Roughly the TRUTH

Violence flares, various parties battle for political control, and with a one-way ticket to the U.S. in hand, Al Qaeda waits patiently in the screening lines of Baghdad airport. A scary scenario? Hold on to your seat, but this isn’t what happens if the U.S. pulls out of Iraq, it’s happening right now.

However, there are some results of a U.S. draw-down we can confidently predict: increased dialogue in the region (similar to welfare reform in the 90’s), increased focus on developing alternative energy (in conjunction with the increased oil prices), greater wealth for the poor people in oil-rich nations (in conjunction with the increased oil prices), a dramatic cut in U.S. casualties in Iraq (duh) and a drastically improved budgetary picture (duh).

As Iraq spirals deeper into chaos, at what point will the crazy man quit doing the same thing and expect to get a different result? With elections drawing near, the U.S. congress will finally recognize the need to reign Bush’s policy in. With the start of a significant withdrawal, don’t be surprised to increasingly see headlines reading: peace & stability, prosperity, clean-energy and balanced-budget. Stories that are in high demand and short supply these days.

Then again, WWIII might be just around the corner.

Dawkins in Lynchburg VA (part 2) The God Delusion

Moderation is not the word in this video, but it makes for good viewing. My two cents: There are no bad religions, just bad people.

If you want to skip to the good stuff, things begin to get interesting with the question asked just before the 42 minute mark…enjoy!

Bye, bye Net Neutrality…

From the article: FTC chief warns against ‘unnecessary’ Net rules | Tech News on ZDNet

For proof, look no further than a situation in September in which hundreds of thousands of people who use the popular social-networking site Facebook rebelled against a new feature that some charged was Big Brother-esque, Majoras said. Within days, the site’s founder had quieted some of the fury by giving people the option of turning off the “minifeed,” which shows people whenever someone in their network makes a change to their relationship status, favorite music or other profile information.

An aweful analogy; comparing Facebook to an ISP.

It’s like comparing a car maker with a toll road operator.

Check out the FTC hearings webcast and form your own opinion, but remember, it was a “free market” which produced Hitler’s Nazi party.

Dont’ count on government to save for your future…

The U.S. government is threatening the financial future of todays youth. Like a group of dis-jointed heroin addicts, our apathetic congress has ignored record budget deficits, America’s spiraling debt and has effectively shunned an entire generation in favor of temporary, quick fixes. This article, Your free financial report card on MSN Money, provides provocative evidence for this thesis. For instance, the future of Social Security, remember that old debate? Liz Pulliam Weston, the author, has compiled some interesting numbers to help you sort through all the political banter surrounding this issue:

The farther out your retirement and the more money you make, the more you may want to discount the estimated benefits on Page 2. (Higher-income workers may see their benefits cut more than lower-income workers, if Congress decides to preserve the safety-net aspect of the retirement system.) What this means:

* If you’re in your 20s, you might not want to include the estimates at all when calculating how much you want to save. If you do include them, figure on getting 25% to 50% of the amounts on Page 2.

* If you’re in your 30s and 40s or make more than six figures annually, you might figure on getting 50% to 75% of the promised benefits.

* In your 50s, figure on receiving 75%.

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, just not their own numbers.

Liz also explains a very simple and easy way to get a snapshot of personal earnings growth over your entire working life - something the government is actually capable of providing us with. Read this article not only for eye-opening insights into our countries welfare system, but also benefit (or at least find some extra motivation…for you competitive types) by comparing your own finances with others in your demographic. Here’s a sample of the stats for those aged between 60-69:

Net worth by age
60-69 Age
$209,200 Median
$647,200 Top 25%
$1,429,500 Top 10%
5.8% Negative

Enjoy the read and if you’re among the younger generations (you’ve probably heard this before, but) remember, plan your own retirement - don’t be fooled into thinking the government will (or even can) do it for you.

Update (11.07.06):
Another article from the good folks at MSN Money.com to help you see how far behind (or ahead) you are of your peers; Your 20s: See how your wealth measures up

Framing this issue as “more federal regulation” is a clever tactic…

This week, Senator-R Jim DeMint gave his take on Network Neutrality – I was especially amused at the assertion he has made below:

Perspective: Why Net neutrality means more federal regulation
By Jim DeMint
Published: June 27, 2006
“It would be commercial suicide for any network provider to limit the ability of their customers to access any site or receive any service: Their customers would simply go elsewhere! Consumers have a growing number of choices of networks, and this competition will force networks to continuously upgrade their services. Federal regulation, on the other hand, would only reduce the quality and access of Internet services for all Americans.”

Telco’s & industry advocates have poured hoards of money into lobbying this issue. Translation: many well compensated senators & consultants working overtime on their behalf. Information - necessary for efficient free markets – is fortunately still available on congressional members; although with such freedoms being handed over to profit driven companies, this may not long be the case.

What Motivates a Senator
Monetary incentives tend to influence many of the views which individuals hold (economics 101). Contributions by the telco’s & other various industry advocates to Senator DeMint have clearly taken their toll on his ability to be objective – this is a toll to the tune of $132,849!

Various contributors to DeMint’s coffer…you be the judge:

Exerpt from: Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham, P.A. website - Political Contributor ($23,300)

“We have played an important role in the creation and expansion of a number of major corporations located in Greenville, among them are a large diversified media organization”

Excerpt from: Babcock & Brown offers $2.36 billion for Irish telco Eircom – Political Contributor ($28,125)

“The bid for Eircom has been made four months after a failed takeover attempt for it by Swisscom AG, Switzerland’s largest telco.”

Excerpt from: Nelson Mullins Cyberwatch Newsletter – Political Contributor ($41,424)

Internet Bandwidth Neutrality
“A growing concern among large Internet-based companies is the dilemma being faced with large bandwidth charges. Those companies that provide the wires and fiber optics that connect the Internet believe that large “bandwidth hogs” should pay additional amounts to guarantee fast and efficient connections. To prevent such a move, companies such as Google and eBay are lobbying Congress to pass a law that would maintain “Net-neutrality”. In general, they are seeking a law that would prohibit telecommunications and cable companies from blocking or slowing down access to Web sites or for charging big bandwidth users a fee for priority access. The House of Representatives recently passed telecommunications legislation that did not include such neutrality provisions. However, the law did empower the Federal Communications Commission to investigate discrimination in online bandwidth access. Opponents of the Net-neutrality law argue that somebody must pay for the huge amount of bandwidth consumed by some large Internet sites. They state that if Internet service providers are not allowed to charge for greater-than-average bandwidth use, then the cost will end up being borne by the average consumer.”

Not to mention, the all-too-obvious:
AT&T – Political Contributor ($19,000)

Verizon Communications – Political Contributor ($21,000)

Nota Bena:
You can learn more about the other side of Net Neutrality by reading the founder of the internet’s thoughts and if you choose to do so, you can help protect Network Neutrality by going here: It’s Our Net.

An article today on Reuters | US officials seeing new home-grown terror cells, gives me hope that we may seriously begin to address the root causes of terrorism.

This quote by Scott Redd, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, really caught my attention:

“We are grappling with a whole new set of questions: what forces give rise to this violent ideology in immigrant communities that may appear otherwise to be quite well assimilated? … What signs should we be looking for to try to draw early warning of potential problems?” the statement said.

I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out…

Energy independence took a backseat this week as the immigration debate stole the spotlight - I’d like to know why…

Our short-term memories seem to be plaguing us once again. I may just be very out of touch with the rest of the country, but I must ask, why all of the immigration talk now!?! 9/11 was almost 5 years ago, if this was such an important issue to the American people, why haven’t Lou Dobbs’ ratings gone through the roof?

Granted, immigration is a very real issue, although it’s certainly not clear whether the result has actually been negative. Here are some fairly undeniab