Last week, a warm and fuzzy little milestone was reached. My blog exceeded 1,000 views --pauses for applause-- So in honor of myself and my awesome blog, I have decided not to post anything this week.
Except posting that I'm not posting is indeed posting. And since I'm already logged on and everything I might as well make it worth the while. Therefore, in celebration of this blog, the following nuggets of nonsense conform to neither rhyme nor reason and can only be described as all manners of things.
I believe the phrase is actually "all manner of things", but that name was already taken so I added the "s" to "manner".
If you are not aware that you should walk against the traffic and ride your bike with the traffic, you should not be walking or riding your bike anywhere.
Each day after I drop my daughter off at school, I drive away absolutely surprised that no one got run over and completely stunned at how stupid people are.
I'm pretty sure every character in The Walking Dead would have been zombies by late-Season 1. You can only wear tank-tops, no gloves, no eye protection, and no masks for so long before all that zombie blood-splatter gets into your open wounds, eyes, nose, and mouth. That being said, it's still the best show on TV.
Honey is the nectar of the gods, and mead is the best thing you can make honey into.
I sometimes wish my kids would disappear so that I can get some work
done (play video games), but when they're gone I get really bored.
I will never understand how the outcome of a sporting event can actually affect someone's mood.
If you embrace personal freedom, but support significant government control over the economy, you are not a liberal. You're extremely confused.
For some reason, I whistle Dixie at least three times a day.
If you can put on make-up, text, smoke, and sing, all while driving, then you will likely add "kill someone" to the list one day.
When do you think incest became taboo? How many people had to be alive on the earth before it was deemed inappropriate to marry your sister? I imagine the first two people accused of incest were pretty confused, and the first people that accused someone of incest were the biggest hypocrites of all time.
It's not cheating until you're married.
I enjoy flicking my kids in the head. It makes a satisfying hollow thump sound.
Do not be defined by your job, race, political status, or sexual orientation. To do so makes you a slave to that attribute, and bondage is never easily broken. Instead, be defined by your character, beliefs, and relationships. These are the things that great people are remembered for. Stand for what is right. I'll do the same, and together we can weather all manner of things.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
It's Good To Be The King
The subject of taxation came up at work the other day, and as usual, it got me all riled up. Which isn't very hard to do. If you know me, you know that I can get a bit excited about certain issues. And this happens to be one of them. This particular person actually thinks that he owns his home! Imagine that...owning something you've paid for! Here's how the conversation went:
Me: "So you paid your house off?"
Him: "Yep, I'm free and clear. I finally own it instead of the bank."
I chuckle. "Really? You own it now?"
Him: "Yeah, of course. I don't have a mortgage anymore."
Me: "What about the taxes you still have to pay on it?"
He shrugs. "What about them? I still own the house."
Me: "I wonder who would own your house if you chose not to pay your property taxes."
His eyebrows rose at that. Apparently, he hadn't thought of that before. And I do realize I was being a downer by bringing this up to him after he was so excited about paying his house off. But the issue of property taxes--and taxes in general--is a very hot topic right now.
In the middle ages, a king or lord would levy a property tax on the people they ruled over. If you "owned" land, you paid a tax on it. Well last I heard, we lived in a republic represented by the people. We're not in a fiefdom here. We don't pay tribute to a king. So why are we subjected to such a feudal system of taxation? I understand paying taxes on the things you purchase, houses and property included, but once you've paid something off you should own it.
Obviously, property taxes are used to fund certain public services such as schools, libraries, fire and public safety departments, and parks. Some of these are are important, some are not (i.e. public libraries). How many people actually go to the library anymore? And for those of you that said, "I do!" how many of you have actually checked out a book instead of renting a movie or video game? How about police departments? I live in Palm Bay, FL, and it seems the only thing Palm Bay cops do is write tickets. They sure as hell don't respond to emergency calls in a timely manner. So basically tax payers in my city pay to be cited for traffic violations. Not saying police aren't important, just saying they should remember who pays their salaries and quit being douche bags.
The reach of the government has become so long that people cannot even practice their profession without paying to do so. My wife is a cosmetologist, and each year she is required to pay a license fee in order to legally practice a vocation she has already gone to school for. Seriously? Twenty years ago, anyone could be a barber. Just open a shop and start cutting hair. If you didn't like your haircut, you didn't go back to that barber. Seems pretty reasonable to me. This applies to all businesses and professions. Why should you have to apply for an occupational license in order to open a business? What business is it of the government? Do you know how many small businesses close their doors for no other reason than they cannot deal with the hoops the government makes them jump through just to stay open?
So how do we pay for these services if we don't pay perpetual property taxes? The answer is simple really: FAIR TAX. A low to non-existent federal income tax coupled with a much higher sales tax. Simplify the tax code, terminate the IRS, incentivize small business and investors. The economy grows, so do tax revenues. Cut spending on frivolous nonsense. Keep what is needed, get rid of what isn't. The city doesn't need another multi-million dollar park. It doesn't need another street light in front of Calvary Chapel (especially when they have off-duty police directing traffic and making me late for service at the church I have to pass Calvary to get to).
There's an election coming up. Vote accordingly! We fought a revolution to get away from a tyrant king and his taxes. And although it may be extremely good to be the king, the fact remains we don't have one. No matter what our esteemed Commander and Chief thinks of himself.
Me: "So you paid your house off?"
Him: "Yep, I'm free and clear. I finally own it instead of the bank."
I chuckle. "Really? You own it now?"
Him: "Yeah, of course. I don't have a mortgage anymore."
Me: "What about the taxes you still have to pay on it?"
He shrugs. "What about them? I still own the house."
Me: "I wonder who would own your house if you chose not to pay your property taxes."
His eyebrows rose at that. Apparently, he hadn't thought of that before. And I do realize I was being a downer by bringing this up to him after he was so excited about paying his house off. But the issue of property taxes--and taxes in general--is a very hot topic right now.
In the middle ages, a king or lord would levy a property tax on the people they ruled over. If you "owned" land, you paid a tax on it. Well last I heard, we lived in a republic represented by the people. We're not in a fiefdom here. We don't pay tribute to a king. So why are we subjected to such a feudal system of taxation? I understand paying taxes on the things you purchase, houses and property included, but once you've paid something off you should own it.
Obviously, property taxes are used to fund certain public services such as schools, libraries, fire and public safety departments, and parks. Some of these are are important, some are not (i.e. public libraries). How many people actually go to the library anymore? And for those of you that said, "I do!" how many of you have actually checked out a book instead of renting a movie or video game? How about police departments? I live in Palm Bay, FL, and it seems the only thing Palm Bay cops do is write tickets. They sure as hell don't respond to emergency calls in a timely manner. So basically tax payers in my city pay to be cited for traffic violations. Not saying police aren't important, just saying they should remember who pays their salaries and quit being douche bags.
The reach of the government has become so long that people cannot even practice their profession without paying to do so. My wife is a cosmetologist, and each year she is required to pay a license fee in order to legally practice a vocation she has already gone to school for. Seriously? Twenty years ago, anyone could be a barber. Just open a shop and start cutting hair. If you didn't like your haircut, you didn't go back to that barber. Seems pretty reasonable to me. This applies to all businesses and professions. Why should you have to apply for an occupational license in order to open a business? What business is it of the government? Do you know how many small businesses close their doors for no other reason than they cannot deal with the hoops the government makes them jump through just to stay open?
So how do we pay for these services if we don't pay perpetual property taxes? The answer is simple really: FAIR TAX. A low to non-existent federal income tax coupled with a much higher sales tax. Simplify the tax code, terminate the IRS, incentivize small business and investors. The economy grows, so do tax revenues. Cut spending on frivolous nonsense. Keep what is needed, get rid of what isn't. The city doesn't need another multi-million dollar park. It doesn't need another street light in front of Calvary Chapel (especially when they have off-duty police directing traffic and making me late for service at the church I have to pass Calvary to get to).
There's an election coming up. Vote accordingly! We fought a revolution to get away from a tyrant king and his taxes. And although it may be extremely good to be the king, the fact remains we don't have one. No matter what our esteemed Commander and Chief thinks of himself.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
The Sign Said Only Long-Haired Freaky People Allowed
I saw a picture the other day of a quaint little sign that said, "If only closed minds came with closed mouths". I couldn't infer where the sign was located, but I imagined it was perched atop the service counter of some small business that sold cleverly offensive bumper stickers and homemade bongs, run by a rat-tailed hippie that still believes in sex without consequences. I'm probably way off...my imagination tends to get away from me sometimes.
But regardless of where the sign sat, I couldn't help but have a problem with what it means. For a number of reasons. The foremost being how absolutely hypocritical it is. What is this really saying? It's saying that if you have an opinion that I find "closed minded" then you should shut your mouth. In other words, if you disagree with me, I don't want to hear it and I don't think anyone else should hear it either. So who is closed-minded? Maybe someone should make a sign saying, "If only closed minds didn't think of ridiculous things to put on signs."
Furthermore, it serves to deepen one of the underlying problems in this country. We can't have debates anymore without one side calling the other side names or being dismissed as closed-minded. I recently had a conversation with a long-time friend about gay marriage. It ended with me being de-friended on Facebook and I haven't heard from her since. I'm sure she thought I was being "closed-minded" about the issue...but I'm not the one that got angry and cut off all forms of communication. I guess some people can't be friends with someone they don't see eye-to-eye with. I'm not one of those people.
Even the term "closed-minded" bothers me. It's nonsensical if you really think about it. How can someone even have a closed mind? In order to have an opinion or conviction, you have to register at least a little bit of information about the subject. You search for the truth, and once you believe you've found it, you defend it. How is that "closed-minded"?
I submit to you that there are no closed minds. There are only minds. To each one is given, unique to any other, and you are expected to use it. So the next time someone accuses you of having a closed mind, remind them how stupid they are. Just kidding...sort of.
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