Jan/090
Predictions for the New Year
With all of the old media and new media hacks trying their hands at prognostication, I might as well do the same. So here is my grim prognosis for the New Year.
- Riots in China: hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers from remote villages have earned their livings in large coastal cities, most with no legal rights to live in those cities. With the cooling economy these workers are returning home. The lucky ones still have a family plot of land where they can grow enough food to live (if not to prosper). The unlucky ones have seen their land appropriated (with little compensation) by local governments and handed over to corporations. Without a major policy change by the government, these workers will become disillusioned and demand a better life for them and their families.
- Collapse of commodity prices: The steep reduction in energy costs will temporarily drive a reduced production of ethanol, freeing up corn for animal feed and reducing the price of other staples (such as barley). This should make items ranging from breakfast cereal to beer cheaper, which will be needed because of…
- Continued recession in the US: Further job loss and reduced economic output in the US through at least November of 2009.
There you go, and in twelve months we can see how I stack up to the people that get paid for this sort of stuff. The great thing about predicting doom and gloom is that you are happy to be proven wrong.
Nov/080
Where is the money going?
My employer like many has a United Way drive every year. Although I like to give, I always wonder how each charity direct their money. The cynic in me theorizes that a big portion goes to an exec that adds little value.
The people at Charity Navigator obviously had similiar concerns and more drive to do something about the matter.
Check out the good, the bad and the ugly.
Some of my favorites are First Book and the DC Central Kitchen.
Nov/080
Go Vote!
It is election day and for those of you without early balloting it is time to go out, wait in line and VOTE!
Will it be the O-Chili-Bama Burrito, or the McCain-Chilada Burrito?
Both will leave you not quite satisfied, both have more hype than substance and both are deceptively bad for your middle. However a choice must be made, and you don’t get to complain about the bloating and uncomfortableness that the next four years will bring unless you do your civic duty and vote.
Waiting in line on 11/1 to cast absentee ballots
It is hard to tell when I will have an eight hour day and when I will have a twelve hour day, so I stood in line for two hours on Saturday 11/1/08 to
May/063
Saudi Justice
In a great example of Saudi Arabian justice, a man tried to rape his Filipina maid. She stopped him by cutting off his wang.
She is in police custody, and he is resting comfortably after surgery to reattach the offending member.
Jan/060
Hero
Lets all take a moment to remember Margaret Elizabeth Taylor who died on November ninth of 2005, leaving her entire estate to pay off the National Debt! Maybe it will start a trend for those that are ashamed of the mess they are leaving for future generations of Americans.
Oct/050
Survey Says
I have a new bad habit… talking to telemarketers. Luckily they are not trying to sell me stuff, only get my opinion on various items. It all started out when one of the televised Virginia Gubernatorial debates claimed they would let Russ Potts in to the debate if he polled at 15% or greater. Being a supporter of multi-party democracy (where multi is greater than 2) I am still appalled that valid independent candidates are stonewalled in this country.
Yesterday I got a survey call after the Redskins game, and being in a good mood after the Redskins 52-17 win over the 49ers, I decided to participate. It was regarding the Israeli Palestinian situation, and other than the telemarketer (tele-sureveyor?) pronouncing Hamas as Hummus it went as well as a 20 minute phone survey can go. However, it really didn’t let me express my full opinion on the matter. So, just to set the record straight here is a bit of what I feel on this matter.
Sep/053
Vancouver Addicts
One of the less savory aspects of downtown Vancouver is that a block from Gastown, one of Vancouver’s most hyped tourist traps, is an area defined by its missions, needle-exchange programs, and other outreach programs. This includes people passed out on sidewalks, aggresive pick-pockets, and other homeless people.
This area of Vancouver is still safer than most of DC, but it can be a bit unnerving to realize that the person that you just denied a handout too is now following you down the street, this happened on my first trip to Vancouver. A friend of ours ate at one of the downtown cafe’s in Gastown and the waitress asked them to put their camera away as they had already had one stolen purse, and three stolen tips that day.
The drug of choice in the area seems to be Heroin, which at least produces a mostly non-violent addict. In the most recent trip I ran into an aggressive, ultra-hyper, twitchy guy with an unlikely story (even more unlikely than most) and he insisted on showing me that there were no track marks on his arms. Even though from the look of his teeth, he was a crystal-meth addict. He walked with me most of the way back to the hotel, and the twitching was a bit concerning so I kept him talking. He realized that I was not buying his story as I neared my hotel and I was able to duck inside with only the threat violence.
Recognizing that outreach, needle-exchange, and suprevised injection programs do serve the public good, to what extent do these efforts draw additional addicts to certain areas, allow people to continue with self-destructive activities, and perhaps put law-abiding citizens and visitors at increased risk of violent crime? Perhaps the two people with degrees in Public Health could shed some light here.
Jun/051
Russ Potts
Tired of partisan politics? Tired of candidates winning elections on promises of a free lunch? Tired of candidates who run campaigns based on defaming their opponent? Tired of dissenting voices being silenced by the mainstream political parties? If you are, you may want to check out Russ Potts who is running as an Independent for Governor.
He may not click 100% with my politics, but he is the front runner for my vote in November.
I was planning not to comment on the elections, until I was completely decided on a candidate, then I read this quote from Kilgore regarding the gubernatorial debates:
“I support . . . voters [getting] a view of candidates that can actually win this election,”
When pressed as to whether this meant this was a no to including Russ Potts in the debates Kilgore said:
“That’s a no.”
Apparently someone is scared of the public hearing Potts’ message.
May/055
One Sick Senate
The Washington Post has a great piece by Dick Meyer, which describes the “nuclear” debate on judicial nominees as a symptom of systemic disease which is slowly killing the character of the senate.
The Senate has managed to conduct the business of confirming or rejecting federal judges with relative efficiency and only occasional controversy for some 200 years. That the Senate is now going nuclear (to use its own vocabulary) over this legislative chore is a symptom of a rather serious illness in the upper body.
I agree with his arguments, especially with the assertion that this Senate has not passed any legislation that will be remembered positively ten years from now.