Amber Alert scam still circulating around social networking sites

Over the last couple of days, I've noticed the same "amber alert" posted in the status updates of many of my female facebook friends, and even a few of the guys. There are a few variations of it, but the main body is basically the same.


"Little girl, 3 yrs. old picked up by a man driving a gray car, license plate: Quebec 72B 381. Canada. PLEASE RE-BROADCAST ASAP. It could save her. The Kidnapping is recent so do it, 3 seconds will not kill you. If it were your child u would want the same support"

I'm in Ohio, but that's beside the point. A moment of thinking on the part of the reader can highlight a few important flaws in this message.

First of all, if this were your child, or the child of a loved one, would you waste some of your 500 update characters on statements about how recent the kidnapping is, and an admonition to guilt trip others into posting? Would you leave out her name and description? Why type "little girl, 3 yrs old" when you can say "Jane smith, age 3" or "The Kidnapping is recent so do it, 3 seconds will not kill you. If it were your child u would want the same support" when you can offer details of the child's height, weight, hair and eye color, and what she was wearing at the time? A parent or friend searching for a child would give those details to help in the search. How is the general public supposed to identify the child in this message? That's a definite clue that the message is fake.

Second, there's nothing about the car except the color. Even if the witness saw very little, whether the car was big or small, newer or older (rounded or boxy) and probably whether there were two doors or four would have at least been noticed. With a license plate to identify the vehicle, police would have been able to tell the family what make, model, and year it was registered to. An actual Amber alert should have contained that information. Without it, it's tough to look for the vehicle, as license plates are much more difficult to spot than larger details like what kind of car it is. Again, the lack of detail points to a fake message.

Third, recent is not a date, and as readers continue to re-post, "recent" becomes a lie. For instance, this particular alert scam began in February of 2009, not recently, and not as an Amber alert. An early version of it stated that the missing girl was 7 years old, and the vehicle was a newer sliver truck. The "alert" crisscrossed the country over a two day period, and enough people actually contacted police that there were news stories debunking it. More information on this specific hoax can be found at About.com's Urban Legends site, in the story FAKE AMBER ALERT '72B 381' Spreads Far and Wide (and Fast). This is a third example of lack of detail which indicates a hoax.

What makes this such a big deal? After all, it's just one of many hoax tweets and status updates out there. At least this one doesn't give some third party access to your personal information. It's just an immature, but harmless prank, right?

Well, no. It's not harmless, any more than the missing kid email pranks were harmless. Think about it. Now that you know there is one going around, aren't you going to hesitate every time you see a status update, tweet, or text about a missing kid? You'll want to check the facts so that you don't re-post/text/tweet and look gullible to your friends, especially if the only place you're seeing coming from is those friends who re-post/text/tweet everything.

With each new hoax, we become a bit more cynical with respect to anything we see online. It's all ready happened with photos... who believes picture evidence on the internet? Everything remarkable has at least one comment under it in which the commenter stated simply "photoshopped." A lot of people won't even believe photographic evidence in person, and some even disbelieve polaroids, despite the difficulty involved in faking them. It isn't too far fetched to say that the same thing could apply to Amber alerts and other requests put out online. Cry wolf too many times, and folks will start ignoring genuine alerts on the basis that they are all "probably just another hoax."

Still, what can we do? It isn't like you can stop your friends from forwarding hoaxes, and if you don't re-post, you look like the bad guy. There isn't any way to verify an Amber alert, is there?

Well, yes, there is. You can check the website for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. The site has a page for Active Amber Alerts, but you can also search by country, state or province, by how long the child has been missing, and by name once you enter the area and time period.

Another trick for weeding out a hoax is to do a google search on a sizable chunk of the text. I found the story on this one by googling "Little girl, 3 yrs. old picked up by a man." The About.com page on it was at the top of the list. I also googled the format for Canadian license plates, and what I found in the wikipedia entries on that subject led me to conclude that the plates listed in the alert couldn't be Canadian.

My next step was to, instead of re-posting the alert, post a link to the article about it so that my facebook friends could see that there is no alert. That gives those of my friends who have not yet been hit with the post a chance to avoid feeling obligated to pass it on. You can also post that link as a reply or comment to status updates and tweets containing the fake alert. That will help others seeing those updates and tweets to know they don't need to pass it on.

Next time you see a tweet, text, or status update that just doesn't look right to you, remember that you may be onto something. Take a few moments to do a little research before passing it on. It won't save anyone's life, bit it will save you and maybe some of your friends from the embarrassment of having publicly fallen for yet another hoax.

Dragon vs Troll

Okay. I have religious tolerance. I do. I have no problem with people having a different set of beliefs than I have. That they have a different set of beliefs has no impact on my life.

Further, it's interesting to learn about the variety of different beliefs held by various people. It's really cool that folks have found so many ways to relate to each other, the world around us, the universe, and for the believer, deity.

All of that said, I also have my own personal set of beliefs and my own philosophy. It's my way of relating. I don't expect the rest of the world to adopt it, because you're all not me. I'm me. There is only one me in the entire world, and there will never be another me. That's probably a good thing.

The problem is that not everyone feels that way. There are folks in my neighborhood who, for whatever reason, feel compelled to "sell" their beliefs to the rest of us, visiting door-to-door. Even after being told, "no thanks, I'm not interested..." they just keep coming back.

I was nice the last several times. I promise, I gave her all of the chances in the world. Last time, I told her that I'd like her to stop visiting my apartment and attempting to convert me. I'm done.

Today, I saw her coming.

I happened to look out the window after a cloud had passed over the sun, temporarily darkening the room. There she was, across the way, bothering my neighbors. I say bothering, because my neighbor looked agitated. Also, he dropped a huge, steaming f-bomb on her for disturbing his sleep in the middle of the day, as he works nights and cannot sleep at that time. This is something I've heard him explain nicely to her before, only to be told that it's a sin to work at night because it keeps you from going to church. That went over kind of badly, as you might imagine, but it's a good thing, I think. I mean, everyone should try to maintain an expanded vocabulary, and hers expanded quite a bit before his wife came outside, ordered him back to bed, and shut the door in her face. I've already heard everything she has to say, and it's not interesting any more. Now, it's just repetitious and annoying. I decided I wasn't going to answer when she came to my door.

I've been kind of busy today. Not extremely busy, mind you... just busy. I didn't really want to talk to the J-walker. Unfortunately, she decided that when there's a vehicle in front of the apartment, there's someone home, and she banged repeatedly on the door like a pro for over a minute. This, I do not tolerate. Even if you KNOW I'm home, if I do not answer the door, you should go away. You know, sometimes I sleep. Sometimes I shower, too, and sometimes I cook things you have to keep actively stirring for several minutes. Then again, sometimes, I just don't want to answer the damned door, and those are the times when it is most advisable to not hang around and keep knocking.

I was nice. I didn't dress her down. Instead, I opted to match ridiculousness in kind.
Steve the dragon answered the door.

Steve the dragon is a 6 foot long bright green plushie with embroidered "googly" eyes and pointy felt teeth. I decided to give him my worst impression of a Yoda voice, which sounds something like Sesame Street's Grover on crack. I watched her through the spy hole in the door as she stared at the six foot dragon. The conversation went something like this:

Steve the Dragon: Greetings, church-y person of doom.

Church Lady: Um... uh... O_Ծ

Steve the Dragon: *tilts head sideways* Why do you look so confused? Is there something on my face? *shakes vigorously*

Church Lady: I uh, wanted to talk to you about... uh, am I on camera? *looks around*

Steve the Dragon: *looks down, then looks back at lady* No, ma'am. You are on cement.

Church Lady: Wha- *looks down* -oh. Well, that is to say, yes, but I mean... *tapers off to silence*

Steve the Dragon: Cat got your tongue?

At this point, I had a bit of good luck. The neighbor's overly friendly escape-artist of a cat decided to join into the conversation. She unwittingly sort of crept up behind the woman, snuggled up to the backs of her ankles, and said



Church Lady: AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGH! *sets new record for high jump in heels and a skirt*

Cat: *runs off into the bushes, terrified*

Steve the Dragon: *unable to stifle laughter* Apparently not...

Now, she seems to have accepted the reality of Steve the dragon, because this was when she got all wild-eyed and began lecturing him and shaking her finger.

Church Lady: Oh, you think that's funny? You are so rude! I have better things to do than stand around talking to a stuffed... whatever you are. You can just... you can just... go to hell!

And with that, she turned on her miraculously unbroken heel and flounced off down the stairs just as fast as someone in an a-line skirt and mid-heeled pumps can flounce.

So, there you have it. Steve the Dragon's immortal soul has been verbally damned for all eternity by an angry door-to-door evangelist. Poor guy. Guess I'll have to baptize him. He kind of needs washed, anyway.

I don't think I'll be seeing her again, but in case I do, I'm keeping our Mr. Bill plushie near the door for next time. Every time you squeeze it, it plays a recording of Mr. Bill's voice: "Oh, nooooooooooooooo!"

Nawtmai Fault

The recent East Coast earthquake brings to light a previously little known and less understood geographical feature that is rooted directly under Washington D.C. It branches out in a spiderweb-like pattern, running under every state capital, every county seat, and even under each municipality's city council chambers in each city hall. The fault appears to also stretch across the ocean, showing up in areas of political power all over the world.

While most of the general public has been unaware of its existence, politicians have been citing the Nawtmai Fault as the cause for every major shake-up that has occurred in the U.S. for generations, and possibly similar events in other locations, as well.

In addition to being the cause of the recent quake, the Nawtmai Fault has also been identified by scientists as the force behind the recession, the agitator which has caused recent animosity between state governments and unions, the actual cause of the war in Afghanistan, and the real killer of Nicole Brown Simpson.

Though scientists have only recently begun studying the Nawtmai Fault, archeologists claim to have identified possible references to it in ancient writings. In a cave high in the Appalachian mountains, a series of drawings indicate that a member of one of the eastern Native American tribes attempted to warn the western tribes about sneaky, thieving invaders from another continent. Unfortunately, his route took him along the edge of the Nawtmai Fault, and he was lost. His last drawing shows a man, apparently himself, wandering aimlessly among the caves as the menacing invaders take over nearly the entire continent.

Attributed to the Nawtmai Fault are a number of natural disasters, including a worldwide cataclysmic flood, and a series of bizarre events in Egypt culminating in what looks like a mysterious mass exodus of residents. Other images show the fiery destruction of two advanced cities, and the sinking of an entire nation into the sea. Stories have been found which appear to show gasses escaping from the fault and enveloping an authority figure speaking before a crowd, after which he appears to forget himself and become lost in the mundane task of washing his hands while the people form a mob and execute an impoverished nomad. Some of the oldest cave drawings show a couple of men, apparently brothers, arguing above a section of the fault. A minor quake causes rocks to fall from a high cliff above them into the hands of one of two arguing brothers. The recipient is shown in the next drawing pummeling his brother with the rock, a sure sign of the dangers of the Nawtmai Fault. Further along the wall upon which that was found, an even earlier drawing depicts a quake along the fault, which causes fruit from a spectacularly rendered tree to fall into a nude couple's mouths, after which they seem to feel compelled to adorn themselves with vegetation and hide in the bushes. Though these events appear to be more odd than important, popular opinion among Nawtmai Fault enthusiasts is that both may in fact be highly significant events in human history.

Scientists are eager to continue studying the fault. Current opinion is that Natwmai may be the key to understanding every disaster ever experienced by humanity. Although there isn't much likelihood that learning about the fault will help to prevent future problems, scientists say they are hoping for concrete evidence which will act as a guide for future generations as they struggle in the wake of hardship and tragedy, to identify the manner in which the cause can be traced back to Nawtmai Fault. To this end, congress has recently passed a multi-trillion dollar grant to fund the study and publicize the results.

Home Remedies for Nasal/Respiratory Allergies

I have Spring and Fall nasal allergies. I'm also uninsured, and immune to most OTC antihistamines. Even when I've had insurance, I have a habit of building up a tolerance to allergy medications, so I've had to learn to use, and to be careful to maintain, a repertoire of non-drug remedies to soothe and support my system.

PEPPERMINT - I use peppermint for a few things.
First, I like it as a decongestant. A drop or two of peppermint oil in hot water will do. You just breathe in the steam occasionally, and it will temporarily clear your sinuses. Sucking on peppermint candy can also do this. I like altoids, but if you're sensitive to strong smells, it can also make you sneeze a bit first, and the sugar can be irritating, too. Peppermint tea is also available, and works nicely, and unless you're the type to sweeten your tea, it's a good sugar-free source of the peppermint effect.
Second, I like it as a tummy tonic. It helps release trapped gas, and it helps relieve nausea, including the ill effects of sinus drainage going down the throat.

GINGER - Ginger is a natural antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, and anti-nausea medicine. In none of those areas does it have the dramatic effect that drugs used for the same purposes have, but it can be helpful in maintaining a balance in the body's immune responses. Also, if you're like me, and your sinuses drain down your throat while you are sleeping, ginger can be a life-saver in the morning, when your tummy reacts to the load. Ginger tea is good for this, as is real ginger ale. Altoids do come in ginger, but they are hard to find. If you live near a place that carries them, you are lucky! When I can't get those, I use Vernor's Ginger Ale or Traditional Medicinals Ginger tea.

LICORICE ROOT - Real licorice (not anise) helps to open up the smaller airways in the lungs. It's not the kind of effect that would totally counteract symptoms of severe asthma, but it will help a bit if you are feeling deflated because you are too stuffy to breathe. Look for licorice candy that lists licorice root in the ingredients, or states on the front that it is real black licorice. Items which are "naturally flavored" may be flavored with anise, which tastes very similar.
Another benefit: Licorice is a natural sweetener, so no sugar needs to be added to the candy, but it will still satisfy the sweet tooth, so it makes a good sugar free treat!

CAFFEINE - A moderate amount of caffeine can help stimulate your body into taking in more air (opening your airways) and getting oxygen to your brain faster (slightly speeding up your heartbeat.) Even if you do not regularly consume caffeine, a little bit on a bad asthma day can be a life-saver.
Black, unsweetened coffee or unsweetened black tea will give you the best results, depending on your caffeine tolerance. If you aren't a regular coffee drinker, I'd go with a cup of tea, which has less, or a cup of decaf, which has the same amount of caffeine as regular tea.
This is not an excuse to binge on an over-sized 500 calorie latte or those nasty energy sodas! If you are having allergies, you want to avoid too much sugar, and milk can thicken existing mucus. Too much caffeine at once can damage your heart.

SALT AND VINEGAR - I prefer to get mine on potatoes, as in chips or fries, but you can make a gargle/rinse with a tablespoon of white vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, and a cup of warm (105 degree) water. This will help clear allergens out of your mouth and throat. The vinegar will help cut through the mucus build-up to better rinse them out. Add a teaspoon of honey for a more soothing effect. Do not swallow this mix. It can be rough on the tummy and bowels.

CUT DOWN ON MILK AND SUGAR - Normally, I'm a heavy milk drinker. It's my favorite beverage. However, milk thickens mucus. If you have drainage going on, you'll only make it worse by drinking milk. Switch to eating more solid dairy (cheese) for a while and drink water-based beverages instead.
Sugar can cause irritation in the sinuses and mouth, especially if allergies have all ready begun that job. It's best to keep sweet treats, including sodas and juices with sugar added, to a minimum while suffering an allergy flare-up. I have found that some things are worse than others. While you may be able to get away with putting honey in your tea, candy, and especially chocolate, will generally exacerbate an existing nasal allergy flare-up, especially in your throat.

EYE DROPS - On returning home from anywhere outside, if my eyes are irritated, I use a brand of the same kind of eye-wetting "tears" drops which are recommended for contact lens users. I do not have contacts - only glasses - but this helps to eliminate allergens which have come into contact with the conjunctiva (skin of the eye.) This helps to prevent further irritation from those allergens.

COOL COMPRESSES - When my allergies are at their worst, my face gets a fever. I'm not kidding. you could test my internal temperature, and it would be normal... but if you test my eyes, they would absolutely be two or more degrees higher. I get red patches all around them, and across my nose. My eyes itch, burn, and run with tears, and I can't stop sneezing to save my life. If it gets really bad, visible swelling occurs, sometimes to the point at which I cannot open one or both eyes.
When the discomfort becomes so bad that it prevents other activity, I make a cold compress, as for a headache, with ice in a bag wrapped in a damp cloth. That is applied to the eyes and surrounding area for fifteen minutes, then removed for fifteen minutes. I continue as needed with the fifteen on, fifteen off pattern until the swelling and irritation are reduced.
Another trick is to use chipped ice internally. In your blender, chip ice until it is the consistency of a slushie-type beverage or a snow cone. Take a small mouthful, about a teaspoon worth, and use your tongue to press it up against the roof of your mouth right behind/above your front teeth. Hold it there for a few moments before swallowing the liquid, and repeat with another bite. Do this for up to fifteen minutes before letting your mouth rest for fifteen more.
In both cases, the cold suppresses the nerves and the histamine response in and around the nose.
Do not do this if you have dental implants that include metal screws in your upper jaw bone. The screws will get really cold, and that could be painful.

REDNECK SAUNA - if congestion gets bad and asthma symptoms flare up, close yourself in your bathroom, turn your shower on hot-only, and let it steam up the room. Sit in the steam for no more than 20 minutes. Breathe as deeply as you can, and try to cough up any loose phlegm. It's gross, but it will at least temporarily clear out your chest so you can sleep.

EUCALYPTUS RUB - I like Vick's, but have found that drug store brands also work as long as they say eucalyptus oil is an ingredient. The fumes from that will cause the air passages in your sinuses and your lungs to open up. It works the same way as peppermint, only stronger. A good tip is, if you do the redneck sauna mentioned above, do it with Vick's on your chest, or peppermint in your mouth. If you are suffering really bad congestion, mix a small dab of eucalyptus rub with your favorite unscented face lotion and rub a small amount the skin above your upper lip. That will keep your sinuses clear for hours. Be ready to wash it off, though, as some people find it too irritating for sensitive skin.

Traditional Medicinals Breathe Easy Tea.
I love this tea. I use it for allergies, and for colds. Not only does it support lung health, it has ingredients which soothe and help clear the sinuses. I get it in the organic/health nut section of my local grocery. Some whole foods stores, health food stores, and herbal shops also carry it. The Traditional Medicinals brand is one I've been using since my teen years, so I know it works for me. Some of the ingredients (peppermint, licorice, chamomile) may be available as stand alone tea in coffee section of your local grocery, and are also good choices during allergy season.

Sometimes I only have to apply a few remedies, but other times I find myself using most or all of these, depending on the level of allergic response I'm having to the particles in my environment. It may take some experimentation on your part to find which of these works best for you against which symptoms, depending on your circumstances. Regardless, it is always nice to have extra tools in your arsinal to fight the frustrating symptoms of nasal allergy flare-ups.

Court tramples ex-husband's free speech rights after ex-wife outs herself as subject of his blog

Yahoo News Article

The judge's ruling in this case is insane. I cannot believe she does not realize what she has done.

The website in question was kept anonymous. The guy hadn't even identified the ex. No one ever would have known who he was, who she was, or anything had she not brought it up. According to the story, she even showed it to the kids... yet the judge blames the man for this. Really? She shoves documentation of her behavior in their faces, and for it being there, he is the abuser? WTF?

I am all for parents being smart and wise about how they refer to each other in front of the kids. I do not bash my husband's ex in front of them. However, there is a huge difference between what is morally and ethically right, and what should be legal. Yes, it's stupid to inflict your feelings toward your ex upon your kids. Yes, it would be immoral and unethical to slam your ex publicly if you identified her in whatever you said. However, it's not illegal to vent. It's not illegal to network, and it's not illegal to document an ordeal you have been through, especially if you keep the participants anonymous.

The only way for people struggling with an unevenly administrated justice system is to band together, share information, and offer each other advice and support. Without the ability to do that, each person would be starting the fight from scratch, unable to learn from the successes and failures of the others, and more importantly, extremely unlikely to be able to learn of and refer to findings in other cases.

It is absolutely ludicrous to think that a court should be able to choose a topic, and tell a citizen that he cannot even ever make any reference to it. It's even more so when that topic is the person's own life. He's been told he cannot do what many, many parents do, which they are not barred from doing; talking about his family online. He can't post cute, funny stories about family activities on facebook. He can't mention that his child support payments are making his budget tight. He can't explain that he's in a bad mood because he received a harassing phone call. He can't even preface a statement with, back when I was with (the ex) to denote the difference in himself between two times he is discussing. Technically, can he even call himself a divorcee? That is a reference to his ex, because you can't be divorced if you don't have one.

Here we have a judge giving a man a gag order to not talk about what's going on in his own life in the name of protecting people that the man's speech was never going to directly impact. That is just an excuse - this judge is not trying to protect the children. She's protecting the ex-wife.

I'm sure divorced men can easily see the danger in this ruling. That site was for the same thing as Men's Rights groups are for; networking, educating each other, offering a place to vent, and offering a place to find moral support. An attack on one such site is an attack on the right of any man to defend himself against any mistreatment by his ex.

What this judge basically did is tell this man that no matter what his ex-wife does to him, he just has to shut up and take it. I sure as hell hope he wins his appeal!

thepsychoexwife.com

safethepsychoexwife.com

A Modest Budget Proposal

No one in the U.S. can agree on a spending system. We all have different ideas on a number of factors, including what should be funded, how it should be funded, and who should be responsible for that funding. Our differences of opinion have once again led us to a point at which our politicians could not bring themselves to agree on a national budget. Even now, after a compromise was made and a budget passed, no one is really happy with it.

Being the busybody that I am, I've given this some serous thought. The idea I've come up with would be a lot of work, but I think that in the end it would pay off in savings for the whole country. Sure there would be a few years of instability, during which the general public would have to gain an understanding of the process, and of how it would affect our daily lives, but soon, people would get the hang of it, and in the end we'd all be budgeting like pros.

First, we need to go to a flat tax with no deductions at all. Regardless of income, expenses, how many kids you have, or whether or not your grandma was run over by a senator, the full tax rate is 15% of your total gross income. Nothing gets deducted from your paycheck. At tax time, you do your assessment and send in the money yourself. Also, children are exempt from federal taxation. You don't pay anything until you are eligible to be legally bound to a contract upon which you sign for yourself.

Second, there is only one form for filing. Since the percentage owed is not affected by relationship status, there is no need to file as married or single, and no need for any joint returns. Everyone files separately.

The complicated part is in the the next step. Since the money for the federal budget comes from the public, I think the public should get a vote on it. In fact, I think we should get an itemized vote on it.

Yep, you read that right. Itemized. Every stinkin' little pet project, every department, grant, fund... everything.

Instead of itemizing your expenses, and totaling up a deduction, each of us would itemize what we are individually willing to fund, and total up the individual bill.
It would be quite a read, but I think a lot of people would find it to be worthwhile.

In order to achieve this, we would have to go to a ballot system for taxation. Everyone who is required to pay taxes would be required to participate on some level in the system.

Instead of passing a budget and, after the president signs it, spending the money, legislators would pass their proposed budget in percents of the total, instead of dollars. The budget would then get the president's signature, and would be submitted to the voters for approval.

Certain items would receive funding regardless. The military would always be federally funded, because we cannot have a working national defense without centralized administration of it. The federal government would at least receive operating costs, so that it could continue to exist and operate. A percentage of all that gets taken in would have to go to pay off the existing national debt. That accounts for the up to 5% which is assessed regardless of the vote. Everything else is negotiable. In order to keep the list short, no state-level earmarks would be allowed. In order to qualify as an item for consideration in the federal budget, the characteristics or effects of the item would have to be applicable to every state. All other items would be the responsibility of the states.

Instead of a majority/minority vote, the individual would vote on whether or not he/she was personally willing to help fund each item on the list.

The vote could be set up for two ways of viewing the budget; abbreviated (Department of agriculture budget/ human services budget/ education budget, etc.,) or fully expanded (research, publications, etc./ food stamps,administration,equipment, etc,/curriculum research, building maintenance, administrator pay, etc.) so that people could vote either on departments or on individual things, as the individual chooses. There would be a record of the popular vote for each item, so that various funded entities would know how the money they receive should be divided.

Each person would have a Maximum Assessed Tax (Max AT, 15%), a Minimum Assessed Tax (Min AT, on a sliding scale from 0% to 5%, depending on gross income only), and a Total Assessed Tax (TAT.) Your TAT would depend on how many expenses you approve. In the end, your TAT would be your tax bill.

Items would have their individual percentage of the overall budget listed for the amount of cost. The notation displayed on the page or screen would be #% TAT, allowing the taxpayer to calculate the dollar cost of each item before voting yea or nay. In the case of electronic voting, all of the income-based assessment could be done prior to voting, and you could see your Maximum Assessed Taxes (Max AT) right away. Then, instead of seeing “X% TAT” the voter would see a dollar amount next to each item.

Either way, if the taxpayer votes for that item, he's agreeing to pay that much for it for the current year. If he votes against that dollar amount, it gets subtracted from his Total Assessed Taxes (TAT,) reducing the percentage (and therefore the dollar amount) accordingly. Essentially, within the limitations allowed, each citizen would decide the size of his own tax bill prior to paying it.

Taxpayers would also be given the opportunity to donate to their favorite department by voting to increase their own payment by a percentage of their Max AT. That way, people who feel that the military, education, or any other pet department is underfunded could set the example by putting their money where their mouth is.

In doing this, we could eliminate the issue of people being forced to pay for government funded organizations whose activities violate some citizens moral codes. There would be no more instances of people complaining about where their tax dollars went and “pork barrel spending in Washington,” because nearly every dollar they paid into the system would have been their own choice. Meanwhile, organizations and agencies funded by the government would have to toe the line. Any waste, abuse, or scandal which might be exposed could cost them dearly, as people could elect to not fund them the next year based on their actions.

Funding for the IRS could greatly decrease, as their only function would be to determine whether or not individuals had failed to file taxes in any given year, whether or not they had reported all income, and whether they had paid the amount they voted for, not which deductions claimed were illegal, because that would no longer be possible.

I am sure there are a few of you out there screaming right now. “OH-MIH-GAWWWWD! We can't do that! If people were allowed to see how much their individual share of the federal budget was, and then vote on what gets federally funded, then nothing would ever get funded! Every federal agency and program would disappear, and it would all be up to the states. There would be no grants, no projects, no federal control over or protection of anything. No one would rather pay taxes to support all of those programs if they didn't have to! They'd choose to spend the money on themselves and their own families!”

Well, yes. That's the point. It's a lot easier to crow about how important this issue is, that agency is, those programs are, and so on, if you don't have to write a check for them yourself. It's a lot harder to get people to take responsibility for their spending habits if they don't see the dent that spending makes in their own budget. My point is, the American public has become too lazy, too demanding, and way, way too willing to spend other people's money. That is why our federal spending is out of control, and I think that needs to end.

Right On... write on!

from

A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

Very cool. :)