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"A Certain Failure" by Richard W. Rahn (Cato Institute: Commentary): "Do you know what the word 'income' means? My large Webster's dictionary is able to provide a clear and comprehensive definition in a mere 52 words. The shortest definition the Internal Revenue Service could provide in response to my request for its definition was 140 words - but the word income was included 10 times, missing the point that you do not include the word to be defined as part of the definition."
"[T]he income-tax code and regulations contain many inconsistent and even contradictory explicit and implicit definitions of the word income, leaving taxpayers both confused and endlessly at risk legally."
"Mr. Cohen, arguably the best tax lawyer of his day, also said he did not understand much of what was in the tax code - at that time a mere 4 million words or so, as contrasted with the more than 7 million words (almost 70,000 pages) in today's code. Last week, I was in a meeting with some of the nation's best and most experienced tax lawyers and tax economists, several of whom had served in the Treasury, and, again, there was the general lament that the tax code is so complex it is beyond their understanding and repair.
Those who claim that the government will be able to get a lot more tax revenue by increasing tax rates on the rich live in a fantasy world. Over the past 40 years, maximum income tax rates have ranged from 28 percent to 70 percent, yet tax revenues as a percentage of gross domestic product have been remarkably constant, ranging from a low of 16.3 to a high of 20.9 percent of gross domestic product."
"People always seem surprised that very rich people such as Warren Buffet, Sens. John Kerry, Edward M. Kennedy and Dianne Feinstein and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pay much smaller effective tax rates than many in the middle class. One should not be shocked; the politically powerful have always protected themselves and their friends."
Monday, May 04, 2009
Obama Breaks Campaign Promise to Sign Abortion Bill Immediately - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com
Obama Breaks Campaign Promise to Sign Abortion Bill Immediately - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com: "On Wednesday, Obama said both sides must recognize abortion is both a moral and an ethical issue, adding that proponents of abortion rights are mistaken when they say abortion is merely 'about women's freedom' without recognizing any other consideration."
A Free Society
Quote Details: Adlai E. Stevenson Jr.: My definition of a... - The Quotations Page: "My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular.
Adlai E. Stevenson Jr."
Adlai E. Stevenson Jr."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Despite Reports, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Not Waterboarded 183 Times - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com
Despite Reports, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Not Waterboarded 183 Times - Presidential Politics | Political News - FOXNews.com:
That sounds so much better.
Do you think that is torture? Is that what you want the U.S. to do?
A U.S. official with knowledge of the interrogation program told FOX News that the much-cited figure represents the number of times water was poured onto Mohammed's face -- not the number of times the CIA applied the simulated-drowning technique on the terror suspect. According to a 2007 Red Cross report, he was subjected a total of 'five sessions of ill-treatment.'
'The water was poured 183 times -- there were 183 pours,' the official explained, adding that 'each pour was a matter of seconds.'
That sounds so much better.
The memos describe the controversial process: a detainee is strapped to a gurney with his head lowered and a cloth placed on his face. Interrogators pour water onto the cloth, which cuts off air flow to the mouth and nostrils, tripping his gag reflex, causing panic and giving him the sensation that he is drowning.
At that point the cloth would be removed, the gurney rotated upright and the detainee would be allowed to breathe. The technique could be repeated a few times during a waterboarding session; Zubaydah said it was generally used once or twice, but he said he was waterboarded three times during one session.
The Justice Department memos described the maximum allowed use of the waterboard on any detainee, based on tactical training given to U.S. troops to resist interrogations:
-- Five days of use in one month, with no more than two "sessions" in a day;
-- Up to six applications (something like a dunk) lasting more than 10 seconds but less than 40 seconds per session;
-- 12 minutes of total "water application" in a 24-hour period
Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is: "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a male or female person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanctions."
Do you think that is torture? Is that what you want the U.S. to do?
WORLD Magazine | On the road again | Marvin Olasky | May 09, 09
WORLD Magazine | On the road again | Marvin Olasky | May 09, 09: "WORLD: What would you do about Iran right now?
HUCKABEE: We need to remember that the Iranian people are not our enemies; the Iranian leadership is not at all indicative of the total attitude. You may have forgotten this, but on the night of Sept. 11, 2001, when there was dancing in the streets in Arab capitals all around the world, in Tehran they lit candles. The Iranian people do not inherently hate Americans. In fact, there is a deep sense of angst within many Iranians because they had a long-time relationship with the American people. With the takeover of radical Islamic factions, the leadership makes Americans think that that is who they are. I have nothing but contempt for Ahmadinejad—and he's the puppet, he's not the power, it's the ayatollah behind him—but there are a lot of Iranians who would like to see something other than what they live under now."
HUCKABEE: We need to remember that the Iranian people are not our enemies; the Iranian leadership is not at all indicative of the total attitude. You may have forgotten this, but on the night of Sept. 11, 2001, when there was dancing in the streets in Arab capitals all around the world, in Tehran they lit candles. The Iranian people do not inherently hate Americans. In fact, there is a deep sense of angst within many Iranians because they had a long-time relationship with the American people. With the takeover of radical Islamic factions, the leadership makes Americans think that that is who they are. I have nothing but contempt for Ahmadinejad—and he's the puppet, he's not the power, it's the ayatollah behind him—but there are a lot of Iranians who would like to see something other than what they live under now."
Monday, April 27, 2009
First 100 Days: Social Policy Takes a Left Turn Under Obama - First 100 Days of Presidency - Politics FOXNews.com
First 100 Days: Social Policy Takes a Left Turn Under Obama - First 100 Days of Presidency - Politics FOXNews.com: "From the conscience clause to stem cell research, President Obama has shifted social policy to the left in his first 100 days in the White House. But the reversal of several of his predecessor's regulations has garnered hardly a whimper -- leaving many to wonder how much social issues matter to Americans amid two wars and an economic crisis."
FOXNews.com - Man Brings Live Hand Grenade to Gun Buyback Event - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
FOXNews.com - Man Brings Live Hand Grenade to Gun Buyback Event - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News: "New York City police were holding a suspect Saturday who they say tried to turn in a live hand grenade to police at a gun-buyback program in the Bronx."
He was following the spirit of the program. They want to get weapons off the street and he was helping. Why arrest him?
He was following the spirit of the program. They want to get weapons off the street and he was helping. Why arrest him?
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Death of XSLT in Web Frameworks | Javalobby
The Death of XSLT in Web Frameworks | Javalobby: "The interesting point is: how the XML-based processing works in practice? The short answer is: very poor. And the weakest link in the whole chain is XSLT."
These are my comments on his 5 problems with XSLT:
1. Conditionals are a pain but are they common enough to be big to be a deal-killer?
2. Creating an extra variable occasionally isn’t a big deal.
3. Can be a pain.
4. Functional programming is different but it is gaining utility if large systems
5. I don't have enough experience with this to comment.
Some quick benefits of XSLT over JSP:
1. Push processing to client.
2. Reduce data sent to client
3. Depending on the data and HTML that needs to be applied, XSLT may be the best fit (just like JSP may be the best fit in other situations).
Some time spent learning the different ways of XSLT may have improved the experience. XSLT doesn't work in all cases (what language does) but I think its a little bit premature to claim it is dead. Not even languages that "nobody uses" like COBOL, assembly, and Fortran are dead.
These are my comments on his 5 problems with XSLT:
1. Conditionals are a pain but are they common enough to be big to be a deal-killer?
2. Creating an extra variable occasionally isn’t a big deal.
3. Can be a pain.
4. Functional programming is different but it is gaining utility if large systems
5. I don't have enough experience with this to comment.
Some quick benefits of XSLT over JSP:
1. Push processing to client.
2. Reduce data sent to client
3. Depending on the data and HTML that needs to be applied, XSLT may be the best fit (just like JSP may be the best fit in other situations).
Some time spent learning the different ways of XSLT may have improved the experience. XSLT doesn't work in all cases (what language does) but I think its a little bit premature to claim it is dead. Not even languages that "nobody uses" like COBOL, assembly, and Fortran are dead.
It's Earth Day so change a light bulb and pat yourself on the back
First I think it is very important to conserve the Earth that God gave us and pass it on in good condition to our children.
But it bothers me when I see people promoting changing a few light-bulbs and commending people for doing that. The reason that it bothers me is because they don't show which actions are most effective (most bang for the buck) and try to promote the most effective methods. It seems that most people just want everyone to do some token action when if they really cared about the environment they would promote the most effective actions.
For example (from Google) an LED light bulb costs about $75 while using 22% of the energy of a regular bulb. Assuming the light is used 3 hours per day after a year that would save 42.7 KWH and 22 pounds of carbon (per PGE). It costs $3.41 per annual pound of carbon saved. Could that $75 have saved more carbon a different way?
$60 could buy 24 CFL bulbs (per Home Depot) and that would save 34 pounds of carbon per year (per PGE). That would cost $1.76 per annual pound of carbon saved. That's twice as effective as the LED bulb.
I'm sure there are more options that are even more effective so those who care should care enough to do the best they can with the resources available.
But it bothers me when I see people promoting changing a few light-bulbs and commending people for doing that. The reason that it bothers me is because they don't show which actions are most effective (most bang for the buck) and try to promote the most effective methods. It seems that most people just want everyone to do some token action when if they really cared about the environment they would promote the most effective actions.
For example (from Google) an LED light bulb costs about $75 while using 22% of the energy of a regular bulb. Assuming the light is used 3 hours per day after a year that would save 42.7 KWH and 22 pounds of carbon (per PGE). It costs $3.41 per annual pound of carbon saved. Could that $75 have saved more carbon a different way?
$60 could buy 24 CFL bulbs (per Home Depot) and that would save 34 pounds of carbon per year (per PGE). That would cost $1.76 per annual pound of carbon saved. That's twice as effective as the LED bulb.
I'm sure there are more options that are even more effective so those who care should care enough to do the best they can with the resources available.
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