What Caught My Eye Today - End of Days, Fiscal Cliff, Potpourri

End of Days - The U.S. government wrote a helpful blog post titled, "Scary Rumors About the World Ending in 2012 Are Just Rumors" (click here). Revelation #1: The US has a blog? Revelation #2: Seriously, is this the best we can do for blog post? The post on USA.gov says NASA scientists have received thousands of letters from people convinced that the world will end on December 21, based on a misunderstanding of the ancient Mayan calendar that's been promulgated in doomsday message boards online. "Misunderstanding"? That's exactly what you would expect from a non-believer. The end is coming! The end is coming! Run for your lives! If the the weak and infirm cannot keep up, leave them behind! Some people think a giant comet will strike Earth that day, others that we are about to collide with another planet. A NASA scientist said he's received several letters from young people contemplating suicide because they believe the apocalypse is coming. "The world will not end on December 21, 2012, or any day in 2012," the post says. Well now. If the government says the world is not going to end in 2012, that's good enough for me. I'm glad I didn't overreact or do anything rash. America is not alone in trying to placate nervous doomsayers. The Russian government has made similar assurances to its people that the end of the world is not nigh, and authorities in France are planning to block access to a southern mountain which believers think could serve as a mystical place of refuge on December 21. Did you notice how the U.S. government specifically limited its guarantee that the world won't end in 2012, but says nothing about 2013? It's like they know we at the edge of the precipice but won't say anything. I wonder what that might be. Perhaps this next item?

Fiscal Cliff - South Carolina Republican Senator. Jim DeMint slammed House Republican leaders for the fiscal cliff proposal they offered earlier this week. You've come to expect vehement disagreement across party lines, but rumblings of dissension within the ranks, especially a close-knit family such as the GOP--well, this is new.  "Speaker [John] Boehner's $800 billion tax hike will destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more, while not reducing our $16 trillion debt by a single penny.... Everyone knows that when you take money out of the economy, it destroys jobs, and everyone knows that when you give politicians more money, they spend it. This is why Republicans must oppose tax increases and insist on real spending reductions that shrink the size of government and allow Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money." I don't disagree that we shouldn't be spending money we don't have, but here's the thing, Senator. That money you claim politicians will spend with abandon, is mostly entitlements, that citizens have contributed to their whole lives and the right to expect to collect on, when the time comes. With a 10-year price tag of about $2.2 trillion, the Republican proposal would raise federal revenue by closing loopholes and capping deductions within the tax code and making changes to entitlement programs. Of course, the proposal doesn't specific which loopholes will close, but rather leaves that enviable task for Congress to figure out. Seems like we've been down that road once or twice before, and is why we find ourselves facing this fiscal cliff in the first place. The letter was signed by seven House leaders, including Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan. Democrats dismissed it quickly, calling for a bill that would increase taxes on households earning more than $250,000 per year and more federal spending on infrastructure, which were not included in the Republican plan. So there you have it. Don't sweat  the end of the world rumors surrounding December 21.  Pure poppy-gook. If you really want to lose some sleep, focus on January 1, 2013.

Potpourri

• Weight - American men are weighing in at an average of 196 pounds, 16 pounds heavier than in 1990. The average weight for women has increased by 14 pounds to 156 pounds over the same time span.   62% of Americans are estimated to be either overweight or obese. As a matter of curiosity, I checked out some online weight calculators to see how I stack up. I'm a 40 year old, 73 inch tall male of medium build which means my ideal weight is somewhere between 165 and 180 pounds. For once, being in the minority appears to be a good thing.
• Old Age - The four members of the Rolling Stones, who are recently launched their 50th anniversary concert tour, are now older on average than the nine members of the Supreme Court. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood have an average age of almost 69 years, while the Supreme Court justices' average age is 67 years. I imagine tour organizers have had to make some accommodations: Earlier start times (you don't want folks dozing off or missing the early bird special at Denny's), frequent intermissions (those bladders don't have the capacity that they used to), more portable defibrillators (no explanation needed). And that's just for the band. 
• State Governments - One political party now controls the state legislature of 47 states. Half of these legislatures have veto-proof super majorities, meaning that either Republicans or Democrats can pass legislation without any compromise. I'm of two minds on this one. On one hand, one might view this as  a desire by the electorate to eliminate gridlock in the state houses by entrusting the reigns of power to one party or the other in hopes that the party will do something positive. On the other hand, and on a slightly more pessimistic note, this could be indicative of the deepening political divisions across the country and reflective of how demographics are shifting to reflect how liberals and conservatives are starting to congregate in larger numbers.  Seeing as the end of the world may or may not be upon us, I'm going to go with the glass half full option.