Robbin' Hoods

It is a common misconception that Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor. In point of fact, Robin Hood retrieved from the corrupt and greed Sheriff of Nottingham what the latter had illegitimately expropriated from the hard-working common folk and returned the ill gotten wealth to same. In other words, Robin Hood took back from the tyrannical state what that government had improperly and immorally taken from the people. The citizenry was only poor because the state seized what wealth they had.

With this historical tidbit in mind, let me direct you to the latest snarlings of Congress and others in various levels of government. Some are "upset" about the fact that AIG, the insurance giant-turned ward of the feds, has paid $165 million in bonuses. Much of the money went to the financial unit behind the disastrous credit default swaps. While this might seem horribly unfair on the surface, the deeper truth is that AIG was contractually obligated to pay this money out, and did so with the full knowledge and at least tacit approval of the all the bigwigs overseeing TARP and the bailouts. That would mainly be Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner (who failed to pay income taxes for several years). So now the majority party in Congress, the loonies who has passed the bailout legislation, are hopping mad and want that money back. Listen to Sen. Schumer...



First, this is so disingenuous because Congress had the opportunity to limit how bailout money could be spend, but they didn't. In fact, Sen. Chris Dodd, head of the Banking Committee, specifically added an amendment that did away with limits on bonuses and compensation. Further, Congress and the Administration used AIG to, effectively, launder money. Federal tax dollars went to AIG, which was then directed to send that money to hedge funds, investment banks, and foreign financial groups who otherwise wouldn't have gotten TARP money.

Second, we can plainly see that those in power in Washington obviously believe that what the government giveth, the government can taketh away, and will do so by use of coercive force. Yeah, I really want these people in charge of my healthcare, business, energy sources, and everything else involved with my daily life. Today it's executives at AIG, tomorrow it could be "stimulus" dollars used for projects that Congress or Obama doesn't like. Maybe then they will decide that you didn't spend your own income properly or that your profession is making too much money. Now I direct you back to the story of Robin Hood and ask you to consider just whose money and wealth we're talking about here, and just who the greedy and morally-bankrupt players are. I think you'll see who the real 'hoods are and who's really being robbed.

Them Bones

Before Tony Soprano and before Orson Wells landed Martians there, New Jersey was famous for something more in the realm of hard science. In 1858 an amateur fossil hunter unearthed the most complete prehistoric skeleton at the time in rural Haddonfield, NJ. That fossil, Hadrosaurus foulkii, then became the first mounted dinosaur displayed to the public thanks to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

Of course, today hundreds of skeletons are exhibited around the world to the amazement and wonder of millions of children and adults. But imagine what a spectacle such an exhibit must have been to the people in 1868 (when the fossil was revealed). Sea monsters and dragons were still considered more fact than myth and science was largely the province of the wealthy and well-bred. Probably the only contemporary comparison would be if the skeleton of E.T. was put on display.

Visit the Academy's web site for more on Hadrosaurus foulkii and the current exhibit in commemoration of its discovery 150 years ago.

Spending Our Way to Ruin

Okay, I've had enough. I withheld posting on politics during the election cycle, but now the fools and tools in Congress and our Chief Executive of Hope and Change are about to commit highway robbery of unprecedented proportions. First the House passes a bill that is estimated to cost the American taxpayers $820 Billion. I might point out that only Democrats voted for this, with 11 D's crossing over to vote 'nay'. Now the Senate - at least the Dems and a couple spend-happy Republicans - seems poised to agree to about $800 Billion.

Let's be clear here. This is not "economic stimulus". It is government spending, pure and simple. Obama said so. (Sorry about the Canadian thing, but this was the best version I could find quickly.) What is the difference you ask. Well, stimulus implies that you get some sort of positive ripple effect through the economy or boost in total value (GDP). Supposedly, we will see more jobs, better incomes, and such. This spending will not achieve this goal because it is no different than the typical congressional appropriation. These bills just buy stuff for government - federal, state, and local. There is no real investment of the sort that individuals and businesses make to create added value. Think of it this way. The feds are going to pay a lot of people to build federal offices, install computers, pave roads, etc. So beyond the paychecks of these select, lucky people there will be no value added to the national economy. At the same time, a massive amount of money will be taken out of private hands, which means that when creative and innovative folks come along saying, "Hey, I have a great idea for a better mousetrap", there will be no money for them to do it. So the jobs that would have otherwise been created at the new mousetrap factory, jobs that would last more than the time it takes to install a faucet in a national park outhouse, will never materialize. Here's an even simplier analogy: Could you ever afford to buy the things you really want or repair your car or house, or save for retirement, if you were constantly giving your hard-earned money to your wacky neighbor who only used your cash to add more garden gnomes and floodlights to his yard?

The other important fact is that Congress has to borrow or print all this money, or both. None of those are good options for our nation. First borrowing. We all agree that the root of our economic problems is the reck-loose borrowing and spending of consumers and businesses. Now we are being asked, in a most insulting way, to believe that the way out of our debt is to take on more debt for things we don't really need. Second, printing cash. Inflation. INFLATION. INFLATION! Click here if you don't know why inflation is a bad, bad, bad thing for America.

Speaking of debt... Think you are a fiscally responsible person, with a handle on credit card and consumer debt? Think debt isn't a problem in your life. Oh, aren't you a cute little deluded American. The recently-retired Comptroller of the Currency, the guy who is basically the head bookkeeper for the US, estimates that each American (not just taxpayer, each American) owes $184,000 on the national debt. And that figure keeps rising. Sooner or later, that bill will come due in the form of much higher taxes on everyone.

Back to this spending spree package. What's in it? Good question. The bill from the House is almost 200 pages long and sheds little light on what we taxpayers are actually spending money on. However, here are a few choice porkers:

• $2.825 Billion for broadband internet for rural communities.
• $650 Million for coupons for analog-to-digital television converters
• $140 Million for "climate modeling" (I thought the science was settled on that one?)
• $7.7 Billion for the Federal Buildings Fund
• $150 Million for the Smithsonian
• $50 Million for the National Endowment of the Arts

It just goes on and on, the wasteful, special interest-payback, vote-buying spending. In many cases, such as spending for the Dept. of Education, the appropriation in this emergency "stimulus" bill is twice the normal annual budget amount! The extra shame is that all this pork will inevitably be added to the federal baseline, meaning that it will be used to calculate next year's budgets. So, in a few strokes of the pen, government will have ballooned in size, power, and thirst for our money, all under the disguise of helping the little guy and gal.

All is not lost - yet. The Senate has not voted and the president hasn't signed anything into law. Take this opportunity to call, fax, email and generally pester your elected representatives into stopping this raid on our wallets and liberty. Because that's what this is all about - making everyone a recipient of government welfare. And that's just another way of saying losing your freedom. WE THE PEOPLE deserve much better. We deserve to be respected and listened to by our government. But only if we speak up. Go now and give them your opinion.

Get out your geiger counters

I filed this story away when it first came out but never got around to blogging 'bout it. Then the whiskey power plant news drifted across my monitor and reminded of this gem: Mini nuclear reactors!

Yes, a company is going to market a "garden shed"-sized reactor. The technology was developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory (think Manhattan Project) and the federal government has given their okay. The CEO of the firm leading this radioactive charge explains:

"Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world. They will cost approximately $25m each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $250 per home."

So far it seems that the only orders are coming from utility providers and infrastructure builders. Call it the ultimate back-up (or primary) generator. But don't expect them to show up in Home Depot any time soon. I know, I was bummed out too. From a practical standpoint, however, this could be a boon to the developing world, where electricity can be scarce. And security is virtually a none-issue because the reactor design is ancient at 50+ years old (physics grad students use way more advanced stuff all the time), the reactors are buried in concrete underground, and there are no moving parts.

All you aspiring Dr. Evils our there, start saving your pennies because this baby would be the perfect complement to a villain lair.

On a somewhat related note, I picked up a new book entitled A Nuclear Family Vacation: Travels in the World of Atomic Weaponry by Nathan Hodge and Sharon Weinberger. Haven't started reading yet, but I'm giddy with anticipation.



Update: Great book. Highly recommended for anyone, particularly those interested in nuclear science, the military, history, or foreign affairs. Among the more memorable parts, and something that underscores a theme of the book, was when the current military officer in charge of our nuclear missiles couldn't remember the term M.A.D. How the world has changed in just a decade or so!

Scotland Runnin' on Whiskey. Literally.

Those inventive Scots have done it again. Not content to power themselves with whiskey, the plaid-clad tinkerers are going to power their electrical grid with the water of life. Approval has been granted for a group of distillers to build a biomass-fueled power plant Speyside. The biomass of course being the whiskey mash and related by products of the distilling process. When operational, the plant should generate about 7.2 megawatts.

Never mind the arguments over green power and climate change, I say this is the future. The more we imbibe, the more we can consume, so to speak. Seriously, though, this is innovation - doing more with what we have at hand, and what was before basically waste. I think I'll go open another bottle of Black Label to help make sure the project gets off to a good start.

Full article

One Will Be Revealed

Battlestar Galactica returns to SciFi tomorrow night at 10 o'clock Eastern. So say we all!

A Yankee Endorsement

The Brain has a platform that I can get behind:

Big Bang: The Return Tour

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is ready for it's debut. Physicists at CERN will fire up the latest and most bad-ass particle accelerator ever constructed tomorrow. It's purpose is to smash sub-atomic stuff together to recreate the matter and conditions present in the universe immediately following the Big Bang. Everyone in the physical sciences is waiting with baited breath to find out what will happen. Will they find the Higgs boson? (Stephen Hawking bets 'no' - but he's lost similar bets before.) Will a tiny black hole be formed that will engulf us all? A few people - some more balanced than others - allow for the possibility.

Personally, I think that with media assembled and the world watching, the guy in charge of this $8 Billion flashlight will suddenly turn in his chair, don a cape, and declare, "Now watch the power of this fully armed and operational battle station!"

Whatever happens, the LHC is an engineering marvel. Individual components themselves are technological wonders.

Get information on watching the hoopla live here.

He Spoke His Mind

Alexander Solzhenitsyn died Sunday in his Motherland of Russia. He achieved acclaim for his vivid depictions of a harsh life in the Soviet prisons and exile in the hinterlands. He wrote from experience, having been banished for speaking his mind against a the totalitarian system that had taken control of his beloved nation.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was already in my Shelfari collection, included in what I call my personal "Library of a Free Man". I have now added Gulag Archipelago to my "Plan to Read" list.

Solzhenitsyn was no friend of capitalism, but he deplored authoritarianism and the communism from which it sprung even more. In a society ruled by fear he spoke his mind - the censors, secret police, and political puppet masters be damned. For that we praise him today.

Rest in Peace, Alexander Isayevich.

(c) Economist

Russians mourn dissident hero Solzhenitsyn

An Icon of His Age

A profile in courage

We Know What's Best for You

This post from Alex at Marginal Revolution was so nicely put together that I decided to just put the whole thing here.

The Los Angeles council has just passed on ordinance banning new fast food restaurants in a poor section of South/Central LA. William Saletan calls it Food Apartheid and writes: We're not talking anymore about preaching diet and exercise, disclosing calorie counts, or restricting sodas in schools. We're talking about banning the sale of food to adults....It's true that food options in low-income neighborhoods are, on average, worse than the options in wealthier neighborhoods. But restricting options in low-income neighborhoods is a disturbingly paternalistic way of solving the problem. Milton Friedman once said: I don't think the state has any more right to tell me what what to put in my mouth than it has to tell me what can come out of my mouth. Friedman was talking about drug prohibition but today the target could just as easily be food prohibition. Hat tip on the Friedman quote to Don Boudreaux at Cafe Hayek.

Once again, Friedman was right. I don't know about you, but I don't need any government paper-pusher telling me what I can choose to eat where. These politicians are not here to help, they want control over you. Never forget that.