No name-calling
Wow, Elizabeth “Liz” Becton sounds like a bitch.
via No name-calling – Shenanigans – POLITICO.com.
Spaceport America Groundbreaking
This is just amazing, a real Space Port. I hope in my lifetime I’ll get to goto space 
Spaceport America Groundbreaking.
A Prop. 8 win-win
I’ve had this thought before as well. It seems just too logical, and that’s probably why it won’t be implemented… too bad.
The homosexuals want the same rights under the law, and the religious want to protect the meaning of ‘marriage’. This provides everybody the same rights and doesn’t redefine ‘marriage’. What’s not to like?
A Prop. 8 win-win – Los Angeles Times.
American Education
Barack Obama has urged school administrators to “rethink the school day”, arguing that “we can no longer afford an academic calendar designed for when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home ploughing the land at the end of each day.”
Lexington: The underworked American | The Economist.
Domesticated Silver Fox
I wonder what Creationists have to say about this perfect example of evolution. A wild fox in the span of 50 years has shown significant changes in DNA during the domestication process.
Domesticated Silver Fox – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
How to reduce your PSD files size using Photoshop Idle Together
Quite an interesting hack... add something to make your file smaller...How to reduce your PSD files size using Photoshop Idle Together
Test Post Mu
Boot your new MacBook from an SD card? Back up to it too? | 9 to 5 Mac
Are SD cards the new floppy disks? SD cards are definitely much more portable than USB drives, and they're already in use in a huge number of devices.Boot your new MacBook from an SD card? Back up to it too? | 9 to 5 Mac
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darwin_love.jpg 550×413 pixels.
Who Pays for America?
In response to “Who Rules America?” , I don’t think it paints the full picture by discussing Wealth and Income without discussing Taxes paid. Top income earners do hold much of the wealth in America, but they also pay most of the taxes.
Being wealthy, rich, and successful should not be demonized. It IS after all the American Dream, isn’t it? After all it is our right to “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” that makes us a great country.
Summary of Federal Individual Income Tax Data, 2006
(Updated July 2008)
| Number of Returns with Positive AGI | AGI ($ millions) | Income Taxes Paid ($ millions) | Group’s Share of Total AGI | Group’s Share of Income Taxes | Income Split Point | Average Tax Rate | |
| All Taxpayers | 135,719,160 | $8,122,040 | $1,023,739 | 100% | 100% | - | 12.60% |
| Top 1% | 1,357,192 | $1,791,886 | $408,369 | 22.06% | 39.89% | > $388,806 | 22.79% |
| Top 2-5% | 5,428,766 | $1,185,828 | $207,311 | 14.60% | 20.25% |
|
17.48% |
| Top 5% | 6,785,958 | $2,977,714 | $615,680 | 36.66% | 60.14% | > $153,542 | 20.68% |
| Top 6-10% | 6,785,958 | $865,430 | $109,060 | 10.66% | 10.65% |
|
12.60% |
| Top 10% | 13,571,916 | $3,843,144 | $724,740 | 47.32% | 70.79% |
> $108,904
|
18.86% |
| Top 11-25% | 20,357,874 | $1,692,686 | $158,413 | 20.84% | 15.47% | 9.36% | |
| Top 25% | 33,929,790 | $5,535,830 | $883,153 | 68.16% | 86.27% | > $64,702 | 15.95% |
| Top 26-50% | 33,929,790 | $1,569,769 | $110,023 | 19.33% | 10.75% |
|
7.01% |
| Top 50% | 67,859,580 | $7,105,599 | $993,176 | 87.49% | 97.01% | > $31,987 | 13.98% |
| Bottom 50% | 67,859,580 | $1,016,441 | $30,563 | 12.51% | 2.99% | < $31,987 | 3.01% |
Source: Internal Revenue Service, http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521,00.html (“Individual Income Tax Returns with Positive Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Returns Classified by Tax Percentile – Early Release”)
Limiting Executive Compensation Violates the Constitution and Basic Economics
RAmen. Finally somebody with some sense on the issue.
Congressional Compensation Packages
The administration and Congress is proposing the regulate executive compensation. First of all, what private companies pay their executives should be their business and not the governments. A company should be allowed to pay what they want to attract top talent.
Congressman Barney Frank commented on CNBC that executive compensation should also include a ‘penalty’ if goals are not met. This is already part of the current system. When one negotiates a contract the ‘bonuses’ are already taken into account. Thank about it, when you look for a job you do not only look at your salary. You compare the bonuses, healthcare, etc. along with your salary and determine what you are worth. So, if you do not receive your ‘bonus’ you ARE getting a penalty.
A second contention I have with Barney Frank’s stance is, “What about YOU?” Shouldn’t the country’s economy be a reflection on YOUR performance, being that you are elected and charged with the duty to LEAD and GOVERN this country? So if we are in a recession and billions and soon to be TRILLION in debt / deficit / trade deficit; shouldn’t YOU and Congress be liable as well? Shouldn’t the politician’s pay packages be ‘penalized’ ?
I think this will do MUCH MUCH more to curb the country’s debt / deficit than even further EXPANDING government.
There’s also the root cause of the housing bubble / CDO fiasco. Congress’ push and guarantee of sub-prime lending. This basically destroyed the natural market tendency to lend based on risk assessment. The government through Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac guaranteed mortgages of those ‘unqualified’ to borrow money. Well then, of course the banks would write as many loans as they could without ‘assessing’ risk. The did assess the risk, it was ZERO. The government guaranteed it! Once again, government’s good intentions back fired.
Obama administration proposes executive pay initiatives – Los Angeles Times.
Gundam suits coming true :)
Army Mechanics Garage Tinkering Yields 18-Foot Mecha Exoskeleton | Popular Science.
WiMAX初體驗 北市網路密度跑第一-Yahoo!奇摩新聞
Taipei, Taiwan just turned on it's full city WiMAX deployment June 2nd. The WiMAX base stations are deployed along 10.5 Km of Taipei's high rise mass transit line.About 90% of the world's WiMAX equipment is produced by Taiwan companies. Hopefully more WiMAX enable devices will come to market soon.
WiMAX初體驗 北市網路密度跑第一-Yahoo!奇摩新聞
The Lear Jet repo man
Wow, a movie in the making…
“When we went to grab the plane, one of them came out with his weapon drawn and tells us we better get out of there.” Undeterred, Popovich continued toward the plane until he felt a gun resting on his temple.