There are currently up for debate two opposing plans to cut federal income taxes.
- The GOP-backed plan to extend the Bush tax cuts of a decade ago, which are set to expire.
- A new Democrat-backed Obama-proposed tax cut.
A Washington Post piece by economic analyst Ezra Klein showed this simple chart to give an idea of how much tax cuts would come to each person, based on their income. It’s pretty clear that if the Bush tax plan is extended. the richer people get the greater your tax cut. By far.
I have heard the argument that rich folks drive the economy because they own the small businesses, and so logically they should have larger tax cuts than the rest of us. But these are personal income tax cuts and not corporate tax cuts. I favor the European model, where wealthier people pay higher personal taxes. I realize that idea is unpopular, but those countries seem to be able to weather financial crises without devastating the middle class.
Unemployment in Norway is currently 3.5%, Austria is 3.9%, Switzerland is 4%, Denmark is 6.6%, Germany 7%, the UK is $7.8, Italy 8.5%, Belgium is 8.6%. The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.5%, about the same as that of Poland, Bulgaria, and Croatia. Here in Oregon it’s 10.6%, higher than that of Hungary.
Let’s make it simple: I’d like a full-time job. Britney Spears doesn’t need a tax cut.
Click the chart for a larger view, but be sure to see the original article for more details and the sources for the raw numbers.
In the yard of a house a few blocks from us there is a wonderful old gnarly tree. It’s beautiful enough on its own, but when you get close you see nestled inside the crook of the tree another fine little example of guerrilla art. (Click the picture for an enlarged view.)
“Justice, justice shall you pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:20)
The entire Torah (Five Books of Moses) is read from beginning to end each year in synagogues around the world. In order to do so, the Torah is divided up into portions. On virtually every Jewish calendar, you will see a notation on each sabbath day indicating what Torah portion is to be read. Considering there is no organized head of Judaism, this is pretty amazing to me, that you can walk into any synagogue anywhere on Shabbat and you will know beforehand what portion will be read from the Torah. Occasionally, because of the Jewish leap year, a holiday, or a difference in local practice, a few verses may be shifted to a different portion or two portions may be combined into one, but whether the synagogue is orthodox, conservative, reformed, or whatever, you can pretty much count on consistency in the reading of Torah portions.
The reading of the Torah is usually followed by a drash. This is somewhat analogous to a sermon, and is read by the rabbi or a congregant. The drash is usually derived from some lesson in that week’s Torah portion, though not always.
I subscribe to a couple of online drashes. The day before the sabbath, these drashes arrive in my inbox, expounding or expanding on that week’s Torah portion. I really liked one in particular this week. It was written by Justin Spiro, who lives in New York. It was especially relevant given various events in the past week. Justin’s drash points out that there are quandaries in life, things that don’t make sense, yet they still exist. How do we deal with such quandaries? Thank you, Justin, for giving me permission to reprint your drash.
This week’s Torah Portion, Shoftim [Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9], contains a puzzling verse. Speaking about our obligation to obey the word of the judges, the Torah tells us “you shall not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left.” Rashi explains that this means we must obey their word even if they tell us that right is left, i.e. even if they make a ruling that blatantly contradicts the facts, we must obey the ruling.
This seemingly creates a very troublesome theological dilemma, whereby we could theoretically be forced to obey a ruling that is antithetical to the Torah! However, the Kli Yakar makes a fascinating point about this verse. He cites a passage in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 17a) that states that someone can only be appointed as a judge if “he knows how to purify a crawling insect” (which is the epitome of ritual impurity). In other words, judges must possess the wisdom to fully understand all sides of the issue, as there are few absolutely black-and-white issues in Jewish law. Furthermore, judges must possess the discernment to know when to adjudicate the issue in a lenient matter and when to adjudicate stringently. For instance, expounding upon a verse in Zecharia, the Kli Yakar says that judges must know when “to change the truth for the sake of peace.”
The verse in our Torah Portion can easily be applied to Rabbis as well. Orthodox Rabbis are very innovative and constantly find solutions to problems across the halachic [Jewish legal] spectrum. However, for a long time, gay Jews were left out of this innovative process. Thankfully, over 100 Orthodox Rabbis have recently added homosexuality to the list of issues that they are grappling with by publishing this statement of principles: http://statementofprinciplesnya.blogspot.com/
It is just a start, but in my opinion, a good one.
Shabbat Shalom!
Last summer, while traveling by train from Portland to Seattle to do some business, I saw lots of amazing wildflowers alongside the tracks. So when spring planting time came, I decided to put wildflowers in a space that was covered by an invasive groundcover planted years ago by a previous owner.
A couple people asked if it was hard to do, so I decided to share my secret with our loyal blog audience. Actually, there is no secret. It’s very easy.
I selected Ed Hume Wildflowers for the Pacific Northwest and mixed the seeds with some sand, a bit of starter fertilizer, and a bunch of soil. (That makes the tiny seeds easier to handle and spread evenly.) Mike trimmed and dug out most of the non-native ground cover. I dug and raked the rest. I spread the seed-soil mixture and raked it in a little bit to cover the seeds. Then I covered the top with shredded newspaper to keep the moisture in and protect the sprouting seeds. I watered every day for a week, then every few days. Since these are hardy native plants, there is no need to water ever again.
The result is beautiful. I think next year I’d be happy to cover as much of the yard as possible in native wildflowers. In fact there are some empty lots nearby that could benefit from some guerilla planting next spring. We’ll see.
INSA is a UK artist and designer. He is best known for his shoe, poster, and graphic design. I personally don’t care much for some of his imagery, but I do love his graffiti.
My favorites are his animated graffiti works. For each one, several repaintings are necessary, with the camera positioned exactly in the same place each time. I think it’s a marvelous blend of traditional street art and technology. Dubbed “graffiti gifs” because the photos are stored in GIF format, you can only view them successfully on the Web. Below are some examples:
“Made on the Inside to be worn on the Outside.”
Are these jeans hot or what?
They are Prison Blues®, made by inmates at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Mike got a pair and, as you can see, they are great quality, fine fit, and priced well.
The jeans (and other cool clothing) are made in a modern 47,000-square-foot factory. Inmates who want to work in the factory must apply and go through a hiring process. They are trained by people with industry experience. You can tell by the workmanship that they take great pride in doing a good job.
In the late 1990s, the voters of Oregon passed legislation that all inmates in state prisons have to be employed, a smart move for a state that has no sales tax. (No lounging about watching color TV, pumping iron, and generally having a “country club” life, according to proponents.) Purchasing the clothing helps increase demand and continues to give inmates training in skills they can use after their release. On the outside there is not much demand for people who know how to make license plates. In most states in the U.S. we view prisons as punishment and retribution. Those are certainly elements, but so are education and rehabilitation. I’m all about second chances and opportunities to prove your worth.
Check out their stuff at www.PrisonBlues.com.
As a society we have been very lax in the way we view the laws clearly spelled out in the Old Testament. We have selectively chosen to ignore those that are inconvenient by telling ourselves, “that was then, this is now” or “Jesus changed all that.” No more excuses. It’s time to take a stand.
Leviticus tells us important, eternal truths:
- “…and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.” (Leviticus 11:7. That means no barbeque for you Southerners.)
- “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” (Lev. 18:22. Presumably it’s okay for lesbians, since the scripture only mentions men.)
- “Do not wear material woven of two kinds of material.” (Lev. 19:19. That means no more cotton/polyester blend white dress shirts. Although the scripture doesn’t say so explicitly, clearly the short-sleeved ones are the worst.)
- “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” (Lev. 19:27. Goodbye, Hair Cuttery.)
- “For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” (Lev. 20:9. No more teenagers!)
But there is one abomination in particular that bothers me. It is so important it covers three full verses in Leviticus:
“But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you.” (Lev.11:10)
“They [shellfish] shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination.” (Lev. 11:11)
“Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales; that shall be an abomination to you.” (Lev. 11:12)
It’s time to take a stand against the abominations so clearly stated in Leviticus. I call for a boycott of Red Lobster restaurants across the country. They make sinning seem to be a family event, something we should all rejoice in! The Bible clearly tells us that any family that believes eating shrimp, lobster, clams, crabs, calamari, and scallops is normal has clearly lost its way.
If the courts can’t read the Bible and won’t close these establishments, it’s up to us to stay away from them and force them out of business. Click to find the Red Lobster nearest you so you can not eat there.
It’s all about The Family.
Guerilla art installation in SE Portland
In one of our past (lost) posts I sang the praises of Guerrilla Art (sometimes called
Street Art). I love it when folks take on the task of making the public world around them more intriguing, more thought-provoking, or more fabulous in some way. This isn’t gallery art, but public art. Often it has a mildly subversive edge to it. At other times, it hits us hard and is anything
but subtle and playful.
We walk past things every day and ignore their complexity, urban beauty, or potential for fun. Guerrilla art is free, available to anyone passing by. Social media, including blogs like this one, are ways for people to take power back from the corporate media that ordinarily shape our thinking. Guerrilla art does much the same thing by taking art to the streets. Ordinary people can express themselves in their own communities through creation or re-creation of the public spaces and objects around them.
Walking through our neighborhood a couple days ago, we stumbled upon an example of a rather soulless gas company box brought to life by the addition of magnetic poetry and bulletin board tiles and little rubber duckies. Whimsical and interactive, this drab box has become a neighborhood kiosk that screams, “Our neighborhood is alive!”
I’d love to see examples of other Guerrilla or Street art. If you have any, please send them on to the e-mail address below.
On Wednesday, the American Psychological Association issued a powerful statement applauding the Federal judge’s ruling overturning Proposition 8, in which voters had taken away the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.
“The U.S. District Court ruling today affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry in California is a victory for both science and basic human dignity,” said APA President Carol D. Goodheart, EdD. “The American Psychological Association is gratified that the court agreed that there is no justification for denying marriage equality to same-sex couples. The research shows that same-sex couples are similar to heterosexual couples in essential ways and that they are as likely as opposite-sex couples to raise mentally healthy, well-adjusted children. Thus, there is no scientific justification for denying marriage equality, when research indicates that marriage provides many important benefits.”
The statement goes on to talk about APA’s science-based advocacy for the rights of LGBT people and its belief the “pernicious health effects of discrimination and stigma” against families headed by same-sex couples.
Read the entire statement.
By MARK STEVENSON (AP)
The Mexican Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a fledgling law allowing same-sex marriages in Mexico City is constitutional, rejecting an appeal by federal prosecutors who argued that it violated the charter’s guarantees to protect the family.
The justices have not yet determined the scope of their 8-2 ruling, however, saying they still need to decide whether it will impact states outside of the capital.
The court must also still rule on the constitutionality of a provision of the Mexico City law that allows same-sex couples to adopt children. It is expected to address that issue next Monday.
Continue reading →
There are currently up for debate two opposing plans to cut federal income taxes. 
