HAR!!
Monday, April 05, 2010
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Nice Charts
Something tells me "hope and change and flowers and chocolates" and in general wishful thinking and good thoughts is not going to solve this problem.
Friday, April 02, 2010
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Not a Post
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Apparently It is Not Urban Legend
Didn't believe it until I actually saw it.
Of course, these were the days when we actually defended the country's sovereignty.
Of course, these were the days when we actually defended the country's sovereignty.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Instead of Going to the Movies...
you can just watch the trainwreck of a show that is about to happen.
If only there was somebody who saw it coming.
Heh.
If only there was somebody who saw it coming.
Heh.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
$20 Movie Ticket
The price of a movie ticket is going up.
I stopped going to movies about 3 years ago. I think I saw maybe, MAYBE 2 two movies last year (Gran Torino being one of them).
I've predicted in the past a decline in movie-going as hometheaters, combined with Netflix, not to mention modern-day parents who fail to keep their children quiet, drive people out of the theaters and into their home theaters, just like communism drives capital into tax havens.
But $11 for a regular show, not to mention $20 in New York City for A ticket? All so you can stand in line and listen to kids make noise while you view a screen from the far left corner of a theater? Yeah, that's going to help attendance.
You'll forgive me if I just sit in my finished basement with the LCD projector, surround sound, bean bag and a bottle of Jameson with Natasha in a nice little number under my arm.
I stopped going to movies about 3 years ago. I think I saw maybe, MAYBE 2 two movies last year (Gran Torino being one of them).
I've predicted in the past a decline in movie-going as hometheaters, combined with Netflix, not to mention modern-day parents who fail to keep their children quiet, drive people out of the theaters and into their home theaters, just like communism drives capital into tax havens.
But $11 for a regular show, not to mention $20 in New York City for A ticket? All so you can stand in line and listen to kids make noise while you view a screen from the far left corner of a theater? Yeah, that's going to help attendance.
You'll forgive me if I just sit in my finished basement with the LCD projector, surround sound, bean bag and a bottle of Jameson with Natasha in a nice little number under my arm.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
International Corporate Tax Rate Comparison
Hey Kids!
Want some fun excitement and craziness in your day!?
Want to be the cool guy on the block that impresses all the girls???
Want to be able to be the one kid in the entire college that might actually know what he or she is talking about?
Then learn your corporate tax rates!
Yes, corporate tax rates!
It's what all the cool young hipsters are learning!
------------------
On a more serious note, sadly corporate taxes are the silver bullet to end this recession. You eliminate them you not only bring a flood of investment and capital into the US, but you also immediately boost stock prices and recapitalize people's pensions, 403b's, 401k's, IRA's.
But who wants any of that icky stuff when we can blame corporations for all of our problems?
Want some fun excitement and craziness in your day!?
Want to be the cool guy on the block that impresses all the girls???
Want to be able to be the one kid in the entire college that might actually know what he or she is talking about?
Then learn your corporate tax rates!
Yes, corporate tax rates!
It's what all the cool young hipsters are learning!
------------------
On a more serious note, sadly corporate taxes are the silver bullet to end this recession. You eliminate them you not only bring a flood of investment and capital into the US, but you also immediately boost stock prices and recapitalize people's pensions, 403b's, 401k's, IRA's.
But who wants any of that icky stuff when we can blame corporations for all of our problems?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I Just Like the Way It Looks
Not adjusted in terms of Percent of GDP, duly noted, but even the KGB and Osama Bin Laden in their wildest dreams couldn't have done this kind of damage.
You will enjoy the ensuing chaos.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Charles Beasley
Sadly a another great one has passed on. I must have danced to his band at least 2 dozen times over the years.
Enjoy playing with Benny, Arty, Duke, the Count, and Jack, Charlie.
Enjoy playing with Benny, Arty, Duke, the Count, and Jack, Charlie.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Health Insurance Industry's Profits
OK, one more time for the cheap seats;
Really??
REALLY???
THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IS NOT THE PROBLEM. THEY DO NOT HAVE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS IN PROFITS. THEY ARE NOT THE CAUSE OF YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE GOING UP.
This isn't an opinion. This isn't a suggestion. It's just an "inconvenient truth" (that actually happens to be true) that leftists just plain refuse to verify or confirm.
Here is United Healthcare's income statement from their latest annual report.
If you compare the revenues to profits, you'll see they have roughly a 4% profit margin. A COUPLE billion in profits. Not the hundreds of billions Obama says they have, let alone the trillions he plans on spending.
"Yeah, well those greedy insurance executives are hoarding all the money paying it out to themselves!!! That's why their profits are so low!"
Really??
REALLY???
Because, frankly, I've yet to meet a liberal, the president included, that has had the intellectual honesty to look it up first.
Look, at that. Under $1 billion in executive compensation AND THAT'S ASSUMING HEMSLEY CASHING IN ALL OF HIS OPTIONS RIGHT NOW.
If you don't believe me, just look it up here.
The ignorance of the average American is disgusting and I will be happy to watch all the idiots that were taken in by this group of charlatans ask 20 years from now why GDP per capita is down to $20,000 in the US.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Some Short Observations About Liberal Talk Radio
Well I was going to go to my favorite Irish bar and do taxes, but I forgot that today is St. Patrick's Day and there was no way I was going to get any work done, so allow me this short post.
I can't listen to right wing talk radio any more because
1. I can finish their sentences.
2. I already know everything they're going to say.
3. It's really depressing.
So, for the past month I've been listening to Air America (which I thought was going bankrupt, but apparently they are still on the air). It's really had to listen before you turn it off or change the station, but after a month, I've come up with some observations about liberal talk radio that are not biased, but just simple observations.
1. They are reactionary to right wing talk radio.
I would say the most prominent thing you notice about liberal talk radio is how about 35% of their show is responding to right wing talk radio. You can't listen for more than 4 minutes before you hear "Glenn Beck" or "Rush Limbaugh" of course referred to in the pejorative. It shows me that their entire existence was founded in countering right-wing talk radio. The problem is this doesn't really pioneer any new lines of thought. It's just them bashing on right wing radio. Not once have I heard Rush or Glenn or Sean utter, "Nick Schultz" or "Mark Malloy." Ergo, right wing talk radio is established unto itself, while left wing talk radio is merely reactionary. There was no real ideological reason for it except to debunk or besmirch right wing talk radio. It's almost like a shell corporation, no real purpose to it.
2. No "Linking" "Domino" or "Cause and Effect" Thinking
To varying degrees all right wing talk show hosts carry through their lines of thought to a logical conclusion or result. Dennis Prager in particular is good at this, but regardless, ALL right wing talk show hosts do a "Cause and effect" analysis of policy, statements, economics, etc. Their left wing counterparts do NONE of this. And it's frustrating because half the reason I started listening was to understand the rationale or reasoning behind the socialist ideology. But since there is no explanation or linking all you get is talking points or stances. For example their arguments are really no more complex than "Oh, those partisan Republicans are trying stop health care because they're rich." No consideration is given to maybe the procedure or the constitution or the real reason "why" Republicans (as well as some democrats) are against the health care bill. It's just "they're rich, they're in bed with the insurance industry" and that is as deep as they get. In other words, even though the hosts are well into their 50's, it's no deeper than having a conversation with a 20 year old theater major.
3. Hate speech
This was the most shocking one of all. Mark Malloy, if you haven't listened to him, puts to rest the notion the right wing of politics in America is the source of hate. He has threatened to kick Glenn Beck's ass more than once, you can't go 10 minutes with out him calling the Republican's nazis and cursing up a storm (amazing the FCC doesn't shut him down) and wishing them essentially death. You think I'm joking? Listen in yourself.
At least when Rush or Glenn or even myself was broadcasting, our ideas were for the overall good of the nation. Balancing the budget, getting the economy going, fighting terrorism, stopping illegal immigration. But this guy just abandons any intellectual honesty and views all conservatives and republicans as nazis no matter what you say or do. You are the enemy to him and forget being Americans, you need to be taken out of the gene pool.
4. Presumption of Premises
When callers call in, there is a whole host of premises and assumptions leftists make that they just take for granted. For example George Bush is to blame for everything. Economy, war on terror, the terrorist attacks themselves. There's no discussion of it. It's just a given Bush caused this all when an intellectually honest person would maybe suggest 100 million Americans spending more than they made was the cause of the recession.
But Bush aside, simple childlike assumptions are the bedrock of their ideology. "Rich people need to be punished." The insurance companies are out to get you. Mark Malloy even cited that some CEO at one of the largest insurance companies in the US made something like $37 million over the past 3 years. Well....yeah, that's about right. By the same logic he should LOATHE professional sports, which he might, but you never hear about it. The overall point is that you can't listen to any intellectual discussion, not matter how intelligent or insightful the people are on liberal talk radio, because they're operating from false premises and thus the entire conversation is worthless.
5. Absolute Ignorance, Pushing Cluelessness, About Economics
Perhaps what gets me to turn to another station so quickly is when I hear them spout off some statistic I know to be completely wrong or just statistically impossible. They have no clue just how much spending Barack Obama has committed the US to, but it's not that they care, they literally think there's $100 trillion in GDP to tax. If you ask them, EVEN THE RADIO SHOW HOSTS, how big the government budget is relative to GDP, or just how much in GDP we produce, I don't think they could answer correctly.
Worse still is the borderline indifference about what the economic ramifications are to implementing higher taxes, higher spending, nationalization of industries, etc. They don't seem to understand that the government gets its money from the private sector. They don't seem to realize that the government needs the private sector and not vice versa. The impression I am LITERALLY getting from them is they think the "economy" is this big, amorphous blog including the government and basically, "stuff comes from it." No concept of taxation, no concept of the Laffer Curve, no concept of income statements or balance sheets. Just, "there's the economy and we get money from it and rich people control it and they suck."
In any case, if you have the time I DO recommend tuning into liberal talk radio and I would love to hear your observations. I just can't listen for more than 10 minutes at a time because it's like listening to 10 year olds trying to explain why they don't like having to work. You don't learn anything and it gets repetitive.
I can't listen to right wing talk radio any more because
1. I can finish their sentences.
2. I already know everything they're going to say.
3. It's really depressing.
So, for the past month I've been listening to Air America (which I thought was going bankrupt, but apparently they are still on the air). It's really had to listen before you turn it off or change the station, but after a month, I've come up with some observations about liberal talk radio that are not biased, but just simple observations.
1. They are reactionary to right wing talk radio.
I would say the most prominent thing you notice about liberal talk radio is how about 35% of their show is responding to right wing talk radio. You can't listen for more than 4 minutes before you hear "Glenn Beck" or "Rush Limbaugh" of course referred to in the pejorative. It shows me that their entire existence was founded in countering right-wing talk radio. The problem is this doesn't really pioneer any new lines of thought. It's just them bashing on right wing radio. Not once have I heard Rush or Glenn or Sean utter, "Nick Schultz" or "Mark Malloy." Ergo, right wing talk radio is established unto itself, while left wing talk radio is merely reactionary. There was no real ideological reason for it except to debunk or besmirch right wing talk radio. It's almost like a shell corporation, no real purpose to it.
2. No "Linking" "Domino" or "Cause and Effect" Thinking
To varying degrees all right wing talk show hosts carry through their lines of thought to a logical conclusion or result. Dennis Prager in particular is good at this, but regardless, ALL right wing talk show hosts do a "Cause and effect" analysis of policy, statements, economics, etc. Their left wing counterparts do NONE of this. And it's frustrating because half the reason I started listening was to understand the rationale or reasoning behind the socialist ideology. But since there is no explanation or linking all you get is talking points or stances. For example their arguments are really no more complex than "Oh, those partisan Republicans are trying stop health care because they're rich." No consideration is given to maybe the procedure or the constitution or the real reason "why" Republicans (as well as some democrats) are against the health care bill. It's just "they're rich, they're in bed with the insurance industry" and that is as deep as they get. In other words, even though the hosts are well into their 50's, it's no deeper than having a conversation with a 20 year old theater major.
3. Hate speech
This was the most shocking one of all. Mark Malloy, if you haven't listened to him, puts to rest the notion the right wing of politics in America is the source of hate. He has threatened to kick Glenn Beck's ass more than once, you can't go 10 minutes with out him calling the Republican's nazis and cursing up a storm (amazing the FCC doesn't shut him down) and wishing them essentially death. You think I'm joking? Listen in yourself.
At least when Rush or Glenn or even myself was broadcasting, our ideas were for the overall good of the nation. Balancing the budget, getting the economy going, fighting terrorism, stopping illegal immigration. But this guy just abandons any intellectual honesty and views all conservatives and republicans as nazis no matter what you say or do. You are the enemy to him and forget being Americans, you need to be taken out of the gene pool.
4. Presumption of Premises
When callers call in, there is a whole host of premises and assumptions leftists make that they just take for granted. For example George Bush is to blame for everything. Economy, war on terror, the terrorist attacks themselves. There's no discussion of it. It's just a given Bush caused this all when an intellectually honest person would maybe suggest 100 million Americans spending more than they made was the cause of the recession.
But Bush aside, simple childlike assumptions are the bedrock of their ideology. "Rich people need to be punished." The insurance companies are out to get you. Mark Malloy even cited that some CEO at one of the largest insurance companies in the US made something like $37 million over the past 3 years. Well....yeah, that's about right. By the same logic he should LOATHE professional sports, which he might, but you never hear about it. The overall point is that you can't listen to any intellectual discussion, not matter how intelligent or insightful the people are on liberal talk radio, because they're operating from false premises and thus the entire conversation is worthless.
5. Absolute Ignorance, Pushing Cluelessness, About Economics
Perhaps what gets me to turn to another station so quickly is when I hear them spout off some statistic I know to be completely wrong or just statistically impossible. They have no clue just how much spending Barack Obama has committed the US to, but it's not that they care, they literally think there's $100 trillion in GDP to tax. If you ask them, EVEN THE RADIO SHOW HOSTS, how big the government budget is relative to GDP, or just how much in GDP we produce, I don't think they could answer correctly.
Worse still is the borderline indifference about what the economic ramifications are to implementing higher taxes, higher spending, nationalization of industries, etc. They don't seem to understand that the government gets its money from the private sector. They don't seem to realize that the government needs the private sector and not vice versa. The impression I am LITERALLY getting from them is they think the "economy" is this big, amorphous blog including the government and basically, "stuff comes from it." No concept of taxation, no concept of the Laffer Curve, no concept of income statements or balance sheets. Just, "there's the economy and we get money from it and rich people control it and they suck."
In any case, if you have the time I DO recommend tuning into liberal talk radio and I would love to hear your observations. I just can't listen for more than 10 minutes at a time because it's like listening to 10 year olds trying to explain why they don't like having to work. You don't learn anything and it gets repetitive.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
"Hey, Is That an Iceberg?"
The iceberg we knew was coming for the past 40 years, but did nothing to change our course? Yeah, that one? Yeah, it's here.
But do not worry.
You want to know why?
Because Obama will fix it.
A 20 year old philosophy major from the suburbs told me so.
But do not worry.
You want to know why?
Because Obama will fix it.
A 20 year old philosophy major from the suburbs told me so.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sophia Loren
My god, what a timeless woman. 75 and she beats most modern day American 20 something teen idol worshipers.
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