Cash for Clunkers

So I bought a 2009 Ford Escape from a dealer halfway to hell (close to Dallas.) I got a great deal on the vehicle.

2500 rebate
1500 dealer incentives
4500 cash for clunkers

This was off an SUV with a 21k msrp. I got a new car and by buying it already have some equity in it with very little money down. This was made possible by trading in my 2001GMC Sonoma which had almost 100k miles and a broken AC. I couldn't have gotten more than $500 cash for this old faithful truck. I am excited. Excited enough to write my congressman a thankyou note? Not likely.

This program is nothing more than another tax subsidy called a stimulus, disguised as an environmentally conscious act of humanitarianism. It is aimed at pleasing many people and showing that promises of "change" are being fulfilled. However, all that is really occuring is that many people who are already in debt are being given a $4500 lifeline of "equity" with which to plunge themselves further in debt. This is just another example of money being created spontaneously in an attempt to further prop up a world economy drenched in bad debt.

Why disguise this and add so much complexity to what are no more than a couple simple subsidies? Why not just give a check to the automakers for half of the $3 billion this program is costing us taxpayers? If you needed to spend the extra $1.5 to million as a stimulus you could have sent each of us a check for $100 and then everyone wouldn't have to buy a car to benefit. If we need cleaner cars, just make manufacturers build them that way! Why are you blending all of these programs together and leaving us all further in debt?

The new evolution of Man

This is from the film "Waking Life," which is relatively well known in Austin, but a little more obscure elsewhere. I have always understood what this "mad scientist" was describing, but always thought his ideas were a little far fetched and idealistic. I might have some evidence to lower my level of doubt. The CNN article today, "Man's rare ability may unlock secret of memory," tells of a man, Brad Williams, 51, who remembers everything about where he was on a certain date and all the noteworthy events that took place. His ability/condition, known as hyperthymestic syndrome, is known to be shared by 2 other people, one woman and another man. What makes this scary to me is that I can imagine some mad proponent of eugenics who would kill to get their hands onsome of their genetic material so that this "new evolution" can begin. How different would society/relationships be if we all had this ability. I guess it would leave a lot of politicians SOL.

Politics + America's favorite pasttime = Vomit

The congressional hearings? on steroid use in baseball could not have been choreographed any better. In one corner we have an untrustworthy drug dealer who is most likely telling the truth about the dark side of a popular sport. On the other we have an American legend, role model for work ethic, and possible cheat who will do anything to convince the public of his innocence. The result was a meaningless hearing that left everyone "disguested" and with no option but to give up chasing ghosts in a controversy that will never be solved. Wasn't this the only exit strategy for a confrontation created by greedy baseball players and executives? There have to be dozens of trainers involved in the doping of athletes. Why target the dirtiest of them all? Bring the upstanding family practitioner who injected his next door neighbor who happens to be the star of his local team in front of your exploratory panel. Instead we are stuck with a pointless hearing and no results. No one will go to jail, and business will go on as usual. Don't get me wrong. I love baseball. But if the federal government wants to say that they stand against steroids, then take some real action. Don't orchestrate some public charade to appease the disappointed masses. Have the gusto to stand by your words. I hope baseball takes this as a warningshot against their bow, but fear this is simply politics as usual.

Speedfreaks and Wall Street

I am a technophile. Most people of generation X and beyond are. There have even been studies showing how teenagers become uneasy when you take away their cell phones. I don't think that I am so entrenched in technology that I am uncomfortable without it, I am just exited about all of the advances that we have seen because it. It is frequently argued that the internet is to our generation what the printing press was to the 15th century. because both have made the world so much smaller. Communication is definitely much easier now, things visible instantly all over the world, but the effects of this are not analyzed nearly enough. One of the most obvious and apparent in our current national landscape is that of the stock market. We used to have to look in the paper to find out how out investments were doing. It was not a daily, or even hourly, activity, but a slow building process that was meant for long term growth. With the advent of the internet, day traders and do-it-yourselfers make up a large block of investors. This is especially true in tech savvy circles. If you have the $25,000 minimum to trade online, why pay a broker if you can do it yourself cheaper. We had warning signs back in the crash of 2000, but most of this was chalked up to the corruption of the Enrons and WorldComs. The ease of transaction is still there, and this is a very dangerous thing in the hands of a knee-jerk public. Our economy is not weak, but public perception of it is awful. We are sitting on a powder keg where we could see a reactionary populous turn a bad situation into a disaster, and not enough has been done to safeguard against this. Markets may act logically in the long run, but normally don't in the short.

The Wall

The separation of the church and state is a principle that most Americans believe is one of our reasons for such a successful government. However, its source is not widely known. Most Americans would answer, if asked, that this principle is in the constitution. However, it is not mentioned anywhere in our preambles or any literature prominent in our foundation. It was added with the Bill of Rights, but was first expanded upon when Thomas Jefferson, a very spiritual man, wrote in 1802 to the Baptists of Danbury, Connecticut, that the establishment clause erected "a wall of separation between church and state."

Ironically, my good friend's parents live in a small town south of Houston called Danbury. His mother works for a catholic church there.

Debate on this topic and its meaning in our government have raged constantly. My friends argued about it just the other night. The secularist always says that there should be no aspects of the political in governance. The spiritualist claims that this idea just means that the government can't regulate religion. However, this is an issue that makes perfect sense when you return to the context of our founding fathers. The intent is not that we remove all connections between the spiritual and the institutional. Church has always played a major role in politics, even directly. Many of the roles that are now performed by the state were once supported almost exclusively by religious organizations. However, we our some of our politicians are going too far by acting on their religion.
The intent was that the federal government never regulate religion, and that the government should never force religion on anyone. It is coming to mean that the two should never intermingle. The thought of this would make someone other than Grant in his tomb roll over. How can religion ever be excluded from a debate, they would say. Now, many argue that anything stemming from a religious source be discredited. Those who would say this are a minority now, but their numbers are growing. Though most still quote some source of spiritual faith, the number of agnostics will continue to climb, and the view that religion is good for government might collapse into ignorance.

However, fueling this debate on the other side are the religious leaders of our country using a spiritual yardstick when creating policy. The creation of Israel was possibly the most obvious misstep by the international community, while our current political "right" clamors incessantly for legislation on abortion. A government must not make a decision based solely on religious conviction. One can use the principles and morals that spirituality helps make succinct, but we must safeguard urges based on the ideologies that these institutions create. To many religious scholars, the conflict in the middle east has an intensified air due to the prophecies of revelation stemming from that area. It is the urgency caused by this that we must remove from the government, not the individuals who might feel this way. When ruling for others we must act on logic, not spirtual conviction.

This Land is My Land

The idea that land is sacred may seem idiotic to many agnostics and athiests, but I find it easier if I remember back to the children's song by Woody Gutherie. The idea of your land and my land always came so naturally back when I was young. Before we even understand what the word means, capitalism makes perfect sense to the child who is struggling to overcome the hurdle of egoism. To me, so did the idea that God had created the land as he did soley for our use. The concept of land and ownership, as basic as it may seem, is at the heart of the international political debate. Some look at land as an economic assett, and others view it as a God given comodity. If we are to understand the tension in the middle east, we must explore these two views and anazlyze what they share and how they contrast.
As an American, it is easy to percieve this debate from the capitisitic frame of reference. After all, land ownership is a right that most Americans strive for. However, as an American, it is important to examine the concept of property through the lens of a spiritualist. In this perspective, land is not "owned" by anyone. God is responsible for everything that we see. For Years Arab leaders with this vision enjoyed dominance of this region and faced limited outside interferance. It was not until the discovery of large deposits of oil that frequent intervention occured.
Persian oil …is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it’s ours.
--Franklin D. Roosevelt to a British Ambassador in 1944.
However, the creation of Israel in May, 1949 was the ultimate source of strife in this region. Thrown into exile and moved from their homes, Palestinians were told to assimilate into other societies and refused a political solution.
to be continued

Exclusive Interview : Wellsy Orr

Tonight I have a special treat for my army of loyal readers. I was able to track down Reverend Orr, the founder of the fastest growing religion in Austin, and obtained an exclusive interview through Google chat! If you aren't an Austinite, you might not realize that Reverend Orr, who prefers to be called Wellsy, and his many converts believe that the land of Austin is holy, and claim to have proof to back this up. He claims to have hacked into google earth and retrieved a subset of data. With this data he has created an algorithm that explains the subtle changes to the world's landscape. Rev. Orr claims that when this algorithm is run backwards, "much like a Black Sabbath album," we begin to see patterns emerge. If this pattern is followed backwards long enough, we even see the continents all go back together in a "Pangeaesque" fashion. However, according to Rev. Orr, this was all expected when he began the process. What surprised him was that when the one large continent began to shrink back into the ocean from whence it came, one spot refused to sink, Austin, Texas. Ok, enough of the preface, here is our unedited interview:

-Brian- : Thx for the exclusive interview Reverend Orr!
-Rev.O- : Call me Wellsy
-Brain- : Sure Wellsy, so what do you think that this means to the people of Austin, and the world?
-Rev.O- : Well I think that anyone who lives in Austin knows that we are blessed, but This shows people how blessed we really are. Austin is the center of the world. Do you know what that means? We are God's chosen people!
-Brian- And what does this mean to you?
-Rev.O- Well, obviously I am his profit.
-Brian- I see, so what is so sacred about this land? It's just land after all.
-Rev.O- Austin is protected by God. The land is blessed. We are safe from natural disasters, disease, terror attacks, recessions, and the apocalypse. Austin is sacred in the eyes of God, and the people shall have no wants. In Austin we are free to celebrate life.
-Brian- I see, so your message is that in other places, people should fear, but not in Austin?
-Rev.O- Exactly.
-Brian- What did you do before you started to believe all of this?
-Rev.O- Before I saw the light I was in real estate.