Hmm... Maybe I will include a "senator" parameter in my portfolio optimization models

Define function = Hog as DoubleVariable 'Stick face' as LONGVariable 'in trough' as LONGVariable 'gravy suck'Variable 'ing" as *Extension*Variable 'Pig' as LongDefine function 'barrier to entry'Define function 'threat to enterprise'Define function 'force of law' = 'force of arms' = 'economic rent' = 'budget maximizing' = 'Weberian beauracracy'Define function 'PO Box'Define variable 'bribe' as integerInput variable x into bribebribe = bribe + xRun = SenateIf Input =' Senate' or 'Congressman'RunIf variable = anyfunction output 'The abuse of power comes as no surprise.'Repeat = historyNot Marx End FunctionEnd Run

As an outsider living in the US (but one who is quite familiar with UK politics and government), it really does seem that you guys here are trying your damndest to recreate an aristocracy and a hereditary monarchy. Given the egalitarian and meritocratic principles that people here seem to hold dear, this does seem rather strange.It's also strange, given the importance that going to the right school has here, that preference seems to be so clearly given to students whose parents and grandparents attended the same institutuion. If you loko at the advantage that attending Yale seems to have on your chances of being president or vice president in recent years, it hardly seems in keeping with equal opportunities to prefer people whose parents have already had the advantage themselves.As I said, though, I'm just an outsider, so what would I know?

QuoteOriginally posted by: ppaupermy comment: wow ! 28.6 per cent ! can these guys ever add value.The strong form of the efficient market hypothesis tells us that even inside information should be priced into the stock price.I guess these guys' returns suggest otherwise !Presumably the creator of the news, especially in a case like this, would not be subject to EMH. On the other hand, there is no such thing as a Washington secret...

A wise man once said that investment in politicians has a higher rate of return than anything else.

My personal favorite was the Senator who drafted a bill a few years back attemptimg to get the mint to use Aluminum of all things in our currency. It turned out he had a +10 million dollar holding of Alcoa stock. Unbelievable.

QuoteOriginally posted by: opmtraderMy personal favorite was the Senator who drafted a bill a few years back attemptimg to get the mint to use Aluminum of all things in our currency. It turned out he had a +10 million dollar holding of Alcoa stock. Unbelievable.Hehe... that's hilarious. Nothing surprises me anymore... some of these Senators are so brazen and don't even care what people around them think. BTW, do Italians still have aluminum coins? I remember they had aluminum coins long time ago...

Mmmm in case nobody noticed Italians use nowadays Euros not liras anymore.... Which by the way, depending on the value of the coin, are made of steel, copper, aluminium, zinc, tin and nickel.

QuoteOriginally posted by: NorthernJohnAs an outsider living in the US (but one who is quite familiar with UK politics and government), it really does seem that you guys here are trying your damndest to recreate an aristocracy and a hereditary monarchy. Given the egalitarian and meritocratic principles that people here seem to hold dear, this does seem rather strange.Especially considering that the impetus for the fouding of the country was to get rid of hereditary rule by people called George.

As an outsider living in the US (but one who is quite familiar with UK politics and government), it really does seem that you guys here are trying your damndest to recreate an aristocracy and a hereditary monarchy. Given the egalitarian and meritocratic principles that people here seem to hold dear, this does seem rather strange.Read DeTocqueville. America has been strange since its inception. Examples abound. While the fate of the US is more tightly bound to the productivity of its human capital, it is likewise often quite anti-intellectual. Its an odd place, full of contradictions, and the worst of nations, except for all the others... Matt.

QuoteOriginally posted by: matthewcrobertsAs an outsider living in the US (but one who is quite familiar with UK politics and government), it really does seem that you guys here are trying your damndest to recreate an aristocracy and a hereditary monarchy. Given the egalitarian and meritocratic principles that people here seem to hold dear, this does seem rather strange.Read DeTocqueville. America has been strange since its inception. Examples abound. While the fate of the US is more tightly bound to the productivity of its human capital, it is likewise often quite anti-intellectual. Its an odd place, full of contradictions, and the worst of nations, except for all the others... Matt.Personally, I'd disagree strongly with the last statement. I feel here that I have so many fewer freedoms than I enjoy at home. No matter how much US citizens claim to the the "most free", it simply is not true. And repeating (even chanting) it, simply does not make it so.I'm afraid that offsetting the very friendly nature, and general acceptance for others, this is a nation obsessed with petty rules, that most everyone seems happy to follow without question. The purpose of the rules seems to have long been forgotten, but adherence is mandatory. Asking "why" is met with a blank look, and an "It's the law" response. Questioning is all too often met with a "Well, you can either love it or leave it".I do like it here, a lot, but I feel stifled, coralled, observed, suspected, and distrusted everywhere I go.Americans having pride in their country is a good thing. Them being blind to its faults is not. Statements like "worst of nations, except for all the others", I feel, falls into the second camp.

Petty rules like what? Stopping at crosswalks? Not being able to stone your daughter to death? Not being able to steal intellectual property; a rule that few people follow anyway?

QuoteOriginally posted by: BeavisPetty rules like what? Stopping at crosswalks? Not being able to stone your daughter to death? Not being able to steal intellectual property; a rule that few people follow anyway?Not drinking in the park, not smoking in a bar, not sitting in a mall, not using the beach after dark, not carrying liquor without having it in a bag, not being able to buy a beer at 32 years old without proof of age, not driving an Elise...None of them terrible, but all of them infringe on me here, but not back home.It's not so much the laws themselves that seem strange, as much as the utter willingness of people to follow (and enforce) them without question. For example, I am in my 30s. More to the point, I am clearly in my 30s. If I am out with a bunch of friends who are also in their 30s, and I have not carried something to prove my age, I have been refused service in a bar. That is a ridiculous situation from the point of view of a European. What is that law there for?The fact that it's assumed that everyone will always carry something round to prove who they are seems to go without question here. "Whaddya mean you haven't got ID. Why wouldn't you have ID?".And yes, the stopping at a crosswalk annoys me too. I am fit, I have good vision, I have decent judgement. There are no cars coming. I can see that there are no cycles either. I can see it clearly. Am I not adult enough to decide myself whether to cross the road? Not in the USThe most free country in the world.Except for most of the others.