On the harmful effects of Global Cooling

From the Los Angeles Times:

Unusually cold temperatures in Southern California continued, with Los Angeles International Airport setting a record low on Friday.

LAX got to only 67 degrees, breaking a record set in 1926, according to the National Weather Service.

Can we say "coolest summer ever" for L.A. ?  Or is it too early? 

Fort Worth's summer has been downright pleasant so far. 

I hope this isn't anything we need to start worrying about.  A lot of people have spent a lot of money and time lobbying Congress to achieve this kind of weather, lobbying for carbon emission quotas, cap and tax schemes, perpetutal motion machines, and fans blown by unseen fairy flatulence. 

Unfortunately, none of those schemes are in place.  Yet.  It would be a shame if we got the good effects before the good causes were put into place by our government.  Less-informed people might start thinking that there was no relationship between our behavior and the weather. 

For tens of thousands of years, superstitious people have believed that when we anger The Gods, it causes changes in the weather.  The spring rains don't come.  The corn harvest is puny.  It must be because of something that we did. 

Therefore we do rain dances, throw virgins into the volcano, make chicken sacrifices to The Corn God, put a carbon-trading scam in place, purchase a Prius, or pray.  They are equally effective. 

If earth continues cooling, people will stop feeling guilty and will stop making sacrifices to The Government The Weather Gods.  Well, God is not mocked. 

Senator James Inhofe will be punished for allowing his family to build this obscene structure during Washington D.C.'s Global Cooling scare last year.  (Luke 17:2  "It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.")  You can look it up ! 

 
Pray for heat.  Pray, pray, pray.  All bad things should always be our fault.  Repent.  Sacrifice.  For we are guilty, guilty, guilty of doing things that are bad, bad, bad. 

I'm gonna go sacrifice a goat.  Have a good day !   (But don't you dare feel good about it.)

LeBron James, U-Haul rental rates, the Ocean Endeavor drilling rig, and Central Banks

Speaking of LeBron James moving from a state with a 7% state income tax (Ohio) to a state with a 0% state income tax (Florida) and apparently not even considering a state with a 12% income tax (New York).....


Mark Perry at the Carpe Diem economics blog has been looking at U-Haul rental rates between Ohio and Florida.  LeBron isn't the only one leaving the Buckeye state. 

One-way rental rates for a 26-foot U-Haul truck on August 4, 2010

Miami, FL to Cleveland, OH: $1,000
Cleveland, OH to Miami, FL: $1,457
Premium to leave Ohio: 45.7%

Orlando, FL to Cleveland, OH: $834
Cleveland, OH to Orlando, FL: $1,301
Premium to leave Ohio: 56%

Tampa, FL to Cleveland, OH: $917
Cleveland, OH to Tampa, FL: $,1379
Premium to leave Ohio: 50.4%

Assuming that one-way U-Haul rates are based on relative demand, there are lot more people and trucks leaving Ohio for Florida than vice-versa, resulting in large premiums to rent trucks going to Florida and large discounts for trucks going to Ohio.

Any idea why?  Here's something from an earlier post about Ohio:

While LeBron's departure got extraordinary media attention, it is hardly unique. In the early 1990s, Ohio was the home of 43 Fortune 500 companies. Twenty years later the number is 24. Census Bureau data show that from 2004-2008 Ohio saw a net outmigration of $6 billion of income and some 97,000 taxpayers. Even Ohio's famously liberal Senator, the late Howard Metzenbaum, moved to Florida late in his life to reduce his estate taxes.

Just for grins, here's the U-Haul relative demand between Detroit (relatively statist) and Dallas (relatively libertarian).

In related news, from The Houston Chronicle:

Diamond Offshore announced Friday that its Ocean Endeavor drilling rig will leave the Gulf of Mexico and move to Egyptian waters immediately — making it the first to abandon the United States in the wake of the BP oil spill and a ban on deep-water drilling....

Larry Dickerson, CEO of Houston-based Diamond, signaled that other of his company's rigs could be relocated, too.


"As a result of the uncertainties surrounding the offshore drilling moratorium, we are actively seeking international opportunities to keep our rigs fully employed," Dickerson said. "We greatly regret the loss of U.S. jobs that will result from this rig relocation."

It was unclear how many U.S. jobs could leave with the Ocean Endeavor, but typically more than 100 workers are on the rig at any given time, doing everything from drilling to cooking meals. Onshore, a network of businesses supplies the rigs with groceries, equipment, uniforms and drilling materials.

"It's not unusual for an energy service company to have 1,000 vendors that they buy from or purchase services from," noted Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands. As a result, Brady said, the economic damage from the moratorium stretches far and wide.

And finally, from Fortune magazine:

A new report from Morgan Stanley analyst Emma Lawson confirms what many had suspected: the dollar is firmly on its way to losing its status as the reserve currency of the world.

We already knew that central banks have preferred gold to dollars, and that they're even selling their gold for cash; now, according to Lawson's data, it seems that those central banks prefer almost anything to dollars.

So what do LeBron James, the Ocean Endeavor drilling rig, and Central Banks have in common? 
They all respond to negative incentives.  All three of them are abandoning places and commodities run by crazy people. 
Just like you do, every time you get a chance. 

*******

A fresh coat of Whitening to Newsalert for all the links. 

Note to LeBron James: Elections have consequences

Here are excerpts from a couple of related posts about LeBron James.  Let me begin by stating that I don't care where LeBron James chooses to throw plastic bags of air through metal rings.  I'm a football guy. 

The first (from back in October 2008) is from BET.com, in which rapper Jay-Z and LeBron James offer the following words of encouragement:

If you plan on voting for Barack Obama, Jay-Z would prefer that you do it sooner than later. He and NBA superstar LeBron James are calling on people to cast their ballots ahead of time – and vote for Obama. James and Jay-Z hosted a concert and rally Wednesday at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland . James attended a Cleveland rally earlier this month to encourage people to vote for Obama. He’s also contributed $20,000 to a committee supporting the Democratic presidential nominee.

Next, we have this gem from the Wall Street Journal.  I'm quoting from the version quoted at The Tax Prof, since I don't subscribe to the WSJ's online edition:

We come not to praise or bury LeBron James, but only to note that by moving to Miami he's going to save a bundle on taxes. ... Florida has no income tax. The rate in Akron, Ohio is a little over 7%.


Mr. James figures to earn close to $100 million in salary over five seasons in Miami. According to an analysis by Richard Vedder, an economist at Ohio University, Mr. James's net present value tax savings on his salary are between $6 million and $8 million by living in Miami versus his home town of Akron. Professional athletes do have to pay other state taxes for the dates they play in visiting team arenas, but most of Mr. James's considerable endorsement income would be taxed at Florida rates.

The tax comparisons looked even worse for two other teams in the LeBron bidding, the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. ...

The New York State tax rate is 12%.  If James was serious about supporting the Teleprompter Jesus and all his holy works, wouldn't New York have been the best place to go?  The idea behind Obama's candidacy was for the wealthy to start paying as much as possible as soon as possible, right?   

While LeBron's departure got extraordinary media attention, it is hardly unique. In the early 1990s, Ohio was the home of 43 Fortune 500 companies. Twenty years later the number is 24. Census Bureau data show that from 2004-2008 Ohio saw a net outmigration of $6 billion of income and some 97,000 taxpayers. Even Ohio's famously liberal Senator, the late Howard Metzenbaum, moved to Florida late in his life to reduce his estate taxes.


We feel for Cleveland fans, but maybe they should allocate some of their wrath to the state politicians who keep driving high-income individuals and their businesses to financially sunnier climes.

$8,000,000 is merely the amount that Mr. James is trying to save on state taxes.  That's on his basic salary, not endorsement deals.  Does anyone care to guess how many tax accountants LeBron James is now currently employing to protect his earnings from Barack Obama's Treasury goons?  (Hint: I bet that the answer is "lots".) 

The LeBron James Nike ad came from here. 

The New Orleans School Choice Revolution

Now, if only a hurricane would hit Washington D.C.
From Reason magazine:

In praise of good neighbors. Ed in particular.

I love my neighborhood, and have great neighbors. 
We occasionally have some badness drifting up from a nearby high-crime region, though. 

My truck has been broken into something like 3 times in 10 years.  The police can always be relied on to say something like "Doh !"

A few nights ago, one of my neighbors heard somebody messing around with his pickup, which was parked out on the street.  He looked outside, and yep, somebody was messing with his truck.  Mr. Ed, the truck-owner, is a calm, older black gentleman, and one of the best folks I know.  Age Morgan Freeman by about 20 more years, shave his head, and you've got Mr. Ed.

Mr. Ed calmly got his pistol, went outside, and took a shot at the son of a bitch. 

He missed.  Mr. Ed apparently had all the appropriate permits that are required for someone to shoot at truck thieves, and as far as I know he isn't in any trouble with the law. 

That happened four or five nights ago.  I sleep like a baby, knowing that Mr. Ed is out there, and a restless sleeper. 

Barack Obama is going to raise taxes so he can keep spending.  No one has been able to plug the hole in the Gulf.  Our soldiers are still getting shot in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Nancy Pelosi is Speaker Of The House. 

But I don't think we have to worry about that guy breaking into any more trucks. 

When seconds count, the police are just minutes away ! 

The real British Petroleum scandal

From the Powerline blog:

Corn is great food, but lousy energy. Energy derived from corn--ethanol--cannot compete in the marketplace with more efficient sources of energy, like petroleum, unless its producers get money from the government (i.e. you) to artificially lower the price of their product. This is what is known as "green energy."

It amounts to having a bonfire with your money. Well, no, not exactly a bonfire, since, while there is undeniably a net inefficiency and thus a destruction of wealth, your money doesn't go up in smoke. Rather, your tax dollars are transferred to a combination of Midwestern farmers and politically connected ethanol plant developers. Like other government subsidy programs, it's great if you get to cash the checks, but bad if you are a taxpayer or an energy buyer.

Ok, roll that around in your head for a minute, and then check this out - from Kevin Williamson of The Corner:

BP's oil-spill cleanup bill, so far: $3.2 billion

Money BP is setting aside for the total bill: $20 billion
Annual cost of U.S. ethanol subsidies: $5 billion
Ethanol subsidies going to BP this year: $600 million

Conclusions: Every four years, U.S. taxpayers are subsidizing the energy firms by an amount equal to the maximum that BP expects to spend on the cleanup. BP specifically will collect an equivalent amount every 33 years. This year's BP ethanol subsidy by itself will offset about 20 percent of what BP has spent on the cleanup so far.

And that's just one subsidy program.
Tell me again why this "green economy" stuff is not a scam.

The banks paid back their TARP money, and the nation remains scandalized by that bailout. What are the chances the energy industry is going to pay back a penny of the billions we're pouring on them through green energy subsidies?

The Obama Tax Hike Exemption Card

You can go here to get your Obama Tax Hike Exemption card. 

How to use the card:


Step 1: Present the card to merchants, employers, and tax authorities.

Step 2: If challenged, pleasantly ask: “Are you calling President Obama a liar?”

Here's some background:

“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”


--Candidate Barack Obama, Sept. 12, 2008

“If your family earns less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increased a single dime. I repeat: not one single dime.”

--President Barack Obama, Feb. 24, 2009

“The statement didn’t come with caveats.”

--Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, April 15, 2009, when asked if the pledge applies to healthcare

And here's the reality.  Hit the link above for even more:

First Wave: Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief

In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011:

Personal income tax rates will rise. The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates. The full list of marginal rate hikes is below:

- The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
- The 25% bracket rises to 28%
- The 28% bracket rises to 31%
- The 33% bracket rises to 36%
- The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%

Higher taxes on marriage and family. The “marriage penalty” (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.

The return of the Death Tax. This year, there is no death tax. For those dying on or after January 1 2011, there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes and a retirement account could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones.

Higher tax rates on savers and investors. The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.

A new goal

I have many, many goals to achieve in my remaining years of life. 

One of them is to make it onto this list. 

Mowing yards, unemployment, the joys of the lake, and perverse incentives

Imagine that you need to find a neighborhood kid to mow your lawn. 
You bang on three different doors, but none of the kids want to come outside.  You learn that the parents at all three houses are paying their children to "house sit".  The kids could make a little more money mowing yards than house-sitting (i.e. - doing nothing) but not much.  It's not worth their while to get up and mow yards just for an additional, say, $1.00 per hour. 
For you, the frustrating thing is that all three groups of parents owe you money.  They are using your money to pay the kids to sit and play video games, watch TV, and surf the internet all day. 
So you either mow your own yard or you hire a lawn service whose employees are already putting in 60 hours a week. 

*******

I've been unemployed before, once for about 4 weeks.  It wasn't fun, but it was comfortable.  I went to the unemployment office downtown, filled out some paperwork, and then checked my mailbox for a check every week. 
I made a few efforts to find jobs that paid as much as the one I had lost.  There were none. 
Every two or three days I put on a suit and made the interview rounds, but The Cooking Channel beckoned.  Blockbuster Video had tons of movies I'd not yet rented.  Short trips to the lake were suddenly possible every day. 
Various companies offered me jobs that were almost exactly the amount of my unemployment compensation.  But why in the world would I want to take one of those and work for 40 hours a week when I could get the same amount by staying at home and learning how to cook Peking Duck and watching old episodes of Monty Python?  Where were the incentives? 
The incentives eventually came in the form of Mrs. Whited, who told me to take a job, any job, because she was tired of coming home from working all day and seeing me unshaved, unwashed, and on the couch. 
I took a job that paid around .75 cents an hour more than my unemployment compensation.  Within about a year and a half, I was up to my old salary again. 
But man, it was hard to tear myself away from cable TV, Blockbuster Video, and the lake. 

******

I've interviewed three different people in the last month who knew that the jobs I was trying to fill were perfect for them.  They knew that they would fit in well.  They had friends who worked for me.  They were perfect for what I needed. 
But dammit, the government was also paying them (with your money) to sit at home.  The government's pay rate is about 80% of what I offer to start at some of those jobs. 
Unemployment insurance is a good thing.  But when it is automatically extended and extended and extended, just to show how compassionate politicians are in an election year, it can totally destroy incentives.  But get ready for a barrage of political ads denouncing the evil meanies in Congress who voted against extending unemployment benefits through the end of The Obamessiah's term.   

******

Hope everybody had a good 4th.  I'm gonna go get they guys started in one of the warehouses and then see if I can find a kid to mow my yard.

******

Addition: Go here to see a totally different point of view from The Obamessiah's pet journalist/economist Paul Krugman.  Mr. Krugman neglects to mention the root cause of so much of the unemployment we're seeing - The Teleprompter Jesus demonizing employers, forcing corporations to become nannies, and demanding that those who put their capital at risk pay even more tribute money to Washington if they're succesful.  
I've been able to see things from Paul Krugman's point of view a few times in the past, but it was uncomfortable having my head that far up my ass.    

Al Gore and the masseuse - The Taiwanese video ! ! !

If you get your news from the mainstream media, you might not be aware that Saint Albert, The Goracle of Music City, Tennessee, has finally been accused of sexually assaulting someone who is not in the manufacturing or transportation industry. 

The story the alleged victim told the police goes something like this:

Saint Albert calls a massage service to send someone to his hotel room. 

The masseuse arrives, starts doing her thing, but she fails to properly massage Saint Albert's ego or other assets. 

Saint Albert forces the masseuse onto a bed.  She calls him a "crazed sex poodle". 

Who knows what happens next.  But the masseuse claims that Al Gore left some of his carbon footprint on her black jeans, much like Bill Clinton left a trail on Monica Lewinsky's blue dress from The Gap. 

She puts the black jeans into a ziplock bag, preserving the evidence for possible peer review by trained scientists. 

The masseuse tells a friend about the incident.  The friend argues against making the story public, since without Saint Albert, the world will surely perish from Global Warming Climate Change. 

She takes the story to the police. 

Later on, Saint Albert announces his divorce. 

If you didn't quite follow all that, here's a visualization from a Taiwanese news agency.  Keep an eye out for the poodle. 



A fresh coat of Whitening to Jim Treacher for the video. 

Happy Dependence Day ! !

It's the day before Independence Day, boys and girls ! 

We're going to start celebrating something called Dependence Day every July 3rd.  Dependence Day will celebrate Nanny State over-reach and those who love it. 

So if you think New York's menu-labeling law is a good idea, this day is for you.  After all, how else will you ever learn that deep-fried butter might be harmful? 

Do you believe that it should be illegal to give women free access to bars and clubs while making men pay a cover charge?  James Kirkpatrick of the state of Minnesota has put on his cavalry uniform and come to your rescue.  Happy Dependence Day, you helpless Cheeseheads. 



If you're offended by the plotline of Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and don't see anything funny about the sticker shown on the cover below, well, Happy Dependence Day.  There is a concerned group out there, ready to say that your beer gut isn't your fault. 

If you feel better knowing that our government is thinking of imposing a sin tax on soda (soda is the same thing as "pop" in New England and "Coke" in the Deep South) despite paying billions to corn farmers in subsidies to keep the price of corn syrup low?  Well, if you think that government knows what's best for Coca-Cola drinkers and for corn farmers, this holiday is for you.  Happy Freakin' Dependence Day !!

Do you believe that florists should be licensed to keep out competitors, to ensure that all floral arrangements are safe and tasteful?  Congratulations.  You're saving and creating government regulatory jobs that couldn't exist without your dumb ass.  Happy Dependence Day ! ! 

If you think The Beatles should've been more careful, then I hope you have a great July 3rd. 

If you believe that interns shouldn't be allowed to work for free, just to gain valuable experience, then Happy Dependence Day to you.  You may have killed one of the best career entry catapults ever devised. 

If you feel more comfortable when your toast has a warning, HAPPY DEPENDENCE DAY ! 

Most of the pictures from this post came from this discussion board.  Blogger advisory: Many of the topics discussed are possibly offensive to women, nanny-state advocates, the differently abled, racial minorities, men, people who tend to slip on wet floors, white folks, left-handed people, and those who think of themselves as average.  Discretion is advised.  TheWhitedSepulchre.Blogspot.Com is not responsible for injuries sustained, or damages to the self-esteem of those hitting the link, which is provided as a courtesy, not as a recommendation.  The opinions presented there are not those of TheWhitedSepulchre.Blogspot.Com or its employees.  In fact, the government should probably shut the thing down to avoid possible offense or injury. 

Taking A Break

Because of work responsibilities, I'm having to take a break from regular posting for a while.  I don't know how long this will last.  I haven't been able to make it to many any Libertarian Party events in the last two months. 

Dang it, I'd just gotten this thing up to the 2,500 hits per day mark.  Oh well.  Most of this is because of the evil schemes of Marvel Variants and his sidekick Gary Dewdrop.

However....

Obama, despite all his unh....weeks and weeks of management experience, has proven to be totally ineffective in helping the economy recover, defending the coasts, defending our border with Mexico, or controlling spending. 
Global Warming Climate Change is now a laughingstock in Europe. 
For the first time ever, Saint Albert Gore, The Goracle Of Music Tennessee, has been accused of sexually assaulting someone who isn't in the manufacturing or transportation industry. 
The Keynesians are in full retreat, having discovered that governments can no more spend their way out of debt any more than individual households can. 
Socialists in Europe are discovering that it really is possible to run out of other people's money. 
Our November elections will probably give us a lot of new Representatives and Senators who are inexperienced, and therefore less harmful. 

Validated.  Vindicated. 

I hope to resume posting soon ! 

-TWS

Americans Demand Increased Government Protection

NEW YORK—Alarmed by the unhealthy choices they make every day, more and more Americans are calling on the government to enact legislation that will protect them from their own behavior.


The government is finally starting to take some responsibility for the effect my behavior has on others," said New York City resident Alec Haverchuk, 44, who is prohibited by law from smoking in restaurants and bars. "But we have a long way to go. I can still light up on city streets and in the privacy of my own home. I mean, legislators acknowledge that my cigarette smoke could give others cancer, but don't they care about me, too?"

"It's not just about Americans eating too many fries or cracking their skulls open when they fall off their bicycles," said Los Angeles resident Rebecca Burnie, 26. "It's a financial issue, too. I spend all my money on trendy clothes and a nightlife that I can't afford. I'm $23,000 in debt, but the credit-card companies keep letting me spend. It's obscene that the government allows those companies to allow me to do this to myself. Why do I pay my taxes?" 

Go here to read the rest.  Brilliant.  Poster came from here. 

Bootleggers And Baptists, part 3

In which Bruce Yandle explains his "Bootleggers and Baptists" concept of government regulation. 

Here's Reason magazine:

While serving as the Executive Director of the Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan years, Bruce Yandle developed a theoretical framework he called "bootleggers and Baptists" to help make sense of regulatory dynamics. As the old story goes, when Baptists lobby for dry Sundays, it's the bootleggers who benefit. Yandle's insight was to point out that "bootlegger and Baptist" coalitions are surprisingly common in US politics. Paul Feine sat down to talk with Yandle about modern day examples of "bootleggers and Baptists."



And of course Bruce Yandle teaches at George Mason University, home of the dynamic duo at Cafe Hayek.

Mississippi baby chair, teething ring, and all-purpose cooler

I've been putting in 7-day weeks at Jukt Micronics, and haven't been able to post regularly. 

However, when The Whited Mama sends something this funny, I have to make time ! 

We're going to continue shaping ourselves into some kinda shape and go someplace different and maybe figure out whose ass to kick. Or something like that.

Someone programmed the teleprompter of The President Of The United States with the following statement, intending for it to be read with great sincerity during a live broadcast about the oil spill:

Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is the capacity to shape our destiny -– our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. Even if we're unsure exactly what that looks like. Even if we don't yet know precisely how we're going to get there. We know we'll get there.

Speak for yourself, Barry.  No wonder you don't know whose ass to kick. 

Pic came from here.  Vapidity of the quote was pointed out by Marc Thiessen, among many others.  

Obama has played a lot of golf since the oil spill. As if that's a bad thing.

Check out the video. 
They're talking about Obama's golf, vacations, and concerts as if they're a bad thing.  How much better off would we be if he and 98% of Washington had occupied themselves with golf, vacations, and concerts since January of 2009? 

Is man-made Global Warming falsifiable ?

You remember how Statists used to run around claiming that such-and-such strategy or policy was "right out of Karl Rove's playbook"? 

Well, here's the Statist playbook on getting Cap And Trade passed ASAP, courtesy of links provided by Ann Althouse. 
Page 12, which describes how to frame the opposition, is so Saul Alinsky that it makes my head hurt. 

Why is it so important for them to get something passed immediately?  Here's Ms. Althouse:

You see why this is absolutely necessary, don't you? What if nothing is done and global warming... doesn't happen? What a disaster! But if disastrously extreme measures are taken and then global warming doesn't happen? What a great relief! It will be impossible to tell whether the solution worked or whether global warming just wasn't going to happen anyway. Win-win!

These guys want to control industry, transportation, and most of all, they want to control you.  I've never understood that mindset, but I admit that there's lots of money in it. 
But the climate is not cooperating with the computer models.  The temps have been flat for a while, if not showing a cooling trend in North America.  As best I can tell, it all depends on who is reading the thermometers, massaging the data, and then claiming that the dog ate their homework. 

Even worse, is there anything that would be accepted as proof that Global Warming isn't happening? 

Here's my current favorite debating point when discussing this with alarmists: 

I don't believe that God intervenes in what's happening on this planet.  Or anywhere else.  But hey, I'm open to discussion.  You can change my mind.  If you tell me God has revealed to you that on July 13th of 2021, a baby will be born with two heads, and by the age of two, one head will start speaking Aramaic and the other will speak Choctaw, I'm going to have to re-evaluate my theology if that unlikely event comes to pass.

If you have no scientific background, and you tell me that God has revealed to you, through prayer, how to cure pancreatic cancer, and lo and behold you have a cure for pancreatic cancer, then I have to do some thinking.  (And praying.)

If God were to suddenly interfere with our TV and radio signals for a year and beam in programming from heaven that explains the Book Of Revelation, I would affirm that I've been wrong. 

For the debate on this issue to matter one way or the other, there has to be a possibility of proving one side or the other as false.  But there are millions of good people out there who will always believe that God intervenes.  They can't come up with a scenario that would disprove their opinion that God intervenes in their lives all day every day. 

So.....has the Alarmist side of the Global Warming debate ever admitted that there could be climate trends that would disprove their belief in man-made Global Warming?  I haven't found it yet.  Ice, snow, cold, and hot are all proof that we're warming the planet.  (Plus, do you remember about three years ago, when it became politically incorrect to say "Global Warming" instead of the preferable "Climate Change"?  Ever wonder what that was about?)

The rest of us see the proof every day, and the more snowstorms we see, the more important it is for Obama/Pelosi/Reid to strike while the iron....unh....isn't hot. 

Whose Ass To Kick - Demotivational Poster

Envy Comes Naturally

I'm about 1/4 of the way into a Tivo of John Stossel's recent program on Milton Friedman's classic Free To Choose book and documentary. 
Friedman's analysis of why some places thrive while others languish has always made perfect sense to me. 
I don't understand how anyone can read the book and disagree. 
People generally flock to the places where they have more Freedom To Choose. 
They tend to avoid the others. 

Most of my friends react negatively when someone at their workplace limits their freedom. 
This increases exponentially when the limitations impact home or family. 

So why do relatively sane people go into voting booths and vote for those who have vowed to curtail freedom?  I went to sleep last night intending to ask the question this morning. 

I didn't know I would find the answer waiting on me here via here. 

An old Russian joke tells the story of a peasant with one cow who hates his neighbor because he has two. A sorcerer offers to grant the envious farmer a single wish. "Kill one of my neighbor's cows!" he demands.


And then, commenting on some academic research and experiments.....

Why would people pay to hurt others without any benefit to themselves? Is it not the height of irrationality for a person to harm himself just so he can harm another more? Zizzo and Oswald believe the desire to burn other people's cash "appears to be strong evidence for the existence of some kind of envy or concern for fairness."



The poorest players chose to burn more of the winnings of the wealthiest, but big winners also burned other players, in their case indiscriminately. The researchers speculate that winners may have chosen to burn others as a way of maintaining their rank: They wanted to be first more than they wanted to maximize their cash holdings.

And finally....

Socialists often claim that capitalism is based on humanity's worst impulses, greed and selfishness, despite the fact that people who live in societies that participate in markets tend to be more generous and cooperative than those who don't. Oswald and Zizzo's research suggests that socialists who believe that their ideology appeals to humanity's better instincts have it backwards. Envy is behind the leveling spirit of socialism. A truly generous and rational soul would wish others well, especially if they have done no one any harm.



Only an open society in which people clearly see that they have an opportunity to rise seems capable of containing and channeling humanity's envy instinct. The task for champions of freedom is to encourage people to want more cows for everybody.

Not a perfect answer, but it should work nicely until the real thing comes along.