joi, 31 mai 2012

Caffeinated Thoughts

Caffeinated Thoughts


What if the Population Replacement Rate Drops to 2.0. Then What?

Posted: 31 May 2012 03:57 AM PDT

Twice in the last couple of months I have been faced with the claim that large population growth can continue to occur even though the birth rate remains at 2.0 or below. The claim is on its face not possible (with some notable caveats I mention below)  

First, let me explain what the chart below cannot do. It cannot predict what will happen in the real world, but neither can my friends. It is a closed chart, meaning it requires no fudging of the numbers. The reason for this is simple. I am dealing with hypothetical numbers and rates, not real people. This is a math problem, not a people problem.

The specifics of the chart.

First, in order to make things simple, I will do this based upon the idea that the number of children needed to replace two parents is TWO(!). The reason that 2.1 or 2.2 is often used is because the figure is trying to represent the number of children needed, who survive into adulthood. This itself is an unnecessary and arbitrary fudge because the average I give already takes into consideration children who have no children, regardless of the reason (they die in childhood, they are infertile or they remain virgins, etc.).  In other words, to present the information in an understandable format, it is necessary that each family have two and only two children. In the real world, one family could have 8 children, and three other couples could have none and the results would be the same, but using this in the chart would be unfollowable(!) and as big a distraction as this long introduction.

Second, even though the chart mentions father and mother, I recognize we are really only dealing with the number of children particular mothers have. This is necessary for the chart to have any meaning whatsoever. In the real world, mothers may have children by more than one man for various reasons, but mathematically it only confuses things.

Third, the chart only deals with population growth in a closed setting. That is, one world, one nation, or one town. Immigration does not exist. Of course, a nation with a low birth rate could still grow, if you allow for immigration.

Fourth, it is necessary to stretch out the chart to at least as long as the length of life of the first generation. The chart assumes no change in death rate, for this reason: Even if people lived to be an average of 120 years old, after six generations, the population growth would cease, if each couple only had two children.

To make it simple, each couple has a pair of twins at age 20, each of their children have twins at age 20, and so on, until the death of the original progenitors, all which die at age 81.  We start the chart with 8 newlywed couples, all aged 19 in the year 2999.

World Population: 16 in the year 2999.

8 Sets of Twins Born in 3000, World Population: 32.

8 Sets of Twins Born in 3020, World population: 48

8 Sets of Twins Born in 3040, World Population: 64

8 sets of twins born 3060, World population: 80

First set of parents die in 3061 at age 81, world population 64.

8 sets of twins born in 3080, world population: 80

Second set of parents die in 3081, world population 64.

From the fourth generation on, the population will be only 80 and no higher. From this chart it is easy to see that with a birthrate of 2 children per household, the population can only grow if the death rate decreases. Even then, it won't be by much. If people lived to be a 100, in 3100 A.D. the population would top out at 112 people. Suppose each person lived to be 200.   It would only reach 160 TOTAL and then it would stop. Suppose everybody lived to be 1000 years old.

Let's revisit our original chart with nobody dying for a 1000 years. Wouldn't the world population explode? No.

Year and Population

3000, 32.

3020, 48

3040, 64

3060, 80

3080, 96

3100= 112

3200=192.

3300=272

3400=352

3500=432

3600=512

3700=592

3800-672

3900=752

4000 A.D. Population 832.

In other words, only 80 people are added every 100 years. After 1000 years—and nobody has ever lived that long—there would be only 800 people added, making a grand total of 832!  That is the same population as that booming metropolis, Alma, Kansas, where hunger appears to be running rampant.

The Tyrant in Us All: Bloomberg Takes on Big Syrup

Posted: 31 May 2012 03:37 AM PDT

7up

Boss Bloomberg and the city mothers of New York City have decided to crack down on lethal weapons. No, they are not AK-47s and sawed-off shotguns: They're large cups. Yes, you heard that right. In typical overreach, a decision was made to fight Big Apple, public enemy number one, HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup, aka "Sugar"), with the country's first Size of Container Law. Soon, in NYC it will be illegal for fast food restaurants to serve soft drinks (or soda or pop or sweet tea) in cups larger than 16 ounces.

It would be easy to go after the good mayor for his do-gooder, nanny-like inclination to control the people of his kingdom, but it is the citizens themselves—and others like them all over the country—that I want to talk to today. Most people will comply and not make such a fuss over this new law. That is find and dandy. I don't think it does much good to hoot and holler when you are inconvenienced, when there are so many more important things in this world to fight for. I am often surprised at the indignity cigarette smokers are willing to put up with, however. Smokers who are 50 years old, but look 39 (like myself) often have to present ID to prove they are not 17. (Mind you, I don't smoke, I only mean that I am 50-plus years old, but look 39-ish).

Many people think the Bloomberg ban iss ridiculous, but here is a smattering of the responses from Bloomberg supporters at the New York Times:

"The problem is a nationwide and, now, a worldwide crisis. This Bloomberg effort is a baby step, but should be applauded wholeheartedly."

"I think the ban should include diet sodas as well."

"Something does need to be done."

"This is a great idea and should be imitated by other localities."

"And distasteful as it may be, if it saves lives, and much needed dollars in our medical system, it will have been a good thing."

The last reason given above was the most common justification for regulating cup sizes: the burden on society for shelling out for the insulin costs of fat people. Of course, this begs the question as to why everybody is paying everybody else's medical bills in the first place.

The Scriptures suggest the big-government impulse is at work in people since the fall.

"Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden was not just a single act of wrongdoing. It was the first blast of man's

rebellion against his Creator and Ruler. One of Satan's temptations was that Adam and Eve would be like God if they ate what God said not to eat. From that moment on, man's offspring—rogues who want to be ruled by nobody and busybodies who want to rule over everybody—became mutineers. Rejecting God as ruler of the Universe (a violation of the First Commandment), the hearts of these men erected an idol in His place (a violation of the Second Commandment). One of the strangest paradoxes in the world is that Anarchist and Tyrant, Libertine and Legalist, Sadducee and Pharisee, natural enemies all, will unite in agreement: God must go….

It is quite possible for these two forces to coexist for a long time in a dying culture, just as fever and chills can live in the same sick body. When a nation permits parents to kill their own offspring with impunity, anarchy is at work. When the same culture criminalizes selling two-gallon flush toilets, buying 100-watt light bulbs, eating Happy Meal toys, or throwing Frisbees on a beach, tyranny is at work."(1)

C. S. Lewis warned us about the likes of Mayor Bloomberg and the masses who are from the government and just want to help us in his book God in the Dock (see also Luke 22:25f):

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. (p. 292)

________________________________________

(1)    David J Shedlock has written a book, With Christ in the Voting Booth, dealing with the causes of and the relationship between tyranny and anarchy. One chapter is entitled, "Anarchy: The Rule of a Thousand Tyrants."

“Hating Breitbart” Exclusive Premiere to Be Held at RightOnline

Posted: 30 May 2012 08:30 PM PDT

Andrew_Breitbart_29-200x300RightOnline is a project launched by Americans for Prosperity dedicated "to advancing liberty and prosperity for all Americans through greater citizen participation online."  They will host the exclusive premiere of a new documentary entitled "Hating Breitbart" highlighting the work of the late Andrew Breitbart, conservative new media pioneer and entrepreneur, at their annual conference held in Las Vegas, NV on June 15-16, 2012.  Americans for Prosperity in a release about the documentary said:

Misguided attacks, smears and accusations have often been directed toward conservative activists. But during the dawn of the tea-party movement, this hatred warped into attacks which became increasingly personal and hostile. No one knew this better than Andrew Breitbart, a nationally renowned conservative advocate and blogger who passed away suddenly earlier this year.

"Hating Breitbart" – two and a half years in the making – documents Breitbart's rise in the media world, from the birth of the Tea Party in 2009 to early this year. The film shows behind the scenes footage of many of the explosive media controversies that Breitbart found himself at the center of, including the Congressman Weiner Twitter-scandal and the undercover recording of ACORN tapes. Learn more at www.hatingbreitbart.com.

We’re proud to announce that Americans for Prosperity Foundation and RightOnline will host a Hating Breitbart screening of select scenes on Friday, June 15th at the annual RightOnline Conference. RightOnline is the must-attend yearly conference for right-leaning media and bloggers to educate on and encourage online activism.

Full disclosure, yours truly is an official blogger for the event and I look forward to attending.  The conference will also have numerous speakers such as: Scott Rasmussen, Michelle Malkin, Jonah Goldberg, Dana Loesch, S.E. Cupp and Hugh Hewitt.  You can register online here.  If you use the promo code, "fightbackonline" you will receive a $10 discount on your registration.

Here's the trailer of Hating Breitbart (warning some explicit language):

King to Vote to Ban Gender-Based Abortions; Calls on Vilsack to Take a Position

Posted: 30 May 2012 06:30 PM PDT

steve-king1Congressman Steve King (R-IA) announced his intentions to vote in favor of H.R. 3541, the Prenatal Non-Discrimination Act (PRENDA).  The vote on PRENDA will come tomorrow in the House on the heals of an undercover video being released demonstrating Planned Parenthood's complicity in sex-selective abortions.

Congressman King in a statement released today said, "I am grateful to have the opportunity to support and protect innocent unborn girls who are aborted based solely on their gender."   He also called on his opponent in the Iowa 4th Congressional District Race, Christie Vilsack, to take a position on this issue and to stand with the 77% of Americans who support legislation "banning abortion in cases where the fact that the developing baby is a girl is the sole reason for seeking an abortion."

King also stated, "There are more than two hundred million missing little girls who were aborted for the sole reason that they were girls.  The three most dangerous words are 'it’s a girl,' but decision time does not happen when you find out the sex of your baby. PRENDA will protect unborn babies from being aborted because it’s about a child, not a choice. I will continue to defend the unborn. There should be no question where to stand because the choice is clear- every child deserves the right to a fulfilling life."

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