My Kool-Aid? Right.....

Wow....it's amazing what happens when journalistic integrity goes out the window. Oh wait-they're not journalists, are they?
In an article from Urban Grounds, the website (which actually doesn't link to any news organization-it just links to another blog...way to go firsthand reporting) claims that the Obama campaign unfairly kicked out three "major newspapers" that endorsed McCain, and went on to wonder "is this the kind of thing that would happen during an Obama administration?" (right....cause it's not like Bush ever restricted the press's access to him) The three newspapers? The Washington Post, New York Post, and Dallas Morning News. Pretty scary, huh? Three big newspapers kicked off the airplane that all endorsed McCain?
(link here)


Not exactly. Go to the link they provide (here) and you'll find that it's the Washington Times, not the Washington Post. Difference? oh, about 570,922 readers. The New York Post (which is owned by Rupert Murdoch of the Fox News persuasion) has a readership of 724,728 which admittedly is pretty big....unless you look at the New York Times readership (which we're counting as weekday readers, not weekend) is 1,077,256. Wow-it sounds like the Obama campaign just wanted the largest newspapers of the cities on it's plane...not a scandal. The Dallas Morning News, reaching 368,313 probably has the bad fortune of not being in a battleground state. And where did i pick up these nefarious numbers? Umm...wikipedia. Oh, and by the way...even though the New York Post has around 700,000 readers, it's the 3rd largest paper in New York...behind the Times and Daily News. Ooops.
links:
1) Washington Post
2) Washington Times
3) New York Times
4) New York Post
5) Dallas Morning News

Yeah...this blog is definately aimed at conservatives. The author doesn't call Obama by his name-he calls him the "Chosen One". (who knows? maybe he's been watching a bit too much Matrix in his spare time) I wonder if he calls McCain "My Hero"? Who knows. Even if he's trying to smear Obama (which, yeah he is) he could at least try to get one or two credible arguments together. And the way he makes it sound, they will not be able to see Obama for the rest of the entirety of his campaign. Yes, the last...4 days. Since Obama's been campaigning for about a year and a half now, it doesn't seem that big a deal, does it? Maybe he needs some new arguments. You know, ones that don't sound like Republican talking points. But that's what happens in Reality. And as we all know, Reality has a well known liberal bias.

Do we value education?

It's a fact; almost no one likes paying taxes. But we need some way to pay for teachers, policement, and other services that we enjoy. The Austin American Statesman recently did an article on AISD Prop 1, which will raise the property taxes on houses in order to increase the pay for Austin's teachers. (link here: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/10/16/1016schooltaxes_edit.html)
The editorial boards' intended audience are the registered voters of Austin who will be voting on this ballot measure. It is credible, since it is the editorial board of one of the biggest papers in Austin. The argument is sound as well, since they make the point that other school districts are hiring Austin teachers due to the lower pay in Austin. They make the point with figures, including showing how much of the property tax goes to the state, and how much goes to the Ausitn ISD.

I think that paying teachers more is a good thing, and that if the Austin ISD needs to raise taxes in order to pay teachers enough to keep them in the school, then that's what the voters need to do. The right teacher can make an otherwise mundane subject and make it interesting; conversly, an atrocious teacher can take a subject that might be interesting and turn it into the worst subject ever. Since the our future is our children, we need to make sure that they're able to compete with not only children in other states, but also with people around the world. Why can't the school just give the teachers a raise with the money they have, you may ask? Well, the school district has already done a lot to keep within their budgets. They kept it at the bare neccesities, such as maintaining class sizes, operating new schools, and adding programs for gifted and at-risk students. Their budget for the next year was only 1.4% higher than last years; the only way they could do that was to cut spending in areas. They want to increase the tax rate by 3.9 cents per $100 of valuation on houses.

By why should we pay more taxes? After all, property values are rising, which means that the school district should be getting more money, right? Wrong. The district is legally required to send most of the new money to the state under Texas' school financing law. The example the board gives is this; of a house costing $233,324, they would pay $252 more because home values went up. Of that, the Austin district gets to keep $35. The rest goes to the state. And its not like there is no competition for good teachers; Austin's teachers are getting hired out to other districts.

Teachers are integral in pushing students and getting them to discover their potential. Shouldn't we want the best? Do we want to only have the teachers that the other districts don't want? The castoffs? I think the students of Austin deserve better. And hopefully, if the teachers get a raise, they'll get it.

Be Afraid....very Afraid.......

Hopefully, if you've been following the presidential election this last week or so, you'll understand the message that John McCain is sending out there; Barak Obama is SCARY!!! He'll raise your taxes! He'll create a healthcare system that works-socialist! He was on a charity board with a guy who was a radical in the sixties-be afraid!!

Now, for the rest of us, as we sit and wonder what it is exactly they're thinking, here's something that should make you a little nervous: not only have McCain-Palin supporters been yelling things like "Terrorist" or "Kill Him" at their rallies, (link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVFWahLTdUo) their supporters are now hanging effigies of Obama. Yes, that's right. And it's not because he doesn't like his policies, or thinks John McCain is a better person: he doesn't believe that a black man should be running a country. That's right; he is racist. Openly so. Am i the only person who thinks that racism is an artifact of the 20th Century-and should stay that way? (link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/19/racist-obama-effigy-hung_n_135971.html)

It gets better-or worse, depending on your view. Now, it's understandable to think that there's maybe one man getting in touch with his inner klansman. How about a group in California? Yes, the president of a group in San Bernandino called the Chafee Community Republican Women Federated of the Inland Empire, decided to put out what she called "Obama bills" because Obama once said that he didn't look like the guys on the dollar bills. Of course, what did she put it on? Food Stamps. That's right-the first black president will go on food stamps. Now, since they didn't get the point across with the food stamps, there are four food items surrounding the picture: KFC, Watermelon, Kool-Aid, and BBQ Ribs. (link here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677#27229826) Keep watching till the end-it's there.

Of course, none of this matters, because the economy is still going into a depression. No wait, it's a slowdown. The difference? In a depression, the president actually has to do something to help the people or else he's roasted over a spit. In a slowdown, he can just smile, wave and let someone else take care of it. Apparently, because the Dow didn't go down any farther, things are "looking up". Right.....except that a year ago it was around 14,000, and now it's about 8,500....and we just had to bail out the banks....and people are still getting foreclosed out of thier holmes...and losing their retirement money....

But that's reality. And John McCain doesn't like reality-because, as we all know, reality has a well known liberal bias.

The Joy of....Taxes?

Ah, it's time to elect politicians in Texas again. What joy! Right now, sitting Senator John Cornyn is running to protect his seat from Democrat Rock Noiega. One of the main issues they're taking up is-you guessed it-spending and taxes. Part of a four part profile on the candidates by the Austin American Statesman, this section deals with the economy and both candidates economic profiles. Both candidates talk about what they want to do; Cornyn wants to extend the Bush tax cuts, and supports a national sales tax versus a progressive tax system. For those who don't remember, the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, instituted by the Bush administration, also cut the top rate for capital gains taxes, phased out the inheretence tax, and lowered income tax rates. Noreiga hasn't been specific on which tax cuts to keep, but has criticized Cornyn for supporting the national sales tax. Cornyn voted for the bailout last week; Noriega said that he would've voted against it because it doesn't protect taxpayers enough, something that was echoed by Lloyd Dogget, an Austin Democrat in the House of Representatives. Noriega supports a pay as you go principle, where all spending increases have to be offset by either spending cuts or tax increases. Cornyn does not support a pay as you go principle, having voted against tax increases for big oil companies to help pay for research in alternative energy sources.

Here's the link:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/10/06/1006senateecon.html

Wow-i didn't think anyone else supported that Fairtax law except those few people who's bumperstickers i see. Who knew? Aside from lowering the taxes on the wealthy (because it's not fair that since they make more, they should have to pay more-and they just get out of it with loopholes anyway), this enacts a 30% national sales tax. So, this only benefits you (aka, lowers your taxes) if you're making over $164,000 a year. Still seem fair?

Here's a link to the tax brackets we have today:
http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htm

But wait! There's more, you say? Here's the link to the Fairtax website:
http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer

Well, i wonder who this would benefit more? The highest tax bracket in the United States is 35%, and it affects people earning $357,700 or more. The closest to the fairtax rate they want to use (Which is 23%-sounds better than 30%, right?) is 23%. The closest tax bracket for that is 25%, which effects people making 32,550 to 78,850. (keep in mind i'm doing all for single people-if you want to do married, you'll have to go to the site). So the incredibly wealthy get a tax cut of 12%, where most of the middle class gets a tax cut of 2%? And that's not biased in favor of the wealthy? Right. Because it's "fair". Just like in Animal Farm, some animals are more "equal" than others.

The economic principles that each candidate endorses is very important. Lets face it; our national debt has passed the ten trillion mark. Wait, i think doing it that way negates the impact of how serious ten trillion actually is. How about i do it this way. Our Debt>10,000,000,000,000. There, that's a nice, round number. We are accumulating debt that our children and grandchildren are going to have to pay off-is that the kind of legacy we want to leave? Noriega supports pay as you go programs, which would mean that any increase in spending would be offset in a decrease somewhere else or an increase in taxes. Cornyn does not. He apparently subscribes to the philosophy of "My kids can pay it off-lets go borrow some more money." At some point, (it might be now), we're going to have to stop borrowing so much money from foreign countries, and start paying it back. But hey, it won't be in Cornyn's lifetime, will it?

It's all the media's fault! (well, if you're Republican)

Is it just me, or coincidence: whenever the media reports anything bad about Republicans, especially when it's true, then they always say "The media is obviously biased towards the liberals!" (umm...Fox News, too? Right) Because we all know, as said by Stephen Colbert, "Reality has an obvious liberal bias." Come on, people! I know that you don't particularly LIKE it when the news orgainizations report the, you know, TRUTH, but there is a pretty simple solution to it; stop lying about these things in the first place. This is the age of Factchek.org and Politifact; it's not like those good old days when politicians could say something, and the rest of us would nod and say "Wow! He's done all that? Well, he's a politician and he said it, so it must be true."

Now, having said that, there are things that, no matter where you stand politically, should make your blood boil. Here's one example;
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/10/06/in_fla_palin_goes_for_the_roug.html

Now after Palin does all of the normal smears against Barak Obama, one of the people in the audience has a delightful suggestion: KILL HIM! And Palin just smiles and says nothing.

Oh, that's wonderful. I mean, it's not like we don't have a very recent history of political figures getting shot by zealots. Well, except for JFK and Lee Harvey Oswold....or Bobby Kennedy and Sirhan Sirhan....or MLK and James Earl Ray....or Ronald Reagan and John Hinkley....hey, maybe we DO have a history of public figures getting killed by zealots. And to not do anything, to not condemn someone yelling to kill a man who's spent most of his adult life in public service...as an American, it makes me deeply shamed.


In Texas, however, the debate over whether or not to teach Intelligent Design is apparently still underway.

For Teaching Intelligent Design: http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/10/10/06/1006glanzer_edit.html

Against Teaching Intelligent Design: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/editorial/stories/10/06/1006science_edit.html?cxntlid=inform_artr

Apparently the whole concept of fossils is just a "liberal conspiracy". (don't even get started on those fake dinosaur skeletons hanging in the Smithsonian. I mean, it's not like those people are college educated and know what they're doing). Maybe they're trying to see something like the Da Vinci Code-except for scientists. You know, Darwin, Mendel, and all those who've followed are in on it. Uh huh.....that's it. Look, to all of the propoents of intelligent design; we understand that you'd like nothing better than just the bible to be taught in school, and to dismiss science as "witchcraft", but there's a reason that the Founding Fathers created the First Amendment, which states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances"

In other words, even though you'd like for Christianity to be taught in schools, the same right that guarentees your freedom to practice that also guarentees that the government cannot condone any one religion. And since Intelligent Design is a thinly veiled attempt to teach Creationism in schools, it's unconstitutional.

In fact, a man in Kansas decided the same thing, so he created the FSM, or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster; it was created in response to the hearings that the Kansas School Board were going to have reguarding teaching Intelligent Design in class. If they were going to teach that, then they would have to teach Pastafarianism also-because you have to give equal time to equal "theories" of evolution. (btw, the link to the FSM wikipedia entry is at the bottom of the page)

In another more Kafkian story, a work crew in Austin is having to dig up and refill the same hole everyday. That's right; the contractors have to excavate a hole 20 feet deep, 20 feet long and 20 feet wide every day to get to the sewer lines. Now, that in itself isn't so big-but wait, it gets better. At night, they have to fill it back up. At least half of every twelve hour workday is devoted to digging out the hole that they'd refilled the night before....all so they can keep a street open during the night. Um....is it just me, or does this seem like a large waste of time? To keep making the workers spend half the day digging up something that they have to refill every night? Maybe they should just shut the street down while it's being worked on. That way they wouldn't spend half the day doing something that they'll have to do again....the next day. And the next...and the next.
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/08/1008watch.html

Well, just buisness as usual, i guess. One step forewards, two steps back. Have fun, everyone!


(here's the link to the FSM wikipedia entry)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

Another Witty Comment

One of the best things i've found since moving to Texas-aside from Ben Sargent, The Salt Lick, and the bats under the bridge-is John Kelso. How many other columnists could say "liberal wieners" and still write an article satirizing Sarah Palin (rightly so). It's as though someone told the grumpy, sarcastic old man in the corner of the room and said, "look. We know that you're not happy. And we don't want you out on the street doing news. So how about we let you write a column instead?" Here's the link to the Palin story, which is funny in itself-even if you didn't watch the debate, all you have to do is watch the SNL skit and you might even hear one of her actual quotes.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/10/05/1005kelso.html