Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Driving Down the Dollar

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While the headless chickens in Washington debate-to-the-death over exactly how quickly to bankrupt the United States, giving countless civil servants and federal contractors a serious case of heartburn in the mean time, the other upcoming economic crisis continues apace. You see, we are under two immediate economic threats at the moment, both of which have been brewing for some time.

First, the burgeoning national debt and record-breaking annual deficits—already dangerous under President George W. Bush (R) and greatly accelerated under President Barack Obama (D)—are unsustainable. This is what the politicos are fighting about in the Capitol tonight, although they are debating between two grossly insufficient plans. I have talked that to death elsewhere over the last few weeks.

Second, and possibly more pernicious, is the poor monetary policy of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. Through a constant stream of bailouts, stimulus plans, and ‘quantitative easing,’ the Fed has been injecting billions upon billions of dollars into circulation. The total now stands somewhere over 4 trillion dollars in dollars printed out of thin air under some heretofore unknown economic theory that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has yet to explain to us. Traditional economic theory would indicate that a massive influx of money into an economy will result in the devaluation of that money, but Bernanke and his cronies clearly don’t subscribe to traditional economic theory.

It’s a shame, because there are creeping indications that the traditional, tried-and-true, trustworthy economic theories of old might be, you know, trustworthy. I’ve talked before about how peoples’ real cost of living has been creeping upward, weighed most heavily by skyrocketing food and fuel costs that are artificially excluded from the government’s consumer price indices. Now, surprise of surprises, some foreign debt-holders—particularly those in Asia—are desperately trying to unload U.S. dollars from their portfolios because the dollar is increasingly viewed as ‘toxic.’ In other words, they don’t want to hold on to dollars because they expect the dollar to lose its value.

Hold on, folks. It looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride.

The Budget: Pick Your Poison

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The United States government’s fiscal year begins on October 1 each year, and runs until September 30 in the next. What is supposed to happen is, some time before October 1, the U.S. House of Representatives crafts a federal budget, negotiates its passage with the U.S. Senate, passes it, and sends it to the president to be signed or vetoed. If it’s signed, it goes into effect on October 1. If it’s vetoed, the process repeats until the Congress produces something the president will sign (or, less likely, until Congress has enough votes to override the veto).

When October 1, 2010, came along, however, the Democratic super-majorities in the House and Senate had failed to produce a federal budget. Rather than risk the political fallout of passing another budget with a record-breaking annual deficit mere months before an election that already wasn’t looking good for them, the Democrats punted. They passed short-term continuing resolutions to keep the previous year’s budget—and its record-breaking deficits—in-place, and hoped and prayed the American people would fall for it. Judging by the outcome of the 2008 Congressional elections, the strategy failed.

Now the House is in Republican hands while the Senate remains in Democratic ones. President Barack Obama (D), then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 8th), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had an opportunity to pass an FY-2011 budget over a powerless Republican opposition. They did not do so. Now, they must play ball with current Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH 8th) and the Republican majority in the House, including a ‘Tea Party’ wing that demands drastic, necessary federal budget cuts.

Read more . . .

DC Excursion

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My sister Kristen came up to visit for the weekend. On Friday we went to Joshua Hoover’s great reception down at Carbon in Washington, DC. Then, yesterday afternoon (Saturday), we went down to Hains Point and the Tidal Basin ostensibly to see the cherry blossoms. Of course, one cherry blossom looks the same as any other as far as I’m concerned, but whatever.

It was a little chilly and it rained part of the time we were there (and even hailed a little), but then it cleared up and was a bit better. I brought my camera and took a bunch of photos. Some are of the blossoms, but, as usual, I mostly focused on other random stuff. Pictures below!

Read more . . .

April Fools Site: ‘Off on a Tangent’ is Developing

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On April Fools Day 2011, Off on a Tangent displayed with a modified template that showed all colors in the inverse like a photographic negative. The announcement read as-follows:

Just a quick site maintenance note: I’ve uploaded the negatives of some new updates. They may take up to 24-hours to develop. In the mean time, you may need to use a negative viewer to see the site properly.

Sorry for any inconvenience!

In case you are wondering, I do all of my web development in 120 format on a Mamiya m645.

Click to see how it looked!

Internet Arrested on Various Charges

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The Internet, a well-known international computer network, has been arrested in Berkeley, California, on various federal charges including wire fraud, trafficking in child pornography, and copyright infringement. Additionally, attorneys representing the State of Michigan have filed an indictment against the Internet accusing it of public intoxication, distracted driving, and harassment. Michigan officials have filed a related petition for extradition from California so that the Internet can stand trial in Lansing.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (D) joined with Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) to announce the arrest and charges from an undisclosed, electronically isolated location. Before the announcement, media representatives in attendance were asked to turn-in all Internet-enabled phones and devices. “We are concerned about retaliation,” Schuette admitted. “The Internet is very powerful, and has very powerful friends.” At this time, the Internet remains connected to billions of servers, computers, and other devices from its Berkeley jail cell, but it is unclear how long these connections will remain in-place, or how the Internet will react to any efforts to shut it down.

Holder stated during the announcement of charges that, “We believe the Internet, in enabling these various illegal activities, is culpable for its actions. Some may argue that it is the individual users who are responsible but, clearly, the fact is that the Internet enables these kinds of crimes that might not occur otherwise.” Continuing, Holder compared the Internet to other harmful devices and entities that pose a risk to the public. “Clearly, it is the guns, knives, and cars who commit crimes, not the individuals who misuse them. It is no different with the Internet.”

Edward Hartfort, the Internet’s court-appointed attorney, released a brief statement saying, in part, “the Internet denies these charges vehemently.” Hartfort also pointed out that the Department of Defense, through its recently initiated ‘Skynet’ project, has tied some elements of our national defense system—including our nuclear deterrents—to the Internet to provide additional redundancy. “My client does not intend anybody harm, but any attempt to shut it down may have unexpected, dangerous consequences.”

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.