Archive for the ‘Anarchy Journal Constitutional’ Category

#TaxCode Changes Put on the Table

Posted: March 1, 2014 in Excess and Algorithms
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eanda logoajclogo2by @anarchyroll
2/27/2014

There are very few things that can actually change the American and/or global economy. The reason there are few things is because each one is not just big but gigantic in scope, nature, and application apparatus. A overhaul of the US tax code has been proposed by Michigan Republican David Camp of Michigan.

The banks hate it, retailers love it, Democrats say it’s dead on arrival, and Republicans aren’t really saying anything since it involves raising taxes on top earners. But it is a start, it is a physical, tangible bill, put on the table. The White House has acknowledged at least that much.

Many tax exemptions and tax breaks would be eliminated. Taxes would go down for individuals but go up for companies and corporations that earn X number of dollars. Income earned from investments would be taxed more which is very important. But there are multiple aspects that will prevent it from going anywhere, but it’s a start.

979 pages, which is the length of the bill, doesn’t exactly scream…simplified. But there must be a starting point on this issue, there must. The tax code in the United States is ridiculous and causes more problems than it solves. It favors the rich and hurts the poor. Too much money is hidden, sheltered, and shipped offshore, all of which must end.

Warren Buffet has famously said he should not pay a lower marginal tax rate than his secretary. The fact that is currently the norm, tells you all you need to know about the current tax code and tax policy in the United States. David Camps starting point is truly nothing more than a starting point but you can’t walk before you crawl. Camp’s bill begins the crawl forward, and forward is always the way to go.

#NSA Tries to Pass the Buck to #FBI

Posted: February 26, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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by @anarchyroll
2/26/2014

Nothing quite says business as usual in Washington DC like simply creating the illusion that change is being enacted. The latest chapter in the NSA bulk surveillance fallout thanks to Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing is the NSA trying to hand off and wash their hands of the metadata bulk collection to the FBI.  Republican Jim Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin has become the legit face of the anti NSA movement for those who consider what Glenn Greenwald and Edward Snowden did wrong.

Sensenbrenner’s stance is very simple; “Bulk collection has never been authorized by Congress and I intend to stop this blatant abuse of the law.”

Privacy advocates and the ACLU object to FBI option, as well as the other four options being considered since the FBI’s history of abusing the civil rights of the American public is, quite ripe. A full breakdown of the proposal is available at The Guardian. That is the news source Greenwald was working at when he first interviewed Snowden in June which became the whistleblowing bananza.  So they are always a trustworthy source for most hard news stories internationally.

Ronda Rousey; Both #MMA Pioneer & Fraud

Posted: February 26, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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potatoshooterlogosportsrollby @anarchyroll
2/22/2014

The UFC creating a women’s division to exploit the sex appeal of Ronda Rousey, which make no mistake about it is what they’re doing, is the equivalent of NASCAR creating an all women’s driving circuit for Danica Patrick.

If you were surprised that the main event of UFC 170 was a disappointment, you haven’t been paying attention to the career of Ronda Rousey. Which is the norm, most mma fans (men) pay attention to her body as opposed to her body of work. The only entertaining fight Rousey has had was her rematch with Meisha Tate, and that fight came at after the first co-ed season of The Ultimate Fighter, cough cough.

I’m not trolling Rousey, she’s an Olympic medalist. She pays her taxes, she earns her money by putting her body through a rigorous training schedule, followed by putting in on the line in hand to hand combat. She is also a fraud, she is nothing more than Gina Carano with the ability to lock on an arm bar, against a field of competitors who don’t know how to defend it.

Just like how Royce Gracie was great in an era where fighters had no clue how to defend or attack ju jitzu. The difference of course is Royce had the balls or in the case of Rousey, courage to fight anyone in ANY weight class. Rousey, as you may or may not know, is ducking the real best female mixed martial artist in the world Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino.

If Rousey is such a great, legendary, pioneer, why won’t she put on the ten pounds and fight Cyborg? Because Rousey is the champ? Sorry, both were Strikeforce champions and Dana White made the choice to hand Rousey a UFC Title at a press conference, as opposed to, oh I don’t know, a tournament or at least a fight to determine the champion.

If the UFC was serious about women’s MMA they would have either awarded both Rousey and Cyborg or made Rousey move up weight since Cyborg has been fighting longer and has a better professional record than Rousey. What does Rousey have going for her that Cyborg doesn’t? See picture below.

Ronda Rousey is a good person and is a women’s MMA pioneer because she has gotten over in the mainstream. But she was handed her title at a press conference and fights in a division of feeders, because there is no women’s MMA yet. Don’t believe me? Go ask Invicta FC what their average live attendance figures are.

Three, five, ten years from now women’s MMA will be vibrant and thriving. But not now. Now it is just a two woman sport. They are separated by ten pounds. One is hot, the other is not. And if you think for one second that Rousey isn’t being exploited and promoted for her sex appeal more so than her athletic ability…then I have a bridge and a time share I’d like to sell you.  Think I’m just a sexist? Well, then why does Rousey repeatedly talk about in interviews how having more sex before fights helps her get into better shape? The only male equivalent to that, is GSP talking about how his coaches make him stay abstinent during training.

Stop posing naked, stop talking about how fucking a lot makes you a better fighter, and fight the more established, better, less attractive fighter who is your equal or better, and people like me will have nothing but respect for Rousey. Until then, she’s just Danica Patrick with her own race track of amateur competition at best.

#MoneyVelocity ; The Economic Recovery’s Gas Pedal

Posted: February 21, 2014 in Excess and Algorithms
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eanda logoby @anarchyroll
2/20/2014

What is money velocity? It is the speed at which the M2 money supply moves from one transaction to another.  What is the M2 money supply? It is all the liquid cash assets in the country from cash, savings accounts, mutual funds, certificate of deposits (CDs), checking deposits, or basically any kind of money stored in any kind of account, or mattress if you’re old and senile.

How can money velocity be used to gauge economic strength? Because money velocity ends up being the ratio of the size of a country’s economy to the size of the money supply. So there shouldn’t be more cash than there is gross domestic product (GDP) or less than. If there is more/less, then inflation/deflation occurs as a market correction.

I may sound very smart with the above explanation, but a recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek did all the heavy lifting for me. The article is short, quick, to the point, and keeps everything in plain language, as I try to do with this blog.

The concept of money velocity fascinated me because; I had never even heard or come across the term before, was unaware it is a relatively accurate economic indicator, and was surprised that the slower money moves the safer we are from inflation or another recession. Why is that? Hasn’t the Fed been flooding the markets with freshly printed money for over three years? They have, but people and businesses aren’t spending it, they’re saving it. Which is good for now because inflation could stop the economic recovery in its tracks.

But the money will have to start flowing sooner than later. Especially as QE gets tapered off over the next 18 months. Fading out QE and fading in inflation wouldn’t do much damage to the economy. It would be like getting autumn before winter or spring before summer, our bodies acclimate to the changing weather because of a gradual transition. This could be the case with money velocity. It was refreshing to learn that the low money velocity we are seeing now is historically normal, and has in the 60s and 80s preceded boom periods.

But those booms were just bubbles. We all must keep one eye on Wall Street to make sure that our country isn’t held hostage by a bursting bubble again. That is why they teach consumer ed in high schools folks, it’s not just to give an elective teacher a pay bump.

So now you know what money velocity and M2 money supply are. It’s used as an economic indicator because of its ratio to GDP. Lower velocity means lower prices and deflation while higher velocity means higher prices and inflation. Drop those in conversation at the cocktail lounge but not the night club, depending on how fast you want to move the cash in your wallet to keep the other parties interested…

#RoboCop Reboot Review

Posted: February 20, 2014 in Anarchy Journal Constitutional
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MM@C4Logo1ajclogo2

by @anarchyroll
2/19/2014

The 2014 reboot of the RoboCop franchise has drawn a lot of ire since it came out. Surprise surprise, science fiction fans taking entertainment more seriously than their own life’s purpose. I read so many negative reviews on Twitter and in various news publications I went to see it expecting the worst. Though it was hard to imagine that a cast of Samuel Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Gary Oldman could be in a steaming pile of shit.

It’s funny, since studying film formally I have come to be less rigid about what I deem a good or bad film as opposed to more snobby or wannabe elitist. RoboCop is not War and Peace on film, it shouldn’t be confused with Gone with the Wind. It’s a fantasy movie about a cop who becomes a half man, half robot law enforcement machine. So check the rigid criteria for modern cinema masterpiece at the door and have some fun.

I have seen the original RoboCop, probably more times than I should have. Both incarnations satirize modern culture, both attempt to have heart, both development characters, both have all you can eat buffets of gunfire. One can dislike both or prefer one over the other, but I have a hard time seeing why a person would like the 80s version and not the 2014 version.

The movie feels slightly rushed as most movies made in the last twenty years do. But there is no shortage of time spent establishing why you as an audience member should care about the plight of Detective Alex Murphy. I could have used less mushy character development, but I appreciated it being there. There was a good balance between series acting time and lets fire off a ton of bullets time. I will say that this version is less bloody/gory than in the 80s version.

There are several obvious and subtle nods to the original film. My personal favorite was one of the villains saying “I wouldn’t buy that for a dollar.” I was surprised to see Murphy’s partner Lewis go from a white woman to a black man but whatever, as a second or third tier character it wasn’t a big deal and didn’t add nor subtract anything of substance to/from the film.

I enjoyed Sam Jackson’s parody of a Fox News anchor and the satire of drone based war drum beating. Abbie Cornish is forgettable as she usually is. Gary Oldman is Gary Oldman. Michael Keaton making a rare appearance this side of 1994 plays a far less menacing villain of Omnicorp than Ronnie Cox.  I can see that being a problem for some folks. Shout out to Jay Baruchel for doing his comedic thing in a supporting role to lighten the mood.

I thought Joel Kinnaman acted his ass off for a action sci-fi film. Peter Weller left big shoes to fill as Alex Murphy. If one sees this film and doesn’t like it, Kinnaman’s acting surely won’ t be a reason why.

RoboCop is worth checking out in the theater as action movies lend themselves better to the theater experience by nature. Check it on Netflix when it makes it there if you like the original and compare the two yourself. The door is left open for sequels, and I would LOVE to see RoboCop 2 get a remake. Taking a serial killer and putting him in a bigger, better machine. I think director José Padilha could do some good work with that idea. Plus it would be hard to do worse than the RoboCop sequels and shitty SyFy channel min series’ that no one who dislikes this movie cares to remember.

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