Here We Go Again

So, we have to file federal income tax and state income tax. How about having to file county income tax? With no limit on the amount of the tax. Sound good? Bet you haven’t heard about this one. Wonder why. Kind ‘a like a dirty little surprise waiting for us. Here it is word for word. Anyone that lives in sunny f’ing California might want to read this and start making phone calls or sending e-mail to that a-hole that is supposed to be representing you in the state capitol. BTW it’s set for a hearing on April 27th. ********************************************************************************** SENATE BILL No. 653 Introduced by Senator Steinberg February 18, 2011 An act to add Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 7295) to Part 1.7 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to local taxation. legislative counsel’s digest SB 653, as introduced, Steinberg. Local taxation: general authorization. The California Constitution prohibits the Legislature from imposing taxes for local purposes, but allows the Legislature to authorize local governments to impose them. This bill would authorize the board of supervisors of any county or city and county, by ordinance or resolution, to propose to the voters a tax, including, but not limited to, a local personal income tax, a local corporate income tax, and a local sales and use tax. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Chapter 3.8 (commencing with Section 7295) is added to Part 1.7 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read: Chapter 3.8. General Authorization 7295. Notwithstanding any other law, but subject to the limitations of the California Constitution, the board of supervisors of any county or city and county may, by ordinance or resolution approved by the board in compliance with statutory requirements for submitting a tax to the voters, place on the ballot a tax, including, but not limited to, a local personal income tax, a local corporate income tax, and a local sales and use tax, for consideration by the voters. SB 653 — 2 —

Running Over Critters

Ok Wooley, you asked for it. Here’s the ponytail contest. There’s a catch, of course. There’s only one contestant and that’s me. So I win by default. I’ll take my winnings in cash please.

Heard on the radio this morning that I dude rolled a garbage truck down a 50ft drop-off. He’ll be fine. Broke a few bones but he’ll heal. The report said that he swerved to avoid a animal. That got me thinking about bikes and critters on the road. But first a rant to the guy driving that truck: Don’t get back in it! You don’t belong there. I’ve driven trucks for years. Not much anymore. More darn paperwork than anything else. Not sure if I consider that a career advancement or not. I’d really rather just work on the stuff. Screw the paperwork. But there’s a hard and fast rule in truck driving: You don’t swerve for critters, period. You’ve got two things working against you here. You’re vehicle is top heavy or you may be hauling a trailer. A fast swerve can have very bad results. Slow down if you can, but swerve or lock it up? Never! You can hit a moose or cow with a rig. The worst that will probably happen is the radiator into the engine. That’s a whole lot better than going off the road. Ain’t nothing like a big-ass solid front bumper.

I’ve got a hard and fast rule for my bike also: If it looks like it’ll go under my front bumper, I’m going over it. Bigger than that I’ll try and avoid it. If it is a moose or cow, well I guess that’s when you find out if you’re getting a pitchfork or wings. You’ve got to be very aware of what’s on the roads. We’ve got a butt load of ground squirrels around here. I’ve seen many riders get spooked by the little vermin. It’s not the vermin’s fault; it’s the riders’ fault for riding with their head up their ass and not being aware of their surroundings. When I’m on a back road that’s infested with little varmints I find it easier to keep a eye on them if I turn the tables and hunt them down. Birds gotta’ eat to ya’ know. They love flattened squirrel stakes. You barley feel them squash under your tires.

While we’re on the subject of trucks, everyone that’s ever driven had a favorite. Mine was the one I used for hauling construction equipment. And yes, I built it. The old girl was a 1965 KW W-900. 292 Cummins big cam. 4X4 brownie box with a twin screw rear. 4th overdrive she’d run 85. 1st double-under she’d pull a D8 through a marsh.

Somehow this got away from ponytails. Don’t matter though. I’ve got to go drink coffee and clean off my workbench. Poor Tramp needs some surgery in the morning. Her starters acting up. So we’ll see what $10 part we can replace that will save a $600 dealer repair bill.

Just Life

The Golden Rule: “He who has the gold, makes the rules”. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. This is semi-political rant. So if you’re only semi-conscious like I am, it might not make any sense. If you’re un-conscious it’ll make perfect sense. I don’t know weather to laugh or cry over local politics. Every damn city is claiming poverty and needs more taxes. Enter our new Governor; Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown. The head clown. You’ve got to laugh at this shit. It’s one hell of a comedy. Jerry says he want to get rid of all the city ‘redevelopment agencies’. What ever that is. I think it’s a code word for ‘slush fund’. He want to take the funds they have and spend it on whatever states spend money on. The cities don’t like that idea. They figure they can spend it before Moonbeam can get the law passed. Ok, they can’t have that much money stashed without any of us citizens knowing about it. Could they? I’m one of those pricks that reads the city budget. Not that I can do much about it, just like to catch the SOB’s in lies. Does wonders for my blood pressure. Take this little piss-ant, gang infested piece of Calif. I park my bike in. One day they announce they have 19 million in the ‘slush fund’. Hey! That’s a bunch of bread. But that isn’t shit. The next day, they say it’s a mistake and they really have 31 million. WTF? Who had that under their desk? That’s no bookkeeping mistake. So every time one of these local bastards cries poverty I tighten my butt cheeks a little more because I know what’s coming. I need to stop paying attention to this crap, but it’s hard to ignore your pocket being picked constantly. This rain for about the last month hasn’t helped matter much either. June is fast approaching. If things go as planed we should get in a nice ride to AZ. I understand there’s going to be some sort of biker ritual thing going on. Not sure if we’ll be sacrificing any virgins or anything, but at least it should restore part of my sanity. But then again, self-imposed insanity isn’t really a bad thing. It tends to keep people you’d rather not deal with far away from you.