Your view is the opposite of mine. I'm neither left nor right, but I see far more violence and intolerance on the left than on the right. Take the Tea Party (I'm neither a member or supporter) They are a peaceful group working for change, yet the left has demonized them and put out false stories about them promoting violence.
The left has a double standard as to how they treat women and blacks if they are on the left or right. They also promote the unions that in turn promote violence.
So far both sides are pretty much big government and promote the entitlement mentality that we can not afford.
I quit a good paying job as an instrument tech and went to college full time at age 47 and graduated with a Bachelors in CS with minors in both Math and Art age 50. (4 year degree in 3) I was even picked up on a graduate assistantship to work on my masters in CS. At 50 I was older than many of my instructors, but I certainly was not the oldest student at the university.
That was when jobs were scarce (not as bad as at the present) quite a few years ago and I had companies calling me. I was the mythical fresh college graduate with over 26 years of experience.
I didn't even have to start at entry level in the new field and I seriously doubt I'm any different than any other technically oriented person that has kept an active mind. I worked my way up to project manager for my last 3 years before retirement.
Looking at it from a practical point, if you've kept an active mind, rather than just working 8 hours, going home, kicking your feet up, having a beer, and forgetting about work or learning, most people would, or should have little trouble learning new skills, of expanding on old ones. Your degree or job status already puts you well ahead of the average person in learning ability.
There are things that can or may interfere though such as health issues, medications, and even lifestyle. Having kept an active mind is probably the most important part. Although age can play a part, keeping that active mind will normally stave off those old tales about learning becoming difficult. 40 or 50 definitely should not be a problem, but everyone ages differently and contrary to "all men are created equal" they certainly aren't. As the old saying goes, any one who believes that has never been in a public shower! Likewise, mental capabilities vary widely as well. They may peak for the average person in their 20's, but the average person does not work in a job that requires constant learning and adapting. The average person doesn't even have the capability of learning the math required in CS or Engineering. Many make it past 60 while still learning and every once in a while I see articles about someone in their 80's earning a degree. Likely it was in the liberal arts and not sciences, but they were still learning. So it's not some specific age, but mental capacity that eventually slows our learning and it is different for everyone.
Kinda like Social Security. Had I been able to invest what the government took out along with what I did invest, I'd be rich today instead of living on a pension and SS
Think of what all those billions could have done for the economy instead of being stolen by the government and used for "other things"
The short version, A heat pump works like an air conditioner in reverse for heat and becomes an air conditioner in the summer if you are using air. Up here they get the heat from underground where the temp is some where around 58F all year round.
Heat pump? I had two contractors look at going with a heat pump. They took one look at one years worth of gas and electric bills and told me they'd be glad to do it, but it'd be a waste of money. Our home is well insulated and tight with very few air leaks. Both contractors told me not to bother. The payback of a heat pump over a high efficiency furnace and air conditioner was on the order of roughly 49 years. That is over twice the expected life of the system which means I'd actually lose substantial money with the extra cost of the heat pump over conventional.
BTW the both contractors emphasized that heat pumps start losing efficiency much below 32F., but considering our winters there are only a 4 weeks where the pump isn't really efficient if using air. Otherwise 4 to 6, 50 foot deep wells or large heat sink planted under the yard are much more efficient. OTOH they and a LOT more expensive.
No. Hence not every one can be a programmer and for all the programmers only a small percent are "good programmers" and it seems that most large corporations have at least a few who are well up the food chain who "think" they know how to program. In essence they may know how to write a program but I've spent many an hour "fixing" those programs, and worse is when you have to "fix" good programs to interface with those so called programs which may be corporate databases that don't even use unique records, but rather use a combination of variables within the record to define it. These are records keeping systems. Imagine what a complicated system would be like after having been messed by one of these "thinks they are programers".
I'd disagree that almost anyone can grasp Algebra 1 our of today's schools and I think Mark might agree if the caveat were added unless they have a reasonable education. I only have a minor in Math.
Students from the government sponsored schools, taught by progressives in the unions and bound by the PC rules imposed do feel good about themselves for showing up and it keep the schools from getting sued. Of course the students only feel good until they get turned down, or can't even get interviews in their fields of study even if they aren't the useless degrees so many take just to say they have a degree. They blame the system, not the schools or themselves. Then they spend $100,000 on loans to get a masters in that useless field and still blame the system and as the one OWSer said after being asked why she didn't get a science degree. "Oh, that stuff is too hard". The first course to get into college should be a good grade in "Practical decision making". Many of us worked hard, or for many years to save up so we could go to college without having to borrow.
Few in the general population including college graduates know anything about science. Most are completely clueless about anything technical. Try to explain math, physics, chemistry, aviation, or even economics and they just get that glazed look, yet they expect the system to provide a good paying job.
I have a small farm that is in a co-op that has 130 generators I believe it's now the largest wind farm in MI. So far, it has been averaging around 94% utilization for the last two quarters and that includes scheduled downtime for maintenance. They have been able to produce power reliably for those 6 months at a rate where they can easily sell it to the electric companies (Consumers and DTE) who can then resell that power at regular rates and still make a profit. DTE was so impressed that they purchased about half of the turbines in our area. A 2 year study prior to the start of the project indicated that the project should be able to continue at this level of performance, but the true test will come with several years of operation. Another thing in their favor is they did not have to build power lines to tie into the grid or expand the grid. Unused capacity in the area was far more than needed. Of course they did have to build an infrastructure that did tie into their on substations. This system is doing so well that 3 other projects are now under way in the Southern part of the county and into at least one neighboring county.
We must read different journals. Well before it was implemented, the tracking ability was hyped as a safety issue for 911 calls as well as fire and police. They claimed they would be able to track a phone to not only geographic coordinates, but to the floor as well in an apartment building. They neglected to say that anyone with access or the equipment (Like divorce lawyers, police, government, terrorists...etc) can track a particular phone in real time. People don't realize that as long as the phone is on it is transmitting to the towers as well as listening. You can turn the things off which I do in the car or plane, or pull the battery if you are paranoid.
Remember that most of the population is completely clueless about anything technical. When cell phones came out most though of them as just another telephone, not a radio transceiver than anyone with a receiver that covered those frequencies could hear. Instead of encryption, the FCC made it illegal to sell receivers that covered those frequencies (cellular blocked) once again protecting ignorance.
I do believe the cloud is one of computing's greatest mistakes. Does it work. Certainly and well, but I believe it opens your data to any agency that want's to take a look.
Whether the writings were inspired or not depends on your belief system, but we do know that the writings were selected by a committee. I believe it was a Roman who set up the committee. Originally an Atheist, he "saw the light" and decided to assemble the writings, what to include and what should be left out.
4 Full size black steel tower cases and one mid size, top end motherboards with a couple of video cards that cost more than most dells, 16 to 32 Gig of top end RAM. SSD boot drive, and 2 or 3 , 2 or 3 Terabyte drives with a KW Power supply (video cards use about 300W each) and a 25" monitor, or pair of them. Win 7 U and Fedora running dual boot. Browser, e-mail client, C++, HTML editor, network software, Open Office, and Photo editors. None of the software packages for the commodity builders and no browser add-ons.
IOW I build and configure my own to do what I want.
BTW I was a computer systems project manager before I retired.
Allowing them to "sneak in" items unrelated to the actual bill does not protect our rights, but rather gives those with special interests a back door into eroding them. Nor does this add efficiency in most cases. Bills that could be warranted and useful end up being defeated and the converse happens as well, just because some one stuck on a pet amendment and I do mean snuck on in hopes it wouldn't be noticed, or that the original bill would be considered so important the hidden amendment would be carried along with it.
How do you do it anyway if the politicians lie about their opponents and themselves? while the mainstream medial is completely untrustworthy. How can you find the truth or know who to believe?
I'm retired and I still use math every day. Algebra is about as basic as you can get. If they can't handle that, they probably aren't college material anyway. We could probably eliminate about half the students going to college and the useless degrees. They would have money left, would not be a drag on society, and we could probably eliminate about 2/3rds of needless student loans. There are a lot of students going to college who are not suited for college, nor do they need a 4 year degree.
I believe it was in May, back again in Aurora Co. Guy just got out of jail. Drove into a church parking lot where he crashed into a car. When people started running over, he opened fire killing one. Just so happens there was a parishioner who was armed. He shot the guy. End of story. Unfortunately the theater was a "Gun free zone" so no one was armed. That is not to say there would have been or would have been someone capable of shooting the guy even had it not been a gun free zone.
Me? I see "Gun Free Zone" as synonym for crooks to help themselves.
Another way to think of it is that it takes the police 5 to over 20 minutes to respond to your call. How much good is that going to do you if you are being assaulted, robbed, or your home being broken into. Ever wake to find someone in you home at night? As one officer and friend told me, "You are on your own". At least we don't have to worry about being prosecuted for protecting ourselves...within limitations.
Pure BS or a very slanted poll. Both the Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Huffington Post are far Left Wing nut jobs. I do not know any NRA members that subscribe to what they are selling. OTOH I'm sure there are some members out there that agree with both the above organizations but their goals are anti second amendment so I'd not trust any thing coming from there which also makes me wonder why anyone who subscribes to what they say would also join the NRA.
But we do not have the right to own (no longer have the right) to what are now called "military grade weapons" They may look the same but they do not operate the same. Yes, in the day the Constitution was written it was military grade, but basically any firearm back then was military grade. Note too, that nearly all these high profile events too place in "gun free zones". The only ones without firearms were the citizens, not the crooks and loonies.
Firearms are a tool. How you use them determines whether they are for work or for fun and don't confuse Guns with Weapons. Ask any one you know in the military what I mean by that.
As an added note, there are over six million active concealed weapons permits in civilian hands in the US. There are many, many, times that in firearms (pistols, rifles and shotguns. Conveniently, no one has an idea as to how many are in private hands, but it's likely to equal the total of all the world's armies combined. What we have are civilian firearms and there is a distinct and noticeable difference for those who know how to tell.
Where I live I don't know of anyone in our neighborhood who does not own firearms with the possibility of one young family with a bunch of kids. Most families have a CCW although Michigan does not require one for open carry. OTOH I never could understand why any one would want to "open carry" except for hunting.
Surprisingly I see more families taking up the shooting sports and keeping firearms at home than I do moving away from firearms.
So far, official government figures show that no state that has passed the "shall issue" CCWs has had a violent crime increase. Almost all have had decreases. Only a few even stayed the same.
I like the video on U-tube on the 72 year old guy in a store that two guys decided to robe. One was armed with a hand gun the other a baseball bat. The one with the gun started to take one guy hostage, when the old guy pulled his 380 and started shooting. The crooks pick what they think will be easy pickins.
The different departments under this administration, and particularly the justice department have a history of ignoring courts and congress. They just go ahead and do what they want. Not to say the other parties are great, but virtually anything is better than what we have in power now.
Confirmation bias certainly exists throughout the political spectrum. However, it does seem that political partisanship has made it worst in the right end of the political spectrum than the left end.
I looks to me like it affects both equally, just not on the same things. The Right strongly denies global warming while the left appears to embrace socialism and both appear to be wrong in these instances. Although socialism looks great on paper, it has *always* ended up hurting the middle class and eventually failed. Europe is much worse off than we are financially, but the left is taking us there. with entitlements. The right denies global warming and doing anything to fight it, yet more and more evidence backs up the theory of mankind being the cause this time. Any one of us could probably write volumes of how the two sides differ and reinforce their own beliefs
Our medical system needs overhauling. Both sides admit that, but the left wants government sponsored, single payer while the right wants it to be run by private industry. Both sides claim how poor the other side is by cherry picking the evidence. The truth is that no system works perfectly! One of the reasons ours works so well is we have an advanced system, but that is also the reason it is so expensive. We need to get the costs down, not throw out the system.
We need to minimize the size of the government and regulation to that that proves necessary, not eliminate either one.
Our financial system was working great until the Glass Stegall (sp?) act was repealed. Our financial problems are not due to the system, but rather people breaking the law and cheating the system. We could being back the Glass Steagall act, eliminate the usless regulations, throw out the Dodd/Franct act and make the system transparent.
I mentioned entitlements. We need to gradually scale them back and use them where necessary. SS cost me a great deal of money that could have been invested. Had I invested that money instead of giving it, or rather having it take by the government I could have retired in style. Had everyone's SS been invested instead of being put in an account that was robbed by the general fund the country might be in great shape.
Slashdot Mirror
When I was in high school computers worked for astronomers and were even paid wages.
Your view is the opposite of mine. I'm neither left nor right, but I see far more violence and intolerance on the left than on the right. Take the Tea Party (I'm neither a member or supporter) They are a peaceful group working for change, yet the left has demonized them and put out false stories about them promoting violence. The left has a double standard as to how they treat women and blacks if they are on the left or right. They also promote the unions that in turn promote violence. So far both sides are pretty much big government and promote the entitlement mentality that we can not afford.
I quit a good paying job as an instrument tech and went to college full time at age 47 and graduated with a Bachelors in CS with minors in both Math and Art age 50. (4 year degree in 3) I was even picked up on a graduate assistantship to work on my masters in CS. At 50 I was older than many of my instructors, but I certainly was not the oldest student at the university. That was when jobs were scarce (not as bad as at the present) quite a few years ago and I had companies calling me. I was the mythical fresh college graduate with over 26 years of experience. I didn't even have to start at entry level in the new field and I seriously doubt I'm any different than any other technically oriented person that has kept an active mind. I worked my way up to project manager for my last 3 years before retirement. Looking at it from a practical point, if you've kept an active mind, rather than just working 8 hours, going home, kicking your feet up, having a beer, and forgetting about work or learning, most people would, or should have little trouble learning new skills, of expanding on old ones. Your degree or job status already puts you well ahead of the average person in learning ability. There are things that can or may interfere though such as health issues, medications, and even lifestyle. Having kept an active mind is probably the most important part. Although age can play a part, keeping that active mind will normally stave off those old tales about learning becoming difficult. 40 or 50 definitely should not be a problem, but everyone ages differently and contrary to "all men are created equal" they certainly aren't. As the old saying goes, any one who believes that has never been in a public shower! Likewise, mental capabilities vary widely as well. They may peak for the average person in their 20's, but the average person does not work in a job that requires constant learning and adapting. The average person doesn't even have the capability of learning the math required in CS or Engineering. Many make it past 60 while still learning and every once in a while I see articles about someone in their 80's earning a degree. Likely it was in the liberal arts and not sciences, but they were still learning. So it's not some specific age, but mental capacity that eventually slows our learning and it is different for everyone.
Kinda like Social Security. Had I been able to invest what the government took out along with what I did invest, I'd be rich today instead of living on a pension and SS Think of what all those billions could have done for the economy instead of being stolen by the government and used for "other things"
You should really use the real cost instead of the subsidized cost to instead of 46 cents per hr it's 92.
Yah, but the savings in heat costs will be more than off set by the gallons of air freshener you will have to use.
The short version, A heat pump works like an air conditioner in reverse for heat and becomes an air conditioner in the summer if you are using air. Up here they get the heat from underground where the temp is some where around 58F all year round.
Heat pump? I had two contractors look at going with a heat pump. They took one look at one years worth of gas and electric bills and told me they'd be glad to do it, but it'd be a waste of money. Our home is well insulated and tight with very few air leaks. Both contractors told me not to bother. The payback of a heat pump over a high efficiency furnace and air conditioner was on the order of roughly 49 years. That is over twice the expected life of the system which means I'd actually lose substantial money with the extra cost of the heat pump over conventional. BTW the both contractors emphasized that heat pumps start losing efficiency much below 32F., but considering our winters there are only a 4 weeks where the pump isn't really efficient if using air. Otherwise 4 to 6, 50 foot deep wells or large heat sink planted under the yard are much more efficient. OTOH they and a LOT more expensive.
No. Hence not every one can be a programmer and for all the programmers only a small percent are "good programmers" and it seems that most large corporations have at least a few who are well up the food chain who "think" they know how to program. In essence they may know how to write a program but I've spent many an hour "fixing" those programs, and worse is when you have to "fix" good programs to interface with those so called programs which may be corporate databases that don't even use unique records, but rather use a combination of variables within the record to define it. These are records keeping systems. Imagine what a complicated system would be like after having been messed by one of these "thinks they are programers". I'd disagree that almost anyone can grasp Algebra 1 our of today's schools and I think Mark might agree if the caveat were added unless they have a reasonable education. I only have a minor in Math. Students from the government sponsored schools, taught by progressives in the unions and bound by the PC rules imposed do feel good about themselves for showing up and it keep the schools from getting sued. Of course the students only feel good until they get turned down, or can't even get interviews in their fields of study even if they aren't the useless degrees so many take just to say they have a degree. They blame the system, not the schools or themselves. Then they spend $100,000 on loans to get a masters in that useless field and still blame the system and as the one OWSer said after being asked why she didn't get a science degree. "Oh, that stuff is too hard". The first course to get into college should be a good grade in "Practical decision making". Many of us worked hard, or for many years to save up so we could go to college without having to borrow. Few in the general population including college graduates know anything about science. Most are completely clueless about anything technical. Try to explain math, physics, chemistry, aviation, or even economics and they just get that glazed look, yet they expect the system to provide a good paying job.
I have a small farm that is in a co-op that has 130 generators I believe it's now the largest wind farm in MI. So far, it has been averaging around 94% utilization for the last two quarters and that includes scheduled downtime for maintenance. They have been able to produce power reliably for those 6 months at a rate where they can easily sell it to the electric companies (Consumers and DTE) who can then resell that power at regular rates and still make a profit. DTE was so impressed that they purchased about half of the turbines in our area. A 2 year study prior to the start of the project indicated that the project should be able to continue at this level of performance, but the true test will come with several years of operation. Another thing in their favor is they did not have to build power lines to tie into the grid or expand the grid. Unused capacity in the area was far more than needed. Of course they did have to build an infrastructure that did tie into their on substations. This system is doing so well that 3 other projects are now under way in the Southern part of the county and into at least one neighboring county.
Hang in there. The left that proposes tolerance is anything but, what with their work to silence any dissent to their way of thinking.
We must read different journals. Well before it was implemented, the tracking ability was hyped as a safety issue for 911 calls as well as fire and police. They claimed they would be able to track a phone to not only geographic coordinates, but to the floor as well in an apartment building. They neglected to say that anyone with access or the equipment (Like divorce lawyers, police, government, terrorists...etc) can track a particular phone in real time. People don't realize that as long as the phone is on it is transmitting to the towers as well as listening. You can turn the things off which I do in the car or plane, or pull the battery if you are paranoid. Remember that most of the population is completely clueless about anything technical. When cell phones came out most though of them as just another telephone, not a radio transceiver than anyone with a receiver that covered those frequencies could hear. Instead of encryption, the FCC made it illegal to sell receivers that covered those frequencies (cellular blocked) once again protecting ignorance.
I do believe the cloud is one of computing's greatest mistakes. Does it work. Certainly and well, but I believe it opens your data to any agency that want's to take a look.
Whether the writings were inspired or not depends on your belief system, but we do know that the writings were selected by a committee. I believe it was a Roman who set up the committee. Originally an Atheist, he "saw the light" and decided to assemble the writings, what to include and what should be left out.
4 Full size black steel tower cases and one mid size, top end motherboards with a couple of video cards that cost more than most dells, 16 to 32 Gig of top end RAM. SSD boot drive, and 2 or 3 , 2 or 3 Terabyte drives with a KW Power supply (video cards use about 300W each) and a 25" monitor, or pair of them. Win 7 U and Fedora running dual boot. Browser, e-mail client, C++, HTML editor, network software, Open Office, and Photo editors. None of the software packages for the commodity builders and no browser add-ons. IOW I build and configure my own to do what I want. BTW I was a computer systems project manager before I retired.
Allowing them to "sneak in" items unrelated to the actual bill does not protect our rights, but rather gives those with special interests a back door into eroding them. Nor does this add efficiency in most cases. Bills that could be warranted and useful end up being defeated and the converse happens as well, just because some one stuck on a pet amendment and I do mean snuck on in hopes it wouldn't be noticed, or that the original bill would be considered so important the hidden amendment would be carried along with it.
How do you do it anyway if the politicians lie about their opponents and themselves? while the mainstream medial is completely untrustworthy. How can you find the truth or know who to believe?
I think your first paragraph just described the current, public educational system.
I'm retired and I still use math every day. Algebra is about as basic as you can get. If they can't handle that, they probably aren't college material anyway. We could probably eliminate about half the students going to college and the useless degrees. They would have money left, would not be a drag on society, and we could probably eliminate about 2/3rds of needless student loans. There are a lot of students going to college who are not suited for college, nor do they need a 4 year degree.
I believe it was in May, back again in Aurora Co. Guy just got out of jail. Drove into a church parking lot where he crashed into a car. When people started running over, he opened fire killing one. Just so happens there was a parishioner who was armed. He shot the guy. End of story. Unfortunately the theater was a "Gun free zone" so no one was armed. That is not to say there would have been or would have been someone capable of shooting the guy even had it not been a gun free zone. Me? I see "Gun Free Zone" as synonym for crooks to help themselves. Another way to think of it is that it takes the police 5 to over 20 minutes to respond to your call. How much good is that going to do you if you are being assaulted, robbed, or your home being broken into. Ever wake to find someone in you home at night? As one officer and friend told me, "You are on your own". At least we don't have to worry about being prosecuted for protecting ourselves...within limitations.
Pure BS or a very slanted poll. Both the Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the Huffington Post are far Left Wing nut jobs. I do not know any NRA members that subscribe to what they are selling. OTOH I'm sure there are some members out there that agree with both the above organizations but their goals are anti second amendment so I'd not trust any thing coming from there which also makes me wonder why anyone who subscribes to what they say would also join the NRA.
But we do not have the right to own (no longer have the right) to what are now called "military grade weapons" They may look the same but they do not operate the same. Yes, in the day the Constitution was written it was military grade, but basically any firearm back then was military grade. Note too, that nearly all these high profile events too place in "gun free zones". The only ones without firearms were the citizens, not the crooks and loonies. Firearms are a tool. How you use them determines whether they are for work or for fun and don't confuse Guns with Weapons. Ask any one you know in the military what I mean by that. As an added note, there are over six million active concealed weapons permits in civilian hands in the US. There are many, many, times that in firearms (pistols, rifles and shotguns. Conveniently, no one has an idea as to how many are in private hands, but it's likely to equal the total of all the world's armies combined. What we have are civilian firearms and there is a distinct and noticeable difference for those who know how to tell. Where I live I don't know of anyone in our neighborhood who does not own firearms with the possibility of one young family with a bunch of kids. Most families have a CCW although Michigan does not require one for open carry. OTOH I never could understand why any one would want to "open carry" except for hunting. Surprisingly I see more families taking up the shooting sports and keeping firearms at home than I do moving away from firearms. So far, official government figures show that no state that has passed the "shall issue" CCWs has had a violent crime increase. Almost all have had decreases. Only a few even stayed the same. I like the video on U-tube on the 72 year old guy in a store that two guys decided to robe. One was armed with a hand gun the other a baseball bat. The one with the gun started to take one guy hostage, when the old guy pulled his 380 and started shooting. The crooks pick what they think will be easy pickins.
precedent and case law can be overturned. Even the Supreme Court over turns its own previous rulings on occasion.
The different departments under this administration, and particularly the justice department have a history of ignoring courts and congress. They just go ahead and do what they want. Not to say the other parties are great, but virtually anything is better than what we have in power now.
Confirmation bias certainly exists throughout the political spectrum. However, it does seem that political partisanship has made it worst in the right end of the political spectrum than the left end.
I looks to me like it affects both equally, just not on the same things. The Right strongly denies global warming while the left appears to embrace socialism and both appear to be wrong in these instances. Although socialism looks great on paper, it has *always* ended up hurting the middle class and eventually failed. Europe is much worse off than we are financially, but the left is taking us there. with entitlements. The right denies global warming and doing anything to fight it, yet more and more evidence backs up the theory of mankind being the cause this time. Any one of us could probably write volumes of how the two sides differ and reinforce their own beliefs Our medical system needs overhauling. Both sides admit that, but the left wants government sponsored, single payer while the right wants it to be run by private industry. Both sides claim how poor the other side is by cherry picking the evidence. The truth is that no system works perfectly! One of the reasons ours works so well is we have an advanced system, but that is also the reason it is so expensive. We need to get the costs down, not throw out the system. We need to minimize the size of the government and regulation to that that proves necessary, not eliminate either one. Our financial system was working great until the Glass Stegall (sp?) act was repealed. Our financial problems are not due to the system, but rather people breaking the law and cheating the system. We could being back the Glass Steagall act, eliminate the usless regulations, throw out the Dodd/Franct act and make the system transparent. I mentioned entitlements. We need to gradually scale them back and use them where necessary. SS cost me a great deal of money that could have been invested. Had I invested that money instead of giving it, or rather having it take by the government I could have retired in style. Had everyone's SS been invested instead of being put in an account that was robbed by the general fund the country might be in great shape.