some thoughts

Two things. First of all, I used to be one of those people who looks at a raisin and thinks--this could not at any point in its existence have been a grape. It's just not possible. This shriveled husk of sweetness is nothing like the rounded juiciness (ew. Juicy is a gross word) I think of when I imagine a grape! But I have proved myself wrong. A few months ago, I had the misfortune to read Robinson Crusoe and in this book the hero...well, let's not kid ourselves, the protagonist decided to make raisins. (Here at least I cannot fault him. It was one of the few plausible things he did on that island.) And lo and behold, he took bunches of grapes, left them outside for a lengthy period of time, and voila! He had more raisins than he knew what to do with. So I thought to myself, I have to see if it's really true. I procured a grape, left it on my dresser for four months, and have to admit that it turned into a raisin. Sometimes it's okay not to take things entirely on faith, but in this instance, I should probably have taken everyone's word for it. Second matter. Income tax is the devil! I have started to call Howard Taft "Fatty Stupidhead" to myself. I know we shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but I mean to say. What is it about "no direct taxation" he didn't understand? The Constitution isn't that long, I imagine it wouldn't have killed him to have read it through. They should have told him there was a free bag of potato chips at the end. But seriously, this whole tax situation is out of control. What is up with the courts and deciding tax policy? They write our laws for us, and we bow our heads in consent. But I just found out (ah, the wonders of studying American Government) that federal courts can (and DO) mandate nonfederal tax hikes by requiring things like new prison construction or property tax increases to pay off other things the federal government mandated. Excuse me? Non elected officials deciding what we have to fork over out of our income?Am I the only one who remembers what happened the last time no taxation without representation got foisted on Americans? Apparently we need another midnight ride out of somebody, although who, where, and how is beyond me.