Rant - Rewriting the US Tax Code

It's my personal belief that as a representing Geek it's my responsibility to constantly increase my knowledge in all things and to do that you have to read more than just comics (unfortunately).  Today the Wall Street Journal's article titled, "Years of Turmoil Forged Tax Plan" just sent me over the edge.  Here's how it starts:

"Republicans' race to rewrite the U.S. tax code on the heels of this month's election relies on years of work that is suddenly and quite unexpectedly poised to pay off.  A 2017 tax overhaul would be a case study in the benefits of dead ends and behind the scenes preparation.  Failure would show again how hard it is to reshape the U.S. tax system, even with rare political momentum and one-party control of government.  Republicans have long sought a rate-lowering, base-broadening revamp of the tax code, fusing differing business interests within the GOP coalition.  Corporation would get a rate cut and lighter taxes on foreign income.  So would small businesses, who report profits on their owners' individual tax returns.  Individuals would get those lower rates and simpler annual tax filing."

I read this and thought to myself, how can anyone read this and not be super frustrated?  To me this entire intro points to everything that is wrong with the party division currently in place in our government.  To this point I refer to one section:

"Republicans have long sought a rate-lowering, base-broadening revamp of the tax code, fusing differing business interests within the GOP coalition."  

This is why the government does not function.  The tax code applies to ALL Americans not just those in the GOP!  Look I'm Republican with a hard lean towards Libertarian and this just pisses me off.  How about approaching a problem from the aspect of the all the people of America?  Every single item being considered to become law these days has one common underlying theme; it greatly benefits the party backing it and spits in the face of the others.  Here is an idea, how about we begin writing laws that improve the lives of all American people?  Not just some, not just a minority group, not just a political party but the entire county.  No?  Too controversial?

Look I know it's not easy, in fact it's very difficult and of course I realize pretty much anything you put on the table will benefit one group of people while alienating another but my point is that things can be put in place to benefit the greater good and not shit on everyone else.  These two major parties are spending an immense amount of time and tax payer money wasting time developing legislature that only serves their interests and will never make it into law; and even though this tactic fails over and over we continue to keep doing the exact same thing.  Isn't that the definition of something?

I know there are many variables and things that need to be considered in this process that I'm not discussing here.  However, if the people running this government could just focus their energy into leading this country toward improving the social, financial and moral standing of all it's people and away from the self serving roots that poison the system and bring progress to a screeching halt, we could be on our way to actual change.

Hoping to one day see this change,
~Steve

Revisiting the Female Form in Comics

I don't know what it is but I find this very interesting.  The female form and it's history of changes throughout comics.  It's reflective of so much more than just the female image in media but also the social/moral aspect of society during those times.

Top: Clockwise from top left: Zatanna, Wonder Woman, Power Girl, Huntress, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, The Women of Birds of Prey (May 2013), Batwoman, Batgirl, Equinox, Starfire, Catwoman, Amanda Waller.
Bottom: Clockwise from top Left: Black Widow, Hawkeye, Storm, America Chavez, Capt. Marvel, Rogue, The Women of X-Men (May 2013), Psylocke, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Elektra, and The Invisible Woman.

Back in early 2012 I wrote a piece that became easily my most talked about and commented on, in both good and bad ways. It was called “No it’s Not Equal” and it was all about breaking down the ways that visually, women are not presented equally to men in comics. The piece was born of getting very tired of hearing people say ridiculous things related to female representation in superhero comics – stuff like “all superheroes wear skintight clothes, not just women!” and “it’s comics! nobody has realistic bodies!” I wanted to break down why those arguments are so flawed and how the representation is/has been unbalanced when it comes to men and women. It’s been about 28 months since I posted that piece and I started wondering if anything significant had changed when it comes to mainstream superhero comics. 

For me the answer is both yes and no, specifically if we look to the big two, who still do lead the pack when it comes to sales and content as well as spreading their IP to larger markets. And as the leaders who SHOULD be leading us, setting a great example and changing the face of comics.

Check out the FULL article CBR: She Has No Head!

Feeling chauvinistic,
~Steve

Federal Reserve on Inflation

This article is an interesting back and forth between statements made by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and House Budget Committee member Paul Ryan's response to his comments.


Bernanke is really just reaffirming the Feds commitment to continue keeping inflation low in the future and making sure it remains a key point when making future policy decisions.

Inflation appears to “be very well-controlled now,” Bernanke said, and should remain below the Fed’s 2 percent target “for the next couple of years.” This view is backed up, he said, by “more stable commodity prices and substantial slack in labor and product markets.”

 Ryan disagrees though, saying he:

“was greatly concerned to hear the Fed recently announce that it would be willing to accept higher-than-desired inflation in order to focus on the other side of its dual mandate, which is promoting employment.”

That would be a mistake, Ryan said, because “the Fed’s tools for promoting employment are limited, imprecise, and can have highly undesirable consequences.  [It] runs the great risk of fueling asset bubbles, destabilizing prices, and eventually eroding the value of the dollar,” Ryan said. “The prospect of all three is adding to uncertainty and holding our economy back.”

Check out the rest of the article on Portfolio.com 

A huge non-fan of inflation,
~Steve

U.S. Military Goes Nimble?

News from yesterday reads:

“We’re turning the page on a decade of war,” President Barack Obama said today at the Pentagon. 

For the Pentagon, that means reducing its number of conventional ground troops and moving away from old weapons systems that don’t make much sense in an age where our biggest threats may not come from another nation, but from terrorists who operate on their own. 

The new military will be “smaller and leaner,” [Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta said...

 I'm not really sure how I feel about this yet. I'm used to a big scary U.S. Military not one that jumps around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree. This next part I'm on board with:

...but it “will be agile, flexible, ready, and technologically advanced.” 

The Pentagon will continue to invest in science and technology and will balance budget cuts “with the imperative to sustain key streams of innovation that may provide significant long-term payoffs,” the strategic report states.

We are an advanced civilization and keeping our military on the bleeding edge of technology will give us the best possibility of defending against attack or prompting attack in response. This next justification is just kinda BS:

“We’ll continue to get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems so that we can invest in the capabilities we need for the future, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; counterterrorism; countering weapons of mass destruction; and the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny us access,” Obama said.

What are you going to do, have a big ass garage sale? Getting rid of Cold War-ear systems is not going to make us more able to invest. Sure, maybe if you melt down the copper wire and sell it to the guy with the storage container in a Wal-Mart parking lot; but other than that we're still in the same boat. Most likely this will cause a huge sucking black hole into which the defense budget will be thrown into, but that is business as usual.

They close with economic impact:

This will present new opportunities for innovators. The Pentagon will be looking for better ways to protect national security in both space and cyberspace... the new strategy calls for development of a new stealth bomber and improvements in missile defenses,

The old military-industrial complex is undergoing the process of creative destruction. There will be losers, just as there is in the civilian economy...but winners will emerge as well from this shift to a more nimble military.

I'm pro business, so I was happy to see the promotion of good ole' American capitalism in this process but I'm not sold on this plan yet.


Skeptical, Hopeful and Uncertain,
~Steve

Read the full article on portfolio.com

Decision Points - Stem Cell Research

As with many public figures the only news that shows up in the headlines is the bad news.  The President of the United States is not exempt from this problem.  It's so easy to point fingers and denounce people for their decisions no matter their position.

In President George W. Bush's memoirs, Decision Points, he discusses one of the major issues that he faced during his first week in office, stem cell research.  I think it's so easy to forget or overlook peoples accomplishments especially when they do not bare fruition in the short term.  President Bush made his decision and stuck to his principles, which I immensely respect.  He told America of his stance and decision in an address to the people:

"While we must devote enormous energy to conquering disease, it is equally important that we pay attention to the moral concerns raised by the new frontier of human embryo stem cell research.  Even the most noble ends do not justify any means."


"Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril.  So I have decided we must proceed with great care...I have concluded that we should allow federal funds to be used for research on these [existing] stem cell lines, where the life-and-death decision has already been made.  Leading scientists tell me research on these sixty lines has great promise that could lead to breakthrough therapies and cures.  This allows us to explore the promise and potential of stem cell research without crossing a fundamental moral line, by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos that have at least the potential for life...I have made this decision with great care. and I pray it is the right one."

While at that time he received more praise than any other criticism, it wouldn't be long before this fair and balanced decision would be attacked.  Activists, politicians and scientists alike came down hard against his policy drawing a line that he was allowing too much or not enough in terms of stem cell research.

Twice the Congress tried to send through a bill to reform stem cell research policy to allow funding of harvesting from embryos but the President stood his ground that he would not allow federal money to promote the proactive killing of human embryos and vetoed the bills both times.

Just five months after vetoing the bill for the second time the front page of the New York Times read, "Scientists Bypass Need for Embryo to Get Stem Cells."  Needless to say President Bush was thrilled by this news and I'm sure he was happy to know his prayer years before had been heard and answered.  Columnist Charles Krauthammer, put it perfectly writing, "The verdict is clear: Rarely has a president - so vilified for a moral stance - been so thoroughly vindicated."

I just wanted to share this because like I said, it is rare that those who are deserving, get credit where credit is due and I think this decision is one that clearly adds to the legacy of his presidency.

Respectfully,
~Steve

My Thoughts On - "No Hire Until Obama Is Gone"

Steven V commented on portfolio.com.

I can understand wanting to make a point but I can't imagine a business owner, with the opportunity to grow his business, refusing to do so out of spite. Don't get me wrong, of course there are many other implications of the policy and legislature being forced on business owners driving this thought process but at the end of the day it comes down to bottom line. Business owners need to find the line between increasing their volume and the decrease in profit margin due to expense increases and make informed decisions about their work force instead of the knee jerk reactions being seen.

Feedback Loop: The "No Hire Until Obama Is Gone" Case

www.portfolio.com

A Georgia small-business owner's pledge not to hire any new employees until President Barack Obama leaves office has led to a passionate online debate about Obama's job and health care policies. Read on and offer your take.

 ·  · 3 minutes ago

Futuristic Movie Tech Conquering India?

Look, we’ve all seen the movies where someone walks into a room and is immediately identified by their retinal scan or barcode on the neck or some kind of device hidden under their skin.  Which in turn allows the government, or whomever is tracking the person, to know exactly who, where, why and how about said subject.  But that’s just in the movies right?  I mean human GPS with info tracking is just wrong right?  Well not in India…

The Indian government is gearing up to undertake one of the world's biggest IT projects and distribute biometric ID cards to all of its 1.2 billion-person population. According to the government, the cards will contain retinal scans or fingerprints, credit and criminal backgrounds, and information about individuals' addresses and physical specifications. Needless to say, civil liberties groups are less than enthused about the plan. Privacy issues are a major source of concern, as is the government's ability to effectively police a project of this scale. "We could have a hacking Olympics," one analyst commented. The program is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Nandan Nilekan, who was recently appointed head of India's new department of Unique Identification Authority. According to Nilekan, the system will be especially beneficial to the poor, who have been famously victimized by the country's massive and inefficient bureaucracy. With the cards, Nilekan claims, "maids and labourers … a hundred or two hundred million people—will be able to access welfare benefits for the first time without any questioning who they are." – Slate.com Read the Original story in Guardian

So, of course under the guise of the protection and the welfare of it’s citizens one more government moves to have complete control over it’s people…well done human race…well done. . .

Not sure if I’m overreacting,
~Steve

Mexican Prisoners Need Love Too

So, I would just like to post a very short clip of an article I was reading today @ NYTimes.com:

“The United States government, as part of its counternarcotics assistance program, is committing $4 million this year to help fix Mexico’s broken prisons, officials said.”

I just have one thought on this:  I thought we were broke?  Has anybody else gotten this impression or is it just me?  Have you or anybody you know been laid off or severely affected by the budget cuts???

If so, a quick tip…I hear there is money in Mexican prison jobs…just a thought…

Waiting for someone to tell me ‘4 million isn’t really that much’,
~Steve

Read more of the fun and informative article at NYTimes.com

Political Cartoons

You’ve all seen the cartoons about President Bill Clinton going over to save the two journalists being held in North Korea and being that he is well known for his little issue with a certain white house secretary they are really slamming him about it:



Don’t get me wrong it’s funny…but I like to think it happened more like this:

And for your viewing pleasure the only other funny cartoon printed this week:

I’ll tell you why this is funny…because it’s true!  Think way back to that story I wrote about the Taliban making threats to kill a soldier they held captive.  In that story the military was using a post on a Taliban website as Intel about the condition of the soldier!  The world it is a’changin.

Doing everything thing I can to keep from a’changin,
~Steve