Waffles! reminds us again
That some animals at the farm are simply more equal than others:
It’s been more than three months since we first told you about Capt. John Kerry’s high-seas tax dodge on his new $7 million yacht, Isabel, and the town of Nantucket still doesn’t have a check from the senior senator!
Now, in case you forgot, Kerry’s yacht is a New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage. We point this out because the excise tax on boats is $10 per thousand of valuation. However, the state caps the assessment on yachts over 60 feet that are less than four years old at $50,000. Which, if you ask us, seems rather foolish . . .
So, the $7 million Isabel, for excise tax purposes, is worth just $50G, meaning, should Kerry decide to pony up, he’d owe just $500 to the island’s tax coffers. Chump change for Jawn and Ta-ray-za!
“Whether owed or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat’s home port were currently in Massachusetts,” Kerry said at the time. “That payment is being made promptly.”
Or, maybe not. Which is strange, because I'm pretty sure he can afford it. Maybe, though, it's another case where he was for it before he was against it. Then again, perhaps he's just expressing solidarity with the rest of the plebes, who he recently accused of losing their mind:
“It’s absurd. We’ve lost our minds,” said a clearly exasperated Kerry. “We’re in a period of know-nothingism in the country, where truth and science and facts don’t weigh in.
You know what's absurd Thurston Heinz III ? That a guy with all your do-re-mi, one who undoubtably agrees with Joe Biden that paying taxes is patriotic, hasn't payed the paltry 500 dollar excise tax on your fabulous 7 million dollar yacht to the oh-so-toney town of Nantucket. Senator, do it for Joe ...
Here's what this know-nothing knows: the fact is that Kerry is fabulously wealthy, and the truth is that he and other top Democrats have long advocated having the wealthy dutifully pay higher taxes, and I would submit that it would be trivial for him to meet the same obligations that any of us other rubes would have to. And that's it.
The science, is settled ...
(Image courtesy of extremeCatholic)
So how’s that global warming working out for you?
In light if the recent revelation surrounding the cherry picking of data by climate change propagandists to generate the famous (or should I say infamous) “hockey stick†curve on the graph of the Earths average temperature, as well as James Hansen’s reluctance to divulge the “data conditioning†techniques he used in building his mathematical models for climate predictions, it appears that the advocates of cap-n-trade will have a much harder time making their case for the drastic, economy crushing, measures envisioned by proponents of that piece of legislation. Still, Senators Kerry and Boxer are determined to push ahead with the long anticipated climate bill in the Senate starting sometime this month. Kerry has taken the lead on this push, and is signaling an attempt to “reframe†the discussion in a different “context†insisting it is not a “cap and trade†proposal but a “pollution reduction†bill; kind of like how Obamacare went from being about socialized medicine to “insurance reformâ€. It's another carefully chosen euphemism to conceal the statist’s agenda behind an overly simplistic and benign mask, so that any political opponents can be publicly castigated as somehow being in favor of pollution.
But they’ll need more than the usual weasel words this time because, as with Obamacare, the public’s awareness of the issue and the arguments put forth by both sides does not fit with the low information voter model that the Democrats generally rely on taking advantage of. Meteorologists are predicting that residents of the east coast should prepare for the coldest winter in a decade. And there is already anecdotal evidence coming in from parts of the country that point to an earlier onset of winter conditions than usual; news that isn’t exactly all bad if you happen to own a business centered around winter sports. I guess you could say that global warming is working out pretty well for those folks!
It’s going to be difficult for politicians to talk up the apocalyptic dangers of global warming climate change pollution; especially when faced by contradictory evidence on both the scientific as well as anecdotal fronts. But I have faith in the progressive elite, having demonstrated an ability to talk about the most risible or hypocritical topics with a straight face. Perhaps they take their inspiration from their fellow travelers in the Chinese government, who insist that the world’s wealthier nations (The US, EU, and Canada) are trying to sabotage the successor to the Kyoto protocols, by not allowing them a free pass like the current treaty does. Indeed, I expect the administration to sign whatever treaty comes out of that summit, and then begin scolding us about the need to ratify the agreement, as well as pass cap-n-trade, in order to reaffirm Obama’s, “L’etat c’est moi!†absolute authority, and because as with Obamacare “The Debate is Over!â€
All of these factors add up to some potential comedy gold coming our way, just in time for the holidays.  The AGW connivance may not work out too well for many on the political left that have relished the idea of imposing further control over our nation, our prosperity, and our lives through this proposed legislation; at least I hope so for all our sakes. But, on the upside, it may have the unintended benefit of making C-span a viable commercial free entertainment alternative to the comedy channel!





