Odds and ends, 11/19/07

There are times when I want to drop one of our syndicated columnists so I can replace him or her with Walter Williams. Here is something from a recent Williams column:

The fact that there are so many American earners who have little or no financial stake in our country poses a serious political problem.

The Tax Foundation estimates that 41 percent of whites, 56 percent of blacks, 59 percent of American Indian and Aleut Eskimo and 40 percent Asian and Pacific Islanders had no 2004 federal income tax liability. The study concluded, "When all of the dependents of these income-producing households are counted, there are roughly 122 million Americans — 44 percent of the U.S. population — who are outside of the federal income tax system." These people represent a natural constituency for big-spending politicians. In other words, if you have little or no financial stake in America, what do you care about the cost of massive federal spending programs?

This should be talked about as Huntington tries to get legislative approval for an occupation tax. Many of the people affected by such a tax would have no vote on it -- except for the Legislature, which ultimately would allow or disallow such a tax. And many of the people who would be eligible to vote for the City Council would not have to pay the tax.

Yet people who live outside the city but work in it should not be off the hook for paying for city services. I live outside the city, but I'm willing to pay my fair share of the costs of running a police department and a fire department, and I should pay my fair share for street repairs.

More on this later as I have time to think about it, but as usual, all thoughtful comments are welcome.

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According to BusinessWeek magazine, some University of Wisconsin alumni are doing something different. They don't want the business school to be named after someone, so they're raising money to make sure that doesn't happen:

In an unusual twist in the business school naming game—generally, a wealthy donor gives a multimillion-dollar gift to get his name on the school—the school formally known as Wisconsin School of Business has received an $85 million group donation from alumni that will allow the school to keep its current name for the next 20 years.

So how much would it take to get a donor's name off some buildings? Or a politician's?

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Are you one of those people who enjoy looking at the supermarket tabloid covers and peek inside when an article promises photos of glamorous superstars without their makeup and studio lighting? So am I.

If you wonder what Nicole Kidman looks like in real life, check out the photo at this link.

Here's another view:

Years ago, I understand the now-defunct magazine Spy got ahold of what it cost to retouch a photo of Michelle Pfeiffer to make it presentable for use on a magazine cover. It took a lot of money to make Michelle Pfeiffer look like Michelle Pfeiffer. The older I get, the less I understand the Hollywood definition of beauty.

Last week, my teenage son and I watched the move "The Dirty Dozen" on tv. I wanted him to see how Hollywood made war movies in the 1960s. One thing I noticed was that few of the actors would probably get a screen test today. Can you imagine Charles Bronson having to compete in the Hollywood looks department against, say, Ben Affleck? Or Telly Savalas?