No Kool Aid for me, thank you.

If we all continue to only read/watch/listen to the people we agree with, and sure it makes us feel good about ourselves, and smart, and right, and lets us feel angry, and righteously indignant at the people we disagree with, we will never come up with good solutions to the many problems we face. Case in point; U.S.A. right now.

When we just keep talking to people in our camp, we go around and around in our love fest, but as we reinforce our ideas they just get further and further out there. One person says something slightly crazy an the next person exaggerates it. The next ten people exaggerate the exaggerations and it becomes a ridiculous, farcical, lie with no relation to reality.

The whole process is ass backwards. We start with a pundits opinion of what a spokesperson said a politician meant when he responded to an attack from the opposition pundit about what the politician should have done to appease the opposition in order to get their support for a bill written by corporations to screw government and the people. GIGO. Or BSIBSO.

So what "should" we do? We should identify a problem. Then discuss different possible solutions. Score them on efficiency and cost using real world data, i.e. science, and then cobble together a solution the maximizes efficiency, minimizes cost and actually achieves the actual goals it is meant to achieve. Full stop.

Government Shutdown is Great for the Economy

I know this may surprise some people but I am not a fan of Obamacare. On the other hand I think holding the economy hostage is exactly the wrong thing to do. Why don't I like Obama care? It creates another layer of  bureaucracy between the patient and the provider. It also creates bigger government when it isn't needed. 

I think our healthcare system is broken and needs fixing but I don't think this is the solution. Anyone who says it is doesn't know what they're talking about because no one has read it, not even the people who voted for it, not even Obama himself. Is it bad, well we don't really know because again no one has read it, but even if it is bad it shouldn't be used as an excuse to shut down the government because that will do huge damage to the economy.

The Republicans, and I'm no Democrat, have already slowed the recovery by forcing sequestration. Are they really going to do this again. I always thought conservatives were in favor of a strong economy. The affordable care act should be dealt with, but this is not the time or the way to deal with it. Repeal it, or fix it page by page or do anything but slow down the economy. 

The republicans have created a crisis out of thin air. They have painted themselves into a corner by convincing their constituents that Obama and Obamacare are the devil. Then they say they are going to defund it or stop the government. Now the fanatics they created with their over the top rhetoric won't be satisfied with anything less. They've actually convinced themselves and their constituents that this will work and if it doesn't it's the democrats fault. 

The democrats have their own problems and their own shrill fanners of the flames, but I'm going to give this crisis to the republicans and the tea party. You can't do something ridiculous and unheard of and then when it destroys the economy say it was the Dems fault.

So John Boehner and company you need to step off. Be realistic and stop playing politics with the economy. I know what you're thinking, if the economy does well while Obama is pres. America will elect another dem. I know that seems like the end of the world to you, but the real end of the world is you playing no compromise hardball with the economy. All that is happening is both sides are drinking more and more of their own kool aid and the rich are getting richer while the poor get poorer. Corporations are getting a free pass and you're enacting laws that will perpetuate the system and be difficult to undo.

I also know that if the economy does starting doing well there will be less incentive to reform Obamacare. Well that is on your shoulders. You are the people that won't do anything difficult like cut spending when the economy is doing well. You always think it will go on forever, then you're so surprised when the next recession comes and you can't cut spending fast enough. The time to cut spending is when the economy is doing well, then it won't slow the economy. You always want to cut when times are tough, this is exactly when you should spend to give the economy a kickstart.

To summarize all politicians are ridiculous tools and we shouldn't be surprised when they do stupid tooly things because we knew they were tools when we voted for them. They will not be capable of doing the right thing until we reform our political system, specifically lobbying and campaign finance. They are bought and paid for by contributors, but since I know all members of the house and senate will read this I have specific advice for you. This is what you must do to make the country better. I know our system is set up to be slow and its hard to make big changes, but if you all did the right thing you could go down in history as the greatest congress ever.

Here it is:

Forget everyone who gave you money, forget the extremists, forget the naysayers. Create new bills from scratch and only include things that benefit the whole country. You are our national representatives, make the country better and the states and cities will take care of themselves.

Spend money now on things the country needs like infrastructure, help the poor and middle class and stop giving breaks to the rich and subsidies to big corporations. Fix the health care system by listening to doctors, nurses, patients and researchers, instead of listening to drug companies, medical equipment manufacturers, and insurance companies. 

But most importantly don't stop the economy just because you can't figure out another way to show how tough you are. Cruz and Boehner it is really sad to watch you have a hissy fit. You are pitiful. 

Now is the time to step on the gas, not drive into a wall.

Challenges and Solutions

Here we will be discussing challenges, exploring their history and causes, and debating real world workable solutions. The format will follow the above sequence.

State the Challenge:
Explore how it arose and why it is an issue that needs a solution:
Work out realistic solutions: All three phases will be interactive. 

Anyone on earth can submit a challenge, in any social, political, or economic area.

Then we will collaborate to define the problem in a way that reveals it's true essence.

Then we will explore the story and causes of the problem to attempt to clarify it further and possibly spot the seeds of a solution.Finally we will welcome possible solutions from all comers and try to forge them into a solutions that will be acceptable to all reasonable people.

Maddow on Guns

Here is a link to a recent Rachel Maddow clip where she "Tears into Ted Cruz" (sorry Jason) and talks about clips.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/15/rachel-maddow-ted-cruz-gun-control_n_2883141.html

So I agree with her take on Ted Cruz. He must think pretty highly of himself to lecture our fine senator like she is a third grader. Of course he was playing to the hometown audience so you can hardly blame him for being insincere.

I would agree with her that there are limits on the second amendment already, and the first and probably others as well. And it is right and reasonable that the rights guaranteed by the constitution and bill of rights are not unlimited. If they were we would not need either and there would be anarchy.

I won't get into why ordinary citizens shouldn't own RPGs or Nuclear Subs.

But saying that the 2nd amendment can be limited does not necessarily mean that we should ban assault rifles and high capacity clips.

As Sam Harris says in The Riddle of the Gun, (http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-riddle-of-the-gun) "According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, 47 percent of all murders in the U.S. are committed with handguns. Again, only 3 percent are committed with rifles (of any type)."

So at best banning assault rifles would only prevent 3% of murders in the U.S.. But that is really an overstatement. Unless you collect every assault weapon from every citizen, and figure out a way to stop soldiers from taking them home after work, and seal the borders up tight there will still be assault weapons available for murderers.

So this another fallacy Maddow falls into. She claims that if the assault weapon ban had still been in effect the Newtown shooter's mother could not have purchased those rifles and high capacity clips. That is assuming a lot. I don't know if she purchased her weapons before the ban went into effect or after it expired, but if were going to play "what if" which is what Maddow is doing by saying what if the ban was still in effect, then I say what if she purchased the guns before 1994? It is just as valid. 

Again according to Harris who is quoting FBI figures, you could stop 13% of all murders by banning knives. That's over 4 times as many as a theoretical perfect assault weapon ban.

Then next "fact" that Maddow makes a big deal about is that if high capacity clips were banned he would have only had to reload 14 times instead of 4. She seems to think there is no way he could have done that and still fired 152 shots in 5 minutes. Well I think she may be mistaken again. Someone completely untrained could easily reload in 4 seconds. A nerd who practices in his basement for hours at a stretch could probably do it in less than half a second. Again, "what if" his gun jammed? Well he had another. What if he dropped a clip, well if he was limited to 10 round clips he probably would have had 20 more. He would have to carry 14 clips, well most of the weight is the bullets themselves so it wouldn't be a major hardship.

So why are Maddow and so many others so passionate about this issue? In Maddow's case she has to sell Cialis or whatever they advertise on her show. Feinstein thinks it will get her reelected. Do either of them really care? It's an emotional issue that is easy to get behind when you know kids are being killed.

If your goal is to save lives though why not do things that are actually effective. More people still die on the freeways than are killed by guns. What are the reasons people murder?

As I said in a previous post.

Murder=Life in Prison 
2 strikes max for gun crimes including straw buyers
While were at it Rape=Life
Universal Background Checks for criminals and mental health
More mental health care
Your thoughts here...
So I say let's get the data, let's study this. I think the NRA was silly to stop the NIH from researching gun deaths. I think there might be useful data out there that would save lives and keep guns in the hands of responsible citizens.

Some of the things I really can't stand!

Lobbying, campaign finance, congress can legally do insider trading, citizens united, revolving door between elected and appointed officials and the industries they regulate, pork.

I mean how is it that so many people enter congress with a middle class net worth and somehow when they leave they are multimillionaires? Isn't that a little suspicious.

Lobbying:

Is basically bribery. If a company or individual makes a campaign contribution, buys a senator a trip, or buys a congressspereson some Wizards tickets, they expect something in return, or they are rewarding the politician for something they have already done. Why else would congress consistently pass laws that benefit the big buusienesses and unions at the expense of the average American? The really sad part is how little money it takes to sell us out. I'm sure lobbying has the greatest return on investment of anything big corporations do. And the money doesn't stop when they leave office. Right away politicians get jobs as lobbyists themselves and that is where they get the big payoff. Now i am not calling our politicians criminals or even unethical, this is the culture of Washington but it needs to change.
I propose making all lobbying that involves money and/or gifts, and promises of future gifts, money or jobs illegal. Let people persuade our politicians on the merits of their proposals. If politicians can't survive on the salary and benefits they receive they should look for another job.

Campaign finance:

Just another bribe. Who is the politician going to remember, the citizen that gave her $5 or the industy that gave a million? Level the playing field. NO contributions over $100 from any person or group to any single candidate during a particular election. And candidates cannot use their own money or take loans. This would level things right out. And pass a law that reverses Citizens United. Really money is not speech, and when the right talks about activist judges they should remember this decision.

Capitalism and Democracy

Remember that Capitalism does not equal Democracy. Remember if you want to quote the founding fathers, that they created a Democracy, or a Republic if you need to be precise. They did not create a free market capitalist state. In fact they went to great lengths to rein in government and markets.

Many people talk as if free and unrestrained markets were the goal of our nation and of the architects of the constitution. They are not. The constitution was designed to allow as much freedom as possible without allowing people, or groups of people to infringe on the rights of others.

Increasing GDP is not the only goal. The goal is to increase GDP, and increase the standard of living of everyone in the USA because people follow the rules and play fairly.

There are no truly free markets in the US. If there were wealth would quickly become concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and huge corporations. The US would start to look like Libya under Gadaffi, or North Korea, or Burma. Free markets are not worth that outcome, and that is why we have anti-trust laws and government regulators.

Capitalism is a great thing and it is part of what has made our country great, but it is not the only thing. There is no need for it to be unrestrained for it to be good, in fact some restraints make it fairer and better.

Who Doesn't Pay Taxes?

A nice graphic form the right leaning (who am I kidding, they leaned so far to the right they fell over) San Diego Union Tribune.




http://www.utsandiego.com/paying_taxes/