View from the cheap seats: The View from my back porch

This just in: Time-traveling Sea Monkeys Make Bad Mates.

This is an actual headline from Wired.com. Apparently, a sea monkey can stay in its egg if the environment is ... unsound. They can stay there for decades. But, if you wake one of these old timers up and then allow it to mate with one from the current era, the one from the current era will have his or her lifespan shortened by 12%.

What's amazing about this is (1) someone did the study and (2) someone else published the results. Amazing...but not important

Here is a funny picture I found online (funny but not important):

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I was busy standing on runways with my thumb out. Sometimes this actually works. Once, in Wyoming, I was late to the airport. I waved at the plane as it was heading towards the runway. The pilot actually came back and got me. Yesterday I was 2 for 2 on successful standbys. Home by 5pm instead of midnight. But that's not important.

Elsewhere...

A guy was arrested for refusing to pull up his pants on an airplane. Apparently, they were looking too cool to be pulled up. The pilot asked him to get off the plane and when the guy refused...busted. (cool but not important)

There is a new fear in congress. In the rush to point fingers at each other for every small transgression, they suddenly realized that they have significantly lowered the bar for which they can be chastised. At one time, you had to do something really, really bad. Now if you break wind with gusto during a debate, they will take an immediate vote to see if you should be cast out of the chamber. The fear is that they can't behave in a way that meets their own standards. (interesting but not important)

Here is a link to a site where a guy tabulated the latest sex scandal by political party. In the end, can't we just say this is a "guy" thing and not a Democrat or Republican thing? I'd much rather see them working on laws to curb gang violence than discussing Twitter issues. (funny but not important)

Breaking news: The reason Saudi women cannot drive is not because it's against the law. Apparently, the local religious leaders warn that women, not with their husbands, will hook up with other men. Simply put, they can't be trusted. Why don't they just tether them to the kitchen or Bedroom. This seems to be very akin to keeping a pet, not a spouse. (amazing but not all that important)

The United Nations took a vote and are now in favor of wagging their fingers at Gay Discrimination. That ought to bring about a bunch of change - not. (a weak, and unimportant effort)

This is semi-important: 70 countries were surveyed as to how their educations systems ranked. The United States ranks 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math. This marks a continued drop for us amongst other countries the world.

We rank poorly because we fund poorly. We fund poorly because the rich do not pay their fair share of taxes.

This brings us to what is really important: The Economy

As I have said many times before, Congress is not qualified to make decisions about the economy. Even if they were qualified, they have no motivation to make things better. Every poll that I see tells me that the GOP "might" win if the economy stays down. They will "definitely" lose if the economy improves. They have no interest in seeing an improvement so they actively work against all efforts to do just that.

I have assembled a panel to discuss a couple of issues. Here are our panel members:

Alan Greenspan: Former head of the Federal Reserve with a PhD in Economics

Ben Bernanke: Current head of the Federal Reserve with a PhD in Economics

Robert Reich: Former Harvard professor of Economics. Former secretary of Labor. Studied economics at Oxford as a Rhode Scholar.

John Boehner: Congressman with an undergraduate degree in Business (too 7 years to finish)

Me: Superhero

Topic #1: Should we borrow money to give tax breaks to the rich? I say no. Alan Greenspan agrees with me. Boehner says it's a good idea.

Topic #2: Should we use the Debt Ceiling as a political tool? I say no. Ben Bernake agrees with me. Boehner says it's a good idea.

Topic #3: What happens when you lower the tax rate for the rich. I say the rich get richer and the middle class disappears. Robert Reich agrees with me. Boehner says lowering the tax rate creates jobs. When I ask him when, he says, "Sometime later..."

So there you have it. The Republican party's "plan for prosperity" is not supported by anyone with any knowledge of economics. You must watch this following video. Once you have seen it, pass it on to someone else. If everyone in our country saw and understood what was being said here, there would be a revolution.

THIS IS IMPORTANT!