Polarization and Michael Jackson

So I’ve tried to stay silent on the whole Michael Jackson issue, but I simply can’t any longer. It’s not so much the death or associated drama, rather, it’s the posturing of celebrities and media that I simply can’t shake.

Take for instance the recent article by Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and the response to his article by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Reform movement. Texts can be found here and here. Short summations:
Rabbi Boteach: Was a friend of Jackson’s and believed he was a good person, one who was partially a victim of circumstances, but none-the-less someone Rabbi Boteach writes, whose death is an “American tragedy.”
Rabbi Yoffie: He’s a child molester, what more do you need to know?!?

Yes, these are over simplified summations so I encourage you to read the text for yourself. What I want to focus on is the black and white nature, the absolutism that is going on here. I’ve complained about this for years now and we only seem to be entrenching it further in our lives. We make absolutist statements declaring something either this or that, black or white, good or evil, without ever accepting the notion that most of the world and our lives are lived in the gray part that lies between. Being a self avowed Bush hater (W, not Sr.), I do blame much of this rhetoric on him and his neo-con cohorts. His decree to other nations from November, 2001 of “you’re either with us or against us” carried over to the domestic agenda. The clever play inserted only two options into American media and culture: Either you’re for the war and support our troops or you support terrorism, period. There are no other choices. Those who vocalized their support of our troops, but their opposition to the war were immediately and summarily labeled as soft on terrorists. (As a short aside, how many of the terrorists from 9/11 were from Iraq or trained in Iraq again? ‘Nuf said.) There was no acknowledgement of a middle ground, somewhere you could support our troops, love America, bleed red, white and blue, yet disagree with the policies of the then President. Forget the hypocrisy, forget the politics, forget the emotions; rather, think about the statements in and of themselves. Do we really want to become a nation of absolutists? Isn’t that one of the tactics the hardliners in Iran and elsewhere used to take complete control of those countries?

So back to Michael Jackson. Why is it he’s either a pop icon and a “noble spirit,” someone whose tragedy should be looked upon and the question asked, “Was there no one to save him from himself?” clearly portraying him as a victim; OR, he’s a child molester who should be held accountable for his actions and remembered by this and shown to be the perfect example of how not to live your life? Isn’t there some in-between in there somewhere?

We need to address this issue as all others that face us in our lives. Although it’s easier to label something black or white, good or bad, making it a one or a zero thus forcing a digitized version of our world view, for in doing so we cut lose so much of what life is made. We live in gray areas and experience the world in shades, some gravitating to one side or the other, but very few falling solidly in one convenient bucket. We like those buckets though because making something either this or that is easier. We can avoid the hard questions and the spiritual and moral dilemmas that come along with dipping our toes into the gray.

Michael Jackson was an immensely talented performer, one who clearly influenced a generation and whose influences will continue to be felt decades after his death. His music inspired and comforted millions upon millions of people the world over. For this he will be missed. But he was also a flawed man, one who had difficulty facing up to the consequences of his actions. In the end, he and he alone was responsible for his inappropriate acts. For this he should serve as a warning to others and a disappointment to fans.

I’m not failing down the slippery slope of situational ethics or moral relativism as some would warn. We must agree that there are certain constants of objective ethics we all adhere to regardless of religion, creed or nationality. After all, that’s what our social contract is based upon. What I am saying is we cannot allow ourselves as a nation to continue to fall down the rabbit hole of absolutes. Account for all sides of an issue, and know that sometimes the answer really does fall in that tough gray area.

How I fought “The Man,” and won…

So I’ve been e-mailed and called numerous times since I posted my status update about beating “The Man” the other day when I went to protest my property taxes in Dallas County. Honestly, I’m tired of retyping or retelling what I did or any tricks that may help others, so here it is.

First, I’ve fought my property taxes twice now, once formally and once informally. The difference? Easy, for the informal you walk into the Dallas Central Appraisal District’s office on the designated days, wait your turn, and then meet with a DCAD assessor. The formal process is exactly that, more formal. You have to submit your challenge in writing, then you are assigned a hearing date. At this hearing you appear before a panel, state your case, and the tax assessor’s office has someone in there to state their case on why the property shouldn’t be devaluated. The panel of three really old people confers and a decision is made.

The time for the informal process has come and gone for this year, but keep it in mind for future years. I found it to be faster and less stressful, but still got a good result. For the informal I showed up on a Saturday morning. In hand I had several items: copy of comparable houses from the MLS listings (thanks to Jason Friedman at Keller Williams Realty Plano Jason@dfwhomesandloans.com for all your home and insurance needs), pictures of damage to the house (must be major, minor doesn’t count) and a calculation of what I thought the price should be. It’s very important to note that all information is relevant to the market and condition of the house as of January 1st as that is when the assessments are made. So, if the market tanked in February, tough. What was the going rate as of January 1st? That’s what matters. Also, just because the county lowered your value doesn’t mean you can’t fight for them to lower it more. In this year’s assessment they lower my property value by $2,400. I went in and got another $12,500 added onto this, making my total taxable value go down by almost $15,000 instead of only $2,400.

So once in the office here’s what happened. Oh, and going in dressed like you aren’t a homeless person helps. The guy even stated when we were discussing that I obviously looked like a guy who knew what he was talking about. I was only in jeans and a nice button up, but you should see the clowns that show up! So he asks why I think the property value should be lower. My first answer was the entire market has dropped 18% over the last year. He said that wasn’t a reason. At this point I thought I was in for a fight. Next, I said I had comps that indicated the values had dropped from when I purchased my house. Now remember, numbers are what you make of them. Don’t lie as they will probably catch you, but what constitutes a comparable house is partially subjective. Be smart… don’t pick the house that last sold for $20/sq. ft. more than yours did. So, he looked at my comps and asked if I had them done up by a realtor. I said yes. At this point he said the comment about I clearly look like I know what I’m doing and he simply asked what I thought the property should be at. I told him a number $17,000 below what they had said, he told me he couldn’t get there because of a few comps he pulled up on his computer. He then asked what I could live with since he couldn’t meet that. Well of course I said as little above that as possible, but he said to state a number. I stated $12,000 below their number, he punched it in and said he could do that. Bam! 25 minutes of waiting, 5 minutes in his office and I lowered my value by $12k. It really was that easy.

So, for those of you headed to the formal hearing, here’s my story on that. My property value went up by $5,000 on their appraisal. I showed up, waited for about 15 minutes in the office, and then was called into a conference room. I was asked to state my case, and did so as above and had copies of the financial breakout and comps for all three panel members. The county tax guy made his case and pulled up on the overhead several houses in my area as comps. There were some questions back-and-forth for both of us from the panel, took about 15 minutes or so, and then they conferred and made a decision. I was asking to drop the value by $25,000, they agreed on dropping it $10,000. After the decision one of the panel members even told me I needed to come back the following year because the market hadn’t really tanked until after January 1st, 2008 and thus, they couldn’t lower it that much. He said I’d have a better case for the January 1st 2009 as the market really sunk later in 2008.

All-in-all the time spent was well worth it. Here are the key things to remember:
1) Be prepared with documentation relevant as of January 1st
2) Dress decently
3) Be friendly (they’re usually getting yelled at and appreciate a nice person)
4) Have your case and reasons logically laid out

If you have additional questions I didn’t answer please post them in the comments as I’m sure others will have the same questions and I’ll answer them as best I can. Also, share your success stories or tips you pick up when fighting, “The Man.” Lol.
--J.R.

Meat Cards: Another reason the world hates us

I ran across this website and honestly, very little surprises me these days, but I must admit, I didn’t see this one coming. I’ve had to ponder this thing for a day or two, as well, I did my research to make sure it’s not just a hoax, and low-and-behold, and sadly, it’s real.

With over ¼ of the world’s population living in extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1.25 per day) and many third world countries having a an extreme poverty rate of >80%, we wonder sometimes why these people largely hate the United States of America and Western culture overall. Well, there are many reasons, but I need to add this one to the list.

Meetcards.com is devoted to bringing us the first and finest in beef jerky based business cards. Yes, 100% edible jerky with your business information seared onto them. So some poor bastard in the third world can’t feed himself or his family, and we are so gluttonous as to hand out business cards made of food. I’m not sure if this is a reason to think America is the greatest country in the world, or perhaps it’s simply a sign of an impending apocalypse with North America at the epicenter.

No matter what it is, check out http://www.meatcards.com/ and ponder the consequences for yourself. --J.R.

Outrage! And I still remember Gilad Shalit

Today, Youssef Magied al-Molqui was released from an Italian prison after serving 24 years of a 30 year sentence. He was released for “good behavior.” Forget the fact that he escaped once and was then recaptured and sent back to Italy to continue serving his prison term. I guess “good behavior” translates differently in Italian than English.

Who is Youssef Magied al-Molqui? He was the leader of four Palestinian hijackers who, in October 1985, took control of the Italian cruise liner Achilli Lauro. The hijackers, these days we call them “pirates” apparently, shot and killed a disabled American tourist, 69-year-old Leon Klinghoffer, and threw his body overboard with his wheelchair. Why? They said because he “created troubles” as one of the terrorists later commented. A 69-year-old elderly man in a wheelchair caused four heavily armed terrorists “troubles?!?” So much so they decided to execute him in his wheelchair, then dump the body overboard? You must be asking yourself, “am I missing something here?” Oh, did I fail to mention Mr. Klinghoffer was Jewish? Read more about the Achilli Lauro story here.

So Al-Molqui is released and ordered expelled from Italy. I’m sure he’ll enjoy a hero’s welcome in any Arab country because, he did after all, kill a Jew. So heroic, executing a wheelchair bound 69-year-old. So for hijacking a cruise ship, executing a disabled man and escaping prison this man ends up with the penalty of 24 years in prison and expulsion from a country that has never been his home?
This brings me to Gilad Shalit. It is coming up on almost 3 years now that he has been held captive, without basic human rights afforded by the Geneva Convention, and denied all access to the Red Cross or any other human rights organization or medical attention which even the captors say he needs. And why, what is his crime? He’s a Jew, kidnapped from his army position by Hamas terrorists. You can read more about Gilad here in a blog post I made back in November of 2008.

My point? I’m tired. I’m tired of the double standard. I’m tired of Hamas and other such groups being given such carte blanche leeway by the EU and others. Mostly, I’m tired of the fact that Gilad Shalit is still being held captive, for no other reason than because he’s a Jew. Wake up, someone, anyone! It’s time for the U.S. to put its foot down and say, no more aid, no more food, no more weapons for any state that harbors terrorists. Instead, feed the starving here in the States, save our taxpayer dollars and let the world know we don’t just hand out carrots to anyone hoping they come around to being our friends in peace. It’s time to pay the piper world or the music gets turned off.

Where to start? Nothing more in aid for the Palestinians until they release Gilad Shalit, alive. How much less could we ask?

Peace and remembrance on this day and all days… -J.R.