who needs fiction when we have reality. boeing has decided to build a new production line for the dreamliner in south carolina, which is a right to work state. the NLRB has said this is illegal because it is punishment of unions in washington for striking in the past. WOW.
its not like they are shutting a line down in washington. they are building new capacity elsewhere. at least its in the united states! there is a reason all the foreign car manufacturer's plants are in the southeastern part of the country.
this is not union busting on boeing's part; its exercising good business judgment
the fall of the empire continues
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
INTERNET GAMING; LEGALIZE AND TAX
the US just indicted 3 companies and 6 people for bank fraud in connection with running internet poker sites in the US. they are all offshore and no one has been arrested.
the market in the US is 5 billion, worldwide it is $30 billion
they are probably guilty. but that is maybe not the point. we live in a global, internet world. gaming is legal and taxed when land based. lets do the same with the internet.
these companies would submit to taxation in exchange for not being subject to arrest. if we taxed them at 20%, thats $1 billion a year. not much with a trillion dollar deficit but its a start. if we legalize, the market probably increases by 4 times; this will probably cannibalize land based casinos but they can buy into the internet market.
this is much easier than figuring out what to do in libya. Qaddafi is dropping cluster bombs on civilians, so chicken shit obama handing it off to NATO is working just fine
the market in the US is 5 billion, worldwide it is $30 billion
they are probably guilty. but that is maybe not the point. we live in a global, internet world. gaming is legal and taxed when land based. lets do the same with the internet.
these companies would submit to taxation in exchange for not being subject to arrest. if we taxed them at 20%, thats $1 billion a year. not much with a trillion dollar deficit but its a start. if we legalize, the market probably increases by 4 times; this will probably cannibalize land based casinos but they can buy into the internet market.
this is much easier than figuring out what to do in libya. Qaddafi is dropping cluster bombs on civilians, so chicken shit obama handing it off to NATO is working just fine
Saturday, March 12, 2011
LIBYA FUCK UP; CLUELESS IN GAZA
the literary allusion is to eyeless in gaza, by aldous huxley, which has nothing to do with gaza but i have always loved the title
anyway, while we will see what happens in tunisia and egypt, the latter way more important, the pusillanimous pussy footers are fucking up big time in libya.
in egypt, the army was professional, with a 20 year relationship with the american military. in libya a very different story. while it was important for us not to be very visible in egypt; when kadafi started murdering people and bombing people we should have enforced a no fly zone.
it is probably too late and it will be bad and he may hold on
anyway, while we will see what happens in tunisia and egypt, the latter way more important, the pusillanimous pussy footers are fucking up big time in libya.
in egypt, the army was professional, with a 20 year relationship with the american military. in libya a very different story. while it was important for us not to be very visible in egypt; when kadafi started murdering people and bombing people we should have enforced a no fly zone.
it is probably too late and it will be bad and he may hold on
Monday, February 28, 2011
MICHELLE OBAMA IS RIGHT ON DIET!
the likelihood of me agreeing with anything with name obama on it is low. however michelle obama's initiative for healthier eating for kids, and presumably everyone is a no brainer. we are experiencing a healthcare crisis as regards health and paying for it.
so much of healthcosts are lifestyle driven. take obesity and type 2 diabetes, totally lifestyle driven
the right is attacking her under some odd big brother theory. they are wrong
we all need to get our act together and eat better, exercise more
my first and probably last pro obama endorsement
so much of healthcosts are lifestyle driven. take obesity and type 2 diabetes, totally lifestyle driven
the right is attacking her under some odd big brother theory. they are wrong
we all need to get our act together and eat better, exercise more
my first and probably last pro obama endorsement
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
EGYPT IS NEXT
certain things seem to go on forever and people therefore conclude they will continue to go on forever. expect they don't. look at the soviet union. who would have thought. then poof. iran, romania, now tunisia. poof. and the tiniest thing can light the fuse. an impoverished vegetable seller gets busted for selling without a license, then immolates himself, literally lighting the fuse and poof the government is toppled.
egypt is next. the people will not step down, the government will crack down, there will be blood in the streets. what will america do? what will europe do? dont hold your breath on europe
under the banner of realpolitik we tend to back authoritarian regimes that sort of do our bidding. clearly not a moral policy, often not an effective policy.
Mubarak is old and sick and will go one way or another. we should weigh in and help el baradei and the egyptian people create a democracy. there needs to be an alternative between corrupt autocrats and corrupt religious fanatics
POOF!
egypt is next. the people will not step down, the government will crack down, there will be blood in the streets. what will america do? what will europe do? dont hold your breath on europe
under the banner of realpolitik we tend to back authoritarian regimes that sort of do our bidding. clearly not a moral policy, often not an effective policy.
Mubarak is old and sick and will go one way or another. we should weigh in and help el baradei and the egyptian people create a democracy. there needs to be an alternative between corrupt autocrats and corrupt religious fanatics
POOF!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I'M BACK! I GUESS
stopped writing for awhile as i thought what i thought doesnt matter and no one cared. still not sure matters but a few people complained so here goes
the recent shootings in tucson have followed a predictable arc; initially it was blamed on partisan rhetoric. as much as a wing nut as sarah palin is, this was not her fault. we have had partisan rhetoric for thousands of years; it goes with the territory
what is more interesting is to think about mental health and gun laws. i grew up in new york and there used to be laws and policy that encouraged large scale permanent institutionalization of the mentally ill. there were abuses and litigation and legislation led to a dismantling of that system; the wholesale release of thousands of troubled people onto the streets of new york and around the country and our current politically correct non system where people who cannot take care of themselves; are a potential risk to themselves and others are out there leading to Tuscon's; with more to come
i for one think society has a right to protect itself, and acting in loco parentis; protect the mentally ill and create a schema where people must be treated, institutionalization is part of the mix; that privacy protections are lowered so that society can protect all its citizens.
this segues into gun laws. i own 2 guns, shot guns that i use occasionally for trap and bird shooting. they were pretty easy to buy. i also own some cars. buying them requires insurance and to operate them and probably buy them a drivers license. i would not feel put upon to have to have a license to buy a gun, to have a background check run on me before i could buy a gun. and if i was mentally ill, be denied the ability to buy a gun.
we dont have a rhetoric problem in america, we have a mental health problem in america and gun laws that can be rationally tightened without trampling our apparently cherished right to bear arms
the recent shootings in tucson have followed a predictable arc; initially it was blamed on partisan rhetoric. as much as a wing nut as sarah palin is, this was not her fault. we have had partisan rhetoric for thousands of years; it goes with the territory
what is more interesting is to think about mental health and gun laws. i grew up in new york and there used to be laws and policy that encouraged large scale permanent institutionalization of the mentally ill. there were abuses and litigation and legislation led to a dismantling of that system; the wholesale release of thousands of troubled people onto the streets of new york and around the country and our current politically correct non system where people who cannot take care of themselves; are a potential risk to themselves and others are out there leading to Tuscon's; with more to come
i for one think society has a right to protect itself, and acting in loco parentis; protect the mentally ill and create a schema where people must be treated, institutionalization is part of the mix; that privacy protections are lowered so that society can protect all its citizens.
this segues into gun laws. i own 2 guns, shot guns that i use occasionally for trap and bird shooting. they were pretty easy to buy. i also own some cars. buying them requires insurance and to operate them and probably buy them a drivers license. i would not feel put upon to have to have a license to buy a gun, to have a background check run on me before i could buy a gun. and if i was mentally ill, be denied the ability to buy a gun.
we dont have a rhetoric problem in america, we have a mental health problem in america and gun laws that can be rationally tightened without trampling our apparently cherished right to bear arms
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