SHOW ME YOURS...

537 SHOULD DO SO

     Mitt Romney is creating trouble for himself.  His wife Ann has thrown fuel on the fire. But there are a lot of hypocrites being exposed, even if not their tax filings.

     Yes, Romney should release his previous tax reports, but then so should President Obama and every member of the House and Senate.  That's my take at least.  Every one who stands for election should be honor, if not duty, bound to release their tax reports.  If you stand in the public square and ask your fellow taxpayers to "hire" you, to pay your salary and your benefits then yes, by all means as your employers we should see your records.

     It is disingenuous and worse to demand that Romney release his filings and refuse to volunteer your own. All we can do is speculate how the wealthy Romney might appear to us through his tax records, but his wife hinted as much when she said something about there would be more to criticize.  It could be that way for many of the 100 members of the Senate and the 435 members of the House as well.  

     Official Washington has become a kind of club with privileges, probably excessively so.  If it is good enough for members of Congress, should it not also be good enough for 

their employers-you and me?  I'm talking about insurance, pensions, inside options on stocks, perks, favors and privileges.  If every tax paying citizen is not entitled, then why should "official Washington" be entitled?  

     Plumbing out tax filings sort of gets at that itch. But it is only a little scratch at a big problem.  Government professionals have become a class unto themselves.  We used to mock the old Soviet Union where the pals of the politburo were "more equal" comrades than the proletariat. Well, to quote the Beatles "Back in the US, back in the US, back in USSR, boys!"

     Give 'em up Mitt. Give 'em up Peosi, Reid, Boehner, Ryan and for that matter, Geitner, and every member of the cabinet and everyone on Capitol Hill. What are you hiding?

DAY FILE

REFLECTIONS

      We continue to play with our newly claimed hill top.
From collected driftwood and an old thrift shop mirror, Lana created a hanging for the fence.  I love the way it 
captures the neighboring mountains.

    It is dry here, but that is normal for the Central Coast this time of year.  Not so normal for some of you who are suffering through historic droughts.  We hope you get the rain you need, soon.

      See you down the trail.

WILL VOTERS CARE?

 SMALL STORIES- BIG OUTCOME
Political hacks are better than we are huh?

     From the far left to the far right and back, Americans  express dissatisfaction with the "royal" or "club privilege" treatment that Congress bestows on itself. There's more fuel on the prairie fire of discontent.

      The Associated Press got a look at the House Oversight and Government reform Committee report that shows hundreds of discount loans were made to buy influence with members of Congress, congressional staff, cabinet members, other government officials, and executives of the mortgage giant Fannie Mae.

      The giver of the largess, I will call them bribes, was none other than Countrywide Financial Corp who became infamous in the housing foreclosure crisis. Aside from buying favors, they helped pioneer the sub prime loans that helped begin the financial collapse. Big name Democrats and Republicans were on the take.

WERE YOU HIDING THAT MITT?

     Wonder if people will care that Mitt Romney has hidden an off shore investment portfolio for some 15 years.  It's based in Bermuda and has never been listed in his state or federal financial reports.  Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Ltd is among several holdings that have never been fully disclosed.  

      Romney's campaign estimates his worth at $250 Million so you wonder why they've never included Sankaty. What's another few million dollars of value when you are at the quarter of a $Billion level?  It really shouldn't mean much to anyone unless, like many corporations, the portfolio is structured to avoid tax liability. That might not look good to voters.

      There is no hint of illegality here.  The day before he became Governor the Sankaty holdings were transferred to a trust owned by his wife Ann.

      Now before those of you who are Republicans and/or Romney supporters accuse me of doing a hack job on him-if I learn that President Obama has an off shore portfolio that generates wealth from investments and is beyond the reach of the IRS, I'll make note.  As I have previously when noting some companies that have government contracts are "based" on an Island and thus avoid paying Federal withholding on US citizens in their employ.   

     My point in this little exercise is to note that tens of millions of American citizens don't get the same "breaks," privileges and special treatment of those who have or sell influence.  Nor do most citizens employ teams of tax lawyers who engineer investments to avoid paying taxes. Only the wealthiest among us can afford that.

DAY FILE

JUST UP THE ROAD

See you down the trail.

GLEEKS, A HERO SHOT & OBAMA GET'S DOWN

RYAN MURPHY IS A GENIUS

     It takes extraordinary skill to mix teen suicide, sexual identity, bullying and the lethal potential of texting and driving and make it entertaining and joyful.  
     Murphy's Fox network hit Glee does that and more.  The jury is still out on the texting matter, it was last night's "winter finale" and we'll wait until April to learn "Quinn's"fate. But week after week we are treated to marvelous and even mind blowing entertainment ensembles of song and dance, all the while the through line of the soap like drama series embraces weighty matters with intelligence and a bold honesty that is hard to find anywhere else on network television.  

      Glee is not only one of the best programs, it is one of the most important because of the issues it confronts and it's primary target audience, generations much younger than us boomers. Murphy is a hot property with a string of hits but I feel a special kinship.  He's an Indiana lad.  His mother Andy and late father Jim were Indiana friends.  Andy, an extraordinary woman, and I have collaborated on writer's conferences, book promotion and other matters.
      If you haven't seen Glee, you've missed one of the best
shows in television history. Get with it, become a Gleek.

ANOTHER HERO

     I love this shot of John Glen, taken after his historic flight in February 1962.  This started making its way around the net and I thought it should be posted here in case you missed it.

     I remember listening to the launch and the flight while in a Owen Fisher's biology class.  It was a nerve wracking 15 minutes, but like many of you I sensed a new possibility after the successful flight of the first American in space.  

     Glen remains an advocate for space exploration.  I'm on board with that and continue to admire this true hero.  I think this picture represents "cool!"

ANOTHER KIND OF COOL

Get down Mr. Prez

Here's a great scene from the White House Blues Concert

What a great show it must have been!

DAY BOOK

 JUST A COOL WINTER DAY AT THE BEACH

Moonstone Beach at Shamel Park

Radio legend Mike Griffin and Toshi

A gathering.

See you down the trail.