THE SECOND AMENDMENT

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Above is the second amendment. Today, on this December 30^th day it is a topic in many newspapers. None that I have read has told me what the second amendment says. I am going to share with all what I think it says. Books have been written about the second amendment but I will deal with some basics. The second amendment was wordsmith by the founders of our country and was an amendment to our constitution. The important thing to remember that history reveals the  founders were a diverse group of men and didn’t much trust one another. To use a example of mistrust; Hamilton and Jefferson.

The one thing they all agreed on that never again did they want to be under the rule of a tyrannical government. At that time an residence of Georgia and New York had little in common in the way they lived. Because the framers of our constitution had fear of other states, they wanted to make sure they could own arms. I speculate arms were to be regulated so neighbors would not lobe cannon balls at one another.

I see no relationship with gun laws for individuals that are not a part of a militia or a police officer today and the second amendment.  Does the second amendment allow me to mount a AIE-486H heavy machine gun with a 800 round per minute fire rate on my deck?

The recent Newtown incident begs for common sense gun regulation. And it is time we start apply our reading skills and read the second amendment.

INNOVATION

Which comes first, innovation or change. In this Blog series change came first. I will argue innovation and change both lead and lag one another depending on the circumstances.

In 2011 President Obama announces 54.5, mpg fuel efficiency standard by 2025. Consumers are projected to save $1.7 trillion at the pump or $8,000 per vehicle. Why? This is being done because of change, population growth. Read previous Blog entry dated December 26. If we are to reduce the release of gases that cause Global warming, we must increase the mpg of passenger carrying vehicles.

In this case innovation is ready! In fact it is easy to argue that past innovation make the 54.5 MPG achievable today except for culture and economic barriers.  Today five passenger cars are being made today that exceed 100 mpg equivalent, two of them made by Ford.

The innovation of increased mileage will cause more change. In the year 2000 the EPA fleet was about 24.5 mpg. If half the amount of gasoline is used in the United States in 2025, a major change will be made in the petroleum business. This is just one example of innovation causing change.

Another example of innovation causing change is the CFL bulb, which uses 60% less electricity. This is causing a major shift in electrical power consumption and in the economy.

Innovation can be stopped. The way to do it is through the education system. If we stop educating craftsman, technicians, engineer and scientist, innovation will slow and then stop.

EDUCATION

Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through autodidacticism.[1] Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts.

The above was copied from the Wikipedia web site free encyclopedia. My favorite word in this definition is autodidacticism, which means, loosely translated, self motivated research and study of a subject of interest.

Often when we think about education, it’s about school and a classroom. This is just one very important part of an individuals education, it may not be the most important. I think of my great grandson, age one, whose mother reads him her college history books. He will forever remember his mother talking to him while holding a book. At some point in his life he will wonder what was in that book. But first he must have a foundation for learning, he must learn to read, listen and than evaluate what he read or heard. He must be able to analyze what he has heard or read. He must have a foundation education of reading and mathematics. He must also develop skill sets that add value or perform services people are in need off.

The best investment any one makes is their education, but education requires maintenance. Change make skill sets obsolete. Therefore autodidacticism is a very important part of intellectual sustainability. From research of a subject we may decide to go to a lecture, or take a course at the local college. Or we maybe decide to we need to do more research and earn a PHD.

That’s what Joan did! 

THE FISCAL CLIFF (updated)

“Car major Ford Motor Company on Thursday said it would spend more than $773 million on expanding its manufacturing facilities and create 2,350 new jobs in its home state of Michigan as part of a plan to invest $6.2 billion and add 12,000 new positions by 2015.”
“OVER THE CLIFF WE GO!”

The above two quotations were copied from the internet this morning. The first is from USA Today. It was one of their lead stories and great news for the people of Michigan.

The second was from the extreme right wing propaganda webpage THE DRUDGE REPORT. While not as extreme, similar articles were in New York Times and Washington Post. Checking the Oklahoman and Chicago Tribune, it was not mentioned on the front page. In the Minneapolis paper and LA times was a small print headline on the lower half of the front page.

So how important is the “Fiscal Cliff”? I will reserve further comment until I make my economic analysis on December 31, 2012