It's My Blog

A few days ago, TMZ leaked Billy Mays' autopsy report and jumped to the conclusion that his death was caused by cocaine use.

Official documents show the following drugs were in Mays' system -- hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (painkiller), alprazolam (Xanax), nordiazepam (Valium), benzoylecgonine (byproduct of cocaine) and temazepam (anti-anxiety). Ethanol -- alcohol -- was also in Mays' system.

So, because they found benzoylecgonine, they jumped to the conclusion that not only was he using cocaine, but that was also the major contributor in his death.

Mays' family reacted by releasing the following statement:

We are extremely disappointed by the press release released by the Hillsborough County medical examiner's office. We believe it contains speculative conclusions that are frankly unnecessary and tend to obscure the conclusion that Billy suffered from chronic, untreated hypertension, which only demonstrates how important it is to regularly monitor one's health. Given the hectic nature and pace of Billy's life, especially during the past 10 months of his exhaustive travel across the country, it was not surprising to hear that hypertension was the cause of his death. We were totally unaware of any non prescription drug usage and are actively considering an independent evaluation of the autopsy results. As those who were close to Billy knew, he had been in chronic pain for more than two years and was about to have his third hip surgery in 18 months. His use of prescription pain medication for his hip condition was guided by his physician and was at recommended usage levels. This has been a very difficult period for our family and we appreciate the respect for our privacy that Billy's many clients, fans and members of the media have extended. We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for the family and will not have any immediate comment beyond this statement.

Now take the fact that Mays was in chronic pain and consider this fact: Benzoylecgonine is used as the main pharmaceutical ingredient in the prescripition drug Esterom, a topical solution used for the relief of muscle pain.

I admit, I don't have any direct knowledge of what prescription drugs Mays was taking. However, it's not that great of a leap in logic to assume that he was using topical pain relief for his hip. The man was famous for pitching and using every consumer product out there, so if there was a solution recommended for his hip then he was going to use it.

This whole "controversy" is just an example of people hating the good for being the good. Mays was a model citizen and an illustration of the American work ethic. He rose from nothing to a rich celebrity and he helped others reach wealth along the way. This type of success is directly contrary to the age of envy in which we currently live, so the vultures in pop culture are trying anything they can to destroy his image after his death. Well they won't fool me and I hope they don't fool you.

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I always knew it, I just didn't know how to explain it (hell I do have a demanding job and all that, doesn't leave much time to be an investigative medical journalist.) However, I have now discovered someone who can explain it, very well:



Buy his book here: Good Calories, Bad Calories

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

In the last couple of weeks we've seen two major events on the international scene, and so far President Obama is 0 for 2 on supporting freedom. Instead, both times he has come out in support of dictators.

With the Iranian Election, the Ayatollah sanctioned election was obviously and demonstrably rigged in favor of the incumbent anti-freedom, anti-western president Ahmadinejad and as such resulted in an uprising of freedom loving Iranians who wanted their candidate, Mousavi to have a fair shot at things. In fact, because the election was such a farce it actually pushed the Iranian people to question their entire form of government with a religious figurehead in control of the entire country. The resulting protests and demonstrations were awe inspiring if you happened to follow them on Twitter and Youtube. Obviously, the media didn't do much to cover them and the Iranian Government tried to squash all coverage.

Sadly, now it appears that the resistance has been crushed, with snipers shooting at random protesters, dissidents being hung in the streets, and the international community turning a blind eye to it all, it appears that the Ayatollah and his puppet Ahmadinejad are safe and sound. President Obama feels as though this is the correct outcome as he stated "we should let the Iranians sort this out" and made it a point that we should not interject our outside opinions on the affairs of a sovereign nation.

Next, we saw a situation develop in Honduras where the President of that country tried to sign an order into law that would in effect give him dictatorial powers overriding his nation's constitution and due process. The Hondurans obviously weren't going to put up with this so their military took control of the nation and the supreme court overturned the President's action and kicked him out of office. Ask yourself, wouldn't you hope that our military and supreme court would do the same? I know I would.

What did President Obama have to say? He condemned the actions of the Honduran military and said that "governments should never interfere in the democratic process" (the president was elected, so it was wrong to throw him out of office.) Well excuse me dear leader Obama, but if you try to make yourself a dictator, you can bet your ass that you're going to be thrown out of office. If our military and supreme court won't do it, there are plenty of us Americans clinging to our guns and our religion that will do it instead!

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I can't help but laugh at CNN today. They have been covering the Socialized medicine bill and how the politicians are now saying they can cut the costs down to X dollars. I say X dollars because I don't know how low they are going to go. Earlier it was $1.6T, then it was $1T, and now the latest report is that the politicians have been working in a bipartisan way to reduce the costs to under one trillion dollars, yet still make sure that 97% of Americans are covered.

CNN is reporting this as if it's a completely factual and accurate statement. They have no clue what has been cut or what money has been raised to change the financing of this program, but who cares? Who needs details? The statists are telling us that they have reduced the cost, so they must have, right?

But wait, there's more! Call in the next 30 minutes, and you'll find out that it's spread over the next 10 years, so it's not really a trillion dollars, it's just a few billion per year, no worries!

That's what Obama needs. He needs to get Billy Mays to make his informercials from now on. They'd at least be entertaining then, in a gallows humor sort of way.

Oh and one last thing: the program still leaves 3% of Americans without coverage, that means about 10 million people. Guess what: there are less than that many people in America today who are both unable to get coverage and legally within the United States. So then, who is this program going to cover? Who knows, it's down to just $999,999,999,999!!!

Here's how to order!

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I've been doing that myself, and man oh man it's like my brain has been opened up to reality for the first time. So far I've read "Atlas Shrugged", "The Voice of Reason", "The Objectivism Lexicon" and I'm halfway through "The New Left."

Rand, more than being just an Author, was a brilliant philosopher, and she invented her philosophy called Objectivism, describing it as such:
That's exactly right. I'm going to keep reading all of her books that I can get my hands on, this is great stuff.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I really wish we hadn't elected such a rookie as the POTUS.

A quick look at the twitter stream for Iranian Election News shows that a terrific thing is happening: an oppressive, totalitarian government is trying to silence their people, but using the technology of the internet the people are still making their voices heard.

It is obvious what is going on: the Iranian government rigged the election and is now trying to cover it up. America should lead the way and gather international support for the citizens of Iran to pressure the government to stop censoring, stop banning media coverage, to open up their activities to the eyes of the world. This is where Obama should do what all Democrats all say they're going to do in international affairs (but they never really do): build an international coalition to peacefully resolve an important conflict by applying pressure from all sides on the offending government.

Where is Obama on this? "We need to sit back and let the Iranians figure this out."

Great job, assclown.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I've been reading a lot of Ayn Rand and Objectivist literature lately and I stumbled across a very interesting article this morning that is an interview of Ayn Rand from, of all places, Playboy. Here's my favorite part:

PLAYBOY: What about other public needs? Do you consider the post office, for example, a legitimate function of government?

RAND: Now let's get this straight. My position is fully consistent. Not only the post office, but streets, roads, and above all, schools, should all be privately owned and privately run. I advocate the separation of state and economics. The government should be concerned only with those issues which involve the use of force. This means: the police, the armed services, and the law courts to settle disputes among men. Nothing else. Everything else should be privately run and would be much better run.

I couldn't agree more. And then there's this:

PLAYBOY: Would you favor U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations?

RAND: Yes. I do not sanction the grotesque pretense of an organization allegedly devoted to world peace and human rights, which includes Soviet Russia, the worst aggressor and bloodiest butcher in history, as one of its members. The notion of protecting rights, with Soviet Russia among the protectors, is an insult to the concept of rights and to the intelligence of any man who is asked to endorse or sanction such an organization. I do not believe that an individual should cooperate with criminals, and, for all the same reasons, I do not believe that free countries should cooperate with dictatorships.

Hell yes!

You should definitely read this article.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

What if someone said: "I would hope that a wise White man with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a latina woman who hasn’t lived that life."

What would you think?

Well, that's exactly how I feel when I see that these are the words of our newest supreme court justice:

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life."

- Judge Sotomayor, 2001



Awesome

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

So far that makes two states, South Carolina and Mississippi. If only we can keep this momentum going and get the idiots in Washington to pay attention!

An amendment that would implement the FairTax plan in South Carolina passed the state House Wednesday, offering hope of a reformed tax code.

Rep. Rex Rice (R-Pickens) introduced the amendment to S. 12 to further accomplish the bill’s goal of “maintaining and enhancing the state as an optimum competitor in the effort to attract businesses and individuals to locate, live, work, and invest in the state.”

“Eliminating the state personal and corporate income tax would create jobs and make it easier to live, work, and invest in South Carolina,” said Rice, a proponent of the FairTax.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

The news is ridiculous these days. The media are so far in the corner of the Democrats that you might as well just call them Ministries of Public Enlightenment. I've tried not to listen to much news because it simply drives a sane person crazy but there are a few things that I just can't help but remark about:

1) Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat party (USSA) - This is great news. Now if he could just take the rest of the Republicans with him. I wish all Republicans at the federal level would just go ahead and call themselves what they really are: spineless (aka Democrat.) If they all turned into Ds then maybe we'd have a shot at fielding a decent competing party that stood up for life, liberty, and property rights.

2) Obama continues running against Bush - it's amazing that this guy just won't stop campaigning. The race is over! It's 2009! I mean not only is he releasing all sorts of top secret memos but in true campaign style he's *not* releasing the full memos. That's right, amongst all those "evil" acts as pouring water in the terrorist's face and putting the terrorist in a cage with a "ferocious" caterpillar, there were actually reports on the successful results of these interrogations. However, including the measurements of the successes of these "torture" sessions would have sent a mixed message, so Obama's propagandists took them out. Then they decided to go for a photo op in a 747 1000 feet above New York City.... the campaign continues...

3) Run for cover, it's the swine flu - in all the hysteria over the new flu outbreak the media is trying to scare the shit out of us all, with help from members of the Obama administration, using mainly statistics from mass deaths in Mexico from a particular strain of the flu. I can only assume that the purpose of all of this fear is to assert that we have to act and we have to act now, I mean now that the financial crisis is over (hahahaha, right) Obama has to have another crisis to use. So now we have this flu, Obama and his propagandists will push on full force for communist medicine. Have you stopped to ask yourself this though: why is it that nobody has died in America even though we have a lot of cases reported? ... could it be that the reason so many in Mexico are dying is because they have nationalized health care? Could it? You won't hear the media ask this question.

Labels: economy, life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I believe America is controlled by Banking interests who's method has been for the last two centuries to keep the people in a form of indentured servitude through taxation, debts, and inflation. I have come to this hypothesis after reading through books about the development of the Constitution and about the philosophy of Patrick Henry and other Anti-Statists. I will continue researching and logically analyzing history to see if this hypothesis is correct.

Food for thought though: Thanks to Ronald Reagan, our economy had a great run of 20 years or so and many Americans became more prosperous and more wealthy than at any previous point in history. This represented a threat to the Aristocratic class that enjoys most of the economic and political power in this country, so they devised a plan to smack us all back down to the level of slaves like they had enjoyed for so long. This plan included laws to force local and regional banks to lend money to people who couldn't ever expect to pay it back (indentured servitude,) it included ramping up the prices of commodities through overzealous government regulation, it included easing restrictions on large banking institutions so that they could trade debt in ways they had never done before, and finally it included Trillions of Dollars in paper money being used to "save" the very banks that caused all of this, under the guise of crisis.

Apparently not enough Americans had fallen for the bait of collateral and ability free loans to satisfy these bankers, so they had to ramp it up a notch by manufacturing this "crisis" and requiring the Federal Government to print massive amounts of money. Now, instead of a few unwise Americans being in crushing debt because of bad decisions, we are ALL in massive debt due to bad government, and impending inflation will reduce our ability to pay it off.

Sadly, "crisis" is something they've used for hundreds of years, dating back to the revolutionary war, to push through policies that are direct attacks on Liberty. In fact, during the formation of the Constitution, the radically centralized and non-republican new government was deemed totally necessary to prevent "crisis." The crisis they were referring to was farmer revolts by people who couldn't pay their massive debts to banks who had drastically inflated the currency of the day yet wouldn't accept payment in the form of paper money. Sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it?

Labels: economy, life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Will anything get better? In case you haven't noticed, or if you only watch CNN or NBC, etc, there have been many massive protests across the country today to protest the tyrannical and oppressive federal government. The protesters include Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, and everyone else. The protesters are the people who I like to call the "producers" as opposed to the "takers" who feed off of the average hard working American, and who all politicians cater to.

Now, while I think this is great and I wish I wasn't on a business trip so I could have gone to the one in my town, I do pause to wonder what good is actually going to come of this? Are people going to wake up and realize the liberty that we've forfeited over the last 100 to 200 years? Sure, the pace has quickened in the last 6 months as we've all been committed to perpetual indentured servitude but this erosion of our natural rights has been going on for a long time. Are we going to revolt and overthrow/dissolve the federal government? Or are we just going to elect another round of corrupt Republicrats who are still going to steal our lives and our loves, just under the guise of different causes?

It's time for a little lesson courtesy of Patrick Henry, the American Nostradamus:

"What, sir, is the genius of democracy? Let me read that clause of the bill of rights of Virginia which relates to this: 3d clause: — that government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or community. Of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best, which is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectually secured against the danger of mal-administration; and that whenever any government shall be found inadequate, or contrary to those purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, unalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.

This, sir, is the language of democracy — that a majority of the community have a right to alter government when found to be oppressive. But how different is the genius of your new Constitution from this! How different from the sentiments of freemen, that a contemptible minority can prevent the good of the majority! If, then, gentlemen, standing on this ground, are come to that point, that they are willing to bind themselves and their posterity to be oppressed, I am amazed and inexpressibly astonished. If this be the opinion of the majority, I must submit; but to me, sir, it appears perilous and destructive. I cannot help thinking so. Perhaps it may be the result of my age. These may be feelings natural to a man of my years, when the American spirit has left him, and his mental powers, like the members of the body, are decayed. If, sir, amendments are left to the twentieth, or tenth part of the people of America, your liberty is gone forever…"

The Federal government has become exactly the monster that Henry feared. We must act now to reverse this course. Hopefully we can avoid bloodshed, and hopefully we can avoid going down this road again.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

So, I haven't been posting much lately other than Stock Option stuff. Honestly, the news has been so bad lately and politics has been so ridiculous that I just have nothing to say. I mean how are you supposed to talk about calculus when everybody in the world is still debating that 1+1=3?

For example, take a look at this video:


Now take a listen to the news. All they can talk about is how the massive deregulation of business has led to this "crisis." In fact, it is obvious that the problem was, and always has been, government intervention into the free market. Then when a part of the government said "hey wait, we need to reign in this government intervention" another part of the government said "oh no way, there's nothing at all wrong with this system!" and now those people are in charge of "fixing" the mess we're in. Now, I admit, there were some dumb deals going on between banks. Credit default swaps were too good to be true, and they did end up biting the banks. However, the only reason they were ever profitable was the housing bubble, and the only reason the housing bubble happened was government intervention into the free market.

The key point here is that the government does nothing but screw the people. No matter what they say, no matter who's in charge, the government does nothing but make a mess and then later down the road they blame someone else for doing it and say that they're going to save the day now if we just give them some more time (votes.)

Long story short, I'm done with the government. I have reached the point that I think we just need to disband the federal government completely. I might even go so far as to say that we should have no government at all but I think we can at least start with having only state and local government. One of these days I hope people realize that we don't need the government, we've been tricked into thinking we need them to take care of us. The government takes care of us like a farmer takes care of hogs: he keeps them alive just long enough to lead them off to slaughter. That is our future if we keep the government running.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Tonight at 8:30 is "earth hour" where we're all supposed to plunge ourselves into total darkness in the name of global warming. So, I'll have all my lights on, the TV, and the stereo. I might even go idle my car.

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

One of my Twitter followers asked me to read a book which he had written, titled "Publicani." I've been reading some pretty heavy non-fiction lately whether it be history or more recently stock market and derivative analysis so I figured this would be a welcome reprieve. Also, as much as I fly from place to place, I go through books really quickly so new material is always welcome. That being said, in the spirit of full disclosure I was provided this book for free, with the simple request that I write an honest review upon completion.





In short: I really enjoyed this book. The theme centers around the universal struggle for freedom and liberty in a post-modern world where the term "thought police" has gone from metaphor to an actual existence in the form of a government agency. Like all government agencies it has an innocent sounding name and a purpose that aims to improve the "common good." Following a scientific breakthrough allowing the physical transfer of intelligence between people, the government has decided that certain individuals with "brains to spare" are to become "volunteer" donors to such important members of society as politicians, military leaders, ambassadors, and select researchers. This is all for the good of the nation of course, but it has some severe consequences for the donor, especially if they don't comply.

You see, as with all "voluntary" government programs, if you dare to not cooperate, you suffer the consequences. "Publicani" takes us through this scenario time and again through the eyes of many characters who are the enforcers and the enforcees... and sometimes both. This book manages to play this scenario out while engaging in many intentional parallels with the current politics of the day, and I think this is why it was so enjoyable to me. The underlying theme throughout is simply this: If one of us can be enslaved, then we are all slaves. For this theme alone this book is worth reading, but the story is very interesting without being overly wordy. I finished the book in about three hours and I think it was time well spent.

Finally, I think this book offers some perspective to those of us who don't really see the significance of what is happening in the United States today. In the book an extreme circumstance is at hand: the government forcibly ravages your brain. However, is that not indirectly what the government is doing now? If you are a very successful, highly educated businessman who deals in Intellectual Property, you are punished by this government as being an "evil, greedy, rich" person. With this justification, the government promptly taxes you at every turn: the highest income tax rate, capital gains taxes on your investments, property taxes on your car and house, sales taxes at the local and state level, energy taxes on your electricity and gas, the list goes on and on until you die and they then take half of what you had left!

So in the end, the fruits of your intelligence are taken from you. In Publicani, they just go straight to the source. In real life, we're almost there.

Labels: books, life

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Posted by Tom on 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I've decided to get into the stock options trading game and since I travel all the time, usually on airplanes, I have plenty of time to read lots of books and formulate a solid trading plan. To that end, I've read several good books, and two of my favorites are:

"Understanding Options" by Michael Sincere
- This is the perfect book for the beginner. It is entertaining as well as informative and in my mind should be required reading for anyone opening an Option trading account. Great stuff.

"The Volatility Edge in Options Trading: New Technical Strategies for Investing in Unstable Markets" by Jeff Augen
- This book is not for the weak minded. You have to have a good understanding of options and you have to have a good understanding of math. That being said, I highly enjoyed this book and I have found it to be extremely useful in identifying advantageous situations in options pricing. Picking options isn't as easy as picking stocks... but it's a lot more profitable. This book helps you to understand exactly what it is that makes a stock option contract increase in value, and no, it isn't just price.

That being said, I have now started to do some trading and after an initial homerun on SBUX (I bought April 10 Calls when the price was $8.50 and sold them when the price was $10.50) I have had a slight failure. I have started to document my thoughts and trades in video format and so here is my first trading video, enjoy:

Labels: economy, life, options

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Posted by Tom on 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I wish Saturday Night Live wasn't so in the tank for the Democrats. It would be hilarious for them to do a "Really?" skit about all this lunacy going on right now. The Democrats are grandstanding on this whole issue of the $160 million that AIG is paying out as "bonuses" like it's the worst thing that's ever happened in history.

Let's take a sobering look at the facts:

1) The Dems knew about these bonuses when the initial bailout was drawn up, that's why they put an exception clause into the law stating that bonus pay was not capped with the same limits as salary pay. They are pretending to be surprised by this news but in reality this is all just an act.

2) The Dems have spent about $10 Trillion in the last two months. That's $10,000,000,000,000. Let's accept their version of reality and say that only one percent of that is pork. That would be $100 billion of wasted taxpayer money. Yet now all of the sudden they are fired up about $160 million? Really? I mean who measures money in millions any more? Really.

3) The bonuses are retention bonuses for people who have been fired. In other words, without this "bonus" money, they would be out right now looking for other jobs, but instead they are still working for AIG to "keep the credit flowing" and keep the economy going... which was the stated objective of the bailout in the first place.

4) AIG Paid Chris Dodd $100,000 and nobody seemed to care. Then again who measures money in thousands any more? Really.

That's just what little I know off the top of my head. The grandstanding in Washington about this is just ridiculous. I really think we're entering a Stalinist period of government, and this is just the first outright act of Communism. They want us all to get enraged at these "evil capitalists" so they can just grab more and more power for the government. This is how it begins folks.

Labels: economy, life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Saw this on Boortz.com today:

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about....

Signed,

Your boss

I hope I don't get a letter like that. If I did, I'd understand. Why would a responsible, hard working, successful business man/woman want to stay here?

Labels: economy, life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Check it out! Right there in Title III, Subtitle A:

For necessary and unnecessary expenses related to the Wireless and Broadband Deployment Grant Programs established by section 6002 of division B of this Act, $2,825,000,000, of which $1,000,000,000 shall be for Wireless Deployment Grants and $1,825,000,000 shall be for Broadband Deployment Grants: Provided, That an additional $250,000,000,000 shall be paid directly to Tom Utley in the form of subsidized loans that do not require repayment. Provided Further, That the funds be used by Tom Utley to Research the Effects of Global Climate Change on North American Golf Courses or for whatever. Provided Even Further, That Tom Utley will receive free Pearl Jam tickets for life. Provided Even Further Still, That Tom Utley shall be treated as a cabinet-level appointment for the purpose of income tax reporting, and therefore no taxes shall be paid on any of the aformentioned benefits. And one more thing: Barney Frank is hereby expelled from Congress, effective immediately upon enactment.

Yes!

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

We always hear from the left how they want to do all of these charitable things like welfare and healthcare and free housing and free college and the list goes on, but then rather than just doing them, they instead enact laws which force everyone else to do them. They try to pass themselves off as world-class philanthropists but in reality they're lazy and selfish because they'd rather use government force to make everyone else accomplish their charitable goals.

Except this one lady:

Henrietta Hughes was offered a home by Chene Thompson, wife of State Representative Nick Thompson, who heard the homeless woman’s pleas for help to President Obama before a local and national crowd.

The house is in LaBelle, the first home Scere Thompson bought after law school. She told Hughes, “Just give me the opportunity to help you.”

Hughes broke down in front of thousands when she told the president that she and her son have been homeless for more than a year. They are living in a pickup truck.

Wow! Way to go Chene Thompson! I commend her actions.

Why is this so hard to get? Instead of spending $800 million campaigning to pass laws that will "help" the poor, why not use $800 million to start a charity to help the poor? Instead of using the government to force everyone else to do your bidding, how about just do it yourself?

Update: Oops, wait a minute, turns out Chene and her husband Nick are Republicans. Figures.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

There's been a lot of complaining about the Obama-Pelosi Liberal Agenda Bill (Stimulus Package) and so this had led some to question: "Something needs to be done, so what would be so much better than this stimulus?"

That's an easy one. This is how I would fix the economy, for good:

1. Repeal the 16th Amendment
2. Remove all forms of federal taxation that weren't wiped out in step one, including estate tax, social security tax, payroll tax, corporate income tax, etc
3. Employ a national sales tax of 20% on sales of finished goods and services (or adopt the Fair Tax.)
4. Repeal the Community Reinvestment Act
5. Dissolve Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac
6. Stop all bailouts

In 6 months to a year, our economy would be an absolute rock-star, and we'd be rushing in immigrants to fill all the vacant jobs.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

On my drive to North Carolina today I was listening to the Michael Savage show and I just couldn't get over the dichotomy and the inconsistency of his message. Now, I have to preface this by saying that I really like Dr. Savage and I respect his opinions, but today after announcing his victory in a lawsuit against C.A.I.R. during the first hour of his show, he started going off on the makers of horror films such as "Saw" and "Hostel" saying that they should be thrown in jail during hour two.

This "conservative" talk show host, who is always talking about how we need to get the government out of our society when it comes to health care, economics, affirmative action, etc, etc, has the court uphold his right to free speech and then turns around and says that the government needs to ban films and arrest those responsible for making them. This is absolutely ridiculous, and this is why the conservative movement and the Republican party have lost so much favor in recent years. We simply do not have a consistent message.

Look I don't like "snuff" films or horror movies for that matter but they're just make believe, they're just sick, twisted fantasy. I don't like them, so I don't buy tickets to go see them in the theaters. If I felt as strongly about it as Dr. Savage, I could take my feelings further and start an organization that would protest the movies and urge citizens to boycott the films. I could start a website that would educate people as to the dangers of such violent fantasy movies. I could do many things that would have a positive impact on society.

Unfortunately, Dr. Savage elects to advocate the same exact strategy that the Democrats would employ when their emotions run high: to use the government to force everyone to comply with what they think. This is simply wrong. This is simply anti-liberty. This is simply anti-republican.

Freedom isn't easy. It requires responsibility, assertiveness, advocacy, defense, and many other difficult efforts to sustain. The reason the Republicans are in such bad shape is that we always advocate freedom for business and other people (Iraqi's) but then we turn around and try to stifle freedom for individuals in America. That's just not the way it works. We need to send a clear message to the country: Republicans want the government OUT of society in all forms. We want the government to simply defend our rights from international enemies and from citizens who wish to do us harm. We want the government to assist commerce through infrastructure and security for assets but not by nationalizing industries. We want the government as small as possible and to interfere as little as possible.

Unfortunately, as long as we conservatives try to use the government to force our ways on other people, we have no right to criticize Obama and his cronies for using the government to force his ways on us.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

If our Government keeps printing money to "bail us out" as Obama and pals are suggesting, it won't be long before you'll be using these to buy a Coke:


You see, when the government prints massive amounts of money out of thin air they cause the value of our current money to decrease. Since October, the government has increased the supply of money by 70%. This may not seem like that big of a deal, they haven't even doubled the amount. Also, because everyone else in the world is struggling, the dollar is still relatively strong in the currency market.

Well guess what, that won't last. Already, several European and Asian countries are meeting to discuss the formation of a new currency, or a new gold standard. Guess what will happen if that becomes the new world standard instead of the Dollar?

Hyperinflation. It's coming.

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I've never believed in the myth of global warming, and I've never joined the modern day church of environmentalism. As I've shown many times before, global warming has been dispelled by science time and time again. However, the final nail in the coffin was driven over the past few days and it was ironically by the myth's biggest proponents.

Over the past few days, for the social celebration of the inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama, at least 600 private jets were flown into Washington DC, carrying high dollar Democrats and celebrities. The very same people who tell us we need to ride our bikes instead of drive our cars; we need to use more blankets instead of our heaters; we need to give billions of dollars to useless windmill farms; we need to sacrifice and be responsible members of the global ecosystem.

I shouldn't have to explain why this is so ridiculous that it completely exposes the fallacy of global warming but just in case let me put this in perspective: As example, a Gulfstream G-II traveling 1,000 miles consumes some 1,220 gallons of fuel and emits 12.8 tons of CO2. This amount of C02 is over half the amount the average American produces in an entire year! So, while you take 7 or 8 months to generate the same amount of "pollution" as these elitist greenies produce in one single flight, they're all meeting in Washington to put laws in place mandating that we all cut back.

There is an exception though, and this is the funny/sinister part: carbon credits. You see, if you are simply too important to sit idle and you must egregiously pollute the earth then you can get out of the legal ramifications and morally cleanse yourself by simply buying some carbon credits! How convenient!

What does that leave us with? Businesses being stifled, average Americans sacrificing and being oppressed, jobs evaporating, and the rich elitists flying around polluting as much as they can. All in the name of Environmentalism.

If Global Warming were real, this would absolutely enrage everyone. When you witness the very people who are preaching global warming flaunt their mega-polluting lifestyles and telling us to be responsible, you simply have to realize that you are being played as a fool. Global Warming is a total farce and has been adopted by politicians as a means of oppression. Please wake up to that fact.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

In case you haven't noticed during this week of sheer idol worship by the media of President Obama and his inauguration, it turns out his trillion dollar stimulus package isn't really that much of a stimulus after all, it's just a massive spending bill doling out money to particular groups of people as promised during the campaign. Rather than proposing these projects on their merits in a time of rational thought (if such a time exists in Washington,) he's decided to make his first major move as President under the false appearance of economic stimulus. Excuse me for not being surprised.

So what would be a better idea? Well, it's very simple actually. In FY 2007, the US government collected $2.4 Trillion in taxes. Barack Obama wants to invent $1 Trillion in his stimulus package which we will pay back at some undetermined later date. Instead of using this debt to spend on government jobs like digging ditches and filling them back up again, why don't we just cut taxes in 2009? Let's be generous and say that the government will collect $3 Trillion in taxes this year. If we're going to invent $1 Trillion, then instead of wasting it on government projects why don't we just not collect it in taxes? Just give every single person in this country, no matter what income level, a 33% tax break!

Just keep the tax brackets as they are, with no permanent changes. Simply take the amount of taxes a person would pay in 2009 and subtract 33% of that. So if you currently pay a 20% tax rate, your taxes for 2009 would be 20% * 2/3, or 13.33%. If you currently pay a 36% tax rate, your taxes for 2009 would be 36% * 2/3, or 24%.

This tax rate would apply to businesses and individuals, and would give economic growth a HUGE boost. People would have more money to spend, businesses would have more money to use to hire workers, the economy would be genuinely stimulated. We'll never see Obama do this, and especially not Pelosi or Reid in the Congress. It's unfortunate really, because it just might work. Obama's stimulus, as it stands now, is sure to fail.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

In case you haven't had the misfortune of accidentally tuning across CNN on your television this weekend, you might be interested to know that they are running an eight hour special "Obama Express" show following along his train ride to Washington DC. The amount of bias shown here is simply phenomenal. I've never seen anything like this. Take one look around the web today and you'll see similar "rah rah" stories about Obama, enough to make you sick.

Look, I'm all for the news covering politics, but what happened to the tough journalism that we saw for 8 years under Bush? What happened to the carbon footprint of Bush's inauguration? What happened to the "exorbitant" costs of Bush's inauguration in a time of "recession and war?" Why is CNN riding along with Obama on a train ride in the middle of the coldest weather on record as if they were a part of his campaign team? What the heck is going on?

Seriously this is like watching ESPN go on a recruiting visit to Notre Dame and telling us constantly about how they were going to turn things around and all the great stuff about Notre Dame. That level of bias simply would never fly in the sports world, and it didn't used to work in the news media, but now apparently the major mainstream media outlets are lining up to be Obama propaganda machines. This is unbelievable.

PS - Think it's a coincidence that the Obama Express is 8 hours and the maximum presidential term is 8 years? I don't.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

A new auction site has started heavily advertising around the internets called Swoopo and I'm here to tell you that it's not as great of a deal as it seems. The site promises auctions on electronics that end in amazingly low prices, the only twist being that you have to pay not only the final price, but you have to pay a dollar for each time you bid.

This may seem innocent enough, but there are a few caveats that make this an extremely expensive scam at worst, and just a really bad deal at best. First of all you have to pay $1 every time you bid, no matter the outcome of the auction. You don't get your money back for bidding if you lose, and if you win you pay the price of all the bids plus the final auction price. Plus each bid is set at a $0.15 increase on the current price, and with the prices starting at ridiculously low levels (like $1.40 for a 40" LCD HDTV) you can imagine that there will be a huge amount of bidding before that auction ends. Also, every time anyone bids they add 20 seconds to the auction clock. So in effect, each auction is perpetual, meaning that they can continue to gouge you $1 each time you bid and never give you a set limit to when that bidding may end.

Long story short, Swoopo is a money drain. You may luck up and get a great deal and not have to pay for many bids, but the probability of that happening is very low. What's much more likely to happen is that you'll see something on there that should cost $500 and you'll bid on it 200 times and not win it, so you just lost $200. If gambling is your thing then this may be for you, but I suggest you steer clear.

Labels: life, technology

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Posted by Tom on 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Will Smith is going to win Best Actor at the Oscars next time around. If he doesn't then they are a total sham.

Labels: life, movies

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Posted by Tom on 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Like any good religion, Environmentalism has come up with their own prophetic vision of the end of the world: their own "Book of Revelation" if you will. The name of this story: "The Day the Earth Stood Still"

Spoiler alert: this movie sucks, so I'm just going to tell you what happens.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is a remake from a 1951 movie about an alien that is sent to earth to destroy the human race as it has been deemed that we are too destructive for the safety of the galaxy. The original centers around nuclear proliferation with the basic premise that we are eventually going to destroy the entire planet. This premise alone is kind of silly; I mean a civilization that is advanced enough to build a spacecraft that can warp the fabric of space-time should have no problem coming to Earth and educating us humans or even simply removing all of our nuclear weapons but instead they decide to just kill us all to keep us from... killing us all. That seems pretty hypocritical. Either way, with the modern day Islamic Conquest going on and fears of terrorist nations like Iran gaining nuclear weapons they had a lot of material to work with to make this a relevant and interesting remake...

Unfortunately, they decided instead to turn the story into an Environmentalist end-of-days myth. Instead of nuclear proliferation, in this movie the alien is all pissed off about global climate change as brought about by human-caused CO2 emissions. He arrives in his spacecraft (originally presumed to be an asteroid on a collision course) which descends from the heavens above Manhattan in an angelic energy orb that emits brilliant rays of light. Clearly this is Jesus returning to the earth to take his believers up to heaven, but unfortunately the writers decided that we Americans would react extremely violently and the alien was greeted with all sorts of military vehicles and personnel, including a sniper that decides to shoot the alien in the chest for no reason whatsoever. It is such a typical cliche about the military and Americans that it's just boring, and a really idiotic turn in a sequence that started out with tremendous potential.

As a quick aside, I really do hope that we as a society have come to the realization that if a civilization is so advanced that they can travel among the galaxies then they are also sufficiently advanced to both stay hidden from us and destroy us at their whim. Which means that if we ever do have aliens land their spacecraft in a crowded area and then come on out to meet us then they are trying to make contact peacefully; otherwise we'd all be dead before we saw them.

Anyway back to the movie: after Jesus, er, I mean Klaatu gets shot there emerges from the orb a giant, laser-eyed robot that immediately disables all of the weapons and somehow brings Klaatu back to life. If he's not a sci-fi version of an arch-Angel, then I don't know what is. The robot then deactivates and the military whisks Klaatu and the scientists away to some installation where they hope to probe and interrogate him. During the surgery to remove the bullet, they discover that this alien has taken on the form of a human body so they try to use evil torture methods like a lie detector test (again with the ridiculous cliche) but the main human character to this point (Dr. Helen) helps him get away. Shortly thereafter Klaatu and Helen meet up and she decides to help the kind alien evade the authorities while on his still undefined mission.

Along the way Klaatu has a meeting with another alien in human form and we learn the details of his mission: to decide if we humans can change our dirty polluting ways and if not, destroy us all. At this point, the aliens are decidedly anti-change (how ironic,) and Klaatu sets in motion the process of "saving the planet" from us humans. Dr. Helen then takes him to his next destination (she still has no clue what's going on) which is in a wooden area with a pond, where the alien then brings up a smaller orb that's apparently been hidden there, collecting animals from the local ecosystem. This is where Klaatu actually starts the process of renewing the earth as he sends a signal to all of these orbs around the planet to gather up their animals and leave. They do so in spectacular fashion, ascending up into the heavens as magical balls of light. So, instead of Jesus saving the believers as in the Christian Revelation, enviro-Jesus is saving all the animals.

After seeing the orb ascend into Heaven Dr. Helen asks Klaatu what is going on, but before they can get into it they are interrupted by a highway patrolman that has been tipped off as to their location. The patrolman tells them all to "stick-em up" but Klaatu decides instead to smash him in-between two cars and then bring him back to life. Not exactly the most logical actions for such an intelligent being but a great opportunity for the writers to make another Jesus alliteration. Enviro-Jesus is just like regular Jesus except he really, really cares about CO2.

Having seen this Dr. Helen can take no more and she demands to be told what is happening. Klaatu informs her of his green mission and Dr. Helen pleads with him to give us dirty humans a second chance. He tells her he wants to go talk to the UN (haha) but she informs him that they've all panicked and left so she takes him to her Nobel Prize-winning buddy's house to try and change his mind. Meanwhile, a horde of futuristic silicon-based sci-fi locusts has been released by the giant robot and they are devouring everything man-made (including people) in their paths. The rest of the movie is filled with touching moments where the alien really gets to know the humans and he sees just how loving and sweet we really are. Finally he decides to stop the process of human slaughter and touches the giant orb which releases an Electro-Magnetic Pulse that disables all electronics around the entire globe, including the silicon-based sci-fi horde of locusts. Hilariously, (or extremely boringly) the entire EMP scene is filled with visions of environmentally evil devices ceasing to work, such as oil rigs, oil tankers, power-sucking city light grids, etc.

So, as you can see, I was thoroughly disappointed by this movie. I thought it would be entertaining but it just turned out to be more Algore inspired propaganda: this time with all the parallels to the Revelation.

More disturbingly though, I believe this movie illustrates the principle problem with the environmentalists: rather than spend their time educating us all about actual environmental problems instead of myths like global warming; they are instead trying to scare us all into giving the government authoritarian power in order to "fix" the "damage" we've done. So instead of helping us all to learn to conserve and change the world in actual beneficial ways, they are using the authoritarian, forceful option of empowering the "all-knowing" force of government. Rather than helping us to change, and therefore hold the free-market accountable for any polluting practices with our choices, they are going to kill us all by crippling the economy via government control in the name of "saving the world."

Labels: life, movies

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Posted by Tom on 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Good Lord. He couldn't have been more correct. I'd never heard of this guy until today but I did a little bit of googling and it turns out he wrote an excellent article for the Washington Post entitled: "Don't Blame Capitalism." Here's an excerpt:

Absent from such conclusions is the central role the government played in creating the crisis. Yes, many Wall Street leaders were irresponsible, and they should pay. But they were playing the distorted hand dealt them by government policies. Our leaders irrationally promoted home-buying, discouraged savings, and recklessly encouraged borrowing and lending, which together undermined our markets.

It goes into great detail, but the overall point is the same: government caused the problem, capitalism is the solution.

Anyway I'm going to keep my eye on this guy and see what his predictions are for other markets. He's been right on the money about a lot of stuff so far... maybe I'll be able to make some wise investments...

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

• When it comes to cars, I'm going to buy foreign from now on. I just can't continue to support union labor and bad management, especially now that they're asking to be nationalized. What is this, the USSR? I'll buy cars made in non-union factories here in the South going forward.
• If Al Gore actually cared about the environment instead of political power, he would have run for president under the Green Party.
• The Domino Effect is already starting to happen in regards to the banking bailout. The banks got bailed out, the car companies are begging to get bailed out, and now a window and door factory is demanding a bailout. I never thought I'd see so many Americans so eagerly ask for socialism.
• We're going to have Nationalized Health Care by the end of March 2009.

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

these are the people that are running the country now...



oh boy.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I hope everybody's having a great Turkey Day. I'm giving thanks for my family and friends, and for the fact that I live in the greatest country the earth has ever seen.

Rick Astley is giving thanks that the internet has resurrected his career:


Take it easy everybody!

Labels: life, music

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Posted by Tom on 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I am currently reading "Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith and I am really enjoying it. It's amazing to read such clear thought and apolitical examination of markets. I was inspired to go out there and see if there were any Adam Smith fans on the internets and lo and behold, there are. I found a blog run by a group of people who apply Smith's principles to modern events. Here's a great article from their website (now featured on the right side of the page under "Brilliance"):

Well, it turns out that the UK is in for an even deeper recession than originally suspected. The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) says unemployment may rise to 2.9 million in 2010, instead of the 1.8 million previously forecast. The UK economy shrank for the first time in 16 years between July and September of this year. CBI warns this is far from over; the size of the economy could decrease by 1.7 percent in 2009, which is a staggering change from the 0.3 percent predicted in September.

CBI blames two major factors for the economic slowdown that lies ahead, which is expected to cause five quarters of negative growth. First of all, the banking crisis has diminished the accessibility of credit and credit insurance for all kinds of businesses. Secondly, the negative reports about the economy resulted in a decrease in consumer confidence, reducing the demand for products and services. This declining consumer spending, in addition to less investment spending and significant drops in inventory, will be the largest contributors to the downturn.

Unite, the UK’s largest union, has come up with a plan to stimulate the economy by increasing public spending and instituting stricter regulation of the financial sector. But why would one want to do that when too much box-ticking regulation helped get us here in the first place? While they hassled firms and companies with nonsense procedures and stipulations, stifling innovation and impeding progress among businesses, regulators completely neglected the bigger issue of financial stability. Although some regulation will surely be needed, the economy will fair much better if companies have more say in their operations and management, and regulators get back to focusing on the big picture.

Ultimately, as long as competition and free market ventures are put on the backburner, the bad news will just keep coming.

Indeed.

Labels: education, life

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Posted by Tom on 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I didn't come up with it though: the Fair Tax.

Basically, the idea is to replace all of our current taxes with one simple national sales tax, and include a "prebate" to cover the taxes a family will pay on groceries. This way you don't punish the poor for buying the essentials.

What does this have to do with the economic crisis? Well, look at the money our companies spend on taxes:

1. Payroll tax - Employers in this country have to pay half of the amount owed for each employee's Medicare and Social Security tax.
   
2. Income tax - Companies have to pay income tax on their profit. 
   
3. Compliance Costs - Paying these taxes is ridiculously tedious and complex. This requires companies to spend billions (no, I'm not exaggerating) to make sure they're not breaking any obscure rule or law.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

I don't have time to write much here, but I just wanted to make a quick point:

No more bailouts. In fact, cancel the original bailouts. While you're at it, destroy social security and medicare. The government's job is to provide freedom and national defense, THAT'S IT!!!!!

This latest bailout is vote-buying, plain and simple. The US auto industry is the single biggest cash cow for the Democratic party, via the power of Unions and their unholy association with the Democrats. The unions have killed the auto manufacturers, and so now the Democrats want to give a "bridge loan" (read: bribe) to the auto industry so that they can stay alive and keep voting Democrat.

Additionally, when is the last time an auto company did something good for you? Really? When is the last time you went to a Chevrolet or Ford or Dodge dealership and they didn't try to screw you? When is the last time a US car company made a car that didn't cost you thousands of dollars to maintain and repair? Why should we continue to pay for shoddy quality due to unskilled and overpaid labor?

Finally, the irony in all of this is that the big three US auto companies that are begging for this bailout are also the manufacturers of the most gas-guzzling, environment polluting vehicles out there. They make Hummers and Hemis and all sorts of high cost, low efficiency, and high pollution products. Then they wonder why sales are down? Hello!!!

Why then should we bail them out? They have spelled their own doom. Let this be the death of bad car companies and unions, we will be better off for it.

Labels: life, politics

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Posted by Tom on 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Check out this site: www.blackfriday.info

This is the place to go for all the holiday season shopping deals. It focuses mainly on Black Friday, the friday after Thanksgiving, when most of the stores have their biggest sales. However there are posts about sales going on all the time including this weekend when Wal Mart is selling a Compaq 15" laptop with 2 Gigs of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive for $300. Have fun!

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post

Sometimes life teaches you painful lessons. This past friday night was one of those times. I was going out to see some of my friends in downtown Charleston on a typical fall rainy evening. I had just driven through downtown on my way back home from the Airport and even though it was also raining then, there was no standing water to be found. What I didn't know, and maybe this is due to my living away from the coast for so long, is that high tide was hitting just as I was leaving the house, and when high tide comes to the peninsula during a moderate rain, everything floods.

I drove from James Island to Downtown via the connector, and as I came off the bridge and continued onto Calhoun Street I was presented with water in front of me and water to the sides of me. There was basically no way to go. The cars in front of me were turning left through one of the puddles and they were doing just fine. I wasn't so lucky. My car stalled out in the water and I had to get it towed home.

Come to find out, the bottom front of the car pushed some water up and into the air intake, and now the engine is basically done for. I have to pay the deductible on my car insurance and they are going to get it fixed for me. Fun stuff.

So long story short: don't go to Downtown Charleston when it's raining, and if you have a Chrysler 300C, avoid any puddles.

Labels: life

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Posted by Tom on 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post