The Wandering Minstrel

The Better Half and I stopped at the local gun shop to pick up some .38 special +P JHP. This is the ammo she keeps in “Rosie,” her CCW revolver. She wanted to fire off the old rounds that have been in the cylinder for a long while. We didn’t have any on hand, so we stopped.

This box of Remington .38 Special (+P) was the last one on the shelf priced at $23 for 25 rounds. After tax, that comes out to a little over a buck per round. There were other boxes of identical ammo that were marked at $31 per box. The proprietor explained that I had the privilege of getting the last box at the “old” price. At the new price, I figure they will cost over $1.35 per round.

Our Turbo Tax 2011 CD arrived in the mail this week. We decided to get the tax early so that we can adjust the withholding for 2012 when the new year starts. We also want to know whether we need to make some adjustments to the 2011 year since there is still a month left to do charity and to pay property tax (yes, bummer - we still pay tax on our property in LA County).

I still have not loaded the Turbo Tax program on the computer but it will be in place this week. Meanwhile, I used the widget below to get a quick and dirty estimate. The usual caveats and disclaimers apply, so take the results with a grain of salt.

Unemployment has been at or above 9 percent nationwide, yet when presented with seventeen genuine job creating bills, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Douche - NV) says “Jam it” to the House of Representatives.

House Republicans have passed job-creating bills that are being stalled by Harry Reid and the Democrat-controlled Senate, who refuse to even bring the bills to the Senate floor for a proper vote. Senate Democrats refuse outright to work with their Republican counterparts to get jobs created.

Here is a list of the seventeen measures which would all have a positive effect on reducing unemployment and is being stalled by Reid and the Democrats:

1. H.R. 872—Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act
2. H.R. 910—Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011
3. H.J. Res. 37—Disapproving the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission with respect to regulating the Internet and broadband industry practices
4. H.R. 1230—Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act
5. H.R. 1229—Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act
6. H.R. 1231—Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act
7. H.R. 2021—The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011
8. H.R. 2018—Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011
9. H.R. 1315—Consumer Financial Protection & Soundness Improvement Act
10. H.R. 1938— North American-Made Energy Security Act
11. H.R. 2587—Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act
12. H.R. 2401—Transparency In Regulatory Analysis Of Impacts On The Nation
13. H.R. 2681—Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act
14. H.R. 2250—EPA Regulatory Relief Act
15. H.R. 2273—Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act
16. H.R. 2433—Veterans Opportunity to Work Act
17. H.R. 674—To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities

The preceding list of measures provided by Congressman Trent Franks (R - AZ).

It’s beginning to look like the Oobamination’s economic policies will bankrupt America. When will we see “Obamavilles” popping up?

From Fox Business News:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 635 points, or 5.6%, to 10,810, the S&P 500 tumbled 79.9 points, or 6.7%, to 1,119 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 174.7 points, or 6.9%, to 2,358. The FOX 50 sank 50.7 points, or 5.9%, to 814.

Volatility has been extremely high in recent trading sessions. The selloff over the past two weeks has been so furious in fact that “its force now rivals almost anything we’ve seen in the post war era,” according to Daniel Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG. The VIX, often referred to as a fear gauge, spiked 45% to a 52-week high.

The selloff was broad, with every major sector taking deep losses. In a sign of the depth of the selling, 98% of the volume on the New York Stock exchange was in declining shares. The Dow closed below 11,000 for the first time since October 2010, and every blue chip ended in the red.

What’s worse than a nine day market losing streak for the Obamination? A five percent negative “correction” in the major indices today.

How’s that good old Hope and Change Summer Recovery goin’? Straight to hell, I’d say.

From Fox Business:

The Dow plunged 513 points into correction territory in its worst percentage decline in more than two years, while the broader S&P 500 shed 4.8%, after anxiety over the economy sent traders racing out of stocks and commodities.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 513 points, or 4.3%, to 11,384, the S&P 500 tumbled 60.3 points, or 4.8%, to 1,200 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 137 points, or 5.1%, to 2,556. The FOX 50 tumbled 37.5 points, or 4.2%, to 864.

And the Joke Headline of the day: “Whitehouse pressuring [Secretary of the Treasury] Geithner to stay on the job to stabilize the market.”

C’mon 2012! Vote the assholes out.

Government guzzler . . .

I just finished the preparing our income tax returns today. It was the second year in a row that I had to file a complicated return. Last year, it was a partial working and partial retirement return and this year, it involves our departure from Kalifornistan and permanent relocation to Arizona. We had to file state income tax returns for both states. What a pain in the ass.

The good news is that next year it should be a no-brainer with a simple return like many we have filed in the past. The bad news is that I owe both states and the Feds a little money.

However, I didn’t have to resort to the Tom Daschle/Tim Geithner Alternative Tax form (not included with my copy of Turbo Tax as was the case with Tim Geithner’s copy before he was confirmed as the Treasury Secretary).

In July, we posted about this billboard along the side of US 60 in Wickenburg, AZ. The Wickenburg Ford dealer who sponsored the sign says that his political statement has resulted in generating more business for his dealership.

We have discussed replacing our SUV with a Ford or Lincoln from this dealership which is walking distance from our new house.

Clickable image courtesy of The Better Half

The Wickenburg Sun carried an article about the sign and its effects in today’s edition:

It wasn’t intended to generate business, but Jones Ford owner and general manager Brian Jones has been surprised by the responses his dealership has received from the quasi-political statement on a billboard clearly visible at the southeast end of town.

“We have received lots of calls thanking us for the billboard,” Jones noted. “One man who was driving through Wickenburg from Phoenix called to tell us that he really liked the billboard; that he will only buy Fords in the future; and that he plans to only buy them from us.”

The billboard and the property on which it stands, located adjacent to Big O Tires and across the highway from Bromm Auto Group, is owned by the Jones family. On the south side of the sign (visible to traffic coming into town from the Phoenix area), it simply states: “Dear Ford, Thank You For Not Taking The Bailout!”