billionaire

On Space Flight and Feeding the Hungry

“…Great achievement has no road map. The X-Ray is pretty good, and so is penicillin, and neither were discovered with a practical objective in mind. I mean, when the electron was discovered in 1897, it was useless. And now we have an entire world run by electronics. Hayden and Mozart never studied the classics. They couldn’t. They invented them.”
– Dr. Dalton Millgate, The West Wing (episode: Dead Irish Writers)

There has been a lot of hatred going around the Internet lately… Hm. I say that like it’s a new thing. It’s not; sometimes I think the major product of the Internet actually is hatred. We could tap Twitter for an endless supply, if only we could find a market…

(more…)

F&L 2020: Is Uncle Joe Senile?

Opinion

Let’s face it:  As long as Uncle Joe has been campaigning, his foot’s been in his mouth as often as not.  Heck, given his repeated plagiarism, sometimes it’s someone else’s foot.  …Or is that him being creepy?  I lose track.  But that’s O.K., I guess, because so does he.

In any other campaign season, the candidates would need to be out on the road (more…)

Fear and Loathing: The Tenth Debate / 2 A.M. Thoughts

Stuck In The Middle With You, by Stealers Wheel

Usually I find these things to be, if not informative, then at least excellent entertainment.  This was not.  This was pro wrestling gone horribly off-script.

As I watched, gorge rising, I could not help but think to myself:  Where is Jed Bartlet to save us from these… these mediocrities?!  Of them all, only Sanders and Warren (more…)

Fear & Loathing 2020: Tactical Voting

“The Knives Out sequel was released quicker than I expected.“
John Iadarola, on tonight’s Democratic debate

We’re not at the debate tonight.  Nothing we want to know is happening there; we’re here to meet the candidates, not listen to their stump speeches.  (Besides, we were anti-invited. “If you show up, we will not let you in.  This is for real press, not bloggers.”  But that’s neither here nor there.)

So we (more…)

Fear & Loathing 2020: Take The Iowa Challenge

Nate Silver is trying to get us to commit before Iowa.  I’m willing.

The following is a transcript of my live Twitter rant, fresh off the Mojo Wire. It’s edited slightly for format purposes and to remove potentially libelous content about Betsy Warren’s dog, who when all is said and done has done nothing to deserve that sort of treatment.  Besides, I love Bailey; he’s a Good Boy, isn’t he?  Yes he is!  (Follow @FirstDogBailey on Twitter!) (more…)

In Defense Of Billionaires

You know me:  I see a meme like this, I have to quibble.

Sure, it seems plain enough.  There’s people out there who own more money than a thousand families could use in a lifetime, and at the same time there are kids who can’t buy school lunch, homeless veterans on the streets, and did I mention my underwater mortgage and student loans?  The government’s in debt up to its eyeballs, Social Security is going broke, and who’s gonna pay for it?  Not the billionaires.

All of which is fair enough, so far as it goes.  Thing is, though, (more…)