Hey California! You Can Forget My Taxes!

Last night I was talking to one of my friends about Proposition 8 and the fallout the gay community is experiencing as a result of its passing. I said that I was considering not paying State taxes until I had the same rights as all of the other California minority groups who pay taxes. I get equal rights -- the State of California can have my tax contribution. Seems like a fair trade to me.

Apparently, I'm not alone in my thinking. Today I found this blog post from Melissa Etheridge. Here's a snippet:

Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.

You can find the full post here:

http://thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-06/you-can-forget-my-taxes

Rock on Melissa! Great minds think alike  :)

Bridge School Benefit 2008

Alas, another Shoreline season has come to an end. On October 25th and 26th we hosted the Bridge School Benefit shows. They were fun shows as usual however this year some of the usual Bridge magic was missing. I'm chalking it up to the impending election -- everyone was feeling anxious -- not to mention the fact that most of the acts on the line-up already play acoustic shows (meaning no surprises like Metallica playing acoustic). 

Sarah McLachlan delivered the most outstanding set at Saturday's show. She accompanied herself on piano as well as guitar. Sarah played some old favorites like Possession and Ice Cream, as well as some new tunes like U Want Me 2. Her voice was clear and strong and the audience rewarded her with the only standing ovation of the night.

The highlight of Sunday's show was Josh Groban singing a song with the Smashing Pumpkins. That was indeed a magical moment and definitely one I never thought I'd witness in my lifetime!

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins and Josh Grobin singing 'Disarm'

Photo by my friend Tim Mosenfelder