Tuesday, November 20, 2012
NYC 60K Race Recap – November 17, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
New GOP policy: Devolution of civil discourse
New Gingrich and Mitt Romney are pedaling as fast as they can to get as far to the right as Santorum. The party has lost its way, is beyond hypocritical in that it does not stand for "small government" or "individual freedoms" as it advertises, and is preventing any meaningful political debate in this country.
For more information on Rick Santorum please visit Spreading Santorum
Friday, April 8, 2011
What makes me angry? Republican hypocrisy in the budget debates
Want some evidence?
On Tuesday March 1st Republicans in the House of Representative voted unanimously to continue tax subsidies for oil companies. Yes, you read that correctly. Republicans gave billions of dollars of tax subsidies to companies such as ExxonMobil and BP.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/05/oil_company_subsidies.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/01/house-gop-oil-subsidies/
Speaking for all Americans on this issue? I don't think so. 74% of Americans oppose these subsidies:
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/03/03/americans-oil-subsidies/
Robert Gates, a Republican, became Secretary of Defense under President Bush and was retained in that position by President Obama. He is responsible for putting together the budget request for the Department of Defense. Republicans in Congress are insisting that the DOD needs more money than he is requesting. In particular they insist on continuing a program to create a second jet engine for a new fighter plane. Sec. Gates has asked Congress several years in a row to allow this program to die, it will ultimately cost three billion dollars and the Pentagon considers it unnecessary.
Speaking for all Americans on this issue? I don't think so. 76% of Americans support eliminating unnecessary weapons systems:
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2011/03/03/americans-oil-subsidies/
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
My message to Congress - Raise Taxes
Senator Schumer,
I believe the Republican Party is determined tear apart the very fabric which generations of Americans have woven together. The ideal of e pluribus unum is being cast aside to appease a vocal minority who believe they never received any help from others and owe nothing to the community at large. They are delusional, all Americans have benefitted from programs such as Head Start, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. The Republican Party, despite is rhetoric, appears bent on creating a permanent lower class. In a recent article in Vanity Fair, Joseph Stiglitz wrote: “In terms of income equality,
If we allow this to happen our great country may never recover. If we do not address our budget deficits and keep social programs intact they could be lost forever. The only responsible way to address the issue is to raise taxes. If we give in to the conservative ideologues now it may be several political cycles before we could even broach the subject again. Having any discussion with the Republican Party of spending cuts without talking about increasing revenues is a fool’s errand.
Please stand up for what is best for our country and fight for what is best for all of us now and for generations to come.
Sincerely,
NealnNYC
Monday, August 10, 2009
Let's tax the working folks?
Now, the average middle class voter might think that when I say wealth I mean money we have saved. No, this refers to the wealthy, a special class of people who live entirely off the capital gains of money that their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers worked hard to earn.
In his article describing the Son of Boss tax dodge, Robert L. Sommers writes:
"When one understands the tax code, it becomes apparent that the conflicts are not between liberals and conservatives, but rather the battle is between old wealth (both liberal and conservative) and new wealth – those living on investments verses those earning an income. Thus, the estate tax, capital gains, and tax-free bonds laws favor old wealth, while those earning large incomes (professionals, business owners, entertainers and athletes) pay the highest rates on their compensation income, as well as employment taxes."
Think carefully about this. You may be paying a few dollars, maybe a few hundred dollars less in taxes since the tax rate on capital gains has been cut, but if you still work for a living, whether you are self employed, work for a small company or a huge corporation, do you really want to shift more of the tax burden to working folks like yourself?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Clean Shaven
The coolest part about shaving my head is that shaving my head is fun! The first couple of times I used the same four blade disposable razor I had been using for my beard, and it worked fine. But I was wondering if there were any good top of the head shaving products out there. I checked in the drug store and found the HeadBlade.
The HeadBlade looks likes a cross between a matchbox car and a razor! Just put the blade and the wheels on your skin and push the car over your skull, no need to apply any pressure. With the grain, against the grain, it's up to you to decide. In a matter of seconds I have a clean shaven head, no nicks, no cuts, no razor burn.
Now I know what your thinking, "Neal, why are you writing a testimonial for this product?" Well a couple of reasons. First, I haven't written anything in a while and I needed something to write about. Next, it's a product I really believe in and highly recommend. And finally, yes indeed, the kind folks at HeadBlade are giving me a discount on products when I refer customer.
Use the link below to checkout the HeadBlade online store. You'll see the referral code "65409" when you checkout, this entitles first time customers a 20% discount (and I'll get some store credit!).
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
When Bad Things Happen to Good People (me)
When I got out of the water I confirmed the worst. The battery compartment had flooded. Bad, but not tragic. The batteries were quite degraded, but they can be easily replaced. Unfortunately the guts of the batteries had eaten away at the contacts and one is missing altogether. No amount of cleaning, drying and fresh batteries is going to make this thing flash again. It can be repaired and is under warranty, but there's a limit to what can be done on the island.
I attempted using the camera without the strobe. But the particular housing I bought - yes the more expensive one - blocks most of the light from the camera's internal flash. It's specifically designed to be used with an external strobe. The housing is also specifically designed to be used with a strobe from the same manufacturer and isn't universally compatible, something I never really thought of before.
So I had planned this trip several months ago. I opted to keep the old TV that requires a solid daily slap to head to keep displaying a picture. And I spent hours researching the camera equipment I wanted to purchase. Apparently I had done all that for one (1) dive.
Now on that first dive I had gone to about 50 feet. At that depth divers and all there equipment are exposed to around two and a half atmospheres of pressure, and salt water is quit corrosive - though an excellent conductor of electricty - so things don't have to go terribly wrong before a small problem becomes a big problem. I understand this, so I wasn't nearly as angry as I was disappointed. Yes, I did indeed pout.
On Monday I dove without a camera for the first time in about 100 dives. It was still enjoyable and relaxing, but different. My mind was free to go on autopilot instead of contemplating thought such as "how can I get perfectly still in this current in order to get this shot in focus". Relaxing or not it didn't cure the disappointment, and my pout didn't make it to a smile.