Rhubarb Report 061

The best month of the year will be upon us tomorrow. No, it's not the month of my birthday. No, it's not the holiday season. No, it's not even the start of college football season - and that's a darn good month.

March is upon us. The days are getting longer. Daylight savings time begins this month. SXSW is a March phenomenon in Austin. But wait - there's more. How about March Madness? Add in the start of the F1 season, and you have a lot of reasons to celebrate - or, at least I do.

In the meantime, we have rhubarb to discuss. With no further adieu, here is Episode 061.

1. The US Department of Justice has joined a civil whistle-blower lawsuit against Lance Armstrong. The suit was filed by Floyd Landis and it appears that the US DOJ are now a part of it.

The US Postal Service paid out $30.9 million from 2001 - 2004. That's a lot of money. But it then begs the question: how much did the US Postal Service gain from its sponsorship? Robert Luskin, part of Armstrong's legal team, claims that they benefited to the total of greater than $100 million.

That would probably be the best return on investment that the USPS has had in ages!

Maybe Congress could take the time to look into things like, well, multi-billion dollar health care monopolies - instead of drugs in Major League Baseball or cycling? Just a thought.

2. Confirmation bias plays a huge role in our society. We select data that support our belief systems. However, when faced with evidence to the contrary, there is oftentimes a lot of finger-pointing in defense. But finger-pointing doesn't solve problems, especially when you are prepared to nonchalantly (yet actively) ignore other facts while you do so.

Case in point: a discussion I had this week about President Obama, jobs, and the economy. I can fully respect those who may be upset with the President's perceived slow economic growth, job creation, and "entitlement programs". Fair enough. That is the beauty of public opinion, isn't it?

What intrigues me to no end is that many of these same people who have concerns about the economy turned a blind eye to the now-nearly $4 trillion Iraq war bill that was essentially put on a credit card. How much would that $4 trillion dollars be worth if it had stayed in the bank? But I digress.

3. This just in from north of the border: Canada now has a new "ambassador of religious freedom". Dr. Andrew Bennett will serve in this role. He will be working through the foreign affairs department and have a $5-million budget to monitor and promote religious freedom globally. Prime Minister Harper noted that Bennett "will promote it as a key objective of Canadian foreign policy". Well alrighty then. How about spending some money to get the Stanley Cup back to Canada? [insert sarcasm from jaded Toronto Maple Leafs fan here]

Perhaps the US could create an "Ambassador of the First Amendment"? Instead of trying to "spread democracy" around the world, why not simply promote the values of free speech? Then democracy and freedom would take care of itself – much like it did in our own backyard a few hundred years ago.

Photo credits: Wikipedia