Benefits of Being an Atheist

This is just a fun thought experiment.

Dr. Richard Dawkins once said that, “On a scale of seven, where one means I know he [God] exists, and seven I know he doesn’t, I call myself a six.”

“Professor Dawkins went on to say he believed he was a ‘6.9’, stating:’That doesn’t mean I’m absolutely confident, that I absolutely know, because I don’t.’”

Under those conditions, the benefits of being an atheist could be defined as:

B= Y(.9857) – ∞(.0143)

.9857=probability of Dr. Dawkins being right

.0143=probability of Dr. Dawkins being wrong

B=Benefits of being an atheist

Y = years of living in bliss

∞ = years contemplating your error

What would logic and reason dictate under those conditions?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2105834/Career-atheist-Richard-Dawkins-admits-fact-agnostic.html#ixzz2Qje25nRS
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How to Solve the Federal Deficit.

Everybody believes that the political gridlock in D.C. is preventing any real discussion to solve this country’s gross federal deficit. My idea in getting everyone to the table and start talking solutions is to garnish congressional wages at a level equivalent to the Gross Federal Debt/GDP ratio. So, if the Gross Federal Debt is 90% of the GDP, members of the U.S. Congress will have 90% of their wages garnished. And when the ratio is greater than 100%,  members of Congress have to pay out of their pockets the difference. Unfortunately such a law would never pass. Congress has never voted against its best interests. And right now, its best interest is to stay in power on our dime, or in today’s equivalent, our dollar.

 

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How is that Stimulus working for you?

This chart epitomizes the definition of insanity according to Einstein, “[D]oing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Compare the duration of unemployment in the 70′s, when Nixon declared that, “We are all Keynesian now,” to the 80′s and 90′s when America had the largest economic growth during peacetime. Those 20 years of economic growth resulted during a time when taxes were dramatically reduced, entitlements were reformed, and the budget was balanced. It was not single party that brought this growth about, but a single idea. The idea that our country’s economic engine runs better when the private sector is in the driver’s seat. 

Unfortunately we currently have an administration that believes our economic engine should be driven by the government. It believes that money spent by the government will be better for the economy than money spent by the private sector. This chart is one of many examples of what happens when we take money out of the economy and allow it to trickle-down our government bureaucracy. Stagnation. And don’t worry, Stagflation will be here soon.

~ Chuck

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Democrats’ Health Care Plan: A Healthy Tax

So has anyone heard the one about Democrats imposing a 35% tax on health care benefits that range from $8,000 for individuals to $21,000 per family?You haven’t. That’s odd. I am sure the MSM would be discussing a plan that would essentially be one of the largest tax increases in our history and would essentially reduce health care benefits to many Americans. Hmmm…what else could they be reporting on?

Oh that’s right. Our President is on a marketing tour in Copenhagen ensuring his cronies in Chicago make a quick buck from the Olympics. Thank God the MSM is on top that story, since it has such an impact on so many Americans. … Ok, now back to Congress shenanigans.

So the Senate Finance committee wants to impose a 35% tax on employer-sponsored health care benefits that cross the above mentioned threshold. This will inevitably lead employer’s to reduce benefits, fire employees, or increase costs to consumers.

Now why would Congress purposely increase the cost of employer-sponsored health care  benefits at the determinant of the employees and consumers. It is possible that Congress is purposely increasing the cost of employer-sponsored health care benefits in order to garner support in the business sector for a public option. Congress could pitch the idea that employers could avoid the 35% tax through a public option. And if the public option is passed, employers will inevitably dump their employees into a public option in order to avoid the 35% tax.  Even though there is no viable explanation why employer-sponsored health care benefits should be taxed, I am sure Congress is acting in our best interests in and not in its interest of increasing its reach into our lives. 

~ Chuck

Language on the 35% tax is found on page 202. Happy reading.

http://www.finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG%202009/091609%20Americas_Healthy_Future_Act.pdf

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Cuba sees the Fruits of Capitalism.

“Cuba is hoping that private farmers can literally plow the island out of a huge $11 billion trade deficit this year caused by rising food import costs and falling exports. The policy marks a major shift away from inefficient state farms that once occupied the lion’s share of the island’s agricultural land.”

It took close to 50 years, but Cuba has finally realized the benefits of private enterprise and capitalism. Since the totalitarian take over of the island, Cuba has depended on government run farms and cooperatives for its agricultural production. Due to inefficiency, which is very surprising from a government program, more than 3/4 of the farm land on the island remained idle. The totalitarian government hopes that individual private farms will help the government get out of its current trade deficit of $11 billion. So if Cuba is turning towards capitalism to sustain its socialist economy, why are we turning towards socialism to sustain our capitalist economy. That kind of sounds “bassackwards.” 

The introduction of private farms is a step in the right direction for Cuba. I hope it is the first of many more to come.

Link to News Article: http://www.tampabay.com/news/world/article1028061.

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When Zombies Attack!

Forget global warming. The greatest threat to human civilization is a zombie infection. According to recent study on infectious diseases, a zombie infection could potentially wipe out our civilization if not properly addressed. According to the study, the only viable solution to a zombie infection is instant eradication of the infected.  Which gives me an idea for a bumper sticker: “Save the Earth, Kill a Zombie.” Pretty catchy.

Here is a link to the article on the study. I tried to get a copy of the study, but it isn’t out yet.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/zombies/

And here is a little Bob Hope humor which is appropriate for this article and this blog:

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Obama’s Press Conference

According to the AP, President Obama played fast and loose with details. Who would have thought the AP actually still did journalism?

Here is a taste:

OBAMA: “We already have rough agreement” on some aspects of what a health care overhaul should involve, and one is: “It will keep government out of health care decisions, giving you the option to keep your insurance if you’re happy with it.”

THE FACTS: In House legislation, a commission appointed by the government would determine what is and isn’t covered by insurance plans offered in a new purchasing pool, including a plan sponsored by the government. The bill also holds out the possibility that, over time, those standards could be imposed on all private insurance plans, not just the ones in the pool.

OBAMA: “If we had done nothing, if you had the same old budget as opposed to the changes we made in our budget, you’d have a $9.3 trillion deficit over the next 10 years. Because of the changes we’ve made, it’s going to be $7.1 trillion.”

THE FACTS: Obama’s numbers are based on figures compiled by his own budget office. But they rely on assumptions about economic growth that some economists find too optimistic. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, in its own analysis of the president’s budget numbers, concluded that the cumulative deficit over the next decade would be $9.1 trillion.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6542713.html

And let’s not forget his revalation that doctors will rip out a kid’s tonsil just for the money. So much for the Hippocratic Oath.

 

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Long Live a Free Honduras: Democracy in Action.

An excellent video showing what happened in Honduras. Our President called the interim government in Honduras illegal. For a man who held himself up as a constitutional scholar, he should study a nation’s constitution before calling the action of a sovereign nation illegal. If the U.S. allows Zelaya to come back into power, we have abandoned our cause for liberty and undermined the rights of a people.

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The American Manifesto: by Karl Marx

I had always read excerpts of the Communist Manifesto, believing that was sufficient to understand the folly of this philosophy and the reason it failed. It was not until I fully read it that I became aware the folly was in my belief that it failed.

Here are the objectives Karl Marx believed were necessary to bring about a Communist revolution within a state. It seems that America has slowly headed down the path of Marx one step at a time.

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. (Through eminent domain the needs of state always has priority over the rights of the individual. And under Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), the state can decide who has more rights to property among private individuals.)

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. (Today the top marginal rate is 35%. But in 1980, the top tax bracket was paying a marginal rate of 70%. And many believe it may have to reach that point again to pay for the increased government spending. http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html )

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance. (It appears that this only affects the rich in this country. Who would have thought you can lose rights by making more money. Interesting study on impact of estate tax http://www.ctj.org/pdf/afbfreportssummary.pdf )

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. (This results in gangster government. That could never happen here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thR-lVuztIY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbabalublog%2Ecom%2Fpage%2F2%2F&feature=player_embedded )

5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly. (This could never be a consideration in this country. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/business/worldbusiness/16iht-16banking.19415086.html )

6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state. (ICC, FCC, OPP. Wait, one of these doesn’t belong.)

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan. (Try building anything without government approval. And wait until the building regulations of the cap and trade bill go into effect.)

8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture. ( An agricultural army once existed in this country in the form of the CCC. Today we are talking about creating green jobs and ‘mandatory’ volunteer service for all. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=92288 )

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country. (The equal distribution is being done unintentionally. Cities scare inhabitants away through high taxes.)

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc. ( The Communist Manifesto came out in 1848. The U.S. created free public elementary schools in the late 19th century. Coincidence? Today elementary schools are free. But that freedom comes with a price. The government tells you where you can receive this free education.)

“We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism.”
–Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev, 1959

~ Chuck

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Let’s Party like its 1929.

So what do you do when the market crashes, unemployment is high, and production is low? Well, you simply pass laws to exacerbate the situation, that’s what you do. And that is exactly what the 1,200 page Global Warming Bill is  going to do. 

The  Global Warming Bill will have the same impact on our economy as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. It will kill it. The Smoot-Hawley Act, through protective tariffs, killed demand for American products world wide. This lowering of demand hindered America’s economic recovery. The Global Warming Bill is meant to reduce emissions, but the only thing it will reduce is  our chance of an early economic recovery. 

The Global Warming Bill will have one significant imapact, it will increase the cost of production. But the corporations will not feel this increase in production cost, because they will transfer the cost to their employees, who will be laid off, and the consumer will pay higher prices.

Initiatives like the Global Warming Bill, which is basically a cap and trade, have been attempted in other countries and have been dismal failures. If we can not learn from the experience of others we are simply traveling down the road of insanity.

And to be honest, the Global Warming Bill has already done more harm than good to the environment. Hundreds of trees have been chopped down and tons of hot air has been spewed to defend it.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D992F2QO0&show_article=1

* And I know the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was pass in 1930. But the title won’t be as catchy with that year.

~ Chuck

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