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April 27, 2006
April 25, 2006
Gasoline Prices and the State Taxes You Pay
You can’t get away from the talk about gas prices, try as you might. Expensive? Yes. Exxon’s (et al) fault? I don’t think so. Some politicians would like you to believe that the price at the pump is a direct result of the oil companies price gouging. Chuck Schumer believes this and has called for an investigation. In fact, many are upset that an oil company has the gall to make a profit! (See my post of Folk Marxism as this directly relates.)
However, did you know that New York ranks highest in state taxes on gasoline? A report by the American Petroleum Institute shows that as of August 2005, 62.9 cents per gallon goes to taxes. Federal tax is 18.4 cents leaving 44.5 per gallon in taxes. What are these taxes? 8 cents is the state excise tax the rest is listed as “Other”. They include sales taxes, gross receipts taxes, oil inspection fees, underground storage tank fees and other miscellaneous environmental fees. Below is an excerpt from the report showing the top and bottom 5 states for gas taxes.
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Nationwide and State-by-State Gasoline Taxes, August 2005 (Gasoline-taxes.pdf)
Maybe we should be calling for an investigation of these taxes and where that money is going. Or, perhaps since times are tough, New York should be willing to ease up on these taxes.
April 24, 2006
Terrorists Rally in New York
The Islamic Thinker’s Society held a rally in New York on April 17. Despite their seemingly innocuous name, this group sends a clear message of violence and hatred.
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We know many government services are watching us Such as the FBI…CIA…Mossad, Homeland Security… We know we are getting on their nervesAnd so are you…. So we say the hell with you! May the FBI burn in Hell CIA burn in Hell Mossad burn in Hell Homeland Security burn in hell!! Islam will dominate the world Islam is the only solution Islam will dominate the world Islam is the only solution Takbeer! La ilaha il Allah, Muhammad-ur Rasool Allah |
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/04/islamists_message_to_israel_at_1.php
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A member of the group was also telling me, "we will kill you", and "next time we will get all of NYC". A man punched me in the face, knocking of my glasses. These were not just a group of individuals. These people (that started the demonstration) were men in their 20's who were radicalized, mostly from the Mid-East, who were controlled by one elder man. They had great discipline that you would not see in just a mob. They were also videotaping this whole incident, with the elder man shouting "film this, it will get us more recruits." Any way the police came finally. After a few minutes finding out about the incident, they took me away alone. This even after I informed them that I was assaulted, a fact which was verified by a few witnesses. When I asked the officer why they did not bring the people who assaulted me in, I was told that "since 9/11 we have to bend over backwards for them." |
April 23, 2006
Bin Laden Tape Urges Fight vs. UN Peacekeepers
Al-Jazeera released a (unconfirmed) Bin Laden audio tape in which, among other things, urged his followers to take up the fight in Sudan against the "crusader plunderers" aka: UN Peacekeepers. Apparently Bin Laden would prefer uninterrupted genocide.
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"I call on mujahedeen and their supporters, especially in Sudan and the Arab peninsula, to prepare for long war again the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan. Our goal is not defending the Khartoum government but to defend Islam, its land and its people," bin Laden purportedly said. |
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192729,00.html
Bin Laden also criticized the West's decision to cut off funds to Hamas led Palestinians. have an in-depth look at the types of bombs used by Palestinian suicide bombers.
http://brain-terminal.com/posts/2006/04/20/inside-the-suicide-bomb
April 20, 2006
McDonald's Commercial Follow-Up
Looks like McDonald's did pull the ad due to complaints.
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While the bleeped spot generated a few complaints, causing the company to pull it, Edwards said it's pretty obvious that they are referring to a different "F"-word. For instance, the ad copy calls for the actors to say "for free" instead of just "free" so that it is clear. |
Once again, pushing the envelope is the excuse used for churlishness.
Folk Marxism
Leading up to and during the New York City transit strike, I noticed a common theme the media carried when reporting: oppressed vs. oppressors.
For the union the strike wasn’t just about wages and benefits, it was also about the belief that the MTA should share its surplus with the workers.
This worldview of ‘wealth = oppressor’ is brilliantly defined by Arnold Kling in his essay on Folk Marxism.
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Under folk Marxism, the oppressed class has inherent moral superiority to the oppressor class -- recall the quote which opens this essay. Class membership trumps individual character in determining moral standing. It should be no surprise that this belief could lead to tyranny and wanton murder by government. It should be no surprise that this belief has failed to improve the lot of those regarded as "oppressed." It inverts Martin Luther King's call to judge people by the content of their character. |
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=012206D
To see Folk Marxism in action, check out NewsBusters piece on Good Morning America's class warfare against Dr. William McGuire, head of UnitedHealth Group.
April 19, 2006
Common Sense Takes a Back Seat
Crime is unavoidable, that's a fact. It's going to happen, sometimes more often than not, but no matter what we do to prevent it, we can only reduce the frequency, not eliminate it all together. One way of reducing the frequency is to remove ourselves from situations where the likelihood of crime is high. Avoid dark alleys, don't talk to strangers, and never hitchhike are common pieces of advice our mothers told us.
Common sense will keep us out of trouble in a lot of cases. Ann Coulter, in her recent article, discusses some of the behavior involved in the Duke lacrosse rape case, Natalee Holloway vanishing in Aruba, and Imette St. Guillen's murder. I agree with her when she writes, "Everyone makes mistakes, especially young people, but the outpouring of support for the victims and their families is obscuring what ought to be a flashing neon warning for potential future victims."
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Not very long ago,
all the precursor behavior in these cases would have been
recognized as vulgar -- whether or not anyone ended up dead, raped
or falsely accused of rape. But in a nation of people in constant
terror of being perceived as "judgmental," I'm not sure
most people do recognize that anymore. It shouldn't be
necessary to point out that girls shouldn't be bar-hopping alone
or taking their clothes off in front of strangers, and that young
men shouldn't be hiring strippers. But we live in a world of Bill
Clinton, Paris Hilton, Howard Stern, Julia Roberts in "Pretty
Woman," Democratic fund-raisers at the |
Nobody deserves the crime committed on them, but we’re obligated as a society to speak up and warn others of actions which may put the odds in the criminal's favor.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=14178&o=ANN001
April 17, 2006
Suggesting Concervative Books a No-No at OSU
I am continually amazed at the hypocrisy of the left, though I know I shouldn't be. We're bombarded daily with images of people likening our government to Nazis, constant reminders of our shrinking civil liberties, and the insipid chanting of how the right will lead us to our doom. Yet, time after time, it is these fist shakers that want to keep you from speaking, reading and thinking.
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Scott Savage is a reference librarian at OSU Mansfield and a member of the school’s First Year Reading Experience Committee. After suggesting that students read “The Marketing of Evil” by David Kupelian, “The Professors” by David Horowitz, “Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis” by Bat Ye’or, and “It Takes a Family” by Sen. Rick Santorum, Savage was put under “investigation.” The Alliance Defense Fund reports that three professors filed a complaint of discrimination and harassment against Savage because the list of books he suggested made them feel “unsafe.” |
April 15, 2006
McDonald's Changes "Obscene" Commercial?
Have you seen the McDonald's commercial where two men are discussing the economic benefits of meals at the fast food establishment? The shtick is that when the characters say they got something for "free" it is bleeped out as if it was another four letter word. After this exchange of maybe ten bleeps the punch line is "so good a deal, it's obscene". I actually first heard this commercial before seeing it, being in another room while the TV aired it. My first reaction was that they were actually censoring out some questionable language, but after seeing it a second time I got the joke. However, I was kind of put off by it; tasteless at best. I've never been a fan of pandering to the lowest common denominator. Recently, I've seen the same commercial with the faux censoring removed and the tagline changed. Did McDonald's change this due to complaints? I haven't heard a peep out of the media on this. I suspect they did and wanted to keep it low key. Drop a line if you know anything more about this.
April 13, 2006
Comedy Central Won't Show Muhammed
The controversial episode of South Park, in which a depiction of Mohammed was to appear, in the end was edited for broadcasting on Wednesday night. At the critical moment a black screen appeared with text that read, “Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network.”
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Parker and Stone were angered when told by Comedy Central several weeks ago that they could not run an image of Muhammad, according to a person close to the show who didn't want to be identified because of the issue's sensitivity. The network's decision was made over concerns for public safety, the person said. |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/...
Lesson learned: Violence, rioting, death threats, burning buildings, and terrorism are the way to go when you don’t want something on TV.
Links for more info:
April 11, 2006
Is Nuclear Power the Answer?
I don’t think it is any secret that America’s dependency on oil is a major factor in our interest in Middle East stability. Their leverage controlling oil supplies must be countered and recently more Americans are becoming comfortable with the idea of nuclear power.
I believe it is among the safest, cleanest and most efficient means of making the United States self sufficient.
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Under the pressures of rising energy costs, dependence on foreign oil and worries about global warming, some Americans are taking a new look at nuclear power and recalculating the risks. An energy bill passed by Congress last year dangles the carrot of billions of dollars in incentives to utilities interested in building reactors. And the industry has the vocal backing of President Bush. "It's time for this country to start building nuclear power plants again," the president said during a visit last year to Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland. |
www.redorbit.com/news/science/463482/signs_of_a_comeback
Here is some info on the safety of nuclear power.
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf06.htm
Also, great blog on the case for increased nuclear power.
April 09, 2006
Skip School to Protest - Earn Extra Credit
A Washington area school is offering community service credit to student who take part in protesting the immigration bill. What's next? Gym credit for running away from the truant officers?
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The Montgomery County schools' decision to grant students community service credit for attending Monday's immigration rights protest is raising concern among some parents as well as activists who say officials should focus on education, not political advocacy. Montgomery is the only Washington area school system offering students credit for taking part in the event, to be held on the Mall -- a decision Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said is consistent with how the system has operated. "This is nothing new,'' schools spokesman Brian K. Edwards said about the decision. "Advocacy is allowed." |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content...
I've always felt that part of protesting and civil disobedience is taking the risks that come along with it. If something is important to you, make personal sacrifice for that cause. But I guess this is what happens in a society completely lost on the concept of sacrifice.
Update 4/11: This topic has stuck with me for a few days now and I can't seem to shake it. I can understand a school wanting students to be involved in issues, but when you give credit for such involvement it is essentially advocating the issue. Would a student receive credit for participating in a neo-nazi rally? How about a (now hide the children) a Republican rally?
April 06, 2006
NBC Creating News
Michelle Malkin uncovered a ploy by NBC to create news rather than report it. She revealed a March 27 email that solicited Muslim males to take part in segment on racism. NBC plans to send these men, accompanied by female(s), dressed in traditional Muslim clothing to a NASCAR event in order to secretly tape the racist reactions (or so they hope).
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I spoke this afternoon with Ramsey Poston, managing director of corporate communications at NASCAR. He's on his way down to Texas for the NASCAR race this weekend, and he responded to NBC Dateline's undercover Muslim stings, which I first reported on yesterday morning. "This is outrageous for a news organization with the reputation of NBC to stoop to the level of attempting to create news instead of reporting it. Any legitimate journalist should be ashamed." Poston told me NASCAR contacted NBC, which confirmed they are doing the story (also reported here yesterday). |
Here is a link to the original story and text of the email on Michelle’s website.
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004920.htm
She followed up the story yesterday with comments from a NASCAR spokesman.
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004934.htm
I find it very disturbing that NBC wants to create a segment based on baited racism. And more importantly, do you think NBC will still run the story if the Muslim participants experience no adverse responses?
April 04, 2006
Christian Values (Not Good Taste) Dooms Movies
According to Paul Verhoeven, director of the original Basic Instinct, the demise of the "erotic thriller" genre is due to the American Government imposing Christian values on its citizens. That Basic Instinct 2 took in $3.2 million and ranked 10th this weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, had nothing to do with good taste.
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"Anything that is erotic has been banned in the United States," said the Dutch native. "Look at the people at the top (of the government). We are living under a government that is constantly hammering out Christian values. And Christianity and sex have never been good friends." |
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=entertainment
Out of curiosity, I looked at my cable listings to see what was on tomorrow to gauge how far this has gone. America's Next Top Model, The Flavor of Love, South Park, and if you have HBO you can watch Big Love, "the series about a modern-day polygamist balancing financial debt with familial demands from three wives and seven children."
April 03, 2006
Terrorists Aren't So Nice After All
Jill Carroll, recently released hostage of terrorists in Iraq, released a statement about her involvement in a propaganda video.
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During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me they would let me go if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. I agreed. Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not. The people who kidnapped me and murdered Allan Enwiya are criminals, at best. They robbed Allan of his life and devastated his family. They put me, my family and my friends--and all those around the world, who have prayed so fervently for my release--through a horrific experience. I was, and remain, deeply angry with the people who did this. |
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/earlyed/early_world040106.htm