The Pierce Family Blog

The Music Man

2012-02-13T15:42:00.001-08:00

Contact Robert if you are interested in seeing The Music Man this spring!

http://new.mountainplay.org/tickets.html

Tennis

2012-02-10T21:33:00.000-08:00

Robert starts a spring tennis tournament next week, so he is checking out the online tennis lessons. Lock and Roll is the best he has found. And this particular video is excellent!

The Tunnel

2012-02-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

Robert finally found the all-important tunnel between San Rafael and Larkspur Landing. Story goes that 100 years ago there was a train. Now that's progress.

New Shirts

2012-02-08T15:18:00.001-08:00

Robert bought six dress shirts at the thrift store today. 39 bucks. If even just one of them is wearable for business, he's way ahead! Another genius move.

More Fails

2012-02-04T11:48:00.001-08:00

Olden Days

2012-02-03T22:30:00.000-08:00

Pruning Guide

2012-01-27T22:19:00.001-08:00

Here's a good photo slide show teaching pruning techniques.

http://resources.cas.psu.edu/TFPG/Pruning/slide1.htm

Fails 2011

2012-01-27T00:28:00.001-08:00

One Step Closer to Race War

2012-01-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

You go, Arizona. Drag us all down with you.

Judge Orders Arizona Candidate Struck From Ballot

By MARC LACEY

Lawyers for Alejandrina Cabrera, a candidate for the City Council in the border community of San Luis, Ariz., said Thursday that they might appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court a lower-court ruling that Ms. Cabrera be removed from the ballot because she did not speak English proficiently.

Alejandrina Cabrera, with her lawyer, John Minore, right, is fighting claims that she is ineligible for office in San Luis, Ariz.

Judge John Nelson of the Yuma County Superior Court ruled late Wednesday night that Ms. Cabrera be struck from the ballot because she did not know enough English to do the job. In removing Ms. Cabrera, Judge Nelson agreed with the recommendation of a linguist who had conducted tests of Ms. Cabrera and found her English skills lacking.

The linguist, William G. Eggington, a professor at Brigham Young University in Utah, testified before the court on Wednesday. He said that based on interviews and tests he conducted with Mrs. Cabrera, she had “basic survival level” English that fell well below that needed to participate in city business.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed, although the judge acknowledged that there’s no precedent for him to follow,” John S. Garcia, one of the lawyers for Ms. Cabrera, said Thursday.

Mr. Garcia said he planned to meet Thursday night with Ms. Cabrera to determine her willingness to continue the legal battle.

Fix the Housing Market??

2012-01-26T15:05:00.001-08:00

Reasonably good discussion about how/whether to "fix" the housing market.

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/25/is-refinancing-the-best-way-to-fix-the-housing-market

Robert is basically in the "government can do little" camp.

Ouch!

2012-01-26T08:50:00.000-08:00

San Rafael

2012-01-25T14:20:00.001-08:00

Robert has to say that San Rafael has it going on. It has an El Farolito and an Arizmendi Bakery. On the same block!

Birthday Gift Ideas

2012-01-25T07:59:00.001-08:00

http://japan-cc.com/randoseru.htm

http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/1656/Randoseru.html

Out and About

2012-01-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

Effective Tax Rate

2012-01-20T09:12:00.000-08:00

Robert has decided to announce his federal income tax rate paid in the years 2008, 2009, 2010. He does this because it is a good way to discuss the somewhat confusing question of what a person actually pays in federal taxes as a percentage of income. A question that Robert is sure most American's cannot answer about their own tax returns, which is one of the biggest problems in US society today.

There are at least three ways to answer the question "How much federal income tax did you pay this year as a percentage of your total income?"

First, one could answer the question by giving one's "marginal tax rate." This is the answer that perhaps many (unthinking) Americans would give to the question stated above. The problem is that it is a nonsense answer. The marginal tax rate for a given tax return is the rate at which the last dollar earned by the taxpayer during the year is taxed. It IS NOT an answer to the question "How much federal income tax did you pay this year as a percentage of your total income?"

Second, one could answer the question by giving one's so-called "effective tax rate." The term "effective tax rate" does not, as far as Robert knows, have a universally recognized definition. He believes that what most people mean when they say "effective tax rate" is the amount of tax an individual or firm pays when all government credits are applied, divided by income that has been reduced by government allowed deductions. Robert believes that using a person's effective tax rate is certainly a better way to answer the above question than answering with a marginal tax rate (which is nonsense), but the effective tax rate measure is also a poor way to answer because when calculating the effective tax rate one subtracts from income all government allowed policy deductions (such as exemption deductions, charitable deductions, retirement account contribution deductions, and mortgage interest deductions). By giving this answer, one understates income and thus overstates the percentage of one's income paid in tax.

One might most straightforwardly and honestly answer the question above by giving the amount of tax one pays without application of credits, divided by base income without government policy deductions (such as exemption deductions and mortgage interest deductions). Stated another way, using this approach, one measures taxes as a percentage of net income, where net income is gross income less the allowable and customarily measured costs of generating that gross income. For employees, who earn wages, gross income and net income are generally the same amount. This definition recognizes that to give an intellectually honest answer to the question above, one must not reduce the amount of one's base income by the amount of policy deductions, which are, after all, ways the government reduces taxes. Robert will call the tax rate determined using this method the "True Tax Rate."

So, using the definitions above, here are Robert's, and thus the Pierce Family's, federal tax rate numbers:

2008
Marginal Tax Rate: 28%
Effective Tax Rate: 22.0%
True Tax Rate: 17.5%

2009
Marginal Tax Rate: 28%
Effective Tax Rate: 23.4%
True Tax Rate: 18.2%

2010
Marginal Tax Rate: 15%
Effective Tax Rate: 17.7%
True Tax Rate: 8.2%

Here's a link to the Tax Policy Center page that tells the same story (see second table down). Note that the definition of "Effective Tax Rate" used by the Tax Policy Center appears to be the same as what Robert defines as "True Tax Rate."

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=456

Finally!

2012-01-19T17:25:00.000-08:00

This is the story Robert would write if he worked for the New York Times.

Why Americans Think the Tax Rate Is High, and Why They’re Wrong

By DAVID LEONHARDT

WASHINGTON — When people heard that Mitt Romney’s federal income tax rate was about 15 percent, the immediate reaction of many was to assume that their own rate was higher. The top marginal rate is 35 percent, after all, and the marginal rate on a couple with $70,000 in taxable income is 25 percent.

The truth is that most households probably pay a lower rate than Mr. Romney. It is impossible to know for sure, given that he has yet to release his tax return. What is clear, though, is that a large majority of American households — about two out of three — pays less than 15 percent of income to the federal government, through either income taxes or payroll taxes.

This disconnect between what we pay and what we think we pay is nothing less than one of the country’s biggest economic problems.

Many Americans see themselves as struggling under the weight of a heavy tax burden (partly for the understandable reason that wage growth has been so weak). Yet taxes in the United States are quite low today, compared with past years or those in other countries. Most important, American taxes are not sufficient to pay for the programs that many people want, like Medicare, Social Security, road construction and education subsidies.

What does this combination create? An enormous long-term budget deficit.
Together, all federal taxes equaled 14.4 percent of the nation’s economic output last year, the lowest level since 1950. Add state and local taxes, and the share nearly doubles, to about 27 percent, according to the Tax Policy Center in Washington — still lower than at almost any other point in the last 40 years.

As the economy recovers and incomes rise, tax payments will increase somewhat. But they will not keep pace with projected spending, in the form of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. And total taxes at current rates would still make up a smaller share of the economy than in virtually any other rich country — not just European nations but also Australia, Canada, Israel and New Zealand.
Obviously, tax increases are not the only way to solve the deficit. Spending cuts can, too. But so far, at least, many voters seem to prefer small, symbolic cuts, like those to foreign aid. Substantial cuts — be they the changes to Medicare that President Obama included in his health care bill or the Medicare overhaul that Republicans prefer — tend to be politically unpopular.

Since the late 1970s, just before the modern tax-cutting push began, total federal tax rates have fallen for every income group. The payroll tax has risen, but declines in the income tax have more than made up for those increases. Nearly half the population now pays no federal income tax.
All told, most households pay less than 15 percent of their income to the federal government because of tax breaks, like the exclusion for health insurance, and because marginal rates apply to only a small part of a taxpayer’s income. On the first $70,000 of a couple’s taxable income, the total federal income tax rate is only 13.8 percent.

That said, taxes have fallen the most for the very affluent. Mr. Romney and his father — George W. Romney, the former automobile executive, Michigan governor and presidential candidate — do a nice job of illustrating the change.

The elder Mr. Romney, who died in 1995, paid an average federal tax rate of 37 percent in the 12 years for which he released his tax returns, according to an analysis by Joseph J. Thorndike, a columnist for Tax Notes magazine. Mitt Romney’s tax rate has been far lower, thanks mostly to the decline in taxes on stocks and other investments. The top marginal tax rate on ordinary income has also fallen sharply.
And George Romney paid a lower tax rate than most affluent Americans in the 1950s and ’60s, mainly because of deductions for his large donations to the Mormon Church. Then, a typical household near the very top of the income distribution would have paid almost 50 percent of its income in direct federal taxes, research by the economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty has shown.

In recent years, that number has been below 30 percent.

Besides the drop in tax rates, affluent households have benefited disproportionately from tax breaks and deductions. The mortgage interest deduction, widely considered a middle-class benefit, actually saves a typical middle-income household only about $200 a year, because so many families claim the standard deduction, rather than itemized ones. The average family in the top 1 percent saves more than $5,000 from the mortgage deduction.

Such breaks are probably one reason that so many people feel as if their own taxes are such a burden: they have a sense, and not incorrectly, that others are benefiting from tax breaks unavailable to them. “If we had a simpler tax code,” said Roberton Williams of the Tax Policy Center, “people might be more accepting of what they pay.”

The group for which tax rates have fallen the least is the upper middle class: those households earning between about $75,000 and $300,000 a year. Their tax rates have declined over the past few decades, but only by a couple of percentage points.

Of course, many of the people who talk publicly about taxes — economists, policy experts, journalists — happen to fall into this group, which may be yet another reason that the public debate does not always match reality.

Jared Lanier

2012-01-19T07:59:00.000-08:00

I thought the profile of Jared Lanier in the New Yorker a few months back was rather lame.

But his op-ed today in the New York Times is pretty good.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/opinion/sopa-boycotts-and-the-false-ideals-of-the-web.html?_r=1&hp

Romney Tax Rate

2012-01-17T13:57:00.001-08:00

Robert thinks this is an important campaign issue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/us/politics/facing-pointed-attacks-romney-urges-focus-on-obama.html?_r=1&hp

Photo Tampering

2012-01-13T11:32:00.001-08:00

Here's some fascinating information about photo tampering throughout history.

http://www.fourandsix.com/photo-tampering-history/

Also, this, which is somehow not as good as it could be:

Fotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

Robert Loves

2012-01-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

A carwash.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

2012-01-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

The CFPB wants to hear from you about your experiences with the consumer financial industry.

https://help.consumerfinance.gov/app/tellyourstory

Walking Today

2012-01-08T19:46:00.000-08:00

Robert, Mira, the kids and David went for a nice long walk today in Marin.

Fed Up with the State of Housing

2012-01-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

From the Wall Street Journal, news about a Federal Reserve report that explains the current home mortgage problems and provides some ideas for resolution.  For example, provide some debt repayment relief to homeowners.  Or, let banks get into the rental business.

If they start handing out checks to people who own homes, Robert will be first in line . . .

Here's the white paper. Some good charts and info.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204331304577144934187722016.html?mod=rss_markets_main

Fed Up with the State of Housing

By DAVID REILLY

For an institution that jealously guards its independence, the Federal Reserve is wading into treacherous political waters.
With the economic rebound still mediocre at best, the Fed is charging into the housing debate. But in doing so, it runs the risk of politicizing itself, while also sending mixed signals to banks still trying to find their postcrisis feet.

There is only so much the Fed can do..

The latest effort was a housing "white paper" sent this week to Congress, along with a series of comments from Fed officials about the importance of housing to the economic recovery. In this, the Fed may be laying the groundwork for further quantitative easing, this time purchasing mortgage securities. But its paper went beyond even the Fed's already unconventional policies. This included ideas that might require more taxpayer funding through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

But having broached the thorny issue of using government entities to boost housing, the Fed didn't touch on questions surrounding a needed long-term revamp of housing finance. This left the Fed implicitly endorsing the housing status quo: a market that is almost completely dependent on the government and, in particular, Fannie and Freddie. Whether the government should be involved in housing, or to what degree, is of course a highly contentious political question for Congress.

The Fed's paper suggested it may be worth pursuing more aggressive actions in terms of loan modifications, mortgage refinancing and sales of foreclosed properties even if they cause greater short-term losses at Fannie and Freddie, and so by extension to taxpayers. And the paper may have led some in markets to believe a new, government housing effort was coming. The Fed's paper said a possible policy option would be for the government to expand existing refinancing efforts "or introduce a new program."

Expectations of such action helped spark a nearly 8% rally in Bank of America shares Thursday, although nothing is reportedly planned. Still, the reaction shows many now see the Fed and White House potentially acting together. That underscores how perceptions of Fed independence have already been eroded.

Beyond Fannie and Freddie, the Fed's paper also took it into other politically charged areas, such as principal forgiveness for underwater mortgage holders. While it didn't specifically endorse such a move, the Fed said that "policy experiments in this area would be useful."

Meanwhile on mortgage modifications, the Fed noted certain types of loan changes "may be socially beneficial, even if not in the best interest of the lender." It went on to acknowledge that this would be "likely to involve additional taxpayer funding, the overriding of private contract rights, or both." While the paper noted this raises difficult public-policy issues, by simply raising the possibility the Fed risks being seen as supporting such an outcome.

The paper also signaled that the Fed, ostensibly the most important bank regulator, will try to involve banks more directly in housing-revival approaches, even as it imposes new, more stringent regulatory constraints. One area involves efforts to turn foreclosed homes into rental properties. While this primarily pertains to Fannie and Freddie, the Fed noted that commercial banks as of last September had $10 billion in foreclosed homes on their books.

Banking regulations typically direct banks to sell foreclosed homes quickly, although the rules do recognize this isn't always practical and so these properties can be held up to five years. The Fed said it is now "contemplating issuing guidance" to banks and regulators that would possibly allow banks to turn some of these foreclosed homes into rental properties.

The hope is this may help stanch the flow of foreclosed properties into markets, although the effect may not be that great. Goldman Sachs economists noted Thursday that a rental effort may add 0.5% to home-price appreciation in the first year and 1% the second, although the impact "would likely be smaller." For banks, a move into the rental business would potentially clog parts of their balance sheets, while requiring them to essentially bet on house prices rebounding.

Housing is indeed important to the economy. But the Fed has to recognize there is only so much it can, or should, do.

Ouch

2012-01-04T09:09:00.001-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/opinion/the-iowa-caucuses.html?hp

Workers Unite

2012-01-03T21:45:00.000-08:00

Robert thought David Brooks' column today was objective and commonsensical.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/opinion/workers-of-the-world-unite.html?_r=1&ref=davidbrooks

Experimental Photo Journal

2012-01-01T18:34:00.001-08:00

http://family.piercespace.com/mirascrapbook

Pierce Family (Extended)

2012-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

Simpson Bowles

2012-01-01T10:17:00.000-08:00

As we all know, the blueprint for national bi-partisan economic reform has already been laboriously work through. Here's a copy of the bi-partisan report that was issued about a year ago. Just so we have it all handy this year.

TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010

Stock Market Roundup 2011

2011-12-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Given its measly size, Robert needs to carefully watch the Pierce Family retirement savings, which at this point is a collection of underfunded vehicles including 401Ks, Roth 401Ks, IRAs, SEP IRAs, Roth IRAs, and at least one 60's vintage sports car. 2011 turned out to be very unspectacular for the Pierces, as it was for most.

The 2011 YTD results are in. Here's the winners and the losers among the funds that Robert thinks he competes against.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: +5.53%
Pierce Family Retirement Savings: +1.7%
S&P 500: 0%
Vanguard Target Retirement Fund 2035: -4.35
IShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF): -5.82

Robert is glad to say that he does not compete against McDonald's Corporation, which closed up 30.71% for the year. Tough times are good for those with red hair and striped socks.

Robert is Walking at Hamilton Field

2011-12-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

The Six Percent

2011-12-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/the-1-percent-thats-so-2011-its-the-6-percent-you-should-be-worried-about/?src=recg

The 1 Percent? That’s So 2011. It’s the 6 Percent You Should Be Worried About.

Here at City Room, we’ve had enough of people picking on the 1 percent. Sure, some might brand them greedy, but even in New York City, where, thanks to the financial-service industry, they are particularly well compensated, they receive only 33.8 percent of the total income, kindly leaving two-thirds for the rest of us.
We wondered: who were the selfish ones hogging most of the money? We asked the Independent Budget Office, which calculated the 1 percent’s take a few weeks ago.
And so it gives us great pleasure to introduce the class enemy for 2012: the 6 percent.
The top 6 percent of tax filers in New York City, the Independent Budget Office said, make off with 51 percent of the income.
Picture it: 100 people sitting around an enormous banquet table. The table is groaning with goodies, but six guests are helping themselves to more than half the food, leaving the other 94 to squabble over the leftovers.
The top 6 percent, the office said, comprises, approximately, all tax filers reporting income of more than $150,000. For the purpose of the calculation, a tax filer can mean someone filing an individual return or a couple filing jointly.
The 6 percent are everywhere. Just look around you.

Mexican Jewish Food

2011-12-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

Recipes at bottom of article. If you come for tortilla soup at the Pierces, you might get some other treats as well . . .

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/25/144182296/jewish-and-mexican-cooking-meet-in-challa-pe-o?ft=1&f=100

He's Coming . . .

2011-12-21T09:25:00.001-08:00

Tan Tan.

Christmas Gift Ideas

2011-12-13T09:13:00.001-08:00

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO%C2%AE-Creator-Taj-Mahal-10189/dp/B002EEP3NY

http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-4643329-Architecture-Fallingwater-21005/dp/B002IXYSGO/ref=sr_1_130?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1323796330&sr=1-130

New York Times

2011-12-13T07:14:00.001-08:00

http://softwarelawyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-york-times.html

HTB Saturday

2011-12-10T15:25:00.000-08:00

Nothing better than tennis and burritos with dad.

School Tours

2011-12-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Robert and Mira took a tour of St Mark's School today. No comments other than to say that thinking about schools makes Robert's head hurt. He is starting to have the feeling that there is no point in thinking about it too hard.

http://www.saintmarksschool.org/

Federal Trade Commission v Facebook

2011-12-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

Some half-wit lawyer making himself sound important.

http://softwarelawyer.blogspot.com/2011/12/facebook-settlement-with-ftc.html

School Photos

2011-12-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

The school photos are here! The school photos are here!

NYT Opinion: Romney on Foreclosures

2011-11-27T20:31:00.000-08:00

Robert's seen a few questionable New York Times Op-Ed pieces recently. Including today's thing about foreclosures and Mitt Romney's alleged desire to see the pipeline of foreclosures flow more freely.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/opinion/sunday/mr-romney-on-foreclosures.html?_r=1

Robert believes it is undisputed that one problem with the current housing market, and, more generally, the national economy, is that the home mortgage system has not yet been cleared of bad loans. Bad loans (meaning loans that the debtor-- because of the loan's terms, the underlying property's value, and/or the debtor's income --should not keep repaying) need to be extinguished and underlying properties sold. This will allow prices to be reset, the market to stabilize, and the banks to start lending again. Robert does not claim to know whose fault it is, or why the short-sale and foreclosure pipeline is stalled, but he thinks Romney is essentially right that we need to clear the markets in order to move on. Robert does not see an obvious way for the government to help distressed homeowners in a meaningful way that is fair and that will not cause more delay and more damage. But he's not an expert, obviously.

New Camera

2011-11-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

The Pierces have a new camera, so more kids photos are coming . . .

Commerical Marijuana

2011-11-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

One of the Thanksgiving Day topics of conversation at the Pierce's house yesterday concerned the legalization of marijuana in California. The discussion briefly touched upon the constitutional underpinnings of Congress's power to prohibit private farming and use of marijuana, even when legal in a particular state. Here's a link to wikipedia entry on Gonzales v. Raich, the US Supreme Court case that affirmed that power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich

The Raich case is, essentially, a redo of Wickard v. Filburn, which said that Congress may regulate and limit a farmer's growth of wheat even if it is harvested solely for his family's personal consumption. Such a law is a regulation of commerce among the states and therefore allowable under the Commerce Clause.

From wikipedia . . .

The starting point for the Court's opinion was the fact that it was conceded that Congress had the power to control or ban marijuana for non-medical uses:

Respondents in this case do not dispute that passage of the CSA, as part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, was well within Congress' commerce power. Nor do they contend that any provision or section of the CSA amounts to an unconstitutional exercise of congressional authority. Rather, respondents' challenge is actually quite limited; they argue that the CSA's categorical prohibition of the manufacture and possession of marijuana as applied to the intrastate manufacture and possession of marijuana for medical purposes pursuant to California law exceeds Congress' authority under the Commerce Clause.

Banning the growing of marijuana for medical use, the Court reasoned, was a permissible way of preventing or limiting access to marijuana for other uses:

Even respondents acknowledge the existence of an illicit market in marijuana; indeed, Raich has personally participated in that market, and Monson expresses a willingness to do so in the future. More concretely, one concern prompting inclusion of wheat grown for home consumption in the 1938 Act was that rising market prices could draw such wheat into the interstate market, resulting in lower market prices. Wickard, 317 U.S., at 128. The parallel concern making it appropriate to include marijuana grown for home consumption in the CSA is the likelihood that the high demand in the interstate market will draw such marijuana into that market. While the diversion of homegrown wheat tended to frustrate the federal interest in stabilizing prices by regulating the volume of commercial transactions in the interstate market, the diversion of homegrown marijuana tends to frustrate the federal interest in eliminating commercial transactions in the interstate market in their entirety. In both cases, the regulation is squarely within Congress' commerce power because production of the commodity meant for home consumption, be it wheat or marijuana, has a substantial effect on supply and demand in the national market for that commodity

In Raich, the conservative justices, except Scalia, predictably did not join the majority.

From wikipedia . . .

Justice O'Connor, dissenting, began her opinion by citing United States v. Lopez, which she followed with a reference to Justice Louis Brandeis's dissenting opinion in New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann:

“

Federalism promotes innovation by allowing for the possibility that "a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country..."^[8]

”

O'Connor concluded:

“

Relying on Congress’ abstract assertions, the Court has endorsed making it a federal crime to grow small amounts of marijuana in one’s own home for one’s own medicinal use. This overreaching stifles an express choice by some States, concerned for the lives and liberties of their people, to regulate medical marijuana differently. If I were a California citizen, I would not have voted for the medical marijuana ballot initiative; if I were a California legislator I would not have supported the Compassionate Use Act. But whatever the wisdom of California’s experiment with medical marijuana, the federalism principles that have driven our Commerce Clause cases require that room for experiment be protected in this case.

”

Justice Thomas also wrote a separate dissent, stating in part:

“

Respondent's local cultivation and consumption of marijuana is not "Commerce ... among the several States."
Certainly no evidence from the founding suggests that "commerce" included the mere possession of a good or some personal activity that did not involve trade or exchange for value. In the early days of the Republic, it would have been unthinkable that Congress could prohibit the local cultivation, possession, and consumption of marijuana.

”

and

“

If the Federal Government can regulate growing a half-dozen cannabis plants for personal consumption (not because it is interstate commerce, but because it is inextricably bound up with interstate commerce), then Congress' Article I powers -- as expanded by the Necessary and Proper Clause -- have no meaningful limits. Whether Congress aims at the possession of drugs, guns, or any number of other items, it may continue to "appropria[te] state police powers under the guise of regulating commerce."

”

and further:

“

If the majority is to be taken seriously, the Federal Government may now regulate quilting bees, clothes drives, and potluck suppers throughout the 50 States. This makes a mockery of Madison's assurance to the people of New York that the "powers delegated" to the Federal Government are "few and defined", while those of the States are "numerous and indefinite."^[9]

Robert Likes

2011-11-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/11/21/opinion/100000001183275/the-umbrella-man.html

Mildly Funny

2011-11-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

The Doors cover Reading Rainbow theme.

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/the-doors-sing-reading-rainbow-theme/17wqhii6y?q=jimmy+fallon&rel=msn&from=fb_share&form=MSNRLL

For the uninformed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6j8EiWIVZs

Factoids

2011-11-20T15:47:00.000-08:00

The Pierces are really thinking about schools lately. And it is going to get worse.

Here's some factoids.

Both Mira and Robert went to California public elementary schools. Here are the current profiles for Emperor Elementary School (Robert's school) and Bacich (Mira's school).

Note the student ethnicity differences. Ahem. Also home values.

http://school-ratings.com/school_details/19650526022933.html

http://school-ratings.com/ratingsDetails.php?cds=21653346024319

Not sure this stuff means much. In Robert's snotty estimation, it does not look like it takes much to score a "10." Sorry to all the hard working California public school teachers who may be reading this. It's not a teacher thing . . . I don't think.

Bad Day

2011-11-18T19:24:00.001-08:00

How to Build a Latrine in 51 Seconds

2011-11-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.undispatch.com/how-to-build-a-latrine-in-51-seconds

The Angel Esmerelda

2011-11-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Michiko Takutani reviews Don DeLillo's new book of short stories.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/books/don-delillo-stories-led-by-the-angel-esmeralda-review.html?hp

“The Angel Esmeralda,” the title story in Don DeLillo’s first ever collection of short fiction, is a dazzlingly told tale of despair and ruination, the dream of redemption and the testing of faith. Set in the Bronx and featuring a nun on the lookout for a miracle, this 1994 story prefigures portions of Mr. DeLillo’s 1997 masterwork, “Underworld,” but it also stands on its own as a beautifully realized and singular work of fiction.

Health Law Debate Puts Focus on Limits of Federal Power

2011-11-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

Robert thinks that this case is not difficult. Certainly Congress may require citizens to buy insurance. For Commerce Clause purposes, Congress' requiring citizens to buy something is conceptually no different than telling them they cannot buy something. The problem is that Scalia et al will use this rhetorical hogwash . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/us/politics/health-law-debate-puts-focus-on-limit-of-federal-power.html?src=recg

Health Law Puts Focus on Limits of Federal Power

WASHINGTON — If the federal government can require people to purchase health insurance, what else can it force them to do? More to the point, what can’t the government compel citizens to do?

Those questions have been the toughest ones for the Obama administration’s lawyers to answer in court appearances around the country over the past six months. And they are likely to emerge again if, as expected, the Supreme Court, as early as Monday, agrees to be the final arbiter of the challenge to President Obama’s signature health care initiative.
The case focuses on whether Congress overstepped its constitutional authority in enacting parts of the law. Lower courts have reached divergent conclusions.

Even judges in lower courts who ultimately voted to uphold the law have homed in on the question of the limits of government power, at times flummoxing Justice Department lawyers.

Tokyo Olympiad

2011-11-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Pierce Family has been enjoying Kon Ichikawa's film, Tokyo Olympiad, which ranks among the greatest documents of sport ever committed to film. Utilizing glorious widescreen cinematography, Ichikawa examines the beauty and rich drama on display at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Olympiad

The Inequality Map

2011-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

Mildly amusing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/11/opinion/the-inequality-map.html?_r=1&hpw

"There used to be a high status difference between microbrews and regular old Budweiser. In academic jargon, beer had a high Gini Coefficient."

Art of Living Foundation v. Does 1-10 Document 129 - :: Justia Docs

2011-11-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

Robert's legal colleague Joshua Koltun just won an important order in his anonymous blogger case. Congratulations Josh!

Art of Living Foundation v. Does 1-10 Document 129 - :: Justia Docs

Adobe Abandons Flash Mobile: Steve Jobs Scores from the Grave

2011-11-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/tech/mobile/adobe-mobile-flash-wired/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

(Wired.com) -- In an abrupt about-face in its mobile software strategy, Adobe will soon cease developing its Flash Player plug-in for mobile browsers, according to an e-mail sent to Adobe partners on Tuesday evening.

Tax Reform Options: Marginal Rates on High-Income Taxpayers, Capital Gains, and Dividends

2011-11-07T21:15:00.000-08:00

Robert likes it when smart people say the same things he says. And vice versa.

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=901447

Tax Reform Options: Marginal Rates on High-Income Taxpayers, Capital Gains, and Dividends

Abstract

Leonard Burman's testimony before the Senate Committee on Finance on tax reform options affecting high-income taxpayers.

Chairman Baucus, Ranking Member Hatch, Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify on tax reform options affecting high-income taxpayers. I applaud the committee for devoting much of the past year to examining ways to make the tax code simpler, fairer, and more conducive to economic growth, and I'm honored to be asked to contribute to those deliberations.

In summary, here are my main points:

Economic theory suggests that the degree of progressivity should balance the gains from mitigating economic inequality and risk-sharing against the costs in terms of disincentives created by higher tax rates. The optimal top tax rate depends on social norms and the government's revenue needs.
Experience and a range of empirical evidence suggests that the rates in effect in the 1990s would not unduly diminish economic growth. However, a more efficient option would be to broaden the base (reform or eliminate tax expenditures and eliminate loopholes) to achieve distributional goals while keeping top rates relatively low.
The biggest loophole is the lower tax rate on capital gains. Several bipartisan tax reform plans, including the Bipartisan Policy Center plan that I contributed to, would tax capital gains at the same rate as other income. Combined with a substantial reduction in tax expenditures, this allows for a cut in top income rates while maintaining the progressivity of the tax system. That was also the approach taken by Ronald Reagan in 1986.
Different economists reach diametrically opposite conclusions about the taxation of dividends. I find most compelling a recent analysis that suggested that concerns about tax avoidance activities of multinationals (e.g., moving headquarters and jobs overseas) would argue for fully taxing dividends and using the revenue raised to cut corporate tax rates.
Finally, there has been much hand-wringing about lower-income families that don't pay income tax or even receive net subsidies. Some of these families are retired and I can't imagine that taxing them is feasible or desirable. The lower-income working families receive tax subsidies that encourage work, which is consistent with the prescriptions of optimal tax and transfer literature. To clarify the distinction between tax obligations and benefits, I suggest that the IRS produce a tax and subsidy report for all filers showing what their true tax liability is—before tax expenditures—as well as the value of their tax subsidies.
Bottom line: allowing the top tax rates to return to their pre-2001 levels after the economy has recovered would not be economically disastrous and might help build support for tax reform that would broaden the base and lower rates while maintaining the progressivity of the tax system (and hopefully contribute to reducing the debt).

The Problem with Flat Tax Fever

2011-11-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/business/flat-tax-doesnt-solve-inequality-problem.html?src=recg

CLOSE watchers of presidential politics weren’t surprised to see many of this year’s Republican hopefuls proposing to replace the nation’s progressive income tax with a flat tax. Such plans reliably surface every four years, and, just as reliably, sink without a trace.

That’s not because the current tax system is far from the abominable tangle of complexity that candidates say it is. Actually, it’s worse. Flat-tax proponents promise to sweep away that mess by imposing a single levy on every dollar earned. That change, many contend, would allow taxpayers to file their returns on postcards. And surveys suggest positive voter responses to several of the most recent proposals.

Marin Waldorf School

2011-11-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

School visit today.

Suit Against a Photographer Seeks to Recreate Wedding

2011-11-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Suit Against a Photographer Seeks to Recreate Wedding

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/nyregion/suit-against-photographer-seeks-re-creation-of-wedding-after-divorce.html

Of all the many things that make up a wedding, few are more important than the photographs.

Long after the last of the cake has grown stale and the tossed bouquet has wilted, the photos endure, stirring memories and providing vivid proof that the day of one’s dreams took place.
So it is not particularly surprising that one groom, disappointed with his wedding photos, decided to sue. The photographers had missed the last dance and the bouquet toss, the groom, Todd J. Remis of Manhattan, said.

But what is striking, said the studio that took the pictures, is that Mr. Remis’s wedding took place in 2003 and he waited six years to sue. And not only has Mr. Remis demanded to be repaid the $4,100 cost of the photography, he also wants $48,000 to recreate the entire wedding and fly the principals to New York so the celebration can be re-shot by another photographer.

Frodo

2011-11-03T14:25:00.000-07:00

Ta Da!

2011-10-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

http://youtu.be/fTfxqXQuhlg

Happy Birthday Cadie!

2011-10-28T09:12:00.001-07:00

Birthday pancake.

Map of the Day: Global Homicide Rates

2011-10-27T22:47:00.001-07:00

http://www.undispatch.com/map-of-the-day-global-homicide-rates

Tax Receipt

2011-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

The White House has a tax receipt application that tells you how much of your taxes go to each category of spending.

Check it out.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/taxes/tax-receipt

NYT: Top Earners Doubled Share of Income, Study Finds

2011-10-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/us/politics/top-earners-doubled-share-of-nations-income-cbo-says.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

WASHINGTON — The top 1 percent of earners more than doubled their share of the nation’s income over the last three decades, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, in a new report likely to figure prominently in the escalating political fight over how to revive the economy, create jobs and lower the federal debt.

In addition, the report said, government policy has become less redistributive since the late 1970s, doing less to reduce the concentration of income.
“The equalizing effect of federal taxes was smaller” in 2007 than in 1979, as “the composition of federal revenues shifted away from progressive income taxes to less-progressive payroll taxes,” the budget office said.
Also, it said, federal benefit payments are doing less to even out the distribution of income, as a growing share of benefits, like Social Security, goes to older Americans, regardless of their income.

Federal Tax Rates

2011-10-25T22:33:00.001-07:00

Robert finds the illustration and discussion of tax brackets on MoneyChimp to be worthwhile.

http://www.moneychimp.com/features/tax_brackets.htm

A Hearing Aid that Cuts Out All the Clatter

2011-10-24T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an article about T-Coil, which is becoming a key part of hearing aids.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/science/24loops.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

After he lost much of his hearing last year at age 57, the composer Richard Einhorn despaired of ever really enjoying a concert or musical again. Even using special headsets supplied by the Metropolitan Opera and Broadway theaters, he found himself frustrated by the sound quality, static and interference.

Hearing loops are being placed in subway fare booths in New York in what will be the largest installation in the United States.

Then, in June, he went to the Kennedy Center in Washington, where his “Voice of Light” oratorio had once been performed with the National Symphony Orchestra, for a performance of the musical “Wicked.”
There were no special headphones. This time, the words and music were transmitted to a wireless receiver in Mr. Einhorn’s hearing aid using a technology that is just starting to make its way into public places in America: a hearing loop.
“There I was at ‘Wicked’ weeping uncontrollably — and I don’t even like musicals,” he said. “For the first time since I lost most of my hearing, live music was perfectly clear, perfectly clean and incredibly rich.”

Swimming Today

2011-10-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

A Silicon Valley School That Doesn’t Compute

2011-10-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — The chief technology officer of eBay sends his children to a nine-classroom school here. So do employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard.

But the school’s chief teaching tools are anything but high-tech: pens and paper, knitting needles and, occasionally, mud. Not a computer to be found. No screens at all. They are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home.
Schools nationwide have rushed to supply their classrooms with computers, and many policy makers say it is foolish to do otherwise. But the contrarian point of view can be found at the epicenter of the tech economy, where some parents and educators have a message: computers and schools don’t mix.
This is the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, one of around 160 Waldorf schools in the country that subscribe to a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and learning through creative, hands-on tasks. Those who endorse this approach say computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans.

Notice: Sign Up for Posts by Email

2011-10-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Notice:

Happy Day.

You will no longer automatically receive email messages announcing posts to the Pierce Family Blog unless you opt-in to receive these email messages.

If you would like to continue to receive posts by email, please go to the bottom of the Pierce Blog and enter your email address.

We're Wine Tasting

2011-10-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Now This is Useful

2011-10-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inVzftBz8DI&feature=feedbul

Happy Anniversary

2011-10-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Robert and Mira spent their 5 year wedding anniversary in Inverness. We had a very pleasant bike ride (30 miles) out there through Point Reyes Station, where Mira gobbled up carrot cake AND fruit filled croissants at Bovine Bakery. We stayed at the Inverness Valley Inn. We ate dinner at Pricillas.

Robert took a look around the Inverness Yacht Club, which he thought was pretty cool. This may be the place for him to learn to sail. Tomales Bay is huge, and there's plenty of boat-in camping. Contact Robert if you are interested in having a sailing adventure.

Robert's Kind of Humor

2011-10-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz06Exzp79g

Position Statement: Economic Stimulus

2011-10-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

The poor economy and questions of tax and spending have been in the news quite a bit lately. Here's some of Robert's current positions on these issues. He reserves the right to change his mind.

Comments are welcome.

1. The US government should use its powers, including its power to adjust interest rates, adjust tax rates, and spend tax money in order to stimulate the currently poor economy.

2. At this time, lowering taxes is not sufficient to stimulate the economy into recovery. Demand creation should be the focus. Spending government money directly to create jobs is the best way to stimulate demand, and thus the economy, at this time.

3. As a principle, any system of collection of tax revenue should be mildly progressive. Meaning, under a system in which income (and not, for example, consumption) is taxed, people with higher incomes should pay a greater percentage of their income into the public coffers.

4. The total amount that the federal government should collect in income taxes should be somewhere between 17% and 20% of GDP.

5. It is reasonable that a person earning more than $2 million dollars a year should pay the federal government 40-45% of each dollar after the 2 millionth into the federal coffers. A little less between $1M and $2M. A little less between $500,000 and $1M.

6. At some point, a tax rate becomes so high that it starts to detrimentally affect the incentive to work. But this does not happen until the rate is more than 45%.

7. The rate of tax on capital gains income should be the same as the rate applied to an individual's wage income.

8. The current home mortgage interest deduction should be phased out.

9. The current estate tax system (i.e., the death tax) is a laudable system of wealth re-distribution.

10. A VAT should be introduced.

11. These must be times of austerity. The federal government should significantly cut total spending. Simultaneously, it should increase spending on certain programs in a hope to create certain types of jobs.

12. The kinds of jobs that the US government should spend to create ought to be in the so-called "tradeable" sector of the US economy. In other words, jobs within industries that develop products and services bought globally. This will result in relatively higher quality jobs and have a greater positive effect on the economy for a longer period.

13. Robert's understanding of the Obama stimulus plan is that it does not focus well enough on spending in the tradeable sectors. Perhaps more importantly, his plan, and his promotion of that plan, does not go far enough to excite citizens. The administration should have chosen to spend on projects that resonate more emotionally with people. Their base instincts. Kennedy told us that we would land an American on the moon, but what he was really saying is that America would destroy the Soviet Union. He drew upon fear and bloodthirst. Obama's plan talks about spending to fix bridges and fix school gymnasiums. Boring. Instead, he should be talking about putting high-speed internet in every home and on every cell phone. This is, of course, a proxy for a promise of more trashy television, shopping, and social network gossip. Which is what Americans really want.

Arrrh!

2011-10-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Daughter of ‘Dirty War,’ Raised by Man Who Killed Her Parents

2011-10-08T18:36:00.001-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/americas/argentinas-daughter-of-dirty-war-raised-by-man-who-killed-her-parents.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Cadie

2011-10-07T13:16:00.001-07:00

Let's Get a Pumpkin

2011-10-07T12:47:00.001-07:00

Parent Time

2011-10-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Robert was thinking today how fortunate he is to be able to spend so much time at home and with his children. His life the last two years has been great as he is able to maintain enough of a career to squeeze by and to invest the remainder of his time with Rory and Cadie. This investment is important. His parents spent a lot of time with him, sacrificing some things so they could do so. If Robert can spend at least as much time with his kids, or even more, without sacrifice, then he'll certainly have success. Thanks mom and dad.

Rain at Pre-School

2011-10-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Largest School Lunch Program

2011-10-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

http://youtu.be/Tiq67-bAV3M

Let's Get Curious

2011-10-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Perhaps Robert has too much time on his hands.

Hardly Strictly

2011-09-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

We've arrived, and Robert wants a pretzel.

Reviewing Obamacare

2011-09-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

The Obama Administration is urging the Supreme Court to resolve a conflict among circuit courts on the question of whether Congress had the constitutional power to pass the individual mandate portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The individual mandate is the part of the law that requires every individual in the US to obtain health insurance.

Here's a link the the 304 page 11th Circuit opinion that said that Congress lacks that power.

www.uscourts.gov/uscourts/courts/ca11/201111021.pdf

The opinion is great reading for two reasons. First, it summarizes the new health care law into easily digestible pieces. It is the first place Robert has seen a basic explanation of that law (which is itself over 900 pages long). The summary can be found at pages 11-53. Second, it provides a great summary of Commerce Clause caselaw. To be an informed citizen one must have a basic understanding of the debate about that clause's meaning. It is central to understanding our federal government. Really. See pages 67-171.

At the Club with Friends

2011-09-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

BBC Greek Debt Crisis Flow Chart

2011-09-27T19:49:00.002-07:00

Interesting explanation of Greek debt crisis, in flow chart format.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14977728

Urban Tree Farm

2011-09-26T07:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.urbantreefarm.com/

God Bless the Internet

2011-09-25T13:11:00.004-07:00

http://youtu.be/FaB5u0XyiTk

http://youtu.be/FCSBoOcGFFE

http://youtu.be/LQBVgwHAx68

Double Rainbow

2011-09-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Incredible.

27 million views.

T-Shirts available.

http://youtu.be/MX0D4oZwCsA

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 11 - Fri Sep 30, Sat Oct 1, & Sun Oct 2, 2011

2011-09-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

Anyone interested in joining us next weekend? We are tentatively planning Friday.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 11 - Fri Sep 30, Sat Oct 1, & Sun Oct 2, 2011

Soccer

2011-09-22T09:25:00.001-07:00

What?

2011-09-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Wait.

I don't begrudge this guy his money.

But is he saying that it is not income if he decides to invest it?

What?

Dumb-dumb.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/rep-john-fleming-field-criticism-over-600k-income-153305241.html

Rep. John Fleming fields criticism over 600K income

By Chris Moody

Political Reporter

By Chris Moody |

Add John Fleming, a Republican congressman from Louisiana, to the growing, bipartisan list of relatively well-off politicians who may want to revisit the way they discuss their income in public.
During an MSNBC interview to discuss why Fleming opposes President Obama's tax increase on those earning more than $1 million per year, host Chris Jansing said that Fleming has an income of more than $6 million. Fleming quickly corrected her, saying he actually takes in a fraction of that gross amount--about $600,000.
"The amount that I have to reinvest in my business and feed my family is more like $600,000 of that $6.3 million," Fleming explained. "So by the time I feed my family I have, maybe, $400,000 left over to invest in new locations, upgrade my locations, buy more equipment."
Fleming owns a string of Subway sandwich shops and UPS store franchises that earned a gross income of about $6.3 million last year, according to a review of the congressman's finances in The Wall Street Journal.
Jansing went on to tell Fleming that his annual personal income of $200,000 from those ventures was "not exactly a sympathetic position" from which to make the case for lower taxes on the wealthy.
"You do understand, congressman, that the average person out there who's making maybe 40, 50, $60,000 out there, when they hear you only have $400,000 left over, it's not exactly a sympathetic position," she said. "You understand that?"
"Class warfare's never created a job," Fleming responded. "And that's people that will not get jobs. This is all about creating jobs, Chris, this is not about attacking people who make certain incomes. You know in this country, most people feel that being successful in their business is a virtue, not a vice, and once we begin to identify it as a vice, this country is going down."
Fleming was merely pointing out a consequence of tax increases--that business owners will have less money to re-invest and hire new workers if they decline to take a pay cut. But his message likely won't resonate, as Jansing said, with "average Americans."
Lawmakers in both parties have long found themselves appearing removed from reality. From pictures of former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry windsurfing off Nantucket in 2004 to current Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's six-figure tab at Tiffany's in 2011, national politicians can find themselves treading a fine line when it comes to discussing their wealth, especially during tough economic times.
Others may want to take note.

Pruning Fruit Trees

2011-09-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Here's some links to sites explaining proper pruning of fruit trees.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag29.html

http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-apple-trees.htm

Neglected trees

Many people will purchase a house where an apple tree was planted on the property several years ago. Often, the previous owners did not take the time to properly prune the tree. The tree has become bushy and weak and will produce very poor quality apples. Such a tree requires extensive corrective pruning.

The main objective in pruning such a tree is to try to open up the interior to allow good light penetration.

The first step is to remove all the upright, vigorous growing shoots at their base that are shading the interior. As with the young apple trees, it is necessary to select 3 to 5 lower scaffold branches with good crotch angles and spaced around the tree. Limbs with poor angles, and excess scaffold limbs, should be removed at their base. In some cases it is advisable to spread the corrective pruning over two to three seasons. When severe pruning is done in the winter, the trees should not be fertilized that spring.

Robert's Walking

2011-09-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Robert Pierce
Tech Law
415.685.3108
www.piercespace.com

Yosemite 2012

2011-09-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our recent taste of Yosemite seems to have generated an interest in further exploration next year.

Here's an update on the Pierce Family visit to Yosemite in 2012.

We have made reservations to be in Curry Village cabins the nights of August 22, 23, 24, 2012.

So, if you would like to join us, or if you would merely like to reserve the right to do so, you can do that by making a reservation at Curry Village here: http://www.yosemitepark.com/accommodations_curryvillage.aspx

We may be in Yosemite the few days prior for back-country hiking, but that is still in the works. We have submitted for the High Sierra Camp lottery for the nights of August 20 and 21 at May Lake and Sunrise Lake. Results are expected in January. You can submit here: http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_HighSierra_HowtoApply.aspx Mules are available for the high sierra camp. We are still organizing that, but suggest that if you are interested in the high sierra camp that you enter the lottery. It's free to enter and you can sort it out later if you get a spot.

The good news is that Yosemite has a liberal cancelation policy (see below). This means that you can just make a reservation for Curry Village or a hotel far in advance and, if it does not work out, get your money back as long as you cancel more than 7 days before arrival date.

It appears that Robert and Gertie will join us the nights of August 23 and 24. Perhaps Julie/Richard/John/Meredith/David can join for the other or same nights.

We will develop a daily activity plan which should include hikes to the falls, Tuolomne Meadows, Half Dome, and extensive use of the swimming pool and cocktail lounge. I'm sure David can just come along and we can squeeze him in somewhere.

Yosemite Cancellations and Changes - Requests for cancellation or changes may be made by calling our Central Reservation Office at (801) 559-4872 . We must receive requests for cancellation of or change to your reservations at least seven (7) days prior to your scheduled arrival date for a refund of your deposit. As for reservations related to special events in Yosemite, we must receive your cancellation or change requests at least thirty (30) days prior to your scheduled arrival date. Cancellation or changes to Housekeeping Camp reservations may only be changed after we receive your deposit, and a $10.00 handling fee, per unit will be charged for each change or cancellation. If you fail to arrive on the scheduled arrival date, your reservation will be canceled and you will not receive any refund or credit. We strictly enforce our cancellation/change policy and do not allow any exceptions.

Neukom Out

2011-09-15T09:47:00.001-07:00

WTF?

Robert Pierce
Tech Law
415.685.3108
www.piercespace.com

ARRRGH

2011-09-14T22:32:00.002-07:00

Son of a . . .

Robert wants to live HERE!!!

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/apa/2598813513.html

New Version of Google Search

2011-09-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

You might want to try it:

mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google_gravity/

That's a HUGE Backyard!

2011-09-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-aarw-Ozac

More High Sierra Options

2011-09-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

The Sequoia High Sierra Camp is a secluded camping resort that combines the best aspects of a wilderness adventure with the furnishings and guest amenities of a deluxe hotel.

http://www.sequoiahighsierracamp.com/

Nestled 11.5 miles into Sequoia's backcountry, high atop a 7,800-foot granite saddle overlooking the Great Western Divide, Bearpaw High Sierra Camp® has been pampering overnight guests for the past 76 years.

http://www.visitsequoia.com/bearpaw.aspx

What's the Matter with His Lips?

2011-09-09T18:49:00.000-07:00