Thursday, September 25, 2008
Entry for September 25, 2008
I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.
Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in
a We Deserve It Dividend.
To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000
bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman
and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00.
My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a
We Deserve It Dividend.
Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.
Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?
Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
Put away money for college – it’ll be there
Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
Buy a new car – create jobs
Invest in the market – capital drives growth
Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else
Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks
who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company
that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.
If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it.
If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!
As for AIG – liquidate it.
Sell off its parts.
Let American General go back to being American General.
Sell off the real estate.
Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.
Here’s the rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t.
Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.”
But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!
How do you spell Economic Boom?
I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion
We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC .
And remember, The this plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned
instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam."
Not my thought, but I wish it were
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
September 23, 2008
Canice Rant #37
Well friends, here we are again, time for the more common of my rants, where I chastise each and almost every "friend" for not coming by to say hi..hello, whatever. I am focused on the guilt feelings from Colorado, Tennessee and Minnesota, although I think North Carolina is in there also...
Canice News and Review...Got a postcard from the health plan, they say so far the mammogram and followup ultra sounds are negative, and that "in most cases the cysts are benign" Thats not too reassuring, hate to say. Although the doctor said they would call if there was any concerns...and so far no calls.
Oh, and at lunch time today my alarm company called to say the motion detector was detecting movement in my house, and the police were on the way...raced home to find honey and a friend had also gotten called and raced home...found our bathroom window open, and stuff scattered in the bathroom, but I guess the alarm going off scared them out. Police looked at the window and wondered who could fit..its like 18" tall and 10" wide...prevailing theory is kids, one boosted another in the house and then was going to open a door to let in the accomplice, when the alarm caught them...now if the police could do likewise...
My concern wasn't for my stuff, as much for the dog and cat...
Well friends, here we are again, time for the more common of my rants, where I chastise each and almost every "friend" for not coming by to say hi..hello, whatever. I am focused on the guilt feelings from Colorado, Tennessee and Minnesota, although I think North Carolina is in there also...
Canice News and Review...Got a postcard from the health plan, they say so far the mammogram and followup ultra sounds are negative, and that "in most cases the cysts are benign" Thats not too reassuring, hate to say. Although the doctor said they would call if there was any concerns...and so far no calls.
Oh, and at lunch time today my alarm company called to say the motion detector was detecting movement in my house, and the police were on the way...raced home to find honey and a friend had also gotten called and raced home...found our bathroom window open, and stuff scattered in the bathroom, but I guess the alarm going off scared them out. Police looked at the window and wondered who could fit..its like 18" tall and 10" wide...prevailing theory is kids, one boosted another in the house and then was going to open a door to let in the accomplice, when the alarm caught them...now if the police could do likewise...
My concern wasn't for my stuff, as much for the dog and cat...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Global Depression? September 22, 2008
In 1929, the richest 1 percent own 40 percent of the nation's wealth.
Individual worker productivity rises an astonishing 43 percent from 1919 to 1929. But the rewards are being funneled to the top: the number of people reporting half-million dollar incomes grows from 156 to 1,489 between 1920 and 1929, a phenomenal rise compared to other decades.(955% increase)
Organized labor declines throughout the decade.
"Technological unemployment" enters the nation's vocabulary; as workers are replaced by automatic or semi-automatic machinery.
Over the decade, mergers will swallow up more than 6,000 previously independent companies; by 1929, only 200 corporations will control over half of all American industry.
By the end of the decade, the bottom 80 percent of all income-earners will be removed from the tax rolls completely. Taxes on the rich will fall throughout the decade.
Present Day (1995-2005)
In the United States, the richest 1 percent of households owns 38 percent of all wealth.
USA worker productivity increased from 1995 to 2005 by 20%; the number of people around the world with at least $1 million in assets passed 10 million for the first time last year, according to a report. One in three was American.
Organized labor declines throughout the decade.
"Outsourced" enters the nation's vocabulary; as workers are replaced by automatic or semi-automatic computer controlled equipment, or their job is transferred overseas.
The top 50% of tax payers pay 97% of income tax, while bottom 50% pay 3% and account for 13.9% of income.
The government does not want to use the D word, but the signs are there...how can a country absorb 11 TRILLION dollars of debt? Thats a little over $36,000 for ever person in the USA ...
And while i am no economist, it seems to me that congregating wealth in corporate consolidations, and awarding multi-million dollar retirements to CEO's of failed enterprises seems , well, wacky to me. When was the last time you heard of someone getting fired AND collecting a bonus for it?????(If that was the case, why am I not more wealthy...I got fired plenty back in the days
Now there is talk of the next bailout, the car industry...meanwhile, in my life, my house has gone up in value to 3 x the price I paid for it, only to float back down to what we paid for it 11 years ago...so much for real estate being a good investment for nearing retirement...
Mark my words, if Social Security is privatized, there really wont be any...lets see, no equity left in house, no Social Security, pension has shrunk...I guess retirement is now just a myth, right?
I do NOT look forward to working into my senior years
Friday, September 19, 2008
September 19, 2008
I have made a couple of entries since my last, and they didn't post...so here goes?
National Security-Whose?
I posted about security circles growing concern regarding the increased influence of Putin's Russia in Venezuela. Last week was the news many people I talk with were unaware of, that Russia flew two long range bombers from Russia to Venezuela, and yesterday they flew back to Russia. Russia is already supplying the regime there with weapons, and has promised to sell about 24 Sukhoi (Сухой) 35 multi-role fighters to the Chavez controlled government, which has sparked concern in Venezuela's neighbors, including Brazil. Brazil is now entertaining procurement of several Saab Gripen planes from Sweden, which are considered a very good aircraft.
According to Jane's Aircraft of the World, the Su 35 has a range of 2232 miles (1940 nautical miles), which means these planes could reach from Carcas Venezuela to Brazil's capitol city Brasilia, which means they could also reach the USA, roughly an arc from Boston to Houston.
Bombers for Venezuela?
On July 22 at at his confirmation hearing to be the next USAF chief of staff, U.S. Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that sending the giant Blackjacks to Cuba would be crossing "a red line in the sand."
Schwartz's tough comments to the Senate Armed Services Committee confirmed how seriously the U.S. Air Force takes the threat of a forward deployment of Tu-160s in Cuba. Schwartz knows that U.S. military planners cannot afford to bet against Blackjack. Russia appears to be hedging their position, thinking that basing these planes in Venezuela a safer bet, forcing the USAF revise any plans to counter these planes.
Four-star Russian Gen. Pyotr Deinekin, former head of the Russian air force, told the RIA Novosti news agency in July that allowing the Blackjacks to operate from bases in Venezuela would allow the aircraft to operate on an almost 24/7 basis within very close distance of the United States itself.
The U.S. Air Force and NATO took the Tu-160 bombers very seriously and sent combat aircraft to shadow them closely in their flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
For the two Tu-160s are historic and strategic game-changers. They can carry 99,000 pounds of munitions, including Mach-2, nuclear-capable X-555 cruise missiles capable of annihilating targets 2,000 miles inland in the continental United States when fired from outside U.S. air space.
Arguably, their deployment could prove as epochal as the Soviet deployment of deadly nuclear missiles in Cuba within 90 miles of the U.S. mainland that set off the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
September 16, 2008
Canice goes on a rant
Seems like the more you want to know people, and share of yourself, the more likely they want to take something and give only back some heartache. Kind of like sharing the wealth of their own pain and misery, after draining away what good I can spend...
Several "friends" I have made here on Yahoo are off into their own world, as the old gang as it were dissolves, in large part because of the instability and general unreliability of this service (360).
I have tried to maintain connections to several; lately sending chat messages back and forth to one in particular, and it seems to have gone amiss...so on the one hand I want to say you know what, I dont need this, and quit the whole thing- the blogs, the chat, the emails, posting of art and music and pictures, the whole thing. I could just go back to the way I was before, a casual visitor who maybe leaves a comment here and there, but is unconnected to anyone online. That would be sad, but really, who would care...a couple of people?
I am not depressed or upset about it, I have been thinking about this on and off for awhile...just cut the ties, and move on, and not spend anymore energy trying to communicate with those that, for whatever reason, cant or wont do the same+One recently told me you need to have more patience...what? You are asking me to be patient?
That kind of thing gets to me, because I try to be upbeat and share all the things i think might be interesting and well, things friends talk about...and in return I get ignored, or a reply filters in several weeks later, with reasons like," i have been busy", or "I gotta work" or "I am too tired, write me later?" Again, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! I work a high profile high pressure job, starting work about 7 AM and usually not getting home until 12 hours later, have to take care of a family, and still find time to write emails and send instant messages to people at night.
Thats why I cant figure out what is the reason people dont respond...and then my honey says "maybe they dont really like you, they just say they do?" Might have a point there.
Anyway, thanks for the good times we used to share, see ya...maybe?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
A blog for Sept 12 2008
I have not blogged lately...so much going on. But before I launch into this episode, let me say that my prayers are with people in the path of hurricane Ike...
Politics has gotten so weird of late that I am steering clear except for short segments like this. Many of my Yahoo friends are ardent Obama supporters, a position I don't share. Not that he probably can’t do the job; typically people who seek their parties a sense of greatness (mostly self delusional) that spurs them on. My view they are no different in that regard; one has ascended quickly from the state level to national level and sees he has a vision where to take the country, and then the other has lots of service, although he is not without some issues. Vote for who you want to. Don’t try to convince me about either. As wacky as people think he is, Ron Paul actually had some valid points in his campaign of government beyond its constitutional authority.
In my wandering thru the urban and rural landscapes in my life, I am increasingly cranky about the commonality of most people in their desire to be totally self absorbed and RUDE. I work hard to be considerate when all around me don't, and it is starting to get me riled... in my job I frequently encounter co-workers who are either ignorant or oblivious to the fact that they are breaking many common tenets of civil and commercial law in the way they conduct business..
We walked through the new facility today the new facility superintendent and I are thrilled. The contractors are about a week ahead of schedule; the offices are completed. The only segment missing is our server room, which is built but has no servers, switches or routers in place yet. And our data lines have not been installed, 3 T1 and 2 T3 to connect the new facility to the main plant and HQ.
Well quite a week...time to relax
September 12, 2008
There are numerous spelling and grammar errors that Yahoo seems to have generated when i posted this...so I reposted on Multiply
Sunday, September 7, 2008
God help us; we're in the hands of engineers.
Those that fail to control technology will be controlled by it.
This summarizes my current feelings about information technology in general, and today Google in particular. Yesterday I wrote in another blog about Google’s new browser, Chrome. It is fast, uses few computer resources and has some interesting features. It is also very new. As people start to delve into how it works, concern now is being expressed about the abilities it grants to Google to track everything you do, and track back to your IP address, and cross reference that information to your physical location...its a technology wonder that is a privacy nightmare. The early release of chrome included in the End User License Agreement (EULA) provisions to allow Google access to you computer for any reason they wanted...when privacy groups cried foul, that provision was removed, but one has to wonder if the technology supporting that OOPS! in their policy wasn't left in place?
In a world where news and entertainment blur together, reality and lies are thrown together with abandon, people need to be able to trust something. Trust in government is nil, trust in the news media is nearly nil, and trust in internet news is suspect at best. I honestly think that people have a level of trust in the sanctity of the privacy they cherish while online have been duped, as nearly every browser I have tested (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome) have provisions in the EULA for tracking of some of the things you do online.
What is really worrying about Chrome is the suspicion that Google is now venturing into wholesale Deep Packet Inspection, which is known to be used by them to assist the Peoples Republic of China to block searches offensive to the interests of the state. DPI has been used in this country by our government "for national security". That is worrisome enough, now do we really want to trust a private entity to have that level of control, with no oversight what so ever?
In addition to using DPI to secure their internal networks, Internet Service Providers also apply this technology on the public networks provided to customers. Common uses of DPI by ISPs are lawful intercept, policy definition and enforcement, targeted advertising, quality of service, offering tiered services, and copyright enforcement.
(DPI information from Wikipedia)
God help us; we're in the hands of engineers.
Those that fail to control technology will be controlled by it.
This summarizes my current feelings about information technology in general, and today Google in particular. Yesterday I wrote in another blog about Google’s new browser, Chrome. It is fast, uses few computer resources and has some interesting features. It is also very new. As people start to delve into how it works, concern now is being expressed about the abilities it grants to Google to track everything you do, and track back to your IP address, and cross reference that information to your physical location...its a technology wonder that is a privacy nightmare. The early release of chrome included in the End User License Agreement (EULA) provisions to allow Google access to you computer for any reason they wanted...when privacy groups cried foul, that provision was removed, but one has to wonder if the technology supporting that OOPS! in their policy wasn't left in place?
In a world where news and entertainment blur together, reality and lies are thrown together with abandon, people need to be able to trust something. Trust in government is nil, trust in the news media is nearly nil, and trust in internet news is suspect at best. I honestly think that people have a level of trust in the sanctity of the privacy they cherish while online have been duped, as nearly every browser I have tested (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome) have provisions in the EULA for tracking of some of the things you do online.
What is really worrying about Chrome is the suspicion that Google is now venturing into wholesale Deep Packet Inspection, which is known to be used by them to assist the Peoples Republic of China to block searches offensive to the interests of the state. DPI has been used in this country by our government "for national security". That is worrisome enough, now do we really want to trust a private entity to have that level of control, with no oversight what so ever?
In addition to using DPI to secure their internal networks, Internet Service Providers also apply this technology on the public networks provided to customers. Common uses of DPI by ISPs are lawful intercept, policy definition and enforcement, targeted advertising, quality of service, offering tiered services, and copyright enforcement.
(DPI information from Wikipedia)
September 07, 2008 - Google to control the Internet?
Those that fail to control technology will be controlled by it.
This summarizes my current feelings about information technology in general, and today Google in particular. Yesterday I wrote in another blog about Google’s new browser, Chrome. It is fast, uses few computer resources and has some interesting features. It is also very new. As people start to delve into how it works, concern now is being expressed about the abilities it grants to Google to track everything you do, and track back to your IP address, and cross reference that information to your physical location...its a technology wonder that is a privacy nightmare. The early release of chrome included in the End User License Agreement (EULA) provisions to allow Google access to you computer for any reason they wanted...when privacy groups cried foul, that provision was removed, but one has to wonder if the technology supporting that OOPS! in their policy wasn't left in place?
In a world where news and entertainment blur together, reality and lies are thrown together with abandon, people need to be able to trust something. Trust in government is nil, trust in the news media is nearly nil, and trust in internet news is suspect at best. I honestly think that people have a level of trust in the sanctity of the privacy they cherish while online have been duped, as nearly every browser I have tested (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome) have provisions in the EULA for tracking of some of the things you do online.
What is really worrying about Chrome is the suspicion that Google is now venturing into wholesale Deep Packet Inspection, which is known to be used by them to assist the Peoples Republic of China to block searches offensive to the interests of the state. DPI has been used in this country by our government "for national security". That is worrisome enough, now do we really want to trust a private entity to have that level of control, with no oversight what so ever?
In addition to using DPI to secure their internal networks, Internet Service Providers also apply this technology on the public networks provided to customers. Common uses of DPI by ISPs are lawful intercept, policy definition and enforcement, targeted advertising, quality of service, offering tiered services, and copyright enforcement.
(DPI information from Wikipedia)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
September 06, 2008- 11 minutes to load?
By mere coincidence, I clicked on the Yahoo toolbar icon for this page at exactly 8:00 AM this morning. I got three error pages, saying the server unavailable try again later, and finally navigated to the 360 Product blog, and then clicked My Page and got here, after the page loading icon spun around on Firefox 3 for what seemed like forever...I actually left the room, walked down the hall to the kitchen, poured a cup of coffee, walked back (a round trip of 60 feet) and it was still loading...I opened another tab, and loaded MSN in 3 seconds, and launched another tab to load igoogle in 1 sec. When I returned to Yahoo tab....it was still loading.
This would be intolerable in a commercial organization, to have your profit making application take so long to load that potential customers simply left, to look for another vendor.
But Yahoo 360 is a for profit site...ads on the page generate revenue for Yahoo!, and the more users of 360, the more revenue...so Yahoo's decision to crap on the user community seems to have been not well conceived. As a friend of mine (who is also her company network administrator) "I used to like 360, but now its like a big steaming pile of crap!"
People like her and I make decisions about networking tools, and lately both organizations have discussed using IM tools to enhance communications and collaboration quicker than using email...and we both are skeptical about Yahoo. Why? Because if they can launch a product that is widely hailed as the best in class (which 360 was), and then turn around and dump it, why would I recommend using anything they came up with?? Why would I put a lot of resources into deployment of a tool from a vendor(Yahoo) that has a reputation for making such poor decisions???
Honestly, both organizations are looking at Microsoft Messenger, which has been around for years, and constantly improved, and Google Talk.
While mentioning Google, check out Google's new browser, Chrome. Its a very low resources user on you computer, I think its Java based. I tried it out the other day, and will probably use it once they add a few more features. I really like the incognito browser feature, which masks your browsing trail, and deletes browse history when closed. While they say its so you can shop for gifts and then not have to worry about the other party accidentally finding what you looked at, I personally think there are other reasons people will like that feature, like looking at porn on the home computer and being somewhat more confident that the kids wont accidentally find the page daddy was looking at. Or that Big Brother wont download your browse history and see you were looking at How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Which is a very good album by U2 by the way).
This would be intolerable in a commercial organization, to have your profit making application take so long to load that potential customers simply left, to look for another vendor.
But Yahoo 360 is a for profit site...ads on the page generate revenue for Yahoo!, and the more users of 360, the more revenue...so Yahoo's decision to crap on the user community seems to have been not well conceived. As a friend of mine (who is also her company network administrator) "I used to like 360, but now its like a big steaming pile of crap!"
People like her and I make decisions about networking tools, and lately both organizations have discussed using IM tools to enhance communications and collaboration quicker than using email...and we both are skeptical about Yahoo. Why? Because if they can launch a product that is widely hailed as the best in class (which 360 was), and then turn around and dump it, why would I recommend using anything they came up with?? Why would I put a lot of resources into deployment of a tool from a vendor(Yahoo) that has a reputation for making such poor decisions???
Honestly, both organizations are looking at Microsoft Messenger, which has been around for years, and constantly improved, and Google Talk.
While mentioning Google, check out Google's new browser, Chrome. Its a very low resources user on you computer, I think its Java based. I tried it out the other day, and will probably use it once they add a few more features. I really like the incognito browser feature, which masks your browsing trail, and deletes browse history when closed. While they say its so you can shop for gifts and then not have to worry about the other party accidentally finding what you looked at, I personally think there are other reasons people will like that feature, like looking at porn on the home computer and being somewhat more confident that the kids wont accidentally find the page daddy was looking at. Or that Big Brother wont download your browse history and see you were looking at How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (Which is a very good album by U2 by the way).
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
September 02, 2008..the end of this page?
I am surprised that this page is still going, but it seems like its on its last legs.
I have migrated most of my blogs to Multiply, and i think that as much as i will miss my closer correspondents here, it just isn't working out anymore. I have tried blogger, and it is OK, but leaves me kind of bored...I think in the order of my experience, i would say
yahoo 360 gets a 9: AOL Journal a 3; Blogger a 5, Multiply a 7, and MSN Spaces 6. Windows live Space and Yahoo Mash were both duds, at least Yahoo pulled the plug.
The other thing is some of my friends here have hurt me, not physically, but emotionally. Nothing monumental, but i need to focus on positive...
If you care to share your opinion, please do.
Monday, September 1, 2008
September 01, 2008
Labor Day...
Like many people I did things today like go to the store, eat lunch out, and basically not much more. Which gave me a lot of time to reflect on things.
Like internet chat. Its kind of boring. It was fun when I first did it 10 years ago, but now seems so blah blah blah. Voice chat...like talking on the phone, only through a webcam microphone set up...sounds like a snooze to me. Let me be clear here, its not that I don't like people, but spending hours online chatting is about like spending hours on the telephone to me, an experience I can do without. No, instead I will waste countless hours alone working on this friggin blog that is now visited by a whopping 6 people a week...and i am not sure about that either, but thats what my hit map program says...
Some of my readers, when I had any, seemed to like some of my fictional work. Others probably hated it, as juvenile or untalented. Whatever.
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