When in Mariansky Lazne...Do as the German Pensioners Do

A small group of NYU students went out to a trip via train to a spa town in southern Bohemia called Mariansky Lazne. It was a quick two day, one night trip just the weekend before my time on the green island. The visitor population consists mainly of German pensioners who think canes are just as much of an accessory as obnoxiously large sunglasses are in New York.

Our first thing was a gondola ride up to the summit where we had a nap treatment in a salt cave. It was very warm and comfy though the exact benefits of such an act were lost on me.

In all honesty, it was a gorgeous area in mountains that skirted the alps and there were glorious amounts of snow. In Prague at the time there was nothing but rain - so it was something to savor. Our hotel smacked of 1930s Japan - how cool. Hello Tokyo!

Dinner was had at a local place that Honza enjoyed as a child when he was raised here. I had pork with white asparagus covered in a creamy cheese suace. And I was so glad that there were fries. OMG - and pepper tartar sauce?! Yes. And I tried a very smooth local dark beer called Kozel, if memory serves. I have yet to have a bready beer in Europe. For lunch the next day I had a crispy klobasa pizza with garlic. It was a bit overpowering.

End of story: I got a massage for 300 czech krowns and the lady said I have a "problem big" just south of my right shoulder. There were other questionable treatments...

Pictures to be posted on the gallery soon.

The Anti-Hillary

Matt Bai recalls in his New York Times piece "The Fallback" a conversation with Sen John Edwards in which the senator explained that he didn't need advisors anymore. I remember wincing when Sen Edwards proclaimed at the Democratic Convention in 2004, "And we, John [Kerry] and I, we will have one clear unmistakable message for Al Qaida and these terrorists: You cannot run. You cannot hide. We will destroy you." I sensed that the last words in particular had to have been inserted by Kerry aides. They seemed like a perfunctory stand against hawkish critics. It just did not jive. Kerry ran a bungled campaign with the support of many democrats who now regret his nomination in Iowa like trying to show off the waltz at the town hoedown. Sen Edwards appears to realize this as he becomes more comfortable working at his Center for Hope and Opportunity at UNC Chapel Hill. After being Kerry's number 2, John Edwards has returned to his conviction and the things that he cares about most. Mark Warner is just an amateur John Edwards.

A Thing Called Race

The TV in our hotel room in Budapest was turned to CNN International and a German anchor was reporting on Hurricane Katrina. The report was quite lengthy and I cringed as footage from New Orleans consisted of black people suffering, hurting, and crying for outrage from the world. In Prague, an African is an uncommon sight. After Jewish extermination by the Nazis and German minority expulsion, the Czech Republic has been left as a pretty homogenous country – so much so that its first president, Vaclav Havel, stated in the 1990s that it could be to its detriment.


Exhibit A: little deviance from a certain skin tone on the metro.

Last night I attended One World’s documentary film festival. It is among the biggest deals in town. For 60 Czech crowns, I saw a marathon of the Oscar-nominated Street Fight, Dimmer, Mad Hot Ballroom, and part of Favela Rising. So as I sat in the dark theater among a white Central European audience, I wondered what did they think about America? What did they think about Street Fight, a movie about the 2002 Newark mayor’s race that involved two black men and became the center of African American political consciousness as the likes of Al Sharpton and Cornell West threw endorsements? What did they think when two groups of Newarkers fought riotously on the streets over who was more representative of their city: dark-skinned incumbent of 30 years Sharpe James or light-skinned Stanford graduate, Rhodes Scholar, Yale Law Cory Booker? James accused Booker of being a Jew and a white republican. Booker fought back the slander by saying that his diplomas were gained with his African ancestors’ blood, sweat, and tears.


"Near white" Cory Booker vs "Real Deal" Sharpe James

What did they think about Mad Hot Ballroom, a movie about a ballroom dancing program that every New York City 5^th grader must participate as a city-wide competition? What did they think when they saw kids with skin colors from dark to pale, hair from straight to coiled, accents from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, and eyes of every shape dancing the merengue, foxtrot, and swing? I could not help but think that this must have been Martin Luther King’s dream. There were two kids who weren’t allowed to dance because of their religions. “It looks fun. But for now, we like being the DJs,” reasoned one of them as he fiddled with the CD player.

What is this place called America and New Orleans and Newark and New York? Are we some kind of joke to the world? Or are we something that everyone envies? Why were peoples from a different continent brought to America to pick cotton? If America realizes its error in so doing, then why are African Americans disproportionately so poor? Why must they cry on international television for help? Why does a race-blind right to vote involve a race-conscious decision of for whom to vote? Maybe I wouldn't have these sorts of questions if I saw this mix of movies with a different audience. Maybe the absurdity of America would just seem normal if I saw this in a lower Manhattan theater. But I try and try to rationalize the contradictions of our society. And, It seems that our greatest asset regrettably continues to be our greatest source of fear and apprehension. I only wish that I lived in a New York dreamland when I was 10 and barely aware of a thing called “race.”

Don't they just look enviably awkward?

Single Business Tax

I wrote an email to my State Rep Robert Gosselin about our County Executive L Brooks Patterson's proposal to eliminate Michigan's Single Business Tax. This elimination would cut $2 Billion from our state's revenue. As a State Representative, Mr. Gosselin would eventually cast a vote on the proposal.

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Mr. Wong,

Thank you for your letter. I always enjoy when I get updates from my constituents, especially those who live abroad because they can give some interesting ideas/insights from their experience. Citizen input is valuble to me as a legislator; it helps me to better express your ideas and desires at the Capitol. Thank you for the opportunity to explain why I feel that the Single Business Tax needs to be abolished in its current form.

Enacted a little over 30 years ago, the Single Business Tax (SBT) is a payroll tax- meaning the formula for taxation is based on both how much an employer pays the workers in salary and number of workers. Businesses that expand ( hire new workers ) or pay their people a good wage are thus penalized. It is unique to Michigan. It is my belief that if no other state has seen fit to impose this method of taxation on their businesses (which give jobs to the citizens and enriches the state with a variety of other tax revenue) than perhaps we need to look at a different tax method which is more competitive--and in-line with other states'. I serve as the Chair of Employment Relations, Training and Safety, and have been told repeatedly by Michigan employers who testify before my committee that our state has a bad reputation for being a costly place to do business. I have included an article with a chart which shows how we stack up against other states. In order to shake this reputation and open our state more businesses, the least we can do is to eliminate the SBT and combine that with efficiencies in government spending. In doing so, our state government would give the proper signals to the rest of the United States that it is embracing modern methods of taxation and encouraging prudent spending on core government functions. I have heard many special interest groups in Lansing mention that there's no way the state can do without the $1.855 billion the SBT brings in. - But I believe that this line of reasoning shows a lack of creative thinking and an unwillingness to deal honestly with the challenges of globalization and heavy interstate competition.

Lately, I've been intrigued by the possibility of paying for the elimination of the SBT with a series of smart spending initiatives. State government would achieve $1.855 billion in savings with little heavy lifting. Much of the savings would come from adopting a more business-like model for government operations and government employee fringe benefits, and focusing dollars on core government functions.

I don't think most people would miss the beaurocratic environment in Lansing should a change in the priorities of government spending take place. If the elimination of the SBT were "paid for" with intelligent spending, Michigan residents might notice something else instead: Michigan’s economy would start growing, property values would increase, and jobs and income would start to rise.

Below are some articles on the topic, I think you will find them interesting: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060302/OPINION01/603020319&SearchID=73237343486698 and http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/METRO02/603010358&SearchID=73237343650834

Let me know if they don't open for you, I will send them pasted into an email. Thank you for your letter and keep up the great work as an ambassador for Michigan.

Sincerely,

Robert Gosselin State Representative, 41st House District Troy - Clawson


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You know, I hate to be labeled as someone addicted to tax revenue like a heroin addict, as Mr. Patterson likes to paint; But I hate to think of Michigan as anti-small-business. Michigan's reliance upon a certain big 3 has been failing our workers. What do you think? Where can we go?

(One more thing, Mr. Gosselin's use of "smart spending" must be newest euphemism in the Right's Playbook of Spin for budget gutting)

My Apologies

To all my adoring fans around the world, I apologize for not having updated my blog in some time. There is so much to type about but I have been swamped with eating Ham and Shish-Kebab-Flavored Bohemia Chips. Not to mention Bacon-Flavored Hoppy-Popcorn! These Bohemians really know how to do their meat - and I love it. And a little thing called planning for my adventures-to-come: Dublin for St. Pat's and Barcelona for spring break.

Yesterday, I went to a pastry shop and I bought a coconut macaroon sandwich cookie that was filled with a chocolate liqueur and covered in chocolate. Oh yeah. I like to eat! Then, I bought a cream puff with a honey-caramel glaze soaked in wine. But I dropped it on the floor. At the very moment, more expletives exploaded from my mouth than in the past few months. I've been good lately - but no one could understand me.

I saw Steven Spielberg's Munich a few weeks ago. Eric Bana was awesome. I would definitely call it a classier Eurotrip. My favorite part is that Munich was filmed in the location of my latest adventure: Budapest. Because of Munich's varied locations and Budapest's varied architectural styles (central Europe is a mish-mash of the furthest reaches of the continent) the city played London, Paris, and Rome in the film.

The adventure I had this past weekend in Buda+pest was a wedding! And that shall be the topic of my next blog post. Stay tuned, y'all!