Sunday morning recap

I ranted the other night about drunk drivers.  In the news late Saturday was an item from Nevada.  The state that probably has more drivers under the influence at any time per capita, than any other state.  The 18 year old driver of a SUV struck the back of a van with seven members of one family inside of it.  Five of the seven were ejected when the van rolled over.  Five of the seven died.  The two survivors are both in critical condition at this hour.  The driver of the SUV and his passenger survived.  Beer bottles were found in the SUV.

Five lives wasted because someone got behind the wheel while too drunk to drive.  That's the conclusion I'm leaping to and I'll apologize if some evidence comes to life to disprove my conclusion.  But it reminded me of a case that took place when I was living in Las Vegas and working at the news radio station.  A cocktail waitress for a hotel/casino had gotten off the graveyard shift, had too many drinks and then ran down and killed a five year old boy.  She was sent to prison but was released after serving too few years.  Is there a sentence that's long enough for depriving parents of their child permanently?  There was no clear intent to kill the boy, but the intent to put him in danger  is obvious.

Regular theater, 3D or IMAX 3D?  That's the question for me in seeing "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and the answer is regular.  Not worth the extra bucks for this one.  How many of you know, without looking it up, the origin of the term "G.I."?  I'll give you a hint.  There's at least one school of thought that says it doesn't stand for "Government Issue".

The L.A. County Sheriff's office wants to prosecute Justin Bieber for spitting on one of his neighbors.  I wonder if he had a cup of the Lindsay Lohan Kool-Aid.  He seems to be spiraling out of control.  If he's as big a jerk as he's being portrayed in the media, it's well-deserved.  Big IF though.

There's an article out today about some things you should never put on your credit card.  I happen to agree with one of them.  Income tax bills.  It's tempting.  Make Uncle Sam or Uncle Moonbeam just go away by charging the bill.  But the "processing fee" added by the outside vendor that handles your payment will add two to three percent to the bill.  Then, unless you've got a great credit card with a low interest rate, you'll be paying more than you would have by getting a payment plan with the IRS or Franchise Tax Board.  Explore that alternative first before saying "charge it".

Want to claim deductions for your dog?  The stock answer is you can't.  But there are some interesting exceptions to this.  One is if you are caring for a "foster" pet (dog or cat in this case) on behalf of a legitimate, recognized charitable organization.  Another is if your pet is a service animal, or a guide dog.  The last one is really unusual.  If you get a dog to provide security at your place of business, expenses for the care of that dog may be deductible.  But don't try deducting your chihuahua as a guard dog.

This Date in History:

On this date in 307, Constantine marries Fausta, since he had divorced his wife Minervina.
On this date in 1492, Queen Isabella issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering the Jewish and Muslims under her rule to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.
On this date in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is officially opened.
On this date in 1909, construction on the doomed HMS Titanic begins.
On this date in 1918, Daylight Savings Time goes into effect for the first time.
On this date in 1931, Knute Rockne and seven others die in a plane crash.
On this date in 1951, Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the U.S. Census Bureau.
On this date in 1985, the first WrestleMania was held in Madison Square Garden.  The main event featured Hulk Hogan and Mr. T in a tag-team match against "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.
On this date in 1992, the USS Missouri was decommissioned.  Does anyone reading that immediately think of a particular Steven Seagal movie?
On this date in 1995, Selena was murdered.

Famous Folk Born Today:

Rene Descartes
Johann Sebastian Bach
Joseph Haydn
Octavio Paz
Cesar Chavez
Lefty Frizzell
Gordie Howe
Liz Claiborne
Miller Barber
Richard Chamberlain
Shirley Jones
Herb Alpert
Barney Frank
Christopher Walken
Gabe Kaplan
Al Gore
Rhea Perlman
Ed Marinaro
Angus Young
Pavel Bure

Saturday Not In the Park

Today I will spend most of my Saturday inside an office.  Since I was last there on Thursday, at least two difficult tasks have been added to what was already a jam-packed day of work.  But everytime I consider just going back to bed and putting all of today's clients off, I hear the voice of "Apollo Creed" echoing in my brain.  "There is no tomorrow!"  There isn't.  In this business, April 15th comes and goes and that is it.  You're out of time.  You have to get it done by then.  Oh, you can file extensions, but when it's done because you couldn't get the work done by April 15th, clients are not happy.  Unhappy clients look elsewhere in the future.

Condolences to the "Nature Boy", WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, on the loss of his 25 year old son, Reid.  He was found dead in a hotel room and there are allegedly no signs of foul play.  There are many adages in life that are completely accurate and one of them is that no parent should outlive a child.  RIP, Reid.

You went to the dentist.  You got an exam, or a filling or whatever.  Suddenly the state of Oklahoma is telling you to get tested for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C because the dentist's office apparently was not properly cleaning the instruments that were inside of your mouth.  How does that make you feel?  I'd be scared and furious all at once.  The breach of the public trust is enormous.  I was listening to a talk-radio show yesterday where the host was trying to say that there is no need for most of the regulation of the healthcare industry, making the costs skyrocket.  This proves why the regulation in place isn't enough to protect the people.

If your computer locks up suddenly and displays a message that the FBI or the Department of Justice claiming that child pornography or other illegal activity was being conducted on your computer.  You can get it released by making a payment.  It's a scam.  An inventive scam.  But a scam.

Jennifer Lopez lost a gig in India to perform in front of 60 million people because of her incredible demands.  She wanted a private plane, hotels rooms for her entourage and more.  Her "people" deny the claims but this isn't the first time that they've been forced to deny that she makes diva-like demands.  Seems to happen a lot.  Walks like a diva, demands like a diva, it's a diva.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1842, ether is used as an anasthetic for the first time.
On this date in 1856, The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
On this date in 1867, Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million.  It was initially known as "Seward's Folly".
On this date in 1870, Texas is re-admitted to the Union.
On this date in 1909, the Queensboro bridge opens, connecting Manhattan and Queens.
On this date in 1939, a fighter jet sets a new airspeed record of 463 mph.
On this date in 1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot by John Hinckley.

Famous Folk Born Today:

Maimonides
Francisco Goya
Vincent Van Gogh
Richard Helms
Frankie Laine (good thing he didn't know what kind of movie "Blazing Saddles" was)
Turhan Bey
Peter Marshall
Richard Dysart (still love the scene he and Diana Muldaur did for "L.A. Law" where her character fell down an elevator shaft)
John Astin ("Tish, you spoke French!")
Warren Beatty
Eric Clapton
Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid!)
Randy VanWarmer
Paul Reiser
MC Hammer
Tracy Chapman
Piers Morgan
Ian Zierring
Celine Dion
Mark Consuelos
Norah Jones

And on this date in 2005, Fred Korematsu passed away.  A name lost to history, he was the man who challenged the Constitutionality of the order to detain him in an internment camp during World War II.  RIP.

Drink, Drink, Drink, Deuce...

I know, I know, the old game is actually duck, duck, duck, goose.  But there's a method to my title and madness.  "Deuce" is cop-speak for a drunk driver.  I saw one tonight on my way home from trivia and hesitated before deciding not to call 911.  I immediately changed my mind but by then the deuce had gotten off the freeway and I wasn't willing to make an illegal lane change to follow them down the off-ramp.

I'm not angry with myself for hesitating.  Given the day I've had, I might well have been pulled over for using my cell phone while driving and gotten ticketed.  I'm angry because people get behind the wheel when they've had too much to drink and often ruin lives.  Mostly their own which is fine, but often they also ruin the lives of others.

I have no problem with people who like to drink and have a good time.  By all means, celebrate life, tip back as many as you like.  Just don't try to rationalize that when your BAC is above 0.08, you are unlike everyone else and able to drive without any increased risk to others.  Now if your BAC is 0.10 that means that one-tenth of one percent of your blood's contents is alcohol.  Not a huge amount.  But enough to impair almost anyone.

Now the BAC level that makes one eligible to be charged with DUI in almost every U.S. state is 0.08 and that's a very abitrary level.  So when technology improves and they can measure BAC out to the fifth decimal point, will someone who is .079994 be considered not DUI while someone who is 0.08003 is DUI?  Should the standard be revised so that it is more about one's ability to drive while impaired (which does vary widely, although no one with a BAC above .010 isn't at least minimally impaired)? 

Ever take a field sobriety test?  Ever given one?  I've given more than a few.  Some of them would have been highly amusing if it wasn't frightening to think that these people were behind the wheel while others were on the roads with them.  Others were very borderline.  Some people are clumsy.  Some just can't balance on one foot.  FSTs are also arbitrary.

The idea of taking a taxi home when you go to a bar alone seems unnecessary and expensive.  I'm sure that this is why some choose not to do that.  I just saw an estimate that the billboards are wrong in saying $10,000 is what the average DUI will cost the offender.  It's actually closer to $16,000.  That would pay for a lot of taxi rides, wouldn't it?

I don't want to come off preachy.  I'm not worried about myself behind the wheel.  I'm a very attentive and careful driver.  If a drunk gets close I'll change lanes, get off the freeway, do whatever I need to do if I feel at risk.  I'm worried about less attentive drivers, about pedestrians, and about their passengers.

Now that I'm done talking about DUIs, let's talk about those who are just too drunk to be out in public.  I saw one of those tonight for a few minutes, before the guy who owns the joint where I was tossed him out on his ear.  He was stumbling around.  He knocked a chair into my chair.  It was embarrassing to watch.  It was annoying.  The sad part is that this guy just didn't grasp how drunk he really was. 

Okay, okay, I'm off the soapbox.  Thanks for listening.  We now return you to your regular blogging programming.

Metrics

We live in a world of metrics.  I get a phone call from a VA computer every day, to monitor my vital signs.  So I have to take my blood pressure, heartrate and other measures every morning before it calls.  If I ignore it long enough, I will end up getting a call from a human being wanting to know why I didn't update the computer.  So as a result I have to weigh myself every morning.  That's how I've come to realize just what work is taking out of me.

The last two weeks, I've been at least two and sometimes three pounds lighter the day after working.  Clearly I'm either sweating out lots of fluid or otherwise consuming energy/body resources in just sitting at a desk and getting up occasionally.  It's very weird.  Part of me wants to work every day as at 2 to 3 pounds per day, I'll be thin in no-time.  But logically I know I'd end up dead long before that from exhaustion.

Then again, I will be working five straight full days to end the tax season.  So on April 16th, I can lie in bed all day and reflect on being lighter while trying to not fall into a deep sleep for two or three days. 

What's wrong with Major League Baseball?  Maybe the fact that Alex Rodriguez of the NY Yankees will earn $29 million this season and miss much of it with injuries while the entire 25 man roster of the Houston Astros will earn a combined $25 million.  That's why I refer to A-Rod as Pay-Rod.  That's why the major market teams who can outspend the others make the playoffs more often.  It isn't a hard and fast rule, but given the fact the Yankees have outspent every other club since 2001 and have made 11 post-season appearances in that time, it's strongly suggested.

Why is Michelle Shocked shocked that there continues to be fall-out from her anti-homosexual diatribe on stage?  She was going to do a show in Santa Cruz that was scheduled before her tirade and it was subsequently cancelled.  So why would she show up and stage a "sit-in" outside the club?  Because she doesn't get it.  Back in the day, unless you were being televised or otherwise recorded on tape, you could go back and 'spin' your words.  Now with all of the smart phones in the world, along with other devices, anything you say in public is probably recorded somewhere.  There's audio that disproves her claims trying to spin her words as having been a description of how others feel on the issue.  Simple rule.  Engage brain before putting mouth in gear.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1549, the city of Salvador da Bahia is founded as Brazil's first capital.
On this date in 1683, a 15 year old Japanese girl is burnt at the stake for having committed arson due to unrequited love.
On this date in 1847, General Winfield Scott leads the U.S. Army in capturing Veracruz following a siege.
On this date in 1849, Great Britain annexes the Punjab.
On this date in 1871, the Royal Albert Hall is opened.
On this date in 1886, Dr. John Pemberton brews the first-ever batch of Coca-Cola.
On this date in 1911, the Colt M1911 .45 caliber ACP becomes the official sidearm of the U.S. Army.
On this date in 1951, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
On this date in 1971, William Calley is convicted of murder in the My Lai Massacre and sentenced to life in prison. 
On this date in 1973, the last U.S. combat soldiers leave Vietnam.

Famous Folk Born This Date:

Carlo Bonaparte (Napoleon's father)
John Tyler
Cy Young (pitcher with the most career wins by far, but also the pitcher with the most career losses)
Man O'War (hey, he was a very famous horse)
Pearl Bailey
Sam Walton
John McLaughlin
Scott Wilson (for my friends who are fans of "The Walking Dead")
Eric Idle
John Major
Vangelis
Terry Jacks
Denny McLain
Walt Frazier
Teofilo Stevenson
Karen Ann Quinlan
Christopher Lawford
Marina Sirtis
Kurt Thomas (please destroy all copies of the movie "Gymkata")
Annabella Sciorra
Elle McPherson
Lucy Lawless
Brandi Love
Jennifer Capriati (why isn't she being reviled by those who decry domestic violence?)

And on this day in 2005, the lawyer who said "if it doesn't fit you must acquit" went to the big appeals court in the sky.  RIP Johnnie Cochran.

As The Assisted Living Facility Turns, Returns

There's a new feature in the lobby of this particular assisted living facility.  In keeping with the new decorative motif of the motion picture industry (we are across the street from a major motion picture studio after all), there is now a popcorn machine in the lobby.  Thankfully it is not a self-serve machine, as there would be a constant need to sweep up stray popcorn and unpopped kernels from the lobby floor; given that many of the residents do not have the steadiest of hands.

However like everything else here, it is a mixed blessing.  Yes, we can all have hot popcorn during the day, but only during the day.  At night, when there is no receptionist working the desk (after 8 p.m.), the machine is off and the only way to get hot popcorn is to buy your own and pop it in the microwave.  Or of course, head off to the nearest movie theater and enjoy some of their extremely overpriced popcorn and other concessions.

There is also trouble regarding just how much popcorn is going to be popped each day and how much will go to waste.  There are already complaints about full bags of popcorn being found abandoned on the floor of the lounge.  We also are having to deal with people griping that the popcorn is not of the best quality, since every batch seems to have plenty of unpopped kernels.  Biting into a hard unpopped kernel of corn when you're expecting to rip right through some soft popcorn is not a pleasant experience, or so some residents are saying.

Rumors continue to swirl about rent increases but since the Social Insecurity Cost of Living Adjustment increases in benefits were accompanied by appropriate increases in rent for SSI recipients, these rumors seem to be unfounded.  Knock on wood for those who are in fear of having even fewer dollars to get by on each month after paying their rent.  SSI rents are set by law and cannot be increased above a certain level.  Another rumor going around appears to be true, as the facility is supposedly no longer willing to accept SSI residents.  While the current residents in this category are not at risk, they may not believe this to be true.  There are also a few residents in this category who are going out of their way to make it difficult for another person to be placed into their room, essentially giving them private rooms at the low cost of a shared room at SSI rates.  This cannot be good for the facility's owners.

The assistant chef who was struggling and getting into 'hot water' on a regular basis is no longer employed here.  The good news is that the food seems to be improving but conversely, they will have to hire a new assistant chef and people are afraid things will go right back to where they were before.  I suspect we will see much discussion about this at April's meeting with the Head Chef regarding food and the dining room.

Today was apparently the monthly birthday celebration for March, although the President was not here to enjoy it.  Fortunately for him, the Activities Director remembered to put a piece of the birthday cake in his room, for him to enjoy later.

There were several people who were not happy that on the first night of Passover, the "Seder" dinner meal consisted of corned beef brisket, but the controversy seemed to die down quickly; as the complaints turned to having corned beef brisket served more than once in the same week.  There are also some people who are saying that the kitchen is serving lentil, split pea and white bean soup far too frequently.  I imagine those griping about this will also be very vocal at the next food meeting.  If they bother to show up.

Until next time...

Thursday Headlines

In the headlines, President Obama will release his federal budget outline on April 10^th, only two months later than called for under federal law.  Maybe if the law contained a penalty for late release, presidents (and this isn’t a partisan issue) might get their draft budget done on-time.

Two U.S. “Stealth” bombers made a practice run over South Korea and the Defense Department says the mission was not carried out to provoke or antagonize the North Korean government or military.

A 33 year old Orange County man has become the first person to be charged under California’s new “Anti-Human Trafficking” law passed last November.  Chuncey Tarae Garcia is accused of forcing a 14 year-old into prostitution.

A veteran of the U.S. Army who is now a “freedom fighter” working for Al-Qaeda has been charged with using a “weapon of mass destruction” for firing a Rocket-Propelled-Grenade (RPG) in Syria.  Interestingly, RPGs are not defined as WMDs under U.S. law when used by our military, but they are considered WMDs when used by civilians subject to prosecution under U.S. law.

Former South African President and Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela is back in the hospital with another lung infection.  The 94 year-old Mandela became more susceptible to lung infections when he contracted tuberculosis while in prison for 27 years.

Frank Citro Jr., was convicted of bookmaking and loansharking (along with six others) in 1985.  He wound up in Nevada’s “Black Book” as a result.  That’s a list of people who are permanently barred from owning, managing or even entering a casino.  Now he’s trying to get his name removed from the book.  Not going to happen.

From the “helped them catch me stealing” file, a Florida woman has been charged with grand theft and scheming to defraud; after she threw a surprise birthday party for her boss and that called her accounting practices into question.

A Miami appeals court has invalidated John Goodman’s adoption of his long-time girlfriend.  The 49 year old multimillionaire who founded the International Polo Club in West Palm Beach was trying to use the adoption maneuver to preserve his fortune due to having lost a civil suit.

Rush Limbaugh, who earlier this year compared homosexuality to pedophilia (once again confirming he is a blithering idiot who happens to have a big audience of blithering idiots) now says that the legalization of gay marriage in the U.S. is “inevitable”.  Damn, he got something right for once.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant UCLA men’s basketball head coaching position.  Makes sense, his chances of anyone making “Airplane III” and offering him a part in it are not good.

From the “being a stupid criminal once was not enough” file:  a New York man who pled guilty to faking his own death has been arrested again, this time for two incidents where he allegedly impersonated a police officer in an attempt to lure women into his car.

And finally in the headlines, Chumlee, one of the employees at the Las Vegas pawn shop made famous in “Pawn Stars” is apparently making big bucks with his TV gig.  He dropped a bundle on his girlfriend’s birthday celebration, and his big gift to the g/f was a boob job.

Ethics and Business

I don't normally write a lot about work things, but this is an exception.  I had a client recently that I actually ended up refusing to do a tax return for and it was once again, an eye opener.  It was a married couple and they'd been clients of my employer last year, but with a different tax pro in a different office.  That person wasn't available so they wound up at my desk.

Both are self-employed.  One of the two had all the receipts and other data to properly prepare a tax return  The other had only income information but no receipts or any other 'back-up" to substantiate the expenses.  Then again initially, they claimed no expenses.  Well, they wanted to claim a cell phone expense but when the other person reminded them that the person they work for pays that bill, that expense went bye-bye. 

When we were finished, their balance due to the IRS was several thousand dollars more than they were expecting.  One of them was of the mind "we'll get a payment plan and pay it off.  We can't avoid it so let's just deal with it."  But their spouse said "no way.  I had this expense and that expense and I don't want to pay so they can just give my money away to lazy people."  So that person started saying they had spent this amount and that amount; and their spouse kept contradicting them.

Finally I said I could not prepare their tax return due to ethical concerns.  It's a joint return and if they can't agree on the income and expenses for one of their sole-proprietorships, I can't sign the return saying I know the information is correct to the best of my knowledge.  The one who wanted to just start listing expenses was angered and stormed out.  The other apologized and said they totally understood my decision.

After they were gone, one of the other tax-pros in the office asked me "couldn't you just make a note in the file and do what that one person wanted to do and that way you'd be protected?"  I replied that wouldn't work.  Just because I made a note that I knew the information was probably inaccurate doesn't relieve me of my obligations under the law. 

What would you have done?  Just to factor in how my choice impacted me, I wasted over an hour of my time and by not doing the return I lost roughly $65.  Not that this should matter.  Even if I was losing $6,500 or $650,000, I wouldn't do it any differently.  I won't prepare a tax return I know is fradulent, or where I have more than a reasonable suspicion that fraud is being committed.

Being ethical may be hard on the wallet at times, but it's certainly easy on the heart and on the soul.

Mission to Mars

A Dutch company is looking for four volunteers.  No astronaut experience needed.  But there is a catch.  Their trip to Mars, tentatively scheduled for the year 2023 is a one-way journey.  There are hundreds who have volunteered.  What the heck are they thinking?  Would you leave everyone behind for the rest of your life?  Even if I would not be too old for something like this ten years now, there would be no way I'd consider leaving all of my family and friends here to fly off to Mars.

Internet cynics are trying to claim a heartwarming story posted on Reddit about a family who had their entire meal at Olive Garden comped.  Seems the manager wandered by their table and asked how everything was and a three year old girl at the table replied "Grandpa's house burned down".  The cynics claimed it was a marketing stunt.  The man who posted a picture of the receipt to Reddit provided a link to an article about the house fire.  I understand cynicism, but not everything on-line is faked or done for marketing.  It just seems that way.

Zoogoers got an eyeful of something they didn't expect when a heron landed in the lion enclosure and was promptly killed and eaten by the lions.  Some people were shocked.  This happens every day in the wild, so why would people be surprised?  Lions usually stalk and kill their food.  Only in zoos do they get fed.  Their instincts to hunt never go away.

McDonald's is worried about a rival that just doesn't come to mind when you think of their competition.  They are focused on the Chicken McWrap to compete against Subway, who has experienced incredible growth and is closing in on having 40,000 locations worldwide.  It boggles my mind how close to one another some Subway locations are and still doing big business.  There are three Subway locations in tiny El Segundo.  Three more in neighboring Manhattan Beach.  That's six.  There are two McDonald's locations in the same area.

Bad decision file:  A man buys a ten foot python from a guy selling snakes out of a truck.  First he has to save his sleeping friend from being eaten by the snake.  Then he tries to sell it and finds out it is a stolen snake when he's arrested for possession of stolen goods.  Buy your pets from legitimate sources, people.

Next time you watch the James Bond film "You Only Live Twice", pay closer attention to one of the men that Bond kills.  In the scene where Bond pretends to be a thug that he just killed, the man who drives him back to their base of operations and then carries him inside happens to be the grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.  That's a piece of Bond trivia I didn't know until today.

So if I were to not be happy at how I looked when a photographer snapped a picture of me and my reaction was to steal the memory card from the photographer's camera, would me shouting a promise to "pay for it later" mean something?  I don't think so.  The question is, now that Rob Kardashian of the Vapidashian family has done this, will be be prosecuted?  He should be.

It's the law of economics.  "Duck Dynasty", a reality-tv program about a family that became very wealthy manufacturing duck calls is drawing huge ratings.  Now the "stars" want lots more money to continue the program.  Supply and demand.  They'll get paid.  Count on it.

In the L.A. mayoral race, Bill Clinton is backing Wendy Gruel and Jan Perry is backing Eric Garcetti.  Wonder which endorsement will bring more votes at the polls?  The answer might be surprising.

Apparently the need to reduce the Secret Service's budget caused the Obama Administration to stop the very popular White House tours.  Now Michelle Obama and her two daughters are vacationing in the Bahamas.  Let's be clear that the Obama family pays their personal expenses for this trip.  But the huge cost of moving Secret Service personnel and other support staff there during the vacation is paid by the taxpayers.  Is it okay to stop White House tours and not cancel this vacation?  The needs of the First Family outweigh the needs of the people?

This Date in History:

On this date in the year 37, Caligula accepts the title of the Principate.
On this date in the year 845, Paris is sacked by Viking raiders.
On this date in the year 1854, Britain and France declare war on Russia.
On this date in the year 1939, Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquered Madrid after a three-year siege.  BTW, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
On this date in the year 1979, Three Mile Island nuclear plant suffers a coolant leak and as a result a partial meltdown.
On this date in the year 1990, President Bush posthumously awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Jesse Owens.

Famous Folk Born on this date:

Maxim Gorky
Ernst Lindemann
Marlin Perkins (now watch Jim stick his head in the lion's mouth on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Uh Jim?  Jim?  We'll be right back.)
Irving "Swifty" Lazar
Nelson Algren
Edmund Muskie
Sir Dirk Bogarde
Zbiginew Brzezinsky
Neil Kinnock
Conchata Farrell
Ken Howard
Dianne Weist
Reba McEntire
Curt Henning
Bart Connor
Byron Scott
Brett Ratner
Vince Vaughn
Kate Gosselin
Shana Moakler
Luke Walton
Julia Stiles
Lady Gaga

The Debate over Same-Sex Marriage

The Supreme Court of the United States may or may not finally issue rulings to settle this very contentious issue.  They need to make a ruling on this and there is only one ruling that makes sense.  They should not do as Justice Alito suggested when he said this during the oral argument:

"But you want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cell phones or the Internet? I mean we -- we are not -- we do not have the ability to see the future.

On a question like that, of such fundamental importance, why should it not be left for the people, either acting through initiatives and referendums or through their elected public officials?"

Justice Alito, the people already made this decision.  We made it when we as a nation ratified the 14th Amendment.  I know he knows what it says, but the relevant portion of that Amendment bears repeating:

"...nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Marriage is not a religious institution when the states determine the laws under which marriage licenses are issued, determine who can legally perform a marriage, and establish the rights, privileges, responsibilities and duties under the law that come with marriage.  It is a legal construct and as such discrimination cannot be allowed.

The notion that procreation is relevant to this argument is ridiculous.  If that logic were to be followed, then post-menopausal women should not be allowed to marry.  Women who have had hysterectomies or are otherwise unable to conceive a child should not be allowed to marry.  Men who have had vasectomies, have extremely low motility or are otherwise unable to father a child should not be allowed to marry.  Clearly the ability to procreate is not a real benchmark here.  It is a rationalization designed to bolster a religious argument about a legal issue.

The argument that if it is discriminatory to outlaw same-sex marriage it therefore becomes discriminatory to outlaw polyandry has some merit until you consider that there is a legitimate social concern in limiting marriage to two adults.  Were unlimited amounts of adults allowed to marry each other, they could overload the social safety nets which calculate benefits based on the size of the family unit.  How much in food stamps, welfare benefits and other program benefits might a family with nine husbands, 17 wives and 43 children qualify for?  How much money could this familial construct earn and still be eligible for benefits, given that "Octo-Mom" could earn $119,000 a year and still get welfare and food-stamps?  So this argument also fails.

There is no conclusive scientific evidence that children raised in a same-sex household will not be as well-adjusted or successful in life as those raised in a opposite-sex household.

Can someone offer an argument as to why a legal institution, established by a government that is mandated to treat all of the people equally, can continue to discriminate based solely on sexual-orientation?  Apparently not yet.

Unfinished things

I will almost certainly not finish this entry between now and the time I need to leave for tonight's trivia event.  I do have roughly 35 minutes but I'm doing three or four things at once so I can't focus on this.  When focused, it's easy to write quickly and with some proficiency.  When unfocused, it's easy to write quickly but the proficiency factor drops by orders of magnitude. 

It's also one of those instances of tired people making mistakes.  I stayed late at work to finish something I'd been trying to finish all day.  My father used to say "never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it over."  I much prefer doing things right than doing them over.  One of the things that used to drive me nuts about one of my former jobs was how many hours I spent correcting invoices that weren't properly prepared the first time.  Between the cost of my labor, the cost of sending two or sometimes three invoices for the same billing, it was a lot of wasted money.

I was watching old game shows this morning before heading to the office.  There was an episode of "$25,000 Pyramid" on.  Now of course, the then living portrait of Dorian Gray, Dick Clark looked much like he would for the next 30 years or so.  But what got my attention was one of the celebrity players on this episode, Nipsey Russell.  He's from Atlanta and in this show he mentioned that when he was young he worked at The Varsity.  It is an amazing place.  The world's largest drive-in restaraunt, it may serve 30,000 people or more on game day for Georgia Tech football.  If you're ever in Atlanta, stop there.

Should people be all that upset that IRS employees wasted $60,000 of taxpayer money in order to make a video parody of the original Star Trek series?  William Shatner thinks so.  Hey, if they want to spend more time making stupid videos and less time auditing people...ok, that's not good for the country.  Never mind.

If someone wants to make zillions of dollars, invent a Roomba like device that goes around picking up clothes that people throw on the floor and that will put them into the wash.  Housewives everywhere would pay big bucks for such a device.

Retired General David Petraeus is on the comeback trail, issuing a formal verbal apology for the sex scandal that led to his resignation as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.  Can he overcome this scandal and move back into a high position in our government?  Only time will tell.  If people can forgive Bill Clinton's infidelity, why not that of General Petraeus?

What kind of idiot businessperson puts a sign up in their store that says browsers will be charged a $5 fee for "just looking", but will have it deducted when they buy something?  Might as well just hang up a "going out of business" sign instead.

This Date in History - March 27

On this date in 196BC, Ptolemy V ascends to the throne of Egypt.
On this date in 1625, Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland, as well as claiming to be King of France.
On this date in 1794, the U.S. establishes a permanent navy.
On this date in 1836, General Santa Anna orders 400 Texas POWs be killed at what is now known as the Goliad Massacre.
On this date in 1886, Geronimo surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
On this date in 1915, Typhoid Mary is put into quarantine.  She would remain there until her death.
On this date in 1958, Nikita Khrushchev becomes Premier of the Soviet Union
On this date in 1977, two airliners collide on the runway at Tenerife, killing 538 of the 599 passengers aboard the two.  Worst aviation accident in history.
On this date in 1981, Solidarity stages a strike in Poland that has 12 million workers walking off the job for four hours.
On this date in 2013, it is reported that Madonna has become a billionaire.

Famous Folk born this date:

Wilhelm Rontgen
Heinrich Mann
Miller Huggins
Gloria Swanson (she's ready for her close-up)
Cyrus Vance
Sarah Vaughan
Anne Ramsey
David Janssen
Cale Yarborough
Michael York (she was a fembot, Austin)
Tony Banks
Quentin Tarantino (for which the makers of fake movie blood have been grateful)
Talisa Soto
Pauley Perrette
Mariah Carey
Matthew Pegg
Fergie
Noname Jane

And on this date in 2002, one of the all-time great film directors, Billy Wilder passed away.

From the "you've got to see this" file:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLyx49oWn_8

The two fighters are competing in a karate championship in Russia, and one source says they are fighting using Shinkyokushin rules.  That means no protective gear, and contact to the head is only allowed with the leg (including the foot).  Amazing.  Love the way he struts away afterward too.

Dionne Warwick has filed for bankruptcy and it's sad.  She had a bad business manager and her attorney blames him and the IRS.  The attorney claims that she's actually paid more than the amount of her original IRS obligation.  He also says that her average monthly income is $20,950 and her monthly expenses run $20,940.  Seriously?  She needs to downsize something.  If she's upside down in a house, let go of it.  She's not going to get taxed on a short-sale.  I have sympathy but something could be done when someone's pulling in $250,000 annually.

In reading this story I also read that Brett Butler (the TV star, not the baseball player) is homeless and living in a shelter.  She credits addiction with her fall from fame and glory and she's trying to mount a comeback doing stand-up.  I hope she does well.

The name Buzz Bissinger is probably not one you would recognize.  But once you find out that he wrote the best-selling book "Friday Night Lights", the true story of a high school football program in Texas, you will know who he is.  What you don't know is that he's recently admitted to having an addiction that has cost him more than $638,000 over the last three years.  It isn't drugs.  It isn't gambling.  It isn't sex.  Buzz Bissinger is addicted to buying high-end designer clothes.  Men's and women's.  He owns 81 leather jackets, 75 pairs of boots, 41 pairs of leather pants, 32 pairs of haute couture jeans and ten evening jackets.  He admits to wearing make-up (he prefers Tom Ford makeup and says it is "divine".  He has entered rehab.  I'm just wondering how you do rehab for this addiction?  Do they make you sit around for hours in a pair of old, stained sweats and a ripped t-shirt?

Alameda County, CA is broke.  They're running budget deficits.  Yet the county administrator, who is about to retire, earned a salary of $422,268 last year.  That's more than President Obama.  She will retire with a pension that will pay her $400,000 a year for life.  She was guaranteed to be the top earner in county government by a clause in her agreement guaranteeing she would earn 10% more than any other county employee.  When the state and all of its counties and cities go bankrupt, this is the reason why.  Situations like this.

This date in History:

On this date in 1812, an earthquake destroys Caracas, Venezuela.
On this date in 1812, the term "gerrymander" appears in a political cartoon in the Boston Gazette.
On this date in 1830, the Book of Mormon is published.  The musical would come later.
On this date in 1931, SwissAir is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
On this date in 1958, Explorer 3 is launched.
On this date in 1979, Jimmy Carter, Anwar al-Sadat and Menachem Begin sign the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
On this date in 1982, ground is broken for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On this date in 1999, Dr. Jack Kevorkian is found guilty of second-degree murder.

Famous Folk born on this date:

Robert Frost
Syngman Rhee
Guccio Gucci
Joseph Campbell
Tennessee Williams
Sterling Hayden
Strother Martin (what we have here is failure to communicate - there is no "a" in that quote)
Sandra Day O'Connor
Leonard Nimoy
Alan Arkin
James Caan
Nancy Pelosi
Erica Jong
Bob Woodward
Diana Ross
Dar Robinson
Steven Tyler
Vickie Lawrence
Fran Sheehan
Teddy Pendergrass
Martin Short
Curtis Sliwa
Leeza Gibbons
Marcus Allen
Jennifer Grey
John Stockton
Kenny Chesney
Leslie Mann
Amy Smart
Keira Knightley

And on this date two years ago in 2011, Geraldine Ferraro passed away.  She was the first woman to be nominated on a major political party ticket as candidate for the Vice-Presidency.

Lazy, hazy crazy Mondays

Bar Refaeli is a "supermodel".  She's from Israel and right now she's kind of unpopular there with a large segment of the population.  She recently appeared in an ad campaign run by the Foreign Ministry.  That ad has rekindled controversy over how she managed to "dodge" the Israeli draft.

Women turning 18 in Israel are required to serve two years in the Israel Defense Force.  Rafaeli found a loophole that allowed her to avoid service by getting married.  Once she'd been granted the exemption from military service, she divorced her husband, a family friend.  Then she headed for fame and fortune in the U.S.

The problem is not so much that she dodged the draft, or how she did it.  The problem is the stupid comments she continues to make about the situation.  Here are two:

"I really wanted to serve in the IDF, but I don’t regret not enlisting, because it paid off big time,” she said. “That’s just the way it is, celebrities have other needs."

"You can use the clip for the Foreign Ministry or drop it, but my Instagram feed has more readers than Israel’s most popular newspaper."

What she should have said was "I got married.  In getting married I qualified for an exemption from military service.  Lots of 18 year olds get married and divorced in short order.  I broke no laws.  Maybe I should have served but I can do more for Israel now that I am famous.  Rather than focusing on the past, let's concentrate on a brighter future."  It might have rang false to some but it's a hell of a lot smarter than anything she has said.

* * * * * * * * * *

I was thinking about pet peeves today.  I'm sure you have yours.  Some of the ones that crossed my mind today as I drove home from the VA were:

People who drive with their handicapped parking placard hanging from their rear view mirror.  It's against the law.  It's the height of laziness.  Put it in the glove compartment and take it out when you park.  I bet those who are doing this are just afraid they'd forget to hang it up when parked and get a ticket.

People who drive slow in the "fast" lane.  I know I was opposed to the idea of the cops ticketing someone who was driving just under the speed limit in the fast lane, but that doesn't make it smart or right for people to do it.  Speed up or move to the right. 

People who kick the chair in front of them when they go to the movies.  I understand young children doing it.  But adults need to just chill and keep their feet on the floor.  Speaking of feet on the floor, stop propping your feet up on the chair in front of you.  No one wants to see your fancy shoes and no one wants to sit where the bottoms of your shoes have been perched.

People who stand in line talking on their cell phones and won't end the call when it's their turn in line.  Either be ready to do what it is you're doing in line, or step outside and finish the call if it is that important.  Don't expect the rest of us to wait for you.

People who take forever to take their turn when playing an online game.  I can understand it happening during the work day, or when travelling.  But that shouldn't happen for a week at a time without at least the courtesy of a warning message.  Hey, we all get overwhelmed from time to time.  It's totally understandable.  And I'm not referring to anyone I'm currently playing in a game, so none of you should think this is directed as you personally.

Businesses that don't return phone calls within 48 hours.  Now if they're closed for two days that's one thing.  But I'm talking about places that put your message into some rat-hole and ignore it for a week.  I'm dealing with that right now with a government office and I'm about to call someone's boss and file a formal complaint.

People who park taking up more than one space.  Good for you that you have some really expensive, or really nice-looking car.  That doesn't entitle you to take up more than one space.

That's enough of that.  Please feel free to chime in with yours.

* * * * * * * * * *

It's the first night of Passover.  For dinner we were served chicken liver paste of some type (I was afraid of it), potato pancakes and red potatoes, corned beef brisket, cabbage and to start off the meal, chicken matzoh ball soup.  Oh, and they put dinner rolls on the plates, and passed out pieces of matzoh as well.  Kind of a cross between a Passover dinner and St. Patrick's Day.

They also gave me a note to refill a prescription.  When I called the computer to do that, it informed me the medication is due to be refilled in June and I should have enough on hand to last until then.  Sure enough, the med room had plenty.  The note was yet another goof.

I have a long day tomorrow, so if I don't get a blog done, hopefully this will do until I can do another.  Hope you have a great night.

Headlines for Monday 3/25

In the headlines, actress Karen Black has disclosed that she is suffering from cancer.  Her husband has posted a request for donations on GoFundMe.com in an effort to raise the money to take her to Europe for treatment that isn’t available in the U.S.

There are reports that NBC refused to allow Ann Curry to send a tweet in support of Robin Roberts while Curry was still part of the Today show.  I guess they didn’t want to look like they condoned “aiding the enemy”.

UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland has been fired.  The university is seeking to hire Shaka Smart, currently the head coach at VCU.

President Obama tried to push the stalled talks on immigration reform forward, but his efforts may be in vain.

Former President Bill Clinton has endorsed Wendy Gruel in the L.A. mayoral race.

A man who was found dead early this morning at the “Grove” shopping center in L.A. apparently committed suicide.

A woman lost all of her teeth due to her overdosing on tea.  Tea contains fluoride and apparently she was drinking the equivalent of 100 cups of tea a day for roughly 17 years.

Boeing has announced that 800 machinists will lose their jobs by the end of 2013.

A Massachusetts man found a kidney for himself, on-line.  He will receive it on April 2^nd.

Sandra Bullock’s ex-husband, Jesse James has married for the 4^th time.

The bad news is that fewer people are expecting tax refunds this year, according to a recent survey.  But the good news is that the reason is likely an improving economy.

A 22 year old thrill-seeker died at the famed Corona Arch.  The world’s largest rope swing proved fatal for Kyle Lee Stocking, because of a miscalculation in the length of the rope.

A t-shirt at Hérmes has a price-tag of $91,500 on it.  Worse yet, it’s a guy’s t-shirt.

If you’re in Shanghai and you’re shopping at the Vera Wang boutique for a wedding dress, be prepared to spend $500 just to try the dress on.  The fee is deducted from the purchase price if you buy, if you don’t, it’s just gone.  Oh, and you only get 90 minutes to try it on and no photos are allowed.

Jerry Sandusky continues to maintain his innocence.

The concept of active rest

Back in the mid-1990s, when I was on the verge of being a fitness fanatic, I explored the concept of "active rest".  The term refers to doing some exercise on what is supposed to be a day off.  Since I was running six days a week and cycling five or six days a week, there was almost never a day that was a complete day off.  So on what was supposed to be the rest day, I'd do active rest and do something light.  Maybe instead of running four or five miles, I'd just do two.  Maybe instead of riding the entire bike path of 42 miles, I'd just do ten or 15.

Now of course, I can't really run or ride.  In fact, walking is sometimes a strain.  But I'm referring to the days of rest I've taken as I have tried to transition back to working at least part-time.  Some of them have been active rest days and some have been total rest days.  I've concluded that I need to take more total rest days, fewer active rest days, and that I need to limit the hours I'm working even more than they are already.  At least until the doctors and I can find ways to increase my stamina, endurance and energy (if that's possible).  After working an eight hour day on Saturday (that wasn't the intent), I did almost nothing yesterday and yet today I'm still utterly exhausted.  I need to go to Target to buy something and the thought of having to walk up and down those aisles has my brain trying to find ways to avoid the trip because it is just too overwhelming to consider.  Oh I will go, but I will suffer for it.  Fortunately I do get to see the doctor on 4/24 to discuss this.  I'll just have to rest more and be patient until then.

My table-mate in the dining room is always having a problem with his styrafoam coffee cups spilling when he brushes against it.  It happened today and I finally came up with a solution.  He won't use the plastic cups because the coffee gets cold too quickly.  But by putting the styrafoam cup inside the plastic cup, it is no longer at risk of tipping over.  So I've had my moment of genius for the day.  Guess I should consider myself lucky I had one.

Except that I had what might be another a few minutes later.  I was pondering how I'm going to deal with parking at the VA in a little while.  Mondays are always bad there, and having to arrive at the hour of my appointment is the worst time of day.  I made a wistful wish in my mind for valet parking and it suddenly dawned on me.  They could use a valet parking service. Most veterans can't afford to pay for a valet, but a number can and would.  There are visitors who would pay for it.  Vendors who would pay for it.  It could be run by a company that contributes half of its profits to the VA and/or the Fisher House (a very worthwhile charity that houses the families of veterans undergoing treatment).  I'm going to see if I can find a way to put that idea into action.  Wow, two ideas in one day.  Maybe my body is wiped out, but my brain is working to some degree.

It is pondering other things as well on this Monday morning:

I understand the need some people have to march, protest and the like about things.  But I don't think that anything the people say or do outside the U.S. Supreme Court today will influence the arguments inside the court, or how the nine justices will end up ruling on Proposition 8 and DOMA.  It's great to stand up and show you believe in something.  I just don't think those nine people in the robes are paying attention to what's going on outside their building.

Affirmative action will also be back in front of SCOTUS in two cases that are upcoming.  But these cases only involve education at the university level.  Test question for you.  If you are a private employer, are you required to observe affirmative action in hiring?  Hint:  It isn't a yes or no answer.

Hong Kong has decided that while foreign workers who work as domestic helpers will not be allowed to seek residency status, an exception to the policy for other foreign workers.  Why should domestics be treated differently?  In the U.S., we have a H-1b visa program for skilled foreign workers, coming in to do jobs Americans can't be found to do.  Can we find Americans here legally who will work for minimum wage cleaning houses, or providing in-home childcare?  No.

A city council member in Berkeley is advancing an interesting idea.  Taxing email.  I'm all for taxing spam email.  Imagine if an advertising company sending out tens of thousands of spam emails hourly would have to pay a one-cent tax for every hundred, hell every thousand emails.  I find more and more spam getting past the spam filter on my email accounts, in spite of the fact that I take the time to unsubscribe from every single one that gets through.  Unsubscribing is supposed to reduce, not increase the problem.

On today's episode of "Maury", some moron with nine kids got to here "you ARE the father" three more times.  He needs a vasectomy or a lobotomy.  Or both. 

This Date in History:

On this date in 1199, Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France.  It would result in his death on April 6th.
On this date in 1306, Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scotland.
On this date in 1634, the first settlers arrive in Maryland.
On this date in 1807, the Slave Trade Act becomes law abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
On this date in 1948, the first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.
On this date in 1957, Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" is seized by the U.S. Customs Service on the grounds of obscenity.
On this date in 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their first "Bed-in" for Peace.
On this date in 1979, the first fully functional space shuttle orbiter was delivered to Cape Kennedy.

Famous Folk Born Today

Saint Catherine of Siena
Arturo Toscanini
Ed Begley
Sir David Lean (thank you sir, for 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'The Bridge Over the River Kwai')
Jack Ruby
Howard Cosell
Jim Lovell
Gene Shalit
Gloria Steinem
Tom Monaghan
Hoyt Axton
Anita Bryant
Aretha Franklin
Paul Michael Glaser
Elton John
Bonnie Bedelia
John Ensign (more infamous than famous)
Marcia Cross
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Alex Solis
Sarah Jessica Parker
Cammi Granato
Lark Voorhies (she's hopeful that there will still be a 'Saved By the Bell' reunion)
Wladimir Klitschko
Danica Patrick
Katherine McPhee

And on this date in 2005, Paul Henning, the man behind 'The Beverly Hillbillies', 'Petticoat Junction' and 'Green Acres' passed away. 

Today's version of "in the headlines"

In the headlines, the LAPD bomb squad has blown up a “suspicious” looking package at the Beverly Center.

Okay, every single one of you who lives in California and drives needs to call their CA Assemblyperson and Senator about AB666.  Because if this becomes law, you will lose your right to a trial, to contest a red-light traffic camera ticket you might receive.  Check out www.stopab666.org for more information.

A swarm of bees attacked three workers at a Costa Mesa golf course.  Firemen responded and used foam to disperse the swarm.

The sportswriter who covered the New Mexico Lobos men’s basketball team for more than 30 years quit after the team was upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

NCIS star Pauley Perrette and her ex-husband Francis “Coyote” Shivers have not gotten along well since their split.  Now he’s facing charges for violating a restraining order, and he’s claiming she’s waging a “war” against him based on an unsold script she wrote.  Another “he-said, she-said”.  Except that Shivers has another ex-wife who says he is “dangerous”. 

The next item was deleted due to our no-news policy regarding certain fame-whores.

Tilda Swinton is sleeping in a glass box.  For a museum display.  Until I heard that part, I was a bit concerned for her.

Reports are that UCLA men’s basketball coach Ben Howland will be fired after the team suffered an embarrassing first round loss in this year’s tournament.

Karl Rove said that a supporter of same-sex marriage might end up on the 2016 Republican Presidential ticket.

One winning ticket was sold in NJ and will collect the $338 million Powerball jackpot.

The Florida Gulf Coast University basketball team made headlines this past week when it upset the #2 team in its bracket, Georgetown.  Their coach is used to pulling off upsets.  He is married to a former supermodel.

“The Croods” won the weekend box office battle, grossing $44.7 million, while “Olympus Has Fallen” finished at #2 with $30.5 million.  However, considering “The Croods” cost almost twice as much to make as “Olympus Has Fallen”, you’ll have to decide for yourself who did best.  “Oz the Great and Powerful”, “The Call” and newly opened “Admission” rounded out the top five.  “Gimme the Loot” is a little indie film that opened on only one screen but pulled in an impressive $23,000+ this weekend.

Michael Moore appeared on Piers Morgan and called U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a “weenie” because he can’t pass an assault weapons band.

I saw a movie today

Not that me going to a movie is a newsflash.  I have at least three screenings to go to this coming week, plans to see two other movies next weekend and there might be a fourth screening.  But there's something explored in the film I saw today that's worthy of commentary (without a film review).

The film was "Admission" and it gives the audience a glimpse at the admissions process at Princeton.  I've written recommendations for students applying to a number of universities, applied to one or two myself, but I've never been privy to the inner-workings of the admissions process at the university level.

But I have had an opportunity to watch how the process works at exclusive, expensive private schools and I imagine that it is similar to what goes on at Princeton.  The only thing I'm not sure of is which is a more intense competition.  To get into a school like Princeton, or into the kindergarten class of some of the better schools in Southern California area.  It's probably a toss-up.

For the Princeton class of 2016, there were nearly 27,000 applicants.  Just under 2,100 of them were accepted and only 1,300 will be starting int he fall.  You can do the numbers yourself.  I won't disclose any data about kindergarten admissions during the time I worked at Crossroads, but it too is highly competitive.

The film focuses on a theme involving the process.  It tries to say that there is no "secret formula to getting in".  For the most part there isn't.  There are ways to improve an applicant's chances, and consultants charge thousands of dollars to parents who want to do everything possible to get their kid into the school of their choice.  Now some will dispute what I'm about to say, but it is pretty much the truth.  The one secret formula to getting your child into the school of your choice is to be able to write a big enough check.

There was a parent once who had a meeting with the head of a school (this is the story I was told, I wasn't there) and promised to write the school a check for more than six figures to get their child off of the waiting-list.  The child got off the waiting-list but the check wasn't forthcoming.  Nor was the tuition for that year for the child.  The parent wouldn't return calls from the school head.  Not until the child was dismissed for lack of payment.  Then suddenly the parent was calling.  To find out if he were willing to make good on the pledge, if his kid would get back in.  He was told "no".

Is there a secret formula to get into the school of your choice, other than buying your way in?  Not that I'm aware of.  The best applicants don't always get the school of their choice.  The thing to focus on is that among that pool of applicants, they will undoubtedly succeed wherever they get in, as long as they apply themselves.

I'm tempted to write about the convulted process of private primary/secondary school financial aid, and tell some amazing stories, but I'll hold off on that for now.  I don't want to embarrass some people I'm still fond of.  But maybe someday.

If I did this exercise before, I apologize.

Picture two families.  Both have two kids.  Both have one parent working outside the home and one at home.  One is a "traditional" couple.  One is a same-sex couple.  Both wage-earners earn $100,000 per years.

The traditional couple get to file married filing jointly.  The same-sex couple wage-earner files as head of household and claims their spouse as a dependent.  So that shouldn't be a big difference in how big their income tax bill is, should it?  Well it does.

The traditional couple's annual federal tax bill is $10,895.  The same-sex couple's annual federal tax bill is $14,780.  But wait.  There's more.  If they both get employer-provided dependent insurance coverage at no cost, those benefits are tax-free to the traditional couple but taxable income to the dependent couple.  That ratchets up the same-sex couple's federal tax bill to $16,580.  Is it really fair that one couple pays almost $6,000 more in federal tax just to satisfy the idiotic views of religious zealots?  No!!

Okay, moving on to other ponderings on a Sunday.

I worked eight yesterday and I'm thoroughly exhausted.  What little hair I have left is tired.  My plantar fascitis is aching.  I'm breathing okay but I don't see me moving from this chair anytime soon.  Eventually I'll muster up the energy to go lay down.  I might not get up again until morning.  This day has taught me something.  Six hours is definitely the limit for now.  I won't do this again. 

Reports claim that rapper Lil Wayne's seizure was caused by "sizzurp".  That's a mixture of cough syrup containing codeine and promethazine, often mixed with fruit soda to eliminate the mediciny taste.  Highly addicitve, available only via prescription, habitual users may end up consuming up to 25 times the recommended daily dosage.  It can kill.  My question is, how does someone get that much of it, if it's available only via prescription?

Rhianna kept students at a school where she'd promised to appear waiting for more than hours and then left after only 12 minutes and a few staged photos.  How awful.  The students there earned her appearance by working hard and she treats them with such disdain and disrespect?  The sad thing is that many of the students were very forgiving.

I rarely wonder what's going on in the lives of my ex-wives but for some reason they were on my mind last night as I watched television.  I know that the second married the guy she left me for and they have a kid.  Other than that I know nothing.  I wonder if she's happy.  I wonder if she has regrets about our relationship.  I wonder if her brother is still in prison.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1603, James I of Scotland also becomes James I of England after Queen Elizabeth I dies.
On this date in 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes Shogun of Japan.
On this date in 1765, Parliament passes the Quartering Act, requiring U.S. homes to house British soldiers.
On this date in 1882, Robert Koch discovers the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
On this date in 1927, foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China.
On this date in 1958, Elvis Presley is drafted into the U.S. Army.
On this date in 1973, Jim Ryun and Kip Keino face off in the first ever professional track meet. Keino won.

Famous folk born on this date:

Ignacio Zaragoza
Andrew Mellon
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
George Sisler
Thomas E. Dewey
Clyde Barrow
Norman Fell
Steve McQueen
Bob Mackie
R. Lee Ermey
Curtis Hanson
Nick Lowe
Tommy Hilfiger
Dougie Thomson
Louie Anderson
Robert Carradine
Donna Pescow
Kelly LeBrock
Lara Flynn Boyle
Alyson Hannigan
Peyton Manning
Jessica Chastain

The Centrist Party Resurfaces

The Centrist Party has been quiet for a while but now it’s time to speak up on an issue in the news.  There is a bi-partisan effort in the Congress to do something about reforming the immigration system.  As usual, the Centrist Party sees things from the middle perspective and has its own ideas about what to do with this very thorny issue.  Here is our revised proposal.

First, all those in this country illegally must self-identify to ICE.  They will be subjected to a background investigation to ensure they have never committed any crimes in the U.S., other than illegal entry.  Traffic tickets and other misdemeanor charges that don’t involve theft of property above a certain level or injury to others can be waived.  Those who have been convicted of serious crimes who re-entered the country illegally will be deported.  All of the rest will be put on a path to permanent residency without citizenship.  Once they reach the point of qualifying to become ‘green card’ holders and attain permanent residence, a program will allow those who have the desire to ultimately obtain citizenship.

During this process, all back tax obligations must be satisfied in one form or another.  Large obligations can be handled through the “offer in compromise” process. Time payment plans can be used.  The goal is to find creative solutions to allow these illegals a path to get legal

As the same time we make it clear that while we cannot fully seal our borders, on a specific date in the future, illegals entering after that date will be prosecuted and deported, after being informed that a future attempt to enter the nation illegally will result in imprisonment for an extended period.  After that they will be permanently deported and barred from re-entry.  We can’t seal the borders but we can force those who violate them into channels where they will be subjected to arrest and imprisonment if they won’t work within the system.

On the “amnesty date” those who are in the country illegally who have refused to step forward and self-identify will also become eligible for deportation.  They had a chance.  They could have come forward and opted into the program.  Choosing not is not an option for remaining in this country.  Either become legal or get deported.  There is no negative to not stepping forward, unless the person is a criminal who wouldn’t qualify for legal status.  Those people need to be deported anyway.

At the same time, the underground economy involving those who are here illegally needs to be put to a swift death.  As of late, gathering of illegals seeking work as day laborers are almost universally ignored.  Now they can be handled.  Employers will no longer exploit this pool of labor because the people who make up that pool would be able to work legally.  This program requires that ICE crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegals.

Thar be whales here

“Thar be whales here” – Engineer Montgomery Scott in ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”

Actually I’m not so much concerned with whales today as I am with morons.  A specific group of big morons, so the whale analogy seemed appropriate.  I’m talking about the morons who are trying to put at least some of the blame on the young teen girl victim in the Steubenville, OH rape case.  They’re claiming that because she allowed herself to get that drunk she is “culpable” in the case.

Culpable is a very specific term.  Let’s define it:

Culpable - meriting condemnation or blame especially as wrong or harmful

So does the victim merit condemnation for having caused her rape?  No.  Of course not.  Does she merit blame for being raped, or for being so drunk as to make herself an easier target?  No.  Of course not.

Is it dumb to get so drunk that you aren’t in control of your faculties?   Yes. I see it all the time.  People so drunk they can barely dismount the barstool to try to walk to the door.  When and if they get behind the wheel in such a state, then they are criminals themselves.  But not before that moment.

If I’m dumb enough to go to an ATM in the highest crime area of town late at night, intending to make a very large withdrawal, am I culpable if I get robbed?  No.  Dumb, yes.  Culpable, no.  Sadly, this large group of morons just can’t grasp this very simple concept.

Other things worth of pondering on a Friday:

There’s this guy who six or seven years ago decided to use his face as a human billboard.  He had product names tattooed on his face and he got money for it.  Now the money is gone and he wants the tattoos gone.  His brilliant plan to raise the money to pay for the tattoo removal is to sell ad space on his hands, arms, chest and legs.  Not so brilliant after all.

Should we be worried that a man wearing a bad fake of a pilot’s ID managed to get into the cockpit of a plane before takeoff?  Yes, we should.

How many push-ups can you do?  If you can’t do at least 20, then an 80 year old female U.S. Supreme Court Justice can do more than you.  Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg has been working with a personal trainer and does two sets of ten push-ups at the end of each workout.  They aren’t “girly” push-ups either.

In the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament, I picked two #12 versus #5 upsets, went 13-3 for the day and I still suck, since almost 300,000 people did better than I did in this contest I’m in.  I should have been 14-2 but I forgot to change one game back the way I had it originally. 

Publicity stunt or reality?  There’s a billboard that’s gone viral in North Carolina.  It reads:  “Michael - GPS Tracker - $250, Nikon camera with zoom lens - $1600, Catching my LYING HUSBAND and buying this billboard with our investment account - Priceless. – Jennifer” Then it ends with “Tell Jessica you’re moving in.”  So is it really an angry wife, or is it clever marketing by Nikon?

Add this guy to the moron file.  He “staged” an attack to impress a woman he was out on a date with.  Only she reacted by fleeing and summoning the police.  They eventually uncovered the truth and when she learned what had really happened, she was less than impressed.

Whatever possessed two men who’d pulled off a successful robbery of a check-cashing store to write a thank-you note to the company that supplied the masks they used?  The two men are black, but thanks to some great masks, appeared to be white to their victims.  That thank-you note led to their arrest.  Great etiquette but lousy common sense.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1508, Amerigo Vespucci is named Chief Navigator of the Spanish Empire.
On this date in 1622, Algonquian Indians massacre 347 English settlers at Jamestown, VA.
On this date in 1765, Great Britain passes the Stamp Act.
On this date in 1871, William Woods Holden, Governor of North Carolina becomes the first sitting U.S. governor to be impeached and removed from office.
On this date in 1945, the Arab League is founded.
On this date in 1963, “Please Please Me”, the Beatles first album is released in the UK.
On this date in 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Eisenstadt versus Baird, rules that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.
On this date in 1978, Karl Wallenda (the Flying Wallendas) dies when he falls from a high-wire between two hotel buildings in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

Famous Folk Born This Date:

Emperor Go-Horikawa of Japan.
Chico Marx
Louis L’Amour
Karl Malden
Lew Wasserman
Werner Klemperer (RIP, Colonel Klink)
Ross Martin (perfect sidekick for Robert Conrad on “The Wild Wild West”)
Marcel Marceau
Pat Robertson (no, his birth did not take 700 hours)
Stephen Sondheim
Larry Evans (great writer on chess)
Orrin Hatch
M. Emmet Walsh
Haing S. Ngor
Wolf Blitzer
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Bob Costas
Lena Olin
Matthew Modine
Brian Shaw
Cole Hauser

It's SHIT day

That's actually an acronym.  "Sure Happy It's Thursday".

A shout-out to my trivia teammates, we’ve been on a big winning streak since winning that $1,000 prize a few weeks ago in our trips to pub quizzes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  Last night we missed only two of 49 questions the entire game.  The only bad part was that the turnout was light, so our cash prize was small.  But it’s still another win.  Great job, guys (our one girl wasn’t there last night).

Oh, and a shout-out into the universe to the woman sitting at the table far to my left; who when asked by her friend who’d just returned to the table “what’s happening”, replied “oh that fat guy over there is checking you out.”  I wasn’t checking her out, she walked into my peripheral line of sight and that normally causes me to turn and see who is approaching.  She was pretty, unlike you, so my glance might have lingered a moment but I wasn’t staring.  Just because someone is heavy doesn’t mean they are deaf (the comment was definitely not meant for my ears, but I heard it very clearly).  Oh and babe, before you call others “fat”, take a look in the mirror.  I might be more than a bit heavier than you, but you are not thin enough to be commenting on the weight of others.

That teen that did the video inviting Kate Upton to be his prom date has me thinking.  I know that Natalie Maines, formerly of The Dixie Chicks, loves to play pub trivia.  I’m going to invite her to join us for trivia one night.

Once the judge says it is alright for Lindsay Lohan to drive, I’ve designed a new car for her.  It can be any make or model, but the way it works is that if you flip two switches, it goes from being a left-side drive vehicle to a right-side drive vehicle.  This way she can claim she wasn’t driving when stopped by the cops and there will be no need for her and her next soon-to-be-former assistant to trade seats.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas has commercials with cute little kittens and vamps in sexy outfits that make it look cuddly and risqué all at once.  But they were hit by a picket line of workers who want the union to come in and represent them.  Doesn’t help their cuddly, risqué image to see their employees arrested for protesting right outside the doors.  The union in Vegas is very, very powerful.  Don’t cross it.

Drove through Beverly Hills this afternoon.  Only in BH could I have seen some Plastic Surgery/Anti-Aging office two or three doors down from a Kosher Thai restaurant.  And at the hotel where I went to interview the director of a film, the security guard was in a suit and tie, with one of those Secret Service like earpieces on.

I also stopped at a 7-11 and parked in the only available space, the handicapped space.  Now since I have the blue placard, that’s legal for me.  But some moron parked in the blue “No Parking” space between my car and the car in the next space.  I’m guessing they can’t read or figure the rules don’t apply to them.

This Date In History:

On this date in 1188, Antoku becomes Emperor of Japan.
On this date in 1413, Henry V becomes King of England.
On this date in 1556, Thomas Crammer, the Archbishop of Canterbury is burned at the stake.
On this date in 1788, most of New Orleans is destroyed by a fire.
On this date in 1857, an earthquake kills 100,000 in Tokyo.
On this date in 1925, the Butler Act prohibits teaching evolution in Tennessee.
On this date in 1963, Alcatraz Federal prison is closed to prisoners.
On this date in 1965, Martin Luther King Jr., leads the third march from Selma to Montgomery.
On this date in 1980, President Jimmy Carter orders the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow (forcing me to cancel my trip to watch the games).

Famous Folk Born This Date:

Forrest Mars Sr.
John D. Rockefeller III
Julio Gallo
Russ Meyer
Timothy Dalton
Eddie Money (he had two tickets to paradise in his hands)
Brad Hall
Gary Oldman
Slim Jim Phantom
Kevin Federline