The Future

Yahoo - Today’s college graduates might not retire till age 75.

The article which attacks young people for not saving enough in the stock market has a couple of really cynical lines. I like the one where the author says that if a 23 year old began saving 10% of his income each month, he would retire by 70 rather than 75. It then says that if they were really aggressive and saved 20% of their income in the stock market, they could retire by 62, the current age of retirement.  Do you know that male life expectancy is the United States is 76. Take a moment and think about that. If a 23 year old were to save 10% of his income for 67 years, he could retire and live for 6 years. How does that make sense?

The article presumes the median income for millenials who have college degrees. Now just to start with, median income is one form of average. There are four ways averages are calculated they are called mean, mode, median and midrange. Frequently people will discuss the median income and call it the average; but, it is just one way of calculating an average and in this case it is misleading. What it does not reflect is what most people we consider millenials actually make and what most make is a lot less than $45,000 a year. It is also misleading because it completely ignores the 20% of millennials who are unemployed.

I have to say that I think young people in this country really need to change the game and demand change. They should demand that they be given retirements and if things do not change then tax the rich till they cannot retire or live in peace.

MIT Technology Review - First Gene-Edited Dogs Reported in China.

So scientists in China have announced that they have made dogs with twice the muscle mass of normal dogs by playing with their DNA. They claim this is to find new therapies to help dogs. Are you kidding me? The Chinese have also said that by using gene treatments they hope to increase the IQ of their people 10 points a year. The Chinese plan on modifying the genes of their people to make them smarter, stronger and to have more stamina. They plan on creating a super race and don't be shocked because US scientists working for the government in DARPA are doing the exact same thing.

I should also report that the age of 75 for retirement assumes you are a college graduate. I guess if you are not a college graduate then you should just expect to work till you die.

Time - Here’s What the Westboro Baptist Church Thinks of Kim Davis.

Kim Davis is the clerk who refused to follow a court order and issue marriage licenses to gays. Westboro Baptist Church is the church that carries around signs that say "God Hates Fags" and pickets soldiers funerals. Apparently Westboro has taken Ms. Davis to task for having been married multiple times. While I appreciate their consistency I must ask why they have spent more time attacking gays than people who cheat on their spouses. Heck, adultery made the ten commandments and homosexuality did not. Where are their priorities; but, then again where are the priorities of anyone who claims to be Christian and yet tolerates adulterers in their church and not gays?

Awhile ago I wrote a post on gun rights and did not post it at the time. I did not write the article because of the latest mass shooting and did not want to post it while the people involved had yet to be buried. I will post it tomorrow or later today.My post does not say what the laws regarding weapons and citizens should be. Instead it discusses a simpler question, does the government have the right to limit people's access to weapons and what needs do people have for weapons. I hope the readers do not see it as me promoting or rejecting gun control; because, it is neither. The purpose it to begin to look at the real issues and the idea of matching personal rights to weapons against the usefulness of the weapons to the people seeking them. In short, does the average person really need a tank to protect his family from home intruders or to go hunting.