Another Dem Avoids Taxes

Now it looks like former Sen. Daschle didn't pay all his taxes until the scrutiny of higher office. It's amazing how many Democrats avoid paying the taxes that Vice President Biden called "patriotic". Does this mean they are unpatriotic by the definition of their own party? It increasingly seems as though senior Democrats don't like paying their taxes. Guess what? No one does. But not everyone votes consistently to raise taxes. It would at least be ideologically consistent for Republicans to avoid paying taxes (though it's been a while since one's been accused). But Democrats claim that taxes are necessary and good, then avoid paying them. Talk about hypocrisy.

Starve The Enemy

The FBI recently reported that 80% of the crime in the US is committed by gangs. Yet, this is coming after decades of astronomical increases in funding for law enforcement, and serious compromises of the Constitution. Indeed, the most powerful weapon in the government's arsenal is RICO, who's constitutionality is, at best, questionable. Still the only solutions ever proposed is more money spent and less rights for everyone.

So what is the solution? The surest way to deprive the gangs of funding. What is their principle form of funding? The illegal sale of drugs. While they may engage in high-profile robberies and other crimes, for the majority of gangs, the bread and butter support is wholesale or retail sale of drugs. Without these profits, the gangs, and correspondingly the crime they commit will shrink. This is on top of the violence that substitutes for the rule of law in the drug economy. When you can't go to a court to enforce a contract, you are forced to go to a gun. With legalization, all of that violence disappears overnight.

The saddest part is that we've already been through this once. Prohibition of alcohol had roughly commiserate effects. The criminals made windfall profits, while crime skyrocketed along the same lines. They caught on more quickly back then, and reversed Prohibition after only 13 years. Here is what one of the most successful men in American history, John D. Rockefeller, who had originally supported Prohibition, said at its end:

"When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seen before."

Another Reason Not To Eat HFCS

Despite what the cheesy ads say, High Fructose Corn Syrup is not good for you. Aside from common sense telling you something so modified from its original content should be avoided if possible, there are several known health risks associated with HFCS. Most disturbingly, it has been linked to severe liver damage. It has also been linked to decreased leptin production (which can lead to obesity) and a type of compound which is thought to do much of the damage from diabetes. Now, it appears that much HFCS is contaminated with mercury.

HFCS is the result of the high subsidies on corn and the high tariffs on sugar. With corn so much cheaper than sugar, it was cost effective to massively modify corn into sugar. This is also the reason US ethanol sucks, and overseas ethanol works. Ethanol here is made from corn, because it's subsidized. If you make it from sugar, it's much more efficient. One of the cures for HFCS is free trade. Ironically, many of the people most concerned about HFCS also hate free trade. These subsidies and tariffs were efforts by both parties to buy votes. They also illustrate how little difference there is between the parties. But I digress.

The other irony with HFCS is due to people simply hearing that HFCS is bad for them, then embracing the idea without doing their own research (it'd take about 5-10 minutes using Google). The idea that people won't drink soda because it has HFCS but will chug fruit juice all day is the most ironic. First, a good chunk of what people call fruit juice is loaded with HFCS. Second, even if you're getting pure fruit juice, think about what it is. It's all fructose, the very thing you were trying to avoid with the HFCS. It'll have the same effects, or worse, than soda. Fruit contains a multitude of nutritional compounds, many of which are left behind when it's juiced, such as fiber. Drinking juice is very different from eating fruit.

HFCS won't kill you (quickly), but if you're trying to get healthier, it's probably something to avoid.

Assorted News

Not many huge stories these days. Here are a couple that are interesting:

Consumer confidence is as low as it's ever been. That's probably to be expected, though the effects are brutal. Consumers seem to be acting counter-cyclical to how they should for the economy , which is to say they're hoarding cash when it's bad and borrowing too much when it's good.

Mr. Obama and the Republicans are playing nice so far. They may have found a common enemy in the hard left of the Democratic Party that is in power now.

Apparently drug money saved the world banking system.

As always Becky is speaking up for liberty.

NY Senator Silliness

After much speculation and suspense, the replacement for Sen. Clinton has been announced. There are a couple of interesting aspects here. Caroline Kennedy did not get the job, shockingly, even though the Democratic party, as much as they claim to be against privilege, have even more nepotism than the Republican party, possible due to their political machine roots. Kennedy apparently also had tax problems, which is endemic to the Democratic party these days. Apparently that's why they don't mind raising taxes, they just use their political connections to avoid paying them. Seriously, the list is getting kinda long. Rangel, Geithner and Kennedy so far have all had similar issues, and I think there is a least one more that is slipping my mind right now.

The position instead went to yet another moderate Democrat. While I am personally pleased with this(she was endorsed by the NRA), I wonder when the real consequences for the Democrats are going to start piling up. There have already been signs of it, but the fault lines for a real split are there.

I'd love to see the moderate parts of both parties form a unity party, like Kadima in Israel, the left start calling themselves what they are, socialists, and for the right wing of the Republican party join with the Libertarians, though I'd be shocked to see that actually happen.

It will be interesting to see if President Obama does face a rebellion in is own party, and if so, how he deals with it.

Terrorists Wiped Out By Plague?

So apparently an Al-Queda group has been wiped out by the Black Death/the Plague. What is curious is the article is basically optimistic about the situation, portraying it essentially as divine judgment. It would seem to me that the most likely reason for the terrorists being exposed to it would be an attempt to weaponize it, which, though the plague can be treated, should hardly be downplayed.

Why You Don't Mess With Israel

Copious Dissent posted a video of an Israeli defending himself from a grenade by throwing the grenade thrower onto it. I have no idea if it's verified, but either way it's pretty cool.