Senators Do Bad, Feel No Shame

Most Republican, and some Democratic, senators shamefully decided to vote against the wishes of about ninety percent of the American people, defeating* a measure that would only weakly address the horrific death toll caused by firearms by extending background checks. Those senators' shame was assuaged by the knowledge that their overlords, the National Retailers of Armaments, will reward their assault on the American people, as always, with riches beyond their dreams.

If only the people would remind their elected officials that although the NRA can give politicians seas of money, only the people can give them votes.

I expect that, in the wake of the explosions at the finish of the Boston Marathon, we will hear a spokesman for the NRA declare that "The only way to stop a bad man with a bomb, is a good man with a bomb." I do not expect the spokesman to admit that what stands between the weapons manufacturers and twenty murdered children, is the NRA.

*Clarification:  By "defeating," I of course mean "filibustered" so that there was no actual vote on the actual measure.

Happy Darwin Day!

Today's the day we celebrate the anniversary of one of science's most influential practitioners. We also celebrate today the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, one of America's most influential leaders. Whereas science, especially biology, has become ever more capable in the years since Origin of Species was published, the Party of Lincoln has become divided between the drooling insane and the merely idiotic.

One aspect of Republican foolishness that bears consideration on a day in which science is celebrated is the Republican denial of science. It may be true that some of this denial is merely a ruse to excuse practices known by science to be harmful to the health of individuals or to the planet but which provide huge profits to a small percentage of people. Nevertheless, many people, including some holding elected office, strongly disbelieve what has been demonstrated over the past years, whether that be evolution, climate change, geology, or various other subjects. For those die-hard disbelievers, there is truly a culture war in which, as famously put by Pastor Ray Mummert during the Dover (Pennsylvania) Creationism affair, "we've been attacked by the intelligent, educated segment of the culture." 

Another Consequence of Raising Retirement Age

Some politicians and businessmen, all comfortably well off and with no retirement worries of their own, have suggested raising the retirement age and the age of eligibility for Social Security again, this time to age 70. The Business Roundtable, a group of prominent CEOs, are among the latest to do so. They claim that this strategy will somehow reduce the deficit.

What I haven't seen as part of this discussion is how raising the retirement age will prevent many younger men and women from finding employment. With many more people staying in the job pool, there would be less opportunity for new graduates or newly laid off workers to be hired.  In fact, that is one of the arguments for having a shorter work week--more people can be employed. In our current economic situation, shouldn't we be more concerned with finding ways to increase employment?

 

The 1-Million Pound Platinum Bank Note

Now, I don't get around too much so I may have missed it if anyone else has covered this aspect of the arguments over minting a single, high-denomination coin as a presidential solution to the Congress's possible failure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

Congressional Republicans, apparently acting under the influence, very carelessly used their charge-a-plate to build up huge monetary obligations while neglecting any thought of generating income to pay for these debts. Now, as the legal limit of Federal spending for their gimcracks approaches, many of those Congressmen are threatening to let the repo man do his work and allow faith in  U.S. credit sink into the abyss, unless President Obama transfers the obligations to the elderly, sick, and poor.

Enter the notion of the Trillion Dollar Coin--a perfectly legal, albeit seemingly silly, trick to avoid default. The President can authorize the minting of an enormous-denomination coin, to be deposited at the Fed. The government would then have the cash to pay its debts. Eventually, the Treasury would buy back the coin and melt it down.

The big coin ploy could actually work better than anticipated--such an effort was documented by Samuel Clemens back in 1893. Seems he wound up in London with only a dollar in his pocket. He found himself unknowingly the subject of a bet in which he was given some money but otherwise left to his own devices. He immediately went for a meal at a cheap restaurant; only when he pulled out the banknote to pay for his meal did he discover its denomination--one million pounds--which the waiter noticed at the same time. He thought quickly, handed the banknote to the waiter and asked for his change. The small eatery could not, of course, change such a note, and so offered the meal on the house. Similarly, the former beggar advanced in society, always offering the banknote in payment and always refused, ultimately amassing a large bank account and getting the daughter of one of the bettors for his wife. (The £1,000,000 Bank-Note).

UPDATE:  At least one other has recognized the platinum coin-
£1,000,000 Bank-Note connection.

The Cost of Doing Business

Recently, financial behemoth HSBC was ordered to pay a $1.92 billion dollar fine for money laundering. Sounds like a great big fine, until compared with HSBC's great big assets--over $2.55 TRillion. The bank apparently broke a few federal laws (the Bank Secrecy Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act). Regulations are all too often insufficiently enforced, with penalties not stiff enough to deter bad behavior; indeed, fines simply become part of the cost of doing business.

Following on the heels of the news of the HSBC fine was news of yet another mass shooting of innocent people. Twenty children, boys and girls who were only 6 or 7 years old, were shot multiple times, along with 6 teachers and administrators, as several of whom tried to stop the killer or protect the children. The killer finally, shot himself; it is reported that a woman found shot dead in a house in town may have been the killer's mother, also shot by him.

Early responses to the news included such reactions as "I can't believe this happened," and "How could this happen here," along with various politicians saying, "Now is not the time to talk about gun control." The gun lobby spends vast sums promoting their agenda--and for a large segment of the interests the NRA represents, these murders are just part of the cost of doing business.

Longer Than the War in Afghanistan

Time to put up the holiday decorations again! I'd like to offer a 21-gun salute to the brave soldiers in the trenches of the War on Christmas. They have been remarkably resilient in the aftermath of their crushing defeat at the polls November 6th. They have banished some of their generals but may be regrouping under others (old strategies wearing new stars).

The image of the Nativity would not be complete without a visit from Three Wise Guys, who came to remind the Republican base that the meek have inherited the White House, because they're moochers and takers.

But we have to leave it to determined War correspondent Jon Stewart to explain how enormous is the gulf between reality and the Christmas-Republican Alliance for Profit (CRAP).

A New Visitor

A bird showed up at the feeder early in November, one that I had not seen around here before--an evening grosbeak. I don't know if its location had been influenced by Hurricane Sandy; evening grosbeaks have been known to get as far south as the Gulf coast. They are not known to breed in Pennsylvania, according to the 1992 Atlas of Breeding Birds in Pennsylvania*, although it could be their range is extending southward.

About two weeks later, a whole bunch of grosbeaks, male and female, spent some time at the feeder. I haven't seen them since.

 
*Daniel W. Brauning (ed.), 1992, University of Pittsburgh Press, 484 p.