We've been conditioned to feel bad about paying our taxes, so this is the time of year when everybody is supposed to piss and moan about what a horrendous burden we're all carrying.
Maybe it's just my contrarian nature, but I kinda like it. I think it's a good thing to add it all up once a year to see where you stand. And when I take a close look at it, I think I'm gettin' a pretty good deal here.
I live in a great part of a great country; I can go where I wanna go, and I can do what I wanna do, and I really don't have to worry a lot about the basics. There's a lot I'd like to see improved. There's plenty to be done to get some balance back into the power structure, etc - that's all a given. If you want democracy, you have to practice at it. My point is that when I'm in the "28% Bracket", and I actually pay less than 16% of my total income for both Federal and State taxes, I find it hard to complain about the "burden". We had a boatload of deductions last year, but still, 16% total? That's cheap.
Random thought: with all the wacky shit that goes on in Congress, how long before some knucklehead stands up and proposes that what I pay in taxes this year should be allowed as a deduction on my taxes next year? Just wonderin'.
Apr 8, 2011
Drought
When we moved to Virginia 23 years ago, we were amazed at how lush it was. Of course, that could've been due simply to having grown up in the west where it's amazingly dry and airy, so by comparison, just about anywhere is going to seem wetter. But over the years, it's gotten drier - until it seems like we're always under some kind of drought condition now.
Take a look at February vs April 2011 via Drought Monitor, Univ of Nebraska:
They caution against reading these things "too literally", but this doesn't look like a happy trend, especially for the South Central states.
Take a look at February vs April 2011 via Drought Monitor, Univ of Nebraska:
They caution against reading these things "too literally", but this doesn't look like a happy trend, especially for the South Central states.
Apr 6, 2011
Fab Faux
No excuses - if you're a Beatles fan in any way, and you're near the east coast, you MUST go see these guys. You won't find much in the way of recordings - you'll have to see it live.
The Fab Faux - Abbey Road Side 2 (mostly) from The Fab Faux on Vimeo.
Apr 4, 2011
Fools' Play
Terry Jones is a straight up asshole. He makes a show of his "faith" so you have to know he's a fuckin' phony right off. Anyway, he sets up his little Burn-a-Quran day and then sits back and collects the accolades and (most important) the dollars that start flowing in as soon as certain other straight up assholes react in a totally and predictably asshole-ish way to his being an asshole.
Here's a question: why is this news to anybody?
Make no mistake; there are no good guys in this. The Muslimist assholes who react violently are no better than the Christianist assholes who deliberately foment Muslim rage; and anybody who sits around worrying about the politics instead of standing up and shouting a full-on gut-level condemnation of the whole sorry mess is an asshole too.
Here's a question: why is this news to anybody?
Make no mistake; there are no good guys in this. The Muslimist assholes who react violently are no better than the Christianist assholes who deliberately foment Muslim rage; and anybody who sits around worrying about the politics instead of standing up and shouting a full-on gut-level condemnation of the whole sorry mess is an asshole too.
Apr 1, 2011
A Little (re-)Education - updated
If you control the story of your country's history, you have a much better chance to mold its future.
One of the things Ayn Rand warned us about is what she called "the amputation of history". She was talking about how power structures manipulate us through propaganda - and one of the main points they rely on is that most of us don't remember our history lessons from school. Of course, the Right Radicals have been telling us for 30 years that all the schools suck; that they never taught us anything straight. So we're open to the suggestion that what we learned wasn't the true story, and we're also open to accept a substitute version that The Party is more than happy to supply.
Think about some of the ridiculous things we've heard from Haley Barbour and Michelle Bachman lately. Barbour made claims that race hatred in Mississippi wasn't really all that bad; and Bachman spun a whopper about how the founding fathers worked so hard to end slavery.
Now think about what they're telling us about the Boston Tea Party - how it was a revolt against taxes. It wasn't anything of the sort. It was actually a rebellion against the tyranny of a government that was being used by a mega-corporation to impose croney capitalism on people who simply wanted a chance to compete on a level field.
BTW: in case you're some kind of bone-head Libertarian who insists that this is just an example of 'counter-propaganda' and you can't trust anything you hear; go blow a rock. There are actually ways of discovering the truth about things, and there's this little matter of critical thinking that requires you to accept facts when they present themselves in some reasonable way.
I love this kinda shit (assuming I haven't been April-Fooled of course).
One of the things Ayn Rand warned us about is what she called "the amputation of history". She was talking about how power structures manipulate us through propaganda - and one of the main points they rely on is that most of us don't remember our history lessons from school. Of course, the Right Radicals have been telling us for 30 years that all the schools suck; that they never taught us anything straight. So we're open to the suggestion that what we learned wasn't the true story, and we're also open to accept a substitute version that The Party is more than happy to supply.
Think about some of the ridiculous things we've heard from Haley Barbour and Michelle Bachman lately. Barbour made claims that race hatred in Mississippi wasn't really all that bad; and Bachman spun a whopper about how the founding fathers worked so hard to end slavery.
Now think about what they're telling us about the Boston Tea Party - how it was a revolt against taxes. It wasn't anything of the sort. It was actually a rebellion against the tyranny of a government that was being used by a mega-corporation to impose croney capitalism on people who simply wanted a chance to compete on a level field.
BTW: in case you're some kind of bone-head Libertarian who insists that this is just an example of 'counter-propaganda' and you can't trust anything you hear; go blow a rock. There are actually ways of discovering the truth about things, and there's this little matter of critical thinking that requires you to accept facts when they present themselves in some reasonable way.
I love this kinda shit (assuming I haven't been April-Fooled of course).
Mar 31, 2011
Continue The Bleed
Here's another example of Interstate Job Transfer. As states continue to struggle to find the revenue necessary to provide services, company execs see great opportunities to leverage their positions to get somebody else to pay the bills.
From The Agonist this morning:
For 30 years, American companies have been exporting jobs to countries willing to offer major concessions in Labor Regulation, Environmental Law, Tax Abatements, etc. Now the states have learned how to play that game as well, so we should be able to look forward to a new era of fucked-up-ed-ness as one state raids another in search of a few extra taxpayers.
Companies are always going to push down on their costs, and everything a company has to spend on people adds up to every company's biggest cost. I get it; I understand; it's normal and expected and the way it has to be in business. I grock the situation.
The thing that really gripes me is that we accept this style of hard-ass management as necessary. It isn't. We think they have to be strong leaders and they have to make these difficult choices. They don't.
A strong and able manager almost never has to pull rank or try to dictate terms to his workers. In my experience, it's always the weakling (or the workplace politician) who is the most authoritarian.
We're headed back to the 18th century, and it's gonna be a really shitty ride.
From The Agonist this morning:
In the business of “let someone else pay for government services”, corporations are the hands-down winners. Corporations use the same roads as everyone else, fly out of airports, enjoy the services of the water, electric, and gas utilities, clog up the courts, get police and fire protection, and if necessary have their overseas interests secured by the military and the diplomatic corps. They just don’t want to pay for it. Fifty years ago corporate income taxes at the federal level generated about 6% of GDP; today the amount is less than 2% of GDP. The difference has been made up in increased taxes on individuals, and dramatically increased federal government borrowing.It's a free lunch for Corp Execs and Wealthy Investors, because the workin' slobs always pick up the check.
For 30 years, American companies have been exporting jobs to countries willing to offer major concessions in Labor Regulation, Environmental Law, Tax Abatements, etc. Now the states have learned how to play that game as well, so we should be able to look forward to a new era of fucked-up-ed-ness as one state raids another in search of a few extra taxpayers.
Companies are always going to push down on their costs, and everything a company has to spend on people adds up to every company's biggest cost. I get it; I understand; it's normal and expected and the way it has to be in business. I grock the situation.
The thing that really gripes me is that we accept this style of hard-ass management as necessary. It isn't. We think they have to be strong leaders and they have to make these difficult choices. They don't.
A strong and able manager almost never has to pull rank or try to dictate terms to his workers. In my experience, it's always the weakling (or the workplace politician) who is the most authoritarian.
We're headed back to the 18th century, and it's gonna be a really shitty ride.
Mar 30, 2011
Right Radicals
The Repubs are just chock full of silliness. Unfortunately, the rubes eat it up and keep going back for more.
per Andrew Sullivan, here's Newt Gingrich:
One of Sully's readers:
per Andrew Sullivan, here's Newt Gingrich:
"I have two grandchildren — Maggie is 11, Robert is 9," Gingrich said at Cornerstone Church here. "I am convinced that if we do not decisively win the struggle over the nature of America, by the time they're my age they will be in a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists and with no understanding of what it once meant to be an American."Because, you know - Islam is known mainly for its atheism(?) How, exactly, is it that Gingrich has the reputation for being the heavy thinker over there?
One of Sully's readers:
According to the hydra-headed GOP, Obama should have unilaterally attacked Libya weeks ago to help Al Qaeda sympathizers assassinate a terrorist tyrant who was recently courted by the Bush administration. Also he should have concluded the mission by now, sent the bill to China and then done the same thing in Syria, Yemen and Iran.Repubs have had a strong tendency either to ignore history, or to revise it in order to make it fit whatever they think will get them 40 seconds on DumFux News tonight. Maybe that's why they hate the public school system. If we know our history; if we know how our government is supposed to work; if we know something about critical thinking - then we know a load of bullshit when we see it. If we know enough to call it bullshit, then we know too much. And the Repubs have decided it's bad for them if we know stuff, so they're always working on ways to keep us stupid.
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