Unintended consequences. No matter what we do, there will be unintended consequences. But there is a way to reduce the damage - simply think things out to the logical conclusions BEFORE you make changes. Look past your nose, and think past today.
The government wants to make really huge changes in how we live, with "green" technologies which for the most part do not even exist yet. And the "smart grid" that will regulate the amount of power that can get to your home has already been started. And with such massive changes, there will be huge unintended consequences because the people putting these things in place cannot see past their noses.
Here are some lesser examples:
1) Ethanol. Now required to be 10% of gasoline, soon to be expanded to 20% or more. However, the unintended consequences are higher food prices (we are burning our food supply), higher cost (it costs 1.7 times more to make ethanol than to make gasoline) and more, not less, pollution (it takes 1.4 gallons of fossil fuels to produce 1 gallon of ethanol, with plowing, irrigating, weeding, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting and processing).
2) "Green" fluorescent lights - the goivernment is mandating in the future that no more incandescents be made. However, fluorescents have been shown to trigger seizures in epileptics. And the "green" bulbs cost 4 times as much to make. Since they also use twice as much glass, it requires twice as much fossil fuels in the manufacturing process. And because they use mercury, a dangerous toxin, they must be disposed of at hazardous waste sites. Most folks live an average of 20 miles from such a site, which means we all burn an extra two gallons of gas to dispose of a stupid bulb. Most folks won't bother, so our water supply will eventually be tainted with mercury.
3) The new, "green" LED street lights. They burn 80% less energy, which is good. But because they do not burn hot enough to melt ice and snow, they get covered and drivers cannot see them under some winter situations. So far, they have caused dozens of accidents and at least one death that has been substantiated. The cost to try and keep the lights clear are out-weighing the savings. It costs a bundle to pay the person who uses a high-pressure compressed air unit to clear them. The air compressor uses a lot of fossil fuel. The truck needed to transport the compressor around the city uses a lot of fossil fuel. So, just how "green" is green?
4) By law, all communications are being relegated to satellites - TV, radio, computers and phones. What is not considered is the result if a major solar flare smacks us - it would fry the satellites, and all communications necessary for survival will be gone, perhaps for a year or more. Such a solar flare just glanced us in 1998 and knocked out all power throughout eastern Canada. And don't forget that China and Russia - neither of them allies - have the technology to knock out our satellites anytime they choose.
And now the government wants to start sweeping changes, none of which have been thought out any better than the above examples. And since the plans are so massive, the unintended consequences will also be massive.
We, the People, need to tell our leaders to stop rushing us to extinction, and take the time to think things out into the foreseeable future. If they don't, we are all in big, big trouble.
/
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Betrayal - Behind Closed Doors
The other day, in secret and behind closed doors, the Democrat Congress killed a program that allowed poor inner-city DC kids to go to better schools. As everyone knows, the public schools in DC are among the worst in the nation, and the only hope those kids had for a decent future lay in being able to attend better schools. And it was WORKING.
And that is precisely why the powerful unions, which traditionally support liberal agenda and socialism, told Congress to either end the program or forfeit their considerable financial help in the next elections.
You see, the teacher's union does not want poor schools to die out, because that means the lousy teachers responsible for those lousy schools will lose their jobs. And they simply want to protect their own, even if they are worthless, and even if the children have to forfeit their futures.
So, we can again thank the Democrats for destroying another little piece of America by sucking up to self-serving unions, just so they can keep buying their congressional seats.
The question is: Do we really want politicians who cannot get re-elected on their merits, and must, instead, buy their seats by kowtowing to those who want to destroy America?
Another question: Should we permit our elected officials to act in secret, behind closed doors, as if WE were working for THEM?
Your success and mine depends on a free country. We need to be fighting against those who would make it less free, for their personal gain.
/
And that is precisely why the powerful unions, which traditionally support liberal agenda and socialism, told Congress to either end the program or forfeit their considerable financial help in the next elections.
You see, the teacher's union does not want poor schools to die out, because that means the lousy teachers responsible for those lousy schools will lose their jobs. And they simply want to protect their own, even if they are worthless, and even if the children have to forfeit their futures.
So, we can again thank the Democrats for destroying another little piece of America by sucking up to self-serving unions, just so they can keep buying their congressional seats.
The question is: Do we really want politicians who cannot get re-elected on their merits, and must, instead, buy their seats by kowtowing to those who want to destroy America?
Another question: Should we permit our elected officials to act in secret, behind closed doors, as if WE were working for THEM?
Your success and mine depends on a free country. We need to be fighting against those who would make it less free, for their personal gain.
/
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Beware This New "Online Auction" Scam
I saw a commercial for a new "online auction" website called BEEEZID. It aroused my curiosity, so i checked it out.
On the surface (and to those who are always looking to get something for nothing), it seemed promising: every item, even cars, begin at $0.00, and each bid only ups it by a penny. You could end up getting an item for pennies on the dollar, as they advertise cars being sold for just a few hundred dollars - or so it seems.
Yes, you can possibly get a $20,000 vehicle for a few hundred bucks. But there is a catch - a very expensive one. You see, you must buy "bids". You get (15) one cent bids for $15, so each bid costs $1.00. In order to get a car for, say, $500, would require that bidders, collectively, buy and use 50,000 one cent bids - for which BEEZID collected up to $50,000.
So, while the winning bidder may get the car for $500, he must be the LAST person to bid.
Therein lay other problems.
First, it is unlikely that other bidders will let it go to you for $500 - not when they could buy another bid for a buck - and the price keeps going up until all bidders have bought all the bids they can afford.
Second, every time someone bids, it resets the timer - which can be set for 24 hours or more. There is no limit to how many times the timer can be reset because there is no limit on the number of bids that can be placed. IF you happen to be the last bidder and the timer times out, you win.
It's a lot like musical chairs that could take weeks to play out - but even more like a Ponzi scheme.
In short, if BEEZID sells a $20,000 car for $500, they actually make about $30,500 profit on that $20,000 car because they solf 50,000 bids and got the $500 winning price to boot.
If you decide to get involved in the hopes of "winning" something great, at least now you have been warned. But do yourself a favor - place only one or two bids on an item over the course of the auction. If you get lucky and win, you come out ahead. If not, you only lost a couple bucks.
Make no mistake - BEEZID is not so much an auction site as it is a lottery - and your chances of winning are no better than in any other lottery.
/
On the surface (and to those who are always looking to get something for nothing), it seemed promising: every item, even cars, begin at $0.00, and each bid only ups it by a penny. You could end up getting an item for pennies on the dollar, as they advertise cars being sold for just a few hundred dollars - or so it seems.
Yes, you can possibly get a $20,000 vehicle for a few hundred bucks. But there is a catch - a very expensive one. You see, you must buy "bids". You get (15) one cent bids for $15, so each bid costs $1.00. In order to get a car for, say, $500, would require that bidders, collectively, buy and use 50,000 one cent bids - for which BEEZID collected up to $50,000.
So, while the winning bidder may get the car for $500, he must be the LAST person to bid.
Therein lay other problems.
First, it is unlikely that other bidders will let it go to you for $500 - not when they could buy another bid for a buck - and the price keeps going up until all bidders have bought all the bids they can afford.
Second, every time someone bids, it resets the timer - which can be set for 24 hours or more. There is no limit to how many times the timer can be reset because there is no limit on the number of bids that can be placed. IF you happen to be the last bidder and the timer times out, you win.
It's a lot like musical chairs that could take weeks to play out - but even more like a Ponzi scheme.
In short, if BEEZID sells a $20,000 car for $500, they actually make about $30,500 profit on that $20,000 car because they solf 50,000 bids and got the $500 winning price to boot.
If you decide to get involved in the hopes of "winning" something great, at least now you have been warned. But do yourself a favor - place only one or two bids on an item over the course of the auction. If you get lucky and win, you come out ahead. If not, you only lost a couple bucks.
Make no mistake - BEEZID is not so much an auction site as it is a lottery - and your chances of winning are no better than in any other lottery.
/
Monday, December 7, 2009
Day of Infamy
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese led a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. As Roosevelt said, it was a day that would live in infamy.
Today, December 7, 2009 is another day of infamy, with its own sneak attack against America - it is the day that the liberals have forced the United States of America to formally drop the "of the people, by the people, for the people" guarantee. We are no longer a country where the people govern, through elected representatives. Instead, we are now a country governed by the will of unelected agencies, "czars", unions and special interests.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency, an unelected body, has determined that global warming IS a real threat (and not the theory that it actually is) and IS caused by carbon dioxide (though numerous studies show no correlation). Therefore, President Obama may now circumvent Congress and pass his "cap and tax" agenda without any input from Congress, or we, the people. In fact, he can begin signing liberal executive orders restricting carbon dioxide, and may do so without consent of the people.
That rumbling you hear is the sound of our Founding Fathers collectively rolling over in their graves.
That the EPA has any authority whatever is in direct opposition to the Constitution - all powers, by law, are vested in the people, except for the limited powers vested in the government, BY the people.
So, the people officially no longer have any say in how the government does things. The government rules the people, rather than vice versa.
When Obama was running for office, he did state, clearly, that he would "FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE" America.
Well, he has done that. It is no longer a Republic, even though the Constitution specifically dictates in Article IV, Section 4, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." In a Republic, the power lies with each individual person and their elected officials, and not with the government, its agencies or any unelected officials.
For those of you who are not familiar with being subservient, I suggest you stock up on knee pads.
/
Today, December 7, 2009 is another day of infamy, with its own sneak attack against America - it is the day that the liberals have forced the United States of America to formally drop the "of the people, by the people, for the people" guarantee. We are no longer a country where the people govern, through elected representatives. Instead, we are now a country governed by the will of unelected agencies, "czars", unions and special interests.
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency, an unelected body, has determined that global warming IS a real threat (and not the theory that it actually is) and IS caused by carbon dioxide (though numerous studies show no correlation). Therefore, President Obama may now circumvent Congress and pass his "cap and tax" agenda without any input from Congress, or we, the people. In fact, he can begin signing liberal executive orders restricting carbon dioxide, and may do so without consent of the people.
That rumbling you hear is the sound of our Founding Fathers collectively rolling over in their graves.
That the EPA has any authority whatever is in direct opposition to the Constitution - all powers, by law, are vested in the people, except for the limited powers vested in the government, BY the people.
So, the people officially no longer have any say in how the government does things. The government rules the people, rather than vice versa.
When Obama was running for office, he did state, clearly, that he would "FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE" America.
Well, he has done that. It is no longer a Republic, even though the Constitution specifically dictates in Article IV, Section 4, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government." In a Republic, the power lies with each individual person and their elected officials, and not with the government, its agencies or any unelected officials.
For those of you who are not familiar with being subservient, I suggest you stock up on knee pads.
/
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Who Is Larry Summers?
This is about Larry Summers - who he was, and who he is.
He was the Dean of Harvard University. He decided to invest the university's endowment fund into high-risk investments. His advisors warned him against doing that, but he fancied himself a financial whiz, so much smarter than they. He lost $1.8 BILLION of the university's funds. In other words, what he knows about money, finance and investing can fit into a thimble.
Now for who Larry Summers is today.
He is President Obama's Chief Financial Advisor. I guess the president was impressed with Mr. Summers' financial acumen. No one else is.
Oh, and a couple years ago he got into hot water when, in a public speech, he stated that women were not as capable as men in the subjects of science and math. So apparently he knows as much about women as he does about finance.
'Nuff said.
He was the Dean of Harvard University. He decided to invest the university's endowment fund into high-risk investments. His advisors warned him against doing that, but he fancied himself a financial whiz, so much smarter than they. He lost $1.8 BILLION of the university's funds. In other words, what he knows about money, finance and investing can fit into a thimble.
Now for who Larry Summers is today.
He is President Obama's Chief Financial Advisor. I guess the president was impressed with Mr. Summers' financial acumen. No one else is.
Oh, and a couple years ago he got into hot water when, in a public speech, he stated that women were not as capable as men in the subjects of science and math. So apparently he knows as much about women as he does about finance.
'Nuff said.
Contingent
Lasting success is contingent upon a healthy economy. Everyone, regardless of political bent, agrees on that point. The disagreement comes when the discussion turns to "What makes for a healthy economy?"
For the answer to that, we need look no further than to the stories we were taught as children. Children are taught these stories not because they are entertaining, but because they carry certain truths that are necessary for our success, not unlike the parables in the Bible.
Two such stories are "The Little Red Hen" and "The Golden Goose".
In the Little Red Hen, the hen asked for help to plant her garden. No one wanted to help. She then asked for help in watering and weeding. Still no help. She then asked for help in harvesting - no help was offered. She asked for help in baking the pies from her harvest. STILL no help. But when it came time to EAT the pies, EVERYONE wanted to help. But she said "No" and ate them herself. The moral being that those who do the work are entitled to the proceeds of their sweat, and those who do not want to contribute deserve exactly what they put in - nothing.
But in today's world, with liberals in power, the opposite is suddenly true. The farmer (Congress) comes out and takes the pies, and shares them with everyone. He does not realize that next year the hen, frustrated that the work was all for nothing, will not have a garden. There will be no pies. And everyone loses. But the farmer never thought that far ahead. He does not realize that you cannot take money out of the bank unless you first put money IN.
In "The Golden Goose", she lays the golden eggs that her owner profits from. The moral of the story is that the owner must take very good care of the goose, to insure continuation of the golden eggs. He must feed her well, and pamper her, for if she gets sick, or dies, or gets mistreated there will be no more golden eggs, and the prosperity goes away.
In real life, the golden eggs are jobs, products, services. These are the things we want. And all of those things come from the Golden Goose - businesses. Businesses provide the jobs, which in turn results in products and services available. If businesses fail, jobs go away, and products and services become scarce.
Therefore, simple logic tells anyone with an I.Q. of at least two digits that it behooves us to feed and pamper businesses. The healthier they are, the more jobs there are, and the more products become available.
But our liberal Congress sees businesses not as the Golden Goose to be preened, but as the lamb to be sheared. They impose punitive taxes, and give power to the unions that milk the companies to the point of bankruptcy. Instead of caring for the goose, they starve it.
The goose will either run away, or starve to death. Americas geese are doing both - smaller businesses, with no other options, are forced into closing their doors. The larger businesses run to China or India, where the governments favor them, and treat them well, with lower taxes and no unions to drain them.
If our Congress had an ounce of intelligence, they would severely decrease the taxes on business, and restrict and limit the power of unions to issues of safety and fairness, which would result in two things:
1) greater profitability, allowing the business to expand, which creates jobs and products - golden eggs, and
2) businesses would have no reason to leave America, which results in jobs staying here.
But of course, our liberal Congress is not about to do either - they owe their seats to the unions, and by taxing businesses they create poverty, which results in more people needing entitlements - which just happens to be what the liberals are famous for providing. This, in turn, results in a larger voting bloc on the liberal side - after all, one must not bite the hand that feeds them. If you were on welfare, would you vote AGAINST the party that provides it?
President Obama was right about one thing - we need change. But we need the kind of change that he and the liberal Congress would never even consider. We need a Congress that understands that there is only ONE source of jobs, products and services, and we need to take proper care of that source. And we need a Congress that understands that people who are allowed a "free ride" will drain our resources, and result in fewer people wanting to bust their hump to get what others are getting for free.
If we want to get our country back, and our economy brought back to health, we need to elect people who understand how things work, not just in the short term, but in the long term. And you will not find any such people among the liberals.
/
For the answer to that, we need look no further than to the stories we were taught as children. Children are taught these stories not because they are entertaining, but because they carry certain truths that are necessary for our success, not unlike the parables in the Bible.
Two such stories are "The Little Red Hen" and "The Golden Goose".
In the Little Red Hen, the hen asked for help to plant her garden. No one wanted to help. She then asked for help in watering and weeding. Still no help. She then asked for help in harvesting - no help was offered. She asked for help in baking the pies from her harvest. STILL no help. But when it came time to EAT the pies, EVERYONE wanted to help. But she said "No" and ate them herself. The moral being that those who do the work are entitled to the proceeds of their sweat, and those who do not want to contribute deserve exactly what they put in - nothing.
But in today's world, with liberals in power, the opposite is suddenly true. The farmer (Congress) comes out and takes the pies, and shares them with everyone. He does not realize that next year the hen, frustrated that the work was all for nothing, will not have a garden. There will be no pies. And everyone loses. But the farmer never thought that far ahead. He does not realize that you cannot take money out of the bank unless you first put money IN.
In "The Golden Goose", she lays the golden eggs that her owner profits from. The moral of the story is that the owner must take very good care of the goose, to insure continuation of the golden eggs. He must feed her well, and pamper her, for if she gets sick, or dies, or gets mistreated there will be no more golden eggs, and the prosperity goes away.
In real life, the golden eggs are jobs, products, services. These are the things we want. And all of those things come from the Golden Goose - businesses. Businesses provide the jobs, which in turn results in products and services available. If businesses fail, jobs go away, and products and services become scarce.
Therefore, simple logic tells anyone with an I.Q. of at least two digits that it behooves us to feed and pamper businesses. The healthier they are, the more jobs there are, and the more products become available.
But our liberal Congress sees businesses not as the Golden Goose to be preened, but as the lamb to be sheared. They impose punitive taxes, and give power to the unions that milk the companies to the point of bankruptcy. Instead of caring for the goose, they starve it.
The goose will either run away, or starve to death. Americas geese are doing both - smaller businesses, with no other options, are forced into closing their doors. The larger businesses run to China or India, where the governments favor them, and treat them well, with lower taxes and no unions to drain them.
If our Congress had an ounce of intelligence, they would severely decrease the taxes on business, and restrict and limit the power of unions to issues of safety and fairness, which would result in two things:
1) greater profitability, allowing the business to expand, which creates jobs and products - golden eggs, and
2) businesses would have no reason to leave America, which results in jobs staying here.
But of course, our liberal Congress is not about to do either - they owe their seats to the unions, and by taxing businesses they create poverty, which results in more people needing entitlements - which just happens to be what the liberals are famous for providing. This, in turn, results in a larger voting bloc on the liberal side - after all, one must not bite the hand that feeds them. If you were on welfare, would you vote AGAINST the party that provides it?
President Obama was right about one thing - we need change. But we need the kind of change that he and the liberal Congress would never even consider. We need a Congress that understands that there is only ONE source of jobs, products and services, and we need to take proper care of that source. And we need a Congress that understands that people who are allowed a "free ride" will drain our resources, and result in fewer people wanting to bust their hump to get what others are getting for free.
If we want to get our country back, and our economy brought back to health, we need to elect people who understand how things work, not just in the short term, but in the long term. And you will not find any such people among the liberals.
/
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