My View

Random ruminations from your resident curmudgeon...

Now that the tax filing deadline has passed, it is instructive to look back and see what has just happened to those of us that pay taxes. Here is what you should know and keep in mind the next time that you hear about the profligate spending that occurs at the federal level and the desire for more of our income in higher taxes. According to statistics compiled from the Internal Revenue Service for 2010 which is the last year for the data, Americans that made over $50,000 paid the majority of federal taxes. Those wage earners had an effective tax rate of 14% and carried 93% of the tax burden. By contrast, those that made less than $50,000 had an effective tax rate of 3.5% and paid 7% of all taxes. 143 million tax returns were filed in 2010. 58 million, or 41%, were from filers that did not pay taxes. That means that the tax burden in this country fell on 85 million families or individual wage earners. Additionally, according to the IRS, those filers that did not pay any taxes received $105 billion in refundable tax credits. So not only did 58 million filers NOT pay taxes, but they got credits totaling $105 billion that is a transfer of payments from tax payers. I expect the 2011 data when released will show similar results. Keep this in mind the next time that politicians talk about raising your taxes. And this is the crux of the problem: a shrinking percentage of families and individuals are supporting a growing number of non-paying households. Eventually, the percentage of non-paying households will eclipse the number of paying households if the trend continues. Now you see why cutting government spending has become an intractable problem for those in Washington.

I finally hit my stride. I backed over it in the driveway.

As painful as tax day has become for more Americans, it has the potential to get much more painful January 1. That day is being euphemistically called "Taxmegeddon", and it has been dubbed that because if Congress fails to act, a myriad of automatic tax increases will go into effect on that day. The current tax cuts that were originally enacted in 2002 will expire, and if they do, taxpaying Americans will face an automatic $494 billion tax hike. According to the Heritage Foundation, most Americans will face an average tax increase of $3,800, and 70% of the tax hikes will fall on low and middle income families. Payroll taxes will automatically increase, and workers will have a bigger bite taken out of their paycheck. That is just the start. There are five tax hikes that will be solely related to Obamacare, if it is not repealed. There is a surtax on investment income; estate taxes will increase significantly; and income tax rates will increase across all income levels. Think this will help the economy grow and entice businesses to hire new employees? Neither do I. This election in November has lasting consequences for each of us, and we as taxpayers have to elect and hold accountable our leaders to constrain the growth of government and begin to meaningfully cut government spending.

Cheat on your taxes and you will end up in one of two places- jail or working in Washington.

About those leaders and bureaucrats in Washington: they are certainly quick to want to collect your tax payments and you face serious consequences if you fail to pay what you owe. How about those in Washington? A report by the IRS showed that in 2010, 98,000 federal employees owed over $1 billion in back taxes. Let that sink in for a moment. Here is more. Members of the U.S. Senate alone owe over $2 million in back taxes. Now let me ask you this: do you think the IRS would be as lenient and forgiving toward you or me as they are to those in Washington? I agree with you- they would not. And this is part of the problem. Our leaders and those charged with enforcing the rules and collecting the taxes that are owed view themselves as better than or above you and me. It is an attitude of privilege and exemption. We should pay, and we will be asked for more in the coming months and years while those "in charge" do not abide by the same set of rules. Washington has created a caste system of rulers and administrators that not only think they know what is best for us but have exempted themselves from the law. And that has to change by our action, involvement, and our votes. Right now.

I flirted with disaster last night. Now it won't stop texting me.

And that, my friends, is my view.

Predators Take Commanding Series Lead With a 3-1 Victory

The Nashville Predators looked to take a 3-1 series lead against a desperate Detroit Red Wings team at the Joe Louis Arena in the fourth game of their first round series.

The Predators were once again going to rely on Pekka Rinne in net to hold the dangerous Wings offense in check. The Red Wings Jimmy Howard looked to return to his stellar regular season form.

Little did the Predators know how much they would rely on Rinne in this contest.

The Predators won the game 3-1, but the score was not indicative of the the tenor of this contest.

The first period was a choppy period that saw both teams take several trips to the penalty box. The Predators were tagged for three penalties, while the Wings were called for two. Each team managed to short circuit a power play by taking penalties, and for the Predators, it was fortuitous as they had taken two consecutive penalties and the Wings only had 21 seconds on that second power play.

Neither team established much flow offensively, but the advantage was slightly in the Wings favor. The Predators rarely got into an offensive rhythm, and were out shot by the Wings 11-7.

The choppiness of the game continued in the second period, and this worked in favor of the Wings as the Predators offense was non-existent in the opening minutes. In fact, it took the Predators 8:50 seconds to record their first shot on goal. In fact, the Wings had out shot the Predators 9-1 to open the period.

For whatever reason, the Predators offense was lethargic and without energy. If the Predators were going to win this game, the jump in their offense was going to have to get going.

The Predators offense never did get going in the second period. In fact, the offensive effort by the Preds was miserable. The Predators were out shot 17-3 and frankly were lucky to get out of the first 40 minutes scoreless.

The lack of offense by the Predators was inexplicable. Yes, the Wings are a good defensive team. The Predators made them look great. Shots did not get through, players were not going to the net, and the offense floated.

Inexplicable and inexcusable.

If the Predators wanted to win this game, they were not showing it.

Fortunately, it was scoreless, and going into the third period, it would be decided by which team wanted it more.

Predator fans could only hope their offense would show up in the final 20 minutes.

Both teams got their offense going in the third period, finding the back of the net.

David Legwand scored at 1:28 of the third period, but the refs had lost sight of the puck and had blown the whistle and the goal did not count.

Unbelievable, as the officials had asserted themselves and took away a goal by the Predators.

The Predators did get their goal at 1:55 of the period as Alexander Radulov flipped the puck toward the front of the net from the goal line. The puck went off Justin Abdelkader's stick right onto the stick of Gabriel Bourque and he buried the puck to give the Predators a 1-0 lead.

Bourque continues his strong play with his third goal of the series and it was huge for the Predators.

The Predators were called for too many men on the ice, and this time, the Predators were burnt as Niklas Kronwall blasted a shot from the blue line that  was tipped by Jiri Hudler and beat Rinne to tie the game at 1 at 2:14.

The Predators regained the lead as Marty Erat fought for the puck and drove into the Wings zone. He drew 3 Wings defenders to him and found Kevin Klein cruising down the slot all alone and Klein buried the shot into the open net to make it 2-1 at 6:25.

Once again, the Predators were called for a penalty as Andrei Kostitsyn was given a weak interference call. Nevertheless, the Wings were going on the power play, and the Predators needed to come up with a big kill.

The kill was successful and now the Predators needed to settle down and play solid hockey. This game was theirs for the taking.

Yet again, the Predators were called for another penalty as Matt Halischuk was called for interference and the Predators needed another big penalty kill at 14:43.

Once again, the PK unit stopped the Wings, and Rinne made some big stops to keep the Wings off the board. The Predators still held the lead, but repeated trips to the penalty box were dangerous.

A penalty was finally called on the Wings as Henrik Zetterberg took a two handed chop on Shea Weber at 19:04. Off the ensuing face off, the Predators battled for the puck and David Legwand came out of the corner with the puck and went to the front of the net and slipped the puck through the pads of Howard to give the Predators a 3-1 lead.

Legwand got the goal that he should have been awarded early in the third.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Predators had sealed a 3-1 victory and secured a 3-1 series lead. They have an opportunity to close out the series Friday in Nashville.

Once again, the Predators survived the onslaught of the Wings offense and were able to escape with the win. Everyone in the locker room should give Pekka Rinne a big round of applause, as he turned aside shot after shot from the Wings. What has emerged from these games so far is that the Wings can only rarely get the puck past Rinne at even strength. Their scoring has predominantly come off the power play.

Which means the Predators have to stay out of the box. They made this win much more difficult by taking numerous penalties- 7 to be specific. The Wings are too good and too dangerous to keep taking these kind of chances with the dangerous offense they possess.

Oh yeah- play offense for 60 minutes. Being out shot 41-17 is not usually a winning formula.

Now it is time for the Predators to re-group and focus on the task at hand. They have an opportunity to end the series and rest up before the start of the second round. Be assured that the Wings will come out with even more desperation in game five, and it will be important for the Predators to match that intensity and play with passion.

There is one more big step to take, boys. You have always said that the Wings are your measuring stick.

Time to measure up.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Kevin Klein

3. Marty Erat

Intent and Extent: A Fool's Errand, an Impossible Standard

Brendan Shanahan has drawn the ire of hockey fans across the National Hockey League as he and members of the Department of Player Safety have been busily handing out suspensions for dangerous and questionable hits in the first round of the playoffs. The anger has come not so much from the fact that a player has drawn a suspension, but because of a perceived lack of consistency in the application of justice by the League.

It seems like a pretty straightforward exercise: run a player into the boards; perpetrate a dangerous hit; intend to harm another player intentionally or recklessly and receive your punishment. And the punishment for a player from one team is the same for a player from a different team for the same kind of infraction.

Uh... not so fast.

There are two little words that carry huge consequences that have muddled this whole process.

Intent and extent.

And they create a no win situation for the League and continue to put player's safety at risk.

By using a purely subjective standard called "intent", i.e. what did the player mean to do, and the resulting "extent," or outcome of the play as determinants the type of punishment, if any, that is doled out to a player that executes a borderline or dangerous hit, it is no wonder that we continue to see these types of hits and dangerous plays.

And for the League to use intent and extent as the standard for meting out justice for dangerous plays is a fool's errand.

It can't be done properly.

Let's look at intent for a moment. Even the most egregious offenders when it come to dangerous hits never say that it was their "intent" to hurt another player. Who is to say, and how is the League to judge, what intent might be in any situation? What happens in that split second on the ice and at top speed is impossible to judge as to intent. When one player has another lined up for what could be a questionable hit, how is the League judging intent? Maybe previous occurrences of reckless behavior? Even that is a poor barometer of intent. Could the player have pulled up? Again, a split second decision in the heat of the moment, and the thought processes are known only to the player.

So how does the League determine intent? I would submit that they cannot, and any attempt to do so is just a wildly speculative guess on their part. Even worse, it establishes such a vague basis for judging these types of hits or plays that it is essentially no standard at all.

Every parent has had the situation with their children where something goes wrong, and one of the first things out their innocent mouths is "I didn't mean to..." We as parents know that judging intent is next to impossible. More often than not, "I didn't mean to" translates into "I didn't think something bad would happen."

What the League is doing with the non-standard of intent is in essence saying "I hope nothing bad happens." That is going to lead to a disastrous outcome on the ice, and is just insane.

The other aspect of these types of plays is using the extent of an injury, or outcome of the hit to determine the severity, if any of the punishment. In a word, this is outrageous. We all have witnessed players that were the victims of dangerous hits who, fortunately were able to get back up. In determining the level of discipline, the League has said something to the effect that "the player wasn't seriously hurt" and that fact mitigated the level of punishment. This standard, in my estimation, continues to invite these types of hits. Run a player and hope he gets up. If he does, you get nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

This is why Shea Weber could skate with a fine and Carl Hagelin got a three game suspension.

Regardless of outcome, a dangerous hit is a dangerous hit. For the League to fail to acknowledge that and let outcome mitigate the punishment due the offender is taking what should be a hard and fast standard and making it is essence non-existent. A five minute boarding major for one player becomes a multi-game suspension for another player, depending on the extent of any injury. The unequal application of the punishment for the types of hits that are dangerous is unacceptable and is an environment rife for inconsistencies.

And it makes player safety secondary.

As long as the NHL persists in using these nebulous and subjective standards, we will continue to have these types of hits and the resulting injuries or potential injuries to players. It is time for the League to get rid of the canard of judging a player's intent and extent of the damage done before deciding the level of punishment. For these types of hits to be greatly reduced and player safety improved, the League has to adopt clearly defined standards. More importantly, there has to be a consistent application of those standards, regardless of the offender.

Do this, and you will restore a measure of sanity to the game we all love.

And we will end the foolishness of trying to judge intent and punishing a player based on the extent of the injury inflicted

NHL: No Honor League?

The first round of the playoffs have taken a turn beyond nasty.

Cheap and classless are two words that come to mind.

Suspensions and fines have been rampant even though most teams having played only three games in their respective first round matches.

One can only wonder how bad it is going to get.

The nastiness- no- the dirty play started in the first game of the playoffs as Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators went WWF on Henrik Zetterberg, slamming his head into the glass after Zetterberg hit him from behind at the boards at the end of the game. Weber got off light with a $2,500 fine.

He should have been suspended.

That was just the start.

Carl Hagelin of the Rangers elbowed the Senators Daniel Alfredsson in the head and earned a 3 game suspension because Alfredsson was injured on the play.

Matt Carkner of the Senators was suspended for one game for pummeling Brian Boyle of the Rangers, who refused to fight back and was down on the ice.Zenon Konopka was fined $2,500 for verbal abuse of the Rangers during a a pre-game television interview and the Sens were fined $10,000 for his actions.

Craig Adams of the Penguins was suspended for instigating a fight in the late minutes of game 3 of the Penguins/Flyers series. More hearings are pending for James Neal and Aaron Asham for their actions in the same game.

Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks has a hearing pending for his violent collision with Phoenix Coyotes netminder Mike Smith.

This type of play has kept Brendan Shanahan busy and left even the most seasoned hockey fan shaking their head.

Much anger has been directed toward Shanahan for his disciplinary decisions and for the perceived inconsistency between the various punishments meted out.

That anger is misdirected.

Instead, fans should look to the ice and the type of play that teams are bringing to their games and to the officials that are charged with keeping the game within the boundaries of the rules.

Each of the aforementioned incidents have a common thread.

A lack of respect.


Not only for the players on the ice but for the game itself.

Throughout the season, the League and the officials sent a message to the players regarding head shots and dangerous plays that there would be zero tolerance, and for the most, did a reasonable job of enforcing that standard. The desire and the effort to protect the players was commendable and generally effective. Violators were punished and players began to adjust their game.

Underlying the effort to protect the players was a message from the League that players had to "respect" each other and not engage in dangerous, borderline types of plays.

That has gone out the window in the playoffs.

There is no doubt that the playoffs are a war of attrition, and that physical play ramps up. There is no problem with that. That is playoff hockey, and that type of play makes the playoffs and the road to the Cup the greatest championship in professional sports.

Part of the ethic of hockey is "sending a message" through physical play. Between the whistles, there is no problem with that. Clean checks, hard hits, and legally aggressive play are all part of  sending a message. Want to really send a message? Put the puck into the opponents net.

What has happened in the playoffs so far is that "sending a message" had devolved into cheap shots after the whistle, scrums after every whistle that result in punches and unnecessary extracurricular activity, and questionable hits and fights.

All of which shows a lack of respect for the players by the players and for the game. The type of play that fans have witnessed from some teams and players fails to honor the game of hockey.

Playoff hockey is intense, desperate hockey. Win or go home. What has happened in the first round of the playoffs is that desperation and intensity has crossed the line into nastiness and cheap shots.

If the players on the ice do not respect each other, player safety becomes moot. Unnecessary hits, dangerous hits are the norm. Crossing the line to send a message is accepted.

Culpability does not rest solely with the players. The officiating has been inconsistent, and the tendency of officials to swallow their whistles late in a game doesn't help. Letting the boys play hockey is an admirable goal, but the officials are letting the boys do more than play hockey.  Watch the action after a play. Some of the stuff that goes on after the whistle is, frankly, unacceptable, and it sets the tenor for many of the games. Start handing out penalties for the punches thrown in a scrum or the cross checks delivered in front of the net and see if some of this type of play doesn't quickly stop.

If the players cannot respect their opponent, then it rests with the officials to clearly define the boundaries of acceptable play and consistently enforce those boundaries. It worked to reduce the number of dangerous hits to the head in the regular season. It will work in the playoffs.

Physical play and hard hits are in the DNA of the game of hockey.  Again, there is no problem with that. Illegal hits and dangerous plays to send a message or gain and advantage are a dangerous mutation of that DNA.

The game is at an inflection point in these playoffs. Players have to begin to play with a level of respect that has too often been lacking in some of the contests. Officials have to take control of the game, especially what happens after the whistle. Fail to do so, and the League will be embarrassed on their biggest national stage.

Hockey is a beautiful game, and playoff hockey is the apex of this great sport. The nastiness, the cheap shots, the dangerous hits disrespect the game and the players involved.

And there is no honor in that.

Predators Outlast the Wings, Take 2-1 Series Lead

Well, that was exciting!

The Nashville Predators faced the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe, a place where they had never won a playoff game, tied at one game apiece in their playoff series, and the two teams engaged in a back and forth contest that went down to the final seconds before the Predators captured a 3-2 victory.

Entering this game, the Predators knew they were going to be in a spirited contest, to be sure.

No, actually, it was going to a war.

The Predators knew they were going to need to come out strong, take the Wings and the crowd out of the game, and play a solid 60 minutes of hockey.

Oh yeah, Pekka Rinne had to be stronger than his counterpart for the Wings, Jimmy Howard.

Getting their dormant power play going was essential for the Predators, and they did that on their second power play opportunity. With Drew Miller in the box for goaltender interference, the Predators swarmed the Detroit net. Shea Weber, crashed the net and gathered in a rebound of an Andrei Kostitsyn shot and slammed the rebound past Howard to give the Predators a 1-0 lead at 2:48 of the first period. Finally, the Predators were able to convert on the man advantage, and the 0-12 monkey was off their back.

The first period settled down to playoff hockey, as both teams created some good chances. Both Rinne and Howard turned aside the shots that each team fired. Rinne in particular looked sharp and relaxed in net.

The first period ended with the Wings out shooting the Predators 11-9.

Just after a Jordin Tootoo penalty had expired early in the second period, Kevin Klein split the Wings D with tremendous speed and buried a shot over the shoulder of Howard to give the Predators a 2-0 lead at 3:50. Klein was sent into the zone off a nice pass from Marty Erat, and Klein's speed into the zone surprised the Wings defense. More importantly, Klein finished the play, and that goal was huge for the Predators to give them some breathing room.

The Predators needed that breathing room as Pavel Datsyuk absolutely undressed Roman Josi and stole the puck from him behind the Predators net. He beat Rinne, who was looking the other way expecting the puck to go to his right. Datsyuk tucked the puck under Rinne's pad before he could recover to make it 2-1 Predators at 15:03 of the second.

It goes without saying that Josi cannot let that play happen, As it was, the Wings now had life, and it was going to be important for the Predators to respond.

Sergei Kostitsyn took a penalty late in the period, and the Wings were swarming the Predators zone. Rinne fought off a shot by Nick Lidstrom and the rebound kicked out to Johan Franzen, and he made no mistake in depositing the puck into the back of the Predators net.

Just one problem.

The clock had just expired before the puck went into the net.

And the Predators had caught a huge break.

The Wings had out shot the Predators 13-9 in the second period, but they were energized and would have 1:49 of power play time to start the third period. It was going to be critical that the Predators respond, and especially not sit back on their heels in the third.

Detroit opened the third on the power play, and the Predators were able to kill off the penalty, but the Wings were rolling. They opened the third out shooting the Predators 7-0 and were dominant in the Predators zone. Rinne made some huge stops to keep the Wings off the board, but the Predators were going to have to begin to mount some offensive pressure. Sitting back like they were doing was going to be disastrous for the Predators.

The Predators finally got a couple of shots on net, but the Wings held a 13-2 shot advantage with just over 7 minutes remaining in the third period. The Predators tactic of sitting back and playing prevent defense was both frustrating and dangerous.

The Predators once again got some breathing room as Sergei Kostitsyn broke in on a 2 on 1 and instead of passing the puck snapped a shot over the shoulder of Howard to give the Predators a 3-1 lead at 16:30 of the third.

The Predators would need that goal as David Legwand was called for holding and the Wings tallied on the power play  as Henrik Zetterberg walked into the zone and rifled a shot over the shoulder of Rinne short side to make it 3-2 with 52 seconds remaining.

Detroit came with the full court...uh, ice press in the remaining seconds, but the Predators did a good job of controlling and clearing the puck, and the Wings could not get a shot on goal.

The final horn had sounded and for the first time ever, the Predators had won a playoff game at the Joe.

It goes without saying that Rinne was magnificent in net. His play is so strong and it has to affect the Wings, leaving them wondering if they can get an even strength goal past him (Datsyuk's flukey goal not withstanding).

How strong was Rinne? Detroit fired 43 shots on net. By contrast, the Predators managed just 22 for the game.

It is good to see Sergei Kostitsyn get on the board. He had been invisible up to this point, and finally getting on the board will hopefully get his game rolling.

The play of Kevin Klein was outstanding as he scored a beautiful goal and came up with a huge save when Rinne was out of position, stopping Cory Emmerton with a nice block of his shot. A very good game by Klein today.

The significance of this win at the Joe cannot be understated. For the Predators, it lifts that 800 pound gorilla of never winning there off their back. And for the Wings, it cracks their veneer of invincibility at home.

Yes, Detroit is a veteran team, and I expect them to come out flying in game 4. I also expect the Predators to be more calm and composed and their compete level to be extremely high. Now they know they can win at the Joe.

More importantly, they know they can win this series.

The time to take control is Tuesday.

My three stars:

1. Pekka Rinne

2. Kevin Klein

3. Sergei Kostitsyn

Predators Fail to Finish, Fall to Wings 3-2

The Nashville Predators found out that they have a war in their series with the Detroit Red Wings as the Wings captured a 3-2 win at the Bridgestone Arena to even their series at one game for each team.

For the Predators, they found out that matching the intensity of their opponent is essential to winning a critical game. Failing to do so resulted in losing puck battles and failing to finish chances.

And it allowed the Wings the opportunity to even the series heading back to the Joe.

Pekka Rinne got the start in net and he wasn't sharp. He gave up 2 goals on 8 shots in the first period as the Predators found themselves in a 2-0 deficit at the end of one period.

Ian White opened the scoring for the Wings as his shot through traffic found the back of the net at 8:25 of the first period. Rinne seemed to lose the puck through traffic, and the goal energized the Wings.

They capitalized on that momentum with a goal from Cory Emmerton at 15:33 of the first as his wrist shot beat Rinne cleanly over his shoulder to give the Wings a 2-0 lead.

The Wings did a good job of disrupting the offensive flow of the Predators throughout the first period and for the bulk of the game. The Predators struggled to establish their offense in the zone, and when they did, Jimmy Howard made some good saves to stymie the Predators offense.

The Predators finally broke through and tallied a marker at 9:01 of the second period as Alexander Radulov got the puck to Andrei Kostitsyn and he buried his chance to make it 2-1.

Finally, the Predators had life, the arena was rocking, and the momentum was with the Predators.

That changed just 56 seconds later as Johan Franzen potted a goal that appeared to completely elude Rinne and made the score 3-1 Red Wings.

The Predators cut the deficit to 3-2 as Shea Weber tallied his first goal of the series with a backhand shot from the slot at 15:16 of the third period.

The Predators were not able to find the back of the net in the remaining time, and the Wings had tied the series at 1.

For the Predators, this loss had to be extremely disappointing. Throughout the night, they lost puck battles and were ineffective moving through the neutral zone. In the offensive zone, they could not finish. For the night, the Predators out shot the Wings 26-17, but their inability to finish chances doomed them in this contest.

The Predators power play was once again impotent. The power play went 0-6, and if this is not corrected soon, will spell immense trouble for the Predators. Often, the power play was stagnant, with players not moving to the open lanes and shots not getting on net.

Detroit's designated thug, Todd Bertuzzi, fought Shea Weber early in the game as retribution for Weber's hit on Henrik Zetterberg in game one. Bertuzzi was busy grabbing at Weber and hoping he did not get hit. A meaningless fight that served no purpose in the game, but one that the Wings felt they needed to engage in to respond to Weber's hit.

Several concerns are present for the Predators. Their power play has to start clicking for them to capture this series. Presently, the power play is not a plus for the Predators, and after the effectiveness of the regular season, this is troubling. The man advantage unit has to simplify their game and get shots on net rather than waiting for the pretty play. Through two games, the power play is 0-12.

The Predators need to finish their chances. They had them tonight and failed to capitalize. Finish the chances and Detroit is looking a t a 2-0 deficit.

It is imperative that the line of Mike Fisher, Sergei Kostitsyn, and Marty Erat start tot step up their game. They have been invisible in the first two games, and for the Predators to have success, they must produce. Through two games, they have combined for 10 shots and no points. This has to change for the Predators to have success. And the change needs to occur immediately.

The Predators have and opportunity to rebound and take the series lead with the next game on Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.

It is a simple task.

Be strong on the puck and get shots on net.  Finish your chances.

And take control of the series.

My three stars:

1. Jimmy Howard

2. Johan Franzen

3. Shea Weber

My View

Random ruminations from your resident curmudgeon...

Democrats, liberals of all stripe, and the mainstream media...wait...I just repeated myself, didn't I?...have their underwear in a bunch over the fact that to vote in elections will require the voter to present identification so that they can prove they are eligible to vote and are the voter that is registered. In safeguarding one of our most precious liberties, insuring the sanctity of the voting process seems reasonable, does it not? Yet those on the left deem proving that you are who you say you are to vote is "undermining voting rights" and is "unduly burdensome"? Oh really? Tried to cash at your bank without proper identification? Want to fly on a commercial flight? Heck, try to go buy a beer at a ballgame. In every instance, one has to show I.D. It is a fact of our modern life that we have to prove that we are who we say we are, and yet liberals say that proving who we are in the voting process in burdensome. I think not. Allowing votes without proper proof of identity makes it easier for voting fraud to occur and for those that are ineligible to vote to get into the process and record a vote. Don't believe me? Investigative reporter James O'Keefe walked into a Washington, D.C. polling place and asked for the ballot for Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States. AND IT WAS GIVEN TO HIM! Without proof of I.D. Asking voters to comply with proper identification requirement is neither burdensome nor does it undermine voting rights. It does make the process cleaner and more secure. And that is what liberals, Democrats, and the mainstream press do not want.

My wife and I have a deep psychological relationship. She is psycho; I am logical

This week, President Obama trotted out the case for raising taxes on all incomes over $1 million dollars. That populist canard sounds good and it is an easy sell to say the "rich" aren't paying their fair share of taxes. In fact, Obama calls this the Buffett Rule, after his shill Warren Buffett, who said his secretary paid more in taxes than he did ( I have already discussed how Buffett uses the tax code to shelter his own personal taxes and how his company, Berkshire Hathaway has been fighting the IRS for 5 years over taxes that the company owes. Hypocritical? Absolutely). Here is what you need to know about this call for more taxes. According to Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, the Buffett Rule would raise $47 billion over the next 10 years. By contrast, President Obama's proposed budget will add $6.7 TRILLION to the deficit over the same time period. The inconvenient truth for Obama and those in Washington is this: the top 1% of income earners in this country (those making more than $380,000 per year) paid 38% of all taxes while earning 20% of all income. The top 10% of income earners (those making $114,000 or more) paid 70% of all the taxes and earned 45% of the income. Clearly, the wealth re-distribution plan that the Democrats have promoted for years is working. The real issue, though, is the top 1% of income earners are typically in a position to create jobs and own their own business. Punishing them with higher taxes sounds good on the political stump, but the damage to the economy from a long term lack of job creation will be devastating. And we as voters have to get past the populist rhetoric about "fair shares". That is a great lie of the left. Instead, let's honestly look at how to rein in government spending and get our fiscal house in order.

Ever since my doctor told me I suffer from insomnia, I have laying awake at night worrying about it.


I want you to look at these two charts, really study them, because they graphically and clearly give you a good idea of why we are in such a financial mess in this country:

Think that the chart on top is influenced by the one on the bottom? The exponential growth in entitlements, coupled with the uncontrolled printing of dollars has caused our national debt to skyrocket. And this is the dilemma for politicians- getting our debt under control is going to entail reforming our massive entitlement programs. Any attempts at reining in our debt and solving our fiscal problems has to include reforming our entitlement programs, and this will take political will and courage that Washington has not exhibited in years. Taxpayers should be aware that just raising taxes does nothing constructive to fix our fiscal mess if we do not reform entitlements. We as voters and taxpayers should be demanding that Washington address meaningful entitlement reform BEFORE we discuss raising taxes.

Since I have started exercising, I have met a lot of new people. Mostly, they are paramedics, but still they are new people.

And that, my friends, is my view.