Stages of Grief and Obama

With Obama and the monstrosity of his government programs, the systematic destruction of our economy and the loss of hope as we know it, I find myself going through the five stages of grief:

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

And I am now pretty much gotten to the acceptance stage. The country is getting debt it can never service, government intervention that will destroy lives, and taxes that will permanently stunt growth. We are at a permanent downturn because of Obama, and I am okay with that now. America elected him, it will have to live with the consequences.

Prediction: Power Couples Seek Divorce

Now that that it is common for women to be entering the executive ranks, the government wants to penalize them - if they are married to someone of the same stature. According to the WSJ:

The (health care tax) bill would place a 5.4% surtax on individuals and families with annual gross income exceeding $1 million. Individuals and families with annual income between $350,000 and $500,000 would face a 1% surtax, and those making between $500,000 and $1 million a year would be hit with a 1.5% surtax.

Those surtaxes for the last two categories would jump to 2% and 3% by 2013,

So if one individual makes $350K, they get socked, but if two married people each make $175K they get hit.

This doesn't count the other Obama tax increases and deduction limitations which hit individuals AND families starting at barely over $150K. Even two middle managers each making $80K will find it much cheaper to stay single than pay the ever increasing marriage penalty.

Pictures for Non-Beings

Look at this "picture" for a moment. It is absolutely meaningless to a human - a random array of bits and dots. But when viewed by a machine, this picture has meaning. In this case data about a Microsoft product.

It is forecasted that in the next few years there will be more cameras built for computers than built for humans. For humans, cameras are for capturing, transmitting and storing images. For computers an "image" is rarely created. The data goes straight into the machine for interpretation, and a "picture" - or something that can be interpreted by a human - is rarely created.

Think back - if you had told George Eastman 100 years ago that the future is in building cameras for non-humans he would have thought you were crazy. But if you look how Kodak has done lately it looks like they should have worked a little crazy into the business model.

Definition of the Day

Environmentalist: Someone who spends other people's money on programs that do absolutely nothing to help the planet but make themselves feel better.

Because Some Americans Want To Blame Others For Being Fat

Food is cheap and plentiful. And apparently this is a bad thing that needs to end now:

The nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.

The livelihood of the American farmer? Farmers, after unions, are the most coddled group in Washington, getting billions in payouts, price supports, ethanol mandates and import restrictions. And a "few corporations" don't elect dozens of representatives and senators that keep the gravy train going, it's the farmers.

We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli--the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.

73,000 people getting sick sounds like a big number (and I question the number), but it's really minuscule in a country where 300 million people eat nearly a billion meals and snacks every single day. Plus there is no such thing as risk-free anything, including eating. Eating, just like any other activity, will always carry risks which will never go to zero (which is why I still eat sushi despite the risk of cholera and other raw-food diseases. So what?)

We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes

And we get to crux of the issue. The people who did this documentary look at themselves in the mirror, see fat slobs looking back at them, and figure there is someone else to blame. Or Mom looks at junior, sees the fat rolls, but instead of telling him to get his ass outside, lets him do another hour of Xbox with a bowl of chips in front of him.

It's not their fault, you see, because food companies have made food addictive (I'm not kidding, I saw a run-up to this documentary on PBS). Now I don't dispute that most of the crap out there is bad for you, but this is a free country and people get to make their own choices. I do not eat at McDonalds, ever. I find their food disgusting. But that is my choice and millions of people disagree with me.

But by going after the companies that provide the choices, makers of the documentary let the people making the decisions - and personal responsibility - off the hook. It's yet another example of nanny state fascism that is the rage these days.

The Problem is Not Too Little Stimulus, It's Too Much Government

Amid talk of a "second stimulus package" (it would in fact be the third), it doesn't seem to dawn on anyone that it's the anti-business rhetoric, stances and regulations coming of Washington in that are creating more drag than any sort of stimulus could cure.

We have a situation where the people who hate business the most are in control of government, right when business needs the most support. Because the government doesn't create jobs, businesses do. And until businesses start to hire, unemployment isn't going to go down.

So while unemployment is skyrocketing we have a new energy tax passing the house, the promise of some beast of a health care plan encumbering businesses even more, increased taxes, and a array of new rules and regulations being issued almost daily. The rule of law is trumped for political favoritism, and the government is sinking money in money-losing industries and companies, propping up the losers at the expense of the winners. And in light of all these new burdens, businesses are just supposed to go out and hire more people? Why bother?

And why do the democrats think that getting consumers to buy a little more will help the U.S. economy? If consumer spending goes up a few percent all it means is that a few hundred more shipping containers arrive in ports on the West Coast from China and the lines get a little longer at Wallmart. All it does is put more money in the hands of the Chinese and maybe causes Wallmart to hire a few checkers. This is supposed to cure the economy's ills?

The wheels are coming off the car and the democrats in Washington are steering it towards a cliff.

Because I Was Too Drunk to Post Yesterday

Happy July 5th!

In all seriousness when the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence I doubt they imagined the occasion would become a giant excuse to drink and party. But I do bet that Jefferson et. al. quaffed a few down at the local pub afterwords.

Something to Think About As You Get On That Flight For the Fourth Weekend

Air France Flight 447 plunged vertically into the Atlantic Ocean intact at a very high speed...The plane seems to have hit the surface of the water on its flight trajectory with a strong vertical acceleration...life vests found among the wreckage were not inflated, suggesting the passengers were not prepared for a crash landing in the water

So basically the plane just fell like a brick out of the sky.

What Was Your Worst Job Ever?

Instapundit asks. I answer.

My sophomore year in college I decided I needed some extra Christmas money and signed up to work at a Honey Baked Ham store between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Let's just say that if everyone knew what happened to a Honeybaked Ham by the time it made it to the table no one would eat them. In fact, I still won't eat them.