What They Will Find When They Dig Us Up

The people around me seem to have the uncanny ability to drive with their heads tilted downward into their laps. Time after time I see them pull up next to me at traffic lights with their heads tilted downward into their laps. The whole time they are waiting for the light to change their heads are tilted downward into their laps. After the light changes they drive through the traffic light with their heads tilted downward into their laps.

What they are doing can be described as foolish, unnecessary, silly, not smart and so on. What’s that you just said? Did you say you are offended because you drive with your head tilted downward into your lap?

At this point I’m supposed to say I am sorry I offended you but I’m really don’t wanna do that because you are really being foolish, however, you might stop reading my Blog. OK, I’m sorry I offended you. I know you can’t help yourself. You are obsessed with the need to know what all of the people you know are doing at all times. I understand how badly you would feel if one of your fellow twits told you he had eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and you were not there (so to speak) to share in that tidbit of information.

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From my Fella's Think About It Department...

It is a fact of nature that eventually things that do not get used will become fixed into place and things that are used become bigger and stronger. When the archaeologists of the distant future dig us up they will find skeletons with necks fixed permanently downward toward their navels and gigantic thumbs.

They are going to be very confused about what they uncover. If you were there you would know why their necks are fixed in place and why their thumbs are so big but you won’t be there so...

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: I took another stab at this subject back on July 16, 2013. Have you got a few minutes to read another bit of foolishness? I guarantee when you are finished you will say to yourself, “That made my day!”...Or will you say that? ... https://forii.blogspot.com/2013/07/somebody-had-to-do-something.html 

The No Weight Loss Diet

Error: Actually published 7/28/2013

I say the heck with all those “miracle” weight loss diets. My No Weight Loss Diet’s simplicity is its beauty...

• Go to the gym on a regular basis.
• As you drive to the gym, eat a Klondike Ice Cream Bar (I prefer all chocolate).

That’s it. You won’t gain weight and you won’t lose weight but you will feel like you lost weight because you went to the gym.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

(105)

Lagniappe: I do not understand why anyone bothered to invent any other flavor of ice cream once Chocolate Ice Cream had been invented.

BuzzNet Tags: Diet,Klondike Ice Cream Bar

Alternative Minimum Tax

Taxation Without Representation Was Bad. Do You Think Taxation With Representation Is Not So Bad?

Getting back to Congressional Fixes...Many times Congress fixes things and then we find out that the things they "fixed" remained broken after the fix or the fix caused new problems.

At Happy Hour Congress refers to these as, “Imitation Fixes”.

I hear you talking to yourself again. You just said to yourself, There you go again. You are can’t prove what you just said. To what you just said I say, Read All About It.

************

A good example is the current (never ending) contention that the rich people in this country need to pay their “Fair Share”. Many are saying we should have fixed this problem long before now. Actually, long before now...in 1969, Congress "fixed" this problem when they passed the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) which was created to make the rich pay their fair share.

However, it did not make the rich pay their fair share because Congress had made another bad bill. Instead the Middle Class has had the potential of being hammered every year by the AMT.

Congress has been trying to fix their mistake...Or have they? Instead they have been passing wavers to the problem they caused instead of fixing the problem they caused.

************

Eventually Congress got busy with other things they wanted to fix (or Happy Hour got in the way) and they started not getting around to passing the waivers. This meant the Middle Class was about to be Tax Hammered by the bad law Congress passed to fix the problem of the rich not paying their fair share.

The Middle Class is about to be forced to pay their Unfair Share and Congress is nervous. The reason they are nervous is the money brought in by the ATM has now become a Revenue Stream that they have become accustomed to spending.

Congress is very good at creating...Creating Confusion, Spending Revenue Streams, Kicking Cans Down the Road and Creating Problems.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: Below are the first 5 paragraphs of what Wikipedia has to say about the Alternative Minimum Tax. Your contract with Foolishness...Or Is It? does not require you to read these 5 paragraphs. If you do read them and if you do understand them, you are smarter than Fella...

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax imposed by the United States federal government in addition to the regular income tax for certain individuals, estates, and trusts. As of tax year 2018, the AMT raises about $5.2 billion, or 0.4% of all federal income tax revenue, affecting 0.1% of taxpayers, mostly in the upper income ranges.^[1][2]

An alternative minimum taxable income (AMTI) is calculated by taking the ordinary income and adding disallowed items and credits such as state and local tax deductions, interest on private-activity municipal bonds, the bargain element of incentive stock options, foreign tax credits, and home equity loan interest deductions. This broadens the base of taxable items. Many deductions, such as mortgage home loan interest and charitable deductions, are still allowed under AMT. The AMT is then imposed on this AMTI at a rate of 26% or 28%, with a much higher exemption than the regular income tax.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) reduced the fraction of taxpayers who owed the AMT from 3% in 2017 to 0.1% in 2018, including from 27% to 0.4% of those earning $200,000 to $500,000, from 61.9% to 2% of those earning $500,000 and $1,000,000.

The major reasons for the reduction of AMT taxpayers after TCJA include the capping of the state and local tax deduction (SALT) by the TCJA at $10,000, and a large increase in the exemption amount and phaseout threshold. A married couple earning $200,000 now requires over $50,000 of AMT adjustments to begin paying the AMT. The AMT previously applied in 2017 and earlier to many taxpayers earning from $200,000 to $500,000 because state and local taxes were fully deductible under the regular tax code but not at all under AMT. Despite the cap of the SALT deduction, the vast majority of AMT taxpayers paid less under the 2018 rules.^[3][4][5]

The AMT was originally designed to tax high-income taxpayers who used the regular tax system to pay little or no tax. Due to inflation and cuts in ordinary tax rates, many middle income taxpayers began to pay the AMT. The number of households owing AMT rose from 200,000 in 1982 to 5.2 million in 2017, but was reduced back to 200,000 in 2018 by the TCJA.^[6] After the expiry of the TCJA in 2025, the number of AMT taxpayers is expected to rise to 7 million in 2026.^[7][8] (Fella did the underlining.)

Fella Commentary: Anything this complicated ought to be against the law.

Lagniappe #2: If we need more clarification, Wikipedia has 8,678 more words, charts and graphs to help us understand and enjoy the Alternative Minimum Taxes...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_minimum_tax

Congress Makes Trouble

The above title of this Blog Posting is “Congress Make Trouble” but this title is only part of the Complete Title which is, “Congress Makes Trouble and Then Congress Keeps Us Voting For Them by Campaigning Against the Troubles They Made”.

I heard what you just said to yourself. You just said, “Fella, your title is too long”. I agree with what you just said to yourself but I contend that the long title is a 100% true statement of fact...

Tax Cuts (like the Bush Tax Cuts of 2001 and 2003)

• If Congress decides to pass any tax cut, why does it have a Sunset Provision specifying when the cuts will expire?
• This sets off years of posturing and arguing about whether the Tax Cuts will actually expire.
• Here is what happened because they put a Sunset Provision in Bush’s Tax Cuts...Confusion, Apprehension, Uncertainty about the future, Political Posturing, Poking Finger Holes in Congressional Air, Etc.
• If lowering taxes is an idea that has enough support to be passed, Pass It!
• If it is later decided by our “leaders” in Congress that we need to raise taxes, then go through a Deliberative Analytical Complicated Process of deciding whether raising taxes is the thing to do...
  >Propose the tax increase.
  >Justify it the tax increase.
  >Analyze the pros and cons of the tax increase.

Pass It or Don’t Pass It after going through this Deliberative Analytical Complicated Process. Figuring out what the ramifications of what you are going to do is a good thing. 

Congress should not give itself an out by enabling it to say things like, "I would not have voted for this tax increase but that Congress years ago put in this Sunset Provision in the Tax Reduction. It was not something I would have done but It Is Automatic."

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

 

Let Congress Do It

 

Congress spends a lot of time poking holes in the air with their collective fingers about Tax Loopholes.

What does Congress say about Tax Loopholes?

Ø Tax Loopholes are evil.

Ø People who use Tax Loopholes are evil.

Ø People who use Tax Loopholes are avoiding taxes that they ought to pay so the money can be used for The Children of the Good Ole USofA.

I wondered out loud, “How do Tax Loopholes become Tax Loopholes?”

The late Winston Churchill was visiting with me this day and he looks perplexed at this question. With a puzzled look on his face he reached back into his treasure trove of quotes from himself and said, “This is certainly is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

I got all wrapped up in his Riddle Mystery Enigma quote and he then said something that cut me to the quick, “Fella, I have been reading your blog for years. It is not that I think you are smart. I read your Silliness because I have nothing else to do. At this particular time you disappoint me. Don’t you understand sarcasm? There is no Riddle or Mystery or Enigma involved here. Don’t you know that the Tax Loopholes come from Congress? Congress creates the loopholes (often times at Happy Hour) so that, when necessary, they can campaign against the Tax Loopholes, get the American Public all agitated about the Tax Loopholes and then get elected because someone needs to do something about the Tax Loopholes. The American public, 99% of whom are not as smart as you are, fall for this every time. They say to their collective selves, “Who better to fix Tax Loopholes than the people who are pledging to do something about this evil? And, best of all, they are going to use the money for The Children.”

I sat there mesmerized at his words. This happens every time he visits with me. I was somewhat disappointed about the reason he gave for reading my Blog Postings. On the other hand what do I care why someone reads my Foolishness? I’ll take what I can get. Boredom is as good a reason as any.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella 

I Bet Most Of You Think Your Children Are Wonderful. I Would Also Bet None Of You Think Your Children Are Magic.

 

  

There you go again thinking Fella again has lost it again.

OK, Smarty Pants, I am going to make you feel Silly for thinking I am being Silly...

You are not as observant as I am observant, therefore, you have not noticed the Magic Children you see every day, as you watch TV, provided you watch TV. If you don’t watch TV, you are a very rare and very special person. My congratulations to you! AttaBoy/Girl! You will note that I did not go beyond the 2 categories of Attas because there are only 2 categories of Attas no matter how often you hear otherwise on TV, provided you watch TV.

************

Ok, enough of what we call in the Blogging World, the Nonsensical Non-Serious Curious Introduction. I’m now moving on with the Serious Business of Foolishness!

Magic Children...

If you have not noticed them, you are really not paying attention, you are not a curious person and/or you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

There is a plethora of TV Commercials where we see...

Ø A beautiful house.

Ø A beautiful mother.

Ø The beautiful mother’s 2 beautiful children.

They are the Magic Children of which I speak.

Did you just say, “Hold on, Fella, you just took the liberty of throwing in the word ‘magic’ in front of the word ‘children’. I know you have been known to practice Fooletic License but I’m not going to let you get away with that. Explain yourself!”

My Dear Reader, I thought you would have seen it by now but I will be glad to take up your challenge...

Ø Where do children come from?

Ø Children come from the joining together of a Man and a Woman.

Ø There is never a Man in these Beautiful TV Commercials.

If there is no man in these beautiful houses and there are beautiful children in these beautiful houses, then Magic has come and gone and leaving left behind 2 Beautiful Magic Children.

Don’t feel badly. It has taken me years to get to the point where I notice everything but, to be honest with you, this was one of the easiest notices on record.

I wonder if there is actually someone keeping track of Noticing Records?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

You Gotta Decide What You Want To Be For The Rest Of Your Life By Age 8 And Then You Are Not Allowed to Change Your Mind For The Rest Of Your Life!...Or do you gotta?

 

Would he kid u?

Smartfella

Let’s Go Back To Booing

There was a time when I was watching sports when I would hear the fans Boo the Other Team or Boo A Player On The Other Team (usually a very good player on the other team) and I felt badly for the Other Team or the Very Good Player.

I would think to myself, “That’s not Nice”.

Not Nice was Very Nice compared to what the fans of today are doing...

One of the biggest storylines during the just completed NBA Finals was the animosity and vitriol directed at Golden State's players from the Boston Celtics' fanbase. The majority of animosity was directed at Draymond Green, with "F*** you Draymond" chants raining in from the stands each home game in Boston. 

I used to think this kind of awful language could be traced back to Rett Butler’s, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn". I thought, maybe if he has not said that, the Boston Fans would not have said, "F*** you Draymond".

Now I think they would have “progressed” to this level of Awful on their own without Rhett’s permission. It’s called “progress”...Or is it?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" is a line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. The line is spoken by Rhett Butler (Gable), as his last words to Scarlett O'Hara (Leigh), in response to her tearful question: "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" Scarlett clings to the hope that she can win him back. This line is slightly different in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, from which the film is derived: "My dear, I don't give a damn."

Ya Gotta Be Smart To Be A Meter Reader...Or do you?

The other day I looked up from my computer and saw something I thought was strange going on outside my front window. Since I am me, usually after I notice something (remember I am The Noticer) I often investigate what I noticed to see if I wasted my time bothering to notice.

This notice was a doozy. I got to watch a Mental Midget in action!...

Ø The Water Company’s Meter Reader was going through our little neighborhood reading our water meters.

Ø Our Meter Reader’s routine was to park his car and walk to 3 to 4 meters and read the meters and return to his car and move his car up a few houses and get out of his car and read a few more meters and repeat this process over and over.

Ø I guess he was trying not to get to the point where he had parked his car and had walked a long way and then he would turn around and find that his car was a long way back at his starting point and he would then have to walk that long way to get back to his car.

Ø Heck he may even have feared that he might not be able to find his car way back there where he started somewhere back there.

The problem with this thinking on the part of our Mental Midget Meter Reader is our street is a circle (see map below). If he had just left his car and not walked back to his car over and over he would have found his car back where he left it at the first house he had read at the start of his Meter Reading Trek.

I wonder if he ever figured out what I just explained to you or did he just head to his next assigned neighborhood thinking, “I sure am smart! Once again I read my assigned meters and did not lose my car!”

I think I am smart enough to be a Meter Reader.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

I Have Lived In California Two Times but I Don’t Remember Being Stupid While Living There

California Court Rules That Bumblebees Bees Are Fish

This Is a Fish

This Is a California Fish 

This decision comes after a lengthy legal dispute to list four species of bumblebees as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act.

Author: Katie Jones

Published: 11:12 AM EDT June 2, 2022

Updated: 12:12 PM EDT June 2, 2022

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — You’ve seen bumblebees buzzing by, collecting pollen from flowers to make honey. But, have you ever seen one underwater?

Probably not. However, a California appeals court says they don’t have to be underwater to be legally considered fish in the state.

The ruling comes after a legal dispute that started in 2019 between the California Fish and Game Commission and major agricultural groups. The Commission wanted to list four species of bumblebees as endangered species. Those species are the Crotch, Franklin, Suckley, and Western bumblebees.

Their reason for listing bees under “fish?” The Commission says bees are invertebrates, falling under the California Endangered Species Act’s (CESA) definition of fish. But, agricultural groups that include almond, citrus, and cotton growers disagree, calling it a violation of CESA.

During the first trial in 2020, the court ruled in favor of these agricultural groups, finding CESA doesn’t protect all invertebrates. After the ruling, the Commission took bumblebees off the list and appealed the court’s decision.

Now, the Court of Appeal of the State of California’s Third Appellate District has reversed the decision, disagreeing with the original ruling about CESA’s definition of a fish.  

“We next consider whether the Commission’s authority is limited to listing only aquatic invertebrates. We conclude the answer is, ‘no,’” the ruling reads.

The appeals court concluded CESA’S definition of fish is a “term of art,” and isn’t limited to aquatic species. It goes on to say the Commission may list any invertebrate as an endangered or threatened species.

The court also noted animals like frogs fall under CESA’s definition of fish, as it includes amphibians.

************

Invertebrates are animals without a backbone or bony skeleton. Invertebrates are by far the largest group in the animal kingdom: 97% of all animals are invertebrates. Are we on the verge of declaring 97% of all animals Endangered?

No, I’m not saying the above bolded question makes sense. It’s just that the above article has me so confused I don’t know what I used to know I knew about much of anything.

This news article was posted on the Internet by a Tampa, Florida TV Station. I wonder if the Sane People in California (provided there are still Sane People in California) are desperately hoping that no one in the rest of the Good Ole USofA is aware of what’s going on in California.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

We Ought To Only Go Out Of Our Houses at Night Because the Sun Is Bad For Us...Or is it?

 

Some of you think I make things up and put them in my Blog. These Some of You feel this way because I do make things up to put into my Blog. Be advised, that I do not make everything up that I put into my Blog. Because of this feeling some of you have, I often insert Internet Links in my Blog in an attempt to prove that I did not make up what you are presently reading. Please do not feel any obligation to read all of the links I furnish. That would be a lot of reading and you might start to hate me. Don’t hate me! I mean well.

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Is Melanoma Caused by Too Much Sunlight?

or

Is Melanoma Caused by Too Little Sunlight?

Despite all the bad press linking sun exposure to skin cancer, there’s almost no evidence at all to support it. There is, however, plenty of evidence to the contrary. Over the years, several studies have confirmed that appropriate sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer. Melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure and can be increased by sunscreens.

Recap of the above paragraph...

Ø The Sun causes skin cancer...Used to be true but is no longer true.

Ø Sun exposure actually helps prevent skin cancer...Used to be false but is no longer false.

Ø Melanoma occurrence has been found to decrease with greater sun exposure...Used to be false but is no longer false.

Ø Sunscreens help prevent Melanoma...Used to be true but is no longer true.

Read All About It: https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-surprising-cause-of-melanoma-and-no-its-not-too-much-sun_1726259.html?utm_source=morningbriefnoe&utm_campaign=mb-2022-06-11&utm_medium=email&est=%2BT9JruGBkkLu5nEBhu3DFntHikQZnYGuhntuIaGxcFvc3giLLlRR4JGUoygk

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The next thing you know we will be told that Bacon is Good for the Brain!

My dear readers, welcome to The Next Thing...

“Without a doubt, the brain is one of the most important organs in the human body. Special nutrients are needed for the brain to operate properly and to prevent degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, which affects one out of every ten Americans over 65. Thankfully, eating a healthy quantity of bacon can help your brain perform at its best and enhance your brainpower. Bacon is high in choline, a nutrient that has been shown to slow the deterioration of memory with time. According to a recent study conducted by the University of Eastern Finland, the use of choline in the creation of acetylcholine (a key neurotransmitter) may aid in the prevention of cognitive decline associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”

Read All About It!...https://www.verymeaty.com/processed-meat/bacon/is-bacon-good-for-your-brain/  

************

There are some that say eating Bacon may be Bad for the Brain.

“Eating lots of bacon, hot dogs, cold cuts, salami and other processed meats may raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease”...

Read All About It!...https://www.alzinfo.org/articles/prevention/deli-meats-bacon-may-be-bad-for-the-brain/

************

Are you confused because you have been putting all you faith in the Internet and here is the Internet telling you that Bacon Is Good for You and Bacon Is Bad for You. It may not be possible but I will now attempt to make it all of the above clear to you...

Bacon could be good for you but it could be bad for you. If you have any doubt about the prior sentence’s validity, we often go to the Internet because we have been trained to believe everything that we read on the Internet is Absolutely True.

My dear readers, my advice for you is:

Ø Seek out an answer on the Internet to whatever question you have at hand.

Ø When you find the answer to your question Do Not Read Any Further.

Ø If you do you do read further, you will find that the answer to your question that you just found, and you are so comfortable with, Is Not True.

Ø Why would you want to find out that what you know is the truth is not the truth?

If you think this Blog Posting is confusing to read, imagine how confusing it must have been to write this Blog Posting. A little sympathy for Fella would be greatly appreciated.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

If Only Putin Would Stay Out Of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area

 

We just got back from a 4 night trip out of town. While we were gone Vladimir Putin came into town and raised the price of gasoline $.40/gallon.

I’m glad he is gone!...Or is he?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Ripping You Off In Plain Sight

According To Consumer Reports, Eggs From Chickens Raised With “No Hormones” Are Not Worth The Extra Money

The reason is, by law, chickens that produce eggs are NOT to be given Hormones.

That’s why eggs with a “No Hormones” claim on the package label are no different from eggs that don’t have the “No Hormones” claim.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Not Gonna Publish That One

 

I have been thinking about publishing a Blog Posting about problems with Tesla Battery Disposal. I am, however, known (known by me) for attempting to know what I am talking about before I talk about something. In doing my research about this subject, I came up with this video about Recycling of Tesla Batteries which was published by Tesla for the express purpose of preventing me from publishing a Blog Posting about Tesla Battery Disposal Problems.

Tesla has just breathed a sigh of relief because I have been prevented.

The link to Tesla’s Video is below. It will take you 10 minutes and 7 seconds to watch all of it. I found it enlightening. My only problem was the narrator talked too fast for my ears to keep up (my ears are known for having problems keeping up...or is it my brain that has the keeping up problem?). Turning on Closed Captioning helped.

Here is the video link: https://www.justgogreengroup.com/battery/tesla-recycling-batterys

Yea, I know you can go elsewhere on the Internet and find information that proves that Tesla is lying about everything in this video. My Dear Readers, that’s the best thing about the Internet...Or is it?

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

 

It’s COVID’s Fault!

Since 2020 we have been saying, “It’s COVID’s Fault!”

For example, here is my opinion of what COVID has done to the Hotel Industry...

Ø If you have not made a Hotel Reservation lately, you are in for a shock...A Price Hike Shock.

Ø I think the Hotel Industry has developed a COVID Hate for anyone who now dares to try and stay at their hotels because of the disloyalty those same people exhibited when they dared to not stay in their hotels during the Pandemic Shutdown that had us all scared to go to the grocery store much less travel anywhere out of our home towns.

Ø The major objective of the Hotel Industry at present is to make up for lost COVID Revenue when fewer of us were out and about.

Ø The first and most obvious example of their COVID Revenue Recapture is that they have raised all their room rates.

Ø Recently I stayed at a hotel that I had stayed at just before the COVID Shutdown and paid a room rate of $110.

Ø The room rate I paid this time was an even $100 More than that Pre- COVID Rate when the Hotel still liked me...Or was it my money they liked?

************

Porky Pig is visiting with me today and he just said, “That Ain’t All Folks”.

I recently also tried to sign up for a different hotel for a different trip and found out how much the Hotel Industry really does have it in for me...

Ø This hotel was trying to charge me $183 a night for a stay in their hotel in a small town.

Ø As I was getting over that shock I got a bigger jolt.

Ø The hotel said I was going to be charged for something they called “Taxes and Service Fee” which turned out to be more than the We Hate You Room Rate of $183 a Night!

************

This reminds me of a Stand-Up Comedian I once saw on the Johnny Carson Show who told this story...

Ø He started by asking the audience this question, “What is the term a farmer would use to describe what had happened if one of his bulls had had intercourse with one of his cows”.

Ø Someone in the audience shouted out the answer.

Ø The Comedian confirmed, “That’s right. The farmer would say the bull had serviced the cow”.

Ø The Comedian then said, “Now you know what the Telephone Company means when the say they have been Servicing You for the last 70 years”.

Did ya laugh?

************

I have also seen other companies I interact with that have started to find new ways to increase my cost for their services...

Ø Our HVAC Company.

Ø Our Dentist.

Ø Our Car Dealership.

Would I kid u?

Smartfella