The whole reason for this article? Obama wants to raise taxes on those dastardly rich people, that's why; because the Democrats need to look like they give a rat's ass about runaway federal spending and cutting spending is completely antithetical to their entire existence.
Look: if you've got money, chances are you earned it, and you should get to keep as much of it as you possibly can. Most people would agree with that--but not Democrats. Oh, no. Democrats think that all money belongs to the government, and that any money you've got is due to their largesse--and if you have more than your neighbor, you've benefitted unfairly and have to be punished.
Hard work has nothing to do with it.
That's why super-rich bloated idiots like Michael Moore and Rob Reiner end up saying such stupid things about taxes, all the while doing their damnedest to insure they pay as little tax themselves.
* * *
I ignored the last bill from the newspaper.
Well? The only thing I read in it is the comics--and the Best Buy ad on Sundays--so why spend the money? It's easier and cheaper for me just to read the comics on-line, and if I really have to see the Best Buy ad, the same goes for it.
So for the past couple of weeks I've been expecting the subscription to run out--March 27th was supposed to be the last day, according to the bill--sooner or later, and it looks like it finally did this past Friday. I got no paper on Saturday.
So when I looked at the driveway this morning, there were two.
One was the Southtown Star and the other was the Chicago Tribune. I don't know if someone had extras they needed to get rid of, or what, nor do I really care. So I guess I got one more Best Buy ad out of the deal....
I get all my news from the Internet; I get it faster than the newspaper can deliver it and as an added benefit I get it without the liberal spin, most of the time. I also don't have to get irate over the blind stupidity of liberal commentary that lies, distorts, twists, and spins. (I'm looking at you, Jesse Jackson! Yes, the Sun-Times has him as a columnist. /facepalm)
The BS in Winconsin has consistently been spun by that liberal rag as "Winconsin Repubs try to deny collective bargaining rights!!!11" which is, of course, horseshit...unless by "collective bargaining" you mean "coerced payment of union dues", which is what the Wisconsin law actually ends.
...point being, there is no benefit to having a subscription to the newspaper. We only had it because Mom always read the thing and did the crosswords and stuff.
* * *
Most of the daily comics that I read are available via comics.com, so I signed up there and picked what comics I wanted to read every day. A small handful of the ones I like aren't available there; most of those are not worth the effort to go find. If they were there, I'd add 'em to my list; since they're not, oh well.
Dilbert is the exception, but I'd already long since found the web site for that strip, so that's no big deal for me.
* * *
I ended up giving Ormus a talent respec yesterday when I discovered that--by changing a few selections--I could get about 25% more kick out of a damage spell I routinely use. It only required axing one talent I (that I never use anyway), and cost 32gp to accomplish.
So now "arcane missiles" fires four times, not three, and when Ormus hits 85th it'll be five.
"Arcane missiles" used to be a spell that cost mana; now it's an ability which has a good chance to trigger whenever you do damage with another spell. You cast (say) "fireball" and then the icon for "arcane missiles" lights up, and a weird glowing effect surrounds your character; after you cast "arcane missiles" the icon goes dark until it's triggered again.
The fire mage talent tree has an option which switches off "arcane missiles" and instead gives your criticals a chance to make your next damage spell instant-cast and cost no mana. The magnitude of the probability is not given, but to me, it's a percentage of a percentage: even if both chances are 50%, multiplying them makes it 25%. "Arcane missiles" trigger at least once or twice per combat; but this other way, first you need to get a critical hit with a spell and then you get to roll the dice on whether or not this effect will activate.
I like "arcane missiles", because it costs no mana and has no casting time; it's channeled but only takes a few moments from the time you hit the button to the time the first missile flies--and that time is effected by your haste rating.
A few instances back Ormus got his hands on the "Witching Hourglass" trinket, which has a chance to grant some whopping bonus to your haste rating. When that thing cranks up, "arcane missiles" goes fast, like a machine gun.
* * *
Once Ormus hits 85th...I don't know what I'll do next. I've got Scythandra, who's 77th level; I've got Victoria over on Hellscream who's 71st. I've got assorted other toons of lower levels.
Well, I'll figure that one out when it comes to me. I've got this week to myself, but for basement cleaning, and after that, I'm working, so my WoW time will drop precipitously.
* * *
Oh well. There's stuff that needs doing.