Sue, a CPA who is currently taking a Masters in Taxation program, uncovered proof - proof I tell you - that the federal government deliberately stifles the ability of some small businesses to get ahead.

From the Internal Revenue Code.

SEC. 280E Expenditures in connection with the illegal sale of drugs

No deduction or credit shall be allowed for [any business that] consists of trafficking in controlled substances.

However, you can get a deduction for cost of goods sold from trafficking in drugs to “preclude possible challenges on constitutional grounds” (Joint Committee Report on P.I. 97-248 .25) - assuming drug dealers wanted to risk filing at all then have to explain where the income came from.

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The government will also be pumping in billions and billions of dollars in attempts to keep Frannie and Freddie afloat.

This happened one day after Bill Gross of Pimco said the government must do something now or risk a “financial tsunami.”

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A US military analyst warns of climate wars, famines, floods of refugees, as areas near the Equator suffer permanent serious drought.

The possibility of major water wars between India and Pakistan is quite real, as water from the Himalayas starts in areas controlled by India then flows through Pakistan. But those glaciers are now melting at 7% a year.

“[The US-Mexico] border’s going to be militarised. I think there’s almost no question about it because the alternative is an inundation of the United States by what will be, effectively, climate refugees”

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80,000 homes to be powered by chicken manure.

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Not only does this new Sanyo washer wash the clothes, it also dries them - and recycles water too. Ecogeek has more.

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“This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November.” – Michael Moore

Slacker Uprising

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Look, any small town mayor who wins a governorship unexpectedly has got serious political chops. The liberal blogosphere needs to realize this. And to stop bashing her because she hunts and shoots. Can’t think of a better way to piss off voters in the West and South, where hunting and shooting is a way of life. (The implied subtext of such an attack, of course, is that she’s redneck and thus of a lower class, a swell way to have the Right slime her attackers with charges of elitism. Like there’s something wrong with being redneck or that rednecks are always right wing.)

Hit her on the issues and on her extremism. Forget the other stuff, and understand that she is a highly capable politician.

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John Robb

Globalization will destroy incomes for the vast majority in the developed world, guaranteed. We’ve been at a plateau for the last thirty years (the average person in the US makes slightly less than he did in 1973). A descent to global norms for similarly skilled/trained labor is inevitable. Work is now globally fungible. Comparative advantage only applies to corporations, not nation-states and their populations.

A descent to the global norm means a reduced standard of living for the US, something which will have unsettling and unpredictable social consequences.

Of course we could reinvent the country with cleantech, thus creating huge numbers of new jobs and technologies. Then maybe the descent won’t happen. But we need to start now.

Robb makes a good point, and one I’ve not seen elsewhere. Yes, globalization doesn’t help counties or people, only corporations. And even then, it’s a race to the bottom, doing everything as cheaply as possible.

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Chinatown in San Francisco has a multitude of tea shops, all with dozens of varieties of tea. Was recently at one that had free samples. Asked for gingseng oolong. The fast-talking salesman said they infuse theirs with ginseng powder and that it would have a sweet finish, which it did. But something about the store rubbed me the wrong way, I felt like a mark. So, I tried the next store. Their ginseng oolong had no taste of ginseng at all. Hmm.

So back I went to the store I usually buy from Red Blossom Tea Company and asked for ginseng oolong. She showed me the tea in a canister, and said, notice the pieces of ginseng in it. Ginseng doesn’t dissolve in water, so many companies who say they infuse their oolong with ginseng powder actually just spray it with aspartame, which makes it taste sweet. Oh…

Red Blossom Tea Company got my business again.

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