Don't Shoot Until You See The Whites of Their Union Cards

Here's another thing I can't figure out with just the information I'm gathering. How can government employees (union or otherwise) suddenly be the reason for multiple states being in massive debt? For many years, not a problem. Suddenly, there's this massive debt problem in IL and other states that can only be fixed by breaking the unions (greedy teachers!) and cutting the services that support our communities.

The New Yorker posted up an interesting article on Donald Trump's run for the presidency.

The dismaying truth is that birtherism is part of a larger pattern of rejection of reality that has taken hold of intimidating segments of one of the two political parties that alternate in power in our governing institutions. It is akin to the view that global warming is a hoax, or that the budget can be balanced through spending cuts alone, or that contraception causes abortion, or that evolution is just another theory, on a par with the theory that the earth is six thousand years old.

So is Illinois really "broke"? You could ask Illinoisisbroke.com (warning - I find the site and twitter feed infuriating). They've been playing radio ads asking if a government employee should be able to retire at 55 years of age when we, the citizens of Illinois, are footing the bill. My suggestion is that this won't be the first generation of government workers eligible for pension, so why is it suddenly a back-breaking expense? Is there no other place in the budget where fat could be trimmed?

Even better, how about refocusing attention on the corporations that do not contribute to the budget in the form of taxes but operate out of and collect revenues in Illinois?

Should someone be able to retire at 55 after working for the government? I say yes. Should a giant, global company operate tax free in my state (where there's a budget deficit)? I say no, and I think that's where the injustice lies.

What's the Frequency, Kenneth?

I have not thought about a new receiver for nearly 20 years. I have an older JVC mid-line receiver that I got at American TV and Appliance in Rockford just out of college. Back then, surround sound was the big deal, and while I wasn't too concerned about that (I only had a pair of bookshelf speakers at the time), I did want the option in case I decided to upgrade.

On a few occasions, I've hooked up all five speakers only to realize that this JVC setup only boosted the higher frequencies in the center channel and put a slight delay on the two rear channels. A parlor trick, basically. The standard stereo output was plenty for me, anyhow. Surround sound, even when done with state-of-the-art gear, is just a novelty and is lost after the first 10 minutes. It might even be a distraction to the content. Like 3D video, there's more time spent setting it up than actually enjoying it; for me, anyhow.

So, this morning I happened across a CNET review of the new line of Denon receivers available soon. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20053559-1.html) I have always had an appreciation for the simple style and solid performance of Denon gear. The only bit I could afford back in the day was my first CD player - a single disc Denon model with A-B playback (select any section of a song by hitting the button [A], then the end of the section by hitting it again [B]). That little feature helped me to learn lots and lots of drum parts.

That CD player lasted through roughly 15 years of abuse, including numerous apartment moves, parties, and even being dropped twice on concrete. When it finally bit the dust, I considered trying to fix it (I knew it would still work if the tracking arms could be adjusted) but had so many other CD players by then, it wasn't worth the expense.

I'm all over the road here. Basically, I admire Denon gear but it's usually out of my price range. JVC was my reasonably-priced alternative when I last needed a receiver (long ago) but I can see where I might want to consider upgrading to the AVR-1612 sometime in the future to accommodate all of the HD content I consume. The USB port on the front makes it even sweeter.

I'll post up if I ever decide to make the jump, but the JVC is still pumping out smooth, clear sound. Perhaps in 2012...