary year for Charles Darwin. Something that should be celebrated an interesting life, an interesting man, and a beautiful intellect.

Yet there may not be a distributor in the States for the film because it is too controversial amongst the religious sects in this country.

If you ever sense some hostility in my posts for organized religious institutions and some of its backward members, this sort of thing would be the reason why....

Creation

Creation, starring Paul Bettany, details Darwin's "struggle between faith and reason" as he wrote On The Origin of Species. It depicts him as a man who loses faith in God following the death of his beloved 10-year-old daughter, Annie.

The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.

However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.

We are talking one of the greatest thinkers humanity has produced. His findings revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. I find it sad and deeply disturbing that only 39 percent of Americans put stock in, what is well supported science.

On the other hand I have no problem whatsoever understanding why school children in this country score so much lower in science and math then in other developed nations.

There are consequences to holding to such an ante diluvian mindset.

-Cheers

I would like to thank Craig Ehlo.....

In what was an amazing career and in no small way stoked my love of the game. Michael Jeffery Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.


While not an innovator like Russel of Chamberlain, Jordan's greatest "innovation" was that he did what other players did. Only much better.

Again thank you Mr. Jordan. The game would not be where it is with out you.

-Cheers