STILL Undecided? Watch This..
Posted by: Leese on: November 3, 2008
A Must See
Posted by: Leese on: November 1, 2008
Problems Understanding Taxes?
Posted by: Leese on: October 17, 2008
… not that I don’t understand them but after a long day at work staring at numbers and percentages and the blubber heads on tv are talking in NOTHING BUT numbers and percentages, I tend to glaze over and search for a Project Runway rerun.
Anyway.. my husband usually explains it to me this way:
YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING ON A BED, SHEET AND PILLOW THAT WERE TAXED.. BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH TOOTHPASTE THAT WAS TAXED, USING THE WATER THAT’S ALSO TAXED.. YOU DRIVE TO WORK IN A CAR THAT WAS TAXED USING GAS THAT’S TAXED. YOU WORK FOR 8 HOURS AND HAVE YOUR PAYCHECK TAXED THEN DRIVE HOME FROM WORK USING MORE TAXABLE GAS. iF YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE COOKING (SODA IS TAXED!) AND WANT TO EAT OUT OR HAVE SOMETHING DELIVERED.. THAT’S TAXED. YOU SIT DOWN ON FURNITURE THAT WAS TAXED WATCHING CABLE OR USING THE INTERNET THAT’S TAXED. DON’T YOU THINK WE’RE TAXED ENOUGH?
Good point, huh? My husband’s awesome.
But the other morning I was driving to work and heard this on the radio and thought it was cool so I found it on the net and figured you might like it just as much:
Suppose that every day, 10 men go out for beer and the bill for all 10 comes to $100.00. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
- Man 1, 2, 3 and 4 (the poorest) would pay $0.00
- Man 5 would pay $1.00
- Man 6 would pay $3.00
- Man 7 would pay $7.00
- Man 8 would pay $12.00
- Man 9 would pay $18.00
- Man 10 (the richest) would pay $59.00
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The 10 men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beers by $20. “
Drinks for the 10 now cost just $80.00
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so Man 1, 2, 3 and 4 were still unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20.00 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share”? They realized that $20.00 divided by 6 is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then Man 5 and Man 6 would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce eaxh man’s bill by roughy the same amount and he proceeded to work out the amounts each would pay.
- Man 5 (like Man 1, 2, 3 and 4) would now pay nothing (100% savings)
- Man 6 now paid $2.00 instead of $3 (33% savings)
- Man 7 now paid $5.00 instaed of $7 (28% savings)
- Man 8 now paid $9.00 instead of $12.00 (25% savings)
- Man 9 now paid $14.00 instead of $18.00 (22% savings)
- Man 10 now paid $49.00 insted of $59.00 (16% savings)
Each of the 6 was better off than before and the first four continued to drink for free, but once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared Man 6. He pointed to Man 10, “but he got $10″.
“Yea, that’s right, ” proclaimed Man 5. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got TEN times more then I.”
“That’s true!” shouted Man 7. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only 2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled Man 1, 2, 3 and 4 in unision. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The 9 men surrounded the 10 man and beat him up!
the next night, Man 10 didn’t show up for drinks, so the 9 sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something very important.. they didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half the bill!
And that’s just how our tax system works! The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy and they just may not show up anymore.
In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier!
Eden Cemetary – Update
Posted by: Leese on: October 15, 2008
- In: Crime| Opinion| Updates
- 3 Comments
.. so here we go again.
I was a little too quick with the mouse and what I was writing in this post disappeared. Maybe that’s a good thing!
So the cover story of the Delco Times has a headline stating that the grave stone toppling at Eden Cemetary was racially motivated.
I can tell you absolutely.. positively… 100% clarity that it was NOT racially motivated. Not by any means.
Unfortunately, I happen to know the three dumbasses who did this. It’s one of those friend-of-a-friend-of-a-brother-of-a-friend thing that happens when you have teenagers.
Never liked them. Not even alittle. Never trusted them. My husband can confirm this.
At any rate, what REALLY happened is that they were getting wasted. I don’t know if they were getting high on pills, acid, weed or some other pharmaceutical that I’m too old to be “down” with.. but that’s what they were doing there and in their idiotic, chemically induced mindset they thought it would be fun.
Deplorable? Definately. Racial? Not in the least.
As I posted before, I doubt they even KNEW of Eden’s historical background or that it was an African American cemetary. I doubt they can even spell their first name backwards half the time. In fact, one of three has been picked up by police at least 3 or 4 times since the incident. So what does that tell you about their intelligence level?
And as much as I find what they did reprehensible, I do have to say that the OTHER two teenagers that received 64 hours of community service for robbing Suburban Armory are much more a threat to society then these half baked idiots are.
While I agree whole heartedly that Eden Cemetary and it’s buried needs to be recognized for the historical value, I think the activists who are trying to make something out of nothing should really look at the real problems. There is enough racism as it is… stop promoting it.
Here’s the Delco Times article in case you haven’t read it yet:
ACTIVIST: Desecration of Cemetary Act of Racism
By Vicky Thomas vthomas@delcotimes.com
COLLINGDALE — Philadelphia attorney and civil rights activist Michael Coard is setting his sights on Eden Cemetery, claiming the desecration of 201 headstones in the historic African-American cemetery was racially motivated.
Local police insist that is not the case.
Coard is the leader of Avenging the Ancestors Coalition (ATAC), a group that recently fought for the recognition of nine African slaves owned by George Washington in Philadelphia.
Friends of Eden Cemetery and ATAC will hold a press conference at 12:30 today at Sixth and Walnut streets in Philadelphia, to promote an event that will be held at the cemetery Saturday.
“(Today’s press conference) is simply an attempt to enlighten the public and media on why this is an important and urgent situation that must be addressed,” said Coard. “We’re ringing the alarm bell to the public that on Saturday, we’re going to have two hours of informational and enlightening demonstrations and presentations.”
Three white teenage boys, ages 15, 16, and 17, were arrested for their involvement in toppling 201 headstones in Eden Cemetery between July 14-19.
Police Chief Robert Adams said there was no evidence suggesting the vandalism was racially motivated.
“There is nothing to prove that. This is one facet making these allegations and statements,” said Adams. “This guy comes out of the blue and sends a press release … he never asked to meet with me or talk or anything.”
Established in 1902, Eden is the nation’s oldest African-American public cemetery and a reminder of the days when black citizens could not be buried alongside whites.
Among the persons of note buried there are renowned opera singer Marian Anderson, civil rights leader Octavius Catto, who led the fight to integrate Philadelphia’s streetcars, the Rev. Dr. Charles Tindley, a son of slave parents who wrote 60 hymns, including “Stand By Me,” and William Still, often referred to as “the father of the Underground Railroad.”
The teens, whose names were not released because of their ages, were each charged with 201 counts of criminal mischief and desecration of venerated objects, criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass and defiant trespass.
“The fact our African-American ancestors have not been given the respect of being allowed to rest in peace … they endured racism when alive, but Eden Cemetery proves they have to deal with racism after death,” said Coard, a member of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal’s defense team.
Adams said he has increased police presence at Eden Cemetery, and has spoken to relatives with loved ones buried in the cemetery, the Anti-Defamation League and cemetery board members about the incident.
“They are all supportive of what we’re doing. The board of directors were thankful we made an arrest,” said Adams. “(The families) are upset and I can’t blame them. There is no proof to fact (it was) racially motivated. This was kids being knuckleheads, knocking over gravestones and there is no evidence to (the) contrary.”
Coard says ATAC and Friends of Eden Cemetery believe the desecration of headstones was racially motivated because there has been vandalism and disrespect to the site over the decades.
“Since 1902, there have been problems with headstones being turned over, motorcycle riding and urination at the cemetery. None of this stuff is just kids being kids,” Coard said.
He said proof the cemetery was targeted in the July vandalism was the fact a nearby cemetery did not have similar vandalism.
He did not know the name of the cemetery, but may have been referring to neighboring Mount Zion, a non-secterian cemetery.
“The nearby cemetery with white folks, none of this is happening. To say it’s just kids being kids, then why aren’t they doing it at the white cemetery?” Coard said.
Adams said he wasn’t aware of any toppled tombstones in Mount Zion, but that didn’t mean the location was free of crime.
Officers were patrolling Eden Cemetery about a week after the vandalism when they heard voices in Mount Zion, where they found and arrested five African-American men for criminal trespass and possession of marijuana, Adams said.
The following night, police arrested a Darby woman in Mount Zion for possession of cocaine and public drunkenness.
The “Day to Honor our Ancestors” at Eden Cemetery will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday. Coard will speak and there will be music and re-enactments of some of the historic figures buried at the cemetery.
Coard said ATAC and Friends of Eden Cemetery are working to collect funds for a new fence surrounding the historic cemetery.
“We want to enlighten, energize, and motivate to stop disrespecting our buried black ancestors,” said Coard. “A wrought-iron fence could cost $1 million, but our immediate hope is to provide a steel security fence for $100,000.”
Delco Jury Duty
Posted by: Leese on: October 14, 2008
… okay, so I think it’s about time for a post that’s alittle more light hearted then what’s usually been posted and just re-ephasises just how new I am to Delaware County.
Yep.. I got called for Jury Duty.
Let me preface this by saying that I really don’t mind Jury Duty. When I lived in Philly the Jury Commission did everything possible to get people to show. Even re-modeling the holding cell jury room and serving stale bagels and nasty donuts provided for by the money received from the fines of no-shows.
NOTE: Just a thought. Considering the the amount of the fine :: which I think was about $150.00 :: you’d think they’d at least serve FRESH stuff? Then again, this was during the Street administration so what does one really expect? And by the way, if you saw the gang-rush of people trampling each other for that crap, let’s just say that it’s better to pack your own!
So anyway… back in August I get this thick envelope containing my official 4 page notice :: love the lime green ink! :: complete with a 4 page questionairre wanting to know everything about me :: including the location of every mole and beauty mark ::. I had to laugh. In Philly the notice and questionairre was one of those postcards where you had to rip off the sides and bottom .. inevitably tearing through the notice and the questions consisted of:
- Are you a citizen?
- Where you ever convicted of a felony?
- Can you read, write and speak English?
- Did anyone help you fill this out?
So needless to say, I had to run out and buy a box of pens to fill this one out! But I do and mail it back the next day. As a Newbie to the county, I didn’t want to be the one that puts the grind to it’s justice system!
My show date was September 24th and I was instructed to call the night before with my special number to see if I needed to appear.
I put the notice on my dresser and promptly forgot about it.
Now, I KNEW that the date was the end of September but for the life of me, I thought it was for the 29th. So let’s fast forward to the NIGHT of the 24th and while cleaning off my dresser, I find the notice.
Um. Yea. GULP!
I immediately show my husband and say, “Oh Shit, now what?”
The Delco native that he is says, “You better call them tomorrow or they’ll have a warrent out on you.”
At first I thought he was joking but considering how hard ass they are about actually stopping at stop signs, I figured I better head his warning. My thought was that it would REALLY suck to get arrested for NOT doing something that I actually really like doing.
So I call on the 25th.
Remember: I’m from dysfunctional Philly.
A woman named Betty picked up the phone on like, the second ring. No voice mail, no annoying prompts. Nothing. Just Betty.
I quickly go into my story… professing sorrow and apologies.. and she was like, “Well, we don’t have your questionairre”
Holy Crap… I SWEAR I mailed it in the next day! Honest!
Not a problem. “Probably got lost in the mail, ” she said. “Always happens?”
Can you say T-W-I-L-I-G-H-T Z-O-N-E??
Was she for real? Did she drink Kool-Aid? Was this a some sick twisted joke to lull me into complacency before a policeman showed up at my door?
Nope. Just Betty.
She says she will fax me another questionairre and that I can reschedule.
No problem, I say.
She asks me what date I want to reschedule for?
Huh?
Do you have a calander, she asks?
“Umm, ” I stammer.
She’s getting alittle annoyed with me because let’s face it, this is a really easy process. I tell her it really doesn’t matter… she asks me if my job will reimburse me for Jury Duty.. I said it does.. she says just let her know the date when I fax the questionairre back to her.
Done deal.
I get the fax, complete the paperwork, fax it back indicating that anytime after the second week of October would be fine. Might as well fell a little important, right?
So a few days letter I get the little post card in the mail .. my new date? October 15th.
Cool. I tell my boss and everything is fine.
So last night I go to call the number to see if I’m needed and guess what? No number on the postcard. Okay.. guess because I already scheduled I just have to go. No free get-out card this time. The best part is is that I don’t have to be there until 9am so the morning Get-The-Kids-To-School mess isn’t as intense and I can hang out with the hubby alittle longer.
I emailed my boss to let her know that there is STILL a possibility that I’ll be in work considering that there was no number to call.. and away I go.
We won’d discuss me getting lost trying to find the courthouse parking lot. Don’t ask. I’m not telling.
But I go in and present my card to the woman and guess what?
TODAY IS OCTOBER 14TH, dumbass!!
Usually I’m a day late and a dollar short… LOL!
So now I have a conumdrum. I can’t take off work on the 15th. Just can’t. No possibility.
So I drive to my office and decide to fax Betty again :: the original paperwork and fax were in my desk :: because frankly, I was too embarrassed to call. I apologize again profusely, attach supporting documentation from my job as to why I can’t come in on the 15th and could I please, please, PLEASE be rescheduled??
Guess what? Betty calls me. And the whole converstation back in September? Yea… had it again. Only THIS time I was prepared.
October 27th is my new date.
PLEASE CAN SOMEONE REMIND ME!!!
BTW.. not to pat myself on the back but she did offer to excuse me completely. But like I said, I do like Jury Duty!
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