There are those who believe abortion is murder and those who don't. I don't, but then I can tell a clump of cells from a kid; other's didn't pay attention is science class. Granting them sincerity (and overlooking the fact that the Bible indicates a child isn't alive until it draws its first breath), but finding it distasteful that the want me to pay for someone else to have sex while sticking me with the bill for the kid for 18 years, I propose a fairer solution.
Lets buy and sell kids on an exchange.
Here's how it would work. You can invest by buy a certificate for a kid. Your "investment" goes to the mom and the medical care and you can to pay for the kid until someone buys (adopts) him at market price or until he graduates from 2 years of college. You don't get to pick the kid, but we'll have mutual funds that allow you to invest in certain types of kids just so you can say that you have "gone long in white males."
People and institutions who believe abortion is wrong can invest and never expect a return. I could invest and hope to make a quick buck now that I'm flipping burgers rather than houses.
Either way - I'm not paying to force someone to have a kid they can't support. And those who believe in something have a legitimate way to influence the process without forcing a woman into a form of slavery. And the kid gets a life with a partial college education. Everyone wins.
Of course it sounds horrible to buy and sell kids. And it is. But its better than killing them off or forcing them into a life of poverty and suffering for someone elses beliefs.
Best of all - I don't have to pay the freight on someone else's religion.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A solution to the stem cell restrictions
Here's an idea. Rather than force your (moronic) views on stem cells upon me, let's compromise. Require the clear labeling of all fruits of stem cell research using embryonic cells. This way you can choose to suffer and die painfully for your beliefs and I can live a long and healthy life.
On a related note:
A Call for a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology
Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy.
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT SCIENCE DEBATE 2008
On a related note:
A Call for a Presidential Debate on Science and Technology
Given the many urgent scientific and technological challenges facing America and the rest of the world, the increasing need for accurate scientific information in political decision making, and the vital role scientific innovation plays in spurring economic growth and competitiveness, we call for a public debate in which the U.S. presidential candidates share their views on the issues of The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy.
CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT SCIENCE DEBATE 2008
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Ahhh...
The voices in my head are much quieter now. So now I can enjoy listing to http://www.siobhandonaghy.co.uk/index.php in peace. Halcyon Days is highly recommended! I swear I hear the theme to House (the series with the wonderful actor Hugh Laurie) sampled in it...
An energy plan that isn't just tax breaks for polluters
I'm not endorsing it or anything, but this is a start
In a new policy report entitled A Progressive Energy Platform, the Progressive Policy Institute offers a plan to address America's two distinct energy needs: fuel for transportation and power to generate electricity.
From http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=116&subsecID=155&contentID=254058
A small, timid start, but better than leaving your head in the sands of Iraq or stuck up your arse. Yes, I'm talking about W and Dickhead.
In a new policy report entitled A Progressive Energy Platform, the Progressive Policy Institute offers a plan to address America's two distinct energy needs: fuel for transportation and power to generate electricity.
From http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=116&subsecID=155&contentID=254058
A small, timid start, but better than leaving your head in the sands of Iraq or stuck up your arse. Yes, I'm talking about W and Dickhead.
Sobering Energy Facts from MIT
This statement from a MIT lecture (from http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/414/) really caught my attention:
Right now humans globally require 13 trillion watts (or terawatts) of power. By 2050, we’ll need 28 terawatts. Nocera pokes holes in some hypothetical scenarios offered to achieve this objective. If you gave over every square inch of cropland on the face of the earth to biomass production, you’d only get 7 additional terawatts. Plus, “you couldn't eat anymore.” You’d still need to add 8,000 nuclear power plants, by building a new plant every 1.6 days for the next 45 years; put wind turbines everywhere; and dam every available river, to approach the 28 terawatt goal.
Uh-Oh.
If we don’t find a technological solution soon - including better use of scare resources, there will be a natural solution as systems fail: starvation, disease, war and a couple of other horsemen for bad measure. I’m not overstating the matter - as energy fails to support transportation and distribution system, food fails to get to people, they fight over scarce resources (using up the remaining resources in the process), and civilization collapses to 1920’s capabilities.
I’m not a survivalist - I’m just a middle aged guy whose life depends on a steady supply of medicines. I don’t want to believe this either, but its a real possibility. And we can’t burn enough coal (forget clean coal) to generate enough electricity that hybrid cars save us.
This is what happens when dumb shit leaders don’t deal with reality and ignore science. The only small satifaction is they will be as dead as me - either for the same reason or the hopefully inevitable lynching.
Or so I hope.
Right now humans globally require 13 trillion watts (or terawatts) of power. By 2050, we’ll need 28 terawatts. Nocera pokes holes in some hypothetical scenarios offered to achieve this objective. If you gave over every square inch of cropland on the face of the earth to biomass production, you’d only get 7 additional terawatts. Plus, “you couldn't eat anymore.” You’d still need to add 8,000 nuclear power plants, by building a new plant every 1.6 days for the next 45 years; put wind turbines everywhere; and dam every available river, to approach the 28 terawatt goal.
Uh-Oh.
If we don’t find a technological solution soon - including better use of scare resources, there will be a natural solution as systems fail: starvation, disease, war and a couple of other horsemen for bad measure. I’m not overstating the matter - as energy fails to support transportation and distribution system, food fails to get to people, they fight over scarce resources (using up the remaining resources in the process), and civilization collapses to 1920’s capabilities.
I’m not a survivalist - I’m just a middle aged guy whose life depends on a steady supply of medicines. I don’t want to believe this either, but its a real possibility. And we can’t burn enough coal (forget clean coal) to generate enough electricity that hybrid cars save us.
This is what happens when dumb shit leaders don’t deal with reality and ignore science. The only small satifaction is they will be as dead as me - either for the same reason or the hopefully inevitable lynching.
Or so I hope.
You owe $30,000. Pay up.
The national debt is expanding by $1.4 billion a day or $1 million a minute if you prefer. That's
$30,000 of debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.
The national debt is now a mind-boggling $9.13 trillion. Holy phuk!
The national debt has gone from $5.7 trillion when Bush took office in January 2001 to $10 trillion when he finally gets the boot in January 2009.
And this mess just gets worse. With all the entitlements, the national debt will hit 350 percent of the GDP by 2050 under unchanged policy.
Which won't happen, because despite what Dickhead Cheney says, deficits do matter. China and the Mid East Oil Barons will quit lending the US money at some point and - perhaps before, perhaps after - the US economy will coll ape.
And then the gringos like me will be swimming across the boarders to find jobs.
Maybe we better start being nicer to those illegal immigrants.
$30,000 of debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.
The national debt is now a mind-boggling $9.13 trillion. Holy phuk!
The national debt has gone from $5.7 trillion when Bush took office in January 2001 to $10 trillion when he finally gets the boot in January 2009.
And this mess just gets worse. With all the entitlements, the national debt will hit 350 percent of the GDP by 2050 under unchanged policy.
Which won't happen, because despite what Dickhead Cheney says, deficits do matter. China and the Mid East Oil Barons will quit lending the US money at some point and - perhaps before, perhaps after - the US economy will coll ape.
And then the gringos like me will be swimming across the boarders to find jobs.
Maybe we better start being nicer to those illegal immigrants.
A work/life/blog balance
As I said, this blog is for my pleasure, not yours. Not that I don't welcome your enjoyment, but as Rocky said "I didn't build him for you." The 3rd quarter is a busy place where I work, my second job is teaching an evening business school class, and then there is this 10 month old kid running around with my eyes.
I wish he'd give them back. Damn he's quick.
Its not like I haven't been tempted to skip my (boring) jobs and retreat to vent my spleen and other organs about the latest scandals, but you can get a good dose of that on Olbermann's Countdown on MSNBC.com. Which is the only news show worth watching since Colbert and Stewart went dark.
Anyway, I'm back. And I'm pissed.
I wish he'd give them back. Damn he's quick.
Its not like I haven't been tempted to skip my (boring) jobs and retreat to vent my spleen and other organs about the latest scandals, but you can get a good dose of that on Olbermann's Countdown on MSNBC.com. Which is the only news show worth watching since Colbert and Stewart went dark.
Anyway, I'm back. And I'm pissed.
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