Yoda IS a Muppet.

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Wow - the reach of Jim Henson even extends into a Galaxy far, far away ...

Leaders in Both Parties ...

In stimulus bills, earmarks by any other name - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com

“Many of these projects are worthy and benefit local communities,” he said. “But this emergency legislation must not be the vehicle for those aspirations. This must be a time when leaders in both parties put the urgent needs of our nation above our own narrow interests.”

2 things that I think are really sad -
1 - neither the Republicans NOR THE DEMOCRATS seem tohave paid along with Obama's lofty visions on this stimulus bill.  I'm not surprised by that.   But...
2 - I wish he had called them out on it, or at least paid lip-service to calling this spade a spade.  I understand the realities of his position - he needs to maintain working relationships, doesn't have all the power, needs to be positive and inspire confidence for the markets and economy in general, etc. etc. etc..  I guess I'm just enough of an idealist that I would have like to have heard some sideways reference to "yeah, some stuff in there I would have preferred not, but we're going to sign it because 90% good is still pretty good".  I know, would have been disasterous.  Still...

Don't let me down, Barackstar.  I'm pullin' for ya'.

And as for the "leaders in both parties", yikes.  Any spending is going to stimulate something somewhere, but sheesh. 

I was wondering how long this would take ...

NFL chief takes pay cut after layoffs - Feb. 25, 2009
In light of reductions to advertising budgets etc., I was wondering how long it woudl be until the NFL felt the impact.  I wonder if there will be stories soon about marquis players being cut to save on budget?

Do Tax Cuts Create Jobs?

Do Tax Cuts for the Wealthy Stimulate Employment? - New York Times

Had the dollars required to finance the president's tax cuts been used in other ways, they would have made a real difference. Larger tax cuts for middle- and low-income families, for example, would have stimulated immediate new spending because the savings rates for most of these families are low. And their additional spending would have been largely for products made by domestic businesses - which would have led, in turn, to increased employment.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/07/tax_cuts.asp

Tax cuts, when used properly, have stimulated the economy. Many credit President George W. Bush's tax cuts for moving the economy out of recession. Similarly, in 1964, Congress enacted an 18% cut in personal taxes to spur growth. The legislation was designed to encourage consumer spending - many believe that it succeeded admirably as consumers delivered a textbook reaction.

Two salient arguments found here.  I think that the idea of the two in aggregate are this: Tax cuts work, but only when done in a certain way. 

• Tax cuts for businesses work, because more money is available for
  capital expenditures and salary expense.  Some of this will, no doubt,
  go to stockholders, but that's not all bad either.  We've got to have
  someone with the wherewithal to put up venture capital ;-).

• Tax cuts for consumers work. Your average consumer saves very little
  and is very happy to spend their money on large screen TV's, Nintendo
  Wii's, clothes, books, etc... This is revenue for companies, which in
  turn can hire more folks as stated above. 
• Tax cuts for the very wealthy MAY lead to Madonna (who earned more than
  my entire business unit in 2007) hiring another chauffer, but...

Hits from the Booonnnnnnnggggg...

Interesting article.  These sponsorship ideas cracked me up:
FOX Sports on MSN - More Sports - Phelps in for a sponsorship buzzkill?

As his sponsors try to figure out what to do with him, here are some suggestions that could take advantage of Phelps' new notoriety and street cred.

Subway -- "I'm Michael Phelps for Subway. Their freshly-baked bread is even more delicious when you're freshly baked."

Visa -- "Because while Dookie does sell the finest hydroponic bud in the state, he does not take American Express."

Omega watches -- "Sometimes I don't know where I am or even who I am. But I always know what time it is. Thanks, Omega."

PowerBar -- "I'm Michael Phelps. And I don't let the munchies get in the way of doing crunches. I reach for a PowerBar."

A few comments on "Science Finds God | Newsweek Culture | Newsweek.com"

Science Finds God | Newsweek Culture | Newsweek.com

I've commented on this before, but not succinctly - so here it is:

Science and Faith should be conjoined twins, not mortal enemies.  There is no reason to reject either in our search for truth.  There is every reason to recognize and accept the limitations of BOTH in said search.

Here are some of my other posts on the topic:
http://joeschilibarn.blogspot.com/search?q=science

No one should abandon their faith because of science. No one should abandon their science because of faith.

I'm feelin' this.

This video's not that great, but i love the music, the lyrics, and Melissa Ethridge's voice.

I know a place
down past an old shack
on a road that goes to nowhere
aint nobody commin' back

we could go there tonight
we can talk until the dawn
or maybe somethin' else
I'll leave the radio on.
the radio on...
[...]
well it's saturday night
it feels like everything's wrong
I've got some strawberry wine
I wanna get you alone.
Get you alone ...

There's no one to hear.
You might as well scream
they never woke up
from the american dream
and they don't understand
what they don't see
and they look through you and they
look past me
oh....
you and I dancin' slow...
we've got nowhere to go.