Steve's barking at corrupt appearances

Oh no the third blog today.

I used to be a big believer in our court system. I used to be.

Very recently( last year or the year before) the supreme court ruled that the government didn't have the right to stop big money from from airing what might just be considered political ads. This was a free speech issue.

Now it's not my purpose of this particular blog to argue if this is right or wrong ( I seem to recall in my business course business were people).

I do have a problem with supreme court justices going to gatherings with groups and or people who pay lawyers that argue cases before them, such as the Koch brothers for Citizens United. It has been reported widely that that both Justices Clarence Thomas and Anthony Scalia have gone to retreats hosted by the Koch brother. While this may not be anything, the appearance of justices in such gatherings has the appearance of corruption.  

I for one am starting to loss faith in our justice system, after reading about lawyers paying bribes to political leaders in Brooklyn for judgeship's, now reading about supreme court justices attending gatherings of people putting up money for cases that have been heard before the court makes me very sad indeed.

What is the United States turning into a third world country.

Steve's barking at the 10 amendment

The powers not delegated to the the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 
That's the exact wording of the tenth amendment to to Constitution. This amendment just like ever other amendment and the original Constitution before the amendments is pretty straight forward. Well it was until lawyers and Jurist tried and found secret meaning to it.
The tenth amendment means that the state can set laws that aren't set in the Constitution such as trying some one for murder or robbery. Now I must be a fool but there is no way that the tenth amendment give states right over the federal government as long as it stated in the Constitution. Of cause 150 and years ago we fought a bloody civil war over this article and those who though that citizens of  one state could bring it's laws into the territories and the federal government had no say in the matter. Those states righter's  lost, or so the history books claim.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government to redress of the grievances.
That's the first amendment. Now the way I read this amendment, it limits what the federal government can do.
Now if Montana wants to limit the amount of money that be spent on an election it can do so, for there is nothing in the Constitution to prohibit them.


Do we really have freedom of religion, press and speech, yes from the federal government but states and local government can if not by fact then by the constitution.

Steve's Barking at the non-diversification of the US Supreme Court

The United States has a problem with the supreme court not being very diversified.
Just think 4 out the nine justices are from New York City and we all know how liberal New York City is.
Do you realize that all nine justice went to Eastern Establishment  (liberal) Law Schools. Four went to Yale, and Five went to Harvard. 


Ow, I just bit my tong. 

Steve's barking at the double depression of the 20s and 30s

I seem to recall reading about a double depression in the United States during the 20s and 30s.
The first was the collapse of farm prices during the 20s forcing many a farmer to lose their farms.
This was called the rural depression. This was followed by the urban depression starting with the collapse of the stock market. Of cause the rural depression continued. I guess you can't call a depression a depression unless it meets a snobbish definition of one, so the rural depression doesn't count.

Steve's Barking at what's great about America

In America we can self heal faster then any other nation.
In America we can criticize the government (in most cases) with out the fear of reprisal.
America has given the opportunity for many a poor boy to become rich.
A women born in America today will probably be on equal footing with any man in twenty years.
In America faults have been corrected with out outside force.
In America the Constitution protects the minority, even if it's it's religion, race, or ideas (too a point).
America has been the land of the bold, whether it's business or politics, buying land when  the majority question your wisdom  or bringing ideas from Europe, or creating our own for manufacturing.
America has up to now embraced the innovator, the intellectually curious.
America has been a place of the idea of freedom.
America the can do nation. Lets hope it will always be that way.

One can only hope that this great nation doesn't fall pray to the bulling that can only lead to the wussification of the embarrassing of what makes us the tops.

Steve's barking that the American Health care system stinks

The American health care system sucks.
Why does it suck?
(1)Most get their health insurance by employers, putting this country at a disadvantage with a cost that other countries don't have. Having employers pay for health insurance doesn't give the employee a stake in their health insurance.
(2)The cost to states for medicaid s and other health related insurances and services is by far the biggest expense that states have.
(3)We pay the most for our medicine then any other country.
(4)We are far behind in stem cell research.
(5) Hospital are closing, despite the fact that our population is growing. We are also getting older.
(6) We don't have enough primary care doctors.
(7) The cost of becoming a doctor is too expensive.
(8) The cost of insurance that doctors and hospitals have to pay is outrages.

Too many of us Americans have our heads in the sand when it comes to our health care system.
Even if you think it's the best in the world it's not very good.

Steve's Barking at Depression of 1920

Out damn depression,out I say. Be like the depression of 1920.
If only we had a Depression like we had in 1920 when we got out of it without Government and it took no time at all.
Now if only there had been a war recently were countries needed our products that our factories had to produce at fall capacity after producing at a fraction of it's capacity. Their factories were being rebuild after being destroyed by war.
Europe had the means to pay even though the owed us more money then the stars at MGM studios.
If only China needed our products, or for that matter the rest of Asia needed and could buy them.
If only Europe had no manufacturing capacity.

Why do I think the more free trade agreements we have, the less free trade we have. I must be getting senile.

Why do some many smart people insist that we fight the  present battles with the last wars tactics?
Or in the case of the small (lasting a short period of time) depression with tactics that are totally wrong.
Am I the only goofball who thinks that there are several types of Depressions?

Steve's barking

News item, the today is relieving Ann Curry of her co-anchor position on the today show. Well I have a suggestion for NBC, they should go retro and hire a monkey for their co-anchor position such as Dave Garroway had when the today show just started out.

Why do I think I could do a much better job then the professional that the democratic party has to get their message across?
That's because the democratic party has no message. I would at least create one.

Why are sports columnist going crazy on Rodger Clemons, Barry Bonds and the rest of those star athletes in the steroid age?  Cheating and doing illegal things have always been part of the game. Are those sports writer suggesting that opposing players don't try to steal signs? How come Gaylord Perry is in the Hall of Fame, he was caught red handed with a emery board in his back pocket doctoring up the baseball.
Why are they complaining about players trying to get a edge. That's the way of the world.
Is it because of illegal drugs? We have two presidents admitting to marijuana use
They lied to congress? Well congress lies to the American people all the time.

Steve's barking at rent stablization in nyc

I look at rent stabilization in NYC and see no solution.
I see two major problems.
Most rent stabilized apartments are the apartments that need the most money for their upkeep.
A majority of those who live in rent stabilized apartments can't afford rent increases because they work in industries that don't pay well and raises are few and far between, if they don't have a deduction in pay.

I know that that there are many tenants in rent stabilized who could afford to pay more and they are held up as to why rent stabilization doesn't work and the market should determine the price of an apartment.
I also know of the problem of tenants rights were the original tenant is in a retirement community or has been dead for over 100 years and a relative 10 times removed has taken over the apartment and can't be removed by a bulldozer. I'm convinced that is an aberration and not whats in the main.

Government is not subsidising anymore building, and many buildings that were subsidized have lived up to their commitments, and now they want out. State and city are making it hard for these developments to leave the program. I'm a little uncomfortable with that, yet I want to have more rent stabilized housing in NYC. I just don't know how to do it.

I kind of knew that I just wasn't that smart.

Steve's barking at longer life or not

The mayor of New York wants every body to be physically heather so you can live longer and not be a fiscal burden.
If you work for the city you can work longer. Mentally you might be a basket case and not a very productive member of the government work force, but your lungs will be healthier, and by not drinking so much soda pop, or other sugary drinks by making them more expensive.
I'm sure the next step will be to tax sugar laced food.
Question. Doesn't this put a burden on those who can't fly off to Saint Moritz for their pleasures?

I understand that there has been a large uptick in venereal disease among senior citizens, should we lessen their pleasure by fining them for not using protection? After all it cost the health system millions if not billions to treat and could have been avoided, with a little bit of protection.

Why haven't I heard of any studies of the death rate of morbidly obese persons compared to seemingly healthy skinny people? Is this a conspiracy of those demanding pleasing aesthetics?

We are living existing longer now but are we any happier?
We have to work longer.
The majority of us are losing our saving to wise guy minority, and our little pleasures of life are being attacked and the few are making it harder and harder  for the many to have our simple pleasure.

So in conclusion, we are living less and existing more.

Steve's barking To Keynes or not to Keynes

I like to think I'm a Keynesian (Keynes?).
What do I know about Keynesian economics?
Yea I believe that when the economy in ones nation it's governments role to stimulate the economy.
I'm also one who believes that when government stimulates the economy with job creation, those jobs should pay enough for those employed have a large discretionary income s those employed would have the money to buy goods and services from the private sector or at least save or invest. The private sector would then have the incentive to invest in employees. That being the theory or what I believe the theory to be, one would be hard pressed to come up with a better theory, unless you believe in the job fairy.
I also believe that one should increase taxes in good time to pay for the borrowing that takes place in bad times.
I think that makes me a Keynesian.
Now I've seen some load mouths on the boob tube who claim they understand Keynesian economics, but for some unknown reason, I don't feel they know Jack about Keynesian theory of economics.


I've been reading that businesses are investing in employees because of uncertainty.
Life is always full of uncertainties. I just think that businesses are doing what they are suppose to be doing. Some businesses are making profits at a record breaking pace. Why should they hire new employees unless they have reasonable expectation that there profits would be even greater or if they don't their profits would diminish.


The only reason for a business is to make money, it's not to create jobs, promote social justice, or to clean the environment. Those thing are incidental to making money.

Steve's barking at the union loss in Wisconsin?

Unions took a terrible loss in Wisconsin on Tuesday. They didn't beat Walker.
They might have change the make up in the   state senate, but that don't count, even though it can stop the governor from doing what ever the f**k he wants to do.

Heard Ron Paul several weeks back about the Byzantine empire and how they lasted so without debasing their currency and having no wars. I looked it up, boy did the congressman have it wrong.

I live in a area were I can make rough estimate that at least 60% of the 15000 family are currently civil servants or retired civil servants. They support 2 large supermarkets, 3 smaller ones, several garages not counting the five gas stations, local hardware store, numerous restaurants, a JC Penny and a K Mart, not counting a new mall that is intended in the spring of 2014. Almost all of these private enterprise businesses wouldn't be there if it wasn't for government workers and their paychecks and pensions.
( The circle of economic life).

Steve's barking at asteroid colliding with earth in Dec 2013

It has just been discovered by the national SOE (save our earth) agency that an asteroid the size of Road Island will crash with earth.
Immediately  President Bradley sent word to congress that we needed to build thirteen Scans Rockets along with building of special Tesla lasers at the cost of eight hundred billion dollars.

The debate has begun in congress.
Representative Herman leading the opposition, stated today, this is a budget buster, we can't borrow anymore, think of our children's future.
Senator Lank chimed in, how can you trust this agency, after all it's run by the government and as the great President Reagan said you can't trust government. Anyway if this thing is so big how come it wasn't discovered before. It's just another way for government to spend money.
Representative Sparkle chimed in on INN (Internet News Network) that the majority of scientist don't believe that this asteroid will hit  the earth.
The Lightning Town press proclaimed that why should we spend more money when we already have rockets that can reach it and blow it to smithereens with atomic bombs . The president is asking us to spend money on an other boondoggle.
People from the presidents own party like Senator Peaches are making a suggestion that we should ask other countries to join us in research and development of a device or devices to destroy this asteroid.
It was suggested by commentator Herb on BNN (Business News Network) that other nations should have to pitch in and pay for saving the earth, after all other peoples live on earth also, and they should help fit the bill.

Will the Tesla Laser and the Scans rocket be build it time?Will the Us be bankrupt to save the rest of the earth? Will another country besides the United States save the earth? Maybe we really do have enough rocket power and explosive power to save the earth.

Will I submit the real science fiction stories to be published?
Will they be published?
Will anything I ever written be published?
Will they be liked?
What me worry?

Steve's barking at why I hate graphs

Why I hate graphs.
I used to love graphs to highlight what I believed to be the truth.
It's just that they don't really prove the truth.
Who uses graphs?
The good, the bad, and the down right evil.
The problem with graphs, one doesn't know if the statistics are true to back up the graph.
I lost my faith in graphs during the Reagan administration, If I'm not mistaken they used graphs to prove ever erroneous reason for the administrations economic policies.
It seems like everyone likes to us a graph to prove a point.Even my hero's (maybe that's the wrong word) use graphs, and I'm 95% sure that they can back up their data.
But one can't tell if the graphs are correct unless one knows if their data that the graph uses is correct.

Steve's barking, no more big gulp oh no

New York City plans to ban sugary drinks over 16 ounces from movie theaters, restaurants, and outdoor food carts.
What's a man on a date in the movies going to do? How can he share his large drink and humongous popcorn with his favorite gal? He can't give germs to his lovely without giving her a kiss.
What about the mother of four? She can't buy two large sodas to go with the franks, she has to buy four sodas.
What about the family who buys the biggest size soda brings in some small cups and they all share? Will they have to sneak in some Fanta ( I believe that's a cheep soda) to the movie theater.

Steve's barking at Facebook

On no Morgan Stanley got it wrong and peg the price of face book wrong.
Now if only I had some lose change around I would buy some shares. I looked in the usual places but my wife must have searched the couch before I did.
I was wrong I thought the value of the company for that many shares that were being sold was thirty dollars, and it's lower then that at the present time.
Me being not the brightest guy in the word predict that it will hit forty dollars by December and fifty by this time next year. Why you may ask? I'm looking at the other Buffet rule if you like something enough buy it's stock, and an a lot of people love Facebook. Besides a awful lot of financial annalist on the boob tube keep knocking saying that it's only revenue source is advertising. Good thing after over fifty years over the air TV finally got another revenue source besides advertising. I don't know how they were able to last so long.