Archive for the Society Category

Deducing And Deducting The Mortgage Interest Deduction (January 24, 2011)

Posted in Congress, Housing, Less Government Regulation Series, Pogo Plight, Society, Taxation on January 24, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L          “Decades ago, Congress made a very prudent and sage decision to eliminate the individual tax deduction for interest paid by taxpayers on consumer debt.  An economy driven by unrestrained consumption did not need any additional government subsidy to drive it.”

M          “No need to spray gasoline on a fire.”

L          “Taxes fuel decisions.  The deduction for mortgage interest remained but only for a residence not to support the acquisition of personal property.  The real estate industry secured and protected that deduction.  And you know what happened?”

M          “Humans did what humans do.  Acted like humans.”

L          “They acted humanly rather than humanely.  Citizens and consumers found a way to circumvent the law.  They could not deduct the interest paid to consume goods and services, but they could deduct the interest paid to consume their chateau even if they actually used the funds to consume goods and services.  They simply used their chateau as an ATM (automatic teller machine) to pay for the consumption of consumer goods and then deducted all of the interest on their taxes.  How many really knew what they were doing.  And yet, Americans of every creed and color, every region and religion circumvented the spirit if not the letter of the law.”

M          “The dilemma is that the mortgage interest deduction may be one of the last tax deductions available to the middle class, if the middle class can afford to buy homes.”

L          “Everyone would be better off without the deduction and most other deductions, exemptions and credits.  However, if Congress eliminated the mortgage interest deduction, the amount of the standard deduction may need to rise for a few years and then fall to zero during the transition to avoid jarring economic dislocations.”

M          “It’s not going to be easy.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

We have met the enemy, and boy oh boy is he ever you and me.  Mr. Pogo.

If one minute of cautionary commentary had been ventured last year for every month of coverage of the assault on Gifford and others, events may have developed differently.

If we as a society diverted one percent of the funds spent on the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) airport monitoring to FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) airline maintenance monitoring, the skies would be 100 times safer.

Incite, Sarah, Indict? (January 10, 2011)

Posted in Courts, Crime/Punishment, Elections, First Amendment, Guns, Health Care, Law, Press/Media, Society, Supreme Court, Tea Party on January 10, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

R          “You cannot get out of bed in the morning without violating some section of Title 18 of the United States Code, the federal criminal code.  In fact, and as a matter of law, you cannot stay in bed in the morning without violating some section of Title 18 of the United States Code.”

S          “So why not indict her?  She incited and directed others to kill and targeted the targets by first and last name and address.  She created a mindset and a market for death.  She legitimized killing.  The specific nature of the killer’s mind and his motives are still emerging.  Maybe he did not do it for her or for some specific political purpose.  Nonetheless, he took her specific message and tactics to heart.”

R          “Perhaps her twisted comments about death panels and the like confused a twisted and confused mind.  Others stridently proclaim they have not heard anything inflammatory, yet he heard the shrill dog whistle.”

S          “Her comments were one of the legal, moral and proximate causes of the death and maiming in Arizona.  Look, she took down the targets on her website recently which is an admission of guilt.”

R          “A subsequent remedial measure?”

S          “What about the bull’s eyes?  Listen to others who now opine that political discourse has taken a turn for the worse.  The political discourse has not changed course one degree in recent years.  The entreaties to kill have simply reached their predictable and inevitable outcome.  Why is everyone now so shocked and stupefied?  What happened was intended.  It was only a matter of time.”

R          “During the 2008 and 2010 elections, a few commentators noticed that she promoted and encouraged violence against specific candidates.  Her threats of violence against specific candidates were and are not protected by the First Amendment and were and are clear violations of provisions of Title 18 when they target federal officials or occur on federal property.”

S          “She is white and connected, so she will be given a pass.  U.S. Attorneys expend considerable tax dollars prosecuting some harmless jaywalker on federal property who has the misfortune to be non-white and unconnected.”

R          “The Supreme Court decreed that corporations are legal persons.  The nattering news network is a legal person.  Persons can be indicted.  Another option is to indict the network, the president, the board of directors and the pitch men and women on tv.  We need to return to personal responsibility as a governor of behavior.  Law plays a role.”

S          “White.  Extraordinarily well connected.  And capable of getting a U.S. Attorney fired.  Same story.  Same outcome.  Those in power get a pass.  Carte blanc, the White Card.”

R          “Her vitriolic rants against a sitting President may be her undoing.  Title 18 criminalizes threats against a sitting President.  The grand irony would be to watch on YouTube after one of her tirades as her Secret Service protective detail turns and cuffs her for direct threats against the President.”

S          “That might go viral.”

R          “America sports a billion laws and yet has become such a lawless nation.  In the absence of personal responsibility and without some rules and the rule of law, affairs can and will get worse.”

S          “So why not simply allow a dozen jurors to decide?”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “In The Land Of Fury And The Home Of The Fearful (November 1, 2010).”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Incite, Sarah, Indict

Incite, Sarah, Indict Sarah

There oughta be a law; no, there are laws but there oughta be some law enforcement.

What happens when you take an arrow out of the quiver, nock it with care, draw back purposefully, release while slowly exhaling and then look up to see that you have hit the bull’s eye?

I was walking across a bridge one day and saw a man standing on the edge and about to jump off.  So I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!”  “Why shouldn’t I?” he said.  I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!”  He said, “Like what?”  I said, “Well, are you religious or atheist?”  He said, “Religious.”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Christian or Buddhist?”  He said, “Christian.”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Catholic or Protestant?”  He said, “Protestant.”  I said, “Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”  He said, “Baptist!”  I said, “Wow!  Me too!  Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?”  He said, “Baptist Church of God!”  I said, “Me too!  Are you Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”  He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God!”  I said, “Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?”  He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!”  I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him over the edge.

The First Look At The “Second Political Party” (January 3, 2011)

Posted in Abortion, Capital Punishment, Death Penalty, Drugs, Economics, Elections, Gay Politics, Government Regulation, Kleptocracy, Political Parties, Politics, Society on January 3, 2011 by e-commentary.org

. . .

R         “I’ve been shut out by the venal and feral nut cases in my party.”

D         “I’ve been sold out by the effete and craven fruits in my party.”

R         “My team is fraudulent; yours is feckless.”

D         “Your team markets fear; mine peddles hope.  No one addresses problems or provides answers.”

. . .

D         “Your team caters to the very rich; you’re not very rich.”

R         “But I can be.”

D         “Not any longer.  They let you nourish that delusion to string you along.”

R         “But I could have been.”

. . .

R         “We need a third party.”

D         “We already have a third party, but it is a rabid and toxic mix of nuts and fruits.  We need a fourth party.”

R         “At core, both parties are owned hook, line and over the barrel by the same corporate and financial interests.  The Repubocrats and the Demolicans.  Maybe we need a second party.”

D         “Our country has transformed from a democracy to a kleptocracy.  Each party protects and serves the kleptocrats and banksters who keep the public diverted and entertained with frivolous diversions and entertainments.”

R         “The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United was designed to promote the interests of my party and also has doomed the prospect of any other party emerging in America.”

. . .

D         “We need less government involvement in our personal lives.  No government definition of marriage.  No government regulation of abortion.  No government criminalization of marijuana.”

R         “We need government to dictate the definition of marriage.  It is what I say it is, between a man and a woman.  We need government to invade each bedroom and demand delivery of every conceivable baby.  If the little tyke steps out of line, we need capital punishment.  Remember that life begins at conception and ends at birth.  We need government to imprison people for smoking marijuana when it is still legal to drink all the alcohol they want.”

. . .

D         “So now once again what are the essential bedrock policies of the ‘Second Political Party’?”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

TPTB America has abandoned the Middle Class; what is interesting to watch is how the Middle Class abandons TPTB America.

Henrietta And Henry O, Two Young Lovers: The Contemporary Gift Of The Magi (December 27, 2010)

Posted in Perjury/Dishonesty, Society on December 27, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

GF        “I’ve known her since seventh grade at Diogenes Junior High, you know, and do everything with her.  I know all her secrets.  She is my BFF.  Henri met this guy, her BF, it was time.  We talked about it, but I wasn’t even sure what she should tell him.  If she was honest, he might leave.  She decided not to mention it until after the wedding.  After the wedding, of course, they could be honest with each other.  They were living together, but her mail came to her work address.  She knew that he might see her mail and open it.  Plus they put some money in a joint checking account.  A few weeks after the wedding, she worked up the courage to bring up the issue.  Even he sensed that something was up.  She came right out and told him that she had upwards of $29,000 in credit card debt.  For a few seconds, she said, he looked dazed and bewildered until he recovered and smiled and said that he had something to tell her.  Henry had almost, like, $38,000 in credit card debt.  She was floored and almost went through the roof.  Henri is usually practical.  Things just got out of hand.  She does not have any idea how they are going to pay it off.  They are looking at so many more expenses as it is.  She is still numb.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Everything is as it seems

IMHO, LOL

BF F?

If you’re debt-free,  I’m single.  (If I’m in debt, you’re married.)

Remember that it is as easy to fall in love with a debt-free man as it is to fall in love with a poor man.

Be wise

It’s a wonderful life

Find the good and the joy; they are out there somewhere

The Big Decision (December 13, 2010)

Posted in Gay Politics, Society on December 13, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

S1       “Last night, while surveying the fare on AM radio, some wingnut decreed that we select our sexuality.  I’ve heard that comment a thousand times before and disregarded it without reflection.  Yet for the first time every other thought process stopped and focused on analyzing the allegation.”

S2       “An epiphany.”

S1       “Seems so.  The only life event I could uncover in my search is an episode in fourth grade when Mike’s mom had car pool duty.  After she tendered delivery of us to class to make sure we did not sneak off to the tree house again, Larry and I watched her slip away.  Both of us watched her walking on line across the playground and then looked at each other and then looked back at her and then looked at each other and then looked at her and then looked at each other and then looked at her until she disappeared into the distance.  Then we looked at each other.  I sensed that he sensed that something was going on; he sensed that I sensed that something was going on.  We did not know what to say; we did not say a word.”

S2       “Sounds ineffable.”

S1       “Speechless.  Especially at that age.  Life is coming at you real fast.  Mike selected his mom skillfully.”

S2       “In matters of health and wealth, pick your parents carefully.”

S1       “Looking back, she must have been between 32 and 36 and quite the looker, as graceful and gracile as Grace Kelly.  But I really don’t know that it was a formal deliberative process and reflective decision.  When did you decide?”

S2       “Beats me.  Never thought about it.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

What day did you decide?

I am, therefore I think

As I recall, I think the day that I decided would have been June 31 in the afternoon to the best of my recollection, as I recall.  I had thought about it for months.  It was a close call.  There were so many factors to weigh.

“Does a person select his or her sexuality?”  “It’s a state’s rights issue,” the candidate proclaimed with a vacant and feral look.

Don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t think; ask, tell, think

“You are what you are and you ain’t what you ain’t.”  “Dear Abby”  John Prine

Practical Price Theory in Practice (December 6, 2010)

Posted in Economics, Journalism, Market Solutions, Society on December 6, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

L          “So you want to maximize attendance?”

M          “It’s a polemical movie.  We want to get as many eyes and ears in the seats as possible.  We have already committed the funds to rent the theater and the movie.  Student volunteers are running it.”

L          “If you offer the movie for free, it may not be worth anything.  Only the committed will attend.  Why not make the movie valuable.  The price of similar movies on campus is three dollars whereas in my day it was one dollar.  State that the cost of a ticket is 25 cents and then print ‘SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE’ in a large font on the pamphlet to entice interest.”

M          “It could peg the value at a quarter and thus not worth considering.”

L          “It might.  And you don’t want to dissuade someone who may not care about the money but does not want to be hassled searching for a quarter.  When someone asks what must be done to obtain the scholarship, ask him or her to state in 25 or fewer words what the movie means to him or her.  Pause and then agree that they are deserving of the scholarship.  Call it ‘Two Bits Production’.”

. . .

M          “We did attract far more viewers than we expected and made some money.  Because of the delay in the line for those seeking scholarships, we set up a second table to conduct the interview, streamlined it to twenty-five seconds and kept the conversation light.”

L          “Super.  It was raining outside that night which may have kept some at home or, if they left the house, drove them inside.  And nothing else was playing in town that night that would appeal to the demographic.  Keep up the experiments.  And keep up the reports.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

“A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”  Oscar Wilde

“At the usual daily rate, The Wall Street Journal would cost $999 for the entire semester, but you can subscribe today and today only for the low, low rate of 25 cents a semester.”

O’Bama Arming Industry (November 22, 2010)

Posted in Guns, Market Solutions, O'Bama, Society on November 22, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

G         “I made a killing.”

A         “You’ve got to love it.  A totally private sector stimulus with no government funding at all.”

G         “None.  Totally self-executing.  The frenzy built up until the 2008 election and then exploded like wildfire, like gang busters.  One guy wanted a gun, any gun and bought a .243.  But I didn’t have any more .243 rounds, so he bought a few boxes of .308s.  It didn’t matter.  It was crazy.”

A         “I assume that he could use a ball peen hammer to pound the round into the receiver.”

G         “I don’t know what he planned to do.  By the Inauguration, there was almost nothing in the store.  And then the crazy thing, last summer, guys came back with the guns and asked to sell them back.  A lot of them were in financial trouble.  One guy’s wife was still giving him a ration of grief as they walked in the store.  It was painful.  If they were unfired and still in the original box, I bought them back at half price.  I can’t resell them as factory brand new.”

A         “I followed the price rise and availability of ammo throughout that time.  .22s rounds in the 525 box went from $14.99 in Nov. of 2007 to $19.99 in Nov. of 2009 to $18.99 today.  I lost my notes for the most pivotal time in Nov. of 2008.”

G         “I can find the price.”

A         “As you saw, in early 2009, boxes of every caliber were plucked off the palates in the aisle.  They never made the shelves.  Yet there was not a great run-up in prices.  Since Nov. of 2007, large caliber ammunition has gone up 24 to 29 percent.”

G         “The big box stores keep us honest, and we keep them honest.  There are just enough small owners like the two of us still hanging on.  The real money is in the gear like the sling, case, scope, scope rings, bore sight, the whole shooting match they walk out with.  My wife always worried in the past that there is no pay check or pension or health insurance or anything for us.  We are on our own.  We manage to keep the doors open.  I still come in early if someone needs to pick something up on the way to the office.  I’ve stayed late if someone is leaving on a trip in the morning and has to have something.  Whatever it takes.”

A         “The plight of the self-unemployed.  Today, the stores are stocked with ammo, the shelves are stacked.  Even .380s and .10s are readily available.  And you’re offering rebates?”

G         “Factory rebates.  On a few select rounds, mainly shotgun shells.”

A         “There is $5.00 in-store sale across town.  $16.99 a box.  At the big box store of course.”

G         “I’ll match it.  I’ve got to match it.”

A         “And $24.99 a box at another big box store.  I’ll pay a $2.00 premium to protect the market.”

G         “I can throw in a hat, but, get this, it is not from the same manufacturer.”

A         “Anything to keep you from throwing in the hat.  I should stock up today.  Based on the increasing cost of the components, I expect the price of ammunition to explode in the near future.  Ammunition soon will cost a fortune.”

G         “I really owe my fortune to O’Bama.”

A         “With all the O’Bama signs in here, you could’ve fooled me.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

What happens when you take an arrow out of the quiver, nock it with care, draw back purposefully, release while slowly exhaling and then look up to see that you have hit the bull’s eye?

America Recycles Day, November 15 (November 15, 2010)

Posted in Energy, Environment, Gas/Fossil Fuel, Global Climate Change, Global Warming, Society on November 15, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

C         “The day is not yet as famous as Groundhog Day.”

E         “And it is not a national or a state holiday.  America Recycles Day.  Celebrated in many communities.  For over a dozen years now, they say.”

C         “November 15 is nationally recognized but is not nationally known.  The day may become the equivalent of Earth Day observed in the Fall when the bounty has been harvested.  One day to encourage us to reduce, reuse and recycle.  America Reduces, Reuses and Recycles Day is a bit much.”

E         “And there were no America Recycles Day sales inserts in the paper to recycle.  One day to inform and involve and not spend.”

C         “Once again, however, we may be chanting to the choir.”

E         “The day and effort should be targeted to kids.  They can carry the message home and convey it to the adults.  Yet it is the kids who were told at home to deposit their gum wrappers in the trash who don’t toss their butts out the window.  Reaching those who toss their butts out the window is the challenge.”

C         “What types of vehicles are those butts flying out of?  I suspect that they are the two-gallons-per-mile rigs.  Gasoline is a resource, a resource is finite, gasoline is finite.  We need to get real.  And really reduce not just reuse and recycle.”

E          “Yet, I understand those who don’t worry about global warming because they are worrying about paying their heating bill.”

C          “The warm inner glow you feel when doing right does not warm the house.”

. . .

www.americarecyclesday.org

www.lamprecycle.org

www.lnt.org/programs/peak:  The PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) program

Bumper stickers of the week:

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Don’t light up and turn out the lights

Take the Lead:  Install LED lights and turn them off

Be enlightened:  Lights out or there will be lights out

Build it tight, ventilate it right

Insulation is your friend

The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use

Get your food from and close to the farm and field; don’t consume gas to feed your consumption

Take only pictures; Leave only footprints

In The Land Of Fury And The Home Of The Fearful (November 1, 2010)

Posted in Elections, Politics, Race, Society, Tea Party on November 1, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J          “So much unfocused rage and undigested anger is raging across the countryside.”

K         “And Anger Mongering (AM) radio and Fox tv are the primary mouthpieces for the furor.  Follow the money.  A staggering amount of money is being amassed marketing hate and fear to the masses, one of the last growth industries in America.  Those inciting the masses are doing so for their own very narrow self-interest.  The cunning and the cynical are playing some voters for chumps and stooges.  Stun and cripple a person with fear and take his vote and his money.  Yet there is a perception that something is wrong grounded in the fact that something is wrong.  The frustration is magnified because it cannot be articulated.”

J          “And an articulate, informed and serene Black President who displays upper class sensibilities and syntax reminds Americans of the two underlying schisms and fissures in America – race and class.  Race is not an acknowledged issue, but race is an issue in most of the political races this year.”

K         “Confidence even devoid of arrogance and pretense threatens the insecure.  Look at the numbers.  Forty-five percent of the electorate responds to fear.  Market and exploit fear and appeal to another five percent and then get just one more vote.  Political victory.  That arithmetic really explains politics in America.  The real kicker is that the problems are far worse than all but the most informed realize and are far less likely to be resolved by current thinking.”

J          “It is all about jobs.  Ironic that some in France are rioting because they are to be given the opportunity to work an additional two years, albeit delaying their retirement, and Americans may riot to be given the opportunity to work.  When there are job openings, Americans are there hustling to get them.”

K         “True, yet Americans have not experienced any real hardship in recent decades and simply do not have the emotional software to deal with adversity with any perspective or dignity.”

J          “When the present and the future are so bleak, the past is strained through a filter to make it look far more idyllic than it ever was.”

K         “It is so much easier to hate and fear without reflection.”

. . .

Bumper stickers (signs) of the week:

45% + 5% + 1 = Victory

“The trouble with the world is the stupid are cocksure, and the intelligent are full of doubt.”                      Bertrand Russell

At the Stewart/Colbert Rally on October 30 on the National Mall:

I don’t want my country back, I want my country forward.

Those who work for the government should want the government to work.

God hates hate.

God fears fear.

God fears hate.

God hates fear.

Use your indoor voice

Although I don’t agree with you, I don’t think you’re Hitler

America’s Fraud Factories (October 18, 2010)

Posted in Education, Journalism, Law, Military, Press/Media, Schooling, Society on October 18, 2010 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K         “We in America closed the traditional factories but openly operate a network of profitable Fraud Factories.”

J          “Look at the flow of raw material.  The kids who get As in college go to med school, those who get Bs go to law school and those who get Cs go to biz school.  And look who makes the big bucks.”

K         “Those pursuing a journalism degree pursue truth and those pursuing a Master of Fine Arts pursue beauty.  At least in theory.  And Yeats proffered the exchange rate.”

J          “Those in the Corps embody an esprit de corps, the Semper Fi and Siempre Fi spirit.  And former Marines are among the most disciplined and honest journalists.  Think Jim Lehrer.”

K         “And Gordon Peterson.  Interning at Parris Island rather than grunting at The Paris Review provides a different worldview.”

J          “Right.  Fighter pilots reflect that same dedication, discipline and devotion to duty.  First responders, as they now call them, and most doctors share a sense of professionalism and commitment.  Those with the forest service and the fish and game service are genuinely concerned about the future well-being of the evergreens and the blue gills and the white tails.”

K         “And then there are the Fraud Factories, American business and law schools, teaching students the subtle art of fraud and deception.  The kids are taught to advance their own self-interest over anything else at almost any cost.  They are taught the nuances of gaming a business and legal system that is designed to be gamed.  Neither government regulation nor market forces restrain or direct their activities.”

J          “Biz schools are the most profitable divisions of the American corporate university system.  Biz schools are more profitable than law schools that are in turn more profitable than med schools.”

K         “And the colleges of arts and crafts may no longer be tolerated as loss leaders, albeit very expensive divisions of the corporate university system.  The motto of the American Association of Fraud Factories says it all:  ‘No Duty, No Honor, No Country.’”

J          “Some cutting edge biomedical engineers are debating how to teach robots to behave ethically.  The Fraud Factories take kids who exhibit one common trait – a ready willingness to obey and please their superiors – and engineer them to be robots.”

K         “Remember after Watergate when there was a national hand wringing about the nadir of the legal profession that occurred at the same time the journalism profession was at its zenith.  Law schools instituted professional responsibility classes.  Some astute students realized that a B+ grade reflected the right attitude to employers.  That is enough to get by and keep moving through the system but not too much enthusiasm for the topic.”

J          “The problem today is with the students admitted to the schools, the indoctrination process and the indentured servitude status that consigns the graduates to represent wealthy interests to pay off their crushing debts.”

K         “Think about it.  If Schicklgruber applied to law or business school today, the profitable schools would aggressively bid to attract him.  He is the ideal applicant – brilliant, charismatic and destined to succeed.  Everything is about success and power, and power and success, and success and power.  Yeats could have proffered the exchange rate.”

J          “If Concentration Camps of America, Inc. ever needs to staff concentration camps to warehouse and dispose of the unwanted, hire American-trained lawyers and biz school grads.  They won’t ask questions.”

K         “But don’t dare miss payroll.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

I’m not my brother’s keeper, just his banker.  I’m not even his banker, I’m my own banker.

Follow the money

I was just following orders

I was just following the money

I was just following the money orders

Duty, Honor, Country

Honor, Courage, Commitment

Smile while you’re makin’ it, Laugh while you’re takin’ it, Even though you’re fakin’ it, Nobody’s gonna know.      O Lucky Man!