WxMaxima for Statics

 A little customization of WxMaxima can make it much more useful for engineering calculations.  I like WxMaxima because of the interface and that it starts up fast.  For users of MATLAB and other engineering math software some things can be tedious.  I have an initialization file that adds a few very useful functions for Engineering.

Engineers use degrees instead of radians.  MATLAB has functions that simplify using degrees by appending a 'd' to the function name.  Engineers often use vector dot and cross products which are not intuitive in maxima.  Here is my WxMaxima startup file  which is located in  ~/.maxima/wxmaxima-init.mac which adds trigonometric and vector functions.

Employer Relief Act

 Tax Deduction Proposal

Generally encouraging companies and people to employ other people should be rewarded.  This country has for several decades penalized employers with hidden extra taxes of employer social security and employer medicare taxes.  This really amounts to taxation without representation in order to hide the true cost of these programs.

I propose an additional tax deduction of 3 times the employer portion of social security and medicare taxes.  This is based on the current tax rate 7.65%, a fair profit of 7% and that most companies expenses are 1/3 personnel, 1/3 supplies and 1/3 facilities.  This works out to a factor of about 3 on the taxes.  If only employer social security taxes are used the factor should be about 4. 

This method of reducing employer taxes has several advantages:

*  Little to no extra accounting.

* Promotes paying social security and medicare taxes over undocumented employment.

* Those with higher income would be encouraged to employ others.

* Increased competitiveness for hiring US employees over foreign workers.

* Incentive for larger companies to higher directly instead of subcontracting which would benefit unions.

* Employers could afford to give employees higher wages.

* It applies uniformly to help the economy without special interest and kickbacks.

* Less government spending on programs to locally increase employment.

The only objection may be less tax collected but it would shift taxes away from employers instead of non-employers.

Disclaimer:  I would not directly benefit in any way as I do not currently or plan to employ anyone directly.

People love to hate

 Why do people love to hate others?

Is hatred contagious?

If your peers or family expresses hatred does that influence your views?

Is there an ego motive?

Does expressing hatred help promote yourself or your ideas?

What if you feel someone hurt you?

Can forgiveness relieve hatred?

Have you unintentionally hurt someone else?

Does categorizing people ease the hatred decision?

Can expressions of love be received as hatred?

Do you hate those who appear to hate you?

Is discipline a form of love?

Can hatred be spread by biased news media?

Does news media cover stories with a biased message of what is right or wrong?

How can news media be more unbiased?

News media only covers a small fraction of events, how do they decide what to report?

What viewpoint does news media use to sensationalize their coverage?

Does news media spread hatred by expressing views of what is very very bad?

If your not abnormal in some way, you are abnormal.

 Is there a tendency for people to want to stand out from the crowd?

Do people choose cloths or hair style to be different from others?

Is brightly colored hair an attempt to be unique?

Is body jewelry an attempt to be unique? 

Is body art (tattoos) an attempt to be unique?

Do people choose gender identity to be different?

Do people choose sexual orientation to be different?

Does a special talent make you different from other people?

Is it comforting to be with other people different in the same way that you are different?

Who is 'they'?

Are 'they' wealthy?

Are 'they' oppressors or oppressed?

Are 'they' more greedy than me?

Did 'they' have an easier path in life than me?

Did 'they' work, study and practice to gain in life?

Right or Wrong

How do you decide?

Is this a question for the ages?

Does the answer change with time?

Does the answer change with circumstance?

Is group think or peer pressure a factor?

Are there guiding writings to use?

Do you ask if the impact would help or harm yourself?

Do you ask if the impact would help or harm others?

Do you ask if the impact would help or harm society?

How often do you decide what is right and what is wrong?

How do you spend your time?

Do you ask if it is legal?

Do you ask if it is moral?

Where do morals originate?

Do you pray for an answer?

Do you pray for help?

Do you ask others for help?

Does news media influence you?

Do movies or songs influence you?

Do stories influence you?

Fair Share

 We here to much "They should pay their fair share" concerning taxes.  Two big questions remain,  who are "they" and what is "fair".  

In the USA it is common for people with higher incomes to pay significantly more tax.  

Do people with higher incomes get more return from the government?  

Would it be fair for people with a low income to pay less for their Ferrari?

Would it be right to charge more for a small can of soup than a giant can of soup?

Why should hard workers pay a higher tax rate?

Is it true that the only way to get high income is to oppress others?

Should everyone pay some tax?

If a wealthy person buys an extravagant boat or house, does this give income to others?

Can a government create wealth?

Can a government redistribute wealth?

Would encouraging wealthy people to leave the country, taking their money with them, improve the standard of living for all?

Do wealthy people provide more jobs than others?

Should corporations be taxed?

Should there be a tax deduction for wages paid?

Should people who save more money by spending less than they earn, pay more taxes?

Should the only wealthy people be politicians?

Should the government be the primary source of charity?

Is it assumed that 'They' are wealthy people or people with high incomes?

Do low income people in the USA have a higher standard of living than the rest of the world?

Do people who delay income by working to get an education and develop skills deserve higher annual incomes?

The original US constitution had a flat tax per citizen.  Is this a fair tax?

You bad

You bad, You bad, am I good?

You bad cause you hate black,

You bad cause you hate white

You bad, You bad, am I good? You bad cause you rich, You bad cause you lazy

You bad, you bad, am I good? You bad cause you love power, You bad cause you big ego

You bad, You bad, am I good?

You bad cause you kill your babies, You bad cause you restrict my choice

You bad, You bad, am I good? You bad cause you different, You bad cause you not the same

You bad, You bad, am I good?

You bad cause you privilege your children, You bad cause you neglect your children

You bad, You bad, am I good?

You bad cause you blame others

You bad cause you want benefits

You bad, You bad, am I good?

You bad cause you sin, You bad cause you judge people

Am I good?  Am I good? By the sacrifice of Jesus.

Are you good?  Are you good? By the sacrifice of Jesus.

Juneteenth

The Juneteenth holiday needs some historical corrections.

The holiday focuses on racist (whites are bad for not freeing Texas slaves for two years) propaganda.  While in reality it marks the end of the US civil war when Texas .

Other dates that deserve celebrating include

July 2, 1777, Vermont became the first colony to abolish slavery [Reuters, 2007] 

March 22, When the US congress enacted the Slave Trade Act of 1794.  This prohibited US ships from carrying slaves.  It was the first law restricting slave trade in the world. [Wikipedia, ND]

March 2, When the US congress enacted Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves of 1807 [Wikipedia,ND].  The US was one of the first countries to prohibit slave trade even beating the United Kingdoms, Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, 1807 on 25 March 1807 [Wikipedia,ND]. 

Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 which freed slaves depending on Union territory captured from "states that had seceded from the United States". [National Archives,ND]

13th Amendment to the Constitution. Passed Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865. [Wikipedia,ND]

April 9th 1665, Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court house.  "The last the final skirmish of the Civil War occurred on May 12 and 13 at the Battle of Palmito Ranch"  Union victory [History.com,2020].  Note, these are the dates that that slavery in Texas was legally abolished.

"Juneteenth (short for “June Nineteenth”) marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people be freed".  [History.com, 2021].  Note that this is between 71 and 37 days after Union victory should have freed slave.  Not the two years to receive word as propagandized. 

References:

Reuters, MARCH 22, 2007, CHRONOLOGY-Who banned slavery when?, retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-slavery/chronology-who-banned-slavery-when-idUSL1561464920070322 6/21/21

Wikipedia, ND, Slave Trade Act of 1794, retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_of_1794 , 6/21/21

Wikipedia, ND, Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_Prohibiting_Importation_of_Slaves, 6/21/21

National Archives,ND, The Emancipation Proclamation, retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation, 6/21/21

Wikipedia, ND, Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution, 6/21/21

History.com, 15 April 2020, Battle of Appomattox Court House, retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/appomattox-court-house, 6/21/21

History.com, 17 June 2021, What Is Juneteenth?, retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth, 6/21/21

Employer Tax Deduction

 How do you feel about what is a fair tax rate?  Biblical standards say 10% of income is fair.  Are you convinced that people that study and work hard to make more money should pay a higher tax rate?  Should someone who is more talented or productive pay a higher tax rate?

The bigger issue is should people or companies that provide employment pay higher taxes?  Is it the responsibility of wealthy people to provide jobs?

I propose an employer tax deduction.  I would suggest a tax deduction of three times what is payed as Employer Social Security Taxes.  Why three times?

Typical businesses have expenses equally distributed among wages, supplies and facilities.  A fair profit is recognized as 7% of receipts and Social Security Tax rate is at 6.2%.  This makes Employer Social Security taxes roughly 2.1% of receipts.  To make the fair profit of 7% tax reduced, would require a tax deduction of 3.3 times Social Security Taxes.

Why Social Security Taxes as an employment indicator.  These taxes are proportional to wages but also are capped so paying excessively high wages would not provide extra benefit. 

Also, the amount of employer Social Security Taxes payed is already available without additional record keeping.

Equality

 What do you mean by equality?

Is equality equal?

If equality is equal, what characteristics are equal?

Does equality mean different things to different people?

Does claiming something is not equality make it not equality?

How often is the claim of inequality not really inequality?

How often does trying to help appear as discrimination?

Does equality mean equal opportunity or equal success?

Is a national champion better than the losers?

Is being better being equal?

Does an addiction make you better?

Does violence make you better?

Does dominance make you better?

How often is the word equality used as a tool of power?

Is there anything called equality that is discriminatory?

Can someone help another person out of their sexual addiction under proposed equality laws?

Can someone help prevent children from becoming addicted under proposed equality laws?

Should we relabel bathrooms as "With/without Penis" instead of boy or girl to maintain privacy of body parts?

Are many claims of inequality mainly intended to destroy morals?

Does overuse of racialism claims encourage inequality?

Should churches have higher morals than the general public or politicians?

Can people act on their beliefs without offending someone?

Can hating sin appear as hating people?

A really sad day

Today (6 Jan) breaks my heart and I hope the countries freedom can survive.

I still do not see how anybody can vote for corrupt Democrats.

I have been thinking as to why Democrats are so corrupt and look at there modern positions on issues.  It seems they want to turn this country into a communist state where their party has absolute control.  His majesty Obama was the leader and I believe he still is the leader of the deep state.  I see immense troubles ahead for anyone with convictions for truth and justice.  The Dems side with Black supremacist, drug dealers, foreign countries

They control the news media and the news media should watch out as they will not be allowed to be unbiased in the future.  They have been obviously biased for years by choice but that choice may go away.  I still hear how they say Trump wants to overturn the election but he only wants an honest vote count and the true results to apply.  Their continual obvious lies and distortions have caused immense trouble for the first president in a long time actually trying to keep his oath of office and defend the constitution.

I fear being able to get an honest election ever again in this country.  The immense fraud goes without punishment.

 

2021 Inauguration Song

 You better watch out

You better not try

You better not shout

I'm telling you why

China's cause is coming to town

He's taking a bribe,

He's hidin it twice,

He's sellin out who's leftist and right

China's cause is coming to town

He adds votes while you're sleepin

And he says what you will like

His news reports are biased for him

So be controlled for all your life

The Peoples Party

 Are you tired of politicians and news media lies and biases?

Do party bosses have to much power?

Are current political parties to extreme left or right?

Should politicians be elected based on their own positions and capabilities?

Is corruption and deception to common in politics?

Is the quest for political power more important than supporting the country and constitution?

Should keeping campaign promises be a criteria for reelection?

Could representatives and senators join to form a new moderate party?

Could representatives and senators join an existing minor party?

Should encouraging members to vote as they see fit be part of the charter?

Should the party be without a dictator?

Should primary elections be independent of political party?

Should committee membership be totally voluntary?

Should seniority give preference for committee membership?

Should House of Representatives and Senate debate and vote scheduling be member driven?

Employers

 Should employers be penalized by unfair taxes?

Do wealthy people and corporations employ more people than people without excess money?

Should higher income people and corporations be taxed at a higher rate?

Do corporations have a vote in how much they get taxed?

Should taxes be less for people or corporations that employ people than those that do not?

Is a double or triple tax deduction for employer social security taxes paid a way to promote employment?

Should employer medicare taxes be included as a double or triple exemption?

Should employer government required medical insurance premiums count as an extra employer tax deduction?

Should any other government imposed expenses count as an extra employer tax deduction?

Is wages paid a better criteria for an extra deductions?

Would person hours of employee work be a good criteria as a tax deduction?

Would using wages paid as a deduction encourage excessively high salaries?

Which methods would be easier to implement to avoid corruption?

Would encouraging employment help reduce poverty?

Do minimum wage laws raise prices?

Do uniform minimum wage laws discourage hiring youth and senior citizens?

Would a reduced minimum wage for young and old people provide opportunities for disadvantaged people?

Would using a high school degree as an indicator for increased minimum wage encourage finishing high school?

Would a high school certificate of attendance be sufficient for full minimum wage?

Should an additional lower age limit for full minimum wage be applied?

Would a reduced minimum wage for handicapped people provide more opportunities for disadvantaged people?

What age should be used as a criteria for encouraging employment of senior citizens?

Are youth less experienced than other people at work ethics?

Are senior citizens discriminated against in basic employment opportunities?

Would exceptional or experienced senior citizens be making minimum wage?

Do youth and senior citizens require as much income to support a family as others?

Facebook Bias Got Me

 I had my first ever Facebook post taken down.  We have received many anti trump Facebook post and I posted a reasonably neutral post comparing Biden and Trump and Facebook deleted it.

This is the image

And the original table.

             It is your choice

Trump/Pence (Republican)		Biden/Harris (Democrat)
Prosperity		Poverty
A hand up for minorities		A hand out for minorities
More media bias that the president is a bad person		More media bias the the president is a good person
An overly optimistic president		An overly pessimistic president
Freedom		Socialism
Keep violence in check		Incite more violence
Less government corruption		More corruption
Protect the US constitution		Override the US constitution
A strong America		Learn Chinese
Freedom of religion and morals		Suppress religious freedom and morals
Fight drug abuse and human trafficking		Encourage drug lords and cartels
Inflation		Very high inflation
Available jobs		High unemployment
Low global warming reduction		Global warming abuse
Rational police oversight		Police reduction
Acknowledge America's historic role in spreading freedom for all		Insight violence by revising American history
Less killing of children (unborn)		More killing of children (unborn)
Lower cost health care		Fewer available medications, doctors and nurses
Overly blatant and openness		Deception
Fair taxes		Tax penalties for working hard
Fair trade deals		Unfair trade deals
Protect American technology		Give away American technology
Fight pandemic with cooperation among FDA, CDC, Industry, Citizens and Military		Fight pandemic with government crackdowns
Egotistical opinionated president		Egotistical opinionated president
Bring wealth into the country		Send wealth out of the country

As you can see it is relatively unbiased but leftist Facebook deleted it.  This seams like a bad bias.

Political Parties

 Is it time to do away with political parties?

Do political parties lead to extremism?

Would electing politicians based on their own merit and views be better than party based?

Could a moderate middle of the road person ever be elected if they first need to show extreme views to win a party primary?

Should there be nonpartisan primaries with multiple rounds to reduce the number of candidates?

Should the winner require a minimum percentage of electoral votes?

What criteria should be made to become a candidate?

Would a petition with a minimum number of signatures be a good criteria?

Would a fund raising level be a good criteria to become a candidate?

Would multiparty debates including all candidates before primaries be a sufficient alternative?

 

Police Alternatives

Some politicians are suggesting alternatives to police for law enforcement and protection.

What are these alternatives?

• Let communities form their own vigilante groups.
• Would this totally remove the over site of hearings about brutality or fairness?
• Commercial protection companies.
• Would this lead to an opening for protection rackets?
• Have psychologists talk criminals into turning themselves in.
• How many criminals would listen to a psychologist? 
• How many murders, drug dealers, stalkers, etc. would turn themselves in for prosecution?
• How many murders would just shoot the psychologist?
• Let drug lords, bookies and pimps enforce the law.
• Would these people jump at the opportunity to enforce the law?
• Let gangs maintain the peace.
• How many people would be killed for not following the gangs orders?
• Who would gather and document evidence for prosecution of criminals?
• Would there be a need for a trial at all?
• How would appropriate punishment and reform be determined?

Every day police officers put their lives at risk in the line of duty.  

• Is the best deterrent to crime the assurance of being caught?
• Does police dominance of criminals help assure they will be peacefully brought to trial for their actions?
• Would more police help catch more criminals?

Acceptance

 Who does not like feeling accepted by others?

What does it take to show you accept another person?

Should you accept all behavior by another person?

If a child continually breaks glasses by throwing them on the floor,  do you love the child less?

If a person engages in disgusting or immoral activities can you still accept them?

Should you accept the disgusting or immoral activities?

Can you accept someone if they define themselves by unacceptable behavior? 

How do you show acceptance of a person while not accepting their behavior?

Can you receive grace or forgiveness without accepting it?

Is accepting a gift actually doing something to get the gift?

Can you experience heaven on earth without accepting God's grace?

Can you let God guide your life without accepting his guidance and grace?

Does everyone need grace?

Does everyone receive grace for wrongdoings?

Does forgiveness imply removal of punishment for wrongdoings?

Does forgiveness allow you to be closer to God?

Does forgiveness by God make it easier to forgive yourself?

Does forgiveness by God make it easier to forgive others?

Does grace help you change your behavior?

Does punishment help you change your behavior?

Can you receive both grace and punishment?

Can punishment be a form of grace?

Can you forgive yourself easier after paying the penalty?

What if someone else voluntarily pays the penalty for you?

What if God pays your penalty?

McGraw-Hill Connect Worksheet Problem Editing

 I have written a document describing how to edit a worksheet problem in Connect.  MH Connect help is a little inadequate. 

Worksheet Editing

Punishment

 What purpose do prisons serve?

When you lock someone up for life do they still contribute to society?

What is the difference between a private resort and a prison?

Should prisons show the destruction resulting from crimes?

Should prisons be punishment?

Should prisons include treatment for mental problems?

Should any prison sentence be greater than 30 years?

Can people change?

Are prisons used to keep dangerous people isolated from society?

Would early released prisoners try to get even with those that put them in prison?

Is the threat of prison enough to prevent crime?

Would asking people nicely to not do bad things stop them?

Should there be more police to catch more criminals?

Should prisoners have an option of greater punishment in exchange for shorter sentences?

A few points from an article posted by U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice on https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-deterrence 

1. The certainty of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent than the punishment.

2. Sending an individual convicted of a crime to prison isn’t a very effective way to deter crime.

3. Police deter crime by increasing the perception that criminals will be caught and punished.

4. Increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime.

5. There is no proof that the death penalty deters criminals.

Does it seem that this article only refers to deterring new crime or new criminals?

How much crime does a person in prison commit?

What would a similar list be for preventing repeating of crimes?