April 2012
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December 2011
1 post
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“Manufacturing represents 11% of the US economy today but it accounts for 70% of...”
– @FareedZakaria
November 2011
4 posts
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“a single man earning the average wage in his working life and retiring in 2010...”
– The Under-30s Should Demand an Opt Out of Social Security - Yahoo! News
Yeah, social security is a bit of a disaster.
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“The total economic cost of overweight and obesity in the United States is $270...”
– Cost of Obesity Approaching $300 Billion a Year
We need a national policy on obesity.
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Alcohol saves lives on balance. Here's why.
The NIAAA calculates that if all drinkers in the U.S. became abstainers, there would be an additional 80,000 deaths per year. Abstaining dramatically increases the risks of heart attack, ichemic stroke, and many other diseases and life-threatening conditions. 1 The CDC calculates that abusive drinking lead to about 75,766 deaths from all causes in 2001, a number that continues to decline....
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“health care costs for smokers were about $326,000 from age 20 on, compared to...”
– How Much Does Smoking Cost Society?
October 2011
6 posts
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“France has $36,500 GDP/Capita and works 1,453 hours per year. This equates to a...”
– French: The Most Productive People In The World
Crazy that the French may be more efficient on an hourly basis.
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“when you also consider the labor-force participation rate and the so-called...”
– The Weekend Interview with Mortimer Zuckerman: The Exasperation of the Democratic Billionaire - WSJ.com
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“A recent poll has shown that far more people are in agreement with the Occupy...”
– 56 Percent: The Most Troubling Number About Occupy Wall Street - Yahoo! News
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CHARTS: Here's What The Wall Street Protesters Are... →
click to see in full!
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“EPA’s own studies found that tighter rules could save 12,000 lives a year....”
– LA, Riverside lead California in smog days | 89.3 KPCC
At that cost, it seems obvious that these rules should be implemented.
That’s 7500$ per life. I’d say that’s worth it.
September 2011
5 posts
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Perry Is Right—There Is a Texas Model for Fixing... →
This is a really cool article. Read the whole thing.
Highlights:
Rick Perry is pointing to three Texas counties that decades ago opted out of Social Security by creating personal retirement accounts. Now, 30 years on, county workers in those three jurisdictions retire with more money and have better death and disability supplemental benefits. And those three counties—unlike almost all others in...
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Incomes today worse than in the 1997. Worst... →
median household incomes fell last year to levels last seen in 1997.
Economists pointed to a telling statistic: It was the first time since the Great Depression that median household income, adjusted for inflation, had not risen over such a long period, said Lawrence Katz, an economics professor at Harvard.
“This is truly a lost decade,” Mr. Katz said. “We think of America as a place where...
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“Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we can identify their...”
– anonymous
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Federal Government to Trucking Companies: Yes, You... →
hilker:
The federal government has sued a major trucking company for its firing of driver with an admitted alcohol abuse problem.
Alcoholism is classified as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the suit maintains, and therefore employees cannot be prohibited even from driving 18 wheelers due to their histories of abuse.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which...
August 2011
5 posts
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“after five rounds of unsustainable tax cuts in 2001-10, federal tax revenues are...”
– TwitLonger — When you talk too much for Twitter
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“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes. You just pass a law that says that...”
– Warren Buffett
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How mountain pine beetles worsen global warming... →
mountain pine beetles burrow in the bark of live pine trees, where they lay their eggs and feed on the bark. A severe beetle outbreak has been under way for several years, creating swaths of red or gray-colored dead trees that can stretch for miles. In British Columbia alone, the mountain pine beetle has damaged an area more than twice the size of New Brunswick, with consequences for the ability...
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“Ten percent to 20 percent of those who see heavy combat develop lasting symptoms...”
– NYTimes
So sad. Another reason to be cautious about war.
July 2011
12 posts
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“Did you know that there is only one other country in the world that even has a...”
– The damage is already done! – Global Public Square - CNN.com Blogs
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Bill Gates regrets spending money on educational... →
$600 billion a year is spent by various government entities on education, and all the philanthropy that’s ever been spent on this space is not going to add up to $10 billion. So it’s truly a rounding error
This is why political activism is crucial in education…You can be the biggest, best philanthropist in the world and you won’t make much of a difference.
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I'm starting to think that the Left might actually... →
thoughtful piece even if you don’t agree
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What are the economic implications of legalizing... →
The illicit drug market is estimated at around $400B: The USA is 1/4 the world’s GDP and the gov’t currently taxes ~1/4 of GDP so it can reap $25B from taxing those drugs at current avg. rates. CATO has a deeper analysis which says double: Elimination of “war on drugs”, which costs $15B: If we include all other federal and state programs, CATO says it’ll save...
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Four things Republicans used to believe Rex... →
Interesting article. Republicans used to be more open to taxation, a strong presidency, environmental regulation, and universal healthcare.
Too bad the party has veered towards big business.
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Warming ocean could melt ice faster than thought -... →
Increased melting of ice in Greenland and parts of Antarctica has been reported as a consequence of global warming, potentially raising sea levels. But little attention has been paid to the impact of warmer water beneath the ice. Now, Jianjun Yin of the University of Arizona and colleagues report the warming water could mean polar ice melting faster than had been expected. Their report was...
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Michigan Woman Faces 93 Days in Jail for Planting... →
a city ordinance that states that only “suitable” plant material is allowed on the lawn area of residences. When local media asked city planner Kevin Rulkowski what that meant, he said suitable means “common:” lawn, nice shrubs, and flowers.
Insanity.
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“Twelve states now have obesity rates above 30 percent…Twenty years ago, no...”
– F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011 - Trust for America’s Health
We really need to do more to promote healthy eating in this country.
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“The American public is less likely to believe in global warming than it was just...”
– NPR
June 2011
38 posts
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New York’s MTA has 8000+ workers who make 100K+...
The article also talked about a 239K$/yr conductor.
imho, the state should have the power to fire the overpaid and hire replacements who’d be willing to work for reasonable wages.
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Here are some stats on how unions fail in... →
Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity. …. If education had undergone the same...
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Health insurance innovation in Arizona →
Arizona is doing this cool thing that other states should follow. Basically some citizens are told by their doctors to lose weight or quit smoking. Arizona says, if they don’t do it they should pay more in health premiums. I agree. People should be responsible for their choices. This is smart.
$50 would be charged to those who were specifically urged by doctors to lose weight for health...
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Daniel Yergin on the Shale Gas Revolution:... →
Good article. Worth reading if you’re interested in energy policy/natural gas/natural gas cars…
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Radical Islam vs. Nazi Germany : A German's View...
This got sent to me via e-mail. I thought it was interesting.
This is by far the best explanation of the Muslim terrorist situation I have ever read. His references to past history are accurate and clear. Not long, easy to understand, and well worth the read. The author of this email is said to be Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist.
A German’s View on Islam A...
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Paper vs. Plastic bags - who cares? Tax both.
I just read yet another article on plastic bags vs. paper bags. The solution is SOOO simple. Simply tax paper or plastic bags 5 cents per bag or 10 cents. That way, when you buy a reuseable shopping bag, it pays for itself in 10 trips. What a deal!
This is such a simple and obvious solution to an environmental problem, and it’s not happening.
Some quick background and links on how both...
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Offshore Wind Backbone Begins to Take Shape →
very encouraging
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Chicago public school bans lunches brought from... →
Ugh, this is ridiculous insanity. It’s another reason why we need school vouchers - because public schools have the power to impose idiocy, and parents who can’t afford to send their children to private school have no choice but to accept it.
hilker:
davereed:
conservativebrew:
From article,
“Principal Elsa Carmona said her intention is to protect students from their own unhealthful food...
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Global Warming : NASA Research Finds 2010 Tied for... →
“Global surface temperatures in 2010 tied 2005 as the warmest on record, according to an analysis released Wednesday by researchers at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.”
“The two years differed by less than 0.018 degrees Fahrenheit. The difference is smaller than the uncertainty in comparing the temperatures of recent years, putting them into...
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“Millionaires are now legally entitled to collect food stamps as long as they...”
– James Bovard: The Food-Stamp Crime Wave - WSJ.com
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U.S. trade policy: America's unequal trade... →
The most potent of China’s “weapons of job destruction” are an elaborate web of export subsidies; the blatant piracy of America’s technologies and trade secrets; the counterfeiting of valuable brand names like Nike and Chevy; a cleverly manipulated and grossly undervalued currency; and the forced transfer of the technology of any American company wishing to operate on...
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If we're going to subsidize alternative energy,we... →
Just look at the Empire State Building—I can see it from my office window. Our climate-change people worked on their retrofit project. They cleared off a whole floor for a small factory to change the heating and air conditioning, put in new lighting and insulation, and cut energy-efficient glass for the windows. Johnson Controls, the energy-service company overseeing the project, guaranteed the...
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N.C. Man Allegedly Robs Bank of $1 to Get Health... →
Richard James Verone handed a female teller a note demanding the money and claiming that he had a gun, according to the police report.
He then sat down and waited for police to arrive. “… I say, ‘I’ll be sitting right over here, on the chair, waiting for the police,’
Verone said he asked for $1 to show that his motives were medical, not monetary, according to news...
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Republican NY State Senator Roy McDonald's Awesome... →
“You get to the point where you evolve in your life where everything isn’t black and white, good and bad, and you try to do the right thing,” McDonald, 64, told reporters.
“You might not like that. You might be very cynical about that. Well, fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing. I’m tired of Republican-Democrat...
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Our Military Upholds Leftwing Ideals →
A senior general earns about 10 times what a private makes, while, by my calculation, C.E.O.’s at major companies earn about 300 times as much as those cleaning their offices.
This is a rare enclave of single-payer universal health care, and it continues with a veterans’ health care system that has much lower costs than the American system as a whole.
While one of America’s greatest failings...
