Grid Computing - be a part of a global project

I have been using grid computing software to assist research in many different areas starting with Seti@Home. But lately I have been using software that assists those in the medical field discover new cures for viruses. This is a decent organization that I think others should download and participate in :


>IBM Corp. on Nov. 23 announced an R&D program to develop medicines for HIV/AIDS, making use of the powerful computational capability of World Community Grid.

Computer users across the world can donate the unused time of their personal computers for the program by downloading the free software of the World Community Grid and registering on its website (www.worldcommunitygrid.org).

These personal computers, along with 10 supercomputers in the world, will constitute the world's first virtual supercomputer specially dedicated to AIDS research.

Eminent Domain is alive and well - used against minorities of course. I found this on the Minnesota Libertarian Party site.

Eminent Domain Takes Brooklyn Center Hmong BusinessesThe city of Brooklyn Center is bulldozing the 'Hmong American Shopping Center' to make room for something more "profitable". The shopping center consisted of 15 thriving stores which included a grocery store, fabric store, karate shop, dry cleaners and more. The shopping center serviced more than 20 percent of the population; shutting down the Hmong American Shopping Center leaves the 20+ percent of the population at a loss.Libertarian Brooklyn Center City Council member Mary O'Connor had voted against the eminent domain, but the council outnumbered her. Mary had stated that there were about 100 Hmong people protesting inside and outside the city council meeting.Mary ran for City Council because of the eminent domain issue. Her own home had been target for eminent domain to give to a construction company. Fortunately more than a dozen Libertarian Party of Minnesota volunteers had shown their support by attending the city council meeting. No further eminent domain took place.Dan Vang, business owner at the shopping center, said these policies reminded them of the policies of their home country Laos. "We were told when we came to this country when we got off the plane that if you work hard, and you're successful, and if you buy it, it's yours. Today we know that that's false." (Quoted from Twelve.tv)"All we're asking for is fairness," Vang said. "If you own a $500,000 house and they give you $300,000 and say: 'Well, we've given you something, you should be happy,' that's not fair. Mr. Lee wants his land back and the opportunity to do something on it." (Quoted from the Star Tribune)Read the various news coverage:Twelve TV Hmong Times Kare 11 Star TribuneMary had also said that this same city council has even more plans to take down homes and over 40 businesses to develop a hotel, water park, and housing. Some of the businesses include a Target, Minnesota Business School, movie theater, restaurants, car parts store, Ford dealership, and more.Mary O'Connor and other Minnesota Libertarians plan to obstruct any more abusive eminent domain in the city of Brooklyn Center. Please join us in fighting this type of eminent domain abuse.

Republicans in Congress cut $53.9 billion in spending . Unfortunately NONE of it was pork and MOST of it will affect the poor with devastating effects for the future of America. But at the same time this appears more a token bill than one with any real impact on the budget.

The military budget accounts for 50% of the federal budget. It will never be cut until America goes bankrupt or votes in third parties.

These are some of the things they have cut {from 2006-2010}:

Small Business Administration: $124 Million ( budget now of $456M )
Federal Aid for College Loans: $14.47 Billion
Medicaid: $20.5 Billion
Food Stamps: $1 Billion
Farm Subsidies: $1 Billion { cuts 1% of funding )
Child Care: $434 million
Child support enforcement: $4.9 Billion
Foster care: $577 million
Supplemental Security Income: $732 million
Domestic subsidies ( WTO adherence) : $3.2 Billion
Increase of non-immigrant visa fees: $428 million
Increases vessel tonnage fees: $156 million

ANWR also passed in this bill. They will lease out ANWR for $2.5 billion. ANWR contains at most 3 months worth of USA oil consumption.

All of this while Congress gives themselves a $3100 pay raise. They will make a meager $165,000 each for 2005.

According to the 2005 Congressional Pig Book Summary

Once again, Congress porked out at record levels. For fiscal 2005, appropriators stuffed 13,997 projects into the 13 appropriations bills, an increase of 31 percent over last year’s total of 10,656. In the last two years, the total number of projects has increased by 49.5 percent. The cost of these projects in fiscal 2005 was $27.3 billion, or 19 percent more than last year’s total of $22.9 billion. In fact, the total cost of pork has increased by 21 percent since fiscal 2003. Total pork identified by CAGW since 1991 adds up to $212 billion.

On November 4, Congress set the 2006 SBA budget at $456.5 million in an appropriations bill, which now awaits President Bush's signature. Its 2005 budget was $579.5 million. In 2001, the final year of the Clinton administration, the budget was $1.1 billion

The House proposal also would require 70,000 legal immigrants in most cases to wait seven years to become eligible for food stamps, rather than the current five years. { This would mean LEGAL immigrants would be paying federal taxes for 2 years with little or no benefit. Legal immigrants pay no federal/state taxes for the first 5 years in country.}

What can you do? Support decent candidates who will cut the ENTIRE overall budget - this will affect more things proportionally if we are to live within fiscal sanity!

The Libertarian Party of Minnesota is my states 5th largest political party. It only has minor party status - though in most of America it is the 3rd largest political party with ballot access in over 26 states.

This is taken from their platform:

Throughout history, governments have operated on the opposite principle: that the State may dispose of the lives of individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States, all non-libertarian political parties and organizations assume that government bodies and agencies may initiate force against you and seize what you have produced without your consent through taxation and regulation.

Basically they disagree with most forms of government. Unfortunately, we have to work as a society to get through certain issues. Not all government programs are effective - and nonprofits do a better job. But I disagree with them when it comes to the inheritance tax and local/state issues. I say "fine" with a limited Federal government.

These are their elected officials in Minnesota:

Robert Babione
New Prague City Council

Colin Wilkinson
Minnesota Academic Standards Committee

Larry Fuhol
Isanti Planning Commission

David Buelow
Waubun School Board

Peter Eiden
Corcoran Planning Commission

Mark Thorsted
Otsego City Council

Brad Kvanbek
Park Commissione,
City of Medina

Mary O'Connor
Brooklyn Center City Council

One solution that "solves" the problem of abortion according to pro-lifers is adoption. I agree that adoption can be part of the solution - but it cannot be the sole solution ( apart from banning abortion).

My partner Brandy was living in a foster home. I do not think she was actually adopted by her foster parents (Jack and Marlene - whom I met Brandy through). But her own parents provided no emotional support for her while growing up - to the point that she had to leave them. She still has emotion issues to deal with regarding to this negligence on the part of her parent(s). Brandy's father ( who was in the ARMY with her mom) has never been a part of her family - and she has never met her father. Of course her mother re-married to a jerk who only has his self-interests at heart.

Recently - A UW-Madison study found that children who were adopted from orphanages where they may have been neglected had lower levels of two social-bonding hormones.

Therefore by forcing people to have children they do not want or afford to take care of - we increase the percentage of those in our nation with emotion problems. One cannot legislate that parents take care of their own children - but we can all work to prevent unplanned pregnancies. By preventing the need for abortions we improve many aspects of our society - including psychological disorders, resource depletion, crime, and welfare and healthcare spending. Let's face it - if we eliminated the ability for women the choice to have children we would greatly negate the positive trends already at work in our society.

Ironically conservatives do not see the prevention of abortion as a good political strategy. They seem to have a pro-birth strategy. If only they could look at this issue with eyes unclouded and worked for the better of America. Until then I will vote for those who do.

Cutting student aid

The bill to cut $50 Billion in spending passed 217-215 . Would they be cutting so much if they weren't spending ridiculous amounts on our "wars?"

There are some politicians who think that student aid is not important enough to consider funding. Isn't it ironic that we are the ONLY post-industrial nation that doesn't allow its citizens free access to post-secondary education? Oh well, join the ARMY right?

Well this is how Minnesotans voted(to be updated as votes not all listed online):

Yes ( to cuts):
Gilbert W. 'Gil' Gutknecht (R )
John P. Kline (R)
Mark Kennedy ( R)

No:
Jim Ramstad ( R)
Betty McCollum ( DFL )
Martin Olav Sabo ( DFL )
Collin C. Peterson ( DFL )
James L. Oberstar ( DLF )

( Bill Number: HR 4241 ; 18 Nov 05 )

Budget and the Economy

It is quite simple actually - spend only what you HAVE. Don't mortgage the future on today's dreams. Eliminating the National Debt should be the #1 priority in regards to our budget.

To conservatives - how much LOWER would our taxes be if we didn't spend such a large amount going to paying solely the interest on the National Debt? At least 13% - time for the government to be as fiscally prudent as those on losing their welfare. How do you like other governments like the Communist Chinese buying up huge swaths of our debt? Do we really want our taxpayer money subsidizing communism ?

To liberals and progressives - what should YOUR perspective of the National Debt be? It is assisting the economic division in America as we speak. The interest we are paying is subsidizing the wealth of the richest 1%. How can you stand for that while the poor pay taxes to increase their wealth?

And for those who want to know more about why the National Debt exists go here.

Abortion

I am no "fan" of abortion. It shouldn't be as difficult to come to the conclusions that I have. Yet for many it is.

Many want abortion to be illegal. They feel that any conceived shild should be carried onto birth. They very much dislike the fact that up to 78% of conceptions fail - most before a pregnancy is confirmed. 15% of all confirmed pregnancies end in a miscarriage.

Obviosly the problem is not spontaneous abortions but induced. The reasons women claim to choose induced abortions is:

25.5% – Want to postpone childbearing
21.3% – Cannot afford a baby
14.1% – Has relationship problem or partner does not want pregnancy
12.2% – Too young; parent(s) or other(s) object to pregnancy
10.8% – Having a child will disrupt education or job
7.9% – Want no (more) children
3.3% – Risk to fetal health
2.8% – Risk to maternal health
2.1% – Rape, incest, other

The irony about the last percentage is that pro-lifers do not want those raped, etc. to EVER have an abortion. Many do not even believe in birth-control.

In many areas of the world, especially the developing nations or where induced abortions are illegal, many women choose or are pushed to perform abortions on themselves. These self-induced abortions are commonly unsafe abortions as described by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, some abortions are induced because of societal pressures, such as stigma of disabled persons and similar eugenic ideals, or laws, such as under China's one-child policy. These policies and societal pressures can lead to sex-selective abortion and infanticide, which is illegal in most countries, but difficult to stop.

So if the Christian Right does get its way and makes abortion illegal - we will have illegal abortions putting more women at harm. That is their choice - but some will have decent reasons to do so.

I think there is a solution to all the fights over abortion. If it is to be illegal - you must make all forms of birth-control free. I even think surgery for a vesectomy and tubal ligation should be free as well. The ONLY way to eliminate abortion and the problems of making it illegal is to PREVENT it.

This includes making Plan B over the counter. If taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex, Plan B can usually prevent pregnancy, although it is most effective if taken within 24 hours. It has no effect on a pregnancy that is already under way.

While groups such as Planned Parenthood argue that Plan B is a safe, inexpensive way of avoiding unwanted pregnancies and cutting down on the number of abortions, the Christian right argues that Plan B is an invitation for teenagers to become promiscuous and engage in unsafe sex.

David Weldon, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, led a group of 49 congressmen who lobbied against Plan B, calling the morning-after pill "a public-health danger."

The American public needs to look at all sides of this issue. If one looks at all sides - whether for or against - it is simply a matter of prevention. This is America - we have individual freedoms. Most unborn do not make it - and if we legislate making every fetus become a baby we will have more orphanages than we will know what to do with. It would be VERY costly to the taxpayer and our national conscience - prevention is always an intelligent route.
-------------------------------------------------------------
In Minnesota:

Who supports prevention of abortion:
Mark Dayton ( DFL )

Who cares nothing of prevention - just wants abortion illegal:
Senator Norm Coleman (R)

As far as the US House voting on family planning - there has been none in the last 4 years. I only see voting on restricting the use of abortion and the funding of organizations that speak of it.

What is wrong with Wal-Mart?

A lot of organizations seem to be throwing a fit about Wal-Mart's business practices. Such as: lack of healthcare to employees, harassment of women, outsourcing to nations such as China, destroying local economies, paying their workers below poverty, discriminating against minorities, exponential growth of their business ( fear of monopoly?), and not having a pro-environment business record.

All of these issues are understandable - but one cannot do anything but boycott such a business. You cannot literally stop many from shopping there. Can you legislate against their actions? I highly doubt it.

Wal-Mart is the largest corporation in the world. Their primary incentive is to make profit. Therefore health insurance for employees is not an issue to them. If the government wants to do something - they would have to enact a form of Universal healthcare.

Their harassment against women and discrimination against minorities is to be expected in such a large corporation. It is NOT their policy - in fact due to their size I am sure there are many internal programs to work to prevent these problems. (they are in fact bad for business )

Honestly, I look at all these issues and find it very sad that politicians feel they have to get involved. If you are going to do ANYTHING about this - I highly recommend BOYCOTTING WAL-MART along with a dozen other large corporations doing the SAME THING.

If I worked at Wal-Mart - I'd probably be looking for a better job. And I would be spending LESS of my own money. I think we in America can cut a LOT of our budget - I know I have.

Do I own a car? Nope. That means no insurance, no yearly car tabs,no car loan payments, no gasoline. Basically what I would pay for in gasoline in one month pays for 2 months ( or more ) of transit. Is this a legitimate reality for most? I think so. More americans live near transit than they realize. And if more used it - we would have MUCH more!

Sorry, left-wingers. You cannot convince the American public to address your issues when you are not giving them a realistic cause. But nonetheless good luck with it. Universal Healthcare is a good idea. But it does increase the governments role in our lives - i.e. dietary habits.

At least we in Minnesota have MinnesotaCare - yet we should consider funding it the way it was originally enacted. If not improving that slightly more as well.

Against Dominionism

For much of my life I knew I had a purpose to be here - many in fact. One such purpose is to extinguish the flame of Dominionism. This movement is similiar to those in Muslim nations - to put a single religion in charge of the government. I am not alone in this cause - it is being coordinated by many other individuals and organizations. Unfortunately, they do not all share my belief that we need an all inclusive politics.

I will not "declare war" on Dominionism - but work towards a more logical peace treaty. I wish them to end their war against democracy and individual freeodm. They started to succeed in this crusade in 1980 - the year I was conceived. The organizing to create this current synergy between the Christians and the Republican party took place over several decades prior to 1980 - but this is the first year their work came to fruition. Ronald Reagan was their candidate - and he became the new president with their help.

It has become more apparent each election that the Christian Right has a stronger hold on the American electorate. While they have the right to organize in what ways they choose - it is unfortunate that they equate their religion with one political party. Due to ballot access laws , we virtually have only two parties. If the Dominionist movement continues to grow we will have a theocracy. I do not see much improvement of an American theocracy over an Iranian one.

My vision is for more actual political discussion than merely siding with one political party or not. I think that with all the multiple visions that few people actually sit down and discuss how their vision will impact others. Little seems to prove the effectiveness of many naive ideas and laws pushed by both major parties.

George Washington - our first General, leader, and President - once warned us of partisan and single issue politics. It is time to move beyond this and actually seek a better form of democracy. One where EVERY vote counts and EVERYONE is represented.

But before any of that vision can exist - those who believe in Dominionism must come to terms that their vision is false and is not improving America much at all. It has the ability to return us to an age of darker times.

Schools pay the price in property-tax shell game

PETER HUTCHINSON { I am reposting this from the Pioneer Press site }


Why? That was his only question. Why? He had just gotten the news that property taxes might be going up more than 22 percent to pay for schools in St. Paul. Why, in the land of no new taxes could such a thing be happening? He supported schools he said, but a double-digit increase. Why?

It's property tax hunting season again in Minnesota. Schools, cities and counties are setting their rates. When citizens hear about them, they start hunting for someone to blame. With these whopping increases (in some cases the largest increases ever), the hunt will really be on. This will be the year for blaming schools because their increases will be the biggest. Taxpayers who do so will have their sights set at the wrong target.

We have ended up in this mess because of the irresponsible actions of legislative leaders in 2001 compounded every year since by Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his legislative co-conspirators.

This sordid tale starts in 2001 when Gov. Jesse Ventura proposed a dramatic restructuring of our tax system combined with a change in how we pay for schools. The plan had three parts.
The state would take over more of the cost of schools. Property taxes would be reduced as a result. The sales tax would be broadened to make up the difference.

Ventura said it was a package — all three parts were needed to make it work. Republicans and Democrats disagreed. They did the easy part — changed school funding and lowered property taxes. But they dodged the harder proposal to expand the sales tax. That meant two things. First, the state made a promise to pay for schools without the money to do so. Second, it meant taking more of our school funding off the relatively stable property tax and making it dependent on the more volatile income tax. (Sales tax expansion would have been a safer bet.)

This all looked like a great deal when the economy was booming and the income tax was creating surpluses. It has turned out to be an irresponsible gamble with our schools and our kids' education.

When the recession hit, our schools paid the price. Class sizes soared, fees were imposed and programs were cut as the state in the name of "no new taxes" failed to deliver on its promise. The schools have struggled ever since.

This year, it got so bad the governor and Legislature finally had to respond. After practicing partisan gridlock, failing to get their work done on time, shutting the state down, and calling a special session, they passed the much-heralded "major increase" in school funding. They told us the size of the increase was "unprecedented." It sure was — an unprecedented attempt by Democrats and Republicans to take credit for spending while passing the buck to local school boards to do the taxing. That's because what they didn't tell us was that we only got the whole unprecedented increase if we coughed up unprecedented increases in property taxes.

So now we are more or less back where we started five years ago — except our schools have had to pay the price for this shell game. Taking aim at school boards won't get taxpayers the prey they seek. They should be looking for incumbent state politicians.

Hutchinson, founder of the Public Strategies Group, has been Minnesota's commissioner of finance and superintendent of schools in Minneapolis. He has indicated that he intends to be a candidate for governor next year.