Archive for the 'Politics' Category
More Discriminatory Taxation in The USA
Today on NPR, there was a story about how the cigarette and cigar tax to pay for the SCHIP program was going into effect soon and I can’t help but voice some concern over this blatant intrusion into the rights of all Americans. I should preface this by saying that I am not a smoker, never have been a smoker and that I find the act of smoking to be repulsive; my outrage over this taxation should show you just how offensive the change is, if I’m not for smoking.
On April 1, the tax on cigarettes is going up from 39 cents to $1.01 per pack, but cigars are going to be hit hardest; they jump from 5 cents to 40 cents PER CIGAR. How this will affect the packs of cigars you can buy, no one is saying, but $4 extra for a 10 pack is raping the consumers of a product and I’d say it teeters on the lines of discrimination.
The premise for the tax seems admirable: provide federal funding for health care for children. But there’s an issue of unfair taxation that comes to mind when I hear this change. You remember that whole ‘no taxation without representation’ issue our nation once had, right? At the same time the taxes on tobacco rise and rise, other ‘vice’ products like porn and alcohol remain taxed at the same levels; keep in mind that porn is only taxed with sales tax.
But there’s another issue here, one that’s been brewing in the states and in the county health departments since the 80s, when the clamp on tobacco started in mainstream America; these health departments hope to see what we all know extreme taxation will do: people reduce smoking and those who do it recreationally may stop altogether.
This begs the question: how can the state impose their desires on the free will of the people, in a capitalist society no less?!
I appreciate what they wish to accomplish and I recognize that smoking leads to cancer and other health issues; education doesn’t work, because when people are addicted, no level of education can deter that pull at their soul to smoke another cigarette. But the approach to the change in health ‘norms’ is all wrong here. What the states and counties need to do is continue to allow Americans to make the stupid decisions they do, but rather than foot the bill for their dumb mistakes, implement state law and regulations that forbid state/Medicaid/Medicare funding for Cancer treatment on the lungs, throat, mouth and anything else determined to be a history of smoking, UNLESS there is a child that was exposed to 2nd hand smoke. See, in this scenario, those who decided to smoke did so willingly and the state can then say: “You made the choice; you have to live (or die) with it.”
Yes, that sounds heartless, but if a person is told and knows that X action will create Y result and they choose to do it anyway, they can and SHOULD be forced to live with that choice.
Next, we need to stop taxing one group of people discriminately; if you want to fund a program, do like Kevin Kline did in the movie Dave: slash funds from unnecessary programs and spending to fund what matters. Like my mother used to tell me: “If you don’t have the money for it, you can’t buy it”; never has that wisdom rang more true. The socialist mentality of Democrats to make ‘everything equal’ is great, but then they need to apply the methods evenly and tax people evenly as well; all I see today is discriminatory actions and alienation.
In the NPR story:
“In the days they are offering $25 billion bailouts, we don’t want a 25-cent bailout. We just want the government to leave us alone to run our business the same way we’ve been doing it for 114 years” - Eric Newman, president of J.C. Newman Cigar Company
That’s something to think about…. shame on the government for cutting off their nose to spite their face.
Source:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102486102
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 Brandon Plank
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The Day The Ink Dried (up)
Today, the Seattle PI printed its last edition and it starts as a new ‘online only’ news outlet; it will begin service as seattlepi.com. Sounds like a great plan and a wonderful way for me to get my news, but there’s something else that raises an issue: all but 20 of the staff were cut and those that remain are Web 2.0 geeks.
So what’s wrong with that, you might ask? Well, on KPLU this morning, one of the staff, Monica I think was her name, was interviewed and her comments show a sad state of affairs for those younger than me and for the future of the PI. Now I have nothing personal against this woman, but her comments shock and frighten me, as they show how the world is being dumbed down for the lowest common denominators.
The plans for the PI are to become a ‘networking news’ site and if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry; it’s a Web 2.0 word that means “user defined/shared content” sites like Twitter and Facebook. In fact, the PI employee stated that she relies heavily on the news from Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter is a site where people give updates about their personal life, like “Jane went to the store. MMM ice cream.”, in 140 words or less. Facebook is a social networking site, nothing more. So the only ‘news’ on these sites are that which others link or share, which, to be honest, is usually entertainment/niche related from my experience.
The issue is that these are not news sites. They are superfluous fluff where people can waste more of their lives, trying to dial into the inner workings of those around and connected to them; to try to convert that connectivity to news-worthy journalism is a farce and disrespectful to the men and women that write news stories. I, like many others, use an RSS reader (I happen to use Google Reader) and we dump numerous feeds from news agencies into one place to read all the world’s news; I use sites like CNBC, MSNBC, The Seattle Times, FindLaw, ThinkProgress… etc. Those are sites that have writers and produce news stories based on local and/or specific content; does the PI actually think people like me are going to RSS the feed from their bloggers or their new ‘news’ feeds that are based on user-linked content?
The problem with those who solely rely on Facebook and Twitter for their news is that they get a micro-cosmic view of the world and the news in it. Sure, you can surround yourself and be ‘friends’ with intelligent, well-read people that link to intelligent stories, so it’s plausible that you could get a healthy dose of news. But let’s be honest; that’s not likely the case, since most of us have friends, acquaintances and people we knew from high school on both. Ideally, one should read news from all outlets, like blogs and news outlets, but let’s face it; people today don’t have the attention span or drive.
I, like many in this world are college students. One of the great advancements for us today is the ability to use the internet to find exactly the information we need that is timely and current; this is important for papers and other class-related assignments, especially for any classes we may have in political science or business. But what’s equally, if not more important is how reliable the source is for news. One of the pivotal aspects of writing cogent papers is that we acquire only the most reliable information from documented and verifiable news sources; I dare say that if my professors don’t like people citing Wikipedia, they damn sure won’t want people citing Twitter-linked or Facebook material. I also know that my law professors don’t take kindly to citing sources that aren’t from a reputable legal source; though I don’t know too many that Twitter about legal matters, so that seems like a moot point. Essentially, we have a growing trend of people getting their news from second-hand sources, like blogs, rather than getting it from the people that report and write the news; not only does such regurgitated news serve no pupose in the academic community, it only furthers the bias-swaying of the general public.
So, it is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to Seattle’s other printed paper. I may never have subscribed to the PI, because I preferred the Times, but I recognize the importance of diversified media in a city. It is with an even heavier heart that I say I’ll likely never read the PI’s website. If they do ‘go Web 2.0′, as they appear to be, I would hope they see that they have not only ceased news in the print form, but they now have ceased to deliver news altogether.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 Brandon Plank
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No love for people like this
In a recent story, radio pundit Laura Ingraham thought it would be witty to bag on John McCain’s daughter for being ‘plus sized’ (which frankly, she’s anything but).
Now, I’m not a fan of John, but his daughter is pretty hot and when we compare that to Ingraham, it sounds to me like a little jealousy. Much love to the thick girls, girls with curves and those that don’t look like a skeleton with some leathery skin stretched over it (*COUGH*INGRAHAM*COUGH*).
This pic sums it up for me:
Click for more on Skeletor attacking She-Ra.
Posted in Politics | No comments[POLITICS] TimeWarner & Windfall profits tax?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14148907/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12451034/
Oh, you forgot about all that? Well, of course you did; there’s been so much other newsworthy TV these days, with the Iraq and Israel and foiled terrorist ploys and all. Why, I don’t know how ANYONE could expect to remember such a seemingly trivial thing as oil company profits. Oh, that’s right; gas is still $3 at my house… I wonder how long before it’s going to be newsworthy again?
Well, back to the initial reason I started this piece: Time Warner just collected $1 BIL in PROFIT this past quarter.
Yes, that’s billion with a B.
So I’m left wondering, where are all the cries for probes into price gouging and price fixing and windfall taxes on the conglomerate? Where is the cry out for the poor consumer that’s forced to bear the brunt of the insane cable TV monthly bills and inflated magazine/media prices?
Well, maybe Senator Byron Dorgan of Montana might want to raise his voice, since he was so vocal for the reprimand of the oil companies. You remember him, right? (http://dorgan.senate.gov/about/biography/) Something tells me that the citizens of Montana are more concerned with fueling up their unneeded SUVs and gas-guzzling Ford F250s, than they are with the price of cable TV.
Well, I think that it’s time someone call these schmucks out for what they are: Pandering speech boxes with no morals or a shred of common sense. Time Warner did nothing wrong, just like ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and others did nothing wrong. We live in a free market economy and have enough regulatory agencies to ensure things run as such. Seeing $1 BIL profit doesn’t mean they did something wrong… it means they did something RIGHT.
Maybe these senators need to get a lesson on how markets function and advise their constituents to invest in the companies, so all can prosper.
Copyright protected by Digiprove © 2010 Brandon Plank
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[Politics] The Israeli Conflict – some thoughts
I guess it’s time that I make a blog entry about all the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
We all know what the western media has said: Hezbollah soldiers went into Israel and kidnapped 2 soldiers. Some of the more liberal outlets have reported that 8 Israelis were also killed in that raid, but not many have pointed that out. We also all know and this point that Israel has shelled, bombed and destroyed parts of Lebanon.
So why?
Consistently, the media says the spark that lit the fire is the kidnapped soldiers, but that’s because life & death sell, so they glom onto what will keep viewers and readers’ attention. So it’s no surprise that every new account keeps pummeling our ears and eyes with the two soldiers; anyone bother to notice that Hezbollah hasn’t given any updates as to the condition of these soldiers? Most likely, they’re already dead and the Israelis know it.
See, what are really at issue here is not the soldiers, but I don’t want to give the impression that the Israeli government and military don’t care about the soldiers. This retaliation against Lebanon is due to the inability of the Lebanese government to control the Shi’a faction and backed Hezbollah. Because the government of Lebanon is new and finally free from Syrian influence, it is shifting to democracy and many in the country want to be free from the hold that Hezbollah has on the nation. This is why we have heard that the PM from Lebanon has spoken with the PM of Israel; they both want peace, but know that the Lebanese government cannot control the forces still in the country. This is important, because diplomacy should always be utilized before military action and there has been much talk of the lack of diplomacy on the part of the Israelis; I think it’s important to remember that you cannot hold discussions with ‘terrorist’ groups or with those who vow to destroy your nation.
Now there’s been a lot of media jabber about the unequal use of force in retaliation from the Israelis and that even more that the Israelis need to show more constraint on attacks on Lebanon and focus only on Hezbollah targets. But this is where I call bullshit and point out the double standard:
Where are the cries for Hezbollah to cease firing on cities like Haifa and to instead only fire on military targets?
I think it’s that one-sided pity mongering that’s ruining chances to alleviate this issue with a quick hand. Hezbollah specifically targets citizens and non-military personnel, because it’s in their charter to destroy the Jews and Israel. Add to the mix that they are firing missiles from urban areas and hiding behind civilians and you have a daunting task for the Israeli military to only fire on ‘enemy’.
But this brings me back to the initial issue that the leaders of the world are calling for restraint and a cease-fire, but how do you negotiate with a terrorist organization when your policy is not to do so? It’s seemingly a paradoxical question, but it’s really not, when taking into account that the people calling for the ceasefire are simply spouting rhetoric and getting media face time. I have yet to hear one of those leaders give Israel an OPTION, rather than condemnation. You don’t agree with the course they’ve taken? That’s fine, but why not offer a solution or list of ideas to fix the problem.
And that’s the problem we have with this politics game: Too many hens, squawking all at once. None offer any information worth a damn, but all have something to say. I think I and many others might actually listen to what some of these windbags had to say if they offer some help to the problem, instead of just verbal finger-waggling.
My Rabbi once told me: “Just when you think you know what’s going on over there, a new layer of the onion exposes itself and you’re back to square one. No one can ever fully grasp the intricacies of the politics in that region, because they’re rooted in thousands of years of war, conquer and religion.” I’ve read on many-a-blog of the people who feel that Israel is over reacting to kidnapped soldiers and again I’m replying to them with the magical insight that there is more to the Middle East that what’s written in print. So let’s take this situation and relate it to something that many of you might understand:
Let’s say that there is an outpost and city in southern Texas and one day the Federales in Mexico decide to start lobbing missiles into the city, with the intent to kill civilians, because they think that Texas belongs to Mexico and the Americans there don’t have the right to be there. Now let’s assume that the Mexican government is unable to control the group (though that’s not much of a stretch, given how corrupt it is), so diplomacy isn’t an option. What do you do? Of course we would expect America to bomb and shell the locations where we tracked launches from and where intel tells us where hideouts are. But then let’s assume that the Federales are hiding in civilian areas and even using them as cover… that’s the situation in Lebanon and it’s hypocritical for anyone to say they wouldn’t respond the same way.
There’s been lots of chatter that the IDF and IAF are killing innocent people indiscriminately, but yet, there’s zero evidence to support this and if those same people knew squat about the military code of the IDF, they’d know that such actions are strictly forbidden, whereas other nations are more laxed on the subject. On the contrary, there have been official releases from military commanders that the targets are chosen by tracking tracers and pin pointing launches and while this only means the IDF will reactively attacking, they aren’t just lobbing bombs into Lebanon, as some bloggers and writers have suggested. Sure, we see lots of news and photos on the civilian casualties and damage in Lebanon, but what do people expect when Hezbollah is hiding in civilian areas?! The asinine nature of these trains of thought are just mind boggling. It’s as if people expect the IDF to ONLY kill Hezbollah soldiers and have zero collateral damage… has that ever happened in the course of history? Didn’t think so.
I’m not excusing Israel for the actions of its government in the 80s and how they occupied Lebanon. I am, however, trying to shed a little light on the ignorance of Americans and hoping that more people will take a step back, stop being ‘wowed’ by the media’s claims of death and see what’s really at stake here: Israel is under attack from a rogue group that cannot be controlled and they are retaliating. This is not about being with the Jews or against them, this is about a nation protecting itself from those who wish to harm it.
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