The Faces Of Meth Campaign

Check out this slideshow from the Faces of Meth campaign.

Faces Of Meth Slideshow

The use of meth has exploded in the media recently, especially since the big O (Oprah) did an interview yesterday with a man and his son who was addicted to meth.

This issue is no stranger to those of us who grew up in the California Valley. Tulare Co., home to David and I, has the largest users of meth per capita in the country (as of 2000). If you have any stories about meth or those affected by meth, please feel free to share.

 

Interesting Read About American Tax System

Here is an interesting read my Dad sent me last night. David Kamerschen, a professor of economics at the University of Georgia, gives us this anecdote to explain the American tax system.
Honestly, I am no mathematician or economist but I appreciate Kamerschen attempting to put this complicated topic in terms us simple folk can understand.

Disclaimer: Liberals might not appreciate this article.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten 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 beer by $20.’ Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men – the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’ They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six 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 the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ exclaimed the fifth man. ‘I only saved a dollar,
too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I got’

‘That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. ‘Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

‘Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. ‘We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is 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.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

‘Idols Revisit Beatles Songs

“American Idol” contestants sang songs from the Beatles for the second week in a row Tuesday evening, but unlike last week the performances were mostly forgetable.

The songbook from the Fab Four was open again to the 11 remaining Idolettes for a show that opinionated judge Simon Cowell called “weird.”

“I don’t think they should have sang the Beatles again,” Cowell said.

The grumpy Cowell was in a particularly bad mood this evening, giving a positive review to only one contestant, David Archuletta.  Archuletta rebounded from a disastorous performance last week when he forgot the words to his song and will presumably resume his role as the front-runner to win the competition.

Irish las Carly Smithson didn’t appear to have a St. Patrick’s Day hang-over as she nailed her performance of “Blackbird.”

America will eliminate one more contestant during a one-hour episode Wednesday evening on Fox.  Former ‘Idol contestant Kelly Pickler will perform during the show.

Lawmaker wants Bud To Be King Of Beers In MO.

Lawmaker wants Budweiser to be Mo.’s brew – USATODAY.com

A state lawmaker introduced a bill that would make Budweiser the official state beer in Missouri.

Budweiser is brewed by St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Inc., and according to Rep. Curt Dougherty -if officially recognized- might even more persuade more tourists to visit the “Show Me State.”

“We’ve got a state dinosaur, a state frog, a state reptile, a state flower, a state nut, but no one has given a thought to a company that’s been in Missouri for many, many years and is bringing prosperity to our state and manufacturing a product in our state that many people enjoy,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty’s bill was introduced last week but has not been referred to a House committee.

Blogged with Flock

It Ain’t Nothing but a G-Thang

As I contemplate my life, and sending nasty profanity laden letters to the human resource departments of every place I have applied to and not heard back from, I realize life ain’t that bad for a g.

I am starting to come to terms and at peace with the fact that despite graduating with latin honors from the top journalism school in the country, nothing in life is a guarantee. Yes, I am aware the University of Missouri-Columbia has claimed a 100 percent job rate within six months of graduation. But, honestly, this is probably bullshit and it may mean people are taking jobs in Blackfoot, Idaho for $22,000 a year. I for one will not be living anywhere in Idaho unless I am making at least $50K. I also won’t take a job that has me sitting at a desk and uploading stories onto a website for eight hours a day. How often do we get to be 22? How often do we get to be single and find out what we truly want out of our lives? Then, how often we will spend working in an office?

I have never been comfortable staying stagnant. That means, I can’t stay in one place for very long and it means I have a hard time staying at one particular job unless I absolutely love it. To be honest, I have yet to find something I truly love yet. And, until I do I will continue grinding life out, living paycheck to paycheck until I discover who I am, what God wants me to do, and how I will live the rest of my life.

In two weeks, I make my move from Visalia to San Luis Obispo to live with David. It will probably be a brief segment of my life but should be an enjoyable one. My hope if to substitute teach, work at a winery or restaurant and enjoy the coast that I have missed for four years. Is it scary to live while only making $10 an hour, yes. Then again, its also entertaining… for now.

Harry Potter Review

“Harry Potter” was the top movie at the box office this weekend -big surprise. I saw the film Saturday night at the Portales movie theather, which was an event in and of itself. The movie theatre was the first I’ve been that didn’t have stadium seating since I was seven. Also, I don’t think the people in Portales no proper movie ettiquette. I actually witnessed a guy change his baby’s diaper. Now on to the movie…

Like the book, “The Order of the Phoenix”, the fifth in the series, is one long set-up for the final novel. The story is complex if you haven’t read or seen any of the other movies and I reccommend
at least watching the third and fourth movies to understand what is going on.

Daniel Radcliffe stole the show in the film and is blossoming into a fine actor. In fact, the major disapointment with this film was the character actors around Radcliffe. Ron and Hermoine were boring and didn’t have the same wit and chemistry they possessed in the previous films. Even Draco, Hagrid and others came across uninterested. The only other character who was remotely enjoyable was the corky Luna Lovegood.

Overall, I thought the film was decent but lacked the same fun as the previous four films, but then again so did the fifth novel. Therefore the screenwriters are still sticking to the novel’s which means number six will probably be mediocre as well.

Grade: C+

‘Harry Potter’ leads weekend box office tally – USATODAY.com

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Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog -midwest skies and west coast dreams. You may be wondering what this blog is about, and of course, why another blog? This blog is about my life, musings about what is occuring in the new media industry, sports, religion, technology anything else that interests me. The blog is primarily for my friends and family, but if you would like to take a stroll around and comment on my comments, feel free. Thanks and enjoy.