Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax - WSJ

Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax - WSJ:
"Households with $150,000 or more in income make up 52% of total income nationally but pay large portion of total taxes
One of the least discussed parts of America’s income tax is how progressiv

e it is, and the tax overhaul didn’t change that fact.
The results show how steeply progressive the U.S. income tax remains.
For 2018, households in the top 20% will have income of about $150,000 or more and 52% of total income, about the same as in 2017.
But they will pay about 87% of income taxes, up from about 84% last year.
By contrast, the lower 60% of households, who have income up to about $86,000, receive about 27% of income.
As a group, this tier will pay no net federal income tax in 2018 vs. 2% of it last year..."

My 72-Hour Safari in Clinton Country - POLITICO Magazine

My 72-Hour Safari in Clinton Country - POLITICO Magazine:
"In a recent March morning, as a nor’easter walloped an idyllic Brooklyn street with snow, members of the Park Slope Food Coop ambled inside, shopping for bargains on broccolini and organic wheatgrass.
I was here under somewhat false pretenses, as a reporter from out of state to tour the co-op—the truth, but not the whole truth.
At the door, a young blond woman told me I wasn’t welcome to roam a single organic-mango punctuated aisle unless under the supervision of a co-op member.
She instructed me to take an elevator upstairs, where I would find a customer service desk.
There, I met several members.
I told them I had traveled here to take the political temperature of Clinton Country. 
This place, I explained, seemed to be the epicenter of liberal consensus.
The Park Slope Food Coop—a 17,000-member-owned and operated food store with a vaguely communist-sounding name...
...One member I met estimated that, during the 2016 primary, 60 percent of the co-op’s members threw their support to Clinton and the other 40 percent supported Bernie Sanders.
Not to mention that the co-op is situated in one of the toniest parts of Brooklyn, the site of Clinton’s campaign headquarters, and a borough that she won by 61 percent.
Inside, I met Elie Venezky, a 45-year math educator and entrepreneur who described himself as “upper middle class.”
Venezky was here to put in his monthly 2 hours and 45 minutes in exchange for the privilege of accessing some of the city’s cheapest food prices. For the first few minutes of his shift, the Clinton voter laid out a relatively straightforward, if improbable, way Donald Trump could gain his support.
“If he came out in tears and admitted his whole life was a lie, and that he’s changing all of his policies, and that he’s going to fight for the people, and that maybe Putin isn’t such a great guy, sure, he could win me over that way,” the card-carrying member of the coastal elite told me.
“But the chances of that happening are pretty slim.”...
Much here, read all!

Lunch video-----What Was MLK’s Legacy? | The Ben Shapiro Show Ep. 511

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FBI showdown over Trump data - Washington Times

FBI showdown over Trump data - Washington Times:

"The FBI is refusing to disclose additional information about its decision to begin investigating then-candidate Donald Trump in July 2016, prompting Rep. Devin Nunes to threaten a showdown in federal court.
Mr. Nunes, California Republican and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on intelligence, sent a letter to the Justice Department saying the FBI will not un-redact internal electronic communications provided the panel on how the investigation got started. Mr. Nunes says the FBI has blacked out large portions of FBI electronic messages.
The FBI also is resisting Mr. Nunes’ demand to make documents available to lawmakers on the application for a court-approved wiretap on former Trump volunteer Carter Page."

Oikophobia on the rise after Trump win: Glenn Reynolds

Oikophobia on the rise after Trump win: Glenn Reynolds:
"Irrational fear of fellow countrymen is spreading among America's ruling class.
How crazy has the reaction to Trump’s impending presidency gotten?
So crazy that Democratic operatives are scared of plumbers, and I don’t mean the Watergate kind.
No, really. Ned Resnikoff, a “senior editor” at the  liberal website ThinkProgress, wrote on Facebook that he’d called a plumber to fix a clogged drain.
The plumber showed up, did the job and left, but Resnikoff was left shaken, though with a functioning drain.
Wrote Resnikoff, “He was a perfectly nice guy and a consummate professional. 
But he was also a middle-aged white man with a Southern accent who seemed unperturbed by this week’s news.”
This created fear: “While I had him in the apartment, I couldn’t stop thinking about whether he had voted for Trump, whether he knew my last name is Jewish, and how that knowledge might change the interaction we were having inside my own home.”
When it was all over, Resnikoff reported that he was “rattled” at the thought that a Trump supporter might have been in his home. “I couldn’t shake the sense of potential danger.”..."
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Facebook asked hospitals to share patient data | TheHill

Facebook asked hospitals to share patient data | TheHill:
"Facebook asked hospitals for anonymized data about their patients for a proposed research project, CNBC reported on Thursday.
The social media platform reportedly intended to compare the data, which included prescription information and illnesses, with its own data that it collected from users, in order to flag users that may need hospital care..."
Read on!

#1 This day 1955-----The Ballad Of Davy Crockett Bill Hayes 1955

6 Reasons Why The AR-15 Is Actually Ideal For Self-Defense

6 Reasons Why The AR-15 Is Actually Ideal For Self-Defense
"The AR-15 may well be the most vilified rifle in existence at the moment, possibly even more so than the Soviet-designed AK-47. 
This is especially true following several incidents where bad people did bad things with the rifle in question.

As per usual following such incidents, politicians begin clamoring for the rifle to be banned. 
They use all kinds of rhetoric to paint the firearm as some kind of evil murder-death-kill machine that serves no other purpose except to end lives. 
This usually comes from the same people who claim that the most recent gunman, armed with a Glock, didn’t have a semiautomatic weapon.

Yeah.

Anyway, many of these folks–including at least one former vice president of the United States–have said that all you need for self-defense in your home is a shotgun.

Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case. 

The AR-15 is a great weapon for self-defense, and there are a number of reasons why. 

What follows is one man’s thinking on why the AR-15 is great for home defense and, in a few cases, why it’s far superior to the shotgun...

1. It’s Lightweight

2. It’s Compact

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You ought to know!

No, Hillary Clinton: It’s the Red States That Are Dynamic | The Heritage Foundation

No, Hillary Clinton: It’s the Red States That Are Dynamic | The Heritage Foundation:

"For at least the last two decades, most of the dynamism and growth — as measured by population movements, income growth and job creation — has been fleeing from the once economically dominant blue states that Clinton won and relocating to the red states that Trump won.
Here's the evidence. Of the 12 blue states that Hillary Clinton won by the largest margins — Hawaii, California, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Illinois, Washington, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware — all but three of them lost residents through domestic migration (excluding immigration) over the last 10 years."

China Challenges The US Dollar By Launching Petro-Yuan: Dollar's Death Imminent?

China Challenges The US Dollar By Launching Petro-Yuan: Dollar's Death Imminent?:
"China is the world’s largest crude oil consumer, and its eyes are now on the rival United States’ currency, the dollar.  
The Chinese have effectively challenged the dollar’s dominance by launching the petro-yuan, leading some to believe the US dollar’s collapse is all but imminent.

According to the South China Morning Post, China’s state-run media outlet, trading of the new oil futures contracts for September settlement started on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange at 440.20 yuan ($69.70) per barrel. 
Some 18,540 lots have reportedly been sold and purchased so far. Concerns that the dollar’s glory days are over began last year.

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AM Fruitcake

History for April 7

History for April 7 - On-This-Day.com
W.K. Kellogg 1860 - Industrialist in food manufacturing, most known for founding of the Kellogg Company, Walter Winchell 1897 - Vaudeville performer, journalist, radio commentator, Percy Faith 1908 - Orchestra leader, composer


James Garner (James Scott Bumgarner) 1928 - Actor ("Rockford Files", "Maverick"), Jackie Chan 1954 - Actor ("Rush Hour", "Rush Hour 2"), Russell Crowe 1964 - Actor ("A Beautiful Mind," "Gladiator")


1864 - The first camel race in America was held in Sacramento, California.


1940 - Booker T. Washington became the first black to be pictured on a U.S. postage stamp.


1945 - The Japanese battleship Yamato, the world’s largest battleship, was sunk during the battle for Okinawa. The fleet was headed for a suicide mission.


1948 - The musical "South Pacific" by Rogers and Hammerstein debuted on Broadway.


1953 - IBM unveiled the IBM 701 Electronic Data Processing Machine. It was IBM's first commercially available scientific computer.


1963 - At the age of 23, Jack Nicklaus became the youngest golfer to win the Green Jacket at the Masters Tournament.


1970 - John Wayne won his first and only Oscar for his role in "True Grit." He had been in over 200 films.

Christian privilege is the new white privilege – Glenn Beck

Christian privilege is the new white privilege – Glenn Beck:

"George Washington would be so proud.

The George Washington University, in our nation’s capital, has been molding minds for almost two centuries. It is one of the most prestigious and highest-ranked institutions in America. But every student who has graced the hallowed halls of GWU has come away with a deficiency in their expensive education. Until now."

The way we were-----Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford

Boob-tube-----ABC Early 1970s Commercials

Minneapolis Schools Face $33M Deficit After City Paid $500M for NFL Stadium

Minneapolis Schools Face $33M Deficit After City Paid $500M for NFL Stadium:
"Teachers and staff of Minneapolis schools are expecting hundreds of layoffs due to a $33 million deficit only a few years after the city completed a taxpayer-funded $1.1 billion football stadium.

Minneapolis Public Schools — the state’s third largest district currently tasked with educating 36,000 young people — is expected to lay off 350-400 full time employees after last fall’s announcement that the education budget’s deficit had doubled for the following school year.
Teachers of many subjects are on the chopping block, including English and Math.
Social workers in charge of shepherding troubled students and security guards meant to provide protection during an event such as a mass shooting are also expected to be cut.
...Meanwhile, the taxpayer-funded US Bank Stadium hosted its first Super Bowl last month, with billionaire real estate tycoon and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf expected to reap $200 million from the new stadium each year in personal profits.
The city of Minneapolis budgeted a whopping $498 million of taxpayer money to aid in the construction of the stadium, as well as to the destruction of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, which the new stadium replaced..."
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You’ve Been Hoodwinked. (Perhaps.) | Sharyl Attkisson

You’ve Been Hoodwinked. (Perhaps.) | Sharyl Attkisson:
"If you watched the mash-up of Sinclair station anchors reading their national promo and were convinced it was something evil and nefarious, you’ve been hoodwinked.

A few of you asked for my view on this continuing propaganda campaign put together by certain political interests and Sinclair’s competitors, as Sinclair seeks to close on a deal to buy Tribune companies.

Watch the Deadspin mashup of Sinclair station promos:

From what I can tell, this issue breaks down along ideological lines, and minds are not likely to be swayed. 
My friends on the far left are convinced that Sinclair anchors reading a national promo is Hitler-esque Orwellian brainwashing. 
My friends on the far right are happy and hopeful that Sinclair might, indeed, be pushing conservative views. 
Those in the middle don’t care or seem to think it’s much ado about nothing.

There’slegitimate debate to be heard on many topics surrounding media fairness and consolidation. 
It’s obviously perfectly fine for you to disagree, but I find nothing to argue with in the nonpartisan, national Sinclair promos at issue. 
(The text is printed at the end of this article. You can decide for yourself.) 
In fact, I’ve heard many conservatives and liberals alike make these same points: That we have a problem with one-sided, false and biased news; that some reporters are pushing agendas; and that untrue stories are being published without proper fact checks. 
These assertions are pretty indisputable, wherever you sit.

Read a local Sinclair anchor’s commentary on the issue

The promos go on to say that Sinclair stations are committed to factual reporting neither “left nor right.” 

The anchors were even instructed not to wear blue or red, lest the colors be incorrectly interpreted as politically-charged in today’s environment. 
Somehow, this was portrayed by leftists as “Turning news anchors into soldiers for Trump’s war on the media.” ...

Read all!!

Franklin Graham puts bull’s-eye on Target’s open restrooms

Franklin Graham puts bull’s-eye on Target’s open restrooms:

"“Why is anyone shocked? Target prides itself in its policy that allows biological men to use women’s restrooms. On Sunday in one of their Chicago-area stores, a man entered the ladies restroom and exposed himself to a little girl who was at the store shopping with her mom,” wrote Graham, the CEO of both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the relief and development organization Samaritan’s Purse.
“Customers interviewed were right – it’s very sad. And it is so preventable. The American Family Association is calling for a boycott of Target stores – you can sign it at www.afa.net/target. Call the Target headquarters at 612-304-6073 and let them know that you think they should change their decision and make their restrooms safe again. And you can voice your concerns on the Target Facebook page.”"

Detroit Land Bank accused of not paying demolition contractors

Detroit Land Bank accused of not paying demolition contractors
"Up to $8.7 million in payments have been delayed because of alleged issues in the agency.
Demolition contractors who have been working on the blighted homes project in Detroit have not been paid by the Detroit Lank Band Authority (DLB), a report by the Detroit Free Press says. 
Up to $8.7 million has been delayed because of alleged issues stemming from within the agency.
Land bank officials rebuffed the claims in the report, but the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), with offices in Lansing and Detroit, said in a statement to the Free Press that the “backlog is currently in the DLB office in getting us invoices for review.”
The land bank is reimbursed by the state agency to pay contractors....
Detroit received $258 million in federal Hardest Hit Funds and has spent $144 million, the report says..."
Read on!

Howard students occupy admin building, demand disarming of police

Howard students occupy admin building, demand disarming of police

• Student protesters at Howard University have now been occupying an administration building for eight days following revelations that employees had stolen about $1 million in financial aid money.
• The students have issued a list of demands, calling on the university to disarm its campus police force and create a "grievance system" to report "sexist, classist, colorist, queerphobic, ableist, and xenophobic language."
• Student activists at Howard University are demanding that the school disarm its police force and create an “investigative body of students” to evaluate offensive language.

The demands come in the wake of a financial aid scandal that resulted in six employees being fired for allegedly pocketing about $1 million in excess tuition funds over a period of nine years.
"Currently, there is no effective system in place for students to report misconduct and harmful behavior, such as the use of sexist, classist, colorist, queerphobic, ableist, and xenophobic language..."
Read all!

Lunch video-----Bill Warner PhD: Sharia-- Destroyer of Civilizations

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