There's a one-question special election in my town today. The only thing on the ballot is Measure A, which extends an already-in-place property tax assessment to help fund our schools.
I have a dilemma, but not much of a one.
The assessment on my property tax bill used to be $98. Seniors are exempt, so when Mrs. G turned 65 it went down to $49 and will go to zero next year since I have now turned 65.
The measure's backers are using this: "Seniors! Yes on A! YOU don't have to pay it!" That's a 'heh'.
I usually vote 'no' on bond measures (except for veterans) and taxes, so here's my dilemma:
Since I'm exempt, is it ethical for me to vote for taxes on others that I myself do not have to pay? Or is it schadenfreude (taking pleasure at the discomfort of others)?
This measure is going to pass, of that I have no doubt, so I think I will vote 'no' just to be contrary. Mrs. G is going to vote 'yes', no doubt out of her motherly instinct toward other people's little monsters.
So it looks like we will do our civic duty by driving five miles round trip to cancel out each other's votes. It's the American way.
Update:
I had a rare twinge of conscience of the "they must need it or they wouldn't ask for it and I don't have to pay it anyway and I can make everybody else pay for it so there' sort and voted 'yes'.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Going Deutsch
LATimes
Jum! Ja!
Berlin Currywurst, German street food comes to town
L.A., land of danger dogs, fusion tacos and more varieties of food trucks than anyone cares to count, appears to have an insatiable appetite for street food.
At least that's what the founders of Silver Lake's newest eatery, Berlin Currywurst (menu), are hoping as they bring the traditional taste of Germany's favorite fast food to Sunset Junction.
On a recent afternoon, Lena and Büntemeyer pushed out glossy white plates half-covered with steaming piles of thick-sliced sausage over the threshold from kitchen to counter. The sausage is smothered in the rich crimson of the curry sauce, like ketchup on steroids, with two hearty slices of rustic German farmer's bread standing vigil on the side. Paper-lined baskets of fritten — thick-cut French fries topped with sautéed diced onions — followed, being carried out to the hungry patrons parked on vintage schoolhouse chairs at unstained wood-plank tables.
Jum! Ja!
Alberto Granada 1922-2011
LATimes
Some things are more important than ideology. So long to a crazy bastard that would take a 5000-mile trip two-up on a '39 Norton.
Alberto Granado, who accompanied Ernesto "Che" Guevara on a 1952 journey of discovery across Latin America that was immortalized in Guevara's memoir and the film "The Motorcycle Diaries," died in Cuba on Saturday. He was 88.
Granado and Guevara's road trip, begun on a broken-down motorcycle they dubbed La Poderosa, or "The Powerful," awoke in Guevara a social consciousness and political convictions that would help turn him into one of the most iconic revolutionaries of the 20th century.
Some things are more important than ideology. So long to a crazy bastard that would take a 5000-mile trip two-up on a '39 Norton.
Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?
Lady Gaga eyes lawsuit over ‘Baby Gaga’ breast milk ice cream
I got this terrible visual of a breast as soft-serve dispenser...
This also made me wonder where the milkshakes at the gentlemen's club come from...
Drug czar questioned about legalizing marijuana
RawReplay, with video:
The biggest 'problem' is that Big Pharma hasn't been able to figure out how to get eighty bucks for an oxy like the street dealers have.
Interesting, doesn't change anything of course.
Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said legalizing marijuana would greatly increase its use, but that the issue should not only be approached as a criminal justice problem.
Kerlikowske added that prescription drug abuse was “clearly” the greatest drug problem in the United States.
The biggest 'problem' is that Big Pharma hasn't been able to figure out how to get eighty bucks for an oxy like the street dealers have.
This video was uploaded by KCTS9 on March 4, 2011.
Interesting, doesn't change anything of course.
Headline of the Day
Scott Walker Believes He’s Following Orders from the Lord
Shit, besides being just a general all-around right-wing asshole, he's one of those too. Figures.
Note to Scotty: That booming voice from on high that tells you what to do is the Koch brothers.
What Happens When Pretending to Be Crazy Is a Career Strategy
Paul Krugman on birtherism not as an actual belief but as a badge of belonging:
They are the brainwashed masses when it comes to ideology. We're all the brainwashed masses when it comes to who's runnin' the joint and what they're up to.
Heh. Aw, c'mon Paul, let 'er rip!
I have said this before, but it’s worth repeating: a large segment of the population in the United States is completely impervious to rational argument and the presentation of evidence. In our country, learned ignorance is on the rise.
Mr. Quiggin suggests that right-wingers aren’t really birthers in their hearts; it’s just that affirming birtherism is a badge of belonging, a shibboleth in the original biblical sense — “an affirmation that marks the speaker as a member of their community or tribe,” as Mr. Quiggin wrote on Feb. 17.
“Asserting a belief that would be too absurd to countenance for anyone outside a given tribal/ideological group makes for a good political shibboleth,” he added.
Mr. Chait counters that many conservatives in the United States believe that the liberal elite media is hiding the truth. But through their access to Fox News and like-minded media organizations, conservatives believe they have learned things the brainwashed masses don’t know.
They are the brainwashed masses when it comes to ideology. We're all the brainwashed masses when it comes to who's runnin' the joint and what they're up to.
My view is that Mr. Quiggin is correct as far as right-wing politicians are concerned: for the most part they know that President Obama was born here, that he is not a socialist, that a public health insurance program would not require the setting up of death panels, and so on. However, many politicians feel compelled to pretend to be crazy as a career move.
But I think Mr. Chait is right about the broader right-wing movement. I see it all the time with regard to my economics statistics: when I point out that inflation remains fairly low, or that the Federal Reserve is not literally printing money, people accuse me of using falsified data or say that I am cherry-picking the figures. This is a symptom of epistemic closure in conservative thought: if the facts don’t support certain prejudices, that’s because “they” are hiding the truth, which true believers know.
Just don’t get me started on climate change.
Heh. Aw, c'mon Paul, let 'er rip!
I hope Delta ...
Adopts this policy by the next time I fly to Europe overnight. They have a little over a month.
Make 'em pay ...
I like this:
Good. It's nice to see more people have had it with the coddle-the-rich policies that have killed this country,
...
The National People's Action network picked Monday to launch the "Make Wall Street Pay" campaign thanks to another show in town: the National Association of Attorneys General's Convention in Washington, D.C.
But they didn't stop there.
Moving from the meeting of all 50 Attorneys General, the crowd made their way to a Bank of America branch on Pennsylvania Ave. While about 300 stood outside, another 300 moved indoors, filling up the lobby and bringing business to a standstill.
Then, they went to see if Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) was available, filing into his Capitol Hill offices to send an unambiguous message: Wall Street must pay.
...
Good. It's nice to see more people have had it with the coddle-the-rich policies that have killed this country,
Link via Activist News via DU.
Quote of the Day
Mr. Philadelphia:
...
In the current rules of discourse, $250,000 makes you poor when it comes to taxation and 50,000 makes you absurdly rich with respect to everything else ...
Monday, March 7, 2011
Aha!
Raw Story
Must still be working on the script...or trying to find an actor with even less self-respect than the ones who do the call-ins.
The company responsible for syndicating big conservative radio names like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity has been using paid actors to call in to their radio shows.
While it's unclear which syndicated shows used the service, Op Ed News' Gustav Wynn speculated that Sean Hannity would be a prime candidate.
"Hannity's record of being caught manipulating public opinion, deceptively editing video, suppressing opposing views, and lopsided call ratios through the decades speaks for itself," Wynn wrote.
A call to Rush Limbaugh's spokesman was not returned at the time of publication.
Must still be working on the script...or trying to find an actor with even less self-respect than the ones who do the call-ins.
Three Fatal Republican Mistakes That Could Spell Their Defeat Next November
If they were really fatal, they'd all be dead but I guess that's too much to hope for. Robert Creamer at HuffPo:
Believing your own spin = drinking your own bath water.
That's basically their M.O., along with calling people godless commies who don't fall for their shit. When they get caught at it, which is more and more, they double down. The lies are getting so blatant, one marvels that they can do it with a straight face, but that's their way.
Also, at this point Mr. Creamer kinda goes off the rails or needed a tidy ending and says how smart American voters are and how they're catchin' on to the Repug bullshit. Yeesh. How long d'ya have to beat yer head against a wall before you realize it feels good when you stop? How smart does that make you?
Steep dive, meet the ground. Sooner rather than later.
First, Republicans forgot the fundamental truth that it is much more difficult to take something away from people that they already have, than to prevent them from getting something for which they aspire.
... (instead of the lengthy explanation - G)
The Republicans have forgotten this important history lesson. Take away things that people already have and you're in for a world of trouble.
Want to know how completely they've forgotten this lesson? Just last week, House Speaker John Boehner actually told the Wall Street Journal that his budget will attempt to cut Social Security and Medicare. This, in spite of polling that shows virtually zero support among the voters. There will be a firestorm of opposition. Go right ahead, John, make our day.
Second, the Republicans have forgotten the all-important political principle, that you can't believe your own spin. That's especially true if you spend all of your time talking to the small group of people who agree with you. Take the House of Representative's newly-elected Tea Party Caucus. This insular crew talks to each other -- repeats each other's slogans -- listens to Fox News and has convinced themselves that most Americans agree that government spending is the worst thing since murder and mayhem.
Believing your own spin = drinking your own bath water.
The winds have shifted -- and because they believe their own spin, many Republicans have yet to notice.
Bottom line is that these guys think they're flying straight and level, and they're really in a steep dive.
Third, the Republicans have failed to learn that you can tell people that up is down, and black is white, for only so long. Or to paraphrase one of the founders of the Republican Party: "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."
That's basically their M.O., along with calling people godless commies who don't fall for their shit. When they get caught at it, which is more and more, they double down. The lies are getting so blatant, one marvels that they can do it with a straight face, but that's their way.
Also, at this point Mr. Creamer kinda goes off the rails or needed a tidy ending and says how smart American voters are and how they're catchin' on to the Repug bullshit. Yeesh. How long d'ya have to beat yer head against a wall before you realize it feels good when you stop? How smart does that make you?
Steep dive, meet the ground. Sooner rather than later.
Quote of the Day
From a NYTimes piece you should read on how the End Of Days may be coming for one particular F**Prop loony hater who could be put to better use wherever they put guys with "The End Is Near!" sandwich boards.
The problem with predicting doomsday is that if you’re wrong, you have to figure out what to say the next day. And if you’re right ... well, the ratings will be terrific, for what that’s worth.
A Note to Rich People: You Should Probably Be Thinking Ahead Right About Now
If the Rude Pundit were a really, really rich motherfucker, like in the several hundred million and above club, he'd call a meeting of all his fellow really, really rich motherfuckers and he'd tell 'em that we've crossed a line, and, unless we want our houses burned down, our assets confiscated, our dogs raped, and our children killed like they were the brood of the Tsar, we better stop acting like such greedy pricks and demand that the people we all own in the government stop licking our taints clean for a little while and start acting like we're regular Americans, not First Class Black Card Americans.
The really, really rich Rude Pundit would point out that the filthy masses are getting all squirrely about collective bargaining rights and budget cuts on programs for the poor and middle class in order to pay for our tax cuts and the failure to prosecute a single person for shitcanning the economy. He'd then inform everyone that once the income gap gets more fully into the rhetorical mix, well, we really, really rich motherfuckers would be fucked and a half.
We'll round up on that. Double fucked.
More.
Oh, the irony...
Ironic Times
It's getting harder and harder to see the irony in these. I guess 'reasonably accurate reporting' is taking its place.
House Republicans Call for National Identity Card
It would allow officials at various points of entry to determine whether or not you're a Republican.
Government Grimly Holds On to Capital While Rebels Control Rest of Country
Will never surrender, vows Karzai.
Evangelists Forgive Gingrich, Themselves for Adultery, Lying
While attacking others who don’t meet high moral standards.
House GOP Wants to Cut IRS Budget for Audits
In nod to tax cheater base.
It's getting harder and harder to see the irony in these. I guess 'reasonably accurate reporting' is taking its place.
And Michael Moore is fat ...
Just like Al Gore, so they should be ignored:
...
How dare he, does he not remember his place...or that he's fat?
...
This is why ...
When the lease ran out on the Mrs.' car a few months ago, we turned it in and got a 4-cylinder, 2WD Escape instead. We still have the hotrod Limited Edition AWD V-6, but we drive the smaller-engined car more and more (except when the snow required us to use the AWD car), mostly for around-town errands where the 6-cylinder sucks it down (we've been averaging 28.5 mpg with the four and 21 mpg with the six*). I'm glad (now that prices hang around $4/gal) we made that move, especially since our past will probably come back to haunt us.
Heading up to the shop this morning for a vehicle inspection. I hope I don't notice the star in the windshield**.
*A disclaimer: I'd probably get better mileage with the 6-cylinder but it is so fun to drive. Heh ...
Heading up to the shop this morning for a vehicle inspection. I hope I don't notice the star in the windshield**.
**I am a New York State Vehicle Inspector.
McCarthyism ...
We haz it. The Long Island idiot ... no, the other one ... no, the other one ... no no, this one is convening his "Blame the Muslims" witch hunt hearings on the "Radicalization of Islam" in this country:
I don't want to know about anybody's god but this is still America (for however long that will last) and no religion, or none at all, should be held above or below another. King is just demonizing Muslims and throwing red meat to the base.
...
"What we're talking about is the demonization and criminalization of an entire American faith community here in our nation," MPAC's Alejandro Beutel said, describing the basic theory of the anti-Muslim fear mongerers this way: "You have to be on guard against all Muslims because you don't know when they're going to go all Jihad on you."
The fears over "creeping Sharia" follows a McCarthyite theme, said Beutel. "Instead of the Communist threat, it's the Muslim threat and the implementation of Sharia."
...
I don't want to know about anybody's god but this is still America (for however long that will last) and no religion, or none at all, should be held above or below another. King is just demonizing Muslims and throwing red meat to the base.
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