More Stuff Other People Said
“No one has yet won an election in the United States by lecturing America about limits, even if common sense suggests such homilies may be overdue.” Simon Schama
Obama “says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers—did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did! It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people!” Mitt Romney
“If Congress isn’t going to do anything to protect the U.S. economy and the Federal Reserve isn’t going to do any more to protect the U.S. economy then, yes, we are at the mercy of what happens in Europe and in China and in other parts of the world. But that is because we have chosen to be at their mercy. We are not helpless. We’re just acting like we are.” Ezra Klein
“Self-reliance and teamwork are not opposing virtues. We must have both.” Bill Clinton, 1996 Inaugural Address
“The truth is that, as technological societies become more advanced they have bigger government because they can afford it. And to the extent that government is public investment in public goods, including education of a skilled workforce, then it pays for itself through higher economic growth in time.” Michael Lind, who also points out that countries spending as much as 50% of GDP on government are frequently as or more economically competitive than the U.S. while Third and Fourth World countries typically spend far less on government as a percent of GDP than does the United States.
“Truth is great and will prevail if left to herself…she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them.” Thomas Jefferson
By the Numbers
1—Liter of water required to grow one calorie of food. (U.S. State Department)
4—Percent reduction in the number of violent crimes reported in 2011 from the number reported during 2010. The number of property crimes declined by 0.8% in the same period. (FBI; USAToday)
80—Percent of economics experts, including the director of the CBO, who agree that unemployment rates in the U.S. were lower at the end of 2010 than they would have been without the 2009 stimulus. (Washington Post; University of Chicago Booth School of Business)
13,000—Number of public sector jobs lost in the U.S. during the month of May. Private sector jobs increased. (MSNBC)
6 Million—Amount spent annually by Virginia to protect the city of Norfolk alone from the rising sea levels of the Atlantic Ocean. (MSNBC)
76.8 Million – Dollars raised by the Republicans for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in May. $60 million dollars were raised in that month by the Democrats for President Obama. (CBS News)
3.1 Billion—Dollar amount of solar cells the U.S. purchased from China in 2011. This equals more than half the American market for these devices. (U.S. Department of Commerce; Washington Post)
Miss Otis Regrets
“Dear Emerald Orange, I can’t help but notice that your normally lame blog has become increasingly inane. You seem to have nothing to say except to repeat the media droppings that others have left behind. What gives? Are you even trying? Love, Blog Reader”
Dear Blog Reader: Yes, yes, I am very trying (chortle), ask anyone. What gives? Lots of what I suppose could be termed “life,” which has made it difficult to post anything approximating original (although I did create a nifty table for the Indiana 9th District Race; like, from scratch and everything). And in fairness, I never claimed Emerald Orange would be anything but lame. So there. But I regret the blog has become nothing but “media droppings” of late. So, if anyone would like to relieve Emerald Orange from the quote-and-numbers doldrums, feel free to ask a question or heck, guest post. Just send an e-mail to emeraldorange@live.com, or throw a comment in, and presto-change-o, Better Blog. Much thanks. Love, Michelle. (Although, if your guest post is offensive or, heaven forfend, spam, you have no chance of appearing on my lame little blog. XOXO, BFF 4-Ever.)
