Lest we forget. The presidents "brown shirts" are still at it.---TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 263

TaxProf Blog: The IRS Scandal, Day 263: "The IRS Scandal, Day 263

• American Thinker:  Liberals Who Love Obama, a 501(c)(4) for the Age of Gangsterism
• Christian Post:  The Left Demands the IRS "Redouble" Targeting Tea Party and Conservative Groups
• Colorado Springs Gazette editorial:  Can We Believe Obama's Words on Policies, Actions?
• News Max: Cleta Mitchell: IRS Targeting Hollywood Conservatives Shows 'Lawless' Agency
• News Max:  Conservatives Cry Foul Over Obama Intimidation of Critics
• Tax Law Home:  Democratic Senator Schumer Calls for Renewed IRS Targeting of Tea Party
• Tuscaloosa News:  IRS Rule on 501(c) (4) Activities Aimed at Conservative Groups
• WND:  Schumer Calls for IRS to Crack Down on Tea Party Funding
• WND:  Targeting Conservatives? It's 'Nixonian'

This ‘Breaking News’ Interruption Of A Congresswoman Mid-Sentence Tells You All You Need To Know About MSNBC « Rat Nation:

"This ‘Breaking News’ Interruption Of A Congresswoman Mid-Sentence Tells You All You Need To Know About MSNBC"

"And MSNBC wonders why it’s a complete laughingstock 

Sometimes, pictures and / or videos speak for themselves. This is clearly one of those times. Besides, I just couldn’t bring myself to give this one away. Hilarious.

Notice that the topic being discussed – prior to the “breaking story” – was the government task force recommendation that the NSA stop collecting the phone records of tens of millions of Americans. Priorities, MSNBC, priorities."

Now we’re all dopes

Now we’re all dopes | Boston Herald:
....If you smoke and it’s not a problem, good for you. Keep tokin’ up. You obviously have no problems maintaining your stash, and no one’s going to bother you.
Just ask Aaron Hernandez. He never got lugged until he started shooting people.
The “George-Washington-used-hemp-to-make-uniforms-for-the-Continental-Army-dude” crowd always claims that marijuana isn’t as dangerous a drug as alcohol.
That’s essentially what Obama said, and it’s true. But so what? Most stoners are also pounding down the Bud Lights big time, at least after working hours. And that’s a problem.
As Bob Dylan once said of combining alcohol and marijuana: “Like a fool I mixed them/ An’ it strangled up my mind/ An’ now people just get uglier/ An’ I have no sense of time.”
Exactly. And you can’t drive worth a damn either.
The libertarian position is that everyone has the unalienable right to get bleeped up. That was Ron Paul’s real platform all those years, not reining in the Federal Reserve.
The only “reserve” his voters cared about was the extra box of Twinkies out in the Volkswagen bus.
The defect with the Ron Paul argument is that we now live in a welfare state. If you decide to quit working and devote your entire stoned life to rolling the perfect joint and deconstructing the collected oeuvre of Jimi Hendrix and his Band of Gypsies, the taxpayers are now on the hook for supporting you.
I am a taxpayer. I protest. Millions of Obama voters are already leeching off me, they’ve got me working like a coal-mine pony. I need a little help here on the second shift.
Sorry dude, I know it’s a bummer, totally, but that’s the way life is — there’s always a lot of sticks, stems and oregano mixed in there with the buds.

Norovirus - What You Need to Know - Cruises - Cruise Critic

Norovirus - What You Need to Know - Cruises - Cruise Critic: "
Norovirus is not a "cruise ship" virus, nor does it limit itself to sea-going vessels.
Norovirus spreads swiftly wherever there are many people in a small area, including nursing homes, restaurants, hotels, dormitories ... and cruise ships.
The common cold is the only illness more common, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimates that there are more than 20 million cases of Norovirus annually.
Norovirus is associated with cruise travel simply because health officials are required to track illnesses on ships (and are not at hotels and resorts); therefore, outbreaks are found and reported more quickly at sea than on land."

Our government screwing us AGAIN!------------------The Certificate of Need Con Job

The Certificate of Need Con Job [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:

The big corporations love increased regulation because it keeps new competitors from entering the market.
Politicians reward corporations with industry-wide regulations in exchange for $$$$$$.
"Using 2009 data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Bruneau compares per capita health care expenditures in states imposing the Certificate of Need (CON) mandate and states that do not.
The costs are 11 percent higher on average in the CON states, $7,230 per capita compared to $6,526.
To the extent Michigan reflects that average, this means every man, woman and child in this state is paying an extra $704 annually thanks to government rationing."

Advocates of More Education Spending Ignoring Billions in Other Funds

Advocates of More Education Spending Ignoring Billions in Other Funds [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:

"A number of advocates for more state funding for K-12 public education are making claims about cuts, but they're ignoring $2 billion in additional state education funding, which is as much as 30 percent of state funding for some school districts.

The $2 billion is not a part of the state foundation allowance.

 Overall, 20 percent of state spending on education is spent via "categorical grants," which is money districts receive in addition to their foundation allowance. "

They had the money and it still took 7 years to get the governmental approvals!!!-------Biz improvement zones: A concept that's picking up

This is supposed to be a "feel good" story.
Read it.
It ain't!
Biz improvement zones: A concept that's picking up | Crain's Detroit Business:
For seven years, the Southwest Detroit Business Association has been working to relight the 2.3-mile stretch of Vernor between Clark and Patton parks. It raised $6.4 million for the project and is awaiting the final signature on the contract so that construction can begin in April.

"This is our largest-ever infrastructure undertaking in the history of the organization," said Theresa Zajac, vice president of the SDBA. "It couldn't happen soon enough. Every year, every month, our small businesses are like, 'When is it going to start?'" 

DIY cleanup 
The seven-year saga to bring the lights back to Vernor started in 2007, when the 371 commercial property owners along West Vernor, between Woodmere and Clark streets, formed the state's first business improvement district. 
These property owners realized that by pooling their money they could clean up the entire street, removing graffiti, picking up trash and sweeping the sidewalks in the heavily immigrant enclave. So they voted to tax themselves $155,000 per year and hired the SDBA to administer the improvement district. 
That made them just one of thousands of such groups across the country, but the first in Michigan and still the only business improvement district in the city of Detroit. 

MSM in mass therapy because recent mass shooters are not Tea Party lunatics----Columbia Mall Shooter Identified As 19 Year Old Darion Marcus Aguilar

Columbia Mall Shooter Identified As 19 Year Old Darion Marcus Aguilar | Weasel Zippers:

"‘If you were to go in his room you would see what a gentle sweet kid he was,’ she said, adding that he was a vegetarian because he was concerned about animal welfare."

If You Like Your Light Bulb, You Can’t Keep Your Light Bulb

If You Like Your Light Bulb, You Can’t Keep Your Light Bulb | Heartlander Magazine:

Americans Caught by Surprise
A recent study found only 28 percent of the public was aware of the 2007 law that unrealistically raised the minimum efficiency standards for light bulbs to the point where it effectively turned the 25 cent light bulb into contraband. “
In its place,” reports CNS News, “alternative, costly and mercury-filled CFLs are manufactured in China, and incandescent factories in the US have been shuttered.”

The last U.S. incandescent light bulb factory, in Winchester, Virginia, closed in September 2010, leaving 200 well-paid employees feeling they’d been “sold out by the government.”
The GE news release about the closure stated, “A variety of energy regulations that establish lighting efficiency standards are being implemented in the U.S. and other countries and will soon make the familiar lighting products produced at the Winchester Plant obsolete.”
As of January 1, it is now illegal to manufacture or import the traditional incandescent light bulbs in the United States.

This is the thanks they get from their affirmative-action babies. Actually not "thanks". THREATS!---U of Michigan Black Students Threaten Violence if Demands Not Met

U of Michigan Black Students Threaten Violence if Demands Not Met - Uncle Sams Misguided Children
Ann Arbor, Michigan – A group of activist black students at the University of Michigan made threats against the school if their demands are not met. 
Speaking on campus January 20, they gave the school 7 days to meet their demands before they will take “physical actions.”

Demands
The demands were read by student Erick Gavin:
-We demand that the university give us an equal opportunity to implement change, the change that complete restoration of the BSU [Black Student Union] purchasing power through an increased budget would obtain.
-We demand available housing on central campus for those of lower socio-economic status at a rate that students can afford, to be a part of university life, and not just on the periphery.
-We demand an opportunity to congregate and share our experiences in a new Trotter [Multicultural Center] located on central campus.
-We demand an opportunity to be educated and to educate about America’s historical treatment and marginalization of colored groups through race and ethnicity requirements throughout all schools and colleges within the university.
-We demand the equal opportunity to succeed with emergency scholarships for black students in need of financial support, without the mental anxiety of not being able to focus on and afford the university’s academic life.
-We demand increased exposure of all documents within the Bentley (Historical) Library. There should be transparency about the university and its past dealings with race relations.
-We demand an increase in black representation on this campus equal to 10 percent.

Threats

“… Without action, alternatively, we will be forced to engage as an entire community in ways to implement the changes we request. We will allow the university seven days to end negotiations and come to conclusions on our seven demands. If negotiations are not complete we will be forced to do more, beginning to increase valiantly our activism for social progress and take physical actions on the University of Michigan’s campus.” Shayla Scales

The Indians HATE Their New Russian-Made Stealth Fighter

The Indians HATE Their New Russian-Made Stealth Fighter — War is Boring — Medium:

"Russia’s new T-50 stealth fighter is fast, maneuverable, heavily-armed and hard to detect on radar.
In theory.
But according to Indian air force officials, in practice the Sukhoi-made stealth jet is also too expensive, poorly engineered and powered by old and unreliable engines.
The Indians’ complaints illustrate the yawning gulf between stealth warplane design and the actual production of radar-evading jets.
In other words, it’s one thing to sketch an advanced warplane on paper.

It’s quite another to build one and get it to work."

Wheelchair truthers demand Greg Abbott prove he is paraplegic

Wheelchair truthers demand Greg Abbott prove he is paraplegic | The Daily Caller:

"Liberal-leaning “wheelchair truthers” are now suggesting that the Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott is just pretending to be a paraplegic. 
 Tweeters of the world discovered two commenters making the bizarre claim in well-respected Texas-based publications, reports Twitchy.

Abbott is the current attorney general of the Lone Star State and has been a paraplegic for the last 30 years. 
According to the brief biography at his website, he became disabled in 1984 when an oak tree fell on him while he was jogging after a thunderstorm."

Meebee they're payin' a bit too much for their administrators?----------Schools' financial storm: $40 million in cuts not enough for struggling Muskegon County schools

They spend EVERY penny we give them.
And more.
So they're broke again.
And we'll line up to pay out more.
How dumb is that?
Isn't that, alone, proof our schools are failing?
Schools' financial storm: $40 million in cuts not enough for struggling Muskegon County schools | MLive.com:
"Holton Superintendent Jason Kennedy made the tough decision about a year ago to add elementary school principal to his duties -- going against the advice of many of his colleagues.
"It was a $120,000 decision," Kennedy said, referring to the amount of money saved by eliminating the principal position."

China-Japan Conflict Could Lead To War

China-Japan Conflict Could Lead To War - Business Insider:

"I'm far from an expert on the Japan-China conflict, and I'll leave the analyses of this situation to those who are.
All I can tell you is that a respected, smart, and influential Chinese professional suggested at dinner last night that a surgical invasion by China of the disputed islands is justified and would finally settle the Japan-China conflict without triggering a broader war.
And that suggestion freaked out everyone in the room. 

 UPDATE: Around the time I published this post, Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times tweeted the following about an interview with Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan:
-In case you've forgotten, 1914 is when World War 1 started.
Just interviewed Shinzo Abe @Davos. 
He said China and Japan now are in a "similar situation" to UK and Germany before 1914.
— Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman) January 22, 2014"

Obama to bypass Congress in 2014, rule by agency decree

Obama to bypass Congress in 2014, rule by agency decree | The Daily Caller:
"White House officials say President Barack Obama will aggressively use his control of federal agencies to impose his progressive agenda on the economy and society throughout 2014.

He’ll largely ignore GOP legislators, except to push GOP leaders to accept an amnesty for at least 12 million Democrat-leaning illegal immigrants, according to several White House officials who outlined the strategy to the Washington Post.

“Washington veterans have been brought into the West Wing to emphasize an executive style of governing that aims to sidestep Congress more often,” said the approving Washington Post article."

Rochester district spent $37 million on salaries in 2012-13, while laying off teachers, cutting programs

Rochester district spent $37 million on salaries in 2012-13, while laying off teachers, cutting programs - EAGnews.org powered by Education Action Group Foundation, Inc.:
"In 2013 only four percent of eighth-graders were proficient in math and only six percent in English.
In 2012 the graduation rate was a miserable 43.4 percent.
The district also has serious financial issues.
It was facing a $44 million budget deficit headed into the 2012-13 school year.
That shortfall prompted the layoff of 56 teachers, one year after the layoff of approximately 700 teachers."

...Inflated salaries were not the only questionable expenses for the district in 2012-13. 
District employees also spent $93,226 at hotels throughout the U.S. and $32,630 at travel agencies. 
The district’s restaurant tab came to $103,590, the legal services bill was $155,548 and the entertainment/recreation tab came to $134,961.

Robo-Chauffeurs Could Kill Public Transit As We Know It

Robo-Chauffeurs Could Kill Public Transit As We Know It - The American Interest:
"A recent study by IHS Automotive predicted that nearly every car on the road in 2050 will be self-driving; in that kind of world, in which our nation’s highways are populated by hordes of self-driving vehicles packed tightly together at higher speeds and with greater fuel efficiency, massive investments in rail infrastructure or new bus networks won’t make much sense.
But these investments are already being made in places like California, which is already massively over-budget on a high-speed rail project that will be obsolete from its first day of operation."

WeMOG Monday 1:00PM

Ski at Hoffmaster State Park 1:00 Monday

Meet at the ski trails/covered picnic shelter parking lot at 12:55.

Conditions were awesome today.

Hikers and Snow shoers also welcome

Plan to ski a couple of hours unless really, really, really cold

Hand and toe warmers suggested!

Use your own judgement as to the advisability of driving and braving the cold weather.

‘On fire, D-Man!’ Dennis Miller, others notice something funny about Team USA’s Olympics uniform

‘On fire, D-Man!’ Dennis Miller, others notice something funny about Team USA’s Olympics uniform [pics] | Twitchy:

Amnesty bill lets DHS waive criminal activity by illegal aliens, not U.S. citizens

Amnesty bill lets DHS waive criminal activity by illegal aliens, not U.S. citizens | Conservative Firing LineConservative Firing Line:
"“And while most people’s knowledge of misdemeanor offenses relates to traffic violations, misdemeanors span a wide range of activity.  In Florida, for example, misdemeanor crimes include:

Assault, Fla. Stat. § 784.011;

Assault on law enforcement officers, Fla. Stat. §784.07;

Battery, Fla. Stat. § 784.03;

Stalking, Fla. Stat. § 784.048;

Human smuggling, Fla. Stat. § 787.07;

Unlawful carrying of a chemical weapon or other deadly weapon (non-firearm), Fla. Stat. § 790.01;

Unlawful placing or discharging of a bomb that results in any bodily harm, Fla. Stat. 790.1615;

Unnatural and Lascivious Act, Fla. Stat. §800.02;
and
Exposure of Sexual Organs; Fla. Stat. § 800.03.”

In other words, an illegal alien who sets off a bomb that causes injury can be given amnesty under this bill.  
Nice, huh?"

History for January 27

History for January 27 - On-This-Day.com:
Thomas Crapper Day (death anniversary)
 

National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Elko, NV (Jan 27-Feb 1). 30th annual. Seewww.westernfolklife.org

Birth anniversaries of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) 

1606 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators began. They were executed on January 31. 

1870 - Kappa Alpha Theta, the first women’s sorority, was founded at Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, IN.

1880 - Thomas Edison patented the electric incandescent lamp. 


1926 - John Baird, a Scottish inventor, demonstrated a pictorial transmission machine called television. 

 

1944 - the Siege of Leningrad, USSR, ended after 880 days (started Sept 4, 1941). More than half the city's population died during the winter of 1942.

1945 - Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland. 


1967 - At Cape Kennedy, FL, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo I spacecraft.
 

1973 - The Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris. 


1992 - Former world boxing champion Mike Tyson went on trial for allegedly raping an 18-year-old contestant in the 1991 Miss Black America Contest.
 

1998 - U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared on NBC's "Today" show. She charged that the allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy.

" 

Ken Braun: Big Labor didn't build the middle class

Ken Braun: Big Labor didn't build the middle class | MLive.com:

"The UAW doesn’t build cars, and it isn’t necessary to build cars.

As recently as 2007, the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency reported that non-union Americans working at U.S. assembly plants owned by foreign automakers built more than one-third of the planet’s American-made cars.

UAW president Bob King recently proposed a hefty 25 percent dues hike on his members.

Unlike the financial decisions made by the CEOs of the Detroit Three automakers, King’s plan isn’t going to improve profitability, build a single car, or create auto jobs."

Soooo, there's still lots of free money for those "connected" builders?------------Architects discuss possible designs of new MATS Transit Center with Muskegon officials

Architects discuss possible designs of new MATS Transit Center with Muskegon officials | MLive.com:
"MUSKEGON, MI – The architecture and construction firms met with county and city officials on Thursday to hash out guidelines for an expansion and restoration of the Muskegon Area Transit System's Morris Avenue center.
The federally-funded $2 million project – in the planning stage for more than 10 years -- has a deadline for substantial completion by Sept. 30.
But there's still no plan on paper for how it will be built."

No need for courts in Obama's america---------Yet Another Reason to Worry About Obamacare: Property Seizures?

Yet Another Reason to Worry About Obamacare: Property Seizures? | TheBlaze.com:
"Before the expansion, it was an option rarely used, so there’s little national data.
But in Oregon, from July 2011 to June 2013, the state snatched $41 million in assets from about 8,900 people, the Post reported.
“If you’re receiving a public benefit and the state is trying to support you, you should give back if you are able,” Judy Mohr Peterson, Oregon’s Medicaid director, told the Post in explaining the reasoning."

This common sense idea has morphed into an endlessly expanding money pit------ MSU Extension offering free 'Self-Control in Children' workshop at United Way of the Lakeshore

"Michigan Extension work began before the organization was officially organized. 
The Michigan State College’s (now MSU) first livestock field agent was hired in 1907. 
In 1912, the Michigan Legislature authorized county boards of supervisors to appropriate funds and levy taxes to further teaching and demonstrations in Extension work. 
Eleven agricultural agents were named that year."

MSU Extension offering free 'Self-Control in Children' workshop at United Way of the Lakeshore | MLive.com
"MUSKEGON, MI -- Michigan State University Extension is hosting a free workshop on the Developmental Stages of Self-Control in Children on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

 Registration is required for the workshop, which will take place 6:30-8:30 p.m. at United Way of the Lakeshore, 31 E. Clay Ave. in Muskegon.

 The workshop is sponsored by the Great Start to Quality Western Resource Center.

 “This class really spells out the stages of building self-control,” said Holly Tiret, educator for MSU Extension. “Parents and caregivers sometimes tend to label children very quickly as having no self-control.”"

A culture of corruption, lies and thuggery--------------This Is Starting to Look Like a Pattern of Political Moves and Prosecutions

The PJ Tatler » This Is Starting to Look Like a Pattern of Political Moves and Prosecutions

Reader Joe sent this list in. It’s in response to this Ann Althouse post on the indictment of Dinesh D’Souza.

I am not a rocket scientist, but there seems to be some kind of pattern here…maybe you can tell me what it is… (includes items from Ace’s co-blogger Maetenloch)

1.  IRS Targets Conservative groups - IRS auditor reaffirms that conservatives, not liberals, were targeted

2.  IRS Scandal – FBI Closes Case - Obama FBI Closed Case on IRS Targeting Scandal Before Interviewing Single One of 292 Targeted Groups (Video)

3.  IRS Harassed Sarah Palin’s Dad - Revealed: Obama’s IRS Harassed Sarah Palin’s Dad Six Times Since 2008

4.  Federal Court Indicts Director of Anti-Obama Film –  It Begins… Director of Anti-Obama Film “2016: Obama’s America” Indicted by Federal Court

5.  New York Governor’s Dept of Labor Subpoenas James O’Keefe, Project Veritas - NY Governor Cuomo Subpoenas Conservative Activist James O’Keefe

6.  IRS Harasses Secret Hollywood Conservative Group – Demands List of Members

7.  Latina Actress Fired After Appearing in Ad for Tea Party Candidate (Video)

8.  Silencing the Tea Party With New IRS Rules

9.  IRS Targets Veterans, Demands Private Records Of American Legion

10. VIDEO>>> Chuck Schumer Calls on IRS to Target Tea Party Activities

11. Obama Blames FOX News, Rush Limbaugh for His Failures …(Too Much Free Speech)

12. NYC Mayor De Blasio Agrees With Cuomo: Conservatives Need to Get Out (Audio)

This is starting to make Nixon look like a walk in the park…

A pattern indeed, that stretches back to 2010 and the IRS abuse, or 2009 if you include Obama’s joke that he would use the IRS against his opponents.

Here is one more fact. In 2012, Obama’s campaign deliberately disabled safeguards on its website, allowing it to collect illegal foreign donations. It did accept illegal foreign donations; to what extent is unknown. Those donations, and the campaign staff who disabled the safeguards, were never investigated or prosecuted. The media never showed much interest in investigating, either.

How Do Davos Billionaires Wage War On Inequality? It All Starts With A Bill...

How Do Davos Billionaires Wage War On Inequality? It All Starts With A Bill... | Zero Hedge:
"How does a group of Davos billionaires resolutely crush inequality?

Well, it all starts by spending CHF 80,193.00 on assorted fingerfood plates, drinks and of course: Bollinger.

And don't forget - you aren't really fighting the great war on inequality unless you spend 30 Swiss Francs on water and 460 francs for snacks.

Anything less than that and your 0.001% peers may think you are merely an imposter in the great class convergence war..."

CHF 80,193=$89,816

Catholic nuns need to sue to keep from being forced to buy and pay for birth control? Is this the USA?------------------Court hands nuns a temporary win on birth control mandate

Court hands nuns a temporary win on birth control mandate | TheHill:
"The order is meant to stand until a lower court rules on a pending appeal in the legal fight between the Little Sisters and the Health Department, the court said, making clear that it was not weighing in on the overall merits of the dispute."

Great ad exposing RINO Brian Ellis (RINO in Mi primary against conservative Congressman Justin Amash)

Why is the media giving this liar a pass?--------------When is a fee not a fee? When it is an ObamaCare tax

Blog: When is a fee not a fee? When it is an ObamaCare tax:
"I asked for a breakdown of the amount based on my premium.
In Illinois, these fees (which really is a tax going to the Feds) is 3.9% of the premium.
Here is the breakdown -
$58.70 is the "Health Insurer Fee" (which remember is a tax going to the Feds) and of that, $5.25 per month is the so called "Reinsurance Fee", also a tax.
Calling it a fee is misleading when everything is really a tax. 
And the State of Illinois will receive approx .58 (that is 58 cents), (That is the  balance of the 3.9% - $59.28).

SO the "health insurer and reinsurance fees" is just a made up name for the Obama admin's tax on us.
I also did ask when BCBSIL was notified about this Fee/Tax and the lady I spoke with said it was somewhere before September of 2013.
(AND ----If I had gone with a policy with a "new" BCBSIL policy which I thought I had to until things got changed, --- that 3.9% of the premium was already built into all of the 2014 policies.
Nice, huh?  
A Federal tax hidden inside the policy premiums."