No, what the article talks about is more speculative players entering the market that don't intend to take possession. At least within my lifetime, food commodity contracts have never required you to take possession as long as you cancel out the contract (by purchasing an offsetting contract, long cancels out short and vice versa). This has been the way commodities have traded for decades, with large amounts of speculators that offer contracts that they never intended delivery on, since they will be closed out before the delivery date. Not saying this is good, or hasn't started to create serious price bubble issues, just that it's how the markets work.
Shall Issue is certainly not in place in 49 states. Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont do not have shall issue statutes, in addition to Illinois and DC.
There is currently a bill being proposed that would force those states that allow some kind of permit to recognize permits from other states under the full faith and credit clause, but it has not been voted on yet (as far as I know). States that don't issue permits to anyone will still not have to recognize them.
Not addressing the whole freedom issue, just a factual correction.
Of course, your point is undermined by your complete misuse of the term ad hominem;) (Though I do agree that the insult at the end of that post did take much away from the argument).
I don't think the poster is implying that it replaces income tax, but that most very wealthy individuals make more of their income on the barely taxed capital gains side through investments as opposed to highly taxed wages. I'm a bit less clear on your last sentence, are you implying that they pay income tax on the investment gains in addition to the capital gains tax? If so, that is incorrect. Investments held less than one year are taxed at income tax rates, those held for more than one year are taxed as capital gains, but that money is not taxed a second time as income.
Huh? Where did you get this idea? Pattern Day Traders pay the same tax rates as everyone else, long term capital gains if held over a year (not really applicable to day trading) or taxed as income at your normal income tax rate if held less than a year. The only major difference from being identified as a PDT is that you must maintain a $25,000 balance in your trading account. There are actually tax breaks you can get if you can show that you make your living as a trader (under some very strict IRS definitions).
Oh, how right you are. Our local is $5.00 for a double feature, and 12 and under are free. The best part is their original 195x popcorn maker and something that either is or convincingly fakes real butter...best popcorn around. We just get there early, park the minivan backwards, remove the seats and inflate an air mattress in the back. When you're that comfortable, every other annoyance just melts away.
I fail to see how the ability to measure entropy correlates to the idea that entropy will increase. From later in the same article:
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states, in effect, that the thermal entropy of a closed system will never decrease. In simpler terms, this only means that the amount of energy available to cause real changes in a system will never increase, and will always decrease whenever any of it is actually used to cause changes in that system (n.b. since motion is the natural state of all objects--see below--an object which continues to move on inertia alone, or a system which oscillates between two states ceaselessly, is not "changing").
The reason only some energy is "available" in a thermal system is that in order to be available for work it must be capable of moving, and energy can only move from an area of high temperature to low, because fast particles impart energy to slow ones, not the other way around (technically, the distinction is really between high and low energy particles, but the visual metaphor of "speed" is easier to grasp for purposes of illustration). It follows that (drawing on this illustration) if all particles are equally fast or slow, neither can impart any energy to the other, without any changes cancelling each other out. Without any variations, i.e., at perfect equilibrium (which can never be reached in a finite time, only approached), thermal energy cannot cause anything to change. The energy distribution is already the same everywhere, so all kinetic transfers of energy cancel each other out, and nothing gets done.
Notice once again, the increase of entropy and drift towards uniformity depend on a thermally closed system, which the earth is not. The sun is a constant source of incoming thermal energy, which provides the energy required to be free to do "work" in the terms this author uses. How does evolution conflict with this?
Of course. They used the much more civilized methond of blocking the nominees in committee with a variety of "creative" rules, including the vote of a single anonymous senator. Also, your estimate of the number of nominees blocked is off by 59, since the Republicans blocked nearly 60 Clinton nominees, compared to what, 7 or so of Bush's being blocked? That's not even getting into the attempted filibusters of Clinton nominees by Mr. "filibusters are evil" Frist himself. Poor Republicans, why don't the Democrats see how much more fair and democratic it is to block nominees with secret unaccountable committee tricks...
You are aware that the second law of thermodynamics only applies to closed systems, and that the earth, receiving a constant stream of energy from the sun, is not a closed system? I fail to see what there is to debate.
Actually, in the states I have lived in, killing in self defense falls under the category of "justifiable homicide." It is still legally murder, but murder under a set of circumstances that mitigates or removes punishment. The taking of a life by an individual is never lawful, the state simply recognizes that circumstances and intent can completely change the nature of a given crime.
Another example is the development of the fair use doctrine. It is not an explicit modification of copyright rights, but an affirmative defense (just as self defense is) that states legally acceptable justifications for violating copyright law. These defenses have been further modified through legal precedent, and take into account the purpose and character of the use of copyrighted material. In practice, copyright law is in fact a very subjective area when it comes to what is a violation and if or how it should be punished.
Would this be the guy that was circulating pamphlets to his students using a number of fictional quotes supposedly by the founding fathers pushing Christianity, such as quotes from George Washington's "prayer journal" that never existed? This was no simple mention of god, but an active act of pushing his personal faith using materials from an outside organization actively spreading completely fabricated falsehoods about the views of the founders.
Looks like Drudge is more worried about getting the scoop than fact checking. It turns out that there is a counter on the backs of the machines that shows the number of times the machine has been used in an election, and someone thought that it was some kind of vote count.
Well, speaking from the vast majority of my experience, that is fairly normal. The top execs get to expense their dry cleaning, $100 dinners, first class travel, new laptops whenever they see one that makes them jealous, and yes, usually a $30,000 or $40,000 budget to pick a car that the company will lease for them.
I've only worked for one company where this was not the norm, and it was filled with the most wonderful people I had ever worked with. Unfortunately, they went Microsoft when I was going Unix...
The rest of the jobs may pay a bit better, but the politics and gutting of the company by management make it most definitely not worth it.
Oh, now I know you're joking. How often has this administration actually filed charges against a suspected terrorist instead of shipping them off for tort^H^H^H^H interrogation, to be held indefinitely without charges, evidence against them, or access to a lawyer.
Kind of like they are prevented from making US citizens disappear and be tortured without due process? It took three years for the courts to rectify that, and I'm still expecting to see the kind of loophole exploitation that the DOJ memo pointed out to dodge the ruling on torture. This administration has made it abundantly clear that as long as the "War on Terror" is on (which like the War on Drugs translates to forever), the President is not bound by _any_ laws.
While "random walk" is interesting from a theoretical standpoint, it is no more gospel than the "efficient market" theory or others. I would highly recommend it as an interesting book.
The one point I really must take issue with is that the difference between 10.5% and 12% is minimal. If you start saving for retirement at 25 with a small account, say $5000, and contribute $200 monthly until retirement at 65, that extra 1.5% will translate to an additional $1,155,622 at retirement. That is well worth the extra work for me. You do suffer some slippage from brokerage fees, but these days they are pretty minimal. I think far too much weight is given to tax concerns. Regardless of the rate you pay, profit is profit, and a 25% gain on a transaction is still a very healthy return even after fees.
I'm not advocating "market timing" as it is often used, and definitely not day trading, but someone with a solid grounding in fundamental analysis to pick stocks and technical analysis to know when to get in and out of the market can do very well. While institutional investors may have a hard time upon occasion, small investors are able to invest in lots of things that mutual funds are not allowed to invest in because they would hold too large of a position. Snagging promising small caps based on fundamentals and exiting on technicals after they grow enough to be picked up by the big fish can usually get you far better returns than any mutual fund can. It does take some time and education, but we all need time for some hobby or another;)
You know, I'd rather I be the only one. During rush hour I can't help but think that aiming the main gun at the next lane will signal a lane change much more effectively than a turn signal...
Unfortunately, it is not getting any cheaper, and for all the cost of US health care, twice that of the nations compared to, our care is not any better on average. Yes, it would be nice to have every test that might be helpful, but the money it seems makes a far bigger difference by providing basic and preventative care to all instead of massive and expensive intervention when it is too late for simple measures.
Yippiee for them. Unfortunately, according to two recent studies by the OECD, all these wonderful gadgets don't seem to translate to better care. There seems to be a national obsession with gadgets here in the states, but it is a lot like the IT boom. Spend lots of money on IT, only to find out that what you bought doesn't address any problems that needed fixing.
No, it is not. Two surveys done by the OECD have shown that US healthcare is twice as expensive as the other surveyed countries in total cost, and does not provide better health care for that money. On average, the quality of care was pretty much the same (one country has better kidney transplant survival rates, another has better heart attack treatment, etc). US health care expenses lead in both individual payment amount and total amount, and also in administrative overhead costs for the insane number of health plans and HMO's.
Angus's Gold and Silver labels (or maybe it's platinum and titanium...whatever) are excellent beef. But "Certified Angus" alone doesn't say anything about quality. You'll be much better off looking for USDA Prime beef, preferably grain (not grass) fed, from the Midwest (not Texas).
You're confusing me here. First you're talking about how to pick quality beef, then you mention grain fed beef. I wasn't aware the two were compatible...
You know, what amazes me is how often management throws little temper tantrums and imposes absurd draconian regulations instead of dealing with the actual problem, then expects to be treated respectfully afterwords. If they deal with problems with individual employee behavior with some juvinile zero tolerance type policy, they should expect the same in return.
Slashdot Mirror
No, what the article talks about is more speculative players entering the market that don't intend to take possession. At least within my lifetime, food commodity contracts have never required you to take possession as long as you cancel out the contract (by purchasing an offsetting contract, long cancels out short and vice versa). This has been the way commodities have traded for decades, with large amounts of speculators that offer contracts that they never intended delivery on, since they will be closed out before the delivery date. Not saying this is good, or hasn't started to create serious price bubble issues, just that it's how the markets work.
Actually, umm, no.
Shall Issue is certainly not in place in 49 states. Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont do not have shall issue statutes, in addition to Illinois and DC.
There is currently a bill being proposed that would force those states that allow some kind of permit to recognize permits from other states under the full faith and credit clause, but it has not been voted on yet (as far as I know). States that don't issue permits to anyone will still not have to recognize them.
Not addressing the whole freedom issue, just a factual correction.
Of course, your point is undermined by your complete misuse of the term ad hominem ;) (Though I do agree that the insult at the end of that post did take much away from the argument).
I don't think the poster is implying that it replaces income tax, but that most very wealthy individuals make more of their income on the barely taxed capital gains side through investments as opposed to highly taxed wages. I'm a bit less clear on your last sentence, are you implying that they pay income tax on the investment gains in addition to the capital gains tax? If so, that is incorrect. Investments held less than one year are taxed at income tax rates, those held for more than one year are taxed as capital gains, but that money is not taxed a second time as income.
Isn't GOD an acronym for Grumpy Omnipotent Dude?
Huh? Where did you get this idea? Pattern Day Traders pay the same tax rates as everyone else, long term capital gains if held over a year (not really applicable to day trading) or taxed as income at your normal income tax rate if held less than a year. The only major difference from being identified as a PDT is that you must maintain a $25,000 balance in your trading account. There are actually tax breaks you can get if you can show that you make your living as a trader (under some very strict IRS definitions).
Not to mention that breast feeding your 17 year old would definitely get an A-O rating...
Oh, how right you are. Our local is $5.00 for a double feature, and 12 and under are free. The best part is their original 195x popcorn maker and something that either is or convincingly fakes real butter...best popcorn around. We just get there early, park the minivan backwards, remove the seats and inflate an air mattress in the back. When you're that comfortable, every other annoyance just melts away.
I fail to see how the ability to measure entropy correlates to the idea that entropy will increase. From later in the same article:
The Second Law of Thermodynamics states, in effect, that the thermal entropy of a closed system will never decrease. In simpler terms, this only means that the amount of energy available to cause real changes in a system will never increase, and will always decrease whenever any of it is actually used to cause changes in that system (n.b. since motion is the natural state of all objects--see below--an object which continues to move on inertia alone, or a system which oscillates between two states ceaselessly, is not "changing").
The reason only some energy is "available" in a thermal system is that in order to be available for work it must be capable of moving, and energy can only move from an area of high temperature to low, because fast particles impart energy to slow ones, not the other way around (technically, the distinction is really between high and low energy particles, but the visual metaphor of "speed" is easier to grasp for purposes of illustration). It follows that (drawing on this illustration) if all particles are equally fast or slow, neither can impart any energy to the other, without any changes cancelling each other out. Without any variations, i.e., at perfect equilibrium (which can never be reached in a finite time, only approached), thermal energy cannot cause anything to change. The energy distribution is already the same everywhere, so all kinetic transfers of energy cancel each other out, and nothing gets done.
Notice once again, the increase of entropy and drift towards uniformity depend on a thermally closed system, which the earth is not. The sun is a constant source of incoming thermal energy, which provides the energy required to be free to do "work" in the terms this author uses. How does evolution conflict with this?
Of course. They used the much more civilized methond of blocking the nominees in committee with a variety of "creative" rules, including the vote of a single anonymous senator. Also, your estimate of the number of nominees blocked is off by 59, since the Republicans blocked nearly 60 Clinton nominees, compared to what, 7 or so of Bush's being blocked? That's not even getting into the attempted filibusters of Clinton nominees by Mr. "filibusters are evil" Frist himself. Poor Republicans, why don't the Democrats see how much more fair and democratic it is to block nominees with secret unaccountable committee tricks...
Wow, I didn't know that. When did they repeal the 14th amendment to make it apply only to the fed again?
You are aware that the second law of thermodynamics only applies to closed systems, and that the earth, receiving a constant stream of energy from the sun, is not a closed system? I fail to see what there is to debate.
Actually, in the states I have lived in, killing in self defense falls under the category of "justifiable homicide." It is still legally murder, but murder under a set of circumstances that mitigates or removes punishment. The taking of a life by an individual is never lawful, the state simply recognizes that circumstances and intent can completely change the nature of a given crime.
Another example is the development of the fair use doctrine. It is not an explicit modification of copyright rights, but an affirmative defense (just as self defense is) that states legally acceptable justifications for violating copyright law. These defenses have been further modified through legal precedent, and take into account the purpose and character of the use of copyrighted material. In practice, copyright law is in fact a very subjective area when it comes to what is a violation and if or how it should be punished.
Would this be the guy that was circulating pamphlets to his students using a number of fictional quotes supposedly by the founding fathers pushing Christianity, such as quotes from George Washington's "prayer journal" that never existed? This was no simple mention of god, but an active act of pushing his personal faith using materials from an outside organization actively spreading completely fabricated falsehoods about the views of the founders.
Looks like Drudge is more worried about getting the scoop than fact checking. It turns out that there is a counter on the backs of the machines that shows the number of times the machine has been used in an election, and someone thought that it was some kind of vote count.
Well, speaking from the vast majority of my experience, that is fairly normal. The top execs get to expense their dry cleaning, $100 dinners, first class travel, new laptops whenever they see one that makes them jealous, and yes, usually a $30,000 or $40,000 budget to pick a car that the company will lease for them.
I've only worked for one company where this was not the norm, and it was filled with the most wonderful people I had ever worked with. Unfortunately, they went Microsoft when I was going Unix...
The rest of the jobs may pay a bit better, but the politics and gutting of the company by management make it most definitely not worth it.
Oh, now I know you're joking. How often has this administration actually filed charges against a suspected terrorist instead of shipping them off for tort^H^H^H^H interrogation, to be held indefinitely without charges, evidence against them, or access to a lawyer.
Kind of like they are prevented from making US citizens disappear and be tortured without due process? It took three years for the courts to rectify that, and I'm still expecting to see the kind of loophole exploitation that the DOJ memo pointed out to dodge the ruling on torture. This administration has made it abundantly clear that as long as the "War on Terror" is on (which like the War on Drugs translates to forever), the President is not bound by _any_ laws.
While "random walk" is interesting from a theoretical standpoint, it is no more gospel than the "efficient market" theory or others. I would highly recommend it as an interesting book.
;)
The one point I really must take issue with is that the difference between 10.5% and 12% is minimal. If you start saving for retirement at 25 with a small account, say $5000, and contribute $200 monthly until retirement at 65, that extra 1.5% will translate to an additional $1,155,622 at retirement. That is well worth the extra work for me. You do suffer some slippage from brokerage fees, but these days they are pretty minimal. I think far too much weight is given to tax concerns. Regardless of the rate you pay, profit is profit, and a 25% gain on a transaction is still a very healthy return even after fees.
I'm not advocating "market timing" as it is often used, and definitely not day trading, but someone with a solid grounding in fundamental analysis to pick stocks and technical analysis to know when to get in and out of the market can do very well. While institutional investors may have a hard time upon occasion, small investors are able to invest in lots of things that mutual funds are not allowed to invest in because they would hold too large of a position. Snagging promising small caps based on fundamentals and exiting on technicals after they grow enough to be picked up by the big fish can usually get you far better returns than any mutual fund can. It does take some time and education, but we all need time for some hobby or another
You know, I'd rather I be the only one. During rush hour I can't help but think that aiming the main gun at the next lane will signal a lane change much more effectively than a turn signal...
Unfortunately, it is not getting any cheaper, and for all the cost of US health care, twice that of the nations compared to, our care is not any better on average. Yes, it would be nice to have every test that might be helpful, but the money it seems makes a far bigger difference by providing basic and preventative care to all instead of massive and expensive intervention when it is too late for simple measures.
Yippiee for them. Unfortunately, according to two recent studies by the OECD, all these wonderful gadgets don't seem to translate to better care. There seems to be a national obsession with gadgets here in the states, but it is a lot like the IT boom. Spend lots of money on IT, only to find out that what you bought doesn't address any problems that needed fixing.
No, it is not. Two surveys done by the OECD have shown that US healthcare is twice as expensive as the other surveyed countries in total cost, and does not provide better health care for that money. On average, the quality of care was pretty much the same (one country has better kidney transplant survival rates, another has better heart attack treatment, etc). US health care expenses lead in both individual payment amount and total amount, and also in administrative overhead costs for the insane number of health plans and HMO's.
Angus's Gold and Silver labels (or maybe it's platinum and titanium...whatever) are excellent beef. But "Certified Angus" alone doesn't say anything about quality. You'll be much better off looking for USDA Prime beef, preferably grain (not grass) fed, from the Midwest (not Texas).
You're confusing me here. First you're talking about how to pick quality beef, then you mention grain fed beef. I wasn't aware the two were compatible...
You know, what amazes me is how often management throws little temper tantrums and imposes absurd draconian regulations instead of dealing with the actual problem, then expects to be treated respectfully afterwords. If they deal with problems with individual employee behavior with some juvinile zero tolerance type policy, they should expect the same in return.