In case you were wondering why our government sucks

This woman is in CONGRESS!

This will shock you

I know, it's tough to believe, but when presented with the choice between a simple, workable plan and one that creates a whole bunch of technical and bureaucratic challenges, a state government is looking into the difficult one.

UPDATE: Yes, I know I should have just post this post in the Drafts folder, but I was in a hurry and annoyed. OK, to answer TJ's very valid question.

Let's say I drove 15,000 miles last year, getting 30 mpg in my Toyota. I bought 500 gallons of gas at $3. The state's current gas tax is $.20 per gallon, so I paid $100 in gas taxes, and $1400 for fuel. That works out to 0.66 cents per mile in taxes.

If I buy a hybrid today that gets me 60 mpg, I'll be paying $50 in gas taxes, and $700 for fuel this year. Slap $50 in fees on my registration. I'll pay it with a smile, because I'm still saving $700, and the state still gets $100 from me to pave the roads I'm using.

Ten years from now I buy a full-electric car. Slap $100 on my registration fee. I'll pay it with a smile and a hard-on.

Now, the technological hurdles maybe aren't as steep as I implied. I suppose when I get my annual inspection at my state-licensed shop, they can plug into the car's computer and figure out that I drove 14,982 miles since the last inspection and hand me a bill for $99.88.

But why? I don't see how that discourages gas use. Fucking double the gas tax RIGHT NOW. Make gas more expensive to buy, period. Minor fees on hybrid and electric cars, so they do pay their share of the road maintenance budget, can be easily calculated based on the real numbers behind established miles-per-vehicle averages, MPG numbers, etc.

Yes, you could eliminate the gas tax. but why would you want to? Gas should not be cheaper.

They call me... Angelos Tzelepis Smith

Your Gubmint - A Farce

A Quebec businessman whose name is one of the many that have erroneously landed on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's flight passenger watch list has decided to change his name to avoid lengthy security hassles at the airport.

Mario Labbé, an executive with a Montreal-based record company, says his Canadian passport triggers a red alert on the computers of U.S. customs agents every time he tries to board a flight to the U.S. — which is about once a month for the past seven years.

"I was pulled aside in a room ... and you have to wait your turn to finally be released," Labbé said. "An hour, an hour and a half, two hours, whatever it is after. Once I was caught in Miami like that for six hours.

"It's always the same questions, about if I've lost my passport, if I've been to Japan — I don't know why Japan, but in their file it was something to do with Japan."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote a letter to Labbé in 2004, saying he had been placed on their watch list after falling victim to identity theft. At the time, the department said there was no way for his name to be removed.

Although Labbé wrote letters to the U.S. department, his efforts were in vain, prompting him to legally change his name. "So now, my official name is François Mario Labbé," he said. "Then you have to change everything: driver's license, social insurance, medicare, credit card — everything."

Although it's not a big change from Mario Labbé, he said it's been enough to foil the U.S. customs computers.

I look forward to one of my wingnut acquaintances trying to tell me how we're safer in any way.

UPDATE: Needlenose gives us this work of art:

Fuck. You.

From the Dark Wraith (by e-mail).

Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government

It's time to burn this motherfucker down.

News like this is also why I don't understand how people fall for Obama's "hope" and "change" shit. Even if he personally is pure of heart and intent {snort}, the main problem lies with the other fucking 535 douchnozzles.

Shortsighted regulation is funny

Priceless:

Fans of foie gras celebrate its luxurious taste and texture, but animal rights advocates decry the cruelty of force-feeding geese and ducks via a feeding tube to enlarge their livers before slaughter. In 2006, the Chicago City Council agreed with the protestors and banned the retail sale of foie gras.

The law is enforced by citizen complaint, and restaurateurs risk fines of up to $500 per violation. There is a loophole, however: While it's illegal to sell foie gras, it's not illegal to give it away, so restaurants and hotels just serve foie under the umbrella of other menu items.

"We sell more than ever now," Jimmy Florek, owner of Chicago Game & Gourmet, an epicurean meat and produce supplier. While he doesn't personally approve of foie gras, he's happy to serve the market: "If they don't buy it from me, they'll just buy it from someone else."

This reminds me of various alcohol regulations they passed in Boston. You know, because they don't drink - the 3 bars per city block are just there for decoration. TJ can rant about those for hours.

First, they tried to ban Happy Hour. The legal language involved "discounting" or something. It took all of a day for bar owners to realize that it was bullshit that Bob's Furniture could discount or have a sale, but Murph's Bar couldn't. So they didn't have Happy Hour, they had "sales." One day only: Vodka drinks, $2.50!

The other one was the amount of drinks that can be served to an individual or group. If I show up at a bar first, expecting two other guys, I can't get a pitcher and 3 mugs. They can't sell an individual a pitcher. But, if the other guys show up and decide to get mixed drinks instead, I can still get a pitcher all to myself. Um...