The Colonel's Forum

Some friends got me curious about income taxes this week. I suggested that anyone who doesn't like Obama could send me any tax breaks he delivers for them. The response I got was "I'll give you Obama's tax break money if you'll pay for the tax increases that will follow." The implication of course is that Obama will eventually raise taxes. This got me to wondering - are tax hikes inevitable? Is it written somewhere that all Democrats raise taxes and all Republicans lower them? Do taxes always increase over time? Here's what I found: When income taxes were first introduced (1913), the rich paid 7%, the poor paid 1%. Today the rich pay 35%, the poor pay 10%. The highest rates (and biggest gap) were in 1945 when war time increases had the rich paying 94% and the poor paying 23%. My own opinion after learning this is that any tax proposal that does not return us to the 1% and 7% 1913 rates is complete BS. I was trying to see if Democrats or Repub...

I've been fortunate this year to have already visited some of my favorite places - San Francisco, Chicago, and New Orleans. There are things about each of those three cities that I like to think will be with me all my life. To me, there's just something about a great city that inspires. Our most recent trip was New Orleans for Mardi Gras, of course. We took some rookies with us who were great sports and let us drag them all over creation trying to cram in 200 activities in 4 days. The trip was a blast, and the only bad part was not being able to fit in everything we wanted to do. But then again that just gives us an excuse for a follow-up trip. With all the talk of economic doom and gloom these days, I feel badly for people who have nothing to look forward to in life. I was thinking about this while we were on the Golden Gate bridge and we saw these signs. An average of 19 people jump off that bridge every year, and that's just the ones they "recover." Most...

I think it's just a funny word. The idea sounds good - that our government should give the economy a swift kick in the rear to snap out of this recessionary trend. How does taking out more debt help us though? I read the Economist every week, and I still can't make sense of it. And whether Obama wants to admit it or not, there is clearly some pork in the $787 billion spending bill that passed. One thing which has not made much news but I am putting in the "it's about damn time" category is recovery.gov - the government's web site where you can track how they're spending your money. Why have we not had this before? I've argued for years that if Americans were forced to write Uncle Sam a check every month for the tax money coming out of our paychecks, that government accountability would be MUCH better than it is. Of course that's not practical, but hopefully you get my point. I give the government more in taxes every month than I pay on my ...

In case you were wondering what an ice storm can do to a tree, here's a close up view. The sun came out today after about 4 days of cold and ice. The official weather report says we only got .5 inches of ice, but I think this picture tells a different story, especially when you consider the ice has been melting for almost 24 hours at this point.

The day has finally arrived. I watched today's inauguration in Plainfield, IL which is just outside Chicago. I know that nothing huge has changed in my personal life today, but still I feel a sense of relief. There is no longer an idiot in the Oval office. No more inventing words. No more giving everyone in the executive branch stupid nicknames like "Condi" and "Brownie." I hope this also means an end to bad intelligence (i.e. "Iraq has WMD so we need to invade..."), but that's probably asking too much. I do know for a fact that neither Obama's campaign or his inauguration were funded by unions, corporations, or special interest groups, and I know the same could not be said for "W." To me this means that at least our next President can start his first day in office tomorrow without feeling like he owes anything to anyone except the millions of citizens who voted for him. It's a shame that this is such a radical concept. ...

The holidays are always a challenge for me. This is primarily because I'm a real Grinch about Christmas, but I also recognize that it's important to spend time with friends and family celebrating all that I have to be thankful for. New Years and my birthday just remind me that I'm older, so that can be a drag too. So I guess I really like Thanksgiving the most. This season was more or less like others in the recent past. Travel to Carmel, Asheville, spend time in Lexington with our friends here... This year included a trip to Kansas for my cousin Tim's wedding. We would've preferred that it was in Miami, but what can you do. They're a beautiful couple and it's great to see his life coming together so well. A few more weeks of training and they'll put his name on a Cobra helicopter and ship him to North Carolina. Sadly, that also means he's also that much closer to getting shipped off to "Afghani-Paki-really-really-bad" or wherever ...

Let me cut straight to it.  Tony de Movellan throws one helluva Christmas party.  It may be the only Christmas related thing I look forward to each year.  Technically, it's Ella's office Christmas party, but this thing is so far from any stereotypical office Christmas party that you wouldn't believe it.  Some people at this thing I only see once a year, but they're all Realtors so they all remember me!  Tony and his wife Barbara always pick a wonderful meal (roast pork this year) and buy a few cases of good Spanish wine.  Tony actually apologized to me this year because he forgot to specify the vintage and they gave him "this awful '05 stuff."  Yeah Tony - people were complaining all night about the junky Spanish wine you were serving.  He then proceeded to break out a bottle of the '04 for me to sample, which was significantly better, but lets keep in mind that the 5% of invitees in the "oenophile" category were happy regardless.   Bob and D...

I'm noticing a trend in Des Moines weather. URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 414 AM CST MON DEC 8 2008 ...WINTER STORM CONDITIONS LATE TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY TUESDAY... .LOW PRESSURE WILL DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL PLAINS AND MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL MISSOURI AND THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THE SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A MODERATE TO HEAVY AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS CENTRAL IOWA. THE SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTHERN IOWA AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY MORNING. FARTHER SOUTH THE PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN AS RAIN BEFORE THE TRANSITION TO SNOW...WITH A BRIEF PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE DURING THE TRANSITION. INCREASING NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCED VISIBILITY AND GREATLY HAMPER TRAVEL CONDITIONS LATER TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. EXPECT THE BLOWING SNOW TO CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS EVEN AFTER THE SNOW ENDS TUESDAY AFTERNOON. Sounds like another great week t...

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA 610 AM CST WED DEC 3 2008 ...WINTER WEATHER EXPECTED TODAY... .A STRONG UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO CENTRAL IOWA TODAY. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER NORTHWEST IOWA AND WILL GRADUALLY INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES INTO CENTRAL IOWA THIS MORNING. SNOW WILL THEN INCREASE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL IOWA BY MID TO LATE MORNING. IN ADDITION... NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH CAUSING BLOWING SNOW. This is what I woke up to today. Obviously, I'm still working in Des Moines. It's actually a really nice town, but the weather here is awful. Thankfully there is a massive system of sky-walks downtown that connect all the major buildings. Most importantly, they connect the Marriott where I'm staying to the Principal offices where I work. Nice. The city of Lexington is after me again for yet another piece of fence that's apparently mine and is definitely falling down. We fixed o...

It's taken a while for it to sink in that we're finally getting a new President.  I know we have an election every 4 years, and I know that you're only allowed to serve 2 terms as President, but somehow I just expected Dick Cheney to define a new position of "Supreme Leader" or something like that to allow "W" to rule indefinitely.  All signs indicate this is not the case though, and that Barack Hussein Obama will be sworn in as our next President in January.  Even though I still don't know what Gore or Kerry would've done, I think I'll always regret having voted for "W" twice.  The tax breaks were nice, but was it worth it now that I have to take my shoes off every week at the airport? Oh yeah, and I'm tired of people not using his middle name.  We use middle names when we talk about our Presidents, and I think it's stupid to not use his just because it was (unfortunately) shared with Saddam.  The name Hussein is probably l...

I've started a new project this week, this time in Des Moines Iowa. Hey, it's better than Findlay, Ohio. The people here are great and there's even a [fancy] Marriott hotel downtown. Plus everything downtown is connected via skywalks so you can avoid the cold wind that rips through town. Ella and I recently completed our run on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our timing was great and the weather was excellent. Let me just say that road trips take on a whole new dimension in a Porsche Boxster. We took some hikes, saw some waterfalls and historic sites, and spent 3 days relaxing with the top down. It was wonderful. At Ella's request, we have also picked up a sister for Tobi at the Woodford Humane Society. We haven't named her yet, but she's an Australian Kelpie Shepherd mix. Looks like a miniature german shepherd. I'm still deciding how I feel about having two dogs, but I have to admit that I think it was a wise move. Tobi was getting tired of laying around...

It's finally starting to cool down here in Lexington, and the leaves are starting to turn. Fall has always been my favorite season, and here in Lexington there is much to enjoy. We've started tailgating for UK football games again, which is a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. UK is on the lower end of the SEC spectrum, but last year they beat LSU so you never know what might happen. Fall also means racing season at Keeneland. This is another excellent way to spend an afternoon. We've got family and friends coming into town every weekend. As an added bonus this fall, Ella and I have purchased a roadster. After much searching, many test drives, and a lot of patience, we found the perfect road-trip car. Pictured here is our "new-to-us" Porsche Boxster. Yes, it's as fun as it looks. We bought it with 9,000 miles on it, and we plan to put a great many more on it. The first trip we've planned is a run on the blue ridge parkway after our Keenel...

This is the Marine Corps' AH-1W "Super Cobra" attack helicopter. It's an impressive piece of hardware. It carries all kinds of weapons, and is typically used for close air support. My cousin Tim tells me "everything we do is based on supporting the Marine on the ground with a gun." In the next 30 days, the Marine Corps will hand Tim the keys to one of these bad boys and teach him how to do just that. Between now and then, Tim gets to attend SERE training. That's Survive, Escape, Resist, Escape training. Sounds like not a lot of fun, but compared with other things he's done, I'm sure he'll do fine. I attended Tim's winging ceremony this weekend and it was a real eye opener into the life of a Naval Aviator. In short, I am amazed at what these guys do, and so far they've only been in training helicopters. They learn the basics of flight in a T-34 airplane, then they fly the "mighty sea ranger" bell trainer helicopters...

OK, so it's been a while since I've posted here. Like you people don't have better things to do. Frankly, I have little if anything to report. I've been bored out of my skull for about a month now. Nothing new at work, nothing new at home. We've got about 6 projects that should kick off any day now, but that's been the case for two months. I'm officially an HP employee now. The only change that affects me so far is that the HP travel policy does not allow anyone to fly business class, ever. Looks like I won't be returning to Europe any time soon. I got in a minor car accident that could've been a major one. Ella sold a couple more houses. The two major presidential candidates are still lying to us, and lying about each other. The "decider" is still making awful decisions. August 16th marked a full TWO YEARS that the homeland security threat level has been at "orange" for airports. I'm off to Pensacola today for ...

Nothing to report on the job front. Our merger is supposed to be complete in the coming weeks, but I'm not sure if I'll even notice a difference. I'm still hoping to get out to San Diego. Frank is optimistic we'll start a project out there in the coming weeks as well. After the Amsterdam trip got canceled, I'm not keeping my hopes up. Ella and I toured some downtown lofts this week. It was great to see how downtown Lexington is growing. Some of the places even reminded me of old town Chicago. Of course, Lexington downtown doesn't even have a grocery store, let alone a Red Head Piano Bar, so I don't see myself plunking down $300K to move down there anytime soon. Got to visit my cousins last week who are back from Jakarta, Indonesia where they spent the past two years. They are quite happy to be home and will be returning to school this fall. They range in age from 7-15 so it was quite an adventure for them spending two years over there. My cousin Ev...

It's been in the 90s here for a few weeks now and I'm pretty much done with the heat. All the landscaping we did seemed like a good idea until now we have to water it several times a week so it doesn't all die from the heat. Went to Ikea a few weeks back and picked up a new rail-light system for the kitchen. Ikea is a great store. We even had dinner there - Swedish meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce, of course. At $4.99/plate, we may be dining there more often. Ella went to her 2nd Buffet concert of the summer this weekend. Drove to Chicago with 3 girlfriends to see it. Kris and I went to the Horseshoe casino in southern Indiana last night and cleaned up at the craps table. It was Kris' first time playing craps, and it was great little road trip. Boston and Styx are in concert there tonight. Can't say I'm missing much there. Last week, for the 2nd time in my life, I missed a flight. I checked in on time, but the security line at San Jose air...

This is arguably one of the most important news stories in recent memory and I doubt it will get the press coverage it deserves. It's not the kind of catchy McNews that CNN can easily dilute into a 30 second spot. It requires an understanding of how our government works and how we've handled "police actions" and "armed conflicts." A bipartisan committee led by Jim Baker and Warren Christopher has concluded that we don't have an effective policy that specifies how the President and Congress need to work together when the President determines that we need to engage in an armed conflict somewhere . History buffs will recall that the last time Congress declared war was June 5, 1942, when we declared war against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. Since then we have had a lot of cases where the President just sent troops to go fight somewhere: Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm (Iraq I), Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), Iraqi Freedom (Iraq II), Panama, Grenada, Kos...

I know it seems a bit silly for a 30 year old to be talking about growing old, but I am, and I've been reminded of this be several recent events. First, I attended the 30th birthday of a good friend here in Lexington, which reminded me that I've already celebrated my 30th. Second, we're making plans for Mardi Gras next year where we will celebrate another friend's 30th and for a cruise that will take place during Ella's 30th. Tonight I was watching Cream perform "In a White Room" during a 2005 concert at the Royal Albert hall and I was thinking "why are all the rockers that I like so old?" It looked like some kind of geriatric hoe-down on stage. Neil Young, Willie Nelson, BB King, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan - these guys are all older than dirt. I was waiting for Clapton to ask "where's my apple sauce?" I offered my cousin some grape Nehi and Everclear today for the anniversary of her 29th birthday (I won't say which anniversary)...

I got a new computer. Actually , EDS has leased a new computer which I get to use, but whatever. It's a Dell D430 and it's easily the nicest laptop I've ever had. It's an ultra-light which is great for taking on business trips, and it's screaming fast. Now if only it were an apple instead of a Windows machine... My best friend Joe is buying a house . The details are not finalized, but it'll most likely be a town home on the northeast side of Indianapolis. I couldn't be happier for the guy. I'm going to Amsterdam . Apparently we do a lot of work for ABN AMRO - a big Dutch bank. It's a 8-9 week project and I'm really looking forward to it. This week they banned smoking in the Netherlands with the exception of marijuana. Seriously. Hopefully I'll get to fly over there on KLM - a proper airline. I get to fly over there business class too. EDS may be one of the last companies that still allows its employees to fly business class on ...

Ella and I are sitting in Hernando's Hideaway (the gazebo on our deck) this evening, listening to the 2 hours of New Orleans music that plays on Sirius channel 70 every Saturday night. We decided that we could come up with a pretty good list of things that one ought to do if one were seeking a slice of Americana. Here it is: Spend a Mardi Gras weekend in New Orleans, to include: Thursday night at the Rock-n-Bowl and Kermit Ruffins at Vaughan's , Friday plantation tour and an airboat ride on the bayou, Saturday parades and an evening at the Tropical Isle . Spend a Spring Saturday at Keeneland - ideally Bluegrass stakes weekend. Start the day with a tour of Woodford Reserve distillery, one of the better producers of "America's Native Spirit." Spend a Friday night on Broadway in Nashville. Spend a Saturday night in Chicago at Buddy Guy's and the Redhead Piano Bar Visit Phillip's harborplace crab house in Baltimore with some friends. Order stea...