An Anatomy of Modern Day Failure

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

The following news article elaborately portrays everything wrong with politics, economics and human civilization in this day and age.

Read carefully humble reader and see if you can spot it.

NY court says strip club's lap dances are taxable

ALBANY, N.Y. – Getting a lap dance isn't the same as taking in a ballet, so an alcohol-free strip club will have to pay the tax man, a New York state court has ruled.

Four Appellate Division justices agreed with a state tax appeals commission's earlier finding that dances onstage or in private rooms at the club Nite Moves in suburban Albany don't qualify for a state tax exemption as "dramatic or musical arts performances."

Still, the club tried to bolster its artistic argument with testimony from a cultural anthropologist who has studied exotic dance and visited Nite Moves, and who said the lap dances should be considered choreographed performances.

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110611/ap_on_fe_st/us_lap_dance_taxes_2

...

Its taxes? No!

Its lapdancers being taxed for sharing 'love' that should be free to give and be considered intaxable? No!

The reel and trufax problem of the entire world...

Everyone. Literally: everyone, has an "expert" stashed away in their left pocket enthusiastically willing to whore out their academic and educational credibility for dollars and cents.

Even a strip club can hire a cultural anthropologist and "leading expert" in their respective field to spin a web of half-truths and politicized scientific propaganda intended to circumvent paying taxes.

How does one believe a word a purported "expert" or "academic" in their field cares to offer when they are demonstrably willing to sell out their academic integrity and ethics to the highest bidder on an open market?

Indeed, finding economists and bankers willing to justify Bush's or Obama's economic policies is merely a matter of paying them. Finding educational experts or other "accredited professionals" willing to support an educational policy or initiative is merely a matter of money. Likewise with "expert opinion" on healthcare, taxes, defense and every other issue in the world.

The experts we rely on to provide us with clear and unbiased commentary on important issues are thus revealed to have a conflict of interests between what they would say as unbiased and objective parties and the difference of opinion associated with being paid to substantiate special interests politicized agendas.

The chain of information and media people rely on are only as strong as their weakest link. In an era where a strip club can hire an athropologist to falsify a political campaign we should take heed and be aware not only of failings inherent in religion or older historical sources, but newer failures inherent in science and our own educational standards as well.

We probably won't being that people are hard wired to blindly believe everything and anything an official institution tells us. Whether it be religion, science, politics its generally much easier to believe blindly in the mechanics of the process trusting in others to do the dirty work associated with mincing details for us.

Therein lies our main potential for failure and the carrot and pole with which public opinion can be manipulated and exploited towards serving pre-existing agenda.

Blah, blah. /Boring, old and obvious stuff everyone knew millennia ago.

I wasn't going to say anything here for awhile, but Underlankers made me feel like posting again. Thanks for that, buddy.

Comments

[mrsilence.livejournal.com]

What is your actual argument here?

That lap dances aren't choreographed? As a blanket statement I find that a dubious proposition.

Although whether or not they are choreographed I find difficult to relate to whether they should or should not be taxed.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

1. Lapdances should be taxed. Classifying them as "dramatic or musical arts performances" does nothing to suggest the inverse opposite. Musical arts performances: taxed. Dramatic performances: taxed also. There's no precedent which suggests they should not be aside from having a purported "expert" and "anthropologist" whore out their academic credibility in arguing otherwise.

2. "The reel and trufax problem of the entire world...

Everyone. Literally: everyone, has an "expert" stashed away in their left pocket enthusiastically willing to whore out their academic and educational credibility for dollars and cents."

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

So you thing exotic dancing has no cultural value. Why is your opinion valid and not the opinion of someone who studies cultures for a living?

We all know that there is no higher form of evidence than the crap you make up.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

1. Cultural value doesn't equate to a precedent whereby they are not required to pay taxes.

2. There's nothing reasonable about blindly believing anything and everything a person with a title says. Whether said title be it pope, bishop, doctor or expert -- blindly believing everything and anything they say without evidence is foolish.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

I'm friends with people who are competitive strippers; they're work is definitely choreographed (they train five nights a week too). What they do is beyond just "getting your tits out for the boys".

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

3. Don't stereotype me. Kthx.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

So? Do you know of any dancers, performers or musicians who are not taxed when they are paid? Obviously: no. Obvious answer is obvious.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

1. I don't know what you're saying here; there are plenty of precedents where things of cultural value are given tax exempt status.

2. I agree, that's why we go to school and learn how to participate in academic discussions, so we can tell which experts are BS and which aren't; this is your problem, you have no method of separating wheat from chaff other than what appears to be intuition. Trust me, a university degree (any) will far better equip you to make sense of the world than spending time lurking around conspiracy websites.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Where did I do that? You have consistently denied evidence from experts from many fields, preferring to substitute your own unsubstantiated theories.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

The only problem with this is when you have conflicting experts (like in court cases, or economics) who does one believe? It seems like we are back to square one, intuition :D

[blue-mangos.livejournal.com]

Obviously there are some if there's a state tax exemption on dramatic or musical art performances. So obvious answer is not so obvious.

[blue-mangos.livejournal.com]

I'm joining the chorus that what many of them do is art.

[msretro.livejournal.com]

In your original article, it says that dramatic or musical arts performances are tax exempt.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

That's not how discussions involving competing experts works...

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

We can't trust anyone with a college degree, listen to me instead.

[kylinrouge.livejournal.com]

Lap dances are essentially a luxury good, and I'm of the opinion that luxury goods should be taxed. I'm not married to this idea, but this topic is the first I've heard of such a thing so that's my gut reaction.

I have no idea what the rest of his post is talking about. More rage against academia. The paranoia about experts is very peculiar, did someone molest you with a rolled up diploma or something?

No?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

A jury oft times has to pick the "expert" they believe.

A DNA expert shows there is only 1 in 5 Billion it wasn't him.
Lawyer says: "If it doesn't fit you must acquit"

Granted, they were experts in different fields, but we all know which one the jury believed :D

[paedraggaidin.livejournal.com]

^ This.

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

What, you expected him to read his article before posting an angry diatribe about it? You're intellectually spoiled!

[mikeyxw.livejournal.com]

And a night at the ballet is a necessity?

I'd say that almost all tax exemptions should be done away with. I'd be willing to go with all if that makes it easier to implement.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

And a night at the ballet is a necessity?

If the guys are built, yes!!!!!!!!!!

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Yeah, those on government grants don't pay tax (well it depends, but most grants aren't taxable income here). But that's completely irrelevant because this article isn't talking about the dancers (you DO read the things you post yeah?), it's talking about the establishment owner. I'm pretty sure the MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) and the Victorian Ballet have tax exemptions - hell, they get government grants because it's important as a global city to have an orchestra and a ballet and we would struggle to sustain decent ones if they were privately funded alone.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

Very good point, you got me there. Thanks.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

My friend just came runner up in Miss Nude Australia (or one other one... there's two and it's very cliquey, I don't really get the politics). Anyway, here is part of the winning routine for 2008 (no nudity, it's SFW, unless your work would freak out at pole dancing):




Every year they get better and better and better, the girls who win this thing aren't strippers, they're usually gymnasts or trained dancers. There's a lot more to this than just getting your kit off. In fact, pole dancing on it's own is getting huge (bigger than nude cos it's more legit):



I'd go so far to say that anyone who doesn't think that's art can safely have their opinion on art ignored.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

I read another version of it weeks ago & didn't remember everything about it(hint: look at the date).

I think my accusations directed at academics whoring out scientific credibility for cash still stands though.