Mark’s Musings – February 01, 2012

Mark Fortune

Can we expect winter to arrive sometime this spring? Sure, we’ve had some cold snaps and a little bit of snow. But it’s certainly not like last year when snow was on the ground for most of the winter. I’m fully expecting a grand winter finale the first week of April. You know, about the time for baseball and softball to start. Any takers?

Will the Florida primary establish a GOP front runner? If you’ve been following this race at all, you surely know that it is now a two horse race as they say, between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Ron Paul, while sometimes making sense, usually counters that with something that doesn’t. We’ll weigh in on this later. And remember, the Ohio primary is set for Tuesday, March 6.

Got anything special planned for the big game? We’ll have our traditional enchiladas and a chocolate, coconut and cream cheese dessert that is just delicious. We have carried the recipe since the year the Bears destroyed the Patriots – yes, that’s right, remember that year? The ‘fridge, Jim McMahon and the Super Bowl Shuffle. That was a football team. I doubt that the Giants will be able to muster that kind of offense against this year’s Patriots. My prediction – Patriots 34, Giants 17. Tom Brady will outperform Eli Manning.

Speaking of football, did you watch the Pro Bowl? Neither did I. Forgot it was on.

Now, if you use Microsoft Outlook for appointments and all that, be sure to make a note for June 30. That’s when a leap second will be added to Coordinated Universal Time – or UTC – to allow for small (I almost used the word “minute”) adjustments in time. Then I thought, no, that’s confusing!

Go to Wikipedia for more on this. Yes, it’s back up and running.

I expect the Buckeyes men’s basketball team to be one of the number one seeds for the March Madness NCAA tournament. Coach Thad Matta will have the Buckeyes rolling with a full head of steam in February and March. Please let me know your picks for number one seeds when you get the chance.

I think it’s time for a simpler tax code. As I started digging through papers, records, mail, envelopes, and notes on napkins and searched high and low to locate my abacus, I found my mind wandering to a better tax place. A place where pots of gold and leprechauns exist at the end of the proverbial rainbow. Perhaps these leprechauns might work for the IRS. That’s fine.

The first change I would make is that just like the seven year Sabbatical in the Old Testament of the Bible, every seven years you get a break from debt. We would take a break from paying taxes. Now that was the land or cancelling of debt, I know. But we can’t hardly do that, now can we? So why not a break from paying taxes? That’s the best I can come up with right now. Now, where’s that abacus? I think I’m on year six so counting beans here I come.

Category: Mark's Musings