Introducing: Csinsi

He's serious. He's determined. He's a man on a mission. He's The Joker:

Ok, here are 15 jokes made by me, yes me... I'm going to make 15 a day until I die, within a month 450 I'll have 5400 jokes a year, if I go over 300,000 before I die then I'll have accomplished something great, well at least mildly dazzling, the only problem is memorizing them, and categorizing them.

Most of the jokes are in the chuckle-to-guffaw range - enjoy!

Homosexuality as a non-immutable trait

"Religious conservatives see this issue very clearly," he said. "They don't see heterosexuals and homosexuals being equal. Homosexuality, unlike race, is not an immutable characteristic. We've met plenty of people who are no longer gay. We don't know anyone who was formerly black or Hispanic."

Au contraire! Ladies and gentlemen... I give you Michael Jackson!!!

The Passion of the Christ

I have no words to describe what I saw. My emotional soundboard couldn't register feelings at that frequency. I've never seen - let alone experienced - pain of the sort that was depicted second after grueling second. The sound of metal shards sinking into flesh, the splattering blood, the barbaric guards. The moments that touched me most deeply were those I could understand. I first broke down into tears - which was an immense release - when Jesus fell on the Via Dolorosa and his mother flashed back to him falling down as a 4-year-old. Somehow, I can't understand how, the crucifixion was worse than the beating. So many times, you think, "Can it go on?", and it does. I can't even explain how I feel now - a mix of relief, gratefulness, survivor's guilt, sorrow and pain, or something like that.

If you haven't seen the movie, see it. You will not enjoy it - that I can guarantee - but it's still the most worthwhile film ever made.

Anti-Semitism

Jews should feel uncomfortable when they see "The Passion of the Christ". I haven't seen it yet, but I know enough to say two things with relative certainty. First, that Jews should feel uncomfortable. Second, that the film is not anti-Semitic and is unlikely to stir up antisemitism.

Let me expound. The story of Christ's murder should make everyone reading this feel distinctly uncomfortable. After all, we the people are the murderers. However, just as the gospel came "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile". There's a distinct cultural rejection of Christ's claims that Jews maintain to this day, especially those who live in a Christian society. They know that Jesus and His early following were all Jewish, and what essentially occurred was a split between Messianic Judaism and non-messianic Judaism. The film depicts a story that can't be comfortable for anyone on the "other side", because it's extremely sympathetic to one side. Moreover, if this isn't just the partisan view of a religious schism but rather the seminal event of human history that it claims to be, Jews have reason to feel even more uncomfortable. Either their forebears were very, very wrong, or the film is portraying them unfairly; it's a historical narrative that doesn't leave a "third way". Pleas to show the Romans as primarily responsible for Christ's death are revisionist and seek to take blame away from us as a society, and cast it instead onto military bogey monsters. It's easy to believe that legionnaires could be barbaric; how we face up to barbarism in our own homes and hearts is a much more difficult question, and (incidentally) one that is the key to understanding the history of pain endured by the Jewish people.

Second, the story is not "antisemitic". It portrays the Jewish leaders as very, very wrong, so wrong they committed murder. However, with the Roman occupiers serving a largely mechanical function (as it turned out), the story is of a man being rejected by his own people. Christ's death finds echoes in the death of many who stood up to their own society and got persecuted or killed for it. Germans who fought the Nazis, Muhammed who was chased out of Mecca, English abolitionist William Wilburforce and many others throughout history have stood up for what they believed was right and indicted their own leaders and culture.

Boo This Man!

Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist departed from his usually constructionist position to uphold a discriminatory Washington statute. The state awards scholarships, but yanked one from a student who chose to study theology. Not only is this flagrant discrimination, it also flies in the face of reason. Is the state to be the arbiter of what is religious and what is not? How about politically sensitive studies? If the state awards scholarships to students based on the student (this is not a subject-specific grant), it should allow that individual to pursue higher education at an accredited institution, regardless of the individual characteristics, beliefs, and career goals of the student.

Jury Duty

I'm heading into the great unknown... hopefully it'll be short and interesting.

You might be a nerd if...

You cast a vote for Dennis Kucinich. This guy has 12 words in his webpage tagline. The average among the other seven candidates that I found was 3.3. Lieberman and Gephardt's webpages cannot be found, much like their supporters.

UPDATE: Lieberman and Gephardt's pages were found, hiding with Dick Cheney and a pile of WMD's in the undisclosed location

Search and Destroy

OK, got some search hits that were begging to be posted. We just want you to know that if you're here looking for the following items, you probably won't find them, but you're welcome anyway!

Embarressing pictures of the red sox, Yahoo #1.
Reactions of the parakeets, Google #4.
Wutzizname, Google #7.
Barcelo Dupuy, Google #1.

You're welcome here anytime, Barcelo!

AIDS victims are people too

It's not economical, in terms of human lives, to treat African AIDS victims. I know it sounds harsh, but it's true; for the good of the continent, it's crucial that current carriers stop spreading the disease, and the best way for them to do that is die. Furthermore, those who don't have it yet need a healthy fear of the disease - and if African AIDS victims have it as good as American AIDS victims, there won't be enough disincentive to scare people safe.

The above is a well-reasoned Malthusian argument. I wrote it. And it makes me sick to my stomach. The argument is irrefutable: if total population retention is your goal, the infected people need to be isolated and allowed to die. Such a solution - say, creating "AIDS Villages" for victims to live out their shortened days - is reminiscent of the Law. The God-given Law of Moses had strict health rules that called for isolation for cause of uncleanness, even during a woman's period, to prevent the spread of diseases. Kept folk healthy, but it contrasts pretty sharply with Jesus' approach to uncleanness. Christ not only touched and interacted with those carrying infectious diseases, but He commanded them to break the Law of Moses by approaching Him. This - along with many other aspects of His ministry - put people above the Law, as He said, "the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath".

Therefore, InstantReplay supports the first steps towards Bush's $15billion/5 year AIDS relief program. Much of the program will focus on prevention, but as the UNAIDS states, the U.S. plan is the first ever by a donor government to lay out an ambitious strategy for providing antiretroviral therapy and care and support on a scale that contributes substantially to meeting the global need. Caring for other people is a tantamount concern of humanity, and numbers-driven policy analysis alone will not fully meet needs or reflect God's love for individuals (not for economies).

News Digest: Aloha, Dennis

The Washington Post reports that Kucinich is focusing his efforts on Hawaii in an effort to win a single state. He has no chance in Ohio (though he could be a spoiler for Dean). A win (or at least a decent showing) would prove that Kucinich has appeal to voters from the far corners of America: he took 16% of the vote in Maine.

Quoted in the Post, Dennis proves why people don't vote for him. I mean, can you take a guy seriously who says, and I quote, "Now, granted, I'm back in the pack, but so was Seabiscuit". And honestly, can you imagine a guy who was a child star as the mascot for MAD Magazine becoming president?

More relevantly, the Post mentions the elephant in the (Democratic) room. Kerry "does not mention how he, as senator, supported the president on all four issues, helping cement in law what he often describes as flawed government policies." Those of us who are Kerry critics have known all along that he was just like Bush on the issues (except some important things like abortion) - see my post from September 2nd, entitled "JFK or GWB?". The Post continues: "Already, Bush's political team is compiling laudatory remarks Kerry has made about White House policies and might spin some of them into television ads defending the president, according to Bush campaign officials. "When he makes the case against things he voted for, it highlights the fact he's hypocritical," said Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie."

News Digest: As shepherds watched their flocks by night

They got shot at by settlers. Militant Jewish settlers in Hebron took potshots at unarmed Palestinian shepherds, who they claimed were threatening them. Hebron police investigators had difficulty believing the settlers' story and called the incident an "act of thuggery" intended to intimidate Palestinians...The shepherds were lightly wounded by flying shrapnel and rocks during the shooting and three of them were evacuated to hospital for medical treatment. Fortunately not fatal, but still a far cry from seeing singing angels...

News Digest: Oi ve, gays aren't all goys

Not only are there gay Jews (obviously), but even Israel is being affected by the recent push for homosexual marriage rights. Haaretz reports that Israel's supreme court exempted two men from a property-related tax that is charged to non-married individuals who transfer ownership.

We live in a world that has departed from God's plan for humanity. Should it surprise us that a country that gives military women three (but no more) free abortions during their 18 months of service also disregards God's established order of marriage? Stay tuned for fisticuffs between the Orthodox and secular members of the Knesset.

(Also see: Washington Post and NYTimes headline on Bush's stance).

Book Worm

I started reading again yesterday... I'd forgotten what it was like. I'm in the middle of a 550-page biography of Ataturk, by Andrew Mango. Tremendous work if you want to learn anything about the foundations of modern Turkey. In other news...

You're 1984!
by George Orwell
You have this uncanny feeling that you're always being watched. Thus life has become a bit of a show as you try to portray yourself as much more reputable than you actually are. All around you, people seem to accept an unending stream of lies and propaganda without flinching. Your only hope may be a star-crossed love affair, but pain seems stonger than love. If you have any older brothers, be very wary of them.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Orwell's seminal dystopia happens to be a personal favorite of mine, so like Doug I was quite pleased to find out that I am compared to one of my personal faves (btw, while you're at Mute Troubadour, check out Doug's synopsis of a great sermon. Let the Word of God be preached!). I also took the other version of their test and got one that's still on my must-read list:

You're Roots!
by Alex Haley
While almost everyone agrees that you're brilliant, no one knows quite how to categorize you. Some say that you're a person with an amazing family tree. Some say that you're just a darn good storyteller. Others say that you're both and don't much care where to draw the line. What is known is that your people have been through a great number of trials and that you are where you are because of hard work. You have nothing to lose but your chains.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Even better, they have a 6-question country quiz (and their questions are hilarious):

You're Liechtenstein!
Most folks don't take you that seriously, but you really make a big deal out of being independent.  You don't do a whole lot for other people, but you make the best of the resources available to you.  You really like snow.  And mountains.  And being independent.  And you're probably pretty small.
Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Taps for Spot

The White House is draped in black today to mourn the passing of the First Dog, Spotty. She was born in the White House in 1989, and like George W., returned in 2001 to the territory once marked by her forebears. Dick Cheney's dog Pacemaker will be sworn in as First Animal tomorrow.

In other news, bloggers continue to flex their muscles... and the Bush administration learns that "regular Americans" can tell a story to the world.

Introducing: Arabic News

It seems the old Arab News site isn't working, so I looked around for an alternative. I quickly found a vastly superior site, Arabic News which is similar to All Africa, whereas Arab News was just a Saudi daily. So take a look at Arabic News; it's got user-friendly headlines and blurbs, and country-specific sections if you want to "zoom in".

Cowboy (Shut) Up

Dear Red Sox Fans,

How's it going? I hope you enjoyed the winter, but if not, rejoice because it's almost over now. I didn't have such a bad one, what with the Patriots winning and all. I'm hoping that was just a warmup for the Red Sox, who will make the Super Bowl celebration seem like a Little League pizza party by comparison. Think one death is a tragedy? If the Sox win, the blood of a thousand interloping drunk Yankee fans will make the Muddy River run red and at a blood alcohol level of .10. But I digress.

There's one quick point that I want to make to you all while I have your attention, before the "Get More in '04" Red Sox thrill us all and baseball brings summer back to New England. Remember the phrase "Cowboy Up?" Yeah, it was a great phrase - I said it. I yelled it. I chanted it. I wore a cowboy hat with a red "B" sewn on. I was a Cowboy Upper, shamelessly. I embraced the Year of the Cowboy.

The Year of the Cowboy was 2003. This is 2004. Do not chant "Cowboy Up". Do not yell "Cowboy Up". Do not say "Cowboy Up". Don't make puns involving "Cowboy Up". And don't think you're immune if you make puns involving "Cowboy Down" or "Cowboy Over" or "Cowboyed Out".

Cowboy Up brought us close to the World Series. It was a fun ride, don't get me wrong, but I'm going to take a different train this year, in hopes that it won't end up in Mudville with all the others.

Go Red Sox!

Decision

Yale: No.

That leaves five possible grad schools. Of the remaining ones, two have still not received my letter of recommendation from Professor Sum. The fact that it's him in both cases makes me queasy... did he get the others out?? I'd like to think I'm not worried because I'm trusting God, but I think I'm really not worried because I don't have the energy to be worried.

Evil Empire vs. the Real Empire

The BBC has an interesting comparison of Pay-Rod to Becks, two of the world's best-known athletes who were each bought by the top teams in their sports. However, their ability to compare payroll (New York spends 5 million more pounds per year) and sport dominance (Real is practically an all-star team) doesn't translate into an understanding of baseball. The otherwise astute analysis ends with Alex Rodriguez is regarded as the best outfield player in baseball and the Yankees will be expected to win the World Series immediately with him in their side. But, such is the importance of the pitcher in their sport, that they may still fall short. I guess that's about as intelligent as something I might write about metric football.

Passion Central

Here's some links on Mel Gibson's film "The Passion" which has been generating a public debate that is taking prime-time TV away from Kerry, Edwards, Dean, Iraq and everyone else.

The Passion of the Christ official site.
Washington Post article on Gibson's ABC interview and the prep for the film.
Fan website, with lots of helpful material.
Passion promotional materials, official site.
Christianity Today special section on the movie.
About.com on Atheism, with links to a tons of articles.
Anti-Defamation League (so concerned with The Passion that it was the focus of their recent meeting).

I watched much of the ABC interview tonight, and one moment hit me in the gut. They showed a close-up of Christ's exposed hands, with a nail poised, held in place by a hand, waiting for a mallet to drive it through the flesh. "When asked who killed Jesus, Gibson said, "The big answer is, we all did. I'll be the first in the culpability stakes here."" The left hand, the hand holding the nail, is Gibson's own. Many directors put themselves in bit parts, if only to fill an empty slot. However, the message Gibson sends by putting himself - his left, sinister, hand - as the one to crucify Christ is a powerful one.

Conspiracy Theory Generator

Trust the Krauts to come up with this. Hat tip to Doug.

We must urgently go to war against France.
They must immediately and preemptively be attacked!
A true statement prepared by: Salim Furth, Prime Minister

Terrorists are threatening the world, our freedom and values. They are surreptitiously supported by the cabbage farmers of France. We have information, based on our reliable sources, that they are planning disgraceful things such as the revival of the Spice Girls. Moreover, we have well proven facts gathered by British intelligence, making me absolutely certain about their wicked intentions, far beyond any possible doubt. I have spoken to Richard Perle who interrupted a conspiracy meeting last week, re-confirming all this. I can only call upon those work-shy bums and their children out on the streets, to go back to work and to ultimately support us in our fight against terrorism alongside our American friends. We have solid and unquestionable proof of the existence of weapons of mass destruction in the posession of France and terrorist, such as chemical weapons, hidden and ready to be used. I know for sure - and this is a proven and overly and overly proven item of information - that they can be ready and put into action in as little as 22 minutes. I must also say that I am shocked and deeply concerned, that some specific countries are resisting to this urgently necessary war. They are nothing but Bavarian folklorists floating around in BMW's. Most unfortunately, they are followed by the UN nearly altogether, but history will tell all of them that we are right. If we would also give in to their insidiuos proposals, THIS would be an insult to the UN, second to naught! Colin Powell, this outstanding and honest man, will now present all the facts and evidence, so eagerly and honestly collected by British intelligence and the CIA, to the UN. I am so proud that he will also strongly base his speach on the fine material the British secret service has come up with, during the intensive search for facts and evidence in the fight against terrorists and such evil spots on the world map, threatening the free world. This has been indeed a fine piece of intelligence work, producing - and I must repeat - well proven facts. In order to meet the challenges of the future in fighting terrorism, we will substantially upgrade the IT base of the British secret service with double sided carbon paper. Last but by no means least, I want to say 'muchas gracias' to Jose Maria Aznar, my good friend, despite him being a Catholic, for standing on our side in this important and urgently necessary battle, for the sake of freedom and our security.

2/16/04.

Salim Furth, Her Majesty's Prime Minister.

Exhausted

The Harvard National Model U.N. is finally over! I hoofed it around the Park Plaza Hotel all weekend, and now it's just the wrap up before that chapter of my year closes. Phew.

F

I just bombed a Linear Algebra test and a Calc III quiz. Horrible feeling, especially since I knew the material for both as of last night. I really hope they aren't too zealous about closed-book knowledge of math in graduate school. It's not like I'm ever going to use this stuff without a reference tool; I understand it, but I mix formulas up occassionally, and forget which element is which, etc. I can use the mathematical tools - I just need to have the buyer's guide handy.

This is why I hate math: either I can do it, or I can't. On tests, there's no middle ground. On homework, I feel like I'm either doing busywork or attempting the impossible, both of which are a waste of time. I hate math.

Update

1) I'm a sucky blogger. Oh wait, that's not news to anyone who's been checking this site in February.
2) Model UN is eating me alive. In a good way.
3) Thank God for Presidents' Day!

Model UN

My pal Tanay and I just went through country briefs on a few nations...
create your own visited country map or write about it on the open travel guide

Update

My passionate and loyal readers want an update. Panem et circusem for the masses... here we go.

1. Falling into the Charles River and giving my Mom a heart attack for the second time in as many centuries was the most dramatic thing in my life this week.
2. I spent a lot of time trying to get people involved after Involution; watched young leaders get crucified for trying to step out and do something. They almost cried, up in front of the whole group. It almost made me cry.
3. I just stayed up until 3am chatting on AIM about gay marriage, worldviews, and relationships in general. And how best to spit a lungie.

Skating

So yeah, nobody of the 20+ people I invited showed up to skate, but I had a great time nonetheless. Started out at BU, skating around just a bit before I decided to head west. Hung my shoes on my belt, tied my jacket around my waist, and took off under the BU Bridge! The ice was pretty good, despite annoying snow in a few places. After lousy snow along Allston, things cleared up near the Arsenal Mall. As I approached Watertown Square I knew I would have to make a decision: take the 57 bus back, or stick it for the long haul to Auburndale, which is equal again to the distance I had come (about five miles).

Actually, I think I should rephrase that: as I approached Watertown Square I thought I would have to make a decision. My decision ended up being made for me, and I performed a triathlon: skating, diving, and running to catch the bus (and escape frostbite).

The only real downside is that my parents' cellphone can't decide whether it's dead or alive. All in all, things went swimmingly.

Put This One on Ice

Anyone up for skating on the Charles River tomorrow? Even if you can only come out and shuffle around for a while (between Involution preparations, for instance) some of us are going to be skating near the BU Bridge starting at 3pm. We might go somewhere... Watertown, Newton, Dedham, Wellesley, Natick... who knows? Just kidding - come out, it won't be such a long-distance skating tour!

I've Got Rhythm

Alright, once those of you who have heard me try to clap stop guffawing I'll get on with the post.

You done?

Wait for it... OK, now you can laugh. What I am gaining some rhythm in is daily life, and that's key. It's vital to my sanity, I have found, to have a cadence and credible expectations of what I'm going to be doing for how long. I can do stuff for 14 hours on a given day without being exhausted as long as I know it's coming. It's surprise work that kills ya. What with getting a new job last month and not having all my schedule final until last week, it was difficult to get into any kind of rhythm in January. Also, the cold weather made it tough to do anything - a simple trip to NU became a mental ordeal on some of the worst days. Now, with spring arriving (it was a steamy 35 today!) and my schedule settling down, I've become a lot more prepared for each day and more aware of what I need to be doing. The one thing not yet in my rhythm is, unfortunately, one of the most important. Somehow, I need to figure out when I'm going to have quiet times, and I think it's got to be at a different time each day because of my shifty schedule.

Super!

Here's a toast to the Super Bowl XXXVIII champions - the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS! I didn't doubt for a moment, even though I knew the game wouldn't be won until the final 2 minutes. These Pats don't blow anything up, but they win games with mind-boggling efficiency, and as long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichek are around, expect that trend to continue.

Stampeding crowds killed 244 people...not in Boston, but in Mecca, where the devil clearly got the better of his would-be stoners, and left hundreds killed and injured in mass hysteria during a pilgrim ritual. This happens every year on some scale, and it doesn't strike me as a particularly godly type of worship.

And now we are officially 2 weeks away from the beginning of Red Sox season! On February 16th, the equipment truck leaves Fenway Park, and life begins again in the Frozen North. In the meantime, is anyone interested in going skating on the Charles River? Seriously.

The Chops Tax Plan, v. 1.1

Version 1.0 had serious flaws, including nonexistence. Here's my tax plan (drum roll).

For simplicity's sake, let's set the total of federal government revenues equal to 100 C's. According to the White House website, 100 C's in FY'04 is equal to $1,922,000,000,000 (or 33 billion years worth of allowance from when I was eleven).

Also from the White House, we find that 116 C's are going to be spent by the U.S. this year. We can safely assume state and local revenues and spending to be almost balanced and about 50 C's. 20 C's are spent on defense, and 1.5 on Homeland Security. Another 19.5 C's are spent on other discretionary projects. On the revenue side, 44 C's are from progressive income taxes and 40 C's are from flat payroll taxes. Compare these numbers to the Chops Plan:

The Federal government would retain spending on and control over:
- Debt service
- Department of Defense
- Department of Homeland Security
- Customs, State, Coast Guard, foreign aid, etc
- Internal Revenue Service
- FCC, FDA, FAA, and other regulators of "naturally" national things

All functions that can be carried out locally would be. The key to this plan (which is obviously a lot more than a tax plan) is local control. If you make a decision, you live with the consequences. If you screw the poor, your state will get all slummy and gross. If you screw the rich, they'll move out. Cause and effect will drive rational, as opposed to political, decision-making.

Various Incomes: the Federal government would retain estate and gift taxes, fees, etc.

Customs: customs taxes, quotas and all other barriers to free trade would be abolished.

Payroll taxes: these sneaky taxes would be abolished. The only reason this 15% flat income tax exists is so you don't realize you're paying twice as much as your statement says in income tax, and so half our income tax is actually regressive (because you don't pay payroll taxes on anything above $95,000 or so).

Corporate Income Tax: basically a flat tax of 35%, this would be abolished and states would be left to decide how they wished to replace it, whether by a similar measure, by sales taxes, by property tax, etc.

Income Tax: the income tax and earned income tax credit would continue to be collected and set centrally, but would be immediately split with the states. The income tax would be increased by whatever percentage is necessary in each bracket to cover the abolition of payroll taxes. The EITC, as it is the most successful Federal assistance program (since it basically pays you to work), would be increased and most other forms of welfare abolished at the federal level. States can then decide how much of the EITC they want to give directly to each qualifier. This is not just for simplicity; it's to avoid the dangerous "fall-off" that occurs for up-and-coming families who reach an income of about $20,000 and suddenly find that all their programs are stopping at the same time, decreasing incentive to work. The new EITC structure would ease people off of welfare with more coordination.

Some Key Non-Tax Proposals
The only way this will work is if the government puts some limits on itself. First of all, all states plus the Federal government would have a balanced budget amendment. Second, serious study of social security and medicare would be in order, since those two are on pace to completely bankrupt the country within a half century. An immediate initial measure would be to raise the qualifying age for SocSec by one year every other year for the next 20 years. It's not pretty, it's not popular, but it's necessary. When SocSec was founded, the life expectancy was 63. Now it's 77, and rising. Medicare is a tougher question, which basically comes down to the fact that we can keep people alive for a long time - for a price. I don't see an easy way around this one, but that's a major reason to kick it to the states: they can experiment, and become "laboratories of democracy", as they say.

State governments would continue their current revenue practices to supplement the federal revenue-sharing (which is key; if all revenue were collected by state and not shared, the rich would get richer and the poor poorer). The result would likely be that the Federal government would collect 100 C's of revenue, spend 45, and distribute the other 55 C's to states, which would supplement that with another 50 C's. Spending is thus down significantly - and it's up to states to decide what to cut.

Why is this better? Besides the virtue of local control for its own sake, this would help politicians decide what is really important. Right now, if you're a Senator from South Dakota, you fight for farm subsidies - the bigger the better! However, if you had 0.25 C to work with in South Dakota's own budget, you would probably realize that the farmers were doing alright after all. Right now, every lawmaker fights for every bit of funding that could help his district; we need a system where each state has to decide how to split up its allotted funding. Is education your priority? Health? Public safety? If the money is misallocated, politicians will hear about it a lot quicker; they can't blame some pointyheaded bureaucrat or pointyeared president while picking the voters pockets and then buying their votes with the loot.

The Chops Tax Plan, v. 1.0

OK, mind if I change the tone of the debate? Frankly, the sales tax bores me. It's not all that different from the income tax, except that it has a lot more unanswered questions because it hasn't been tried on that scale before. Somehow Gandhi thinks it will make the government less intrusive. Instead of knowing how much you work, they'll know exactly what you buy. Woo-hoo... I can see it now "Mr. Furth, it has come to our attention that your diet consists largely of sugar and caffeine. The Federal Bureau of Investigative Health recommends that you add 800 grams of vegetable matter to your weekly intake. If we do not see significant improvement in your diet, you may be assigned a Case Shopper from your State Department of Social and Shopping Services. He or she will assist you in making better decisions with your weekly intake. Remember, you are what you eat, and you eat what we say you eat, so you are who we tell you to be."

Oh wait, I said I was going to change the tone of the debate. Hmm, it's just too funny so I'm going to leave it and start over.

Response to Gandhi

Gandhi -

I am thiiiiis close to revoking your speaking rights. Here's his comments:

Actually you said "The cost of collecting sales tax from every outlet would easily equal and probably outweigh any savings of not having an income tax", and you cited "*immense* implementation costs" and job migration in your original critique of Parker. So you definately make it out to be inferior... I never actually looked much at the idea of a sales tax before, I just like the concept primarily because it reduces government control over our lives, and is actually a "fair tax" and a flat tax. The income tax system with its tiers is daylight robbery, and ultimately very bad for the economy. The rich should actually be taxed less so that they have an incentive to create more wealth. BTW I disagree with the end of the article, as should be obvious :) Ettlinger's 60% total figure (national plus state taxes) is way off, no matter how you adjust it; if it was that high then I would take Chops' position. Spending cuts definately have to happen first.

OK, first off I meant what I said both times. And you still have a romantic view of the sales tax. The fact is, it'll be just as tough and expensive to administer PLUS the switchover costs, which is what I said would be *immense* (now, that's a one-time cost, but you've gotta prove that another system is significantly better before you make a massive change).

Secondly, Ettinger's 60% figure is right on, assuming his other statistics are right on. As he says, the advertized 23% tax is actually a 30% tax, and according to his statistics that becomes 40% if you discount government spending (having the government pay taxes is just a way to create government jobs, and it's dumb). Given that state and local taxes equal about 50% of the federal take, adjusting the 40% to 60% is realistic. In New Hampshire, with no current sales tax, you can measure the real "feel" of that. Here, with a 5% tax in place, the increase would only be about 53%. Either way, consumer goods would get way expensive.

Most importantly, Gandhi, I want you to read a book that tells you of the evils of wealth and materialism. This book will open your eyes to the fact that the poor really aren't any worse, and are actually a lot closer to God, in general. It will also open your eyes to the idea that growing the economy isn't really a godly goal for a government. Rather, social justice should be the #1 concern, and if we don't have 8% growth for the next 50 years, but instead we make people more equal, and we tear down the proud and build up the downtrodden, that's OK with me. The great thing about this book is that it's (a) divinely inspired and (b) available for free online. Just follow my link to the Good News. And I'm not being facetious - it breaks my heart to see someone who loves God bellowing the gospel of materialism. What did Christ say about the rich? That it's hardest for them to enter the kingdom of heaven (but all is possible with God). What did he say about the poor? That He came to preach good news to them. What did He say about taxation? To give to Caesar what is Caesars.

Read Amos. Read Malachi. Read Matthew. Take a good, long, open-minded look at what God says about society. This isn't about sales tax v. income tax. It isn't even about taxing and the size of government. It's about how we want our government to treat us, especially the weaker members of society. I'm a conservative, which means I believe that government has to do what I and my fellow citizens say, not vice versa. Therefore, my Christian views of society shape what I want the government to do. If I thought that maximizing GDP were the only goal, sure I'd call for flat taxes, no labor laws, and decreased civil liberties. I'd also call for women to get into the workplace and abandon their families. I'd call for the government to determine the number of university slots available for each profession (we need more engineers and fewer theatre majors). I'd do a lot of things, and my society would look more and more like Brave New World every day. Instead, I try to do what I can to make my society more and more like the Kingdom of God, whose representative I am on earth.

...And the Great 48

create your own visited states map or write about it on the open travel guide

36 states total, but that's counting D.C. Of course, some of these states I haven't done justice to. I've set foot on ground in every one of them (not just airports or drive-throughs) but some I've spent precious little time in.
Montana - an hour in the town of West Yellowstone in the little tiny piece of Wyoming.
Delaware - I think I've been in more than just the I-95 rest stop, but I'm not really sure of that.
North Carolina - rest stops, and a wonderful breakfast buffet. I've technically been in Mississippi and Alabama too, but I slept straight through.
California - When I was three years old; but I still remember that they had big streets and funny looking trees, so it counts.
Wisconsin - one picnic stop with the family.
Illinois - stopped for gas... I think.