LIBERTY: Suspend pursuit and give sanctuary to the little people

Friday, August 17, 2007

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MikeGallagher/
2007/08/17/churches_have_no_business_harboring_illegals

Churches have no business harboring illegals
By Mike Gallagher
Friday, August 17, 2007

***Begin Quote***

What happens when a criminal who seeks and receives sanctuary in a church in order to escape prosecution eventually leaves the church?

Good-bye, sanctuary.

Hello, real world.

The soap opera of a woman named Elvira who repeatedly snuck into our country in order to take a job and defy immigration laws is like an episode right out of “The Twilight Zone.” Somehow, she managed to find herself at the doorstep of some Methodist Church in Chicago.

***End Quote***

Sorry, I grew up on Robin Hood movie where the Church gave sanctuary from the King and the pueblo Franciscan gave sanctuary to the poor Mexican peasants. If an escaping slave in pre-Civil War America took refuge in a Church, then shouldn’t the practice of sanctuary have protected him.

If fact, imho, the First Amendment renders the gooferment impotent when it comes to Churches. Churches generically including all Houses of Worship. Just as we’ll free a hundred guilty men to keep one innocent man from being wrongly convicted, so to we will suspend our pursuits of “evil doers” when Houses of Worship are involved.

Now, let’s examine the validity of “immigration law”. Working within the historical perspective of Dred Scott, not every law is to be obeyed. On what Constitutional basis does Congress derive the power to regulate immigration. Seems from my reading that it is a topic that was left with the individual States.

Now let’s think about stray cats and the Statue of Liberty. If you feed stray cats, then don’t be surprised when you are overrun by freeloaders. One of the problems I have with soup kitchens feeding the “homeless” is that it encourages more “homeless”. The Statue of Liberty states America’s willingness to accept ALL yearning to be free. And, willing to work to earn their keep. So immigration law is to prevent freeloading immigrants. But, I object to freeloading natives just as much. So if we eliminate welfare, free medical care, and free education, then we can also eliminate the concept of “illegal immigrant”. I envision the “immigration fence” replaced with a red carpet that says “Welcome to America”, right this way for your free physical, and “do you need any directions?”. We make the operator of the plane or boat responsible for the return trip of the sick or criminals. And open up the Golden Door.

America can be the shining city again.

Sorry, Mike Gallagher, I think your wrong about sanctuary. The conservative big gooferment statists are as wrong as the liberal big gooferment statists. It’s only with a return to the Original Intent will we find the energy that made America a once great nation. Gooferment only makes all of us poorer and less free.

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FUN: Tagging as a good bit of Friday fun

Friday, August 17, 2007

I got tagged by G. Lane Cavalier at http://glcavalier.wordpress.com. Who obviously has too much time on his hands and will do anything to avoid studying his Japanese. You can track back “Tagging” by visiting all the sites that have participated in this foolishness. You might even find something useful in this whole exercise..

*** begin quote ***
The Rules:
1. Post these rules before you give you the facts.
2. List 8 random facts about yourself.
3. At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names (linking to them).
4. Leave them a comment on their blog letting them know they’ve been tagged!
*** end quote ***

Quibble: Rule#1 has been garbled in transmission and I’m too lazy to track it back. I will guess that it should either read “you give your facts” or “you give the facts about yourself”. Hmmm, does a flawed rule mean that you can toss the whole thing? Since I have a huge ego, I’ll go along with he gag. But I doubt I have eight bloggers to tag.

8 Facts about me:

  1. In grammar school, after having been caught throwing paper airplanes on a Friday, I was given the punish lesson to make and number 100,000 by Monday. I called my Mom to bring a numbering machine home from work. And, did you know you can make a paper airplane in four folds that will fly. I was tired of paper airplanes after that.
  2. I served 4 Years in the USAF, and despite going to the three survival schools — air, water, and ground — other than basic training and the survival schools, I never left Maryland.
  3. I’ve traveled by car in 49 of the 50 states.
  4. My wife and I hung out in the same bar for at least a year before we met at my cousin’s wedding, but never met at that bar. She knew most of my bar friends, but never saw me there. (Maybe I was under the table by the time she’d arrive after work.)
  5. I was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for my computer representation of non-English non-Cyrillic languages while assigned to the National security Agency. (As a result of that work, when I was discharged, I was designated as a ‘key intelligence asset’, had a twenty year restriction on foreign travel, and had to file an annual reports on myself and any contacts with foreign nationals. Arghhh!)
  6. In 2004, I had been to every major league baseball stadium at least once.
  7. I’m not “lucky”, but I am an observant injineer. When I was in LasVegas for Comdex, the Rivera was just introducing “loyalty rewards”. On slot machines, they put in ticket dispensers that counted down your play with each coin you gambled. When it reached zero, it spit out a ticket. You could redeem the ticket for prizes. Like a carnival. I realized that people would not leave a slot machine with a low number on it unless they went broke. Thus, the low number was an indicator that the slot hadn’t hit lately. Each break in Comdex session, I get twenty bucks and go play the “low count” slots. I won 22k in two days — several times summoning my wife to wait for the payoff so I could go back to the session. By the next trip 2 months later, when I was ready to kill ’em, they changed the system. Argh!
  8. I am an introvert. As such, I was great as a systems programmer in college. I love the internet because I can avoid people. :-) Like GLaneC!

Here are the Taggee’s:

Kent Blumberg http://kentblumberg.typepad.com
Andrew Flusche http://www.legalandrew.com
Liz Handlin http://ultimate-resumes.blogspot.com
Dave Opton http://execunet.blogspot.com/
Andy Roberts http://distributedresearch.net
Dave Taylor http://www.intuitive.com/blog/
Des Walsh http://www.thinkinghomebusiness.com
Vincent Wright http://linkedinbusinessdiscussionindex.blogspot.com/

(I’m astonished that I could come up with eight.)

FJohn

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Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: Creating a ladder

Friday, August 17, 2007

No, not the kind you use to climb to the roof of your house, but the financial kind.

With the recent shakiness in the market, someone has asked me about my blog post about CD ladders. So, here’s a sanitized version of the advice I gave him.

You might be interested in a ladder to maximize the interest your receive on the savings part of your portfolio, you might want diversification to minimize risk, or you want a flow of readily available cash without forgoing a higher interest rate.

In building a ladder, you can use certificates of deposit, treasury bills and notes, or bonds. Regardless of what you use, the principles are the same.

For sake of discussion, let’s look at a simple ladder. Here’s a four quarter four year ladder:

Year Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4  
0          
1          
2          
3          
4          

Now assuming that you have 16K$ to invest, how do you: set it up, maintain it, and shut it down.

Let’s assume you are doing this at a credit union (I love credit unions.) where they have a full spectrum of terms available and a 1k$ minimum.

You walk in on January 2nd with your 16k$ and buy A one year, two year, three year, and a four year cd for 1k$ each. You also buy a Ninety day, One Hundred Eighty day, and a Two Hundred Seventy day cd for 4k$ each.

Now your ladder looks like this.

Year Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4  
0   4 4 4  
1 1        
2 1        
3 1        
4 1        

On the first business day of each quarter, you go in and redeem your maturing 4k$ cd. They will pay you some small amount of interest. So buy a one year, two year, three year, for 1k$. And a four year cd for 1k$ plus the interest.

Now your ladder looks like this:

Year Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4  
0          
1 1 1 1 1  
2 1 1 1 1  
3 1 1 1 1  
4 1 1+ 1+ 1+  

And, you are in “maintenance” mode.

Each quarter, you go in, redeem your maturing cd, and buy a four year cd for the matured amount.

Now your ladder looks like this at the end of year 1:

Year Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Qtr4  
1          
2 1 1 1 1  
3 1 1 1 1  
4 1 1 1 1  
5 1+ 1+ 1+ 1+  

Now, to just close the ladder out, you can just take every maturing CD as they come due.

OR if you are saving a big purchase like a car or college education, you may wish to “unwind” it.

Let say at the end of year 21, you are buying a house. in Year 17 you wish to begin to “unwind” it for year 20. It’s really simple. In Year 17, instead of buying the Four Year cd, you would buy a Three Year cd. In year 18, instead of buying a Four Year cd, you would buy a Two Year cd. In Year 19, instead of buying a Four Year cd, you would buy a Two Year CD. In Year 20, instead of buying a Four Year cd, you would buy a One Year CD.

In Year 21, with the First Quarter cd, you’d roll it over into a 270 day cd. Similarly, Second Quarter would roll into a 180 day cd. Third Quarter rolls into a 90 day cd. In the Fourth Quarter of Year 21, you redeem all the cds for the new house.

That’s how a ladder works.

Why do it?

* You are always getting the highest rate of interest.

* You always have cash becoming available for emergencies.

* You are minimizing your risk of interest rate fluctuations.

What is it useful for?

* You can have your own little annuity or steady pension plan (i.e., take the interest and reinvest the principle).

* You can have an emergency fund when you need it that earns a little more interest.

* Your savings can keep pace with inflation.

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GUNS: You have a right to defend yourself, your family, and your community

Friday, August 17, 2007

http://www.gazette.com/opinion/county_25986___article.html/sick_time.ht

Unarmed lawmaker mugged by reality
– Colorado Springs Gazette (Second article)

***Begin Quote***

The Colorado Springs Gazette writes: “We wouldnt wish getting mugged on anyone; being the victim of a violent crime is a terrifying experience. But we do hope other anti-firearms legislators can learn from DeBoses experience and realize that people have a right to defend themselves and their loved ones. In a free society, the government shouldnt prevent them from doing so.”

***End Quote***

The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms shall not be infringed.

Dead Old white Guys were pretty smart!

Too bad we’re so dumb. The police are just the clean up squad. By definition, they can’t arrive until after trouble starts. Like the bumper sticker says “Dial 911 and die!”.

It is ironic when the anti-gun legislator wishes he had a gun. Usually the “elite” vote themselves special privileges. Wonder how he felt being part of the serf class?

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INTERESTING: Imus Sued by Rutgers Basketball Player

Friday, August 17, 2007

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=3479449&page=2

Don Imus Sued by Rutgers Basketball Player
Star Center Kia Vaughn Names Imus, NBC, CBS in Civil Suit

***Begin Quote***

Earlier today, The Associated Press reported that Imus had reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with former employer CBS over his firing. ABC News has learned that Imus could be back to broadcasting as early as January, and is being courted by major media outlets. That settlement, said Ancowitz, rewards Imus while leaving little justice for the women of the Rutgers basketball team.

“He’s come out smelling like quite the rose. But what about these young women? How does Imus’ victory affect their self-esteem? Where do they go to get their reputations back?”

***End Quote***

Stick ‘n’ stones … …

I guess it’s not about one’s reputation, but the dead presidents.

While what Imus said was deplorable, and as a RU women’s bball fan I think he should take some lumps about it, there was an element of truth in his statement. He was comparing the LadyVols to the LadyKnights and there is definitely a difference in appearance.

Of course, saying that wouldn’t get him big ratings, so he had to say it in a more shocking fashion.

The moral umbrage of the politicians is understandable. They need to get their mug in front of the parade. (Remember where Gov Corzine was going when he wasn’t wearing his seat belt.) Politicians and bureaucrats can always be counted on to create a problem and then rush to “solve” it in such a way as it benefits them.

The RU women had the 15 minutes of fame and now will resume their proper place in the Universe. Reputations? There’s no doubt that Imus’ remarks were hurtful. But really, damage to a reputation? Sorry, I don’t see it.

A more interesting question is “does women’s basketball to closely emulate the man’s game?” In our “equality” society, are men and women truly equal? We send our women to die in foreign lands in the name of gender equality. But is that the “best” use of human talents?

Then, move on to the question of equality. Can men and women ever be truly “equal”? Are they not the complementary half of the male. If one has to halves of the clue, then can you say that one is “better” than the other. One is no good without the other. There is no “better”. there is no “equality”.

Of course, it would be easy to observe that both schools are gooferment creatures (i.e., state funded institutions of “higher learning”). Hence, they shouldn’t exist.

So, perhaps this is just about extracting some loose change.

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RANT: Dead Men Farming

Thursday, August 16, 2007

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2007/08/15/dead_men_farming?page=2

Dead Men Farming
By John Stossel
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

John Stossel is an award-winning news correspondent and author of Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel–Why Everything You Know is Wrong.

*** begin quote ***

Besides all the obvious ones, there’s another reason to end farm subsidies. They show us to be hypocrites. How can we preach free trade in talks with developing nations when we subsidize farmers who then dump their crop surpluses in poor countries and wreck their domestic farms?

Give me a break.

*** end quote ***

Ron Paul has said that nuking the Agriculture Department is a top priority.

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MONEY: withdraw roughly 4 percent of my retirement savings each year

Thursday, August 16, 2007

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/13/pf/expert/expert.moneymag/index.htm

Retirement: The 4 percent solution
Many retirees are confused about how much of their savings to take out each year. Money Magazine’s Walter Updegrave explains the 4 percent rule.
Money Magazine
By Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor
August 14 2007: 10:32 AM EDT

***Begin Quote***

NEW YORK (Money) — Question: I’ve read that if I withdraw roughly 4 percent of my retirement savings each year to live on, my money will last virtually forever. But does this 4 percent include the money my portfolio already kicks off in dividends and interest? Or is the 4 percent withdrawal on top of that? – Doug Martin, Syracuse, New York

Answer: First, let me say you’re not the only person mystified by the workings of the 4 percent withdrawal rule. I get questions about it all the time, so I’m happy to clear up the confusion.

Money Magazine’s Walter Updegrave gives his advice on the best way to maximize your retirement savings when you are just starting out.

And while I’m doing that, I’d also like to point out that, like any rule of thumb, this one is really only a general guideline. It’s not as if the Retirement Gods have decreed that everyone must use a 4 percent initial withdrawal rate, or that doing so guarantees the best retirement.

But before I get into some of the subtleties about this oft-quoted rule, let me explain how it works. Many people think that the 4 percent rule means that you simply withdraw 4 percent of retirement savings each year. But that’s not right. In fact, the 4 percent figure applies only to the percentage of your savings that you withdrawal the first year of retirement.

You then increase the dollar amount of that initial withdrawal for inflation each year.

***End Quote***

Rules of thumb are great. Even if they made the mistake and took 4% each year, they wouldn’t be far wrong. And, if else fails, one COULD — not recommended — buy a low cost annuity and take all the guess work out of it.

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GUNS: RKBA what it means to be an American

Thursday, August 16, 2007

http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070813/EDITORIAL/108130006/1013

Bearing arms
Scott McPherson
August 13, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Scott McPherson of the Future of Freedom Foundation writes: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms is an important and integral part of what it means to be an American. In fact, it could be said to represent the most important and integral part of being an American. When our ancestors followed the example of half the state governments and included a “right to arms” provision in the Federal Bill of Rights, they unapologetically and irrefutably established a nation of free and autonomous individuals.”

***End Quote***

Hopefully, we can get control of the government without using the final “check” in the Constitution’s “Checks and Balances”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem unavoidable.

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LIBERTY: it’s nice for somebody to cut a ribbon for a new structure

Thursday, August 16, 2007

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/13/commentary/lashinsky_atlas.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007081406url

Why is America falling apart? Ask Ayn Rand
Collapsing bridges, flooded subways, trapped miners: our recent disasters recall a novel from a half century ago. Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky explores the nation’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ moment.
FORTUNE Magazine
By Adam Lashinsky, Fortune senior writer
August 14 2007: 6:16 AM EDT

***Begin Quote***

As for the political leadership, infrastructure spending is one of those rare instances where President Bush’s take is spot-on correct, though his words likely won’t be heeded because he is so unpopular and divisive. (The immigration debate, where the president has been pragmatic and right from the beginning, also comes to mind.) Asked if gasoline taxes should be raised to pay for infrastructure improvements, the president chastised Congress for favoring attention-getting new projects over boring maintenance needs.

He’s right. Liberals like Chuck Schumer agree. “Routine but important things like maintenance always get shortchanged because it’s nice for somebody to cut a ribbon for a new structure,” Schumer recently told the New York Times.

Today’s Randians, of course, have an answer to our woes: Privatize everything. No way a bridge falls if a profit-seeking company, properly incentivized, had been charged with maintaining it, goes the argument. That, however, is dangerous thinking. There are certain things the market just can’t be trusted to handle. Imagine that bridge-maintenance company having to cut expenses this quarter by delaying work for just a few days. Imagine how the CEO might feel if the stock would drop if he couldn’t make the quarter.

***End Quote***

Of course, the CEO of the bridge maintenance company might delay maintenance for a profit. But, I’ll bet a dollar that the insurance company and the Board of Directors, and their insurance companies, will be all over his ass!

If there is a one thing that insurance companies know, it that collecting premiums is much more profitable than paying claims.

And, auditors usually report directly to the Audit Committee of the BoD. All they have to do is whisper that there is a problem and everyone is running around like their shorts are on fire to solve it.

So, I’d suggest that we would all be far safer if the gooferment got out of planning, operating, and maintaining anything.

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RANT: Voting on stuff that is never read

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

From the DownSizeDC gang

*** begin quote ***

All in all, the House passed 48 bills in the last week before the August recess, and the Senate passed 32. We normally tell you the total number of pages of legislation Congress passed, but this week, we just don’t have the time to add it all up. And we don’t think that is needed to prove the point: members of Congress can’t possibly have time to read and understand the bills they pass.

*** end quote ***

It’s amazing that they can vote to approve stuff that has never been read.

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RANT: the Southern Baptists were anti-war

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/vance/vance117.html

What Happened to the Southern Baptists?
by Laurence M. Vance

*** begin quote ***

“We can see no just ground for the enormous military and naval establishment now being built up and maintained by our government.”
~ Southern Baptist Convention, 1936

“We express pride and strong support for our American military.”
~ Southern Baptist Convention, 2004

What happened to the Southern Baptists?

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. The annual meeting of the SBC was held this year in San Antonio, Texas, on June 12 and 13. President Bush addressed the crowd of thousands of messengers via satellite with a nine-minute speech on the closing day “to multiple lengthy applauses and standing ovations,” according to Baptist Press, the official news agency of the SBC.

*** end quote ***

In http://tinyurl.com/2nfnrc, I blogged about the “interesting” fact that “Balancing Church and State” has led to the State taking over religion in the new Amerika.

The serfs can no longer use the Church (i.e., encompassing all religious denominations including the Atheists and Wiccans) as a counter-balance to the oppressive State. When opposing the intrusions of Gooferment into religion, the Atheists and Wiccans are “the enemy of my enemy”.

The Gooferment took over the functions of the Catholic Church and allowed the scandals to diminish its influence. So to, it subverted the Southern Baptist from their anti-war stance into a pro-Gooferment entity.

Seems straight line to me, opposed the gooferment and you will get “converted” by hook, crook, or force.

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PRODUCTIVITY: NIH

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

http://www.populistamerica.com/ripple_and_ripley_effects

Ripple and Ripley Effects
August 7, 2007
by Clay Barham

***Begin Quote***

The Ripley effect, however, is a syndrome related to incompetence. The night nurse making her rounds illustrates incompetence. She wakes the patient at 2 AM to give him his sleeping pill. Thought never enters into the situation. It is that kind of thinking that pervades the halls of government, if you can call it thinking. It is associated with government because thinking is actually frowned upon and dangerous for the one who might do the thinking. It is always better to stick with instructions and the already established practice. Even better, avoid all thought and action by delays or further investigations and hearings.

This brings me to General James Ripley, Chief of Ordnance under Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. President Lincoln did not suffer from a condition of normal bureaucratic mental constipation, as has always been the dominant thinking process for civil servants and political appointees. When confronted by a builder of hot air balloons, one equipped to soar above a battlefield for observation, Lincoln ordered General Winfield Scott to try it. Reluctantly, Scott used one at the Battle of Manassas. The information provided by the observers helped the outnumbered Union forces win that battle. The Ripley Effect set in, however, and General Scott refused to use it again, though it proved useful. After all, it was NIH, not invented here, but by Lincoln.

***End Quote***

On display everywhere!

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TECH SOFTWARE: a collection of portable apps

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

http://portableapps.com/suite

PortableApps.com Suite
your computer, without the computer™

***Begin Quote***

PortableApps.com Suite™ is a collection of portable apps including a web browser, email client, office suite, calendar/scheduler, instant messaging client, antivirus, sudoku game, backup utility and integrated menu, all preconfigured to work portably. Just drop it on your portable device and you’re ready to go.

***End Quote***

Interesting. Your USB fob is all you need for any strange machine. Great idea. Even my personal machine is strange!

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RANT: FTC surprise “fast food restaurants try to sell food to kids”

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

http://www.cecsearch.com/WordPress/2007/08/13/welcome-to-the-nanny-states-of-america

Welcome to the nanny states of America.
August 13th, 2007 by Chief Executive Restaurant Recruiter

*** begin quote ***

Hey FTC surprise, fast food restaurants try to sell food to kids. In a a move that seems completely motivated by the meddlesome, nanny-wannabe attitude of our government officials, the FTC decides that they should investigate the marketing practices of 5 restaurant company giants.

***and***

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of the government telling me “what’s best for me” and trying to legislate my “perfect life.”

***and***

Can we not find better things to do with our tax dollars than fund ridiculous investigations of the fast food industry and whether or not they are trying to sell more hamburgers to kids.

*** end quote ***

Welcome to the war that us libertarians of all stripes (i.e., Big L, Little L, Free Marketeer, Small Government. and other flavors) have been fighting for decades. Perhaps you might now consider that the gooferment can’t do ANYTHING right. Let alone do something in an efficient or effective manner.

It was the gooferment that labeled “butter bad; margarine good” in some world war or another. Seems like we are always at “war”! It is the gooferment that now tells us that “transfats are bad”. (Isn’t that just like margarine?) And, don’t smoke, drink, or forget to wear your seat belts. (Recently they surmised a woman and her children drowned when she could NOT free the children from their gooferment mandated child seats. Some of us can remember cars without the optional seat belts.) (P.S.: New Hampshire without a seat belt law has a high rate of seat belt use than Taxachusetts where it’s mandatory!) And, you don’t need any of them there vitamins or supplements says the FDA. (Guess because they are cheap insurance and none of their buddies — I mean “regulated” drug companies — can profit from them, you can’t have them.) And since the gooferment regulate food and drug, the gooferment is allowed to tell you what you can or can’t put in your body. Like Thalidomide. But, the geese will be safe no that patty faux grasss has been added to the banned list.

Never mind that medical cost and drug costs are thru the roof due to regulation. I have to go the gooferment approved doc to get a gooferment approved Rx that I can take to the gooferment approved “drug” store built to gooferment standards and staffed with gooferment approved druggists following gooferment approved procedures who will sell me gooferment regulated drug manufactured in gooferment approved facilities built to gooferment standards. And you wonder why costs are high. time to market for new drugs are long, and mistakes are made all the time?

Taxes are theft. Regulation and Inflation are just taxes in a different guise. Wouldn’t we all be better off if they would slim back down to Constitutional size.

Just wait, you have seen anything yet. The gooferment is like the Blob and absorbs everything. Now where is my pitchfork and torch. The townsfolk are assembling to burn City Hall and I don’t want to be late. Or was it Frankenstein’s castle?

Argh! Thanks for getting me aggravated!

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FUN: UNSTOPPABLE

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

UNSTOPPABLE

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PRODUCTIVITY: who do we pass our costs along to?

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

http://thelibertarianforum.com/General/Minimum-wage-is-not-necessary.html

Minimum wage and other labor laws hurt the poor and aren’t necessary. Written by Omer Altay
Tuesday, 14 August 2007

***Begin Quote***

Minimum wage and other labor laws are aimed to protect workers and raise standards, but does that really happen? Minimum wage by definition creates unemployment. It eliminates every job that’s worth less than $5.15 an hour (the federal minimum wage). The fact is that a business is not a charity. If a business determines that a person’s labor is not worth $5.15 an hour, or whatever the local minimum wage is, they have no reason to keep that person employed. Paying the worker a bonus to meet the minimum wage would be charity work, and many businesses don’t have the finances or interest in such charity work, and will instead lay off the employee instead of raising their pay.

Minimum wage simply does not protect the worker at all, but instead, gets rid of every low skilled job that’s worth less than $5.15 an hour.

***End Quote***

So we have to be productive above the minimum wage. Businesses are not charities; nor are they tax collectors. Everything is passed along.

But who do we pass our costs along to?

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INTERESTING: publicity-seeking politician eager to sacrifice “us”

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

http://www.smartmoney.com/tradecraft/index.cfm?story=20070813

Government Shouldn’t Bail Out Failing Homeowners
By Jonathan Hoenig
Published: August 13, 2007

***Begin Quote***

The more the government gets involved in mortgages and banking, the tighter credit will become. But beyond the impractical reality of collectivist economics, a bailout of homeowners facing foreclosure would be an immoral violation of the property rights of the millions of citizens who live within their means and pay their bills on time. The responsibility of paying back subprime mortgage rests with those who took them, not the publicity-seeking politician eager to sacrifice the individual for the “public good.”

***End Quote***

Here’s an interesting take on how the gooferment creates the problem and then rushes in to “save us”!

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Easily forgotten events VJ day

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Medals of America http://www.usmedals.com/ sent out a email.

vj-day-3-flat 13

vj-day-3-flat 15

It touched me. I’m one of those grumpy old far … … fogeys who thinks that, whatever one’s politics, you have to recognize the sacrifices that some have made as a result of some politician’s decision.

Bring the boys and girls home on the first thing heading this way. Period. Any politician who disagrees, is more than welcome to pick up a rifle and stand a post. Stealing a line from “A Few Good Men”.

*** begin quote ***

Col. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

*** end quote ***

My message to the politicians is “quite frankly I don’t care what you think you’ve decided.” When you lead from the front, then and only then, will it matter what you think or decide.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: stupid jerks who’ve never seen a nuclear bomb

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/reese/reese385.html

Instant Death
by Charley Reese

*** begin quote ***

One of the Americans interviewed who had participated in the raid on Hiroshima said that people who say we ought to nuke this or that country “are stupid jerks who’ve never seen a nuclear bomb. If they had, they wouldn’t say that.”

*** end quote ***

I am afraid of politicians, bureaucrats, and pundit who don’t appreciate the real world facts. When they talk about using nukes, “turning the Middle East into glass”, and other bellicose bumper stickers, then imho convict themselves of stupidity by their own words. Maybe I am overly sensitive, In a College Theology course, one of the assigned reading was of the Jesuit priest who was near Nagasaki after the bomb hit. For sheer destruction, it was shocking. If I was the Lord High Sheriff of Nottingham, I’d condemn them to immediately go to Nagasaki and Hiroshima and adsorb what their words mean. But, I’m not the Lord High Sheriff, I’m not anything, other than one fellow who wouldn’t vote for them as Dog Catcher. To speak so glibly about such terrible consequences, shows me just how shallow they are. We don’t need leader like that. We need ones that understand that words have consequences.

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MONEY: Fed creates $37 billion on the spot

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/reality-vs-state.html

Reality vs. the State
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

***Begin Quote***

So on it went for seventy years, until one day the entire hoax was exposed by the ultimate reality test: the market economy. Bad credit risks didn’t pan out. Those who lent without regard for underlying fundamentals are suddenly seeing red all over the place. Bankruptcy ensues. Those who purchased repackaged mortgages on the open market find themselves with a hot potato and no one to toss it to.

So what does the government do then? It runs to the basement and turns on the printing presses. It creates $37 billion on the spot and buys up the bad loans and calls them assets. The government says that this is to create confidence. But confidence can’t be created by making up reality. That path only leads to more illusion and error.

***End Quote***

Didn’t anyone think that “averting the crisis” was in and of itself a problem? Anyone still believe the gooferment’s core inflation rate numbers? Anyone not concerned where this runaway freight train is heading at full steam?

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: how effective this brave security cordon

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/suprynowicz/suprynowicz71.html

Who Really Has the Monkey On His Back?
by Vin Suprynowicz

*** begin quote ***

Airline passengers who grit their teeth and resign themselves to having all kinds of inoffensive belongings seized by the blue-gloved airport goons will be pleased to know how effective this brave security cordon really turns out to be.

Late Monday a passenger in Lima, Peru boarded a Spirit Airlines jet for Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Arriving in this country, he presumably passed through all the required “international arrival” security rigmarole, killing several hours in the secure area of the Fort Lauderdale airport before boarding a plane to LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

*** end quote ***

Making the airport security theater the laughing stock it deserves to be. And you trust the buffoons to keep you safe? Please don’t make me laff even harder!

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LIBERTY: you must have tolerance for things you don’t like

Monday, August 13, 2007

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2007/tle430-20070812-04.html

The Problem with Conservatives
by Sean Gangol

***Begin Quote***

It reminded me of the reasons why I chose Libertarianism, instead of becoming a die-hard conservative. If you truly want to live in a free society, you must have tolerance for things you don’t like. You may not like abortion, drugs or homosexuality, but these are things you have to co-exist with if you want to live free. If you are the type that want control over other people’s bodies or if you want to treat a certain group of people like secondary citizens, then a police state is the only place you belong.

***End Quote***

Sounds reasonable to me.

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Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Verizon

Monday, August 13, 2007

Just wasted about an hour over a few days, trying to put in my new credit card number into their website. Love it. It wouldn’t update the number, looked like it worked, but when you put the auth code in you could see that it was using the old number. Argh! Called up, waited, and found out that it can only be done thru the phone and an automated unit. Argh! Argh! So why have that option on the website?

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Posted by reinkefj

LIBERTY: pleading for a military invasion

Monday, August 13, 2007

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/08/12/zimbabwes_horrors/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+–+Jeff+Jacoby+columns

Zimbabwe’s horrors By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | August 12, 2007

***Begin Quote***

NO ONE is surprised when a Roman Catholic bishop condemns the violence of war. But when was the last time you heard of one pleading for a military invasion?

***End Quote***

No, sorry, it’s not up to the taxpayers to fund a “nation building” exercise. As we learned in Iraq, you can’t build a nation without using force. And, you become the bad guy

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Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: Resume Spider (not recommended)

Monday, August 13, 2007

http://www.resumespider.com/

This came up on my radar and I took a look at it. And this big fat old turkey is unimpressed. Anytime you have to hunt for how much something costs that to me is a big red flag. In looking at it, I had three observations:

(1) It suffers from what I call LinkedIn syndrome — you can only have one resume — so how can you customize for the oppty under consideration;

(2) It’s three blind mice — who is looking at your resume, who is submitting it duplicatively (I lost a job that way), and who are you selling into.

(3) It costs the seeker money.

So it has a lot of negatives in my mind. Any one of these would turn me off.

YMMV

*** begin quote ***

Plan A – $39.95
Resume Distribution
One time fee – 3 distributions. We will email your profile to recruiters, employers and corporate hiring managers that have registered at ResumeSpider to receive your information. These targeted leads are matched by your desired job function, industry and location.

Plan B – $69.95
Resume Distribution Plus
(Valued at $79.90)
Same as Plan A. We also provide you their contact information, track who has opened and evaluated your resume, and give you access to the SpiderTalk private messaging system.

Plan C – $99.95
Combo Package
(Valued at $119.85)
Same as Plan B. In addition, you now have access to our Industry List containing 100s or 1000s of company contacts. We do not send your resume to this list; however this list provides you a minimum of one key contact name at companies targeted by their office locations and their respective industries. If you are applying to job ads, you usually don’t know who received your resume, so this information can very helpful because now you have a name to contact.

*** end quote ***

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26 Comments | JOBSEARCH | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: Bridge Collapse Lessons

Monday, August 13, 2007

http://www.mises.org/story/2668

The Wrong Lessons of the Bridge Collapse
By Brad Edmonds
Posted on 8/6/2007

“Imagine how safe we’d feel if the people who inspect and approve bridges could actually lose their jobs and their fortunes if they make a fatal mistake!”

*** begin quote ***

The collapse of a bridge in rush-hour Minneapolis must be well known by nearly everyone in the United States by now. Whenever anyone dies, it’s a tragedy; when many die, and expensive property (dozens of automobiles) is lost, that’s obviously a tragedy. When all this loss of life and wealth happens because government bureaucrats did their jobs poorly or correctly, that’s a preventable and costly tragedy — bought at the expense of many taxpayers who likely would have done other things with their money than pay those bureaucrats. Remember, those who might have done other things with their money include the dead victims.

*** end quote ***

I know everyone thinks I am a loon, but take, for example, this bridge collapse, and ask the question who in the gooferment got fired for a poor job?

Yup, no one!

As a matter of fact, gooferment at all levels is going to steal MORE of your money so that they can NOT do what they are supposed to be doing.

I just don’t know how we can be so stupid NOT to see the flaw in the gooferement — both the nanny state and father homeland are a joke. Unless it’s your money they are used to stealing.

Where’s my pitch fork?

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Posted by reinkefj

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