I was going to write the e-mail off as campaign propaganda given the time of year, but when I followed a link to the SNOPES website where the information was confirmed as accurate - well I got just a little bit agitated.
The e-mail talked about House Bill HR4646, aka Debt Free America Act.
The bill proposes a 1% tax on every financial transaction. Deposit your paycheck - get taxed 1%, make a withdraw - get taxed 1%, buy a house - get taxed 1%, and so on.
While release of this info is undoubtedly tied to the election, if such a bill were to go through it would definitely be more of a trick on the U.S. workforce than a balancing the budget treat.
Between ideas such as this and the great health care boondoggle I foresee a rapidly expanding underground cash economy - along with a few boatloads of burning tea.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Sea Witch
Ding dong the witch is... alive and well.
It's Sea Witch weekend in Rehoboth, DE which means that kids from one to sixty years of age will line up to follow the Sea Witch in a parade down Rehoboth Avenue.
... And that's just the start. The weekend is filled with scavenger hunts that send folks roaming all around Rehoboth Beach and two neighboring towns, costume parades for pets, costume parades for kids, arts and crafts, sand castle contests - the list goes on.
Personally I find it a great alternative to house to house trick or treating in the dark. If it appeals to you too, you can get more info at http://www.beach-fun.com
It's Sea Witch weekend in Rehoboth, DE which means that kids from one to sixty years of age will line up to follow the Sea Witch in a parade down Rehoboth Avenue.
... And that's just the start. The weekend is filled with scavenger hunts that send folks roaming all around Rehoboth Beach and two neighboring towns, costume parades for pets, costume parades for kids, arts and crafts, sand castle contests - the list goes on.
Personally I find it a great alternative to house to house trick or treating in the dark. If it appeals to you too, you can get more info at http://www.beach-fun.com
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Life Cycles
It occurs to me that trees go into the end of their life cycles in a much different manner than humans.
While I'll grant that post-summer hibernation for trees is quite different than death for a person, I could not help but make a comparison.
Approaching hibernation, trees put on a dazzling display of color - seemingly a celebration of a successful cycle. The mixed palettes of color are a tree equivalent of fireworks.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the shuffling, arrested gait of an elderly person is anything but a tap dance that would suggest happiness. Too often the end of the human cycle is accompanied by moaning and wailing.
Perhaps we should do something about. Perhaps as an elder moves into last years we should make a practice of gathering 'round to celebrate what they have achieved and to thank them for the impact they have had on our lives.
While I'll grant that post-summer hibernation for trees is quite different than death for a person, I could not help but make a comparison.
Approaching hibernation, trees put on a dazzling display of color - seemingly a celebration of a successful cycle. The mixed palettes of color are a tree equivalent of fireworks.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the shuffling, arrested gait of an elderly person is anything but a tap dance that would suggest happiness. Too often the end of the human cycle is accompanied by moaning and wailing.
Perhaps we should do something about. Perhaps as an elder moves into last years we should make a practice of gathering 'round to celebrate what they have achieved and to thank them for the impact they have had on our lives.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Of Colors and Groundhogs
I didn't realize groundhogs were related to chameleons.
The very same King Herman who two months ago was sporting a dark coat that blended perfectly with the thick green grass is now sporting a color equivalent to the light brown post-summer lawn.
And the King didn't even have to change his regal finery - he simply changed the color.
(For those who don't remember, King Herman is the name I gave to the groundhog that lives in the rolling lawn centered in the office complex where I work.)
Think of the money and resources that could be saved if people could change the color tones of their clothing. We could pull last year's reds and browns out of the closet, change them to gold and khaki - and have a fresh new wardrobe.
We would even be one up on King Herman at that point - the King can't send his finery to the dry cleaners.
The very same King Herman who two months ago was sporting a dark coat that blended perfectly with the thick green grass is now sporting a color equivalent to the light brown post-summer lawn.
And the King didn't even have to change his regal finery - he simply changed the color.
(For those who don't remember, King Herman is the name I gave to the groundhog that lives in the rolling lawn centered in the office complex where I work.)
Think of the money and resources that could be saved if people could change the color tones of their clothing. We could pull last year's reds and browns out of the closet, change them to gold and khaki - and have a fresh new wardrobe.
We would even be one up on King Herman at that point - the King can't send his finery to the dry cleaners.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Year Coastering
My apologies for the lack of advance notice that I would be away from the blog-o-sphere for a few days.
I was focused on coastering into another year.
This was my second annual roller coaster birthday celebration. What better way to spend a birthday than being with the ones you love while riding the twists, turns, rises, and drops of engineering marvels designed to scare a year or two of life out of you?
Having reached my fifties perhaps I shouldn't risk the shortening of life, but as was discussed over the weekend, everyone has to go sometime so I might as well give myself the chance to have fun on they way out.
That I am typing this blog entry is proof that I didn't check out during any of the hundred-and-some foot drops. If anything, I feel a few years younger than I did before my thrill ride weekend.
I was focused on coastering into another year.
This was my second annual roller coaster birthday celebration. What better way to spend a birthday than being with the ones you love while riding the twists, turns, rises, and drops of engineering marvels designed to scare a year or two of life out of you?
Having reached my fifties perhaps I shouldn't risk the shortening of life, but as was discussed over the weekend, everyone has to go sometime so I might as well give myself the chance to have fun on they way out.
That I am typing this blog entry is proof that I didn't check out during any of the hundred-and-some foot drops. If anything, I feel a few years younger than I did before my thrill ride weekend.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Sometimes...
A busy evening today so I offer a contemplation
Sometimes the only way to move ahead is to fall behind.
Sometimes the only way to move ahead is to fall behind.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Respecting Billions
A golf ball can get you a billion dollars?!
Apparently Tiger Woods is on the verge of becoming a billionaire. Now I realize not all of that income is directly from tournament winnings - but it is all based on smacking around a little white ball with a club.
Don't get me wrong, after playing Wii Golf I have nothing but respect for a guy who can knock a ball into a cup in less than thirty swings - but not a billion dollars worth of respect.
I'd have a billion dollars worth of respect for a scientist who found a way to control the weather, or an inventor who figured out how to make an automobile run on air. I might even half a billion dollars worth of respect for someone who figured out a way for me to always have a closet full of clean clothes without my having to remember to run the washing machine.
Maybe I need to reexamine my plans for success. I used to be pretty good at throwing a Frisbee. Perhaps if I brushed up on my skills and joined the Frisbee-golf circuit....
Apparently Tiger Woods is on the verge of becoming a billionaire. Now I realize not all of that income is directly from tournament winnings - but it is all based on smacking around a little white ball with a club.
Don't get me wrong, after playing Wii Golf I have nothing but respect for a guy who can knock a ball into a cup in less than thirty swings - but not a billion dollars worth of respect.
I'd have a billion dollars worth of respect for a scientist who found a way to control the weather, or an inventor who figured out how to make an automobile run on air. I might even half a billion dollars worth of respect for someone who figured out a way for me to always have a closet full of clean clothes without my having to remember to run the washing machine.
Maybe I need to reexamine my plans for success. I used to be pretty good at throwing a Frisbee. Perhaps if I brushed up on my skills and joined the Frisbee-golf circuit....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)