Enjoy Roger Miller’s King of the Road (and check out the background colors!)

Enjoy your Morning Mojo compliments of “The Wife.” Newworldson’s Working Man.

Zachary Karabell has a good piece in the Wall Street Journal today.  He mentions that 75% of Americans believe that the economy is in bad shape, and he wonders what has happened to the American spirit over the last decade.

There is no denying that the current financial morass is deep and painful. But taking the long view, there is something both startling and disturbing about the gloom that has settled over Wall Street and the country in general. In fact, looking back over the past century, it would be a stretch to rank the current problems as especially notable or dramatic. Something else is going on - namely a cultural rut of pessimism that is draining our collective energy, blinding us to possibilities, and eroding our position in the world. [Emphasis mine]

Ben Cunningham points to an interesting post about the price of a stamp vs. the price of oil and the increases of each.

By the way, stamp prices rose again yesterday to 42 cents.

The City of Maryville is looking to raise taxes by 12%.

Maryville City Manager Greg McClain said this was going to be a tough budget year, due to state and federal cuts and the increase in gasoline prices that affect almost everything.

So what do they do?  They decide to raise taxes because obviously government is the only one having a “tough budget year.”  Do these folks not even realize that the citizens are having to endure the same price increases as the government?

The tax increase will be used for city indebtedness, mainly for a $25 million bond issue for Maryville City Schools. Of that bond issue, $20 million will go for a new intermediate school off Sevierville Road and $5 for improvements at other schools.

The tax hike is a 12-percent increase or $62 per $100,000 value of residential property. One cent on the tax rate equals $71,200.

First reading of the 2009 budget will be June 3 and second and final reading will be June 12.

Total revenue is expected to total $32.3 million, an increase of 6.9 percent over 2008.

Come out and let them know what you think about this tax increase on June 3.  However, they probably don’t care, as this was decided at their “budget retreat at Dancing Bear lodge in Townsend.”

H/T Ben Cunningham at Taxing Tennessee

Here is your Morning Mojo for this morning.  Enjoy Delirious’s The Happy Song (including subtitles in another languange).

Bob Barr announced yesterday that he is running for President this year.  He will be running on the Libertarian ticket.  I reported about his good polling numbers recently.  He says he is in the race to win it, not just make a point.  We will have to see how it goes, but a quick look at his website shows he seems to agree with a lot of my stances.  Hopefully he will at least be allowed in the debates.

It’s been more than 450 days since Sen. Barack Obama announced his candidacy, and 383 since Sen. John McCain threw his hat in the ring, but Bob Barr is hoping that the best things come to those who wait.

“My name is Bob Barr and I’m a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America,” he told a small room of reporters, pre-empting them by raising the obvious question himself: “You might say Bob Barr, why are you running for president?”

Well, Barr tried to explain, articulating his desire to “cut the size, scope and power of government.” He spoke out in favor of the separation of powers, but against “a government run amok fiscally.” He said the American people “want a choice” and a restoration of habeas corpus.

But perhaps instead of explaining why he’s running, Barr should have explained how he could possibly take the White House. But that wasn’t to happen. “Please save any procedural questions for after the news conference,” said Barr’s political adviser, Russ Verney. OK, but what about money, Bob? “We have a substantial budget.” What swing states do you think you can win? Barr said he’s got a good plan for winning the Electoral College, but wouldn’t spill the beans.

Will those disenfranchised with McCain head towards Barr?  Will Barr be able to get the Ron Paulites, since Paul is not running as a libertarian?  Can he truly be a viable third party candidate?  These are all questions we will have to wait and see in the upcoming months.

Enjoy Al Jolson’s Red Red Robin…

Dr. Helen has an excellent article up at Pajamas Media about the new trend of “push” presents.  These are the presents that pregnant women are expecting/desiring because they gave birth.

Well, at least a number of women felt the baby was enough. My problem is with the sense of entitlement. Should a present be expected? I say, “hell, no.” A husband is expected to be supportive of his pregnant wife, and help her with things like maybe going out and getting her some favorite foods, or rubbing her back or feet if they hurt, showing up for the birth to lend support, and of course, taking care of the baby afterward. But a husband should not be expected to give some kind of gift to pay his wife off for having their child, something that sounds so utterly unfeminist and dishonest, I don’t even know where to begin.

What a woman is saying when she expects a gift is that sex - and by extension, child-bearing - must be compensated by a man. This exchange boils down to legal prostitution (nothing wrong with prostitution in my book, but call a spade a spade). The problem here lies in the fact that wives who want this type of exchange often think of themselves as above being a prostitute, but indeed, they are not - they are just dishonest prostitutes who are pretending to be something else. And what about the act of paying for children? A diamond in exchange for a child? Isn’t this a little sick? And if this kind of exchange is okay for women, why not for men?

Go take a few minutes to read the article.  What do you folks think?  Do husbands owe their wives “push” presents?

I found a good site this morning that has ratings for internet resellers.  It is called ResellerRatings.com.  I was looking at buying a camera from a site that had a great price.  However, after looking at this site, it appears it was a scam/bait & switch operation.  This was exactly the type of information I was looking for.  If you are thinking of purchasing something from a site you are unfamiliar with, take a few minutes to check them out here.