What distinguishes pi from all other numbers is its
connection to cycles. For those of us interested in the applications of
mathematics to the real world, this makes pi indispensable. Whenever we
think about rhythms—processes that repeat periodically, with a fixed
tempo, like a pulsing heart or a planet orbiting the sun—we inevitably
encounter pi. There it is in the formula for a Fourier series: That series is an all-encompassing representation of any process, x(t), that repeats every T
units of time. The building blocks of the formula are pi and the sine
and cosine functions from trigonometry. Through the Fourier series, pi
appears in the math that describes the gentle breathing of a baby and
the circadian rhythms of sleep and wakefulness that govern our bodies.
When structural engineers need to design buildings to withstand
earthquakes, pi always shows up in their calculations. Pi is inescapable
because cycles are the temporal cousins of circles; they are to time as
circles are to space. Pi is at the heart of both.
For
this reason, pi is intimately associated with waves, from the ebb and
flow of the ocean’s tides to the electromagnetic waves that let us
communicate wirelessly. At a deeper level, pi appears in both the
statement of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and the Schrödinger wave
equation, which capture the fundamental behavior of atoms and subatomic
particles. In short, pi is woven into our descriptions of the innermost
workings of the universe.
Even though I don't understand all that, I know it is really cool.
On paper, Cotton looks like a dream politician with nowhere to go but up
— Iraq veteran, Harvard Law School graduate, the youngest senator at
37. It’s only when you listen to him talk and hear what he believes that
you come to realize he’s a complete crackpot. During the 2014 campaign
he told voters
that the Islamic State was working with Mexican drug cartels and would
soon be coming to attack Arkansas. When he was still in the Army he wrote a letter
to the New York Times saying that its editors should be “behind bars”
because the paper published stories on the Bush administration’s program
to disrupt terrorist groups’ finances (which George W. Bush himself had
bragged about, but that’s another story).
While in the House in 2013, Cotton introduced an amendment
to prosecute the relatives of those who violated sanctions on Iran,
saying that his proposed penalties of up to 20 years in prison would
“include a spouse and any relative to the third degree,” including
“parents, children, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, grandparents, great
grandparents, grandkids, great grandkids.” Forget about the fact that
the Constitution expressly prohibits “corruption of blood” penalties —
just consider that Cotton wanted to take someone who had violated
sanctions and imprison their grandchildren. Needless to say, this deranged piece of legislation was too much even for Republicans to stomach, and it went nowhere.
Some States Fight To Keep Their Wood Fires Burning - McClatchy. Maybe the legislators ought to read the regulations so they understand them (or, being Republican, have somebody read the regulations to them). They apply to manufacturers and newly purchased wood stoves. And many stoves have met the requirements for years (and have been working with EPA). But, hey, EPA is evil.
The recession ended more than five years ago, but the financial squeeze left by the downturn lives on for a majority of states.
Government
revenues have been slow to recover across the country as sales-tax
collections fall prey to many of the same forces buffeting the broader
economic expansion, from cautious consumers who have seen scant growth
in wages to a downturn in home construction that has sapped sales of
building materials and furnishings. At the same time, states are facing
down a decades-long shift in the economy to services from goods, leaving
them to collect taxes on a shrinking number of purchases.
Nationally,
sales-tax receipts last year reclaimed levels—on an inflation-adjusted
basis—seen in late 2007 as the recession arrived. So while a highly
unequal national recovery has lifted federal tax revenues, thanks to an
upswing in earnings among corporations and the rich, states—which rely
not just on incomes, but also the spending of average citizens—continue
to struggle.
There are 30 states still collecting less in taxes,
adjusted for inflation, than when the recession hit, according to a Pew
Charitable Trusts study that examined the data through September.
Income-tax collections grew on a real basis by 7.1% since late 2008,
while sales-tax receipts rose by 1%, according to an analysis by Nelson
A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New
York.
States are left debating how to pay for schools, health
care and public safety, and whether belt-tightening measures sparked by
the recession will remain even as the economy shows signs of growing
strength.
Read the whole thing. Amazingly, the fact that most states run by Republicans slashed state income tax rates (and often raised sales taxes) doesn't get mentioned anywhere in the article (although the graph notes: "Data affected by changes states have made to sales and income tax rates"). I'm sure an economist will take down this article more fully, but until then, this is my quick swing at it. The article should be about how Republican tax ideas don't work.An honest analysis of this data would highlight Kansas and Wisconsin on the graph, and analyze how California has higher revenues compared to pre-Recession levels than Ohio, even though California was hit much harder by the bursting of the housing bubble than Ohio was. Even better, when I first read the article, the comments babbled on about Obama failing and Socialism not working. I didn't know people could be that stupid.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has an interesting piece about the views of the new and long-time residents on Republic Street, which was the location of the shooting of Timothy Thomas, which triggered the riots in 2001 and is now in the midst of the redevelopment of Over-The-Rhine. It is a very good read.
The Republican Study Committee/Tea Party Caucus/Clown Car has a new name but an old leader, local Congressman/grifter/do-nothing public employee Jim Jordan:
A familiar problem for House Speaker
John Boehner
has a new name: the House Freedom Caucus.
Little more than
a month ago, nine House Republicans formed the latest group dedicated
to pulling policy to the right. One funding fight with GOP leaders
later, the Freedom Caucus is expanding, according to lawmakers.
As
the group has grown, so, too, has frustration among fellow Republicans
that the conservative faction’s strategy is undercutting GOP efforts to
demonstrate it can govern competently, now that the party controls both
chambers of Congress. “I totally reject the premise that there’s
anything conservative about what they’re doing,” said Rep. Devin Nunes
(R., Calif.), noting that GOP fissions only strengthen Democrats’ hand
in negotiations over passing critical bills.
For Mr. Boehner, the
Ohio Republican now in his third term as speaker, wrangling
recalcitrant House Republicans has long been part of the job
description. Many in the Freedom Caucus have resisted his plans in
previous fights, including in the 2013 standoff over Affordable Care Act
funding that led to a partial government shutdown....
Last Friday, a group of 52 Republicans, including eight of the Freedom
Caucus’s nine founding members, sank GOP leaders’ plan to pass a
three-week extension of Homeland Security funding to buy time to search
for a way to block President
Barack Obama
’s executive action on immigration. Though opponents of the
three-week bill included plenty outside the group, including some
usually reliable leadership allies, the new caucus helped foment
resistance to the funding measure...
While the group’s membership isn’t public, both Mr. Salmon and the
group’s chairman, Rep.
Jim Jordan
(R., Ohio), have estimated its roster includes more than 30
lawmakers. Rep.
Gary Palmer
(R., Ala.) joined the group last Thursday, even though he
supported the three-week DHS spending bill the caucus helped torpedo,
saying he was drawn to its policy focus and intention to remain a
smaller group.
Not all of the Freedom Caucus’s members approve of
the group’s recent tactics. Caucus member Rep. Tom McClintock (R.,
Calif.) said derailing the three-week bill led to “total defeat” on the
effort to use Homeland Security funding as leverage to demand a White
House reversal on immigration. “They’re off to a very bad start,” said
Mr. McClintock, who said he planned to remain in the caucus, but hoped
it would switch tactics and “apply conservative principles wherever they
can be practically advanced.”...
The Freedom Caucus’s next target is likely to be the budget, passage
of which is one of the GOP leaders’ top priorities. House Budget
Committee Chairman Tom Price (R., Ga.) initiated a meeting with members
of the caucus, Mr. Garrett said. Mr. Salmon said the group would be
lobbying for a “very, very conservative budget.” Because few, if any,
Democrats will vote for a GOP budget, the Freedom Caucus’s position on
the budget will help determine whether it can pass, said John Feehery,
president of QGA Public Affairs and a former House GOP leadership aide.
“If they decide to take their marbles and go home, there will not be a budget,” he said.
Yeah, the budget. So far as I know, Jim Jordan, in all his years going through the motions in his do-nothing role on the public payroll in the Ohio House and Senate, and now in the U.S. House of Representatives, has never voted for a budget that ever went into effect. The only budget I know he's voted for is the arithmetic-averse Ryan budget that had no chance in Hell of passing the Senate, let alone being signed into law. Every practical budget that would lead to a mildly functional government didn't cut taxes enough or slash programs enough for his liking. But if you drum up a random group of loons from the backbench of the Republican caucus around any idiot conspiracy theory, you'll find Jim Jordan in the middle of it. The Benghazi investigation? Yup. The IRS "scandal"? Yup. Have they found anything incriminating? No. But they've wasted millions of dollars investigating anyway, and Jordan's made dozens of appearances on Fox News trumpeting the nothing burgers the investigators' latest hearing "uncovered."
The "freedom caucus" gives due representation to the clueless rural folks who think that only "brown people" get help from the government, and don't notice the myriad forms in which their way of life is subsidized by their state and federal governments. They believe they would be better off if they had a flat tax and the government only funded national defense and border security, when in fact, they are generally net recipients of tax dollars. Likewise, after enough years of doing nothing in office, Jim Jordan will retire to receive a cushy Congressional pension. Unfortunately, that won't be soon enough for me. Congressman Jordan, and the 4th district voters who continue to elect him, are an embarrassment to Ohio, and detrimental to a functioning nation.
The Republicans' stances differed little except on the
Renewable Fuel Standard, a federal mandate that outlines how much
ethanol and biodiesel must be blended annually into the country's fuel
supply. Most said they understand and accept the need for the mandate,
at least until it can be phased out. Santorum and Huckabee in particular
passionately defended it.
But Pataki expressed vocal opposition to the RFS, as did Cruz, whose answers were met with applause.
Ryan
Hoover, a 28-year-old who farms in northern Iowa and sells real estate,
said he'd always liked Christie and Huckabee, and on Saturday, Cruz
caught his attention.
"I gained some respect for Ted Cruz — his ability to answer questions head-on and not sidestep," Hoover said.
Perry's answer on the RFS was hard to pin down, some Iowans said.
"I
don't know what (Perry) said. I'm not sure he knows what he said,"
Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association,
told the Register in an interview. "I was so confused with his RFS
answer, I couldn't concentrate on the rest of his speech."
Perry
said he tried to get a waiver for all or part of the mandate in 2012,
given drought conditions that drove the price of corn to record highs
for livestock ranchers in Texas and elsewhere.
"I was doing what was right for producers at the time," Perry said. But he also said he opposes mandating use of biofuels.
"I
don't think Washington, D.C., (should decide), whether it's what our
children's curriculum should be or health care needs to be, or picking
winners or losers on agricultural products," he said.
Walker
said he doesn't like "a whole lot of government interference" and
thinks the Renewable Fuel Standard could be reduced in the future.
"But
I do believe — and we've talked about this before — it's an access
issue, and so it's something I'm willing to go forward on continuing the
Renewable Fuel Standard and pressing the EPA to make sure there's
certainty in terms of the blend levels set."
Bush, too,
foresees eventually eliminating the RFS. For now, though, Bush said he
thought the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should create a more
certain playing field. "The uncertainty makes it hard to make investment
decisions. … Ultimately, whether it's ethanol or any other alternative
fuel, the markets ultimately will have to decide this."
Bush
added: "The law that passed in 2007 has worked. Look at the increase in
production. It's been a benefit to us as we've reduced dependency on
foreign oil. But as we move forward, over the long haul, there should be
certainty to invest, and we ought to continue to innovate the
lowest-cost energy sources in the world so we can grow economically."
In other words, Republican candidates hate the RFS, but only a few are willing to say that to Iowa farmers less than a year before the Iowa caucuses. Sounds like the days of the ethanol mandate are numbered. The policy was misguided from the start, and led to a bubble in farmland and commodity prices, putting marginal land in production and higher food prices for consumers. If the mandate is discarded, I am not sure what impact that will have on the ethanol industry itself, but I expect it will add further pressure on crop and land prices at a time when they will already be under stress.
I would expect that would put more bearish pressure on grain prices.
_111th_Congress_2009.jpg)
Catholic doesn't make the top three in Indiana? Yeah, that's one reason not to like that place.
