How to Balance the Federal Budget

It's really not hard. Stop spending and find something hard to back the buck. It's not Gold by the way.

"The United States government has direct ownership of almost 650 million acres of land (2.63 million square kilometers) – nearly 30% of its total territory. - Big Think"

The Feds for instance "84.5% of Nevada." What's the whole enchalada worth? All the land in the USA? The Feds for instance only own 69.1% of Alaska, but Alaska is our largest state. So the Fed's holdings in Alaska are greater in terms of acreage than a lot of states combined. 15 years ago it was worth "billions." In the age of typewriters, it was worth almost a billion. If you take a deep breath and realize that the real definition of inflation is not "rising prices" but the printing of money, then you know that a Billion in the '80's is a lot more money now.

But what is the actual value of Federal Lands now? Net Right Daily refers to the type written paper I linked to above when guessing at the value of Federal Oil and Gas rights at "$1.8 trillion, adjusted for inflation." It doesn't seem that anyone has a real account grasp of the total value of the holdings of our Federal Government. So how about a Dirt Standard? We don't have the assets outside of our land to back the dollar, so back it with dirt. We've got the dirt. I've been suggesting we should sell it off for years, though I don't recall if I've mentioned it here. It's a big country, so someone else as thought of this as well:

From "Winona 360" - "It might surprise you to hear that the Federal government owns 35% -- just about 650 million acres -- of the land mass of the United States. Most of this land is intended for all citizens (and future generations) to use and enjoy, and includes all National Parks, National Monuments, National Forests, and National Wildlife Refuges."

About a year ago, the Richmond Times Dispatch took a shot at it:

"Suppose, for instance, that 10 percent of the 650 million acres — 65 million acres — would be offered for sale only to domestic energy companies. Of course, each parcel sold would need to be priced at its respective market value and evaluated so as to weigh its comparative merits for producing energy versus being preserved for environmental or scenic value. For the sake of illustration, if these tracts were sold for an average of $1,500 per acre, the resulting revenue to repay our hemorrhaging national debt would be in the range of $97.5 trillion."

But, they must be using an early "Pentium" chip, because the total value of federal land at $1,500 an acre is more like a trillion. The concept of a trillion can be complicated by the fact that the British for instance, have more zeros in their trillion, than we do. For US consumption, a trillion is a "1" followed by 12 zeros. So 650,000,000 is 650 million. If you multiply it by 1000, that's 650,000,000,000. That's not quite 12 zeros. You add another half a thousand to the mix and it rounds up rather neatly to a trillion. It would seem that in dealing with Carl Sagan sized numbers, we can't quite get our minds around them.

Nevertheless, it's a lot of money. It's two trillion if you get an average of $3,000 an acre. I honestly don't know what the average value is, but doubtless oil and mineral right lands are going to pull a prettier penny than a swamp. The Debt Clock is racing toward a national debt figure if $16,000,000,000,000. So that's an eight of the national debt. If we backed the dollar with Federal Land value, in some creative way, I think it's going to take a chunk out of it. An eighth of the debt in terms of raw annual net worth of the lands the US Government holds is somewhat significant. At some point, the dollar must be rationalized to real value, not to numeric face value, or it's going to end up in the gutter. Stop spending and printing the dollar, and start backing it.

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Keith, There is no Spoon! (there are no corporations)

Keith Olbermann's program on "Current" is being promoted by his statement that any person is more important than any corporation. Well, duh. Except there are no corporations Keith. I am more than nothing. I feel so good being saved by the concept of zero. "Corporate," as it is used today (a pejorative) continues to amaze me.

In the light of the axiom: "He who controls the language, controls the argument," maybe not so much. While I was watching Mr. Olbermann, one of his commentators/body doubles tried to appropriate that axiom for the Political Left, claiming it was the Right that was so skillfully doing so in the political discourse. In the process the commentator (of course) did NOT note that the victory of the left in the arena of "wordsmithing" (something he accused Frank Luntz of doing) is made obvious his quoting Luntz. Luntz is credited with the "recognition" that "capitalism" is now a dirty word. Um, who is winning in the "wordsmithing" arena again?

Corporations are simply a prosthesis for a group of people, or a "waldo" by which the group accomplishes it's goals. The goals are pretty simple. In the capitalist sense, the corporation serves to make something someone else wants (a good or service) in such a way that it yields a profit so that the welfare of each of it's individual stockholders, is served.

So, "we have met the enemy (if indeed corporations are enemies) and he is us." The simplistic objectification (scapegoating) of a corporation for all things "corporate" then is a very convenient half truth. A corporation is in essence an object, so it's "objectification" is redundant. It's so easy to treat impersonally something that really isn't there, and is, impersonal. Remember, "they" is really "us." Look at who the corporation is comprised of, there is no spoon.

It's not the corporation, which is a tool. It's what we are using the tool to do? Are we using a corporation to get things done that contribute to our prosperity, or are we signing up for an interest group that is then manipulated by another group for political gain?

It is my contention that politics as an object is destruction itself. Pure politicians will print a trillion dollars, and waste 99% of it so they can put a million in their pocket. Capitalist Corporations are far more benign. Their concupiscence sleeps. So between the moral busybodies and the pure politicians they employ to accomplish their goals, I think I prefer Capitalist Corporations, and I'm proud of that. (Thanks again Jack, I like that quote.)

Ultimately though, there are no corporations, really. They are artificial persons. There is no corporation Keith.

BTW, Olbermann interviewed Jackson Browne as a source of Moral Authority (shut up and sing Jackson) and slagged Michelle Bachman by obtusely ignoring her point about marriage, which is that it's for men and women, not persons of the same sex.

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Thanks for the Stupid Advice Captain Obvious

Number one of which is "Don't Pay Minimum Payments on Your Credit Card." I'm sick of hearing dumb stuff.

From "How Life Works," (Thanks Captain, I did not know that):

"Beware of just paying the minimum payments on your debts. This will results in your overall debt actually growing and your problems will only become worse."

Oh really?! While I was unemployed I went out and bought a big screen TV, instead of paying double payments on my credit cards.

No you insufferable moron, there was less money coming in and I'm paying it out in the most grudging fashion possible, so I'll have enough for next month's payment, and to eat. Furthermore, I don't know what Credit Card you have Rich B&^*&+, but mine, as bad as it's terms are, actually pays down a few dollars every time I make a payment. Maybe yours has a tempting "pile on your debt" feature low payment, but mine doesn't. Why is it I always feel like I'm getting debt advice from people who have money socked away?  By the way, I used my credit card for food, gas, car insurance payments and phone bills.

The benefits of making minimum payments are; I make SOME progress on my debt, they don't charge me off and ruin my credit>  Another thing to consider is; I don't just owe money on my credit cards. My debt is several instruments, some of which are lower interest but higher payment installment loans. My debt continues to plummet. Thank you. Imagine what happens when that $694 payment goes away next year. Imagine what happened when I paid that last $538 payment this month?

"Beware of relying on friends and family as it could damage relationships with the most important people in your life."

Yes, I didn't know that either. So you don't want me to do the following two things?

"Beware of unscrupulous credit counselors that demand cash upfront or high fees for help they promise, but don't deliver."

No kidding, those are scams? You mean they advertise all the time everywhere with the money they don't make off my unfortunate circumstance?

"Avoid taking out a new high-interest loan to pay off lower interest rate loans. It may be easier to just have one payment but it will actually increase the amount you have to pay back."

Really? That actually saved my butt once (ok three times), and yes, I paid it (them) off as fast as I could.

"Declaring bankruptcy when debt settlement may work for you..."

This isn't half bad. It's called "Be your own Credit Counseling Service." Credit card companies often will take part of the pie and call it a day, usually with some attendant notation to your credit file that isn't positive, and lasts for 7 years. Oh wait though, that's just like Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

All in all though, I'm supposed to avoid credit counseling and taking money from friends, and I'm supposed to avoid bankruptcy while not paying minimum payments on credit cards and I'll be fine.

Again, thanks Captain Obvious, I did not know that. I'll just dip into my savings and pay off that irksome card and I don't have any more debt problem. Or I'll shaft them with partial settlements, breaking my written word to them. That'll save me from making myself odious to relatives, and going bankrupt.

Now, for some GOOD advice:



Monocle Smile!

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Do I Look Like Mrs. Obama To You?

This is getting out of control, and I think I like it.

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So like a Republican (or any conservative)

To be frank, I both get it, and don't get it. I have refrained for the most part from blogging on the subject of the auto industry bail out. There have been a few posts, but not a lot. My livelihood depends on the domestic auto industry and so I have been restrained.

Now I'm going to say it. The attitude displayed here by the American Voting Public is just plain stupid:

"My Mustang aside, the greatest automobile in the history of the world may have been the ‘57 Chevy. It liberated the nation to see the USA in their… well, you know the rest. The common man had what the rich man had — without Eisenhower Motors.

Now GM is on the ropes thanks to decades of stupidity on a scale seldom seen outside of Congress.

Rasmussen polled the people and found the voters think the government has helped GM enough.

Rasmussen polled the people and found the voters think the government has helped GM enough."

'If GM requests more money to stay in business, only 16% now think the federal government should provide it. Sixty-one percent (61%) say no more taxpayer money should be given to the automaker,' Rasmussen reported. 'Interestingly, those who currently own GM cars are more strongly opposed to any further bailout of the company than are non-GM owners.'

"Over the years, I have owned an Oldsmobile, a Buick, a Chevy… no complaints. I just like the Mustang’s look."

'Most Americans (58%) still say Ford, the company that didn’t take a government bailout, is the Big Three automaker that has the best chance of surviving and becoming profitable again,'

(Found at Don Surber.)

I've finally condensed down to something relatively short, what the problem with the car industry in the United States has been for probably 20 years or more. Collectively the "Big Three" couldn't afford to shut down their assembly lines for 2 months. Their fixed costs included compensation to too many people not working and still getting paid. That's the short form of it. Rephrased, the US Auto industry was bankrupt a long time ago if it had to shut down the plants for 60 days.

In other industries, salaries and wages are variable costs and as draconian as it may seem, an industry could survive in hard times to pay you another day, by closing it's plants and turning out the lights. Stinks to be you if you're a wage earner, but when they opened again, you had a job. That ceased to be a strategy for the US Auto industry years ago, so they kept plants open, losing money on making cars and discounting them in slow times. Why? Because they lost more money paying people to do nothing.

I'm not prepared to argue with anyone (without wanting to explode at the same time) how it got that way. Let's just say there is blame to go around and it doesn't all settle on Auto Industry Fat Cats, the convenient location both those on the right and left like to place most of the blame. We have a new Little Three left over, and Ford's problems are the same as those of GM's and Chrysler's prior to both going bankrupt. All were losing money. 67% of the US auto industry going down the tubes with one remaining almost assures that the next time we're having this discussion (and there will be a next time), 100% of the Auto Industry (Ford) would be on the chopping block.

In the highly regulated environment of selling cars in the United States, emissions, safety, warranty concerns and fuel economy, the entry level costs are too high for anyone to get into the business any longer. Ask Tucker. Ask DeLorean. Essentially you have to set up shop simultaneously in 48 states and produce a product that passes the scrutiny of the Feds, several big states such as California and the insurance industry.

Are you going to buy that car if and when someone tries to do that? Probably not. It probably will not happen. Tesla is TRYING, but right now they are not making cars for ma and pa. Tesla's are expensive and custom ordered. I do not count them as automobiles in reality. You might as well say that Checker, when they made cars, was an American car company. Checker is said to have gone out of business in June of this year. Did anybody notice? By the time they went, they were so insignificant a player that not of us cared. What's left of Checker seems to be owned by the Canadian company, the "Narmco Group. Their website says they're still there, as a stamping plant.




What's my point? You don't want an America without an domestic auto industry. They are a strategic industry. Try to go to war with the country you're BUYING cars and trucks from. See how that works. I am not a trade protectionist, but if you figure you're going to take out your rage on the auto companies that took Federal help by driving them out of business through lack of patronage, you might as well put a gun to your head.

Similarly you figured you'd "show us" when you didn't like John McCain, and you put the Obama/Acorn/Democrat/Liberal gun to our heads in the last election.

How's that working out for you?

Is the satisfaction (schadenfreude) of seeing those guys get theirs enough comfort for you when you cut the rope we are all clinging to, to see them fall?

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Clunkers Clunked

Th-th-th-that's all Folks.

Cash for clunkers is done.

Fox News - The Transportation Department said (today) the government will wind down the program on Monday at 8 p.m. EDT. Car buyers can receive rebates of $3,500 or $4,500 for trading in older vehicles for new, more fuel-efficient models.

Good Riddance. Obama declared the program a success beyond the administrations "wildest dreams." Apparently all Obama dreams about is spending money on foreign cars, which takes the money for good paying jobs on American Assembly lines and hands the money would have paid for them to good paying jobs on foreign assembly lines.

I guess what Obama meant by "Shovel Ready Jobs" was that he would take us off assembly lines (hard work), and give us Shovel Jobs (harder, lower paying work).

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Hybrid Cars Destroy the Environment. What are we to do?

The Pharisee discovered Mitchieville a while back and often goes there to make sense of the world.

"Another reason why hybrid owners get into more accidents is because of people like me who purposely drive them off the road and into telephone poles, ditches, and into other cars. In Mitchieville, it’s not even against the law to do that to hybrid owners, it’s actually encouraged. I figure for every hybrid I take off the road, means one less commie professor who won’t make it to school that day. That’s good for the cheeeeeldren."

There are of course fundamental underlying reasons (real reasons, trust me) that insurance costs and costs in general for Hybrids are higher. Read the Mayor's analysis.

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Bring on GM, Bankruptcy didn't kill Chrysler

Chrysler as "Guinea Pig" is now over, or as Han Solo in Carbonite.

The Automotive News - "The Supreme Court cleared the way for a government-backed sale of Chrysler LLC to a group led by Italy's Fiat S.p.A., a victory for the bankrupt U.S. automaker and the Obama administration. The high court rejected a request from Indiana pension funds and other opponents of the transaction to delay the deal while they challenged Chrysler's sale."

Right or wrong, that's over. Only faith from the LORD can pull you through something like this, or at least me, through something like this.

GM, which is next in the chute and already moving towards the "thrills and spills" portion of the ride, knows that they will survive. Thrill Ride. Carbonite. Lab Rat. Whatever. The experimental process doesn't kill.

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Did Obama leave Money on the Table?

This is getting to be increasingly like a car deal.

Agence France-Presse via "Industry Week" - "Fiat said on June 9 it will stick with plans to forge an alliance with Chrysler after a U.S. Supreme Court decision put a temporary freeze on the transaction. "Fiat is committed (to a tie-up with Chrysler) even after June 15," a Fiat spokesman said. The company is entitled to pull out of the deal after that date if Chrysler's recovery plan has not been fully approved."

When you withdraw and offer, and the customer doesn't walk, it means they will pay more. It's one of the fundamental truths of negotiation, something you learn quickly or die in the car business.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg seemed the wrench throwing Supreme "wench" when she put a stay on the Chrysler Fiat marriage yesterday, but not, Fiat says they'll stick with the betrothal.

So are the bondholders who played high stakes poker with their whole pile of chips finding out they were right? There WAS more money on the table? It sure looks like it.

This is nervous for me in that I work for a Chrysler dealer, one that made it through the cut down and after last week it sure looked like everything was sailing towards salvation. Their were Bond Holders that realized that Chapter 7 Chrysler wouldn't pay out the return that Chapter 11 Chrysler would, even though they could snort and stomp about the unconstitutionality of the whole process, it seemed thy would warm to the idea of an equation that said "Lose $14,000,000.00" or "lose twice that much." That's pretty much the choice they were offered.

The Bond Holders seem to have come to the table and called the bluff saying "we think you'll pay more," Fiat's answer? "Maybe," which almost certainly means "yes." It's a short step then to "how much?"

In a game where union workers won't have anything, a job included, Fiat has expressed a willingness to pay more, and the Bond Holders say they WANT more, I'm guessing there just may be a move shortly after SCOTUS rules in favor of the bond holders to pay them more, which means the Union may get less or Fiat may pay more, or both. Of course if SCOTUS says "take what you got" to the bond holders a dangerous precedent looms for the rest of the secured debt world and Fiat apparently gets a steal. (UPDATE-that's the way it went down) That's the way I read it now.

Obama, any the way this turn(ed) out, is shown to have been so in love with the deal, that he made a bad one.

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Chrysler Sale to Fiat hits Bump

And her name is Ruth Ginsberg, of all people.

The Automotive News - "The U.S. Supreme Court will delay the sale of Chrysler LLC's assets to a new automaker run by Italy's Fiat S.p.A. while the court reviews the constitutionality of the bankruptcy sale. The court agreed today to consider the case after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reviewed a petition to the top court by three Indiana pension funds."

Doh!

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Hummer sold to the Chinese

Who said underwriting all our debt didn't get them anything?

The Financial Times - "Hummer’s sale to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company will close this year, marking one of the biggest overseas acquisitions in carmaking by a Chinese group.

GM on Tuesday confirmed the sale to Tengzhong, a privately-owned producer of road, construction and energy industry equipment.

The announcement came a day after the Detroit carmaker’s landmark US bankruptcy filing and is part of its plan to shed lossmaking units and trim its operations to four core brands. GM said the sale would close by the end of the third quarter."

Remember where the "Hummer" brand came from? From the "HUMVEE," which is the main land based military troop transport of our US Army.

And the Chinese bought it. Is our debt position connected in any way with this sale. I can't prove it. Someone probably will.

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"We're out of Money"

Well, der...

The Drudge Report - OBAMA: "Well, we are out of money now. We are operating in deep deficits, not caused by any decisions we've made on health care so far. This is a consequence of the crisis that we've seen and in fact our failure to make some good decisions on health care over the last several decades."

YA THINK?

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A Former Employer Bites the Dust

Ultimately, the decision to leave was a good one.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle - "Scott Whiting is a third-generation General Motors dealer. So when Whiting Motors received a form letter from GM last week announcing that its franchise agreement would be cut off next year, it was like a physical blow, he said.

'It’s like your wife of 28 years leaving you and saying she doesn’t love you anymore,' Whiting said.

Whiting Motors was one of 1,100 General Motors dealerships informed last week that their franchise agreements will not be renewed as part of a massive restructuring effort for the American automaker."

Back in 2003, Scott's Finance Manager pulled a disappearing act on him, and I was suddenly out of work at the same time. He was entering a tent sale and needed someone to do that job, and that someone was me. I made some good friends there. I didn't want to leave but economic necessity forced me to do so, either that, or go bankrupt. So I left.

Ultimately Scott did not wish to expand his dealership and I could see the writing on the wall. Whiting would be perpetually small, there was no future there for me. Little did I know there just wasn't a future there. Scott operated out of an ancient dealership facility in the middle of Livingston MT and had a satellite used car operation near the Interstate. In reality his "Used Car" lot was his only lot, and he sold the vast majority of this new cars from there as well. I'm sure this wasn't what GM had in mind.

Like many generational successors owning a car dealership, Scott had just recently "paid off" his father. Now he has very little to show for it. Livingston may have only one franchised new car dealership in the near future, that being Ford.

"Headwaters GMC-Buick-Pontiac, which has locations in Three Forks and Livingston, was also told by GM last week that its franchise agreements would end in 2010, said owner Dave Jackson."

It would seem that GM has closed dealerships in such a fashion that the Gallatin valley is feeling the greatest impact. Livingston is on one side of Bozeman Montana, Three Forks is on the other. I haven't heard the word on some other small dealerships I have a feeling for.

KPAX - "The four Montana dealerships affected by the news are Rimrock Chrysler Jeep and Underriner Motors in Billings, Flanagan's in Missoula, and Bell-McCall in Hamilton."

Flanagan's is not a dealership for which I experience sadness. I would have to say I suffered abuse at the hands of their owners, and unjustly at that. They will survive as they have other franchises. I find that I am not as forgiving as I would wish to imagine myself when I hear news of such failures and truly I struggle, not with how to feel, but knowing what I feel when I see news such as this. There are a number of other dealerships I am keeping track of, one of which stole money from me, literally, in the form of travelers checks. I'm actually experiencing "Schadenfreude" when some of these folks go down. This is not a glowing commentary on my moral condition.

Nevertheless, with few exceptions, these closings are retroactively justifying my decision to leave some places, and making the sting of losing other employment less sharp. Even without the sinful and regrettable pleasure I experience at some falling on bad times, the closures say there was no future there, and the bad fortune that I experienced at their hands, was not so bad after all.

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Chrysler in Carbonite?

I have a theory, about the news you may have heard that Chrysler may be going Chapter 11 bankrupt. It is said the Obama administration is "preparing a bankruptcy" for them.

It's a simple theory, and I may be wrong, but between the Bush Administration and the Obama administration, there has been talk of this since last fall. No one wants to try out bankruptcy on GM, they are the emperor's prize, so to speak.

They're willing to try it out on Chrysler though, so we (I work for a Dodge dealership) will be run through bankruptcy first, to see how it works. If we survive, then the public and the investment world will have confidence that GM will survive if it is done with them, as well.

I'll let you know, I expect to be frozen in Obama's "carbonite" by the end of the week.

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Pharisee's job down the drain?

The Obama Administration is "preparing a bankruptcy" for Chrysler.

And I work for a Chrysler dealership.

FoxNews - "The New York Times, citing sources familiar with the process, reports that an agreement was reached with the United Automobile Workers union to protect pension and retiree health care benefits in the planned Chapter 11 filing, which could come next week.

FOX News wasn't immediately able to confirm the Times report, though talk of bankruptcy at the company is hardly new.

Chrysler, one of the Big Three U.S. automakers, has been hit hard by the economic downturn and has continued to struggle despite billions in federal aid and talk of an alliance with the Italian automaker Fiat."

Of course, Obama is protecting pension and retiree benefits for Union Workers, which quite frankly, are at the heart of the problem. It remains to be seen if Obama is simply bailing out the retirement plan, or buying it out. It looks as if April will continue to be a bad month. The good news is that it's a Chapter 11, providing the story is true. The bad news is bankruptcy is never good. It's just better than the remaining alternatives.

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Watch this, (I can't find the EMBED code yet)

Rick Santelli (who?) flips out, in a GOOD way.

CNBC.

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Discovering Oil in Isreal

First of all, a hat tip to "The Barking Moonbat." This is just too cosmic comic. From World Net Daily

;

"Noble Energy, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company, has discovered an estimated more than 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in three high-quality reservoirs drilled in the company's Tamar No. 1 well in the Mediterranean Sea, about 56 miles off the Israeli northern port of Haifa.

Noble Energy drilled the Tamar No. 1 well to a depth of about three miles, beneath 5,500 feet of water.

The find is significant for those who believe the Bible indicates Israel is sitting on a massive oil reserve that would reshape the geopolitical structure of the Middle East.

The find also lends support to the abiotic theory of the origin of oil that holds oil is created naturally within the mantle of the earth, not by biological origins."

This is a Funny God I serve. Two birds with one stone and that being only the two I saw? On one level you can't stop the side splitting chuckles that come from Israel finding a new petroleum reserve and tipping the balance even further in favor of supply in the Middle East. A richer Israel? A poorer Iran? I can wake up every day and laugh about that one.

At the same time proving an "abiotic theory of the origin of oil" would send me to bed every day chuckling. Time and time the Bible has proved to be a great archeological tome. Looking as closely as possible to where it seems to say "dig" generally yields positive results. If the Bible says it's there, and we look, we eventually find. The Bible says the earth is a young woman, not an old one. Maybe she's still cranking out oil as a geological byproduct, and not baren after all.

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Speculation: Are we propping up foreign currencies?

Judge for yourself, we've been rising against foreign currencies, now this;

The Financial Times - "The dollar and sterling plunged and government bond yields in the US and Europe fell to multi-decade lows on Wednesday as investors tried to digest the implications of the Federal Reserve’s new near-zero interest rate policy."

It would appear, that we are. We also appear to be the wealthiest nation, but even the wealthiest nation, has limits. More →

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The Sky is Falling !

David Friedman over at "Ideas" discusses the vanity of fear relating to improbable events, like an asteroid strike. He points out that anyone can sit down with a cup of coffee as it were, and pull out an envelope or napkin and sketch out the danger associated with such things, provided they have only a few brain cells to rub together, and basic math skills. I agree with him that perhaps "back of the envelope" calculations should be taught, in school. Probably elementary school.

"How likely is a (meteor strike)? It is unlikely that one would have occurred in the past century without being observed, given the seismographic effect, which registered as far off as Washington D.C. How much farther back one can push that argument I don’t know, so I will assume that such events happen at a rate of one a century. If so, the average mortality from such events is about 200 deaths/year. Every death matters, but there are a lot of problems in the world that do a great deal more damage than that."

He continues;

"So far I have considered only things on the scale of the Tunguska event, but we know that there have been, at very long intervals, much larger meteor strikes. One famous one about sixty million years back is sometimes referred to as the Dinosaur Killer, on the theory that its effects killed off the dinosaurs. My geologist wife objects to that label on the grounds that lots of other things went extinct at the same time; the technical term is apparently the K-T event. The evidence for several earlier large strikes with less drastic consequences is preserved as astroblemes, geological structures believed to be the result of asteroids hitting the earth. So let’s guess that they occur at a rate of one every sixty million years. We don’t know how many people would be killed by a strike on that scale, but the upper limit is everyone, so use that for a very rough calculation. Dividing about six billion people by about sixty million years gives us a mortality rate of about a hundred people a year.

He concludes that the only thing worth worrying about, to any extent, would be an event that would wipe the world completely out, our civilization included. I think God of course, rules over that with planning, and it won't happen unless he says so, and we can't stop it if he says so.

It also brings up the more immediate debate of what to do with national treasure. Shouldn't we all sit down and do the "back of the envelope" math to see what all of this global warming silliness costs and means in terms of result? Shouldn't we more worry that we're wasting money on the fruitless "war on poverty?" The list of issues on the liberal agenda is long, and amount to in my view a pursuit of the low return. More →

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22 reasons why the US Car industry doesn't work, each of them, weighing a pound.

It weighs 22 pounds. Hat tip to the Barking Moonbat. Labor Pains took the pains, to show us what the real problem is. More →

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