Rebane's Ruminations

Hello Governor Sarah Palin!

George Rebane

The Democrats’ first attack on John McCain’s veep choice was that she didn’t have enough foreign affairs experience.  For some odd reason I thought that bringing that up would be the last thing Obama would want to do – sort of like the kettle calling the pot black.  Oh well, the silly season is in full swing.

I was surprised like the rest of us by the pick and still don’t know the lady very well.  But hell, as a fellow NRA member and basketball player, she can’t be all bad.  And as a no-nonsense, corruption fighting, give-me-your-best-shot politician - who’s as far away from Washington as you can get and not have to learn Russian - she will be great.  Obama’s got himself a well-worn beltway insider to help “fix” Washington – a guy who spent the last thirty-plus years breaking it.  Go figger.

Musings from a couple of correspondents in this election season are worth repeating.

“My wife and I are thrilled about McCain's choice for VP.  Our overwhelming belief is that she is as American as baseball (baseball before steroids) and apple pie.  She strikes us both as an unpolluted leader; she appears to hold values and ideals that have not been tainted by a life in politics.  She has fought corruption which we all know is rampant in the lives of today's "leaders", she backs the constitution, has deep experience dealing with energy, and most importantly to us appears to be the most grounded Christian of the bunch. I was planning on writing in Ron Paul or Mickey Mouse (like I did 4 years ago) until today's nomination invigorated me.   Only in America. God Bless America.”

***

“Have you ever noticed how Hillary, after being introduced, and while acknowledging applause, always acts pleasantly surprised to see someone she recognizes in the first few rows?

Well, I think it's fake! It's a stage affectation to help her look animated. How many friends in the front rows can you be surprised to see? And she does it all the time.
Perhaps other speakers do it too. I've just noticed her.

On the other hand perhaps she's especially acknowledging Mr/Mrs/Ms GottBucks (who else can afford first few rows?) who are flattered by the special recognition. Sort of like the stripper winking at the bald guy at the burlesque show.”

And finally, Jo Ann and I picked up a little black kitty from the Animal Shelter this afternoon to give Leo, our old black cat, some social life and prepare for the advent of our new puppy sometime soon.  Driving home, we puzzled over what to name her.  Finally it hit us that it should be something relevant to this time in history.  Please welcome little Sarah.

Ruminations - 28aug08

George Rebane

*** Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus and philanthropist, is an adviser to Obama on matters of technology.
*** The county’s Fire Safe Plan (aka part of the Safety Element of the county’s General Plan) is a tough document to digest ...
*** Some facts matter, some don’t.
*** Obama, the messiah of hope and change, promised us a new future ...

Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus and philanthropist, is an adviser to Obama on matters of technology.  He is now advocating that the government should have a Chief Technical Officer, similar to corporate CTOs, to coordinate the creation of technology in the land.  Some people are concerned that this will be another layer of bureaucracy that will only do well what bureaucracies do.  Until we hear more about this CTO position, to me it seems like another rich guy from the business world who doesn’t think there will be any problems in scaling processes and procedures from the corporate world to the government.  There is a lot of central control in companies, and it seems to work; why don’t we just scale it up and make the whole country tow the line?  People like Buffett, Rubin, and, now, Gates agree.

The county’s Fire Safe Plan (aka part of the Safety Element of the county’s General Plan) is a tough document to digest for those who don’t work with it regularly.  When it finishes the road to adoption, it will serve as the basis for regulations that tell us living in the unincorporated areas how we must prepare our properties for when wildfires come.  Few people really understand how the plan will affect them, therefore I suggested some time ago a simple summary of its mandates and recommendations.  If we know what’s in there, then we can tell our electeds what we like and don’t like, and we won’t waste time in meetings disagreeing on what’s really in there.  Well, one Supe thought this wasn’t really a hot idea and that things were good enough as is – after all, the county has gone through the pro forma period of public comment, etc.  A couple of other Supes are more receptive to the idea of clarifying the plan.  And Ted Owens, the current BoS chair, said that he would look into the matter with Steve DeCamp, our county’s able CDA director who is in charge of the final document, and who told me that he agrees that my one-pager idea would make it more understandable.  Here is my short statement to the BoS last Tuesday.  Download FireSafePlan080826.pdf

Some facts matter, some don’t.  The economy has not “tanked” by any of the long-adopted measures, and the globe has been cooling for the last ten years.  What’s a one-world collectivist to do with such news?  Easy, lie.

Obama, the messiah of hope and change, promised us a new future that leaves the business-as-usual Washington behind.  To make sure we all understand what he really meant by this, he picks Joe Biden as his VP.  Nuff said.

Railroading of the County’s Fire Plan?

George Rebane

The CABPRO Letter alerts us to the next puzzling steps taken to hammer out an acceptable fire safety plan for Nevada County’s unincorporated areas.  The current plan going forward contains unchanged the 21dec07 draft of the plan.  This version co-mingled a mishmash of old and new requirements - some mandated by the state, and some mandated by local authorities.  Please read CABPRO’s assessment and consider going to the Planning Commission meeting this Thursday 1:30-5:00pm where they will push this thing forward as is, or … .

Without rehashing the laborious pro and con arguments about the merits of each part, a number of us appealed to the BoS to clarify the plan.  I specifically went before the Board to 1) ask them whether it was their intent to one-up any of the requirements that came down to us from above, and 2) to please rewrite the 21dec07 draft, separating out the state mandates and the local mandates.  The sense of the BoS to the first question was that we didn’t want to make things more difficult for ourselves than they already are.  And everyone thought that clearly pointing out the source of the mandates was a good idea so that everyone could see who was doing what to us.

I went away from the fire plan adoption process with the good feeling that the BoS would direct such a redrafting, and that we could all see what was coming down the pike when we next gathered to review and provide citizen input to our elected leaders.

We now learn that the same undecipherable piece of …, I mean ‘plan’ has been repackaged and tied with a bright new ribbon as something that satisfies the sense of the BoS, and is ready for the next step in the adoption process.  If the Planning Commission passes the “GP08-001” document that does not reflect the direction of the BoS, then our electeds are being railroaded.  And if it does reflect their direction, and provides no further clarification to the people of the county, then we all are being railroaded.  If you listen carefully, you can hear the whistle blow.

Ruminations - 23aug08

George Rebane

A correspondent of undeclared political bent sent me the following observation making the rounds. “The Democrats have suddenly developed a keen sense of morality.  John Edwards has been banned from making a speech at the Democratic National Convention for having an affair and lying about it.  In his place, Bill Clinton will be speaking.”

Now with Biden in the ship
with his voluminous flapping lip
to contribute a bountiful trove
of material for Karl Rove.

McCain presents an acknowledged conundrum for the conservatives.  But, the Republicans don’t know how to handle their Congressional candidates either.  Those up for re-election promise that this time they will not behave like drunken sailors on shore leave with poker winnings in their pockets, while the new GOP hopefuls promise not to act like their veteran colleagues.  Tough to spin.  With or without their white hats, the Democrats have no such problems, since they have always known what to do with other people’s money.

Ruminations - 21aug08

George Rebane

Some idle thoughts during a year of invasions, stimulus injections, climate change sacrifices, and elections promising hope-filled change.

* A young Alan Greenspan made an audacious observation back in the early sixties.
* Tonight PBS’s ‘Nightly Business Report’ again declared its true colors.
* Today is the fortieth anniversary of the Soviets’ crushing of what has come to be known as the Prague Spring in 1968.

A young Alan Greenspan made an audacious observation back in the early sixties.  He wrote, “Government regulation is not an alternative means of protecting the consumer. It does not build quality into goods, or accuracy into information. Its sole ''contribution'' is to substitute force and fear for incentive as the ''protector'' of the consumer. The euphemism of government press releases to the contrary notwithstanding, the basis of regulation is armed force. At the bottom of the endless pile of paper work which characterizes all regulation lies a gun. . . .” (written during his Ayn Rand years).  When I remind my liberal friends of this notion, they condescendingly dismiss it as a typical overstatement by another libertarian over-wary of government excess.

In a more recent example of Greenspan’s observation, Heidi Dalibor of Grafton, Wisconsin was arrested and booked for ignoring appeals by her local library.  It seems that the twenty-year-old was remiss in returning some books.  Now you would think that this is not cause for armed officers to show up at her door, cuff her, and cart her away.  But it happened and, somewhat incredulous, she paid her fines.  Here one immediately hearkens to Greenspan’s dictum to ask what would have come to pass if she had forcefully resisted arrest for such a seemingly minor infraction.  Those who think that the SWAT team would never have been called are in for a surprise.  Indeed, you can die for not returning books to a government library or refusing to put the government mandated lights into the ceiling of what you believe to be your very own remodeled kitchen.  And the collectivists will cheer your passing until the truck pulls up in front of their house.

Peter and Paul Redux

George Rebane

‘When you promise to rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the full support of Paul.’

In response to 'Are you a Peter or a Paul?', a correspondent sent me a copy of a recent article – ‘A Nation of Thieves’ - by syndicated columnist Walter Williams.  Dr. Williams is an economics professor at George Mason University and one of the rare clear thinkers of our age; he also happens to be black.  He summarizes in this short piece a deep, profound, and, for our country, crucially important notion of ‘equal opportunity vs. equal outcome’. 

I had the pleasure and honor of teaching on the same subject in a university course on critical thinking that was required for journalists and media producers.  The students’ (mostly working journalists’) ideologies ranged the spectrum of American political thought.  But in a free give and take classroom environment all reached a common consensus wherein they came to view enforced ‘equal outcome’ policies as inimical to a free and benevolent society.

Walter Williams writes “Equality under the law and, within reason, equality of opportunity is consistent with a free society. Equality of results is an anathema to a free society and within it lie the seeds of tyranny.”

Almost everyone graduated from our public schools now believes that liberty and equality are two superlative attributes of a just society that can be mutually increased without bound.  Sadly, they are wrong because liberty and equality are social qualities that sit on opposite ends of the see-saw.  The sheep never see that increasing the one, necessarily reduces the other.  And in their blindness they continue to celebrate and vote for politicians, perhaps equally ignorant, who promise to deliver both in abundant measure. 

There is no issue more crucial to the survival of our republic than how we address the state’s involvement in the ability of its citizens to generate wealth, and the subsequent (re)distribution of that wealth.  The study of history and human nature should guide us.  Please read Williams’ short article and then puzzle on it in some quiet place.

Are you a Peter or a Paul?

George Rebane

‘When you promise to rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the full support of Paul.’

Obama has promised to launch one of the biggest tax increases in US history, and since the supportive MSM own the words, it is all being sold under the banner of "tax relief".  The package is designed to bring the already faltering US economy firmly down to its knees so that no sheep in the flock will murmur opposition when the federal government makes its next moves to ‘save the economy and the American dream’.

We already have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world that is driving our businesses overseas.  Over half of our citizens pay no federal and state income taxes, and this fraction is about to increase when Obama’s scheme of rewarding government promoted behavior with “refundable” tax credits kicks in.  Get this, if the tax credit is $1,000 and you only pay $200 taxes, the government will send you a check for $800.  And if you pay no taxes at all, then you get a check for the full $1,000.  This will be a sinister and cynical re-ignition of the universal welfare programs that, along with the new strangle hold on the economy, will guarantee that the population of Pauls will surge to bolster the socialist agenda.

In the meantime, enough Peters are seeing the writing on the wall that says the government intends to essentially take as much as possible – ‘everything’ comes to mind – of what you have through their one-two punch.  One - they’ll raise your income tax rates through the roof because the Pauls will demand it.  Two – and even if you try to minimize income, they’ll tax your assets through inflation by speeding up the money presses.  But now the feds, both parties voting unanimously, have added a kick to the groin for good measure.

Ever hear of the Heroes Act - Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act, which provides tax relief for active duty military personnel and reservists – that the president signed into law on 17 June?  Well even if you did, I bet you didn’t know about the Exit Tax provision that was quietly taped to the back page.  It seems that enough Peters are beginning to leave the country that the government is now resorting to methods historically used by failed autocracies and creaking socialist states.

The new Exit Tax will cost you one third of your assets in excess of $2 million if you decide to turn in your US passport and head over the horizon.  By laying down this foundation, the government admits that its policies of exacting tribute from its more productive citizens is at a level that requires the building of our own Berlin wall to keep the Peters in.  And the Pauls eagerly await their messiah.   

   

Ruminations - 17aug08

George Rebane

*** Putin moves, Bush muddles ...
*** ... thundering herd of lemmings heading for climate change cliff ...
*** Victor Davis Hanson, a quiet voice of reason

*** When he heard about the Russian tanks coming through the Roki Tunnel, Bush should have been on AF-1 within the hour heading back to the White House (or Tiblisi?).  Instead he hung around the Olympics soaking up photo ops with his arms draped around various athletes.  That act itself sent a clear message to Putin, Hu Jintao, Bin Laden, … .  Every pundit in the world now has three opinions as to what will happen.  And as we fondly look back on 2008, we will remember that day in August when the world again changed.

Singularity Signposts – 15aug08

George Rebane

Synthetic Telepathy is around the corner.  We will soon have user interfaces that let our thoughts direct the actions of machines.  Imagine the possibilities both near and far term.  In the near-term we will wear cranial sensors (buttons on the noggins) that will transmit EEG (electro-encephalogram) signals to a processor that decodes the simple words we think, translates them into actionable commands, and transmits them on to a machine to be controlled – e.g. like your cell phone, ‘Call home.’ or car, ‘Turn right.’ 

In the farther-term we may forsake our physical bodies and lie in energy-efficient cocoons, there enjoying an extremely rich and stimulating virtual environment that interfaces with other similarly ‘encapsulated’ critters, and, of course, the more primitive people still walking around in their earthly mantles.  And the far-term may see us becoming actual starships on voyages too fantastic to now contemplate.  Of course, progress in a few additional technologies will have to pitch in to make this all happen, but you get the idea.

Specifically, things have been kicked off by the Army Research Office awarding a $4M contract to UC Irvine to start this work.  (My company and I were privileged to be ARO research contractors in the 1970s.)  Physorg.com quotes Dr. M. D’Zmura, head of Irvine’s Dept of Cognitive Sciences, saying

“The brain-computer interface would use a noninvasive brain imaging technology like electroencephalography to let people communicate thoughts to each other. For example, a soldier would “think” a message to be transmitted and a computer-based speech recognition system would decode the EEG signals. The decoded thoughts, in essence translated brain waves, are transmitted using a system that points in the direction of the intended target.”

“Such a system would require extensive training for anyone using it to send and receive messages,” D’Zmura says. “Initially, communication would be based on a limited set of words or phrases that are recognized by the system; it would involve more complex language and speech as the technology is developed further.”

Commercial enterprises like Emotiv Systems are also developing similar technology for gaming markets.  The competition between the capitalist and government researcher will be helpful.  It’s all coming much sooner than we think.  And in the interval we should think twice before supporting statist social policies that simplistically extrapolate the present - it ain't gonna be that way.   

Lessons from a Sore Finger

George Rebane

Last night I almost contributed a part of my left middle finger to our dinner salad.  Jo Ann assigned me the task of slicing up some salami left over from the puu-puus of a recent dinner party.  I thought I was rated for the task; apparently not.  With blood all over the place, I fit the piece of sliced finger back in place, sort of like I do when glueing the thin piece of shower soap onto the new bar so nothing goes to waste.  Anyway, with my finger wrapped in a bloody dish towel, we were off on our first visit to the emergency room of Sierra Memorial, our local hospital.

Going through Stations 1 through 3 we dutifully filled out the forms and talked to a couple of very cheery reception and first stage assessment people.  Everybody got a good laugh about my dumb trick and the news that the salami slicer would soon be in one of the emergency care stalls rippled through the facility.  Dinner time is a slow time we were told, so everybody wanted to stock up on light comedy before the drug cases start rolling through after dark.

On Terry Lamphier's Other Voices Article (Edited)

George Rebane

Terry Lamphier contributed an excellent Other Voices - 'Adam Smith's capitalism and today's reality' - to our beloved Onion's print edition this morning.  I wanted to post my comment in the paper's online edition, but alas, its limp-along website has yet to publish it.  When it all comes together later today, I will link to the article for those ex-subscribers who might want to read it.  (It finally was published online after 3pm today, so the above link is now in place, and my comment is appended there.)  And BTW, JeffP should consider Terry to fill in for some of the recently departed editorial staff.  Anyway, here is my original comment.

Terry, this is one of the best written pieces I have seen in this newspaper – well thought out and word-smithed. While I may not fly in tight formation through the course of your arguments, I agree with your fundamental points about the evolution of capitalism over the last 250 years. Though you give no specific remedy, I come away with the feeling that you may want the state to additionally regulate a sector it has already papered with corporate welfare programs. I believe that ol’ Adam and the Founders would have us go the other way and pull the plug on corporate handouts.  This so that these firms can again become the handmaidens of the invisible hand instead of the grotesquely manicured imitators of it that they are now. Again, thank you for a good piece.

Ruminations - 12aug08

George Rebane

*** Peaceniks silent as Georgia gets mauled by Russian bear.  Let’s see now, Russia invades a sovereign nation-state, and demands that its democratically elected President be replaced.  If the west lets Putin get away with this, we can see the exercise repeated in the Ukraine, Belorussia, Estonia, … in short order under the same lame excuse – Russia is only protecting the lives and rights of ethnic Russians living in all those countries.  Silly me expected to see our nation’s peace-loving demonstrators out in force on the Broad Streets of their home towns protesting this naked aggression against Russia’s tiny neighbor.  Can we finally conclude that these folks only demonstrate when there is an anti-American element to their rage?

*** Charlie Alfa strafes Russ.  Friend Russ Steele of NC Media Watch received an accolade from a lady many affectionately know as Charlie Alfa (NATO alphabet).  Ol’ CA suspects him of being in the pay of big oil because his reports rebuffing climate change are too timely, on the mark, and slick.  At the same time, your hard-working commentator is advised by Nevada County’s see-all, hear-all, know-all editor to leave the real news to the pros and stick to travelogues.  Well, at least one of us bloggers has made good, and will continue to serve as inspiration to the rest.

Ruminations - 11aug08

George Rebane

*** How would you spend $10B to solve nation’s problems?
*** “Obama’s Tax Plan Would Greatly Increase Budget Deficit”
*** Maryland’s elected imbeciles were surprised again.
*** Nevada County takes steps to reduce unfunded liabilities

*** Recently the WSJ has been asking major national figures on how they would spend $10B to solve some of the problems facing our country.  Today the newspaper published side-by-side the replies (figure by David Klein) from Newt Gingrich and Jerry Brown.  Their answers starkly differentiate the world views of a free-market capitalist and a socialist.  Gingrich wants the $10B divided into a handful of very large tax-free prizes for private enterprise to develop working solutions in areas of energy independence, environment, health, and so on.  Brown’s allocation of those funds would be primarily to have the feds and states study what kind of new laws and regulations they could impose on the nation’s people and businesses to make them do what the social engineers deem best.  And, of course, a very big hunk of the $10B would go into funding new agencies, regulatory staffs, and enforcement staffs to make sure that these new laws and regulations would indeed be followed.  As you might expect, most of the effort would focus on spreading California’s inspired climate change and environmental legislation across the land.  Nuff said.

Your 2008 Olympics Quiz.

George Rebane

Guess who owes whom a lot of money (and needs to borrow lots more).

Systems Science Rules (almost)! [edited]

George Rebane

I’ll step right out there and put my foot in it – there is not a single significant area of human endeavor that is not a strong subscriber to or totally transformed by systems science.  Yes, but how do you define ‘significant’?  I define it simply as the domains of knowledge that are important to 99.99% of humans, and this ranges from the Batwa pygmies in the jungles of Uganda to the post-doctoral workers in biology labs everywhere.  Now there isn’t a single field such as sociology, anthropology, history, political science, law, chiropractic, … that in some way does not depend on the tools of system science for its existence and advancement.  We don’t need to labor that for decades these tools have been firmly embedded in the hard sciences, the military, and industry.

My August copy of the Proceedings of the IEEE arrived recently and its cover proclaimed it a “Special Issue” devoted to “Computational Systems Biology”.  Perusing the invited papers from leading researchers, it was clear that if you want to push back frontiers in biology you had better either know systems science or have a colleague who does.  Apparently, as a biologist you can’t just cross-pollinate ferns, count bacteria, or carefully dissect salamanders any more.  Those readers confused as to what systems science is all about, I refer to the excellent Wikipedia summary here.

But the important point to make is that system science is the body of human knowledge ('rules underlying rules') that also lets us understand complex matters of how people make (good and bad) decisions and manage their affairs that in the modern world are ever more co-dependent.  System scientists have a hard time communicating their sometimes alarming results to political leaders because there are probably fewer than one in a thousand politicians who know anything about this field through which we now have the best understanding and clearest interpretation of almost everything around us.

To confirm this, look at the floor and committee speeches/debates on CSPAN.  Everyone nods to the notion that all issues are composed of interconnected factors.  Yet, listen to their words and look at the ridiculous laws that are passed.  Admittedly, on TV they talk to the great unwashed, but their legislative product is still written as it is sold – it is based on simple one-to-one connections, ignoring the manifold complexities of the matter which might even advise leaving things alone.  I can hear you say, “But the sheep always demand that ‘something’ must be done, so the politicians must do ‘something’.”  Well, yes.

Local Publisher Alerts Readers to Government Excesses

George Rebane

Jeff Ackerman, publisher of The Union (sometimes aka The Onion), finally vented his spleen this morning against the doings in Sacramento which have been going on for some time now, but apparently in the tolerable region of our local paper’s radar.  I was happy to see Jeff step out and paint a picture of California that most mainstream media (MSM) outlets continue to shun.  His editorial covered almost all of the waterfront, but did leave an important part out – namely CARB’s Scope Plan to implement AB32.  I’m sure the readers of Jeff’s paper will eventually discover how that bombshell will sink California even lower in the national ratings.

After a laundry list of pretty sad statistics about California, in my view, Jeff’s outstanding statement in the piece was –

"Yes, but at least we're smarter than the other states," you might be muttering. Actually ... we're not as smart as we think, which might explain why we keep voting for incompetent candidates. In fact, there are 46 states that are smarter than California, according to the booklet. Vermont is ranked number one and Massachusetts is ranked second, thanks to Harvard, M.I.T. and a few other brainy institutions. Even the so-called Okies are smarter than the average Californian.

He deserves a tip of the hat for stating what the MSM have been hiding under the rug for years.  (for the bigger picture, please see ‘How Elections Really Work’)

The point here is that readers of RR and several other local blogs (e.g. NC Media Watch, CABPRO Report, YubaNet, …) were apprised of these outrages months ago.  This was at a time when broad-based appeals to our representatives and state leaders might have done some good.  Now California’s annual budget bomb is about to go off and it’s too late to snip the fuse.  Across the country local bloggers are more and more becoming the timely source of news that the MSM either miss, avoid, or drag their feet.  All bloggers have an unabashed and individualistic view of the world, and don’t need to make nice with their advertisers or corporate offices.  With almost everyone now on the internet, there is little excuse for limiting your knowledge of what’s going on to any one source, especially one from the traditional MSM.

Bush Signs Housing Bill, Opts Against Taxpayers

Mike McDaniel

Bush signs new housing bill into law in exchange for higher taxes and taxpayer liberties.

The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 is the latest action taken by our elected officials to relieve us of our liberties and our wealth.  Did you notice the word "tax" in the Housing Assistance TAX act of 2008? What is the word Tax doing in the title of a housing assistance bill? Well, our "leaders" (term used very loosely) have used the crashing of the mortgage/real estate markets as an opportunity to increase our taxes, steal more of our liberties, and redistribute our wealth to the needier among us. 

The Bill includes several tax increases. Check with your CPA.  The most notable tax increase is the abolishment of the personal residence exclusion on vacation homes or rental property.  Under current law an investor could move into a previously rented home for 2 years and claim an exemption on the capital gains when the once rental property was sold; no more (see the last paragraph of THIS SUMMARY).  This change alone is estimated to generate approx $1.4 BILLION in taxes over the next 10 years.

Our liberties continue to be compromised by our "leaders" as well. It is now law that all credit card purchases be reported to the IRS. You see, the IRS can judge your tax liability in two ways; how much you earn or how much you spend.   Now they will know how much you spend, where you spend it, and on what you spend it on.  This alone is expected to generate approx $9 BILLION in taxes in the next 10 years.

The most disheartening portion of the bill may be the increases to the federal affordable housing objective.  The bill designs yet more bureaucracy in the hope for government sponsored affordable housing (never mind the Trillions wasted on this goal already). 

According to the AP -  White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that the Federal Housing Administration would begin right away to implement new policies "intended to keep more deserving American families in their homes."  My question is, who sits on the committee to determine the "more deserving American families."

Come on, sing it with me...
Socialism here we are, do da, do da. 
Government decides who is worthy of our philanthropy 'oh do da day.

[editor's note: Mike McDaniel is the Executive Director of Sierra Environmental Studies Foundation and the principal of McDaniel Wealth Management.]

Singularity Signposts - 4aug08

George Rebane

Toyota has demonstrated a Segway knock-off called Winglet.  This gadget is a "stand-up-and-ride contraption" that can go up to 3.7mph or about the pace of a brisk walk.  One of the claimed target markets is the elderly who might use it on sidewalks and shopping malls.  Japan has a rapidly aging population, and this may be one of the market 'pulls' motivating such a product.  I believe the Winglet will need a higher top speed to sell in the mass market, and its current form will do nothing but promote sales of the Segway.  But since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Toyota's embracing this technology does secure the future of such person-movers that take up not much more than the floorspace of a person.  Another step toward machine-augmented-man.

Ruminations – 2aug08

George Rebane

• Gold mine not found
• US hearing loss epidemic
• Obama and technology acceleration
• California’s looming business exodus
• Ryan’s solo

*** This week Jo Ann and I were helping our friends look for their gold mine.  We never did find the mine.  Although, according to the extensive documentation my friend brought along, we did drive right through the property without noticing anything much different there than on any other stretch of the twenty-five miles of washboard that we traversed before ending up in the ghost-town of Bodie with a ton of German tourists.  Memo to file – never approach Bodie from the north; better yet, strike ‘from the north’.

*** U.S. facing possible hearing loss epidemic: study

One of three U.S. adults already suffers from some degree of hearing loss and the use of personal stereos and an aging population may create a hearing impairment epidemic, researchers said on Monday. …   A team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore estimated that 55 million Americans have hearing loss in one or both ears, with men, whites and the least-educated most affected.

We already know that an alarming proportion of our adult workforce is both illiterate and innumerate.  The government will now have to rely more than ever on comic book style training manuals before hiring these people.  Private enterprise is hiring the remainder and/or shipping jobs overseas.

*** Today technology is accelerating which requires a higher pace of investment and risk taking to build new companies and products so that our economy can keep pace with the rest of the rapidly developing countries.  Senator Obama seems oblivious to this phenomenon and his solution to our economic woes is to raise taxes and tariffs.  He also believes that there is hope that laid off workers will get their old jobs back – no need to upgrade skills or change careers.  Do any of the Econ 101 students out there know what happens to investment capital when taxes are raised and risk-taking is punished?  (answer below)  It’s sorta like the sign on the wall of the failing sweatshop – ‘The beatings will stop as soon as morale improves.’   Please write or call that good-looking black guy with the sonorous voice promising change and hope – Harvard Law School taught him only how to redistribute existing wealth, not how to create new wealth.

*** California’s looming business exodus counts another member.  In today’s WSJ the CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corp of San Jose reports that the company has already moved 7,000 out of its 8,000 jobs out of the state, and “we are moving jobs out of California as rapidly as we can.”  Our elected socialists are accelerating the process by promising to raise taxes even more on businesses.  These honorable idiots never understand that the government can take in more revenues from a growing economy bolstered by lower tax rates than making companies like Cypress pay 6% sales tax for investing in equipment which will keep jobs and profits in the state.  Of course the idiocy reaches nosebleed heights when we look at Obama’s “Emergency Economic Plan”.  Now there is a real shot in the shorts for the “permanent underclass” he claims to champion.  (See figure from 2aug08 IBD)  Little Known Fact Dept – Exxon alone pays more taxes than the bottom 50% of all American taxpayers (this doesn’t count the countless millions of non-taxpayers).

*** Ryan Tobin’s solo.  My young friend recently soloed - no mean feat as anyone who has learned to fly an airplane knows.  When, for the first time, you’re screaming down the runway alone, you know what playing ‘You Bet Your Butt’ is all about.  At 37 Ryan has decided to trade in an office career for one on the flight deck of an airliner, and has enrolled in a fast-paced commercial flight school in Texas.  Ryan is also an excellent writer and keeps friends and family up to date on his progress on Ryan Aeronautical – it’s worth a read.  Quoting the advice of our county's most famous aviator, "Fly Safely".