911 - First Responders Redux - They have to prove they aren'tterorists...

Its been a while since I posted - and I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.

It's a scary world when we get some of our best information from the likes of Comedy Central.   But Jon Stewart made me aware of a bizarre amendment to the 911- First Responders Bill.  Of course, this twist is so bizarre - perhaps this is the most appropriate place for such a report.  Apparently, a late amendment to the bill forces first responders to prove they are not terrorists before receiving benefits.

The two "R's" - Reagan and Revenue...

Obama gave his response to the House's so-called 2012 budget on Thursday. In that speech, he invoked the two R's - Reagan and revenue!   Although I agree that invoking Ronald Reagan and Bush 43 for their reckless and his tax cuts to make a point about revenue loss over time puts the blame where it belongs - I do see it as something of a missed opportunity.

Reagan - Revenue - & GE...

Lest I seem "soft on the republicans" for creating this mess let me digress a moment and refer back to a recent article in the New York Times "G.E.'s Strategies Let it Avoid Taxes Altogether". In that wonderful example of journalism (and I mean that sincerely) there is a passage about Reagan and corporate tax loopholes...Even in the 80s, GE had managed to create some rather aggressive "creative accounting" that allowed it to legally avoid paying large sums in taxes.  The loopholes that this type of gamesmanship involved was closed by none other than Ronald Reagan himself - who commented to his Treasury Secretary "I didn't realize things had gotten that far out of line."

We are ONE! White Plains NY...

43 Years ago yesterday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.  He was in Memphis Tennessee to support a strike by sanitation workers who were seeking collective bargaining rights.

King: "You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor....You are reminding not only Memphis but you are reminding the nation that it is a crime for people who live in this rich nation to receive starvation wages."

Oh - how we need another Dr. Martin Luther King just now!

The Great Disappearing Economic Recovery....

This chart was posted on The Hand that Feeds You post "They're Just Not Hiring".   The data was initially published on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.   The chart starkly displays what we all knew in our heart to be the case...we are in the deep, dark jobless recovery.  Although there have been a few green shoots, the economy is still in the ICU in critical condition.   But what interested me the most about the chart was the emerging pattern that demonstrates the intellectual bankruptcy of trickle-down theory.

When it comes to "STEM" careers - "Who Moved My Cheese" is meaninglesstripe

Spencer Johnson's "Who Moved My Cheese"  "might" be a great read for those in the business sector.  But for those involved in careers that involve  advanced degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (the STEM careers)  the solutions offered are quite simply "non-solutions."

"Who Moved My Cheese?"

For those who don't know the story  - its about four beings that live in a maze together.  Two of the beings are mice ( Sniff and Scurry) and two are very small humans the size of mice (Hem and Haw)