Big Idea: Making Taxes Easier

Imagine: You go to a store, buy things with your credit or debit card, listed on your receipt, why not also have the store send the list/cost of each item you buy, instead of just the total, to the bank? Who then displays that info in your account by purchase and total (as they do now), but also lists each item and amount included in that purchase, and allows you to then go through each night or weekly or monthly, and just check any tax deductible items, make a memo or category designation. At the end of the year, you just print it out, all taxes and calculations are done and figured for you. Easy!

I think most Americans are disappointed that all this information corporations and the government are collecting is not being put to better use to make our lives easier and more convenient.

Almost all stores readily collect and already have this information, all they need to do is share it with you the customer and your bank, who sets up a convenient viewing platform to allow you to easily organize it and make tax category designations (or allow your bookkeeper or accountant to access it and do so for you with your permission/oversight).  This would make pretty much EVERYONE's lives easier and save a whole lot of hassle. Further, it would pretty much eliminate most tax issues for regular people.  It would also result in far more accuracy in your tax returns/filings.  You would be happier with much less hassle and more free time, and the government would be happier with better more accurate tax collections. Hundreds of thousands of folks would be in less trouble with the IRS.

It's always bugged me that they have this information and could make our lives so much easier, and don't. I spend hours, days, weeks, chasing down paper receipts, trying to organize and input them, a lot of times the actual ink on the receipt fades to become unreadable before the end of the year, or get lost/misplaced, you have to use an online tax program or hire a bookkeeper or a tax accountant, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You probably do too. It's just nuts! And it's really completely fucking insane considering how easy this kind of system would be for stores and banks to set up, they already collect and store all this information, or most of it, anyway. We just need them talk to each other, exchange the information, set up an easy to use customer interface.  It's not rocket science. 

The whole idea is pretty simple, and fairly easy to configure and put in place, but revolutionary.



Imagine the possibilities that could make your and others' lives more convenient, and pursue them.

Tin Foil Hatted 1, Background Checks 0

Republicans in the House of Representatives just passed a bill sponsored by Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R) called the AMMO bill which apparently is based on the fear of the tin-foil hatted that Obama is having government agencies buy up all the ammo to either shoot us or to keep us in some way from exercising our Second Amendment rights.  Now, that's roughly 230 Republican votes for pure crazy! 

Seriously, knowing they have voted for a bill based on nothing more than a wacky far right tin-foil conspiracy claim, how can you or anyone possibly vote next election to keep any of them in office?  They are a joke.

That they can even consider, let alone pass such a bill, while simultaneously ignoring the victims of the Newtown shooting, or the tearful pleas of their grieving relatives, and the opinion of the vast majority of Americans favoring background check legislation as at least one common sense gun law reform, is just politically outrageous.  Frankly, it's just plain all-around outrageous.  230 panderers willing to sell their soul to secure their political base. 

It's disgusting to watch.  

Shame is apparently not a Republican trait.  But apparently, the wearing of tin-foil hats is.

How is this possible?  More importantly, ask yourself, why is it that we allow this?  In America?

Rick Perry, Putting the Ho in Christmas

Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) signed a bill earlier this week to protect the right of Texas teachers and government officials to say Islamic and Hindu greetings to each other during the holiday season. No, wait, that's not right.  That's not what the bill says.  The bill only endorses such holiday greetings by Christians and Jews: "a school district may educate students about the history of traditional winter celebrations, and allow students and district staff to offer traditional greetings regarding the celebrations, including 'Merry Christmas,' 'Happy Hanukkah,' and 'happy holidays."  I guess the sponsors were too busy to even worry about finding out how other religions exchange greetings during their religious holidays to also include them.

Christmas has taken on a secular non-religious meaning also in our society. And so long as the secular meaning is intended, I have less of an issue with the Constitutionality of such "Merry Christmas" legislation. However, it's hard to imagine viewing Happy Chanukkah without religious meaning which does create a more direct Constitutional issue.  As does the very intentional exclusion of other religion's holiday greetings. In Texas, Christian & Jewish holiday traditions are protected. Other religions, not so much.  

However, the secularization of Christmas is something we Christians have done to our own holiday, by allowing the watered-down corporate commercialization of it. And this legislation, I suppose, is a lame attempt to make that acceptable by force of government instead of just demanding that our religious holiday and traditions no longer be commercialized by the retail giants in pursuit of profits. So later this year, I will appropriately greet Mr. Perry with a greeting he has truly earned: Ho, Ho, Ho!

Since none of us have actually met God in the physical sense, all religions are purely based on faith. But faith in which god, yours?  Maybe you and I worship the same god, in exactly the same way, and both of us would answer every religious question in exactly the same way, which is highly unlikely and would be quite unusual, or maybe we don't and we have significant differences in our interpretations of our chosen faith(s), but we should still both also recognize that it is not the proper role of any government to make that choice for any of us.  Or to promote one over another or to help create any atmosphere where not to choose the one they like, or the most popular one with our neighbors leads to ridicule, shame, hatred, bigotry, or any other negative consequences other than those God actually intends and can carry out without our help.  And God does not need your or my help in sorting that out, nor does god need the state to do this work for him/her.  Your opinion on this subject is just that, your opinion.  As is mine.  We do not have to agree.  

That is actually what religious freedom means.

I can and do believe in God, and at the same time, that others need not agree with me and should be free to make their own choice on the matter without the involvement of government to push them down a particular path.  True faith is setting an example for others to follow and trusting they will make the right choice by your example.  It does not come from lecturing others into submission, or by necessity of government chicanery.

It is exactly this intolerance of other's religious choices that has been the leading cause of most wars throughout history. Even the current U.S. war in Afghanistan.  And the next one brewing in Syria.  War happens when you try to use government to force your religious opinion down others throats.  The lesson from history is that it's the most common reason.  But it's not only the leading reason for wars among nations, it's also the leading cause for cultural wars between neighbors.

Government should not endorse the majority's religious intolerances.  Nor should it take sides in religious disputes among it's citizens. Governor Perry feels strongly that his side should win. Because those who practice other faiths are second class citizens. They do not deserve equal treatment in any true sense of the word. Let us do what we want, y'all just stay out of our way.

As to this whole "Merry Christmas" issue, the solution for Christians is not to pass laws approvingly endorsing religious behavior by school teachers and government officials, while simultaneously not likewise endorsing it for Islam, Hinduism, or other faiths, it is for all members of Christianity and particularly the leaders of all sects of Christianity to rise up in unison against the commercialization of the birth of their savior. But, of course, they probably see that as too difficult, too much work.

If Governor Perry truly wanted to serve his Christian faith, he would call for and sign a bill to end the commercialization of Christmas.  It would not be popular, but God would appreciate it more.  Instead, commercial greed and the corporate commercialization of Christian holiday traditions wins again.  

Isn't "money is the root of all evil," a Christian saying?


Is it possible we will all ever be able to just get along?  
I dream of a world where all religions are tolerant.

Warm Sun

If only for a moment,
when she looked askew,
and noticed the sun,
she felt warm. Again.

Spontaneous playfulness basked
in colors of vivid imagination,
and only the coolest of shades.

To be alive. And to love it.
This, calls for a celebration.

Thank God For Snail Mail

Observation: It's quite funny, but true if you think about it, that snail mail is now the best new way to ensure your communications stay private ... well, unless you're in prison. LOL.

With government now gathering all your emails, your tweets, your instagram photos, invading your Dropboxes, and snooping through all your Facebook messages & posts, who would have thought the first line of defense of our privacy would be underpaid & overworked Postal workers? At least they do have blues uniforms and a Postmaster General, which seems appropriate for the defenders of the last bastion of the freedom to communicate privately in America.  Through rain, wind, sleet & snow, the Post Office always delivers privacy. Except on Saturdays. Or Sundays. Not enough money in the budget to allow Americans the luxury of private communications on the weekends.  But not to worry, all the corporate headquarters are closed on weekends! They'll be just fine, they've got UPS.

It's all good, considering we still have the legendary postal army to protect our privacy & deliver our letters in style, in a sort of timely fasion, in bermuda shorts.  If we have secrets we need to share, we can always resort to snail mail.  Coolio!  Because we all know that government can't open our mail without a warrant.  Well, hopefully, that's still the law.  And as you have probably experienced, postal workers can be vicious about enforcing postal rules, at least while they still have a budget. Maybe we should require postal workers to carry guns, at least in the Red states (and Blue states that have not passed gun reform yet), to defend our freedom to dump our boyfriends insensitively or tell our boss to shove it by certified letter.  After all, what could possibly go wrong?  It's not like any of our fearless army of bermuda short wearing post office workers has ever "gone postal."  Oh, wait.  

And it's not like the FBI has ever opened a letter suspected of containing ricin.  On Mars.  Yet.

And what letter doesn't contain ricin these days?  According to the FBI.  In secret courts.

Who would have predicted that snail mail would be our last bastion of communication privacy?  Is it possible for government to resist the temptation?  Is it possible the Post Office won't be around much longer?  Is it possible that Americans just don't care enough to get off the couch?  We shall see.

Mr. President, A Legacy Of Secrecy?

Americans want privacy, and security, and for their government to know and respect the difference. But I would not want to be the government spokesperson called on to defend the drawing of that line.

And "trust me," Mr. President, may be the truth, but it's also not what people want to hear in a climate of wiretapping of reporters and the IRS going after your enemies, even if they shouldn't be tax free.

Drones have no secrets, but those caught on either side of their use do.  Are they terrorists?  Are you sure? We need you to be sure.  But we need you to be sure that we are safe.  No room for mistakes or doubt.  Grey is not an acceptable color choice.  But neither is blood red.  We prefer the illusion of black or white.

The NDAA has done you no favors and your signing statement does not bind the next administration.  Nor has Congress being wishy-washy on closing Guantanamo.  Everybody hates terrorists, but nobody wants a terrorist prison in their back yard, even a super-high max, no one has ever escaped, prison.

There can be no leaks, but no wiretapping of reporters.  No reading of emails or listening in without a warrant.  But when you appoint all the prosecutors and judges on the FISA Court, and cloak it in top secrecy, telling people who don't trust you to "trust you" is never a successful strategy.  It merely begs the question. You may be doing the right thing.  Striking the right balance.  But you will never convince us in secret.  The perfect political shit storm is brewing.  Be careful, Mr. President, or this will be your true legacy. 

We will hear a lot of "I welcome this discussion" over the next few weeks.  And little to no real answers. Providing real answers on how to balance privacy and secrecy is a highly flammable practice, considering no answer will ever be a satisfactory answer to all.  And while that may always be true, the percentage of disgruntled will be particularly high for these issues.  We all want to be safe, in private.

Nobody wants to be the defender of the line.  It's a no win situation.  The left, the right, the center, the up and the down will all attack with a voracious ferocity usually only displayed by the tin-foil hatted in hot pursuit of a particular suspected gay pinko facist totalitarian black Kenyan, eh Mr. Clapper?

Never mind that we live in a complicated world that is getting more complex at an exponential rate.  That is the nature of computers.  They are quite useful, until they don't work or are pointed at you.

We are a silly lot.  Confused even.  But do not pour gas on our fire.  Delusional though it may be.

We're all too busy asking, like Jay Leno: "When did the government become our psycho ex-girlfriend?"

Don't laugh Mr. President.

Is it possible to draw a perfectly balanced line?  Is it possible to provide safety without ever invading privacy?  Where would you draw that line?  And how would you defend it?  O' the possibilities!

Happy Happy Disease

I get tired of all the fake happiness on Facebook. There's this prevailing attitude that one must pretend to be "happy happy" all the time on Facebook.

It's like a disease that infects our internet society. Be happy or be judged!

I prefer my friends to be real. I accept their flaws and understand that their occasional negativity is actually part of living a meaningful life.  Truth.

Our most enduring myths and best societal stories involved overcoming struggle, not encountering "happy happy" perfection all the time. Of course, if you mention your struggle on Facebook or Twitter or other social networks these days, it's like facing a firing squad of happy happy police who judge mercilessly. 

If you're reading any of this and disagreeing strenuously, you might actually be one of those happy judges.

Meaningful possibilities rarely turn into actual successes without a good amount of struggle.  
And it's ok to discuss that.