(Uhh)Necessary Evil

What's in a name, you say? What is going on with all the corporate sponsorships?! Eveything has a company name on it now. It's only a matter of time before Joe Robbie Stadium and Wrigley Field fall prey to the corporate raiders.

Okay, so we invite their investments to keep our costs down. Eventually it goes up. And forget about the concession stands. It's just like the movie theater. The ticket sales, just like the box office proceeds, go to the team (box office goes to film company). The stadium, like the theater, makes it's money at the concession stand. The hot dogs and sodas are their bread and butter. Wah Wah.

Unless you encounter a situation such as what we have here in San Francisco; namely PacBell Park. Even though it's currently SBC Park, and soon to be AT&T Park, I still call it PacBell Park. Why? Because it was PacBell that made the investment for construction. I'll be the first to admit they deserve to have their name on it.

But not SBC. Or AT&T, for that matter. Why? Because they bought PacBell, and subsequently, SBC? I think not. SBC and AT&T did not invest in it. But if you can't call it SBC or AT&T Park, what do you call it? PacBell no longer exists.

I even flipped out when my NASCAR Cup changed from Winston to Nextel. Of course, then I realized Winston was a sponsor as well. And a cigarette, no less. I guess I should be glad, since I'm a non-smoker.

So, we have to sorta live with the name changes every two years. I can't even remember what Candlestick Park was called, in between 3COM and Monster. I remember it was a DotCom company. And they went out of business 6 months after. And their name was on every cupholder in the park. All 35,000. I still call it the Stick, though.

That's all you have to remember, folks. Take the corporate money, and call it whatever you want. That's what's important.

Heyyyyy...batter batter batter batter batter, swing batter...
he cannot, he cannot, he cannot, a' swing batter...

United We Stand...

Unions. An idea who's time has come and gone. Abolishment is in order here. Yeah, I hear all you members screaming. Why? Because then you'd have to start doing some real work.

Look, it served its purpose when the idea was born and put into action during the 1950's. And it worked for decades. Now, it's useless. Dues are up. And what do you get when you go on strike? A percentage of your salary. And for only so long. It will run out. That's how scabs were created. They got tired of waiting for union management, who, by the way, are lining their pockets as well, first, to get the job done and get their people back to work.

I got hired by the SF Jewish Community Center back in the late 80's. But it was a union shop. What? JCC a union shop? I wasn't even Jewish. At least I was circumcised, but they didn't ask me to prove it. We're in America, so I guess they just assumed it was so. Anyway, evidently, it was a service-workers' union. My job was a mail clerk, for pete's sake. And, as a condition of employment, I was required to join the union. Done.

Then, the contract was up for renewal. Delegate reps asked if I would honor the strike if it came to that. I said. "Fuck you. I'm a mail clerk. I had to join the union to get the job. I'm crossing the line if you go on strike, and if anyone gets in my way, I'll drop you on the spot." (Lucky for them, the contract was renewed without a strike. And everyone stayed out of my way, too.)

Fast forward to today. Now, the hotel and janitorial workers are striking every 6 months. And the majority of them aren't even citizens. I know. I talk to them.

Tell me this: If you're Latin and have a job as a janitor, shouldn't the first word you learn in English be TRASH? Why do we have to put stickers on trash, that says Basura?

Unions. Time to bust a move.

Taxation Without Representation

Well, happy f'n new year. I suppose the next thing on our minds is filing taxes. As everyone knows, the tax code is humongus. You need an MBA to understand it. But it should be quite simple; so here's my take:

I've filed the EZ form since high school. I lead a simple life. No wife. No kids. no expenses. At least none I can deduct. I do donate to the occasional charity, but I don't deduct it. Why? Because then it wouldn't be charity. Duh!!

Anyway, I file the EZ form. So it goes, you would think that the amount taken out of my check twice a month would match what I owe the government. Yah, in a perfect world. I always owe. So I claim "0" so as to not owe as much. Then I get a small refund. Then someone tells me, you're lending money to the government, interest-free. Get the F out. So it's back to "1" and owing at the end of the year. Why? Aren't my deductions and what I owe suppose to match?

I think it has something to do with the tax code changing throughout the year. Which usually means that taxes have gone up. So they've gone up during the year, but deductions from my check haven't, thus, I owe. It gets worse people. Does the government wait till the end of the year to go into effect? No. Do they start right when the tax law changes? No. It goes into effect retroactive to the beginning of the year.

So, basically, the government screws you from day one.