Drop the Anvil

[vovat]

Since I've started working nights, it seems like the weekends go by more quickly. Okay, most of last weekend and this weekend (so far) have been consumed by playing The Sims 2, but they're not the first weekends that have seemed to go by really quickly. On the other hand, it also feels like I have more free time on weekdays. Which is probably true, actually, since I don't have to spend as much time in the car driving to and from work as I used to.

Anyway, there are three things I wanted to address in this post:

1. As I mentioned before, bethje gave me Scott McCaughey's solo album My Chartreuse Opinion last week. No one on my friends list except revme seems to appreciate Scott's songwriting prowess, but I'd say he's definitely my my top five musicians (below Andy Partridge and both Johns from They Might Be Giants, and maybe Frank Black, depending on my mood). Anyway, while MCO is far from the best thing Scott has ever put out, there are some really catchy songs on it. "Happy For The Box" (which sounds like it might be about one of Scott's acquaintances in the music business) and "Big Deal" are both cool, but I think my overall favorite is the rock number "Shut Them Out." Lyrically, it kind of reminds me of the Young Fresh Fellows song "Get Outta My Cave," but it's somewhat less goofy (no mention of getting "so sick and tired of the city, of stepping in dog shit and girls that dress too pretty" in this one). And speaking of the Fellows, the CD includes some bonus tracks by the late Jimmy Silva (Scott's songwriting partner on several early YFF songs), the last one of which, "Lathe," features the same sample about Barnum's freak show as "View From Above."

2. A few days ago, Beth and I watched America: Freedom to Fascism, a libertarian pseudo-documentary that she'd seen part of in class. It was roughly divided into three parts, to wit: 1) how there's no law that lets the government collect income tax, 2) that the privately owned Federal Reserve is basically an example of bankers controlling the world, and 3) everything else involving personal freedom the director could think of, including national ID cards, people being implanted with ID chips, and the threat of One World Government. It brought up some interesting points, but the whole thing came across as not only overly reactionary, but pretty silly in spots. For instance, there was one scenario where someone was ordering a pizza, and the pizza parlor knew the guy's name, address, workplace, health conditions, credit card charges, etc. While I'm sure such a thing is technologically feasible, would a small business really have it installed? I mean, a lot of them don't even spring for conterfeit detector pens. Yeah, I'm sure it was meant as an exaggeration, but still. I'd heard about income tax collection being illegal (either because there is no law, or there is but it's unconstitutional) before, but I really don't know whether it's true. I guess the way I see it, it's all well and good to gripe about the problems with the income tax system, but what's a better solution? You'll occasionally get people who say something like, "Oh, the government doesn't need to take money from people, because Americans are generous!" and point to how a lot of private citizens contributed money for relief from the tsunamis or Hurricane Katrina or whatever. But would these same people who are so generous when it comes to a well-publicized tragedy really be willing to privately finance other services expect the government to provide? Somehow, I doubt it.

3. Fox News has decided to jump into the comedy market with The Half Hour News Hour, their own answer to The Daily Show and its kind. I only saw the little bit that Beth had taped because she just couldn't believe it existed, but that included a comment on how no one listens to Air America, and a fake commercial bashing the ACLU. Did I find it totally unfunny and mean-spirited because I disagreed with the points they were making? That might be part of it, but I think a more significant factor (Get it? Fox News? Factor? :P) is that humor is somewhat of a foreign concept to the modern-day puritans at Fox News.

See? Three things. And weren't they interesting things, too? {g}

Comments

[revme.livejournal.com]

1. I really like MCO -- it's a really good record, and it's sort of a bridge between YFF and the Minus 5. (My friend Ben always calls M5 "The Languid Fellows" and, as such, doesn't like them nearly as much, but I think that's a little unfair.) I wish Jimmy Silva's records were to come back in print, though.

2. That whole thing has just always struck me as really baffling. I mean, jeez -- those people (and, well, to a much lesser extent, americans in general) don't realize that taxes are the price of living in a society, and we NEED those to get things to run. It's always struck me as kind of amusing when people say that the Private Sector will pick up the slack. I mean, just look at all those pharmacutical companies that are working to generate cures for diseases that have no profit in there.[1] It's kinda why I tend to think of Libertarians, at least economically, as Naive Assholes -- Naive in that they think that, left to their own devices, big corporations will fill the void of government help/welfare-for-its-citizens and, say, make better schools/roads/whatnot... and assholes because, well, because of that, they fight against the government trying to help/take care of its citizens. (And when you get the Randroids in the mix, then a lot of times THEY won't even help because Altruism Is A Sucker's Game or whatever bullshit.)

3. I like that apparently the first episode got comparable ratings to The Daily Show -- I'm assuming that's just from everyone tuning in to see what a goddamn trainwreck it is, and then the next ratings will be back down to nothin'. But they'll find some way to spin it. Perhaps the Liberal Media is in collusion with Nielsen! And the gay aliens!



[1] There was an article in Salon several years ago about how there are certain diseases that actually HAVE cures, but no companies would manufacture it because, IIRC, it involved generic ingredients so they wouldn't have a patent, and as such, it'd basically cause no profit, it'd just be, you know, ONLY for the public good, and can't have that.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

The professor who told my class about the movie last semester and showed half of it this semester is a tenured taxation professor, a tax accountant, and an attorney; he's also got a construction business. Anyway, on the first day last year he told us how taxation is unconstitution and it's like slavery (I forget that part exactly). Anyway, the film not only said that there is no law, but that maybe it would be alright, if the taxes went toward good programs, but they insist that it isn't and that it's just lining The Man's pockets. Then they say it's largely income redistribution, which is like when my professor said Social Security is socialism. My professor also said that an estimated 48 milion Americans are without health insurance, and "Why should we have to pay for them?" And yet I love the guy and think he's really cool. Good for me. I have grown as a person or something.

About the Fox show, Keith Olbermann mentioned it a few times this week. On the one day he said it had a laugh track and then he played some irrelevant clip of Brit Hume with a laugh track over it. And on another day, he mentioned the ratings. He said it was really successfull, bringing in a little over a million viewers (I think that was the number). Except that the number dropped off majorly after the first eleven minutes. From the small clips I saw, it was really weak, and not just because I disagreed with the content.

Actual joke crummily paraphrased by me:

The book And Tango Makes Three was released this week. It tells the true story of two male penguins who raise a baby penguin hatched from a discarded egg at the Central Park Zoo. Many parents feel this topic is inappropriate for such young children. Also released this week is Harry Potter and the Alternative Lifestyle. (aside to equally crappy female cohost) I always wondered about that kid. He always looked at Ron more than Hermione.

Yeah. e_e

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Anyway, the film not only said that there is no law, but that maybe it would be alright, if the taxes went toward good programs, but they insist that it isn't and that it's just lining The Man's pockets.

While that's probably largely true, that's not really a problem with taxation in and itself, is it? That's a matter of the government not being held accountable for their spending.

I always wondered about that kid. He always looked at Ron more than Hermione.

Someone should mention Cho or Ginny to that guy. Except I'm sure he'd have no idea what that someone was talking about.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

1. I think the Minus 5 have become less languid with their more recent efforts. At first, it was an outlet for Scott's less rocking songs; but now that the Fellows are no longer releasing stuff, the rock numbers have also started going to the Five by default. I think I remember reading in an article that Scott now considers the Five to be his main band. But yeah, I see what you mean about MCO being kind of a bridge between the two bands. I like it better than the earlier Minus 5 records (i.e., the ones that are now out of print), but probably not as much as the more recent ones.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I don't know, I think I'm actually a bit of a Libertarian, as much as I'm anything-- but that's probably because I AM so stubbornly determined to be Independent-- I like the idea of the government Staying Out of It as Much as Possible. Even though I just did my taxes and the results would be really scary if it weren't for an odd loss we're able to factor in due to the miracle of paperwork, I'm not REALLY against income tax though. I'm just against politicians using that tax to pay themselves salaries that enable them to keep several large homes. There doesn't seem much we as voters can do about that though except have an outright revolution.

[bethje.livejournal.com]

Do you believe in income redistribution or Social Security?

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Is that an either/or or a both? And believe in what aspect, their existence or their worth? Actually, I don't know enough about how Social Security works to have much of an opinion about it. As for income redistribution, in practicality that doesn't seem to be what happens with taxes anyway-- it seems the better part of it goes to politicians paychecks and programs with so much paperwork involved that they end up not really truly benefitting anybody. And on the other hand, as someone who taught in the 6th poorest school district in the state, I thought it was sad that the kids who really needed the MOST special programs and smaller class sizes and so forth were the kids who couldn't get them, since school funding is based on local taxes-- no income redistribution there. I guess the reason I'm really such a political Independent is that I can't stand the way ANY party runs things....

[vovat.livejournal.com]

As for income redistribution, in practicality that doesn't seem to be what happens with taxes anyway-- it seems the better part of it goes to politicians paychecks and programs with so much paperwork involved that they end up not really truly benefitting anybody.

Couldn't you argue that politicians are going to keep a lot of the money for themselves regardless of where it comes from? As for the programs not really benefitting anybody, I'm sure that's true in many cases, but there are some programs that definitely help people. To oppose such programs altogether strikes me as basically a defeatist "can't win, don't try" attitude (not that I'm saying YOU have that attitude, but I've heard from people who do).

[bethje.livejournal.com]

Holy freaking crap you people! I just got a pollstar email saying that Ben Folds is playing at IUP. I give maps props to your school. My school had Carlos Mencia last year. >:p

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but you also had Mr. Belding. {g}

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, there are different kinds of libertarians. I think the capital-L Libertarians (the ones represented by the American Libertarian Party) are the economic libertarians who think there shouldn't be any taxes or redistribution of wealth, while other libertarians are concerned primarily with social issues. I tend to agree a fair amount with the latter, but not with the former.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

Anything connecting the Fox Network and news programs immediately makes me think of that scene in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where a woman is on trial as a witch. She's obviously a witch because she turned me into a newt (though I got better) and she floats in water, because she's made of wood, like a duck.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

"What do we burn besides witches?"
"MORE WITCHES!"