Ken Nelson

A strong President that cared for America, the world, and wanted to improve it would do this.  Instead we have who we have.

Put another way, since there seems to be no end to the financial rape this Government wants to perform on its citizens, they COULD AT LEAST invest the money wisely.  Instead… we have who we have.

The 14th amendment covers citizenship like this:

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

The author of the amendment did not mean to make citizens of children born to foreign citizens currently residing on US soil:

The author of the 14th Amendment Citizenship Clause, Senator Jacob M. Howard, stated, in reference to the Amendment, "This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the family of ambassadors, or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons."

But as with most other things Washington and our courts touch, plain common sense has been corrupted so that now children of illegal aliens become citizens. This is wrong on many fronts, rare in the world (only about 30 countries and hardly any modern Western countries do this), and provides a tempting incentive to break U.S. immigration law.

Those who want to change this talk about tweaking the 14th amendment itself. Good luck with that. There are enough blue states legislatures that want future Democrat voters that this approach will go nowhere. Better, and sufficient, would be to have Congress define who is subject to its jurisdiction for purposes of the 14th Amendment.

Some say that wouldn’t survive a court challenge. I suspect it would face trouble in plaintiff shopped lower courts, but do just fine at the Supreme Court.

We need to do something, and since a Constitutional amendment isn’t feasible, passing a law is the correct next step.

Government is necessary. But just as people must be governed, so must government be governed. A government not governed, or held accountable, by the people, ceases to be an advantage to its people, becoming, instead, a tyranny, however soft, that rules their lives.

Dan Riehl

So is our government governed? Clearly not.  Maybe we can start to change that this November. I hope so, but I fear it will be too late.  That pesky 16th amendment seems to be the ripe fruit which once bitten causes mankind to fall….

Where corrupt fools go to work

I don’t want to raise taxes on those that already pay taxes. So where would I cut? I’ll start with a list of unneeded Government departments. Unless otherwise noted, these would be cut ENTIRELY:

Dept of Defense         -  $708 billion – I’d cut about $200 billion out. For a start.
Dept of HHHS             -  $81 billion
Dept of Transportation -  $79 billion  – I’d cut to level needed for air travel
Dept of Education   – $67 billion,  $100 billion in stimulus money
Dept of Housing      – $48 billion
Dept of Justice       – $29 billion – cut all outside funding of any other agencies
Dept of Energy       – $28 billion
Dept of Agriculture -  $26 billion
Dept of Labor         – $14 billion
Dept of Treasury    -  $14 billion  – I’d cut to 1/3rd present budget
Dept of Interior      – $12  billion (transfer lands to states)
Dept of Commerce – $9   billion
EPA                     – $10 billion  (I’d cut to less than a billion)
NASA                   – 19 billion    (I’d cut it all – sorry)
National Intelligence Program – undisclosed. Well, they would disclose it to me and then I’d cut it brutally. This is what happens to failures.
US Army Corp of Engineers – $4.9 billion  – I’d stop all new projects, only maintenance and correct fixes of what has already been built.

This represents all the Departments of the government. I’ve bravely cut stuff we don’t need, BUT I’ve ONY saved about $718 billion dollars.  Where is the rest of the money? We are $1.5 trillion in debt annually.

Well the department budgets do not include these spending items:

Medicare                           – $453 billion
Medicaid                           – $164 billion
Other Mandatory Programs – $571 billion

”Other”, it turns out, is things like Food Stamps, Unemployment, Supplemental Security for blind, Student Loans, and government retirement benefits (civilian and military)

I need another $700 billion in cuts to balance my budget. But… I’ll fudge a bit and suggest that my awesome discipline is causing the economy to grow as investors welcome my austerity with their money.  And some of my other costs, like interest and retirement costs are dropping because I’m borrowing less and have less employees to fund retirements for.

So I’ll set my goal at $500 billion.  Medicare isn’t going to go down, not a lick. Even if I contain costs it will grow based on demographics.

Medicaid.. I’ll cut that entirely and let the states handle it. $164 billion
I’ll then change Civil Service retirement benefits, get rid of Federal Food stamps, stop any kind of federal welfare spending and I’m at about $200 billion.

So I’m at $364 of me needed $500 billion.

And I’ll let economic grown eat that up, or maybe just inflate a bit cause I can.

Final notes. The above isn’t going to happen through a political process. But I hope I’ve shown just how hopeless it is to think that RAISING taxes would help either. Taxes would have to double or higher, and the resulting economic collapse wouldn’t fund much government.

What will happen, however, is that we won’t have the departments above, nor the mandatory spending above, because there won’t be a United States above. Oh there will be a US, but it will be a 1970’s Argentina. A land of rampant inflation, little job prospects, and cow towing to the whim of other countries.

Put another way… the piper will be paid.

My approach is difficult, sure, and it puts a lot on the states to make hard decisions too. But life ain’t easy. And I’d rather 50 local choices, some great, some bad, than one crappy national one. Grow up states – Sugar Uncle ain’t printing it no more!

The Oatmeal almost pegs it:

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/apps

But it isn’t the cost of apps that gets people down, it is the risk of being made a fool when it turns out to be a worthless piece of crap that you never use.  Apple should have a system for returning crappy apps, or for trying apps for a day or so before having to buy them.

This would make Apple more, as app prices would rise, as would willingness to try apps.

Online physics

Bill Gates and his son use the Khan Academy – and you should too!

"This guy is amazing," he wrote. "It is awesome how much he has done with very little in the way of resources." Gates and his 11-year-old son, Rory, began soaking up videos, from algebra to biology. Then, several weeks ago, at the Aspen Ideas Festival in front of 2,000 people, Gates gave the 33-year-old Khan a shout-out that any entrepreneur would kill for. Ruminating on what he called the "mind-blowing misallocation" of resources away from education, Gates touted the "unbelievable" 10- to 15-minute Khan Academy tutorials "I’ve been using with my kids."

I’m not exactly a fan of Bill Gates’ allocation of Microsoft investments or his own personal philanthropy.  Tens of billions of dollars wasted.  But I do think he is correct here about the Khan Academy.

I’m going threw Physics now so I can be refreshed to address topics with my kids, who are enrolled in a high school physics class online.    I was just going to re-read Asimov’s “Understanding Physics” but I’m not sure where it is after the Nelson flood of 2010.

"Magnificent! Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.
God help me, I do love it so!"
- General George Patton Jr

25% of the anemic 2nd quarter growth of 1.4% was caused by defense procurement or consumption (i.e. war):

Alas, even the GWOT has to end sometime. Or does it?  Will we have a permanent military-war-on-terror complex, like we have left over from the Cold War?  That seems likely.

Visual Metaphor

One of six Americans get government aid. And that doesn’t count the people getting federal aid in other ways, like banks, car companies, pork recipients, stimulus boondoggles, and education funding.

I favor helping people that need help but can’t help themselves. I’m talking basic food, shelter, clothing type needs. And that should come first from local, then state systems. Beyond that, you should be on your own.  And the Feds should have no role. If a state can’t handle it, then a region can band together.

Federal takings are not invested properly currently, and haven’t been for a century.  Terrible (negative) returns and missed opportunity costs on these false “investments” harms economic prospects for all of us but especially those near the bottom.   Everybody would be better off if the Federal government limited their role substantially.

But due to greed, stupidity, flaws (16th amendment) in our Constitution, and also the evil desires of some, the Federal role will not shrink, but will has, is, and will grow . So we will suffer until it all collapses.  And that will happen faster than you think.  America is on shaky ground now.

It would be far better for housing and the economy to announce "There will be no further housing tax credits."

Calculated Risk blog

I agree. Once subsidies are expected you’d be stupid to buy when they aren’t in effect.  At a minimum not only would you feel stupid you would be competing against subsidized purchases when you sold your unsubsidized house later.  Even worse are targeted subsidies aimed at people who can’t afford mortgages – been there done that.

Matt Drudge must never sleep!  Anyway, I was going to make this visual comparison today as well, but Drudge beat me to it as I snored away this morning:

 
Both Presidents are dangerous narcissists. And their staged photo ops are staged to appeal to their respective populations. So the photos say MORE about US than the subjects.  And I’m embarrassed by what ours implies.

I couldn’t attend, but my wife and kids did.  If I have it right, the blue arrow above points to them. Reports have attendance between 300 and 500 thousand. My wife said it was packed.  At 6AM this morning she called excited to report she had met David Barton on the way to get a Diet Pepsi.

She and the kids had it easier than most attendees. They walked down from plush Dupont Circle digs and didn’t have to fight bus or metro crowds to get home.

When she Facebook’s about it, I’ll link to her posts.

Would the neighbors gripe?

I want to build a casita type thing on the other side of our pool. We have a big yard, the pool divides it, and only the landscaper goes over there (and its a pain to drag the mower over).

So I want to put a little hideaway over there. Something I could use as a yoga studio, home office, or just to chill out in.

The polyhedron cottage above appeals, but is probably too edgy for my spousal unit. And I’ve no idea how to build it.

I could buy an “office pod”:

But that is too “work” oriented. Not my thing.

I like this one:

Envision it in stucco, with slightly more slanted roof, and with white framing for the windows, to match the side of the house it would face. Oh… and a big honking AC sticking out somewhere (-:

Me, outside my hotel. Not!  Actually it is Bikram Choudhury

Yoga is REALLY good for you. I can testify to that. Hot Yoga has helped me avoid chronic hip pain, sleep better, lose weight, and surprisingly, improve my complexion.

Lacking a Hot Yoga studio in St. George (which I may just remedy!), I’m taking advantage of our 107 degree summer, and I just practice outside in the shade of the hotel.  I don’t sweat nearly as much due to our 20% humidity ( a normal Hot Yoga studio is at 60% humidity).  But it still helps.

So what does science say?

Practicing yoga may do more than calm the mind — it may help protect against certain diseases, a new study suggests.

In the study, women who had practiced yoga regularly for at least two years were found to have lower levels of inflammation in their bodies than did women who only recently took up the activity.

I recommend it, although like many physical activities the first few times may be shockingly difficult (especially Hot Yoga). Keep on trying and you soon wonder how you could ever miss a session.

Another good thing… unlike other exercises, I’ve never been sore after a Yoga Practice.

Give it a go!

 
A good thing

Somehow, about a year ago, I got on an auto dealer sales “how to” e-mail list. Normally, I just unsubscribe, but this look into the heart of the beast interested me.

Now, my subject above reads more into this article by Dennis Galbraith, and is clearly biased by my firm belief that car dealers (new and used) are among the most amoral evil rationalizing humans that exist in polite culture.

I’ve always been dismayed that the same car, even at the same dealer, would cost different based on the negotiating savvy of the buyer. I recognize their right to sell that way, but it always seemed wrong because it took advantage of people that really couldn’t afford to be taken advantage of.  One of the leading causes of financial distress of my employees is stupid car deals. Well, let me re-phrase that… stupid employees doing stupid car deals. Sure I know they are dumb, but basing a business model on exploiting the dumb seems… wrong.

According to Mr. Galbraith ubiquitous information about pricing, both OEM and from other dealers, means that the negotiated price sales model will become slowly dead.

With transparency into market prices, negotiating does not make as much sense as it once did. Posting a higher starting price, rather than an aggressive offer price, results in fewer shoppers contacting the store.

This is very true. I just bought a van. I used online tools to find exactly what I wanted across a very wide geographic area. I ended up scoring an excellent deal in Texas, buying the van based on about 60 photos and excellent recommends from other customers of the dealer.

There was no negotiation. The sale was pleasant, easy, and quick. Hallellujah!  It only took 100 years.

Negotiated pricing is still with us. The VW place I visited here in St. George used it when I briefly considered a Jetta TDI instead of a van. But they were never getting my business. I needed to see the car. But I had, in my pocket, a smart phone with prices and options for hundreds of TDIs from here, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Southern California.

Thank you Internet!