It befuddles my mind that the right-thinking people want to silence those like Pamela Geller. I don't know anything about Geller--she might be a nice lady or a rotten person; I don't know. But to characterize her as being the cause of the deaths of the Islamo-terrorists at the Muhammad Cartoon Festival in Texas is revealing and ignorant.
I turn to Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address. I think this is a propos. "A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters through his teeth, 'Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you will be a murderer!'" Yep......
And, locally, there was some opposition to a military memorial that depicted, of all things, a rifle! Yes a soldier and a rifle! It was the the rifle, a gun, that upset some folks. Fortunately, the local council didn't cave and the memorial goes ahead as planned. To quote another famous American, Dirty Harry Callahan, in another, but similar context, [Of the bad guys, like the Germans and Japanese in WW2, "What did you want me to do, yell 'trick or treat' at 'em?"
Friday, May 8, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Hate Speech
The recent shootings of Islamist terrorists (OK, call them something else if you wish.) in Texas has sparked a discussion of "hate speech." Many folks seem to be blaming the woman who organized the Muhammad cartoon event for the shootings. Hogwash!
If anything should be protected under the First Amendment it's "hate speech." What kind of freedom of speech is it if only expression we like is protected? That's the real test of "freedom," how far we go to protect speech we (or at least some of us) hate.
BTW, I'm waiting for the play, "The Book of Islam." It's probably being screen written right now. And it will probably get all the awards and accolades as "The Book of Mormon."
And when will some guy win art prizes for putting, say, a Quran in a beaker of urine? Where's Mapplethorpe when we need him?
Both tax measures here went down by sizable margins the other day. Locally, the school millage was defeated by 10%. Statewide, the so-called (and misnamed) road repair proposal was lambasted by more than 3 to 1. Of course people voted against higher taxes. It probably wasn't such a hot idea to have a tax-increase election so soon after April 15. But I wonder if many people voted no as a protest against those who spend our money. We just don't trust our elected and appointed officials to spend money wisely. Their track records are pitiful, aren't they? That was a good part of my opposition to both proposals, a lack of trust that the money would be spent intelligently.
It was great, though, hearing proponents, of both proposals, tell us that the increase in taxes we'd see would be "just a drop in the bucket." Apparently none of them ever thought of the cumulative increase(s). Let's just put it this way, if they had passed and we toss in the extra money ObamaCare has cost me over the past year and a half, that "drop in the bucket" has cost me about $3000. That's some "drop." In fact, I taught a whole semester of college history last winter to pay for that "drop," just the "drop," not all of our taxes.
Ah, but remember that sage of DC, Joe Biden, reminding us that "paying taxes is patriotic." If that is so, I would certainly invite all those who think I'm being unreasonable in opposing so much taxation to voluntarily pay more on their own. I guess until I see that, we'll have no real discussion.
If anything should be protected under the First Amendment it's "hate speech." What kind of freedom of speech is it if only expression we like is protected? That's the real test of "freedom," how far we go to protect speech we (or at least some of us) hate.
BTW, I'm waiting for the play, "The Book of Islam." It's probably being screen written right now. And it will probably get all the awards and accolades as "The Book of Mormon."
And when will some guy win art prizes for putting, say, a Quran in a beaker of urine? Where's Mapplethorpe when we need him?
Both tax measures here went down by sizable margins the other day. Locally, the school millage was defeated by 10%. Statewide, the so-called (and misnamed) road repair proposal was lambasted by more than 3 to 1. Of course people voted against higher taxes. It probably wasn't such a hot idea to have a tax-increase election so soon after April 15. But I wonder if many people voted no as a protest against those who spend our money. We just don't trust our elected and appointed officials to spend money wisely. Their track records are pitiful, aren't they? That was a good part of my opposition to both proposals, a lack of trust that the money would be spent intelligently.
It was great, though, hearing proponents, of both proposals, tell us that the increase in taxes we'd see would be "just a drop in the bucket." Apparently none of them ever thought of the cumulative increase(s). Let's just put it this way, if they had passed and we toss in the extra money ObamaCare has cost me over the past year and a half, that "drop in the bucket" has cost me about $3000. That's some "drop." In fact, I taught a whole semester of college history last winter to pay for that "drop," just the "drop," not all of our taxes.
Ah, but remember that sage of DC, Joe Biden, reminding us that "paying taxes is patriotic." If that is so, I would certainly invite all those who think I'm being unreasonable in opposing so much taxation to voluntarily pay more on their own. I guess until I see that, we'll have no real discussion.
Friday, May 1, 2015
The Who......
What was it The Who sang? "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."
That appears to be the case with Proposal 1 coming here in Michigan; the election is Tue. Proponents claim passage will "fix the roads." Nobody argues that Michigan's roads aren't in need of massive "fixing." But despite all the propaganda, and that's what it is, propaganda, I can't see voting for the proposal.
Let's start with this proposal would amend the state constitution, always a chancy move. It would increase the sales tax and gasoline taxes. Far less than half of the money raised (I guess I've heard $1.7 billion??????) would actually go to repairing the roads. Further claims say the average tax increase for Michigan residents would be about $200 a year. I think that's quite disingenuous; one must also consider residuals. My guess the increased burden would be twice or three times that, at least.
But The Who bring me back to what's most unappealing with all of this. These folks in Lansing want us to trust them with more of our money. But they've never come clean on a number of questions. For instance, the governor claims Ohio, right next door, spends more than $1.3 billion more on its roads than we do here in Michigan. How can that be so when Michigan taxes are higher than those in Ohio? Also, if the tax increase would raise about half a billion dollars for the roads, why can't a state budget of almost $60 billion find the money for fixes? Also, since the governor took office, state spending has increased, what?, almost $5 billion. Why didn't that money go for the roads? And, if, as proponents claim, the roads are so vital to Michigan, why weren't they a priority in the budget? Why were they allowed to deteriorate so much?
"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." No thanks, I won't vote to trust more of my money to those who have shown an inability to spend it wisely. Finish the song, "We won't get fooled again!"
The same goes for a local school election, a millage of sorts. This is a second go-around of sorts for this money grab. Last August it was soundly defeated. This time, though, the rate is doubled for twice as long. So, do the math!!!!!! Again, in the same vein as the state and Proposal 1. I won't vote for this. I am supposed to trust people who've unwisely spent money in the past?????? What? Have they had some sort of awakening? Let's go back the to the $43,000 bonus given to the superintendent. I know, I know. As one board member told me, "It wasn't a'bonus,'" It was a contractual "performance incentive." Right. As I told her, "If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, walks like a duck, you can call it a chicken all you want. It's still a duck."
BTW, it looks like ObamaCare is going to cost me at least another $700-800 this year. So, in two years, it's taken more than $2000, that's additional, out of my wallet.
From the world of sports, more signs that the Apocalypse is near. The U of Michigan offered a football scholarship to some 8th grader in Florida! And, the first pick of the NFL draft was apparently a guy who's been accused of sexual assault. I guess no charges were ever filed, but the wagons sure circled down there in a hurry. But, hey, after all, this is football, the NFL!
That appears to be the case with Proposal 1 coming here in Michigan; the election is Tue. Proponents claim passage will "fix the roads." Nobody argues that Michigan's roads aren't in need of massive "fixing." But despite all the propaganda, and that's what it is, propaganda, I can't see voting for the proposal.
Let's start with this proposal would amend the state constitution, always a chancy move. It would increase the sales tax and gasoline taxes. Far less than half of the money raised (I guess I've heard $1.7 billion??????) would actually go to repairing the roads. Further claims say the average tax increase for Michigan residents would be about $200 a year. I think that's quite disingenuous; one must also consider residuals. My guess the increased burden would be twice or three times that, at least.
But The Who bring me back to what's most unappealing with all of this. These folks in Lansing want us to trust them with more of our money. But they've never come clean on a number of questions. For instance, the governor claims Ohio, right next door, spends more than $1.3 billion more on its roads than we do here in Michigan. How can that be so when Michigan taxes are higher than those in Ohio? Also, if the tax increase would raise about half a billion dollars for the roads, why can't a state budget of almost $60 billion find the money for fixes? Also, since the governor took office, state spending has increased, what?, almost $5 billion. Why didn't that money go for the roads? And, if, as proponents claim, the roads are so vital to Michigan, why weren't they a priority in the budget? Why were they allowed to deteriorate so much?
"Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." No thanks, I won't vote to trust more of my money to those who have shown an inability to spend it wisely. Finish the song, "We won't get fooled again!"
The same goes for a local school election, a millage of sorts. This is a second go-around of sorts for this money grab. Last August it was soundly defeated. This time, though, the rate is doubled for twice as long. So, do the math!!!!!! Again, in the same vein as the state and Proposal 1. I won't vote for this. I am supposed to trust people who've unwisely spent money in the past?????? What? Have they had some sort of awakening? Let's go back the to the $43,000 bonus given to the superintendent. I know, I know. As one board member told me, "It wasn't a'bonus,'" It was a contractual "performance incentive." Right. As I told her, "If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, walks like a duck, you can call it a chicken all you want. It's still a duck."
BTW, it looks like ObamaCare is going to cost me at least another $700-800 this year. So, in two years, it's taken more than $2000, that's additional, out of my wallet.
From the world of sports, more signs that the Apocalypse is near. The U of Michigan offered a football scholarship to some 8th grader in Florida! And, the first pick of the NFL draft was apparently a guy who's been accused of sexual assault. I guess no charges were ever filed, but the wagons sure circled down there in a hurry. But, hey, after all, this is football, the NFL!
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