Losing Or Using Our Heads

Here's an idea. Let's put our collective head in a guillotine and set a timer for the blade to fall at midnight on December 31, 2015. While the timer is running, we'll have a group of people who rarely agree on anything agree on how they want to keep the blade from falling before the timer runs out. At first glance it sounds like a great idea to make everyone reach agreement, doesn't it?

That's the scenario presented by legislation entitled the Tax Code Termination Act, which is being cosponsored by our very own representative, Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

For those who think it matters, the bill is only one page in length and easy to read, which also makes it easy to see that with this legislation House Republicans meet or exceed the level of ridonkulousness--a word that surely should have been coined for the purpose of describing their antics--they are now known for, reaching new heights of insanity despite their self-administered frontal lobotomies. 

Let's not think about this proposed legislation.

First of all, no federal income taxes after Dec 31, 2015. If you thought the Bush tax cuts were great, imagine how much better off  you'll be with a 100% cut in federal income taxes.

What do they offer to replace the tax code with?

Nothing.

Instead the bill states:

(a) Structure - The Congress hereby declares that any new Federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that--

     (1) applies a low rate to all Americans;
     (2) provides tax relief for working Americans;
     (3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses;
     (4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment;
     (5) promotes economic growth and job creation; and
     (6) does not penalize marriage or families.
(b) Timing of Implementation - In order to ensure an easy transition and effective implementation, the Congress hereby declares that any new Federal tax system should be approved by Congress in its final form no later than July 4, 2015.

You would think that an effort by House Republicans to cut off the US Government's single largest source of revenue would be akin to biting the hand that feeds you. You would think, but why should you? Cathy McMorris Rodgers and the other sponsors aren't. 

"Congress hereby declares...no later than July 4, 2015." Or what? They lose a day off? Check out the congressional calendars and see if you can find when the House and Senate worked through the Independence Day holiday. But instead of thinking about it, let's set a date that brings to mind waving the flag and outdoing each other's flag pins. Patriotic fervor outweighs substance.

You would also think that if our tax code doesn't apply a low rate to all Americans, doesn't provide tax relief for working Americans, doesn't protect taxpayer rights or reduce tax collection abuses, is biased against savings and investment, doesn't promote economic growth and job creation, and penalizes marriage and families (DOMA?), that one could offer up legislation that addresses and corrects these problems. Again, I ask, why are you thinking? Please, please try to avoid looking beyond the anti-tax and anti-government bumper sticker appeal. The reality that lies within is far too disturbing for you and I. It should be left to the enfeebled Republican minds within our legislature even though they may be incapable of independent thought and exhibit the characteristics of a real-life version of the assimilating Borg and their menacing warning that resistance is futile. 

Where was I? Oh, yes, not thinking. Backsliding for just a moment, let's look at items (1) and (2) in the above list. If all Americans get a low tax rate and all working Americans, (presumably, "working" means earning money on which they'll pay taxes), are provided tax relief, then who is left to pay taxes and what revenue will our government survive on? Forgive my foolishness. It reeks of thinking.

Allow me to borrow words from Republican Governor Bobby Jindal when I say this bill bears all the marks of originating from the stupid party. It appeals on an emotional basis and leaves reason, logic, and thinking by the wayside. Ending the income tax on a set date without a replacement on hand would create a desperate situation forcing Congress to do anything to keep the blade from slamming through the lunette. What the unthinking Republicans define as a "simple and fair system" has yet to be determined and great is the mistake you make in assuming they will be forthcoming with a tax code that is truly simple and fair. Were Hercules assigned this as a thirteenth labor he would have failed miserably, even with help from the gods.

Is it unreasonable to craft a new tax code beforehand, conduct hearings, discuss options and effects, and end the curent tax code with the implementation of a new one? It is if the legislators are unreasonable to begin with.

I'm reminded of the repeal and replace mantra Cathy McMorris Rodgers has been chanting about the Affordable Health Care Act. She and her fellow Republicans have voted to repeal health care reform over 30 times but--and it's been three years since health care reform was passed!--they have yet to submit substitution legislation.

But don't think about it.

What If Your Battery Is Dead?

I recently used the word "sacrilege" in front of Steph and she asked me what the word meant. I pointed towards the dictionary at my desk, spelled the word for her, and told her to look it up. Instead she pulls out her iPhone and speaks to it.

What does sacrilege mean?

Up pops a web page with the definition, origin, and use in a sentence. 

The forlorn look from my dictionary said it all.

Sacrilege!

Someone Didn't Get the Memo

In a recent interview with The New Republic, President Obama says he does some skeet shooting at Camp David.

Have you ever fired a gun?  

Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.  

The whole family?  

Not the girls, but oftentimes guests of mine go up there. And I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake.

Representative Marsha Blackburn, (R) Tennessee, doubts the President's veracity because she's never heard of him shooting a gun before. And not only that, she throws down and says she'll shoot skeet with him and beat him.

Representative Blackburn apparently wasn't in attendance, paying attention, or didn't read the paper to catch what Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said a couple days ago.

We must stop being the stupid party.

It's a shame CNN doesn't take that message to heart when deciding what qualifies as news.

But Why?

When my kids were little and discovering things as their world became larger, they often asked, "But why?" when given even an explanation of any sort. Being the patient father, I tried my best to answer every time, but there were times when it became too exasperating. So maybe that's why I haven't heard anything back. Who from? Let me explain.

Last week I noticed Senate Bill 5317, which had to do with "Ballots/tabulation & receipt". I checked out the text of the bill (PDF) and learned that the three senators sponsoring this bill want to change the law so that all mail-in ballots have to be received by the county auditor no later than 8:00 pm on the day of the election. There remains an exception for overseas voters or service members returning ballots by mail. For them the date of the declaration they attested must not be later than the date of the primary or election. 

And the end of the bill it states:

This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2013.

The sponsors of this bill are Senators Randi Becker, Barbara Bailey, and Jim Honeyford. I wrote to each of them and asked each the same questions.

Why are you offering up this legislation? What problem are you trying to solve with this bill? I did not indicate I was for or against the legislation. I only asked what their reasoning was for offering it up. The image to the right is indicative of their lack of response. 

Last November, Jason Mercier, Washington Policy Center, wrote an op-ed piece in the Seattle Times in support of changing our mail-in ballot rules to be exactly as this proposed legislation. His main reason? Because Oregon does it. His next strongest reason? Because it's Election Day and we should know who won on Election Day.

I don't need to address the op-ed because Goldy over at The Stranger did an excellent job addressing Mercier's weak arguments.

So why am I hearing crickets chirping instead of answers to my questions? How does this legislation preserve the public peace, health, safety, or support of the state government and its institutions? Maybe other people are asking the senators "Why?" and they're exasperated. Or maybe they don't have an answer and can't come up with one that won't elicit a response like, "What am I? A two-year-old?"

Useless Security Questions

I appreciate the steps that organizations take to help you protect personal information, financial accounts, etc., but they don't always get it right. Below is a list of security questions I was offered. I highlighted all the bad ones. Why are they bad?

If you visited the city you would most like to visit, wouldn't you now most want to visit a different city?  Could you discover a new or different author and become so enamored with their works that they become your all time favorite?

I shouldn't belabor the point, which is, that for all of the highlighted questions, things can change. 

One way to save yourself some trouble is to use password management software where you can add your security questions, PIN, and any other necessary to the account information. Then you can note your favorite sport, car, etc., as they were at the time you answered the question.

Stupid Omphaloskeptics

In today's Spokesman Review we learn that the Republican Party is doing some navel gazing.

Stung by an image that it’s too rigidly conservative and too “stupid” about its words and tactics, a somber Republican Party vowed Friday to change its ways.  

But the party’s first meeting since the November election featured little public dialogue about how specifically to adjust, or at least tolerate, policies that would have broader appeal, particularly on guns, immigration and social issues. And few wanted to discuss where the conservative and politically difficult tea party movement fit.  

Apparently, nobody wants to get their hands dirty picking the lint. Can't say that I blame them. Defending yourself from extremists can be hell.