On last month's Fix;
the answer to last month's Fix,
"Given that the current minimum wage is nearly unlivable, what should be done about it?"is
If $4.35/hour is not enough to live on, how about $7.00/hour, or $15.00 or hell why not guarantee every working person at least $100k/year. "Ah c'mon Steve, you're being rediculous." Am I? There is a great deal of envy and rage out there directed at baseball players and owners. Many think that professional athletes, corporate CEO's and performers make too make too much money and would suggest that "someone" should put a stop to it. That someone always turns out to be the govt. Some of you may recall that in 1990 a tax change was passed which eliminated tax deductions to corporations that paid over $1 Million in salary to their CEOs. Some in Congress are suggesting that the Congress itself should actually pass salary caps on baseball players. And it was only last year, in the throws of its hubris, that the Dem controlled House was suggesting capitation of medical fees as part of the Clinton Health Care Plan.
What is the common thread? Equality of outcome. If, liberals argue, we can't make everyone elses wages come down, we'll legislate higher wages for the poor. Some, such as Sen. Biden (Dem.) have even suggested tying the minimum wage to inflation. What a wonderful idea. I wonder if anyone has explained the term "positive feedback" to the Sen. But no. Spiraling inflation, more unemployment, an increasingly hostile small business environment, none of this matters compared to the naked truth. Some people are smarter, or more athletic or better looking, and that is simply not fair. Thus we will legislate equality of income by capping the top, increasing the minimum and using a "progressive" tax system. We will legislate opportunity through Affirmitive Action. We will legislate "fairness" by making discriminating for excellence illegal.
On the Balanced Budget Amendment;
In the mid 1980s, at the end of Reagan's first term, there was this little thing called Gramm-Rudman that was passed by the House. This was a law which required the House to provide a balanced budget every year, unless an emergency required deficit spending. If the House failed to provide said balance, automatic across-the-board cuts were to go into effect to bring the budget into the black. Since the budget has yet to be balanced, we must conclude that the U.S. has been in a constant state of emergency since 1985. This is probably not too far from the truth.
Tomorrow (March 2), the Senate will vote on the Balanced Budget Amend. This bit of legaleese is somewhat unique. As currently written, it roughly says,
"... the House shall produce a balanced budget each year, unless by a 3/5 vote of the House, this disablity shall be removed. The Supreme Court shall have no power over this amendment."
This is sort of like saying,
"The right to Free Speech shall not be abridged, unless the Congress feels that it should, and the Supreme Court can't find this unConstitutional."
What more can one say?
On the Post Mortem;
Well, the Balanced Budget Amend failed on Thursday March 2. When it became clear that it would fail, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (Rep. Kansas) also voted against it. He did this because an obsure procedural rule allows anyone who voted on the winning side of defeated legislation to do a recall vote at any later time. Expect Pres. candidate Dole to call this vote about 2 months before the '96 Presidential election.
The reasons given by Dems. for defeating this are interesting. They claim that evil Reps. would gut the Social Security surplus fund to pay down the debt, neglecting to mention that the '93 Clinton/Dem budget increased taxes on Soc Sec checks. Dems also failed to mention that in exchange for the votes of two N. Dakota Dem Senators, Dole promised to include a clause that would keep Soc. Sec. off the block. However, after that concession was given, the N. Dakota senators renegged anyway. Meanwhile, the Clintons went on a photo-op with school children to point out that evil Reps. would gut the Federal school lunch program, thus leading to the starvation of thousands of disadvantaged kids. What the main media didn't point out on the evening news was that while Dems wanted to increase the program by 3.5%, the Reps would have increased it 4.5%. Which number is bigger?
In any case, the language of the amendment was a tortured morass of loopholes and exceptions. It would probably serve the nation better if a cleaner version were written. But the real story, of course, is that Congress once again denied the states (and the people) a say in their governance. After all, if the BBA had passed Congress, it still would have required a 3/4 vote of the state legislatures to become an amendment. With 17 Dem and 18 Rep controlled state legislatures (with the remainder split), it is by no means clear that the BBA would have been ratified. Yet, the fact that it will not even be given the chance is another telling example of the dynasty mentality that prevails in D.C.
On America's Grad Schools;
FYI, I'm reproducing the rankings from the March 20 US News and World Report for those schools (and majors) near to our hearts.
Law Bus Med Eng Econ PolSci Soc
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cornell 14 14 9 6 15 14 19
Harvard 2 4 1 22 1 1 6
Johns Hop nl nl 2 27 21 22 17
MIT nl 1 nl 1 1 8
Yale 1 14 3 44 6 6 23
Stanford 3 3 12 4 1 3 8
U of Chic. 4 7 18 nl 1 5 1
Northwestern 11 5 nl 13 8 20 8
Mich State >50 35 28 40 nl 25 nl
Mich AA 8 11 10 8 10 2 3
U of WI 23 39 nl 12 12 9 1
U of IUC 20 32 nl 3 23 22 21
UC Berk 8 10 nl 2 6 3 3
Mayo nl nl 22 nl nl nl nl
Emery 25 23 23 nl nl nl nl
Notes: nl means Not Listed. Either the school does not have a program in
this area, or it is ranked below the survey cutoff.
On the Pursuit of Truth;
A few years back, a couple of guys named Pons and Fleischman stunned the world with the announcement that they had perfected cold fusion. The reason they gave for bypassing the more traditional route of publication in refereed journals was that their discovery was just too important to be delayed by even a year. As an ode to this pair, this month's APS News reprinted an article which first appeared in The Annals of Improbable Research (AIR).
TABLETOP FUSION Abstract: The authors attempted to achieve table top fusion at room temperature (23 deg C). They suceeded. Materials: a) Two pasteboard table tops. b) A mixture composed of flour, water and palladium grounds. c) Tritium, in trace amounts. Method: The authors sprayed atomized paste between the two tabletops. The tabletops were then brought into close contact. Pressure was then applied to the non-contact surfaces. The tritium was stored at a separate storage facility and was observed continuously during the experiment. Results: Tabletop fusion occured. Trace amounts of tritium were observed at the storage facility. Discussion: The experiment has been repeated with the same results. Full details of the experiment will be published upon completion of routine administrative procedures and full patent registration. Acknowledgement: We wish to thank the many members of the press without whose guidence we would not have been able to achieve these results.
To subscribe to AIR, send the message
subscribe mini-air your_name
to
listserv@mitvma.mit.edu
Molly Ivans theory about the last election is as good as any I've heard so far. The Texas journalist says the outcome was due to white male anger over no World Series. But in my part of the rural inland West, where we have only one major league team, the election was deemed to be a vote against wolf reintroduction and grazing reform.
At the November meeting of what I affectionately call the "wise use group" - a gathering of good old boy county commisioners, loggers, miners and ranchers - I was asked gleefully, "How did you like the election?"
I belong to this group to keep an eye on the other guys, but also for spiritual reasons. I've learned that the loggers, ranchers and county commissioners that we environmentalists come up against are foes, not enemies implacably hostile to us and the earth. I learn that we are all loyal to where we live and to modest, low key lives. This sense of shared values lets me continue to fight without falling victim to despair.
My group is a product of the political changes of the past few years and held together by a desire to seek solutions. To me, it's one of the many signs that the West's old bullying ways are begining to die.
Until recently, our county comissioners had only to clear their throats and officials at the local national forest office would scurry to prepare timber sales and cut new roads. No longer. Even when the comissioners stomp their feet, the goodies don't flow out of the forests. But neither do solutions. Instead, the wars of Wash. D.C. are fought out here in the surrounding public lands.
When my group asked how I liked the election, I told them that George Bush really had been an environmental president. During his tenure, the making and testing of nuclear bombs stopped, the flows out of the Glen Canyon dam were tamed, the $1 billion Two Forks dam outside Denver was vetoed (along with all other dams), California's central valley project was reformed, and the logging of old growth forest was stopped.
As Bush taught my fellow group members, and as Clinton is teaching me, Wash. D.C. isn't everything. No matter who sits in Wash., the rancher in my group will keep trying to make cattle grazing compatible with wilderness. And the logger will keep reading stories of the pre-Anglo forest, searching for ways that her firm can both cut trees and re-create that lost forest.
But I've learned from 20 years in a small town that it doesn't help to demonize those whose livelihood depends on the West's public lands. "Livestock Free by '93", was translated by most ranchers as "Rancher Free by '93." It was a prime example of what not to do. And it doesn't help to tell rural people that they should pour cappucino or make Nike shoes instead of cutting trees or grazing cows. Campaigns against people alienate westerners and confuse potential allies who hear us say we care about wildlife while we write off comunities.
My part of the country needs to care for its heritage of public lands. To do this it needs help from around the nation. But unless that help is given in a humane context, it will hurt more than help.
Ed: Note how this guy spends the first 3 paragraphs insulting his neighbors, then ends up saying how he only wants to help them. What arrogance.
>From bsteiner@beaumont.edu Mon Mar 13 09:17:44 1995 I attached a small file from Time Mag Online (AOL) about new money making opportunities (read lawsuits). It should be in one of the many flavors of ASCII format. Let me know if it is readable. Bruce W. Steinert, Ph.D. Department of Urology William Beaumont Hospital ################ CHRONICLES Last Call at the Bar The House of Representatives last week passed a series of legal- reform bills intended to discourage frivolous lawsuits, of which there is alleged to be a glut. Below: some civil suits that were being filed even as the House went about its work. -- The brother of a man who was stabbed to death in front of a New York City McDonald's -- the suspect is the restaurant's manager -- has sued the fast-food chain for $116 million. -- A black man in Omaha, Nebraska, has filed a $40 million suit against the makers of a Compton's Encyclopedia CD-ROM. The man claims he and his children suffered emotional distress when, during a search, he accidentally typed in the word nigger -- instead of Niger -- and the program called up several references. -- A woman has filed a complaint against the managers of a ''Treasures of the Czars'' exhibit in St. Petersburg, Florida, demanding they hand over to her a Faberge egg. The woman claims to be a long- lost granddaughter of the last Russian Czar. Sources: New York Post; AP; St. Petersburg Times Copyright 1995 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
2. Our man in San Diego, Rich Tripoli, pens
March 8, 1995 Steve: Not a heck of a lot on the political front. I am watching quite sharply all the talk on affirmative action. You've probably heard of the California Civil Rights Initiative. I spoke to the assemblyman who authored the bill. He sent me a copy of the bill for review. Fortunetly, this issue has very strong support and is expected to pass. The time has cone to abolish govt. mandated discrimination under the guise of names like affirmitive action, diversity (racial and gender quotas), equal oppurtunity, etc. and come up with a real and fair solution to this country's racial problems. Everytime the govt. comes out with some new program with a pretty name it usually ends up being chocolate covered garbage. Just like George Stephanopulous refering to taxes as "contributions." How stupid do these people think we are? On the national front I also hear talk on affimative action. I'm glad this is finally becoming an issue. Regardless of what Clinton says, it would not have been an issue if not for Nov. 8, 1994. Rich
Ed. Note: If you know how I can get an electronic copy of the bill, I'm sure the readers would like to see just how 'hateful' its language is. Otherwise, you could just mail me a photocopy of the juicy parts. And the govt. has to call taxes voluntary (just take a close look at the language on the 1'st few pages in the 1040 book). If they admitted that taxes are paid under duress, that would constitute 'involuntary servitude' which was made illegal in the 13'th or 14'th Amendment (I forget which) which banned slavery. And we must be pretty stupid, given an incumbant reelection rate of over 80%.
On a personal note, Mark Young is back up here.
3. Rafe Donahue writes from Kansas
>From usmar7d7@ibmmail.com Mon Mar 20 09:17:39 1995 Steve, I spoke to Par the other day and he mentioned that the new tax law has something in it that you must withhold for 1995 110% of what was paid for 1994 when it comes to Federal Income Tax. If you fail to do so, you will be subject to some sort of fine, of course. Any truth to this as far as you know? Either they are expecting huge increases in tax loads or they plan to get larger interest-free loans from us for most of 1995... That is all. Rafe
Ed Note: From page 33 of the 1040 booklet
"Caution: If your 1993 adjusted gross income was over $150K, item 2 above applies only if your total from lines 54, 55 and 58 of your 1994 return is at least 110% of your 1993 tax liability."
I think this means that if, at the end of the year, you owe over $500, and you did not pay at least 10% more in taxes this year than last, you may be subject to a fine.
4. Someone who wishes to remain anonymous forwarded the next two notes to me. The motivation for this was last year's witch hunt by the Clinton Admin. to find evidence of deadly radiation experiments, comitted by evil scientists, on unknowing citizens during the 50's and 60's.
From: Captain Internal Dosimetry
re: The Radiation Dose from a "Reference Banana."
Some time ago (when I almost had time to do such things) I calculated the
dose one receives from the average banana. Here's how it goes:
On page 620 of the CRD Handbook on Rad Measurement and Protection, the
concentration of K-40 in a "Reference Banana" is listed as 3520 picocuries
perkilogram of banana. For those of us who are stuck in certain unit ruts,
this is equivalent to 3.52E-6 microcuries of K-40 per gram of banana.
An average "Reference" banana weighs (masses) about 150 grams (I think.) So,
the ICRP Reference Banana contains about 5.28E-4 microcuries of probably
deadly K-40.
Federal Guidance Report #11 lists the ingestion dose (committed effective
dose equivalent) for K-40 as 5.02E-9 Sv/Bq or (again, for those of us who
are "unit-challenged," 1.86E-2 rem per microcurie ingested.)
Thus, the CEDE from ingestion of a Reference Banana is 5.28E-4 x 1.86E-2 =
9.82E-6 rem or about 0.01 millirem.
I have found this "Banana Equivalent Dose" very useful in attempting to
explain infinitesmal doses (and corresponding infinitesmal risks) to members
of the public. (Interestingly, the anti-nukes just HATE this, and severely
critisize us for using such a deceptive concept.)
Would love to go into more detail, but have to get back to our DEADLY Human
Radiation Experiments (i.e., eating bananas.)
The same table in the CRC Handbook lists 3400 pCi/kg for white potatoes and
4450 pCi/kg for sweet potatoes - so you could carry through the same sort of
calculation for Reference Potatoes. Interestingly, raw lima beans come in at
4640 pCi/kg, "dry, sweet" coconut comes in at 6400 pCi/kg, and raw spinach
(yum!) comes in at 6500 pCi/kg.
Considering the fact that the DOE has officially stated that "there is no
safe dose of radiation" my advice to you all is to stop eating immediately.
Oh yes! Almost forgot. Regarding K-40, go into your local grocery store,
buy some salt-substitute (there are two common brands, and the one in the
white and orange labeled container works best) spread some out on a table and
check it out with a GM survey instrument. There it is folks, deadly
radioactivity in your grocery store!
Yours for healthful diets . . .
Captain Internal Dosimetry
aka Gary Mansfield, LLNL, (mansfield2@llnl.gov)
Disclaimer:
Neither Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of California,
nor the Department of Energy recommends eating bananas.
From: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu on 13 Mar 1995 13:38
Subject: Worse than bananas
Recent RADSAFE emails suggest a considerable concern about radiation
exposure from bananas. While I limit my banana intake to servings of
banana (brazil?) nut bread, there is a more serious source of K-40
radiation poisoning.
According to UNSCEAR (1988) the annual effective dose equivalent from
the body's K-40 is an estimated 180 uSv (18 mrem). Now, in the case
where two people share the same bed for 8 hrs/day, and assuming a
geometry factor of 0.16 (this is probably subject to considerable
variation; I don't want to discuss it), then each person would receive
an additional annual radiation dose of approximately 10 uSv (1 mrem)
from the other person's K-40. This does not take into account any
backscatter from a slab floor (a NORM problem itself!).
There are at least 60 million married couples in the U.S. that I will
assume sleep together (you can supplement the number if you wish).
This results in a U.S population exposure of at least 1200 PYSv
(120,000 man-rem per year). (PC hawks - I'm using the dictionary's
first definition of 'man'.)
Using 8,000 man-rems per lethal cancer (Wilson and Crouch, Science 236,
1987, pp. 267-270), the sleeping together radiation dose equivalent
(STRDE) results in an estimated average of 15 deaths in the U.S per
year. ^^^^^^^^^
However, I don't think a lead-lined teddy will ever become popular.
Richard G. Strickert, Ph.D. | "Absolutum obsoletum -
Radian Corporation, Austin, TX | if it works, it's out of date."
Internet:rick_strickert@radian.com | - Stafford Beer
---> "All written IMHO." <--- |
5. Texas Tom writes
>From ApogeeTom@aol.com Wed Mar 22 11:20:27 1995 > "Given that the minimum wage is unlivable, what should be done about it?" Three possibilities: 1. Raise the minimum wage 2. Lower the cost of living 3. Soylent Green Tom
Ed: You left out the Chineese solution, enforced birth control.
6. The Devil in the Deep Blue Sea, Mike Grimm writes;
>From jackryan@ix.netcom.com Tue Mar 28 00:45:17 1995
Steve:
Greetings from the Left Coast. This will be my last shorebound
contribution to your rag. After April 11, I will be at sea for 6 months
on the USS Abe Lincoln. And my Internet/E-mail address changes to:
jackryan@netcom.com
not the old jackryan@ix.netcom.com.
FIRST-CLASS mail, to
Dr. Jerry Michael Grimm
COMCARGRU 3
USS Abraham Lincoln
FPO AP 96612-2872
This is the only way stuff will get to me on a timely fashion.
I will hopefully be reachable via E-mail on the NETCOM gateway. If
not, try me at
grimmj@cna.org
I'll have someone once a week check that address even if I can't. To
get in touch with me reasonably quickly, like within a business day or
two, call
703-824-2658, the CNA field office
Ask for Stacy Neuberger or Janice Hernandez, mention who you are and
why you need to get in touch with me. They'll work it from there.
%%%%%%
Humorous anecdote it's not, but here it is.....
Three USS Eisenhower (CVN-71) crew members received non-judicial
punishment (that is, not a courts-martial) and were removed from the
ship in connection with a case of sexual misconduct. Action was taken
within hours of the command's learning that two sailors - a male E-2 and
female E-1 - had engaged in CONSENSUAL sexual relations in an isolated
space abourard the Eisenhowere. A superior officer (Warrant Officer) in
their chain-of-command was held accountable for failure to take proper
action upon learning about this incident.
The misconduct was discovered and reported when the male sailor
involved attempted to show a video of the event, taken by him with a
privately-owned video camera, to friends in his work center. Another
enlisted member of the crew saw the video, recognized the inappropriate
content, and reported the observation.
The male E-2 and female E-1 were found guilty of willfully
disobeying a lawful order from the Commanding Officer, and Adultery.
They were each awarded 45 day restriction, 45 days extra duty, reduction
in rate to E-1 (which since she was an E-1, nothing happened) and
forfeiture of $427 pay per month for two months. The Warrant OFficer
was hauled to Captain's Mast, found negligent in his duty, and was
awarded 30 days restriction and a punitive letter of reprimand.
There is a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct of any
sort on the USS Eisenhower. It is briefed regularly to the entire crew
of the Eisenhower and each crewmember signs a document confirming their
full understanding of this policy.
My comments.....
First, on the Ike, and any Navy ships, no one may have sexual
relations, period! On Lincoln, if a "romance" develops, one of the
couple must change commands and transfer off ship. It is the same for
the Ike. But I know sex happens all the time on the ships; the Navy is
fooling if it thinks it can keep that from happening.
The guy was stupid in showing the video -dumb, dumb, dumb. Then
again, this was an E-2, probably no older than 20, if that. Let alone
our lady E-1. Fooling kids. The Warrant officer knew better, and was
punished for not reporting that this went on -- I bet he was reviewing
that video to decide what to do..... And that punishment, 30 days
restriction, for a carrier in the Med, means the warrant officer will
not get a port call. And since Warrants are former enlisted, this is a
big punishment. And the punitve letter of reprimand effectively ends
his Navy career.
Isn't the new, gender-integrated Navy fun? Much more so than
when you had to worry about needing "soap-on-a-rope".....;-).
> And please include your response to last month's survey.
>
> "Given that the minimum wage is unlivable, what should be done about
it?"
>
Good question. I've no answer for it. But I do have a comment about
your Misery index bit 2 months ago. I see that your numbers about it
being higher after Clinton took office are dominated by the "highest tax
bracket rate", since all the other numbers are close. Given that it
will be a long while before I hit that 48% rate, why not re-compute the
index with the tax rate that you or I would pay, like 28%. While your
point may still be made, it will not be made as strongly.
All my best,
Mike Grimm
Ed: You and I will be paying a 33% rate I think, and since I started the comparison using the top marginal, it would be slanting the results to change my method now.
Opening sentence of a front page story from the March 21 Wall Street J. concerning the drop of the dollar.
ED Note: The eminent domain arguments do not apply since the DNR did not offer Poitner fair market value for his property.
2. March 15, NPR: Dem. State Representitive Skip Finn has introduced a bill, upon the urging of an 18 year old female high school student, to eliminate the word "squaw" from state geographical features. Gone will be Squaw Lake, Squaw River and Squaw Valley. It appears that the word "squaw" is offensive to women.
Ed: I wonder if Wench Lake would go over better?
3. March 15, St. Paul: The attorney for a man who is on trial for drunk driving is demanding that the charges against his client be dropped on the grounds that a conviction would violate the state Constitutional prohibition against being punished twice for the same offense. It has long been the practice in MN for a DWI suspect to have their license revoked before trial. The attorney argues that this already constitutes punishment. Thus, a guilty judgement (with fines and time served) would be a second punishment for the same offense. The State's prosecutor could not be reached for comment.
4. March 13, Lakeside County: There is a move afoot to abolish townships as a governing body in the state. Proponents say this would streamline govt. administration and services by leaving everything to the counties or cities. Opponents argue this would facillitate cities grabbing even more tax revenue by trying to grab the surrounding countryside thus heating up inter-city rivalry.
5. Rochester, March 15: Flesh eating bacteria are running amok!
>From Communications-Division@mayo.EDU Wed Mar 15 17:28:23 1995 Following is a brief summary of a breaking news item for Mayo Staff: PHYSICIAN ALERT: OUTBREAK OF INVASIVE GROUP A STREPTOCOCCAL There has been an outbreak of invasive group A streptococcal infections in Southeastern Minnesota. Since January 1995, eight cases of invasive group A streptococcal disease have been identified in residents of Southeastern Minnesota. Six of these cases were caused by the same strain. Four people have died. The median age of the six cases was 65 years (range 40 to 83 years); all were male. Four resided in Wanamingo, Minn., and two resided in Rochester, Minn. Five of the cases had underlying medical conditions which predisposed them to invasive bacterial disease.
Ed: And this is from a group that Clinton was trying to help.
"What's the big deal? They only did what the state does with Lotto,
except the state isn't getting its cut."
