One wonders if this doctor (warning: autoplay news vid at link) either is The Last Psychiatrist (purportedly Dr. Chris Ballas of U Penn, so the location’s right) or learned from The Last Psychiatrist’s post a couple years back about an unarmed doc versus an armed patient demanding meds.
ETA: Nope, the doc is identified as one Silverman.Â
The left’s solution to “poverty in America” is to “spread the wealth”.
Paul Ryan put out a proposal yesterday that still gives out free money, but because the money has strings attached to the money, along the lines of performance audits, the left doesn’t like it much.
…..the Opportunity Grant, would give participating states a lump sum of money rather than funding virtually all the current anti-poverty programs. And states would be instructed to hand that money down to community groups that work with poor people, because, as Ryan writes, “They are more effective than distant federal bureaucracies†and have “intimate knowledge of the people they serve—as well as their ability to take the long view.â€
The underlying thesis is that those who are closest to actual poor people will be best able to figure out how to help them.
In describing what this would look like, Ryan outlines the minimum requirements:
• A contract outlining specific and measurable benchmarks for success
• A timeline for meeting these benchmarks
• Sanctions for breaking the terms of the contract
• Incentives for exceeding the terms of the contract
• Time limits for remaining on cash assistance
There would be bonuses for people who meet their goals ahead of time, such as finding a job before the time allotted, although the bonus wouldn’t likely come in the form of cash but in something like a savings bond.
Imagine that! Incentives for what you want to happen (good behavior) and disincentives for what you don’t (bad behavior).
No, no, no, say the folks at ThinkProgress. Free stuff must be handed out without reservations to be used in anyway the recipients see fit!
But Ryan fails to take this idea to its end conclusion: that poor people themselves, being the closest to their own situations, are the most knowledgable about what they need to improve their lives. Instead, his proposal calls for low-income people to meet with providers to create a “customized life plan,†a contract that includes goals and benchmarks, as well as penalties for missing any steps.
Because having goals is such a bad thing. You might begin to think you can do stuff all on your own without leftist politicians holding it over your head. Gaia forbid!
While I seriously doubt that Ryan’s plan is the be-all, end-all of the welfare state, it is a damn sight more intelligent than anything the government has done to “alleviate poverty” in nearly 100 years and we as a nation would be better off with it in place.
Need a dozen of a specific nut or bolt?
How about a 12-point 28MM socket?
No need to take a trip to the local hardware store because you went there a month ago and bought yourself a 3-D printer.
The latest item to hit the shelves of Home Depot has the potential to solve one of biggest annoyances of do-it-yourself home repair: having to go to the hardware store in the first place.
Earlier this month, the world’s largest home improvement chain announced the start of a pilot program to sell MakerBots, described by the manufacturer as a type of professional-grade 3-D printing machine, in a dozen stores following a three-month period of online-only sales. The MakerBot printers, which range from a compact $1,375 model to a high-end $2,899 version, went on sale July 14 in Chicago and New York City-area stores, as well as Home Depot locations throughout California.
Here is MakerBot’s website. Do try not to drool.
Depending on how idiot-proof the software is, I can see myself getting one of these in a year or so.
The newest hate on Israel is morphing as I write this
IDF Assault On Gaza: Driven By Israel’s Energy Needs?
The Israeli cabinet is concerned that if Palestinians develop their own gas resources, the resulting economic transformation could in turn fundamentally increase Palestinian clout.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The newest theory as to the reason Israel went into Gaza to kick ass is the natural gas resources off the coast of the Gaza strip and the Israeli government’s fears that if the Palis get control of them they will get more/better standing on the world stage.
Now, as the writer of this toxic shitbag of information notes, I too remember back to the mid-aughts and the fact of the discovery. I also remember representatives of Israel repeatedly publicly stating that the were worried that if the Pali government got control of the gas they’d sell it for money to buy more and better weapons to send into Israel.
But now, according to the Israel hating leftists, it’s just “clout” the government of Israel is worried about. I know I’m not the hippest of cats around, so I am wondering if there is some dictionary somewhere that I haven’t heard of where “clout” has been defined as meaning “indiscriminate rocket fire”?
Next week, these creeps will find a way to tie this into some Koch Brothers conspiracy.
Watch this video. You know what it is going to say, but watch it anyway.
I found this yesterday afternoon, about two hours before I was told that because of my student loans, I was not eligible to take a job via the WorkStudy program at school to supplement my income after my unemployment insurance runs out.
Background: One of my instructors asked me if I would like to help out doing improvements to the welding shop over the Summer break, and then after class during Fall Quarter. It would be a maximum of 19 hours per week and pay $12hr before taxes. I jumped at the chance to be paid to weld and get a job reference from a highly respected welder. He said I had to sign up at the Admin bldg, so I went to do so.
I went there to fill out the paperwork and the person handling my paperwork noticed my FAFSA loan in the system. She told me to wait a minute and walked off. She came back and had new additional paperwork for me to fill out and for me to give to the instructor to fill out.
Essentially, I am not eligible to do the WorkStudy program and have to appeal via the department Dean and the school VP in charge of the Financial Aid office. The instructor has to write a letter stating why he wants me in the program. Either way, my FAFSA loan amount will be “adjusted” to compensate for the income I earn from the program.
So, either I don’t work and get all the loan money I want or I work and lose a significant amount of loan money because they believe I would then be able to pay for school myself. I am slightly torn: I want to work but I can’t do that and pay for school.
I will be awaiting the appeal, which will likely be decided in my favor, and then taking a look at the financial numbers that get put in front of me to see just how hard I have to punch myself in the balls if I take the job. I have a decently high pain threshold but I do have a limit.
I’m thinking I am going to get and keep a copy of my instructor’s letter to put in my resume file.
Japan is not allowed an Air Force, per both the treaty they signed at the end of WWII and via their own constitution.
But an army of flying drones doesn’t count as an air force, does it?
How Japan Fell in Love With America’s Drones
The country has positioned itself as one of the unlikely players in the escalating global race for military drones, a move that’s controversial both at home and abroad. A veteran Japanese politician even warned that the country’s re-armament looked like “a kind of pre-war revival.†The United States has aided Tokyo in its efforts to re-arm, deploying two unarmed Global Hawk long-range surveillance drones in May to a base in Northern Japan, which infuriated both China and North Korea.
Japan is now in a position it hasn’t been in for nearly 70 years, when it gave up its right to engage in conflict outside its borders. The country is engaged in a bitter dispute with China over a set of islands that sit on resource-rich sea beds that each claims as its sovereign territory.
Japan is the third largest economy in the world, and the implications for both global peace and commerce could be widespread.
So maybe not an “army” of drones, but this wouldn’t be the first time quality was used to beat quantity.
Also, this is what can happen when you give a slightly insane (in a good way) machinist some 1200CC aircooled VW engines.
Much want.
Mad felling skillz, yo.
Personally, I would have moved the mobile home instead of take that chance.
And Mr. Completely will enjoy the tunage.
I found this over at Kevin’s not-quite-closed-down blog by following the link. I could, quite possibly, have a Quote of the Day, every day, for a month from this post. And I’m not just counting the funny ones.
Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing.
I’d love to take this through downtown Ann Arbor and watch the all the Prius’s (Pria?) and Subies run for their lives.
(this sentiment was shamelessly shanghai’d from a comment in the linked article and relocated geographically to Michigan)
I might have to head out for Idaho a few days earlier, due to the max mph.
Yet another table spouted from my welder this weekend.
(The usual “click to embiggen” nonsense here)
This table is all about wrenches. I found a bunch as an estate sale and scooped them all up and put a half-dozen or so of them in here. Anybody remember Montgomery Ward? There’s a wrench from one of their tool sets in there. There is also a threading die, a couple pieces of the ring around a flywheel and a well dressed tow hook. Usual planetary gear and transfer case chain surround.
The leg is a cam from a GM V6, along with 5 different gears from New Process transfer cases. The foot is a GM Vortec 5.7L V8 flexplate. All with two coats of clear for that “wet-look”. This one is available for purchase until further notice for the low-low price of $400 +shipping.
In other news, I got tired of running the Jeep’s battery down attempting to have music in the work area, so I pimped my welding table (the Jeep doesn’t have a battery problem, it has 700Watts worth of sound amplification).
A $20 garage sale shelf-top stereo plus some shelving made from scrap steel. There is also now a power strip mounted to the other side of the table that can be used for easy access to juice for it, or an angle grinder, or a dremel, or whatever else I may need that runs on 110V.
Lastly, I am tempted to say some very cruel and unusual things about a certain brown shipping company. However, I will wait to see if they hold to their promise and report on the topic later.
