I was on Yahoo Answers the other day and someone asked a question about the locatoin of Israel and if it was located in Europe if it would alleviate the problems in the Middle East.
"What if after ww2 the allies took part of Germany and turned it into a Jewish Home land instead of in the? Middle East would this have made much of a difference today"
This was my answer.
"I doubt it. Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people so that alone gives them the right to be there. The biggest problem in the Middle East is the one that Western leaders are ignoring; Islam tends to be a violent religion and has a history of preying on other cultures, especially when they consider those other cultures to be weak or lead by weak leadership. The first line of the US Marine Hymn, "...to the shores of Tripoli" recounts when Jefferson sent a contingent of Marines and Navy ships to North Africa to stop the Islamic pirates from kidnapping our merchant sailors whose only "crime" was not being Muslim. The Crusades of the Middle Ages were called on by the Pope to protect Christians living and traveling to the Holy Land who were also under attack by Muslims just because they were not Muslim. Unlike Christianity which was spread despite violence; Islam was spread through violence. Those big Mosques you see in Turkey; Israel and other places are built as Victory Mosques over the original (usually Christian or Jewish) religious sites. The Golden Dome was built on top of the Cathedral at Constantinople (the holiest place of the Eastern Orthodox church); The Dome of the Rock was built on the ruins Solomon's temple (the holiest place in Jewish tradition) A lot of the bloodshed in North Africa is Muslim violence against the black Christians who are also being kidnapped and sold into slavery (yes slavery exists in Islamic states). Until the Islamic fundamentalists stop considering the rest of us to be lesser humans there will be violence wherever they are."
Apparently this is a violation of Yahoo's terms of use because it was "insulting" to someone. I guess the truth about a history of violence and slavery just because someone doesn't agree with you; hurts when you are trying to pretend you are the religion of peace.
Email exchange between me and the Communist Mayor of Baltimore
As a student of finance with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, I can assure you that your plan to increase the cost of doing business in the city will not increase revenues as you claim below. In fact, they will decrease revenues just as Governor O’Malley’s millionaire’s tax did. You see, most people will try to get the most for their dollar and if they have to drive to Baltimore County in thecase of the beverage tax; or leave the state in the case of the millionaire’s tax, they will. This means that not only will you not get the beverage tax, you will also lose out on the sales tax charged on any taxable items in the purchase. In addition to this loss, the owner will lose revenue from repeat customers and will be forced to lay off employees in the process. Because of that you will lose Baltimore’s share of the state income tax for the now terminated employees and the store. This may drive the store owner out of Baltimore City and possible the state thanks to the aforementioned millionaire’s tax. This will cause the city and state to lose all of the corporate taxes associated with a Maryland business, property taxes, et al and give the city yet another vacant building collecting dust. Those stores who stay in business with a reduces customer base will be forced to raise their taxes. The only people who will actually be hurt are those who cannot afford leave. So in reality, you are actually raising taxing those residents who are poor and living paycheck to paycheck.
If you really are concerned about helping the city become revitalized, perhaps you should talk to former NYC Mayor Rudi Giuliani who managed to revitalize a much bigger city that was is a similar situation some time ago. Or perhaps you can take a page from the President Regan/Milton Friedman economic strategy of lowering taxes in order to bring in businesses. It worked great in the 80’s; it will work great now. There is no reason why Baltimore, with its strategic location and storied history needs to be this close to the edge of despair but then again, they once said the same thing about Rome. The Caesars ignored the warning signs and the history, will you?
Also, why is it that Baltimore Mayors always decide to cut the police, fire department and other areas you are actually supposed to take care of, yet the parties seem to get bigger and bigger every year? Perhaps we need a mayor who understand what most families do. You first fund the necessities and if there is anything left over, then you fund the entertainment.
Bruce
Baltimore, MD
From: Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake [mailto:mayor@baltimorecity.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 1:34 PM
To: BRUCE NOWAKOWSKI
Subject: RE: A new beverage tax hurts those who can least afford it
Dear Mr. Nowakowski:
Thank you for your email regarding Baltimore City’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget and the proposed beverage tax, which I shared with the Director of Finance and senior staff. I appreciate the concern you have for the future of our city, and I thank you for taking the time to share your concerns and suggestions with me. Your opinion is important to me, and I hope that you will carefully consider and support my Comprehensive Plan to address this unprecedented fiscal crisis. All public comments will be individually reviewed as we move through the annual budget process.
An Historic Challenge:
Together, we face the worst fiscal crisis in the City’s modern history. Due to the Great Recession, our revenues have been hit hard while costs continue to grow. The gap between the cost of maintaining services and our expected revenue is an unprecedented $121 million.
$121 million is equal to half of the police force, the entire firefighter force, or the combined budgets of Health, Housing, Libraries, and Recreation & Parks. It is equal to a 36 cent increase in the property tax rate. If we don’t act to reform Police and Fire Pensions, the deficit will explode to $185 million. The City’s major revenue declines and cost increases include:
Highway User Revenue (HUR), which funds road repair and resurfacing, is down more than $100 million (45%) since Fiscal 2007, including $60 million taken by the State to balance its Fiscal 2010 and 2011 budgets.
Income Tax revenue has fallen nearly $31 million (12%) since its peak in Fiscal 2008 due to continued high unemployment.
The City’s pension contributions and employee retiree healthcare costs have increased by $28.3 million and $23.3 million, respectively, over last year. Without legislation to reform the Fire and Police Retirement System, pension costs alone would grow by another $64 million.
Cutting Costs First:
In order to confront this fiscal crisis, we need to do what families are doing everyday: be realistic and honest about what we can afford and focus funding on core services that produce results. City government must tighten its belt and get more value for every single tax dollar. I started this process first by cutting the Mayor’s Office Budget by more than 10%, including a 13% reduction in salary expenditures.
For the first time this year, the City established a new “Outcome Budgeting” process in which City agencies competed for every dollar based on measurable results and efficiency. Outcome Budgeting promotes innovation and accountability. Priority is given to targeted, evidence-based services.
To preserve as much funding as possible for direct services to citizens, my budget will include $36 million in general savings by extending the Fiscal 2010 furlough plan, freezing pay increases, and implementing a new prescription drug employee cost-sharing plan. These savings ask much from our hardworking City employees, but will prevent the abolishment of up to 700 positions.
Making Tough Choices:
Even after tightening our belt, without some additional revenue, the City faces the prospect of closing seven fire companies, laying off sworn police officers, grounding police helicopters, shuttering dozens of recreation centers and swimming pools, slashing street repair and resurfacing, and abolishing 941 positions, 606 of them currently filled, according to the Preliminary Budget.
Some of the cuts we would be forced to make are simply unacceptable, especially those to police, fire, recreation, infrastructure, and health. We didn’t create this problem, but we have to solve it and do what is right for Baltimore.
A Way Forward:
To address this historic crisis, I developed a Comprehensive Plan to balance the City’s budget without drastically cutting essential city services or raising property taxes. The Comprehensive Plan would close the $121 million budget deficit with roughly $70 million in spending reductions (60%) and $50 million in new diversified revenue (40%) to fill critical service gaps outlined in the Fiscal Year 2011 Preliminary Budget. The Comprehensive Plan, including individual revenue proposals, requires City Council approval.
The primary objectives of the Comprehensive Plan are:
Restore critical service gaps in public safety, infrastructure, recreation, and health.
Avoid real estate tax increases on city homeowners and businesses.
Balance the burden among residents, non-residents, businesses, and non-profits.
Provide citizens choices to avoid new taxes and promote environmental goals.
Prevent up to 355 layoffs.
The Comprehensive Plan will balance the City's budget, fully fund our obligation to public schools, maintain every single police officer and firefighter, reduce fire company closures, keep all community libraries open, and fund afterschool programs. A smarter, more efficient government and a diversified revenue stream will put Baltimore on sounder fiscal footing for years to come.
If all of the measures I am proposing are approved by the City Council, the following critical services that are currently underfunded in the Preliminary Budget will be restored by supplemental appropriations, with public safety, recreation, infrastructure, and health receiving top priority:
Public Safety
Fully restore sworn police positions and maintain funding for the aviation, marine, and mounted units.
Restore all fire suppression positions and reduce rotating fire company closures from four in Fiscal 2010 to three in Fiscal 2011.
Infrastructure
Restore funding to resurface 200 lane miles (65 more than Preliminary Plan) and maintain the current 48-hour pothole repair lead time. These services are critical to fix the damage caused by the historic snowstorms.
Recreation
Restore funding for recreation centers to the Fiscal 2010 level. All centers will remain open through the summer while a long-term recreation center plan is developed. Current recreation center funding is not sufficient to provide appropriate staffing, programming, and facilities at 55 locations. The goal of the long-term plan will be a smaller network of high-quality recreation centers that serve the entire City, with emphasis on neighborhoods with the highest concentrations of at-risk youth.
Restore funding to open all swimming pools for six to seven weeks.
Restore funding for twice-a-week trash collection in the parks, regular playground maintenance, and ball field preparation.
Restore funding for youth football, lacrosse, track and field, boxing, tennis, golf, and fishing.
Health
Restore funding for seven school-based health centers.
Restore case management services for 5,400 clients through Baltimore Healthcare Access, addiction services for 85 homeless adults, and full funding for the Staying Alive drug overdose intervention and needle exchange programs.
Restore the Senior Recreation Program.
Restore funding to the Fiscal 2010 level to maintain animal control officers and shelter services.
Other Services
Restore funding for vacant property demolition and stabilization.
Restore Youthworks funding to the Fiscal 2010 level, adding 250 job placements to the Preliminary Plan level.
Restore bulk trash pickup.
Restore 12 Special Traffic Enforcement Officers to cover special events and emergency needs.
Restore senior center staffing.
Restore 311 call center hours to the current level.
Restore public building maintenance.
These specific restorations total approximately $41.5 million and prevent up to 355 layoffs. I look forward to working with the City Council to determine how the additional $8 million in proposed revenue could be used most effectively. High on my list are important services that keep the city clean, including restoring graffiti removal crews, vacant property boarding and cleaning, mechanical street sweeping, and corner trash can collection, all of which are reduced in the Preliminary Budget.
Be Part of the Process:
Just like any family, a financial crisis of this magnitude has the power to rip us apart or bring us closer together. We must choose the constructive path of working together to fill these critical gaps in services to do what is necessary for our great city. Please work with me to address this unprecedented challenge.
The Comprehensive Plan requires City Council approval, and I need your support to protect our priorities and do what is right for Baltimore. Please contact your City Council member to share your thoughts as the budget process continues.
If the City Council approves the Comprehensive Plan, Baltimore can continue to make progress on core priorities, including public safety and public education, without raising property taxes. We can increase efforts to target Baltimore's most violent and dangerous criminals, reduce gun violence, and invest in smart crime-camera technology. We can reduce closures of fire companies to decrease response times. We can fully fund our City's obligation to public education. We can keep our community libraries open and fund afterschool programs that work. We can improve our network of recreation centers.
I've had the great honor of serving as mayor of Baltimore for just a few short months, and despite this unprecedented fiscal crisis, I know that Baltimore's best days are ahead. Baltimore will not be defined by crisis and cuts. We won't allow it. Instead, we will be defined by how we confront this crisis together, with honesty and shared sacrifice, so that our city can emerge better, safer, and stronger.
A fun flirt like you certainly doesn't rest on your laurels over the holidays. In fact, a go-getter like you usually cranks things up a notch. Not one to miss any social event of the season, you take advantage of the fact that everyone's gathering round to eat, drink, and be merry.
Whether you've got a long-time sweetie you want to meet under the mistletoe or are still looking for that special cutie to catch under the love branch, you know that keeping romance alive is what makes everything, especially the holidays, a little better. Pucker up!
The internet is great. Imagine ten years ago if I told you I was going to google you or asked to be in your yahoo you would have slapped me. Now it just means we are friends.
Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas! Like Father Christmas, you're a jovial, easygoing, people-person which puts you first in line, should the Man in the Red Suit ever retire. You're probably known for your generosity and good heart. And even if you don't have your own magic workshop, we'd guess there's plenty you do to put smiles on people's faces — every day.
So maybe you don't live in the North Pole, employ a team of elves, or shimmy down people's chimneys in the middle of the night (unless there's something we don't know.) Fact is, you seem to embrace the spirit and goodwill of the season not just during the holidays but also throughout the year. So keep at it, Santa! Your giving nature is idolized around the world.
Youre a loner. You prefer being alone as you think that it's 'safer' that way, because no one knows what you are really like. Sometimes you get considered weird or depressive by students... and sometimes teachers (so beware)
We don't even know where to start with a wild one like you. Your Christmas movie counterpart and you are truly two of a kind. Even total holiday disasters can't keep you down. When disaster strikes, you throw out that burned turkey and order pizza. You hit the road and have Christmas somewhere completely off the beaten path. Why not? An adventure is the best present you could get.
You're more than capable of being buttoned-down and responsible when you have to. Of course, you'd just rather not. But we have to ask: Are you sure you're not part of the Griswold family? Either way, it's going to be the most fun-filled old-fashioned family Christmas ever!
From an overbearing mother to a jealous brother, Everybody Loves Raymond brims with characters who make familiar family situations — like getting together for Thanksgiving dinner — much more memorable.
Even if you don't share the Barone family's dry delivery, you know how to find the funny in everyday life and appreciate the true eccentricities in those around you whether they're kin or not. You may make fun of family and friends — or roll your eyes at their antics — but at the heart of it, you've got a very loyal nature. It's probably why everyone loves you!
See you later, Alligator. We won't be catching much of you around the singles swamp. You tend to lurk below the surface at some of the most happening and trendy scenes around town. Being the savvy prowler that you are, you give yourself adequate time to observe and calculate before you make your devastating moves. Once you've located your target, your slow, suave approach is enough to hypnotize just about anyone.
Sure, you might look tough on the outside, but you know how to woo a potential mate with soft strokes and tender words. To you, romance is a subtle dance and you're willing to take your time with it. You ever so skillfully develop your next cunning move that's always so impossible to resist. You've got the ritual of romance down to a science, don't you?
The vampire is your monster match—the dentally endowed child of the night. This Halloween, take a nap during the day so you can make it from dusk 'til dawn. Like the "undead" themselves, you demonstrate eternal youth and an appetite for living that is contagious (no biting necessary). When the sun goes down, you have an uncanny sense of where to be and when to show up.
Even if you decide to strap on the udders and dress as a dairy cow, you still have a certain suave gracefulness that permeates even the silliest of costumes. Lay off the garlic and you'll have no trouble getting that special victim back to your coffin for a little nibble. Pace yourself Vampires, you're going to need to save a little energy for the day after. Dracula can't see his reflection in the mirror, but luckily, you can. So don't forget to freshen up a little after your Halloween weekend.
"I want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father." You must be a dreamer brimming with ambition, that's why your Star Wars type is Luke Skywalker. Like the farm boy-turned-Jedi Knight, you have the potential for greatness.
No matter what others may tell you, it's an inner voice that keeps you on the straight and narrow path to success. Just because you're the chosen one, doesn't mean you have to be a goody-goody. There's plenty of fire in your belly, especially when it comes to defending your family tree (even if you're not exactly sure who's who). But rest assured with your ability to see through to the truth, your answers will never be far behind.
You're a hard-core guy who knows what he wants and intends to get it. That's why your theme song is "Back in Black." Whether you're pumping iron, shooting pick-up hoops, or rounding up the boys for a night of havoc, AC/DC's metal classic is the perfect tune to get you fired up and blow your speakers out in the process. Your friends might think you're a little reckless sometimes, but you know where the limit is. If you're the loudest one in the room, or spill someone's drink with a fearless air guitar, it's nothing to be ashamed of. What's fun without a little mayhem thrown into the mix? So grab something leather, play drums on your desk, and yell at the moon. You've got some hell to raise and head banging to do. Let "Back in Black" accompany you to the edge and back.
Your color is black. The color of night. Serene and mysterious, black conjures up images of elegant evening gowns, dashing tuxedos, and gleaming limousines. Traditionally a symbol of success, black also represents power and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Not surprisingly, you tend to set challenging goals for yourself and do whatever it takes to achieve them — your strength of character is second to none. This unfaltering determination, along with your natural elegance, impresses people. But keep in mind that your personality might be intimidating to some. Try to temper your demanding side with a little softness — trust us, it won't kill you. Overall, though, black is the color of professionalism and achievement, which means it's clearly the color for you.
If you're dreaming about feeling deeply connected to the universe and to those around you, you're having dreams of Divine Inspiration. These involve situations in which you feel free of burdens or constraints, and you have positive relationships that don't hold you back. Having Divine Inspiration dreams mean that you're likely tapping into a sense of uplifting freedom and awe of the greater things in life. Common Divine Inspiration dreams are of flying, being surrounded by an intensely beautiful natural setting, or having a pleasurable physical connection with someone.
You are exciting, people want to fuck your brains out and you know it. Whether it's in an airplane or on the back of the bus, sex with you is always exciting.
You are a PeanutButter Cup. You are a smooth talker and everyone loves you! You are very friendly and have a great personality! You are sweet and easily pleased. You are happy and content with your life.
C'mon, was there any doubt your cartoon match would be South Park? If there's a boundary to cross, you're there. And you'll probably cross it twice. And then you'll do something kinda dirty to it. Not only are you usually the first to hear about breaking news, but you're almost always the first to make fun of it. Hot-button topics and cultural references? Nothing's off limits!
From the hottest trends to the latest scandals, you're a regular Jon Stewart — and equally as popular (well, almost). Way to make us respect your authoritay!
Who cares if it's real life or just fantasy? When you're on stage, you're in your own world. You give new meaning to the word dramatic, so this song is clearly the perfect pick. You might not always be in tune, but your main goal in life as well as on stage is to make everyone sit up and take notice. Of course, you also know when to let others have the spotlight, so nobody's going to accuse you of being (too much of) a showoff.
From blowout parties to office get-togethers, you love being the center of attention and have a flair for thrilling even the toughest audience. Luckily for everyone, you're also a ton of fun to have around and know just how to find the beat wherever you are. That's why you rock!
So maybe you've never had a face-off in Kitchen Stadium, but we'd guess that it's your knack for cooking improvisation that could top any competition. In cooking, as in life, you're probably very resourceful and able to make quick fixes with creative solutions. Whether it's taking an afternoon to search for hard-to-find ingredients or coming up with your own substitutions for an ingredient you don't have, you like exploring and discovering new things. To you, cooking is as much about the fun and challenge of spending time in the kitchen as it is about the finished product.
Sure, you like to eat, but you also enjoy everything that goes into getting that meal to the table. You may never end up in a cooking competition — it might not even be your style — but we'd guess you get a kick out of topping your own last meal — especially if you had to improvise along the way.