The Shape of Things to Come

Tuesday, 2/17/09, President Obama signed into law his economic stimulus massive spending and federal government expansion bill, and our country embarked on its journey toward failed European-style democratic socialism.

One fun aspect of the debate over the bill was how "bi-partisan" came to mean "agree 100% with the other party" rather than the former meaning of "both parties compromising to something they both could live with".

Another fun aspect was that "I'm open to other ideas" seems to actually mean "My mind is already made up, so don't bother me with ideas I don't already agree with".

The next four years are going to be awesome.

Speaking of awesome... Two years ago (2006) our state's governor was up for re-election. She was telling people that they should vote for her because, if they did, then the next four years would be really awesome. In 2008, our state had the highest unemployment rate of all states in the country (according to Michigan's Labor Market Information site, unemployment was over 10% in December 2008). Awesome.

By the way... If the Democrats had really wanted to stimulate the economy (as opposed to what they did do... fund all their pet pork projects), here are some things they could've done instead:

• reduce, if not eliminate, the capital gains tax
• stimulate investment in the economy
• reduce corporate taxes while also eliminating all the crazy exemptions
• simplifies the tax code for businesses
• reduces the cost of doing business in our country (Ireland only charges businesses 12.5% vs. Washington charging 35%)
• Remember, business do not really pay any taxes. People do. We pay taxes for businesses when we buy their products/services. Which leaves less money for us.
• reduce payroll taxes, what individuals pay, what employers pay, and what self-employed people pay
• reduces the cost to employers of having employers (makes it less expensive to hire new workers, or keeping the current workers)
• puts more money in people's paychecks
• would help poor people, as EVERY worker pays payroll taxes
• reduces expenses for small businesses and self-employed people
• would immediately help people and businesses

Understanding the Cost of Obama's Stimulus Bill

Sometimes it's difficult to conceptualize large numbers, such as one trillion dollars.

This might help.

Earlier this week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that, "if you started the day Jesus Christ was born and spent $1 million every day since then, you still wouldn’t have spent $1 trillion".

Want to work that out yourself?  Here's a simple (and very simplified) formula:

$1,000,000/day x 365 days/year x 2009 (assume Jesus was born in year one) = $733,285,000,000.

A little over $733 billion dollars, which is less than Obama's massive spending and debt increasing stimulus bill.  The version passed by the House of Respresentatives weighed in at $819 billion.

Thank You, President Bush

I'd been trying to think of how to phrase my thoughts about the eight years President Bush was in office.  I came across a post on National Review's web site that really mirrored my own thoughts.  That post is quoted below in its entirety.  You can read the original here.

Thanking President Bush
by Peter Wehner (1/20/09)

Among the things President Bush's fellow citizens should thank him for:

* Defeating Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.

* Keeping America safe in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when virtually no one thought such a thing was possible. In achieving this, President Bush fulfilled the first duty of his office.

* Correcting earlier (and significant) mistakes in Iraq and supporting the surge when almost everyone — the American people, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commanding general in Iraq, all Democrats, and many Republicans — opposed his efforts. This was a textbook example of leadership and wise decision-making in the most difficult circumstances imaginable.

* Leading efforts that led to a humiliating defeat for al-Qaeda in Iraq and, more broadly, to militant Islam being on the defensive throughout much of the world, including the Arab world.

* Liberating more than 50 million people from two of the most malevolent regimes in modern history.

* Standing with Israel against its enemies and having the wisdom to declare he would not deal with Yasir Arafat.

* Adding two outstanding Justices to the Supreme Court and appointing first-rate federal judges.

* Championing a culture of life and the global AIDS initiative.

* Cutting taxes several times and never, not even once, raising them.

* Putting in place the most far-reaching reforms in education in generations, which insisted on accountabilty, high standards, and produced positive results.

* Restoring dignity to the Oval Office, acting with civility and grace, loving his country, and serving her well.

Full of Hopiness & Changiness

I don't know about you, gentle reader, but like so many, many others in this country, I am just filled to overflowing with hopiness and changiness.  I'm drinking the coolaid, eating the ice cream, and it is good.  So very good.  Yessirree!

editor's note.  Below are some word definitions.

hopiness... the quality of believing concepts one wishes or hopes to be true, rather than in facts

changiness... the qualitiy of believing that change, regardless of the details or the exact nature of that change, is A GOOD THING^®

Master of the Macabre 200th Anniversary

Edgar Allan Poe was born 200 years ago today, on January 20, 1908.

What is probably his most well-known work, the poem The Raven, was the first poem I actually liked.  Perhaps due to my, at the time, fascination with Vincent Price movies.  Remember The Abominable Dr. Phibes? He was awesome! But I digress.

Poe invented detective stories as we know them, influencing that genre so heavily that the Mystery Writers of America named their awards, the Edgars, after him.  He is also believed to have strongly influenced science fiction writing.  And, of course, Gothic horror stories.

A typical feature of Poe's stories was his ability to create an emotional tone, an atmosphere, that permeated the story.  Good examples of this are The Fall of the House of Usher and The Pit and the Pendulum.

So, boys and girls, if you ever find yourself having trouble getting to sleep, be sure to reach for your Edgar Allan Poe anthology.  I recommend The Masque of the Red Death.  Hmmm... On the hand, may be you shouldn't read that just before sleeping.