Back and Back again

Well, that was unexpected. I got a cold for the first time in TWO YEARS, and it played havoc with my schedule. So, I'm going to talk about a large number of things....

Small things:
1) The comics I was trying to sell on ebay did not sell. Dang. I've got over 100 of these things that I just want gone....if you're interested, email infinite_horizon@hotmail.com
2) Saw Daredevil for the first time when I rented it this weekend. The first hour was tight, focused, and interesting, but I thought the pacing got choppy after the park scene. Decent overall, but nothing to write home about.
3) Started my gym program this week in order to slim down and build some muscle...but I have to admit, the health nazis are kind of creepy. When I got in, the lady at the counter gave me a book by one of the founders or whatever. This is the type of behavior I normally associate with cults, but I smiled and well, I understand that it takes aggressive policies to make gyms work....and I suppose you have to be a little crazy to work at that sort of job.

Big Things:

-Rush Limbaugh: I visit his website on occassion, and I recommend that anyone with an interest in arguement structure or logic take a close look. It is so simple to deconstruct his arguements and half truths that it stuns me that he is seemingly so popular and powerful in the world of radio. My favourite? "the top 50% of wage earners pay 90.96% of the taxes". Now, on the surface this looks like a jarring fact, but here's what Rush isn't saying;

1) How much of the tax base does say, the top 2% of wage earners pay for? How about the top 15%? Unless you have a better breakdown of how the tax base is divided into the working population, and maybe actually values of money (how much does the top 12% pay?), a single fact does not a valid arguement make.
2) The term "wage earners" is open to some interpretation. Are we talking about salaried workers, people on comission? Do you count part-time workers, people on leave? What about those with deferred wages (i.e. stock benefits, options, etc.)? How are these people accounted?
3) In order to maintain the level of economic development, and national infrastructure that is necessary for society to work (and all the Republican rhetoric in the world doesn't change the fact that government is a neccesary tool to economic progress, and to ignore that is proof of the worst kind of economic stupidity), the "rich" would NEED to be the key tax contributors, otherwise you would not have the capital necessary for government programs such as education, or say, the military (you DO have to PAY for that, don't you?).
4) Does being in the top 50% of wage earners necessarily make you "rich"? What is the Average U.S. Salary again?
5) My understanding of the U.S. Tax code being what it is, isn't it based on HOUSEHOLD earnings as opposed to INDIVIDUAL earnings?
6) Don't the "Rich" have more items that would be taxable by virtue of its existence. If I own 12 cars and 3 yachts, shouldn't I be paying more in taxes than the guy with one car?

Just so you know, I'm not trying to be mean spirited, but I do want you see the fallacies in his reasoning. A half truth is the most dangerous kind of lie. And Rush, no offence, but you offer more half-truths than someone with your influence has a right to.

- Comic Reviews: JSA All-Stars #5 - OK, first, let me say that I'm a fan of James Robinson's superhero work, particularly Starman , and it was his work there that made me like the 40's character Hourman, and the truly neat way the traditional power fantasy inherent in the superhero was married to the much more relevant themes of addiction and heritage/tradition (coming from an Italian Roman Catholic background, tradition isn't a work, it is a LIFESTYLE). With this in mind, I liked Johns' take on this "new" Hourman in that one solo issue of JSA last year (the only Johns or JSA work I've gotten to this point, though I may get a TPB just to try it). That being said, this issue SUCKED SUCKED SUCKED. It was smarmy, sappy, and more overly-sentimental than your average episode of "Touched by an Angel". Ugh....that's it, no more impulse buying. I'll put up more reviews when I get my shipment of comics from the store out of town.

Michael