You Know It's A Crazy, Mixed Up World

When one of the primary tools of a police state, surveillance, comes back to haunt the police. In the last few weeks, I've seen a couple of stories that highlight the new danger police face: Someone is almost always watching you.

We first really saw its power in the Rodney King case, but now surveillance cameras (aka "security cameras") are becoming ubiquitous. It's getting to the point where a corrupt cop can't even go about his/her business without having to deal with perjury charges. Take for example these two recent cases:

• Drug suspects’ defense against NYPD? Video
• Accused of lying, officer suspended
• Surveillance video shows police beating man in elevator (more on this one "But after seeing the video obtained by Ortiz's defense attorney, Stephen Melnick, prosecutors downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor resisting charge. Upon further review, prosecutors dropped the case entirely". And of course the kicker: "Fort Lauderdale police internal affairs investigators reviewed the incident more than a month ago and found no violations of policy or procedures, said Sgt. Frank Sousa, the department's spokesman."

So how is it going to be fixed? Your guess is as good as mine. For the hand-held camera, we have already seen that police are very willing to arrest the camera-man for interfering with 'police business'. However, stationary cameras present a unique problem. I think maybe we'll see a wave of Security Camera Legislation requiring a lengthy process to get a permit from the police to use a security camera. But until then, I'm sure these stories will just keep on rolling in.

Chinese Company to Buy Hummer

Well, I hope they know that Hummers get like 8 MPG. But this is the clearest example that the Chinese are going to cash in their dissolving dollars for real assets.

Americans are going to have a hard time swallowing the idea that to get better, we must sell off the last manufacturing capability we have and become totally dependent on China.

An American MP Scandal?

Looks like the Wall Street Journal is trying to follow in the footsteps of the Daily Telegraph in pointing out the misuse of taxpayer money by politicians. Let's see if the spark catches.

Good Movies/Shows For Netflix Watch Instantly

I just purchased a Roku player (after a while of toying with the idea of building my own media center PC). So far, it's better than I expected. This $100 device lets you stream Netflix 'watch instantly' movies (and Amazon.com video on demand movies) to your television. The only downside I've seen is that the selection of movies is somewhat limited.

That doesn't mean that there's nothing good to watch however. I've looked on-line to see if anyone else has recommended some good movies to watch, but the only sites I've found are pretty outdated. I will keep a log here of watch now available films that I've watched which are worth the time. Let me know if you've found this useful:

• Pan's Labyrinth
• Let The Right One In
• Waco: The Rules of Engagement
• Man on Wire
• The Endless Summer
• The King of Kong
• The Green Mile
• The Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition
• Capturing the Friedmans
• Survivorman: Season 1
• Enter the Dragon: Special Edition
• The Exorcist
• Heroes (First season, so far, has been excellent)
• The IT Crowd (First two episodes are slow, but it's very funny by the 3rd)
  

Free Tade And Government Bailouts

Where is the World Trade Organization? I read yesterday that the government will soon own 75% of GM. Yet no one is talking about government subsidies (low interest loans, direct payments, bailouts, etc) distorting "free trade". I wonder why? Just a few years ago the WTO was ranting about how the US government 'supports' Boeing through R&D payments. Yet not a peep on the massive US and European bailouts.

Maybe they're figuring it all works out in the end if GM exports jobs along with their vehicles.

Remember That You Read It

5/27/2009

"WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 90 percent of economists predict the recession will end this year, although the recovery is likely to be bumpy.

That assessment came from leading forecasters in a survey by the National Association for Business Economics released Wednesday. It is generally in line with the outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues."

"More than 90 %" Eh? Too bad they didn't list names. I don't know anything about NABE, but I suspect they're about as good as the National Association of Realtors at predicting the economy.

Darwinius Fraudious?

So am I the only person who is slightly suspicious that a fossil found 23 years ago, held in a 'private collection' and 're-discovered' 2 years ago, studied in secret and announced to the world as "THE MISSING LINK", might actually be some sort of fraud? I mean the guy who had it for 23 years and apparently wasn't aware of its significance sold it for $1,000,000. Does that sound like someone who has no idea of it's value?

The stampede to embrace this alleged discovery is astounding. Every media outlet is running with this story (Google even put up a special image of the fossil on their page), even though very few other scientists have even had a chance to look at this fossil before it's declared to be 'the one'. Keeping in mind a few other discoveries of late, the Peon Pulpit's official position is that this is a hoax until proven otherwise (or at least 50 years has past).

Anytime you see a scientific announcement preceded by a movie and a book deal, be afraid...be very afraid. Clearly the value of the book tie-in (read: almighty dollar) has not been lost on these scientists.

Travel Channel Has A Winner

Dhani Tackles the Globe. This show is actually pretty good. Too bad I caught it near the end of the season. I'm not sure if Dhani Jones is any good at football, but he probably has a career in television.

Don't Look Now...But The UK Is About To Catch Fire

If you haven't been following the growing scandal in the UK, now might be a good time to get acquainted with it. What's happened is a common product of when the easy money get's tight: All the fraud is exposed like coral at low tide.

Just like the Bernie Maddoff scandal here in the US, the Daily Telegraph has set alight a fire in England. The Telegraph leaked expense documents for Members of Parliament which show they were abusing their privilege of tax write-offs and government funded expense accounts. Some of the abuses border on criminal. But what did the Labor Party government of Gordon Brown do? They indicated that they would prosecute the person who leaked the documents! Never mind that it was the public's money.

Then the tide suddenly turned. Suddenly the MPs started to worry about the real possibility of pitchforks and bonfires. Now they're sheepishly announcing that they're 'paying back' the money, but all the while still claiming it was all on the up-and-up. Clearly it's not. And since when was agreeing to give back stolen goods enough to just walk away from a theft? I suspect Gordon Brown and the Labor Party will not recover from this one. Keep an eye on this, it might erupt into street violence....who knows these days.

Every day more details leak out. I wonder how long it will be before the same happens in this country?

The Peon Pulpit Reviews The Graduate (1967)

So last night I watched the 1967 classic "The Graduate" staring Dustin Hoffman & Anne Bancroft. Overall, I'd give this movie a 5 out of 10. I fail to see why it was such a great American classic...but whatever.

One thing that did strike me as odd, is that what I thought happened in the movie, wasn't what other people thought. Of course, this isn't the first time this has happened to me. But happening with such a 'classic' makes me wonder if maybe I'm wearing those sun glasses from They Live or just simply deranged.

(SPOILER ALERT!)

My version of what happened was this: Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has an affair with a much older married woman Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft). At some point in the film Benjamin asks Mrs. Robinson about how she got married to Mr. Robinson. It comes out that Mrs. Robinson was pregnant with her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), and that's why she got married. When Benjamin suggests he might go out with Elaine, Mrs. Robinson suddenly flips out and basically threatens Benjamin with death if he even contemplates going out with Elaine. The rest of the movie is basically Benjamin falling in love and Mrs. Robinson doing everything she can to stop it.

So why does Mrs. Robinson flip out at the idea of Benjamin dating Elaine? The IMDB gives two reasons, neither of which are mine.....and I think mine makes a LOT more sense.

The reason is that Elaine is Benjamin's half sister. It's clear that Benjamin's dad and Elaine's dad are business partners, and probably have known each other since college. Mrs. Robinson must have had an affair with Benjamin's dad, got pregnant and told Mr. Robinson that he was the father. Mrs. Robinson clearly knows the truth however, but can't let it come out now after all these years. This dark secret is so enormous that she's willing to tell her daughter about her affair with Ben, hastily arrange her daughter to be married to someone else and even claim to be raped by Ben.

And in my version...the very awkward bus ride at the end where Benjamin's smile turns to a blank stare, indicates that he had just started to figure it all out himself....

Swine Flu Pandemic - Added to the MMHOD

Swine flu pandemic has been added to the Mainstream Media Hall Of Doom!

Willis Carrier Inducted into the Hall of Greatness

For inventing air conditioning.

Peon Pulpit Predicts US Government Crackdown On Political Blog(s)

While my (very short) prediction track record has not been all that great.... The Pulpit is now predicting that a government agency will crack down on (and, at least temporarily, shut down) one or more well known political blogs within the next 2 years. The time range is long, but the prediction is that this will create a 1st Amendment 'crisis' in the US.

This predicted crack down will likely be done with the excuse that the blog(s) in question are in some vague manner inciting either violence or economic instability, but could be done under the guise of some other unforeseen criminal act.

Peon Pulpit's Hall Of Greatness

This is where the Peon Pulpit honors the great works. While many of the artists/works recognized here have been honored elsewhere for their greatness, a secondary focus of this area will be to honor those that have been maligned, under-rated, ignored or possibly even scorned unjustly.

Basically this is just an excuse to give 'props' to stuff and people I like.

And now, The Inductees (In No Particular Order):

MUSIC

• Hall & Oats - While they have a very strong portfolio of music from the '70's and '80's, their induction into the Hall Of Greatness can be justified on the strength of the song "She's Gone" alone. Wow...I love that song.
  
• The Carpenters - For their entire catalog of music.
• Skinny Puppy - For their entire catalog of music. And for stuff like this & this.
  
• White Zombie - Exclusively For La Sexorcisto. Certainly one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
• The Three Degrees - For the song "When Will I See You Again"
• Townes Van Zandt - For his entire catalog.
• Michael Martin Murphey - For the song "Wildfire"
• Rush - Do you really need to ask?
• Hector Berlioz - Entire Catalog of music.
• The Cure - Entire Catalog, but in particular the album Pornography
  
• XTC - Entire Catalog

 
FILM

• The Matrix - One of the greatest Sci-fi movies of all time
  

TELEVISION
INVENTORS

• Willis Carrier - For inventing modern air conditioning
  

BOOKS
FOOD

• Typhoo Tea

PRODUCTS

• 3M Command Strips
• RIM Blackberry
  

OTHER ARTISTS

• Bill Hicks (Comedy)
• Clarence John Laughlin (photography)
  

Started 01/02/2009

UN Says 'Social Unrest' Is A Possibility; GM Asks For Another $2.6 billion in subsidies

UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned that the economic crisis could lead to widespread social unrest. Is that a threat or a prediction? Hard to tell.

GM asked for $2.6 billion in 'low interest loans" (i.e., subsidies) in order to build Hybrids. Oh, so now you need money to build Hybrids?? This from the company that was going to bring us the all electric Chevy Volt (and the EV-1, which they quietly killed back in the 90's.....smart move!).

How much longer can the US subsidize domestic auto manufactures before someone complains to the WTO? Isn't this what free trade isn't all about? I'm sure the automakers are just the tip of the iceberg...

Obama Gets Tough With American Automakers

By giving them more money. What, is this a joke? He's going to cover their warranty costs for them by making sure everyone knows Uncle Sam has the warranty covered.

If the news wasn't so adamant about telling me that this was "tough love" and that "frustrated Americans" (and just how many Americans were surveyed for that article??) were happy he was getting tough, I might just think Obama just caved in.

And this startled me: "Fiat is prepared to transfer its cutting-edge technology to Chrysler," he said. Fiat? Maybe things have changed since my mom's Fiat X1/9 was built....one would hope.

Depression, Here We Come.....

There's only denial left now, at least, that's how I see it. In the last year, the DJIA has lost 46% of it's value (!) . Citibank has lost 95% of it's value. Bank of America has lost 90%. GE has lost 80%. Ford has lost 70%.

Here are my predictions for the year ahead:

Inflation (thanks to the nearly $3 trillion spending spree) is not far away and will be rampant. The low prices and great 'deals' that are to be had right now are going to end fast as competition diminishes due to manufactures leaving the market (bankruptcy, mainly), and production cutbacks by the ones who survive.

When inflation comes (likely within the next year), the housing market will lock up due to high mortgage rates (remember the 16% rates of the early 1980's? I think we'll be at least that high). The 1% of buyers who can make it through the lending requirements maze with their 20% cash down-payment will find that at a 15+% interest rate, even the 'cheapest' of homes is unaffordable. Many lenders will leave the market all together, as the uncertainty of inflation and judicial modifications of mortgage contracts makes the business just too risky. Homeowners are going to have to get used to staying in their homes for the next 25-30 years. They won't be happy.

Production cutbacks will lead to high unemployment rates. Foreclosures will dominate the real estate market (much more so than today). Pension funds and 401(k)s will be virtually zeroed out. States and local governments will struggle to make ends meet as property values nosedive.

A rise in crime and economic frustration will lead to civil strife. There will likely be riots worldwide as citizens vent their frustrations against the perceived 'elite' who got everyone into this mess (and who's tab we'll all be picking up).

In short, I predict a real depression is in our future. Right now, the economic pundits on CNBC and elsewhere are looking for a bottom to the market. 6 months ago they chortled at the thought of a severe recession. In the next 6 months, they will be using the 'd' word with regularity.

The Chinese Want To Cash In Their Chips

And buy up some distressed real estate. Who can blame them? Their dollars will be massively devalued shortly. Maybe they'll buy up some of our failing banks too (Bank of China anyone?)

Why The Stimulus Bill Won't Work

If the $800 billion stimulus bill passes, which is still debatable, it will have minimum impact at best. Why? Because unlike the 1930's when government spending would go into the pockets of American workers and American companies to build American infrastructure, any stimulus that is initiated by the US government today will almost immediately exit the country and end up in the hands of a foreign country.

For example, think about the Blue Ridge Parkway which was built during the Great Depression as a way of stimulating the economy. American companies were paid to build it, and Americans were paid to do the labor. The money that went to companies was used to purchase equipment and materials. These items were almost certainly manufactured by other American companies. Thus the stimulus money created jobs on the Parkway, and in the equipment manufacturing plant in Detroit, the shovel factory in Atlanta, etc. Those business hired people who got paid and thus kept the stimulus going. Workers purchased goods with their earned money that was almost certainly American made. Thus the stimulus flowed throughout the entire economy.

Now consider what will happen today. A stimulus package to build a bridge. It will be awarded to a foreign national company who will use it to create a few jobs in the US to build the bridge but the bulk of the money will exit the American economy and go back to the home country. The materials will be purchased from the Japanese and the Chinese and maybe the Koreans.

The workers will take their money and buy a Japanese car, or maybe a nice HDTV from China, etc.. Thus their money will help sustain a retail job in the US and then exit the American economy and stimulate the Chinese Japanese Or Korean economy.

Because America produces next to nothing in this country, we cannot spend our way out of this mess like we did in the 1930's.

What the American economy needs is incentive to produce things in this country that will be desired by other Americans and people in other countries. Not more products produced by American companies in China (like Apple's iPod) but true quality, American products produced by American workers

Wow...that almost sounds like a union advertisement. Maybe they were right after all.

Pelosi Says "We Don't Need Republican Support" For The Stimulus Bill

So I assume she's fine with the Democrats taking the blame when it doesn't work? Meanwhile, the public seems to be siding more and more with the Republicans, as support for the bill has slipped 12% in the last 3 weeks. Now only 51% think it's a good idea.

This is a huge gamble for the Democrats that's likely to be a loser. If the economy gets better, they win and the Republicans look stupid. If the economy gets worse, they'll have a tough time making the case that it would have worked if we had just thrown a few more Trillion $'s down the drain.

Unemployment skyrockets & the DOW jumps too?

Seriously. Do you need any more evidence that the government is
manipulating the DJIA and S&P 500 stock prices? Every time bad news
comes out, both indexes shoot higher. And why not? The Kremlin
controls the rest of the economy as well.

I'm Calling Aiko The Robot A Hoax

Everyone is covering this robot story now, it's even on CNN. But I'm going on record and calling this thing a hoax. The thing that really looks fake is when the Aiko's "creator" Le Trung holds up a sheet containing a hand-written algebra problem and the robot provides the answer.

Also the name AIKO apparently translates to "Love Child" (?).

Fake.

Why The Auto Bailout Should Die

This is an excellent article from Forbes showing why the automotive bailout is a huge con job.

Is Ghost Adventures A Big Joke?

I'm becoming more and more convinced that Ghost Adventures is a prank being played on the show's audience, in the style of Ghostwatch. It's just getting more and more ridiculous. Not like Paranormal State's brand of flaky pseudo-science ridiculousness, but a kind of self-conscious, leg-pulling ridiculousness. Tonight they played at least 1 "EVP" that was completely indecipherable. I mean it was just noise. It had subtitles underneath it to help you hear it, but it really was just noise. Then they also showed a photograph which looked completely normal, while presenting it as 'evidence' of shadow, which again was not detectable.

That's on top of the bizarre 'taunting' they have been doing on the last couple of episodes. Any time there's supposedly been a hanging, Zak Bagans brings in his own personal hangman's noose and carries it on his shoulder or throws it over a rafter (etc). Tonight's episode had the very bizarre (almost comical) moment where Zak locked one of his crew in a shower area of the Old Idaho Penitentiary where an inmate had been "gang-raped to death". They tauted the 'spirits' by offering up the crew member as a gift(!). Pretty freaking tasteless.

When will they pull the punchline?

The Black Friday Toys R Us Shooting: The Devil Is In The Details

Almost everyone has by now heard about the shooing on Black Friday at a California Toys R Us. What you may not have heard is that the shootings were apparently a murder-suicide. The evidence is piling up that there was only one shooter, Juan Meza, who after killing Alejandro Moreno, shot himself. Apparently there had been a long standing feud between the two families which led up to this confrontation.

The story gets very interesting when you learn about the criminal records of Moreno and Meza. Moreno apparently had been arrested for domestic assault in 1998. Meza, the alleged shooter, however had a much more lengthy criminal record including multiple arrests for gun possession (the latest one only 8 months ago), assault with a deadly weapon and drug possession. Yet Meza had never served any prison time.

How'd he manage that? The Moreno family's attorney, Mark Sullivan has a theory:

I suspect that Juan Meza was a criminal and an informant for the police. The reason I say that is because the judges who sentenced him on all these cases are not lenient judges. They're very tough sentencing judges here in Indio, as they all are. None of the judges nowadays tolerate weapons possessions, especially repeat offenders who have never been to prison a day in their life.

The Sheriff's department for their part had this to say:

"I'm not able to confirm that at all," -Herlinda Valenzuela, a Riverside County Sheriff's spokeswoman

Interesting.....

The Treasury Just Gave Away 1/2 Of Everything Produced In This Country Last Year

Wow. We're now up to $7.7 Trillion??? And to top it all off, much of this money is being given away in secrecy with no oversight.

The TARP program is in danger of becoming the largest financial fraud in history....

Here Come The Crashing Pension Plans

As I noted in my September 18th post, the collapsing pension plan will be the next big new story. Florida announced today that their public employee's pension plan has lost 1/4 of it's value. They say that's "pretty good considering". I bet they're telling the truth on that one too. Many corporate plans are already on the verge of collapse.

I suspect that in the next couple of months, we'll see a few of these pension plans' benefits completely frozen (if not wiped out). The big push will then be a push to fund these plans using taxpayer dollars.

So in essence, these plans represent a huge, unfunded, off-the-books liability for taxpayers that will soon be surfacing.

And you thought it was just going to be $700 billion...

DJIA Prediction: 0/1

Well, my DJIA prediction expires tomorrow...and since that's Saturday, I guess it's up today. The DJIA closed today at 8,497.31. On 10/16/2008 when I made the prediction it closed at 8,979.26.

That's only a 481.95 point loss for the last 30 days.

Truly, I'm at a loss. Could my predictive powers be so bad? Or is it perhaps that the government is manipulating the DJIA and the S&P 500 every time it looks like it's going to tank?

It does seem like every time the market makes some huge drop (like 11/13/2008's -554.11 drop) it makes a remarkable close up the next day (11/14/2008's 324.88 jump). Hmmm.

Could it be bargain hunters? Or could it be the Treasury/FED monster propping up the dead?

Either way, you heard it here first.

Fidel Castro Is Laughing At Us From His Death Bed....

All the years we've had that embargo against him for nationalizing all the 'capitalist' assets in Cuba.

And here we are doing it to ourselves. Soon, the Federal Government will own all the banks, the Washington Metro System, the auto industry, the airline industry, the hospitals....Ad nauseam Maybe Henry Paulson should bring in some of Castro's economics advisors. I bet they could give him some pointers.

Volvo Probably Has Some Sales Going On Right Now

If you're interested. Last month, Volvo only sold 3,717 cars in the entire US. Maybe the economic slowdown is disproportionally impacting yuppies.


But the economy is fundamentally sound (repeat 3x).

10 Year DJIA Gain? A Cool 1.22% Not Bad..

Unless you were hoping to retire at some point....

Link to 10 year performance of the Dow Jones

Prediction: The DJIA Falls to at least 7,500 in the next 30 days

It's got at least another 12% to go before we can talk about a bottom. That was the Jan 1998 DJIA, before the tech bubble...and long before the housing bubble. The scary part is, it might sink lower than that once inflation sinks in and rising mortgage rates cause the housing market to lock up.

Stay tuned and buckle your seat belts....

DJIA Chart

The "English Only" Movement Needs To Take A Good Look At The Law Books

Because it's been completely infiltrated with foreigners. The English Only movement wants to make English the official language of the United States. It seems they have focused their concern mainly on the diffusion of Spanish into US culture, with labels and signs being printed in both languages.

Yet I'm not aware of any outrage against the corruption of our legal language by the Romans. Just look at some of the ridiculous phrases I've found in Virginia law:

• Mutatis mutandis (139 references)
• Guardian ad litem (158 references)
• Sui juris (5 references)
• subpoena duces tecum (83 references)
• subpoena ad testificandum (1 reference)
  

That says nothing to the words and phrases that have already wormed their way into our beautiful language. Words and phrases such as:

• Habeas corpus
• Fiduciary
  
• Affidavit
  

But in all seriousness, why are we still using Latin in our law books? Is it because it's more obscure and therefore more intimidating? Is it because there's a long tradition of using Latin in law (there was a long tradition of not letting women vote also, it doesn't mean it was right).

There are perfectly good English words and phrases that could be used to make the law more understandable to common people. How many non-attorneys have a clue what "subpoena duces tecum" means? I'd bet the number is ZERO unless someone has been subjected to one.

And isn't one of the cornerstones of Western jurisprudence (OMG, there it is AGAIN) that the common people have the ability to read and understand the law?

Washington Is Much Closer To Wall Street Than Maple Street

In order to grease the wheels and get Monday's failed Wall Street bailout bill to pass in the House of Representatives, look what's been added to Senate's version of the bill:

• Increase the FDIC coverage for bank accounts up to $250,000 (up from a mere $100,000 And wasn't FSLIC deposit insurance part of the cause of the savings and loan debacle?? This will just drive us into another reckless investing spree)
• Force insurance companies to cover mental illness just like physical illnesses (Huh? Next they're going to throw in some free movie tickets)

These completely ridiculous amendments just go to show how far Washington is from main street, and how close Wall Street lobbyists are to your "representatives" in congress.

As yourself this question: How many people do you know now that have (or are even close to) $100,000 in the bank? Keep in mind, IRAs are already covered up to $250,000 and have been since 2006.

Why not add in something to provide FDIC insurance to working people's 401(k)? After all, since were bailing out other investors and going completely socialist, why stop just short of the dissaperaing middle class (and growing lower class)?

On the flip side, I bet there are a lot of Wall Street robber barrons who need that extra $150,000 in cash coverage right about now.

$25 BILLION In Auto Loans Part Of Bailout

Incredibly, it's not just houses that are in desperate need of help. Auto manufacturers also are in need of a helping hand. $25 billion worth. Who's going to pay that? It's like the government just got laid off and is forced to use their credit card. Once they get done with this, we'll have $15 billion in there for new shoes too.

Just wait until we have to pay the first minimum payment to the Bank Of China.

EPA Says Rocket Fuel In Your Drinking Water Is Not A Problem

Seriously?? Does the government have any credibility left?

So we should mix up some Perchlorate baby formula with some rocket fuel water and put it in our Bisphenol-A baby bottle. Add some fluoride in their too for good measure.

EPA against limiting rocket fuel ingredient in water

Congress Balks At Massive Corporate Welfare

Wall Street will be sure to punish them shortly with a horrendous roller coaster ride for their reluctance. Then they will then quickly relent (probably before the week is out) and give their 'approval' for something that is already completely outside their control. Clearly the Fed is running the show here, with the ability to buy up massive corporations and chain US taxpayers to the debt. As Ron Paul said, Congress should just go home since they've abandoned their duty to the populace.

In the end, it won't matter. This bail out plan wont' fix whats wrong with the world's economy. What's wrong is that there are too many houses that were priced in a fantasy world, over leveraged by their current owners and now out of reach of most buyers. Add to that new due diligence on behalf of lenders, and you've got yourself a pyramid scheme that's reached its apex. The fed thinks if they can just get new suckers to buy into the fantasy pricing everything will be 'ok'. It won't.

The only way to fix this is to lower housing prices by either devaluing the dollar or letting the housing market crash because what supported it previously was fraud, plain and simple. Devaluation has it's own problems, as we've seen with the oil markets. Not to mention inflation will cause mortgage rates to rise, so in the end, it will be self defeating.

The only thing Paulson's plan will do is give some on Wall Street a chance to take back their gambling bets. To be sure, it will only hurt you and me. But as Paulson sees it, that's going to happen anyway, so he might as well try to help his buddies.

Bankrate Says: If the Ship Is Sinking, Rent More Deck Chairs

Tonight on the local news I saw a BankRate authored piece about how you shouldn't panic in the face of the current market 'volatility' and that you should instead use this time as a way to "dollar cost average". This has been the standard response to jittery investors: If the price is dropping and the stock is fundamentally sound, it's a great time to buy more!

But the devil is in the details. Nothing in this current market is fundamentally sound. They even trotted out the old "If you'd invested all your money in 1950, even with all the ups and downs you would have made this huge sum of money!" They of course, never mention what would have happened if you'd invested all your money on Monday October 28, 1929.

And sadly, that is the type of unusual event we're looking at. It's not as if there's been some huge price shock to our economy. The 70's oil embargo explained the economic downturn then. What explains this one? Alan Greenspan's "JUST GIVE IT AWAY!!!" monetary policy clearly shares a large part of the blame. He kept interest rates so low for so long it was inevitable there would be a bubble of some sort (in this case, a real estate bubble). I have to chuckle every time I see him on TV saying that this is a once in a lifetime event while making it appear he had nothing to do with it.

The fundamental problem that is haunting our economy (and by extension, the world's economy) is that the US is broke. It's hard to imagine, but we're borrowing money left and right from other countries like China. All the wars, all the bailouts mean that the taxpayer, the engine of the economy, is being saddled with more and more debt when they can't pay back what they already owe. China and Arab nations, now flush with dollars which are loosing value every day, are looking to purchase more and more of the US's remaining assets. Although, for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would buy a failing, poisoned bank and not, say, a milk production company or perhaps some of our coal mines/natural gas fields.

Peter Schiff, who has consistently been correct in his predictions of the US economy (despite being called a "prophet of doom" and just an overall 'buzzkill') thinks that foreign stocks priced in foreign currencies (he recommends Asian securities...no surprise) are a good place to stick your money. Maybe. But if banks fail because their borrowers don't pay back, our lenders (China principally) are going to be in trouble too.

In short, there's nothing normal about the current economic climate. And in spite of all the bad news, the market was actually up today. Why? Because the government has floated the idea that it will create an 'entity' that will take their bad loans off of their hands. How incredibly ridiculous is that??? So the government takes on bad debt. Then what? They will be paying the banks dollars in exchange, which will then spread the illness further to our already declining currency. The ridiculousness of these ideas should be enough to demonstrate just how desperate the situation has become.

And in the tradition of the Grand Master, I predict the next big shoe to drop will be the sudden confessions of multiple companies and government agencies that their retirement/pension plans are catastrophically underfunded. And the 401(k) lawsuits are just starting too. Fun.

Can It Get Worse? Yes!

The FDIC is now going bankrupt. And we haven't even started to see major banks fail yet.

Everyone! Make An Orderly Line At The Trough!!

Uncle Sam is giving away cash! Actually, he's giving away your cash. CNN is reporting that AIG is the latest recipient of a government gift. A mere $85 billion "loan" (apparently that's what you call it when you give it to a compulsive gambler who's luck has temporarily gone bad). In return the government gets an 80% stake in the company. There's something strangely ironic about an insurance company that made money hand over fist for assuming risks then -when things go bad- they pop their golden government parachute. Kind of like discovering that Mili Vanili didn't really record that album you bought (....you know it's true).

And this brings up an interesting question. Why are we still angry at Fidel Castro? We're nationalizing the private sector faster than he ever dreamed of. In 1997 dollars, he only nationalized $6 billion in US assets in 1960. We're way beyond $6 Billion just this week. So much for the free market, eh? Maybe the US should get into the automotive, airline and home construction businesses too.

These giveaways currently add up to a total of $900 Billion in giveaways in less than a year. And man, Paulson's just getting started! It's interesting to note that Paulson has close, personal ties with China. Maybe he's the economic Manchurian Candidate?

But to be fair, it was our friends and neighbors (and perhaps "us"?) who got us into this mess. The True Believers who thought the housing market could only go up. and up and up. So why not take out that 3rd home equity loan and take a 6 month tour of Africa? We can't lose!

So, in the next few weeks, I'm sure the sound will get louder and louder....The Giant Sucking Sound of the American Dream being foreclosed upon and the collapse of America's free market facade.

Nancy Grace has Leonard Padilla On Right Now

He seems about as smart as she is. At least Leonard now realizes Casey Anthony is guilty. Something everyone else figured out about 2 months ago.

2 mins of Nancy Grace is better than Ipecac

When Did DIGG Turn Into An Obama-Biden LoveFest?

Of the top 10 stories on DIGG, 7 are pro Obama and anti-McCain. I'm pleased to see that 1 is a pro Ron Paul story. Now I know how all those people felt when the Paulites took over Digg.

Check out these current DIGG titles. I'll be happy when DIGG goes back to the nerd crowd (will it ever??)

• Palin's church says Jews deserve to be victims of terrorism

• FactCheck: McCain Ad Continues Lies about Obama's Tax Plan

• 8 More Shocking Revelations About Sarah Palin [Perhaps she is hiding other people's babies??]
  

• Palin Slashed Funding for Teen Moms

• McCain's New Palin Strategy: Blame The Media

• Sarah Palin's Corrupt Mis-Management of Dairy in Alaska

Wow... A Decent Episode Of A Paranormal Show

I really enjoyed the episode of Ghost Hunters that aired tonight. Episode 414, "Iron Island"...check it out if you get a chance.

Out of all the paranormal shows, Ghost Hunters is probably the best, mainly because of their mostly skeptical attitude. I might watch the next one.

Paranormal State on the other hand, just gets flakier and flakier.

The Internet Finds A Conspiracy With Sarah Palin

So the latest tabloid story on the internet revolves around the seemingly odd time-line of the birth of Sarah Palin's most recent child. "Liberal" bloggers have really ramped up the story that Sarah Palin's most recent child was actually her grandchild, and that there's a massive conspiracy to cover up the teenage pregnancy of her own daughter. It's interesting to note that the allegations are not new. People were making them as early as March of 2008.

There are some unusual circumstances. True or not, we need to remember that it was the Daily Kos that pushed the story. It's a big gamble for them. If it's true, they'll look like the Drudge of 2008. If they're wrong, they'll be branded as the site that dragged a candidate's children into the fray (including an infant child with a serious health condition), which will make them look really, really sleazy.

Ostergren Prevails In US District Court

Betty Ostergren has prevailed in the US District Court in Richmond. Ostergren sued the Attorney General of Virginia (Robert McDonnell) to block the new Virginia law that had been specifically crafted to prevent her from re-posting social security numbers on her website. She had been doing this to bring attention to the fact that the Virginia government was aiding identity thieves and was burying their head in the sand when the problem was pointed out to them.

I haven't had time to read the opinion (Link to PDF) in its entirety, but it appears the court agreed with her First Amendment argument that the state could not prevent her from republishing "public" information.

Will there be an appeal? Hopefully Virginia will just fix the problem that got us here in the first place: Posting SSNs on government websites.

Obama Picks A Loser. McCain Is Handed A Golden Opportunity

Let's face it, any way you could spin it, Joe Biden is a loser. He represents everything about politics that we all hate. A card carrying member of the old (white) boys club, a career politician with a history of ethics problems. It's hard to imagine a worse pick by Obama.

But now, McCain has been given a golden opportunity to upstage Obama. He could pick a woman VP like Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has strong conservative appeal and, well let's face it, she's a woman.

Unfortunately, while this would be the smart choice, I have little faith that McCain will make the right choice. Instead he'll probably pick a dark horse with a brief history of Klan membership (which will come out right before the election). I guess we'll see soon enough.

"Red State vs. Blue State" Is Designed To Control Your Political Choice

If you haven't figured it out yet, the whole Red vs. Blue concept is a media ploy designed to make you feel that there are only two political choices out there: RED or BLUE.

The truth is, that Red Vs. Blue is the media's own concoction (specifically Tim Russert's) designed to limit the choices they need to cover. They don't have to worry about covering too many political conventions for example, because after all, there's only the Red one and the Blue one.

Resist the media's attempt to dumb down the American political process.

Will Russia Deploy Nuclear Missiles To Cuba?

I think they might after reading this. What would we do in response to that?

"It's 1961 again and we are piggy in the middle
while war is polishing his drum and peace plays second fiddle

Russia and America are at each other's throats
but don't you cry just get on your knees and pray, and while you're
down there, kiss your arse goodbye"

Rolling Stone becomes Tiger Beat

The last issue of Rolling Stone had the Jonas Brothers on the cover (looking very Greenday).

Tiger Beat magazine (which caters to pre-teen/early teenage girls) has also had them on the cover looking very Menudo (and is also running a special Jonas Brothers section on their website).

What does this mean? It means Rolling Stone has finally come clean that they're catering the Disney and Nickelodeon market.

So much for the "Rock & Roll" image they try to project. At least we now know where they stand (or kneel as the case may be).

Google's New Experiment: See How Far We Can Push Our Fans Before They Bail

Sometime last week, Google changed my personal page (www.google.com/ig) to it's new "experimental" system. And guess what? Amazingly it sucks. It's hard to fathom that Google can mess up anything. They seem to have a golden touch when it comes to the web.

But this thing is just awful.

I've been using Google's personal page as my RSS reader for probably two years now, and during that time, it's been virtually unchanged. Seeing that I was 'selected' for the experimental version got me excited. Google's 'experimental' stuff is usually leaps and bounds cooler than the regular stuff. But my excitement faded fast. What makes it worse is that I wasn't given a way to go back to the old one. I am stuck (or I thought I was...see below) with the new version. The problems with the new version:

• It's significantly more difficult to read anything. It's way too noisy. the font is smaller and now, instead of seeing just headlines, I'm seeing the first few lines of the story. That sounds like a good idea, but everything becomes a sea of words...even the headlines fade into the noise.
• I used to be able to move widgets around to other tabs. This no longer works. So one of the primary ways of organizing news articles is now gone.
  

And I'm not alone. Apparently there's something of a mini-revolt going on in the Google forums.

To make matters worse, Google let it be know that the whole thing was a "controlled experiment" and was not giving people the ability to opt out ON PURPOSE!

I also found this gem. If you wan to go back and forth between the version follow the instructions below:

- Show quoted text -
> When you click on the address bar the entire text is selected, so when
> you paste something everything should be replaced with the new
> content.

> After going to iGoogle, paste:
> javascript:_dlsetp('v2=0');

It works.

Water Is Added To The MMHOD

Or actually, the lack of water.

MMHOD

Prince George's County Police Handle Another Case "Properly"

This one is all over the news (and now on Drudge), but in case you haven't heard, Prince George's County (Maryland) Police basically broke into a town mayor's house, shot his dogs, cuffed his wife and mother-in-law, and then realized they made a mistake. Apparently the 'mistake' was doing this to the mayor and not doing this to some poor inner-city minority. I say that because as the details are coming out, it appears the Police knew the mayor had done nothing wrong (and was a hapless pawn in a drug distribution scheme), but still insisted on bursting through his door, ninja-style just for kicks. Oh, and the warrant they had was not a no-knock warrant, but that's what they did anyway. "Warrant? We don't need no stinkin' warrant"

Don't hold your breath for something like justice to happen either. PG County is notorious for this sort of thing. Apparently killing family pets is part of their Standard Operating Procedures. That's done little to stem the abuse.

DNA Science May Be Flawless, But Lab Workers Are Not

A frightening case from Australia: A man convicted of murdering a mother and then raping and murdering her young daughter in 1984 was exonerated because police realized that a sample of the man's DNA (obtained elsewhere) had been accidentally mixed with DNA from the crime scene. Now Australian police will reexamine over 7,000 convictions where DNA evidence was used to see if there were other errors. What do you want to bet this is not just an Australian problem?

The Problem With Cell Phone Cameras

Cameras are everywhere these days. check out Flickr and you'll soon see that camera phones are one of the most popular cameras out there. The iPhone was responsible for over 17,000 of the pictures uploaded just yesterday. In fact, the top 5 camera phones were used to upload nearly 40,000 picutres yesterday. Video is everywhere as well, as most camera phones have video capability. The police have started to realize that a lot of the time they are on the street, they're being watched and possibly recorded.

So this brings us to the point of this post. Where are all the pictures of the ghosts and monsters? A recent scan of the recent 'ghost' pictures has led me to a sad reality. About 80% of paranormal 'ghost' pictures these days are of the orb variety. Orbs, if you're not aware, are basically photos of dust particles in the air passed off as weird paranormal sightings. I'm not sure when these lame photos began to be passed off as ghosts, but it was a sad day for the hard working paranormal investigator. Another 19% of the pictures are equally lame lens flair pictures which are passed off as 'ectoplasm'. I hope the last 1% is something more interesting, but I really haven't seen it yet. Take a look and let me know if you find anything interesting.

And where are the pictures of the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and UFOs???

12 Years On, America Must Come To Terms With A Stranger In The House

It's hard to believe, but on August 6th JonBenét Ramsey would be turning 18. As a sad irony, her parents and brother were finally cleared of her murder by police just a few weeks before. Until the announcement last week that newly developed Touch DNA had cleared her family, they had lived under a crushing cloud of suspicion and innuendo for nearly 12 years. Sadly, Patsy Ramsey died before she was able to reclaim her good name and position as a victim rather than a murder and/or co-conspirator.

It's interesting to note that the DNA discovered by the newly developed Touch DNA process was not new. It matched DNA found in a standard 1998 DNA test on material that was found on JonBenét's underwear and under her fingernails. All of this DNA matched an unknown male, who is all but certainly her killer.

So now, other than starkly factual reports of the DA's proclamation of innocence, there's a deafening silence from the media. Pundits who either open or subtly accused the Ramseys are noticeably silent.

Perhaps the reason why the world was so quick to pass judgment on John and Patsy Ramsey is that the alternative was just too horrible to comprehend: An unknown, faceless predator entering a big, safe home in the middle of the night to carry out unspeakable horrors, staging a kidnapping (while lurking in the house for what was likely hours) then slipping away in the night while the parents slept. Where is he now? How many more victims have there been? Will there be? How much time have we wasted chasing dead-end leads?

I guess we'll have to wait for that horrible truth to fully sink in before we hear any apologies.

How's Your 401(k) Doing?

I love this quote from the Wall Street Journal:

Exactly 10 years ago, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index was at 1164; it closed Friday at 1239. That's an annualized average return of 0.63%. At that rate, it will take you 111 more years to double your money in the stock market.

0.63%?? Maybe you would have been better off putting that money into a savings account?

Netflix Just Said Sorry

For giving us the finger last week. We accept. Let's move past this small trouble and get back to the awesomeness that is Netflix. You really should get an account. No, seriously.

"Ostergren's Law " Heads To Federal Court

The Virginia Law that was crafted to prevent Privacy advocate B.J. Ostergren from pointing out the gaping security hole in Virginia's public (i.e. government) websites is now moving to federal court.

Ostergren's lawyers filed a lawsuit to stop the new law before it goes into effect 7/1/2008. The new law will prohibit the dissemination of any SSNs posted on public websites. Ostergren's lawyers claim that if the government disseminates the information in a public forum, they cannot stop it's re-publication by citizens under the First Amendment.

Keep in mind, the SSN's are posted on public websites (usually tax websites, or court websites), because the state is too lazy to redact them. Ostergren is trying to force the state to either redact them or remove them from the web. Instead, in their infinite wisdom, the Virginia Legislature passed a law (now at issue) making it illegal to re-post the SSNs on another website which is what Ostergren had been doing to bring attention to this huge problem.

So rather than fix the problem, the legislature passed a law saying no one can talk about the problem. Brilliant.

Of course, as Virginia law is irrelevant outside the United States, the Russian mafia is still free to pull your SSN from a Virginia website (oh yes, the 'tubes' run all the way to Russia) and engage in massive identity theft. But the Virginia Legislature thinks if we all cover our eyes, nothing bad will happen. And you Virginia residents pay this think tank's salary. Now get back to work.

Cliff Notes for D.C. vs. Heller

Today the Supreme Court issued it's long awaited ruling in the District of Columbia Et Al. Vs. Heller case (pdf). It should finally put to bed (but sadly probably won't) the rediculous argument that the 2nd Amendment some how only protected the right of the federal government to form an army (militia). It also destroyed several other tired myths that gun-control groups have tried to pass off over the last 45 years. For example:

The 2nd Amendment only protects the right to own 18th century firearms only:

Some have made the argument, bordering on the frivolous, that only those arms in existence in the 18th century are protected by the Second Amendment. We do not interpret constitutional rights that way. Just as the First Amendment protects modern forms of communications, and the Fourth Amendment applies to modern
forms of search,the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding. (D.C. vs. Heller - pg 8).

The 2nd gives the right to bear arms, but congress can take it away by amendment:

We look to this because it has always been widely understood that the Second Amendment, like the First and Fourth Amendments, codified a pre-existing right. The very text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the pre-existence of the right and declares only that it “shall not be infringed." (D.C. vs. Heller - pg 19).

That the last 'big' 2nd Amendment case, United States v.Miller, 307 U. S. 174, 179 (1939), confirmed that the 2nd Amendment didn't apply to ordinary citizens:

Miller did not hold that (that the 2nd amendment was only for state sponsored militia members -subleum) and cannot possibly be read to have held that. The judgment in the case upheld against a Second Amendment challenge two men’s federal convictions for transporting an unregistered short-barreled shotgun in interstate commerce, in violation of the National Firearms Act, 48 Stat. 1236. It is entirely clear that the Court’s basis for saying that the Second Amendment did not apply was not that the defendants were “bear[ing] arms” not “for . . . military purposes” but for “nonmilitary use,” post, at 2. Rather, it was that the type of weapon at issue was not eligible for Second Amendment protection." (D.C. vs. Heller - pg 49).

That the Second Amendment is about hunting (and no one really hunts anymore):

Third, when the able-bodied men of a nation are trained in arms and organized, they are better able to resist tyranny. (D.C. vs. Heller - pg 24).

All-in-all, the majority delivered a through and well founded opinion, laying out why the Second Amendment is just as important and individual a right as the 1st and 4th. Interestingly, the court did not touch on the issue of gun licensing/registration, primarily because the petitioner (Heller) only asked that the District process his license request. Scalia noted:

Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. (D.C. vs. Heller - pg 3).

That of course leaves open the question of whether or not the government is allowed to require a license in order for a citizen to exercise a right enumerated in the Bill of Rights.

Can the government require a citizen to obtain a permit before exercising his Second Amendment right to own a firearm? Clearly, given D.C.'s post-decision statements, that exactly what they plan on doing. Given that the majority spent 64 pages explaining how the right to keep and bear arms was a right on the same level as the First and Fourth Amendments, it would seem contradictory that they would then claim "oh, but you need a permit from the government to exercise this one" unless the government is also able to require permits prior to speaking, publishing a newspaper or in order to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Or the more extreme example, a permit needed to exercise your right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. Alas, this is another area that will have to be ironed out over the coming years.

For it's part, D.C. is guaranteed to do everything in it's power to minimally comply. The District's Attorney General, Peter Nickles provided a glimpse of their strategy:

We are going to strictly regulate the registration of handguns. There will be no authorization of automatic or semi-automatics.

Which to me seems like a very questionable legal strategy. Primarily because the SCOTUS opinion clearly says handguns are protected because they are common and popular self-defense weapons.

Whatever the reason, handguns are the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defense in the home, and a complete prohibition of their use is invalid. (D.C. vs. Heller - pg 58).

And semi-automatics are the most popular type of handgun. Sadly, this is not unexpected from the AG that declared that D.C. roadblocks were clearly constitutional. And oh, and he was on the wrong side of the Heller case as well.

Original Fluoride City Considers A Re-examination Of Its Safety

Grand Rapids Michigan was the first city in the world to fluoridate it's water. They even have a monument dedicated to it. Now the city in pondering whether or not it was a good idea. Some 63 years later, Grand Rapids is considering dropping fluoride from it's water due to concerns surrounding unanswered questions raised by recent studies that link fluoride to bone cancer and thyroid problems.

In the past, it has been common to stereotype the anti-fluoride movement as a group of nuts in tinfoil hats. It's getting harder and harder to do that, especially when the lead researcher of the US Government's own 2006 National Academy of Sciences report (who had been tasked with reviewing Fluoride's safety at 4ppm) noted that:

We were not able to rule out a carcinogenic effect of fluoride. We reported that fluoride exposure is plausibly associated with a number of other health effects, including neurotoxicity, gastrointestinal problems, and endocrine problems, and that even though these effects are not necessarily specific to fluoride exposure, the associations cannot be ruled out and need further study. (PDF Link)

Think about that statement, along with the fact that the government never safety tested fluoride before adding it to drinking water. The NRC report noted that the current FDA limits for water fluoridation were clearly not safe and were likely leading to an increase in bone fractures, a particular problem among the elderly. Overall, there was consensus among the committee that there is scientific evidence that under certain conditions fluoride can weaken bone and increase the risk of fractures (PDF Link).

Netflix Just Gave Their Customers The Finger

So this is what happens when you destroy all of your competitors and become the only game in town? Netflix today announced that they would be discontinuing subscriber's ability to divide their movie queue into multiple 'profiles' (so called Netflix Profiles). If you don't have Netflix, what this means is that your wife, husband, child, etc, used to be able to have their own queue and as they send back their movies, a new movie ships from their queue. Now, Netflix subscribers will be limited to just one profile, just one queue. That means that there will be a lot of figuring out who get's the next movie in your house, and moving that to top of the queue. It also means you're going to get recommendations based on your rental history of Disney films and seasons 1 & 2 of Blue's Clues.

Why did Netflix do this? No one knows. They're keeping their cards close to the vest on this one. They did tell us that "While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers."

Huh? Did profiles prevent you from improving the website for 'all' your customers? What about all the ratings that were linked to a profile that will be deleted? Does that improve the website?

I've been a Netflix customer for over 3 years. One of the amazing things about them is how their service got better and better over time. Now, with this 'final decision' they have taken a huge step back. I can only think of one reason why they would do this: MONEY. Yes...everyone's favorite reason to screw people over.

If Netflix does away with the queues, they're hoping that customers who lose their queue will open their own account. Thus an unlimited, 3-at a time plan goes from $16.99/month to $18.98 (for 1 and a 2 at a time unlimited account). So for that $2.00 pricing change, Netflix just gave all their customers the finger. What brilliant fresh-out-of-college MBA came up with this idea? The Hacking Netflix Website posted this story (in shock like the rest of us) at around 9pm. Over the last two hours, there have been over 100 comments posted. That's probably more than any other story they've ever posted.

Here's an idea, in protest, every Netflix member should downgrade their account to one of the cheaper plans.

Did they cover customer backlash in your MBA course?

GM lost $39 Billion in 2007

It's a good thing they canceled that electric car program back in 2003. Who on Earth would ever want to buy an electric car?

Two Very Good Reasons To Take Care Of Your Teeth And Gums

This week, two studies were released that demonstrated the importance of taking care of your teeth. In one study (Lancet Oncology. 2008;9:550-558) periodontal disease (gum disease) was associated with a small yet significant increase in cancer risk. An earlier study (1/2007) found a link between periodontal disease and pancreatic cancer.

The second study showed that when type 2 diabetics took care of their gums, they were able to control their diabetes much more effectively.

It's important to note that that gum disease is virtually symptomless until the later stages when it's too late to do much about it. If you don't floss you're teeth and see gum bleeding or visit the dentist often, it's very likely you wouldn't notice a problem until your teeth began to loosen in their sockets.

Keep in mind, that when you get old, you don't have to have false teeth! If you take care of your teeth now, they can last you a lifetime. Remember to floss daily and get yourself a good electric toothbrush. They're cheap now (under $20) so that if you're reading this, you can afford to get one.

The Baltimore Sun Lives Up To Their Abbreviation

The "BS" shows you can never stoop too low in an effort to sell newspapers.

An eye-catching headline like this is bound to sell some papers:

Illicit guns flow into Maryland: In '07 crimes, 44% of firearms were imported

What difference does it make if that's a completely unsubstantiated claim?

The article, claims that 44% of the guns used in Maryland crimes were from other states, and then continues on to quote various Maryland officials who pat themselves on the back and take credit for the high percentage. Why? Because it clearly shows that Maryland's gun laws are so tough, criminals are going outside the state to buy their guns. Of course they don't take credit for the fact that the majority of guns are still purchased in Maryland. Only politicians have spines so flexible.

But what about that percentage? Turns out, if you actually look at the study(PDF) their story was based on, the facts are oh so different.

The study is based on gun serial number traces. It shows that in Maryland there were 7,517 gun traces (usually by law enforcement) in 2007. Of those, in only 4,397 traces were the ATF able to tell where the gun was originally purchased. Of those, 44% came from a state other than Maryland.

The front page of the study clearly states the following two very important facts the Baltimore Sun doesn't want you to know:

1. Law enforcement agencies may request firearms traces for any reason, and those reasons are not necessarily reported to the Federal Government. Not all firearms used in crime are traced and not all firearms traced are used in crime.
2. The firearms selected do not constitute a random sample and should not be considered representative of the larger universe of all firearms used by criminals or any subset of that universe.
   

So how does the BS determine that 44% of guns used in Maryland crimes came from other states when we don't know if any of those guns were used in crimes? And even if they were, the study's own authors (ATF) state that they are in no way, shape or form representative of all firearms used in crimes in Maryland.

So what does that mean about the BS' statement of "In '07 crimes, 44% of firearms were imported"?

The Baltimore Sun completely made that up. Why? The only answer I can come up with is that it supports an agenda either the Baltimore Sun and/or reported Annie Linskey has. There can be no other explanation.

Remember that the next time some 'news' source quotes some statistic. In this case, the BS story was absent any details (or even a link to the source). That should always tell you there's something really wrong with what they're telling you and their only option is to hide the truth from you.

Peon Pulpit Paranoia #2

Clear Channel Communications, the largest owner of radio stations in the United States (1,200 stations according to Wikipedia) is also a major investor in XM Satellite Radio. Maybe that explains why radio sucks so bad. Could it be that Clear Channel programs crappy 'terrestrial' radio stations so that you will think to yourself, "Man, this radio station sucks! I really should just get that XM" ?

Thus, Clear Channel could convert non-paying customers (like you) into paying subscribers. Think about it.

Peon Pulpit Paranoia #1

If the government wanted to spy on your computer, wouldn't your anti-virus software make a really good cover for it? It watches everything that happens on your computer then 'phones home' at least once a day. If you wanted to motivate people to buy and install the software, you would just periodically write a couple of nasty viruses that would wreck any system without anti-virus software. Think about it....

Who Thought Schapelle Corby's Excuse Was BS?

If you think Schapelle Corby's excuse of "Those are not my drugs!" was unbelievable, perhaps you should take a look at this story. A Japanese police officer stuck 1/3 of a lb of pot into some unsuspecting passenger's suitcase at Tokyo Airport in order to test out his drug dog. The dog failed to find the pot, and the cop couldn't remember which bag he put it in.

Oops. Now someone is traveling around with 142 grams of pot in their suitcase. I hope they're not on their way to Indonesia.

Peon Pulpit's Best Shows On Television

With all the crap on television we sometimes forget there are a few good shows out there. Here they are:

The Peon Pulpit's Best Shows On Television (2008)

1. Best Reality Series - The First 48 (A&E)
2. Best Educational Series - How It's Made (Science Channel/Discovery Channel/Ztele)
3. Best Drama Series - Lost (ABC)
4. Best Documentary Series - Frontline (PBS) Runner Up: VH1 Behind the Music (VH-1)
   
5. Best Comedy Series - The Office (NBC)
6. Best News Show - The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
7. Best Political Show - Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) Runner Up: The McLachlan group (TMG)

Updated 5/21/2008

Seafood Is Added To The MMHOD

The seafood crisis keeps popping up on the radar...enough so that it's been inducted into the MMHOD.

Fox News Story On Shaving Your Pubes

Yeah, that does sound like a joke, doesn't it? But it's not. Another example of why Fox News is a complete joke.

It's True: Hollywood Secretly Hates The Environment

In a reprise of my earlier post Peon Pulpit Tips To Save The Environment I thought it might be good to see what the movie industry has done to curb their oil burning, tree cutting behavior in pursuit of the almighty dollar. As I noted in my earlier post, the DVD industry produced approximately 214,289,319 lbs of plastic in 2005. We now have new numbers for 2007. In 2007, Hollywood produced 431,114,394 lbs of plastic! Hollywood has increased their plastic dumping by more than 100% in just TWO YEARS!!! That's 195, 550 metric tons. An average car weighs about 1 metric ton, so imagine the weight of 195,550 cars and you have an idea of how much plastic Hollywood produces. So much for the love.

PRODUCTION OF PLASTIC FOR DVD'S
Year	# Of DVDs with Cases Produced	Weight Of Plastic (grams)	Weight (LBS)	Gallons Of Water Used (2.4 gal/lb)	% Change
2005	1,200,000,000	97,200,000,000	214,289,319	514,294,365
2007	2,414,200,000	195,550,200,000	431,114,394	1,034,674,546	101.18%