If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people
under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy. - Thomas Jefferson


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Visit Beautiful Afghanistan!

Seriously... When are people going to learn that war zone does not equal vacation destination?

Between multiple people trying to do one man protests, Journalists thinking they can get the scoop, and the doorknobs hiking in Iraq[n], the State Departments of the world are being run ragged just trying to rescue their citizens from their own actions.

Now there is a Scotsman trying to set up a vacation company (bbc) that will take you mountain climbing in Afghanistan. Don't get me wrong, its in a relatively safe part of Afghanistan, and they sure could use the tourism, but... ...

All I'm saying is that anyone gets abducted on one these vacations, their home government really needs to let them stay hostages. If someone really wants to climb a mountain on their vacation, there are a whole bunch of mountain ranges that are NOT IN A WAR ZONE!

Rescuing mis-guided citizens from their own actions...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Monday, February 22, 2010

More surgery for Dick!

Ex-Vice President Cheney in hospital with chest pains(bbc)

I'm only going to say one thing:
We've spent more taxpayer dollars on heart surgeries for this guy than some of us will pay in for our entire lives.

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Big brother - big poisoner

Its a story from history. You can read it (slate) if you'd like: The Chemist's War

In a sentence:
During prohibition the federal government undertook a campaign to poison and kill citizenry audacious enough to drink thinking they deserved it and send a message to all that drinking is a mistake.

Nice.

THIS is whyourgrandfatherspaytaxes.

A laptop for every child

'Cause I wanna see 'em naked!

A school district in Pennsylvania was forward thinking enough to secure funding for a laptop for every child in school. This gave the children the opportunity to access the school's and other Internet resources 24 hours a day. I suppose there are many who were unhappy to hear about their tax dollars at work in this way but at the end of the day, its all about the kids.

What the school district failed to point out is that they had a tracking device installed into each machine that gave the administration the opportunity to access the web cam and screen shots of the computer at any time, anywhere. Should your daughter forget to shut down her laptop before drying off after a shower, ol' Mr. Weatherbee could be right there snapping still photos for his collection.

The school is bending over backwards to explain that the tracking devices were only installed into the machines in case of theft or 'lost' laptops. They even have the balls to say that this is the only way these tracking devices have ever been used. How is it that certain teachers are able to scold the children for "engaging in improper behavior in [their] home" if they've never had an opportunity to see inside their home?

One of the creepiest parts for me: It seems pretty obvious that the teachers were made aware of this device and even trained on its usage and passwords. Its not that the tracking system was under lock and key waiting for the police to get called in on a stolen laptop. No. These kids are being watched by teachers after hours, in their homes, with no provocation, and no probable cause.

Watching our teenagers. Closely...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

read more:US school accused of web spying(bbc)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Kinder-gefängnis

Ok... I used an online translation source and have no idea if that title is accurate. My goal was kinder-prison/prison for children.
I was referring to the whole of Germany, or at least Berlin. And, its not that they lock up their children, its that they've turned the kids' entire existence into an exercise in being German.

In a maverick move, Berlin has decided that it is "fundamentally and socially tolerable" for children to shout, squeal, or otherwise express their glee at being a child.

Yes. Each of Germany's 16 states has a noise pollution law on the books. Only church bells, emergency sirens, snow plows and tractors have been considered an exception to these rules. Rules which have led to hundreds of complaints each year about noisy kindergartens and playgrounds as well as closed down day care centers.

Because, you know, anyone living near a pre-school or playground downtown in the fourth largest city in Europe ought to be able to have a little quiet time. And by a little, I mean I better not EVER hear the innocent sounds of a child's laughter nearby or I'm calling the cops.

While removing your child's gag, be sure to keep it close by. You must continue to respect the official quiet time at night and all day Sunday.

Legislating the audible level of its children...

THIS is whyGERMANSpaytaxes.

read more: Noisy children no longer verboten in Berlin(bbc)

Buzz kill

Again, I'll bet a lot of folks have used that post title recently...

The folks at Epic (Electronic Privacy Information Centre) are lobbying the FTC to spank Google over their ridiculous release of Buzz. Though going to the FTC to file paperwork and start investigations will incur a significant cost to our government, I couldn't agree with their points more.
Some people, myself included, signed up for gmail because we wanted to take advantage of a great e-mail service.
Some people, myself included, have not signed up for Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or other social media networks because we value our privacy and see no need to publicly lay out the details, mundane or otherwise, of our lives. (Some of us, myself included, simply seek to avoid being found by maniacal exes that would show up on our doorsteps the minute our current addresses became public knowledge)

I know that gmail is free and I know that Google can do whatever it likes to the account. I appreciate all they provide to me for no additional cost aside from creepy ads everywhere. But to suddenly take my saved contacts or frequently e-mailed addresses and put them up in a public forum for all to see is a ridiculous and ignorant thing to do.

But is it something the government needs to get involved in? I'm not so sure. If I was so chapped that I just couldn't deal with it anymore, I am more than welcome to delete both my Buzz and Gmail accounts right now.

Even more astounding, here is a quote from the article I read(bbc) with bold italics on a key phrase:
The complaint has also asked the FTC to "require Google to provide notice to and request consent from Gmail users before making material changes to their privacy policy in future, and seek appropriate injunctive and compensatory relief".
Somebody is going to have to explain to me: who deserves to get compensated for this? I wonder if this sets a precedence where those people who just had their wives introduced to their mistresses can sue Google for privacy infringement seeking damages to cover the divorce?

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Tracking our citizens

The government has gone to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia to defend its rights to your cell phone's whereabouts. They are stridently defending their right to know where your cell phone has been and where it is right now without a search warrant or any oversight whatsoever.

You know whats worse? I heard this story on Marketplace, got to thinking, and started this post. As I typed out 'The government has' I paused. I wanted to be more specific and tell you what part of the government, what department was spending their money and wasting the courts time exercising their right to your privacy. The thing is, I couldn't easily find out who it was. The story I heard, the story as Fox tells it, the story at Reuters, Press TV, etc. all tell a story about The Government or A Government Petition or The Government Appeals etc. Some mention the DEA or the FBI, but this is only when they talk about who will take advantage of the ruling if it is allowed, not who is making the case.

You mean to tell me the whole damn government needs to know where I am and where I've been?

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Total recall

I'm sure that title has been used a lot lately...

This post is mainly to point out the tiny little add on recall of 8,000 Tacoma Trucks for faulty front drive shafts (bbc). Didn't want it to get missed it having been announced at the end of the week with no one paying attention.

But a big thanks to the media for whipping this thing into a frenzy that will surely score some more taxpayer bucks over at National Highway Traffic Safety Administration so they can get involved in matters like these that have been pretty well handled. Sure, we might like to see Toyota act a bit quicker, but I'd say they've handled it like the pros they are.

And for the most part, this has been a rather risk free recall. We all mourn those who passed, but we also all know the inherent risks in strapping yourself into a box on wheels going around at 65 miles per hour. Its not like Toyota was trying to kill people... If the highly skilled engineers at Toyota didn't see an issue when designing and producing the vehicle, the engineers at NHTSA likely would have also missed it during a total vehicle inspection.

Adding more layers of bureaucratic red tape...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Dead Man Appealing

I got out of work late yesterday and ended up listening to a bit of Fresh Air from NPR. While Terry Gross is an amazing interviewer, I generally find her program frustrating because I'm rarely so interested in the person she's interviewing that I want to hear a half hour or more of it.

Last night was no exception. But they guy she was interviewing got me to thinking about just how much this person costs the government.
As is often the case, I'd like to state: I'm not saying right or wrong here. I'm not trying to argue a point one way or the other. I'm just amazed as to how much one particular individual can run up the costs for state and federal governments.

His name is David Dow and he has devoted his life to appealing the sentence in cases where the defendant has been sentenced to death. He does not seek to exonerate wrongly convicted people, in fact, most of his clients readily admit that they are murderers and rapists. He simply seeks to avoid their execution in exchange for life in prison.

Here is a simple list of some ways this fellow costs you and I some dollars:
1.) The minute the death sentence is handed down, this guy goes through the appeals process. Delaying tactics are his friend and he will exhaust every legal option he has. Forms upon forms and likely a lot of face time with government employees.
2.) When he loses his initial appeal, he goes to the federal court of appeals and does the same thing.
3.) When he loses his federal appeal, he petitions the Supreme Court to hear his case. Luckily, the SC generally doesn't bother with this guy, but someone has to take the time to look his case over to make sure they aren't just blanket rejecting silly cases.
4.) There are other appellate courts and forms to fill out and process, these are just the big 3.
5.) When he wins a case, we suddenly have to pay to house and feed another inmate for many many years in an already overwhelmed prison system at about $100 grand a year (statistics vary).

In summary of why this man spends so much time and money clogging up our court system to save murderers from the same fate no one could save their victims from: "The person that we're executing is simply not the same person who committed the crime that landed that person on death row..."

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

Stealing from our citizens

Why do we pay taxes?

To defend our Air Force Reserves recruitment efforts when they steal songs from the American music industry to play during their Super Bowl ads.

Though, I'm not sure what will cost more:
The legal defense and resulting fines for using a White Stripes song without authorization (which will cost more than licensing it the proper way)
-OR-
Running Super Bowl ads.

Seriously. How is it OK that government agencies are vying for the multi-MILLION dollar ad spots during the Super Bowl? I know they have a working budget for recruiting, but this doesn't seem like the best way to spend it to me...

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

read more: White Stripes battle US Air Force over Super Bowl ad(bbc)

Monday, February 8, 2010

Thain to destroy CIT next

If you're anything like me, you'll suddenly discover that a thin layer of slime has covered you while reading this story: Former Merrill Lynch boss appointed CIT chief (bbc)

I'm not going to spend much time explaining why John 'How About Some Bonuses!' Thain costs taxpayer dollars. I already have. (twice)

But I will say this: He's gonna fit right in at CIT. These people know a thing or two about making taxpayer money disappear. Literally.

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

It should be mentioned that they are paying this man $6 MILLION a year. Some of that pay is in delayed stock but I'm not sure that is an appropriate amount to pay someone whose previous position was at the helm of a company he drove into the ground while lying to the shareholders in order to ensure BILLIONS of dollars in bonuses for him and his cronies.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

How dare we legislate without input from Europe

In October of 1998, the Fairness in Music Licensing Act was passed in the U.S. in a way that amended our copyright laws. The FMLA permits, under certain conditions, the playing of radio and television music in public places (bars, shops, restaurants, etc.) without the payment of a royalty fee.

Seems pretty fair to me. Having a television in the waiting room or a game on at the bar is a matter of convenience. I'd have a hard time believing that said television was the draw that brought people through the door. No royalty fees are necessary because no profit is being made from the content being displayed.
A matter of discussion, to be sure, but I'm not sure its a discussion we need to have with the world.
But, Oh No, Not This Time.

5 months after our law was enacted, a handful of, and I quote, 'European Communities' went to the World Trade Organization to complain. Of course, the WTO summarily discovered that a substantial majority of eating and drinking establishments and close to half of retail establishments were covered by the business exemption.
I've yet to see any reason for the Europeans to step into what we do in our establishments, but to this, they cry foul. This apparently violates an agreement we signed long before.

Seeing that the 'European Communities' were on to something and that the WTO was about to start shitting U.S. tax dollars, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Switzerland jumped on board to complain of this as 'third parties.'

Of course, the WTO found us at fault. Demanded we change our laws and fined us a great deal of money. Money of which we are paying to this day.

I've already gone far enough, if not too far in this relatively uninteresting bit of bureaucratic red tape. But I'll summarize:
Because we adjusted our copyright law to allow businesses run a television in their establishment, we are attacked, sued, fined and ordered to pay restitution to a random smattering of countries from around the world. (Explain to me how our law affected Japan and why they have a right to damages from us because I watched a game at the bar last week)

THIS is whyipaytaxes.

read more: DISPUTE SETTLEMENT: DISPUTE DS160 (WTO)
(Thanks to a Slate story for the link)

Modern day castle

This story is really quite sad...


A judge in Britain can't stand the fact that a farmer built this house in spite of having been told it would violate zoning ordinances. So, the farmer went and found himself a loophole which allows anyone to keep a building that violates such ordinances if the building had been in place for at least 4 years. Our friendly farmer simply stacked up walls of hay bails to conceal his progress in building his castle with nary a complaint. 4 years after he and his family moved in, he pulled down the hay bails and likely gave himself a content pat on the back for finding a way to complete his life's dream home.

Well, this just broils the judge. How dare the citizenry do as they see fit while taking advantage of loopholes written into the law? Now, the judge is demanding that this man tear down his castle. The logic: The hay bails was a part of the structure that stood for the 4 years. When he pulled down the hay bails from around his home, the judge rules that he substantially changed the structure thereby opening himself back up to the local zoning ordinances.

A beautiful home that would likely stand for centuries. Gone over a silly ordinance. No complaints, just an ordinance.

THIS is whybritspaytaxes.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Trading down

I was afraid of this. I've been complaining of the dolts who accidentally hiked into iran a few months ago. The fact that our State Department has to spend the time, money and political capital to get these assholes back blows my mind. There's a reason I've never accidentally hiked into Iran: Because I know better than to put myself in a position where that might happen.

Now, in addition to being a strain on State, there is a very likely chance that there will be a prisoner swap to get these people back. Iran'll get important comrades-in-arms, we'll get three douchebags who will end up writing books about the ordeal, having launched themselves into the spotlight.

THIS is whyipaytaxes.