Economic Truism of the Day

Here is a truth that many have never read in their local paper: the gulf between the "rich" and the "poor" is a good thing. A very good thing.

Picture a world in which dropping out of high school and sitting around on your front porch with your posse yields the same economic rewards as spending 16 years studying or even more building a business. What do you think would become of a nation if choosing jobs that offered very little value to society were just as financially rewarding as those that added lots o' value? It would slowly become North Korea - The Land of Poverty and Squalor. Sure it might take a while and if enough ambitious souls still chose higher value jobs it might never hit bottom...but the point remains. The reason why you get paid what you get paid is because that is how much your job is worth. Pretty simple huh? So if you think you deserve more money; that's cool. Go earn it. All you have to do is work hard and get good at something that has value. And what would that be? Just look up the job descriptions of the "rich" and do that.

Don't Shoot the Messenger

It's OK, lady, you can open your eyes...that wasn't sniper fire!

It is always sad to watch the death throws of a living creature...even a Clinton. In case you limit your information gathering to the "mainstream media" you need to know something...Hillary is done. She can't win the nomination legitimately. There is a very small chance that the nomination could be stolen from Obama, but I'd encourage you not to take that bet. And the most recent Clinton defeat at the hand of their arch nemesis The Truth (battle joined here by the next generation) just proves it. You are looking at a sad, desperate woman. The Bosnia sniper lie that Ma and Pa Clinton even forced little Chelsea to tell shows how far gone they are. Granted, it is common practice for a Clinton to tell a verifiable lie that goes unchallenged, but even their pals appear to have had enough this time.

My question to the blogosphere (and UBlo's mom) is this: what of the Bill Clinton legacy? His VP was rejected by the nation in a gimme election and his wife is being rejected by his very own party. I'll tell you the legacy...he's that guy from high school you had all those great laughs with but for some reason you can't even recollect what he looked like 5 years later. There was no substance to him. He's a Hollywood set...all press board and sandbags and no concrete.

Leftist Biased Pentagon Report on Iraq/Al Qiada Released

A Pentagon report finds, and I'll paraphrase here, none, zero, zip, nada, el nolo, links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaida.

So the question is, when the Admin was touting all this "evidence" about a link, what were they looking at? What were they seeing? What were they touting?

Assuming no duplicitiousnessity, I just don't see how this report can do anything other than show that this is the most inept administration...potentially ever. At least with some of the past harmful Presidents they were at least corrupt. So they were at least competent in their goals, dishonest, but competent. If you believe that this administration is honest, then you have to go with "honest, but unimaginably, stupendously harmfully, epically incompetently, historically...bad."

As always, I don't point this out with any glee. This is the President of my country. I expect some basic level of competency. I would have fired this guy as my mani/pedi guy years ago, and he's the leader of my country.

If only a book had warned us about this type of stuff. Maybe one about animals. Maybe living on a farm.

In the "you can't make this stuff up" category of the George Bush Presidency, I submit the following.

Talking via videoconference to a group of military and civilian personnel, our own Berkshire Boar says,

I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."

"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," Bush said.

Holy Schmoley! Looks like Squealer is working for Bush, I mean, Napoleon himself could not have shown more gusto.

Isn't this the same President Bush who famously went AWOL during the Vietnam War? The same one who has no record of ever even showing up for duty? I guess maybe protecting Texas isn't that "romantic." How, seriously, HOW can Bush stand there and say that? I honestly think he's been playing with his action figure too much. To his comment, "If I were slightly younger and not employed here..." I would add, "and living in a fantasy world where I didn't avoid Vietnam, go AWOL from the National Guard and party hard while other suckers were fighting and dying, a little place I like to call, 'Where what my spin team tells me about myself is real,' I think it would be a fantastic experience..."

How can he stand there in front of actual soldiers, knowing his own history, and say "Man, I wish I was a young man again, I'd be right there with you." This is like Bill Clinton talking to a group of monks and saying, "Hey, if I was a young man again, wow, I'd totally join you guys. Celibacy gives you so much clarity, so much time. A life of honorable, humble, dignity is just so pure. I'm envious. How exciting, I wish I could join you. But I can't soooooo, thanks for that."

McCain hates torture, stymied by what to do about it

GOP Presidential hopeful(ly not) John McCain tells 60 Minutes,

We prosecuted Japanese war criminals after World War II, and one of the charges brought against them, for which they were convicted, was that they waterboarded Americans.

And now America does it. Does, anyone have any ideas on why, and how to stop it? Lets see the follow up.

Asked "how did we lose our way," McCain answered,

I don't know the answer to that.

OH, OH, I know, I know, call on me, call on me, OH, OH! Thank you. Ahem. I think the answer to "how did we lose our way" is when politically ambitious anti-torture Senators sell their souls and vote against a bill that would bring the CIA into compliance with the Army Field Manual banning torture. Then to complete the sell-out urge the President to veto said bill. Which he did. Meaning America still reserves the ability to torture.

So there you go Mr McCain. Feel free to cut this post out and keep it in your pocket next time you're asked the question.

Feeling Randy

So I'm reading this link from CNN.SI about top football free agents (good news/bad news for this Rams fan, no Rams on the list. Soooo, half-full says at least we won't be losing any top players, half-empty says maybe that's because we don't have any top players).

Number two is Patriots WR Randy Moss. Blurb starts with,

Moss comes off his best season in half a decade and took a liking to the New England environment.

Which gets me thinking, Moss set the NFL record for TD's by a receiver last year. So, what did he do 5 years ago that was better than that? To my way of thinking Moss is coming off his best season ever!

I know, I know quibbling over sports writing is like quibbling over plot in a Jean Claude Van Damme movie, but still.