Brain-Jockey

Calling All Inventors: Speed Bumps for Government Spending

Written by Audrie Zettick on October 6, 2009

South of the border, speed bumps are apparently as common as tequila–though admittedly not so enjoyable. In an attempt to ameliorate the “dirty air” around Mexico City, government officials are facilitating the private development of “smart speed bumps.”  The idea: when a car going the correct speed begins to go over the bump, the speed bump flattens, letting the obedient driver avoid the usual abrupt “thunk” while helping his or her gas mileage. 

I believe in American ingenuity, so I’m calling on inventors to apply similar technology here in the U.S. of A.  Think of it: a smart speed bump to slow down government spending.  Balance the budget and see that government lives within its means, then it’s smooth sailing. Spend a few billion too much and thunk–the speed bump slams into place. 

Of course, the ability to recall elected officials and a requirement for a balanced budget would be a good substitute for a smart speed bump.  And they might clear the hot air around D.C. as well.

Brain Food

Written by Audrie Zettick on September 21, 2009

After a several-week technology meltdown that required a new hard drive, reinstallation of my software and restoring of my files (bless Carbonite!), I thought I’d start back to blogging with some light brain food.

Hat tip to The Write Side of My Brain, for this bit on Biden who reportedly says this about the effect of the GOP winning House seats in 2010,

“If they take them back, this the end of the road for what Barack and I are trying to do.”

 

Sounds like a GOP campaign ad tag line in there somewhere.  I couldn’t have said it better.

Moveon.org tries to move forward with their “Big Insurance Sick of It” Rallies, basically a counter protest to the tea parties albeit focused on health care.  According to their website, 100 rallies are planned so far. 

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Moveon guidance to Sick of It rallies: if confronted w/right wing protests, sing patriotic songs and make sure articulate spokesperson seeks media.  Now there’s spontaneous from-the-heart-protests-not-organized-by-big-groups for you. 

Actually, I have my own sign being readied in case I see any of these rallies in my area:

BIG GOVERNMENT: SICK OF IT.

Pardon My French

Written by Audrie Zettick on June 15, 2009

The downside of being a policy and politics blogger is that it’s tough to really take a vacation.  No matter where I’ve been for my family sojourn the past two weeks—travelling through New England, hoofing it up to the Citadelle in French Quebec—I’ve been drawn to things that are writing prompts.  

I was strolling through the upper olde town portion of Quebec (within the walls of the original fortification).  Graffiti is not prominent, but I had just passed “Quebec e Liberte” scrawled on one wall—Quebec Independence.  The Governour Generale of Canada had made a rare appearance at her quarters there, and a supporter of independence took advantage of the event to make his passion known. Hopefully, this was a youthful exuberance by a supporter of Parti Québécois or of Bloc Québécois , not a sign of activity of the almost-but-not-quite-defunct FLQ, a Marxist-leaning and violent organization of previous eras. The PQ and BQ are left-leaning but focused on either independence or protection of the French language, not blowing up coffee shops.  This reminded me of a conversation I had on the previous day with a German couple–sorry, just couldn’t help myself–about countries having official languages (like the U.S. English movement).  I was enjoying using my French but couldn’t help discussing what language differences could do to the unity of a country.  Again, my propensity for political thought trumped all. 

Further down the street, as I was admiring the many street cafes on this sunny afternoon, I spied this graffiti:     

If you can’t read it, it says  

Americans in Deep S@#%  A.i.d.s. 

A decidedly French-Canadian spin on the current American economic and spending situation.  And with the state of the debate on Obama’s budget and the forecasted impact of the ballooning national debt, I’d say I agree.

Brain Food

Written by Audrie Zettick on June 1, 2009

Those of you who follow me on Twitter may already have read these articles.  Consider them brain food on current issues.

• In Pravda, the state news of Russia, an article called “American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper.”  While some things are overstated, it gives an interesting perspective of current events in the U.S. from outside eyes. A bit of a wake-up call.

• In Smart Girl Nation, an article by Dr. Richard G. Fessler debunking the World Health Organization’s ranking of the U.S.’s health care system, showing how their calculations are biased against the U.S.  Numbers aren’t always what they seem at first glance.

Feed your brain.  Think for yourself.  Pass it on.