States Consider GPS Tracking Cars to Levy 'Fairer' Gas Tax

At least 18 states are now considering bills to do just this, and Oregon has initiated a pilot program. CBS News reports, "The Oregon pilot programs seeks to demonstrate whether a per-mile tax is a practical possibility. The state is finding 5,000 volunteers to pay 1.5-cents-per-mile tax instead of the 30 cents-per-gallon gas tax. Devices will report their mileage to the state.

Consider this: The programs being suggested or tested to track your mileage involve installing a GPS tracking device to determine not just how far you go, but which roads you use, how fast you go, and whether or not you're a "good" driver, i.e., how fast you come up to stops.

In addition to Oregon, California is considering a mileage "fee" plan as well. Here again, as The Los Angeles Times reports, "Millions of vehicles also would have to be equipped with odometer readers, smartphone applications or global positioning technology that would transmit data to state officials or a contractor, who would then bill owners for the miles traveled. Privacy advocates are especially concerned that — in this era of data mining and well-publicized credit card breaches — the technology could be used to learn not only how far people go, but when and where." (read more)

Desmond Dekker

I love this. I wish it were longer. 

But you see, being Israelite means my wife and my kids they packed up and leave me. "Darling", she said, "I was yours to be seen." Poor me, the Israelite.

Oh, oh, the Israelites.

Is is facing the facts of life as they are. Not complaining. No. Describing. And that is why I like this so much. I want him to tell more of his story.

Harry Reid

Busted his face exercising.

I understand Reid was trained as a boxer. I read it somewhere. I respect that. It is odd.

But I must say, I've seen him in interviews with other people and he always seems like the smallest man on any given panel and his contributions to discussions seem petulant and feeble. Without sufficient interest to research his life I do wonder sometimes how a man this apparently shallow attained his authority if not through the magical machinations of party, if not without absence of ethics. Maybe "Las Vegas" answers all of that.

The group of co-bloggers at Ace of Spades were having a field day on Twitter challenging reporting of Reid being hurt by morning exercise. Again. The last time he injured himself running. These things have names, you know; bench press, bar, weights. Why so vague? They were having a good time suggesting he fell out of his sex sling.

Fight, fight, fight, Democrats are always fighting for something, anything, even to micro aggression, while accusing their opposite of maintaing a spirit for war, and simultaneously ignoring the wars their own leaders have dragged us into with no real intention of winning.

Music purchase made...

That is all.

"Please Be Kind"

Jane Monheit - Live at the Rainbow Room

Ellie Mae, done went passed away.

It breaks my heart. I was in love with Ellie Mae, from a distance, for she is way out of my league. She always did have the best critters, and her critters loved her as much as I did. I suppose in a way I was one of her critters. 

It seems to me this television show had absolutely perfect casting all around.

Nola.com for more on her story.

Goodbye, Donna Douglas, I will always love you.

Robert Lawrence killed by police for resisting arrest after refusing to produce I.D. after turning in a stray dog to an animal shelter.

The headline at the gateway pundit reads:

Unarmed White Man Killed by Alabama Police; No protests, No Riots, No National Media.

See, now that's just provocative.

Robert Lawrence had a troubled past. Already several run-ins with the law. He already had legal representation, already lost custody of his children, already had a giant chip on his shoulder. Apparently, he flipped out when asked for I.D. when turning in a stray dog.

Commenters latch onto the obvious immediately. "What, you need an I.D. to turn in a stray dog but you do not need an I.D. to vote for president of United States?"

Now, why would you be required to produce an I.D. to turn in a stray dog? I suppose because it might not be a stray dog. It might be stolen property. Turning in a treasured pet as a stray might be an act of vengeance. There are real world possible reasons why an I.D. is requested. Requested or demanded, we do not know from the information available. We only know the police were called due to Lawrence creating a disturbance. We only know Lawrence was first tased to no affect and then shot resisting arrest.

But we must acknowledge we do live in the preverbal *German accent* "Show me your papers" world. We do. Our comic book childhood play-line is present day reality. When a policeman says, "Show me your I.D" you had better show it. Or, I suppose, explain levelly why you do not have your I.D. on your person at that moment. But do not go banging on about being a "sovereign citizen."

But why not? Why is it fatally illegal to bang on about being a sovereign citizen? Why is it fatal to make a huge unnecessary public fuss? (My own sister would be well dead several times over.)

Comments at the site are interesting.

"cancer... It's the best way to die, says top doctor"

"Dr Richard Smith says it may be a ‘romantic view’, but cancer gives people a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, which is denied to many who die from other conditions."

He says most people tell him they would prefer a sudden death, but he thinks that is very hard on the families of the deceased.

‘The long, slow death from dementia may be the most awful as you are slowly erased, but then again when death comes it may be just a light kiss,’ he says.

‘Death from organ failure – respiratory, cardiac, or kidney – will have you far too much in hospital and in the hands of doctors.

‘So death from cancer is the best...

‘This is, I recognise, a romantic view of dying, but it is achievable with love, morphine, and whisky. But stay away from overambitious oncologists, and let’s stop wasting billions trying to cure cancer, potentially leaving us to die a much more horrible death.’

Uncle Junior gives Tony the bad news.

Starfishy night

KLEM FM

Happy New first of all!

I spent a portion of last night watching "Classic Albums--Fleetwood Mac--The Making of Rumours." Netflix doesn't stream it, apparently, so I got it the old fashioned way via DVD disc. But if you can tune out the French, you can watch it for free on YouTube here.

We all always knew about the circumstances of the making of "Rumours" -- the making and breaking of relationships -- and this is the retrospective source for all that. All of the band members survived and matured over the years (the documentary is 18 years old (1997) and covers events 20 years earlier). Last I checked, they were all still alive so perhaps it's time for an updated version. The original Fleetwood Mac had its origins in the Rolling Stone age of rock, but the highly balanced male/female version came together 40 years ago which is within living memory.

As in the other editions of this series, each song's story is told and I have to admit coming away with more respect for Stevie Nicks than before. I went in with highest regards for Christine McVie and the storytelling didn't disappoint. Her beautiful song "Songbird" is reprised:

Link

Was this the original version of the "miffed missive with a message for men" that Adele and Cher cobbled onto much later? I think yes but without the knife-twisting. There was something kinder and gentler about the 1970s.

"Americans are in an unusually good mood — all the time"

"Americans are more upbeat about their days than people in most rich countries, new data from Pew Research Center’s annual Global Attitudes survey suggest."

Pew surveyors typically ask respondents how their day is going as a first question in order to start a conversation and help the respondents become more comfortable with the interviewer. In the process, however, Pew has gathered a massive amount of data on how people in different countries say their day is going...

Pew doesn't speculate on the reasons for these trends, but it's likely they depend both on how respondents feel and how comfortable they are with telling a stranger they're having a bad day. Whatever the reason, Americans come off as atypically cheerful.

"Santa has trouble gearing down for the off-season"

 Cartoon via Andrew Malcolm

"Steve Scalise did not address a EURO conference. ... The conference was two-and-a-half hours later"

Excerpts from The Times Picayune...

Knight said Scalise, then a state representative, spoke to the civic association and was probably unaware the EURO conference was being held in the same room later that day. Knight and Scalise primarily knew each other as neighbors and not through politics necessarily, Knight said.

"The conference wasn't going to start until 1 p.m., so I decided to have the members of the civic association there Saturday morning," he said, "My relationship with Steve Scalise was as a neighbor. I don't know that Steve Scalise and I ever talked about politics."

He also is quoted saying: "Steve came in early on the first day of EURO, spoke for about 15 minutes, and he left."

Knight described the crowd as a "mixed" audience for Scalise, "people who are concerned about the survival of their race." He added: "The thing is, I don't think Scalise knew anything about EURO, about that latter group."

Knight said Wednesday that the Post reporter didn't get story right.

"I told him the same story I am telling you," he said.

For her part, Noble said she was not a member of the civic association, but was dating Knight and attended the civic meeting with him. She said Scalise addressed the neighborhood group, not EURO.

"He was just there to speak with his constituents," Noble said.

Via Instapundit.

From amazing photos of 2014, Earth viewed from Mars

Hey!

"Happy Year."