Monkey-brained Musings
Friday, March 18, 2005
Free-Range Kids at Whole Foods
The new Whole Foods store is selling free-range kids? Man, I have got to check that store out more closely. They really have diversified their business lines. That would be way easier than an adoption from China.
The new Whole Foods store is selling free-range kids? Man, I have got to check that store out more closely. They really have diversified their business lines. That would be way easier than an adoption from China.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Enron-Contra Scandal
In the Pink scores for highlighting the philosophical connection between the Reagan Administration and Enron from Ken Lay's appearance on 60 Minutes: "Lay admits there were criminals at Enron. But throughout the interview, he insisted he was a victim, not a villain. Reagan (whoops, I mean Lay) insists that he didn?t have any knowledge about Iran-Contra (whoops, I mean falsifying Enron?s balance sheet) and blames everything on Oliver North (whoops, I mean Andy Fastow)."
As if the extensive connections between Reagan's heir and Ken Lay weren't enough.
In the Pink scores for highlighting the philosophical connection between the Reagan Administration and Enron from Ken Lay's appearance on 60 Minutes: "Lay admits there were criminals at Enron. But throughout the interview, he insisted he was a victim, not a villain. Reagan (whoops, I mean Lay) insists that he didn?t have any knowledge about Iran-Contra (whoops, I mean falsifying Enron?s balance sheet) and blames everything on Oliver North (whoops, I mean Andy Fastow)."
As if the extensive connections between Reagan's heir and Ken Lay weren't enough.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Last Chance to See
No, sorry. That opportunity has expired. For the first time in 11,000 years, the snows of Kilimanjaro are now gone.
No, sorry. That opportunity has expired. For the first time in 11,000 years, the snows of Kilimanjaro are now gone.
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Hope for Texas Parks?
The Houston Chronicle reports that Texans are in favor of expanding our state parks system and in favor of spending more money on our parks. In a recent poll, 68 percent of respondents favored buying additional lands for natural resource conservation and outdoor recreation.
Rep. Harvey Hilderbrand (R - Kerrville) has proposed increasing parks funding from $32 million, where it has been capped since the mid 90s, to $85 million. For the last decade, funding for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has been linked to the sales tax revenue generated by the sale of sporting goods. The rationale being that people purchasing hunting, fishing, camping, and other sports equipment are expressing an interest and demand for park and natural services. Sporting goods currently bring in ~$100 million in sales taxes annually. A recent survey revealed that 65 percent of the respondents supported increasing parks funding beyond $32 million.
The kick here, of course, is that the additional sales tax revenues generated by sporting goods are currently going into the general fund. If funding for TPWD is increased, then either funding for other programs will need to be cut or additional revenues will need to be found. Considering that all of the current revenue debate in the Legislature is focused on public schools, it is doubtful that surplus revenue will be available for parks.
Thanks to Pink Dome.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Texans are in favor of expanding our state parks system and in favor of spending more money on our parks. In a recent poll, 68 percent of respondents favored buying additional lands for natural resource conservation and outdoor recreation.
Rep. Harvey Hilderbrand (R - Kerrville) has proposed increasing parks funding from $32 million, where it has been capped since the mid 90s, to $85 million. For the last decade, funding for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department has been linked to the sales tax revenue generated by the sale of sporting goods. The rationale being that people purchasing hunting, fishing, camping, and other sports equipment are expressing an interest and demand for park and natural services. Sporting goods currently bring in ~$100 million in sales taxes annually. A recent survey revealed that 65 percent of the respondents supported increasing parks funding beyond $32 million.
The kick here, of course, is that the additional sales tax revenues generated by sporting goods are currently going into the general fund. If funding for TPWD is increased, then either funding for other programs will need to be cut or additional revenues will need to be found. Considering that all of the current revenue debate in the Legislature is focused on public schools, it is doubtful that surplus revenue will be available for parks.
Thanks to Pink Dome.
Have We Learned Nothing?
When I saw the first news report about the terrible problem of discrimination inherent in single-sex bathrooms, I passed it off as a curious feature, the news wonk's equivalent of a local paper running a picture of puppies in the park on sunny day. But now, the issue has appeared again, in Slate's jurisprudence column of all places. Why are otherwise bright, well-educated liberals wasting time on this issue? Have they sunk so low that the only victory that they can hope to acheive is changing the sign on the bathroom door?
It is no wonder that the Republicans are in control of the country. I can only imagine how Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh would bust their guts laughing about this before going back to picking out more arch-conservative judges, thinking of new ways to blow off the UN, and artfully spin how yet another protect the rich measure is really in the best interest of working Americans.
When I saw the first news report about the terrible problem of discrimination inherent in single-sex bathrooms, I passed it off as a curious feature, the news wonk's equivalent of a local paper running a picture of puppies in the park on sunny day. But now, the issue has appeared again, in Slate's jurisprudence column of all places. Why are otherwise bright, well-educated liberals wasting time on this issue? Have they sunk so low that the only victory that they can hope to acheive is changing the sign on the bathroom door?
It is no wonder that the Republicans are in control of the country. I can only imagine how Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh would bust their guts laughing about this before going back to picking out more arch-conservative judges, thinking of new ways to blow off the UN, and artfully spin how yet another protect the rich measure is really in the best interest of working Americans.
