North American Patriot: The Real True Honest Fair and Balanced Difference Between the Obama and McCain Tax Plans
Its not so much the difference in tax policy that is astounding ... its the fact that they actually include people who earn more than $2,870,000 per annum.
Who actually earns that kind of money and doesn't have a full time tax accountant to reduce their liability to zero through dodgy tax minimisation and avoidance schemes??
LOL
Death Penalty Caveat
An article on the death penalty and interesting commentary from readers led me to state:
The death penalty is final - what happens when we get the verdict wrong? How many innocent lives can we justify as the means to the end?
The only way I would accept the existence of capital punishment is if juries, prosecutors and judges were also given the death penalty if it was found that they'd convicted (and thus murdered) the wrong person.
With that caveat I doubt anyone would be game to take the chance.
The death penalty is final - what happens when we get the verdict wrong? How many innocent lives can we justify as the means to the end?
The only way I would accept the existence of capital punishment is if juries, prosecutors and judges were also given the death penalty if it was found that they'd convicted (and thus murdered) the wrong person.
With that caveat I doubt anyone would be game to take the chance.
What Lies Beyond the Activism?
Featured in The West Australian, Saturday 4 October 2008 pg14. This is the unedited version - italicised areas differ from the printed version.
Taking the opposing view of a high profile group, such as Pride WA, is always fraught with danger. And if, as the devil's advocate, you happen to be an out (and proud) activist for human rights, questioning the validity of Mardi Gras' poorer and impotent WA cousin is likely to inspire a gay fatwa.
Religion and ice-breaker aside, this debate is about whether the Pride Parade still offers any significant purpose in a modern society that has largely redeemed itself of a torrid, but relatively short-lived, history of fear and hatred towards non-heterosexual citizens.
During the last few decades of activism, lobbying, community consultation and legislative debate, Pride was one of a handful of necessary tools used to highlight the cause of homosexuals (bisexuals and trans-folk were forgotten for many years) and sway public opinion. To this end the successive committees achieved their purpose and the battle was won.
Today, just a few years after the first parade in 1990, we have sexual and gender equality exceeding other states and beyond what most countries could hope to achieve in a similar time frame.
Even the current Premier, who vehemently opposed the 2002 legislation that transformed our state, is unwilling to water down this advancement. What is done is done; we now move forward as a progressive and respectful society.
This year Pride has donned the tag-line of "re-invention". And it is timely that it do so, just as a teenager must eventually lose the unruliness and loutish nature of its youthful exuberance in favour of a more cultured, mature and civil interaction with a diverse society.
The question for Pride, once famed for attracting a six figure audience to witness political parody, is what lies beyond the activism?
Sydney's internationally famous Mardi Gras has grown up from its protest roots to become a unique tourist drawcard that injects millions of dollars into the economy. Perth, due to its isolation and population, is incapable of achieving the same.
The Parade is waning, the after-party has retired to a nightclub, and Northbridge Fairday attendance has dropped significantly. Homophobic crimes are no more concerning than racial or religious inspired ones and the majority of our GLBT youth enjoy the company of their straight friends across venues without question.
Pride is in the sunset of its years. It deserves our respect and thanks, not our lifeline.
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