Friday, April 25, 2003

Exercise in Extrapolation

Seeing Bush's approval rating in graphical form is very revealing. (Via The J-Walk Blog)

posted by Walter Reade at 8:35 PM

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In the Beginning . . .

This was the first blog I ever read. This was the second.

posted by Walter Reade at 8:17 PM

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Tax Cuts and Jobs

In an April 22, 2003, New York Times column, Paul Krugman sees a problem with the estimated 1.4 million jobs the Bush administration claims will be created by the proposed tax cuts. Since "the average American worker earns only about $40,000 per year, why does the administration, even on its own estimates, need to offer $500,000 in tax cuts for each job created? If it's all about jobs, wouldn't it be far cheaper just to have the government hire people?" Not quite. This is a clever slight of hand, designed to confuse those who aren't able or willing to do the math for themselves. Remember, the proposed tax cut is over 10 years. So Krugman's number comes down to $50,000 per job. But isn't that still more that the average salary of $40,000? Not when you consider the cost of benefits to that employee.

So there you have it. The government can waste money, or it can leave it in the pockets of those who earned it. I'll go for the latter any day.

posted by Walter Reade at 8:07 PM

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What's the Big Deal?

Can someone please explain to me what the big deal is -- either way -- about Bush's proposed tax cut? I know that $760 billion seems like a lot of money, but we're talking about $760 billion over 10 years, or $76 billion a year. Do you think the average anti-tax-cut American knows what percentage $76 billion is of the total federal budget? It's a measly 3%! That's right -- the government has approved $2.24 trillion in yearly spending, or, to put it on a 10 year basis, TWENTY-TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED BILLION dollars! So, we should all relax about the current proposed tax cuts.

posted by Walter Reade at 7:00 PM

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Presidential Spam

A clever spoof -- George W. Bush Nigerian Spam Letter

posted by Walter Reade at 6:20 AM

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Thursday, April 24, 2003

This land is my land . . .

Two recent articles in the New York Times caught my attention as being somehow related. The first involves the US Fish and Wildlife Service blocking development on 1.2 million acres of land near Tucson, Arizona, because it is the home of an estimated 18 pygmy owls. (This is 67,000 acres per owl!) In the second story, the Army Corps of Engineers grated a 50-year, rent-free lease on 280 acres of lakefront property at Skiatook Lake in Oklahoma to StateSouce LLC. Under federal rules, private developers would be required to pay fair market value. But it just so happens that the chief of StateSource LLC is Ronald W Howell, who is a "prominent Republican fund-raiser, lobbyist and is finance chairman for Sen. James M Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican who is chairman of Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works." Convenient, no? Anyway, you figure out what the connection is. If is isn't readily apparent, take a look at what some have called the myth of property ownership. That should put you on the right track.

posted by Walter Reade at 10:33 PM

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Good news for air travelers:

If your nail clippers, knitting needles, or pocket knife is confiscated next time you try to board an airplane, it is now possible to actually get them back. A couple of airports are now selling confiscated goods on eBay. The airport splits the earnings with the Transportation Security Administration.

posted by Walter Reade at 10:09 PM

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Great Gift for the Kids!

Get your Iraqi Dis-information Minister talking action figure doll here. "We will slaughter them all!"

posted by Walter Reade at 7:21 AM

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Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Looting Iraq

Our government would be proud!

posted by Walter Reade at 10:38 PM

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Kill Two Birds with One Stone!

Here is a great site for those who would like to trade in their husband for a diamond. They do pets, too.

posted by Walter Reade at 8:11 PM

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Weapons?

The Bush administration is so desperate, it might actually come to this: Bush Vindicated: Weapons of Mass Reduction and Grass Destruction Found in Iraq! (Thanks to Jeff Lindsay.)

posted by Walter Reade at 8:04 PM

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What's in a name?

Evidently quite a lot. Especially if your name happens to match a list of suspected terrorists. Take the case (as reported in the June 2003 issue of Mother Jones) of the New York-born Muslim, Muhammad Ali, who tried to wire $80 to a friend for school books. His order was blocked, because his name happens to be on a government list of known terrorists. Anyone want to venture how many Muhammad Ali's out there are going to run into the same problem? Soon, every time you do business with a casino, insurance company, car dealership, travel agency, pawnbroker, or gem dealer, your name will be checked against a database of 10,000 (and growing) names and aliases of suspected terrorists. This database is maintained by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). The Mother Jones piece gives a number of other cases, including the 70-year-old black grandmother from Montana who was repeatedly detained because she shares a name with a 28-year-old white male who had been arrested by the FBI on murder charges.

And let's hope you don't get on the government's no-fly list. I'd give you a link to the list; unfortunately, it's a government secret. (You find out, of course, when you attempt to board an airplane.) Over 300 people have been detained at the San Francisco International Airport. Larry Musarra, retired Coast Guard commander and father of three, gets flagged about once a month. Currently, no one knows how you get on or off the list. Evidently, if you are a peace activist, that earns you a spot. Have a nice flight!

[Fact Check: The Mother Jones article states that Muhammad Ali's name is "as common among Muslims as 'John Smith' is among the Mormons." Actually, that would be Joseph Smith. (And, as far as I can tell, it is not very common among the Mormons.)]

posted by Walter Reade at 7:27 PM

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Spammers Welcome!

Hey! Don't hesitate to send me a note!

posted by Walter Reade at 4:30 PM

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