Torus34's Comments (239)

“It has been said that while science attempts to describe our outer world, it is given to the arts to explore our inner one.

Given our hi-tech, gadget-driven culture, it's more important than ever to know beyond doubt that to the extent that we neglect either, we are poorer.”

“Some media commentators have noted that Ms. Palin has left behind the husk of politician and has emerged transformed into a celebrity. In this, she has taken the road travelled by Gov. Schwarzenegger and Ronald Reagan, but in the opposite direction. Much of the public's reaction to her now and in the immediate future can best be understood in this context.

Celebrity status shares with virtue the characteristic that it is, indeed, its own reward.”

“Corporations have been slowly loosening the restraints imposed by their chartering states, by the Federal government and by their owners for many, many years. Some of the largest are now close to assuming the sovereignty normally associated with nations. There are interesting parallels between their chief lobbyists and ambassadors.

In those corporations in which a majority of the stock is held by individuals [as opposed to mutual funds, etc.], a possible way forward for the investors might be the formatiion of a stockholder's union.”

“I'm outraged that scientists have taken it upon themselves to produce factual data which conflicts with political dogma. Outraged, I say! How dare they? They're Government funded, aren't they? Can we stop their grants?”

“There is something more than a whiff of Zen in a situation in which President Obama has made a statement similar to those made by many talk show hosts -- and is then attacked by them for making it.”

“Sir;

Your essay on addressing job creation brings into sharp focus a trilogy of phrases:

'What should we do?'

'What can we do?'

'What will we do?'

With regard to solving the problem, they are listed in order of increasing probability and decreasing efficacy.”

“Lest we forget, the first duty of corporate managers is, by law, to the corporation's owners -- not to the customers. With the exception of specifics such as anti-trust laws and food and drug regulations, corporations have no responsibility to the customer other than those imposed by the hurly-burly competition of the market itself.

To excoriate an industry for acting within its legal mandate is part and parcel of political polemics, but capitalism remains capitalism never the less.”

“I am usually amused by the ebullience of the practitioners of the 'dismal science'.

I happen to be a poor old country mouse encumbered by the [unsupportable] belief that institutions exist to serve people, not the reverse. This colors my thinking, of course. I look at economics from a people-centric view rather than the institution-centric 'conventional wisdom'* of economists.

Given this mindset, an economy is in decline when the number of jobs being created does not keep up with the number of people entering the workforce. It turns the corner when the number of jobs being created begins to exceed the number of people entering the workforce. It returns to 'normal' when the unemployment level returns to the value which obtained before the decline.

From the point of view of the working stiff, all the rest is described by a well-known Shakespearian phrase.

*The choice of a phrase made popular by -- who else -- an economist is not accidental.”

“There has always ben a 'plane of the future' ... in the future.

Where is Popular Mechanics now that we need it?”

“The inflated salaries in the world of finance are made possible by bubbles.

Presently, with the recent housing and derivitives bubbles deflated, Washington is filling the gap and, through generous contributions, insuring the health of the wallets of those perched in the aeries of Wall Street. The flow of the 'campaign contributions' river has increased dramatically.

A conversati­on-starter can be constructed around the identify of the next bubble.”

“Consider, if you will, a terrorist who is an engineer willing to undertake a suicide mission.

The electronic safeguards are designed to thwart attempts to detonate the bomb remotely. They are designed with the assumption that the detonator wishes to die in bed.

But if someone is bent on doing the job of detonating the bomb 'by hand' ...”

“Is it possible that the econosystem bounded by the campaign contributions of the financial industry, the losses of speculators [one could hardly call them 'investors'] from risky financial products and the profits of financial houses from their sale of same form a zero sum game?”

“Sir;

You have provided an alarming view of the rise of the financial sector to a position of great power within our society. It represents a first step in exploring the ramifications. But it is only a very small first step.

The next will be to identify and quantify the factors which work as drivers and, more importantly, as counterbalances. This requires real intellectual effort and, as such, is better left to the academics.

An interesting read, though. An interesting read.”

“Sir;

Your piece is essentially a plea for a polite, respectful acceptance of new artistic endeavors. But bad art is also created every day.

Accepting the new because it is new short-circuits the winnowing process which ultimately defines the good as opposed to the bad.

The act of judging a new work is not the sole province of the professional critic. That section of the public which pays attention to [and supports] new works has a voice. When that voice proclaims 'Tripe!', loudly and with vigor, it might, just might, be correct.”

“"In Washington, September 8th, 2009."

"We, the corporations, in order to form a more easily controlled union, ..."”

“Dr. Bromwich:

There is a tendency, not unknown to academics, to present data in a light which butresses an argument. You might have inadvertently fallen into this trap. I refer to your somewhat exaggerated presentation of President Obama's current 'popularity' situation.

The Gallup Poll(r) figures can be parced in another less dramatic way. If we look at the figures at the start of each month of the data and extract the 'undecided' percent, they form a temporal sequence: 20, 12, 11, 5, 6, 7, 6 and 6. In short, they quickly converge to about 6%. If we also work out the median points of the 'pro' and 'anti' figures, the sequence is 40, 44, 44.5, 47.5, 47, 46.5, 47 and 47.

From these data we can suggest three conclusions. From the first sequence: that political polarization is alive and well in the USA. From the second sequence: after initial gain in the first four months in converting more than half of the 'undecideds' to his camp, President Obama has settled down to batting .500 in conversions. And finally, from both sequences, we can note that the for/undeci­ded/agains­t data have converged to a stable state.”

“It is not that unusual for those responsible for a debacle to be exempt from its effects.

A nice parallel can be found in MLB. The New York Mets are the second-highest paid team in baseball. They are also one of the -- how shall I put it? -- lesser lights in terms of on-field performance. A non-sports enthusiast would look at this unhappy situation and suggest that those people in the organization who are responsible for the selection of players and managers should be fired.

Go figure.”

“The death of a single innocent man at the hands of the state condemns capital punishment more than all the words of all the pundits.”

“It is interesting to consider capital punishment in Texas in conjunction with the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill.' There seems to be an interesting disconnect.”

“And, my dear Columnist, I'm on the record as saying that to the wage-earner, the recession is not over until the number of jobs created each month is equal to or greater than the number of people entering the workforce.

Until that happens, the picture is one of worsening conditions. The economists and political pundits can say what they wish to make themselves look a.) impressive or b.) erudite or c.) worthy of support by those they carry water for. It doesn't matter worth a hoot in the grocery check-out line. Never has. Never will.”

“In my more speculative moments I wonder if the first conservatives were a small group of primates who felt that coming down out of the trees was a bad idea.”

“Allen Drury's later books in the 'Advise and Consent' political series struck me as far-fetched when I read them years ago.

I'm now not so sure.”

“The Chevrolet Volt and similar cars are best considered as suburban vehicles.

Many of us live in locations where running an extension cord from our home or apartment to a vehicle in the street, often parked 'down the block' or, by law, on the other side of the street, nets a quick and expensive summons if not a lawsuit from someone who has tripped and fallen over the line.

For us, these cars must be considered solely on their gas mileage as opposed to their electric or electric/gas mileage. When we compare them to, say, a similarly-sized Kia, the number of years required to recover the cost differential through gasoline savings, assuming such a savings even exists, rules them out of any possible consideration.

To quote an old song, 'You've come a long way, Baby -- but Baby, you've sure got a long way to go.'”

“A feature of Facebook(r) which is overlooked by some is the forum section. These can form a valuable adjunct to Huffingtonpost.com.

By way of introduction, there's a forum devoted to the discussion of ethics. At present one of the threads concerns itself with ethics and forums. The link to this page is:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=2225302140&ref=mf

I believe that reasoned discussion of ethics as it applies to our world of today can be of value to the individual. Relating it to current events in the news provides a sense of immediacy and gives direct meaning to its importance.

Ethics is sometimes viewed as a mere Ivory Tower exercise in intellectualism.

It isn't, of course.”

“What a magnificently specious argument!

'Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' are consitiuti­onally-def­ined rights, true. But the right to liberty, for example, is 'infringed' by jailing someone, nu? [Factoid: The US imprisons more people per capita than any other country.]

So these 'elemental' rights are modified by many factors. Why not include compassion and morality among them? Other civilized modern democracies have seen fit to do so.

Sir: I suggest you see if your institution has a freshman introductory course in logic.”