Other Governments are Equally Efficient

It seems that other governments around the globe are just as efficient as ours.

Take, for instance, the sterling example of the German government.

The government of Germany taxes coffee. It is one of the few countries to have a special tax levy on coffee, and it seems they decided to crack down on German citizens who ordered coffee beans over the internet from other countries, but did not pay the tax.

There were 4,000 such law breakers, and the German government spent 800,000 Euros tracking them down, levying and then collecting fines and taxes.

In all, they collected back 25,000 Euros.

Who says going after law breakers doesn't work?


Today is:

Constitution Day, Thailand

Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales -- Inuit Eskimos

International Human Rights Day

Lux Mundi -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of liberty)

National Day, Burma

National Lager Day

St. Eulalia's Day (patron of Barcelona, childbirth, sailors, travelers, calm waters; against miscarriage)


Anniversaries Today:

Mississippi becomes the 20th US State, 1810


Birthdays Today:

Raven-Symone, 1985
Bobby Flay, 1964
Kenneth Branach, 1960
Susan Dey, 1952
Dan Blocker, 1928
Dorothy Lamour, 1914
Chet Huntley, 1911
Emily Dickinson, 1830


Today in History:

Martin Luther publicly burns the papal edict demaning that he recant, 1520
Isaac Newton's paper De Motu Corporum in Gyrum, containing the derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, is read to the Royal Society by Edmund Halley, 1684
The Massachusetts Bay Colony becomes the first American Colonial government to borrow money, 1690
The metric system is formally established in France, 1799
The first traffic lights are installed outside the Palace of Westminster in London, 1868
Women's suffrage is granted in Wyoming Territory, the first in the US, 1869
The 10,000,000th Model T Ford is assembled, 1915
The Grand Ole Opry makes its radio debut, in Nashville, Tn, 1927
UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
Ralph J Bunche becomes the first black to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, 1950

Well here is something to shock and startle us mightily.

The government officials meant to watch other government officials who are supposed to watch where all the bailout money goes, don't know where all the money went.

Do we learn nothing?

Shrink the government and make personal responsibility and accountability the order of the day.

And yet.

Then what?

How to replace what the government has started doing, that the people should have been doing all along? That the people no longer feel responsible to do, or feel equipped to do, or, in some cases, even want to do.

The Catch-22.

I do not want to be a kept citizen. I want to be my brother's keeper so that the government doesn't have to do it for me.

Most people don't even seem to understand what that means any more.


Edited to add: I wrote this out on the 10th, but saved it to publish on the 11th, thinking the date at the top would say the 11th, since that's the date I told it to publish. Then I looked, and it said the 10th, making it look like two sets of holidays/birthdays/historical events on the same day. Sorry about that, I have no idea how to fix or change such a thing. The following are the special events and facts for Aug. 11, no matter what the date at the top of the post says.


Today is:

Circle K International Convention

Daughter's Day

Festival of Happy Feet

Heroes' Day, Zimbabwe

Independence Day, Chad

Ingersoll Day

Mystic Outdoor Arts Festival

National Marina Day

National Raspberry Bombe Day

Night of the Shooting Stars

Perseids

Play in the Sand Day (Yeah, like at the beach, nothing like sand in your shorts, I get enough of that on vacation, thank you.)

Presidential Joke Day

Son and Daughter Day

St. Susanna's Day


Birthdays Today:

Hulk Hogan, 1953
Arlene Dahl, 1928
Mike Douglas, 1925 (Note: he also died on this date in 2006)
Alex Haley, 1921
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, 1667 (Last of the Medicis)


Today in History:

First day of the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar, used my the Maya and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, BC3114
Battle of Artemisuim, Greco-Persian War, BC480
Papandayan Java volcanic eruption kills 3,000, 1772
The world's first foller rink opens in Newport, RI, 1866
Animation is patented by John Wray, 1914