Graham Glass, etc.

The Problem with America, Part 5

In the previous part of this series I noted that the US federal government has become the founding fathers worst nightmare; a huge tax-hungry beast that is involved in virtually all aspects of everyday life.

In this part, I'm going to describe the main opportunity that I think was lost by the subversion of the US constitution.

The main principle behind the US Constitution was that the individual states should control their own destinies and the federal government should be a weak entity that exists primarily to coordinate the states.

Federal income tax was initially zero, and the individual states raised taxes based on their own philosophies and requirements. If you didn't like the state that you lived in, you were free to move to another state. As Ronald Reagan once said, "you vote with your feet".

The beauty of this arrangement was that it allowed states to pursue their own philosophies of government with minimal federal interference. Theoretically, one state could have experimented with communism, another with socialism and yet another with libertarianism. If a state's system was successful, it would flourish and its residents would continue to live there. But if a state's system was unsuccessful, its residents could either vote the state government out of power or leave for another state.

If the US had stuck to the initial vision of its Constitution, we probably wouldn't have to argue about the theoretical benefits of, say, libertarianism, because at least one of the states would have tried it. The US could have been a petri dish of governmental systems where the best ones thrived and the worst ones were replaced.

But because we have a huge federal government that imposes its large taxes and regulations on all residents of all states, it's impossible for a state to experiment much because its hands are tied. Indeed, the federal government often bullies states into adopting particular regulations by threatening to cut off federal funding for, say, road building or schools. The founding fathers would have found this particularly repulsive because the federal government was not meant to be funding such things in the first place.

In conclusion, I think the worst effect of the expansion of the federal government is that it limits the ability of individual states to innovate and try better forms of government. This in turn reduces the choices for US citizens.

I would personally love to try living in a place that was libertarian. Then at least I would not have to hypothesize about its pros and cons; I could experience them for myself. Since such a state could never exist in the US given the power of the federal government, my hope is that a society of the future will give it a try.

Perhaps on Mars on the Moon?

Rudy's Reading List

The next Ron Paul money bomb is on Nov 30th and is called "Rudy's Reading List". I think it will do OK but will not compare with the main event which is the "Tea Party" on Dec 16th. I will naturally donate several times to both money bombs!

I love one of the chants in this video: "Vote Yes for Dr. No".

And on a related note, this Ron Paul supporter video is hilarious and gives me renewed enthusiasm in the youth of America.

Kiva Microloans: Doing well so far

I'm a big fan of Kiva, a web site where you can lend small amounts of money to hard working entrepreneurs in developing nations.

My experience has been very good so far; all of the money I've loaned has either been paid back completely or is getting close. Most people recycle the money that's paid back, which is what I intend to do in the next couple of weeks.

If you're interested, check out my Kiva loan portfolio. I encourage you to try Kiva too!

Edu 2.0: Corporate Edition

After much deliberation, I've finally decided to create two more education companies in Q1 2008.

My current online company, edu 2.0, is focused on schools (K-12 and college) and is growing by a healthy 10% every week. Its e-learning platform is already quite advanced and getting better every day. But since corporate e-learning is a multi-billion dollar marketplace, it seems silly to not leverage my investment in the edu 2.0 e-learning platform and apply it to the corporate space. Especially since I used to be a corporate instructor and have decent experience in that area.

The first new company will take ownership of the edu 2.0 e-learning platform and license it to whoever wants a state-of-the-art education platform to build on. edu 2.0 will license the platform from this new company.

The second new company will also license the e-learning platform and then re-license it on a subscription basis to corporations that want a low-cost, feature-rich, web-hosted e-learning platform for teaching employees and customers.

Any feedback on the wisdom of this plan is most welcome!

Innovative Restroom Door

I recently visited Dallas and dined at its beautiful new Ritz Carlton restaurant. One thing I noticed was its innovative restroom design.

The doors are made of frosted glass and when a door is locked, a large red stop sign is displayed in the glass. The sign is visible from the inside and the outside of the restroom, and didn't seem to be projected onto the door. I'm curious how this is done.

Here's a picture I took from the outside of the restroom using my iPhone:

I'm now a Published Photographer!

A few weeks I was contacted out of the blue by Tufts University, who wanted to use one of my Boston photos in some of their collateral. I readily agreed, and now I'm happy to say I'm officially a published photographer! Here's a scan of a fridge magnet that uses the photo:

Thomas Jefferson Quote

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government. - Thomas Jefferson

Edu 2.0: Debates

We just added a new feature to edu2.0 that allows students to practice critical thinking: debates.

Here's how it works:

First a teacher creates a debate with a proposition like "Star Trek was the best ever science fiction TV series". Students can then vote either for or against the proposition as well as add supporting statements. As students add reasons either for or against the proposition, other students can challenge the reasons. It's a bit like a forum, but more structured and with a voting mechanism.

We think that features like this one demonstrate the true power of networked education systems, and we plan on releasing several more such features over the coming months.

Here's a screen shot of one debate in action:

Beowulf IMAX 3D

I just got back from watching the IMAX/3D version of Beowulf and thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot, which is based on a traditional English epic poem, has several interesting twists and turns.

The movie is animated and uses body captures of famous stars such as Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie. The 3D effect was subtle and added to the overall feel of the movie.

And the ending was just perfect.

Books: Tagged by Fantasy Writer Guy

I was tagged recently by the Fantasy Writer Guy to write a little about the books in my life. So here goes:

Number of books owned:
Probably around 2,000. They're stacked all over the place, sometimes 2 or 3 deep which makes it hard to find a particular book. I hope to have a larger home in the future where all my books are visible and easy to search.

Most recently read:
The Sovereign Individual by Davidson and Rees-Mogg. It's a fascinating book that makes a strong case that wealthy people in the future will declare their independence from any particular country.

Most recently purchased:
Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder. This sci-fi book was recommended to me by a friend in Dallas with very good taste. It's set in the far future and filled with action, ideas and intellectual energy.

Five most meaningful books read:

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. This is a mystery novel that showcases Ayn Rand's philosophy of individual freedom. It was relevant back in the 60s and is just as relevant today. I had always believed in liberty, but this book showed me how much deeper the rabbit hole goes.

Society of Mind by Marvin Minsky. This book, written in an unusual style where every page is an individual "chapter", describes Dr. Minsky's theory that our brain is really a colony organism. In a nutshell, your big "Me" is really the sum product of all your mini "Me"s interacting with each other. It's a theory I strongly believe and it heavily influences the way I think about minds.

Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. This book masterly weaves stories about three geniuses in the fields of Math, Art and Music to delve into the heart of creativity, intelligence and consciousness. It's one of the most profound books I've ever read, and won its author the Pulitzer prize while he was still a graduate student.

Contact by Carl Sagan. This book is about what happens when Earth is first contacted by aliens. It's very imaginative and includes several important plot lines that are not in the movie including an incredible ending.

And last by not least....

The Boy's Book of Knowledge. This was one of the first books I ever owned, and was a present from my parents when I was about 5 years old and living in Iran. I read the book almost every night, and particularly enjoyed the chapter about space and science. It definitely reinforced my love of learning, exploring, and reading.