Politics Notes 1/2012

February 2, 2012

Happy New Year! Hope this year is filled with change for a better America, and hopefully a smarter, better informed America.

Monthly Notes:

In 1971 Nixon started the war on drugs
Over 1 million non-violent offenders are behind bars
War on Drugs = Prison Industrial Complex, War on Terror = Military Industrial Complex
The war on drugs is the longest, most costly war
$40B a year goes to private prisons
Shaminism is the oldest religion
Subsidies for corn in Iowa have expired without a fight
Santorum wants to overturn Griswold vs Connecticut which legalized contraceptives for married couples
US health care spending rose only 3.9% in 2010 (second lowest on record)
Public & private healthcare spending totaled $2.6T (17.9% of economy), same as 2009
In the 1940’s the United States infected about 700 Guatemalan mental patients with syphilis to study the use of penicillin
Bob Dole (as a Republican Senator) started the food stamp program
Newt Gingrich is unfavorable by 60% of Americans
Romney’s father put a cap on how much CEO’s made
Median income is $26,363 a year
In 2010 Apple earned $400k in profit per employee
Most Chinese workers at Foxconn earn less than $17 a day
Primary spending up 1,600% from 2008, individual campaign spending down 40%