Crazy Is As Crazy Does

121219-Two Faces of Gun Control

TWO FACES OF GUN CONTROL

So many things have happened while I slaved in Santa’s workshop. I can’t believe it all. The new furor about gun control really irks me. I will give up  my gun when Hollywood refuses to make any movies with stories that involve guns. I do think the U.S. should outlaw crazies. I’m sure our Progressive Liberal élite think tanks can come up with a suitable test to decide which of us is inclined to be a crazy who shoots innocent children and conservative people. Once they have that test solidified, they can begin putting it to use by gassing everyone who tests positive for crazy.

Of course guns are not the only things that kill school kids while they are in school. Back in the nineteen-fifties a school fire at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic school in Chicago killed ninety-two kids. These kids died a very painful slow death not a quick sudden one. Yes, we should ban fire. There shouldn’t be any open flame allowed anywhere within a block of a school building. That means no furnaces to keep kids warm in winter. They can use electric heat instead. Of course we all know that electrical problems cause fires too. Yep, lets ban electricity too.

The U.S. government is also responsible for promoting crazy. Let’s talk about Fast and Furious. The idea of shipping guns to Mexico to find crazies across the border is really a gem. How about Benghazi-gate. Shipping guns to the Libyans resulted in them using these U.S. provided weapons to kill our embassy ambassador and three others. During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan the U.S. fed guns to the Afghan rebels who now use them against us. The list goes on and on. Instead of stopping the problem at its root-cause we attack the Constitution. The Second Amendment provides we the Sheeple with the ability to revolt against a government gone wild. The government knows this and fears the idea. That is exactly what the Founders intended with the right. The problem is that we the Sheeple haven’t figured out how to revolt. We are way too comfortable watching violent TV shows and movies that promote gun crime, or play our video games that fill our sub conscious minds with the ease of solving problems with the push of a button.

I don’t know what the answer is to keeping crazies from killing with guns, but I do know that collecting all the guns in America is not the solution. If it were, we must incarcerate smokers because cigarettes kill far more people than guns. Cancer is also another killer, i.e. after heart attacks. Maybe a law banning the consumption of all fatty foods is in order. Yeah shut down MacDonalds, Burger King, Wendys. Taco Bell, Culvers, What a Burger, In and Out Burger, and every pizza joint in the country. That move would kill another several million jobs and cause more of us to go on welfare.

Another killer is the automobile. I lay awake at night fearing a middle of night attack by my faithful Death Star parked in the garage. I say ban all cars except the President’s. He needs to ride in a bullet-proof, bomb-proof vehicle to stay safe. People argue “you can’t do that,  how will we get to work?” Tough, if you still have a job, try riding a bicycle to work, or ride a bus. The Greens would love that. Think of all the carbon load you would cut by walking instead of driving that killer car.

A stationary car cannot kill anyone, unless rigged to blow up like a bomb. A stationary gun cannot kill anyone. The only way these instruments of destruction can kill is if there is a crazy using it. When it comes to cars, I argue that we are all guilty of some form of crazy. We have laws to punish us if we speed, run red-lights, drink, and drive, but we still do it. The problem is we all feel in control and do it anyway. Legislating to prevent crazies from committing a crime is as crazy as the crazy himself.

Where Did 342,693 Jobs Go?

Unemployment Rates

Unemployment Rates (Photo credit: GDS Infographics)

My math skills are fundamental, and as such I shouldn’t refute the government of the United States unemployment numbers, but I must. The level of trickery in the 7.8% unemployment number released today is astronomical.

Here is my math:

1.) From the Department of Labor Statistics the total work force in 2012 is extrapolated to be 152,230,880. (zero unemployed)

2.) Announced unemployment number today is 7.8%.  My math .078(152,230,880) = 11,874,008 people without jobs

3.) Announced unemployment last month was 8.1%. My math .11(152230880) = 12,330,701 people without jobs

4.) The number of jobs picked up in September  is (12,330,701-11,874,008) = 456,693

5.) The number of non farm jobs reported for September is 114,000.

6.) Excuse me but where did the rest of the jobs come from? My math (456,693-114,000) = 342,693 jobs unresolved. Is it a coincidence that the jobless claims for this week were at 367,000?

7.) Subtract 114,000 from last months unemployed and the real unemployment number should be reported as 8.0% not 7.8%.

Granted my logic is simple, but this smacks of a fresh dead skunk on the road. No doubt, the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and the reports are real gems. They are extremely hard to understand and so filled with confusing numbers and statistics that anyone who tries to decipher them can come up with any number he wants.

My conclusion: The number of new jobs required to get a .3% difference does not jive with the number of new jobs reported.

Even if we accept the bright side of 7.8% unemployment there are still 11,874,008 workers who are searching for a meal. Spread that to the fifty states and each state has 237,480 workers twiddling their thumbs while waiting patiently for our bigger, better, problem solving, progressive government to raise taxes some more to improve the job outlook.

There is an old adage, “Liars figure, and figures lie.

Unemployment – OUT OF WORK

Abbott & Costello

Who’s on First

As a kid I enjoyed the antics of a very famous duo-comedy force called Abbott and Costello. One was a straight man for the other. They had some classic side splitting skits. One of them called  “Who’s on First” is genius comedy.  The skit below is modeled after “Who’s On First.”  This version is even funnier than the original.   Of course, if you are either unemployed or out of work you may not see the humor.

Unemployment- OUT OF WORK

 COSTELLO:  I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America .

 ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It’s  9%.

COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.

COSTELLO: You just said 9%.

ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.

COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.

 ABBOTT: No, that’s 16%.

 COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s 16% unemployed.

 ABBOTT: No, that’s 9%.

COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE.    Is it 9% or16%?

 ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed.  16% are out of work.

 COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed.

 ABBOTT: No, Obama said you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed.

You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT: No, you miss his point.

COSTELLO: What point?

 ABBOTT: Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work.

  It wouldn’t be fair.

 COSTELLO: To whom?

ABBOTT: The  unemployed.

COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.

ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the  ranks of the unemployed.

COSTELLO: So if you’re off the

unemployment roles that would count as less unemployment?

 ABBOTT:

Unemployment would go down.  Absolutely!

COSTELLO: The

unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?

 ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That’s how Obama

gets it to 9%.   Otherwise it would be 16%. He doesn’t want you to read about 16% unemployment.

COSTELLO: That would be tough on his reelection.

ABBOTT: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question

for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment  number?

 ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.

 COSTELLO:

Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

 ABBOTT: Correct.

COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT: Bingo.

COSTELLO: So there are two  ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have Obama’s supporters stop looking for work.

 ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like the Obama Economy Czar.

 COSTELLO: I don’t even know what the hell I just said!

 ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like Obama.

Thanks Diane for a great laugh.

Tsunami

     In the year I was born unemployment was at 19% down from 25% a few years earlier. FDR was frantic with anxiety over people going hungry in his socialist world. He spent, spent, and spent. Nothing worked. Then the British became involved with Hitler. Britain was broke, and Churchill needed armaments.  FDR invented the Lend Lease program to help the Brits fight Hitler. We built the guns, tanks, jeeps, etc. and loaned them to Churchill. Suddenly, people were working in the USA. Suddenly, people had money. The real reason the first Great Depression ended was our participation in WWII, not the New Deal, CCC, WPA, or any other spending program FDR came up with..

     With a new Great Depression coming to a neighborhood near you, what will end it this time? How long will it take, and which soup line will you be standing in? On a brighter note, the soup line may be the answer to national obesity.