Links and Minifeatures 04 15 Saturday (Abolish Witholding!)

Carnival of The Clueless

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Michael Yon has gone to Afghanistan. This article covers background and arrival.



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Wizbang has an article entitled "Mayday for America" about the proposed one day strike against the american economy by illegal immigrants. He suggests they stop accepting the benefits as well, and supposed ANSWER will cancel it before May 1.



I agree with Wizbang's assessment, but not the result they predict. I don't think ANSWER is that smart. Of course the impact will be minimal (Even if there is good participation of behalf of the illegals, how important is it that your grass be mowed on May 1 instead of April 30 or May 2? How important is it that concrete was poured May 1, instead of the day before or after?) My prediction is that on May 2nd, you will hear crickets chirp from the direction of ANSWER as they hope hope everybody quickly forgets all about the effects that never materialized.



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I cannot believe this nit: Fetus Cannot Feel Pain, Expert says. How does one get certified as an expert? I've seen a five and a half month preemie that obviously felt pain, and I have two normal girls who could both feel pain within seconds of being born. Does the circuitry for feeling pain suddenly go active as the kid exits the womb? I suppose it's possible, but I really doubt it.



Once upon a time, the first people to be able to count human chromosomes thought there were 48: 24 pairs. There were two or three other researchers who confirmed this number before someone had the guts to say, "Wait a minute, I can only find 23 pairs!" Today, the accepted numbers are 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs. The first set of researchers almost certainly made an honest mistake. The initial follow-up studies should have caught it, but instead found what they wanted or expected to see. Thus, the "Rule of 48", which can be summarized as "scientists may see what they want or expect to see."



This appears to me to be an instance of the Rule of 48.



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Iran Leader: Israel Will Be Annihilated



Now anyone who doesn't believe Iran is building nuclear weapons, please raise your hand.



Anyone who doesn't believe this is a really extreme problem, also raise your hand.



Now those of you with your hands raised kindly explain your reasoning?



I want a confrontation with Iran about as much as I want multiple bullets to the head, but it's looking more and more like not confronting them is suicide.



I was really hoping the Iranian people would be able to deal with their government in time. I no longer believe that's a reasonable hope. Israel does not have the resources to do the job. Everyone else except the United States can be expected to bury their heads in the sand and pretend there is no problem.



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Cheeta turns 74. No, that's not a typo. This is the chimpanzee from the Johnny Weismuller Tarzan movies! Recognized as the oldest chimp in the world.



HT Vodkapundit



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Big Lizards has an excellent article deconstructing both the politics and the tactics of the generals criticising the Rumsfeld Doctrine. Warfare and the nature of effective tactics has changed many times over history. The Greeks changed it with their phalanx, and the Romans tweaked it with their legions. It changed again with the introduction of the stirrup, the crossbow, the longbow, gunpowder, massed artillery, rapid fire weapons, aircraft, armor, etcetera, etcetera. It has changed again, and it will change yet again in the future. Frederick the Great changed warfare forever with only tactical innovations, Napoleon did it again, and it's happened several times since then. Most generals are always prepared to fight the last war, while Rumsfeld was preparing to fight the next war.



If you don't understand this fundamental tension, you might run "Billy Mitchell" through a search engine. Wikipedia has a decent overview of his life, but glosses over the Ostfriesland incident in which the navy accused him of "cheating" because he sunk it with bigger bombs than the was told to use.



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Armies of Liberation has a laundry list of what's wrong with the elections in Yemen.



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Apropos of April 15th, I do understand and support the need for taxes. They are necessary. They are way too high, and way too byzantine, but they are necessary for the operation of a government, which does perform essential functions. Furthermore, I believe we should abolish withholding, so everybody understands exactly how much they really are paying. I use it as a "forced" savings program to force myself to live on less money - the leftover in my tax account for 2005 plus the refund we're getting will fund both daughters 529 plan contributions for this year, plus a major chunk of our Roth accounts (If you're self-employed, always overestimate by a bit). A refund is, nonetheless, not a gift from the government. It is your own money being returned to you. Stop looking at the momentary cash flow and consider how much you paid! This is easier for the self-employed, of course, who have to write that check four times a year.



Abolish witholding, and watch the tax climate in the country change!



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Had my carpet cleaned yesterday. The guy was twenty minutes earlier than his time slot, which meant I was caught not quite prepared, but he did a fantastic job. It looks practically like new carpet. Plus they actually kept very close to their estimate (the only difference was the estimate had forgotten the hall, which cost $9). He even helped me move the furniture around (at least the stuff that's semi-portable - I don't mean bookcases!). I was so happy that I tipped the guy $10 extra. Major difference from the usual routine, which is they get here half an hour after the quoted time expires, quote you low and gouge you for as much extra as they can, plus I've never seen a job done this well. Since I have two kids and two dogs on light colored carpet, it gets ugly quick. I have been looking for carpet cleaners that work like this. I am going to use them again, and recommend them to clients.