Some Finnish lawmakers are proposing the addition of a new item to the list of government entitlements: Sex.
A bill before Parliament, proposed by poet/lawmaker Tommy Tabermann and supported by 13 of his colleagues, would grant workers a paid week off each year to be used as a "love vacation" to help Finns connect with each other “on an erotic as well as an emotional level,” helping them "find their way back to the path of love..."
Tabermann says he's concerned about Finland's high divorce rate and the "depression and stress" its workers are feeling. By law, Finns already get 25 days of paid vacation a year, plus 10 paid holidays.
I'm not quite sure how this would work. If you don't end up, um, you know, on those days off, do you lose vacation time or have your pay docked? On the other hand, this could generate some of the greatest pick-up lines ever. Hey, it's your patriotic duty ...
With gasoline prices soaring toward $4 a gallon, many Americans are trying to figure out ways to cut their fuel costs -- and politicians are only too happy to suggest ways they can get the credit for a price drop.
One of the more creative personal projects, however, comes from a blogger in Munster, Ind. who calls himself -- no joke -- "The Drunken Swede." An engineer, he's decided to experiment by mixing E85 fuel (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) with regular gasoline in his car, which is not a "flex fuel" vehicle meant to take E85.
You're not supposed to do this, of course -- long-term engine damage and all that, even though a regular engine can take about 10 percent ethanol. But after seeing E85 (which is heavily subsidized) being sold for 50 cents a gallon less than gas, he figured he could save a few bucks by adding just enough E85 to his tank to make a difference without hurting the car.
I know it's just an experiment to see what works, but as a matter of economics, I think this guy is living up to half of his nickname. By my calculations, even if you do a 50/50 mix of E85 and gasoline -- the maximum E85 he figures could work without stalling out or harming your car -- you might save $3 to $5 per 16-gallon tank (his first-tank savings were $2.79).
But bear in mind that E85 gives you less mileage than gas (estimates are anywhere from 5 percent to 30 percent less), so a mixture could wipe out your savings. Also, a more optimum concentration for a non-E85 car seems to be only 25 percent to 30 percent E85.
But hey, at least the guy's trying. He even put E85 in his wife's van -- then she called him Monday to tell him the van stalled. Talk about dedication.
Prosecutors have decided not to charge the fellow who recently swam across the Ohio River on a dare, doing nothing illegal but freaking out Reds fans who feared he was drowning as they saw him crossing the river following a game.
Covington police charged Edward Hunt of Florence with disorderly conduct on the shaky premise that he had incited a panic. His buddies had to come up with $144 to bail him out.
"It's just one of those situations where we disagree with the police," said Ken Easterling, chief prosecutor in the Kenton County Attorney's Office.
Here's a link to an earlier post. While this story ends up being kind of humorous, I think the larger point is that police have a lot of power. Using it wisely helps foster the respect that officers want and need.
In Kentucky, where everything is political and finding truth is like looking through gauze, I guess it's no big surprise that the state's Council on Postsecondary Education wanted to reappoint a holdover from the troubled administration of Gov. Ernie Fletcher to be its permanent head and didn't bother to do it correctly.
Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, says President Brad Cowgill, a Republican Fletcher appointee, was named improperly. And it's indeed disturbing that, according to Conway, the council violated open meetings law and didn't follow other procedures in deciding to turn Cowgill's interim job into a permanent one.
And I hope Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, is telling the truth when he says it isn't personal. It's about finding the best candidate, sayeth the guv.
But this whole mess feels political to me. Two points seem lost. Cowgill, a former state budget director, struck me as a pretty impressive guy, and the council's work and vision for where higher education needs to go in KY is very astute. Check it out, including their plan to double the number of degree holders in KY by 2020 and why this is so important.
So, why not let policy trump politics and do everything on the up-and-up? But I forgot for a moment that this is Kentucky.
I heard these numbers at a presentation this week by Linda Young, executive director of Welcome House of Northern Kentucky in Covington. It's something to think about when you hear the presidential candidates talking in generalities about the impact of poverty, or when you hear state politicians talking about our Kentucky budget woes.
Percentage of jobs in the eight counties of NKY that pay less than $8 per hour: 10% Percentage of jobs that pay between $8 per hour and $12.84 per hour: 54% Total jobs paying $12.84 per hour or less as a percent of all NKY jobs: 64%
Why $12.84 per hour? That's what it takes to afford a market-rate apartment in Kenton County, Linda said.
Two more statistics: Waiting list to receive subsidized rent support in Northern Kentucky: 12-15 months. Waiting list to move into subsidized housing units in Northern Kentucky: 12-36 months.
And this is happening in a part of the state that others see as prosperous. The impact of so many people living so close to the edge ripples out everywhere, most obviously in the schools and courts.
A lot of time and money has been spent improving airport security since 9/11. Those indelible images of airliners melting into the World Trade Center are why we put up with lining up to take off our shoes and packing our shampoo in little baggies for inspection at the security gates.
But a tour of Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport on Wednesday pointed out that virtually every aspect of airport operation is aimed at preventing disasters that could have much more mundane causes.
Take mowing the grass: The airport keeps about 4,000 acres of grass well-trimmed, using monstrously huge and expensive mowers in eight hour shifts. This isn’t because they want to make the cover of Runway and Garden, but because tall grass can obscure ground markers pilots look for when steering their birds around the tarmac.
Birds are another big reason for keeping the grass short, according to the facility managers. Short grass is less habitable for mice and other critters that attract hawks. A hawk is not something a jet wants to intersect with during takeoff or landing.
Then there is the ice and snow. Security procedures guard against attacks that may never come, but we know it snows every winter. The airport spends about $400,000 on each of the huge plows, snow blowers and ice brooms used to clear the runways. Can you imagine what it would be like to land a fully loaded airliner on a patch of ice instead of a clean runway?
It cost $50 million alone just to build the catchment/recycling system for the anti-freeze used to de-ice the planes before they take off.
You may remember a semi-amusing news item last fall about Ohio state Rep. Matt Barrett of Amherst, who inadvertently flashed a photo of a nude woman on his computer while giving a civics lesson to a high school class. The photo was just one of several on a flash drive Barrett brought from home for his presentation. "I have no idea where these came from," he said at the time, saying he received the device as a gift.
The next day, however, the freshman Democrat explained it as "an internal family matter," requesting "respect for our privacy as we deal with this situation." House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty backed him up, saying, "This situation is a matter between him, his teenaged son and his family."
Yeah, right. Ohio House Democrats announced Barrett's resignation Thursday morning, saying he stepped down "after he admitted he was not truthful about the photos displayed ... during a classroom presentation." According to a lawmaker contacted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, nude photos of two women from Barrett's district were on the flash drive. "It became clear that Rep. Barrett had not been forthright with me and his colleagues," Beatty said.
So Barrett is gone, but evidently not forgotten. As of 5 p.m. Thursday he was still listed as a House member and his biographical page was still up on its Web site. Let's see how long it takes to change that.
UPDATE: Still there as of 10 a.m. Monday 4/28.
Meanwhile, rumor may or may not have it that the device will continue to be used in legislative training sessions on "How A Bill Becomes Law." They don't call them flash drives for nothing.
*You never know who'll show up on a bus. This morning I climbed on to find a Channel 12 news team on board. I tried hiding behind my newspaper. Really, we news types aren't trying to hijack your ride, Route 3X regulars. You're just way ahead of the rest of us on saving on fuel and being environmentally responsible. So thanks.
*It seems that the most common topic of conversation on the bus is. . . the bus. Riders like to talk about the routes, their strategies for dealing with missed buses and bad weather, how much money they're saving, the friends they've met literally along the way.
*Riders and drivers are very tolerant of first-timers. Once when I was in Chicago, I tried to put a dollar in a slot for bus passes. The young, incredibly rude driver slammed his hand down on it and screamed at me. Yikes -- hop on board. Metro drivers have greeted me, thanked me, briefly explained my afternoon pick-up spot and gently reminded me that, on my return route, I pay before I get off, not upon boarding. And my fellow passengers -- hey, I like these people so much I wish I worked with them! One may give my son Chinese lessons; another has turned into an email pal.
*OK so my express route from the northern part of Hamilton County isn't a typical ride. Still, it blasts the myth that bus-riding carries some kind of social stigma. I ride with brief cases, backpacks, really expensive haircuts and tattoos. The one thing my fellow passengers have in common is that they're smart enough to take public transportation, and they don't seem to care what anybody else thinks about it.
*I can save more than $1,200 this year by taking the bus, as well as 7,000 miles on my car. I have become my own economic stimulus package. . .
Just couldn't help but notice Northwest CEO Doug Steenland's statement Tuesday, reported by the Enquirer's Malia Rulon, that the, uh, promise they've made not to close any hubs after the Delta-Northwest merger -- not a single hub! no layoffs! honest! you have our word! -- comes with a giant, flying, late-to-the-gate asterisk: It all depends on fuel prices.
"It's not a static world where we can say, guarantee, positively, this is exactly what it's going to look like," Steenland told reporters in Washington. Well, of course not. We could discover personal levitation next week, making airlines obsolete. But still ...
Maybe he and Delta CEO Richard Anderson were playing "bad cops" to Delta President/CFO Ed Bastian's "good cop" visit to Cincinnati last week -- the one that gave everyone the warm and fuzzies about the future of Delta's CVG hub and its employees.
In case you missed it, listen here to what Bastian said at the time.
Here's one for the "unintended consequences" file:
At the end of today's Enquirer story about how Duke Energy is testing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Duke software engineer Steve Hinkel says the electric-mode car is so silent that he nearly hit his dog with it. "He didn't hear me pulling into the driveway and nearly walked in front of the car," Hinkel said.
Evidently, this problem goes beyond one off-beat anecdote. There's a growing concern that hybrid vehicles may pose a danger to pedestrians, particularly the visually impaired, who may not be able to hear them coming in time. A study by the University of California-Riverside shows that hybrids operating at low speeds have to be 40 percent closer to pedestrians than conventional cars before they can be heard.
Earlier this month, two U.S. House members introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Transportation Department to, in essence, mandate noisier hybrids. Or maybe we should just mandate that people pay attention while crossing the street.
Those adolescent moments we'd take back if we could
The sentencing of two West Chester teenagers for their role in the pipe-bomb explosion that killed their friends, Daniel Ferraro, set off a discussion here about dumb-headed adolescent stunts.
Most of us have at least one that could have turned out tragically. It's sobering to realize how close most of us have come to a split-second stupid decision that could have changed our lives forever.
When I was 15, my brother offered to let me drive his car. I had absolutely no experience but plenty of daring. We drove to a country road, I hopped into the driver's seat, stomped on the gas pedal and flipped the car in a deep ditch. As we hung there, suspended upside down, I looked over at my brother who was so shocked he was unresponsive. I was sure he was dead.
In that second I felt the overwhelming remorse every other foolhardy kid must feel --please, let this not be real. Please let this not be happening to me. Please let me go back just five minutes and do this over.
I was given grace; my brother was fine.
I hope there is some kind of grace for the three boys who were part of the explosion that took Daniel Ferraro's life. Grace doesn't mean we don't pay penalties for our thoughtless youthful actions. It means we make amends as best we can, learn our lesson -- with whatever degree of pain we must -- and then find a way to forgive ourselves and get on with living.
I just read Dennis Hetzel's post below and the story that goes with it, and I agree it looks to me like the swimmer got charged because the police were irked at being called on to deal with his stupidity.
But if they really just had to charge somebody, I'd nominate his goofy friends who dared him to do it and then stood by while other people got worried.
News item: You've got to read this story for yourself. It starts like this: A $3 dare Sunday began with a swim in the Ohio River and ended at the Kenton County jail.
The Covington police charged this fellow with disorderly conduct for "inducing panic" by swimming across the Ohio River -- which is not illegal -- and scaring some Reds fans.
What happened to the days when the police handled such situations by telling you not to do anything that stupid again and sending you home? Do we really need to waste the time of the courts with this case?
I rode Metro downtown to work today, my first time ever. I've always thought I'd feel constrained by taking the bus but instead I felt liberated.
I didn't have to worry about traffic or fret about running late because I was forced to run early. And there was something really nice about starting my day with other people. I didn't realize how lonely that commute had become until I had seatmates explaining the bus routes and offering tips on dealing with bad weather and missed buses.
The people were the best part of the experience. I wonder if bus riders are a unique breed -- unpretentious, down-to-earth, at least some environmentally minded.
In my son's backpack last week were flyers for summer sports programs for kids. Here's one we won't be taking advantage of: the Chad Johnson Football Camp.
First, we'd wonder if Chad would even show. Second, we'd worry that he'd feel under-utilized or unappreciated.
We'd pay $185 for the three-day experience, and Chad could bolt at any time? I don't think so.
I want sports experiences that teach my son to be loyal to his team, play hard whether he's a star or not and keep a humble, grateful attitude. I no longer think Chad Johnson is the guy to teach such lessons.
Police say the doors were locked so Dora Wood pulled the alarm then slipped into the building while others were evacuating. The officers identified Wood -- not some incorrigible sixth-grader -- as the culprit from security films.
Two fire trucks, a squad car and police cruiser responded to the alarm. Police say Wood had her daughter with her.
This is either ultra-arrogance or ultra-stupidity. And what a way to train a kid not to take responsibility for herself. Maybe it's time to say, "Mommy can't fix this."
I was going to write a lengthier post about the KY Legislature's failure to agree on pension-reform legislation, but I'm busy, I'm annoyed and Pat Crowley's story describes the details of this debacle.
So, I'll just say this:
Their inability to come together means an unsustainable system will continue to head toward disaster while local governments face costs that may drive some into bankruptcy or drastic service cuts. So, just what does it take to have a sense of urgency?
The leaders of both parties should be ashamed of themselves.
All together now, Aaaaawwwwwwww...... Yes, the new baby bearcat at the Cincinnati Zoo is awfully cute, and so was its debut Wednesday morning with University of Cincinnati (Home of the Bearcats) President Nancy Zimpher and Zoo Director Thane Maynard. But somehow the Enquirer story left me, at least, with some nagging questions:
1. Why wasn't Zimpher wearing her trademark red?Could it be because bearcats become enraged/amorous/ravenous when they see that color? Maybe Maynard could have explained it if he had more than 90 seconds.
2. So what is a bearcat really? The story tells us it's neither a bear nor a cat, but is technically a "binturong," which is related to the civet, which I believe is made by Honda (see the resemblance?), although its forebears were made by Stutz. At least I think so.
3. What will the Zoo name the new baby bearcat -- especially since, as the Enquirer says, "the new resident will serve to strengthen the more than 100-year-old relationship" between UC and the Zoo? Not a clue, but I'll bet that if they open up a naming contest to the public, the No. 1 nomination might be "Huggs."
The second of three big-name roomies from the Ohio Attorney General’s office has now been suspended with pay in connection with a sex harassment investigation in the office.
On Monday, Attorney General Marc Dann suspended his top spokesman and long-time friend Leo Jennings III. That follows by about a week the suspension of Anthony Gutierrez, Dann’s office manager and another long-time friend from Youngstown. The third roommate in the suburban Columbus apartment where Cindy Stankoski, a 26-year-old female employee of the office claims she suffered unwelcome attention last September, is none other than Dann himself.
Pointed questions are now being asked of Dann – questions he seemed, at least at first, reluctant to answer. His office initially balked at turning over e-mails between Dann, and his one-time scheduler, Jessica Utovich, that had been requested by the Columbus Dispatch. The attorney general’s office initially argued the e-mails were not public records. That was a curious argument given that Dann, as a crusading candidate two years ago, made a very big issue out of demanding, and getting, e-mails of Republican officials he thought were involved in shenanigans. On Tuesday his office announced they had reconsidered and would turn over the e-mails.
Utovich’s name has come up in the sex harassment case because Stankoski said in her claim that on the night she went to the apartment, Utovich showed up as well, wearing pajamas or a sweatsuit. Stankoski said she and Gutierrez had been drinking and she fell asleep, and then awoke to find her clothes unbuttoned and Gutierrez lying beside her in his underwear. Stankoski and Vanessa Stout, another employee of the office, filed sex harassment complaints with the office, claiming Gutierrez repeatedly pressured them to socialize and called it a condition of their employment. According to an office spokesman, it was information uncovered over the weekend in investigating the claims that let to Jennings’s suspension.
Jennings’ suspension and questions about Dann’s e-mails are more reasons why the attorney general cannot have anyone in his office investigating these claims. As we said in an editorial last week, he must petition the courts to appoint a special outside counsel to investigate the matter.
A controversy in Philadelphia is shining a light on a traditional big-city political practice that’s running head-long into Sen. Barack Obama’s transformational “new politics” of change. And come next Tuesday, Obama could be the loser in this confrontation. The practice is called “street money”: cash from a candidate’s campaign funneled to the city’s Democratic party ward bosses, who in turn parcel it out to their foot soldiers in the days leading up to an election. For decades, everybody who really wanted to get elected has played along.
Except Barack Obama, apparently. The Los Angeles Times reports that Obama’s campaign has put the word out it’s not going to deal in “street money.” It’s an entirely volunteer operation and doesn’t make payments, campaign officials say. In turn, Philly neighborhood party leaders warn that if he doesn’t show them the money, some may defect to Sen. Hillary Clinton in that all-important (now, how many times have we heard that this campaign season?) presidential primary April 22.
What kind of bucks are we talking about here? One Obama supporter estimated that the candidate needs to dole out between $400,000 and $500,000 to get the number of votes he needs to win Pennsylvania. “This is a machine city, and ward leaders have to pay their committee people,” ward leader Carol Ann Campbell told the Times.
So there you have it: the price tag for victory.
The Times story describes how street money has been used in Philadelphia and other cities. Former Vice President Walter Mondale, for example, recalls giving a speech on Jimmy Carter's behalf during the 1980 primary campaign, only to have a listener stand up at the end and ask: "Where's the money?"
Yes, the practice is legal. Yes, maybe half a million bucks pales in comparison to what the campaign is spending on TV ads. And yes, some folks in poor neighborhoods get cash for knocking on doors, handing out literature and talking to voters. But this practice comes uncomfortably close to political blackmail, bribery and vote-buying. If Obama’s principled stance can help bring an end to this style of “pay for play” politics, great.
Even if there were no cost savings to taxpayers, the idea would be worth pursuing, because the combined department can deploy manpower more effectively. For example, Crescent Springs only has one patrol officer on duty about half the time. That's just not enough police power in this day and age. Policing also is more complicated these days. Ask any career law enforcement officer. Larger departments can handle those complexities more readily.
Not every consolidation of government service is a good idea, but an opportunity to consolidate policing or firefighting almost always is worth a look.
The alternative can be a parochial response to consolidation ideas, as we're seeing in Boone County where some fire departments resist even talking about taking cooperation to a new level. Four of the nine fire departments in Boone County (And do we really need nine?) aren't taking part in discussions. They are Burlington, Union, Verona and Belleview-McVille.
Then there's Southgate's fire department in Campbell County. Southgate desperately needs a new facility. As I noted in an earlier post, consolidation with a neighbor might not make much sense right now, but at least Southgate officials have been open and willing to talk about it.
Meanwhile, Crescent Springs and Erlanger are adding to Northern Kentucky's reputation as a place where parochial agendas can get set aside and things get done.
I've been appalled by the speculation that has surrounded last week's Colerain Township fire. The tragedy can, however, serve as a reason to educate ourselves on what we should do if there's a fire in our own home. Here's some basic advice from local firefighters -- easier to absorb in calm rather than in a time of emergency:
Call 911 and trust the dispatcher. The dispatcher is much more than an operator. He or she is feeding crucial information to a radio dispatcher who sends it along to firefighters en route. Staying calm and answering completely is the best head start you can give firefighters.
Don't try to fight a fire yourself. Just don't. As the firefighters stressed, don't think a fire extinguisher will save your life. If you do take any action, remember to keep yourself between the door and the fire. Always leave yourself a way out.
Don't call for help from inside the house. Sounds like a no-brainer, but under stress lots of people call while they're trying to size up the fire inside.
Meet the firefighters when they roll up, identify yourself as the owner and stay available for questions. The two crucial pieces of information are if anyone is still in the house, and if there are any hazards such as gasoline or gunpowder that firefighters should be warned of.
Once out, never go back in.
Realize that a fire sends even level-headed thinkers into confusion. It messes with people's sense of location and sense of time. Concentrate on a few simple absolutes -- getting out of the house, speaking clearly to dispatchers, knowing every family member's location, rather than trying to take matters into your how hands or be a rescuer.
I've always been befuddled about people who don't vote. How could any eligible American adult not vote? And, if you don't vote, you really have no right to complain.
But I found a hopeful sign in this story by The Enquirer's Bill Croyle today. Bill went to Conner High School in Hebron to write about a mock election. The Conner students put a lot of work into it. Not only that, more than 200 students registered to vote.
"I would like to say I would have registered without this debate, but I'm not sure that I would have because I really had no clue how to go about it," said senior Dylan Scott.
But, Bill went on to write, not only students were inspired:
Library assistant Cathy Heath, 48, had never registered to vote.
"I just never felt educated enough, and never took the time to educate myself," Heath said.
The students' work encouraged her to watch TV debates and research the candidates. She's now registered and will vote in November.
"The kids inspired me," Heath said. "If they are taking this much interest in it, then I should, too."
Swift, sure, certain. And then there’s the Kentucky way.
The official Kentucky death row protocol for administering lethal injections was released Wednesday, by order of the U.S. Supreme Court, which is considering the cases of killers Ralph Stevens Baze and Thomas Clyde Bowling Jr., challenging the constitutionality of the procedure. It turns out that if the first dose of the three-drug cocktail doesn’t work – why it might not work is not explained – the executioners are to try again after 10 minutes. Why wait 10 minutes? Why wait 10 seconds?
The 16-page protocol also goes into some detail about how to save the prisoner’s life if a last minute reprieve happens to come through. A medical crash cart and heart defribrillator must be standing by. Can you imagine being the guard ordered to try reviving a prisoner you just injected with lethal poison? Oops!
The first of the three drugs in the cocktail, sodium thiopental, is supposed to paralyze. So if things don’t go as planned, or that last minute phone call from the governor comes just after the procedure has started, the prisoner could be lying conscious, but paralyzed and unable to speak, while the executioner either reloads the syringes or starts warming up the heart paddles. It sounds positively Kafkaesque, not to mention cruel and unusual.
I took the bus this morning -- the big yellow bus.
I hitched a ride on the "high school route" on Sycamore Schools' Bus 23 to see, in the age of high fuel costs, how many teenagers are willing to ride rather than drive.
Let's just say I had plenty of elbow room. Fifteen students climbed aboard for the 7.5-mile route. Transportation officials say 30 students live along that route.
Cost savings, and certainly fuel conservation, don't make much of an impression on teenagers when stacked against personal mobility, sleeping in an extra half-hour and the option of stopping by Starbucks on the way to school.
Still, I'm hoping to raise a little environmental consciousness. I'm going to offer teenagers an Earth Day challenge in an upcoming column. If they rise to the bait, I may be spending more time on a bus myself.
In the meantime. . . did you ride the bus to school in high school? Who out there makes their kids ride one today?
This morning was the long anticipated appearance of Gen. David Petraeus in Washington to talk about how the “surge” of U.S. forces in Iraq is working out. This is a well choreographed dance, fully rehearsed, with all the players knowing their parts. The general’s “report” to President, Congress and country will have little impact on policy.
Everyone has known for quite a while that Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, will recommend a “pause” in the drawdown of American troops this summer to give everybody a chance to assess how the surge has done and see if the Iraqis have made any real progress at standing on their own. President Bush already has said he supports Petraeus’ position, which means it’s going to happen, no matter what anybody in Congress says.
All three presidential candidates have outlined their positions on troop withdrawals from Iraq, and nothing Petraeus said was expected to change those stances either. I wouldn't expect any of the candidates to object to strongly to a "pause" in the withdrawals. It is very difficult to argue convincingly against recommendations from the general on the ground, particularly when he says the pause is to assess progress. Resolving Iraq will be the job of the next president, no matter how long this pause lasts.
During the general’s appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, committee members, who in this case include John McCain and Hillary Clinton, each were allotted a few minutes to question the general. McCain used his time to emphasize his position that we should stay the course. Clinton pointed out, again, that she favors and orderly and continuous withdrawal.
Tax season isn't exactly the time of year that makes me break out into song. But then I'm not like Steven Zelin, "The Singing CPA," who likes to serenade taxpayers making that last-minute dash to the main post office in Manhattan each April 15. Zelin, it turns out, has crafted a whole CD full of catchy tunes like "Working 9 to 9:05,""Dear IRS" and "(Who You Gonna Call?) Tax Busters." Why, he's even managed to make "Sarbanes-Oxley" rhyme. Sort of.
Zelin has graciously passed his songs along to University of Cincinnati law professor Paul Caron, who links to them on his terrific TaxProf blog. Don't forget to check out Caron's links to the work of some other tax-time troubadours.
Zelin's album is for sale online on regular CD or via download, in case you need something to cheer you up while working on your 1040 during the next week. But before you try to deduct it as a tax preparation expense, maybe you'd better ask an expert.
The online Wall Street Journal has an intriguing column today by David Boaz of the libertarian Cato Institute, who described what happened when a friend of his tried to have his Starbucks Card customized with the phrase dear to the hearts of free-market advocates: “Laissez-faire.” Starbucks rejected his request, saying the phrase violated company policy – which is odd, because the company’s success seems to be a prime example of the free market in action.
The explanation was that Starbucks prohibits “overtly political commentary” on its cards. But when Boaz’ friend decided to experiment by asking for the phrase “People Not Profits,” Starbucks accepted it, even though it’s arguably more “overt” political commentary than the French phrase (roughly, “Leave us alone”) used in economics for centuries. Starbucks also OKed the Hispanic farm-labor slogan “Si Se Puede” (“Yes We Can”), which Barack Obama has used as an overtly political campaign slogan since 2004. But not an innocuous phrase recognizing the existence of the free market? Just like Starbucks to serve up a cup of delicious, steaming, frothy irony.
This idea belongs to Mer Grayson of Central Bank in Northern Kentucky. Mer's idea:
Instead of spending mega-billions to build a new bridge, we perhaps could rehab the one we already have for a fraction of the cost -- if only there was a way to divert a lot of the traffic that is shortening the useful life and function of the Spence.
So, Mer drew a line from where Int. 71 from Louisville joins with Int. 71-75 near Walton, across Northern KY to where Int. 275 makes its sharp westward turn in Ohio.
In other words, there would be a new outer loop from Walton to Int. 275. Any non-local traffic using Int. 71 in either direction would no longer have a reason to go through the heart of Cincinnati. The loop also would take pressure off Int. 471 and Int. 275 in Northern KY.
Downsides: The outer loop wouldn't be cheap to build as it would go through some fairly rugged terrain in the mid-sections of Kenton and Campbell counties. And it would open up a large swath of rural land to suburban sprawl.
Still, it's intriguing. Here's a Google map if you want to eyeball the idea for yourself.
I feel like Prof. Harold Hill in "The Music Man" when I talk about Kentucky education. We've got trouble my friends, right here in River City. Don't tell me how far Kentucky schools have come in recent years. That's old news.
With that in mind, check out these links:
1. This blew my mind. On a percentage basis, there are more bachelor's degree holders in Mexico than in most Kentucky counties, including several that are part of NKY.
2. Kentucky is in the midst of a legislative battle over school testing, school performance and meeting the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Law. Here's the smartest article I've read about NCLB. What do you think? Are we testing these kids to death, boring them to tears and getting limited value from what we're learning from the tests?
UPDATE:Thanks to a reader who sent me a linkto this point-by-point rebuttal of the NCLB article. It also is well worth reading.
3. Kentucky ranks 40th in per-pupil educational spending among the states and local taxpayers contribute only about 30 percent of costs. Of course, part of the problem is that under the state's school-funding formula, many local districts would lose state funding if the locals decided to spend more.
Where is the outcry that not nearly enough students are successful enough for the state to survive and thrive? The outcry needs to start at home and spread to every site-based council. It needs to get loud enough so that policymakers hear it.
The Bengals release wide receiver Chris Henry after his fifth arrest since 2005. They’re waiting until mid-April for word on whether the league will reinstate linebacker Odell Thurman after two years’ suspension for substance abuse. Cornerback Deltha O’Neal, who lost his starting job and was itching to be traded, wants a new contract, but coach Marvin Lewis says it’s “not going to happen.” The perpetually offended Chad Johnson now says he’s inclined to play for the Bengals in 2008, but you’ve gotta think his pique hasn’t peaked yet.
These are the kinds of news items that make us regular working stiffs periodically shake our heads and wonder: Don’t these guys know how lucky they are?
Professional athletes represent a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction of a tiny fraction of the millions of kids who put on uniforms, learned the game and dreamed of someday playing on the big stage. You get a major-league contract, you’re basically set for life financially. The vast majority of pro athletes handle it well, keeping fame and setbacks in perspective. But a few always insist on throwing it all away for reasons that are mostly petty, childish, stupid and/or mean.
As readers on our Chris Henry comment board are saying, it’s a waste of God-given – and human-developed – talent.
I'm delighted that The Banks project is finally underway, and I applaud the people who worked so hard to make it happen despite the odds. But still ...
About 40 minutes into Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for The Banks, with speaker after speaker after speaker offering up Oscar acceptance speech-style thank-yous to each other, with Todd Portune’s recitation of the project’s “begats,” with Bob Castellini praising cooperation, with Andrew Young praising capitalism, with Mark Mallory praising Phil Heimlich, with Harold Dawson Jr. praising “beautiful people,” with Lee Fisher praising Portune’s first pitch at the Reds opener, with Ted Strickland praising the Lord, with all the warm rhetorical flourishes piling up all around …
I just couldn’t help thinking to myself: Good thing they brought all those shovels.
Jack Cannon, a legendary Enquirer copy editor who retired a few years ago, could always spot a stale rehash of an old story, so the letter to the editor we received from him Wednesday was no surprise. Here’s the letter. It will be in Thursday’s paper:
We know college students are often trying to "find themselves." Now their colleges are as well.
In fact, figuring out their identity is the assignment Chancellor Eric Fingerhut has given all Ohio public universities. By December, all 13 will be expected to tell the state what they do best -- what academic areas make them Centers of Excellence -- and outline their goals for those programs and how they'll measure their progress.
Then the chancellor and the state's director of development will evaluate the list, making sure the programs are as good as the colleges claim and that they don't overlap -- long a problem for Ohio's universities. 'Winners' will claim that specialty and along with it funding and marketing. Losers will have to find another area of focus.
Does the idea make sense to you? Do you see clear areas of excellence for the University of Cincinnati and Miami University? Should state schools have to narrow their offerings?
