Government manipulation of the American money supply over the last 208 years.

208 years of Monetary manipulation.

Individual Norwegian tax records are now public record.

Norwegian government make personal tax information public record.

Lutefisk and loot: Tax records open in Norway – Yahoo! News

Newspaper weekly circulation continues to slip

23 of the 25 top newspapers weekly circulation continue to slip, average of 10.6% in six months. Against the liberal slide, the Wall Street Journal expands weekly circulation.

Top 25 Daily Newspapers in New FAS-FAX

Congress moves to steal more money with inflation

Congress moves to increase national debt limit by an additional trillion dollars – a move to devalue existing money by a trillion dollars. Your savings isn’t safe.

Dems seek cover to boost debt limit – Manu Raju – POLITICO.com

Congress threatens the American Medical Association

Congress threatens a 21% decrease to what doctors can charge for their service, unless the American Medical Association agrees to Universal Healthcare.

The Associated Press: Analysis: Courting doctors in health care battle

Taxes hidden in retail prices

All products have hidden taxes, 13 Consumer goods and what percentage of their price is tax. For example, 51.20% of the price of Gasoline is tax.

Americans for Tax Reform Center for Fiscal Accountability

Wage Contractions

States begin to lower minimum wages in attempt to slow new unemployment.

Colorado minimum wage to drop as living costs fall

XBOX360 control with Call of Duty: World at War on the PC

This isn’t really posted anywhere well traveled so I’m posting it here.

Tge Call of Duty: World at War (COD5) box indicates that the game can be played on the PC with an XBOX360 control. This is a typo and the game can not be played with the XBOX360 controler.

Easy Log function on a TI-89 Titanium

I know this is outside of the normal topics discussed on this site but I felt a serious need inform others about hidden functionality on the Texas Instruments TI-89.

Recently in my math class I was required to use the log function on my TI-89 Titanium. I couldn’t find it except by using the catalog. I read the manual and searched on the internet, I couldn’t find a better method, I in fact fount a lot of worse methods. So sitting in class I started pushing the alternate function keys and pressing all the keys without their alternate function listed. The calculator does in fact have a quick key for the Log function. Diamond & 7

Comrade Obama sets CEO salary caps!

Comrade Obama is setting maximum salary for employees of companies who are receiving bailout money. Salaries can no longer exceed $500,000. Seems responsible and fair doesn’t it? They are the ones who made the mess; they are the ones who should be punished right? And besides, $500,000 is a lot of money isn’t it? It’s way too much pay, right? Especially since CEO’s don’t do the actual work, right?

Companies compete for CEO’s, they compete for decision makers. Limiting CEO pay will be the end of these companies; all upper management (people who make more than $500,000 a year) will be recruited by other companies, leaving only people who are incapable of the strategic thinking necessary to successfully manage such large companies. These companies will become headless monsters run by politicians, and politicians are renowned for not being able to balance budgets.

But wait! We can’t let these people leave these companies! They need to fix what they did! They are the only ones who know how to manage these companies! We need to make it illegal for them to quit their jobs! Right? Wrong. The road to communism is paved with good intentions…..

Consensus Decision Making

Consensus Decision Making is relevant to Business Communication because it is essential to identify people who are willing to compromise when one intends to negotiate. Identifying them requires understanding their methods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consensus_decision-making

I reject this sort of decision making myself, on the ground’s that seeking consensus often requires compromising one’s own objectives. I would only compromise my position or objectives if I was not confident about the principles that I based them on. If I found consensus despite being confident, then I would be marginalizing my position and objectives in exchange for a better opportunity to have elements of them accepted. I would in effect be agreeing to lose in exchange for everyone else agreeing to lose as well. Understanding whom you are communicating with and identifying methods of communication and decision making can only benefit you. I found the article and associated articles interesting and relevant.

The Real Tyler Durden

In Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel Fight Club the narrator’s antagonistic second personality Tyler Durden seeks to force upon the world a new beginning, a fresh start by physicaly destroying of the credit industry. Tyler Durden has a real life counterpart, the Justice Department announced the foiling of a digital attack upon Fannie Mae’s server network. Rajendrasinh Makwana, a 35 year old from Virgina, installed a virus which would have wiped the mortgage giant’s hard drives this coming Saturday.

Fannie Mae is the largest mortgage financer in the United States, Tyler Durden would be proud.

Nobody is stupid, they’re just ignorant, right?

Someone who says “Nobody is stupid, they’re just ignorant” is saying something stupid. They could be stupid for not thinking about what they are saying or they could be ignorant for not differentiating between ignorant and stupid, or they could be both ignorant and stupid for not looking up the meaning’s of the words ignorant and stupid.

Stupidity and ignorance are completely different things.

The word stupid is an adjective used to describe someone with a slow mind. The word ignorant is an adjective used to describe someone who is lacking in knowledge. Being stupid isn’t being doomed to be ignorant, think book smart and being unable to apply knowledge. Being ignorant isn’t being doomed to be stupid, it’s just being doomed to look stupid for not checking your facts.

Ghetto Banking (Bank of Frank and Wells Fargo)

I recently took a friend to buy a car. Went into the ghetto car dealer’s office to find out about financing a loan for the car, they ran her credit and it came back approved by some ghetto bank that wanted to charge a financing fee. The sales manager told us he would find a better loan and he picked up the phone; he explained the situation, listened, and hung up. He turned to my friend and said that Frank would carry the loan if she paid sticker price. We left.

A few hours later over at Wells Fargo she was turned down with above average credit for a loan of three thousand dollars. The loan officer seemed very surprised; he thought it was no big deal. I’m scared, I had no idea the loanable funds market was so contracted that above average credit micro loans were considered subprime. Is Wells Fargo next?

Obama Picks all Washington Insiders for his Cabinet (SO MUCH FOR CHANGE)

Okay maybe it’s change… but it’s a few steps backwards. His cabinet picks read like a who’s who of the 90’s, a center right shift to friends of Bill Clinton. And, Instead of calling his appointees Washington insiders, the President Elect calls them Washington experience. So much for “Change” … maybe “Hope” will do better… make sure you know what you’re wishing for… (and voting for)

Secretary of State -> Hillary Clinton (Former First Lady, Junior New York Senator and Serious Presidential Primary Contender)
Secretary of Health and Human Services -> Tom Daschle (Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader)
Secretary of Commerce -> Gov. Bill Richardson (Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, appointed by Former President Bill Clinton)
Chairmen of Economic Recovery Advisory Board -> Paul Volcker (Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Appointed by Former President Jimmy Carter)
Secretary of Defense-> Robert Gates (Current Secretary of Defense Appointed by President Bush)
Secretary of Homeland Security -> Gov. Janet Napolitano (Former Bill Clinton Appointee)

That’s the first half – the President Elect hasn’t leaked/announced the second half of his Cabinet yet.

What’s wrong with saving American auto makers?

Everything!

But why?

Next year when President Barack Obama and congress move to save the American auto industry they will only make things worse!

What’s wrong with protecting American jobs and giving Americans a chance? President Clinton instituted import taxes on forign steel. This raised the price of steel to a point where the American steel industry could compete. His initiative saved forty thousand jobs in the American steel industry at the cost of two hundred thousand jobs in other industries which could no longer afford to buy steel. Saving jobs is always at the cost of other peoples jobs.

Don’t most industries fail because their inefficient? Doesn’t inefficiency force the cost of their products above a competitive level? Isn’t it the evil CEO’s who steal all the money and the workers repeating repetitive mindless tasks that make all of the money?

Unlikely.

The American auto industry is failing because congress protects monopolies of labor. A monopoly of labor is a Labor Union. American auto makers are forced to pay uncompetitive wages to government protected labor unions; wages three times higher then the wages of foreign auto workers. American automakers can’t fire anyone without the labor union going on strike. That’s not all congress already does to help auto makers, congress regularly imposes new emissions regulations, safety regulations, production mandates (like making hybrids) and every other conceivable madness. All of this forces factory retooling and product redesign. Oh! and I almost forgot more expensive steel!! Good thing congress is giving everyone a chance!

Instead of congress lifting regulations and opening labor anti-trust investigations. Congress and President Elect Obama want to restructure the industry and use tax payers money to give a massive injection of liquid capital so that jobs can be saved, jobs that are playing a large part in destroying the industry! But thats not all! They want to impose import taxes on foreign cars to give American auto makers a chance! But we have already talked about what happened when our government saved the steel industry (they actually saved the unions).

Couldn’t all of this be about votes? The more obsolete jobs politicians save, the more people who’s livelihood depends upon elected officials. Is it possible that it could all be a conspiracy? Of course not! That would be a vast left wing conspiracy! Pointing fingers and initiating investigations would be McCarthism! SO of course theirs no conspiracys. Their isn’t anyone who exists who would dream of undermining the foundations of government, of our prosperity, of our freedoms for the sake of personal gain. This is America and that would be silly. No junior senator from the rust belt would ever give tax payers money to save his constituency!

What will happen when everyone is saved - when everything is more expensive including our taxes?

The Ultimate War (2008 Revision)

I have updated my essay The Ultimate War with a number policy clarification and some fresh ideas.

California Legislature Attacks Personal Freedoms

Effective July 1st 2008 it will become illegal for drivers within the state of California to smoke cigarettes. cigars or pipes inside of vehicles containing minors. California Vehicle Code Section 12814.6

Effective July 1st 2008, talking on your cell phone will also become illegal and minors will face heavier penalties. Fines will expand with subsequent transgressions. California Vehicle Code Sections 23123 & 23124

What next, helmets and mandatory UV filtered goggles?

Not only does the state legislature and governor feel the need to control what we do with our cars, they also feel the need to impose regulations on what we do inside of our cars. In the name of safety the state continuously erodes our freedom.

Accept no excuses or justifications.

New Article Stub – Recycling

 

I decided to start adding article stubs. These stubs will function as seeds that I will improve and expand upon as I feel inspired to do so. The first article I have readied for stub status is a short series of thoughts and opinions about recycling. Click here to read the full article.

Nuclear Energy

I visited the Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Station yesterday afternoon. The power plant was decommissioned by popular vote in 1989. The facilities cooling towers on a clear day can be easily viewed from the California State capital in Sacramento, no doubt an powerful reminder to the state politicians who allowed the decommissioning of California’s power plants contributing to an energy crisis and the recall of Governor Grey Davis. The property is now a park with lakes abundantly stocked with fish. Around the lakes is an eleven mile nature trail. Surrounding the park are vineyards that stretch over the horizon, the vineyards are only interrupted by the occasional upper class home; all with exciting views of the decommission nuclear power facility.

Spread the Virus

This blog is a new conduit in the family of catalysts used to spread my way of thought.

What will be discussed here? I will analyze everything from books, movies, institutions, public policy, my experiences, people to and most importantly – me.