Fuzzy Math
So, here's a little economics lesson:
What happens when you take in less money while simultaneously spending more money? You go into debt. When the Federal Government runs a debt, they borrow money from the same place you and I do: banks and private citizens (remember those savings bonds you bought?). Except, when the government borrows money, they borrow it in the billions. So, what happens when billions of dollars suddenly disappear from the public space? There's less money that you can borrow for your car, or house, or whatever. And, when there's less of a commodity, the price of it increases. The price of money is interest. So, when the government runs a debt, interest rates go up, and everything else in the world gets more expensive. People have less money to buy things. The economy slumps. People lose their jobs. People, now hungry, proceed to knock other people in the head for money for food. Crime increases.

See how it's all interconnected?

Well, the President would have you believe that, by letting corporations and rich people have tax breaks (thereby shifting the burden of paying for things like blowing up Iraq to the middle and lower class), they'll have more money to spend. Corporations with more money will, presumably, hire more people. Rich people with more money will, presumably, buy things, increasing demand, inspiring business to make more things that rich people want, so they hire more people to help meet the demand.

But let's think about this for a minute: Corporations are required by law to maximize profit for their investors. By incentivizing companies to pay dividends, aren't you increasing the likelihood that these companies will simply turn their extra cash into profit, instead of investing in new employees? Moreover, what do rich people typically do with their money? They invest it in their personal fortunes, i.e. buy things that will make them more money like stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. After all, that's what distinguishes them from poor people. So, they, too, give more cash to corporations to give back to their investors, namely themselves. I suppose the rich go on vacation alot, so that helps tourism. But they don't really eat much more or wear more clothes than they were before. After all, food, clothing, and the like are miniscule expenses compared to the kind of money these folks get back in tax breaks. I also guess the rich by lots of property, possibly for investment, but largely for luxury purposes. My point is that the lion share of that money is never going to make it into the job creating sectors of the economy. It will just ping-pong back and forth between investors and investees, increasing in virtual value simply through the activity of the transaction and making the rich, richer.

So, will this tax cut help the economy? Unlikely. Will it hurt? Well, the federal deficits are already increasing. You do the math.

In the meantime, here's what Michael Kingsley has to say about this mess in Time magazine. Even taken at face value, this dog won't hunt.

Primary Colors
So, for those of you who haven't noticed yet, I'm a nerd.
And one of the things all nerds have in common is a love for public television. Now, I'm not just talking about liking Sesame Street & Mr. Rogers. As wonderful as those shows are, even the most slack-jawed of yokels will have a special place in their hearts for Big Bird. Nerds, on the other hand, get misty-eyed about shows like "The Electric Company" or "3-2-1 Contact". Of course, one of the old nerd standbys on PBS is Levar Burton's "Reading Rainbow", now entering it's 20th year on the air.

Unfortunately, 20 may be the limit for this wonderful literacy stalwart. A tough economy and the changing face of children's television may present a hurdle too high for one of my favorites. See what CNN has to say about it.

Turning On The Gas
Am I surprised that this isn't being reported on any major American news sources? Not at all.

Basically, the military wants to add a Death Row to Camp X-Ray. And, remember, the people being held there get no trial or appeal. How many legitimate American citizens are locked up down there on suspicion alone? No one knows because the Administration won't even release the names of those in custody in the interests of National Security.

Are the allusions to 1939 getting a little clearer now, folks?

"I am NOT a doe-eyed naif!!!!"
Let the propaganda commence. A Canadian movie in pre-production dramatizes the events of September 11, 2001 from the P.O.V. of our fearless leader, which reads more like the script for Air Force One II: The President Strikes Back. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the producer is a former Bush staffer who works on behalf of Karl Rove to counter the pop culture image of G.W.

Classic line from the script: "If some tinhorn terrorist wants me, tell him to come and get me! I'll be at home! Waiting for the bastard!"

I suddenly find myself reminded of that routine Eddie Murphy did in Raw, where he & Deney Terrio punch some crazy Italian guy in a club and the dude just laughs - "Come On! That's the way I like it!!!!"

Someone, ANYONE, please shut him up!!!!
At first, I just hung my head in shame when I heard about the whole Jayson Blair/New York Times affair. After all, I knew it was only a matter of time before this pathological liar was used as an excuse to discredit the achievements of all manner of people of color. And, having seen the piece that 60 Minutes did on Stephen Glass, an even bigger pathological liar in the employ of The New Republic who now had a book deal, I felt a touch of sadness that this Black guy was probably going to fall into obscurity and poverty while his White counterpart was going to make a chunk of change for committing identical sins.

Well, any sympathy I may have had for my fellow Marylander, Mr. Blair, I am IMMEDIATELY recinding.

At least Stephen Glass owned up to the fact that he was a liar and had deep rooted emotional problems and that he was responsible for his own downfall, no one else.

Jayson Blair, on the other hand, has the nerve to say that the New York Times was oppressing him, so he choose to get back at them by falsifying news reports because there was no other way to strike back.

Excuse me? The same New York Times that gave him, a college dropout, a full-time staff position with arguably the top newspaper in the country? The same New York Times that, despite his rediculous correction rate, continued to show faith in him through promotions and increasingly high profile assignments?

Moreover, Blair tries to draw allusions between himself and DC sniper Lee Malvo as examples of Black Men who cracked under pressure from "The Man". Pardon me, but Lee Malvo was an impressionable 17 year old kid separated from his family and taken under the wing of a deranged, wife-beating, ex-Army sharpshooter. Jayson Blair is a grown-ass man who was constantly handed opportunities he simply had not earned and squandered them all.

Shall we even get into the fact that Blair claims his downward spiral began when he lost a ficticious cousin in the World Trade Center on September 11th?

Yes, he has emotional problems. Yes, he's a drug addict. But PLEASE, take some responsiblity for yourself and then SHUT THE HELL UP before you do any more damage to the community of Black journalists.

God. As if we didn't have enough problems.

"Gee, maybe they can't find any WMDs in Iraq because THERE AREN'T ANY!"
Hans Blix is slowly coming to a conclusion I figured out after the U.S. Army waltzed through Bagdad without catching a single Scud. "Imminent Threat", huh, George?

The President's New Clothes
Who knew Robert Byrd would be such a convincing Cassandra?

The veracity and power of his speeches and the casualness with which they are dismissed are almost becoming laughable, in a Titus Andronicus "I have no more tears to weep" kind-of-way. Here, Byrd illustrates how virtually everything President Bush, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, & Co. have said to justify invading Iraq has proven to be a lie used to manipulate the public. Even more disturbing to me is the complicity of the national news organizations in the charade. "Discoveries" of possible WMDs are front page news, but when these same items are proven to be harmless & inconclusive, it gets relegated to a tiny byline on the last page of the paper. And I'm not just talking about Fox News. I mean the Washington Post, CNN, the New York Times, CBS, NBC, etc., etc., etc.

Moreover, the people who are SUPPOSED to be keeping the President honest have just rolled over like a modern day Maginot Line. Or, maybe the more appropriate term is "appeasement".

Tumbling Down The Rabbit Hole
According to this article from The Washington Post, some people in our real world so completely fell for "The Matrix" that they were willing to kill to escape.

Scary.

"I'll get you next time, Gadget. Next time."

Let's observe a moment of silence for the end of the Lake Show.

For now.

Biblical Interpretation Quote of the Day
"I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I have you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask another? My Chief of Staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself or is it OK to call the police? Here's one that's really important because we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you?"


- fictional President of the United States Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) of "The West Wing", trying to explain to a group of reactionary religious conservatives exactly why we do not and should not live in a theocracy defined by a strict interpretation of the Bible.

Aaron Sorkin's last month on the show reminded me why I used to love it. I mean, who can beat John Goodman as Newt Gingrich?

Loose Lips
Here's the ACLU's report on all the various & sundry ways your President and his supporters have tried to squash dissent for their policies.

Artwork, BTW, is courtesy of Micah Wright's "Propaganda Remix" collection.

Getting Out of Dodge
Proof, once again, that, where there's a will, there's a way. When the Republican majority in the Texas State legislature, allegedly under marching orders from U.S. Congressman Tom Delay, decided to redraw the state's congressional districts to the GOP's advantage, in an off-year, without the benefit of a Federal Census to justify it, Texas Democrats walked out.

Of course, you need a quorum to actually hold the vote, and, while there are enough Republicans to pass the bill, there aren't enough of them for a quorum. And, assuming that the Democrats stay across the state line in Oklahoma, outside the reach of Texas State Police, the time to pass the bill will expire and the measure will die.

Checkmate.

Amazing what you can do when your back is against the wall.

"Hold The Line!"
For once, Senate Democrats have managed not to completely cave in to Right Wing demands by preventing a GOP bid to make the All Seeing Eye Powers given to the Justice Department permanent.

The Dean Effect
Howard Fineman of Newsweek tends to be one of the more thoughtful, less partisan, and less shrill of the political pundits that make the cable circuit. In many ways, I think this is why he's dead on with his analysis of Gov. Howard Dean's position in the Democratic primary.

Having said that, I also think that Bill Schneider of CNN made a contrary, yet still excellent point about the 2004 presidential election on the Charlie Rose show this week and it is this: Each election ultimately comes down to a job interview with the American public, where a given candidate has to make a case as to why they should not just hire him but, when running against an incumbent, why they should fire his opponent. Reagan was the Un-Carter. Clinton was the Un-Bush. 2000 doesn't count, in my opinion, because Bush Jr. won on a technicality. But it's not enough to be the opposite of your opponent. You have to offer something he's lacking that the public desperately wants. Reagan was gonna get those Commie bastards because Carter was too soft. Clinton was going to take care of us because Bush didn't care. The question remains: what does the country desperately want from George W. Bush that it's not getting?

One last thing: is it me, of does Howard Dean's candidate profile bear more than a passing resemblence to President Bartlett on The West Wing?

Tower of Babel
And now, a long overdue nerd moment.
Here, on Space.com, scientists debate whether mathematics could possibly be a universal language that we could use to communicate with extraterrestrial beings.

I tend to agree with Sundar Sarukkai - statistically speaking, it seems highly unlikely. Our system of mathematics is an extremely complex universe based on thousands of postulates and assumptions that we cannot guarantee others with different biological, environmental, and sociological backgrounds will share. I'm much more intrigued by the idea of what an alternate, yet equally viable math system would look like.

Evolutionary Path
This is a rather surprising article from The New Republic about the social implications to be found in comparing the movie X2 to the current versions of the X-Men comic books (New X-Men by Grant Morrison & Ultimate X-Men by Mark Millar, among my own personal favorites). In it, the author notes that "X-Men" has always been an allegory for the relationship of minority communities with the majority culture, where Xavier represents integration and Magneto represents violent separatism. But the author laments that, unlike the film, the current comics paint Magneto's POV in a much more fashionable light.

Point taken, but I think the comic writers are less interested in espousing a militant agenda and much more concerned with injecting some emotional realism to these stories. Yes, Xavier is a proponent of integration, but, after literally thousands of stories where various regular humans have tried to commit mutant genocide, some of which include several glimpses into possible future timelines where mutants are enslaved by the majority population, I think any sane man would begin to doubt the viability of peace. The problem, ultimately, with Magneto's view is that it's much easier to maintain in the face of adversity than the view of peace. Just look at the Middle East.

"Take off that uniform!"

"But on this point I differ with the President: I believe that our military forces deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and not used as stage props to embellish a presidential speech."

- Senator Robert Byrd (D-WVa) expressing his outrage over the President's "Independence Day" photo-op last week.

Tune in next week as I continue my ongoing examination of the death of shame....

Untouchable
OK. Now I'm satisfied.

Since there clearly aren't stockpiles of anthrax-tipped Scud missiles aimed at the "Children of America"(tm) like Bush said justified razing Iraq to it's foundation, and since the Shiite majority seems to have a difference of opinion on this whole "Democratic American puppet" thing, some people in the Administration are finally coming clean as to the point of this war.

It's "Shock & Awe", but not the way you think. It's entire purpose was to let potential terrorists know that America operates by the Chicago Way, - "you pull a knife, we pull a gun. You send one of ours to the hospital, we send one of yours to the morgue".

Hey, it worked for Nixon in Vietnam and Reagan with the Soviets, right?

Dixiecrats
A Country radio DJ in Colorado got suspended and was threatened with being fired for playing the Dixie Chicks against station programming orders last week.

What strikes me as the most interesting is that, according to the article, the majority of the fans actually want them to get airplay, but it's management/business that is keeping them off the air.

Could this whole thing just be an organized smear campaign from uber-Nationalist radio bohemoth ClearChannel? After all, they were the money behind a bunch of pre-war rallies across the country back in March.

Thieves In The Temple
Turns out ancient Mesopotamian artifacts weren't the only things that grew legs and walked out of Iraq last month. In this report from the Global Security Newswire, a team from the U.S. defense department found an Iraqi nuclear facility had been looted two weeks before they'd arrived on site.