Once Again, You're Missing the Point!

Hello My Dear Friends! Can I just tell you that it isn't easy being the smartest Cat in the world. Seriously. Sometimes it's just plain exhausting. I realize that, since the disintegration of the media, it is very difficult for the average human to get the full story on any topic. But, seriously people, sometimes I think you're not even trying. Let's examine the merger story de jour. Burger King is purchasing Tim Hortons in what is generally called a "tax inversion strategy". What that means is that American owned Burger King buys Canadian owned Tim Hortons and becomes one big Canadian company. This effectively lowers the company's tax rate to about 26%, down from the oppressive US business tax rate of nearly 40%.  This is a practice widely criticized by the President, even going as far at one point, as calling it "un-American". Fine. The fascinating part of this story, the part no one seems to be talking about, is that Berkshire Hathaway is putting up $3 billion (or nearly one quarter) of the purchase price! Berkshire Hathaway is, of course Warren Buffet, the man who stood side by side with the President, denouncing this very practice. The same Warren Buffet who, while campaigning for the President, indignantly declared that he was paying a lower tax rate than his secretary, and that wealthy Americans had to step up and pay their share! Freaking hypocrite! Here's my point, the point I believe the media is missing. It's not that Burger King is buying Tim Hortons and moving to Canada. It's that, in spite of all of the rhetoric, campaigning and promises about tax reform, the wealthy in this Country can still do whatever they want to avoid paying their taxes while you and I struggle to pick up the slack. That's the point people. That's the point! Did you know that, in 2012, J.C.Penney posted revenues of $12.99 billion dollars and I paid more in taxes than they did? It's true. Not only did J.C.Penney NOT pay any taxes in 2012, they got a $551 million dollar tax credit. A REFUND! They're not alone. AMR corporation (American Airlines) had $24.86 billion in revenue in 2012. They paid NO taxes and got a $569 million tax credit. How about Verizon? $115.85 billion in revenue; $660 million tax credit. My personal favorite, Caesars Entertainment Corp. You may be familiar with their casinos. revenues of $8.59 billion and granted a tax credit of $871 million. People wonder how we're ever going to pay down this Country's $17.7 Trillion dollar debt. Gee, I wonder where we could find the money?
Po

Nothing is Ever Black and White

Hello My Dear Friends! I have received countless emails saying 'PoKitty, there is so much craziness going on right now, when are you going to weigh in on the madness'? Well, my dear friends, there are many reasons. first, let's start with the insanity in Ferguson, Missouri. I haven't weighed in because I don't know what happened there. No one does. I do know what didn't happen. Does anyone really believe that a young police officer, with a spotless record, just decided to gun down an unarmed teenager in the street? Unfortunately, with the bias and unprofessional coverage of the media, which has degraded into a bunch of wannabes trying to make a name for themselves, there will never be "justice" in Ferguson. Regardless of how the facts unfold, one thing is for sure, there will be no winners in Ferguson. This incident has irrevocably divided this town. I fear it's just the beginning of much ugliness to come. This is what happens when you remove Lady Liberty's blindfold. When justice isn't blind, it's unjust. But this, my dear friends, is the world we live in. Do you recognize these names: James Whitehead, Christopher Cervini or Dillon Taylor? No? I'm not surprised. On August 11th of this year 20-year old Dillon Taylor was shot and killed outside of a 7-11 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was an unarmed white man who was shot dead by a black police officer. I must have missed the President and Attorney General commenting on that case. Christopher Cervini was shot dead by a man in Greece, NY, last year. The shooter said Cervini was acting "suspiciously".  The shooter, Roderick Scoot was a "neighborhood watchman". He was acquitted, claiming he feared for his life. Cervini was an unarmed 16-year old. I think you can guess the racial make up. Finally, 28-year old James Whitehead was a Veteran who had recently returned from war. Whitehead was unarmed and sitting in his truck after a verbal altercation over a car part when he was shot dead by an off duty police officer. The officer says he fatally shot Whitehead because he used a racial slur. The officer was removed from the force but no charges were ever brought against him. He is now suing to get his job back. Another unarmed white man shot dead by a black police officer. Why no media coverage? Why no justice? This is what happens when "justice" isn't blind. This is what happens when the facts take a backseat and race becomes the focal point. When you're more focused on the "who" instead of the "what" there is no justice and there never will be peace.
Po

WTF People!

Hello My Dear Friends. I have returned from hiatus only to find that, once again, all heck has broken loose! I can't leave you people alone for a minute, can I? Let me start with the "ALS Bucket Challenge". As you know, the captor did it. I did not! If someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head they would have died! I'm all for raising awareness of a terrible disease like ALS. The Bucket Challenge was a brilliant marketing scheme BUT (yes there is a but) it's not charity, it's extortion. I, like many of you, only have so much money to give to organizations in need. I am not fond of being "forced" to support an organization by being "called out" by someone else. In this world of instant attention through social media, declining a "call out" looks bad. It's embarrassing. The captor was "called out" both on Farcebook and on the radio. Kind of hard to say no, don't you think? It's not that we don't find ALS an important cause, it's that we like to quietly support organizations that are important to us personally, not organizations that use public humiliation as a marketing tool. ALS isn't the first organization to do this. The March of Dimes, with their "Jail and Bail" fundraiser is another pet peeve of mine. The captor gets called every year with "Someone you know has chosen you to be jailed...". With all due respect, no one I know would volunteer the captor to fund raise for your organization. It is incredibly presumptuous to assume that, just because you know my name, I would be willing to solicit funds from my friends and family on your behalf. Again, I'm not saying that MOD is not a worthy cause, I'm saying that I prefer to choose my own charities, not have them chosen for me by someone else. If that makes me a bad cat then so be it. If you need my help, contact me privately and ask for it. If I can help, I will. Don't call me out publicly and ask for something. It's rude. Okay! I feel better.
Now, on to beef! There is a move across Europe, and you can bet it's headed here, to put an "emissions" tax on beef because, according to a new study, beef cattle are bad for the environment! Now, without getting into all of the details, the study says beef cattle need more land and water than other food animals and they produce more "greenhouse gases". They say adding a new tax to beef will obviously raise the price, making it more difficult for people to afford, thus leading them to eat more vegetables. Are you FREAKING kidding me? First of all, have you seen the price of fresh vegetables? More importantly, these "scientists" who study these things are just plain goofy. Correct me if I'm wrong but cows have been around for a long time, right? I'm pretty sure we didn't invent the cow. Therefore, they can't be all that harmful to the environment or we'd all be dead all ready. This leads me to believe there is an ulterior motive to this study. Could it be another push by the food police to control what we eat? Where will this end. First, the First Lady tries to ban cookies, cakes and brownies from school bake sales. Now you want to take away our burgers? Are you people crazy! Stop this insanity! Stop this war on deliciousness! I don't like turkey burgers. I don't like tofu. I will NOT substitute a veggie burger for my hamburger! Look at this:

I love it in all of it's fatty, greasy goodness! You can't take that away from me. NEVER! Out of my cold, dead paws people. Out of my cold, dead paws!

Po