I wrote about this once upon a time, but I'll write about it here as well.

In Northern Virginia, we have a fun county...Fairfax County. This is where the overflow from liberal Arlington County lives, and is home to some pretty spectacular real estate. It's also home to some of the most tax-happy officials I've ever had the misfortune to live under. Combine that with Governor Mark Warner's, well, lies about his tax program, and a statewide unnecessary $1 billion tax increase, and the stage is set for the latest doofusism.

Starting today, in Fairfax county, if you need an ambulance ride you're going to be charged up to $550, plus $7.50/mile.

That's right. That is not a misprint. An indisputably public service...a freaking AMBULANCE ride, will now carry with it a price tag.

The economist in me kind of understands this. Services should be paid for by the people using them, right? It's that kind of rationale that girds arguments against using property taxes to pay for schools...after all, people with no kids in the public schools shouldn't have to pay for them. Right?

So how can the Fairfax County board argue AGAINST school vouchers yet institute a policy like this?

Now, to be fair County executives are bending over backwards to make some disclaimers:

1) The fee won't be collected up front. That's comforting...as if anyone really thought we were going to have a C.O.D. ambulance service. That's really a non issue.

2) No one will be denied service. OK, because I'm thinking if they did, lawsuit city. And again, I'm thinking no one actually thought they'd refuse to load up a heart attack victim because he's too shaky to write up a check.

3) Medicaid and Medicare will cover the charge in most, cases. And here we get to the nub of it.

This isn't about getting money from the residents to pay for a service. It's about shaking down the Feds! It's about a Fairfax board looking at all that mad phat Medicare money and trying to grease their way into it. But if the patient doesn't have Medicare, no problem! The patient's insurance will cover it! How nice...my premiums are going to go up because Fairfax County is too busy spending my INCREASED property taxes on whatever it is they're spending it on instead of basic services.

That's right. The following quote from the story fills any Fairfax County homeowner with alternating waves of mirth and nausea:

"Everything we're about doing these days is a focused effort to ease the impact on property taxes," [Fairfax County Supervisor T. Dana] Kauffman said. "Whether it's looking at hotel taxes or how fees are applied, it's basically a collective recognition that we can't continue to put it on the homeowners' back."

Yeah, Mr. Kaufman. Everything you're about is in lowering the burden borne by homeowners. That's why my property taxes keep climbing each year. And now that the sales tax on food has recently been reduced, we're waiting for the next round of increases. And that's independent of a state tax increase of a BILLION dollars that resulted in a state surplus of....a BILLION dollars. And in the face of that, you just can't continue to pay for a basic service like EMTs? A staff which is largely volunteer, I might add. Yeah, pull the other one.

This whole thing kind of highlights my disgust with not only the cynical medical system ("Hey, you don't have to pay for it! A third party will! Don't worry about that $550 charge"), but the government here in general. I mean, seriously. Why am I paying taxes? Police service?

Well, Fairfax County police instituted a policy a couple of years ago that if you have a burglar alarm on your place and it issues a "false" alarm, you get the first one free and then you start getting charged by the police for coming out there. But the determinor of the false alarm is...the police. In other words, if an alarm goes off and the police show up, they'll get out and walk around the house. If they don't see something obvious (like a busted-in door) they'll get back in their car and drive away, chalk it up to a false alarm, and charge the homeowner $100. And if he refuses to pay, they won't come out for any subsequent alarms.

Oh, but we have roads, right? Actually, VDOT is complaining about being chronically underfunded. Anyone who drives around Northern Virginia would probably agree...roads are wanting. And yet the Dulles Toll Road is getting a toll increase soon, to pay for an extension spur for the Metrorail system. In other words, we're going to be charged more for using a road we DO use so we can build a Metro line that WON'T be used. To me this is basic...if you need more roads, build more roads. You can start with adding a couple lanes to I-66 through Arlington and lifting HOV restrictions. So the homeowners there don't want a wider highway. Big Deal. I'm a homeowner and I don't care for paying extra tolls and going miles out of my way each morning just so some Arlingtonian can have a private interstate.

And now we have to pay for our ambulances. Meanwhile our taxes are going up under the guise of paying for government. Well, what are we paying for?!?

What's more egregious, the government giving away $20,000 of taxpayer funds to a private party in an essay contest or restricting that contest such that not all taxpayers are eligible to enter? If you ask me, it's a tough call.

Montgomery County, MD seems to disagree with me,as they are doing both for what looks like the ninth consecutive year:

The "Break the Barrier to Home Ownership Contest" provides a $15,000 grant to help with closing costs and a down payment.

To qualify for the reward you must write a 200 word essay titled "What Home Ownership Means To Me."

The contest is in its 9th year. To date, some $72,000 has been awarded.

Along with the essay, contestants must fill out an entry form and live in Montgomery County.

(Editor's Note: the official contest rules say that the total prize is $20,000, not $15,000 as this article states.)

I'm the first to admit that promotion of home ownership is arguably a valid government objective, but I can't for the life of me see how this reasonably works to attain that objective. After all, this plan can help, at most, ONE FAMILY. I can think of thousands of better ways to spend the money than this.

Putting aside the fact that it seems fundamentally wrong for the government to be running giveaway contests like this with taxpayer funds, consider this: this isn't even a random drawing - it's an essay contest, which means that it effectively excludes the very people that it's supposed to be helping, namely uneducated, low-income people.

And then there is this, from the official rules:

To be eligible, applicants must be first- time home buyers who live in Montgomery County, Maryland. The following maximum income limits apply:

Household Size Maximum Income*
1 $59,360
2$84,800
3 or more $97,520

So the very people that are paying for this egrigious contest are themselves ineligible to enter - I know that my liberal friends will disagree, but I think that this is also fundamentally unjust. It's not quite the same thing as taxing X to pay Y, which is done all of the time - this is taxing X to run a contest that only a certain subset of people can enter.

Ignoring, for the moment, all other issues and causes of action, I'd point out that
this seems unconstitutional to me in at least one key way: the people intended to benefit, namely low-income first-time home buyers, aren't all equally qualified to win. Many don't have the proper education to write an essay, many are non-native english speakers, which puts them at an inherent disadvantage. It can't be the case that the government can dole out benefits selectively in a such way that disenfranchises members of the targeted group, especially where that targeted group will be disproportionally composed of members of a protected class, otherwise that would be a violation of Equal Protection. (I think i have a Due Process argument along the same lines as well)

Hmmm, as a matter of fact, it just occured to me that the Court might hold this to be a violation of the recently resurrected privileges and immunities clause, ala Roe v. Saenz, 526 U.S. 489 (1999). I'll have to review the case. Anyone with more knowledge of Con Law than me have an opinion on that?

So, last week I said that "a lot of the tension of the Race is philiminated when you dislike all three of the lagging teams". Well, this week was the complete opposite. Let me tell ya, my heart was pounding when my darling brothers and the evil Ray & Deanna were in a footrace to the Amazing Bathmat. And THANK GOD Brian & Greg won. I adore these two. They're funny and sweet, even if they're not great drivers.

For Ray & Deanna, I hope this wasn't just the end of the Race for them, but also the end of their on-again, off-again relationship. Deanna had it exactly right when she said that Ray needs to learn that relationships aren't just about him. You'd think a man his age would get over some of his selfishness. Wasn't it especially sweet that these were Philiminated before the oldsters Meredith & Gretchen. I'm sure that still pisses Ray off.

I like the addition to the non-elimination penalty. After the first leg of this two-leg episode, not only did Meredith & Gretchen lose all their money and not get money for the second leg, they also lost all of their posessions except for the clothes on their back and their passports. I think that's great. Teams should be harshly penalized for finishing last, even in non-elims.

I should say, that as much fun as I've made of Gretchen, I really admired her tonight. She cut herself pretty badly in the caves and showed a lot of pluck in continuing. Some of the women in this Race and past Races would've cried and whined their way out of the competition. Of course, her injuries prevent me from pointing out her dirty words of the week. Ah well, maybe next time.

Rob & Amber were clearly cast as the villains. Unlike every other team, they didn't stop for Brian & Greg's car accident. Now, I understand it's a race, but all they needed to do was slow down, roll down the windows and make sure that everyone was okay. Plus, you could see that someone was hurt on the ground. You all may not know this, but the camera crews rotate among all the teams, so it's likely that Rob & Amber had traveled with the cameraman who was injured. It's not like this was some stranger. I think they showed a lack of common decency. I'm not throwing in the towel on them, but I do like them much less than last week.

Also, I think this week showed that there are some big chinks in their relationship. You could sense Rob's frustration when he was practically begging Amber to make some decisions. At some point, I want her to at least be an equal partner in the team, but I don't know if that's going to happen. She's seems happiest when she's just coasting along.

Lynn & Alex were a little more tolerable this week, while Ron & Kelly were just as invisible. Those two are good competitors, but there's nothing about them that interests me.

I'm glad that the trip to the orphanage made Uchenna and Joyce think about adoption again. They are so supportive of each other and they seem like they'd be wonderful with children. They could make some kids so happy.

A couple of other notes:

• I was really disappointed with the flight situation. In the past, trips from South America to Africa really required the teams to work the airport hard. This was too easy. I want to see teams scrambling for flights. Heck, I want to see teams on different flights for once.
• There were a couple of great editing moments with the kids in the orphanage. First, Brian & Greg dancing around like dorks and admonishing the kids with "don't do drugs". Later, Meredith & Gretchen told the kids to "be good". Hilariously, while they were saying this we see one kid bonk another kid on the head with a ball. Good stuff.
• I liked the running joke throughout the episode of teams calling Meredith "she". He's the boy named Sue.
• The brothers are still my favorite team. Without Ray & Deanna, I think Ron & Kelly are my least favorites. I don't dislike them, I just wouldn't miss them if they were Philiminated next week.

Previous Recaps:
Episode 4: Mendoza, Argentina to Buenos Aires, Argentina
Episode 3: Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
Episode 2: Cuzco, Peru to Santiago, Chile
Episode 1: Long Beach, CA to Cuzco, Peru

Be sure to check out Viking Pundit's recap too!

I know Reuters has its biases, but the latest article I read has literally left me gaping in disbelief.

The gist of the peace is that "liberal" Arab "reformers" are worried that America is putting "freedom" (hey, if Reuters insists on putting scare quotes around freedom, why expect me to do any less) ahead of stability in the Middle East.

A liberal Arab diplomat, who asked not to be named, said: "They seem to be supporting chaos and instability as a pretext for bringing democracy. But people would rather live under undemocratic rule than in the chaotic atmosphere of Iraq, for example, which the Americans tout as a model."

How does this "liberal" Arab diplomat know? Did the people vote on it or something? These "liberals" also worry that unfettered democracy will result in extremist regimes. Of course, I'd ask, compared to what? I'd also point them to opinion polls in Iraq, which show the exact opposite of their theory.

But that's not what left me gaping. It's what these "liberal" Arabs claim is the reason America is standing up for freedom. It's not, as Condi Rice has suggested, that:

the United States was willing to take a gamble on "democratic institutions" having a "moderating influence" in the region.

"Can we be certain of that? No. But do I think there's a strong certainty that the Middle East was not going to stay stable anyway? Yes. And when you know that the status quo is no longer defensible, then you have to be willing to move in another direction," she said.

Nope. America doesn't believe in freedom. Instead, Reuters would have us believe, it's all an Israeli scheme to destroy Arab regimes:

Mohamed el-Sayed Said said Rice's approach appeared to have links with a trend in right-wing Israeli thinking that favors destabilising Arab governments and societies.

"We see an emphasis on destruction and we see that Israel is willing to push Arab societies to the abyss without caring for stability. We suspect these ideas came from Israel," he added.

Reuters prints this propaganda, this crap, spewed from "liberal" Arabs with no backup, no balance, no nothing. Their reporter could have written an insightful article about the real challenges of bringing democracy to the Middle East. But instead they choose to spread more of the same old anti-American, anti-Israel propaganda.

Fox News reporting Johnnie Cochran died at age 67 due to a brain disorder/tumor.

More info as it becomes available. Our condolences to the Cochran family.

Update: The family has issued the following statement:

Family Statement on Cochran

The family of Attorney Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. and members of The Cochran Firm are deeply saddened by the passing of Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. The world has lost not only a legendary attorney, but an outstanding humanitarian. He passed away at his home today at 12:30pst of a brain tumor.

Certainly, Johnnie's career will be noted as one marked by 'celebrity' cases and clientele. But he and his family were most proud of the work he did on behalf of those in the community. As Johnnie always said, 'an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' It was his rallying cry as he worked to right many wrongs, and as he provided a voice to those who needed to be heard. He was deeply committed to helping and inspiring others- especially young people. His extraordinary law career will undoubtedly stand the test of time. But it was his devotion to his fellow human beings that will remain as his true legacy.

While listening to the Cam Edwards show yesterday, I caught a story about an Australian school that had concerns about what their students were bringing in their lunches. So the school instituted a policy...teachers would be handed a list of acceptable foods, and if the lunches did not have those foods the offending items would be taken away from the student. The parents would then be called to a meeting with the school principal.

A few thoughts....

First, have you ever HAD a school-provided lunch? I can only imagine what a Commonwealth lunch would taste like. It ain't Outback, folks.

Second, do teachers really have nothing better to do with their time than audit a kid's lunch? Is that really the opinion of the administrators?

Third, I, the Parent, claim the right and responsibility to feed my kid. If I want to give him the new Burger King Omelette Sandwich then that's my decision. I know the motives of the school are likely pure, but still...

Fourth, if you take away my kid's lunch then I will come down to the school and eat yours. The message here is it's better to starve than to eat a Ding-Dong (and dammit, what IS the deal with starving these days?!? Is this the new liberal cause celebre?!?). Well I want to pack a lunch for my kid to eat, and the standard will be his willingness to eat it, not your willingness to let him.

Fifth, what are you going to do on evenings and weekends? Send the teacher over to my house?

I should point out that after looking into this, it doesn't appear to be an official policy of all Aussie schools. To me the most objectionable thing here is the taking away of the items not on the school's approved list. The Aussies already distribute recommended food lists to parents, and I'm thinking that's about reasonable. Anything more than that, and there are boundary issues.

Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale will be in Madison Friday night for a speech on the UW-Madison campus. Now, I'm fine with Seale speaking on campus. But, other than the fact that it's what Jimmy Zoole named his cat in P.S. Your Cat is Dead, I don't know a thing about him.

Seale served time for conspiracy and inciting to riot, in the wake of the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention. Since 2002, he's worked on youth education programs with an organization called Reach!

On one hand, good for him. But, on the other, what exactly is he teaching these kids? Read these paragraphs from his website and tell me what the heck he's saying. I have no idea, although "Bush sucks" is probably in there somewhere:

"All Power To All The People!" Righteous down home peoples power is what I advocated in the sixties, and what I say today. That is, "...toward a future world of cooperational humanism!" Beyond the myopic notions and strict doctrinaire ideologies of past "politburo" state control command economy socialism. More important let's get beyond the present extremist practices of avaricious racist corporate monopoly globalizing capitalism having evolved a system which concentrates 90% of all the political-economic power in to the hands of the one percent cooperate money-rich around this OUR earth.

Democracy? HOW ABOUT Greater constitutional "direct" democracy? i.e. greater peoples' decision making participatory Community Control democracy? This form has a greater three dimensional democratic character. A true peoples' democratic synthesis are ideas to begin to get creative with. "All power to all the people," was my BPP sixties creative protest demand.

I need a lefty to English translator.

With the Terri Schiavo case on everyone's minds, now is an opportune time to think about making your own Living Will and deciding who will have your Power of Attorney for Health Care.

The State of Wisconsin has these documents available online, and I would imagine most other states do as well. You don't need an attorney to use them. You just need to fill them out and have two witnesses. You should keep a copy and also give one to your physician.

With a Living Will, you are essentially declaring what kind of life-sustaining measures you want if you are in various conditions. The Power of Attorney for Health Care makes it possible for adults to authorize other individuals to make health care decisons on their behalf if they are incapacitated.

My sister (known here as KV Big Sis) has done many Living Wills for clients, and her office provides an ADDENDUM TO THE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE form that gets into more specific detail about what you may want done in specific situations. Some of the types of statements you can agree or disagree to are things like this:

• Do not use feeding tubes, including stomach tubes, nasogastric tubes, which are placed down the nose, or intravenous feedings, except to increase my comfort or reduce my pain.
• Err on the side of over-medication rather than under-medication for pain, even if taking such may result in my death. For me, the goal of pain management is total relief of pain regardless of the risks.
• Remember that I want to be an organ and tissue donor. If the requirements for organ donation conflict with my wishes above, I direct that such actions be taken so as to preserve organ function and permit organ donation to occur.
• Be an active advocate as my Power of Attorney for Health Care. Do not simply give in to decisions that physicians make. Ask questions and understand proposals, challenge assumptions and be prepared to say no to care which I would not want and to demand care that I would want

Their form also goes on to give you the opportunity to describe levels of disability you're willing to accept and declare any other thoughts you may have. Like I said above, you don't need an attorney to do this, but I'd imagine that most attorneys would have forms like this that will help you better communicate your wishes to both your physician and the family member(s) that may have to make decisions for you.

Obviously, this isn't fun stuff to deal with, but better to think and talk about it now than go through what the Schiavos and Schindlers are dealing with.

Tonight the Illinois basketball team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. They defeated Arizona in overtime after trailing by 15 points with 4 minutes remaining. Wow. Hopefully Wisconsin and Michigan State will win tomorrow and join them in the Final Four.

After the game, we decided to read the game thread on Illini Nation. It's a classic study in defeatism, faith and, finally, joy. Here's a sample.

8:04 pm

Sorry guys..the fat lady; she be warming up...

8:05 pm

It's been a good season.

It's a shame this game had to end this way.

8:06 pm

I think I'm going to vomit. This is making me sick to my stomach. I hate Arizona.

8:07 pm

I just can't believe that it's over. I simply can't believe it.

8:08 pm

the fat beotch has been called off stage

8:10 pm

I don't mean to sound like a cynic (I'm not), but I have had a lifetime of disappointments when it comes to my sports teams. I am not surprised.

8:12 pm

I'm not watching, but I have seen this before. This is where your heart gets torn out and shown to you before you die!

8:16 pm

Holy crap. Please...

8:18 pm

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!!

8:21 pm

HAPPIEST OVERTIME EVER!!!!!!!!

8:21 pm

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Five minutes for the rest of your life and a game NOBODY can EVER take away from you....LET'S GO ILLINI!!!!

8:23 pm

Oooohhh! Overtime.

Please don't stomp on my heart Illini.

8:28 pm

I'm literally peeing my pants right now.

I can't believe Adams shot just went in.

8:31 pm

I think I would have given up my first born for Deron's last shot to go down. (Just kidding).

8:32 pm

We're screwed now.

8:32 pm

Oh crap, one last shot...we know who its going to.

8:33 pm

i'm so nervous. i can't feel my knees

8:34 pm

WE'RE GOING TO THE FINAL FOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8:36 pm

Simply put, the greatest game I have ever seen in my life. Told you there was a run left....

8:38 pm

Not to trivialize God but what an EASTER RESURRECTION!!!!

8:43 pm

THERE IS A GOD!!!!!! I LOVE LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me,
By the light, by the light, by the light of the moon.
If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me,
By the bright shining light of the moon.
By the light of the moon, by the light of the moon,
By the bright shining light, by the light of the moon.
If you want to be a Badger, just come along with me,
By the bright shining light of the moon.

Our beloved Wisconsin Badgers are in basketball's Elite Eight. Tomorrow afternoon they'll face #1 seed North Carolina with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Most national pundits won't give the Badgers a chance. And, in truth, Bucky does face a daunting task. But before you decide the Badgers are hopeless or that they don't belong here or that they got lucky in who they've faced so far, think about this: Wisconsin is now 25-8. Of those 8 losses, half are to teams still in the tournament. The Badgers lost three times to Illinois and once to Michigan State (they also beat Sparty once). And while the Badgers haven't been able to beat Illinois, they've given them a good run in every game. In particular, if they had been able to hit free throws, they would have handed Illinois a loss back in January in Madison.

Wisconsin is not a bad team. In fact, they're a very, very good team, and have been for years now. Just how good, we'll find out Sunday.

I found this over at e-Claire:

If someone can really request "an overdose of a pleasure-causing chemical should he be in a terminal condition and unable to communicate", I don't see why you couldn't specify this.