The whole debt-ceiling-default debacle is NOT about the amount of debt the US government owes. It is about a fundamental argument about the government should be doing.

The far-right "tea-party" faction of the party formerly known as the Republicans is all about privatizing virtually everything including education, social security, medicare, prisons, roads and based on the current proportion of "contractors" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Do you realize that since 2007, contractors (aka mercenaries) have outnumbered the number of US military forces in Iraq, even during the height of the surge http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/04/nation/na-private4 .

Much to the chagrin of those that want to dismantle the social safety net, when confronted with specific measures, most Americans vehemently disagree with the tea party. Now they have found a new strategy by making the national debt the bogey-man. Unfortunately as so often happens when comparing politco-speak with reality, the rhetoric falls short.

Interest rates now and in recent years have been so low, that despite the total amount owed by the US Treasury, the cost of servicing that debt is at its lowest point since the 1970s. At 1.6% of GDP paying the interest is about half of the 3% that it cost during the Reagan-Bush 1 era. That means it actually it costs the treasury less to borrow than pay cash.

Yes the national debt is large and once we get the economy growing again, we need to address it (by slashing military spending for one, do we really need more aircraft carriers?) but that is not what this fight is about.

As usual the mainstream media has done the American people a huge disservice by continuing the facade of "objectivity" and parroting messages from both sides without doing any real analysis of the actual facts.

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Balloon Juice » And Now, An Update From Reality
And Now, An Update From Reality. by Tom Levenson. As we head towards either the completely unforced self-immolation of default, or the almost as self-defeating response of belt tightening amidst a rec…

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As a recovering mechanical engineer, math always came relatively natural for me at least until I got somewhere around advanced differential equations and matrices. Those issues however probably had more to with my college liquid consumption habits than my ability to do math, but that's a whole different story.

Unfortunately the math gene has not exhibited itself to the same degree in the rest of my immediate family. Helping my children with math homework has long been a struggle especially when it comes to algebra and geometry. Max seems to have more of an affinity for basic arithmetic and doing general calculations in his head than his older sister, but both have had a hard time coming to terms with some of the slightly more advanced operations like solving quadratic equations. Wrapping your head around many of these ideas and coming to terms with what they really mean is a struggle for many people.

The problem appears to be the way math is taught by most teachers. Even for me, numbers were always presented as something concrete and immutable when in truth they are abstractions of other ideas. Cornell math professor Steven Strogatz has begun a column in the New York Times titled the Elements of Math where he goes right back to the fundamentals and builds up numbers and what you can do with them in entirely different than I have ever seen before.

In part 2, Rock Groups his explanation of odd, even and prime numbers is absolutely brilliant. Whether you are a math whiz or a dud, it's a worthwhile read. Those who already know how to solve systems of multiple equations with multiple unknowns will likely gain some important insights that could make it easier to explain stuff to those that need assistance. Those that are struggling with traditional teaching methods will likely finally have that proverbial light pop on.

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Steven Strogatz on the Elements of Math – Series – The New York Times
Articles in the Steven Strogatz on the Elements of Math series from The New York Times.

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My phone is currently reporting that it's 99 degrees outside here in Detroit and we've been ordered to close all the window shades here in the Ren Cen to minimize the load on the AC and the electrical supply. I'm not looking forward to the walk over to the garage later to get in my car.

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In most other countries they tend to pop up and then fade into the sunset with far greater frequency than they do in the United States but it happens here too. Remember the Reform party? or the Whigs? Roger Ebert has a great post on why the split in the Republican party that has given us the dreaded tea party may actually be the beginning of the end for the GOP. With such a vicious split in the GOP it seems unlikely that they could be the natural ruling party. The Tea partiers are now espousing ever more extreme positions that are at odds with the majority of American's views and the "rational" Republicans are just placating them in order to hold onto what power they have.

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The Republicans exit history – Roger Ebert's Journal
All I know is just what I read in the papers. — Will Rogers Me too. Or hear on TV, or see on the net. That's all most of us knows. I'm sure the President and Senators and government officials…

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With Better Place launching its EV battery swap system in Israel this week, a writer for Haaretz is not impressed. Economically the numbers just don't add up for drivers.

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An electric car named cottage cheese
The big money for Better Place lies in the monopoly it received from the state on building and operating charging stations.

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Excellent for science geeks

Reshared post from +Dr. Kiki Sanford

Awesome footage from NASA of the Apollo moon landing… (h/t +Jennifer Ouellette )

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YouTube – Apollo 11 restored footage: montage
Create AccountSign In. Home. BrowseMoviesUpload. Hey there, this is not a commercial interruption. You're using an outdated browser, which YouTube no longer supports. Some features on YouTube may …

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Jules discovered the other day that the chickens love to eat watermelon rinds so now we give them some for a treat after I carve up the melon. They also seem to love cantaloupe and wild arugula .

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This pair of herons has been hanging out near the entrance of the GM proving grounds for the past several weeks but there are lots more inside where I can't photograph them. I can't seem to find a match for them in any of the places where I've tried to ID them. Any ideas?

In album July 16, 2011 (8 photos)

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A hummingbird at the feeder in the yard this evening

In album Hummingbirds (5 photos)

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In Feb 2011, Chevrolet visited the Engadget Show in New York to announce the new MyLink infotainment system and demonstrate the EN-V concept.

In album EN-V and Chevy MyLink go to the Engadget Show (99 photos)

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