Chart Of The Day

Sarah Palin's political action committee's map "targeting" House Democrats who voted to pass health care reform legislation, coupled with the tweet "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" Now I'm not saying that Palin wants these people to literally be shot for voting the way they did, just that it's an irresponsible (I'd also call it tone deaf but I suspect that her people know what they're doing here) metaphor to use for this issue when congressmen and women are receiving actual death threats. How is this supposed to improve the discourse?

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[Update: "'Take up your arms’ means voting,” -Sarah Palin. Sure, it's the first connection I make with that phrase. Again, irresponsible.

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Urine Tests To Receive Welfare Checks

Last month I got an email that's been widely circulated around the web from a friend that I had to disagree with. In lieu of original thoughts during my current domestic transition I reproduce that email for you here:

Now here's an idea that just seems too simple........

THE JOB - URINE TEST
(Whoever wrote this one deserves a HUGE pat on the back!)

Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me...
I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit.
In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine test
with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the
distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test.
So here is my question. Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a
welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them?
Understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their
feet. I do, on the other hand, have a problem with helping someone
sitting on their rump doing drugs, while I work.Can you imagine how much
money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a
public assistance check?
I guess we could title that program, 'Urine or You're Out'.

Pass this along if you agree or simply delete if you don't. Hope you all
will pass it along, though. Some thing has to change in this country --
and soon!!!!!!!

And now my response (and no, I didn't simply delete when I disagreed):

I realize that you didn't write this yourself Tami but the reason this seems too simple is because it is. All requiring urine tests for receiving a welfare check would do is punish poor people for personal behavior that shouldn't be any of the government's business in the first place, not to mention punishing any children whose parents didn't pass the tests. Also, the vast majority of welfare recipients must meet certain work requirements in order to be eligible for aid. While the popular perception of the average welfare recipient is that of a terminally lazy drug addict the reality is that most recipients (not including the elderly, children and the handicapped) are employed at least part time and leave the welfare rolls within twelve months of joining. If the use of illegal substances and being gainfully employed were each mutually exclusive situations as this person seems to be saying then over 40% of Americans would now be jobless.

Welfare recipients and other poor people are obvious targets when people start talking about social engineering through the distribution of government funds (this post about illegal immigration similarly addresses this type of populist demonology) but the truth is that most middle and upper-class Americans also receive "welfare" in the form of tax deductions for home mortgages, corporate and farm subsidies, capital gains tax limits, Social Security, Medicare, and a multitude of other tax benefits. Should we require everyone who receives any of these government benefits to be similarly tested as well? We're trying to save money by denying it to those who use illegal drugs and those tax dollars are worth the same no matter who receives them. And do we really want to give the government that kind of power over our bodies and personal/private recreations?

If this person really wanted to save tax dollars we should have urine tested the CEOs and boards of directors of every investment company and automobile manufacturer that has received any amount of bailout funding and subsequently withheld said funding from any company that didn't pass (do you doubt that these millionaires might have a few illicit substances in their own systems?). While we were at it we could have done the same for every private contractor doing business in Iraq. The government spends $324 billion a year on all welfare and unemployment. The banking industry alone received over twice that much in bailout money while the total cost of the Iraq war is estimated to be seven times that.

I suspect that the person who wrote this is not so much concerned with saving the government money as they are with trying to control the behaviors of others that they disagree with by picking on a group of people who are easy targets and can not easily defend themselves. And incidentally, this person doesn't have to pass a urine test in order to earn a paycheck that will be taxed by the same government that distributes welfare benefits. They've chosen to work for a private company that has this policy, which of course is that company's right. But as I said, giving that power to a government that is the only source of welfare (at whatever level it's being distributed) would be oppressive and dangerous as to our individual liberties and privacy rights. This person may not have any qualms about government intrusion into their own life but I for one do not want to have to piss in a cup to receive my tax return or get a student loan, which is the path down which this course of logic would invariably lead.

Whether you agree or disagree with my take on this, I of course welcome all comments.

Picture Of The Day

It's called the Kopp-Etchells effect. It looks like a computer-generated effect but it's just an act of nature:

When helicopters pass through dust storms, contact of the particles with the rotating blades produces either sparks or static electricity. The phenomenon has been observed during combat operations in Afghanistan; Michael Yon has documented the effect, and has named it after two U.K. soldiers who died there.

Violently beautiful, huh?

The Earth Moved

Only a 2.7 quake tonight. It felt smaller. Damn, I was just starting to doze off too.

Map Of The Day

Although I dismiss the myth that young people are getting their news predominantly from the Daily Show (one requires prior knowledge of the various news stories in order to get most of the jokes) Stewart is definitely one of the more honest voices out there right now speaking truth to power. His influence amongst the young is why presidential candidates know they have to appear on his show and his ability to intelligently grill those with whom he disagrees is why Republicans try so hard to dismiss and vilify him. I don't see his popularity waining any time soon and in this era of infotainment and watered-down news sources, why should it?

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650 Million Years In 80 Seconds

A nice time-lapse video depicting the probable past and possible future of the Earth's various land masses:

The Earth Moved

I was just finally drifting off to sleep when I felt a quick jerk and heard my house creaking. This one was only a 2.1 but the epicenter was in exactly the same spot (the map above is of greater detail) as the one on Monday. Is this good or bad? Is this last one another aftershock from Monday's 3.5 or are both of these just precursors to something larger? I'm from Texas, man. We never studied earthquakes, we were too busy doing duck and cover tornado/hurricane drills when I was a kid.

The Earth Moved

Just had a little 3.5 magnitude quake but it felt a bit larger than that, probably because the epicenter was pretty much right in the middle of Danville where I live. It was as if my entire house jumped a foot to the left, like a vehicle had crashed into the side of the building. Whoa, just felt a little aftershock as well. Earthquakes are one of the things I don't think I'll ever get used to here in California.

[Update: A little work with Google Maps puts the epicenter just a mile and a half away from me as the crow flies. As far as I know this is the closest I've ever been to one. And there goes another aftershock.]

Legal Drinking Ages Around The World

You can click the map for an enhanced image. I find it curious that we as Americans so often closely resemble the supposed "crazy" Islamist nations in our laws pertaining to ingested chemicals and sex. Coincidence, or religious guilt? Expound in the comment section, if you are so inclined.

Countries That Don't Use The Metric System

That's right: Liberia, Burma and the United States of America. Fine company we find ourselves in, no? The last industrialized Western nation to switch over was Canada and even that was almost four decades ago. Maybe President Obama can rub some change on this problem as well, but I'm not holding my breath: when it comes to this simple and practical issue we Americans are extremely stubborn, to the point of actually taking pride in the fact that we're being so different and non-conformist by not adopting the system used by the rest of the civilized world.

Remember that satellite we crashed into Mars a decade ago? It burned up in the planets atmosphere because one of NASA's subcontractors used the wrong units in their thruster software and it cost us over $327 million. Remember the national outcry by the American people to finally officially switch over to the metric system to avoid massive fuck ups just like that one? Neither do I. Ask the average American how many kilometers there are in 100 miles and they'll stare at you blankly. It's embarrassing, and it's what Obama is talking about when he says he wants to return science to the White House (but as I said, I'm not holding my breath on this particular issue) and one of my great hopes is that he'll be the leader who makes smart cool again. Dumb has had a free ride in this country for way too long.

[Update: I just ran across this new rule from Bill Maher that puts our national anathema to the metric system into better perspective:
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[Update II: Forget it, we've lost. M. Lavinashree will own us all soon.]

Bullet Dodged: She Thought Africa Was A Country

This is one of my favorite parts of a political campaign, especially a losing one: hearing about all of the deceptions that went on behind the scenes while they blissfully lied to the cameras and the American people. We've always suspected it but now we know: she was never vetted, and Cameron even uses the phrase "hail Mary" to describe McCain's choosing her. It was purely political, with absolutely no thought as to her level of education, competence or how she would govern; I'll say it again: they deserved to lose this one:

Note the admission by Smith (one of the only intellectually honest voices at FOX News): Obama's lead began days before the economy publicly went south; one of the main right-wing talking points since Tuesday has been that Obama only won because of the failing economy, and that's just never felt true to me. I'm not saying that it didn't help him win or even that I had data or proof to offer up to the contrary before this; just that it never quite felt like what was happening.

World's Earliest SatNav

I love my satellite navigation system but this device was an idea apparently far ahead of it's time (and satellites):

Satellite navigation (SatNav) is a lot older than previously thought. In fact, it’s even decades older than man-made satellites themselves. This fantastic contraption, called the ‘Routefinder’, showed 1920s drivers in the UK the roads they were travelling down, gave them the mileage covered and told them to stop when they came at journey’s end.

The technology - a curious cross between the space age and the stone age - consisted of a little map scroll inside a watch, to be ’scrolled’ (hence the word) as the driver moved along on the map. A multitude of scrolls could be fitted in the watch to suit the particular trip the driver fancied taking.

I question the safety of constantly looking at your wrist for directions while driving but I suppose the dearth of cars at the time made the chances of a collision much less likely than today.

The Earth Moved

Just a little 4.0 but it was quite close to me this time and I was outside when it occurred, a first for me. For those who have never had the pleasure to be present during an earthquake, your first thought is always "Where should I go?", to which the usual answer is a doorway or other reinforced structure. And when you're outside the thought is the same but it is quickly answered with the obvious: "Oh, I guess I just stand here". Definitely one of the more entertaining natural events I've been privy to.

Who's Reading Brain Rage?

This map shows the location of the last 500 hits to this blog around the world; a little more diversified than we were about three months ago but we're still eagerly awaiting our first hit from the frozen continent of Antarctica. If any of you know any research scientists or penguin wranglers stationed down that way, please forward them a link to this site to help us crack the elusive seven-continent barrier; doing so would carry me to Roger Bannister-heights of elation. And yes, I recognize the sad, pathetic emptiness of that accomplishment.

The Spread Of Walmart

This evolving map of the United States charts the 45 year spread of the retail giant out of Arkansas as it gains strength and speed, eventually enveloping the nation with it's low prices and discount bargains.

Googling The Tour

Google Maps has set up a feature that allows you to view the entire route of the Tour de France from a rider's eye viewpoint. With 360 degree rotating street views you can even click on the route to follow it through the streets; this one's for you, BD my friend:

The South Shall Snack Again

Fatness by state. Ya'll up for some fried Twinkies?

Bullitt Time

Steve McQueen's classic car chase scene through San Francisco in the movie Bullitt, with accompanying simultaneous tracking on Google Maps. Futuristically retro.

NIN Around The Globe

Nine Inch Nails has provided their latest album The Slip for free download on their site and tracked the resulting downloads on this sweet Google map; meet the new music industry of the 21st century.

Sydney To Los Angeles

A curious Welshman decides to see how Google Maps guides you there. The best part is step #6 from the directions:

kayak across the Pacific Ocean

Naturally. And is it just me or does it seem like a waste of kayaking energy to row to Washington first and not straight to Los Angeles? My arms feel tired just reading this.