What many people may not know about the SCHIP bill that was signed into law recently by President Obama is that it includes a brutally high increase in federal excise taxes on cigars, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own cigarette tobacco.  This one seems to have never gained much publicity for some reason.  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by that, given that smoking is so politically incorrect these days.

Here are the basics of the new taxes, to give you an idea of just how outrageous they are:

• The tax rate on large cigars will now be 52.4% (with a cap of $0.40 for individual cigars)
• The federal tax on cigarettes goes from $0.39 to $1.00 per pack
• The tax on pipe tobacco goes from $1.0969 per pound to $2.8126 per pound
• The tax on roll-your-own cigarette tobacco goes from $1.0969 per pound to $24.62 per pound!

The only way I found out about this was when I got a mailer from Finck Cigar Company about the new taxes.

After receiving the mailer I started doing a little research into it and came across a letter to the editor from Bill Finck (owner of the aforementioned Finck Cigar Company), who is now finding himself having his squishy bits squeezed by The Chosen One™:

Our little family-owned, 115-year-old cigar factory will not be able to sell enough at the increased price to remain open, and our 59 employees, half over 50 years of age, will become unemployed. The brutal tax burdens from SCHIP will crush the small cigar businesses and the roll-your-own cigarette businesses. Thousands of American jobs in the myriad of support businesses such as tobacco growing, tobacco processing, package manufacturing, transportation and sales operations will be lost.

I am proud of our new president and his repeatedly proclaimed intent to preserve and create jobs in the United States. Someone in his group has failed to recognize the loss of thousands of jobs resulting from the tax provision in SCHIP.

This is basic economics, but it never fails to amaze me that people don’t get it.  When you raise taxes on something, someone is going to have to pay for it, and if it’s something that is discretionary, people will buy less, which usually means that it’s the people at the bottom of the “social ladder” that get hit hardest.  Still, I can’t help but feel a bit of Obamanfreude at his predicament (as it sounds like he was an Obama supporter). 

Anyhow, back to the matter at hand…  I guess I am going to have to stock up before the tax tsunami hits.  I will either get a bigger humidor or get a couple more smaller ones as well as three or four boxes of cigars.  It’s more than I would usually spend, since I generally buy them by the stick or buy samplers so I can get 5 or 10 at a time (as compared to the usual 50 in a box).  At the rate I smoke them, four boxes would probably last ten years, but at least I’d be set against supply disruptions as the cigar industry adjusts and consolidates itself in the new environment. 

I hereby propose a new word:

Obamanfreude – 1.  taking pleasure from the discomfort of Obama supporters as they come to realize that The Chosen One™ is just another Chicago politician.  2.  taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.

So it appears that the digital TV transition will move to June 12th from February 17th.  The primary reason given is that millions of people aren’t ready and will lose their TV service if the switch is made on the original schedule.  Frankly, I’m not sure what, if any, difference waiting will make.  If people haven’t arsed themselves to get ready by now they most likely won’t do anything between now and June 12th, either.  Even if we were to delay another year there will be a large number of people who aren’t ready. 

If we have to switch, then let’s just get it done and let the chips fall where they may.  Loss of signal is the only thing that will actually get the procrastinators motivated.  Those of us who paid attention have been ready for a while*.

* Most of my TV programming is delivered via Verizon FiOS, which handles everything for me.  I have one OTA TV in the kitchen, for which I bought a converter when they first became available.

People always say that things are bigger in Texas, and this woman seems hell-bent on living up to expectations. 

A woman from Texas has reportedly undergone nine breast enlargement operations to become the proud owner of the world’s largest breast implants — size 38KKK.

American doctors had refused to carry out any more operations on Sheyla Hershey, 28, when her breasts were a staggering 34FFF, but that didn’t stop her from going under the knife for the record breaking surgery.

“To me, big is beautiful. I don’t think I have anything to worry about,” the Houston-resident said.

Still determined to increase her bustline, Hershey jetted off to Brazil where there are no limits on the size of implants.

The surgery required a full gallon of silicone.

I can’t help but think that there’s something subtly wrong with her judgment.  Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see the appeal.  It looks like she had a couple of basketballs grafted to her chest.  Sometimes bigger isn’t better.

In yesterday’s plaintive whine I asked…

And why is it that this house has a GFCI outlet in the garage (next to the breaker panel) but none in the bathrooms?  I know that current code requires them in bathrooms, so I’m guessing that the old code didn’t when the house was built in 1986.  But if it didn’t require it in a bathroom, why would there be one in the garage?  If it’s required because there’s a water heater in the garage, then it would seem to have made more sense to put one in the outlet next to the water heater.  But no, that one doesn’t have a GFCI outlet.

The electrician just left and his visit was very informative.  When I told him that the outlets in the bathroom were out, the first thing he asked was when the house was built.  When I told him 1986 his next question was whether there was a GFCI outlet in the garage.  It turns out that for houses built at that time that the GFCI outlet in the garage also protects all the outlets in the bathrooms.  So the real source of all of my problems yesterday morning was that the GFCI outlet in the garage had tripped, which took out the outlets in the bathrooms as well as the the Verizon ONT.  Since the GFCI appeared to be original (which would make it 22 or 23 years old) he recommended replacement because they often start to trip on their own as they get old.

So I had him replace the GFCI.  It’s a treat to watch a professional at work, as he had the old one out and the new one installed so fast that the Verizon ONT didn’t even drop my Internet connection.  I have enough knowledge of electricity to change a breaker or an outlet, but I also have enough knowledge to know that I’d rather not if I don’t have to.  It would also have taken me three times longer, since I won’t work on a live circuit, and I would have had to trace down which breaker controlled the circuit before starting.

There’s a good opinion piece in today’s Ft. Worth Star-Telegram on the subject of eminent domain.  I’ve written a little about this topic before.  First, when the Cowboys and the City of Arlington grabbed private land for the new stadium, and again when the City of Keller took land from a developer for flood control (after apparently creating the problem by directing the water onto the developer’s land!).

As some of you may know, Governor Perry has come out in favor of a constitutional amendment to protect the rights of Texas property owners in eminent domain cases.  But, given his past support for the Trans-Texas Corridor (supposedly dead now, but probably really just awaiting a name change), I wonder just how far he’s willing to go in protecting our rights.  The law he signed during the last session didn’t really protect much. 

Given that, I have to agree with Roy Shockey on what a constitutional amendment should address:

An amendment to the Texas Constitution should plug loopholes, answer questions and protect the rights of Texas property owners. But if we’re going to amend the constitution, let’s get it right.

Let’s clearly define what is meant by the term public use and spell it out in writing.

Let’s eliminate the “blight” exception that enables the wealthiest to prey on those who have the least.

Let’s establish guidelines for compensation whenever property is seized for legitimate public use under the new statute.

Let’s address the issue of diminished access so our retained property values and access will be protected.

Let’s put the burden of proof in “public use and necessity” disputes on the back of government instead of where it is now — on the shoulders of private citizens whose property is being targeted.

The only thing I would add is a provision for punishment of any local or state official who participates in any type of scheme to deprive any citizen of his or her land for a private interest.  I think hanging them from lamp posts by their own entrails should be sufficient, but then I’m not know for being subtle or sympathetic towards thieves.

Just for the record I should inform you that I know Roy Shockey from the Keller Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association (KCPAAA). 

This is looking more and more like one of those days I should not have bothered to get out of bed (if I could have slept, that is).

It started around 4:00am when I woke up and couldn’t sleep, although I must have drifted off somewhere south of 5:00am because my alarm finally woke me at 6:00.  Once I got out of bed I discovered that an old foot injury has reappeared, causing me to gimp around (it’s a little better now, but not great).

During my morning routine the bathroom radio quit, so I started looking around and finally figured out that I didn’t have power to any of the outlets in the master bath.  Since the breakers weren’t labeled (I guess that will be my next project) I flipped all of the 20-amps off and back on.  Unfortunately, that didn’t restore power to the bathroom, but it did manage to wedge the Tivo, all of my Squeezebox players, and the FiOS ONT’s internet and TV functions. 

So, I determined that one of the breakers is probably bad.  But since my first meeting of the morning was approaching, I really needed to get the internet access going so I could use my VoIP phone.  After an hour of fidding, unplugging, rebooting, and various diagnostics I figured that it must be the ONT and I called Verizon.  They rebooted the ONT and the phone and TV started working again.    For all of five minutes.    Then everything but the phone went offline and the ONT started beeping (something it had never done before).  After a bit of further fiddling it turned out that the stupid GFCI* outlet in the garage that is used by the ONT had tripped.  Once I reset it, the beeping stopped and the internet and TV started working again.**

I’ve since called the home warranty company and opened a ticket and the electrician is scheduled to come take a look at the breakers tomorrow morning.  But my Squeezeboxes are still discombobulated and are turning themselves on and off at random intervals.    I suspect I’m going to have to go to each one and do a factory reset at some point.  One of these days this sort of thing will sufficiently motivate me to put the Tivo and the Squeezeboxes on UPSes to avoid all of the fuss whenever there’s a momentary power hit.

And to top it off, I really need to go to the store, as I’m running out of a lot of important stuff (like dog biscuits).  But between my foot and my luck, I think I’m just going to order a pizza tonight and stay in.  There’s no sense tempting fate.  Or gimping around more than I have to…

*And why is it that this house has a GFCI outlet in the garage (next to the breaker panel) but none in the bathrooms?  I know that current code requires them in bathrooms, so I’m guessing that the old code didn’t when the house was built in 1986.  But if it didn’t require it in a bathroom, why would there be one in the garage?  If it’s required because there’s a water heater in the garage, then it would seem to have made more sense to put one in the outlet next to the water heater.  But no, that one doesn’t have a GFCI outlet. 

** If you’re considering getting FiOS, you should note that unlike the older copper-line phone service, power for the equipment comes from an outlet in your house (usually in the garage).  The equipment has a battery backup, but the ONT gives preference to the voice service and drops TV and internet services when running on battery for more than a few minutes (it will keep them running for a short time so that you won’t notice small power hits, though).