We the taxpayers.

Here is the current headline at WaPo: Lawmakers Skeptical of Financial Rescue Plan Paulson, Bernanke argue for broad authority to stabilize market, warn that failure to pass $700B program would impose greater risk for taxpayers.

Ugh, where to start. I love how the ruling elite see the people as nothing more than taxpayers. The whole purpose of our lives should be to generate as much possible tax revenue as possible so these arrogant pricks (who nobody voted for) can tell us what is best for us by giving that tax revenue to people who lost tons of money. Perhaps we should all be thankful the government allows us to keep any of our money at all.

Since there are around 300 million people in the US right now, then if $700 billion was to be equally distributed amongst all the taxpayers (which it won’t), it would cost each taxpayer over $2000. I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy throwing $2000 down the toilet.

Isn’t this the kind of debacle that the Federal Reserve and Bretton Woods Systems promised to avoid? Hmm, maybe more people should have listened to Ron Paul and the Austrian School of Economics.

Addicted to Government?

Every night I have to put up with watching the Republicrats spend my money to tell me what to think in their TV adds. One of my favorites is that America is “addicted” to foreign oil. I don’t think many people have a chemical dependency on the stuff, they just like energy for cheap. I think a better slogan would be that people are “addicted” to government. From their ads, McBama seem to think there is nothing the government can’t fix. Lets break that addiction first.

Talk About Economic Impact?

I went to yahoo.com tonight to look at the headlines. Check these two out:

Financial bailout plan to cost a half-trillion dollars or more

$6 billion storm? Ike’s economic impact is felt widely

So if $6 billion is felt widely, how is $500 billion going to be felt? Disastrously.

Not This Time

I (like many Americans) felt bad after Hurricane Katrina and donated a good deal of money (I think around $250) to the victims. It has been three years now and the next major hurricane (Gustav, sounds like a guy with a cheesy mustache) is bearing down on Louisiana. Apart from the money I’ll be “donating” via FEMA, I don’t think I’ll be giving anything voluntarily this time. I think that if you are there now, then you’ve seen what happened and should accept the consequences of living there.

Football Season Ticket Prices

I was watching the Sports Reporters on ESPN yesterday. If you have never seen the show, its four sports writers sitting in a room being super critical of athletes and owners. One guy was bloviating about the atrocity that owners get to charge “full price” to season ticket holders for pre-season games. Now, truth be told, pre-season games are an absolute waste of time and don’t compare in value to regular season games. However, what this guy fails to realize is that you are paying for the season ticket, not the individual games. (even though the tickets usually have an individual price printed on them) I wonder if he would be as outraged if the regular season ticket prices were increased by 10/8 (moving the pre-season price to regular season) and then giving the pre-season games away for “free”?

Educational Priorities

Last night, in a fit of boredom, I was navigating around my old high school’s website. I was looking at the teacher list to see who was still there 10 years after I had graduated. I saw a few familiar names, but not too many. However, what stood out to me was the number of teachers in each discipline.

I believe the enrollment is about 1500 students. In Montgomery County Maryland, I believe 4 years of math and science are required, so every student must take one course in math and science every year. I counted 14 math teachers and 11 science teachers. So each math/science teacher is responsible for more than 100 students EACH. On top of that, they make teachers do a whole bunch of other bullshit activities (e.g. lunch duty, chaperoning), because they are free to the school system. This is due to the fact that concept of opportunity cost is lost upon most bureaucrats.

After that I was looking around to see what the biggest department was and…drum roll please…special education! There are 36 special education teachers compared to 25 math and science teachers. Now, special education may have more part time teachers, but that is still an absurd ratio. Also, the students requiring special education must be a smaller percentage. I’ll throw out a guess of around 10%. So that would be 36 teachers for 150 students or around a 5:1 student to teacher ratio. Sounds pretty good compared to 100:1.

So whats the priority of the public education system…egalitarianism! Can’t leave any student behind any others!

Its in the comments!

I am from the Washington D.C. area and I visit WashingtonPost.com at least once a day. I have noticed a recent increase in the number of opinion articles that have include the word “libertarian” (like this one today). Of course, they aren’t trying to persuade others to libertarian ideology, but to ridicule, marginalize or demonize it. This is in stark contrast to the previous strategy which was to ignore it and pretend it didn’t even exist.

Why are these opinion articles popping up? My answer is, because of the comments section. If you want to be popular and get a lot of responses on the internet then attack libertarianism. Libertarians live for the internet as a pulpit for their ideas. Nowhere else are they going to be heard so easily (to the delight of many).

The comments are my favorite part. There are those which are worthless that obviously came from bots, because they offer nothing in relation to the article just libertarian dogma. There are those which identify libertarians as naive children who, once they develop the rational portion of their brain, will realize the error of their ways. I imagine these people as those who see young people as a resource to

• Work to be taxed to pay for their early retirement -or-
• Fight wars for them -or-
• Both

The comments I really enjoy are the ones that actually respond to the author. I love it when authors say, “libertarians believe in free markets, but the market could never provide X good or create the Y security”. Those usually bring about arguments I have never heard before.

NFL Network

This past Saturday, the NFL Network decided to simulcast its historic matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants as the Patriots became the first team in NFL history to go undefeated in a 16 game regular season. Most sports commentators announced that the NFL had “caved” in its quest to have its network put into most standard cable packages. I disagree. I think it was an excellent marketing maneuver.

Throughout the broadcast, the NFL Network shamelessly plugged itself and pleaded with customers to annoy their cable companies to get the channel. However, it did this to an enormous audience on both NBC and CBS straight into the homes of the viewers that would care. This whole promotion was just another example of the NFL being a marketing dynamo.

Personally, I won’t be calling my cable company. Eight games a year total (and in reality, only two that mattered) isn’t all that attractive to me. My weekly football needs are satisfied on Sundays. I don’t really care for Monday night, Thursday night or Saturday night. The only other feature the channel offers is exclusive coverage of the scouting combine, which is mildly interesting at best. Also, I’m not sure Comcast will really answer my call (I’m not a big fan of compulsory franchise agreements).

UMD Graduation Rates

According to the most recent graduation rate statistics, the University of Maryland (my alma mater) basketball team ranks dead last. Article. Who cares…the ivory tower types who are still disillusioned that college athletes are “student athletes”.

Most basketball players go to big time college basketball schools to learn how to play basketball, not to get a degree. They are learning a trade just as I did when I studied engineering. They practice by lifting weights and training, whereas I practiced by studying and doing homework. They are judged by their statistics and the team’s success, where I was judged by my performance on tests and projects. They study from the best teachers to increase their skills and further their potential just as I did. Just because their trade is not intellectual does not make it inferior or them stupid for pursuing it.

The first finger pointed will assuredly be at head coach Gary Williams. He makes around a million a year, is high profile, and was a former college athlete himself. However, Gary is the head coach on the court, not in the classroom. Academics requires individual effort and determination, that is not Gary’s responsibility and it cannot be. Academic success is the responsibility of each athlete. Any student who does not desire to succeed will not.

I do not believe there is anyone to blame about low graduation rates amongst “student athletes”. They are not important. I want Maryland basketball to win games, thats it. What happens to each athlete while they are there and after they leave (whenever they leave) is up to them.

No Wizard Left Behind

WARNING – POSSIBLE SPOILER

I saw the latest Harry Potter in the theaters last night and really enjoyed it. I thought the plot was great and a real slap in the face of institutionalized schooling. It sent a great message kids to question the bullshit that they have to put up with in school!

The “ministry” (I cringed whenever I heard that word) was becoming paranoid about what was going on at Hogwarts. They sent in one of their lackys (a real bitch) to Hogwarts to whip everything into shape. Her first order of business was not to teach the children anything (she actually admits to this), but to prepare them for pointless standardized tests. (NCLB anyone? They must have forgotten to mention was all the added cost to the muggle parents.)

Eventually the bitch gets in charge and all hell breaks lose. She makes up a whole bunch of bullshit, arbitrary rules, which nobody follows (much to my delight). She knows the students are planning some sort of revolt, but cannot figure it out so she offers “extra credit” to students who rat other students out. This doesn’t work so she resorts to torture to get the information she needs, but eventually the students do revolt and ruin her standardized testing (much to my delight).

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and highly recommend it to children (and sure adults too). I further recommend these same children mimic Harry and question anything and everything any adult tells them. Thank you J.K. Rawling.