Ben Bernanke sure got it right!
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was 100% spot on when he recently declared that the global recession was over. How can you tell? Well, gee, only 42 of our 50 states lossed jobs last month. If that isn't proof positive that all us non-millionaires have nothing more to worry about, I don't know what is!
Let's join all our clueless government officials, likewise elected representatives and their masters, the Bastions of Business, in celebrating a return to "Business as Usual", now that they have obviously solved the worlds financial woes in record time!!!!!
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20090918/US.State.Unemployment/
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Political Corruption? I'm SHOCKED!
I've been away for awhile. I will try to be regular from now on. After all, it's not like I have a lack of material.
One of my projects has been an attempt to compile a comprehensive list of Senators and Representatives (both federal and state) who are currently under indictment or being investigated for criminal and/or ethics violations.
The task is formidable. I hope to find a watchdog site that has already done this, so I can pass the link(s) on to you. I don't have the time to do it myself.
One thing that has stood out in my search: Lobbyists are frequently at the root. Apparently, many of our elected officials are not smart enough to learn from their compatriots mistakes. The list keeps growing.
The normal response? Something like "I'm innocent of all charges. I will be vindicated when the truth comes out!", "I have no knowledge of the reported events.", "I'm not responsible for the actions of my employees.", "I've done nothing wrong."
Questions?
If the truth will set them free, where did the investigators get all the evidence that lead to the indictments?
Are you really so stupid, so clueless, that you have no knowledge of your own criminal/unethical enterprises?
When your actions mimic those of fellow lawmakers who have already been indicted for the same actions, what makes you think it's okay for you to do the same?
Yes, many of your constituents are stupid enough to believe you despite mountains of evidence against you. These are the people who pull the "Vote for this party" lever in the voting booth, rather than making informed, intelligent decisions. Every gene pool has it's shallow end.
Your greed and under the table dealing with even greedier businesses has lead America to where it is today. It has taken you and your predecessors 40 years (more ?)to bring us once more to the brink of disaster. You will not fix it in a year or two years. You will not fix it ever if you continue to screw your people for personal gain.
Only you (Congress) know how many of you are criminals, how many of you are unethical by design.
You are a plague on our country, a disappointment at best. You do not deserve the power, trust, or paychecks you receive.
Here are a few links for America to check out.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/42345
‘Ethics’ for sale
New York Post, 9-8-2009
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/24122
Group lists 13 ‘Most Corrupt’ in Congress
Chuck Neubauer, The Los Angeles Times, 9-25-2005
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/42351
Ex-lawmaker Ernest Istook’s Former Aide to Testify
Chris Casteel, NewsOK, 9-7-2009
One last note: Sarah Palin recently resigned as Governor of Alaska. By all reports, this should positively impact the amount of corruption in Alaska.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Clueless in State College, PA
I was planning to do "Clueless II: U.S. Business just as stupid as our politicians", but this bit of cluelessness got in the way.
I've been searching for the article in my local paper archives, but so far no luck. We'll wing it with just the basics.
In State College PA, home of Penn State University, the local school system has implemented a new math system called "Investigations". It will supposedly help kids to '...understand numbers'. Fine. What I don't understand is how you can justify marking a child wrong, for ANY reason, when he divides 300 by 25 and gives 12 as his answer.
"Blah blah isn't an exact science..." is a common refrain. Unfortunately for the clueless school system of State College PA, math IS an exact science. No matter how you figure it out, there is only one answer for any particular question.
The question? If a room full of school kids are counting by 25, how many kids will have counted when one of them says "300".
The student in question answered "12". He was marked WRONG.
HUH?!?
"Investigations" requires you to explain how you arrived at your answer. This can be a few sentences, a diagram, or the old school method, showing your work.
The students explanation? "300, divided by 25, equals 12". Sounds simple enough. The childs father, a PHD holder, thought so too. He questioned why his son's answer was marked wrong.
The schools explanation? The students answer was correct, but his explanation was too simple.
HUH?!?
An example of an acceptable explanation: "You know that there are 4 25's in 100. And you know that there are 3 100's in 300. So 4 times 3 equals 12."
So, essentially, the student was punished for being smart enough to simply divide 300 by 25 and arrive at the correct answer.
Yes, I'm old. But it remains, as I was taught so many years ago, that math involves taking the numbers you are given and manipulating them to get the unknown number.
We were encouraged to do this as simply as possible. Why? Because the fewer steps involved in arriving at your answer means less chance of making a mistake.
300 divided by 25= 12. One step.
100(not given in the question) divided by 25= 4. 300, divided by 100(still not given in the question)= 3. Two steps.
4(also not given in the question) times 3(guess what? Not given in the question) = 12. Three steps.
Do you see what I see? I see two unneeded steps. Two more chances to make a mistake and arrive at a TRULY wrong answer.
Occam's razor says that the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation. Too bad Occam wasn't grading this student's work.
The easiest method that I was taught to use for math sounds alot like Occam's razor. The student's explanation is the definition of Occam's razor. And old Occam was correct, except in a certain State College PA school system.
Dad started an online petition to have "Investigations" removed from the school. It is currently in use in one elementary school, and one middle school. The school is pressing ahead with phase two of "Investigations".
Find the petition and sign it, before another clueless school system turns out a generation of students who can't think straight.
If I find the article I will update this post with information to get you to the petition.
I've been searching for the article in my local paper archives, but so far no luck. We'll wing it with just the basics.
In State College PA, home of Penn State University, the local school system has implemented a new math system called "Investigations". It will supposedly help kids to '...understand numbers'. Fine. What I don't understand is how you can justify marking a child wrong, for ANY reason, when he divides 300 by 25 and gives 12 as his answer.
"Blah blah isn't an exact science..." is a common refrain. Unfortunately for the clueless school system of State College PA, math IS an exact science. No matter how you figure it out, there is only one answer for any particular question.
The question? If a room full of school kids are counting by 25, how many kids will have counted when one of them says "300".
The student in question answered "12". He was marked WRONG.
HUH?!?
"Investigations" requires you to explain how you arrived at your answer. This can be a few sentences, a diagram, or the old school method, showing your work.
The students explanation? "300, divided by 25, equals 12". Sounds simple enough. The childs father, a PHD holder, thought so too. He questioned why his son's answer was marked wrong.
The schools explanation? The students answer was correct, but his explanation was too simple.
HUH?!?
An example of an acceptable explanation: "You know that there are 4 25's in 100. And you know that there are 3 100's in 300. So 4 times 3 equals 12."
So, essentially, the student was punished for being smart enough to simply divide 300 by 25 and arrive at the correct answer.
Yes, I'm old. But it remains, as I was taught so many years ago, that math involves taking the numbers you are given and manipulating them to get the unknown number.
We were encouraged to do this as simply as possible. Why? Because the fewer steps involved in arriving at your answer means less chance of making a mistake.
300 divided by 25= 12. One step.
100(not given in the question) divided by 25= 4. 300, divided by 100(still not given in the question)= 3. Two steps.
4(also not given in the question) times 3(guess what? Not given in the question) = 12. Three steps.
Do you see what I see? I see two unneeded steps. Two more chances to make a mistake and arrive at a TRULY wrong answer.
Occam's razor says that the simplest explanation is usually the best explanation. Too bad Occam wasn't grading this student's work.
The easiest method that I was taught to use for math sounds alot like Occam's razor. The student's explanation is the definition of Occam's razor. And old Occam was correct, except in a certain State College PA school system.
Dad started an online petition to have "Investigations" removed from the school. It is currently in use in one elementary school, and one middle school. The school is pressing ahead with phase two of "Investigations".
Find the petition and sign it, before another clueless school system turns out a generation of students who can't think straight.
If I find the article I will update this post with information to get you to the petition.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Clueless
Welcome to my first blog. Several family members have been urging me to join them in the blogging world, so this is their fault.
First, I dislike all politicians. They all fall into one or more of several catagories. They lie for their own personal gain (ALL). They are clueless about life in America without millions of dollars in the bank (MOST if not ALL). They are corrupt (MOST if not ALL).
Unfortunately, most of them fall into all three catagories. John McClain thought it was funny that he couldn't remember how many homes he owns. It's not funny to those of us who would like to own a home, but can not afford one on our "Service Economy" salaries. He is the poster child for political cluelessness.
Many politicians like to say things like "I came from humble beginnings, I'm just like you." No matter where you came from, you now count your savings in millions, not hundreds, so you are not like me. If you serve even one term, you retire with a pension I can only dream about, and taxpayer paid medical. You are not like me.
I hope the clusterf*** you and your big business cronies have made of our economy doesn't completely wipe out my meager pension, assuming I'm ever able to retire and still feed myself. You are not like me.
I hope I can afford health insurance this year, for the first time in almost four years, since losing my last manufacturing job to the Chinese (my second in a row). You are not like me.
A note to those who may read my blogs. I do not always research everything I piss and moan about. If I do, I will say so and list my resources.
To everyone in Lower America, I hope you have a great day.
To all politicians, I hope you lose your money, pensions, and homes in this "Great Service Economy" you've built. Then you will be just like me.
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