Lost in the Tax Swamplands

It's full on here.

Two weeks and a day to go, but what a two weeks and a day!

The brain space for columns and creativity is being soaked up by the balancing of numbers, the searching of forms and information, the divining of hieroglyphically composed trails, the triage decisions of what can be completed and what can't.

Exciting times.

Well, not really,  But there are times when it makes it difficult to think creatively.

And somehow I have to get my lines to the play I'm in (Dearly Beloved - it's going to be great - watch this space for details) by next Monday.  Oy!

And I need to get in gear to help plan the Studio part of the Steve Bean Arts Festival.  Oy Oy!

And I have neighbors who are going to start looking at my lawn, wondering how long I can go without doing something.  Oy Oy Oy!

And I'm sitting on a completed manuscript, and another novel  (or more precisely, a collection of short stories) that is about two thirds done.

Meanwhile, Indiana has gone mad.  I am trying to gather enough thoughts about that to make a coherent column.

And I'm still trying to get over that fish I ate Sunday.  I am so not a fish eater.  Oh, well. I tried.  I will have to get my good cholesterol some other way.

Oh, Good Lord.  I'm already out of time.  Time to make the 1040s.

go...Go...GO Spartys!...and Other Monday Musings

#7 seed Michigan State Spartans celebrate their victory over Louisville, and their trip to the Final Four!

Oh, yeah!  Sparty's in the Final Four!  The only seed left that is not a Number One!  Coach Izzo sure knows how to get his team to peak at the right time!

It's true I'm a Wolverine, born and bred, an alumni yes indeed.  But I when it comes to Spartan basketball, I can't help but be a fan.  And it's not just because it's another home state team.

It's my Dad.

It's the one sport and team he kept watching.  He watched them faithfully, whenever he could, even more than he did the Detroit Tigers those last few years.  When I think of the Spartans I think of my Dad, and our phone conversations where we discussed the team and how it had been doing.  I kept up with them, with great joy in my heart, loving to share their exploits with him.

 I wish I could call him about this.  I wish I could share it with him.  I know that he would love it.

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We took a short road trip to Douglas Saturday.  It was nice to get out of town for a few hours.  I don't get out of town much this time of year. 

It was not so nice to get a speeding ticket on my way there.  I just wasn't paying attention, not looking at my speed at all.  I wasn't passing cars or gaining on cars, and was not looking at the speedometer.  Apparently, though, there was a policeman who was.  I get a ticket about once every ten to twelve years, and I guess it was time.

They have an excellent bakery there, called Holt's, and I overindulged there...twice...and brought even more home.  Consequently, this weekend was a weight loss disaster.  Oh, well.  Back to the drawing board.

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Recent health wellness tests showed that both Alison and myself are deficient in what they call "good cholesterol" .  They recommended we eat more fish.

Fish.  Neither Alison and I are fish eaters.  But once in a while, as about as often as I get a speeding ticket, we give fish a valiant try.

So we got some wild caught cod from Kroger.  Alison cooked it last night, using a light breading and some Chesapeake Bay Seasoning.  This was about the most mild fish you could get.

Eating it at the time, the major impression I got was that the seasoning was too hot and spicy.  About an hour later came the horrible after taste, heartburn, nausea, and awful burps.  These have persisted through this morning.  I just want to wash the taste the away with a giant sausage and cheese biscuit.  

Alison feels the same way.  Sigh.  We are just not fish eaters, no matter how hard we try.  Benjamin, on the other hand, thought it tasted great and went for seconds and thirds.  Poor Benjamin.  Not many fish eating opportunities in our family.

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I attended our first Writer's Workshop for an hour or so.  It was sponsored by our Writer's Guild.  I had to leave early, but what I saw was interesting.  I used caution  because I have very thin skin and direct criticism can sting, but I know I have to do what I can to be open.

I think it's one of the reasons, even though I have a completed novel, that I just sit on it.  I know what I'm in for if I try to shop it.  The conceit is that tax season is interfering with polishing and promotion, but I guess we'll see if that's true in another two and a half weeks.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

War without Justification: Saturday Political Sop Box 105

Sorry.  Sorry. Sorry.

Usually don't start with memes from the internet.  But this one engendered such a reaction on The Facebook Machine when I posted it, I felt I needed to make some important points about it.

Some thought I was just being amusing attacking the great and mighty Bush/Cheney.  I guess they still thought the Iraq War was a great and glorious and justified action.

Some thought the war was simply poorly executed and that we should have just gone harder, longer and with greater, I don't know...viciousness.

Some blamed Democrats as well, for this and other foreign policy/military failures.  A pox on both their houses!  As if these people had just appeared by magic and the American Electorate had nothing to do with it.

Let me first clarify where I am coming from.  I am not a pacifist.  I am not an isolationist.  And despite what many may think, I am not a Democrat (I am a Warren/Sanders progressive).

I am an internationalist who believes in the careful and judicious use of force used only when necessary.  I believe in diplomacy first, second and third.  But there are times, when in the interest of humanity (genocides and invasions) or in defense of the best strategic interests of the United States, that some military involvement may be necessary.

When 9/11 happened, as much as I despised Bush II, I thought maybe he would get the job done.  He wasn't a great thinker, but he was often single minded in what he wanted done.  He had just pursed drastic tax cuts to the wealthy, shifting his logic constantly to fit changing economic circumstances, like a dog with a bone that he would not let go of until his buddies who helped got him elected were rewarded.  I thought, well, at least he would use that same focused vigor to get Bin Laden and Al Queda.

I was wrong.

After an intense start, that I did not entirely disagree with, it suddenly shifted for the worst when we had Bin Laden cornered at Tora Bora in December of 2001, and we inexplicably stopped and let him go.  I was stunned.  It was not at all what I expected from Bush II.

Further surprises were in store, as he stated it wasn't all that important to him as to whether we got Bin Laden or not.  Suddenly, the conversation shifted to Iraq and Saddam Hussein, who was far from a saint, but who had nothing to do with 9/11.  He may have had weapons of destruction.  How do we know this?  Because Cheney told us so.  The fact that he was LYING to us was apparently something we were supposed to just overlook.

The cold fact is that the Iraq invasion was chosen to further the interests of OIL and corporations.  There were some neocon thought that Iraq could be turned into a laboratory to prove the value of extreme right wing economic philosophy, imposing corporate control disguised as free market capitalism.  The attempted imposition of this was one of the biggest failures in American history.

9/11 was not the reason we went into the Iraq War.  It was the cover.  It was the excuse used by Cheney and Rumsfeld to do something that they had wanted to do anyways.  The Iraq War did not begin with 9/11.  It began with a secret meeting of Cheney and energy industry insiders, plotting out the course of new oil pipelines.

Our soldiers fought bravely, valiantly.  They deserve all the credit and praise in the world.  The National Guard was used in a way that was never intended ( and Bush II should know that - it's where he hid out to avoid the Vietnam War).  The vets that have come back needed our support, our kindness, and yes, lots of resources and help.  Both parties have failed to live up to taking care of them.

Foreign policy is not a zero sum game.  The globe's inter-connectivity is increasing exponentially, and isolationism is no longer a valid response.  Every action we take has consequences that lead to other things.  Even well-intentioned actions can lead to negative consequences down the road.  But inaction leads to negative results as well.  We have to act, particularly diplomatically.

Our leaders have tough decisions to make.  We can pray that we do the right thing, and that when their actions are reasonable and just, we support them.

Have Democrats done the wrong things sometimes?  Sure.  Yes, it's true.  Both sides have.  But nothing that equals the strategic and immoral blunder of the Iraq War.  That is in a class by itself.   There have been individual atrocities and manipulations before, but I still rank this one the tops.  We will be paying for it for decades to come.

Yes, let's get involved.

But let's do it for humanitarian reasons.  Let's do it to defend this country and our NATIONAL interests.

Let's never do it again to promote CORPORATE interests.  Let's never be LIED into a war again.  Let's never do it to promote some half baked neocon theory about free market capitalism.

And let's put Cheney and his lying cronies where they belong....

...in prison.

Rock of Days

Yes, the days slowly rock on forward towards the end of another tax season.

The changes will not be too remarkable, but I will get my Fridays back.  And hopefully, my ability to fictionate will return.  Woohoo!

But there are still about twenty days left.  Right now, the light at the end of the tunnel is just the distant flicker of a tiny match.  Oh, well.  At least that is better than the seemingly endless pitch black.

But what do I have to look forward until then?

Constant reminders of this:

Spring break belly flop.  Sorry for the blur - trying to enlarge it enough to see.  I may replace it if I get time later.  Then if I leave this note on here, it won't make any sense.

Oh, yeah!  It's Spring Break, baby!  something that I will be reminded of AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN , OVER and OVER and OVER again, constantly in person and in social media.

And do you know what?

THERE IS NO SPRING BREAK IN ACCOUNTING!!!

Especially in CPA firms that do taxes.

So I have to constantly see people sharing their joyous chunks of time off, as I sit in my office that feels increasingly like a prison, and realize that I am not a part of it, and may never be until I am fully retired from accounting.

Both Alison and Benjamin have the next week off.  I would love to be at home with them, go on little excursions with them, read the dozens of books I have waited to read, write a storm, watch all the latest movies (except Do You Believe? - please, don't get me started).  Heck, just sit on our screened in porch, drinking java with Alison.

But none of that is to be.

But do not despair, T. M.!

Fridays - they be coming back soon!

Goodness gracious!  Great piles of fiction!

It's almost enough to get me through the Spring Break pictures!

A Fifth for a Fifth: Wednesday Wanderings

One fifth of tax season remains.  It sounds pretty good, but I am ready for a fifth of my own.  A fifth of ....Scotchy?  Bourbon?  Wine cooler?  Sorry....my knowledge of alcohol is limited.

It is hard to always stay upbeat with these things.  We all have our things, both big and small, that hang over our personalities an/or health, both physical and mental.  I tend to fall into slight valleys of depression and pessimism.  Now is one of those times.

There is often no rhyme or reason for it.  It's just a thing.  Sometimes caused by events, sometimes merely cyclical.

I get discouraged sometimes, living surrounded by people who seem nice and kind, but whose political and cultural and religious beliefs are tearing this nation and planet apart.

Calling homosexuality a sin is causing more harm and unchristian behavior than the opposite would.

Calling global warming a hoax is destroying any chance at a future for our children and grandchildren.

Attacking Obamacare without giving a damn who is covered or not covered, without any thought of any caring, Christian plan to take it's place, is unconscionable, and I'm tired of mollycoddling those who object to it in blind, unreasoning hatred.

I have always been kind of a short term pessimist and a long term optimist.  My faith tells me we are headed for a better world, that more and more will see the Way, and that tolerance and love will light a path forward.

But sometimes, when you are in the darkest part of the tunnel, it is hard to believe that the light will ever emerge again.

I meant to wander more, but I have already runned out of time.  I have play practices now, and I have to leave work earlier than I should, so to make up I need to get there earlier.  Contributions to the blog may be a little more ragged that next three weeks, but I will do my best to keep up.

That aso means I may notd have as much time to ebit.  Sorry

Sleeping on the Remote and other Monday Musings

Ellie finds nothing on worth losing sleep over.

Ah, yes!  Another weekend has slipped by.  One less tax season weekend!  Only three more weekends remain, and presently there is less than a quarter of the season left.  I do have to emphasize that my job and much accompanying stress is year round, but the number of hours that I work are less once April 15 passes.

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I had a wellness test Friday, and the results were not bad.  They were not quite what I had hoped, but not bad.  My weight is down, but they didn't have last year's records with them, so they really couldn't tell the progress I had made.  They just knew from the BMI chart I would have to lose another 56 pounds to get to the normal BMI range.  Not happening, folks.  Very discouraging.  My blood pressure was good, but not quite as low as the readings I had been getting on my own machine.  Again, they had no comparison point from last year.  And apparently I should eat more fish.  Well, any fish, since I really don't eat any.

I don't eat fish because it tastes fishy.  Even the fish fish lovers recommend to me as the ones not being 'fishy', still taste fishy to me.  I could eat Long John Silvers, but that's because deep fried or something, with a heavy coating of crunchy breading, which I shellac with malt vinegar, which is probably sky high in sodium.

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Benjamin has been accepted into Robot Camp at Georgia Tech!  That will be two weeks in Atlanta, which he should be able to stay with his big brother Doug, and alternating parental unit between me and Alison.  These camps aren't free, but lodging with Doug will save money, and be good for brother bonding.

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March Madness has proven to be disappointing, EXCEPT for Michigan State.  They are in the Sweet Sixteen as a Number 7 seed!  Woohoo!  They have mastered the fine art of peaking at the right time.  But if you love having underdogs in the Sweet Sixteen, it is a very sad year.  My underdog heavy bracket is in utter shambles.  Oh, well.

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I meant to write fiction this weekend, specifically the next Crowley story.  I only got a paragraph in.  As tax season wears on, fiction writing becomes more and more elusive.

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We have discovered that Joy, our foster dog, does have some teeth.  They have just been greatly filed down.  We think that she was either used, or had been planned on being used, as bait dog - a dog whose only function is to be used as fodder for dogs being trained for dogfights.  Yes, it's absolutely horrifying.  There be monsters among us.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

The Great Unanswered Question of the American 2010s: Saturday Political Soap Box 104

So, Tom, you have my curiosity up.  What is the great unanswered question of the American 2010s?

Why, interesting you should ask that.

It is a question that I have been asking since the decade started, and have not gotten one coherent answer.

It is this:

ATTENTION CONSERVATIVES AND OBAMA DERIDERS!

What plan do you have to replace Obamacare that will insure as many or more people?

Do you understand?  I don't care that you want to repeal Obamacare.  I don't care how much you foam at the mouth at it, or our President.  I want to know what you're going to replace it with.

I don't care when you say you're not a politician and you don't have to come up with an alternative.  You just know by God what you hate, and you want it gone.  Well, too bad so sad.  If you're going to strip MILLIONS from access to decent health care, you're not going to leave those people vulnerable.  You've got to demonstrate how your plan takes care of those people and MORE.

I mean, surely, you don't intend for things to go back to the way they were.  Do you want more bankruptcies?  Do you want more people denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions?  Do you want people to be solely dependent on the whims of their employer for decent health care?  Do you want young people to be kicked off their parent's plan too soon and not be able to get coverage on their own?  Do you not like that the arc of cost for health care and insurance has finally started to slow?  Do you not like the fact that Obamacare is reducing the deficit and not increasing it?

It's true that Obamacare has added a layer of complication to an already complicated income tax process.  As a CPA, I can tell you it has been a real pain in the posterior region.  Add it to the list of the strange, quirky things our tax code does.

It's anecdotally  true that some people's health insurance costs have gone up, a few dramatically.  Some had plans that were inadequate, offering little protection, and had to replace them with more comprehensive plans - surprise! - they cost more!  Some private insurance companies steered their insurers to more expensive plans, blamed it on Obamacare, without the insured checking out the exchanges or other options to find if there was a better deal.  Some were hurt by regional price variations in the exchanges - which I feel is the very worst part of Obamacare.

The flaw in Obamacare isn't the government (although far from perfect, it technically can be controlled by a vigilant press and an active, informed, voting citizenry), it's the private insurers and medical providers.  They're in it to maximize profits, even if it's at your expense.

So, for me, the alternative is easy.  Join the rest of the civilized world with a comprehensive universal health care system.  NO ONE SHOULD BE LEFT OUT!  As a CPA and numbers person, I know this is the most fiscally sound way to do it - spread the costs over everyone and minimize the vulturous middlemen.  As a Christian person with a moral conscience, I see it as the only way,

So for me, the alternative to Obamacare is easy.  We already have the system in place.  We just need to expand it - Medicare for All!  Yes, this may mean the contribution rate may have to increase but realize this - NO OTHER INSURANCE COSTS!

But, of course, my conservative friends, if you thought the overly privatized, Republican inspired version of Romneycare, the Affordable Care Act referred to as Obamacare, if you thought that was socialized medicine, I can't imagine what you think of Medicare for All.

So, again, I've been asking this question for FOUR YEARS with zero coherent response....


What plan do you have to replace Obamacare that will insure as many or more people?

Allowing across state competition will only gravitate plans to those states with the least amount of regulation and the worst coverage.  Eliminating medical malpractice will only diminish your rights and worsen medical standards -  I do not believe that studies show that eliminating malpractice suits reduces cost or expands coverage.

And let me blunt about this.  If your philosophy is that you just DON'T CARE who is insured or uninsured, and is only centered on your PERSONAL costs, then I am not interested in your opinion.  If civic and religious reasons are not enough to compel you to care about other people, than you fall outside the realm of this discussion.  You're not a conservative or a Republican.  You are a heartless, Ayn Randian self-centered monster, and I hate to think that it is your type of opinion that is driving the health care debate.


So one more time, my conservative friends....


What plan do you have to replace Obamacare that will insure as many or more people?

I will keep the light on for you.