The Empire Strikes Back

"Cue Scary Darth Vader Music"

I apologize to my readers for not being around last week but I was pre-occupied with another matter. Last Sunday, my wife, our children and I returned from a long weekend in Toronto. The trip to Toronto was a lot of fun and coincided with my son playing in his final hockey tournament of the year (thank goodness.) We had a great time visiting some of the landmarks of that immense city and enjoyed watching the high level of competition that the Canadian teams my son played against provided. A side trip to Niagara Falls was wonderful, as always, and I must admit that I never get tired of seeing the power and majesty of that incredible natural wonder.

Then we arrived home.

I was going through our mail when a business card fell out of the pile. I picked it up and was shocked to see that it was from an agent of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. "What the fu..." I muttered and put it in my pocket. There was no note, no letter, nothing written on the back of the card. The message was clear- we were here and we were looking for you.

Since it was Sunday night, the stress was heightened considerably. I couldn't call them to see what was going on since no self respecting state bureaucrat would be working on a weekend. I slept fitfully that night and spent most of the morning from 3 AM on wide awake, wracking my brain to see what could possibly be the problem. I always file my taxes, always pay what is due. I may not like it, but I'm smart enough not to give these thugs reason to come after me.

First thing Monday morning, I emailed the agent and passed them the name of my tax attorney. Owning my own business, I have used the same tax attorney/CPA for years. I called my attorney and spoke to him about it. He was amazed that they would send somebody to my house since he knew as well (after all, he does my accounting) that all of my paperwork and payments were spotless. We didn't hear anything from the agent until Tuesday morning.

The state claimed that I had failed to file 3 years of corporate tax returns. No, my attorney said, my business is organized as an LLC and I filed that way correctly for the past 3 years. Yes it's basically bullshit admitted the state agent, but we need those 3 years of corporate returns anyways. So, my attorney drew up the forms, I signed them and $ 450.00 dollars of his expenses later, I am once again squared up with my friends in Harrisburg.

A couple of points to ponder. This was an infinitesimally small tax matter when compared to what the state is trying to collect from other businesses and individuals. Would such a small matter warrant sending an agent to my house or is there something deeper going on ? Has my vocal opposition to the Stalin like tactics of the Department of Revenue triggered this episode ? I'll leave it to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. If my writings were the impetus for this little episode of state intimidation, I feel totally justified in stating that my rights as a free citizen of this state and country have been violated. Sending an agent to your house is so much more invasive and intimidating than a certified letter or phone call- they are invading your space and the message is clear that they know where you live.

I didn't post for a week because I had an internal debate on whether this is even worth it. What's the point of trying to stick up for the downtrodden, the dispossessed and the victims of state tyranny when nobody seems to give a damn ? Why stick my own neck out and invite state retaliation when 99.99 % of the sheep inhabiting this state and country are more worried about the new I-Pad than the steady destruction of their civil liberties ?

I run Google Analytics to see where my readers come from in terms of city, state and country. I do it for no other reason than it is fun to see that I have readers in places as varied as Finland, Quebec and all over the United States. Interestingly, I get a great deal of activity from Pittsburgh which is where I live. Most of my friends and family don't know I have a blog which can't account for the steady readership that I get from the city. Maybe it's the local office that the revenue agent works out of. If so, I'd like to thank all of them for reading my blog on the public dime.

I guess I write this blog for people like you Mr. Revenue Agent so that maybe, someday, you will see the evil criminal organization that you need to investigate most isn't the one around the corner- its the one that signs your paychecks.

How a truck restored my faith in America.

I drove down to a friend's ranch in Texas last week for a get together of former and current Army Rangers. I had a great time, as I always do around other Rangers, and enjoyed the camraderie, Texas barbeque, beer and lots of stories. At the end of the gathering, I followed a buddy who needed to drive an Army 2 1/2 ton truck (affectionately known to generations of soldiers as a "Deuce and a half") he had recently bought at government auction to Dallas. The purpose of getting to Dallas was to leave the truck with a company that would transport it to his home in the northeast. I was following him as a support vehicle in case he broke down (which was a definite possibility as the truck was nearly 40 years old) and because it didn't have a license plate etc.

We plotted a course on backroads to avoid highway patrols on the busy Memorial Day weekend and slowly worked our way north for the next nine or so hours. Taking the back roads always makes your journey slower, but much richer in terms of actually seeing the towns and people along the route. Since I had never really been around much of Texas, it was a real treat to see the change in elevation and terrain as we headed out from the flat and desert like south, through the hill country and up to Dallas.

About 30 minutes into our journey, we got our first wave. A big semi truck came roaring towards us in the opposite lane and the driver waved with a big smile on his face. A few minutes later, another car came towards us with the same result. Wow, I thought, people in Texas are sure friendly ! It then dawned on me- they weren't waving at our ugly mugs, they were waving at the truck. It was the first of literally hundreds of waves and smiles that we saw during the rest of our trip. Even the policemen we saw (which easily could have busted us for the truck not having brake lights, turn signals etc.) just laughed and waved as the beast rolled through their towns. The best part of the trip for me was when we passed a retirement home and a couple of elderly gentlemen absolutely beamed as the truck roared past. My guess was that they were veterans and the old truck stirred some memories of far away places and the time when they were young, strong and old age seemed impossibly far in the future.

Spending 9 hours in the car behind gave me plenty of time to think. How could a 40 year old truck built for war, bring so much pleasure to so many people ? Since it was Memorial Day they probably thought we were coming or going to a parade but I guess in our own way, it was a parade of one. I spoke to the owner about the truck and how many of these vehicles are just scrapped. I was really glad that he had bought it and was going to restore it to its former glory. The people weren't just waving at a truck, they were subconciously waving at the generations of soldiers that drove the truck and paying homage to their service and sacrfice. For veterans, I'm sure the truck stirred memories of war but also some of the good memories that they carried from their service- the lifelong friendships and brotherhood, the sense of honor, duty and loyalty to each other.

The truck triggered good memories for good people. Good, honest hard-working Americans that we passed just stopped in their tracks and smiled- toddlers, kids, grown men and the elderly. We passed everything from palatial multi-million dollar ranches to small shacks with a couple of goats and a cow in the front yard. They were all scraping out a living in an unhospitable climate through hard work and sacrifice. It just reinforced to me that it isn't the government that makes up this country, its the people like the ones that we passed.

After our journey, we dropped the truck off. I know it's just a piece of equipment, but I swore that it looked like it was smiling. Maybe it was just the 103 degree heat. Then again, maybe it really was.

Rumors of War

A slightly optimistic piece from the BBC regarding the recent flare up on the Korean peninsula. Perhaps the analysis is correct and this is just another incident that both sides will use to adjust their diplomatic and military stance against each other. The relationship between North and South Korea is so dysfunctional (primarily due to the actions of the North) that it almost seems routine that the North can sink a South Korean vessel (and kill over 40 sailors) and only face economic consequences.

I don't think Kim Jong-Il wants war. Although the North could inflict horrible damage upon the South, including direct artillery bombardment of Seoul, any conflict with the South and its allies would result in the destruction of the existing regime. Yes, the U.S. is currently fighting wars all over the place but the combination of allied air superiority, logistics and technology would eventually wear down and decimate the North's vaunted million man army. I think we would also see a surprisingly quick internal overthrow of the regime by the disaffected populace and military units once things started heading the wrong way.

Other analysis I have read opines that Kim Jong-Il ordered the ship attack to firm up his leadership within the regime and help pave the way for the eventual succession of his son. Over the years, Kim Jong-Il has acted like a spoiled child, throwing temper tantrums in order to focus world attention on him and allow him to then negotiate concessions from the South and the U.S. This time, however, he may have finally overplayed his hand.

If you liked the television ad, you're gonna love the one on the radio !

Following on the heels of the now infamous television ad that I blogged about recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is now running a radio commercial that is even more offensive. I heard the ad yesterday on a local Pittsburgh station and found a recording of it here. Ignore the comments posted in the background, they are the authors opinion. However, the subtitles at the bottom are the same as the ad that I heard (the narrator's voice is the same as well so I'm assuming whoever captured this recorded the actual advertisement.)

It's basically the same carrot and stick mix of penalty forgiveness and intimidation but with the added sound effects of ringing door bells and door knocking. The implied threat is quite clear once again- we know who you are, where you live and we're going to be paying you a visit. These lines from the ad were the ones that stuck with me the most-

"This is a great deal and you'd be crazy not to take them up on it, you mooch, because after June 18th, you are going to be one very unhappy criminal, which by the way, you are."

Pot calling the kettle black anyone ? Are you kidding me ? The very bloated bureaucracy that sucks the blood out of the citizens of Pennsylvania is now accusing them of being mooches ? Listen up my fascist friends, the people who owe the state taxes are typically business owners that, unlike most of the employed sheep in this state, don't have government mandated withholding that quietly sucks off the fruits of their labors.

As a business owner myself, I can tell you that writing a check out of your bank account on a quarterly basis really puts the issue of paying taxes in sharp focus- it makes you start doing crazy things like wondering where exactly all of the money is going and what you are getting in return. It makes you do dangerous things like question the fat bureaucrats that sit on their ass all day without producing anything of benefit for their fellow citizens. It makes you question things like how we are one of only 3 states that still has state owned liquor stores- not, as they say, to control access to liquor, but rather to keep thousands of useless state political hacks employed.

The hypocrisy here is just incredible. I wrote my state senator without any effect and, incredibly, except for some other websites and blogs it seems that the vast majority of my fellow citizens are completely clueless about the subject or wholeheartedly endorse the state's position which has been sold to them- they are being cheated by these no good malcontents who are "mooching" off of them. Us vs. Them- it's all so very North Korean, don't you think ?

I honestly don't know why I even blog or complain about this. The citizens of this state, and this country, have received the government that they deserve. They have given up their own personal liberties and ignore their responsibilities to protect their fellow citizens from the overreach of government. They are nothing but lazy, unthinking masses, content to watch "American Idol" and debate the latest "Apprentice" at work rather than the clear and present danger presented by the shitheads like this that populate our government.

Dalai Lama Condemns Capitalism

During a recent visit to New York, the Dalai Lama condemned capitalism and declared that he is a Marxist at heart. Although he spoke out about the injustices of capitalism, he was also quick to point out the benefits of living in a free western capitalist society (free press, independent judiciary) vs. the real world application of Marxism by authoritarian regimes (such as China.)

I didn't read anything too earth shattering here and it seems that the Dalai Lama's position is pretty much in line with every college student that ever sat around a dorm room discussing the differences between capitalism and Marxism (the only difference being that he probably wasn't high at the time.) Sure, Marxism seems to be the perfect way to bring a just society into being but, in practice as history has repeatedly proven, human beings are by their very nature competitive and unwilling to be jammed into neat little boxes. When the state has tried to force Marxism upon the people, the result has been terrible tragedy and loss of life.

I used to spend a lot of time on anarchist web sites in various discussion group but have ended that practice due to the fact that most of the "anarchists" that I was debating were actually closet Marxists and communists (I also found it amusing that these "anarchist" discussion groups had the most draconian guidelines regarding what could, and could not, be posted.) There was no balance to their positions since they were primarily supporting leftist causes and opposing anything from the right. As an individualist anarchist I oppose the state, whether left or right, but I might as well have been arguing with my cat for all the good that did. I think capitalism is a corrupt, nasty and brutal system but I also think it's the best choice available when taken in its purest form.

As for the Dalai Lama, I certainly admire the guy and have read a number of his works. Many of my non-Buddhist friends believe that as a Buddhist I must worship him, but I just patiently explain that Buddhism has many schools of thought. The Dalai Lama is the revered leader of Tibetan Buddhism, but as an adherent to the Theravada school, I consider him nothing more than a good man worthy of respect. My gut tells me that as a leader on the world stage, he has to carefully walk a narrow path to support his people in Tibet and if he needs to throw an intellectual bone now and then, so be it.

Daily Dharma

Here are two verses from the Dhammapada that I have pondered a great deal as of late-

"Greater in combat
Than a person who conquers
A thousand times a thousand people
Is the person who conquers himself." (#103)

"As a smith does with silver,
The wise person
Gradually,
Bit by bit,
Moment by moment,
Removes impurities from himself." (#239)

Both of these passages address the need for self reflection and improvement done on a consistent basis. I have been trying to improve certain aspects of my life (more on that to follow) by meditation and study and have found these two gems to be a wonderful bit of foundation to build upon.

Lysander Spooner - No Treason

I just finished reading Spooner's "No Treason" in print form (also available in its entirety online) and have to admit to being impressed by his argument that we are governed by a constitution of no authority. Spooner was a man of many talents- entrepreneur, abolitionist, proponent of individualist anarchism and philosopher. In addition, he was well known in his home state of Massachusetts as an excellent examiner of real estate titles which is something near and dear to my heart as it is how I make a living. "No Treason" isn't a difficult read, in fact you can quickly get through it in an afternoon although a second, and third, reading is necessary to pick up some of the nuances of the work. Spooner's language is clear and concise as he lays out a devastating attack on the very document that rests at the heart of the American system of government- the constitution.

The impetus for the work was the Civil War. Although Spooner was a staunch abolitionist, he was attempting to make the case that the South had legally seceded from the United States and that the leaders (and soldiers) in the southern cause, could not be legally tried and executed for treason. Spooner's argument rested on two pillars. First, the constitution itself (which names treason as a capital offense) was itself invalid because it was never consented to by the citizens alive at that time (or today, in fact.) The document was not properly executed, signed and assented to and would not pass muster as even a simple contract (in this argument I see Spooner's background as an examiner of real estate titles coming to the forefront.) Moreover, when the constitution was ratified, it was not ratified by the entire population since it excluded blacks, women and non-property owning whites. Second, since the south gave proper notice to the north of its plans for secession, and did not hide its intentions, it was therefore hypocritical of the north to ignore the fact that the declaration of independence clearly made the case for the populace having the right to secede from a nation that no longer represented their interests.

The number who actually consented to the Constitution of the United States, at the first, was very small. Considered as the act of the whole people, the adoption of the Constitution was the merest farce and imposture, binding upon nobody.

The women, children, and blacks, of course, were not asked to give their consent. In addition to this, there were, in nearly or quite all the States, property qualifications that excluded probable one half, two thirds, or perhaps even three fourths, of the white male adults from the right of suffrage. And of those who were allowed that right, we know not how many exercised it.

Spooner discounted the theory that we were all taught in school, that the north fought to free the slaves, and instead saw the influence of big business and war profiteers as driving the north towards inevitable conflict (does any of this sound familiar ?) In addition, once the war began the authority of the government no longer rested on the consent of the populace, it rested on force.

On the part of the North, the war was carried on, not to liberate slaves, but by a government that had always perverted and violated the Constitution, to keep the slaves in bondage; and was still willing to do so, if the slaveholders could be thereby induced to stay in the Union.
The principle, on which the war was waged by the North, was simply this: That men may rightfully be compelled to submit to, and support, a government that they do not want; and that resistance, on their part, makes them traitors and criminals.

I find Spooner's arguments to be pretty thought provoking and I wouldn't be too quick in dismissing his works. Are we as citizens of the U.S. bound by the constitution ? Did the men who ratified the constitution have the right to bind their descendants to this document ? If not, what does that mean ? I'm not a legal scholar, but I would imagine that Spooner's position supports the view that the constitution is an evolving document (should it be ratified by every generation ?) rather than an absolute authority that can't be modified. If the constitution has no authority, the entire bedrock upon which the government rests is nothing more than quicksand and it has no right to assert control over any part of our lives. Food for thought to say the least.

Home Grown

I constantly daydream about living off of the grid. My thoughts are filled with a hand built house on some acreage in the wilderness, solar power, a big garden and smokehouse full of fish and game living free of the annoyances of modern life. "Mother Earth News" has replaced "Playboy" in terms of my fantasy reading as I eagerly read articles about really cool projects like building alcohol fuel stills.

Reality, usually in the form of a conversation with my wife, soon comes crashing back in and dispells these visions of grandeur. I did, however, take a recent small step towards self sufficiency by planting a deck garden. Whether or not this venture yields anything worth eating remains to be seen, but we have been happy to see the seeds sprout and the plants starting to grow above the top edge of the planters.

For around $ 10 bucks worth of seeds, we planted lettuce, spinach and a good assortment of herbs (cilantro, dill, chives, parsley and basil- I suggested another more profitable herb but was met with an icy stare of disapproval from my spouse.) I built the planters out of cedar boards and bolted them to the deck rail which proved prudent after a couple of severe storms roared through our area. I drilled holes in the planter bottoms for drainage and we filled them with a layer of rocks at the bottom to also help the roots from getting waterlogged. The three planters are all 4' long and cost about $ 40 total to build.

A Grim Milestone in Afghanistan

The New York Times reports that 1,000 American soldiers have now been killed in Afghanistan.

"On Tuesday, the toll of American dead in Afghanistan passed 1,000, after a suicide bomb in Kabul killed at least five United States service members. Having taken nearly seven years to reach the first 500 dead, the war killed the second 500 in fewer than two. A resurgent Taliban active in almost every province, a weak central government incapable of protecting its people and a larger number of American troops in harms way all contributed to the accelerating pace of death. "

Once again, I ask for what.

17 May 2010

Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania, Defends Orwellian Commercial

I blogged earlier about a disturbing commercial being aired by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Recently, our soon to be thankfully booted by term limits governor, appeared on Fox News to defend this abomination. I gotta hand it to old Eddie, he can spin better than any politician out there, and half way through this interview he even had me convinced that this type of blatant intimidation of the populace is a great idea.

Rendell uses the same excuse that officials within the Department have been saying- that the commercial is targeted at the 3 % of the population that didn't pay their state taxes, not the other 97 % of the sheep that meekly hand over a portion of their hard earned wages to the black hole known as our state government. I disagree. The original ad was clearly meant to intimidate both those that owe money and the rest of the population that might think of getting out of line. The message of the ad was clear- the government is all seeing, all knowing and watching everyone.

In the interview, Rendell floats the excuse that although he approved the ad, it was based upon a "focus group" that recommended it and, in fact, thought it was not harsh enough. One wonders who made up that focus group, perhaps retired Stasi officials who were on a bus trip in central Pennsylvania or, more probably, a bunch of Department of Revenue employees who showed up to watch the commercials in exchange for a free lunch. As for the commercials that didn't make the cut (the Gov stated that the ad that was aired was the least offensive) one wonders what they showed. Perhaps cruise missiles hitting delinquent tax payer houses ? Children being sold into bondage to satisfy tax liens ?

I realize that this ad was aired in Pennsylvania but it is obviously symptomatic of the entire country and the rise of abusive, invasive and completely out of control government. Somewhere in the past, our "leaders" began to perceive themselves as omnipotent and above the power of the citizenry- a new ruling class instead of servants of the people. Many of the parasites that inhabit the bureaucracy have never held real jobs, never employed people, and never created anything remotely beneficial to their fellow citizens. Make no mistake my fascist friends, we're watching you too.

14 May 2010

The worlds oldest hockey stick

Last post about hockey until next year, I promise.

Mark Presley of Berwick, Nova Scotia posesses what he believes to be a 170 year old hockey stick. A rigorous series of tests including dating of the wood and family records seems to show that this may indeed be the case. Presley's claim comes after that of Bobby Rouillard of Quebec who claims to own a considerably older hockey stick dating from the mid 1600's. Rouillard is so convinced of the authenticity of the stick that he has offered it for sale on Ebay for $ 1,000,000. Although the Ottawa Citizen's article seems to dispute Rouillard's claim in favor of Presley, I see it (along with Johnstown Chiefs great Denis Lemieux) as nothing more than the typical conspiracy formented by les cochons Anglais.

My initial examination of the pictures leads me to believe that rules regarding blade size were not enforced in the 19th and 17th centuries although I am sure that the NHL is at this very moment working on rule changes to address the use of antediluvian equipment in league play. More importantly, correct dating of the artifacts will probably tell us with some certainty when the first high sticking offense was commited, and when the first player was forced to sit under a tree for two minutes and feel shame.

13 May 2010

Les Glorieux ruin yet another date in Igloo history

Last night, the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2, knocking them out of the playoffs and considerably moving up the tee-times for the Pens players. Although it was an awful loss for the Pens, it does provide some nice historical continuity- since the Penguins will be playing at a new arena next year, it was the last Penguins game to be played at home. Interestingly enough, it was Montreal that defeated the Penguins in their first home game on October 11th, 1967 (Habs won 2-1.) I was seven months old at the time and can't recall that game very clearly, but the game last night has been burned into my psyche.

I actually have great fondness for the Canadiens. My family is originally from northern Maine, not far from Quebec, and I have spent a great deal of time on both sides of the border over the years. Montreal is one of my favorite places to visit and I look forward to spending more time in La Belle Province. That being said, I am a true homer and it was painful to watch the superstar laden Penguins being dismantled by an older, smaller and, on average, less talented team. The operative word, however, is team. Montreal's forwards played with a ferocious back check that stacked up the faster Penguins at the blue line and any Penguin who ventured near the Montreal crease was quickly smothered by Montreal's defense.

To paraphrase P.J. O'Rourke, old age and guile once again beats youth, innocence and a bad haircut.

So, I'll be cheering for Montreal for the rest of the series. I think they are balanced enough to make it all the way. I also have to cheer for them because they have my all time favorite sports mascot- Youppi. Youppi is the only sports mascot to have served in two leagues (he started out as the mascot for the now defunct Montreal Expos) and the only one, as far as I know, that has been ejected from a professional game. Youppi was thrown out of a Dodgers game in 1989 for annoying the hell out of Tommy Lasorda, something I have always greatly admired.

Funeral for a Soldier

Last week, a soldier killed in Afghanistan was laid to rest in a small town near where I live. By coincidence, my son goes to elementary school in the same town and met the soldier a few years ago when he stopped by to visit the children. By all accounts the soldier was an all American type of kid- well liked by his neighbors, a good athlete and respected throughout the community. I picked up my son at school the day his body was brought back to town and the children had lined the streets waving small American flags as the hearse passed by. The light poles were adorned with yellow ribbons and the town had turned out in a show of unified sympathy you only see in small town America.

For a 10 year old, my son asks some pretty tough questions. "Why did he die ?" he asked, followed by "Are we winning the war ?" The local news had covered the story in print and on television and it led the six o'clock news for a couple of nights so it became a running discussion between the two of us. I struggled to explain the war in Afghanistan to my son, the nuances of counter insurgency, the difficulty in defeating a group of guerrillas vs. a standing army. During my time in the Army I had been an intelligence analyst while serving in the Ranger Regiment. My job was reading intelligence reports regarding the Soviets and their invasion of Afghanistan- how they operated, their tactics and techniques and then condensing them for dissemination to the three Ranger battalions for what we thought was an inevitable hot war in Europe. Back then I gained a grudging respect for the Mujahedin and their ability to bloody the Russian bear. Little did I know that the seeds that would eventually lead to Al Qaeda, Bin Laden and 9/11 had been planted.

So why did he die ? The interviews with local citizens on television mostly addressed that question with the answer that he died "defending our freedoms" and "protecting us." I'm not so sure about that. I'm pretty sure that he died first and foremost, as soldiers have for generations, for his comrades and his unit. Grand geopolitical strategy was probably not going through his head in his final battle- he was probably looking out for his buddies and doing the best he could to stay alive. Although I tried to make the case in my head that he died protecting us here in America, I just couldn't make the mental jump that would connect the Taliban and scattered Al Qaeda forces to a direct threat against me and my family. Thinking that through made me feel horrible- he didn't need to die for me and my family, we would have gladly taken the remote chance of a Taliban-Al Qaeda attack on Pittsburgh if it mean't he was safe and sound.

Did he, and over 1,700 other coalition soldiers, die to bring freedom to Afghanistan ? I'm not too convinced on that score either. This wasn't like U.S. troops rolling into Paris or Holland during World War 2. Afghanistan was never really a country in the traditional sense, even during the best of times. Tribalism, war lords financing private armies through the drug trade and various religious factions just don't fit the profile of a country begging for liberation. The U.S. and its allies have suppressed the Taliban to a large extent in many areas of the country but its likely that once the U.S. pulls out the result will be an immediate slide back into its quasi feudalistic former self. (Side note- for a little more on the barbaric nature of this country read this article from Canada's Ottawa Citizen about how Canadian forces witnessed the systematic rape of young boys by the Afghan police and were powerless to stop it.)

I'm still struggling with the answer. The U.S. invasion after 9/11 made sense- root out and destroy Al Qaeda and those responsible for harboring them. On that count, it is widely agreed that the operation was a success. Al Qaeda, which some reports show as having no more than a couple of hundred members in the country, has been dispersed and generally hunted down. I highly doubt that they have constructed some super secret underground facility in the mountains and are working on a nuclear bomb that will soon go off in the U.S. It is more likely that they are living like moles, reluctant to venture outside and risk being vaporized by a drone attack. If they no longer pose a direct strategic threat to the U.S., why is the Department of Defense adding thousands of new troops into the mix and billions more in funding ? Forget the money for a minute- most importantly, why is our most priceless asset (our troops lives) being spent on this hell hole ?

My guess is that it comes down to money. Billions of dollars for procurement of new weapons, logistical support contracts, beans, bullets and everything else that a modern army consumes. Congressional districts that rely on defense plant spending, corrupt leaders more worried about their own political skins versus those of the troops in the field. Al Qaeda and the Taliban, no larger than a German infantry division in World War 2 (at best) are on the receiving end of the full economic and military might of the U.S. I'm sure that some accounting geek at the Pentagon has examined the grim calculus of death and figured out that every dead Taliban was killed at the cost of about $ 1.5 million to the U.S. taxpayer. An elephant stepping on a gnat isn't even an appropriate analogy to the imbalance between the amount of military and economic horsepower being thrown at the situation.

So, why did he die ? I still don't know, maybe somebody out there can help me figure it out.

11 May 2010

Daily Dharma

I was reading Fronsdal's translation of The Dhammapada today while riding the train to work this morning. One particular verse reminded me of a conversation I had with my dad shortly before he died-

Gray hair does not
make one an elder.
Someone ripe only in years
is called "an old fool."
It's through truth,
Dharma, harmlessness, restraint, and self-control
That the wise one, purged of impurities,
Is called "an elder."

We were talking about politics and his point was the difference between wisdom and intelligence. Plenty of politicians have a great deal of intelligence, if Ivy League backgrounds are the measure, but the fact that they earned such academic distinction in no way guaranteed a commensurate level of wisdom. As we have seen in many cases, this is a recipe for disaster.

09 May 2010

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day. If you're a mom or grandma, I hope you received the love and recognition due to you for having the toughest job in the world.

05 May 2010

Pittsburgh Named Most Livable City

My hometown has once again been named America's most livable city. After reading the article I have my doubts that the authors actually visited Pittsburgh and suspect that it might have actually been written by our convention and tourism authority.

Before you pack up your belongings, kids and pets to move to my beloved hometown, let me fill you in on a few things the article doesn't mention. After reading my take on this hell hole, you may just want to stay safely within the confines of Cleveland, Kabul or wherever you call home.

1) The weather sucks. No, I mean it really sucks. We get more annual rainfall than Seattle and when it isn't raining, it is cloudy. Sunny days are so few and far between that we actually have a local phenomenon known as "sun glare" that can slow down rush hour. Imagine waking up and hearing the traffic report that states you are going to be late to work because it is sunny outside- no, you can't imagine it because you live in a normal part of the world that gets more than 35 minutes of sunlight per year.

2) The average citizen is 87 years old. We have the oldest population in the United States. Go ahead and look it up if you don't believe me. The reason our vaunted crime rate is so low is that geriatrics are unlikely to commit robberies and murder (except when Matlock was cancelled.) Forget about doing anything quickly. True frustration is standing behind one of our grey panthers at the grocery store as they explain to the clerk they want their ham "shaved, not chopped or sliced, I want it shaved 1/8 of an inch thick, you cut it too thick last time, more like half an inch and Irving didn't like it but we are on a fixed income so we had to eat it...." Oh for fucks sake lady, just grab your god damned ham and get out of the way.

3) Our infrastructure is horrible. Many people around the world are unaware that Pittsburgh was carpet bombed during the 2nd world war by both Germany and Japan. Their bombers left massive craters on strategic structures like our 3,224 bridges and overpasses. I tried to make my case at the Hague that Germany owed me for a broken tie-rod and shock absorber and am still eagerly awaiting the outcome. As the old saying goes, the shortest distance between two points in Pittsburgh is under construction.

4) We have some of the highest taxes in the country. Part of the benefit of living in America's most livable city is also that you get to live in America's least livable state. When you become a citizen of our Commonwealth ("common" being a tip off that the state is going to share all of your income with your fellow citizens) you get to establish a direct deposit account so that everything you make can be quickly and easily deducted to pay for school taxes, local property taxes, local wage taxes, state income taxes, state sales tax, fuel taxes, county taxes and whatever else they have thought up since I started writing this. Very quickly, you come to understand that this equals 115 % percent of your income so you need to take a second job, which only puts you in the hole deeper.

5) Nobody actually lives here. You know why our real estate is so affordable ? Because half of the homes are on the market. Anyone with any sense in their head is packing up and running for the exits. The city is broke, the county is broke and the state is broke. Last one out of town, turn off the lights. What is the best graduation present for a new college grad ? A plane ticket (or a bus ticket, whatever works for you.) As soon as my kids leave the house at 18 for college, prison or wherever they are headed, we're off to New Mexico, which by that time could actually be part of Mexico.

Still want to move here ? Don't say you weren't warned.

More on the Orwellian PA Tax Commercial...

Although the mainstream media (not surprisingly) remains mute about the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue commercial I mentioned earlier, the blogosphere is heating up with articles about it. I like this one. The author makes the claim, as others have, that the people that produced the commercial used an actual map to show where the alleged tax dodging malcontent "Tom" lives. Needless to say, the actual residents of the house aren't too happy and I hope they sue both the producers of the commercial and the state itself. Another interesting assertion from the article is that the state spent $ 3,000,000 of our dollars to pay for this little slice of arrogance and intimidation.

The author notes how tone deaf the government of Pennsylvania must be as to the sensitivity of people to government intrusion and surveillance. The really don't get it.

03 May 2010

Obey the State - We know where you live.

The morally, and financially, bankrupt government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has produced and aired the above commercial in an effort to collect tax revenues. I saw this creepy commercial yesterday while watching a local network in Pittsburgh and nearly fell out of my seat. The ad shows a satellite reticle zeroing in on a Pennsylvania citizen's home who owes the state money with the slightly veiled threat that the state "knows who you are." The robotic female voice says "nice house, nice car" but "what's not so nice is you owe $ 4,212 in back taxes."

Oh you arrogant fascist bastards.

I find it incredibly offensive and hypocritical that a state government that wastes tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars of our hard earned wages would spend the money to produce this garbage. Who authorized this commercial ? Who produced it ? Is this how the government of the state views its citizens, as serfs that can be intimidated and shoved around ? Here's a better question- why is the state so deeply in debt ? Why is the capital of the state (Harrisburg) on the verge of bankruptcy ? Who are the idiots (of both parties) that have spent this state into financial disaster ?

I'm so pissed off right now that I could spit nails. This is a prime example of the arrogance of power and its abuse by the bureaucratic goons that run this state. The media and government whine about the rise in anti-government sentiment in this country and then they produce crap like this ? What do the expect ?

You shove people, they will shove back.

The commercial I would have written would have gone like this. I would have filmed it with Ed Rendell dressed in a clown suit and holding a balloon-

"Hi, I'm Ed Rendell, governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We realize that most of you are working really hard, and sometimes multiple jobs, to make ends meet and might have come up short on the confiscatory taxes that we take from you. If you could please send us a little bit of cash so I can plug this pesky billion dollar hole in our state budget and keep lots of my political friends employed, I would greatly appreciate it. Hugs and Kisses, The Gov."

I wouldn't have even charged them to produce it. As soon as I'm done here, it's off to the phone to start calling some of the political hacks that represent my district.

Of Mice and Women

My wife is one of the most stable people I know- practical, incredibly intelligent, not prone to getting freaking out in a crisis, in short, everything that is a good counter-balance to me. So, it was with some concern that I walked in the door a few days back and was met with a stammering mess. "What's wrong ?" I rushed in the door as I saw the look on her face. My mind raced- fire, somebody in the family is sick, somebody died, nuclear attack warning on the television ?

"Mouse !" she cried, "the cat was playing with a mouse."

For some reason, my otherwise stable wife has a deep primordial fear of rodents. Nothing can set her off like the appearance of one of these otherwise harmless little creatures. We're not talking nasty NYC city 20 pound sewer rats- we're talking about the cute little field mouse variety.

My wife pointed into the living room where our youngest, and biggest, cat Whiskers was patrolling the room. Whiskers is a big Maine coon that we picked up in Maine a few years back. Although he leads most of his life in a sedentary haze, when mice make their appearance he suddenly decides it's time to earn his keep. "Where is he ?" I asked the cat, apparently forgetting he's not a dog or any other creature that would care what his owner had to say when I spotted a lump of fur on the carpet. I bent down and picked up a piece of mouse about the size of a large marble- it looked like hamburger with some tufts of hair and a small bone protruding from the side.

"Here's a piece of it, Whiskies must have winged him" I said helpfully to my wife. She looked ashen. "It must have crawled away, oh my God it's injured and it's going to crawl off to do or maybe into our bed...." I stopped her short. "Don't worry, it couldn't have gone far and I'll find it." Whiskers was licking his massive paws, looking completely unconcerned that a wounded, bleeding mouse missing a large proportion of its rib cage was at this moment crawling around the house.

For the next 45 minutes I checked every room in the house, used a flashlight to check every nook and cranny where it could have crawled off to. I told my wife I couldn't find it, she said keep trying, so I kept looking. Finally, I told her it probably crawled off to die outside using the same path it used to get inside. That seemed to mollify her and she went back into the basement.

A few seconds later after offering my hypothesis, it became obvious why the cat was unconcerned about the location of the mouse since he know all along where it was. I noticed Whiskers making all the motions of a cat about to hurl a hairball and then out it came- the mouse. It actually hit the floor as a mass of blood and fur with it's four little paws splayed out to the side and the tail sticking to the rear, appearing like a high diver that jumped into a pool with no water.

"Found it !" I gleefully yelled to the wife.

The cat, none the worse for wear, immediately started rubbing my leg. It was dinner time after all.

02 May 2010

Prohibition & the poisoning of American citizens.

For all of you that feel my misgivings about the government are paranoid and unfounded, here's an eye-opening article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that relates how the U.S. government was responsible for the deaths of over 10,000 citizens during Prohibition.

From the article-

"Doctors were accustomed to alcohol poisoning by then, a routine of life in the Prohibition era. The bootlegged whiskies and so-called gins often made people sick. The liquor produced in hidden stills frequently came tainted with metals and other impurities. But this outbreak was bizarrely different. The deaths, as investigators would shortly realize, came courtesy of the U.S. government."

But that was then, this is now you argue. Well, the size, scope and power of the current federal government dwarfs its former self in the 1920's. It has permeated the daily lives of all of us in a myriad of ways, it watches us, it tracks us and it confiscates the fruits of our labors at the barrel of a gun. Every aspect of our daily lives is regulated by faceless bureaucrats in Washington D.C.- what we buy, the cars we drive, the jobs we toil at to pay our masters- at what point do we collectively stand up and shout "enough ?"

The government will continue to kill in the same oblique manner as it did in the 1920's though it will now do it through the massive bureaucracy of the new health care programs, the push for smaller less crash resistant vehicles and a variety of other new regulations headed for all of us. Always remember that Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and every other power mad nut case in history could only achieve their evil goals with the assistance of large, well run, fed and funded bureaucracies- just like the one we have now. All it needs is the right psychotic to throw the switch.