lr.com
posted by achilleus @ 1/13/2006 02:27:00 PM
achilles running
January 13, 2006
March 12, 2004
NEW SITE
Along with Seldom Sober, I've transferred my blog to our server at ANhosting, using moveable type as the blog program. Entries will now be categorized & the categories can be viewed independently, as can individual posts & comments.THE URL IS NOW http://www.liverevolt.com/achilles/blog/
Speaking of comments - like Seldom, I can't afford the $12 that HaloScan charges to give you the archive file of comments, so past entries are, sadly, devoid of comments. I will, however, leave my blogspot site up for a while if you want to follow the comments.
Lastly, you'll notice a slightly new look to the template, inspired in part by the features that MT offers.
Enjoy!
(kudos: friend & co-conspirator Seldom Sober)
posted by achilleus @ 3/12/2004 05:27:00 PM
March 10, 2004
funny - and true?
Every day 10 men go to a restaurant for dinner. The bill for all ten always came to $100. Since they didn't all make the same amount of money, the decided that the first four men would pay nothing, the fifth would pay $1, the sixth would pay $3, the seventh $7, the eighth $12, and the ninth $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
The 10 men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20. Now dinner for the 10 only costs $80!"
The first four were unaffected & still ate for free. While they were trying to figure out how to divide up the extra $20, the men realize that $20 divided by 6 is $3.33, but if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal.
The restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same percentage, being sure to give each a break, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so now the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of $59.
Outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20," complained the sixth man, pointing to the tenth, "and he got $7!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"
"That's true," shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up. The next night he didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short! And that, boys, girls and college instructors, is how America's tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes should get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table any more.
The 10 men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20. Now dinner for the 10 only costs $80!"
The first four were unaffected & still ate for free. While they were trying to figure out how to divide up the extra $20, the men realize that $20 divided by 6 is $3.33, but if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal.
The restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same percentage, being sure to give each a break, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so now the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of $59.
Outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20," complained the sixth man, pointing to the tenth, "and he got $7!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"
"That's true," shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up. The next night he didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short! And that, boys, girls and college instructors, is how America's tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes should get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table any more.
Kerry is, of course, the champion of the poor who want to get paid to eat their meals - it's all over the news. In his own words, which lack substance but are still telling:
Restoring Jobs and Rebuilding Our Economy
George W Bush has chosen tax cuts for the wealthy and special favors for the special interests over our economic future. John Kerry’s priority will be middle class families who are working hard to cover the mortgage, pay the high cost of health care, child care and tuition, or just trying to get ahead.
The first thing John Kerry will do is fight his heart out to bring back the three million jobs that have been lost under George W. Bush. He will fight to restore the jobs lost under Bush in the first 500 days of his administration. Kerry has proposed creating jobs through a new manufacturing jobs credit, by investing in new energy industries, restoring technology, and stopping layoffs in education.
John Kerry has a plan to secure America’s economic future and ensure that workers can achieve the American dream in our changing economy. John Kerry has the courage to roll back Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so we can invest in education and healthcare. He isn’t afraid to crack down on corporations that are hiding their money in Bermuda to avoid paying their fair share and will end special tax giveaways to companies that ship jobs abroad. And he will defend the rights of workers, consumers and shareholders in holding corporations accountable for their actions.
JohnKerry.com
George W Bush has chosen tax cuts for the wealthy and special favors for the special interests over our economic future. John Kerry’s priority will be middle class families who are working hard to cover the mortgage, pay the high cost of health care, child care and tuition, or just trying to get ahead.
The first thing John Kerry will do is fight his heart out to bring back the three million jobs that have been lost under George W. Bush. He will fight to restore the jobs lost under Bush in the first 500 days of his administration. Kerry has proposed creating jobs through a new manufacturing jobs credit, by investing in new energy industries, restoring technology, and stopping layoffs in education.
John Kerry has a plan to secure America’s economic future and ensure that workers can achieve the American dream in our changing economy. John Kerry has the courage to roll back Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so we can invest in education and healthcare. He isn’t afraid to crack down on corporations that are hiding their money in Bermuda to avoid paying their fair share and will end special tax giveaways to companies that ship jobs abroad. And he will defend the rights of workers, consumers and shareholders in holding corporations accountable for their actions.
JohnKerry.com
So... the solution is to penalize the wealthy who contribute to the health of the nation (it is patently false that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. In fact, in America, as the rich get richer, so do the poor. Witness the ever-increasing standard of living in the US.), to intimately involve the government in the free economy by essentially paying companies to hire people (which is an artifical way of bringing economic health to the nation), and to expose companies that look for ways to protect themselves from the penalties of sucess? It's a typically Democratic solution - and typically insane.
(Resource: Kerry's personal finances)
posted by achilleus @ 3/10/2004 09:34:00 AM
March 09, 2004
ever watchful
Anti-Kerry ResourcesThe Arrogant Politician
Kerry in Wartime
Waffling Kerry: a Record
No John Kerry.org
Kerry the Anti-American
Commentary on Liberal Media
Kerry Doesn't Vote
(kudos: AntiJohnKerryBlog)
post edit
(kudos to the Dictionary of UK slang. Also, hello to Anna on this one.)
"A bunny-hugging, daisy-chaining, window-licking Democratic baboon who is all but dead from the neck up, Kerry is nothing more than a sopping drip who ought to stop dropping anchor in poo-bay with his ultra-leftist fat-heads and get to the business of shutting his yapper. He's got a face like the back end of a bus, the attitude of a jumped-up gold-digger, and the intelligence of a turkey. Take him away in the meat-wagon, folks; Kerry's kooked."
posted by achilleus @ 3/09/2004 04:01:00 PM
March 08, 2004
the best-laid plans of mice and men...
Come to nothing?40m bachelors and no women ... the birth of a new problem for China
Justin McCurry and Rebecca Allison
Tuesday March 9, 2004
The Guardian
China, the most populous nation on Earth, could find itself dealing with the combined frustrations of as many as 40 million single men by 2020 because its one-child policy is creating a shortage of female babies.
In an unusually frank speech on China's looming demographic crisis, Li Weixiong, who advises the country's political consultative conference on population issues, said a cultural preference for boys was creating an artificial disparity between the number of boys and girls that represents "a serious threat to building a well-off society".
Mr Li said the dearth of women would lead to a dramatic rise in prostitution and the trafficking of women. "This is by no means a sensational prediction," he said.
Full Article at The Guardian.
Justin McCurry and Rebecca Allison
Tuesday March 9, 2004
The Guardian
China, the most populous nation on Earth, could find itself dealing with the combined frustrations of as many as 40 million single men by 2020 because its one-child policy is creating a shortage of female babies.
In an unusually frank speech on China's looming demographic crisis, Li Weixiong, who advises the country's political consultative conference on population issues, said a cultural preference for boys was creating an artificial disparity between the number of boys and girls that represents "a serious threat to building a well-off society".
Mr Li said the dearth of women would lead to a dramatic rise in prostitution and the trafficking of women. "This is by no means a sensational prediction," he said.
Full Article at The Guardian.
posted by achilleus @ 3/08/2004 07:55:00 PM
