How Much Could Alabama Save By Not Paying Legislators?

UPDATE: Sunday, 14 June 2015 – Found following main body
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Today (Thursday, 30 April 2015) the Alabama State Senate knocked off at 11:30, and reconvened 1PM. It’s also the final day of the Legislative Session for the week – they only work three days each week – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

An hour and a half – that’s a nice, long lunch break for a wealthy man, a powerful man – not a working man. It’s pretty cushy for someone who works three days a week, only 30 days a year. Reckon how your boss would respond if you asked for a three-day work week and a 30-day work year?

How long do you get for lunch?

Most folks get 30 minutes.

The Alabama Senate gets THREE times longer than most working folks.

But then, excesses in Alabama state politics is nothing new.

Recall that – by law – the Alabama Legislature is limited to work <30 days/year (in a 105 day period) & for that privilege, citizens & taxpayers fork over $50K+/yr in pay & compensation to them – 35 in the Senate, and 105 in the House.
TOTAL=140 men (mostly) & women.

In stark contrast, New Mexico’s State Legislators are a Volunteer Legislature (they’re elected, yes, but unpaid), and during Session, by State Law receive a Daily Federal Per Diem, and Two-Way Mileage once during a session EXCLUSIVELY.

Legislative pay in Alabama has been a hot-button issue, particularly in recent years – and, it’s unnecessarily complicated. By State Constitutional Law, their “official” pay is

More Stupid Questions: The “More Cow Bell” Curve, and other Standard Equal (and Unequal) Distribution post

Originally entitled as: More Stupid Questions: The “More Cow Bell” Curve, and other Standard Equal (and Unequal) Distribution post

I have returned to the title which I originally started… though I vascillated between this one, as well:

Yes. More Stupid Questions… and, “I gotta’ have more Cow Bell.”

Okay, the title says it all.

That is, unless you don’t understand statistics, the bell curve and equal distribution.

But, just in the case you don’t, here’s some low-down.

According to estimates by the United States Census Bureau, our nation’s population has recently exceeded 314,469,757. And with 4.47% of the world’s population, we are the 3d most populous nation in the world. China & India, with 1,344,130,000 (19.13%) & 1,241,491,960 (17.19%), are 1st & 2d, respectively. American population is about 25% the population of India. Expressed another way, India has 294.7889% more people than the United States.

I mentioned those figures just to give an idea of how small the U.S. really is by comparison.

Nevertheless, I digress. And so quickly! (My goodness!) Let’s return to statistics, the bell curve and equal distribution.

As you may have read in a previous post entitled “Ask a silly question, get a silly answer. Yes, there’s such thing as a STUPID question.”, “the bell curve is used to display information.”

The Bell Curve measures “Normal Distribution.”

In that post I had explained, writing that,

Mitt Romney picks up another porn star endorsement

Jenna Jameson Endorses Mitt Romney: ‘When You’re Rich, You Want A Republican In Office’

The Huffington Post  | By Nick Wing Posted: 08/03/2012 11:57 am Updated: 08/03/2012 5:32 pm

Retired porn star Jenna Jameson waded into the 2012 presidential race on Thursday, choosing a San Francisco strip club as the venue to announce her support for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.

CBS San Francisco has her comments:

“I’m very looking forward to a Republican being back in office,” Jameson said while sipping champagne in a VIP room at Gold Club in the city’s South of Market neighborhood. “When you’re rich, you want a Republican in office.“

With an estimated net worth of $30 million and a resume that includes 160 films, Jameson ranks as one of the porn industry’s wealthiest players.

Jameson’s endorsement may come

Royal New Zealand Navy finds huge floating pumice field in Pacific; Monowai Seamount volcano thought to have erupted

This news item is certainly fascinating, and there’s another fascinating observation in the stories that follow the leading one by CNN.

I think they’re quite noticeable.

See if you notice them.

Observations follow at the conclusion.

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‘Weirdest thing’ floats in South Pacific

By Todd Sperry, CNN
updated 10:36 PM EDT, Fri August 10, 2012

Officials reported the floating rock shelf to be 250 nautical miles long by 30 nautical miles wide.

(CNN) — Pumice, the lightweight stone used to smooth skin, is usually found in beauty salons, but on Thursday sailors from New Zealand‘s Royal Navy found nearly 10,000 square miles of the lava rock bobbing on the surface of the South Pacific Ocean.

By comparison, the state of Rhode Island comprises approximately 1,200 square miles.

Described by one sailor who witnessed it as

Is it true that some cultures eat live monkey brains?

Yeah, I thought that title would kinda’ get your attention.

It’s not “gratuitous,” of course. It’s old. And besides, our elite soldiers – Delta Force, Special Operations, SEAL Team, etc. – all are trained to eat unusual food, whatever is available to be eaten.

It’s definitely nothing new.

So, is it true that

Human Breast Milk Ice Cream… now on sale in the UK

Those crazy Brits…

Oh well.

I’m surprised also that medical and other ethicists have not jumped on this issue – even that the government has allowed this, which is the sale of human tissue. Hair, however, is sold – but body parts, such as cornea, heart and/or valves, etc., are not. That, of course, is also entirely discounting that many medications are excreted in breast milk. For example also, what happens when the supply is gone?

Reckon what the LaLeche League thinks of this?

And then, there’s the inevitable humor that will result.

24 February 2011 Last updated at 13:40 ET

Breast milk ice cream goes on sale in Covent Garden

A restaurant in London’s Covent Garden is serving a new range of ice cream, made with breast milk.

The dessert, called Baby Gaga, is churned with donations from London mother