bessoid
@bessoid.bsky.social
Looking into all the things I didn’t have time for before I retired.
I pay federal income taxes directly to the IRS, not to Virginia for forwarding to the US Treasury. What you’re suggesting is state governments somehow successfully organizing a tax boycott by their citizens.
January 7, 2026 at 4:16 PM
I pay federal income taxes directly to the IRS, not to Virginia for forwarding to the US Treasury. What you’re suggesting is state governments somehow successfully organizing a tax boycott by their citizens.
Seinfeld. (Just kidding.)
January 7, 2026 at 2:08 AM
Seinfeld. (Just kidding.)
Fairfax County Virginia government entities. Admittedly, only 42nd on the list of largest US counties, but still important given its location. (And, coincidentally, I live there.)
January 2, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Fairfax County Virginia government entities. Admittedly, only 42nd on the list of largest US counties, but still important given its location. (And, coincidentally, I live there.)
Agreed, also makes it feel more like self-insurance (aka, “no insurance”). The numbers he uses also feel deceptive - are $5mm or $10mm medical bills all that common? Would one pay the same incremental tax for, say, a $50k bill?
December 31, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Agreed, also makes it feel more like self-insurance (aka, “no insurance”). The numbers he uses also feel deceptive - are $5mm or $10mm medical bills all that common? Would one pay the same incremental tax for, say, a $50k bill?
I assumed M4A implied the end of private insurance, but that was my intended meaning. Also, I think “Medicare is tied into private insurance” may be an overstatement? I’m not an expert, but my impression was that Medicare Plus wasn’t the dominant form of coverage (yet).
December 31, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I assumed M4A implied the end of private insurance, but that was my intended meaning. Also, I think “Medicare is tied into private insurance” may be an overstatement? I’m not an expert, but my impression was that Medicare Plus wasn’t the dominant form of coverage (yet).
To me it sounds like M4A, just with an incremental tax imposed for actually using the system.
December 31, 2025 at 7:07 PM
To me it sounds like M4A, just with an incremental tax imposed for actually using the system.
1988 - I was a young associate lawyer working on a deal in Milwaukee and staying at the Pfister Hotel. The partner I was working with and I got on the elevator and who did we see but a barefoot Joe Walsh, clearly pissed to be sharing the space with two squares.
December 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
1988 - I was a young associate lawyer working on a deal in Milwaukee and staying at the Pfister Hotel. The partner I was working with and I got on the elevator and who did we see but a barefoot Joe Walsh, clearly pissed to be sharing the space with two squares.
Was returning to DC from NYC on the Delta shuttle and Audra McDonald violently reclined her seat into my knees. She was carrying a teddy bear.
December 29, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Was returning to DC from NYC on the Delta shuttle and Audra McDonald violently reclined her seat into my knees. She was carrying a teddy bear.
A, including the delicious alternative, the tuna melt!
December 23, 2025 at 3:03 PM
A, including the delicious alternative, the tuna melt!
The story behind this must be fascinating.
December 15, 2025 at 9:44 PM
The story behind this must be fascinating.
Agree with your list, but I think both Young Frankenstein and The Producers are funnier Brooks’ movies.
December 13, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Agree with your list, but I think both Young Frankenstein and The Producers are funnier Brooks’ movies.
Seeing Eraserhead in some seedy theater on Chicago’s north side and coming out into the daylight feeling very disturbed.
December 13, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Seeing Eraserhead in some seedy theater on Chicago’s north side and coming out into the daylight feeling very disturbed.
He and I and my girlfriend at the time saw Woodstock at some revival house (also in Denver) and when we came out after the movie there was 4 inches of snow on my girlfriend’s car.
December 13, 2025 at 3:12 AM
He and I and my girlfriend at the time saw Woodstock at some revival house (also in Denver) and when we came out after the movie there was 4 inches of snow on my girlfriend’s car.
Seeing Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels in a Cineplex theater in Denver with my best friend who passed away earlier this year. He and I had also seen Zappa at the Denver Coliseum in a band that included Adrian Belew sometime previously. I really miss him.
December 13, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Seeing Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels in a Cineplex theater in Denver with my best friend who passed away earlier this year. He and I had also seen Zappa at the Denver Coliseum in a band that included Adrian Belew sometime previously. I really miss him.
I wonder if Mike Pence being from Indiana had anything to do with this.
December 11, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I wonder if Mike Pence being from Indiana had anything to do with this.
Pretty sure there was a ska band in Dr. No (1962).
December 6, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Pretty sure there was a ska band in Dr. No (1962).
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Gate, gate, para gate, para sum gate, bhodi svaha.
December 6, 2025 at 4:16 AM
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Gate, gate, para gate, para sum gate, bhodi svaha.
Kind of a weird chicken-and-egg dynamic: He hasn’t been convicted yet, but I’ve seen reports that he’s confessed, so maybe that’s short-circuited?
December 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Kind of a weird chicken-and-egg dynamic: He hasn’t been convicted yet, but I’ve seen reports that he’s confessed, so maybe that’s short-circuited?
Like Vice President Joe Lieberman, to whom in this timeline we owe the DHS and the absence of a public option in the ACA (if I recall correctly).
December 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Like Vice President Joe Lieberman, to whom in this timeline we owe the DHS and the absence of a public option in the ACA (if I recall correctly).