So, get this: My dad did my taxes for me this week with his ultra-slick computer program and discovered something very interesting:

Increase in my Annual Income 2003 - 2004: 18.14%
Increase in my Tax Burden 2003-2004: 26.98%

But I'm not alone. Consider the same stats for my dad:

Increase in my dad's Annual Income 2003 - 2004: 3%
Increase in my dad's Tax Burden 2003-2004: 5%

And I owe it all to the tax-cutting Republican Party. Thank YOU, George Bush.

Stars, Set Yourself on Fire

Here's the list of bands that the new Stars record reminds me of:

• Delgados
• Postal Service
• Weakerthans
• Seafood
• Bjork
• Smiths
• Hefner

That's a pretty impressive list. Which is why I can't quite figure out why I don't find this record compelling yet. After listening to it a few times, I still haven't found a song that grabs my attention and won't let go. If I find one, I'll be sure to let you know.

Stars are part of the white hot scene in Montreal along with buzz bands like The Arcade Fire, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and The Dears. Right now, however, I'm putting them behind all of those bands. I'm going to keep listening, though. With a pedigree like that, I wouldn't be surprised if there's something there I haven't heard yet.

Preliminary Rating: 3.5 (of 5) donuts

My former colleague Garrett wrote yesterday on the EchoDitto blog about how he thinks "bloggers" should be accorded the same legal rights as "journalists."

The whole world, from media organizations to corporations to the courts, is trying to figure out how to handle those "special" bloggers. Are they journalists? Do they deserve the slim but critical protections that journalists legally receive?

My entrance to the White House earlier this month, and the White House's inherent decision that bloggers could be journalists, became intertwined with the "Apple blogger case" in California, where a few days earlier a judge had denied journalistic protections to bloggers who had broken news about forthcoming Apple products. The judge, in essence, ruled that those bloggers weren't journalists. Now I've been following that case rather closely not just because of the journalism implications but also because one of the bloggers involved, Nicholas M. Ciarelli, is a student at my alma mater and so the Crimson (where I spent far too many hours in college) has been covering it extensively.

I think he's inadvertantly perpetuating the myth that journalists have all these extra rights. I said as much in a comment to his post and figured I'd repeat it here:

The judge in the Apple case actually made no determination whether Nick dePlume or any other blogger deserved the same rights as journalists. Even if he had, it's unclear whether "journalists" actually have any extra First Amendment rights. Remember - folks are going to jail becuase they refuse to name their sources in the Valerie Plame case.

In the Apple case, the judge was pretty clear that even identified "journalists" are covered by California's "trade secrets" law. Daring Fireball has some pretty cogent analysis and he quotes the actual decision:

These statutes reflect this state’s strong commitment to the protection of proprietary business information. See Integral Dev. Corp. v. Weissenbach (2002) 99 Cal. App. 4th 576, Magnecomp Corp. v. Athene Co. (1989) 209 Cal. App. 3d 526. The statutes also support the compelling interest of disclosure which may, in the proper civil case, outweigh First Amendment rights. As discussed infra, the United States and California Supreme Courts have underscored that trade secret laws apply to everyone regardless of their status, title or chosen profession. The California Legislature has not carved out any exception to these statutes for journalists, bloggers or anyone else. (Emphasis added.)

So, it doesn't matter whether you're a journo or not. You still have to follow the law. The real question is whether or not there really are any actual "journalist rights." If there are, I think one has to ask where they come from. Last time I checked, the Constitution didn't identify any other rights that are only held by folks in certain professions. If a right exists, it exists in all of us.

Countdown to Opening Day: 12 days, 2 hours, 33 minutes

Billfer at The Detroit Tigers Weblog highlights today's great Free Press piece on Craig Monroe's efforts to learn how to play centerfield. Monroe is the leading candidate to replace the recently departed Alex Sanchez, likley keeping the job warm for a year or so before top Tigers' prospect Curtis Granderson is ready to take over.

Monroe is a great hitter. On my Xbox last year, he hit a homer basically every time he faced a left-handed pitcher. The knock on him is his speed and defense, a particular concern in the spacious Comerica Park outfield. But today's article shows he is ready, willing, and able to work hard and get better. Monroe has been seeking out great centerfielders - Torii Hunter and Jim Edmonds are specifically named - and getting tips on how to play the position.

Talking to Edmonds before Sunday's Spring Training game, Monroe learned how the not-super-speedy Edmonds plays such a great centerfield. The money quotes from Monroe:

"One of the big things was, 'Talk to your pitchers. Get an idea of how they're going to pitch certain hitters and know how they're going to pitch everybody, and kind of move with them.'

"That's going to be the big thing. Knowing my pitchers, knowing how they're going to pitch a hitter, and make sure I'm in the right position."

Edmonds told Monroe that if a pitch was away from a right-handed hitter, then he must hit it to right-center to drive it. By knowing that his pitcher wanted to pitch the right-handed hitter away, Monroe can move toward right-center on the pitch.

Then, Edmonds told him, "Go pat your pitcher on the back and say, 'I made that play because you hit your spot. If you keep hitting your spots, you can trust me that I'll make that play.'"

I love reading about how top-flight athletes think through their performance and how they can learn more to improve their skills. This specific example also makes me optimistic that Monroe can get better in center. Learning how to read a pitcher and where to position yourself sounds like a skill you can actually learn and like a skill that will actually improve your defense.

This is merely more proof that the Tigers are ready to win their division and the World Series. Hart Plaza, here we come.

New records I acquired this week:

1. Beck, Guero
2. Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine
3. The Eels, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
4. Architecture in Helsinki, In Case We Die
5. Stars, Set Yourself on Fire

The only one I've really listened to is Beck, and that was only once. It's not as good as the Hell Yes remix from a while back led me to hope.

The Fiona Apple is an as-yet-unreleased record that Sony is giving the full-on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot treatment.

You know the Eels.

AIH and Stars are from Melbourne and Montreal respectively. Both of them work in the "indie pop" arena. It's not surprising that the Canadians are cold and dark and the Australians are warm and sunny.

Anywho - I'll try to form more complete opinions and put up reviews and tracks over the next week.

Also - I'm totally trying to score an advance of the new Hot Hot Heat, Elevator. If you have an in, can you hook a brotha up?

1. Gist: 65 teams, 1 champion

2. Grand Prize: Donuts (1 dozen), Honorary Title (King of all Donutland)

3. Bonus Donuts: Awarded as I see fit

4. Defending Champion: Heather Langdon

5. Official Song: "One Shining Moment"

6. Best Kind of Donut: Free

7. Entry Instructions:

i) Go here
ii) Make an entry
iii) Join the group called "Donutland"
iv) Password: freedonuts

8. Invite Your Friends: Please

This cracks me up. Thanks to David Alpert

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL) is a leader of House Democrats' "30-something" working group and held an online chat today about Social Security. This cracked me up:

...Please help me think of a quick sound-bite phrase that will spark the interest of young people around this issue...

I think President Bush has the best sound bite on this. He has said repeatedly that those over the age of 55 have nothing to worry about on Social Security. That can only mean that those under the age of 55 have a lot to worry about...

Rep. Meek is a great friend of PFAW, my old employer, and I've eaten barbecue in the back of his RV before. I'm really happy to know he's taking a lead on Social Security and how it relates to younger Americans.

I'm not really a campaign finance warrior. Never have been. To me, it always seems a little bit too much like whining about the system instead of spending your efforts trying to figure out how to actually get stuff done within a system that is only going to change incrementally any time soon. At best, I've always been content to let other folks care about CFR.

Kos today explains why I might need to come around:

Vote against a bankruptcy bill destined to pass anyway (remember, the GOP has its majorities) and you get very little political benefit while losing one of your main sources of election cash. The less cash-on-hand you have heading into the election season, the more likely you are to face a well-funded opponent. So why would a House Democrat vote against the bill? They won't. And while some of you may blame them anyway, that won't jibe with the reality on the ground.

Of course, that's the House, where the GOP can do what it pleases. But what about the Senate, where a filibuster could've derailed the bill?

As Democrats in the minority, we have to chose our battles, and do so judiciously. Social Security and judges are higher profile and offer bigger political rewards than the bankruptcy bill did. I don't blame Reid for refusing to enforce caucus discipline.

But this is clearly Exhibit A of the corrosive effect of money in our political system -- a bill supported by nary a voter, yet pushed through by a powerful, rich industry. The credit card companies have had their risk reduced by a significant amount. Yet they will not lower rates to reflect their reduced risk. They will not be prevented from giving credit to those who can least afford it (like poor college students). They will do nothing except reap huge dividends on their capitol hill investments.

Not working directly on the Hill, I only see the peripheries of the influence held by coporate interests. But they're the only ones lobbying for this bankruptcy bill that will almost certainly hurt actual American families. That sounds like a bad deal to me.

Cross-posted to The Principles Project Conference blog.

One idea that I heard mentioned a lot this weekend was the notion of establishing progressive "clubhouses" in local communities across the country. The clubhouses would essentially be real, physical spaces dedicated to progressive political action.

The idea reminds me of college where my student government turned its student group office into a fun, inviting, social place where you could work, hold a meeting, or just goof off. If got to the point where you would just roll in after class because you knew there would be cold pop in the fridge, but you stayed because your buddy needed help coloring in signs.

To apply this model to any old community, all you need is a spare garage or a local community group willing to share a decent-sized office. The physical space is an important peice of the puzzle, although I can imagine successful clubhouses being run out of a local coffeeshop or something like that. The idea is that people know where to go. Ultimately, it's the work that gets done and the fun you have once you get there that really drives this idea.

Ideally programming at the clubhouse would be structured to accomodate all levels of dedication and interest. Diehards would be in the space daily, moving projects along. I imagine most projects would bring together everyone involved on a weekly bassis. Monthly social events would be an outstanding way to bring in new activists and drive them to work on specific projects. It's important to remember that the work is supposed to be fun. Think of this idea as Meetup on steroids.

At a clubhouse like this cross-pollination almost has to occur. The clubhouse would be open to all stripes of progressive activists and allow for greater collaboration and cooperation. In this case 1 + 1 really can equal 3 as activists will be tied more tightly to the space, their communities, and their work. Plus, they'll have more fun doing it.

Establishing a clubhouse in your town isn't free. But I don't think it has to be outrageously expensive either. Like I said, a spare garage would probably work. I happen to think that local Democratic parties have a vested interest in building a loyal army of local activists and thus would be supportive of this idea. Can they, in conjunction with the national party help get the idea off the ground?

Anyway, a clubhouse doesn't need to be a charity. Local organizations could be charged resonable usage fees or dues. Clubhouse caretakers could sell drinks or snacks at their events. Sustaining the clubhouse itself would be a logical project for activists.

We've seen models like this work. The Tank, home of the Principles Project Conference, has a similar ethos for artists and performers. They even dabble in politics. Plus this works on thousands of college campuses everyday. All we need is a little money and a pilot project and I bet we could build a model that could be applied anywhere.

See you at the clubhouse!

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

-- Ernie Harwell, every spring

The Tigers have shot out of the gate this spring training, even beating the vaunted Yankees. A 9th inning loss today to the Washington Nationals is the only black mark on their week-old record.

All this without Magglio or Carlos Guillen who are both nearly ready to play following off season knee injuries.

It was 65 today in Washington. Spring is right around the corner. To be sure, I'm excited about April and Opening Day and all that. But expectations are high in Tigertown. This year, I'm pretty excited about October, too!

The logic board on my ibook died again yesterday.

Good news: They'll fix it for free in just a day or two.

Bad news: Backing up data is a pain. I can't finish my live blogging of The Principles Project Conference because all my notes are wrapped up in a laptop I can't use. There's no real guarantee sending it in will actually fix it.

Anyway, blogging will be sparse until it comes back from Apple.

Curses.

Live blogging the Conference

Rob built a cool slideshow of the morning at The Principles Project Conference. Check it out.

I'm liveblogging the Principles Project Conference today. Check it out.

A few weeks ago, I asked what would happen to Social Security if we simply made the rich pay their fair share by removing the cap on FICA-taxable income.

Thanks to my dad for digging up the answer. This is important, so I'm going to put a little green box around it.

According to estimates calculated by the Social Security Administration (134KB PDF), removing the FICA would keep the Social Security Trust Fund solvent through at least 2079. That's when the charts end. In fact, if you did nothing else, the trust fund would be in better shape in 2079 than it is today.

OK, let's do some back of the envelope calculations. The Baby Boom started in 1945. All those soldiers back from the war hadn't seen their wives in months and all. That means that the leading edge of the Boom hits retirement (65) in 2010.

The Boom lasted about 20 years. For our purposes we can also assume that people will spend about 20 years collecting Social Security (actually, that's over shooting things, but bear with me). That means that the strain on the system will be worse in the late 2020's. Nearly every Boomer will be collecting social security at that point. By about 2050, last of the Boomers are dying off and the strains on the system are severely lessened.

Remember - by the SSA's OWN estimates, simply eliminating the cap on FICA-taxable income keeps the Trust Fund solvent through at least 2079. After that, the system isn't completely out of the woods, because the demographic trends still suggest that not quite enough people will be paying into the for the foreseeable future, so we might have to tweak it again sometime. Like...oh...one hundred years from now!

Like I said, Social Security just ain't that broken!

"I have to assume that President Bush's sudden concern for my life
expectancy, and that of my homies, is just breathtaking political
cynicism, nothing more."

I'm taking the train to New York tonight and have been listening to iTunes on Random, so this week the Random Ten and the Recently Played Ten are the same. To wit:

Ten Most Recently and Randomly Played

1. How To Say Goodbye - The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs, Vol. 3
2. Bad Day - R.E.M.
3. Mine's Not A High Horse - The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
4. Capturing Moods - Rilo Kiley - The Execution Of All Things
5. Shanty For The Arethusa - The Decemberists - Her Majesty the Decemberists
6. Prom Night At Hater High - The Long Winters - When I Pretend To Fall
7. Julia - The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album)
8. Perfect Disguise - Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctic
9. Sunset Soon Forgotten - Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
10. So Long - Rilo Kiley - The Execution Of All Things

Thanks to my dad for pointing me to Hesiod’s has a chilling post at The American Street today about what could happen on Social Security if the Dems aren’t careful.

Even if the Democrats and their allies manage to skuttle the dreaded private accounts, Bush has set it up that major Social Security reforms such as increasing the retirement age or eliminating the income cap on FICA are now palatable alternatives. [In fact, Bush has already been hinting he’d support the latter.]

In a vacuum, both proposals were political death. But when compared to private accounts that destroy the fundamental soundness of the Social Security system, they seem like reasonable alternatives.
So here is what will likely happen. Bush will eventually abandon the private accounts idea, and embrace one of the aforementioned alternative “fixes� for Social Security. He will almost certainly get Democratic support for those fixes.

That, in turn, will give many Republicans who are in marginal districts or in Blue States political cover to “save� Social Security by endorsing and voting for, say, removing the income cap on FICA.

Then, VIOLA! — George W. Bush and the Republicans go into the 2006 midterms as the party that “saved Social Security!� Erasing for a generation the inherent advantage Democrats have had on the issue for decades.

This is quite a pickle. On the one hand, you have to wonder if the conservatives would ever really let this happen. Remember, wingers want private accounts not because they’d be a better deal for everyone, in fact quite the opposite. They’d be a better deal for those who deserve it (by competing well in the market). According to the conservative’s strict father morality this is the only legitimate way to distribute the wealth of society. They don’t actually want to save Social Security.

On the other hand, “saving Social Security� would be a huge victory for the Republicans and, as Hesiod points out, it would give them a significant political advantage for a good long time.

If Democrats are to avoid losing on this issue, they will almost certainly need to get in front of the turning tide and claim these common-sense reforms as their own. We’d need to make damn sure every American knows that Bush caved and the Democrats won.

There’s just two problems with that.

First, you don't want to jump the gun or else you face legitimizing Bush's plan as just "one option among many."

Second, I’m just not confident Democratic leaders have the political skill to pull this off. That’s pretty damning, I know, but can you honestly tell me that you know we have the strategists necessary to play this as delicately as it seems we’ll have to? Thought so.

This is the big test for our new generation of leaders – Dean, Reid, and Pelosi.

For the record, I’m more than willing to do my part. Just tell me how.

Tracy, Kate, Alan, and the treacherous cliffs.

On Saturday, Tracy, Kate, Alan and I braved the chill and the muck to go tromping around Calvert Cliffs State Park. Ostensibly, you go to CCSP to look for fossils on the Chesapeake Beach, but we sure as heck didn't find any. All we found was a flooded trail and cliffs you couldn't walk on due to landslides.

Well, there was the beautiful expanses of the ocean and the pretty cool Liquified Natural Gas depot just a few hundred yards off shore. I suppose those were pretty cool.

Photo gallery here.

New tonight to Be The Power: My very own blogroll!

I've now added links to the sidebar for all the sites I read everyday. Most of them have RSS feeds, and I highly recommend you start tracking each of them. If you think I've missed something that should be on there, please let me know.

Also - special thanks to Arvind at Movalog for creating a brand new MT-Blogroll plugin that makes administering the list a breeze on my installation of Movable Type.