Taxes, Fees and Fallacies #228
By Hank Silverberg
I had to do one of life's tedious little chores this week. I renewed the registration on my car with the DMV. I was reminded first by my nine-year-old grandson, who pointed to the "April 23" sticker on my license plates. He then explained that I should renew it for three years to save some money.
This young man is very smart and gives me a run for my money in Scrabble.
Heeding his advice, I went on-line for the renewal. It cost $134 for three years, but I noticed something new in the process that was not there the last time I renewed. They were charging me $42 for something called a "Highway Use Fee."
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Okay, I buy the concept. The money is dedicated to construction and repair of roads and bridges, and that's a good thing.
But here's the idiotic part. After a decade of promoting fuel efficient or electric cars to help cut down emissions, Virginia lawmakers decided that only people driving those cars would have to pay the new fee. The people with old clunkers or gas guzzling pickups and SUV' s do not pay it. You pay only on vehicles that get MORE than 25 MPG.
Frankly, that's half-ass backwards. The good guys, trying to help the environment pay the price. Those who make no effort to save fuel, pay less.
Now, in fairness there is a way out. You can opt for the "Mileage Use Program" where your actual mileage for a year is calculated. You then only pay for actual miles traveled. That's great for those who only go to the supermarket or the mall twice a week. For the rest of us, you won't really save any money even if you travel many miles out of state. It's this kind of legislation that makes the public wonder whether the people they elected really understand the rest of us.
The state better use that money for bridges and roads and nothing else, or people will really get annoyed.
I'm Offended!
It seems these days that people get offended very easily about very dumb things. Earlier this week I posted a story on-line about my local school district banning 14 books from school libraries because some parents found the subject matter offensive. The response I got in the comments section was sickening. Many of the posts indicted the public school system rather than dealing with the real issue, an attempt by a government entity to censor freedom of speech and thought.
You can check my earlier posts for details, but basically all the books, most of which dealt with alternative lifestyles, had been deemed age appropriate by the National Library Association, which reviews the approved books completely. Unlike the complaining parents, the Association reviewers actually read them.
Now I see some PUBLISHERS have gone a step closer with censorship. Harper Collins has gone back and edited some passages and entirely removed others from some of bestselling author Agatha Chrisie's detective mysteries. They worry that some readers today might find some parts of the book offensive.
Christie's books were published between 1920 and 1976, the year she died.
The edits include some of the narrator's inner monologue such as describing a character with a distinctive mannerism as "a Jew, of course."
Other examples according to the The Telegraph include a Black servant originally described as "grinning," re-written simply as a servant "nodding" with no reference to race. Another example, the word "native" has been replaced with "local." And in the 1937 classic "Death on the Nile," references to "Nubian people" have been deleted completely. And that's in books aimed at adults.
There have been similar edits made in Roald Dahl's classic children's books, including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach."
This type of approach to the racism, antisemitism and stereotypes that may be offensive is troubling. These books are also history lessons about the times in which they were written and provide a teachable moment for young people reading them.
We cannot whitewash literature. Shakespeare was antisemitic. Everyone learns that by reading his plays and breaking them down. Do we eliminate or change his words because someone might be offended, or do we use them to teach tolerance and discuss the blatant antisemitism of the Middle Ages and the "Enlightenment" period that followed?
One of the most graphic books ever written complete with adultery, murder, eroticism, sex,
What offends me? Anything that tries to change what was written in the past and make it look like something it was not, even in works of fiction. And that destruction is even more profound and dangerous if it is being done by a government entity like a school board.
Books, movies, music, TV shows and most forms of entertainment are a reflection of the time they were created. Change them and you are attempting to change history. As I have written before, "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. "
When You Wish Upon a Star!
The mouse has roared and this time Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and the gang have won. Disney Corp has beaten back an effort by Florida Governor Ron Desantis to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District Board of Supervisors that Walt Disney had slickly set up back in 1967. The Board pretty much controls everything that happens in the 43 square miles that make up Disney World near Orlando. Things like roads, hotels and other infrastructure are managed by the Board without any cost to Florida taxpayers. DeSantis wanted to weaken the Board and take that power away, mainly as revenge for Disney's support of the LGBTQ+ community, which often has events at the park. Disney wasn't buying into Florida's new "Don't say Gay" legislation and the state legislature had voted to limit the Board's authority.
But the day before the state legislature approved the change, and before DeSantis could appoint new members to the Board of Supervisors, the current Disney-friendly Board used a little magic from their kingdom. The Reedy Creek District signed an agreement with the company that drastically limits what can be exercised over the company and its district. It's a 30-year deal, so any new Board appointed by Desantis can't change it. Disney no longer needs Board approval to build high density projects and can now sell any development rights or other improvements. And the Board can no long use any of the company's characters or logos. 
(Disney World)
And the outgoing Board added a unique part to the deal that extends its term with these words taken from old English law:
"The Declaration shall continue in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III of England living as of the date." The oldest of the King's five grandchildren, Prince George, is 9. The youngest of those children is Lilibet Mountbatten Windsor, who is just a year old.
Too bad, Ron. The Mouse beat you.
Dumbest Quote of The Week!
This week's dumbest quote comes from Florida Governor and potential presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis. Many Republicans jumped on the band wagon this week condemning the indictment of former President Donald Trump by a New York Grand Jury. They called it "weaponization of the justice system," a term that demeans every prosecutor in the United States who is charged with trying criminals no matter who they are.
It's also a bit premature since we don't know yet exactly what the charges against Trump are, though some of them could be felonies.
But Desantis went a bit further with this statement:
“Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”
As Governor DeSantis should know, his state is obligated under the U.S. Constitution to honor the request from another state (Interstate Rendition Clause, Article IV, Section 2 Clause 2). And there may not even be a request because Trump is planning to go to New York on his own.
On top of that, DeSantis used an antisemitic trope by tying the District Attorney to George Soros, a well- known Jewish-Hungarian millionaire who donates money to many politicians and progressive causes around the world. Soros says he doesn't know Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney who is handling Trump's case, and did not donate to his campaign. Soros did give money to a group that later endorsed Bragg along with several other candidates, but it's a loose connection.
Some Republicans around the country have used Soros as part of antisemitic conspiracy theories in support of social change.
It's becoming clear every time DeSantis opens his mouth that he doesn't have what it takes to be president. He's sounding more and more like Trump, even though the two men do not like each other.
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