Earth Hour

Earth Hour is today.  Don't forget to turn off your lights between 8:30-9:30 tonight.

O'Reilly under fire

Bill O'Reilly, supposed hero to the common man, is losing sponsors due to his harrassment of rape victims.  Where's his spin going to go next?

Michelle Bachman: Traitor

Congresswoman Michelle Bachman is a traitor to the United States of America.  She has recently spoken in favor of an "armed" revolution against the government because of the planned tax increases on energy.  These tax increases would be implemented through a cap and trade of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is one of the main causes of global weirding, whose effects can be read about here.

Article 3, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United States of America: " Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. "

32 years ago, the worst aircraft disaster ever

Wired has a very interesting article on the worst aircraft disaster in history, which occurred 32 years ago today.  The abbreviated story is that two Boeing 747's struck each other head on in the Canary Islands, resulting in over 500 casualties.

Proposed charity tax deduction

I like President Obama's move to limit the charitable deduction to 28%. The problem that we have is that right now, a single person or couple who makes over $357,000 a year will have a 35% tax discount on charitable deductions, while someone of more modest means (perhaps $100,000 in income per year for a single person) would only have a 28% reduction in tax.

Unlike a mortgage credit, child tax credit, or event a retirement credit, charitable giving is supposed to be an act of altruism. The tax benefit is supposed to be a bonus. So those who really gave with the best of intentions will not be deterred. Additionally, the current system in a way rewards a rich person for donating a (likely) smaller portion of their income versus someone who is not as wealthy but actually donates a larger portion of their income to charity.

The best solution for charitable giving would be some type of a flat tax credit, which this move takes us closer to. Perhaps 28% for all givers (even those with lower incomes) would be best. Either way, the charitable giving tax deduction should not reward someone who only uses charitable giving as a tax shelter.

The new Tesla

Nice, but pricey.

Positives from a tragedy

The tragic death of Nastasha Richardson shocked many last week.  If anything good is to come out of this, she donated her organs.  Hopefully this encourages others to tell their friends and family that they will donate their organs.

My whole stance on the organ donation issue is that it should be mandatory.  No mainstream religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.) are against the practice, despite a few nutty believers who would rather someone die than have their carcass hacked up.

I truly believe that in order to be admitted to a hospital, people should be required to donate their organs should they die.

Gun ban dead

Some people are angry.  I'm happy.  Despite the attorney general's comments in February, this Congress will not be passing any kind of assault weapon ban.

Ed Henry is a moron

CNN's Ed Henry is a moron.  He is complaining about the answer President Obama gave to his question regarding the outrage over AIG.  

Henry asked why it took a while for the White House to complain about AIG. 

The President responded: "Because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."

This is something that George W. Bush (and many prominent politicians) generally fail to do.  It is a good response to the question.  I want a president who does not just blurt out whatever is on his mind, like some raving lunatic (Rush Limbaugh?) when a difficult situation presents itself.

Whitehouse ready for questions

The White House has a new question section on their website, something that is probably a first for a nation.  Anyone is welcome to pose a question for the president.  I have already posted several questions, and encourage everyone else to do so.  

Other users will vote on questions and those getting the most votes may be answered.

Health insurers try to bargain their survival

Health insurance companies are offering to charge the same price to those who are sick and those who are not, provided that all American are required by law to have coverage.

This is a stupid approach, and the Obama administration better not buy it. The whole point of a business is to make money, and charging sick people more is good business sense, since they tend to use more healthcare. That being said, I do not believe that healthcare should be a for profit business. The best solution would be to create a large, national, non-profit agency charged with administering the health plan, but this would not be at a profit. When we can finally provide Americans with quality healthcare, we will be able to cut out a lot of overhead (profits of insurance companies) which will likely give more people coverage for less money, which is what we see in other countries.

The 4 principles of President Obama's Budget

1. Renewable energy
2. Quality education
3. Universal healthcare
4. Reducing the deficit.

A budget that puts America first.

I pledge to support the budget.  Won't you too?

Plan B age limit is lowered

Finally, some sane reasoning from the federal judges: 17 year old can now use Plan B, the "morning after pill."  Another horrible Bush policy goes away.

A plan to save the banks

Treasury Secretary Geithner today announced a plan to get the toxic assets (mostly Collateralized Debt Obligations, or CDOs) off the balance sheets of the banks.  The biggest buyer of these assets will be the federal government, which could buy up to $1T (that's trillion) of the assets.  

As I said, these assets are CDO's or slices of individual mortgages.  Some may be worth well more than what the fed pays for them, while others could be worthless.  There is a chance that the government may actually make money off this deal, or it could lose.  Only time will tell.  However, this is not just a straight government buyout of these firms; there is an opportunity for large investors to get in on the action, buying these assets for pennies on the dollar.

Let's just hope the oversight is in place, or else there's the possibility to game the system.

The Nano is Out

What has zero airbags, seats four, and costs $2000?  The Tata Nano, of course.  And it has just been unveiled and could be one product that will change everything.

This vehicle has the potential to prove that India has moved beyond mere manufacturing and into design.  We'll see what happens, but at that price, you can bet that a lot of the developing world just figured out what their first car will be.

J Street Survey

J Street has conducted some interesting polling on Jewish Americans.  The full presentation of the survey is below.  Some highlights:

• almost half have a connection to Bernard Madoff (personally affected or know someone who was)
• what I would characterize as a "schizoid" stance on Israel.  Supporting it during Gaza, but overall supporting a Palestinian state, and ambivalence towards Iran.
• On a more positive note, there is an overwhelming approval of President Obama and a large disapproval of the GOP and the conservatives in Israel.

The Immigration Bailout

Seems that it may actually be possible to implement a "buy a house, get a visa" program.  Especially for more expensive houses, but I agree that we should just make it a $100,000 investment in something American, like a typical house.

This program would be good for several reasons:

1. We'd get more smart people immigrating to our country from China, India, and other locations.  This will give us a sustainable advantage over other areas of the world.

2. We get some of these foreclosures off the books of the banks

3. Immigration is always a good thing.