It seems that school programs meant to help prevent young people from getting into hard drugs like cocaine may need to focus a little more time on the use of alcohol. According to a study from the Journal of School Health, alcohol is the most likely gateway. “Some of these earlier iterations needed to be fleshed out,” Adam Barry said. “That’s why we wanted to study this. The latest form of the gateway theory is that it begins with [marijuana] and moves on finally to what laypeople often call ‘harder drugs.’ As you can see from the findings of our study, it confirmed this gateway hypothesis, but it follows progression from licit substances, specifically alcohol, and moves on to illicit substances.” He also notes that...
If a couple is only allowed to place $10,000/year into an IRA, how is it that Mitt and Ann Romney's IRA is valued at $102,000,000? We need to see ALL the tax returns! According to Vanity Fair, it was quite the "scheme": The Romneys won’t say, but Mark Maremont, writing inThe Wall Street Journal, uncovered a likely explanation. When Bain Capital bought companies, it would create two classes of shares, named A and L. The A shares were risky common shares, to which they would assign a very low value. The L shares were preferred shares, paying a high dividend but with the payoff frozen, and most of the value was assigned to them. Bain employees would then put the exciting A shares in their I.R.A. accounts,...
I would like to offer the premise that competition is good for an economy in so far that it brings about increased cooperation. That would include cooperation in each business to provide a superior product, and cooperation among consumers who help one another find the best or highest quality product. And it would especially include cooperation among businesses to make sure those consumers they serve in the economy are able to contribute to a growing economy. When a business pollutes the environment, provides unsafe conditions or rips off the consumer, this is no longer cooperation. And when this is happening too much, it becomes prudent for the citizens or consumers to cooperate in such a fashion as to correct the problem. That is where government is...
From my friend Cary Perkins who found this gem: Charles Sanders Peirce quote of the day: In the late 1800s, Peirce makes a prediction: "The twentieth-century, in its latter half, shall surely see the deluge-tempest burst upon the social order, -- to clear upon a world as deep in ruin as that greed-philosophy has plunged it into guilt…. You might pronounce the Wall Street sharp to be a good angel, who takes money from heedless persons not likely to guard it properly, who wrecks feeble enterprises better stopped, and who administers wholesome lessons to unwary scientific men, by passing worthless checks among them… (357)." Peirce’s prediction – projecting a century into the future – is remarkable but all the worse for its uncanny accuracy. ...
Ronald Reagan once said that "where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost." Here is where he said that, as it serves as a reminder as we watch the recall election with Scott Walker who appears will win. ...
Over the last two decades thousands of workers have sued companies like Del Monte, Dole and Dow Chemical for being exposed to dangerous chemicals when handling bananas. Pesticides were sprayed on the fruit and the workers did not have adequate protection. The workers were not able to bring suit. The employers have been very successful in getting the lawsuits thrown out. If it is so easy to bypass laws by hiring in other countries, that would mean there is less potential liability for these companies if they purposely hire workers that can be exploited. That way if they don’t do things like treat them right, protect them or insure them, it is a financial win for the employers. Do you think employers of these workers should...
Francois Hollande's victory in the French presidential election is not only part of a sea change in European politics, marked by continent-wide disillusionment with austerity, but also represents a return to socialism, which remains the intellectually and culturally dominant ideology in France. The public turned against the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy partly because of his association with the prevailing climate of budgetary discipline within the EU and failure to reinvigorate the economy, but the extent of his unpopularity lies in his betrayal of the core values of French socialism. History weighs heavily against the French right, especially in the current climate, and the French Revolution has lost none of its symbolic value. Left Front presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon led a march on the Bastille as part of...
As Greece stands on the brink of exiting the Euro and its looming elections threaten to instate a right-wing party prepared to return to the drachma, the implications for the rest of Europe look harsh. So far this year, Greece has received half of its $185 billion bail out from the European Financial Stability Facility, and the remainder of Europe are now threatening to halt its cash flow should the country reject the Euro. The harsh measures Greece now face are not without justification. Currently, Spain, which is one of the biggest financial powers in Europe, is experiencing an economic crisis that has seen an increase in bad debts of 148 billion euros. Should Greece exit, the impending economic crisis in Spain would be much harsher....
Those who would promote fear in our markets also may stand to gain if people believe it. And if people believe it strongly enough, that fear may become reality. It is obvious that if Greece were all of the sudden leave the Euro and refuse to pay debts, it would send shock waves through the World economy, most likely similar to the "Lehman moment" that brought about the deep shock in the American economy in 2009. However, some points to ponder: 1. 85% of Greeks polled said they do not want to leave the Eurozone 2. There is growing support for a Eurobond that would bail out Greece for some time to come 3. There is increasing support for fiscal stimulus, not just in Greece, but in other places...
It's quite amazing how people have flocked to places like Facebook and are happy to share photos and personal information about themselves, yet have so little control over the information. Yet they continue to do it in droves. For me personally, I was introduced to having my website early on and have many sites that I own and control what goes on them. If I want to remove information I posted previously, it is not a problem. One great advantage of having your own website is you can have the social advantages in your control. You can have people providing information on your site, and you can profit from it. You can create your own network of friends and build something that is long lasting without wondering...