Archive for March 9th, 2011
More human imperfections
I previously posted a useful list of ten human imperfections that serve as proof that human animals evolved. Here is another good list of vestiges of our former selves that serves as proof of human evolution.
Net neutrality threatened by U.S. House Resolution of Disapproval
From Free Press press release issued March 9, 2011:
Today, the U.S. House passed a “Resolution of Disapproval” that would strip the FCC of any authority to protect our right to free speech online. This resolution will bar the FCC from enforcing its already weak Net Neutrality rule and from acting in any way to protect Internet users against corporate abuses.
Following the vote, S. Derek Turner, research director of the Free Press Action Fund made the following statement:
“We are deeply disappointed that Congress has chosen to move forward with this dangerous overreach that would hamstring the FCC and leave Internet users unprotected from discrimination online. If this resolution becomes law, companies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon will have free rein to censor free speech or block access to any website.
“There may be much to dislike about what this FCC did and how it did it, but the fundamental point here is we cannot simply set up a false choice between what the FCC did and no policy at all.”
It is possible for the Senate to kill the resolution by getting 51 members to stand up for online freedom. Go here to take action. Note that this “take action” was first published when there was a danger that the “Resolution of Disapproval” would pass the House. Today, however, the Republican dominated House has actually passed the Resolution of Disapproval.
Stunning views of large nearby celestial objects
Alan Friedman’s stunning photo of the sun was featured on the home page of MSNBC today. I decided to visit his website to see what else he has done from his backyard observatory in Buffalo, and I recommend that you do the same.
How We Got Here: The Debate II
The Whiskey Rebellion more or less blew up in Alexander Hamilton’s face. The tax he pushed through congress on whiskey that triggered the entire affair was shortly thereafter repealed and it was a while before the federal government tried to impose internal taxes. One of the stated goals of the revolution was to end taxation without representation, but in practical terms this meant an end to taxation, period.
The federal government used tariffs and land sales to pay off the debt incurred by the revolutionary war. Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana was still done by a combination of the two plus borrowing. Generally, tariffs were kept low, to encourage volume of trade. Some high tariffs were employed in the 1820s and 1830s as protectionist measures to level the field with Britain, which was in the midst of its “workshop of the world” period. The South hated these tariffs because it raised the price of manufactures and shipping, which impacted on their trade which was almost entirely agricultural.
It was different in the states. Property taxes early became a source of state revenue. The definition of “property” for the purposes of such taxes stretched far beyond the bounds we would recognize or accept today and under Jackson came to include just about anything a person owned. Local reaction to such impositions varied by city and state, but rarely rose to the level of rebellion.
Federal internal taxes did not come into play until the Civil War. The need to raise revenue in huge amounts and quickly necessitated the creation of the first income tax, among others, including a vast array of excise taxes and licensing. There were special corporate taxes, stamp taxes for legal documents, and inheritance taxes.
Most of these were phased out after the Civil War. Interestingly, the Republicans—a new party formed just before the Civil War which became the second national party, supplanting the archaic Whigs—kept two elements of the new tax system: high tariffs and taxes on liquor and tobacco. High tariffs were protectionist measures. The excises on liquor and tobacco were not greatly challenged because they coincided with the growing Temperance Movement, which was becoming politically significant.
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