Vikings! Sequester! Ah!

The two subjects listed above literally have absolutely nothing in common except for the fact that I've been thinking about both of them lately.  So...one thing at a time!

Vikings

While listening to NPR (I admit it - I LOVE NPR) on my way home from work last night, I heard the beginning of an interview with the man who wrote the new Viking show on the history channel.  Being a small bit Norwegian myself, I found this interview fascinating, and since I had to turn off the radio before the interview was over, I decided to do some research myself.

-- Nerd Alert --

As a result of my research, here are five interesting facts about Vikings:

1. In reality, Vikings did not wear horned helmets.  Thanks for the historical accuracy, Wagner.

2. Most of the literature written about Vikings was composed by Christian and Muslim communities in the lands that the Vikings raided, which means that the Vikings' reputation is much more negative than they likely were.

3. Though I'm sure Christopher Columbus would like to take credit for discovering the Americas, that was simply not the case.  The Vikings - specifically Leif Ericson - sailed to L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland approximately 500 years before Christopher Columbus ever set foot on the continent.

4. Based on archaeological evidence, the Vikings were exceptionally clean people.

5. The Vikings didn't die out.  Instead, when raiding neighboring countries became unprofitable, they simply stopped raiding and settled in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Greenland.

Congratulations.  Now you know more about Vikings.


SequesterSequesterSequester!

At risk of sound criticism from the internet community, I am relieved that the sequester actually happened.  From my perspective, the amount of government spending is ridiculous and completely unsustainable.  If we were discussing personal finances, it makes perfect sense to me that if you're spending far more than you make in yearly income, you will be in too much debt to be able to repay.  The answer to debt is not to take more loans.  The answer to debt is to stop spending more than you have.  Plus, if you look at the graph, the sequester doesn't look like the "deep spending cuts" that we keep hearing about.

While I understand that cutting spending may have an effect on various entitlement programs, the military, and even every day life, it seems better to take a hit now before the debt gets worse.  There's no way to keep up with exponential spending when you're already in the hole without severe consequences, so if we have a chance to fix this with fewer consequences now, we should jump on that opportunity.  Plus, who would complain about the elimination of those awkward full body scanners that the TSA is so fond of?