I dismissed Twitter lists as a toy at first – something interesting that would be made useful later by Client Software.

I was wrong.  Twitter lists matter NOW– regardless of client support.  They are both searchable and subscribe-able.  That makes them important.

Why?  Because companies own and cultivate “brands” – a personae.  And Twitter Lists may just disrupt that in interesting ways.

Example – it is fairly easy for me to find “lists” of companies I use (or compete against, or admire – whatever).  The point is – there is no longer such a thing as a “Corporate Twitter Persona”.  It is now the total of the personas of all of your employees.  For good or bad.

Now I am not following the corporate entity alone – I am watching everyone associated with the entity.

Your corporate brand is now affected by every person subscribed to, or added to a LIST about your brand.

This is a bit of a game changer.

It’ll take a different mindset.  Not sure it can be “managed”, but pretty sure it needs to be acknowledged.

“You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.  What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.  The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.  When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.  You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

I woke up early, which doesn’t always happen anymore.  I used to be up at 7 am no matter what.  Lately I’ve been staying awake much later than normal.  Call it part of my job.  But I love waking early.  My problem is that I also love staying awake until the wee hours of the morning

Anyway, this morning I woke to this drawing, emailed to me from my daughter.  She drew it on her Wacom tablet.

My daughter is always thinking of me.  She will make a great artist (and perhaps even a great wife and mother, should she decide to push her skill-sets) some day.   Love her to death.

Later my kids did the grocery shopping, and fixed me a wonderful meal, which they insisted we ate at the table together (at 18 and 20, my kids are rarely home for meals, much less eating together!).

My son has recently started cooking – and he has a knack for it.  Love him as well!

It was a wonderful day.

But not for everyone.

This conversation, which my friend Robert Scoble started, explains why.  Hard to enjoy this day when so much of the world is in pain.

If you can stomach it, here is the before and after photos of one father’s daughter on Father’s Day.  Don’t click if you are squeamish.  She was shot and killed while walking in a peaceful protest with her father.

I am proud that I served my country, and am inspired by all of those in Iran who are doing the same.  Sounds like a cliche, but freedom really isn’t free.

Ask Neda’s father.

Because we can’t ask Neda.

No embed for this, so I got to send you over here.  Worth the ten minutes.

Without going into my personal politics, because it just isn’t importnant. I am happy tonight.

And it doesn’t matter who I voted for – my actual vote may surprise you,

But I am happy – we have a chance to change the way we do politics in this country – and if Obama can deliver THAT to me, I’ll be happy.  If he cannot, then I will be VERY disappointed.

Now the real work begins – and I want Obama to succeed at the real work.  We all should.

I’m not interested in the “historic” aspects of this election – I don’t care that Obama is black.  I only care that he delivers.

Quickly.

And I’ll help him as I can, where I can, and when I can.  We all should.

I voted early with my son.  It was his first time voting (in a general election).  It was pretty cool.  I don’t recall my parents ever getting me thinking about, or involved in voting.  I assume they voted, but I don’t really know.

In any case, the ladies at the polling place announced my son as a first time voter, and gave him a round of applause.

Took us only 15 minutes from the time we left the house until we got back home.

Another parental duty fulfilled – and hopefully my son establishes a life-long habit of not just voting, but becoming an informed voter!

Today on Twitter I suggested that I am tired of all the political hate, and that I didn’t really care for either candidate, and that I wasn’t going to vote in the Presidential Election.  Mostly though, I don’t like either political party.

Neither are “people serving” – and both are “self-serving”.

I don’t know why this was received with such fanfair – especially by my ex-fellow panelists on NewsGang Live, a show I was “dis-invited” from tonight – simply because I stated that NOT voting is an option that might be realistic for people to consider – for MONTHS I have stated that I am a libertarian (with a small “L” – NOT a member of the party).  Actually, I was asked not to come on and talk about NOT voting.  Since it is prety much a political show (and Obama Rally) now, that basically means, “don’t show up”.

But why the hate?  Because I decided NOT to support Obama?  Sorry – that is MY decision – and I have as much right to Tweet about it as I do anything else, and as much of a right as anyone else has to Tweet in favor of their candidate.

But I did NOT accuse John McCain of being a traitor on Twitter today, and I did NOT call Palin a “bitch” on Twitter today – others did.  “Friends” of mine did.  I didn’t bash them.  I didn’t ban them from a show or suggest they have no business Twittering their opinions.  I didn’t even unfollow them. I DID react to them though – they made me realize that if you vote in this election based on HATE, you fail.  If you get others to vote based on HATE, you fail.

They just helped me decide that I didn’t like how politics works – and even, to some extent, how they are working politics.

So I won’t be on NewsGang Live anymore – which is fine.  I haven’t been on much lately anyway, and the last dozen times were just about politics – I enjoyed it more when it had a broader audience/subject matter.  I DID have a lot of fun on NGL though.

I’m really disappointed in the American political system, and how powerless we Americans feel to fix it.

Neither candidate is for “change” – they both just want “their version of change”.  Real change is drastic, and would destroy our two party ssytem – so they have no reason to “change” anything.

So I checked out of the ugly political debate, and I will check out of the election.  Sorry.  I have a right to.  And I have no obigation to vote for a candidate I cannot support, and in this election, I find little to like.

And don’t tell me I “have a duty” – I have served on Active Duty for this country and I have AT LEAST earned the right to not fucking vote for people I don’t fucking like – don’t you fucking think?

So be it. Hate me for not voting.  Hate your ass off.  I won’t hate you for it

But I was also accused of “voter suppression” which firstly, I think is a felony and thus a dangerous “McCarthyism-like accusation”, and second, is just *rude* to suggest.  I am NOT going to manipulate others into not voting, prevent people to attend the poles, etc, etc.  Just going to share my opinion that voting for a bad canditate isn’t any better for not voting for one at all.

Deciding NOT to vote, and even encouraging others NOT to vote is NOT voter suppression.  And I was persnally offended at the suggestion.  Especially since a “friend” suggested it.

But I am somewhat conservative. I am conservative in that I think Government sucks at solving really important problems, and a big Government just sucks more.

Most of my politically-oriented friends call me a “fiscal conservative, but a social liberal”.  Fine. 

Everyone wants to label me.

Everyone except me.

I consider myself more of a “rationalist”.  Instead of joining a political party I prefer to shop al la carte.

Some “Republicans”, I like.  Same for some “Democrats”.

I voted for Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas.  The first Presidential Election I voted in, I voted for John Anderson.

The only party affiliation I have ever had was as a Democrat.  I have never registered Republican.  I have never voted a straight party ticket.

I like making up my own mind, and I think I am smart enough, and educate myself well enough, that it make most sense for me to vote this way.

It does annoy me when others label me – usually because I commit the cardinal sin of not agreeing with them.

Sorry – I do my own thinking.  If it is flawed, then at least I have myself to blame.

I’ll never be a “member of a party” – the saying itself exudes a sense of inclusion, or exclusion.  If I am not a “member of the party” you are a member of  – then we must be different, right?  We must not have anything in common – otherwise we would be in the same “holier than thou” fucking party. We must be enemies.

Sorry.  I prefer independent thinking to mob rule.

I like making up my own mind and not being told what to think.  Or not being “expected to think” in a certain way – especially because my “friends” think that way.

I am not a Republican, or a Democrat.

I am Rob La Gesse, and I am capable of independent thought.  I don’t need a “club” to support my beliefs.  I don’t need to “run with a pack”.

I am smarter than that.

If you are coming here from Karoli’s blog, I am sorry – nothing (much) political here. 

On the rare occasion (5+ days a week at 3pm Central Time) I talk politics I do it on NewsGang Live – not here.

But Karoli knows I love and respect her, even when we differ in opinion.

And that is what makes her great, and NewsGang Live amazing.  Anyone can talk.  All opinions are allowed.

That is a powerful thing.

So if you want to know how I feel about politics, and WTF Karoli is referencing, go listen to the show – join the chat.  Call me out.

Just don’t expect me to address these things here. 

It isn’t the place for it.  Not for me, anyway.

I haven’t written a story in some time.  So here is one. Kind of.

In 1995 I was a Mayor.  Of a Military Community on Fort Shafter in Oahu, Hawaii.  I can’t remember how large the community was, but it was at least a few thousand people, I think.

Anyway, being a Mayor of a Military community wasn’t very taxing.  I wore the white hat.  As the civilian mayor I just did good (or tried to).  We had the Military Police and the Military Chain of Command to deal with the unpleasant side of things.  As well of the Command Sergeant Major – an intimidating person no matter what base you are on.

When I first got to Hawaii my son entered the first grade.  He had to ride a school bus about a mile.  And he had to have two quarters every day.  One to get on the bus, and one to get home.  Parents could not pay in advance, not even in the morning for the afternoon ride.

As you might imagine, it is difficult for a 6 year old to hang onto a quarter all day, every day.  They are upside down on the monkey bars, wresting with their friends, etc.

Since I walked my son to the bus (and many parents let their first graders wait unattended), I quickly realized I needed extra quarters.  Every day 4-5 kids would not have bus money.  So I paid.  The bus driver was a regular, and she knew me very well – she knew I paid for a LOT of kids, not just my own.

And that is exactly why I was so irate when the school called me one day and told me that I had to come pick my son up because he didn’t have bus fair.  The school buses and the bus system were not controlled by the school.  A private transportation company (or the Honolulu bus system – can’t remember) ran the school bus system.  And eventually the bean counters realized that the bus driver wasn’t bringing back as many quarters as she should – even with my help.  So they pressured her into enforcing the "no quarter, no ride" policy.

We had one car, and my now ex had it.  The school was a mile away – down the mountainside.  Which meant I had to walk with (carry) my son uphill for a mile.

The next day I began a year-long campaign to get the rules changed, and to allow students to pay per semester.  Eventually they agreed to "bus passes" which you purchased (at no discount) in advance.  Still not a great solution for first grade kids to have to carry anything, but since the bus drivers had a list of who had paid, it was much better than carrying two quarters.

It took a lot of phone calls and letters but none of that really worked – until I found that telling the schools that "the mainland figured this out decades ago" caused some reaction.  I guess they didn’t like to be second to the mainland.  Whatever.  Life got easier.  And I was saving about $2.00/day giving quarters out to neighbor kids.

I can’t believe so many parents put up with that crazy system for so long.

It reminds me of the US Tax Code.  Nobody knows why it is what it is.  It just is.

And nobody thinks they can do anything about it.  So few try.

I really wish more would try – I wish they would let their candidate, and their elected official know that they are tired.  Tired of a confusing tax code.  Tired of spending so much money collecting taxes.  Tired of being surprised by what they owe, or what they are getting back. 

Our contribution to maintaining our government should not be a surprise to us.  We should know today, tomorrow, and two years from now what we are going to pay.  This is a simple math problem that has been corrupted and broken by politics.

I don’t think there is room for politics in our tax code.  Our tax code should be simple.  And it could be simple.

If only people demanded that.

Appraisal is defined as, "An expert or official valuation, as for taxation."

Which makes it apparent that what Bexar Appraisal District (BAD) is doing is absolutely the latter part of that definition.  They are not offering an "expert valuation", just an "official valuation".

To offer an expert valuation one must actually a) have knowledge in the subject matter and b) examine the subject.

So let’s look at how Bexar Appraisal District set the new valuation for my house. 

First, we must understand the Texas Property Tax Code, which states (in my words):

The  maximum increase in a homeowner’s assessed value is 10% per year times the number of years since the property was last appraised.

What that means is that if you did not get a property tax increase in 2007 (and you did not appeal), they can increase it 20% in 2008.  If your last increase was in 2004 (and you did not appeal any of those years between), they can increase your taxes 40% in 2008.  This is what our government calls a "cap".  I call it bull-cap.

Before I continue, and to make sure this post has more value then just a rant – if you pay personal property taxes in Texas, you must appeal your tax assessment every year – even if it did NOT increase.  If you appeal, and lose, then the next year the maximum increase is 10%.  If you do not appeal, your maximum next year increase is double that!

Plus, if everyone appeals every year we will break the system – they will be forced to fix it.  I know the cure might be worse than the problem, but I honestly don’t think that is very likely (or even possible).

To re-enforce why I believe this, let’s look at the "magic math" that my "assessors" performed when re-evaluating the annual taxes on my property (property they have not actually visited in at least 6 years):

"What would we have to assess this property at to make damn sure we get every penny of the ten percent increase we are allowed to charge?  $49,060?  Cool.  Assessment complete."

I DO NOT believe that was the intent of the "cap" passed by the Texas Government, and I do not believe that a "Tax Assessor" should be allowed this reckless, negligent, blatantly self-serving and morally criminal behavior.  Using the maximum value you can find to extract the absolute maximum amount of taxes is not performing an assessment. 

It is performing a theft.

It is also clear that no professional assessments are being done whatsoever.  Computer software is calculating how much the Government can take from you.  And then they take it.

The more I learn about our Property Tax system the more embarrassed I am that we have such a fundamentally misnamed, and morally bankrupt Government Agency.

Finally, I am actually talking to an Attorney about this – my thought is that the Bexar Appraisal District is not performing it’s stated function, which is:

Within this site you will find general information about the District and the ad valorem property tax system in Texas, as well as information regarding specific properties within the district.

Bexar Appraisal District is responsible for appraising all real and business personal property within Bexar County. The district appraises property according to the Texas Property Tax Code and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practices (USPAP).

Bexar Appraisal District is responsible for the fair market appraisal of properties within each of the following taxing entities:

Instead, all they are doing is employing computer software to calculate the maximum possible revenue extraction from the tax-payers which fall under its jurisdiction.  This argument will be part of my appeal to BAD.  I will challenge them to demonstrate any mechanisms employed to "assess" my property.  I will also file a Freedom of Information Act request to see the internal workings of the computer software being utilized by BAD to set, monitor, adjust, analyze, or report on any aspect of the property valuations BAD has set for my residence.

Yes, behind that mask I can only assume I will find the Bexar Appraisal District – my local property tax appraisal goons.

You think I am being harsh?

My appraisal went up $49,060.  On a house valued at less than $200K! In one year!  That is a 26% increase year over year.

And yes, I can and will go fight this.  But I shouldn’t have to.  I will waste days preparing for the meeting, and hours waiting around for my "appointment".

Food, gas, housing – everything is costing more, yet our taxing authorities continue to take more, and more.

Bexar Appraisal District.  Even their acronym is BAD.

How much of this do these people think we can take before we pour the tea into the harbor again? 

I’m all for boarding that boat now.

"No Quarter!"

If you came here from Twitter tonight, expecting to find a Political Blog – this isn’t one.  I’ll share my political views on Twitter, on a couple podcasts, etc.  But politics just isn’t what my blog is about.  It is not about anything

But feel free to follow me on Twitter!