COMBATING THE RIGHT

At the City University of New York:

THE RIGHT IN THESE TIMES:
UNDERSTANDING AND COMBATING CONTEMPORARY SHIFTS TO THE RIGHT
Second Annual Conference on "Rightist Movements"

Friday, May 1, 2009
The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Hmm. At a taxpayer-funded public University. When, do you think, will we see CUNY sponsor a first annual conference on “Leftist Movements"? About the time airborne swine droppings hit the pavement, I suspect.

Follow the links above and check out the participants.

ON CONSERVATISM

Don Surber gets it.

Republicans and the nation need to get back to the Ronald Reagan principles of less government and more individual freedom.

Conservatives will return to power when they give the nation what it needs — upfront and without apology.

Read it all.

SOAK THE RICH?

Think again.

There is one thing that soaking the rich will do effectively, and that's redistribute wealth .... Let's just understand that reslicing the pie to give the rich a smaller piece doesn't make the pie any bigger - and won't get us out of the recession any faster.

Here’s an interesting factoid: in 2006, the most recent year for which information is available, the average tax rate for the working rich was 22.8%; that same year the average tax rate paid by the super-rich - the 400 filers with the highest incomes - was only 17.2%.

Read the whole article.

And let me put a plug in for my own profession: politicians make a business of slicing pies; engineers make a business of creating more pies.

TO CATCH A THIEF

Use a thief.

President Obama: "The Treasury Department and the IRS, under Secretary Geithner's leadership and Commissioner Shulman's, are already taking far-reaching steps to catch overseas tax cheats ...."

What, is Geithner telling the IRS, "Look for these signs, because that's how I did it"?

[A]t least the president only praised one tax cheat ... oh, wait:

"These problems have been highlighted by Chairmen Charlie Rangel ...."

Geithner and Rangel thanked for helping crack down on tax cheats? What's next, a ceremony on the importance of accurate information in public-health communication, thanking Joe Biden?

The administration Arrogance Machine in action.

TELECONFERENCING TO GO

A humanoid robot that looks like the love child of a Segway scooter and the animated Disney robot Wall-E is poised to add a new dimension to teleconferencing.

Telecommuting is looking better and better.

REDUCE CO2; BREATHE SLOWER

There are about 7 billion humans on earth, and each of us generates roughly 600 lbs of carbon dioxide per year.

So now that the EPA has declared CO2 a pollutant and environmental hazard, will Congress enact “breathing standards” as they did mileage standards for automobiles? Will they be “fleet-wide”, so to speak, or age-adjusted?

Newborns ------------- 44 breaths per minute
Infants -------------- 20–40 breaths per minute
Preschool children --- 20–30 breaths per minute
Older children ------- 16–25 breaths per minute
Adults --------------- 12–20 breaths per minute

Will athletes be exempted?

Adults during strenuous exercise 35–45 breaths per minute
Athletes' peak 60–70 breaths per minute

When will "complete yoga breathing," a style of respiration that encourages slow breathing at a rate of about six breaths per minute be required?

Congress will be exempt, of course.

A VIEW FROM MY WINDOW

The daily commute.