Friday, July 11, 2003

Four Books. Yes, I just got my four books about living on boats from Amazon.  This causes me to note a few things.  First, I do not want to be 40 and living on a boat by myself.  But it'll probably happen anyway.  Second, sometimes the USPS kicks ass.  Amazon's super-saver delivered these four books to me via the USPS in less than two days, from Delaware.  That is damn fast.  My $59 shipped Wednesday night and is here already. On the other hand, Sporty's Pilot Shop charged me $15 for shipping via UPS.  It's been two days, and my order still isn't here yet!  Dammit!  I want my private-pilot-on-DVD course.  I'm planning on wrapping up my pilot's license, and I seriously need to get in some review before I start this puppy back up again. It's a warm night here.  I'm heading out for a drink.  I'll confuse another bartender, who won't know how to make a sidecar.  But I do.  I am secret. 10:05:37 PM    comment []

Where the Money Goes. Keep this as a handy reference in your back pocket! In billions: social security $480 medicare $245 veteran's benefits $58 grade school, high school $34 highways $30 health research and training $28 nondefense homeland security $27 food stamps $25 financial aid to college students $20 farm subsidies $16 NASA $15 foreign aid $9 pollution control $8 FBI $5 national cancer institute $5 operation of national parks $2 So let's see: The Bushies are going to spend around $40 Billion just in the next NINE MONTHS, on Iraq. Best estimates are that we're going to be sustaining this level for around 3 or 4 years. Grand total: Let's say around $160 Billion. Of course, that does not include many of the other military costs, but it's a useful place to start. Looking at our list of yearly entries, it's fairly clear that we could have saved a LOT more American lives by dedicating some of these resources to cancer research, for example, or pollution control. Both of those things kill way more Americans each year than any weapon of mass destruction could ever hope to. The farm subsidies piss me off. That's $16 Billion we really shouldn't be spending. It benefits mostly corporations and a vanishingly small number of farmers. Guess what -- corporate agriculture is just flat out more efficient, and works better on the big scale. But we should no longer be subsidizing those corporations. 8:44:57 PM    comment []