Friday, September 26, 2008

My homies be down, so don't arouse my anger

New York Times:
Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, has received nearly 17,000 e-mail messages, nearly all opposed to the bailout, her office said. More than 2,000 constituents called Ms. Boxer’s California office on Tuesday alone; just 40 favored the bailout. Her Washington office received 918 calls. Just one supported the rescue plan.

Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, said he had been getting 2,000 e-mail messages and telephone calls a day, roughly 95 percent opposed. When Senator Bernard Sanders, the Vermont independent who votes with Democrats, posted a petition on his Web site asking Mr. Paulson to require that taxpayers receive an equity stake in the bailed-out companies, more than 20,000 people signed.

“We certainly have never brought in 20,000 names in a day and a half,” Mr. Sanders said, sounding astonished. “For us, that’s off the wall.”

That's awesome.

posted by Richard Mason @ Friday, September 26, 2008 0 comments

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

With money you squeeze from the peasants, to your nephew you can give it as a present


posted by Richard Mason @ Tuesday, September 23, 2008 0 comments

Saturday, September 13, 2008

You've been in the pipeline

Most water users in the U.S. pay a price for water that reflects the cost of delivery. The price of water is actually zero. Although the fixed costs of dams, pipes, etc. and the variable costs of pumping (20 percent of California’s energy is used for “moving water”) are large in aggregate, those costs are spread across many units of water. In southern California, for example, urban water customers pay about $3 for 750 gallons of tap water, most of which is imported from hundreds of miles away.
-- David Zetland

If we can transport 750 gallons of water (over 6000 pounds) for hundreds of miles for $3, why can't we transport other things (e.g. people) equally cheaply?

posted by Richard Mason @ Saturday, September 13, 2008 3 comments