tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135408922011-06-22T10:11:31.232-04:00Technical, scientific and politics are the main interests.georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1159721118813529002006-10-01T12:44:00.000-04:002006-10-01T12:45:18.830-04:00

Recent consensus in the scientific community about global warming is that the world has about a 10 year window of opportunity to prevent a catastrophe. But doing something effective is going to take political will, political leadership, and money--lots of it. What it comes down to is that all the rich countries of the world are going to have to raise taxes to get enough money to get the job

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1159542115780778442006-09-29T10:58:00.000-04:002006-09-29T11:01:55.783-04:00

If you watch movies and dramatic episodes on tv you may have noticed the incredible sound tracks that most modern shows have. Just when an important dramatic moment is about to occur, the background music swells enough to drown out the actors voices. The “Law And Order” shows are especially good at doing this. Restaurant and street scenes are especially good for making the background noises (

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1158594976567090232006-09-18T11:55:00.000-04:002006-09-29T10:57:54.473-04:00

The Democrats are being criticized for not having a plan to get the US out of Iraq, or else for planning to abandon Iraq to anarchy. The Republicans say this is the reason voters should elect Republicans this November.These are phony issues. The only issue the Democrats need to emphasize concerning the election is the almost total incompetence of the Bush administration. What happens when a

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1158594916370231142006-09-18T11:53:00.000-04:002006-09-18T11:55:16.370-04:00

The democrats have added Nevada and South Carolina to their presidential primary states. That will give three presidential primaries in January, 2008 and another in early February, and these four primaries are likely to determine the Democratic presidential nominee.But January is too early in the political process to select a candidate. Back in the days of smoke-filled rooms and political bosses

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1158594786840706422006-09-18T11:52:00.000-04:002006-09-18T11:53:06.843-04:00

In a July 21, 2006 op-ed piece in Newsday, Joshua Spivak, an attorney and media consultant, made the point that the presidential primary elections are rigged against the Democrats. Iowa and New Hampshire, the two established early primaries, are to be joined by Nevada and South Carolina. These are all small states, and the voters of small states tend to favor Republicans more than Democrats.But

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1158594714108717272006-09-18T11:46:00.000-04:002006-09-18T11:51:54.120-04:00

Every time you go to a bureaucracy with something a little different from what they expect, you are almost guaranteed to get a brush off--fast or slow. In my small town a new traffic signal was installed on a well used but not major road. The traffic signal was at the entrance to a gated community and the signal light for all traffic on the road was set to Red. Thus all cars and trucks and

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1151254078316740902006-06-25T12:46:00.000-04:002006-06-25T12:47:58.326-04:00

The Republicans like to say that Democrats are weak on defense and that they want to “cut and run” from Iraq. Actually, the US has the manpower, the technology, the money and everything else needed to end the mess in Iraq in six months or less. But the Republican administration is so weak on defense that they are afraid to commit the resources necessary to get the job done. Iraq should have

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1149174361279180302006-06-01T11:05:00.000-04:002006-06-01T11:06:01.296-04:00

In a previous post it was suggested that contributors to campaigns have 60% of their contribution go to the candidate of their choice and that 40% go to their opponent. This will work ok if there is only one opponent. But how does the 40% get distributed if there are 2 or more candidates? Let's say there are two certified opponents at the time the contribution is made. The first choice

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1147208647887445362006-05-09T17:03:00.000-04:002006-06-25T12:49:44.440-04:00

Financing political campaigns is still a problem, even after the passage of the McCain-Finegold reform act. But there is a relatively simple way that campaign finance can be made much fairer. First, let people and organizations contribute as much as they want to the campaign. Second, if the amount is $100 or less, they can contribute the full amount to any candidate they want. But if the

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1142890139870796252006-03-20T16:28:00.000-05:002006-04-07T17:21:16.573-04:00

Congress must make sure that G.W. Bush does not make or declare war on Iran. If war on Iran becomes necessary, which is extremely unlikely, it should occur only after the next presidential election.Atomic weapons have been used in only one conflict, WWII. Since then, they have been primarily a waste of money by all weapon developers. The weapons cannot be used because any use would bring

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1140536637074802632006-02-21T10:42:00.000-05:002006-02-21T10:43:57.100-05:00

Property values are going up in many parts of the country, and as a direct result, property taxes are going up, too, sometimes dramatically. Actually, of course, most so-called property taxes are not property taxes at all but are either mostly or totally real estate taxes. If all property were taxed at the same rate, the so-called property tax rate for most people would actually go down. This

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1140277504394436162006-02-18T10:44:00.000-05:002006-02-18T10:45:04.410-05:00

If you’re interested in politics, you should read the book “Fog Facts”, by Larry Beinhart. The premise of the book is that important facts are often readily available but nobody pays attention to them. For example, the Nuremberg Trials of Nazis after WWII resulted in a set of principles that have governed the post-WWII debate on the ethics of war. In a section called Crimes Against Peace, this

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1137858513471703402006-01-21T10:46:00.000-05:002006-01-21T10:48:33.493-05:00

Citizens of the US are free to say anything they want, except for certain types of speech, including obscenity, libel, and “fighting words”. Money, however, is considered the "equivalent" of free speech by the US Supreme Court.Two kids show up at a candy store and each wants to get a candy bar, which costs $1.00. One of the kids has been given a dollar by his father. The other kid was given a

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1134500195765503972005-12-13T13:53:00.000-05:002005-12-13T13:56:35.766-05:00

In one of your comments or email you said I would find your email address in the left hand corner but I couldn't find it. I'd like to visit your site but I can't contact you.Regards, George

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1134499147109961932005-12-13T13:36:00.000-05:002005-12-13T13:41:19.206-05:00

Do you believe that morality comes from religion, or that it is a function of the psychological faculties of the mind? Researchers at Harvard are trying to settle the question using a Moral Sense Test that you can take on the web. The tests support the idea that morality--knowing right from wrong--comes from built-in psychological principles and not from any organized religion. Thus the

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1133975147061416032005-12-07T12:01:00.000-05:002005-12-07T12:12:47.846-05:00

The congressional elections of 2006 ought to be a landslide for Democrats but this is not likely to happen. For example, from the NY Times of 11.20.05 (“The Center No Longer Holds”) the Senate’s 55 Republicans represent 131 million people while the 44 Democrats represent 161 million people. In other words, each Republican Senator represents 2.38 million people and each Democratic Senator

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1133202587568349692005-11-28T13:23:00.000-05:002005-11-28T13:29:47.593-05:00

The following is actually a comment that was added to the Evollution vs ID post below. Glad to get a comment. Actually, I am not in favor of ID. My little essay is meant to be only the first part of an exploration of the subject. I am an engineer too but not a statitician. I would like to find out how large the first living thing was, or even if there is a clear marker between say a mostly

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1130687839783523152005-10-30T10:55:00.000-05:002005-10-30T10:57:19.806-05:00

I’ve installed two clips from my movie on the DVD page (http://www.thelittlegreenie.com ) but these clips have not generated much if any traffic. So, a few days ago I added a clip of the first 12 minutes or so of the movie (after opening credits) that can be downloaded. It takes about 10 minutes to download with a cable connection. I’m curious to see if it brings more traffic to the site. I

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1129064685999262662005-10-11T16:56:00.000-04:002005-10-11T17:04:46.006-04:00

It is time for a wealth tax. I believe the U.S. needs a complete reform of the Federal tax system, which will inevitably mean reform of the states tax system as well.Suppose this was a nation where every family owned a million dollars. Since there are about 106.5 million families in the country, the total personal wealth of the country would be 1 million times 106.5 million, or $106.5 trillion

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1128353807917608652005-10-03T11:35:00.000-04:002005-10-03T11:39:06.293-04:00

During world war II many German prisoners were kept in various camps in England and America. An English girl became friendly with one of the German prisoners, who was very discouraged about his situation. She would sometimes stop outside the wire fence where he was kept and try to cheer him. One day he seemed expecially morose. With one last effor to cheer him up as she was leaving, she

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1128269719476918462005-10-02T12:12:00.000-04:002005-10-09T10:46:40.196-04:00

Solar power is being used more and more in buildings of all types to provide some or all of the energy the building requires. It seems likely that solar power could play a much bigger role in the US energy mix. A new type of solar cell can produce a peak power of 210 watts per square meter. When averaged over 24 hours and all four seasons, the power available in the continental US would be

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1128091413725902922005-09-30T10:40:00.000-04:002005-10-02T12:21:38.893-04:00

Financing political campaigns is still a problem, even after the passage of the McCain-Finegold reform act. But there is a relatively simple way that campaign finance can be made much fairer. First, let people and organizations contribute as much as they want to the campaign. Second, if the amount is $1000 or less, they can contribute the full amount to any candidate they want. But if the

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1127837655166412592005-09-27T12:12:00.000-04:002005-10-02T12:23:01.983-04:00

Practically every supplement that some people say is helpful in certain disorders has other people who say “Be careful. Not scientifically proven.” You may run into this is, for example, if you want to useglucosamine to treat arthritis. A number of manufacturers make it, lots of people buy it and find it helpful, but many doctors say it is worthless. But few if any doctors say it is

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1126022533130580132005-09-06T11:57:00.000-04:002005-09-08T11:25:54.526-04:00

What is an example of intelligent design? How about an airplane or an automobile? They are certainly too complex to have come into existence by accident. The automobile was invented or created in the 1890s, and after that it slowly evolved to the car of today. People saw the original car and little by little began to modify it. They added doors, headlights, bigger engines, power steering,

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1124814084643547202005-08-23T12:17:00.000-04:002005-10-02T12:23:38.016-04:00

A version of this was posted on the forum page on moveon.com:Major Campaign Issues for DemocratsI think the Democrats ought to come up with 4 or 5 solid compaign issues for the coming elections of 2006 and 2008. Twenty or thirty issues are too many as they dilute the emphasis on the really key issuses. Here are 3 issues that I think should be considered:1. Set of goal of energy independence by

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1124642654525689442005-08-21T12:42:00.000-04:002005-08-21T12:48:16.473-04:00

Congress is going to try to repeal the Estate Tax in September. This tax brings in more than $70 billion a year (year 2000). All estates worth less than $675,000 are exempt from any tax. In 2000 this was about 52,000 estates, or 2.16% of the total. Various new limits have been suggested. If the exemption is raised to $1.5 million, only 0.57% of estates would pay any tax. If $2.0 million, 0.26%

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1122393176518136032005-07-26T11:49:00.000-04:002005-07-26T11:52:56.526-04:00

Once a congressman gets elected, you know what? He or she never gets unelected until he dies or retires. Congressmen have a reelection rate of about 97%. Once a congressman gets in office, his main job becomes raising money for his next election. The job of representing constituents comes second. Further, the best way to raise money is do it in big chunks. Get some lobbyist or corporation

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1121873180781319952005-07-20T11:13:00.000-04:002005-07-20T11:26:20.786-04:00

Outsourcing is starting to look like a much bigger problem than a lot of politicians are willing to admit. In the book "Outsourcing America" the authors reproduce a chart (page 105) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics of August 29, 2004. In September 2000, the number of employed workers was 133 million and the total US labor force was 142 million. That would give an unemployment rate of

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1120839145975553842005-07-08T11:57:00.000-04:002005-07-08T12:12:25.980-04:00

The pharmaceutical industry spent more than $800 million since 1998 on lobbyists and political campaigns. In the past year the industry hired nearly 1,300 lobbyists. Some are former lawmakers and some worked for congressional committees or regulatory agencies. The lobbyists got the drug giants a massive tax relief bill and prevented the government from negotiating prices on drug buys. Well,

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1120754502844385772005-07-07T12:22:00.000-04:002005-07-16T12:31:55.250-04:00

The jailing of Judith Miller is an absolute disgrace. Somebody with influence has got to organize a drive to get Congress to pass the reporter's shield law this year. And it should be made retroactive to the first of 2004.Whenever top characters in a government commit a crime, they have all the power necessary to cover it up. And if an insider provides a newspaper with otherwise hidden

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1118502839073495792005-06-11T11:03:00.000-04:002005-06-11T11:13:59.080-04:00

From Newday, June 9, 2005: . . . 'FDA safety officer David Graham said that after reviewing the makeup and structure of the his agency's new Drug Safety Oversight Board, he concluded that the panel is "severely biased in favor of industry" and that "the FDA cannot be trusted to protect the public or reform itself." 'The Safety Board is made up largely of FDA managers.

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13540892.post-1118326534322085052005-06-09T10:12:00.000-04:002005-06-09T10:15:34.323-04:00

New techical and scienficit ideas and developments do not seem to get much publicity these days. Some of the books on some of these subjects are very interesting.

georgex5http://www.blogger.com/profile/08284832110440491160noreply@blogger.com0