Russell Shaw's Brainstorm Central

Now Here Is The Proof: Fearful People Skew Conservative

I always knew political conservatives were judgmental and intolerant of ambiguity. Now, here are some reasons why.

Of course the study was done at UC-Berkeley, a "left-wing" campus. Just wait until the conservative talk show hosts get a hold of this one!!

My Guess On Saddam's Fate

You read it here first.

I believe that sometime in the forthcoming days or the next few weeks, we will find Saddam ...dead by his own hand. No way he is letting the Americans capture him and put him on trial. He will be in a room with dead accomplices, leaving the mystery to history about whether he was killed, or took his own life.

Outsource This !!!


The flight of technology-centered customer service jobs from the United States to India may be saving the technology giants money, but it is crippling our economy. The government should step in and do something about this trend.

This would never get through Congress, but I would like to see some sort of "social impact" tax on corporations that persist in this practice. Here is how it would work. Figure out what percentage of federal income taxes go for unemployment, retraining subsidies, and other entitlements likely to be accessed by people who are out of the workforce, but are looking for work. For the sake of argument, let us call that number 2 percent. Then, calculate the average per-worker differential between what these companies had paid their American workers who have been laid off, and what they are paying their Indian subcontractor. Let's just say the differential is $30,000: -- $40,000 for each U.S. worker, $10,000 paid per head to Indian subcontractor.

Then, using the tax tables, tax the American companies who engage in this practice 2 percent of the taxable amount of the differential. This "social impact tax" would be assessed for the first calendar year after the U.S.-based employee would be furloughed. On the tax table, the $30,000 differential would be $3750, and two percent of that would be $75.

I am sending this idea to Dennis Kucinich.

A Bird In Hand


Hey, I wonder how the Internet filters installed at public libraries will treat this article about the urban European songbird, Parsus Major. The common tern for this bird is -- I am not making this up -- is "great tit." I can guarantee you that newspeople being the way they are, and I am in that number, more than a few guffaws were uttered when the story I have just linked to crossed the wire.

Oh, did you also hear the true story that some Internet library filters in Washington State are blocking access to articles and reference materials that contain the name of the central Washington town, Toppenish?

For Immediate Releash


What kind of sicko poisons innocent dogs?

Thus far, eight dogs have died. But I have to admit, after seeing one of the owners on tv the other day, she's a babe.

"Oh My God, I Let Him &&%% Me" !!!!

Kobe Bryant got indicted for sexual assault today.

OK, here's my take on it.

If she were older and more wordly wise, she could have pulled the seduce now, yell "rape" later as some sort of an extortion. But I don't see that happening here. The following scenario is much more likely:

So here you have this girl from a ski town in rural Colorado, 19 years old, reasonably good reputation (which, of course, Kobe's attys will do their best to trash) seduced in her home town and after hours, after workplace, by an NBA star...who knows what substances or potables might have been involved.

After the act, externalizes the "oh my God, what have I done..." guilt into a "he raped me." In other words, she might not have been equipped to come to grips with the fact that she was seducible, that she could be seduced. Kind of a "that wasn't me." After all, we are not talking about some skier she chatted up after hours, but with one of the most famous athletes in the nation, so we may be talking the fear factor, too.

And that's not even taking race into account. I mean, it should bear no relevance to any voluntary act that goes on between a man or a woman, but if you grow up in a ski town, you know, your social experiences might not be so heretogenous, so that could be part of the guilt here.

"That's just my opinion, I could be wrong..." Dennis Miller, and Russell Shaw

Opera Wins, Free

I love Opera. Best browser out there. Even the free version. Fast and sleek. It's not over until the fat browser (i.e., IE) crashes.

Hey, Gephardt

I think that in terms of strategy and appeal, Gephardt is so, "1957." He seems to be totally dependent on union support. Unions are 15% of the workforce, and can only tilt the ballot in a handful of states.

The sooner Gephardt realizes this is not a lunch bucket culture, but a 401 (k) one, he will be better off.

I Don't Recall

Recall Gray Davis? It's not my state, or state of mind. Much of the California woes are directly traceable to billions gouged out of the taxpayers by greedy deregulated GOP-friendly energy companies faking shortages and rigging the market. In 2001, Gray pleaded with the FERC for energy price caps, for something... but was brushed aside. As a result, rates spiked something awful, depressing the economy by causing layoffs and plant closures at companies already on a tightrope because of other economic factors. And when people are out of work, or find their electric bills raised by $150 a month, that's $150 a month less than they will pay for goods and services. The tax base goes down, the need for social services goes up. It would help if Gray were less, well "gray," if he was a combative type rather than one being driven by focus groups. What California needs is a populist, not a poll-taker. Jerry Brown or Tom Hayden.

Ashcroft Shows No Mercy

Ashcroft is in town today meeting with local federal attys about strategies to block our medical marijuana and assisted suicide. So here we have an Administration who wants to curtail use of medical marijuana for sick patients, the last bit of dignity for terminal patients, and looks the other way when he cost of "legal" pain medications and palliative surgeries go thru the roof. What this has to do with mercy, or with God, for that matter, I haven't the slightest.

Savaged Notion

You got what you deserved, Michael Savage.

Chewing The Fat

So now we hear that Kraft will drop a gram or two of fat content from their larded-up snacks. As if ramping down from 10 grams of fat to 8 grams of fat per serving will stem the fat epidemic.

I have to believe pleasing their lawyers by heading off lawsuits is the key reason.

But it is important to note that Kraft is part of Altria, formerly known as Philip Morris.

And the Philip Morris tobacco operation has marketed and continues to offer, products that have assisted in a Holocaust on the human race.