COLLECTIVE MADNESS
“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."
Sheep Creek is a real fishing river.
ReplyDeleteWhich Sheep Creek, Sam?
DeleteThere must be a thousand of them.
b
Maybe you need to just tear that city down and start all over. :)
ReplyDeleteSave Big Bird :)
ReplyDeleteAlkies Stand in Solidarity with Big Yellow Birds!
DeleteVOTE FOR BIG BIRD and BOOZE!!
DeleteTequila!
ReplyDeleteMore fun than Rum.
EEeeeevrybody's got a "tequila story."
DeleteI got a couple (I'm a slow-learner.) :)
Flash for Rufus - In Kentucky, there is no limit on the percent of alcohol you can have in beer!!
ReplyDeleteb
The Sheep Creek just north of Northport.
ReplyDeleteJeff Rice gave me a great example of how this change is already working, in the form of how Walmart selects the personal computers it sells. Laptops use a lot of energy over their lifetime, and a big driver of energy use is the default setting on power management. These settings determine how fast (if at all) the computer goes to sleep or when the screen dims. Using the index scorecards I mentioned above, Walmart's laptop buyer identified energy use as the biggest determinant of the computer's total lifecycle footprint and emissions.
ReplyDeleteThe buyer then discovered that only 30% of the laptops sold at Walmart ship with the advanced energy-saving settings in place. To compound the problem, the company's research shows that most consumers leave such settings at factory default. So the laptop buyer set a new goal for herself: to increase the percentage of laptops sold with the advanced power settings from 30% to 100% by this Christmas. This single product shift will reduce CO2 emissions by hundreds of thousands of metric tons and save customers money on their electric bills.
Rice told me that performance evaluations for buyers only include a handful of targets, and all are discussed thoroughly at annual reviews. Sustainability performance won't determine the entire evaluation, of course, but it's high profile enough that it should affect behavior.
from Bloomberg
Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach.
ReplyDelete5here is political monopoly in DC.
ReplyDeleteThe Parties, just marketing tools, combined with a misinformation directorate.
Party members switch Parties incessently.
Ronald Reagan claimed he was always a New Deal Democrat.
Rick Perry was a Texican campaign manager for Al Gore
Dick Morris work in Bill Clinton's White House
The list could be 'endless'
The Federal Socialist have held sway for 150 years
It' time for some REAL change
We can only hope
Ron Paul claimed he was a Libertarian and then was running in the Republican primaries.
DeleteHillary Clinton campaigned for Goldwater, back in the day.
ReplyDeleteHell, I voted Republican every year up to this one.
ReplyDeleteThere is a difference (sometimes) in the parties. Admittedly, not as much, usually, at any given time, as many might think.
This year, though, I think there's a difference. Actually, a pretty substantial difference. Take that Republican congressman we were looking at while ago - now, politicians have always gone to churches, and thumped the bible, and pandered, and what not -
sometimes before giving the secretary a good boinking, sometimes after. Tha's politics.
But, that old asshole we were looking at while ago, he was serious. And, there's quite a few of those nutcakes in the R party right now; and, that's scary. Time to do a little culling.
On top of that, the O'man told me he's going to "Lower" My taxes.
I'm sorry that he's gotta raise yours to git'er done; but, hey, life has compromises, right? :)
You weren't listening. You were told it is your patriotic duty to pay taxes. What are you, some kind of fucking slacker?
ReplyDeleteb
Fucking slacker probably wants the Amish to pay his taxes.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, they work, and don't drink beer/wine/whiskey, and can afford it.
b
They don't serve in the military, or pay Social Security, or Medicare taxes. I'm batting 3 for 3 on that score.
DeleteHow do they get out of paying Social Security or Medicare taxes, or property taxes, or state or Federal income taxes?
DeleteI'd like to know, might try it myself. Particularly the property taxes, and capital gains taxes.
As for the military, these days no one serves in the military that doesn't want to, and earlier they probably used the conscientious objector statute as others have done.
I think you are batting 0 for 3.
They don't pay cigarette taxes, and booze taxes, like you do, that is for sure.
Nor do they waste their time blabbing on endlessly about politics, like we all here. They don't even vote. Fuck it, they say.
And, a biggie, they are not dependent on Saudi Oil and The Big Bad Oil Companies, like you are.
b
Do the Native American tribes pay federal or state taxes on the casino takes?
DeleteI don't really know, I'm just asking.
They don't have to collect taxes on booze, gas, and smokes on the reservations, am I right?
This gives them a great competitive advantage.
And in Idaho, and probably elsewhere too, they got a monopoly on the electronic slot machine business.
Tain't fair.
Therefore: Native Americans are all fucking slackers, just like the Amish.
How do you like them apples?
:)
b
They're not going to raise Anybody's taxes very much when they can borrow money at these rates. Don't get all het up in the rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteWhere there’s life, there’s Bud.
ReplyDeleteA Chinese telecommunications giant that has been attempting to expand in the U.S. poses a national-security threat and may have violated U.S. laws, according to a congressional investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe year-long investigation by the House intelligence committee concluded the firm, Huawei Technologies Inc., and a second firm, ZTE Inc., pose security risks to the U.S. because their equipment could be used for spying on Americans.
Temir Porras, Chavez's Vice-Minister for Europe, acknowledged the opposition had fielded an "intelligent campaign", but argued that it marked an "ideological victory" for the government. "They need to do that to win power.
ReplyDeleteIt's impossible to win in Venezuela on a right-wing programme."
If Chavez wins, the opposition will hope for a narrow defeat to lay the foundations for success next time. But given the state of his health – Chavez is recovering from pelvic cancer – and with political divisions as bitter as ever, those hoping this election will bring long-term stability may be disappointed.
Libya's national congress passed a vote of no confidence on Sunday dismissing the newly elected prime minister.
ReplyDeleteThe vote came minutes after prime minister Mustsafa Abushagur named 10 new ministers to run the country for the next six months, and days after he was forced to withdraw his previous cabinet in the face of protests.
President Barack Obama has a new critic of his debate performance -- himself.
ReplyDelete...
Obama was raising millions of dollars over two days of campaigning in Los Angeles and San Francisco. He was capping his night at a ritzy 150-guest dinner costing $25,000 person.
Driest gin in town. Ask any Martini.
ReplyDelete-Seagram
.
ReplyDelete"In the end, we sell the cars to the customer," said Jones. "We've got to pay attention to what they want."
Flex Fuel Vehicles
.
Praise be and thanks to God, Rufus has finally gotten something right -
ReplyDeleteThursday August 21, 2003 Previous | Next
Dear Yahoo!:
Do the Amish pay taxes?
Dan
Reno, Nevada
Dear Dan:
Just like the rest of us, the Amish are not exempt from life's two certainties -- death and taxes. However, there is a reason behind the persistent myth that the Amish do not pay taxes.
The Amish live within self-sufficient communities and do not collect Social Security, unemployment, or welfare benefits. According to their religious beliefs, paying Social Security, an insurance premium for the elderly, is tantamount to not "taking care of their own." Amish people who are self-employed are not obliged to pay Social Security tax, but they do still pay all other taxes, including property, income, and sales tax. If an Amish person decides to work outside of the community, he or she must also pay Social Security tax like any other American.
In 1955, the IRS extended the Social Security Act of 1935 to include farm operators. At the time, some Amish people immediately complied with the tax, while others conscientiously objected to it. Many felt that it violated the separation of church and state, some did not want to accept monies for government programs, and still others believed that paying a commercial insurance for the elderly went against their trust in God to take care of them.
The IRS and the Amish played a convoluted shell game for close to a decade, until it all came to a head with the seizure of a struggling farmer's horses in 1961. The Amish elders stuck firmly by their principles, and the ensuing media and community outrage over the incident led the IRS to relent four years later. Tucked away in the 1965 Medicare Bill was a clause exempting the "Old Order Amish" and other religious groups that conscientiously objected to paying insurance premiums from Social Security tax. To be exempt, the group or sect must have been established prior to 1950 and maintain reasonable provisions for their elderly.
b
On the other hand, do the Amish receive any of this? -
ReplyDelete(one begins to wonder who the fucking slackers really are here)
Benefits and Service
Indian Affairs, through its government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes, carries out the Federal Government's unique and continuing relationship with and responsibility to tribes and Indian people. Indian Affairs programs support and assist federally recognized tribes in the development of tribal governments, strong economies, and quality programs. The scope of Indian Affairs programs is extensive and includes a range of services comparable to the programs of state and local government, e.g., education, social services, law enforcement, courts, real estate services, agriculture and range management, and resource protection.
Many Federal agencies other than the Indian Affairs have special programs to serve the American Indian population, i.e., the Indian Health Service (IHS), an adjunct of the Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The IHS provides health care services through a network of reservation-based hospitals and clinics. Besides standard medical care, the agency has established programs that specialize in maternal and child health, mental health, substance abuse, home health care, nutrition, etc. The Administration for Native Americans, another agency within HHS, administers programs aimed at strengthening tribal governments and supporting the social and economic development of reservation communities. Other agencies of the Federal Government that serves the special needs of Indian people include the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Agriculture, Education, Labor, Commerce and Energy.
The Cherokee should pay reparations to those they have earlier enslaved, and return all those lands they stole from other tribes back to the original owners!
Mississippi should belong to the Sioux, and the blacks.
And, before that, to the Solutrians.
b
(I found a list of Federal programs designed to aid Native American tribes that was so long it exceeded the character limit for blogging, so I gave up trying to post it)
The Amish are pikers compared to the Native Americans when it comes to sucking off Uncle Sam.
Looks like a normal "murder mystery" get-a-way weekend to me.
ReplyDelete