Bits & Bytes

Today's Laugh

Former NYS Governor George Pataki recently announced an exploratory committee for a possible presidential run. Our reaction: Bahahahahahahahahah!


The Cost/Benefit Analysis of War

Energy experts predict that a regime change in Libya will result in a $20/bbl reduction in the market price of oil.

The USA consumes approximately 20,000,000 / bbl / day.

One could therefore conclude that this regime change will result in a $400 million /day consumer savings / shift in US spending away from oil (primarily an import) to other consumption choices (which one could surmise would tilt more towards domestic buying).

One could further conclude that these fig's provide a more effective (by far) economic boost than any tax cut or federal spending program that has been discussed as being the best-bet policy move for jump-starting the moribound domestic economy. One model predicts that this alone results in a +.4% GDP gain.

Conclusions:

1) It really IS all about the oil, isn't it?

2) Those who criticized the US involvement in the NATO-lead Libyan action on purely financial grounds ("it costs too much") should be eating crow now.


More on Libya

The moving-forward challenge for the Libyan people is "where do we go from here?" (cue old Chicago tune). Keep in mind these stats:

- 92% of its GDP is oil
- It imports just about everything else
- 72% of its workforce is in the public sector

The optimist would say that this sounds like a pretty darn good opportunity for a favored trading partner to take advantage of; particularly one on good terms with whoever fills the new power void.

Maybe the US role is support of the rebel cause was well-played after all? We sure won't be hearing that question asked on Fox News or the right wing talk radio; that much we know.


Going Out on Top

George Costanza always used this maneuver. Maybe HP is doing the same, as today's descendant of the dream of Mr Hewlett and Mr Packard has signaled that it wishes to get out of the PC hardware business.

This could be the first time in US business history that a company exited an extremely profitable business in which it is the industry leader (38% share).

In an totally unrelated question: I wonder if the Compaq purchase has completely depreciated yet?

In a totally related question: Meg Whitman? But why?


Ooo-oo That Smell

The skunks have been on the move in the Adks. Summer, we hardly knew ya!


The Great Scam, Part 57

So the Republican party demands (and gets) the renewal/extension of the temporary (ha!) Bush upper-bracket tax relief. But now these same champions of Middle America stand against the renewal (and expansion) of the payroll tax reduction which benefits every single person that draws a paycheck. Do I need to continue...?


The Markets Know

Looking back over the numbers of the various markets' performances of the past few months, this is interesting to note:

- On the day that the DOW dropped 600 points, all of that money seemed to flow into US Treasuriess.

This was four days after the S&P downgrade of the same. D'oh!


How to Wage War Against Facts

When facts are not on your side -- yet one is determined to continue the effort to win an argument -- three options can be employed:

1) Deny the Facts
2) Historical Revisionism
3) Redefine the Parameters

One just needs to consider the Climate Change discussion for the best examples of all three.

Option # 3 was presented to me just yesterday by an otherwise informed individual. His statement (verbatim): "Peer review doesn't work. It just brings politics into the process"

Wh'OK, then! The Culture Wars seem to have found a new battleground. But if that's what one believes: fine. But realize that in doing so, you ARE, in fact, opting-out of one of the fundamental aspects of the scientific process, thereby doing the same for "science" itself.

We constantly hear of the inability of the US to compete globally because of its educational system not producing graduates versed in the highly valued "science & technology" skill sets.

Gee, might it have some thing to with their parents not buying into the general concept itself?????

Darwinism is at work here: ignorance breeds (and raises) ignorance, and ignorance will eventually lose out to the enlightened and educated competitors. Anyone concerned about the American Decline needs to take notice.

But then again, that Darwin was one of those "science" guys, right?