Sometimes the irony is just too much. Scott Crossfield died in a small plane accident in Georgia, which is a bit like reading a headline “Jacques Cousteau Dies in Bathtub Accident.”
(Crossfield was played by Scott Wilson in the 1983 film The Right Stuff.)
I make jokes all the time about the real estate prices. “Bring your nail bag! Just needs a little TLC! ONLY $900K!!!!”
But seriously, this property will sell for nearly half a million dollars, because it is .75 acre, and can be replatted to build four homes, each with a sale price of $500K.
The Everett area is awash with similar short platting.
OK. I’ve got this tiny little question.
While the Administration replays the runup to Iraq, why am I the only person who seems to remember that Iran is a weapons proxy for China?
COMMENTS
Jason said…
We just gave India a carte blanche nuke deal. I think we’re playing chess in Asia again.
9:35 AM
Michael said…
You are spot on, as usual.
It was a great family weekend! Sunday, Camille’s dad flew up from San Jose, her Aunt drove up from Vancouver, WA, her sister came down from Mill Creek and we did that pagan ritual together: Easter dinner!
Monday, we both blew the day off and spent it with her dad.
Camille & Albert in the Arboretum.
In honor of Tax Day, I’d like to show you a few references.
First, the amount of taxes the government collected in 2005: $1,356,204M
(This excludes SS and Government receipts)
Second, the amount the federal government spent on interest on the public debt in 2005: $352,350,252,507.90
Therefore, interest payments on the public debt as a percentage of tax receipts is 25.9%. Over a quarter of what we pay in taxes goes to pay interest on the national debt. This — $352,350,252,507.90 — was the price we paid in 2005 alone for administration policies that force us to live beyond our means. Imagine, please, how that sum will grow as interest rates increase. It will be a huge proportion of our budget, and one that is entirely beyond our control.
If the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy had been repealed, and taxes had been raised to pay for what our government spent, instead of running up $8,402,073,299,705.08 in debt, we could have used that money in all sorts of meaningful ways.
For instance, we could have eliminated the $319 billion FY2005 unified budget deficit, eliminating any need to borrow money during that entire year.
With the $33 billion dollars we had left over, we could have fully funded the restoration of the wetlands needed to protect New Orleans (around $14 billion), fully fund the rebuilding of the levees ($10 billion and counting), and still have $9 billion left over for other things.
With the Administration continually crowing about National Security, how about funding improvements in port security? What about rail security – which has gotten no air play in spite of bombings in Spain and England. How about some repairs to our crumbling infrastructure? How about funding some of the Federal unfunded mandates, such as “No Child Left Behind?”
Instead of intelligent choices that could maintain what we often refer to as an “American standard of living,” we get to waste the money on interest, which buys nothing but continued campaign contributions.
When self-identified Republicans speak to me about how “illegal immigrants shouldn’t be able to come here and get free medical care and free school lunches,” I respond that I wish Republicans could get that emotionally worked up about corporate welfare. This would be an example of what I am referring to – the people benefiting from these economic policies are banks, multinational corporations, and the super-rich.
But wait – this won’t fit on a bumper sticker, will it?
Comments
Serena said…
Unbelievable.
I’m reading about “wealth inequality” in Sociology. The text points out that 6% of Americans have a net worth of $250,000 or more, whereas over 25% have a net worth of less than $5,000. The top 1% of Americans enjoy almost 40 percent of all wealth (real estate, possessions, stocks, etc.). The top 5th have 84% of the total, leaving the remaining 80 percent of the population with about 16% of the assets.
I suppose if I was in the top 5, I’d support corporate welfare, too. The sad thing is, I don’t see this changing anytime soon. Does BushCo receive any bad press about this from other countries?
6:25 PM
Michael said…
>I suppose if I was in the top 5, I’d support corporate welfare, too.
Which is what confuses me about Republicans who make less than, say, $250K per year.
> BushCo receive any bad press about this from other countries?
No bad press, because it’s worse in many other parts of the world. Think of just about any country in Africa, where the majority live on a dollar a day and the top .001% have a small private army of bodyguards.
Also, it would be a good idea to say that the system is corrupt – if majority rule was currently in the hands of Democrats, we’d have a different set of problems, and the wealth inequity would be pretty much the same. Remember it was Clinton (D) who sold the middle class out with NAFTA and GATT.
6:55 PM
(Greek, “theory of living”)
Ah, the 21st Century. Everyone has either a website, blog, or a wiki. Or so it seems. And here I thought we’d have personal jet packs and a cure for the common cold by now.
So, after all these billions of words are written, arguments advanced, opinions offered, facts cited, epithets hurled, syllogisms deconstructed… after all the naked emotion – the hands wrung, the dramas played out, the old bums thrown out and new bums in voted in, what will we choose to remember about this time in thirty years? What will our children say about it in fifty years? All these things so very important to us now – will our children even mention it at all to their children?
I sometimes stop, pen poised, and wonder if all of this passion, pathos and flying spittle only serves to put our neuroses on public display. Perhaps we change nothing, only adding to a rising cacophony of mutually exclusive temporal desires.
I have an urbane father-in-law who is a study in diplomacy and measured grace. I strive to emulate that, in spite of my impulses to be noticed, accepted, loved and understood.
The word “heroism” has been degraded through overuse and misuse into a mere synonym for fame or notoriety. Running into a burning building to save a baby isn’t heroism. It may be brave or courageous, but it isn’t heroic.
Real heroism is active resistance to the day-to-day attacks that wear down your commitment to the things you know to be true and valuable.
Real heroism makes available and preserves that which is true and lasting.
Real heroism is daily re-commitment to personal integrity.
It would be easy for me to fill an entire blog with the bottomless, willful ignorance of the religious right. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the repetitive tedium. But I cannot resist just two more current examples, oh please, oh please – and just remember – “those folks cancel our votes!”
1. According to Olive Tree Ministries, prayer protection is urgently needed for the Mayo Clinic, because (O-MY-GAWD) the unholy Dalai Lama is going to be visiting those poor people with his special brand of heresy. Of course, a recent Duke University-led study shows prayer doesn’t help a bit. In fact, patients who were prayed for got worse. Maybe that’s what is up with the president, who continually asks for people to pray for him.
2. Bill Nye the Science Guy got soundly dissed last Thursday. Apparently, the idea that the moon reflects light instead of actually emitting it was simply too much for a few flat-earthers in Waco, who angrily stalked out after screaming at him that THEY BELIEVE IN GOD!
By the way: The latest poll numbers for President Chucklenuts. It’s all good.
[Ed. 8/12/2012. This has been transferred from the old LBQ blog, and most of the links that were included in the original post are now broken.]
Comments:
Serena said…
{Now that I’ve figured this out, I can’t tear myself away. It’s quarter to 11!}
Prayer. You and me could’ve told ’em it doesn’t work a long time ago. Let’s face it, since certain people quit praying for me, I’ve been so much healthier and happier!
President Chucklenuts – I love it. Here’s what worries me. The poll numbers look good to me. But I think he did not win his last election entirely honestly. And I worry what we’ll get stuck with for four years when the fine, upstanding, knowledgeable, intellgent citizens of our country, who, of course, have done their homework and are impossible to trick, vote in the next presidential election.
7:52 PM
Michael said…
> can’t tear myself away….
That’s the allure of the internet.
Seriously, the one thing I love about this forum is that I can cite my sources. Think my ideas are nutty> Here’s where I got ‘em! [link] [link] [link].
> since certain people quit praying for me, I’ve been so much healthier and happier!
Amen, sister.
> The poll numbers look good to me.
OK. Put down the crack pipe. At 38%, he’s lower than Nixon was at the height of Watergate.
> did not win his last election entirely honestly.
Yes, both elections were rigged. With help from Katherine Harris and Ken Blackwell.
As far as the results of 2008, that is why some people I know are watching cautiously to decide when it might be a good idea to leave the US entirely.
9:52 AM
Serena said…
Crack pipe? I wouldn’t even know what one looks like. Seriously, when I said that the polls look good to me, I meant, the lower, the better. I have this silly, optimistic hope that people will wise up and see Our Great Leader for what he is…the lowest form of humanity on the caste system.
4:05 PM
Michael said…
Of course, I was being facetious. And on top of it, I misunderstood you.
The problem with having a mass revelation occur to the population is the lack of clear choice – the entire political system is corrupted by big money, and the only way to address that is with real campaign finance reform. That really cannot happen – I mean, who will be the first to step away from the trough? I think that if I was a Senator, all of my noble pontifications would wind up being abandoned in the face of the reality that if you want to play, you have to play by the rules established before you came on board. I don’t think that everyone who enters politics is bent on craven malfeasance. I just think the process turns most people into that sort of player.
Dumbya is a diversion – a figurehead who gives the lightning a place to strike while the real power brokers go on unimpeded with their raping and pillaging of the American Treasury. The recent calls for the dismissal of Rummy are the closest we have come to actually targeting one of the architects of the current Republican crime spree.
1:27 PM
Comments:
Serena said…
I also checked out your pbase site. On your March 12 photo, there is a large machine in your front yard. Ian wants to know what it is. (Truthfully, I have no idea.) How many bedrooms will you have? I LOVE that big front window! It would be just perfect to be able to do my homework while laying on the floor in front of a window like that. (“Dream, Dream, Dream” by the Everly Brothers playing in the background.) How far is it from where you are now? When is the big moving-in day? I wish I could come help you guys. Seriously.
6:30 AM
Michael said…
Ian, the large machine is a backhoe. It is used for “excavating.” That means, digging out a big hole in the ground in order to make a basement for a house.
We will have three bedrooms upstairs. The main floor is Camille’s domain, except for the library (which will use one of the bedrooms). We will have three bedrooms in order to have an extra for company. (It is still my intent to have more folks visit from NY.) The big front window is in the master bedroom.
The ground floor is “man’s land.” There is a three car garage – two for our vehicles, one for my shop. The room behind it is a 15×30’ area that will be my office, with a slider to the concrete patio in the back yard.
The new place is two Interstate exits north from where we are. OK. About five miles.
Our closing date is May 25, so we should be in by June 1.
Help? I moved from Buffalo and watched a professional crew move all of my crap smoothly, quickly, and I didn’t even have to get my hands dirty. I’ll never move my own stuff again! 😀
9:33 AM
Simon Malls offers a “gift card which sounds like a good idea.
“A gift card gives both the recipient and the gift giver complete flexibility and convenience. The gift card recipient can choose where they want to use their gift card. And the gift giver doesn’t have to go from store to store looking for just the right gift.”
Unfortunately, it is NOT a good idea. Simon is being sued across the country by numerous State Attorneys General due to deceptive practices. The cards are subject to all sorts of undisclosed fees and limitations.
“These ‘gift cards’ are riddled with additional charges that Massachusetts consumers should not have to pay,” Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said. “Despite the name, these gift cards are not what they seem.”
“Simon Property fails to tell the truth, when it subtracts $2.50 a month from consumer gift cards six months or older,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.
“Simon illegally picks its customers’ pockets to reactivate cards with unused balances.”
I should point out that Simon is not the only company accused of this sort of fraud.
Let the buyer beware.
Camille and I stumbled upon an excellent restaurant last night.
Zinia, (Mill Creek Town Center -15130 Main St., Mill Creek; 425-357-0512) serves what the owners call “new American” cuisine. One of the owners, Christopher Guisto, was our server. Turns out he is from Queens, so we had the whole friendly, open, chat-like-I’ve-know-you-all-my-life Northeastern thing going right away. He loves what he does, so his enthusiasm and energy is contagious. Zinnia bakes its own breads and deserts, and has a personal touch in every aspect of their service and presentation.
Camille had Mushroom Ravioli and a Cabernet blend. I had the Zinnia salad which is spring greens, pecans and one of the best dressing I have ever had – a raspberry – cinnamon vinaigrette (!). My Wild Alaskan Salmon was cooked with parsley and tarragon, and had a lime-tarragon sauce on the side. The mashed potatoes were yummy, too!
I had a Metropolitan – something I hadn’t heard of. Absolut Currant, Triple Sec and Cranberry juice. [Just a little cranberry juice. ;-)]
Unfortunately, there was no room for desert. But we’ll be back.
Comments
Serena said…
I wonder if there is a way to talk him out of the recipe for the cinnamon raspberry dressing. I am always looking for something that tastes good on greens, without smothering the taste of the greens. And I don’t like dressings that bite back, like Italian (too strong-flavored for my taste). I don’t ask for much, do I?
4:33 PM
Michael said…
Well, the best part about four star dining is that it fulfils the request you just made. Think tack hammer, not sledgehammer. The raspberry cinnamon combination is accented with cayenne pepper – but I promise you I had no idea until he told me, and even then I could not tell. The beauty of proper proportions is that you have a positive sensual experience without being overwhelmed.
1:20 PM
Is anyone really surprised that the garbage goes all the way to the top? In every walk of life, the leadership sets the tone, and President Ho-Ho the Sock Puppet is no exception. But I keep forgetting – treason is far less important in America than oral sex.
COMMENTS
Serena said…
I saw this and immediately thought of conversation you and I had when you last visited my home. I think no one should be surprised, but then again, how smart is the general American public?
7:34 PM
Michael said…
It’s not just the American public. The move toward conservatism is happening throughout many industrialized nations. And there *will* be many people surprised because the ruling party also has control of much of the media.
9:26 AM
[This post is in regard to the “outing” of Valerie Plame by the Bush Administration in retaliation for her husband’s opposition to the NeoCon fixation on invading Iraq. MT, 2/11/2012]
Heroism is daily commitment to integrity.
The voice of reason against a howling mob.
Harry Taylor spoke to dumbya in Charlotte today:
“You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf…
… I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate…
… I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself.“
[Ed. 1/22/2012: dumbya’s handlers made sure this never happened again by restricting attendance of future “town hall meetings” to confirmed sycophants… ummm… supporters.]
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