More Wisdom From the Church of Arvind

In his defense, Arvind later sent me these messages yesterday, and they make more sense than Monday's comments. He also wanted me to post these for him. He says he doesn't want to comment on here himself but just wants to "use me" to vent his thoughts:

Nov 18, 10:49 am

One last thing where are the fathers of these bitching women (who sit around discussing what they are not getting education wise for their kids while they watch the view and go hang out and have a f--- session with personal trainer) I will give my time which far more valuable than just reading that cadence to find out how much money people have donated

Nov 18, 12:04 pm

Hey last word, if this school is in such a financial mess deprivatize the school, have stricter curriculum entrance standards and 1 gain the football powerhouse which once was (5AAAA) 2 teachers will be paid more, there public monastery schools in sav where its very affordable and have high entrance standards

I know none of us are interested in getting into another BC debate for the millionth time and that's not the point here. Arvind says he just really feels strongly about these things and wanted them posted on here. I would be interested to see how you go about "deprivatizing" something. Maybe BC could contact Kingston or Isakson and get a piece of that $700 billion bailout.

Arvind Raman Text Message Challenge

It's America's fastest growing game. Here's how it works:

1) I post a text message Arvind has recently sent me.
2) The first person to successfully figure out what in God's name Arvind is trying to say wins 4 free packets of honey mustard from the fast food establishment of their choice.

Nov 17, 12:43 am:

Randomthought when teachers substitues they recruit to talk to students. Its not about raising tuition but alumni volunteer. if bc wants to gain money, people need tet their hands dirty and not resort to buying there way out. Think about it.

Oh trust me, I've "thought about it" a lot. I guess he's saying something about people volunteering more, but I'm still clueless as to what that first sentence means. Anyways, have at it and good luck.

SC priest: No communion for Obama supporters

Awesome.

Pat, didn't you live in Greenville?

Nov 13 06:59 PM US/Eastern
By MEG KINNARD
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -

A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.

"Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein.

"Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exits constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil, and those Catholics who do so place themselves outside of the full communion of Christ's Church and under the judgment of divine law. Persons in this condition should not receive Holy Communion until and unless they are reconciled to God in the Sacrament of Penance, lest they eat and drink their own condemnation."...

..."I don't understand anyone who would call themselves a Christian, let alone a Catholic, and could vote for someone who's a pro-abortion candidate," said Ted Kelly, 64, who volunteers his time as lector for the church. "You're talking about the murder of innocent beings."

New Report: Oil CEO Greed Down By Over 50% In Past Month

I'm happy to report Big Oil CEO's have really started getting nicer, all at the same time, over the last 5 weeks or so. For whatever reason, the oil companies have all gotten together and decided to be half as greedy as they were back in September. It all started at the beginning of October. You could start to see it in each CEOs' eyes: they started getting really feel-good nice and didn't feel like making as much money as before. So prices began to fall dramatically. The average gallon of gas is under $2 in many areas, thanks to less greed.

Right-wing ideologues will no doubt attempt to explain these price changes away by using annoying economics terms like "supply" and "demand." But that's just typical Republican nonsense; we all know what's really going on here. Change is in the air and even the greediest among us are starting to feel they have a social responsibility to offer "fair" prices for gasoline instead of relying on the greed tactics of the Bush years. We shouldn't rest too easy, however, because I'm told that experts are predicting greed levels to rise again in the Spring once the summer driving season picks up.

Letter to The New York Times: Do people 'deserve' universal health care? By Donald J. Boudreaux

Business & Media Institute11/6/2008 11:14:08 AM

To the Editor:

Advocating universal health care, Steven Safyer, M.D., hopes that "the next administration will see the wisdom of acting — not just talking — so Americans get the care they deserve." (Letters, Nov. 6)

What evidence is there that Americans do not now "get the care they deserve"? Material deserts are earned, not given by nature. In the case of health care, the fact that even POOR Americans consume other things so abundantly casts doubt on the supposition that this land is crowded with people who are denied health care that they deserve. Consider, for example, that today 80 percent of POOR households have air-conditioning (compared to only 36 percent of ALL households who had it in 1970); 75 percent of poor households today own a car, and 31 percent own two cars; the typical POOR American has more household living space than does the typical Parisian and Londoner; and nearly 80 percent of POOR American households have a VCR or DVD player.*

Someone who voluntarily purchases X instead of Y - where X is widely regarded as less vital than Y - cannot legitimately be said to deserve Y.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Boudreaux

* Robert E. Rector, "How Poor Are America's Poor?" Heritage Foundation, August 2007
Don Boudreaux is the Chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University and a Business & Media Institute adviser.

Black Pope could follow Barack Obama's election, says US archbishop

The election of Barack Obama as the first African-American US President could pave the way for the election of the first black Pope, according to a leading black American Catholic.

Wilton Daniel Gregory, 60, the Archbishop of Atlanta, said that in the past Pope Benedict XVI had himself suggested that the election of a black pontiff would "send a splendid signal to the world" about the universal Church.

Archbishop Gregory, who in 2001 became the first African American to head the US Bishops Conference, serving for three years, said that the election of Mr Obama was "a great step forward for humanity and a sign that in the United States the problem of racial discrimination has been overcome". Like Mr Obama Archbishop Gregory comes from Chicago, and was previously Bishop of Belleville, Illinois.

He said that recent Popes, beginning with John XXIII and Paul VI, had brought prelates "from all nations and races" to Rome to take up senior positions in the Curia, the Vatican hierarchy. This offered "an international vision of a Church rich in diversity", he told the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

Pope Benedict — whose next encyclical is on globalisation and social justice — had a "world outlook" as a theologian whose thought had "opened hearts and minds on five continents", Archbishop Gregory said. The former Joseph Ratzinger, who as a young man in his native Germany had witnessed "the horrors of the Second World War", spoke a "universal language".

Archbishop Gregory said that the next time cardinals gathered to elect a Pope they could "in their wisdom" choose an African pontiff. "My own election as head of the US Bishops Conference was an important signal. In 2001 the American bishops elected someone they respected regardless of his race, and the same thing could happen with the election of a Pope."

He said that in a papal conclave, the cardinal-electors were "guided by the Holy Spirit to choose the person who best responds to the exigences of the moment". At the last conclave in 2005, after the death of John Paul II, it was widely thought that the cardinals would choose a Third World pontiff, perhaps from Africa or Latin America.

The choice of Cardinal Ratzinger, who had been at John Paul II's side for over twenty years as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was seen by many as a vote for a man who embodied continuity and had stressed the need to shore up the faith in the West itself in an age of secularism and materialism.

This week Pope Benedict XVI congratulated Mr Obama on his "historic" victory, offering his prayers for the President-elect "and for all the people of the United States".

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said that the Pope's message was "personal" and would therefore not be published. However he said that the papal message referred to the "historic occasion" of the election and congratulated Mr Obama, his wife and family.

"He assured him of his prayers that God would help him with his high responsibilities for his country and for the international community," Father Lombardi said. The Pope had also prayed that "the blessing of God would sustain him and the American people so that with all people of good will they could build a world of peace, solidarity and justice." The message was sent via Mary Ann Glendon, the US ambassador to the Holy See.

Ireland's Primate Questions the EU

I was able to personally attend Mass celebrated by then Bishop Sean Brady, Bishop of Antrim, last year before the bishop was named a Cardinal by PBXVI. The bishop was in Savannah for a reunion with our own Bishop Boland. The two, with several other Irish peers, attended the same seminary.

He seemed fairly orthodox; the sermon addressed the end of abortion.

He now questions the EU's benefit for Ireland. Hopefully, his resistance will assist in blocking the EU's involvement in Ireland.

"Is it possible that citizens experience the EU nowadays primarily in terms of rather intrusive bureaucracy, oppressive legislation and insecure economics rather than as a social project based on fundamental human values," he asked.

Where To Go From Here

Last night's results were depressing, but in no way surprising. There will now be a serious debate within the Republican Party as to which direction it should go, a debate which should have started after the big losses suffered 2 years ago, but will undoubtedly begin in full force now.

Many Republicans, most of whom are part of the elite media (David Brooks of the New York Times is a prime example) or are part of the beltway crowd, will argue the party has shifted "too far to the right" these past 8 years, and needs to move towards the center and "find common ground" with the Democrats if it wants to return to electoral success. They say the party is too "ideological" and "stuck in the 1980s" and this is why they've lost the past 2 elections. It's time to find "common sense solutions" by working with the other side, and to make peace with big government by simply making it run better. It's time to expand our base by appealing to minorities and their concerns.

Others like myself realize these elitists are the ones who got us into this mess in the first place. The party has actually shifted too far to the left, particularly on economic issues, essentially becoming the Democrat-lite Party. After a trillion-dollar expansion in federal spending and a record increase in the size of entitlement outlays since 2001, one can hardly claim this administration has been "too far to the right" on taxes and spending. We've tried too hard to expand our base by reaching out to folks who aren't going to vote for us anyway. Why would big-government supporters choose diet socialism when the Democrats offer the real thing?

In '84, '88, and '92, young voters (those under 30) made up the most conservative portion of the electorate. They were reliably Republican and supported Reagan by wide margins. Today, the under-30 crowd are the most liberal voters. 66% of them supported Obama. What happened? A lot of it has to do with Bush's dismal failures, but a lot of it also has to do with young people today being a lot dumber and less skeptical than Generation X was of big government and Jimmy Carter liberalism. The flip side of this is that we haven't been actively educating these voters like we used to. This leaves CNN, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert to do the educating instead, which is extremely troublesome.

The end result is thousands of white, gooey-eyed college kids who got 1400 on their SATs but couldn't tell you what the top marginal income tax rate is lining Pennsylvania avenue and filling Grant Park, cheering in jubilation that Washington is going to get bigger, stronger, and steal more of their parent's income. Their limitless faith in one mortal, fallible man's ability to do infinite good with other people's money and magically solve all problems for all people is a religious fantasy far more dangerous than anything Bill Maher attacks every day. I mean at least faith in God is a lot cheaper, and at least going to mass is voluntary. Complying with the IRS isn't.



Long story short, "compassionate conservatism" has always been a defunct governing strategy and its followers must permanently be purged from our ranks. The conservative philosophy should never have to make apologies for itself, nor should it be abandoned in attempt to win over people that aren't going to vote Republican anyway. The Democrats continue to nominate the most liberal members of their party (Kerry & Edwards in '04, Obama in '08). How come we don't get to nominate our party's most conservative members? Here's a starting point for 2012: anyone who supported/voted for the bailout should not be allowed to seek the Republican nomination.

I could go on and on about what needs to be done to reclaim our principles, but I will instead leave you with a speech given by Ronald Reagan in March of 1975. This was in the wake of huge losses Republicans sustained after Nixon's resignation and the Watergate hearings. That situation was so similar to today's, and Reagan's words are so on point they're almost prophetic.

Why Voting Shouldn't Be That Big a Deal

Today is election day and you've probably heard round-the-clock public service announcements from celebrities on TV, radio, and youtube telling you to "get out and vote, no matter what, no excuses" because "you have a public duty" and "the stakes are too big for you to stay home."

I would rephrase this announcement to say get out and vote, but only if you already planned on doing it (before Leonardo DiCaprio or Ben Affleck commanded you) and only if you actually know what's going on in this country. People that have to have MTV tell them to get off their ass and pull the lever are already clueless and probably don't pay taxes. Frankly, they should do the public a duty by not voting.

But statements like "the stakes are too big to stay home" bring focus to a larger point that's really worth discussing. If our politicians and judges actually obeyed the Constitution instead of doing violence to it at every twist and turn, the stakes really shouldn't be that big on the election day, and choosing our president shouldn't be that big a deal. The founding fathers designed the presidency to be the head of state and commander-in-chief of our armed forces should Congress declare war, and little else.

The fact that the stakes are so big illustrates just how powerful, intrusive, and omnipresent the federal government has become in our economic and personal lives, and how ignored our original Constitution is.

You'll also hear pundits say how the "right to vote is what made America great." Well, there's some truth to that, but I don't think voting is the most important right we as citizens have. What about the right to private property, to freedom of assembly, to own a firearm, to earn and keep the fruits of one's labor, to trade freely with others?

If these aforementioned rights were as fiercely protected under the Constitution as originally intended, the right to vote wouldn't be as nearly as big a deal as it is today. It simply wouldn't matter if the president was Republican or Democrat, because neither would have the ability to benefit or burden us as private individuals. It wouldn't matter who was appointed to the Supreme Court, because each justice's role would be limited to interpreting laws instead of writing new ones from the bench and determining social policy for 300 million people. It wouldn't matter which party controlled Congress because $3 trillion of our tax dollars wouldn't be up for grabs to be wasted at the whim of the lobbyists and interest groups that feed (gorge might be the better term) at the federal trough. The redistributive state as we know it wouldn't be allowed to exist.

A few decades ago (not sure if it still holds true today) it was said that the best-run government in the world was Switzerland, yet you could walk up to someone on the streets there and ask them who the president was and get a blank stare in return: so few people there actually knew who their own head of state was, not because they were ignorant, but because the national government played such a non-role in that country's society.

I'm not saying let's all pack our bags and move to Switzerland, but, like millions of fellow young voters today, I have that magical "HOPE." Hope that some day, this country will return to a constitutional republic where government is small, limited, and insubstantial. After glancing at Messrs. Obama's and McCain's platforms for no more than, say, 10 seconds, it becomes apparent I won't be able to hold my breath waiting for that day to come.

BC's "Pink Out"

Great, the BC Cadets want to eliminate breast cancer, just like every other reasonable human being.

Private efforts to help prevent cancer should always be encouraged... except when it involves wearing pink at a BC football game.

Call me a heartless bastard, but PC junkies are creeping into BC's activities.

Who came up with this idea?

The Showdown

'Dogs gonna need some help from old lady luck this afternoon.

BMBS at the Movies: 30 Years Later, Halloween Still Kills

It goes without saying that the scariest movie ever made is The Exorcist. Audiences threw up in movie theaters across the country when it opened and some people even had seizures after seeing it.

My parents let me rent it from Blockbuster when I was in 4th grade and it gave me nightmares nonstop years after that. I remember seeing the re-release in the theater one night after a BC football game senior year, where I had to sit next to Arvind and Megan Neher, as if that situation wasn't already scary enough.

But while The Exorcist easily wins the scariest award, the film itself isn't necessarily all that clever or ground-breaking for horror films. Sure, it used some cool special effects and pushed verbal (and physical) vulgarity limits to unprecedented heights, but it was ultimately a strict book-to-film adaptation that remains in a narrow genre of its own that can't really be expanded upon.

So as far as the smartest and most influential horror movie of all time, that award goes to John Carpenter's Halloween. Produced on a shoestring budget, it was a massive sleeper hit released in the fall of 1978. It built and expanded upon the slasher film model introduced 18 years prior by Psycho and created an entirely new genre of horror movies.



It's true that just about everything that came after Halloween sucked really bad: Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. were all terrible because they lacked the darkness and depth of their archetype. Still, Halloween deserves credit for starting that genre in a manner that combined simplicity (good vs. evil, the boogeyman is scary) with creativity (evil in human form that cannot be killed, that wears a signature mask over a face we never get to see, that moves subtly and slowly but is unstoppable, that returns to haunt a particular town on a specified date each year, and that instantly appears/disappears in dark corners created by perfectly positioned camera angles or is often viewed from a first-person perspective).

Halloween is also great because it employs a less-is-more approach. There are very few special effects used and only a couple of bloody scenes. Except for the short prologue, we don't see the first killing until an hour or so in. In this way Carpenter, like Hitchcock, is able to slowly stoke the audience's suspense level instead of desensitizing it with the up-front, nonstop gore and guts scenes we see in theaters today. Carpenter also got lucky in discovering then-unknown Jamie Lee Curtis and casting her as the protagonist. There's just something about Curtis' performance, particularly in the last 20 minutes, that announces to viewers that something is going on here that clearly separates this film from the typical, campy B-movie category under which many of Carpenter's other endeavors fall.

So this weekend, forget paying $8 to go see Saw or whatever it's called. Head down to Movie Gallery and rent this timeless classic instead.

Attention Nerds:

Due to a torrent of complaints from the 11 million World of Warcraft weirdos, the zombie disease has been eradicated from the game.

How this qualifies as news, I'll never know.

R.I.P. Crystal Beer Parlor

BMBS mourns the loss of a Savannah institution: the Crystal Beer Parlor, which closed its doors for good last Friday. Founded in 1933, this place served 25 cent hamburgers to people during the Depression. Inside you would find pictures from the BC/Savannah High game and other memorabilia.

It should be noted that CBP closed once before (for renovation or something, I think) when we were in high school, but according to Savannahnow, this time it's permanent. There was also the short-lived southside location on Waters Ave., but that place lacked any remote semblance to Jones Street or the food served there. Crystal Beer Parlor served the best hamburgers and onion rings in all of downtown Savannah. The new Five Guys has some pretty big shoes to fill.

Patrick Predicts the Election

I realize we talk way too much about politics on here but we've got 7 days left til this thing plays out. Here are my projections for the night of November 4th:



Electoral Prediction: Obama/Biden - 364; McCain/Palin - 174
Popular Vote: Obama/Biden - 52%; McCain/Palin - 45%

It goes without saying that a lot could still happen in a week. And I've been wrong about a lot of things this past year, especially Obama's ability to defeat Clinton in the primaries, which I was convinced was impossible.

I've actually been a little generous to McCain here, because it also looks like Indiana could go Obama's way. This is quite astonishing when you consider that Bush won Indiana by more than 20 points in 2004, and carried North Carolina (which I guess isn't part of the South anymore) by 15. Jesus what the hell happened. You know pigs are starting to fly when the most liberal member of the US Senate is able to carry Indiana of all places. It really doesn't get any worse than this. This is where the "independent," "moderate," "maverick," "I'll support the bailout and use taxpayer money to buy up irresponsible and stupid people's mortgages so I can piss even more people off from my party and get more praise from the New York Times that isn't going to endorse me anyway" approach gets you: nowhere. We'd be in much better shape right now had Romney won the nomination and had less "independents" (e.g., Democrats) been allowed cross over and screw up our primaries.

P.S. = Also, keep your eyes on Montana. It could end up going blue as well.

Barack Obama on Redistribution of Wealth

Besides the claim that Democrats in general support government handouts to some extent, in a 2001 interview, Barack blatantly discusses the Civil Rights movement's failure to procure redistribution of wealth in America.

Barstool Tax Policy

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier

BMBS Book Club: The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Morris Goldwater

I too was on my lunch break the other day at Borders when I came across this cool new title. Actually, wait, that's a total lie. This book was written 48 years ago and I've already read it cover to cover at least 15 times since college when I wrote my senior history thesis on the 1964 election and its impact.

I first encountered Conscience my junior year at Georgia when I checked it out at the library late one night. Written at the height of the Cold War, this short 150-page masterpiece made the case for conservatism during a time of liberal dominance in Washington. Goldwater, a Senator from Arizona, was the first prominent Republican politician to seriously question the New Deal and scathingly attack the "Me Too" Republicanism that was prominent in his party. He argued that Social Security should be voluntary, that taxes and spending should be slashed, that power unconstitutionally usurped by FDR should rightfully be returned the States, and that Soviet Communism should be defeated, not merely contained. Here is a sample quote from the book's first chapter:

I have little interest in streamlining government, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed in their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is "needed" before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents' "interests," I shall reply that I was informed their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.

Man wouldn't it be cool if Arizona senators running for president still talked like this today. Anyway, Goldwater would later run for president in 1964 and lose in one of the biggest landslides in American political history. This was due largely to Kennedy's assassination less than a year before and to Johnson's ability to portray Goldwater as a far right, anti-poor extremist who would ignite World War III and kick elderly dependents out of their homes and into the streets. The Johnson campaign's "Daisy Girl" ad, probably the most famous political TV ever made, suggested that Goldwater would provoke all-out nuclear war.

To be fair, Goldwater didn't help matters with a series of off-the-cuff remarks made during the course of the campaign, including ones like "We ought to lob one into the men's room of the Kremlin" and "Sometimes I think this country would be better off if we just sawed off the Eastern Seaboard and let it float out to sea." Goldwater supporters used the theme "In your heart, you know he's right," to which Johnson's people of course countered "In your gut, you know he's nuts." Johnson devastated Goldwater 61% to 38% on election day. I am happy to report that all 4 of my grandparents were in this 38% minority.


Anyway, Goldwater ended up being the most important losing candidate of the 20th century. He led the Sunbelt in a conservative takeover of a party previously dominated by Northeastern, country-club liberals. He is one of the primary reasons why the South started voting Republican after a century of unwavering Democratic allegiance. The grassroots, anti-establishment nature of his movement laid the foundation for GOP successes decades later. As George Will likes to say, "Goldwater won the '64 election, it just took 16 years to count the votes."

I would recommend this book to basically anyone who already thinks like me and actually cared enough to read the past 5 paragraphs.

BMBS Book Club: Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis

On one of my almost daily trips to Barnes & Noble on my lunchbreak, I was perusing the books in the music section. It was there I first stumbled across Scar Tissue, which is the autobiography of Anthony Kiedis and the story his involvement with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'll admit that although I liked the Chili Peppers, I was never really a huge fan. While their sound has always been fresh and exciting, I've always felt their lyrics somewhat nonsensical and a little hard to relate to since they were so out there. I picked it up and started skimming through and was blown away. I couldn't put it down, so I bought it and stopped the other book I was reading.

That was a couple weeks ago and I've nearly finished it. It's honestly one of the best books I've read in a long time. His story is great on so many levels, from the formation of the band, to the relationships between him and his friends, to his battles with drug addiction, to the women in his life who inspired his music.

Earlier I said that while I enjoyed their sound, the Chili Peppers lyrics seemed foreign to me, but what has struck me most about this book is the context it placed on their lyrics. Throughout the book, interspersed with Kiedis's outstanding prose, are lyrics to Chili Peppers songs that he wrote and how they apply to where he was in his life and where we, as the reader, are in his story. Seeing the lyrics in that context helps them make a little more sense.

This has been an outstanding read so far and I can't recommend this highly enough.

Tax Proposals

91 - 0

That was the score of a high school football game.  From Rivals:

ESTERO, Fla. - The Estero High football staff gathered in head coach Rich Dombroski's office late Friday, almost in stunned silence.

Earlier that night, Estero lost to Naples High by 13.

Not by 13 points. By 13 touchdowns. That's right: Naples 91, Estero 0.

All-purpose back Greg Pratt helped Naples pile on the points.

The rout fallout has been growing since the game ended.

"Hey," offered Estero defensive line coach Pat Hayes after the one-sided affair, "I didn't even know 91 was a multiple of seven."

With that, the coaches all got a much-needed laugh.

A half-hour away in Naples, Eagles coach Bill Kramer—the man on the winning end—could use one of those.

He looked at the scoreboard late in the game, saw 91-0, and said he felt sick to his stomach. Kramer's team ran only 31 plays and he kept most of his best players on the sideline—for the entire game in some cases. But still Kramer knew what was coming.

Soon after the game ended, his inbox began filling with angry e-mails, some from Estero parents wondering why so many points were necessary, some from Naples parents wondering why their kids didn't play more in an effort to pad their stats.

"There's only one way to describe it," Kramer said. "Just bizarre."

The schools aren't far off in size: Estero has about 1,400 high schoolers, Naples roughly 1,700.

But the pedigree of the football programs couldn't be more different.

Estero is rebuilding from the lowest level, with Dombroski in his first year at the school and having inherited a program that had simply crumbled. Naples is the reigning state Class 3A champion, and a contender to win the title again. Naples has players committed to Division I schools like Ohio State already and a roster filled with talent at every position. Estero has no college prospects and only about 25 healthy or so players remaining on its roster.

"Some of us, most of us, well, all of us were intimidated," said Tyler Eastridge, a free safety who may be exaggerating when he says he weighs a 150 pounds.

Naples led 70-0 at the half; only four of the 1,420 games reported by member schools to the Florida High School Athletic Association this season have seen teams score more than 70 points.

"It was David versus Goliath," Dombroski said, "and David didn't have a stone to throw."

The national record books are incomplete, but a score like 91-0 won't register a blip on the list of all-time defeats. It wasn't even the most lopsided score in the country this weekend—in Ohio, Beechcroft beat Centennial 96-0, taking knees on plays in the fourth quarter to avoid triple figures.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, five teams have scored more than 200 points in a game, with the record believed to be 256 by Haven (Ky.) High in 1927.

Dombroski isn't blaming Naples.

"Naples did absolutely nothing wrong," Dombroski said. "We just didn't do anything right."

Kramer has been in this spot before.

In 2001, the Golden Eagles scored 63 first-quarter points and beat Lely High — ironically, where Dombroski's girlfriend teaches today—85-0, and Kramer suddenly became the target of perceptions that he intentionally ran up the score.

But in that game, just as on Friday, Naples had some of its starters not play at all, and others just for one or two series.

	Carlos Hyde paves the way

"We've been through it before and you never want to go through it again," Kramer said. "There were people ready to burn my house."

It's an unsettling time again.

The Naples Daily News ran a poll asking if Kramer and his team "should be ashamed" over the result, and by Monday afternoon, the vote was nearly dead-even: 239 no, 225 yes.

Hearing that, even Dombroski shook his head. He e-mailed Kramer on Monday to reiterate that Naples did nothing wrong, but that's hardly the only opinion swirling around Naples these days.

"My daughter plays basketball and there's a local team that's really good and when they're about to score 100, there's no polls about that," Kramer said. "When the local lacrosse team wins 24-0, where's the outrage? Or when kids win 6-0, 6-0 in tennis? We score 10 touchdowns and everybody loses their minds.

"The real irony is we've got some of our parents upset that their kids didn't play or didn't play enough. And you just say, 'Wow."'

Dombroski knew when he took the Estero job that there would be days like Friday, but he said the 91-0 thumping might help him turn the program around.

"We won't forget this. I won't forget this," said Dombroski, whose freshman program is off to a 4-1-1 start this year, a sign that better days could be ahead for Estero. "We're not going to lay down. We're going to fight for 48 minutes, every time we're out there."

So on Monday afternoon, when school got out at 1:45, the Estero High football team headed to its locker room and prepared for practice. New scouting reports were waiting for them, and soon the team headed onto the field for practice, their blue jerseys whipping in the wind as they stretched.

"Our team might not be winning or might not be on top right now," said right guard Mike Perez. "But we all have to do the best we can do. We can't forget that."

And so, they were back to work, which they'll need. This week, Estero plays Cape Coral—a team that nearly beat Naples.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=862709

I'm Still Not Stimulated

I overheard a few analysts on CNN earlier today talking about Congress' plan to pass a 2nd economic stimulus bill (since the first one did its job so well). I've explained numerous times on here why such initiatives aren't helpful. Government can't create wealth; it can only transfer it from Peter to Paul.

Anyway, this Democratic commentator on CNN mentioned how we need another stimulus bill that will "rebuild our crumbling infrastructure" (Is it really crumbling? Diamond Causeway and Truman look just fine to me. Hm. Whatever.), constructing new bridges and dams that will "create thousands of new, good-paying jobs" during these tough times, just like during the New Deal.

This proposal got me thinking: if "job creation" is the ultimate goal here, why don't we pass a bill that calls for the construction of 10 (or 100?) new dams in the Potomac River around Washington D.C. And let's pay each worker that helps build these new dams an annual salary of...say...$300,000 per year. Seems well-paying enough. And...oh yeah, instead of allowing the workers to use productive, high-powered industrial equipment like bulldozers and cranes, let's say they can only use...spoons. That way lots of new jobs would be required, and we'd really be able to get this economy going!!

In addition to the dams, we could build hundreds of new bridges too. And parks. And monuments. And pyramids. This would eliminate joblessness and the economy would really get a good jolt! Times might be tough now but it's okay because Washington can save us all with full employment by creating millions and billions and gazillions of new jobs! Who's with me?

More Than 100 Reasons to Vote Against Barack Obama

Check out this Catholic priests' blog (sorry for the association to religion, Ryan) for 100 Reasons to Vote Against Barrack Obama.

McCain may be a poor choice, but he's better than the alternative.

Barak Obama and the American Flag

I just received the following in a forwarded email. Does anyone know if the below was truly said? I can never be sure with forwards.

If so, what a son of a bitch Obama is.

Perhaps there are SOME out there who are beginning to get 'the picture'. The following is a narrative taken from Sunday Morning's televised "Meet The Press'. and the author is employed by none other than the Washington Post!! Yeah......the Washington Post of New York and Los Angeles Times fame!! Must say that I'm dually impressed.................. From Sunday's Televised "Meet the Press" Senator Obama was asked about his stance on the American Flag.

Obama Explains National Anthem Stance Sun, 07 Sept. 2008 11:48:04 EST, General Bill Ginn' USAF (ret.) asked Obama to explain why he doesn't follow protocol when the National Anthem is played.

The General also stated to the Senator that according to the United States Code,
Title 36, Chapter 10, Sec. 171... During rendition of the national anthem when the flag is displayed, all present except those in uniform are expected to stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. At the very least, "Stand and Face It"

Senator Obama Live on Sunday states, "As I've said about the flag pin, I don't want to be perceived as taking sides, Obama said. 'There are a lot of people in the world to whom the American flag is a symbol of oppression. And the anthem itself conveys a war-like message. You know, the bombs bursting in air and all. It should be swapped for something less parochial and less bellicose. I like the song 'I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing.' If that were our anthem, then I might salute it."We should consider to reinvent our National Anthem as well as to redesign our Flag to better offer our enemies hope and love. It's my intention, if elected, to disarm America to the level of acceptance to our Middle East Brethren. If we as a Nation of warring people, should conduct ourselves as the nations of Islam, whereas peace prevails. Perhaps a state or period of mutual concord between our governments.

When I become President, I will seek a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity, and a freedom from disquieting oppressive thoughts. We as a Nation have placed upon the nations of Islam an unfair injustice.

My wife disrespects the Flag for many personal reasons. Together she and I have attended several flag burning ceremonies in the past, many years ago. She has her views and I have mine". Of course now, I have found myself about to become the President of the United States and I have put aside my hatred. I will use my power to bring CHANGE to this Nation, and offer the people a new path of hope. My wife and I look forward to becoming our Country's First Family. Indeed, CHANGE is about to overwhelm the United States of America.

WHAAAAAAAT the Hell !!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it right. This could possibly be our next President.
I, for one, am speechless.

Dale Lindsborg,

Washington Post

UH....OHHH!!!

This is a 6 minute recap of a House Committee hearing on the housing crisis. I know it's long but it keeps getting better, and better, and better.

What you will find is that the Republicans on the committee almost universally question the liquidity of the assets of Fannie and Freddie, call for more regulation, and warn that American taxpayers will eventually have to pay for irresponsible lending.

Democrats, on the other hand, are "pissed off" that they would spend taxpayers' money to question the "outstanding leadership" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which did not need to be fixed since they were "not broken".

Why were the Two-faceacrats so deep in the tank for the lending institutions?? Simple. A cornerstone of their neo-socialist policy is that every single American should own a home. In the interest of fairness, the Bush administration was a willing participant in this dangerous game. In defense of weak economic numbers, one of the first talking points out of the White House has been "...but minority home ownership is at record levels".

This crisis is a "result of greedy Wall Street fat cats"??? Maybe so, but ONLY with a wink and a nod from the hammer- and sickle-toting Left.

"Irresponsible lack of regulation on the part of Republicans"?

Get your popcorn ready.

The Quotable Connolly, War on Terror Edition

In wake of the worst attacks on our homeland, Americans wanted to feel reassured that our nation's best and brightest were there to protect us. And Chris Connolly was there to provide that reassurance to all 18-22 year-old females at Bird Dog one Saturday night in October of 2001:

"Hey baby. They sendin' my unit ova to Afghanistan this week on a top secret mission to find Bin Laden. This is my last nighta freedom. You look like you need a yayga-bomb."

Quote of the Week

Sir Charles Barkley is always there to give a great quote when necessary.

Quote of the week from Sir Charles Barkley:

"Poor People have been voting for Democrats
for the last 50 years... and they are still poor."

The Palin Problem.

The problem with Palin is not her doing, but rather the problem lies with McCain holding her back. If the problem is not corrected before November, expect higher taxes in 2009.

The Mishandling Of Sarah Palin
By Andrea Tantaros
Republican Political Commentator

To many political insiders it is apparent that the McCain campaign has mismanaged Sarah Palin.

The first female governor of Alaska broke onto the political scene a confident, competent contender. She was a take-no-prisoners, fearless female who cut through the bull to do what’s right, no matter which corrupt politician is in her way. The evolution over the past few weeks from what the world originally witnessed until now has been staggering and paints a picture of a woman who seems quite the contrary.

With each passing day Palin appears increasingly mishandled and marginalized, two crucial characterizations that are not her fault.


There is something about her disposition that signals she isn’t allowed to be who she really is, or who she wants to be. Any good press staffer knows that in order to maximize the mojo of your candidate you must accentuate their assets, not hide them. And anyone with a functioning brain knows that when you’ve got a good thing, you use it. Palin could be the only candidate on the ticket this fall that comes out of this financial crisis without mud on her face. She could be an effective surrogate for McCain calling for reform in Washington and Wall Street but instead they’ve chosen to stifle her voice.

I’d like to point out that this problem was observed over a month ago on my Web site, with a column that urged the McCain campaign to “let Palin be Palin,” long before any other outlet addressed the issue. Since then we’ve seen the campaign relegate her into a defensive bunker, and when she emerges, she seems unsure, and uncomfortable with the message she’s been fed. Some would argue the messenger is flawed. Or perhaps the message is broken, boring and regurgitated, three things that Sarah Palin is not. My money’s on the latter.

Palin was comfortable with the media until she met the McCainiacs, who have all but declared a jihad on the mainstream media. After McCain announced she was his pick for Vice President, his camp was inundated with requests from media outlets, as expected. These inquiries were rebuffed and ignored. The McCain camp has even ignored inquires from a prominent women’s magazine and its millions of curious and valuable readers.

Many of the former Bush aides that now surround Governor Palin suffer from extreme paranoia. They behold an obvious insecurity that manifests itself in stubbornness and incessant bullying. Most of all they approach tough situations from a position of weakness rather than strength. Rumors swirled that many of these same staffers were worried she would get asked about abortion thus they declined every interview offer. Sarah Palin, in my opinion, is someone who is so morally grounded in her positions she doesn’t shy away from tough questions. Something many Beltway buffoons should learn a lesson from.

Another lesson: Sarah Palin is a force to be reckoned with. She is the antithesis to the elitism that often plagues politics. She is someone who has common sense and a cause. She deserves to speak her mind and engage with the people she hopes to represent. And she deserves a team around her that will capitalize on her strengths, not try to run from them. Let her shine in the McCain camp, before it’s too late.

Bailout Blunders

I'm convinced after the developments of these past few weeks that on economic issues, George W. Bush could well end up being the most left-wing, unrepublican president we've had in our lifetimes. I was happy to see Republicans in the the house finally stand up to him, rejecting Monday's $700 billion bailout bill, but this was more theatrics than anything else: the Senate will easily pass the same bill tonight which the House will rubber stamp later on.

One thing I keep hearing on the networks, both from liberals and alleged "conservatives," is that taxpayers could somehow "make money" on this deal, so it's really a "buy-in" that we should all be excited about. Well here's a question for them: if these securities and assets are such a good buy and have so much potential, why are we forced into purchasing them? Why hasn't the private sector snatched them up already? And most importantly, from a philosophical standpoint, why does the federal government even have the authority to confiscate $700 billion in our incomes for this purpose in the first place?

If you get a few minutes today, please email Saxby and Isakson's offices and tell them to vote against this monstrosity. Trying to keep asset prices artificially inflated instead of allowing the market to do its job by liquidating them is what's kept Japan in a recession for the last 18 years. Failed government policies is what got us into this mess in the first place; we must allow the free market to lead us out of it.

Personal Income and Outlays Increased in August

The American economy is still strong and growing, albeit a slower pace.

Americans' personal income increased $61.5 billion in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $12,267.1 billion, according to figures released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis on September 29, 2008. Revised figures for July show a decrease of $69.0 billion. Personal outlays in August increased $4.0 billion, to $10,614.3 billion, after an increase of $14.4 billion in July. Personal consumption expenditures increased $3.9 billion in August, compared with a July increase of $14.2 billion. Personal saving was $103.6 billion in August, compared with $201.0 billion in July.

Why We're In The Mess We're In

This prophetic news article comes from the September 30, 1999 New York Times (hat tip: Coyote Blog):

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990s by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and CEO. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980s.

"From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

Just one more example of the insidious effects of government intervention in the free market. And now we all have to pay for it, to the tune of $700 billion.

The Nonsense of Global Warming

Paul Johnson 09.11.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated October 06, 2008

August was one of the nastiest months I can remember: torrential rain; a hailstorm or two; cold, bitter winds; and mists. But we are accustomed to such weather in England. Lord Byron used to say that an English summer begins on July 31 and ends on Aug. 1. He called 1816 "the year without a summer." He spent it gazing across Lake Geneva, watching the storms, with 18-year-old Mary Shelley. The lightening flickering across the lake inspired her Frankenstein, the tale of the man-made monster galvanized into life by electricity.

This summer's atrocious weather tempted me to tease a Green whom I know. "Well, what about your weather theory now?" (One of the characteristics of Greens is that they know no history.) He replied: "Yes, this weather is unprecedented. England has never had such an August before. It's global warming, of course." That's the Greens' stock response to anything weather-related. Too much sun? "Global warming." Too little sun? "Global warming." Drought? "Global warming." Floods? "Global warming." Freezing cold? "Global warming."

I wish the great philosopher Sir Karl Popper were alive to denounce the unscientific nature of global warming. He was a student when Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity was first published and then successfully tested. Einstein said that for his theory to be valid it would have to pass three tests. "If," Einstein wrote to British scientist Sir Arthur Eddington, "it were proved that this effect does not exist in nature, then the whole theory would have to be abandoned."
To Popper, this was a true scientific approach. "What impressed me most," he wrote, "was Einstein's own clear statement that he would regard his theory as untenable if it should fail in certain tests." In contrast, Popper pointed out, there were pseudo-scientists, such as Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. Marx claimed to be constructing a theory of scientific materialism based on scientific history and economic science. "Science" and "scientific" were words Marx used constantly. Far from formulating his theory with a high degree of scientific content and encouraging empirical testing and refutation, Marx made it vague and general. When evidence turned up that appeared to refute his theory, the theory was modified to accommodate the new evidence. It's no wonder that when communist regimes applied Marxism it proved a costly failure.

Freud's theories were also nonspecific, and he, too, was willing to adjust them to take in new science. We now know that many of Freud's central ideas have no basis in biology. They were formulated before Mendel's Laws were widely known and accepted and before the chromosomal theory of inheritance, the recognition of inborn metabolic errors, the existence of hormones and the mechanism of nervous impulse were known. As the scientist Sir Peter Medawar put it, Freud's psychoanalysis is akin to mesmerism and phrenology; it contains isolated nuggets of truth, but the general theory as a whole is false.

The idea that human beings have changed and are changing the basic climate system of the Earth through their industrial activities and burning of fossil fuels--the essence of the Greens' theory of global warming--has about as much basis in science as Marxism and Freudianism. Global warming, like Marxism, is a political theory of actions, demanding compliance with its rules.

Those who buy in to global warming wish to drastically curb human economic and industrial activities, regardless of the consequences for people, especially the poor. If the theory's conclusions are accepted and agreed upon, the destructive results will be felt most severely in those states that adhere to the rule of law and will observe restrictions most faithfully. The global warming activists' target is the U.S. If America is driven to accept crippling restraints on its economy it will rapidly become unable to shoulder its burdens as the world's sole superpower and ultimate defender of human freedoms. We shall all suffer, however, as progress falters and then ceases and living standards decline.

Out of Balance

When I'm driving to my country home in Somerset, I pass two examples of the damage Greens can cause when their views are accepted and applied. Thanks to heavy government subsidies, many farmers switched from growing food to biofuel crops--perhaps the most expensive form of energy ever devised. The result has been a world shortage of food, with near starvation in some places, and a rise in the cost of food for everyone. We're now getting wise to this ridiculous experiment; shares in biofuels have fallen, and farmers are switching back to their proper work. But the cost has been enormous.

The other thing I pass is a new windmill, spinning slowly around. Windmills were the great invention of the early Middle Ages--man harnessing nature and using it to replace muscle power. When I was a boy more than 70 years ago there were still a few windmills, but nobody doubted they were on their way out. The thought of going back to wind power would have seemed preposterous. Nevertheless, under pressure from Greens this has happened. Wind power is a grotesquely expensive and inefficient form of energy, and the new windmills are hideous things, ruining the landscape and making an infernal noise.

Marxism, Freudianism, global warming. These are proof--of which history offers so many examples--that people can be suckers on a grand scale. To their fanatical followers they are a substitute for religion. Global warming, in particular, is a creed, a faith, a dogma that has little to do with science. If people are in need of religion, why don't they just turn to the genuine article?

Biden: Wealthy Americans Must Pay More Taxes To Show Patriotism

Joe Biden has informed us how our wealthier citizens can become more patriotic.

Presidential Candidates' Tax Policies in a Nutshell

I have copied and pasted the following summary from CCH Tax Research NetWork.

Whichever candidate is elected in November, there are likely to be big changes proposed to the tax code. The presidential candidates' proposed tax policies include changes to individual and business income taxes, the estate tax and Social Security. For individuals, Sen. Obama would provide expanded credits for families, savers, homebuyers and clean vehicles; Sen. McCain would double the personal exemption to $7,000 and extend and index the increased alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amounts.

On the business side, both Obama and McCain seem to support reducing the corporate tax rate; McCain proposes a corporate tax rate of 25 percent. However, the candidates differ on the estate tax with Obama favoring the status quo, a top rate of 45 percent and a $3.5 million exemption, while McCain proposes a top rate of 15 percent with a $5 million exemption. The candidates also differ greatly on the issue of Social Security: Obama favors the current structure, with an increase in the payroll tax to pay for it, and McCain favors personal accounts for younger workers.

Individual Income Taxes

Obama proposes a $1,000 tax credit for families with incomes between $8,000 and $75,000 ($500 for individuals). He would extend the current marginal rates for the lower tax brackets and proposes to eliminate the federal income tax on seniors with incomes below $50,000. He suggests a universal mortgage credit of 10 percent, up to $800, a $4,000 refundable education credit, and expanding the existing Savers Credit to more taxpayers and making it refundable. He also proposes an expanded earned income tax credit (EITC), an expanded Child and Dependent Care Credit by making it refundable, and an expanded tax credit for clean vehicles. To pay for these tax breaks, he proposes restoring the 36- and 39.6-percent tax brackets, raising the capital gains and dividend tax rate to 20 percent for families with incomes over $250,000 ($200,000 for individuals) and restoring the phase-out for itemized deductions and exemptions. He also supports simplified tax returns for many filers and would also extend and index the increase in AMT exemption amounts.

McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, including the lower marginal rates and capital gains and dividend rates. He also proposes gradually doubling the personal exemption amount to $7,000. He would pay for these proposals by eliminating congressional earmarks and with unidentified cuts in government spending. He has proposed simplified tax returns for many filers. He would also extend and index the increased AMT exemption amounts and has proposed an election for a separate and simplified alternative tax system.

Business Income Taxes

Obama generally supports corporate tax reform and hints of corporate tax rate reductions for domestic business activity tied to repealing other business tax breaks and closing loopholes to pay for the rate reductions. He also proposes to eliminate capital gains taxes on small businesses. Loopholes Obama has identified include clarifying the economic substance doctrine, increasing capital gains reporting, eliminating special tax breaks for oil and gas companies while expanding the renewable production tax credit, taxing carried interests as ordinary income, and what is described as the CEO pay loophole. He would also reform international tax loopholes and crack down on international tax havens. Further, he proposes making the research and development credit permanent.

McCain has proposed reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, banning taxes on internet sales and cell phones, and permitting full first-year expensing for capital acquisitions. These tax breaks would be paid for with spending cuts or corporate loophole closers, identifying some of the tax breaks for oil and gas companies and repealing the domestic production activities deduction. McCain has also proposed expanding the research and development credit and making it permanent.

Estate Tax

Obama would preserve the estate tax as in effect in 2009: a 45-percent top tax rate and a $3.5 million exemption.

McCain wants to preserve the estate tax with a 15-percent top tax rate and a $5 million exemption.

Social Security

Obama would preserve the existing Social Security structure but help cover the growing deficit by imposing a payroll tax of four percent (two percent each from employer and employee) on incomes over $250,000.

McCain has proposed adopting personal accounts for younger employees, similar to proposals by the Bush administration.

Health Care

Obama proposes targeted health care tax credits including a health care credit for small business. He proposes a new health insurance exchange to provide health insurance, paid for by employers who do not provide employee health insurance.

McCain wants a refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 for families to be paid for by treating employer-provided health benefits as taxable compensation to the employee.

By Jeff Carlson and Stephen K. Cooper, CCH News Staff

Halfway There

Only six more months to go!

Meet tonight at Kevin Barry's for shenanigans.

Celebrities chime in on Palin

Some of the Hollywood elite have been expressing their views on the nomination of Sarah Palin by the GOP. You can find a lot of them here.
But I think Pamela Anderson's hard hitting critique should really pull in those borderline votes Obama's way: "I can't stand her. She can suck it."

How To Give a Real Convention Speech

Give 'Em Hell, Sarah

Best running mate pick in modern history. Not exaggerating. Is it too late to flip the ticket and put McCain at VP instead?

September Talking Points

- BC defeated what is probably the best 5A team in Savannah Thursday night. In other words, had the Cadets decided to play in 5A this year, they'd at least go 8-2, possibly 9-1. With that comes a guaranteed playoff spot, Saturday morning front page headlines, rekindled local rivalries, higher attendance with more games at Memorial Stadium, and a program and student/alumni body that feels a lot better overall about itself and can walk with swagger around town again.

- John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin for VP was a masterstroke of political genius. Ms. Palin not only appeals to moderate women voters, but also to me. She's pro-gun, pro-life, pro-drilling, fiscally conservative, and hot. She's also a sharp and fiesty debater, so it should be fun to watch Biden try to take her on. I've never been a McCain type of guy but I may be more likely to vote for him now just because of her.

- Georgia might be #1 but they are going to catch hell against pretty much every opponent after Central Michigan. Kentucky just got done devouring Louisville. Alabama skewered Clemson last night. And Florida put Hawaii to worse shame than the 'Dogs did back in January. Tech and Vandy may even be formidable.

- And finally, Hurricane Gustav will likely hit parts of New Orleans some time tomorrow. Everything is starting to look familiar but history should not repeat itself because Louisiana has a real governor this time around.

Post-Denver

I was luckily able to catch most of the major speeches from the DNC this week in Denver, Colorado. I must say I now feel far more educated, enlightened, and hope-filled in the wake of hearing some of the most narcissistic, self-aggrandizing greatest orators this country has ever had.

The first thing I quickly became aware of is that things are bad right now. Really bad. We've got single working moms with no health care whose minimum-wage jobs just got outsourced living under bridges next to veterans with blown-off arms who can't afford food for their uninsured kids who will never be able to afford to go to college. And all of these people were doing great until, of course, George W. Bush came into office. It wasn't until W entered the White House and decided to make all of these people poor that our national nightmare of the last 8 years began.

Now I've never met or seen any of these downtrodden folks, but this is probably because I live in The Landings. It's probably because I whiz past Butterbean Beach and Thunderbolt Bridge too fast to notice all of these hopeless souls living under there that have never had it so bad. But don't be thrown off: these people are out there. Somewhere. Trust me. And one thing's for sure: something needs to be done. Now more than ever, we need a man with a plan. As a young, educated white person, I feel guilty and I really, really want somebody to step up and fix things. Poverty, the environment, the economy. All of these things have gotten worse during the last 8 years, I guess, so it's clearly time for action and shared responsibility.

The next thing I realized is that Barack Obama, a first term senator from Illinois, is the man for such a job. He can and will single-handedly fix all of the country's ills if we would just allow him. Obama is a superb leader because he is both bold and humble. Bold because he is willing stand up to those miserly business owners and taxpayers and tell them it's time to step up and pay more than just a meager 40% of what you take home. Humble because he only needs to evangelize in front of 80,000 jubilant supporters to hear him refer to himself in the first-person plural, proclaiming that "We are the change we've been waiting for."

He also has a proven track record on leadership filled with real-world accomplishments, like being a United States Senator in 2005, being a United States Senator in 2006, and being a United States Senator in 2007. And finally, he's black. I mean c'mon, even if you're not Democrat, wouldn't it just be cool if we had a black president? Kind of like Tiger Woods!

In closing, I was in tears last night, much like the hundreds of thousands who turned out in Denver. I was gripped by sheer elation as I listened to one man's personal hopes, dreams, and ambitions for acquiring power. And now more than ever I am filled with hope that government can and will solve all of society's problems, even ones that may not exist in the first place.

It's time...

The long wait is finally over.

It Ain't Easy Bein' Green...

This jackass was busy smelling his farts when he wrecked his Prius.

BIG IDEA!!!

I'm too lazy to upload a picture to grab your attention, so I just used caps in my title.

We leave the Weather Channel on in the lobby at work and after hearing about our newest Tropical Storm, Gustav, I got a pretty good idea.

I know the National Weather Service is obviously a government organization, but there's money to be made when it comes to the naming of storms. Why not sell the naming rights? Obviously, the big brands wouldn't go near an advertising medium that has the ability to level cities and kill people, but gambling sites and other niche market startups could snap up some great exposure with a storm named after their company.

While Quaker Oats would suffer immensely from a Hurricane Cap'n Crunch fiasco, think of the potential customers that could be reached with endless weather coverage of Tropical Storm Xango or Hurricane GoldenPalace.com. If some entrepreneur could figure out a way to secure the naming rights from the National Weather Service, he'd make a mint.

... AND THAT'S MY BIG IDEA!!!

Who Dat Tryin' to Beat BC?

Today was the first day of school at BC, so I thought I would give the BMBS readers a preview of the 2008 football team.

Quarterbacks B-
JR Alex Hunt has the unenviable task of replacing one of the all-time great QBs to wear the maroon and white. Hunt is built just like the departed DeFilippis, however A.J. was slightly taller and a little more agile. Luckily, Hunt will not be relied on to make plays. With a stable of talented running backs, his job will be to simply manage the offense. Look for FR Michael Summers to see a good amount of playing time as well. Summers is an extremely talented athlete from Statesboro that many are tabbing as a future blue-chip college recruit. It will be interesting to see how Coach Herndon handles the QB battle between the experienced junior and the talented freshman.

Running Backs A+
The Cadets return the best backfield they have had since the late 90s. SR Caleb Collins runs like a greased pig. He is incredibly quick, shifty and his small stature allow him to hide behind the line. JR John Williams is the thunder to Collins' lightening. Williams has excellent vision and the ability to break tackles. Adding depth will be SR Cam White and SO Aric Brown. These two are talented enough to start on most teams in this area.

Offensive Line C+
The OL suffered the biggest hit to graduation as SR Joey Rutherford is the only returning starter. Rutherford was an All-Region performer in 2007. SR Alex Miles was the only other lineman to see action last season. SO Bradley Wilkerson would have been a regular last year, however he was relegated to the JV and Freshmen teams. Wilkerson is a giant and is a potential D1 recruit if he grows a few inches. JR Tommy Dodsworth has a very large frame and could have a breakout year if his work ethic improves. SO Luke Pashke will fill the last spot at tackle. Originally a linebacker, Pashke was the best candidate to fill the void at tackle. The Cadets have very little quality depth on the OL.

Tight Ends & Receivers B-
SR Joseph McCuen looked to be a potential All-Region TE in 2008, however a broken arm will sideline him for most of the season. JR Andrew Whelan has been forced into the starter's role and lacks the strength and pass-cathching ability McCuen had. JR Joey Friess returns as the slot man. I don't know who will play receiver this year. I am guessing RBs Cam White and Aric Brown might be split out and QB Michael Summers may also see some action. It doesn't really matter, though. Hunt is not much of a passing threat, so I doubt BC throws the ball more than five times a game.

Defensive Line A-
SR Clinton Joyce return for his third year as a starter and SR Timmy Smith returns as well. With Bill Brasky-esque stature, Smith surprised a lot of people last year and might draw some interest from some D1 schools. The Cadets will likely rotate a few people at the other DL spot. I expect JR Andrew Johnson to see a lot of playing time.

Defensive Ends C+
The Cadets lost two good DEs to graduation. JR Colin Oxnard and SO Kavie Rutherford will be the starters in 2008. Rutherford has the potential to be an All-Region performer by the time he graduates.

Linebackers A-
SR Stephen Danello is lone returning starter, however JR Taylor Robinson did see a good amount of playing time last year. This will be one of the best LB tandems in the region.

Defensive Backs B+
SR Dennis Green and JR Matt Shay have the potential to be All-Region performers. Green is a great cover man and Shay will knock you head off from his safety spot. JR Howie Pavlo was forced into a starting role last season due to injuries. Pavlo is small, but quick and tough; a lot like Kevin Sheahan. The remaining slot is up for grabs. SR Wynn More, JR Cody Davis, JR Will Summerlin, JR Kirk Long and JR Stephen Humphrey will all compete for playing time.

Special Teams B+
FR James Deal (yes, grandson of Coach Harry Deal '45) is the best kicker BC had had since Scott Shelton. If he continues to improve, he will draw D1 interest as a senior. QB Alex Hunt will likely handle the punting duties and will do a good job. RBs Caleb Collins and John Williams will be a dynamite set of return specialists. Kick coverage was a problem for the Cadets last year and is the only reason ST did not receive an A.

Handball: And You Though Soccer Was Retarded

While I fully accept that my love of the beautiful game of soccer is not shared with other members or readers of BMBS, I have to point out that things could be a lot worse.

Take, for instance, Handball. This game appears to have been developed by people with no athletic skill whatsoever. The few rules of the game are lazily enforced and dribbling is merely a suggestion. The object of the game is to move the ball down the court, using your hands, and throw the ball into the goal which is being guarded by a goalkeeper. Essentially, when you're in the attacking third, the best strategy is to throw the ball to a spot the keeper can't get to, like the bottom corners, top corners, or a girl's house.

This game is played all over the world by people who lack the coordination to play real sports and Wikipedia claims the sport has over a billion players worldwide. I tried getting onto more reputable league and governing body sites, but I can't read Turkish or Korean.

Teams usually score 50 to 70 goals in a game, so watching Handball is even less exciting than the NBA, if that's possible.

And this is an Olympic Sport.

Eat it, France

Unfortunately this is the best quality version available on YouTube at the moment. Still worth watching, though.

Phil Hartman Fridays

Culturally Appropirate Health-Care (by Don Boudreaux)

The Latest From Cafe Hayek

Posted: 06 Aug 2008 10:15 AM CDT,

Here's a letter that I sent today to the Washington Post:

La Clinica del Pueblo's Mauricio Silva boasts that his clinic supplies "culturally appropriate health care" (Letters, August 6). I love this idea! And I presume that in this age in which diversity is celebrated and all cultural preferences are equally respected and protected, I can receive my own culturally appropriate health care.

In my culture - call it individualist - I am not forced to pay for anyone's health care and no one is forced to pay for mine. I'm free to choose to buy health-care insurance as long as it isn't forcibly subsidized. And persons in my culture are mortally offended at the prospect of being forced to participate in any collective scheme of health-care financing or provision.

I call upon all persons who respect diverse cultures to stand up for mine, which today is endangered - to help me and my fellow individualists protect our culture from forcible assimilation with the dominant one that is arrogantly trying to strip us of our unique cultural folkways.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Boudreaux

Personal Income and Outlays Increased in June

From looking at the raw data, the U.S. economy has slowed... but is still strong. Don't let liberals tell you the economy is in ruins when in fact it is still growing.

Americans' personal income increased $6.8 billion in June, according to figures released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis on August 4, 2008. Revised figures for May show an increase of $219.3 billion. Personal outlays in June increased $60.8 billion after an increase of $80.2 billion in May. Personal consumption expenditures increased $57.1 billion in June, compared with a May increase of $76.5 billion. Personal saving was $275.9 billion in June, compared with $547.0 billion in May.

Who Dat Tryin' to Teach BC?

A member of the Class of 2001 was hired on Friday to fill the recently vacated position of Biology teacher. Now, from the choices below, pick who you think the new teacher is. (Joe, you cannot play since you already know the answer.)

A. Adam Clary
B. Brennan Lemieux
C. Michael Jefferson
D. Jordan Meadows

Ferrell Fridays