Profiling Isn’t Racist…is It?
Posted by Rey
I’m a New Yorker. Not an Upstate New Yorker: I was born and bred in Queens, spent most of my time in Brooklyn, and enjoyed hanging out in Manhattan. I remember 42nd Street when it was a whole mess seedier and you’d get off the train holding your camera close to your body and under your coat. I remember coming back from trips out of state and smiling whenever I saw the Twin Towers on the horizon. I actually enjoy Dirty Water Dogs…they’re a guilty pleasure. I’m totally proud of our Pizza, even after having had a slice in Chicago.
I’m also Hispanic. Not the white looking Ricky Martin type. I’m one of the dark ones that don’t look Hispanic at all. My expression, on a regular day, has the somber visage of a person who isn’t happy—even if I’m completely content. It’s not that I have a cloud over my head; it’s just that I’m one of those ugly people.
US Gov’t Proposes Life Tax
Posted by Rey
UNITED STATES: President Obama announced today that, out of all his priorities, “the formulation of a Life-Tax is a number one priority”.
On the heel of several legislations (Health Care Reform Bill, Financial Reform Bill, Student Education Reform Bill, The Reform Reform Bill and the Reform to Reform Act of 2010) the United States Congress and Senate have realized the dire need to pay for it all.
“To bottom line it—” said Chairmen of the Federal Reserve Paul Volcke “We don’t have a clue how to pay for it, and we sure as heck don’t want to mess with interest rates. So we figure more regulations is the way to go.”
The Life-Tax (link to the Government Bullet Point Agenda site), strangely called the Thenardier Tax by the uneducated Tea Party masses, will be most heavily levied against salt, sugar, caffeine, plastic, and porn.
“Look man, Americans use this stuff—especially the fat rich Americans—so we have to ask: should we tax them to help their fellow American? Yes. We. Can.” responded Pop Star Will-I-Am. When questioned about the portions of the proposed agenda like “the Breathing Assessment” and “Listening Levy” which would directly impact music making and sales, he passed the microphone over to Wycleff Jean who said something incisive and poignant which we will report on once we can transcribe it.
Vice President Joe Biden “Look, this is a big F****** deal (laughs). Freedom isn’t free and it’s about time American Joe-Q Public realized it.”
When notified about the Vice President’s statement, the Administration said “Frankly, if you compare our track record with the previous administration of Bush-Cheney-Palin, you would easily see that whatever the Vice President said wouldn’t have been said if they had done what they did when they should have done it.”
RELATED STORY LINKS:
- The President and First Lady on American Idol Gives Back Air–AI’s First Silent Show.
Socialism, Stupidity, and Slant
Posted by Rey
I’m not bothering with the spelling errors. This is what I keep getting in my in-box.
Article Tags>> capitalism | socialismthis morning I was awoken by my alarm clock powered by electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US department of energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the national oceanographic and atmospheric administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the national aeronautics and space administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US department of agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined as safe by the food and drug administration.
At the appropriate time as regulated by the US congress and kept accurate by the national institute of standards and technology and the US naval observatory, I get into my national highway traffic safety administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the environmental protection agency, using legal tender issed by the federal reserve bank. On the way out the door I deposit any mail I have to be sent out via the US postal service and drop the kids off at the public school.
After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the department of labor and the occupational safety and health administration, enjoying another two meals which again do not kill me because of the USDA, I drive my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to ny house which has not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which has not been plundered of all it’s valuables thanks to the local police department.
I then log on to the internet which was developed by the defense advanced research projects administration and post on freerepublic.com and fox news forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.
An Open Letter to The School District
Posted by Rey
I read this last night at our school board meeting. I also crossposted it at the CFA site.
Ladies and Gentleman of the board—thank you for giving me this opportunity to say some words.
Words: developed from language because we, as people, thought that conveying information was valuable. Words, which I wrote (and am now reading) because we have assigned value to the process and product of transcribed language: information conveyed textually.
Article Tags>> arts | music | schoolDeath of the Comic Book Hero
Posted by Rey
Got this group discussion question in my inbox the other day from The Write Jerry, one of the Geek Friends:
In the Golden Age, the prototypes for many great heroes were created. In the Silver Age, those heroes were reworked. In the Modern Age, those heroes were over worked…
Have any new major superheroes been created in the past 25 years? I’ve been wracking my brain, but all I come up with are retreads, re-workings, resurrections, but nothing new – nothing that will last from this age into the next.
Closest I can come up with is Spawn, and the jury is still out on if he will last much longer.
My response? Thing is, society has gotten wonky. (more after the jump)
Article Tags>> bat-man | comic books | heros | supermanTowards Valuation of the Arts
Posted by Rey
The Arts aren’t important. They’re the cherry on top; the second layer of frosting; a pretty, yet ultimately unnecessary, addition. Really they’re nice, look really well on your living room wall, or playing from your stereo system—they might even make you think pretty things; but really, they’re not necessary.
After all, they’re the first thing to go on any budget. If a person has to choose to invest in food or the Arts, food will almost always win. Even if it’s the option between an extravagant (unnecessary) dinner and a night at the opera—the arts can just go. It’s not like we need the Arts to live.
Oh sure, when we can afford it, we should do something about the Arts because they make us feel better about ourselves, elevate our self-estimation, reveal our intelligence, sophistication and culture. But really, beyond those incidental perks they are ultimately unimportant. So…
‘Twas The Night Before Printing
Posted by Rey
An original poem inspired by ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore.
Read the rest of this entry »
1500
Posted by Rey
While randomly musing about life and all of its material costs, I thought I would do a list of things that add up to $1500. Just interesting once you consider the ridiculousness of the equal dollar amounts.
Article Tags>> expensive | moneyNo Book For You
Posted by Rey
Well, Governor Rendell approved the new state budget where our property taxes remain the same, more money is put into the public schools and the money for the public library gets cut. Yesterday I was told that in the near future they’d be charging for inter-library loans. An elderly lady on the line started stammering that it’s fair, it’s fair.
Fall 2009 TV Season
Posted by Rey
In this post I refer to the television season as an actual season of the year. So the Fall Season is one season and the spring season is a second season, even if television (20-26 episodes = 1 season) doesn’t work like that. I use this vernacular because sometimes shows don’t come back after January and it works in my head.
Article Tags>> cougar town | flash forward | stargate universe