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 I've been reading "Nation" by Terry Pratchett, which was published in 2008. This is a mature work, and one of his best.
As in his best writing, it has some great characters with real human dimensions, and a little bit of magic as well.
Some quotes:
- "She says safe is not sure. Sure not safe. There is just do, or do not do." (p.201)
- Mau approached her, smiling. "Their priest likes you," he said.
"Only for my brains, Mau..." [the priest is from a brain-eating cannibal tribe]. (p. 311)
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 Last week I finished reading the Terry Pratchett novel "The Dark Side Of the Sun", which I checked out from the Rochester Public library.
This novel was published in the mid-1970s, before Mr. Pratchett achieved fame with his "Discworld" novels. There are some interesting precursors here: The protagonist Dom hails from the planet Widdershins, and he observes the holidays of HogsWatch and Small Gods.
This novel was interesting, and it was easy for me to identify with Dom. As heir to the ruling family of Widdershins, he is soon to become the planetary chairman. Its present universe is populated by several different alien races, and contains mysterious artifacts from an unknown race which they call the "Jokers".
The plot involves a technology called "probability math", which purports to predict the most likely future, from an infinite set of universes, where anything is possible in one or more of them. What Dom does not know at the outset, is that p-math has predicted his immanent death. When that fails to occur, the powerful Joker's Institute conspires to correct that error.
Pratchett's writing style is difficult here. Rather than indulge the reader with helpful exposition, he periodically interrupts the narrative with quotations, in the style of Frank Herbert's Dune novels. This has a confusing effect, as I had to re-read the early chapters to fully understand them. |
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 Last Sunday I was reading the article "American and Russian Perceptions of Freedom and Security", by Gary L. Browning. He makes some interesting and insightful points:
- "Americans prefer a society in which freedom flourishes. We generally accept personal responsibility for our lives, the opportunity to rise according to our own choices, and open competition in a free enterprise economic system. We in the West place a very great emphasis on human rights or freedoms of speech, the press, assembly, worship, and others--all of which protect the conscience and person of the individual against the majority..." (p. 4)
- "Russians have enshrined ... security and its related components: patriotism and a strong national defense, greater material equality and protection from whims of circumstance, a higher priority on community (collective) needs than on any individual's claims, continuity and predictability, and domestic cooperation (rather than competition). (p. 5)
- "Of course the peoples of both countries would prefer to be both free and secure, but the more one is committed to either of the two values, the less possible it is to partake as fully of the other." (p. 6)
- "Freedom is at times more difficult to bear than security. But security beyond real need lessens our ability to act responsibly, courageously, and creatively. Clearly each of us needs to move from the relative dependence of security to the maturity of freedom..." (p. 10)
President Obama's Nobel Prize acceptance speech brought it back to mind, when he stated:
"a just peace includes not only civil and political rights -- it must encompass economic security and opportunity. For true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want."
Obama is echoing Franklin D. Roosevelt's "four freedoms" of 1941:
Freedom of speech
Freedom of religion
"freedom from want"
"freedom from fear"
I put the last two in quotes because they are not freedoms at all--they are "securities".
The first two freedoms exist by nature, without any government at all.
The second two are things that we might wish for, but they always come with chains attached when we don't acquire them by our own effort.
Once I said that the divide between Republicans and Democrats was between the two values of freedom and equality.
It might be more correct to say that it is a difference between the values of freedom and security. Today our desire for government-backed protections of all kind is destroying our liberty. Sure, it is tempting to want the security of "free" health care, a promised "living wage" and the guarantee that our rich Uncle Sam will always take care of us.
But too many of us are willing to trade our freedom for that security.
In the end, the life of government-backed security is just not worth living for a free person. It is a fine life for a slave, and it will make slaves of us all.
(Expanded from a comment to writerspleasure.)
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Both the 4th "presidential" design of the 2009 Lincoln bicentennial cent, and the 12th in the series of Presidential dollar coins have now been released by the U.S. mint.
I'm still looking for both of them... |
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Diana brought me our old vacuum cleaner when she visited for Thanksgiving, but she forgot to bring the bags. So I thought that I'd buy some new ones, since I haven't vacuumed since I moved in to my apartment. The main grocery store in town is Hy-Vee, which is a nice "employee-owned" place. I bought some Hoover bags at Store 'A' (the closest), forgetting that we have a Kirby machine.
This store had no Kirby bags at all-- despite his co-starring role in the classic Disney film "The Brave Little Toaster". So I ordered the bags from an online store, thinking that Kirby's just aren't very popular any more.
Today I tried to return the Hoover bags at store 'B' (closer to work), and they said I had to go back to the original store, because they didn't stock them there. So I checked their stock, and found no Hoover bags, but a complete selection of Kirby bags!
It just seems very strange. Do different neighborhoods use different kinds of vacuum cleaners, causing the stores to stock different items? Do I want to live on the Kirby or the Hoover side of town? |
| » St. Paul Minnesota temple |
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 Today I drove to the St. Paul temple to attend my first endowment session there. It takes 90 minutes to get there from Rochester, and is easy to find.
This is a smaller temple, located next to an LDS meetinghouse. It's ordinance room holds about 40 people, and has a separate "terrestrial" room.
Nov. 21st, 2009 @ 04:11 pm
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| » Motorola V360 quirk |
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 I've been using the Motorola V360 cell phone with T-mobile service for about three years now.
I really like the fact that I can
- Copy ringtones to the phone over the USB cable
- Copy pictures to/from the phone over the USB cable
- Remove/upgrade the micro-SD flash card in the phone.
- Bluetooth (although I've never really used it)
In fact, I upgraded the micro-SD card to 512-MB some time ago.
But about two weeks ago the "Picture" menu item stopped working--I couldn't view the pictures from the phone menu, nor could I send them as a text message attachment. If I selected "Picture", the display would show the normal "Please Wait. Accessing Device" menu, and then it would go back to the original screen.
Since everything else worked fine, I speculated that I had reached some upper limit on stored photos. So, after copying the photos to my PC, I deleted a few hundred older pictures. Sure enough, the problem went away.
So, this is another example of crappy embedded firmware. Some programmer said something like "no one will ever store more than 512 photos on this phone! Besides, they wouldn't fit on the standard 128 MB card that it comes with." Well, I'm not sure what the exact limit is, but I reached it.
Nov. 12th, 2009 @ 08:56 pm
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| » In two weeks, I start a new job! |
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On September 21, an Aerotek recruiter sent me a message on LinkedIn.com, a professional networking site. He had matched my linkedin profile to a job that he was trying to fill for PMC-Sierra.
The Company was originally founded in 1984 as Sierra Semiconductor (San Jose, California, USA). With investment from Sierra Semiconductor, PMC-Sierra (Pacific Microelectronics Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada) was established in 1992 as a private company focused on providing networking semiconductors, and became a wholly owned, independently-operated subsidiary of the Company in 1994.
PMC-Sierra, Inc. is a leading provider of broadband communications and storage semiconductors for metro, access, fiber to the home, wireless infrastructure, storage, laser printers and customer premises equipment. The group that I will be working with works on RAID-on-chip controllers to attach SAS drives to a PCI-Express bus host computer.
After talking with the recruiter on the phone a few times, and convincing him that I really was willing to relocate, I had three phone interviews with various PMC-Sierra team members on September 29th. Based on these interviews, my wife and I flew to Minnesota for a day of face-to-face interviews on October 15th. These interviews went well, and I received a job offer on October 20th.
I accepted the offer, and will start work on November 9th in Rochester, Minnesota. Of course it's a little scary to move to a new place along with starting a new job, but it's exciting as well.
After sitting idle for several weeks, I'm ready to get back to work--in fact, I have made the John Fogerty song "Centerfield" my theme song lately:
 Artist: John Fogerty (he was the lead singer/songwriter for Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Song: Centerfield
Album: Centerfield
Well, beat the drum and hold the phone - the sun came out today!
We’re born again, there’s new grass on the field.
A-roundin’ third, and headed for home, it’s a brown-eyed handsome man;
Anyone can understand the way I feel.
Chorus:
Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Look at me, I can be centerfield!
Well, I spent some time in the mudville nine, watchin’ it from the bench;
You know I took some lumps when the mighty casey struck out.
So say hey willie, tell ty cobb and joe dimaggio;
Don’t say "it ain’t so", you know the time is now.
Chorus:
Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Look at me, I can be centerfield!
Yeah! I got it, I got it!
Got a beat-up glove, a homemade bat, and brand-new pair of shoes;
You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride.
Just to hit the ball and touch ’em all - a moment in the sun;
(pop) it’s gone and you can tell that one goodbye!
Chorus:
Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Look at me, I can be centerfield!
Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today!
Look at me, gotta be centerfield!
Yeah!
Oct. 26th, 2009 @ 09:11 pm
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| » President Obama's Accomplishments--in just his first five months! |
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If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?
If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?
If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?
If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?
If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?
So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 5 months -- so you'll have three years and seven months to come up with an answer.
Oct. 22nd, 2009 @ 09:47 am
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| » Latest Reading |
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I've read several of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels which involve the witches. While his wizards are usually portrayed as bumbling old men who like to eat big meals in the city University, his witches are the wise old women who help the people in their small communities. What they both hold in common is that their attachment to their respective hats, which identify them as people to be reckoned with in society.
 In "Witches Abroad", three witches from Lancre journey all the way to Genua. Why? Because Magrat Garlick (the youngest one) has just become fairy godmother to a young girl. Of course Esme Weatherwax and Glytha Ogg want to help her out with this difficult assignment. For example, how do you work that wand? And did you know that fairy godmothers come in pairs. And the other one is the sister of Granny Weatherwax, who may not have the young girl's best interests at heart.
 In "Lords and Ladies", Magrat prepares to marry King Verence of Lancre, but the evil Queen of Fairyland has other ideas. What, did you think that fairies are all good and kind? No, the cruel elves of fairyland consider humans to be inferior beings, to be tormented as entertainment. I scanned the entire cover to show the artist's concept of Magrat wearing the armour of the mythical Queen Ynci of Lancre.
 In "Carpe Jugulum", it is a family of "progressive" vampires who attempt to take over the kingdom. The "modern" King Verence foolishly invites them to the christening of his new daughter--doesn't he know that any invitation to a vampire is a bad idea? This book also features Agnes Nitt (and her alter-ego Perdita) who was recruited as a witch to replace Magrat, since she is now too busy being a queen and a mother. Being of two minds helps her to resist the considerable mental powers of the handsome young Vlad, as he tries to persuade her to join his family. The Nac Mac Feegle are also featured in this book.
 "Pyramids" is about the young Prince Teppic, who is sent to Ankh-Morpork to train as an assassin. When his father dies, he becomes king of the tiny land of Djelibeybi. Prodded by the old high priest Dios, he commissions the largest pyramid ever built as the final resting place of his father. But nobody really knows how a pyramid this large will distort time and space--until the dead awaken, the gods start wreaking havoc, and the kingdom disappears from sight.
 This is the new Terry Pratchett book, which I haven't yet read, but which was just published. I'm putting this on my Christmas list...
There are now only a few of the Discworld books that I haven't read yet: Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, and Small Gods.
 Finally, I've read the first few chapters of "Atlas Shrugged", and attended the 2nd meeting of the Longmont "Atlas Shrugged" reading group, which meets Thursday evenings at the local Borders store. The goal is to read and discuss the entire novel by the time taxes are due next year. The discussion was lively and entertaining.
This book is a masterful defense of capitalism and the nobility of man's spirit--with a plot that reads like a mystery novel. It gives one a lot of food for thought these days.
Related: Explore Atlas Shrugged website
 Perhaps I really ought to start my own reading group for "Jesus The Christ", to finish by Christmas.
You can download the mp3 files free at the lds.org web site.
Here is a text file of the book.
Here's my proposed schedule:Jesus The Christ by Christmas 2009:
- Oct 18: Parts 0-5
- Oct 25: Parts 6-9
- Nov 01: Parts 10-14
- Nov 08: Parts 15-18
- Nov 15: Parts 19-22
- Nov 22: Parts 23-26
- Nov 29: Parts 27-30
- Dec 06: Parts 31-33
- Dec 13: Parts 34-37
- Dec 20: Parts 38-42
Oct. 11th, 2009 @ 09:37 am
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| » An afternoon at the Church Cannery |
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Today I spent 3-1/2 hours at the LDS cannery in Aurora, Colorado, where we canned tomato soup.
Here, empty cans are loaded onto a conveyor system.
The soup is mixed in large steam-heated kettles:
The cans are steam-cleaned and then filled with soup:
Then the machine on the right seals the can with a steel lid:
The cans are loaded into a special container...
Which is loaded into a retort, where high heat and pressure kill any bacteria:
The cans are allowed to cool for a time, then a special machine applies labels, and the cans are boxed:
My job today was to print the lot numbers on each case and stack them on pallets:
This soup will go into the LDS Bishop's Storehouses throughout North America.
I should mention that one reason that I volunteered for this assignment is because my family has been receiving free food from the storehouse for several months now, since I was laid off. LDS doctrine is that if you are receiving such assistance, and you are able-bodied, you should perform some kind of service.
Work is a spiritual and temporal necessity. When members receive
Church welfare assistance, the bishop gives them opportunities to work to
the extent of their ability for the assistance they receive. When they work
for assistance, they remain industrious, maintain self-respect, and increase their ability to be self-reliant. (Providing in the Lord's Way, p. 21)
Sep. 24th, 2009 @ 10:32 pm
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| » Hageland Dark Chocolate from Belgium |
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Last week I picked up a big 14-oz bar of dark chocolate from Belgium at Wal-Mart.
It's called "Hageland" (from a region of Flemish Belgium) and at $4.62 (including tax) it is just a bit more expensive than Hershey's "Special Dark".
The squares of chocolate are a bit thick, but the taste is very good.
The Hageland region of Belgium "borders the Antwerp Kempen to the North, the Limburg Kempen to the Northeast, Central Limburg and Haspengouw to the East, Wallonia to the South and the Green Belt to the West."
Sep. 19th, 2009 @ 04:46 pm
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| » Catching up with Pratchett |
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  This summer I've been reading several of the "Rincewind" novels in Terry Pratchett's "discworld" series. I acquired an omnibus reader called "Rincewind the Wizzard" (yes, that's how it's spelled on his hat), which includes the following novels:
- The Colour of Magic. The failed wizard Rincewind acts as guide for Twoflower, the first tourist in the Discworld. Rincewind doesn't really like adventures, but the gods keep sending him on them.
- The Light Fantastic.. Further adventures of Rincewind and Twoflower, as well as intrigue at Unseen University. And why does that RED STAR in the sky keep getting brighter!?
- Sourcery. Rincewind saves the day again, all the time trying to flee from danger. Features Conina, daughter of Cohen the Barbarian.
- Eric. Rincewind gets a new job as a demon, which gives him even more amazing adventures.
The first two novels have been made into a nice two-part (made for TV) movie, called "The Colour of Magic", where Tim Curry plays a great villian.
  Then there is Interesting Times, where Rincewind is sent to visit his friend's own country on the Counterweight Continent. Here he is renowned as "the Great Wizzard" because of Twoflower's extravagant memoir. The hopes of everyone are placed upon Rincewind, who eventually does save the day--despite himself.
  I already read The Last Continent, and haven't yet seen the illustrated story The Last Hero for sale, but I was able to borrow a battered copy from the public library. The cover art is of the now aged hero Cohen the Barbarian, while the image on the right depicts the reluctant Rincewind, who once again helps to save the day. It's too bad that this book is so hard to find, as the illustrations are really amazing.
 Then I read The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. (Maurice is the cat.) This novel is surprisingly dark for a "young adult" book, but is just as entertaining as Pratchett's other stories.
 Next, I read the first two novels in the "Watch" series. Now I regret not reading the other watch novels in order, as several things about Commander Vimes, Captain Carrot, and Lady Sybil are now much plainer to me. In Guards! Guards! the men of the city watch are faced with ... dragons! First a magical killer dragon who would be king, and then the "tamer" swamp dragons which are bred by Lady Sybil.
 In Men At Arms, the natural leadership ability of Lance-Constable Carrot is shown as he recruits more watchmen to quell the growing civil unrest in town.
It won't be long before I've finished all of these novels. Then I'll probably re-read them in order.
What first? The rest of the "witches" novels.
Sep. 14th, 2009 @ 08:19 pm
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| » APs latest President Obama DIS-approval ratings by topic |
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My conclusion?
The President has NO POLITICAL CAPITAL LEFT to spend!
Unfortunately, his "time for bickering is over" tough-talk in yesterday's speech indicates that he now inhabits the same fantasy-world as Nancy Pelosi.
It will be instructive to see how he handles the cognitive dissonance between- the real world of presidential leadership and legislative compromise
- the fantasy world of getting his every wish
Crossposted to conservatism
Sep. 10th, 2009 @ 02:41 pm
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| » Catching up on audio books |
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While driving long distances to my contract work this summer, I've had a lot of time to listen to audio books in the car. Thanks to the Longmont library, I've been able to listen to many good educational courses free of charge:
 Economics, 3rd Edition
Course No. 550 (36 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Timothy Taylor
Macalester College
M.Econ., Stanford University
This course was very interesting, but some of the examples were from the 80s and 90s. (It is possible that the copy in my library is not the latest edition.) Most interesting was his list of "things that economists believe but that most people do not believe":
- Economists take trade-offs seriously. Most people emphasize the benefits of a favorite policy and minimize its costs.
- Economists consider "statistical people"--not real people. You cannot base policy on any particular person--you can always find anecdotal sob stories that support any side of an issue.
- Selfishness can be an organizing principle for society. Adam Smith's "invisible hand" is often more beneficial to society than action with good intentions.
- Economists don't believe in individual responsibility for prices. Market forces of supply and demand give a better explanation for changing prices than greed, which is a constant.
- Economists believe that incentives matter. The behavior of people is affected in real ways by differences in wages and prices.
- Economists believe that exchange creates wealth. When two people make a trade, they both feel better off than they were before.
- Economists say 'don't use prices to redistribute'. In implementing policy, don't use price as a tool, because that method also changes the incentives.
- Economists say 'think of all cost as opportunity cost'. In other words, in contemplating one purchase, what are you giving up for it?
- Economists believe that markets are a powerful force of nature. You must respect and pay attention to them.
 Passions: Philosophy and the Intelligence of Emotions
Course No. 4123 (24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Robert C. Solomon
The University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D., University of Michigan
I would like to listen to this one again. This topic is so philosophical that Mr. Solomon cannot give many clear and certain facts about it. His position is that emotions are an intelligent manner in which we interact with the world around us.
 Great Masters: Liszt—His Life and Music
Course No. 758 (8 lectures, 45 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Robert Greenberg
San Francisco Performances
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
Liszt was the "Elton John" of his age, and the first musician who had a great degree of liberty to make his fortune on his own terms. While he offended many, he was also very generous.
 Great Masters: Robert and Clara Schumann—Their Lives and Music
Course No. 759 (8 lectures, 45 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Robert Greenberg
San Francisco Performances
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
Robert and Clara Schumann were a rarity--a talented composer married to an equally talented pianist--in an age where women were not regarded as much. Unfortunately, this tale has a sad ending, as Robert went insane and died far too young.
 Great Masters: Tchaikovsky—His Life and Music
Course No. 753 (8 lectures, 45 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Robert Greenberg
San Francisco Performances
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
Here I learned that the greatest Russian composer of the 19th century was forced to commit suicide in order to avoid a public scandal--and it was hushed up for almost a century!
 Jesus and the Gospels
Course No. 6240 (36 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Luke Timothy Johnson
Emory University
Ph.D., Yale University
This course is interesting, as Mr. Johnson examines each gospel as an individual piece of literature. He also takes a look at several non-canonical writings of the early Christians.
 New Testament
Course No. 656 (24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Taught by Bart D. Ehrman
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.Div., Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary
I have already listened to two other lecture series by Mr. Ehrman, and am not yet finished with this one. Unfortunately his insistence that these books 'cannot be read uncritically' is starting to get tedious. I'm afraid that the good professor is far too skeptical when it comes to deciding 'what Jesus really said' or 'what Paul really did'.
Sep. 6th, 2009 @ 03:39 pm
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| » Sunlight reflected by rainwater in I-25 rumble strips... |
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While driving to work last Monday morning after nighttime rain, the sunlight was flickering from the East. Photo captured with cellphone camera at 75 MPH:
Aug. 24th, 2009 @ 01:18 pm
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| » James K. Polk Presidential Dollar released today |
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 I'm going to the bank today to try and snag some of these!
As you may know, James K. Polk helped the Mormon refugees from Illinois, who were then on the plains of Iowa, by letting them enlist in the U.S. Army during the war with Mexico. They mustered into the Mormon Battalion, with a friendly officer in charge. This gave the Church needed cash, and the soldiers received a lot of equipment, which they got to keep. The loss of men was a hardship on their families, however.
Of course, Joseph Smith was himself a candidate for President in 1844, but he was murdered in June of that year, well before the election.
Polk's exploits were written in song by one of my favorite groups, They Might Be Giants, as follows:
James K. Polk
Artist: They Might Be Giants
Album: Factory Showroom
In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tarriffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump
Aug. 20th, 2009 @ 10:22 am
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| » Profits and Health Care |
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A few weeks ago I posted my view here that health care is not a right. One person who replied offered the following formula to show that we would be better off if we got rid of profits in medicine:
The math is very simple:
Medicine - Profits < Medicine Profits
Let's consider health care to be a big, juicy pie. This formula says that if we can stop anyone from taking that big slice of profit there would be more pie for everyone!
But this formula makes an unspoken assumption: That medicine without profits would be just as abundant as medicine with profits is.
No economist would agree with that assumption. They call it an incorrect application of "Zero-Sum" thinking.
It is capitalism and the profit motive which fills our present society with abundance. The chase for the 'almighty dollar' motivates scientists, businessmen and investors to keep looking for ways to do things better, faster and cheaper. It helps us to find ways to be more productive in our work.
Our current state of plenty is largely due to our productivity, which has generally increased every year. If the profit motive were removed from medicine, our health care pie would start to shrink. In process of time, we would be left with a bunch of rats, fighting over the crumbs.
Capitalism and the profit motive has served our society well--providing us with the highest standard of living ever known. History has proven that whenever government has attempted to to replace these principles with laws and coercion, productivity has fallen dramatically.
Do you go to work because you are motivated by a passion for "the common good"? Would your doctor do it? Or do you expect to be paid, so that you can support your family?
Do you invest your retirement savings without expecting it to earn interest? Would drug companies invest in new medicine if they were forbidden to make a profit?
Think about it. Do you want the USA to repeat the mistakes of Soviet history, because we refuse to learn from them?
Crossposted to conservatism
Aug. 19th, 2009 @ 03:07 pm
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| » Third Lincoln Bicentennial Cent Available August 13th |
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 2009 Lincoln Cent Design #3 | Professional Life in Illinois Penny
The third 2009 Lincoln penny design launches at the Old State Capital in Springfield, Illinois on August 13, 2009. The design represents Lincoln's professional life in Illinois from 1830-1861.
This cent portrays Lincoln standing in front of the State Capitol in Illinois. The coin includes the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM and ONE CENT.
It was designed by United States Mint AIP Master Designer Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.
Unless you live in Illinois or Washington D.C., don't expect to see these coins right away. But do check with your local banks in the next few weeks--you may get lucky. Or click on the image above, and order some coins direct from the mint.
Aug. 12th, 2009 @ 04:37 pm
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