Thursday, February 21, 2013

Tax This, Tax That: No More Red Tape

I've had a whole day to get over it, but I'm still angry at these two stupid moron idiots for saying parents shouldn't let their kids ride bikes and that cyclists are too cowardly to be soldiers.


I'd love to see this smug pair of snail tracks say that crap directly to these people.  I suppose if they had played more football then they wouldn't have been wounded in battle.  Stupid Wall Street Journal mediatards.

Speaking of stupid things, a sizable number of readers have informed me that Washington State wants to tax bicycles:


Why?  To make drivers feel better:

There’s even a $25 sales fee on bicycles worth $500 or more that would raise $1 million over 10 years, a nod to motorists who complain that bicyclists don’t pay their fair share.

By the way, it appears that the Seattle Times actually changed the wording on the above passage, because earlier emails I received quoted it thusly:

"There’s even a $25 sales fee on bicycles worth $500 or more that raises a total $1 million over 10 years, included for largely symbolic reasons."

This makes sense, because your bike doesn't burn any gasoline and it puts almost no strain on the infrastructure--and certainly none at all on all those highways were bikes aren't even allowed.  Also, it makes even more sense to tax only the more expensive bikes, since those are generally the ones used recreationally by people who already own cars anyway, which means they might as well put the tax on windsurfing boards for all it has to do with transportation.  Most importantly, you can't have drivers feeling singled out, even though they're the ones burning the gas and wearing out the roads and causing gridlock and keeping the government busy by crashing into each other all the time and forcing the police to respond to their stupid emergencies.  Then, after all this, they're only going to raise $1 million over 10 years, which is a joke, since these days your average hipster can probably raise that much money on Kickstarter to fund a "zine" about pickling.  Yes, clearly the bicycle tax is included for "largely symbolic reasons," and that symbol is "fuck you for riding a bike."

Fortunately, there's a way around the bicycle tax, which is for the bike shop to sell you your bicycle as a bunch of individual parts that happens to have been pre-assembled.  What's more likely to happen though is that people are just going to go to Portland to buy their bicycles, which should do a lot to inflame Seattle's already massive inferiority complex with regard to their hipper neighbor to the south.  Then the state government will have to spend the $1 million on a campaign to try to make its flagship city relevant again:


Sadly though, Seattle's cool days are long behind it, and I don't see it ever bouncing back.  Just imagine the Pacific Northwest is a bar on a Friday night.  You walk in, and there's Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver BC all sitting together having a drink.  Who do you think is still going to be sitting there come closing time, ranting drunkenly about how Portland's a slut, how Vancouver's "space needles" are fake, and about how it's going to die single?  And don't mention "Singles" to Seattle or you'll never hear the end of it:



Anyway, if nothing else, the $25 bike tax should go great with Seattle's mandatory helment laws.

I wonder if custom bicycles would be subject to the $25 tax, since technically you're just buying some tubing and hiring someone with a beard to weld them together.  And speaking of bearded framebuilders, here's a short documentary about Stephen Bilenky that was forwarded to me by the filmmaker:


Bicycling Magazine: Bilenky Cycle Works from Andrew David Watson on Vimeo.

I enjoyed this video, but what Bilenky won't tell you because he's far too modest is that he also turned down a shitload of money to be on the IFC television series "Whisker Wars," where he was going to be pitted against fantasy author George R.R. Martin:


The tagline was going to be "Two men, two hats, and one beard to rule them all."

Of course, if the Bilenky video wasn't enough custom bike porn for you, you'll be pleased to know that the North American Handmande Bicycle Show starts tomorrow in Denver and I'm going to just type random stuff now because if you're like me you fell asleep as soon as you saw the words "North American Handmade Bicycle Show" scranus nipple scranus crazy wild beard fight Don Walker scranus.  This year, Gates is sponsoring NAHBS once again, so expect lots of belt drives in applications where a chain would be much better, which is to say all of them.  You should also expect lots of disc brakes, and at least one bike that is slowed by a disc brake caliper that actually pinches a drive belt.

Hey, the NAHBS might feature a lot of gimmickry, but if there's at least one solid idea that Specialized can steal then it will all be worth it.

Lastly, I received the following video from a reader:


He sure says the "f-word" a lot.

He says "fuck" a lot too.

141 comments:

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

No Comment!

Anonymous said...

podium?

Comment deleted said...

Schlappenschwantz!

Anonymous said...

and 3rd too?

Anonymous said...

Fuck it mon, three top tens in one day it is.

Faceman said...

that video is awesome

Blog Drafter said...

Sechs?

Anonymous said...

ant 2nd!
top 10!

no reproduction without copulation! Now there's taxation I could get behind.

Yarpo said...

TOP TENst!!

What a befideal!!!

Blog Drafter said...

Peloton is slow today. I looked up the German word for six, captch'd three times and still got in the top ten, twice!

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Everybody's too busy flipping their bratwursts.

Anonymous said...

DEAR LANCE....ALL YOU NEED IS" LOVE"...

V.I. Lenin

Comment deleted said...

Sure, let's be completely fair about road taxes; tax every vehicle that uses the road: make the rate proportional to gross vehicular weight.

Suck on that, Escaladers.

McFly said...

The soothing voice of Jorgen Leth helps to wile away the long, cold winter days.

SIDEBAR: Did you know that Ole Ritter was John Ritters older brother?

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

I actually mounted my Backbrat up front on my boom above the cranks so I don't have to reach around. And I can enjoy the wonderful aroma of sizzling frankfurters as I ride.

Comment deleted said...

I don't know, RCT, it just seems wrong that a bike should have a "boom".

Do you have to yell "coming about!" before tacking, I mean, turning?

Buffalo Bill said...

Trying to remember why I never got into rap, I don't think it was for a lack of cycling related tracks.

4116 dcnces

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

A lot of things may seem wrong about recumbents but you get used to it and in time realize they're not wrong at all.

No "COMING ABOUT" is shouted before overtaking slower traffic on the bike path. Normal hand signals work fine for turning.

Anonymous said...

.."to fund a "zine" about pickling".

WCRM, are you pickin on stevil again?

Anonymous said...

To be perfectly honest, I'm not crazy about that rapper's chain tension.

Anonymous said...

For those that didn't follow the link to the Washington State tax article, they give some scenarios for how the tax would work
1) Car: $140 for $20,000 vehicle = 0.7% tax
2) Bicycle: $25 for $500 vehicle = 5% tax

If drivers want equality then the rates should be the same. Using the vehicle values from above you would get:
1) For a 0.7% tax: $3.50 for the bike and $140 for the car
2) For a 5% tax: $25 for the bike and $1000 for the car

Good luck getting #2 in.

Esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

I think "niggaz" are actually saying "put on a shirt, get off of that stupid thing, clean up your language and start looking for a job." But I realize that often sounds like "disrespectful"


shiny cocring

stiveaux said...

he's better at bikes than rhymin

mikeweb said...

Maybe a bicycle tax can go toward buying a few red light cameras to hand out some tickets to drivers.

I was walking near my work in midtown this a.m. and I gotta say the shit's gettin' ridiculous.

Duh! That's why his name is 'Ole' Ritter! They also have a younger sister, Lil Ritter.

Esteemed Commenter DaddoOne said...

"good luck getting #2 in"


I've seen it in the movies.

EPO Fraud

stiveaux said...

He better at bikes than rhymin

McFly said...

When Cambell Scott starts talking it always makes me think Michael Stipe and Daniel Day-Lewis had a baby.

That Bilenky Video gave me an incredible chubby. The Kant-Twist copper-jawed clamp at 3:16 is the greatest clamp known to mankind.

Anonymous said...

Toss that nip thug

Anonymous said...

Scranus and nipple, together again. At least something went right today.


balls™

babble on said...

PANT PANT Gidday peeps! Sorry I'm late! Work keeps interfering with my commenting.

pqbuffington said...


SHOE TAX NOW!

Like freedom, sidewalks are not free…

dcee604 said...

Hey Seattle, come to Vancouver BC and buy a bike! Your American $ goes further, AND we're removing the Provincial sales tax this year!
...and come say hi to me, I'd be ridin' on my fixie...

babble on said...

Hey! I say fuck a lot, too. Plus I like to fuck a lot. I shoulda been a rapper.

babble on said...

What?? Has Alberta annexed BC??

We 'removed' the provincial sales tax when it was amalgamated into the HST, or harmonized sales tax, but the PST coming back (Along with the GST) when the HST is removed this year.

Don't hold your breath waiting for anything to become more affordable though.

McFly said...

Babble, it absolutely baffles my mind that you had to get on the internets to find a man to keep you in your vices.

BAFFLE ON!!!


8871hedsual

Anonymous said...

wasn't that rapper on the cover of
Exile on Main St.??

babble on said...

mmm chubbies

babble on said...

WHAT??! The intertubes are the best place to find people. I found you here, didn't I?

Anonymous said...

Last vehicle vehicle I registered was excised at about $13,000 (@ 7%). Unfortunately, this was a work truck and not a Morgan roadster. I truly believe this is deal compared to the damage to infrastructure this vehicle causes. Any bike would be subject to sales tax in most places anyway. Oddly, some states don't collect sales taxes on boats.

Charlie Sheehan said...

Personally, I'm waiting for the STD to be removed.

Anonymous said...

pqbuffington

and

Anon 1:10

Nice work,

nothing more to say here that wouldn't qualify as ranting.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

babble you don't have a big enough afro to be a rapper.

leroy said...

You know, it's short step from Sir Mix-a-lot to Sir Fuckalot.

Charlie Sheehan said...

BTW, I'm Charlie Sheen's even nastier older brother.

McFly said...

Yeah but I am here because I was rejected from society. They cast me aside like an empty ShotBlock celophane and left me to forage for electronic hoochies. Like you.

mikeweb said...

I think leroy's dog is commenting again.

That's what leroy gets for leaving his computer screen unlocked.

leroy said...

Ole man Ritter, that Ole Man Ritter.

He must know sumpthin' but he don't say nothin'.

Anonymous said...

Are those Rapha commuter jeans on the rapper?
Nice ranting today, Snob.

Anonymous said...

for all federally funded highways, only 50% cost and maintenance is directly funded through "user fees" the rest is through the general fund and financial holdings of the highway department. local roads are entirely funded by local taxes - yeah - some of it is gas tax, but most of it is usually property tax or sales tax.

motorists don't even pay their fair share. what dipshits.

Anonymous said...

Rounding out the half century, KNEEL BEFORE ZOD.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

"Electronic Hoochies"

-Good name for a band.

leroy said...

Weird. My dog has been doing an imitation of Paul Robeson rapping.

It sounds awful, but he and his buddies are cracking up.

I'll never understand that dog.

Anonymous said...

Da Drafta and da 'Po on one day in the same top ten, somebody get a camera. (ZOD)

Olle Nilsson said...

Warning: I'm about to geek out a bit. A 40000lb semi causes 10000 times more damage to the road than a 3500lb car (increase in weight causes road wear to increase by a power of 4). Given that, cyclists probably couldn't wear out the road if they tried. Well, maybe cargo bikes (still feeling smug about your cargo bike?). Still, if the car drivers go after the trucking industry they'll just pay for it in increased cost of goods. Put the burden on cyclists and maybe the average New Yorker picks up their Chinese food orders instead of getting delivery. Portland on the other hand would go into a financial death spiral of unprecedented magnitude. Still, we're an easy target.

Babbles: Bikes are exempt from PST. The soon-to-be-kicked-to-the-curb HST Fucked up that sweet situation.

2610 gestanks? Maybe I should shower

Anonymous said...

Leroy:
My dog has been hanging out with some coyotes. I think they are a bad influence on her. She's been bringing home rabbit heads.

Anonymous said...

How come we're discussing Harry S Truman? And what does PST stand for? I'm so confused.

leroy said...

I see you riding round town with the girl I love,
And I'm like fuck you (oo-oo-oo)

The anodized chain on my sprocket wasn't enough,
And I'm like fuck you and fuck her too-oo-oo.

leroy said...

Oh great, now my dog and his buddies are doing a sing a long.

Marcel Da Chump said...

Symbolic scranus tax.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the Bilenky video Snob. Really hit some sentimental notes there. Reminded me of my grandparent's basement where my Grandpa was always tinkering around w/bikes. He'd fix 'em up so us grandkids always had a bike to ride there--all of us. My Dad rode too. 'Tis true I come from a long line of cyclists. Also, my Dad was a tool & die maker so of course that shop reminded me of going to visit him at work when I was a kid. Wow. Lots of oversharing there. Now excuse me while I go find a kleenex.

mikeweb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

BSNYC,
Thanks for pointing out idiots who have never served, judging cyclists who happen to be Soldiers. They are welcome for the sacrifices of me and my fellow service members.
Dan
Sergeant First Class/USArmy
Cyclist

BTW, Love your books.

Dennis said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Thanks for your service Dan.

mikeweb said...

I second that.

Thank you Dan.

Anonymous said...

I have two bikes in my small NYC apartment and after watching the Bilenky video I'm seriously considering a third. That's okay though, I can always move the wife to storage. Thanks wildcat.

Olle Nilsson said...

DB: Harry's a figure from the past - people in PST live is 3 hours in the past when you're in a New York state of mind.

Olle Nilsson said...

We don't proof read in the PST zone either.

Olle Nilsson said...

Heck, we even think proofread is two words.

Comment deleted said...

Yeah, ge, but we PST is lives! That's what counts.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful work on the fillet brazing Mr. Bilenky! One question, how do you not catch that beard on fire?

Comment deleted said...

I also enjoyed the craftsmanship displayed by Mr. Bearded Bilenky.

It occurred to me that things like this video put the lie to that Hurricane-Sandy-whining-Schlappschwantz-blogger from a few months back, who accused Snobby of doing nothing but tearing down bike culture.

No sir. BSNYC tears down shitty, pretentious, gear-whoring bike culture. He quietly acknowledges the quality kind when he sees it.

You all know this, of course. I enjoy preaching to the choir.

babble on said...

DB -PST = Provincial Sales Tax

McFly - My hoochie is definitely not electronic. It's all woman.

Leroy - yeah, he's sounding all rapper-like, but is he fucking a lot?

McFly said...

BOMBS ON BIKES!

Crazy Indians.

http://news.msn.com/world/bombs-on-bikes-in-india-marketplace-kill-at-least-11-minister

Scott Long said...

This will not work unless they close the "Bike Show Loophole", otherwise known as craigslist.

Anonymous said...

Just heard that the annual Roadkill Spotting bike ride has been postponed due to a snowstorm headed our way.
We would still ride, but the Roadkill will be covered up with snow.
The object is to find as many different kinds of dead animals along the road as possible on the way to the bar.
Pretty fun.

bikesgonewild said...

...glad 'bro from the hood' has got hisself a fixxy to enjoy 'cuz i don't see those particular rappin' skillz puttin' him in a pearl white escalade ridin' on 22's any time soon...

...just sayin', bro'...

JB said...

Kant-Twist 3:16

Dooth said...

Is that a Lance tattoo on the cycle rapper?!
We've got our anonymous Lance lover!

Ex Marine - In Country 69-70 said...

Sgt. Dan thank you for serving as part of our shared sacrifice society (wealthy exempt of course).

bikesgonewild said...

...i salute you sergeant first class flanagan with the deepest wish that we lived in a culture where we didn't have need for your services because the sacrifices are truly heartbreaking...

...& as a cyclist, dan, i tip my cap to you...

Ex-Marine, in country 69-70 said...

Could Babble or Frilly please go give Sgt. Dan a kiss? Or better yet, both at once.

babble on said...

DB - do you get to shoot things along the way to make it more interesting? That would be very second amendment of you...

Resd "Where Men Win Glory" said...

From Yesterday, Anon 2:52: "not wanting cyclists in the trenches. When NFL-er Pat Tillman, who rode his bicycle to practice, quit the NFL to join the Army Rangers, he was posted to Afghanistan where our own troops shot and killed him. To their credit, they did feel bad about it, so covered it up.

And the trail of lies lead back to the Bush-Cheney White House, what a surprise.

McFly said...

I heard Team BlocBoi got invited to Terrino-Adriatico this year.

It should be a hoot.

I can't wait to hear Phil Liggett say "And they are setting precedent because they are the first colored team to ride in a ProTour Event"....

bikesgonewild said...

...'ten-hut' - ex-marine, in country 69-70 @ 3:37pm...

...they say - "...all's fair in love & war..." so no pullin' rank in this case, soldier...everybody starts at the back of that particular line...

...just sayin'...

Anonymous said...

Can I get belt powered disk brakes ?

Disapproving D said...

That rapster dude is so badass. Going though stop signs and blowing red lights. I've seen small children flaunt 'The Man' in such a manner on their way to elementary school.

Anonymous said...

That message is fuck your scranus

don't treadest 335 on me

bikesgonewild said...

...has anyone else noticed just how ridiculously ugly the homepage that yahoo recently imposed upon us is ???...

...on top of that, it seems like they've created ...yahoo's department of redunancy department from yahoo..."...

...structuring to "benefit" social media is one thing but poor taste & format is another...

...& we get to live with the "fail" every time we log on...

Anonymous said...

Freds do the Harlem Shake too.

Spinning tires, crabon fibre, bibs akimbo
http://vimeo.com/59966328

Anonymous said...

It's not about wearing out the road, you bunch of dipshits.

Paying 25 dollars when you buy a bicycle is chickenfeed. But it would give cyclists political legitimacy; in other words we would have a greater chance of being heard at the levels where infrastructure is funded.

It would also send a message to that other group of dickwads, the drivers who say that bicycles have no right to be on the road. ( i.e. the morons who honk and yell any time they see a bicycle. This includes a woman in a black s.u.v. who was traveling the opposite direction from me, and blasted me for absolutely no reason. )

If you use the road, why not pay a nominal tax for it? Or do you whiners identify more with the bicycle as a recreational toy?

Anyway twenty-five dollars is nothing; haven't you assholes heard of inflation?

Yarpo said...

Can't watch the videos here at work. Gotta wait till I get home.
However, that George Martin photo makes me think that Jerry Garcia isn't really dead. I mean look at his hands: playing air guitar! The missing finger coulda been photo-shopped in...just diciendo, like, man.

Shit! Break time's over.

Comment deleted said...

Anonymous fuckface @ 4:40:

(Sorry, I'm assuming that's how you want to be addressed, just following your lead).

So we should pony up a huge percentage (compared to four-wheelers) to buy legitimacy?

Fuck you. We're already legitimate users of the road. It's time it was acknowledged, but not by charging us a disproportionate tax

Anonymous said...

Jesus Mary and Joseph anon 4:40...
Go fuck your own ass...

bikesgonewild said...

...yarpo...methinks you'll enjoy the bilenky cycle works vid in that it's very 'grounding'...

...basic, raw, 'real deal' cycle building...

...@ anon 4:40pm...other than cloaking yourself in pretentious & attitude-y bullshit, do you honestly think $25 bucks a pop is gonna change the dynamic ???...

...personally, i don't see it & i've been looking at this scene for a long damn time BUT if i thought it actually would, i & most of us here would in all liklihood support it...

crosspalms said...

Anon 4:40
If it's going to cost me $25 to get legislators to listen to me about bike lanes, fine, and I'm in for $100 so they'll listen to me about background checks for gun buyers and restoring music and art to schools. But fixing the streets? I already pay for that, since I pay income tax, state income tax, state and local sales taxes, and property tax. And gas tax! If that isn't enough to do the job (and who knows better than cyclists how crappy a lot of our roads are), then we're just not paying enough. Or maybe we're buying too many F-35s.

bikesgonewild said...

...the day that police agencies, on a 100% basis, start investigating cycling deaths that involve vehicles without the 'rob ford-ish' attitude of "oh, well, that's to be expected given the discrepancy" is the day we'll start to be given the simple respect we deserve as road users & a few bucks per cyclist ain't gonna change that...

...that's gotta be both mandated, followed by proper procedure & then one fuck of a lot more prosecution needs to happen...

babble on said...

Anon @ 4:40 - it would be easier to listen to your perspective if you didn't lower yourself to name calling. Kindov makes it look like you don't have conviction in your statement, so you have to hype it with bullshit and bravado.

lumpoke 7421

Anonymous said...

I'm with you Crosspalms.
Time to go Norma Rae on their ass. Union! Hire lawyers! K-street lobbyists!
Look what the AARP did for seniors. For every dollar spent on kids, four dollars get spent on seniors.
Lets do that for bike lanes and bikers rights. Legislators listen better when there is a donation involved. No one takes cyclists seriously, but a bad-assed huge group of angry cyclists led by El Jefe Snob will have bike lanes from coast to coast.
Oh, I'm just rambling on.

Blog Drafter said...

The heck with taxing vehicles according to their weight...let's set the SPEED LIMIT according to their weight. Semis: 55, SUV's and Wannabe F350's: 60, anything between 4,000 and 5,000 lbs (the weight of a full size car up to a standard full size pickup): 65, anything under 4,000 lbs: 70 or 70+.

Thataways those that put the most wear and tear on the road system go slower and those that do less damage and get better gas milage are rewarded. Everyone benefits from the SUV assholes crashing into them a lower rate of speed.

And the states can have unlimited income in the form of speeding ticket revenue for at least three generations until finally we get it through our dumb American heads that it's not our G#ddammed right to consume every resource on the planet while building NFL style "character".

Just sayin'

Woman in the Black SUV said...

Here's $25. Now get the fuck back on the sidewalk

crosspalms said...

DB,
I like the sound of that. And the nice thing about a bad-assed group of angry cyclists carrying pitchforks and torches is we can probably leave the helments at home. They'd spoil the image.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 4:40pm,

Do you work for the Wall Street Journal?

--Wildcat Rock Machine

bikesgonewild said...

...& i don't mean to paint every police department with the same wide brush because there are those who do intensive investgations wherein motorists guilty of faulty driving procedures which result in (easily avoidable) cyclists death are prosecuted...

...but there seems to be an unwritten rule within the legal system that if it involves a cyclists death, well, "...shit happens..."...

...with more enforcement & prosecution, the more drivers (out of fear, unfortunately) will pay attention...

crosspalms said...

Although what I just wrote sounds a lot like Critical Mass, and we know how effective that is.

Level where infrastructure is funded said...

Thanks for the $25, cyclists, I was going to spend it on bike lanes but it went for hookers and blow instead.

bikesgonewild said...

..."... Woman in the Black SUV said...
Here's $25. Now get the fuck back on the sidewalk..."
...

...whilst THAT is a delightfully comical response, it's also a lot closer to the mark than most of us here would care to accept...



Anonymous said...

Crosspalms:
I hear Jesse Jackson, Jr is available. Oh! And Mel Reynolds. Gov Ryan is just sitting around under house arrest, he can help.

Comment deleted said...

Blog Drafter,

I always thought, in my powered two-wheeling days, that momentum limits would be very much to my liking.

crosspalms said...

DB,
Jesse Jr. went through $750,000 and didn't spend a dime on bicycles? I've lost all respect for the man.

Anonymous said...

"and keeping the government busy by crashing into each other all the time and forcing the police to respond to their stupid emergencies."

In Kansas City we have a foot of snow, and out playing around on low-pressure MTB tires I dug two people out just on my block. My neighbor rode his fat bike to work and said he pushed four cars out of drifts on the way. The interstates are full of people who slid their stupid selves in their cars into barriers. Every chance they get, people are stupid about their cars!

Jimboner said...

And it was decreed that henceforth Babble shall be known as Pope Lumpoke the XXX.

Anonymous said...

"vehicle" weight based tax makes most sense to me. Probably an easier sell to the public - but the downside is it benefits the crabon freds - now you've got people shaving grams to save a few cents on excise taxes.

I think we should also charge a tax on shoes - because people walk on the street sometimes.

Comment deleted said...

DB - Mal Reynolds? Sign me up. Let's see what the Washington legislature does when confronted with a posse of angry bicycling browncoats.

Notsosanta Klaus said...

On other News: In the attempt to clean up the sport of bicycle cycling “once and
for all”, the UCI declared their president the honorable Mr. McQuaid winner of
the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005.
And to take one giant step beyond, Mr. McQuaid is also declared first man on the moon,
even so second in line, Mr. Aldrin never failed a drug test, but a name like “Buzz” is
in it self disqualifying factor.

babble on said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

" ... which should do a lot to inflame Seattle's already massive inferiority complex with regard to their hipper neighbor to the south."

Quoted for truth. The place is a shithole.

There, I said it said...

Babs,

As if religion has to be pretty. We just fall into the same trap over and over...that somehow if we take the best, prettiest parts of the world and assemble them before us we'll be happy. Religion, sadly, is just another thing to be acquired, with all the attendant jostling, fighting, and killing that goes with acquiring anything of any sort.

Just. Drop. It.

There, I said it said...

Snob, delete my comment too, then...

There, I said it said...

I've been trying to get a comment deleted for a long time now.

Anonymous said...

On this moronic cyclist/soldier thing -- If anyone's read "One Bullet Away" by Nathaniel Fick -- or seen him portrayed on HBO's Iraq War miniseries "Generation Kill", or read in the book of the same name about him jumping out of his vehicle during an ambush with bullets flying everywhere in order to help get the convoy turned around -- he was a bike racer in college.

Extremely smart guy -- also absolutely tough as nails with deep physical and moral courage.

There is no scorn deep enough for those dipshits.

Anonymous said...

Next the wicked taxgrubbers will charge for pedestrians, baby strollers, etc. Wait, I think I did read an article about a shoe tax or proposed shoe tax? Chicago, maybe? Yes, 25 cents per athletic shoe to fund yout' programs. Rrrrriiiight. Uuuggghhh. Nanny state.

Anonymous said...

The Washington State sales tax is 6.5%: higher in some counties. I think that is $1,300.00 on a $20,000.00 dollar car. That would also be $130.00 on a $2,000.00 "Fred" bike. I would pay a little extra for bike infrastructure, especially bike paths.

Anonymous said...

Hats off to Mr. Bilenky ... going to visit that place on my next journey to Filthydelphia

Anonymous said...

@Dennis- YES-Democrats are lousy chess players! Mr.Obama should have insisted the Dems tackle the Bush Tax Cuts BEFORE he went after The ACA. THEN he would have had some bargaining chips to trade, and we wouldn't be in near as deep o' crap we are now. BUT, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid were so high from the election, they couldn't see the forest for the trees. Consequently, they lost big ground in the mid-term, and are taking an ass-whooping for it. I personally will be pushing the Libertarians next election. They're cray-cray!

Anonymous said...

"Honkies say you are disrespectful."

3G said...

I've heard some shitty hip-hop in my life...and this is the winner!

Anonymous said...

WOW! The Prez rides a bike AND wears a helmet. Watch out! The 'Dems" love spending money and making laws. The bad: mandatory national helmet wearing laws. The good: free helmets for everyone (well everyone except the middle class, We'll have to pay for our own).

babble on said...

Silly billy. I am the author who deleted my own comment. You can delete yours too if you click the little bin at the bottom of the comment.

I do that sometimes when I start to babble on...

but the whole bikes as a religion thing is snob's idea. I just want to be the pope.
please and thank you :)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, El Jefe is badass. I think he might be down in Texas now, Austin maybe. Coincidence?

Hillbilly Singlespeeder said...

Ever'body gittin' all misty eyed and unctuous as sperm whales when a soldier gets mentioned.Last I looked they were workin' fer the banks and oil cartels.Never did shit for anyone who lives and works here.If they want my thanks they might start by shootin' their own fuckin' generals...
Oh, and that Bilenky beard really does look quite combustible.

Anonymous said...

Anonymity is in itself a self inflicted immortality in which the author of the comment lacks the ability to delete his prose. Reveal yourself and you shall be self-deletable.

-Anon

Trevor Lucius said...

Gotta love the Circle Jerks reference. Nice.

africansingle said...

Babble you'd do well as Pope 'cos you love little boys.

itsyuge 333 WTF!

Anonymous said...

I think to the WSJ is for trolls.

Stephen said...

That video is more of a joke than MC Spandex: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjchz_xRHU4

Saddle Sore said...

Lanterne rouge

babble on said...

Is a mediatard related to a fucktard?

P. Bateman said...

wow, things getting testy here on Snobbers comments section. how fun.

the one thing i will say about taxing vehicles based on gross weight is that currently you can write off the full value of any vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of over 6,000 pounds. So, Hummers, Gwagens, BMW X6's actually, and some other big ass cars and trucks. This is why you used to see so many H2 Hummers with car wraps on them to promote a plumber, contractor, baby sitting, small business whatever before things kind of fell apart.

Now, as far as the rap video - i'm not sure how you can't enjoy: "OMG Nigga' this bitch look like a duck"

i know i've been there a few times.

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