So California can’t afford to pay tax refunds. It is instead looking into delaying tax refund checks or issuing IOUs. 2 ways this seems entirely fucked to me:

1. A tax refund is money you overpaid in taxes. The govt shouldn’t spend money that doesn’t rightfully belong to them. To be fair, the govt shouldn’t even be getting anymore money than the proper amount of tax. Why do we have income tax again? Oh right, to pay for wars. I wonder what wars any of the states that collect income tax will be fighting.
2. If California issues IOUs (or checks since they’re both pieces of paper guaranteeing money) why would any bank honor these pieces of paper? They know that California has a $42 billion dollar deficit. Imagine you write a check to someone and the bank knows you have a -$4,200 balance. You think they’d cash the check? Hell no.

Expanding on thought #2, I highly doubt that banks aren’t going to cash the checks/IOUs as chaos would quickly ensue (more on this thought later). So banks will knowingly accept a less than worthless (worthnegative?) piece of paper thereby extending an unwritten, unguaranteed loan to the state of California.

We know California is broke right? What happens if they don’t pay the banks back for these IOUs? Last year Cali paid out $10.7 billion in tax refunds. After the bank bailout and ensuing bankruptcies, I don’t think any bank can afford to be stiffed on a billion dollar loan (we’ll assume most of the refunds will end up in ~10 banks because we can).

See the cycle here? The loans and the debts go round and round because nobody wants to let stuff hit ground. Returning to that bit about banks not cashing the IOUs, I would welcome the resultant chaos if it would ultimately lead to true market correction.

People are talking a lot about the economy “bouncing back” to which I say bullshit. There is nothing to “bounce back” too. That joyride we were having for the last few years was just Monopoly money. Once you take all the pretend money out of the equation, we’re right where we’re supposed to be. Unfortunately all sorts of businesses made big bets on debt and lending and are now feeling the pain.

BUT WAIT!

Government to the rescue, ready to print more real money backed by nothing thereby devaluing the real money you already have. Why? So these businesses that made bad bets don’t crash.

The free market can’t really work if the government is going to rescue businesses that don’t do well.

Pop quiz:

You have a car that you use to get around and also cart around your little sister for your parents. You total your car while driving recklessly. You still seem committed to driving recklessly even after you’ve crashed. Your parents:

A) Give you another car.
B) Tell you to save up and buy another on your own.

Makes less sense when put that way right?

Oh but what about the jobs of the people? Won’t you think of the people? The fact is, business is just a big bet. When you go to work for a company, you’re saying that you trust the company won’t fail. You’re making a bet on the business just like the owners are. While we like to think jobs are guaranteed, they are not.

This all goes back to the lack of responsibility and consequences. For some reason, our nation has been moving toward a mindset that consequences don’t exist, that someone will be there to pick you up will you fall.

Sorry, that was a tangent. Money?

So this whole cycle of debt business? It has to stop. Let the value of homes fall (sorry homeowners) since their pricing and value was based on fake money. This will make it so people don’t have to go into significant debt to buy a home.

College tuition should not be what it is. Kids should not have to start their adult lives by piling on debt. I mean, what IS that? “Well kids, you’re 18 now, and since most people need a college degree to have a career you should go to college. Here’s $40,000 in debt to start you off.”

More debt.

I disagree with the notion that anything worth having requires you be in significant debt but that is the notion that has been fueling our society and bubble based economy for the last decade or so. Maybe more? Probably.

Personally, I want this whole house of cards to fall so the value of things can be adjusted to their value based on real money and not debt based money. Do I think that will happen? No. Chaos, remember? People would go nuts because while the market was correcting itself, we’d look like we were in a recession (depression?) and all the fake money would go away and then the govt would step in and…

…oh wait.

Well until that whole govt-stepping-in-to-catch-the-economy-when-it-falls stuff stops, we’re fucked. The cycle will perpetuate because the market will never be able to correct itself.

I’m done rambling about this now.

Disclaimers: I fix computers not money for a living, these are just my based on common sense thoughts. The place where I fix computers has no idea I have these crazy thoughts about money so these words are mine, not theirs.

I implore you all not to fall into the emotional voting trap (Oh he’s got charisma, he gets my vote), the racial voting trap (Well he’s black so…), the popularity voting trap (Everybody is voting for her so I probably should too), the party lines voting crap (I’m not voting for anyone who isn’t a Democrat), or any other preconceived, non-researched position on who you are voting for.

Don’t listen to only what they say, go out and find out their history, how they’ve voted, who their key contributors are, etc.

Just please, PLEASE make informed decisions in 2008.

Here are some tools to get you started:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/compare-candidates/index.html
http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/candcomp.asp?cycle=2008
http://www.candidatescomparison.com/
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=candidates%40Google

/me steps off soapbox

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour. -Frederick Douglass

Before anyone gets in a tizzy, no I am not saying black people in America are still slaves. What I am saying is that Independence of my ancestors did not occur on the day that is being celebrated today. I am also pointing out that some of that quote still holds true, in different forms, today.

Enjoy the fireworks.

SEC. 106. HABEAS CORPUS MATTERS.

(a) In General- Section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, is amended–

(1) by striking subsection (e) (as added by section 1005(e)(1) of Public Law 109-148 (119 Stat. 2742)) and by striking subsection (e) (as added by added by section 1405(e)(1) of Public Law 109-163 (119 Stat. 3477)); and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(e)(1) No court , justice , or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider an application for a writ of habeas corpus filed by or on behalf of an alien detained by the United States who –

`(A) is currently in United States custody; and

`(B) has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.

`(2) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1005(e) of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (10 U.S.C. 801 note), no court , justice , or judge shall have jurisdiction to hear or consider any other action against the United States or its agents relating to any aspect of the detention , transfer , treatment , trial , or conditions of confinement of an alien detained by the United States who –

`(A) is currently in United States custody; and

`(B) has been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as an enemy combatant or is awaiting such determination.’.

(b) Effective Date- The amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply to all cases, without exception, pending on or after the date of the enactment of this Act which relate to any aspect of the detention , transfer , treatment , trial , or conditions of detention of an alien detained by the United States since September 11, 2001.

From this bill. Translation: Bush (and his administration) cannot be tried for anything they did to detainees after September 11, 2001. Wave bye bye to the Geneva Conventions, right out the window. Please, can we throw him out of office now? Do I need to send in a secret operative to seduce him so we can impeach him on moral grounds? That’s the only thing that seems to work in this country.

How interesting the comparison. The double standards of our countries court system is just GREEEEAT.

Meanwhile, I finally took my ass to the gym yesterday. Yay for working out. I love the feel of busting my ass on the Precor. I NEEEEED one of those at home. NEED y’all. Someone wave some magic wands and make it happen.

i just got some upsetting news. the rest of this entry will be postponed until a later time.

No related posts.

this begs the question…is there some sort of secret deal the press has with the MPAA? how is this NOT being reported? when star wars was leaked, it was damn near front page news on every site. never has a leak of a movie occured so early as far as i know and the news media are just mum about it. i suppose seth macfarlane’s creation isn’t high enough on their radar, although, i’m not sure why. the family guy was the only show in history to be cancelled then subsequently uncancelled due to massive amounts of dvd sales.

so, in summary, the straight-to-dvd-movie of a history making, precedent setting tv show gets leaked to the internet a full two months before its release and it’s not news? maybe im a conspiracy theorist but something is very WRONG about that. maybe the MPAA is persuading news orgs not to report this so that they don’t get made to look like idiots. seriously, how do they look right now? after all the fuss about copy protection and threatening emails to downloaders, they get their asses handed to them by what is obviously an inside job. lawsuits and technology be damned, if you have a person on the inside ready and willing to thwart your efforts, you’re screwed. guaranteed if they find whoever ripped and uploaded this movie, it’ll be all over the news. until then, it will remain the buzz amongst message boards and family guy afficianado’s.

No related posts.

Clicky here for Letters to the FCC

While we’re on the subject of offensive TV, I am offended that so many channels are dedicating an obscene amount of time to the inauguration of YOUR president (not mine, thank you, I didn’t vote for him). As if there aren’t better things to put on TV.

On the topic of TV, I got interviewed Friday morning for a TV interview about the free stuff I’ve gotten and the programs I’ve gotten it through. It for one of those canned news spots (CHANNEL 2 LIVE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT! *dum dum DUMMMMM*) you see on you local news so I can’t tell you when its going to come on in your area. I thought Friday night but was informed otherwise.

Now, its time for breakfast. Have a good week every peoples!!

No wait, I have something else to say. I am sick, SICK, SICK of shorter guys trying to hit on me online and then being shocked, defensive, and sometimes outright rude and mean when I tell them I don’t date or entertain the thought of dating shorter men. It’s as if thats not posted on every SINGLE site I have. As I told Dell, from now on, if I get a random message from some male person, my opening question is going to be “how tall are you?” Anything lower than 6’4″ will get put on block, ignore, or whatever, immediately.

NOW I am going to make my breakfast. I’m determined to learn how to make omelettes like Mike, the hot guy who makes the omelettes in the caf at my job. There will be more about Mike’s hotness later, I’m sure.

No related posts.

okay thats all my questions for now. back to ice cream and oldies. later beautiful people.

No related posts.

how come everybody in hollywood goes blond? take for instance, jessica alba…a smoldering brunette who had/has so many men crazy for her. being a brunette worked for her yet i see a picture of her in a magazine and her hair is some funky gold looking color.

why is a guy a went to church with about 10 years ago awaiting trial for a murder charge? why has he been awaiting trial in jail for the last year? what the heck happened to a speedy trial?

Meanwhile, I am still on the hunt for a job somewhere not in Alaska. I am thoroughly sick of cold and I want this to be my very last winter here. Apparently since I don’t have my MCSE, I’m not a valid candidate for any job, anywhere. Can I just talk about that total scam for a minute? Thanks….so yeah, to get MCSE certified you have to take 7 tests. These 7 test cost $150 each…so for a whopping $1050 I get to have four little letters on my resume that says I know what I’m doing. I’d like to see a breakdown of where that money goes because frankly administering a test does not cost $150. My personal belief is that its another Microsoft money making scheme that nearly the whole industry bought into. Oh lets not forget that to know exactly the answer Microsoft wants for each question, you have to either buy the study guide or take a class. Transcenders have helped a little in that department but they are still expensive too.

Blah. Just talking about this mess makes me ill. Anyways, I must go do more work right now. Luego!

No related posts.