American Public = cash cow

In other news, water is wet....

I read this story and I had to laugh.  As a former NJ resident, I thought all roads had toll booths until I was 12 years old.  Here in the SF Bay Area, tolls have been on all of the bridges since they were built, but on the roadways is a relatively new item.  Of course, that hasn't stopped them from charging exorbitant rates.  They just crow on about how convenient they have made it with the FastTrak devices, removing your cash at the speed of light.  Despite being in IT, I am not thrilled or amazed by the technology. 

But apparently the populace of Houston, at some point, thought that their politicians could be trusted.  They believed that the various government agencies would see this cash rolling in hand over fist and not think, "Wow, this will be great until it ends.  Oh well."  Instead, when the end was looming, the politicians simply changed it with a line item in a council meeting, Section H, paragraph 6, sub paragraph Q, line 23.  With the stroke of a pen, a majority of "Aye"s and a clap of the gavel, a tax with a defined lifespan was converted into a tax for life. 

I was almost surprised that they pulled this off, since I thought that it was still legal in Texas to shoot politicians for what amounts to thievery.  However, checking the statues, apparently that was abolished.  I say almost surprised, since I had already read the Texas Legislature Operational Procedure, as explained by the esteemed Professor Lawdog, from a dissertation by Professor Tole. 

So, my question is this:  How is it that these people are allowed to operate like this and still somehow do not qualify to be prosecuted under the RICO statute?

Got my sample ballot...

Our sample ballots arrived Monday.  After reading through them the first time, I see only one item that will get a yes vote, one moving California Legislature term limits down to 12 years from 14 years.  Other than that, I see a lot of voting no and against the incumbent.  Unfortunately I live in a seriously Blue county, so my vote against Feinstein will be more or less spitting into the wind.  Still, not participating allows those who would rule over you to remove the right because nobody participates.  I have always felt that if you fail to participate in this process, you have no right to complain about the outcome.  So I continue to vote against people like Feinstein and Supervisor Ken Yeager (Mr Anti-Happy Meal Toy.  But wait...) despite not having a chance to change their re-election.  Yeager ran unopposed last time, which I think is a shame. 

I found this map to be really interesting, especially since the tantrums thrown by the OWS group claim to be representing the the many vs the few rich despots.  Note how much red is involved as opposed to the blue.  Note where all of the blue is located to see exactly how much of the country actually elected our president.  Obama lost most of the counties in the country, but won specific counties with high population counts.  Food for thought to those of you who live in those areas and don't vote.

Finally, time to break out the grill.

I finally broke out the grill this weekend, for what will hopefully be a full summer of grilling enjoyment. 

Several years ago my wife put aside the money to get be a new grill, since our current one was effectively dead.  It was picked up second had on Craigslist and had a good base to it.  It was a Brinkman stainless steel grill that had been used hard by it's previous owners.  While the exterior was in great shape, the interior was shot.  The burners were full of extra holes, the heat shields for the burners were mostly rust and baked in food remains, the grills had no coating other than rust and the control manifold heated up better than the cooking area.  Generally, it looked pretty on the outside, but the inside was held together by rust and habit.

After acquiring the grill and evaluating the parts list, we established that it would cost almost $200 to replace the parts, not counting shipping, and the parts are only available from Brinkman.  So we went down to Wal-Mart to see what was available for that cost and ended up with a Charbroil unit that cost about the same and had more features. The other grill went to a good home where it will be more useful as recycling.

While I could have broken the grill out earlier in the season (if not just kept it in use all winter) I waited until now because, well...  I can't think of a good reason, really.  While I don't grill in the rain, it isn't really a climate where you would pack up the backyard at first snowfall since we get no snow.  Still, for the last two years, come November I clean the grill.  I make it nice and shiny and then put the cover on for the winter, leaving it until April or May.  I don't know why but it seems the thing to do.

So yesterday we kicked the season off with Hebrew Nationals and hamburgers.  Not stunning, I'll admit, since last year it started with seasoned steak topped with chopped garlic and a tab of butter.  However, this year's inaugural meal was still good accompanied by some baked beans chips and iced tea.  Next weekend will be the steaks.  Or maybe a tri-tip...

Nobody read the fine print...

It seems that here in California, anyone who would like to see political shenanigans usually blamed on the republican party being committed by the democrats.  Shocking, I know.  But, unfortunately, nobody read the fine print when Prop 25 was passed in 2010, there was no "What if?" session done by those drafting the proposition.  Prop 25 suspends lawmakers pay if a budget is not passed on time.  However, while there is language regarding a balanced budget, there is no entry or section requiring that anyone competent in basic math actually check the figures.  So, as a consequence, despite the fact that last year someone (a democrat, even!) with a basic comprehension of math examined the budget and saw that sections of it were based on Phantom Revenue (also known as Unicorn Farts that shockingly never appeared) and said no, the inevitable happened.  The governor signed it.  And the Democrats sued.  And now have won.  This is my shocked face.

For those who are not familiar, this piece of legislation looked good on the surface.  However, there are always hallmarks that should be warning signs. 
1.  It was supported by the public employees unions.  Generally, if you don't like high taxes, anything being pushed by unions should be viewed with extreme trepidation.  And only touched with protective gloves.
2.  It was supported by the LA Times, the SJ Merc and the SF Chronicle.  I would check, double check and triple check everything recommended by this many major newspapers in California.  And then I would still likely not entirely believe it.  The term "Journalistic Integrity" is kept offsite at these publications, along with the fact checking department. 

So, we passed a piece of legislation that promised to ensure that balanced budgets were always here.  However, in addition to the lack of an independent math checking requirement, they failed to write in anything about who gets to determine if the budget was passed on time.  So it defaults to... the legislature... 

Imagine this, a second grade classroom:
Teacher - "Class, did you all do your homework?"
Class - "Yes Teacher."
No paperwork is forthcoming. 
Teacher - "Did you all do good enough to earn an A?"
Students - "Yes Teacher."
No paperwork is forthcoming.
Teacher - "Excellent, I'll mark that in my grade book.  Lets all go have ice cream."

This, my friends, is California politics.  Have some ice cream.

Ah, the incorruptable TSA...

Well, we see once again that the TSA is doing a top job.  While I give credit to the TSA employees that actually did their job and caught the drugs, it still doesn't change my view.  Given the choice, I will still take the train, since they told the TSA to go away. 

But once again here we have members of the TSA doing a fine job following in the footsteps of the ATF (purveyors of the finest firearms the drug cartels could buy), working with known drug runners to effectively run drugs through the lines while not inconveniencing anyone else in line.  Do you know what kind of disruption it causes when a suitcase full of drugs is found on the conveyor?  The paperwork alone takes days!  These employees were just doing their best to ensure that your TSA experience was as quick as possible.

Amazingly, I note that TSA Blogger Bob has nothing to say about the subject.  This is my shocked face...

Are beer firms to blame for Native American drink woe?

This news article from the BBC actually has a refreshing view from both sides of the fence, although much more time is given to those filing the lawsuit than those on the other side. 

My view agrees with the general store owner on this one.  The beer sales in this small town are legal.  The people buying the beer have made a conscious decision to buy and consume the beer.  While I fully support Native American tribes working to better the life of their members (because god knows they have been generally screwed over for the last 200+ years) this is generally the wrong way to do it.  Blaming the beer companies for the state of your reservation will not solve the issue.  Will a big payoff from the beer companies solve the problem?  Nope.  Your tribe will have a lot of money, which when dispensed to the members of the tribe will be used to...  buy beer.  They may have to drive farther to get it, since you will have bankrupted the store owners, but it will still happen.  In fact, you will likely create more crime in the form of bootleggers who will charge much more money for their services and product. 

Do I have a better solution for you?  No.  However, suing people for conducting legal business transactions is not the solution to your problems.  Unless you live in California, then it appears to be a way of life.

Easy to remember...

Like most men, I have a hard time remembering certain dates.  Most birthdays slip by me unnoticed, including mine, except for my wife's which is very close to Valentine's day.  My parent's birthdays, my siblings birthdays and even my daughter's birthday require a nudge from my wife.  Birthday gifts for others are often as much a surprise to me as they are to the recipient.  Of course, most guys know certain dates off the top of their heads.  First day of Deer Season?  Check.  Start of the NHL Regular season?  Check.  Mom's birthday?  Ummmm......

If you have a hard time remembering date that are important to your spouse, some can be strategically planned so that you cannot forget them.  While children's birthdays are hard to do (and I question the sanity of people who can plan that...) other dates are not.  For instance, My wedding anniversary falls on April 15, which means that as long as I am a tax paying citizen of the United States, I will never forget my wedding anniversary.  Ever.