Free Republic

Right handed. Right thumb on top.

Congratulations to you and your son.

You make a good point, and I am aware of several companies in the reinsurance business whose names are shortened in that manner. But this company was identified in the article as "the largest commodity trader in Switzerland". Are reinsurance companies typically in the business of trading commodities (like oil)?

Under "Switzerland" there is a company called Glenco Re. It is referred to as "the largest commodity trader in Switzerland", and received credit for 12 million barrels. I believe the name of the company is a typographical error and should really be Glencore. Glencore is Marc Rich, a convicted felon who was pardoned by a recent president.

I think that all members of congress and their families should be given officers' housing (roughly the equivalent of someone of the rank of colonel) at a military base near Washington D.C.. Transportation to and from the Capitol should also be provided. That, plus their salaries and pensions, would provide for a reasonably nice lifestyle.

Anyone whose net worth increased significantly over the period of their national service would be subject to a serious frisk.

Of course, I also believe, in the interest of upgrading the average I.Q. of Congress, that our representatives should be chosen at random from the telephone book.

The best comment I have read about celebrities commenting publicly about current events is that "they have confused being famous with being important."

The following paragraphs are from an article about textbooks in the Mt Diablo USD that appeared in the Contra Costa Times yesterday. Note that the teacher's criticism isn't that the new textbooks aren't effective: it's that they force the teachers to actually teach.


"What's more, in K-8 schools, the district has to choose from textbooks approved by the state Board of Education. If they don't, they have to apply for a waiver from the state board or find a way to pay for the books themselves.

Districts have only two choices for language arts in kindergarten to sixth grade, and some teachers prefer the old textbooks.

The new textbooks, being piloted this year in the Mt. Diablo district, are heavy on phonics. One curriculum, Open Court, is so methodical and scripted that some teachers say it leaves little room for creativity. They are put off by being told exactly what to say and how to teach.

The new textbook choices reflect the state's new instructional standards, guidelines for what students should learn at each grade level."

Notice that the California budget deficit is always reported in terms of net numbers -- never in terms of the revenues versus the expenditures. This article at least mentions that the expenditure number varies according to what categories are included. If we just talk about the general fund, here is what I have found. (The numbers below are estimates, and my sources are a combination of the Legislative Analyst's webpage and the Dept. of Finance webpage.)

General fund revenues and transfers

1998-99 $58,064 bln
1999-00 $63,204 bln
2000-01 $73,862 bln
2001-02 $72,239 bln
2002-03 $73,144 bln
2003-04 $69,513 bln

Doesn't really look all that bad, does it? The problem is with the expenditures, which have exploded under Gov. Davis and the Democrat controlled assembly and senate.

I'm sorry for not understanding that JTA was asking questions rather than making assertions (though a question mark before the close quote might have been helpful).

1. If it will move the meeting along, answer the question. You are being offered a chance to show the truth and beauty of your position.

2. If answering the question will bog the meeting down (ie. the topic is too technical for other participants), tell JTA that you'll explain later. Then, later, being the good mentor that you are, explain it.

3. Open-ended questions are not as helpful as specific questions. Point out to JTA that the question she has asked has vexed mankind since the beginning of time, and you would prefer to know EXACTLY what's unclear TO HER.

4. Because time is precious, you might ask the rest of the group if they want to spend it listening to you answer JTA's question. This gives Bob (who thinks very highly of himself and believes that the meeting is a complete waste of time anyway) a chance to say, "No, I think we're all pretty clear on that."

"Particularly frustrating is the JTA's technique of seizing the initiative in discussions. Any questions from the JTA are worded as follows: "AND THOSE ARE..." "AND THE REASON THIS IS BETTER THAN THIS IS..." "AND THE REASON THIS IS REXX INSTEAD OF CLIST IS...""

Assumming the JTA is incorrect in these assertions ...

You need to (ever so gently) reveal the underlying assumptions.

JTA: X is always preferable to Y.
YOU: Always? Do you know of any exceptions?

JTA: X is supposed to preceed Y.
YOU: What would happen if Y came before X?

JTA: X does Y.
YOU: How exactly does X do Y?

JTA: X is better than Y.
YOU: How is X better than Y. Is Z better than Y, too?

Also, tradeoffs are usually involved but often unrecognized. Bring them up.

Maybe the JTA is right. Maybe a few questions (demands for specifics, actually) will reveal a better way.

Warning: Do not use these techniques on your wife.

John Rawls is supposed to be one of the best contemporary liberal thinkers. He has written "A Theory of Justice" and "Political Liberalism".

In previous CA elections:

1996 Dole 3,828,380
1998 Lundgren 3,218,030
2000 Campbell 3,886,853
2000 Bush 4,567,429

this year:

Davis 3,141,000
Simon 2,812,000

Now, come on. This means that roughly 1mm Republicans stayed home. This race was very, very winnable.

The Contra Costa Times (which tepidly endorsed Gray Davis today) ran six half pages of letters to the editor in their Sunday supplement "Perspectives" today. There were nine anti-Davis letters, and no pro-Davis letters.

This is just a straw in the wind, but wouldn't you think that if there were any pro-Davis letters to print, they would have printed them?

There are no "hot" initiatives this year in California. Neither of our senate seats is up for grabs. The governor's race is the top of the ticket, the big draw. But even in this Democrat state, no one wants to vote for the incumbent Democrat governor. I have yet to see a Gray Davis bumper sticker.

I wish I could predict confidently that Simon is going to win, but I can't. And the reason I can't is that I'm not sure every Republican in the state is going to take Simon's chances seriously enough to go to the polls and vote.

Bush got over 4.5 million votes in California in 2000. That number will win it for Simon in 2002 because of lower turnout.

Gray Davis can be beaten. But it's up to us.

In 2000, Gore received 5,861,203 votes in California; Bush received 4,567,429. If only 8.8 million votes are cast in California on November 5th and 4,567,429 of them are for Simon ... he wins!

Turnout is everything. If you voted for Bush in 2000, don't take this election off.

Americans prefer sports that require an opposable thumb.

Remember, these are California school teachers who will be teaching the little skulls full of mush about Islam. You have nothing to worry about.

Ben Stein might have added that Dubya also speaks a second language.

The first rule of wing-walking: never let go of something until you have a hold on something else.

http://webpages.homestead.com/revwar/files/GWASH.HTM

Ought to be enough for a 10 year old.

Hijack this ... United Way/Taliban approved beneficiary