It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.’ Barack Obama finally said it. Though a successful political and electoral strategy, the Right’s stand against intelligence has steered them far off course, leaving them — and us — unable to deal successfully with the complex and dynamic circumstances we face as a nation and a society. American 15-year-olds rank 24th out of 29 countries in math literacy, and their parents are as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution; roughly 30 to 40 percent believe in each. Their president believes ‘the jury is still out’ on evolution. Steve Colbert interviewed Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland on ‘The Colbert Report.’ Westmoreland co-sponsored a bill that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but, when asked, couldn’t actually list the commandments. This stuff would be funny if it weren’t so dangerous. In the 2004 election, nearly 70 percent of Bush supporters believed the United States had ‘clear evidence’ that Saddam Hussein was working closely with al Qaeda; a third believed weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq; and more than a third that a substantial […]
Growing evidence suggests American consumers, businesspeople, and political leaders should all be bracing for double-digit inflation, probably as early as 2009. The relative price stability of the past 15 years is giving way to worsening inflation, despite the recent softening of oil prices. The Consumer Price Index for all items shows the inflation rate averaged 2.6% a year from 1992 through 2007 but has doubled since January, reaching an annual rate of 5.6% in July. By next year, the monthly figure could hit double digits, and the inflation rate for 2009 overall could triple 2007’s 2.85%. I say this not only because I have looked at a broad range of statistics that point in this direction. I also run a private equity investment firm that owns companies in a number of industries-including restaurants, the manufacture of gardening tools, oil and gas exploration services, and distribution of entertainment products such as books and videos-that are already being forced to pass price increases on to the consumer. The skyrocketing price of oil is obviously a central element in the accelerating price spiral. But a sea change in China’s role is beginning to have a huge impact as well. Increasing […]
The latest survey of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University should trigger sign alarms among parents, as it shows that more youngsters find it easier to get their hands on prescription drugs, much easier than acquiring a bottle of beer. Their percentage rises to 90 percent in contract with 13 percent last year. The main source of drugs such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin and Ritalin is ‘the medicine cabinet,’ (34 percent) according to Elizabeth Planet, director of special projects for CASA who coordinated the survey. However, ‘another source of these drugs is their friends.’ These prescription drugs are often detrimental to the brain of teenagers, which is still in the development stage (Vicodin). However, they may also cause accidents, sexual activities and pushes teenagers to addiction. But this is not the only negative issue found by the survey. Almost 50 percent of the respondents said they leave their house on school nights to hang out with friends. Of those coming home after 8 p.m., 29 percent said they occasionally drink alcohol, smoke marijuana or use other drugs. Of those coming home after 10 p.m., 50 percent said they usually consume alcohol, […]
On July 30, a jury awarded over $2.5 million to James Klotz and his wife Mary in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a heart surgeon, his group practice and St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo. In 2004 Mr. Klotz, now 69, was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack and a pacemaker was surgically implanted. He developed a drug-resistant staph infection called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It was so severe that he underwent 15 additional operations, spent 84 days in the hospital and lost his right leg, part of his left foot, a kidney and most of his hearing. This verdict should send a warning to physicians, hospitals and hospital board members. Until recently, infection was considered an unavoidable risk. But now there is proof that nearly all hospital infections are avoidable when doctors and staff clean their hands and rigorously practice proper hygiene and other preventive measures. Hospital infections will cause the next wave of class-action lawsuits, bigger than the litigation over asbestos. The germ that Mr. Klotz contracted, hospital-acquired MRSA, infects about 880,000 patients a year and accounts for only 8% of all hospital infections. Hospital infections caused by all kinds of bacteria […]
Companies will build two solar power plants in California that together will put out more than 12 times as much electricity as the largest such plant today, the latest indication that solar energy is starting to achieve significant scale. The plants will cover 12.5 square miles of central California with solar panels, and in the middle of a sunny day will generate about 800 megawatts of power, roughly equal to the size of a large coal-burning power plant or a small nuclear plant. A megawatt is enough power to run a large Wal-Mart store. The power will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric, which is under a state mandate to get 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The utility said that it expected the new plants, which will use photovoltaic technology to turn sunlight directly into electricity, to be competitive with other renewable energy sources, including wind turbines and solar thermal plants, which use the sun’s heat to boil water. ‘These market-leading projects we have in California are something that can be extrapolated around the world,’ Jennifer Zerwer, a spokeswoman for the utility, said. ‘It’s a milestone.’ Though the California installations […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
