Blubs of Verbs, Thought Crime Comments (2)
“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser – in fees, expenses, and waste of time.”-Abraham Lincoln
This is just embarrassing: 18 states are suing the EPA. They are suing the EPA because the EPA has done nothing in response to a Supreme Court Ruling that said the EPA can regulate green house gasses. The EPA previously said they did not have the authority. The Supreme Court decision was last April ‘07 (note it’s April ’08 now). Now, the states are asking the courts to force the EPA to comply with 60 days. The EPA’s response is that the Supreme Court said it should, but did not say when it should.
Seriously? Is the EPA a twelve year old? More on page 51
OceansOfThought @ April 3, 2008
The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him. -Abraham Lincoln
Professionals, when they are in their element, can be curt and impatient, which is interesting, because when they go to see other professionals, say a doctor or a dentist, those professionals are no less dismissive to them.
More on page 50
OceansOfThought @ April 2, 2008
Upon the subject of education,[…] I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.” Abraham Lincoln
The department of education has been under assault for a while. The arguments to keep it or get rid of it are beyond valid at this point, they just are what they have come to be; arguments. The voucher/not voucher system is complicated itself, one of the complications being what exactly is a voucher. Is it Vouchers (grants so parents can afford to send their children to private school), Tax tuition credits (just what it sounds like) And so on?
Thorny as this issue is, lets step outside of it and view what’s wrong with the debate. As economists are starting to find out, as people get richer, their choices become more illogical. To most economists, steeped in the tradition of the classics, the difference between the functional application of a KIA and a Bentley is meaningless. Both have 4 wheels and move forward and backwards at the drivers choosing. Irrational choice comes in paying $300,000 for a Bentley and $10,000 for a KIA (maybe even less). This was all based on the perfect model [People make rational choices and have perfect knowledge]. We all know this to be untrue of course. The Bentley price is an artificial cap meant to exclude those who cannot afford and can only dream of it. This cap is prevalent in Law schools, Med schools, CEO pay and Prada handbags. Some weeding out mechanics is the price of living on the planet in the country we live in. But suppose we can use that need to make irrational choices and focus it in our favor? More on page 49
OceansOfThought @ April 1, 2008