Foundations instead of Government Programs

The radio station I’ve been listening to has been running ads trying to raise monetary support for Portland Rescue Mission. This morning they brought in a person from the organization to explain a little bit of what they do there. It was very interesting to listen to and it further solidified my thoughts on what I believe to be the proper way to help out those in need. He explained that a very little contribution could help a large amount of people out and was then asked how it was possible to do so much with so little. He explained that they strive to utilize every dollar to it’s fullest and to be “good stewards” of every dollar donated.

This whole exchange really peaked my interest as I’ve been continuing to think a great deal about taxes. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m worried about the prospect of taxes being increased for those people that are considered to be “rich”. Much of the purpose of this tax hike on the rich is to fund government programs that will provide benefits and services to those who otherwise couldn’t afford them. Basically the Robin Hood “take from the rich and give to the poor” principle, also known as the “redistribution of wealth” principle of Socialism. This is the next social policy purposed by president-elect Barack Obama.

The trouble with this policy is that it further exacerbates the problem of “Big Government” stepping in and dictating where tax payer money goes with no accountability as to how well it is being utilized. This is frustrating to many of us who pay taxes since we have very little control of our money at this point. As you can imagine, this frustration would be increased significantly to those who pay even more into the tax pool, like the “rich”. It’s this lack of control over our own money that drives people to such anger and frustration. Why do we let state and federal bureaucracies handle so much of our money when the do such a poor job at it? Why do we have so many government funded programs that have no accountability? What we end up with are programs that get taken advantage of by people who don’t need them but want a free hand out. These programs have good intentions, but good intentions are worthless without proper execution and follow through.

A close relative of mine told me over the weekend that she is losing her job with the state because so many people are abusing government funded services. So these dishonest people bleed the system dry and the result is our tax dollars not getting to the people who really need it and people are honest workers get laid off.

This is where foundations, churches, non-profit groups, and the lottery really do the most good. If people choose to give to one of these organizations they can feel good about where the money is going and not feel its being decided for them. Plus, these other organizations are smaller and operate more efficiently.

The bottom line...

Government Programs tax rich people to provide for those in need (force them to give) where as these other organizations encourage rich people to give, assure their money is working most effectively, and give ROI (not necessarily monitary). With increased tax incentives for people who give to these organizations there shouldn't be any problem with the amount of contributions made and it will give people more control over their own money.

Have I seen this before?

Gosh, this image has always worried me. Makes me think of a propaganda poster for a dictator in some impoverished country and people all over America are using it with pride.

America?

I’m reading in the news, after Sen. Barack Obama wins the presidential election, that people around the globe are dancing in the streets. Newspapers with his face on the front page are selling out as the talking heads state “people want a piece of history with the first elected black president in American history”.

Does that make him a good presidential choice? Has society become so shallow that all anyone can think about is the history made based on the color of his skin? Where is the substance? Apparently this past year everyone, including John McCain, has let the flaws of Obama’s past and the flaws of his stated positions on policy go by the way side. Over this past election year I have heard people speak of this man with such love and admiration I would think they were talking about their Savior.

Well, now their savior is here and many are acting as if we’ve been freed from the tyranny of President Bush. What tyranny? I ask. Every time some Bush hater brings up some gripe about him I do a little research and it turns out to be false. So I can’t help but conclude that people WANT to hate President Bush and they will grab at anything to support that hate, true or not. Another good one I’ve seen over the past eight years is how people ridicule Bush’s decisions, yet when asked what they’d do in his position no viable and realistic answer is found.

I did a little research on taxes after hearing about Bush supposedly cutting income taxes just for the rich. Well it turns out that EVERYONE got tax breaks (except the bottom two brackets) in 2003. An average of 2.4% from lower middle-class to upper-class and these breaks have continued through 2008. I guess we’ve all enjoyed more money in our pockets (rebates too!), but no one would want to credit that to Bush.

Here’s my source, you do the math:

http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/federalindividualratehistory-20080107.pdf


This is just one of many claims that I find to be false regarding the “terrible things” Bush has done during his presidency. The post-election talking heads were even saying that a big reason McCain lost the election was because “his party is associated with Bush”. Why is this? Why are the approval ratings so low? I just don’t see it. What I do see is a bunch of little kids who didn’t get what they wanted fast enough and then blame a figurehead (Bush) for all their problems. A bunch of kids in a candy store with a sense of entitlement.

Entitlement….meh. It’s going to kill this country.

Well, now everyone’s got the man who’s supposedly going to give them everything they want and all the Socialist countries of the world are excited at the prospect of American being part of the gang. Peddling Obama T-Shirts and praising the American people for their choice. Ah yes. Socialism, the great economic policy ensuring mediocrity for all.

I can see our founding fathers turning in their graves over the prospect of a Socialist America where Christianity and a moral rule is forgone and the European ideals that they fled from have come to rule once again.

Has it really been a year?

Ha Ha, I noticed that its been over a year since my last post. I guess it doesn't surprise me.

Well a lot has gone on in the past year. Let me recap just a bit:

1. Last June went to Florida with some friends and had a great time. We took a cruise, snorkled a reef, went to an 'MTV spring break' like spot and drank terrible liquor with shallow people, and then went to Orlando and had great time at Universal Studios.



2. I bought tickets to see The Cure in Seattle on October 8th and decided to make a little vacation out of it. Amy and I got reservations to stay at a country club in northern Idaho and then pass through Spokane to see my Aunt and Uncle. Well, The Cure ended up cancelling the Seattle show and moved it to The Gorge Ampitheater on May 25th 2008. So Amy and I went to Idaho anyway and had a great time.



3. Christmas was awesome. Of course every Christmas is awesome since its my favorite time of the year, but this one was special. Why was it special? Well because it snowed! Every year I long for a 'white Christmas' and this time it came. Now it wasn't a lot of snow, but it was enough to get excited about.



4. I quit my job at SurePower and got another job in QA at an Oregon City software company. This is a very exciting change for me as the working environment is a perfect fit. I really like the people I work with and there is a great deal of trust between management and employees resulting in the elimination of micro management. The work is very interesting and very challenging. It forces me to stretch my abilities and critical thinking. One of the best parts about this job is how close it is to my house.

New home...still waiting for new music

Wow, well reading "your last post was on December 26th..." is shocking. I guess its been that long since my last post. Much has been going on since then and its been pretty crazy. Just about to buy a new house and that has been a chore unlike any other; sign here...sign here...sign here...wait...wait...sign here...fax...fax...

I havent been listening to too much good music and I find myself falling back on my old standby's. I looked into a heavy metal genera called "power metal" which was prompted from a VH1 show called "headbangers journey" or something like that. Anyway, he lists a bunch of sub-generas of metal and I decided to try out power metal. I had listened to one of the bands listed in the past called Helloween and they were pretty hit and miss. However, when I did hit a good Helloween song, it was awesome. I tried out some other bands like: Blind Guardian, Man O War, and Primal Fear. By far Primal Fear was they best of the power metal bands. They had some pretty dynamic songs (which I really like since I love prog metal) and the guitar work was really good. I'm convinced the guitarist is a Zakk Wylde fan because his style is very Zakk. They're a newer band; I think their first album came out around '98. They are worth checking out in the power metal genera for sure.

Been listening to 94/7 the local alternative station here and been really enjoying the memories. They have a show called "90's at noon" which is really cool as they play all of the old alternative songs from my past that I forgot about. Been trying to get into some of the new bands but nothing is gelling. These newer "alternative" bands just dont seem to have the musical depth. I'm not seeing the song writing ability that once was in the alternative scene of the early to mid 90's, and by 'ability' I mean lyrically and instrumentation. Many have fallen back to a simple almost punk style with very immature song writing, weak guitar riffs, lack of power, simple drumming, and vocal energy that is non-existant. Never the less I continue to search for a new band that will capture the heart and minds of musicians like me. It was once Coldplay but we all know were that ended up going.

Everybody Hates A Boring Ending

Speaking of Tears for Fears in my last post, I recieved TFF's latest (2004) album Everybody Loves a Happy Ending for Christmas. I consider myself to be well versed in the TFF catalog and I will say that this album was a shock. I found it difficult to make it through the first five songs and ended up turning the album off. This was very disturbing to me as I am a huge fan and found the music to be up-beat/happy and very simple...in otherwords; dissapointing. It reminded me in many ways of the worst of The Beatles. I said to my wife as we were listening "have I heard this before?" and she said "it sounds like The Beatles" and then I said "yeah, really bad Beatles". I will tell you so far that it does not contain the dark emotion and musical complexity that previous TFF albums have. Sadly, those are the reasons I have loved TFF's music.

I have now listened to the album in full and have decided that about half of it is faily good. I would not say that any of it is excellent but there are some songs that are catchy and that echo a little of TFF's past. The other half of the album, as said before, feels like a Beatles rip-off with some Earth, Wind, and Fire 70's funk/disco thrown in.

I found this review today and I thought it paralleled much of what I've been saying:

"This reunion album is a misbegotten mess. Where Orzabal’s pompous pronouncements about inner torment and the Human Condition once came with bounding New Wave hooks, they’ve now doubled their self-seriousness, dressing mediocre songs in shopworn Beatlesque flourishes, from baroque countermelodies to psychedelic distortion. Instead of sounding clever, it comes off as dreary and dated. (...) Sorry, fellas, but nobody loves a sad reprise."
-- David Hiltbrand, blender.com

That pretty much sums it up.

Faith No More

I have stumbled upon another band that has moved me - Faith No More. While at a practice session with my band, Edgar (drummer) mentioned liking this band so I thought I would give them a try.

Listening to FNM's first couple of albums (1985 and 1987) I was dissapointed. It honestly sounded like some bad 80's RHCP, although early RHCP is very good. Much of the early FNM stuff is full of funky bass lines that go a little too far in the funk category and the vocal lines push the envelope of lame.

1989 brings on new light to FNM with a new lead singer and new style. They still carry much of their funk roots but really start to bring in some heavy guitar. The album is called The Real Thing and it has some hard rock power that will launch FNM's career. The song "Epic" moves them to superstar status but I think its a very small part of their musical ability and of the album as a whole. Overall its a very good album as I enjoy Mike Patton as the new lead singer, although I could do without the old rap-esque RHCP vocals.

1992's Angle Dust (pictured) I believe is the pinnacle of FNM catalog. If you want to hear an album that will change your musical perspective, this is the one. Patton leaves the rap-esque vocal lines behind and really starts to push his ability as a singer. Unfortunatly this is the last album for the guitarist that I feel moved mountains for this band. I dont know his name off hand, but he was for sure on The Real Thing/Angle Dust and his ability really shows clearly on these albums. The combination of keys, drums, guitar, bass, and vocals on this album shows the musical mastery of this band. Songs like ''malpractice'' span musical styles from death metal to shoe-gazer to a sound that strikingly resembles Alice in Chains. This different styles are pulled off amazingly in one song and it is seamless. "land of sunshine" sounds mad (like carnival mad) and switches between belting vocals and talking...truely captivating with intensity. I honestly cannot go on reviewing this album because it is too difficult to describe the material. It is really more than words can describe...it is once again a 'must listen' album. However, I must warn that you will probebly not like this album on first listen, but if you give it a few tries all the way through it will become addicting.

1995 delivers I think to be a weak follow up to Angle Dust. This may be in part because of the departure of the previous guitarist. The album is called King for a Day Fool for a Lifetime. You can hear an attempt at trying to capture what Angle Dust accomplished, but it does not work. The first cut on the album "get out" is some sort of two minute punk hyperactive song that is more annoying that entertaining. Many of the songs on this album follow in the footsteps of this song and I cant keep my finger from pushing forward to the next song. The easiest way to describe the style of this album is: two chord songs with little progression that would otherwise make them interesting. The band tried really hard to make this album dynamic but it just does not feel right as the songs are very disconnected from each other.

1997's Album of the Year is a step back in the right direction and a major step up from the last album. This album seems to flow much better with some very interesting vocal work that keeps me listening. Many songs get a boost of metal guitar followed by great keyboard work that breaths new power into the band. It is obvious on this album that the songs were written much better with a flow that pushes the album forward. There are still a couple of two minute lame punk songs left over from the last album but it fortunately does not drag the album down too much. I recommend this album.

Reflecting on FNM's albums is very difficult as they produced music that is unlike anything that I've heard before so it is hard to describe. Other bands I can think of at the moment that capture such dynamic and quality songwriting are Smashing Pumpkins, Tears For Fears, and TOOL. Truely brilliant music...