tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post115699930513556802..comments2024-03-28T12:42:22.578-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: The Task Ahead of UsDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157516851621564012006-09-05T21:27:00.000-07:002006-09-05T21:27:00.000-07:00Nate and DQ:Sorry, you guys were right. I mistake...Nate and DQ:<BR/><BR/>Sorry, you guys were right. I mistakenly conflated wages with income. Checking the <A HREF="http://www.bls.gov/" REL="nofollow">US Buereau of Labor Statistics</A> shows that average hourly wages (adjusted for inflation) peaked around 1973 at $9.00, fell to a low of $7.50 until the mid 90's, then started rising again to level off around $8.25 and apparently start dipping back down in the present. This is disturbing indeed.<BR/><BR/>I can't seem to get a direct link to the data table. Here is a <A HREF="http://www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cesbtab4.htm" REL="nofollow">link</A> to the statistics start page for average houly wages. Click the second check box marked: "Constant (1982) dollars" and then click the "Retrieve Data" button at the bottom.Big Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02475844932543383723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157484058989644922006-09-05T12:20:00.000-07:002006-09-05T12:20:00.000-07:00The biggest problem with comparing the data is the...The biggest problem with comparing the data is they're measuring different things. The numbers I was referring to are per WORKER. The census data is per FAMILY. It's possible for per family totals to go up while per worker income goes down. Simply have more people in the family work. Which is what we have now. A lot of families have both parents working. Even if both parents are working and making less than their same jobs would have in 1970, the two of them combined can be making more.<BR/><BR/>Which is often the case. Both parents are working because neither can make enough to support their family on their own. Which means more expenses such as childcare and transportation, and less time with families, and less vacation time, and all sorts of other things. So saying "Median family income" has gone up doesn't address median worker income at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157470290960828862006-09-05T08:31:00.000-07:002006-09-05T08:31:00.000-07:00The US GNP has gone up tremendously in the past th...<I>The US GNP has gone up tremendously in the past thirty years, but adjusted for inflation, most workers wages haven't"<BR/><BR/>That's just flat out wrong. The poorest 5th, from the same source quoted above, have seen their inflation adjusted income increase by about one third.</I><BR/><BR/>inflation adjusted income does not equal wages.<BR/><BR/>If I work at minimum wage 40 hours a week and I icrease my working hours to 60, my inflation adjusted income will have increased 30 % by my wages will not have changed!<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_05/008898.php" REL="nofollow">Washington Monthly</A><BR/>take a good look at the Data Underlying the Graph.Don Quijotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355584994080980478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157464797551188972006-09-05T06:59:00.000-07:002006-09-05T06:59:00.000-07:00Two big things that need some deep thinking w.r.t....Two big things that need some deep thinking w.r.t. the income disparity:<BR/><BR/>1) A serious rework on the ideas of "free trade." It is impossible to compete with slave or near-slave labor. Okay, yes, the cost of living is lower abroad (due to less developed capital), but the workers of the world are also increasing held hostage by global capital. An interesting experiment on the benefits on "free trade" is the NAFTA agreement. Deletrious effects resulted on both the Mexican and American sides (Mexican farmers driven over the border to become migrants and US factories closed).<BR/><BR/>2) A revamp of the union system. I'm not sure what the best solution there is - liberal or libertarian. In light of the fact that the legal apparatus supporting unions (as in the National Labor Relations Board) has been completely captured by the feudalists, I'm wondering if there is a good extra-legal mechanism for preventing companies from taking illegal actions against those that attempt to organize (other than leaving horseheads in owner's beds).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157462998478054302006-09-05T06:29:00.000-07:002006-09-05T06:29:00.000-07:00@Don Quijote"Want to link to those stats?"As Tom s...@Don Quijote<BR/><I>"Want to link to those stats?"</I><BR/><BR/>As Tom said, it's from the same source monkyboy linked to above from the US Census Bureau, but on a different page. Here's a direct link:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/f03.html" REL="nofollow">US Census Family Income Data</A><BR/><BR/>The second table on that page shows mean income for each fifth of total US families adjusted for inflation in 2001 dollars. From 1966 to 2001, the bottom fifth's income went from $10,854 to $14,021 which is about a 29% increase, or a bit less than a third, as Tom said. As Tom also noted, the other four fifths have had their incomes rise in significantly greater proportion:<BR/><BR/>Second-poorest fifth: 37% increase<BR/>Middle fifth: 49% increase<BR/>Second-richest fifth: 66% increase<BR/>Top fifth: 103% increase<BR/>Top 5%: 132% increase<BR/><BR/>So, yes the wealth disparity is getting much bigger, and that is a problem. But, all income groups do continue to rise.Big Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02475844932543383723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157459928894895382006-09-05T05:38:00.000-07:002006-09-05T05:38:00.000-07:00TODAY’S PIG IS TOMORROW’S BACON (a Labor Day recip...<A HREF="http://www.gregpalast.com/todays-pig-is-tomorrows-bacon-a-labor-day-recipe#more-1484" REL="nofollow">TODAY’S PIG IS TOMORROW’S BACON (a Labor Day recipe)</A><BR/><BR/><B><BR/>And this week, the government made it official: For the first time since the Labor Department began measuring how the American pie is sliced, those in the top fifth of the wealth scale are now gobbling up over half (50.4%) of our nation’s annual income.<BR/></B><BR/><BR/>Looks like a beautiful Diamond!<BR/><BR/><BR/><I><BR/>That's just flat out wrong. The poorest 5th, from the same source quoted above, have seen their inflation adjusted income increase by about one third. It's just that higher income groups have seen their incomes increase even more. That shouldn't really surprise anyone, I don't think.</I><BR/><BR/>Want to link to those stats?Don Quijotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355584994080980478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157434609618272082006-09-04T22:36:00.000-07:002006-09-04T22:36:00.000-07:00"The US GNP has gone up tremendously in the past t..."The US GNP has gone up tremendously in the past thirty years, but adjusted for inflation, most workers wages haven't"<BR/><BR/>That's just flat out wrong. The poorest 5th, from the same source quoted above, have seen their inflation adjusted income increase by about one third. It's just that higher income groups have seen their incomes increase even more. That shouldn't really surprise anyone, I don't think.Tom Craverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13570100578983177926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157342885053425342006-09-03T21:08:00.000-07:002006-09-03T21:08:00.000-07:00On the whole cost of living thing, Kevin Drum blog...On the whole cost of living thing, <A HREF="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_08/009275.php" REL="nofollow">Kevin Drum</A> blogged about it a while back, and brought up Cost of Living Increases as a potential place for some blame. Because people get their cost of living increase, and are happy because they're getting "more money" but the whole point of the COLA is they're getting the same amount of money thanks to inflation. But it looks like a raise, even if it's effectively not.<BR/><BR/>It's possible, but the overall decline of labor unions and the stacking of the deck by the Republicans (and increasingly, sadly the Democrats) towart the ultra-rich and not the rest of us.<BR/><BR/>The US GNP has gone up tremendously in the past thirty years, but adjusted for inflation, most workers wages haven't. So where has all the money gone? To the super-incredibly-rich. And while US households may be better off, it's because more and more families have both people working, which has a whole host of costs that capitalism is crap at evaluating.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157321775032473942006-09-03T15:16:00.000-07:002006-09-03T15:16:00.000-07:00I don't know if it's realistic to ask Republicans ...I don't know if it's realistic to ask Republicans to help his/her party lose power in Congress. <BR/><BR/>About the best you might hope for is that true conservatives might internally rebel against the NeoCons - nominate candidates who are strongly pro-Republican, but at the same time critical of and un-cooperative with the Administration. Maybe at best they might consider an occasional "protest vote" for a moderate-conservative Libertarian candidate.Tom Craverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13570100578983177926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157315854583602102006-09-03T13:37:00.000-07:002006-09-03T13:37:00.000-07:00Got this reply to my latest comment in fringe-rig...Got this reply to my latest comment in fringe-right land today:<BR/><BR/>Monkyboy: Aren't you the asswipe who's always stinking up Totten's comments? Fuck off and stop breathing the air.<BR/><BR/>Posted by ahem at September 3, 2006 08:54 AM <BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/ogasd<BR/><BR/>We are actually on the same side...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157307422959789752006-09-03T11:17:00.000-07:002006-09-03T11:17:00.000-07:00On the themes of "October Surprise":No. 2 al-Qaida...On the themes of "October Surprise":<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060903/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_060903151511" REL="nofollow">No. 2 al-Qaida leader in Iraq arrested</A> - Associated Press, via Yahoo NewsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157299169065082782006-09-03T08:59:00.000-07:002006-09-03T08:59:00.000-07:00I apologize, Dr. Brin. It would appear that you w...I apologize, Dr. Brin. It would appear that you were right. I mean, I went to all the trouble of typing out what I believe to be your basic argument here (an argument with which I agree, by the way), in the most cogent and coherent fashion possible after midnight, and here I see Monkyboy proceeding as if nothing had been said.<BR/><BR/>>sigh<<BR/><BR/>Perhaps one day, I shall learn my lesson, and stop trying to educate those who don't <I>want</I> to be educated...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157277520854152432006-09-03T02:58:00.000-07:002006-09-03T02:58:00.000-07:00P.T.,Here's a table of American income distributio...P.T.,<BR/><BR/>Here's a table of American income distribution that covers the 35 years <I>before</I> the neocons took over:<BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/pt4fz<BR/><BR/>As you can see...we've been moving back towards feudalism since around 1977.<BR/><BR/>Hate the game, not the playas...<BR/><BR/><B>George Taylor:</B><I>Does man, that marvel of the universe, that glorious paradox who sent me to the stars, still make war against his brother? Keep his neighbor's children starving? </I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157272387148851042006-09-03T01:33:00.000-07:002006-09-03T01:33:00.000-07:00Jonathan, please don't bother.People who behave ab...Jonathan, please don't bother.<BR/><BR/>People who behave abysmally - then sanctimoniously... can be counted on to then cry victimhood when they are called on it.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157272046732535222006-09-03T01:27:00.000-07:002006-09-03T01:27:00.000-07:00Regarding the "October Surprise" scenario, check t...Regarding the "October Surprise" scenario, check this out:<BR/><BR/>Keith Olberman's "<A HREF="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6619753987505107802&q=Keith+Olbermann&hl=en" REL="nofollow">The Nexus of Politics and Terror</A>", a video documenting the correspondance of bad news for the Bushies with loudly announced "terror threats" and hikes in the goofy color-code Terror-O-Meter alert level.<BR/><BR/>As far as I know, Jose Padilla is the only person actually arrested in 11 cases documented on the video. It seems fairly obvious the neocons (or should we call them "paleocons" because they want to restore feudalism?) are more than willing to use the threat of terrorism to gain political advantage.Kevin Cradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12787158621008691349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157270520223156412006-09-03T01:02:00.000-07:002006-09-03T01:02:00.000-07:00I feel like Charlton Heston on trial in Planet of ...I feel like Charlton Heston on trial in <I>Planet of the Apes</I> here.<BR/><BR/>1. I say I don't understand Dr. Brin's posts and ask him to explain his position in a more succinct way.<BR/><BR/>2. He replys with yet another cryptic, verbose post and asks me to paraphrase it.<BR/><BR/>3. I try my best to paraphrase what I <I>think</I> he's saying.<BR/><BR/>4. He calls it a "strawman" argument and posts yet another <I>ad hominem</I> attack against me instead of giving me a straight answer.<BR/><BR/>Dr. Zaius: <I>Have you forgotten your scripture, the thirteenth scroll? "And Proteus brought the upright beast into the garden and chained him to a tree and the children did make sport of him."</I> <BR/><BR/>sigh...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157270366032516522006-09-03T00:59:00.000-07:002006-09-03T00:59:00.000-07:00Awright, I'm going to take a crack at this. Fools...Awright, I'm going to take a crack at this. Fools rush in, and all...<BR/><BR/>Monkyboy, I think you're confusing "wealth" and "power". The two are not equivalent. True, the powerful generally have money as a side effect of their power, but there are those with considerable power in this world who are content with that, and take a pass on great wealth, and others who are wealthy, but wield no power whatsoever (Paris Hilton springs to mind as an example).<BR/><BR/>Bill Gates has reached his net worth by the simple trick of building a better mousetrap. (Also by dint of the fact that Steve Jobs shot himself in the foot, early on, by making almost everything to do with Apple Computers proprietary - so when prices on PC-related gear began dropping, Apple was unable to follow suit with their technically superior Mac family, as they had to pay for all that in-house development.) You want to tear him down? It can be accomplished by one of two means - build a better product than he does, at a comparable price (and Linux, as it improves in functionality, is gaining ground fast), or catch him doing something illegal. In our (so far non-feudal) system, even the World's Richest Man can be called to account by a poorly-paid public servant with a warrant and a badge.<BR/><BR/>If money equaled power in such a simplistic fashion, would Michael Jackson have been forced to pull a Polanski and flee the country?<BR/><BR/>The elites that Dr Brin rails againt do not simply seek to rob you of money - <I>they seek to rob you of even the least control over their actions.</I> One of the beauties of the American system of government has always been that the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of that governemnt have always acted to keep one another in check - even during the depths of the Nixon administration, it was possible for the Vice-President to be indicted for tax evasion, and when the man himself resigned, it was becaue Congress was on the verge of actually starting impeachment proceedings.<BR/><BR/>Under the current administration, though, the three branches have been packed to a degree that even FDR could only dream. I mean, this VP got away with <I>shooting</I> someone! And can you see anyone in Congress having the courage to start proceedings of any sort against Bush, even though he has already clearly violated his oath of office at least twice (declaring war without Congressional approval, and keeping political prisoners on what is legally American soil [a military installation overseas, like Guantanamo, is legally defined as American soil - there was a pretty big stink about that after the Marine barracks in Lebanon got bombed, back in the '80s...])?<BR/><BR/>No, BushCo are clearly working toward a New Feudalism, one in which their words as Lords and Masters can go safely unchallenged by mere serfs like us.<BR/><BR/>I think Dr Brin believed he had made this point clearly enough on other occasions, anough so that he may have mistaken your confusion for deliberate obfuscation...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157264569720426712006-09-02T23:22:00.000-07:002006-09-02T23:22:00.000-07:00Hey Monkey Boy will you please not annoy Dr.Brin. ...Hey Monkey Boy will you please not annoy Dr.Brin. I happen to enjoy this blog and if you keep posting these caricatures of what he believes he will just go back to highly profitable work of writing books and we will all have to wait for months. I have seen this happen on other blogs and I don’t want to see it here. <BR/><BR/>If you really want to make a difference call the Governator in California on monday and ask him not to veto SB840 the universal health care bill. 916-445-2841Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157261452578421822006-09-02T22:30:00.000-07:002006-09-02T22:30:00.000-07:00I wasn't going to reply to M. But I just want to ...I wasn't going to reply to M. But I just want to know from the peanut gallery if I was fair. Frankly, I do not enjoy being strawman'd. Nor do I feel it necessary to reply to someone who accuses me of beliefs dialetrically opposite of those expressed here regularly.<BR/><BR/>What's hilarious, above all is the absolutist lack of self-doubt. When a decent person is accused of misrepresenting the other, he contemplates at least the possibility of error. This possibility never occurs to M.<BR/><BR/>Hence, alas, he perfectly illustrates the immaturity we must work beyond. I am done. This time fer sher.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157261074973920162006-09-02T22:24:00.000-07:002006-09-02T22:24:00.000-07:00The more I watch Bill Gates and the corporate cult...The more I watch Bill Gates and the corporate culture he founded the more I conclude that he's not out to be a feudalist lord.<BR/><BR/>Rather, he's this geek computer programmer with a fierce competitive streak and a knack for hiring motivated people. He employs tens of thousands *like him*. In each of their specialties (marketing, sales, engineering, etc etc) they're blinders-on focused on their stuff. <BR/><BR/>In that context it's *they* who are blinkered, utterly surprised and generally not paying much attention to the power potential of the vast fortunes. <BR/><BR/>Microsoft could do *so much more damage* to the world than what it did by stumbling about with bright ideas and the willingness to appropriate them. Consider that. <BR/><BR/>"their kids will start with less than a billion each". Heh. David, as a guy who would be satiated with 0.4% of that, it doesn't sound like much of a sacrifice...Rob Perkinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13115249244056328076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157256347686520492006-09-02T21:05:00.000-07:002006-09-02T21:05:00.000-07:00Dr. Brin,You disappoint me.I spend time posting at...Dr. Brin,<BR/><BR/>You disappoint me.<BR/><BR/>I spend time posting at a lot of fringe right, pro-Bush, pro-feudlism sites...google "monkyboy" and "Bushie" to see some of my posts.<BR/><BR/>I find your style of debate no different than that of the people who run those hate-filled sites:<BR/><BR/>1. Post vague, accusatory posts warning people about "them."<BR/><BR/>2. Call anyone who questions the logic of the posts a "librul" or an idiot.<BR/><BR/>sighAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157248830614576592006-09-02T19:00:00.000-07:002006-09-02T19:00:00.000-07:00I am done. You have a strawman you are talking to...I am done. You have a strawman you are talking to. It bears zero relationship to anything that I have ever said. Indeed, it is diametrically opposite.<BR/><BR/>You seem quite smug and happy about that. I invite others to look upon you as an excellent example of the problem.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157243370667288342006-09-02T17:29:00.000-07:002006-09-02T17:29:00.000-07:00Hehe,I don't think it matters much to plantation s...Hehe,<BR/><BR/>I don't think it matters much to plantation slaves if the overseer is "enlightened" or not...<I>you seem to think it does.</I><BR/><BR/>And I can't believe you are holding up guys like Bill Gates as "free market" defenders...he's personally made more through anti-free market practices than all the crooked government officials throughout American history have made.<BR/><BR/>I guess when two "rational" people disagree about something, it is because either:<BR/><BR/>1. They are looking at different data.<BR/><BR/>2. They are looking at the same data, but drawing different conclusions.<BR/><BR/>Do you think the American economy is becoming more "pyramid shaped?"<BR/><BR/>All the data I have seen indicates it is....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157241898452368412006-09-02T17:04:00.000-07:002006-09-02T17:04:00.000-07:00Argh sigh!!!Look, I have said repeatedly that the ...Argh sigh!!!<BR/><BR/>Look, I have said repeatedly that the Inheritance Tax is the fairest of all and that a decent society has to be very wary of undue welath disparities. Feudalism is FAR more than you describe. It is the natural human system, in which a few atop a pyramid of privilege lord over masses below. If you have not read such things from me TEN THOUSAND times then you've not paid attention in the slightest.<BR/><BR/>Alas, the dogmatic left (that amorphous mass) sees this problem and prescibes IDIOTIC solutions. "Levelling" or else hatred of entrepeneurial capitalism and markets. Forgetting entirely that liberalism began with Adam Smith!<BR/><BR/>Human beings are inherently:<BR/><BR/>competitive<BR/>arttistic<BR/>delusional<BR/>creative<BR/>willing to cheat<BR/>willing to cooperate<BR/><BR/>What's needed is systems that can harness the best out of these drives and limit potential to do the worst. If you do not by now understand the miracle of Reciprocal Accountability, then why are you still here?<BR/><BR/>Dig it. Communism and non-Scandinavian state socialism DO NOT DELIVER reciprocal accountability. Never have. Never will. They just drive competition and delusion into other areas. <BR/><BR/>Castro is not as hated in Cuba as our right wants to believe, because, unlike other commies, he seems to have been sincere in his levelling efforts. But Cuba is a shabby, nowhere land, because his experiment utterly failed to do anything OTHER than level the classes. <BR/><BR/>THERE IS NOTHING 'FEUDAL' ABOUT CREATIVE PEOPLE COMPETING TO DELIVER GOODS AND SERVICES AND GETTING FANTASTICALLY RICH THAT WAY!<BR/><BR/>True, they need to be prevented from becoming new lords, always. But the ones who got rich that way generally aren't INTERESTED in becoming feudal lords! Buffett, Gates etc may be fierce competitors, but their kids will all start out with less than a billion each. That's self restraint.<BR/><BR/>The other side of the aristocracy are far more than govt contract cheaters. They want the whole shape of power to change and for reciprocal accountability to end. By coincidence, they represent the side of the rich who mostly did NOT get wealthy by delivering better goods and services.<BR/><BR/>These are the guys Adam SMith despised. (How strange that I hate em FAR more than you do. Because I know their etiology is far more than "capitalist greed.")<BR/><BR/>Again, markets are not the enemy. Nor are soldiers. In fact, our openly stated priority should be to SAVE markets... and our soldiers... from these jerks.<BR/><BR/>You may disagree with my call to liberals (not lefties) to embrace Adam Smith as an icon. Citokate. But first, do you even remotely UNDERSTAND WHY I am making that call? Can you paraphrase my reasons? <BR/><BR/>Urrrrgh... sorry, I got intense just now. My aim is not to drive off guys like you... of poor romantic Nicq, a week ago. This is not a homogeneous cheering section. Stay and poke. I love it.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1157239292281523762006-09-02T16:21:00.000-07:002006-09-02T16:21:00.000-07:00Dr. Brin,I'm not trying to do a "gotcha" here.I'm ...Dr. Brin,<BR/><BR/>I'm not trying to do a "gotcha" here.<BR/><BR/>I'm just saying I don't understand what you are saying.<BR/><BR/>Could you please explain, in a few short, simple sentences, what exactly you are advocating?<BR/><BR/>Sure Bush, Cheney, Rummy and Co. are crooks..but at best, they may be getting away with a few billion a year...hardly that much in a $13 trillion a year economy.<BR/><BR/>I see feudalism as an economy where a few elites have huge incomes, a few of their helpers make a decent living, and everyone else lives in poverty. <BR/><BR/>That is the kind of economy America is moving towards.<BR/><BR/>Do you agree?<BR/><BR/>If so, what, if anything, do you think we should do about it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com