My Favorite Day of the Year, Sort Of

Yeah yeah yeah, I know I said I was going to update more often after NaBloPoMo. Let's be honest here, nobody really expected that at all. I am returning from the hiatus not with new photos but a rare blog rant.

My favorite day of the year is nearly over. You are now asking yourself why is January 24th his favorite day of the year. The answer is it has nothing to do with the actual date (although Apple did release the first ever Macintosh 25 years ago today). Today was my favorite day of the year because I had received all of the paperwork necessary to complete my tax return.

What he likes doing taxes? What is wrong with him? I always wondered about him, I guess I was right.

The truth is I do not like doing my taxes at all. However, I do enjoy getting MY money back from Uncle Sam. You see I have this problem with the government thinking it knows what to do with my money better than I do. I do not care if it is Democrats or Republicans, they all do it. Of course I agree that the federal government has a role in our country. However I feel that roll should be MUCH smaller than it is currently. (What to get rid of could be a whole other post and maybe will be someday but not today.)

The other problem I have is with the way taxes are collected. You see by using payroll deductions most people have no idea how much they pay in taxes every year. Most people do not realize that even though your check says you paid a certain amount in federal withholding that is only part of your tax liability. The truth is you employer pays a large sum on your behalf to the government as well. At some point a politician must have said "hey if people never see the money they won't miss it". That is a MAJOR problem. How can we hold our elected officials accountable if they do not even make it easy to know how much of YOUR money they are taking? You can't.

This is where I try to sell you on a new system to replace out antiquated income tax system. It is called the Fair Tax. I could explain it in my own words but thankfully the group pushing for the Fair Tax has a great website with tons of information on it. Here is some of the basic info:

What is the FairTax plan?
The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.

The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.

The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system.

The FairTax:
Enables workers to keep their entire paychecks
Enables retirees to keep their entire pensions
Refunds in advance the tax on purchases of basic necessities
Allows American products to compete fairly
Brings transparency and accountability to tax policy
Ensures Social Security and Medicare funding
Closes all loopholes and brings fairness to taxation
Abolishes the IRS

I encourage you to visit the Fair Tax website at http://www.fairtax.org and read as much as you can about it. On the website you can also buy two books that I highly recommend (you can ever borrow mine if you want). I think you will find it very interesting no matter which way you tend to lean on the political spectrum. If you agree with the ideas I would ask you to help spread the word and get involved.

This will conclude the rare rant on my blog. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think in the comments section.

Day 30 - NaBloPoMo Is Over, Again!

I did it again!  I finished my 2nd NaBloPoMo.  I know nobody thought I would finish it last year, who ever thought I could finish it twice.  On the last post from last year I joked about not posting again until March.  Turns out that other than 1 post from Nebraska I was right.  I do not think I will go that long this year, but you never know.

This year was MUCH harder than last year.  I had a busy summer with work and did not take nearly enough time to go out and take some new photos.  I am planning on trying to make more time for photography in the coming months and hopefully will have more photos for next year.  No, I am not saying I will try NaBloPoMo again, but I fully expect that Dave will challenge me again so I might as well be prepared for it.  In fact I will say right now that I will do it again next year if Dave, Bill or Krystal also try it.  If I can do it for 2 years in a row I am sure they can do it once!

Well that is all for NaBloPoMo 2008, see you back here next year ;)

Day 29 - Contest #25

I have got to say I am looking forward to December.  I am running seriously low on blog ideas and photos for contests too.  I managed to find a photo for today though.

Where am I?  What is this?

Just 1 more post left in NaBloPoMo!

Day 28 - National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial

As most of you reading this know I work very closely with law enforcement officers on a daily basis.  It is a career field I have been interested in for a long time (just ask my parents).  I think I can trace it back to my Grandpa on my Mom's side who was an officer in Eau Claire, WI.  While I did not have the opportunity to ever get to know my Grandpa well it was still an influence on me.  I still have my Grandpa's patrol hat, winter hat, patches and baton.

While I always had the desire to become an officer I kind of fell into dispatching and have been doing that for over 5 years now.  While I am not an officer I have a connection to them that the general public does not.  I have had the opportunity to ride along with these officers on shifts to see how they perform professionally under conditions most people would not believe.  In short I have a huge amount of respect for what they do everyday.

I had the opportunity to go on vacation to Washington DC in 2004.  Of the hundreds of memorials, museums and statues in Washington there was one that I knew I had to see.  I wanted to go the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial at Judiciary Square.  I had been to the Minnesota Peace Officers Memorial several times and I thought I would be nice to be able to visit the national memorial as well.  I was not let down, the memorial is a magnificent tribute to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their city, county, state or country.

Entrance to the Memorial

Pathway of Remembrance along one side of the Memorial

The names of over 17,500 officers who have died in the line of duty are inscribed in the marble walls

At each end of the pathway are statues of adult lions protecting their young.  Below each statue a quote is engraved on the wall.

"The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion"

Proverbs 28:1

"Carved on these walls is the story of America, of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."

President George Bush

"In valor there is hope"

Tacitus

"It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived"

Vivian Eney, Survivor

It is a very moving memorial that I would encourage anyone to go to see and pay respects for those who have died in the line of duty.

Day 27 - Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving today.

For the first time in 5 years I did not work.  I was able to have a nice home made Thanksgiving dinner at home.  And, yes I made my own Thanksgiving dinner.  I tried looking for a photo of a turkey to post in honor of the holiday.  The closest I could find was an ostrich or a flamingo from Como Zoo.  Instead you will have to settle for a iPhone picture of my Thanksgiving dinner (the veggies and cornbread did not make it into the picture).

Day 26 - Contest #24

Bill has been right again for the last couple contests.  Good to see he is back on top of his game.  Since I am assuming Bill will get this one right too lets see if anyone can beat him.

Day 25 - Contest #23

As of now there have been no guesses for the last contest so I will not give the answer yet.  

Can you tell me about this statue?