Who Will Bet on Whom?

Illustration source: Ehow.com

    Yesterday, I poked fun at the Obama 2012 campaign's new slogan, "Betting on America."  At an Ohio stop on his new bus tour, the president said:

I was betting on the American worker and I was betting on American industry. 

And then this morning, the June jobs numbers were released.  The New York Times reports:

The economy added 80,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, after a revised increase of 77,000 in May. The unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent.  Economists are expecting similarly tepid job growth for the rest of the year.

    Considering that the United States has now had forty-one consecutive months of eight-percent-plus unemployment, more important than Barack Obama "betting on the American worker" is will the American worker be willing to bet on Barack Obama again in November?

The President Puts All His Cards on the Table

    On Thursday, President Obama launched his Betting on America bus tour.  It began in Ohio, and it represents the latest attempt to capture the imagination and enthusiasm of the President's supporters as the 2012 race kicks into high gear.  The BarackObama.com website has a new section dedicated to the new slogan and the bus tour that is introducing it.

Now here at Speak With Authority, we can for the first time reveal the original draft of the new slogan:

We think the campaign made a wise choice.

Science's Particles of Faith

    The news from Geneva:

To cheers and standing ovations, scientists at the world's biggest atom smasher claimed the discovery of a new subatomic particle Wednesday, calling it "consistent" with the long-sought Higgs boson - popularly known as the "God particle" - that helps explain what gives all matter in the universe size and shape.

So what exactly is the Higgs boson?

"We have now found the missing cornerstone of particle physics," Rolf Heuer, director of the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), told scientists.
He said the newly discovered subatomic particle is a boson, but he stopped just shy of claiming outright that it is the Higgs boson itself - an extremely fine distinction.
"As a layman, I think we did it," he told the elated crowd. "We have a discovery. We have observed a new particle that is consistent with a Higgs boson."
The Higgs boson, which until now has been a theoretical particle, is seen as the key to understanding why matter has mass, which combines with gravity to give an object weight. The idea is much like gravity and Isaac Newton's discovery of it: Gravity was there all the time before Newton explained it. But now scientists have seen something very much like the Higgs boson and can put that knowledge to further use.

Got that?  (By the way, this discovery has been made courtesy of the "CERN's atom smasher, the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider on the Swiss-French border.")  To further clarify, the article goes on:

Two independent teams at CERN said Wednesday they have both "observed" a new subatomic particle - a boson. Heuer called it "most probably a Higgs boson, but we have to find out what kind of Higgs boson it is. "
Asked whether the find is a discovery, Heuer answered, "As a layman, I think we have it. But as a scientist, I have to say, '"What do we have?'"

*   *   *   *   * 

"The" Higgs or "a" Higgs - that was the question Wednesday.
"It is consistent with a Higgs boson as is needed for the standard model," Heuer said. "We can only call it a Higgs boson - not the Higgs boson." 

*   *   *   *   *  

The stunning work elicited standing ovations and frequent applause at a packed auditorium in CERN as Gianotti and Incandela each took their turn.
Incandela called it "a Higgs-like particle" and said "we know it must be a boson and it's the heaviest boson ever found."
"Thanks, nature!" Gianotti said to laughs, giving thanks for the discovery.

*   *   *   *   *  

 Incandela said the last undiscovered piece of the standard model could be a variant of the Higgs that was predicted or something else that entirely changes the way scientists think about how matter is formed."This boson is a very profound thing we have found," he said. "We're reaching into the fabric of the universe in a way we never have done before. We've kind of completed one particle's story ... now, we're way out on the edge of exploration." 

The bottom line is this: Everything in nature is made up of really, really, really, really, really tiny thingies. If you thought cells were small, then look at molecules.  If you think they are small, look at atoms.  And if you think they are small, look at protons, neutrons and electrons.  They are SUPER small!  But that is not all, oh no, that is not all.  Now we've got bosons!  The "missing cornerstone of particle physics"!  And what are bosons made of, you ask?  Um... not there yet... but just wait!  And then we will really understand the universe.


    I am not anti-science.  Science has made many wonderful discoveries that have improved the lives of many on this planet.  But instead of allowing our discoveries to increase our wonder of God's creation, we worship the creature rather than the Creator.  Sir Isaac Newton of gravity fame once said, "In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God's existence."  But even as the discoveries of science increase, instead of joining Newton in his awe of God's handiwork, many scientists choose to stick that thumb in God's eye.

Justice Ginsburg's Federal Deference

    While reading through Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's concurrence on the recent ObamaCare ruling, I was struck by her willingness to attribute pure and unencumbered motives to the federal government while repeatedly all but accusing the states of whining and holding their collective breath (emphasis mine in following):

Far from trampling on States’ sovereignty, the ACA attempts a federal solution for the very reason that the States, acting separately, cannot meet the need. Notably, the ACA serves the general welfare of the people of the United States while retaining a prominent role for the States. (page 36) 

Although Congress “has no obligation to use its Spending Clause power to disburse funds to the States,” College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Ed. Expense Bd., 527 U. S. 666, 686 (1999), it has provided Medicaid grants notable for their generosity and flexibility. (page 45) 

That is what makes this such a simple case, and the Court’s decision so unsettling. Congress, aiming to assist the needy, has appropriated federal money to subsidize state health-insurance programs that meet federal standards.  (page 48)

THE CHIEF JUSTICE calls the ACA new, but in truth, it simply reaches more of America’s poor than Congress originally covered. Medicaid was created to enable States to provide medical assistance to “needy persons.” (page 48)

In short, given §1304, this Court’s construction of §1304’s language in Bowen, and the enlargement of Medicaid in the years since 1965,23 a State would be hard put to complain that it lacked fair notice when, in 2010, Congress altered Medicaid to embrace a larger portion of the Nation’s poor. (Page 56) 

For goodness sake, the federal government only wants to help!  These so-called sovereign states have got quite a bit of nerve even questioning the benevolence of their older (and much larger and stronger) cousin, much less filing suit.  As I noted before, and as Simon and Garfunkel once put it, the federal government only wants to help us learn to help ourselves.  You know, they'd "like to know a little bit about" us for their files.  That sort of thing.  Would that we all had Ginsburg's faith in government's benevolent nature.  On the other hand, not even the Founders had that, and they wrote the Constitution and established the Supreme Court to allow The People to protect themselves.  So how's that working out?

Defining Definitions

    For those who do not believe the definition of marriage matters comes this from Argentina:

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Argentina's president personally delivered the nation's first identity cards on Monday to people who legally switched their genders under a law that sets a global precedent.
President Cristina Fernandez said she's proud of setting a new global standard with the gender identity law, which overwhelmingly passed congress, enabling anyone to change their gender without first having to win approval from judges or doctors.
Argentina is showing the world that equality is just as important as liberty, she said.

Our country's Declaration of Independence famously declares, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..."  Now Argentina can't even affirm that all men are created men.  How will such a culture ever hold onto the definitions of "equality" and "liberty", the very concepts they purport to be championing?

Affording Something? Now That is a Luxury!

    Now that Congress and the White House have protected student loan recipients from the catastrophic 25¢ per day increase that was scheduled to hit July 1st, the president has perhaps realized that this savings might not quite be enough to bring college within the grasp of all Americans.  Although it is unclear what new initiatives the president has in mind, he wasted no time in drawing a clear distinction between his views on paying for higher education and those of Mitt Romney:

As HotAir likes to say from time to time, it's come to this: A candidate for president of the United States of America can be derided for opining that students should "get as much education as they can afford."  I am sure that Mitt Romney provided some context for this statement of his, but frankly, I didn't even look it up because what in the world is wrong with saying it even OUT of context?  Is "affording" something no longer a legitimate criterion?  Coming from a president who will have run four consecutive $1 trillion budget deficits, the answer is obviously no.

    But what of the president's statement: "Higher education cannot be a luxury reserved for the privileged few"?  What else does President Obama consider "not a luxury"?

• Space exploration - "And so, as President, I believe that space exploration is not a luxury, it’s not an afterthought in America’s quest for a brighter future -- it is an essential part of that quest."
• Workplace flexibility - "We must change our workplaces to meet the demands of a changing working environment as workplace flexibility is not a luxury, but a competitive imperative."
• Health care reform - "In 2009, health care reform is not a luxury. It's a necessity we cannot defer."
• And, of course, higher education - "Higher education cannot be a luxury.  Whether it’s a two-year program at a community college or a four-year program or a post-doctorate program, it is not a luxury.  It is an economic imperative."

What else will soon become "not a luxury"?  A house?  Surely a car is not a luxury - especially if it's electric.  Cell phone? Oops, sorry, I'm behind the times on that one.  We've come a long way from Benjamin Franklin's "a penny saved is a penny earned."  The question is, can we find our way back?

Safe Quarters

    One of my first blog posts to garner attention was "Nickel and Diming" (thanks to Powerline, who listed it as a "Pick" back in January - it's still #3 on my popular posts list.)  That post was a commentary on how the administration made such a huge deal out of cutting the federal deficit by $3 billion, the equivalent of the average American family cutting out one Starbucks latte per year.  Well, they are at it again with a twist, and this time, the Republicans are helping them out.  But this time, it's not the government saving pocket change.  It's student loan recipients.
    The administration has been harping on the Stafford student loan interest rate increase that was due to take effect July 1st.  They have encouraged students and others, via the campaign blog and Twitter, to tell Congress "don't double my rate."  Well, Congress obliged and Friday, legislation was passed to hold the rate at 3.4% instead of 6.8%.  But as I wrote on the 24th, this rate cut (if it is renewed in perpetuity, a likely scenario) will save the average Stafford student loan recipient a whopping 25¢ a day.  So all you students who needed that extra 15 minutes a day on the parking meter, you can breathe easy.  The federal government is looking out for you.