That’s simply hogwash. Most of the cab drivers and others in not-so-well-paying service industries I speak with are taking classes in skilled industries, such as electronics and technology, and they, too, in a couple years, will jump into the next bracket.

Unfortunately, since the median rarely shifts (roughly the same number of people remain in this group year over year, and  despite the shifting into and out of it), most people don’t read into the numbers, and regular people assume that the poor always will remain poor. This article disproves this theory as stating that people are always moving into and out of this medium.

Moreover, could you honestly imagine the “dream” of Hillary to make everyone earn the same through income redistribution? For Pete’s sake, there would be no incentives! Who would want to work when your better ideas or harder work produce the same salary as a fry cook?

We all have our place in life. Courage and intelligence prompt more gifted people to work even harder and make the world just that much better (including themselves and their families). It’s capitalism at work. The hardest working shall be rewarded more than those who don’t produce as much. The person with the most new and exciting idea will reap the benefits of being there first. Investors who place money at risk should pay little, if any, taxes on the capital gains they receive. The easiest way to grow this process and make it fair for everyone is to allow these incentives to remain.

I welcome thoughts and opinions on this topic and the editorial.

[video]http://www.stevefischer.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/perfection-RC.wmv[/video]

Now, hear me out, readers:

The area adjacent to my house happens to be subsidized housing. Invariably, every so often garbage blows over a couple blocks and lands on our doorstep (shocker). Typically, it’s something mundane, like a Snicker’s wrapper, or an empty bag of Funyuns. Not today, though. Today, Kim and I located a bag of Rap Snacks(tm) brand (I swear I am not making this up) Bar-b-quin’ with my Honey Flavored Chips. Note the adjacent scan I made of the bag, and help me perform some analysis of the marketing…More after the Jump.

 According to Wikipedia: Rap Snacks are a variety of potato chips and popcorn that feature famous rappers. They are generally sold in convenience stores, particularly in inner-city areas. They are advertised as “The Official Snack of Hip Hop.”

Steve’s comment: Follow me down the list of these quotes by rappers…

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did anybody catch an outlier on these quotes? Most of the quotes are both informative and motivational. Who would have thought that Yung Joc agrees that “Reading is fundamental?” Why, though, are the YoungBloodz just out to “Get Crunk!” Kind of demotivator to the rest, if you ask me. Don’t you agree? This one “crunk” marketing stunt brings down the rest as quickly as a tenth-grade pothead.

Now, for comments about the packaging…

1. Famous Rapper Lil’ Romeo clearly provides his endorsement, but what about his “Honey”? Does she also endorse these chips?
2. Given the tragic graduation rates of many youths in the adjacent projects, I admire the “Stay in School” banner along the center of the bag. However, shouldn’t we teach proper grammar as well? Clearly, “Bar-b-quin’” should be listed as “barbecuing”. The Phonetic spelling could be admissible with a proper disclaimer of the spelling of the verb usage for the word “barbecue.”
3. Does USC know that Lil’ Romeo is (presumably) putting this junk food in his body before a challenging NCAA basketball season?

Noodle this one though, fellow readers. I am still scratching my head.

The Tube has been taken off the air, forever.

More after the jump.

The Tube was founded in 2005 as a vision of what Old-School MTV was: only videos, all the time. This vision was truly realized: the videos were comprised of fifty years of music. Every night we tuned in was a truly pleasurable experience. We watched for hours at a time, reminiscing about bands and songs, testing each other’s knowledge, and looking to the future of the industry. No more.

Sadly, we will be subjected to more of the same vapid, mindless programming you would see on MTV or VH1. Despite the quality you see on VH1 classic, it doesn’t possess the sheer breadth of music programming The Tube once did.

Wikipedia entry is here. Their website is here.

Sigh.

So, I decided to join Facebook at the suggestion of my favorite ex-roommate, and frequent commenter on my site, Pat Ring. In less than three days, I have…

• Made 34 Friends
• Endured 12 wall posts
• Superpoked my wife twice
• Uploaded dozens of photos, many of them showing off my impressive cleft chin.
• Joined 19 groups, my favorites so far:  I don’t care how fast Heelys go, you look like a dumbass., MySpace Is For Poor People,   I judge you when you misuse: it’s/its, they’re/their/there, then/than

Yes, this is a killer waste of time, and a lot of fun to catch up with people instantaneously. It could very well be that this is how we will communicate in the future! After all, it’s instantaeous, centrally maintained, and open-ended.

Later, peeps.