I Led the Pigeons to the Flag

 A word about the title: I once saw in Reader's Digest what six year olds actually think the words to the Pledge of Allegiance is.  I have never forgotten the opening line.

I think I've written about this before, but darned if I can find it.

Let's get this as straight as we can.

There are 50 states.  In 2003, all but seven of them had some kind of The Pledge of Allegiance law.  Of the 43 remaining states only six make it optional for the schools to say the Pledge. In Colorado, for example, a student may not be required to say the Pledge of Allegiance, but schools are required, as it is in most states, to give the students the opportunity or a time to say the Pledge every day.  Six states require students to say the pledge.  One of the states, Nebraska, that has no pledge law, was considering it .  There are some variations on the laws. Mississippi requires the pledge only once a month.  North Dakota's only requires through grade six.  For specifics you can go to this link.

(from http://undergod.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000074)

So, if you are going to announce we should do something, at least find out if it's still done.  You may actually find out that they already do.  If your school is not doing as law prescribes, I suggest you bring it to school's attention.   

Thanks for becoming informed and not just spreading random and wrong information that plays to a particular group or is something that caught your fancy on Facebook. If your source is only Facebook, you probably are already spreading random and wrong information.  Please, stop.

I Shoot therefore I am safe (and you're not)

This week in memes brings us gun rights memes.  My intent here is not to discuss the gun rights issue, but the unstated themes that  memes can make.  These are a group of memes posted meant to show a couple of things.  One is that guns in the home protect people. Another is the importance of the second amendment. Both of these are common enough arguments, but as with many of this style of meme, there are also some interesting statements being made.

There is the implication that 911 is used solely for the purpose of reaching the police.  I've called 911 three or four times in my life and not once to get the police.  I've used it for the fire department for an electrical fire we had years ago and to call for medical  help.  While I could find no reliable statistics on what the reasons most common for 911 calls, I suspect that it is more often for medical, accidents, and fires than it is for "someone broke into my house."

The other statement that these memes make is that 'I will shoot you if I think you are a danger and I will not warn you that I am armed' or 'I care more about my stuff than your life.  I will not call 911 if you survive. ' Most burglars, I would think, would prefer an empty house.  I know there are other types of break-ins, but by far the most common is burglary.

Ahh well, nothing says we need no gun control than a series of memes announcing "I own a gun and will willingly shoot you" or :"I have something that shoots more than a politician's speech."  Humor aside, are these posts really arguing that the 2nd amendment gives a right to shoot someone?  It is also a bit ironic that while argiomg about the 2nd amendment, someone is attacked for his or her use of the 1st amendment. Attacking the person is not an arguement for or against something.  In fact, it usally means the argument is being lost.

He didn't give us either, Yosemite, btw. (I admit this one is funny.)

There is this from a tavern in Philly.  Not a meme, but it does show the impact of these things.  There is nothing like announcing if someone has a heart attack or some medical issue or if a fight breaks out, he is on his own in this establishment.  

And in case you don't believe me that these are making the way into the public here is another. So glad his shed is safe. I wonder if his family lives inside. After all, isn't the argument that guns are needed to protect self and family?

And this.  The barbwire effect and the minature shotgun are nice touchs. It gives it that homey feel.   

All I know is I would not want to be a door-to-door salesman at some of these houses.  Whatever happened to big dogs or simply stating "I am armed"?

Please Make It Stop...

Who remembers when A&E was this 

                                                                  and this,

before it became this

                                                                  and this?

Okay, I know that I've ranted on this before, but it's getting worse. It is a national crisis. It is epidemic.  It is themed television channels that show programs that have no business being on their station.  The Cartoon Network has live action comedy series which is little better than those bad YouTube videos of people who think they are funny being stupid.  I am still unsure how Walking Dead belongs on AMC which stands for American Movies Classics? The Weather Channel is about to premier another reality series, because there are so few of those already, on prospecting.  I am completely unsure how a Cartoon Network runs out of cartoons and finds it needs something that isn't animated in any way or how digging for rocks relates to the weather.

So now along with alien visitors and pawn brokers on history channels and no music on MTV we are watching the birth of an entire new idea...theme channels completely ignoring their theme?  Well A&E, I would like to remind you that A&E stands for Arts and Entertainment.  Please explain to me how The First 48 is art or entertainment or how Hoarders or Duck Dynasty fits your theme.  I'm sorry, but I just don't get how people can become enamoured with the not overly bright or people suffering from real, horrid mental diseases. Are their own lives really so miserable?  Lest I forget E!, sometimes known as the How Much More Plastic Surgery Can Joan Rivers Have Channel?, which seems to be more about gossip than entertainment news.What's next, grief counseling on the Comedy Network?  Please can we just get this over with and move everything from Honey BooBoo to Intervention and The Kardashians to their own channel: The Jerry Springer Channel.  That way all those of you who follow trash television have a place the rest of us, who still have active gray cells, can ignore.

And while I am at it, I want to mention bugs.  Bugs are those lovely little pop up ads that TV channels scroll onto your television screen during a show.  Originally bugs carried the station logo and were only placed on shows for thirty or so seconds to identify what station you were on.  Now they are action packed advertisements for other shows and take up about a third of the screen.  Hey, USA I am watching White Collar.  I don't need an action ad for Psych during my program.  Get over yourself and advertise your lame shows where they belong on The Jerry Springer Channel.

A Meme Is Born

It is seldom that we get to see the birth of myth and memes, but in the past weeks, I've been watching one as it has happened.  It all started with a radio interview on a Conservative talk show in Colorado Springs. El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa announced that Colorado Congressional Democrats were blackmailing Colorado sheriffs into supporting the gun law legislation by withholding a pay raise increase bill.  It hit the news, and the meme above with an article was born on the internet.

The problem is that much of what the sheriff said was over-statement.  Even he walked back the statement a bit after it hit the press. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette on the Sunday following the Saturday radio show, the sheriff posted on his Facebook page, "“I want to make something very clear; I have not been directly threatened or coerced in any way nor would I tolerate any threat.”

In an email exchange between Maketa and Chris Olson who is the executive Director of County Sheriffs of Colorado, there was speculation about the hold on the pay raise bill, but at no time is there a specific person named or actual recorded statement from any member of the Democrats in the Colorado Congress.  It would seem that some one took the speculation and decided it was a fact.  Maketa is well-known for his anti-gun law stance.  The Sheriff Maketa then posted later on the El Paso County Sheriff's web site his own statement again naming no one to whom he had talked but clearly placing the blame on Democrat Senate President, John Morse.

One of the local TV stations, KRDO, reported that  Chris Olson stated that no such threat had been made, "There were no threats that were ever intended in that email." What Olson did say in his email is  "I have been advised by a reliable source at the Capitol that the Dems are seriously not pleased with the CSOC positions on the gun bills, and given the potential for a real salary bill to be introduced...support of SB197 would put us in a more favorable light for salary bill support from the Dems. I do not believe we would be sacrificing our principles or positions on the other gun bills by supporting SB197." In other words, he as the lobbyist was telling sheriffs that it would be politically adviseable to support a bill that bans domestic abusers from owning guns.

When asked about it, the lead Democrat, Senate President John Morse (Colorado Springs Democrat) said that he had held up the bill that would raise sheriffs salaries until it received Republican co-sponsors, asking for seven co-sponsors to sign on and not enough signed on to the bill. Why such a large number of co-sponsors, Morse answered with, "Can you imagine running a bill to increase the pay of county officials in these economic times?"

Despite all the follow-ups, we have the birth of a conspiracy before our very eyes.  Where you stand on gun control is your right, but where you stand on the facts of the story is another matter.

On a side note, a Sheriff John Cooke of Weld County, as well as many sherrifs across the nation have announced he will not enforce the new gun laws.  I know I sleep better knowing that elected law enforcement gets to choose what laws they enforce.

A Bit O' Irony

Please note who is taking sole credit for this meme.

“We do not have an immediate debt crisis,” said by John Boehner, Republican and Speaker of the House. Statement made on This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, March 17, 2013.

"So we do not have a debt crisis right now," said by Paul Ryan, Republican and Chair of the House Budget Committee. Statement made on Face the Nation on Sunday, March 17, 2013.

Meme is in reference to:
“We don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt,” said by Barrack Obama, Democrat and President of the United States. Statement made on Good Morning America, on Wednesday March 13, 2013.

The above meme was posted by the Republicans sometime shortly after Obama's statement on the 13th but before Sunday the 17th. Admittedly, all three said that there were problems and the problems needed to be dealt with. Both Boehner and Ryan said that while not immediate there was a "looming," to use Ryan's words, problem down the road and the Republicans were less rosy on the problem with the President saying that the debt problem  was not as immediate as jobs.

The point here is the meme.  The point is that it attacks the President for saying what the Republican leaders said on their talking points less than a week later.  The point is the meme does not actually use what the President said.  The picture used is also implying a number of things such as the statement is being made off hand, in private or perhaps since he is riding in a car, out of touch.  One must wonder exactly to whom this meme is pandering.

So is the meme hypocritical or just ironic?

It's not political...It's Much Ado

Okay...this in from the (ehem) Right field...and then rolled (ehem) Left.

The History Channel has a 10 part mini-series called The Bible.  It is a major success, especially for a cable network like History where it is a veritable juggernaut in the ratings.  I've seen bits and pieces, and it looks okay.  I figured I would Netflix it later. One piece I did see was Satan and Jesus in the desert and liked the scene.

Satan is played by actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni. He looks like this when he's not playing the Prince of Darkness.

(from http://www.elperiodico.cat/ca/noticias/gent-i-tv/diable-dimoni-satanas-serie-history-channel-biblia-clavat-obama-2343316)

You can see that other than some serious accentuation of his wrinkles and getting his hair into a hood, there was not a lot of special effects or additions to him. And then this occurred -- 

(from http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/76254481.html)

Glen Beck, on the right, immediately tweeted out "Does Satan look EXACTLY like That Guy?" Beck won't call Obama by name but uses "that guy" instead. Beck, of course, has a long record of demonizing the POTUS, but then the Left picked up on the tweet and immediately politicized the tweet making sure that Beck's feeble attempt at humor got more press than it deserved. 

Ouazanni, a Moroccan  actor, has played santanic characters in biblical TV movies before.  I have to admit that there is some resemblance.  Is there a hidden political statement here?  The show is produced by Mark Burnett who produces Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice and The Voice.  His co-producer is Roma Downey who is best known as Monica on Touched by an Angel and married to Burnett.  

Both went out promoting the show, not just on  TV but at some large churches.  Like all Biblical material, it has drawn some controversey, but the Obama one is about as laughable conspiracy as it gets. In an interview I saw about the series, both Burnett and Downey have said it was a series they wanted to do and a labor of love that they would've made even if no one bought it for TV.  Sound political to you? It's not like Burnett needs the money.

Think I will just quote the producers of the mini-series, Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey both of whom have appeared on Beck's program: "Utter nonsense." 

It is not political, Mr. Beck or any of you on the Left keeping this story alive...It's Much Ado... 

History by Orwell: The Tax Poem

(from http://onceuponahistoricaltime.blogspot.com/)

I first thought of posting this as a meme blog, but it isn’t really a meme. I don’t know how many of you have seen this poem, but it is a cute little satiric poem that has made the rounds – well, not this poem but a politicized version of it.

TAX POEM

Tax his land, tax his wage,
Tax his bed in which he lays.
Tax his tractor, tax his mule,
Teach him taxes is the rule.
Tax his cow, tax his goat,
Tax his pants, tax his coat.
Tax his ties, tax his shirts,
Tax his work, tax his dirt.
Tax his chew, tax his smoke,
Teach him taxes are no joke.
Tax his car, tax his ass
Tax the roads he must pass.
Tax his tobacco, tax his drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.
Tax his booze, tax his beers,
If he cries, tax his tears.
Tax his bills, tax his gas,
Tax his notes, tax his cash.
Tax him good and let him know
That after taxes, he has no dough.
If he hollers, tax him more,
Tax him until he's good and sore.
Tax his coffin, tax his grave,
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb,
"Taxes drove me to my doom!"
And when he's gone, we won't relax,
We'll still be after the inheritance TAX!
                                        -Author Unknown

The poem has been around for a while and is intended as humorous. It was until the extreme folks got a hold of it. The earliest posting of it that I could find was 2006, but it became popular for political reasons when it began to make the rounds in late 2008 with this added

Added to the poem :   Accounts Receivable Tax, Airline surcharge tax, Airline Fuel Tax, Airport Maintenance Tax, Building, Permit Tax, Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax. Death Tax, Dog License Tax, Driving Permit Tax, Excise Taxes, Federal Income Tax, Federal Unemployment (UI). Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Gasoline Tax ( too much per litre or gallon), Gross Receipts Tax, Health Tax, Hunting License Tax, Hydro Tax, Inheritance Tax, Interest Tax, Liquor Tax, Luxury Taxes, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Mortgage Tax, Personal Income Tax, Property Tax, Poverty Tax, Prescription Drug Tax, Provincial Income Tax, Real Estate Tax, Recreational Vehicle Tax, Retail Sales Tax, Service Charge Tax, School Tax, Telephone Federal Tax, Telephone Federal, Provincial and Local Surcharge Taxes, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Water Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax

This list is frequently added as if it were a part of the original poem. It isn’t.

And then at the end this is added:

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had a large middle class, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?' And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?!?!?!? I hope this goes around (pick your place, I’ve seen it with Canada, the United States, Facebook and the internet) at least (Pick your number it varies) times!!!!! YOU can help it get there!!!! GO AHEAD - - - be a (Pick your country origin and type it in all caps) !!!!!!!!!! SEND IT AROUND EVERYWHERE.

(Gotta love all the caps and extra punctuation because we all know that increases the outrage of it exponentially.)
So here we go. Yes we have a lot of taxes but the add-on has some major problems. First a number of items on the list are not taxes but fees. There is a difference. A tax is a general service provided by the government that must be paid for. A fee is related to a specific service that has a calculable cost. For example, a license is a fee not a tax. You pay a fee for a particular item and the cost of the use of that item or the cost of creating and policing that item. It doesn’t just contain the cost of the item, but all the things that go with it. Parks charge a use fee. Admittedly the line can become a bit fuzzy in some instances.

Then there are luxury taxes which are actually placed on elective items that we don’t really need. There are also the penalty taxes such as those placed on tobacco which were actually designed to cover the heath cost of using such things.

But what gets me is the add-on paragraph which harkens back to a time when there were no taxes, and we were the “most prosperous nation in the world” 100 years ago. If there were no taxes, then why did Ben Franklin write "'In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” which is actually a variation of a quote from Daniel Defoe from 1726? Taxes have been around for a very, very long time. If you want, even Jesus discussed taxes in the bible. In Matthew 17:24-27, Peter says Jesus does pay taxes and then in Mark 12:13-17, in one of the traps of the Pharisees, Jesus tells them in regards to paying tribute (tax) to Caesar, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” So taxing is not a new idea.

In fact, some of the taxes in the list were around more than 100 years ago. The telephone tax is from the late 1800s and the liquor tax was the cause of the Whiskey Rebellion which George Washington had to put down. You may also recall an English tax ended in a tea party?  I am still pondering what a "food license tax" is.  To impy that taxes and fees are some sort of a new idea is plainly not one of the brighter statements in the poem’s new additions.

Then there is the entire issue of the US or Canada being the most prosperous nation with a large middle class 100 years ago. We weren’t. The USA was not a world power until after World War II. We did not have a large middle class. We had the wealthy and the working class. Many a mom didn’t stay at home unless she was a part of the upper class. She did things like tend the farm, take in laundry and sewing or even cleaning the homes of the well-to-do. We had, in fact, had to enact about a hundred years ago, child labor laws because of the extremity of how kids were used by the Robber Barons and factories.

Large middle class? Really? Sorry didn’t exist.

And “no national debt?” In 1789, when the Constitution went into effect, the US Treasury issued bonds because Congress owed 75 million dollars. Yep. A national debt. In today’s dollars that would be roughly 900 billion of national debt. We have had a national debt since that time.

This is the kind of Orwellian historical rewrite, that would make Big Brother proud. We need to live in the land we have not some fictitious land that some person has conjured up. Sorry, but to politicize a poem about the certainty of taxes in favor of something that never existed is a fairy tale and if we are going to solve problems, we need to solve what is not what never was.

And would someone please explain what pressing “1” has to do with taxes?