The computer ate my blog time!
We have satellite internet, because we live in he boonies, and other than dial up, it's the only connection we can get. But any little weather event seems to takes it down. I've been pretty lucky in the morning, because most of our storms have been at night. Not so lucky this morning, as we have an early morning thundershower.
I love the rain, especially if the storm is not too violent. It's normally cooler, and I can see better outside, if it's not too strong. I don't do so well in direct sunlight.
As soon as I get more time, I have the ripping Good Yarn post to write, where I will present our first Hall of Fame winner.
Until next time,
T.M. Strait
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Release the Hounds of Taxlessville!
Oh, that Harry Reid. That vile man. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is out making claims that he has heard that Mitt Romney paid no taxes in ten years of his returns. This is sourced from something he supposedly heard from an investor in Bain Capital. And not only will Harry Reid not apologize, he keeps repeating the same claim. Over and over and over again! What is wrong with him? I'm going to start getting very confused if Democrats start behaving like Republicans!
Masters of the Faux News technique of "some say" , many Republicans lead the charge to innuendo and baseless claims. From birth certificates to death panels to the hoax of trickle-down economics, it's hard to top their level of blarney and rumor. Not that Democrats don't try on occasion - they're just not very good at it.
So should the Mittbot release his tax returns? Yes. Not because of Harry Reid, but because the American people deserve to know. They need to know just how out of balance our tax system is. Mittbot 2012 says he paid all the taxes he was legally obligated to do so. Stripped down that is political gobbledygook for if I didn't pay zero I came as damn close to it as I was able. Given the tax loopholes available to people like Romney, a zero rate is perfectly plausible. Hell, he may have even gotten money in rebates and credits that he didn't put in!
The prima facie problem is the one hundred million dollar IRA. How the heck did that happen? With limits on how much you can put into an IRA each year, you'd have to have the investment of the century to build up that kind of nest egg.
The powerful lawyers and accountants surrounding the Mittbot Empire must be aggressively taking advantage of everything they can, playing at the edges of permissible law. And, of course, they and the Mittbot are incapable of mis-step. Well, Romney did claim to be able to run for Governor of Massachusetts because his tax returns stated he was a Massachusetts resident. Which they did no such thing. Why those darn accountants must have goofed up. No problem, says Mittbot! I'll just "retro-actively" change it to Massachusetts. Because tax returns are like magic! And you can magic them to say whatever you want!
That is, it's easy to magic them when you're extremely wealthy, and you have an army of lawyers and accountants assisting you, and a Congress willing to write any loophole you need to help insure they get future campaign contributions. Ann Romney got a larger tax deduction from her pet horse than most of the annual salaries of those who read this blog.
We need to see Mitt Romney's tax returns. Not just because it will help us determine what kind of man and President Mitt Romney might be, but so that we can see the rottenness at the core of our tax system. They less they pay, the more you pay. It's time to get a good, strong look at the wealthy's most impressive resort - Taxlessville.
1
Masters of the Faux News technique of "some say" , many Republicans lead the charge to innuendo and baseless claims. From birth certificates to death panels to the hoax of trickle-down economics, it's hard to top their level of blarney and rumor. Not that Democrats don't try on occasion - they're just not very good at it.
So should the Mittbot release his tax returns? Yes. Not because of Harry Reid, but because the American people deserve to know. They need to know just how out of balance our tax system is. Mittbot 2012 says he paid all the taxes he was legally obligated to do so. Stripped down that is political gobbledygook for if I didn't pay zero I came as damn close to it as I was able. Given the tax loopholes available to people like Romney, a zero rate is perfectly plausible. Hell, he may have even gotten money in rebates and credits that he didn't put in!
The prima facie problem is the one hundred million dollar IRA. How the heck did that happen? With limits on how much you can put into an IRA each year, you'd have to have the investment of the century to build up that kind of nest egg.
The powerful lawyers and accountants surrounding the Mittbot Empire must be aggressively taking advantage of everything they can, playing at the edges of permissible law. And, of course, they and the Mittbot are incapable of mis-step. Well, Romney did claim to be able to run for Governor of Massachusetts because his tax returns stated he was a Massachusetts resident. Which they did no such thing. Why those darn accountants must have goofed up. No problem, says Mittbot! I'll just "retro-actively" change it to Massachusetts. Because tax returns are like magic! And you can magic them to say whatever you want!
That is, it's easy to magic them when you're extremely wealthy, and you have an army of lawyers and accountants assisting you, and a Congress willing to write any loophole you need to help insure they get future campaign contributions. Ann Romney got a larger tax deduction from her pet horse than most of the annual salaries of those who read this blog.
We need to see Mitt Romney's tax returns. Not just because it will help us determine what kind of man and President Mitt Romney might be, but so that we can see the rottenness at the core of our tax system. They less they pay, the more you pay. It's time to get a good, strong look at the wealthy's most impressive resort - Taxlessville.
1
Monday, August 6, 2012
School Daze and Other Monday Musings
 |
| Is this the perfect attire for a brand new middle schooler? I pray the answer is no. |
Here it is again! School Daze are here! For some of my Michigan friends, and friends in other places outside of Georgia, this may seem extraordinarily early to start school, but here it seems to creep ever earlier and earlier. Conversely they stop school in mid-May. I'm not sure what the reasoning is. You would think if they were trying to save money, the sweltering month of August and its associated air conditioning costs wouldn't seem like a first choice. But regardless of the reasoning, school time is once again here.
And this year, to add to the excitement and fun, Benjamin will be starting middle school. He is a sixth grader at a brand new school. He will have to cope with a kaleidoscope of changing classrooms and a wider variety of subjects. He hopes to be in band, preferring the trumpet. He is looking forward to participating in Drama.
We have other friends and family faced with this same opening day. Our good friends Ken and Kimberly Beck will have their daughter, Elizabeth in middle school, sharing the same homeroom as Benjamin, while meanwhile Emily continues at the elementary school. Karissa and Jeff Cook also have their children going to diverse places, Noah to elementary and Eli to daycare, and have to figure out their transportation options. Dean and Leslie Crane will have both of their two in the public schools this year. Alison's step-sister Chrissy, will be starting to teach Social Studies this year at the high school. And this is just the very tip of the people we know who are effected by this big day.
Sadly, as important as public education is to the lives of so many, it is under constant siege by the conservative right-wing majority that dominates the state. Pierce county has enjoyed one of the finest school systems in the state, but is under relentless pressure to do more with less. The good employees are doing every thing they can to answer the challenge, but it gets more difficult each year. Georgia will never be the growing, dynamic state that it wants to be unless it works to restore and nurture a first-rate education system.
I attended a family reunion Saturday, a group on Alison's father's side. I don't think this particular group met often, and I did not recognize 97.85% of the people there. But there was some good food there, and it was free. They had a great corn souffle that was fantastic, and reminded me of the Strait reunions and Thanksgiving from when I was a kid.
My father is in the course of getting more care at Independence Village in East Lansing. This is being done through the auspice of hospice care. This does not mean what I thought it meant - I thought that was a service for the terminally ill. But what they're going to do is make him feel more comfortable staying in his own place. Should another health crisis come about, they're going to do everything they can to make sure he can stay where he's at , instead of being shuttled to different hospitals and rehab centers.
We finally saw The Dark Knight Rises Saturday. It was better than I expected, and I have a full review under the blog entry Ripping Good Yarns: The Batman Horizons.
With the new school hours, my opportunity to blog shifts a little, but I will do my best to accommodate it. The blog continues to grow in page view traffic, and I thank all of you who visit, and even if you don;t like everything, that you can find something that suits your individual interest.
Until next time,
T.M. Strait
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Ripping Good Yarns: The Batman Horizons
Huzzah! Finally got to see The Dark Knight Rises! I was deeply skeptical of this movie, but it turned out to be much better than I expected. The story-line flowed very well, the action sequences were intense, and the acting far above par for these type of movies.
As faithful readers and Rippers may know, I have been a reader of comics from the time I was four, and have never stopped. Batman and his related comics are ones I have read on and off, although there are others that I have been a more consistent follower over the years, led by my favorite Superman. Some of the Batman stories I have read have been very good. Others have been perfectly awful. He has wildly careened over the last seventy years between lighthearted camp, and then all way to unrelentingly somber and dark.
One of the story-lines I hated the most was the Bane/Knightfall period. I hated the whole thing where Batman's back gets cracked. It just seemed hokey, overly violent and a step too far. Bane was a very unattractive villain whom held no interest for me. When I heard that Bane was going to be the villain of this movie my heart sank a bit.
Now that I've seen it, I find that my fears were unfounded. Bane is menacing, carries an interesting angst, and is quite an interesting match for Batman. His face filter did make him at times hard to understand.
Christian Bale is a very affecting Batman. You can see the pain and grim determination pouring through his face. He successfully brings the audience into his terrible journey.
Gary Oilman and Michael Caine are two very experienced actors that bring great depth to the parts they play. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young, earnest cop who draws the best out of Batman is very good too.
But the surprise of the movie for me was Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. She brought out the rich complexities of Catwoman more than any other actress I've seen. She was strikingly beautiful and uh, agile, but you could see the conflicts pulling at her play against her face. Her reactions were worth the price of the movie.
My understanding was that the movie would play against our increasing division between rich and poor, and the collapse of our middle class. I detected that some but not as much as I hoped. And I'm not sure whatever Bane was trying to do helped bring it across.
There were a number of twists that were probably less surprising to comic readers than they were for the general movie-going populace, but I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into it here.
Finally, there is the sad reality that there are many, many people who are seeing this and other comic book super-hero movies who have never read a comic book with the characters they are watching. The great source material for the an overwhelming number of our movies and TV shows is ignored by the vast majority of our citizens.
Final score: 9 out of 10.
As faithful readers and Rippers may know, I have been a reader of comics from the time I was four, and have never stopped. Batman and his related comics are ones I have read on and off, although there are others that I have been a more consistent follower over the years, led by my favorite Superman. Some of the Batman stories I have read have been very good. Others have been perfectly awful. He has wildly careened over the last seventy years between lighthearted camp, and then all way to unrelentingly somber and dark.
One of the story-lines I hated the most was the Bane/Knightfall period. I hated the whole thing where Batman's back gets cracked. It just seemed hokey, overly violent and a step too far. Bane was a very unattractive villain whom held no interest for me. When I heard that Bane was going to be the villain of this movie my heart sank a bit.
Now that I've seen it, I find that my fears were unfounded. Bane is menacing, carries an interesting angst, and is quite an interesting match for Batman. His face filter did make him at times hard to understand.
Christian Bale is a very affecting Batman. You can see the pain and grim determination pouring through his face. He successfully brings the audience into his terrible journey.
Gary Oilman and Michael Caine are two very experienced actors that bring great depth to the parts they play. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young, earnest cop who draws the best out of Batman is very good too.
But the surprise of the movie for me was Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. She brought out the rich complexities of Catwoman more than any other actress I've seen. She was strikingly beautiful and uh, agile, but you could see the conflicts pulling at her play against her face. Her reactions were worth the price of the movie.
My understanding was that the movie would play against our increasing division between rich and poor, and the collapse of our middle class. I detected that some but not as much as I hoped. And I'm not sure whatever Bane was trying to do helped bring it across.
There were a number of twists that were probably less surprising to comic readers than they were for the general movie-going populace, but I don't want to spoil anything so I won't go into it here.
Finally, there is the sad reality that there are many, many people who are seeing this and other comic book super-hero movies who have never read a comic book with the characters they are watching. The great source material for the an overwhelming number of our movies and TV shows is ignored by the vast majority of our citizens.
Final score: 9 out of 10.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
August Obligatory Political Speculatron Saturday Political Soapbox 32
Well, it's time to take a look at the political state of things and polish the crystal ball and come up with some unwarranted speculation as to what may happen next.
First, let me confess to something major that I got wrong from past speculation. I felt that if Mitt Romney were the Republican nominee, that some form of third party would emerge, led by the Tea Party and the far, far, far right. I further thought that although I did not believe Sarah Palin would be the Republican nominee, I thought that she might lead an independent third party effort. It turns out that she will not run at all, and is pretty much a non-factor.
Why did this happen, no emergence of a third party? First, I underestimated the blind, dominating hatred the far right has for President Obama. He's run this country to the right of Eisenhower and Nixon, and in many ways has not changed all that many policies from Bush. But none of that is good enough. He is not of us, he is an OTHER, not a true American at all. So Fox and Rushy and the Becskster and others can steer people to further and further extremes. If President Obama shifts right to accommodate them, instead of embracing that change, they just flee farther to the right than has been seen in this country in decades.
Second, all the big money is doubling down on Mitt Romney. The wealthy billionaire crackpots are not following the path of Ross Perot this year. They are placing huge, democracy-choking dollars on Mitt Romney. Why? Many of them are social conservatives who mistrust Romney, Some were openly fighting Romney's nomination earlier. Why have they fallen in line? Pocketbook, plain and simple. They smell that the historically low tax rates they pay now can be driven even lower. They think they can run roughshod over the market and the environment if they can just get even more government regulations and oversight eliminated. They will accelerate our striding gallop towards feudalism that is already occurring in this country. See if you can stomach this - SIR Donald Trump. Under Romney's America, he might as well be.
The unemployment rate did not tick down for July, although private sector job growth continues to improve. Knowing why this is the case, this logically should not hurt the President, but it might. The real danger to the President, however, is going to be the mammoth flood of Citizens United inspired advertising that is going to rain down upon this country very soon. By the time it is over, they will try to convince you that Barack Hussein Obama is Willie Horton. I kid you not. Just wait and see.
My other predictions from last month still stand. The President wins, by about the same margin as last time. The House shows some Democratic gains but not enough to take control. And the Senate stays narrowly in Democratic hands.
Anything is possible, however. Without attaching names to it, I remember in 2006 to 2007 speculating that what might happen is that Democrats take control in 2008, the hole the Republicans created was too big to climb out of, and because of lack of progress, a confused populace hands the keys back to the Republicans once again, but the abyss is so vast after they retake things, that in 2016 we finally get a progressive majority in this country.
But, sigh, I am really, really hoping we could skip that second step. Keep your fingers crossed.
First, let me confess to something major that I got wrong from past speculation. I felt that if Mitt Romney were the Republican nominee, that some form of third party would emerge, led by the Tea Party and the far, far, far right. I further thought that although I did not believe Sarah Palin would be the Republican nominee, I thought that she might lead an independent third party effort. It turns out that she will not run at all, and is pretty much a non-factor.
Why did this happen, no emergence of a third party? First, I underestimated the blind, dominating hatred the far right has for President Obama. He's run this country to the right of Eisenhower and Nixon, and in many ways has not changed all that many policies from Bush. But none of that is good enough. He is not of us, he is an OTHER, not a true American at all. So Fox and Rushy and the Becskster and others can steer people to further and further extremes. If President Obama shifts right to accommodate them, instead of embracing that change, they just flee farther to the right than has been seen in this country in decades.
Second, all the big money is doubling down on Mitt Romney. The wealthy billionaire crackpots are not following the path of Ross Perot this year. They are placing huge, democracy-choking dollars on Mitt Romney. Why? Many of them are social conservatives who mistrust Romney, Some were openly fighting Romney's nomination earlier. Why have they fallen in line? Pocketbook, plain and simple. They smell that the historically low tax rates they pay now can be driven even lower. They think they can run roughshod over the market and the environment if they can just get even more government regulations and oversight eliminated. They will accelerate our striding gallop towards feudalism that is already occurring in this country. See if you can stomach this - SIR Donald Trump. Under Romney's America, he might as well be.
The unemployment rate did not tick down for July, although private sector job growth continues to improve. Knowing why this is the case, this logically should not hurt the President, but it might. The real danger to the President, however, is going to be the mammoth flood of Citizens United inspired advertising that is going to rain down upon this country very soon. By the time it is over, they will try to convince you that Barack Hussein Obama is Willie Horton. I kid you not. Just wait and see.
My other predictions from last month still stand. The President wins, by about the same margin as last time. The House shows some Democratic gains but not enough to take control. And the Senate stays narrowly in Democratic hands.
Anything is possible, however. Without attaching names to it, I remember in 2006 to 2007 speculating that what might happen is that Democrats take control in 2008, the hole the Republicans created was too big to climb out of, and because of lack of progress, a confused populace hands the keys back to the Republicans once again, but the abyss is so vast after they retake things, that in 2016 we finally get a progressive majority in this country.
But, sigh, I am really, really hoping we could skip that second step. Keep your fingers crossed.
Friday, August 3, 2012
In the Heart of the Strep
Benjamin has strep. It came quickly. He felt ill Tuesday, and when I took him to the doctor Wednesday, the Doctor was astonished at how much gunk and strep there was for him to only to have been bothered for a day. We normally are a hardy family, resistant going to the doctor for every little thing, but Benjamin was complaining about his ears, and I hadn't heard that before from any of my three sons. Because of that ear complaint, I took him in, but the ears turned out to be fine.
Benjamin is recovering slowly but surely, getting better every day. I stayed home with him Wednesday, his PaPa (Alison's father) yesterday, and I am back with him today.
It's always tough when children are sick. Especially the little ones that can only give you a vague idea of what's wrong. It breaks your heart, and you feel their pain right along with them. At least Benjamin, at 11, is at an age that he can give us a fairly clear idea of what's causing him pain.
As it is tragically everywhere, we have families that are going through the experience of very sick children right now. We have Amris Bedford, a two year old who has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. The family is doing everything it can to beat the odds, and there has been a great deal of community support for them. Amris has a facebook page called Love and Prayers for Amris. Amris is in all our prayers.
We have Chase Brauda, a young boy who has been valiantly been fighting cancer for several months. There have been some hard fought victories, but the battle continues. They have a facebook site called Chase Brauda's Prayer Team. Chase is in all our prayers.
There are many, many more in need, and please feel free to let us know about them, and extend their circle of prayers and support.
Whatever else you think about Obamacare, please be grateful that children can no longer be kicked off insurance due to pre-existing conditions. These and other reforms, I am thankful for anything that allows a family and community to concentrate on love, caring and support instead of having to stress just how to fiscally survive. It would be wonderful to concentrate our resources on beating the disease so that other children don't have to suffer, instead of worrying about where the money for the next operation or treatment is going to come from.
Love and peace and good health to all,
T.M. Strait
UPDATE: On Sunday morning, September Second, Chase Brauda lost his valiant battle against leukemia. It was a sad day for his family and friends, and he will be greatly missed. The community stayed with him throughout, and is continuing to support and pray with the family.
UPDATE: (November 16, 2013): We have another terribly ill child in our area, named Mattie Gobles. Her tumor was recently discovered to be significantly bigger than previously observed. Prayers and support to her and her family and her support team. May we continue to strive to do everything we can fro every child and family that finds themselves in these unfortunate circumstances. It takes family support, individual support, community and faith support, and yes, national support through legislation that helps cover and assist us all. Prayers, support and love.
Benjamin is recovering slowly but surely, getting better every day. I stayed home with him Wednesday, his PaPa (Alison's father) yesterday, and I am back with him today.
It's always tough when children are sick. Especially the little ones that can only give you a vague idea of what's wrong. It breaks your heart, and you feel their pain right along with them. At least Benjamin, at 11, is at an age that he can give us a fairly clear idea of what's causing him pain.
As it is tragically everywhere, we have families that are going through the experience of very sick children right now. We have Amris Bedford, a two year old who has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. The family is doing everything it can to beat the odds, and there has been a great deal of community support for them. Amris has a facebook page called Love and Prayers for Amris. Amris is in all our prayers.
We have Chase Brauda, a young boy who has been valiantly been fighting cancer for several months. There have been some hard fought victories, but the battle continues. They have a facebook site called Chase Brauda's Prayer Team. Chase is in all our prayers.
There are many, many more in need, and please feel free to let us know about them, and extend their circle of prayers and support.
Whatever else you think about Obamacare, please be grateful that children can no longer be kicked off insurance due to pre-existing conditions. These and other reforms, I am thankful for anything that allows a family and community to concentrate on love, caring and support instead of having to stress just how to fiscally survive. It would be wonderful to concentrate our resources on beating the disease so that other children don't have to suffer, instead of worrying about where the money for the next operation or treatment is going to come from.
Love and peace and good health to all,
T.M. Strait
UPDATE: On Sunday morning, September Second, Chase Brauda lost his valiant battle against leukemia. It was a sad day for his family and friends, and he will be greatly missed. The community stayed with him throughout, and is continuing to support and pray with the family.
UPDATE: (November 16, 2013): We have another terribly ill child in our area, named Mattie Gobles. Her tumor was recently discovered to be significantly bigger than previously observed. Prayers and support to her and her family and her support team. May we continue to strive to do everything we can fro every child and family that finds themselves in these unfortunate circumstances. It takes family support, individual support, community and faith support, and yes, national support through legislation that helps cover and assist us all. Prayers, support and love.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Procession Without Crossroads
Behind the guttered snipe
Lived a trove of tripe
They could not spell to save
The head quay that gave
A windowless pane
A triumphant reign
Go out to see that we are free
Tithe not thee for fear of bree
It wasn't thy presence
You gave no presents
A trunkless case
A sizzling face
Forward is the leap of joy
Empty is the pond of koi
He had nothing left
He was an empty cleft
A room without doors
A rain that always pours
Lived a trove of tripe
They could not spell to save
The head quay that gave
A windowless pane
A triumphant reign
Go out to see that we are free
Tithe not thee for fear of bree
It wasn't thy presence
You gave no presents
A trunkless case
A sizzling face
Forward is the leap of joy
Empty is the pond of koi
He had nothing left
He was an empty cleft
A room without doors
A rain that always pours
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)