Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Day

This goes out to all the fallen and the families that have had to suffer so that America can and always will be a bastion of freedom in an imperfect world.

On this day, politics aside, everyone in this country should remember those brothers and sisters who have, with ultimate honor, sacrificed their most precious possession to ensure the freedoms that we happily squabble over like children.

(Wallpaper courtesy of fireworks.com)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Points of View

The USAToday story on the shrinking of income from wages and growth of government help [link] I clicked through from Insty is pretty much a standard report.

What was 'neat' about it is that the USAToday actually used the word liberal in from of a left-leaning economist (instead only putting conservative in front of the right-leaning ones and leaving off the dreaded 'liberal' moniker).  It also showed the distinct points of view of a left, (somewhat) center and right :
The shift in income shows that the federal government's stimulus efforts have been effective, says Paul Van de Water, an economist at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

"It's the system working as it should," Van de Water says. Government is stimulating growth and helping people in need, he says. As the economy recovers, private wages will rebound, he says.

Economist Veronique de Rugy of the free-market Mercatus Center at George Mason University says the riots in Greece over cutting benefits to close a huge budget deficit are a warning about unsustainable income programs.

Economist David Henderson of the conservative Hoover Institution says a shift from private wages to government benefits saps the economy of dynamism. "People are paid for being rather than for producing," he says.

Liberal: Government is the saviour
Center: Government should watch out for the people
Right: Government should get out of the way

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Lose and Win?

By STEPHEN SINGER, Associated Press Writer Stephen Singer, Associated Press Writer – Tue May 18, 4:57 pm ET

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut's secretary of state has lost an election lawsuit she filed against her own office in her quest to run for state attorney general.

The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that Democrat Susan Bysiewicz (BYE'-suh-witts) isn't legally qualified to hold office as Connecticut's top prosecutor.

Connecticut requires that its attorney general practices law in the state for at least 10 years.

Republicans maintain that Bysiewicz's 11 years as secretary of the state should not count. A lower court had ruled that Bysiewicz had met the requirement. The state GOP then appealed to the state's highest court.

The high court's decision comes just days before state Democrats meet Saturday to endorse a candidate for attorney general and other statewide offices.

Warzone

 Recently played a few games on Caldera (warzone) and then... Lots of luck in this one, but satisfying