Making Widows Wince

Modest Proposal Part 1 - 2008-06-30 11:30 Modest Proposal #1 For efficient use of limited governmental resources and better economies of scale, consider this: Fold the dept. of education and the Department of prisons into the Department of defense. That's what change is all about -- doing things differently. If you watch the MSNBC prison specials on TV and see the high school graduation rates now that No Child Left behind has taken full effect, (or remember, faintly, the word Haditha) -- you must be ready for this. Especially if you are no longer eligible to join the army because of age or infirmity. We have confused our next generation with words and titles -- and since they are going to have to pay for our retirements and clean up the messes anyway (plural -- spell check has more of a problem with the concept than we do,) I think that a better structure is needed to channel our bovine-ey children. This will also allow for a better ca...

Capitalism and Ponzi - 2008-06-30 09:58 Capitalism is a Ponzi scheme writ large. It depends on growth at all times or it falls apart. Imagine years of 0% growth in the United States -- there would be riots. Growth depends on only two things -- both evidenced by the term productivity -- getting more from more, strip mining; getting more for less, people mining. Think of a credit card that sits quietly in your pocket. Every year gets 4% added to the bill. That's capitalism. In order to work, there must be 4% more of something to get it balanced. The way that the bill gets paid is productivity -- you either dig a finite resource out of the ground, or find a person who can do more work for less money. Some good stuff happens with capitalism -- as the % grows, standards of living grow -- people have a more and better lifestyle in the commonly accepted way it's determined (health, diet, longevity, security.) But it's all based on continued growt...

The Cow My broad back bent from years of carry the type of weight fat people take for granted. Strong as an ox Bones compressed Teeth ground to stubs Acres to go before I sleep. Dependable, steady rocky constant I live without understanding how substantial I am. I feel with a slow lumber, move with careful steps, and pause the methodical of my life to ruminate. Things change and the sun rises I do what’s in front of me to do until they eat me. by Mike Brady

Bird Watching - 2008-06-28 17:03 Bird watching has come of age according to England’s Guardian newspaper. Evidently the same skills and tools that a bird watcher uses to spend an idle weekend of watching birds translate into a security risk in the United States.             What’s the connection and why the hell would people stare at birds anyway?             Don’t know, but here is a theory.             Birder.com notes a few things that a bird watcher needs to get started. They need a guide (maps and stuff,) and expensive binoculars, noting, “ Newcomers with a cheap binocular see a fuzzy ball of feathers and don't have a clue which bird it is.”             These are the very same items a terrorist would need to scope out...