Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.”
I know that there are readers of this blog (and friends of mine) who are big supporters of the Democrat’s health care reform proposals, but the more I read about it the more disturbed I am. Good intentions don’t make good policy; what the Democrats are trying to pass right now might be with the best intentions, but I’m terrified that it will hurt our already bleeding economy.
If it does manage to pass, though, I’ll have an easy guide to who to vote against in the upcoming elections.
]]>First reports are notoriously wrong. The shooter already has been killed then resurrected by the media. Some media are in a frenzy and so the reports are particularly untrustworthy at this time. Now is not a time to psychoanalyze the attacker by using a media-supplied telescope that already said he was dead, and that there were multiple attackers. Media: STOP, please. There will be time to pursue answers and justice after Christmas. We must remember that family members lost loved ones just before the holidays. Justice and answers will come with time.
Absolutely right.
]]>A Saudi court has ruled that a man convicted of raping five children will be beheaded and crucified.
Muhammad Basheer al-Ramaly, 22, left his youngest victim, aged three, stranded in the desert to die.
He was caught when he tried to abduct another boy by offering him a lift home from school in his car.
I find myself wondering if that’s the right order of events. Because, that crucifixion bit seems to be coming a bit too late to do any good.
For what it’s worth.
]]>That’s a big win for parents and students. If the schools took it in the right spirit, it could also be a big win for the best teachers, the best administrators, and the best ideas.
Anyway, here’s this (which also highlights a problem with income inequity with open school enrollment throughout a district--a problem that I think is overblown):
In Denver Public Schools, 41 percent of the district’s estimated 75,000 students attend a school other than one in their attendance area, up from 34 percent in 2004.
The numbers of DPS students “choicing” into schools continues to rise as the district’s diversification of school programs continues.
Among Denver’s 140 schools, there are 21 charters, five dual-language schools, three arts-focused schools, 11 with an international theme, three science-oriented schools, two expeditionary learning schools and six Montessori schools.
“Our goal is in every neighborhood in every part of the city to have high-quality choices,” said Tom Boasberg, DPS superintendent.
DPS is a big, diverse district with all sorts of institutional problems. It has been working hard for a number of years now, though, to address those problems and I like a lot of the changes that they’ve made.
]]>Darling girl looked at me like I was a fool.
“Sing along,” I said, smiling, “you know the words!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she answered. She then shuffled off and finished putting the groceries away.
My wife doesn’t know “East Bound and Down?” My wife doesn’t feel happy, warm thoughts when Smokey and the Bandit speeds, screaming chicken proudly displayed, through the nostalgic corner of her mind? Who the hell did I marry? I might have to trade in for a better model.
None of which changes the fact that Dede Scozzafava is doing what she can to provide help and safe harbor to a liberal Democrat in an important election for Republicans. The good sense of everyone who bucked the GOP party line and supported Hoffman, the independent (and conservative) challenger. I realize that lots of folks are upset with Newt Gingrich for pronouncing support for Scozzafava in this race, but he is utterly right about one part of this: this is a fight that should have taken place in a primary and not after the establishment simply pronounced Scozzafava as the candidate of choice. The person who wrote what I’ve quoted below should never have been the Republican candidate for the district.
I want to thank you for your support and friendship. Over the past 24 hours, I have had encouraging words sent to my family and me. Many of you have asked me whom you should support on Tuesday.
Since announcing the suspension of my campaign, I have thought long and hard about what is best for the people of this District, and how to answer your questions. This is not a decision that I have made lightly.
You know me, and throughout my career, I have been always been an independent voice for the people I represent. I have stood for our honest principles, and a truthful discussion of the issues, even when it cost me personally and politically. Since beginning my campaign, I have told you that this election is not about me; it’s about the people of this District.
It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same.
At the end of the day, Scozzafava has shown that she has truly earned the title of Republican in Name Only and that voters were right to be suspicious of her. If she truly cared, as she has stated, about smaller government and government restraint then she would never have endorsed Bill Owens, the Democrat in the race. If she made the choice as a matter of conscience, then she is no true Republican; if she made it as a matter of pique, then she’s more concerned about her own hurt feelings than she is about her supposed values. Either way, a horrible showing on her part and a loud message to the Republican party as we continue to head toward the bigger fights in 2010.
]]>Card counting falls into the category of things that will get you thrown out of a casino, but that’s because the casino’s can choose not to accept the bets of anybody for any reason not prohibited by law (race, national origin, etc.); it’s pretty widely known that counting cards isn’t illegal. I don’t have any problem with that, per se; nobody has to play a game with somebody with more skill, after all.
That said, it’s interesting to look at a bit of Nevada gaming law:
NRS 465.075 Use of device for calculating probabilities. It is unlawful for any person at a licensed gaming establishment to use, or possess with the intent to use, any device to assist:
1. In projecting the outcome of the game;
2. In keeping track of the cards played;
3. In analyzing the probability of the occurrence of an event relating to the game; or
4. In analyzing the strategy for playing or betting to be used in the game,
except as permitted by the Commission.
This use of computers arguably assists “(i)n projecting the outcome of the game”, obviously “keep(s) track of the cards played”, and is entirely intended to “analyz(e) the strategy for playing or betting to be used in the game”. The only thing that might save the casinos is the caveat that these things are allowed “as permitted by the Commission”.
So, either the casinos are breaking Nevada law, or the Nevada Gaming Commission is complicit in tilting blackjack odds toward the casinos. Since I’m sure the corporations running the casinos spend plenty of money hiring the very best gaming lawyers out there, I bet you can guess what I think is happening.
There are plenty of pure chance games in casinos. If you want one of those (for some reason), try keno, or roulette, maybe. Blackjack is a game of (limited) skill. The casinos do not prevent you from playing badly; they shouldn’t be allowed to use means that would result in a patron’s arrest and imprisonment to prevent you from playing well. Sure, blackjack is a particularly boring game, but even boring people should be allowed fairness in their games.
]]>But now I’ve just read this article about the history of ketchup, written by a linguistics professor from Stanford named Dan Jurafsky, on The Language of Food. It turns out that ketchup originally contained no tomatoes, but was rather a fermented fish sauce imported from SE Asia that gradually changed its ingredient set until it’s what we eat now.
But what, you say*, does this have to do with Chex Mix?
Well, it turns out that Worcestershire sauce, one of the primary flavoring ingredients in Chex Mix, is made from fermented anchovies**. That is, it was one of the originally imported types of ketchup. (The recipe was probably imported from South or South East Asia by a British military officer, though the history is a bit muddled.)
Mmm, fermented fish sauce.
* Say it!
** There are non-fish Worcestershire sauces, but it is my understanding that the original recipe includes fermented fish. That is certainly the case with Lea and Perrin’s.
]]>And I don’t feel any strong need to carry any water for Rush. I don’t listen to Limbaugh. I tried to read one of his book years ago and got bored with his amazing ability to pat his own back--which doesn’t make him evil, it just means he’s not to my taste. Somehow, I don’t think that this should disqualify him to be minority owner of a football franchise that could use a little help.
But what do I know? I’m just the guy who buys the NFL product week after week, doing my bit to help pay the bloated salaries of the players, coaches, and owners in the league.
Just sayin’.
]]>Shall your rights, as an Adams County voter, be restored to elect candidates of your choice to the offices of Adams County commissioner, (etc.) by lengthening the term limits for those offices by one additional term (for a maximum of three consecutive terms) as authorized by Article XVIII, Section 11(2), of the Colorado Constitution?
Seriously?
That’s the language of a push poll, not a supposedly neutral ballot question. If similar language were used in a voter poll, the pollster would be ridiculed mercilessly. Apparently, neutrality isn’t actually required of our “betters” in County government.
Update: It occurs to me that if I were to carry a sign with the official ballot language on it, I would be barred from approaching a polling place. Where’s Jimmy Carter, “esteemed” election monitor, when I need him?
]]>On Monday, our washing machine decided that washing was really just too much to expect from any appliance and stopped working. Because of the name and history of the company, and because we didn’t have any better ideas, we called Sears Appliance Repair. Sears Appliance Repair quoted a service call price of $129(!) plus parts, which seemed a bit high, but hey, they need to eat too, right? Sears Appliance Repair scheduled us for the first available slot, today between 10 am and 2 pm. Yesterday, Sears Appliance Repair called to confirm this appointment.
Today? No repair guy, no phone call, nothing whatsoever from Sears Appliance Repair.
Does anybody have a suggestion for appliance repair in Denver Metro that doesn’t suck as much as Sears Appliance Repair? Maybe even somebody that knows something about service?
Update: Calling Sears resulted in a 10 minute hold before they would give out a number for the local contractor. (Apparently Sears Appliance Repair cannot even manage their own telephone lists.)
When my wife called the local contractor and asked to talk to the manager, the employees just set the phone down and talked to each other about what terrible customers we were. (Sears Appliance Repair apparently also can’t figure out how to use a hold button.) After five minutes, they decided to come back on line with the comment that “The manager is in a meeting and can’t come to the phone.”
Seriously, do not use Sears Appliance Repair for anything.
2nd Update: In the comments for this post, a Sears “Senior Case Manager” has commented, offering to resolve the situation. Had this happened when we first tried to escalate, it might have done some good. (Had it even been possible to escalate, for that matter.) As it is, I’ve engaged a different service and plan not to use Sears again.
Still, it looks like when you get high enough up the corporate chain, they actually do care about your opinion, at least if you have and are willing to use a podium (of whatever size). Doesn’t help me much, but might be worthwhile information for somebody else.
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