RANT: Tax revolt?

Friday, February 6, 2009

FROM FACEBOOK:

Bill Buran’s Notes

Complete hypocrisy by the Democrates on Taxes
Yesterday at 8:03pm

*** begin quote ***

Now I am against all form of income taxes and certainly try to limit my exposure, but I still unwillingly pay…more and more each year.

Yet…when a Democrat going for higher office knowingly does not pay taxes while insisting we all need to pay more to “spread the wealth”…I guess just not his wealth.

This angers me more each day and gives more reason to vote them all out…to be fair this goes for all in Congress and the Senate.

If a Democrat evades paying taxes that must paint a bigger picture of this insane overburden tax system.

So when do we all just say NO and stop giving our fruits of labor (private property) to a dysfunctional government.

Tax Revolt anyone????…..seriously!

*** end quote ***

MY RESPONSE:

It’s actually worse than anyone thinks. Inflation is the hidden tax on all of us. Taxes, via corporations, are hidden in all we buy. Some taxes, like gas, and “fees”, like real estate closing taxes or car excise taxes, are added onto the purchase prices and become invisible to the buyer. And, the only indicator of the total tax load is the total gooferment spend. See tax reduction without spending reduction is an illusion. Inflation, debt, regulation, and “fees” are the “evil stepsisters” of the taxes we pay. We can’t even fathom how much we pay in taxes. It’s theft by deception!

# # # # #

1 Comment | Ranting | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: CNN LIVE VIDEO steals your bandwidth silently

Friday, February 6, 2009

http://windowssecrets.com/comp/090205/

Watch a live video, share your PC with CNN
By Brian Livingston

*** begin quote ***

Many people who watched live streaming video of the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama on Jan. 20 may not realize that their PC was used to send the video to other PCs, too.

*** end quote ***

Watch the CNN Live Video, and you too may get booted by your ISP.

This is worth a five minute read about the “dirty pool” being played on users and ISPs. (I’m no fan of ISPs, but in this case they are being taken advantage of as well.)

Argh!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

JOBSEARCH: H1Bs benefit at the expense of American workers?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F24%2F078245&from=rss

Senator Prods Microsoft On H-1B Visas After Layoff Plans Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 24, @08:18AM

from the checking-their-priorities dept.

*** begin quote ***

CWmike writes “US Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told Microsoft this week that US citizens should get priority over H-1B visa holders as the software vendor moves forward on its plan to cut 5,000 jobs. ‘These work visa programs were never intended to allow a company to retain foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American workers, when that company cuts jobs during an economic downturn,’ Grassley wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The letter asked Microsoft to detail the types of jobs that will be eliminated and how those cuts will affect the company’s H-1B workers.”

Reader theodp adds, “On Friday, Microsoft coincidentally announced it would postpone construction of a planned $500 million data center in Grassley’s home state of Iowa, although work on data centers in Chicago and Dublin will continue.”

*** end quote ***

Sounds like the “barbara streisand” is going to hit the proverbial fan.

I’m no fan of gooferment action. But corporations are creations of the gooferment.

Sounds like INS should yank 5k of H1Bs serving Microsoft. Today!?!

imho

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | JOBSEARCH | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

RANT: A good five minute rant about socialism

Thursday, February 5, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuwgHNtyD54

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICS: The Drinking Age

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/131173.html

And Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds suggests inculcating respect for disparate ideological points of view and comes up with a specific idea that’s not only right, but do-able:

*** begin quote ***

   I will make one policy proposal. Some of my fellow libertarians hope that the Obama administration will put an end to the drug war. I hope so too, but I’m not too optimistic. Instead, I propose a smaller step toward freedom—eliminating the federally mandated drinking age of 21. This mandate was a creature of Elizabeth Dole (who is no longer in the Senate to complain at its abolition), and it has unnecessarily limited the freedom of legal adults, old enough to fight for their country, to drink adult beverages.

*** end quote ***

# – # – #

I find the logic of prohibition incredulous. Even if we skip over the lack of a Constitutional basis for any Prohibition and the argument about who owns your body, it is unbelievable that a man can go to fight and die for a country that won’t let them drink.

At the very least, a military id card should trump ANY age restriction.

Argh!

# # # # #

1 Comment | Political | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Return to one’s roots?

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Maybe it’s like the salmon swimming upstream to spawn and die.

I’m sitting in a remodeled classroom in DeLaSalle Hall waiting to take part in a panel discussion for the benefit of the Manhattan College students.

Probably, no one knows it but I went to high school in these few rooms on THIS VERY FLOOR.

Eons ago.

Technically not eons. 1960 – 1964! ~45 years ago. Four plus decades?

Argh!

Travel so far to come full circle.

To see the young people on the campus. Make one feel really OLD.

Argh!

And, you know what happens after that salmon spawns?

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

SERVICE: VERIZONWIRELESS webservice changes silently?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Chat InformationPlease wait for a site operator to respond.

Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Stephanie’

Stephanie: Hello. Thank you for visiting our chat service. What kind of help do you need with My Verizon Log in or Registration assistance?

reinkefj: trying to login and it looks like it doesn’t remember me.

Stephanie: I’m more than willing to assist you in any way that I can. Your cell phone number did not pull up for me. Do you mind verifying that number again please?

reinkefj: xxx-xxx-xxxx

reinkefj: ?

Stephanie: I do understand how frustrating it can be not being able to log into your online account. It is okay and I am here to help you today by walking you through a password reset. First, can I get you to verify the Account Owner’s last four digits if the Social Security number?

reinkefj: xxxx

Stephanie: Thank you so much for verifying that information Reinkefj. May I have your full name please?

reinkefj: sigh, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stephanie: Please scroll to the top of the page and hover your mouse over “My Verizon. Choose Account Type and then click on “Forgot Password,” under the log in section.You will be prompted to enter in your mobile device number. Please enter your mobile device number, and do not include any dashes or spaces. Once entered, please click “continue”.

reinkefj: say not registered with myverizon

Stephanie: Ok. Please scroll to the top of the page and hover your mouse over “My Verizon”. Click on that and you’ll see a blue link that says “Register”. Then click on that link. Next enter your mobile device number, and do not include any dashes or spaces. Once entered, click “continue”.

reinkefj: I don’t want to go thru a reregistration. I was registered already. Has it all been lost?

Stephanie: Which number did you enter?

reinkefj: xxxxxxxxxx

Stephanie: The number ending in yyyy is registered as the account owner. The Account Owner has access to all account management functions. This includes viewing and paying bills online, upgrading equipment, account and calling plan changes.

reinkefj: When I logon to the site I use reinkefj and my password. Now it doesn’t work. Explanation?

Stephanie: Your online password is between 8-20 characters, should contains at least one (1) number and one (1) letter. With spaces or special characters. ‘

reinkefj: My online password is eight characters and has a number in it. Has Verizon changesd its password standards and that is why it doesn’t work now?

Stephanie: No that I am aware of. What I can do is walk you through a password reset to help you access your account. Is that ok?

reinkefj: yes

Stephanie: Please scroll to the top of the page and hover your mouse over “My Verizon. Choose Account Type and then click on “Forgot Password,” under the log in section.You will be prompted to enter in your mobile device number. Please enter your mobile device number, and do not include any dashes or spaces. Once entered, please click “continue”.

reinkefj: It says “not registered”.

Stephanie: The number ending in xxxx is not registered. The number ending in yyyy is what was registered.

reinkefj: Not unless some one changed something. aaaa, bbbb, and cccc are the numbers I use. My car has a number. And, my VWBB has a number. But, that’s it. xxxx is the main number.

Stephanie: I can change that for you, but as of right now the xxxx is not registered.

reinkefj: Thanks. I quit.

# – # – #

Argh! Here’s a half hour of my life I’ll never get back. So what once worked, doesn’t. And, I, as the customer, have to jump through hoops. Great!

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

MONEY: What is a dollar?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rajiva/rajiva12.html

Fiat Law and Fiat Currencies – the Relic of Barbarians
by Lila Rajiva

*** begin quote ***

The free market arose wherever there were laws and systems like that – whether in Europe or Africa or Asia. One way to think about this difference would be to see it as the difference between a fiat money, like paper, and a real store of value, like gold. You can print all the money you want, but if there’s nothing to back it up, then you’re in a bit of trouble. Your creditors are unlikely to put much store in you as a credit risk, just as the world’s wringing its hands today over the dollar. Pretty soon, they come calling for their loans with cudgels and pitchforks.

Gold does not have the same problem, because there’s a limited supply of it. It has to occur in nature. It has to be found somewhere underground and then mined and refined. It’s an expensive business – that takes risk, time, and money. There are costs attached to it that someone has to pay. Paper money, on the other hand, can be printed any time you want. Just ask Ben Bernanke. He’s dropping it by the helicopter load from the clouds.

*** end quote ***

They are “counterfeiting value” by printing more money electronically. It’s slight of hand. To understand, you have to understand the answer to the question: “What is a dollar?” and proceed from there.

The answer is it’s NOW an imaginary unit, backed by the belief that you can exchange a green peice of paper for something. A Keynesian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian) will never talk about what the definition of money is. An Austrian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School) will insist that the pricing mechanism in the economy have commodity money. It USED to be tied to gold.

Sadly, as an Austrian, I think you are in for hard times. O is going to “finance” 2T$ in current spending. By monetizing it. A fancy word for counterfeiting. And, the value of the dollar is going down even further.

To understand, you have to go to Robinson Crusoe’s island, that economist’s use to simplify ideas. A fisherman, egg gatherer, and a fruit gatherer are on the island. (Magic; don’t ask questions yet!) They barter between themselves. After a while, 1 fish = 2 eggs = 4 coconuts. Due to the relative difficulty of effort. But the fisherman and fruit gatherer don’t deal directly. The egg gather is the middle man. Then a banker arrives. He creates money so that the Fisherman can deal directly with the Egg guy. He uses seashells. Then the value equation is 1 fish = 2 eggs = 4 coconuts = 8 seashells. The evil banker after a while introduces more seashells into circulation by spending them. So he get more stuff. Similarly through out the ages, the King (Government) seeks to enrich itself that way. When the currency is gold coins, it’s much harder. (I first learned this when I saw an exhibit at the Smithsonian of French Francs over time. The French Franc of Louis I was a gold hockey puck; Louis XIV’s was a very thin button. Inflation!) When the currency is pretty green pieces of paper, it’s much easier.

So there you have how O44 is goign to spend 2T$ that we don’t have.

Basically, it’s a “tax” on anyone who has a dollar or dollar denominated assets. By adding a “seashell”, the value of all the other seashells is adulterated. Watered down.

So who get’s screwed?

The Chinese have 5T$. There’s a lot of dollars out there. The poor and people on fixed incomes (i.e., the purchasing power of their few dollars goes down) get less for their money.

Who makes out?

The US Government mostly. People who have “valuable stuff”. Commodities, commodity producers, land owners, people who produce stuff that others want.

So that’s how O will spend what he ain’t got.

He’s betting that before the inflation comes, the economy will “restart” and we won’t notice. (Think LBJ and Carter!) It worked for Kennedy because he lowered taxes on the productive class and everyone was motivated to get to work. His quote was: “A rising tide raise all boats!”

Sadly, I don’t see O or his staff being that smart.

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Bush’s RENDITION OK to Obama?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/02/obama_to_keep_renditions.html

February 01, 2009
Obama to keep Renditions
Rick Moran

*** begin quote ***

Rhetoric notwithstanding, Barack Obama does not want a terrorist attack on his watch. Since he and the Democrats decided to politicize the entire war on terror by making it a virtual crime for the president to do much of anything to protect us, he has suddenly woken up to the fact that much of what Bush initiated might not be such a bad idea if you’re a president who doesn’t want to be blamed for a mass casualty assault on America.

Hence, his hedging on keeping the Terrorist Surveillance Program and other programs that, while being controversial, nevertheless were effective at keeping America safe.

{Extraneous Deleted}

It also underscores the idea that Obama is a two faced hypocrite who pandered to his far left base during the campaign by savaging Bush and calling him a criminal but now that the responsibility is his, things take on a different light altogether and what Bush was doing is fine with him.

# – # – #

Interesting how politicians can say one thing and do another?
# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

INTERESTING: Probability lessons for weighing the odds

Monday, February 2, 2009

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5446920.ece  

From The Times
January 5, 2009
Probability lessons may teach children how to weigh life’s odds and be winners
Professor wants ‘risk literacy’ on the curriculum Risk literacy could be taught as part of maths, science, or civics and personal and social education
Mark Henderson, Science Editor

*** begin quote ***

Professor Spiegelhalter’s four rules of risk, which he says everyone should know

* Stuff happens We cannot predict exactly how every precise event will turn out, but we can often predict the overall pattern of events surprisingly well

* Compare like with like If you want to show that speed cameras reduce road traffic accident rates, don’t just put them in places that have just had a run of accidents

* What am I not being told? This person may well have got better after she took this wonder treatment, but how many other people’s stories are not being featured?

* Twice not-very-much is still not very much Increasing a tiny risk may not be so important: almost everything interesting might help and it might also harm. The trick is working out the balance for you

# # # # #

Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »