They Didn't See Themselves as Revolutionaries

They saw them selves as conservatives.

Speech was from 9-years ago but seems just as relevant today.

Taxing the Internet

There's a bill currently in Georgia that would basically tax the Internet.

[Rep. Jay] Powell's measure would replace that lost revenue with a broader tax base, imposing a sales tax on music downloads, streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, and other digital purchases.

Powell is co-Chair of the Rural Development Council and heads the House Ways and Means Committee so you would have to guess there's a good chance this bill becomes law in Georgia.

The revenue from the bill would supposedly go to fund broadband expansion for those areas of the State that are currently "unserved" by high speed broadband. That's a commendable goal but is this the right way to go ahead and fund something like that? I can see other states following suit just to get the funds without the commendable goals.

The TEA in TEA Party stood for "Taxed Enough Already" and I can foresee a measure like the Georgia Bill spreading to other states also potentially giving rise to a rebirth of the Tea Party. Maybe Apple and Google can use their considerable hoarded wealth to lobby to help stop this from happening.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Happy Presidents Day (still say Washington and Lincoln should each get their own day). Here's a view of the Washington Monument that you don't see every day.

- Fantastic and comprehensive review of the film career of Bill Murray

- Joe Posnanski memorializes Augusta National's the Eisenhower tree - which sadly is no more

- Thinking of Abba as Tea Party pioneers in outrageous outfits is strangely amusing

-  Joe Strummer's 1979 handwritten lyrics to London Calling

- The unbelievable but true story of Mitchell Paige - American hero and the real life face of the GI Joe doll. Where do we find such men?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Nice profile of Rockies manager Walt Weiss. Hard not to like the guy.

- Senator challenges NFL's tax-exempt status. Of course a shortcut would be to just tell the IRS that the NFL was affiliated with the Tea Party.

- Col. Chris Hadfield singing Space Oddity is awesome. Part of me is bothered by the idea that NASA now is best known for singing astronauts and not for the sort of great goals and accomplishments that made them famous in the past. We don't even have a space shuttle any more.

- Watch this excerpt from a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace. Watch it once a week for the rest of your life to remind yourself "this is water".

- 11 Patron Saints of food, wine and those who cook or serve

- Interesting look at how our Solar System isn't "normal".