Since my previous post on the subject I’ve found a few more photos of winter in Moscow. Sadly, no Russian bears got into the photographer’s viewfinder, but rest assured, the bears are there, probably in hiding or something.
Now that the ETAX got extended for at least another 5 years, Kansas City,MO won’t have to scramble to find alternative sources of revenue for some time. While I am clearly not a supporter of the Etax and have outlined my reasoning in multiple posts and comments, I think that the City and its residents should spend the next 5 years making the Etax more palatable to the non-residents (and even themselves) who currently contribute 40% to 50% of it.
1.Dial down the hate and resentment.
Whatever you might think of Johnson County (ironically not the only county who contributes the Etax,but the one which gets the most hate), it is the source of a large part of KCMO revenues, both in the form of Etax and various economic and philanthropic activities. Johnson Countians and other non-residents contribute by spending on food and entertainment, patronizing P&L district, Plaza, Sprint Center, other venues that you are so proud of. Additionally, multiple sponsorships and contributions come from the other side of the State Line to support the arts and causes based in Kansas City. Sprint center carries the name (and sponsorship) of an Overland Park,KS company, and the major benefactor and the Chairwoman of the Center for the Performing Arts lives in Mission Hills. There is a significant number of Friends of the Zoo, Nelson-Atkins sponsors, theater supporters who live outside the KCMO. I don’t even have to mention the Chiefs and Royals fans, who pay for the tickets, parking and every logo item they can get their hands on. You don’t have to like us, but you might consider stifling yourselves a little.
So we made it another year, which went by so fast it didn’t even pause for the end of the world. Apparently I have a habit of writing nostalgicretrospectiveposts around this time of the year, and this being the fifth year of this here blog they are all starting to look the same; even the photos have been posted before. I’ll be brief for a change.
Here I stand in 1976, barely 7 years old, not knowing that even 36 years later this is the biggest and the only beard I will ever have. I don’t even know what 36 years feels like. I can’t yet say to my friend “I’ve known you for 39 years.”, or “It’s been 15 years since we talked face-to-face.” I guess that’s why I am smiling.
Odessa, Ukraine. 1976
On January 1st, I will wake up after 2 hours of sleep, with a headache and a hangover and my only New Year Resolution will be not to do this ever again; I know that’s not going to stick.
I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope you are better at Resolutions than I am and everything you wish for comes true. And if we find ourselves at the bottom o a fiscal or whatever else cliff, I hope there is a lot of alcohol down there.
And now we dance – Kola Beldy – I will take you to the tundra:
An interesting article in 1966 Popular Mechanics describes potential ways of disarming an orbiting H-Bomb. A manned spacecraft would be dispatched to the potential offending satellite and disable it by the most unimaginative of ways – cutting off its antenna.
Obviously nothing like this have ever transpired (as far as we know) but the seriousness of the article makes it a nice read.
