Wednesday, June 05, 2013

"Wonder, wonder, who..."

With apologies to The Monotones:



It's now been two weeks, and still no word on who in Zephyrhills won $600 million. Everyone seems to have a theory, but people I know seem to fall into two camps. The first groups says that $600 mil is a serious bunch of money and the winner is still in the process of putting together a legal/financial team. Maybe. That would be showing a very high level of intelligence, and this is Florida. I have a hard time imagining it. I lean more towards the second group: the winning ticket was purchased by one of the same morons who wander into the tax office where I work after having lost their W-2's, Social Security cards, drivers license, and pretty much everything that I would need to do their taxes, then get all pissed off when I can't do it. In other words, the second largest jackpot in history will never be claimed because the ticket is at the bottom of a landfill wrapped inside an empty Doritos bag.

[Because the universe has a sense of humor, the holder of the ticket came forward a few hours after I posted this. So:

]

Meanwhile, the deliberate targeting of conservative political non-profits by the IRS looks to be a much bigger deal than those in charge are trying to convince us that it is. I like one comment posted over at Dr. Jerry Pournelle's site: "Liberal politics, statism, the primacy of the regulatory state: it’s just the water these people swim in." Of course a government worker who owes everything he is to those who look favorably on an ever-expanding federal government would view anyone holding an opposing opinion as the enemy. It looks to be an interesting summer.

I always get a chuckle at any headline that proclaims to know the "real" reason for something that involves millions of people making decisions independently of one another. Paging Dr. Rorschach. But I had to laugh out loud while reading The Real Reason Millennials Don't Buy Cars and Homes. Umm, lessee: They're flat broke, unemployed and are on average carrying $27,000 in student debt. That if they somehow manage to find a job, every penny left after taxes will be going to pay said debt. That a fair-sized chunk of them are still in college or even still in high school. (Millennials are currently 16 to 34 years old.) So after treading through the painfully obvious, the author tries his hand at comedy:
Once millennials find their financial footing, however, they might just turn into materialistic spenders who love cars and other costly things — just like their parents.

“Millennials are not going to buy cars? That’s hogwash,” Dorsey said at the Ford panel. “You’re going to see those big purchases starting to happen but they’re just not there yet.” Maybe living with their parents and saving money is just what millennials need to do to become the powerhouse purchasers of the future.

Why will they do this? 'Cause that's what the Myth of Progress says they must do, that's why!! (giggle, snert)

And I'll wrap up with yet more evidence that Patrick Stewart is made of awesome:

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