The Wine Commonsewer™

Alice Cooper: Terrorist

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Yesterday was the last day of school and TWC feels like he made parole. The Boy is a senior come August and The House Blond a sophomore. 

Alice Cooper was inspired to write his terrorist screed by.....the last three minutes of the last day of school when you're sitting there and it's like a slow fuse burning. He rightly surmised that if he could.....catch that three minutes in a song, it's going to be so big.

School's out for summer
School's out forever
School's been blown to pieces

Blown. To. Pieces. That's from the GOP's token psuedo-drag queen Addams Family makeup queen and bad boy shock rocker Alice Cooper's wildly popular rock standard that's been adopted by succeeding generations of adolescents yearning to be free of the chalkboard  green board  white board ball and chain. 

I'm pretty sure that DHS & FBI think such trash talk constitutes a terrorist threat. Singing it at school might buy your friends an instant lockdown and earn you an expulsion from the hallowed halls of learning. Just sayin'. 

Can't salute you, can't find a flag......

As Ever,

TWC

Decoration Day

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Before the CONgressionally mandated, three-day Memorial Day Weekend that marks the beginning of summer, there was a holiday called Decoration Day. The intent of which was to honor the Civil War dead. 

The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet church-yard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.—By Order of General John A. Logan

It is right that we honor our war dead. It is also right that we, as a people, reflect on the nature and purpose of our wars and conflicts. If for no other reason than the cold, brutal, reality that some will come home in flag draped coffins.

St Louis, Decoration Day, 1891

As Ever,

TWC

Bonus: Decoration Day Blues

Tip of the glass to Rick Henderson

General Motors Has Never Paid A Dime Of Taxes

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Economic illiteracy abounds but it ought to be obvious on its face that taxes are a cost of doing business and all costs of doing business are incorporated into the price you pay for anything you buy. Don't matter if it's an iPhone or a bag of carrots, every cost of doing business is passed on to the consumer. That means me and you, Charlie.

This is basic economics and intuitive common sense. If a business cannot recover its costs of doing busines, and a little extra something called net profit, it will fail. 

The above chart appeared at PuffPo and purports to illustrate how the tax burden has shifted from corporations to individuals. That's a deliberate distortion to paint a picture that the tax and spend crowd is comfortable with. The implication that payroll taxes represent a shift of tax burden to individuals is false and you should note that individual income taxes represent roughly the same share to the treasury as they did in 1950.

The original post, which has been updated, also left out several critical things.

• Payroll taxes are social security and medicare taxes not personal income taxes
• Half of the payroll tax is paid by the employer 
• The US has the highest corporate income tax rates in the civilized world

While it is true that the social security tax burden has grown exponentially, that isn't a shift of the tax burden from corporate to personal, it's a new and growing tax burden on all working Americans. In 1950 the social security tax was 3% and was capped at 2012 inflation adjusted wages of $28,000.00. Today social security tax is almost 15% and is levied on $113,000.00 of wages and self-employment income.

The wage base is nearly four times what it was and the actual percentage of tax is five times the 1950 rate. And that STILL isn't enough to cover the cost of the Ponzi scheme we call social security. That problem is on the heads of the political classes and their supporters. They created it by making false promises that can't be kept.

Keeping business taxes low is important because it allows American business to remain competitive worldwide. Keep in mind that every time you buy a Big Mac, you're helping McDonalds pay their corporate income tax.

BONUS: Rand Paul skewers CONgress about the tax code and the harassment of Apple:

As Always,

TWC 

Breakfast Frittata With Avocado

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Sometimes seat-of-the-pants cooking is best. This is what you can do with a leftover baked spud.

• Coarsely grate potato as if making hash browns
• Dice one medium-spicy yellow pepper
• Dice one Serrano pepper
• Dice about half a bell pepper for color
• Dice half an onion

Throw all into a large mixing bowl and then combine with the following:

• Add fresh thyme to taste
• Add freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Add three eggs
• Add a couple of splashes of half and half

Mix thoroughly with a fork

Spoon into a hot cast iron skillet with grape seed or olive oil

Keep the fire low and cook until golden brown on both sides

Makes four good-sized servings. More if you use a smaller spoon

As Ever,

TWC

2006 Bennett Lane Maximus Feasting WineOnly The Beginning

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Twenty eight years ago this morning we played this song instead of Here Comes The Bride.

 

By the time drummer Danny Seraphine came in with the big downbeat, Mrs TWC found herself at the altar. Her two grandfathers, one at each elbow, propelled her down the aisle, feet dangling three inches above the carpet. After which all three, stood stoically for the next seven minutes while the song finished. 

We'd planned to celebrate at a favorite haunt of ours in La Quinta (pronounced Lah Keentah) but decided to stay in. Our afternoon & evening was filled with music, conversation, and wine. Dinner was as good as it gets anywhere. Possible exception: Flemings. 

La Quinta Resort Gardens

Certainly it's nice to be pampered and the anti-pasta lunch spread may have been a little prettier at a high dollar eatery, but that stack of Samoleans in the front closet is still there. 

New York Strip Steak

THE WINE

Though the name conjures images of Medieval Times and the Renaissance Faire for moi, Maximus Red Feasting Wine is a tribute to Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus, who was known for his legendary love of good wine and gourmet food.

The wine is a meritage in the tradition of Bordeaux, a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 14% Syrah, and 4% Cabernet Franc. 

I loved the wine and at $35.00 it is well priced for a Napa Valley Meritage. It holds its own against considerably more expensive wines, which earns it a solid 25% rating on TWC's Standarized Price/Value Ratio. What that means is that the wine is as good as wines selling for 25% more.  

The wine is an elegant wine, very opulent and dark in the glass. There are subtle aromas of blackberry, violets, leather, and bing cherry, all of which carry through to the palate. The wine has a long, dry, earthy finish.

We paired the wine with the aforementioned grilled New York Strip steak. It was awesome.

Us Toasting Our 28th With Maximus

As Always,

TWC

La Rioja Alta 904 Gran Reserva 2001

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Guest Blogger and sommelier, Laura Diaz, takes us to sunny La Rioja this morning. Like, Laura, TWC has always been a fan of Rioja wines. One of my personal Top-Ten-Finest-Wines-Ever, was a Torres Gran Coronas.

The power of high quality wine has gone further than expected, especially in La Rioja, Spain. Not only has it delighted and surprised fellow wine fanatics, but it has focused the attention and respect of the international wine community on Spain, even inspiring Gran Reserva (Vintage), one of Spain's most successful telenovelas.

La Rioja wine has broken through geographical and often tense political boundaries between La Rioja and the Basque Country where the wine is jointly produced. To our delight, it has given a common identity to this Spanish region as they share the success of their wine. La Rioja Alta winery has produced one of the finest and highest rated wines, with a profound and complex character that shouldn't be missed.

La Rioja Alta 904 Gran Reserva 2001 is a delectable wine produced from Tempranillo grapes (90%) from 40 year-old vines located in Briñas, Villalba and Labastida that are perfectly complemented by a 10% touch of Graciano vines from Melchorón and Rodezno Briones vineyards, all of which belong to the DOC of La Rioja.

In February 2002, the wine was transferred to the self-made, 4 year-old American oak barrels being racked through the traditional barrel-to-barrel method for 4 years, every 6 months. The wine was bottled in June 2006 and has been maturing in the company's cellars for over six years. In order to preserve maximum organoleptic components, the wine was subject to a gentle filtration, which can produce few sediments with age.

Now is a perfect time to acquire this fiercely anticipated red wine from La Rioja. It is worth the effort of purchasing it simply for its exclusive quality and extraordinary taste, but it will also be a great acquisition for any wine cellar as it will continue to evolve for 5 to 6 more years, and has great drinkability until 2040.

SIGHT: Ruby red, with a slight garnet rim. Very bright, has thin and elegant tears.

SMELL: Fresh, vibrant, with fine notes of candied fruit, spicy black fruit, excellent ripeness with a hint of coffee and chocolate mint.

TASTE: Solid structure, round and sweet elegantly polished tannins. Silky, soft and durable aftertaste.

ALCOHOL: 12.5% 

SERVING TEMP: 17 ° C (That's 62 degrees American) decanting recommended

PAIRING: Red meats, Añejo or other semi-soft cheeses, Jamón Ibérico de Bellota

As Always,

TWC

Tip of the glass to Ms Diaz, who has spent some time wandering La Rioja, enjoying the fine wines that the region has to offer. She also writes the fashion blog, Lalishion. We appreciate her efforts on behalf of The Wine Commonsewer.

 

How to Pronounce Viognier

Old School Harley

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

The Boy and I spent the better part of Saturday at the boat drags. Unfortunately, the wind didn't cooperate and toward the end of the day some of the races were canceled. Wandering on back to the truck we came across several vintage Harley Davidsons. This Shovelhead hard tail (no rear suspension) interested me the most because I haven't seen sky scraper pipes on a HD since I was a vagrant yoot. Think: Peter Fonda. The era, not the bike.

If I was to take up riding again, this might be my style.

As Ever,

TWC

Cinco de Mayo & the Juarez Winchester

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

As many of you know, Cinco de Mayo marks the victory of a rag-tag bunch of Mexicans over the most formidable army in the world. The Frogs hadn't lost a battle in a half century.

However, the Mexican victory on Cinco de Mayo of 1862 was short lived and Benito Juárez set up a resistance movement in northern Mexico. At a cost of $57.00 per rifle (including 500 rounds per weapon), paid for in silver coin, Juarez purchased 1,000 Winchester Model 1866 carbines in .44 caliber. The rifles were stamped *R.M.*, for *Republic of Mexico* and marked with a sunburst.  Today, these rifles are worth upwards of $8,000.00. About ten times their 1866 value after adjusting for inflation.

As Always,

TWC