Life, Music, and Civil Disobedience

I'm just this guy. And really, I'm just this bored guy.

[davidmcable-blog]

Ohmygod. ROYALTY is so fucking amazing. #awesome

[davidmcable-blog]

At the solemn memorial service for the victims, held in the beautiful National Cathedral in Washington, an address was permitted from Billy Graham, a man whose record of opportunism and anti-Semitism is in itself a minor national disgrace. His absurd sermon made the claim that all the dead were now in paradise and would not return to us even if they could. I say absurd because it is impossible even in the most lenient terms to believe that a good number of sinful citizens had not been murdered by al-Qaeda that day. And there is no reason to believe that Billy Graham knew the current whereabouts of their souls, let alone their posthumous desires. But there was also something sinister in hearing detailed claims to knowledge of paradise, of the sort that bin Laden himself was making on behalf of the assassins.

-Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

[psychofactz]

http://www.psychofactz.com/

[davidmcable-blog]

That's just bizarre.

[davidmcable-blog]

700 words I don't particularly expect anyone to read

Today I spoke with a friend briefly via facebook. About five months ago, he moved to Colorado to take a job, and I have not seen him since. This physical separation significantly dented our friendship; we went from roommates for a year to seeing each other a few times per week to not seeing each other for months.

The peculiar thing is that I once believed his views were far too leftist for me; that his view of the world was very different from mine. This did not affect my relationship with him. I did not think anything less of him or anything better of myself. We were simply two friends with differing opinions. Our conversations were usually lively and productive: we challenged each other, we valued each other’s opinion, we learned from each other.

I cannot place the moment, day, or even month that it happened, but I am now decidedly atheist. It was a very long, gradual process. I had certainly traveled down a path away from faith, from fervent conviction, to carelessness, to apathy, to disbelief. I firmly believe that organized religion suppresses free thought and skepticism. Among the qualities of human nature, I consider skepticism to be of the utmost merit and importance.

This newfound strength in skepticism has led me to acknowledge the things that I know to be true, and the things for which I have no evidence. Claims unsupported by evidence are not necessarily unwarranted, nor are they immediately to be dismissed. However, they most certainly should be questioned. The shortest path to forming beliefs logically and rationally is simply to ask the question, “Why?” Someone must have known this at some point, but didn’t bother to teach it in schools, teach it to the young, or preach it on the streets.

In regards to differing opinions on social issues, arguments that can’t logically or empirically answer the question “why?” usually lose. Toward that end, I believe the only logical view on any given social issue is epitomized by the French laissez-faire. If something does not directly infringe upon your right to life, liberty, and happiness, it has no business being illegal. Gay marriage? Abortion? Gun ownership? Drug use? Prostitution? Doesn’t bother me. Do what you want, but do it by yourself. I don’t need more laws to know what’s wrong and right. What’s right for me isn’t necessarily right for everyone else. Would I prostitute myself? No. Does someone else prostituting him- or herself subject me to prostitution? Absolutely not. So what’s the problem? Doesn’t bother me. I won’t be visiting a prostitute but that doesn’t give me the right to tell others not to. Live and let live. Can’t we band together and agree to be different? Let’s agree to disagree. Let’s agree to celebrate freedom and celebrate our differences. Let’s be open-minded.

My moral beliefs aren’t dictated by dogma or doctrine other than my own. I will decide what is right for me and I respect every other citizen’s right to do the same. I have made my own informed decisions. My only duty to others is to encourage them to make their own. Instead of preaching, “abortion is murder,” why don’t we preach “abortion is a serious medical procedure that should be thoroughly researched before making an informed decision about”? I suppose the latter doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so well. If God loves us and gave us free will, wouldn’t he want us to make our own well-informed decisions about what is right and wrong instead of declaring what is right or wrong and allowing us to choose “incorrectly”? The idea makes no sense.

Today my friend told me, “I didn’t know you question faith as much as you do, David.” As I read the simple sentence, I felt a strange wave of emotion roll over me. The same wave of emotion, in fact, that drove me to begin this journal post. This statement proclaimed to me what I had yet to proclaim to myself. My friend and I aren’t so different despite our desultory differing views. We’re more alike now than ever for one simple reason: we each know what we believe in. 

[davidmcable-blog]

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

Is God able to prevent evil, but not willing? The he is malevolent.

Is God both willing and able to prevent evil? Then whence cometh evil?

Is God neither willing nor able to prevent evil? Then why call him God?

-Epicurus

[davidmcable-blog]

[davidmcable-blog]

[davidmcable-blog]

Economics Made Easy Part 3

... is now online! Go check it out; you might learn something!

http://economicsmadeeasy.tumblr.com

[davidmcable-blog]

Working on my Macroecon mini-series some more

Prepare yourself, tumblr.

economicsmadeeasy.tumblr.com

[davidmcable-blog]

Fury said to a mouse

That he met in the house,

"Let us both go to law:

I will prosecute you.

Come, I'll take no denial,

We must have a trial:

For really this morning

I've nothing to do."

Said the mouse to the cur,

"Such a trial, dear Sir,

With no jury or judge,

would be wasting our breath."

"I'll be judge, I'll be jury,"

said cunning old Fury:

"I'll try the whole cause,

and condemn you to death."

[davidmcable-blog]

How doth the little crocodile

Improve his shining tail,

And pour the waters of the Nile

On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spread his claws,

And welcome little fishes in

With gently smiling jaws!

[davidmcable-blog]

Not even why I'm missed. Just the fact that I am missed. I don't know why, but I just don't get it.

In simplest terms, you're badass! It's weird not having you around, especially considering we lived together for a year. The more I think about it, the weirder it is. It's so strange that you're just gone, unavailable to chillax and play Magic and listen to Childish Gambino. I miss it. Come back!

[davidmcable-blog]

Some examples of my online professor being ridiculous

Here are a few excerpts of my writing, with her comments. Notice the lack of grammatical sense and straight up contradiction.

Original:

"Especially in written communications, directness and clarity can make or break a deal."

With comments:

"Especially [insert comma before "especially"], directness and clarity [in academic writing, if this is a series, place a comma before the conjunction (and)] can make or break a deal."

Uh, a comma before "especially" makes no goddamn sense. Also, two items do NOT CONSTITUTE A SERIES requiring the serial comma.

Original:

"Canadians expect politeness, but can be reluctant to engage in discussion of personal matters until they build a more stable and personal relationship with the colleague."

With comments:

"Canadians expect politeness, but can [Remove comma (if the following is not an independent clause or last element in a series] ..."

That one, I actually accept. With her correction, the sentence makes sense. My problem arose she left this remark, four sentences later:

Original:

"Canadians like to be direct but the culture is not very confrontational."

With comments:

"Canadians like to be direct but [Grammar: A run-on sentence requires a comma before "but" (or other conjunction) linking main clauses] the culture is not very confrontational."

WHAT THE FUCK, lady? What do you want from me? On my first two assignments, she left unnecessary comments like these, so I emailed her and called her out on it. I don't think she liked that. 

[fakenewsjunkie]

[ethiopienne]

Dropping truth bombs as always.

[bolshevikpunx]

True story.

[davidmcable-blog]

Macroeconomics 101

The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy:

First and foremost, the distinction must be made that the Federal Reserve is not a part of the federal government. The federal government did not do this. Neither Congress or President Obama had a word to say in this. This is one of the major criticisms of the Fed: “no accountability.”

The Federal Reserve has been entrusted to maintain “price stability and economic growth,” although these goals are vague. It would be more specific to say that they set targets for the supply of money and interest rate.

During times of economic hardship (e.g. recession), the Fed and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) work to adjust the reserve requirement (how much money banks must keep in hand at all times - currently 10% of deposits), use “open market operations,” and adjust the discount rate.

The “discount rate” is the interest rate at which commercial banks may borrow from the Federal Reserve to meet reserve requirements.

By lowering the discount rate, banks can easily borrow money from the Fed, which truly helps everyone. Now the bank has more money to loan out to homeowners or small businesses, etc. When this happens, we say that the Fed has increased money supply. In order to effectively do this, the Fed has to lower interest rates to unprecedented levels, especially in the wake of a financial crisis like we’ve been in.

Then, in an effort to further increase the money supply, commercial banks buy treasury bonds, which are considered to be the safest and most liquid investment possible. This helps the US government, as they have immediate spending money (although it must be paid back), and the banks are receiving profits. This is called an “open market operation.”

Lastly, when they say that the banks made a “$13 billion profit,” that means that there’s now $13 billion floating around the economy that previously wasn’t, that banks are ready to lend out and profit from. That means Jack and Jill can get a mortgage, Joe can open that bike shop he’s always wanted, etc.

This is basic, basic monetary policy. This is what the Fed does. I watched this Jon Stewart clip and couldn’t believe how one-sided the discussion was. Should have asked an economist!

[warofthesuburbs]

Education bomb, courtesy of Mr. Cable. Much appreciated. I do wonder though how often the policy works as you say. If a bank makes a profit on government debt, would it not be in its best and safest interest to use that money to buy more treasury bonds? Not as profitable as loaning out the money, but much safer than in an unstable economy.

[davidmcable-blog]

Indeed, treasury bonds are incredibly safe. Because of this, interest rates on them are pretty low - 3% is high for treasury bonds. When more are purchased, that interest rate plummets, making them a less desirable investment unless nothing else viable is around.

[fakenewsjunkie]

[ethiopienne]

Dropping truth bombs as always.

[bolshevikpunx]

True story.

[davidmcable-blog]

Macroeconomics 101

The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy:

First and foremost, the distinction must be made that the Federal Reserve is not a part of the federal government. The federal government did not do this. Neither Congress or President Obama had a word to say in this. This is one of the major criticisms of the Fed: "no accountability."

The Federal Reserve has been entrusted to maintain "price stability and economic growth," although these goals are vague. It would be more specific to say that they set targets for the supply of money and interest rate.

During times of economic hardship (e.g. recession), the Fed and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) work to adjust the reserve requirement (how much money banks must keep in hand at all times - currently 10% of deposits), use "open market operations," and adjust the discount rate.

The "discount rate" is the interest rate at which commercial banks may borrow from the Federal Reserve to meet reserve requirements.

By lowering the discount rate, banks can easily borrow money from the Fed, which truly helps everyone. Now the bank has more money to loan out to homeowners or small businesses, etc. When this happens, we say that the Fed has increased money supply. In order to effectively do this, the Fed has to lower interest rates to unprecedented levels, especially in the wake of a financial crisis like we've been in.

Then, in an effort to further increase the money supply, commercial banks buy treasury bonds, which are considered to be the safest and most liquid investment possible. This helps the US government, as they have immediate spending money (although it must be paid back), and the banks are receiving profits. This is called an "open market operation."

Lastly, when they say that the banks made a "$13 billion profit," that means that there's now $13 billion floating around the economy that previously wasn't, that banks are ready to lend out and profit from. That means Jack and Jill can get a mortgage, Joe can open that bike shop he's always wanted, etc.

This is basic, basic monetary policy. This is what the Fed does. I watched this Jon Stewart clip and couldn't believe how one-sided the discussion was. Should have asked an economist!

[thedailywhat]

Easter Egg of the Day: Want to know why Community is getting canceled? Because it’s simply too amazing for this world.

You already know how chock-full of Easter Eggs it is, right? Well, someone just found the best one yet.

It seems that the writers have been sneaking the word “Betelgeuse” into the script of a single episode each season.

Check out what happened when the word was uttered a third time during the show’s Halloween episode, “Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps.” (Hint: Look behind Annie.)

Pure brilliance.

[reddit.]

[davidmcable-blog]

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. So awesome!

[davidmcable-blog]

In only a few short hours, this sexy piece of phone will be MINE!