Cicero and the budget

My friend Nat sent me this:

What have we learned in 2,064 years since the Roman Empire?

So here it is. What have we learned in 2,064 years?

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled,
public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be
tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should
be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to
work, instead of living on public assistance."

- Cicero - 55 BC

Alarming incidence of mental illness among Oregon Police

It seems that the Oregon police have an alarming incidence of mental illness. Everytime they report a bigfoot/sasquatch sighting on an official report form, they are sent to a shrink.

It also seems that an amazing number of ordinary Oregon citizens are having their driving licenses suspended for the same reason.

Buy low, sell high

There is a hot new investment on the Somali stock exchange. Be careful about investing though. You might need to walk the plank.

The Orderly Universe

It is only natural that people like to make order out of their perceptions of the universe. It is this inborn trait of people that leads them to disbelieve things that are true but are strange. Sometimes true stories are falsely turned into mythical legends by those who want to make order of their universe. Such is the case of the legend of the alligators in New York sewers. It is actually true that it happened. Inevitably, the deniers started writing that it was an apocryphal legend. Eventually the alleged apocryphal legend turned into a "hoax" and "wholly false story" suitable for the gullible. As the link above shows, the legend is a true legend, not false.

There are other reasons for this strange human trait to refuse to examine the evidence. One of those reasons is that no one wants to be thought of as a fool. This is a consequence of possessing an ego. In order to not appear a fool, it is best to not believe the tall tales you hear.

On the other side of the coin, some people do indeed exaggerate or lie for the purpose of humor or monetary gain, so, disbelief also has a basis in human nature. In the end, there is no substitute for actually examining the evidence and making your own decision. In examining evidence, it is necessary not to rely on other peoples ridiculing opinions of the evidence. Only by a detailed examination of the evidence by yourself will do.

Remarkable Events

Here is a website about remarkable deaths. It is mislabled as smart people who got the Darwin award. Actually Aeschulus did not deserve his fate.

Disheartening

Today's news on CNN Money included "Leaders from both parties expressed concern Wednesday that a taxpayer-funded bailout of the financial industry will be used to pad the pockets of executives rather than get the economy rolling again".
Does any have the heart to do the sums below (found in comments on CalculatedRisk) and divide by the US population of 300,000,000 to see what our per person debt is adding up to? I sure don't:
$700 Billion – Treasury to purchase toxic mortgages and other non-performing assets from financial institutions.
$50 Billion – To guarantee principal in money market mutual funds.
$10 Billion+ – Treasury purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in September. More to come.
$144 Billion – In additional MBS purchases by FNM and FRE. Limit $850 billion. FNM’s portfolio currently holds $758.1 billion and FRE holds $798.2 billion.
$85 Billion – AIG bridge loan giving the Fed a 79.9% controlling stake in the firm.
$87 Billion – Repayments to JP Morgan (JPM) for providing financing to underpin trades with the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers. In response to the Fed & Treasury’s stand against providing public funds to consummate a deal.
$200 Billion – $100 billion capital infusion for FNM and FRE by the Treasury.
$300 Billion – Provided to the FHA to refinance failing mortgages into new, reduced principal loans with a federal guarantee as part of the housing bill.
$4 Billion – Provided to local communities to purchase and repair abandoned homes due to foreclosure.
$29 Billion – Financing for JPM’s takeover of Bear Sterns. The Fed takes $30 billion in non-performing assets as collateral.
$200 Billion – Currently outstanding loans to banks through the Fed’s Term Auction Facility. Recently updated to allow loans of 84 days in addition to the original 28-day!
$150 billion stimulus checks