Posts Tagged ‘IRS’
Friday, January 27th, 2017
Welcome to the Friday LinkSwarm! The first week of President Trump’s administration has been incredibly active and consequential! Not everything will be covered here (and I have a few posts on various issues and executive orders at various stages of assembly), but it touches on a lot.
One thing President Trump has taught conservatives: never give your critics an inch:
Mr. Trump’s version of stray voltage has a number of effects beyond just causing chaos and distracting his opponents. When everything is an outrage, nothing is an outrage. And when everything is an outrage, you expose yourself as a purely partisan actor, turning off large swaths of the American public.
Trump’s lack of fear of touching politically incorrect third rails that millions of Americans felt, but which had not been articulated so bluntly by a national politician, served him well. Incidentally, it also allowed him to shift the Overton Window on critical issues like immigration and Islamic supremacism.
When attacked for taking these positions, unlike those to come before him, Trump did not avoid the fray. Rather, he jumped into it, counterpunching.
Lulled into a false sense of security by Republicans who fought with their hands tied behind their backs, constrained by suicidal rules of political engagement for decades, the Left did not know how to react when hit.
Leftists could not believe that a political opponent had the gall to actually fight tooth and nail.
Trump does not give an inch to his critics, and neither should any other Republican. He defines the rules of engagement, and so should all on the Right.
Watching the confirmation hearings to date, we see many on the Left jabbing as if we are in a pre-Trump world. Their questions all hew to the same old narrative that if you are not a racist, sexist, or bigot, then you are an out-of-touch plutocrat or a shill for some special interest or other.
Like Trump, Republicans should challenge these charges head on. They should take issue with the Left’s premises from the start, showing that it is the Left who is projecting when it tries to discredit those who believe in capitalism, the power of the individual, and the sanctity of the individual’s rights, the rule of law, national sovereignty, federalism, and the Judeo-Christian morality on which the country is based.
How President Trump has freed the right from caring what liberals think.
Donald Trump isn’t the bully; he only insults and abuses people in power who have attacked him. They’re the fucking bullies. The left, with their smears, their witch hunts, their slanders, their insults and their weaponizing of the federal bureaucracy.
There aren’t any rules anymore because the left only applies them one way. And in doing so, they’ve left what once was a civil compact between the two parties in smoldering ruins.
I have no personal investment in Donald Trump. He is a tool to punish the left and roll back their ill-gotten gains, no more and no less. If he succeeds even partially in those two things, then I’ll consider his election a win.
Further, I no longer have any investment in any particular political values, save one: The rules created by the left will be applied to the left as equally and punitively as they have applied them to the right. And when they beg for mercy, I’ll begin to reconsider. Or maybe not. Because fuck these people.
This new philosophy has freed me of more emotional angst that I can describe. Literally nothing the left says or does matters to me anymore. I don’t care about their tantrums. I don’t care about their accusations. I don’t care if they say Trump is lying. I don’t care if Trump is lying.
They created this Frankenstein. They own it. I am free of all obligation. I will never play defense again. I will attack, attack, attack, attack using their own tactics against them until they learn their lesson.
What I will not do is let them play my values against me ever again. I don’t need to prove that I’m better than them. I already know it.
President Trump had barely entered the White House, and yet the mainstream media was already falling all over themselves to prove what biased, lying partisan hacks they were. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Scott Adams says that President Trump is flooding the field with so much activity that his critics can’t focus their outrage on any one thing.
President Trump has been replacing Obama’s feckless political national security appointments with universaly respected military men. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Obama was not the Reagan of the left.
A better than usual example of one of those “How could those inbred redneck freaks of JesusLand possibly vote against their enlightened betters” thumbsuckers, this time about Wisconsin. Some quotes:
- “I think they thought the liberal elite was looking down on them, and I guess, in some ways, we were.”
- “They got this picture that we’re all country bumpkins, the locals are, that we’re not educated. The people who move in talk down to the natives. I don’t know how you want to word that, but that’s the persona given off.”
- “I didn’t want to deal with these people. I didn’t want to be a part of what they were a part of. You’re talking about people from the Cities who are very progressive. I call them tree-huggers, a bunch of tree-huggers. They referred to us, meaning the people who’ve lived here and worked here all our lives, as a bunch of hicks. They just think they’re a little bit better than everybody else, and that we’re not as smart.” (And that’s from a former Democratic Party county chairman who switched to the Republicans.)
- “The bastards out here in the country are sick of the bullshit.”
Alas, it also includes that sturdy modern liberal journalism cliche, The Single Confederate Flag Mentioned To Suggest All Trump Voters Are Secret Racists.
You know all that talk of how Democrats own America’s emerging majority? Not so fast. “An electoral strategy that starts by assuming you’ve lost a plurality of the country is a rough ticket to victory.”
While the liberal rabble was off rioting inauguration weekend, Media Matters head honcho David Brock was throwing a private event attended by big money Democratic Party donors. Six of the seven DNC candidates attended. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Speaking of Brock, he’s working on a Twitter-like website for liberals only. And he expects them to pay for it. Get ready for the resounding economic success of Air America 3.0.
Instapundit says that Trump has the media’s number:
Why are the relations between Donald Trump and the press so bad? There are two reasons. One is that Trump is a Republican, and the press consists overwhelmingly of Democrats. But the other reason is that Trump likes it this way, because when the press is constantly attacking him over trivialities, it strengthens his position and weakens the press. Trump’s “outrageous” statements and tweets aren’t the product of impulsiveness, but part of a carefully maintained strategy that the press is too impulsive to resist.
Snip.
The killer counter-move for the press isn’t to double down on anti-Trump messaging. The counter-move is to bolster its own trustworthiness by acting (and being) more neutral and sober, and by being more trustworthy. If the news media actually focused on reporting facts accurately and straightforwardly, on leaving opinion to the pundits, and on giving Trump a clearly fair shake, then Trump’s tactics wouldn’t work, and any actual dirt they found on him would do actual damage. He’s betting on the press being insufficiently mature and self-controlled to manage that. So far, his bet is paying off.
If it comes to the press reforming to ensure their own institutional survival, or clinging to their liberal bias, my guess is that the current press will choose the way of the dodo…
Trump advisor Steve Bannon goes still further in calling out the MSM:
“The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for awhile,” Mr. Bannon said during a telephone call. “I want you to quote this,” Mr. Bannon added. “The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.”
“The elite media got it dead wrong, 100 percent dead wrong,” Mr. Bannon said of the election, calling it “a humiliating defeat that they will never wash away, that will always be there.”
“The mainstream media has not fired or terminated anyone associated with following our campaign,” Mr. Bannon said. “Look at the Twitter feeds of those people: they were outright activists of the Clinton campaign.” (He did not name specific reporters or editors.) “That’s why you have no power,” Mr. Bannon added. “You were humiliated.”
“You’re the opposition party,” Mr. Bannon said. “Not the Democratic Party. You’re the opposition party. The media’s the opposition party.”
CNN has gone from in-the-street news reporting to pundits on panels.
CNN is so desperate to smear President Trump they lied about Nancy Sinatra criticizing Trump.
“Iran deal supporters call Schumer a greedy, disloyal Jew.”
Is President Trump the good cop on Russia with congress playing the bad cop? Problem: The Henry Ford anecdote is a Just So Story masquerading as a serious analogy.
Is the British Army’s actual army fighting force down to a single brigade? “The last time the fighting division was sent to war was in 2003 during the Iraq War but according to experts if they were to be deployed now, at best they would only be able to deploy a brigade of 10,000 troops.” I thought this might be some Daily Mail exaggeration, but Wikipedia states the British Army now consists of just 87,610 regulars. Keep in mind the British Army contributed 46,000 troops to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
President Trump announces plans to announce his Supreme Court pick February 2nd:
Ted Cruz plays down talk that he’ll be President Trump’s supreme court nominee.
Speaking of Cruz, President Trump just just hired Paul Teller, his ex-Chief of Staff, be be his chief liaison to Capitol Hill conservatives. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
You too could own something from Tom Clancy’s estate.
The usual liberal idiot protesters block buses in Portland. Police take their asses down. Onlookers cheer.
Meanwhile, in the world of fashion:
I’ll give the final word to Steve Hayward over at Powerline: “I’m starting to think Trump really is a one-person wrecking crew for the left delivered by divine Providence.”
Tags:Border Controls, Chuck Schumer, CNN, Crime, David Brock, Donald Trump, Elections, Glenn Reynolds, IRS, LinkSwarm, Media Matters, Media Watch, Military, Paul Teller, Portland, Russia, Steve Bannon, Supreme Court, Ted Cruz, Wisconsin
Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Media Watch, Military, Republicans, Supreme Court | No Comments »
Friday, October 28th, 2016
A huge Clinton Corruption update this week! And who knows how much bigger next week’s will be?
Newly leaked memo maps cash flows between the Clinton Foundation and Bill’s for-profit activities:
We have written frequently in recent weeks about a feud that erupted between Chelsea Clinton and Doug Band back in 2011 after Chelsea raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest between Band’s firm, Teneo, the Clinton Foundation and the State Department (see here, here, here and here). The feud ultimately resulted in Band being forced to draft a memo spelling out, in vivid detail, the many entangled relationships between himself, Teneo, the Clinton Foundation and the State Department. Fortunately, today’s Wikileaks dump included that memo which reveals, for the first time, the precise financial flows between the Clinton Foundation, Band’s firm Teneo Consulting, and the Clinton family’s private business endeavors.
The memo starts with a brief background on Teneo, which was created in June 2011, shortly after Declan Kelly resigned from his position as “United States Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland,” a position to which he was appointed by Secretary Clinton.
In June 2009, DK Consulting was founded by Declan Kelley. Mr. Kelly served as COO of FTI Consulting until June 2009, when he stepped down and established DK Consulting. At that time, he also became the United States Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland. Pursuant to the terms of his exit agreement with FTI and consistent with the ethics agreement of his uncompensated special government employee appointment at the State Department, Mr. Kelly retained and continued to provide services to three paying clients (Coke, Dow, and UBS) and one pro bono client (Allstate). In late 2009, Declan retained me as a consultant to DK Consulting to help support the needs of these clients.
Stop right there. Who takes Allstate, a Fortune 100 company, as a pro bono client?
Here’s a copy of the document Zero Hedge is relying on (though alas, whoever put that up through some encoding bullshit to keep you from copying from it). Band goes into detail about just how much scratch is involved in scratching the Clintons’ backs:
“Cognizant of the Foundation’s significant fundraising needs as well as my role as the primary fundraiser for the Foundation for the past 11 years, as a partner in Teneo, Mr. Kelley [sic] and I have asked and encouraged our clients to contribute to the Foundation,” Band wrote. “Through our efforts, we have brought new donors to the Foundation and garnered increased giving from existing donors.”
And let’s look at the donors (all amounts for the period 2004-2011 except where noted):
- The Coca-Cola Company: Total giving: $4,330,000
- The Dow Chemical Company: Total giving: $780,000
- UBS: Total giving: $540,000
- The American Ireland Fund: Total giving: $350,000 (all 2010-2011)
- The All-State [sic] Corporation: Total giving: $265,000 (with an additional $500,000 pledge)
- Barclays Capital: Total giving: $1,100,000 (2008-2011)
- Indo Gold: Total giving: $100,000
- BHP Billiton Limited: Total giving: $20,000
- Teneo: Total giving: $100,000
There’s a further list of Teneo clients (GEMS Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Laureate International Universities) who were already donating to the Clinton Foundation.
Even the Washington Post was forced to notice:
The memo, made public Wednesday by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, lays out the aggressive strategy behind lining up the consulting contracts and paid speaking engagements for Bill Clinton that added tens of millions of dollars to the family’s fortune, including during the years that Hillary Clinton led the State Department. It describes how Band helped run what he called “Bill Clinton Inc.,” obtaining “in-kind services for the President and his family — for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like.”
That’s called “quid pro quo.” Also this: “Emails show that Cheryl Mills, who at the time was serving as Hillary Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department, was deeply involved in the foundation’s proceedings.” Yeah, I think that’s been pretty well established at this point. (Hat tip: Powerline.)
And remember: Huma Abedin was working for Teneo while she was working for the State Department. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
The Wall Street Journal wonders: Why isn’t the IRS investigating the Clinton Foundation?
More Clinton pay to play: “The head of a for-profit university that donated up to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation was rewarded with an invite to a high-profile State Department dinner at the request of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.” (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
The five most disturbing donations to the Clinton Foundation. Including the Saudis, the Russian uranium deal money, and Indonesian tobacco magnate Putera Sampoerna who “donated and worked with the foundation before he got the U.S. government to underwrite millions in loans offered by the foundation and secured high-profile support for its activities from Sec. Clinton and other senior federal officials.”
“Five mega-donors and their wives are responsible for one in every $17 dollars that have been spent on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Funny how right when Hillary Clinton came under FBI scrutiny:
The political backers of a longtime Clinton crony and fixer, Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, made $675,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to the election campaign of the wife of the FBI official who later ran the investigation of Mrs. Clinton.”
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the contributions went to the 2015 Virginia state senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe, the wife of then-associate-deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe. McAuliffe had recruited Dr. McCabe to run. After her campaign ended unsuccessfully (Dr. McCabe lost to incumbent Republican Dick Black), Andrew McCabe was promoted to deputy director, a role in which he assumed oversight of the Clinton e-mail investigation.
And Hillary headlined a fundraiser for her. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
“The fact that Hillary Clinton’s inner circle was raising substantial funds for Gov. McAuliffe’s PAC and this same PAC gave close to a half-million dollars to the campaign of the wife of the senior FBI official involved in the Clinton investigation sure looks like a payoff – a major payoff.”
It’s not just the FBI. Department of Justice employees as a whole are hevaily backing Clinton:
Employees of the Department of Justice, which investigated Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of State, gave Clinton 97 percent of their donations. Trump received $8,756 from DOJ employees compared with $286,797 for Clinton. From IRS employees, Clinton received 94 percent of donations.
Which brings up the question: Why are federal government employees even allowed to make campaign donations?
Speaking of the FBI, a retired agent slams James Comey’s non-indictment of Hillary. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Watch Clinton campaign staff take an illegal $20,000 donation on camera.
The Clinton Foundation was set up to be corrupt. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Clinton State Department IT official John Bentel takes the Fifth Amendment 90 times. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Was EmailGate buried to protect Obama rather than Clinton?
Maybe that’s why the Clinton campaign coordinated with both the White House and the media on how to conduct the coverup.
More emails emerge of how Hillary’s secret private server was causing problems at the State Department. More emails that, yet again, Clinton failed to turn over to the FBI.
Despite all this, could all 33,000 emails from Hillary’s private serve still exist someplace? (Hat tip: Legal Insurrection.)
Yes, Donna Brazile did feed debate questions to the Clinton campaign while working for CNN. Of course, CNN is an extension of the Clinton campaign, so I don’t see how anyone can be surprised.
The Clinton campaign is coordinating with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
Maybe that’s why some Facebook employees tried to remove a Trump post on Muslims as “hate speech.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
The Clinton Clan’s hunger for foreign campaign contributions goes back to at least the 1990s. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Scott Adams endorses Trump for all the bullying Democrats carried out against him and other Americans:
I’ve been trying to figure out what common trait binds Clinton supporters together. As far as I can tell, the most unifying characteristic is a willingness to bully in all its forms.
If you have a Trump sign in your lawn, they will steal it.
If you have a Trump bumper sticker, they will deface your car.
if you speak of Trump at work you could get fired.
On social media, almost every message I get from a Clinton supporter is a bullying type of message. They insult. They try to shame. They label. And obviously they threaten my livelihood.
We know from Project Veritas that Clinton supporters tried to incite violence at Trump rallies. The media downplays it.
We also know Clinton’s side hired paid trolls to bully online. You don’t hear much about that.
Yesterday, by no coincidence, Huffington Post, Salon, and Daily Kos all published similar-sounding hit pieces on me, presumably to lower my influence. (That reason, plus jealousy, are the only reasons writers write about other writers.)
Joe Biden said he wanted to take Trump behind the bleachers and beat him up. No one on Clinton’s side disavowed that call to violence because, I assume, they consider it justified hyperbole.
Team Clinton has succeeded in perpetuating one of the greatest evils I have seen in my lifetime. Her side has branded Trump supporters (40%+ of voters) as Nazis, sexists, homophobes, racists, and a few other fighting words. Their argument is built on confirmation bias and persuasion. But facts don’t matter because facts never matter in politics. What matters is that Clinton’s framing of Trump provides moral cover for any bullying behavior online or in person. No one can be a bad person for opposing Hitler, right?
More from Adams: The Crook vs. the Monster.
Clinton campaign staffer: So, how are we going to handle all this Bill Clinton/Bill Cosby comparisons? Response: [Silence] (Hat tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)
Erica Garner rips Hillary for trying to make political hay out of her father’s death.
“Hillary Clinton campaign aides had a frantic email exchange in August 2015 over who should call the candidate to ‘sober her up some’ at around 4:30 in the afternoon.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Another story on Hillary’s health:
Sources close to Hillary tell me that her doctors have discovered she suffers from arrhythmia (an abnormal heart beat) and a leaking heart valve. They have recommended that she consider having valve replacement surgery, but Hillary has refused because she does not want to risk the negative political fallout from stories about such a serious operation.
In addition to the arrhythmia and leaking heart valve, Hillary suffers from chronic low blood pressure, insufficient blood flow, a tendency to form life-threatening blood clots, and troubling side effects from her medications.
(Hat tip: Director Blue.)
Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine attracts all of 30 people to a rally in Florida. (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
And just before I clicked the Publish button, Wikileaks dropped another 1,400 Podesta emails. With the Clintons, corruption never takes a holiday…
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Allstate, American Ireland Fund, Andrew McCabe, Barclays, BHP Billiton Limited, Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Cheryl Mills, Clinton Foundation, CNN, Coca-Cola, Crime, Democrats, Department of Justice, Donald Trump, Donna Brazile, Doug Band, Dow Chemical, Elections, EmailGate, Facebook, FBI, Florida, Foreign Policy, fraud, Hillary Clinton Health, Hillary Clinton Scandals, Huma Abedin, Indo Gold, Indonesia, IRS, James Comey, Jill McCabe, John Bentel, John Podesta, Laureate International Universities, Media Watch, Obama Scandals, Putera Sampoerna, Russia, Scott Adams, State Department, Teneo, Tim Kaine, UBS
Posted in Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Media Watch, Obama Scandals | 3 Comments »
Friday, July 29th, 2016
Finally, the Democrats have a presidential candidate that combines the honesty of Bill Clinton, the electrifying personality of Walter Mondale, the down-to-earth demeanor of Adlai Stevenson, the even temper of Lyndon Johnson, and the humility of Barack Obama.
In short: The candidate they deserve.
A LinkSwarm:
Angela Merkel decides that she isn’t going to let a little thing like repeated terrorist attacks and mass rape dissuade her from welcoming lots more Muslims into Germany. It’s like she’s a sleeper agent designed to destroy the CDU from within…
DNC unable to fill seats, hires actors to fill them up.
Did Palestinian flags outnumber American flags at the DNC? I’m sure they did Monday, when the DNC realized they had no American flags…
John Stossel explains how Clinton Cash works. (Disclaimer: You just can’t read that site without AdBlock.)
Clinton Foundation investigation referred to IRS. I wouldn’t get my hopes up that anything comes of it.
It seems some disgruntled DNC delegates altered their HILLARY signs to read LIAR.
Seen on Facebook:
You’re not allowed to tweet about the Olympics without approval. So much for my live tweeting the 100 Meter Zika Infection…
Speaking of futile bans, China bans Internet news reporting. That’s not in any way the last-gasp desperation move of a country whose smoke-and-mirrors economy is imploding…
Trump gets big post-convention bounce.
UK Union of Students works to make the organization Judenfrei. Funny how “antizionism” starts to look a whole lot like garden-variety antisemitism…
Examining top world fighter planes, including the F-22, China’s Chengdu J-20, Russia’s T-50/PAK FA, the Eurofighter and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17. (Hat tip: Bad Blue.)
“Nearly 15 Years After 9/11, Retired Colonel Meets the Man Whose Life He Helped Save.” Man, there sure is a lot of pollen in the air today… (Hat tip: Ted Cruz’s Facebook page.)
NFL all-pro cornerback Richard Sherman reiterates that all lives matter. I find it hard to believe this is even remotely controversial… (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo? Could work pretty well. He was excellent in Hail, Caesar!.
“Woman assaults man with burrito, then knife.”
Florida Man Charged With Picking Magic Mushrooms While Carrying An Alligator. Oh Florida Man, don’t ever change…
Wyoming Man Found with 30 Eyeballs in His Anal Cavity. Authorities are keeping an eye on him…
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Air Force, aircraft, Alden Ehrenreich, anti-semitism, China, Clinton Foundation, Crime, Democrats, DNC, Germany, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton Scandals, IRS, John Stossel, Military, movies, Richard Sherman, UK, weird news
Posted in Border Control, Democrats, Elections, Military | No Comments »
Monday, February 29th, 2016
Happy Leap Day, everyone! Enjoy a yuge LinkSwarm, and if you’re in Texas or another Super Tuesday state, take time to dig out your voter registration card for tomorrow.
The Case for Cruz: The Math. “In the states where Cruz is ahead of Rubio in the upcoming Super Tuesday, he is either beating Trump or within striking distance. In the states where Rubio is ahead of Cruz in the upcoming Super Tuesday, Trump has a huge lead. Rubio doesn’t lead in a single state.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
“Sixteen Reasons Why Ted Cruz Is The Better Anti-Trump Than Rubio.” (Hat tip: Director Blue.)
The Millennial Case For Ted Cruz. “Polls show that Hillary beats Trump in a general election. On the other hand, Cruz beats Hillary in a general election.” (Hat tip: Conservatives for Ted Cruz.)
Cruz releases nine years of tax returns, calls on Trump to do the same.
Analysis of Ted Cruz’s positions on defense.
How Ted Cruz’s ads are so Hollywood slick.
Cruz has rebuilt his stump speech around the Scalia vacancy.
Lefty Robert Reich’s attacks on Ted Cruz provides yet more reasons to vote for Cruz.
Our cultural elites just can’t figure out why those ignorant gun- and religion-clinging redneck freaks of JesusLand keep flocking to Trump when he says he love them. It’s an insoluble mystery…
40 reasons not to vote for Donald Trump.
Trump University was a scam. “Many people believe that higher education is a de facto scam. Trump University, Donald Trump’s real-estate institution, was a de jure one.”
Hillary heckled.
DNC vice chair steps down to support Bernie Sanders. An understandable move, given the DNC is so far in the tank for Hillary under Debbie Wasserman Schultz that supporting Sanders is probably looked on as akin to treason… (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Mark Steyn lays out some grim election analysis: “No one loses as expensively as Republicans.”
720,000 taxpayers have their tax form information stolen from the IRS. Our country is in the very best of hands!
Public employee unions are the establishment. (Hat tip: Pension Tsunami.)
Left-wing protesters shut down lecture on welfare reform at London School of Economics. Here’s the book protester’s don’t want people to read: Adam Perkins’ The Welfare Trait: How State Benefits Affect Personality.
Muslim immigrants will cost Sweden fourteen times more than their defense budget. Good thing Germany and Russia are such historically peaceful neighbors…
Merkel must have a political death wish: “German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday defended her open-door policy for migrants, rejecting any limit on the number of refugees allowed into her country despite divisions within her government.”
Stratfor analyses China’s new military facilities on Woody Island. “While the media’s response to China’s actions on Woody Island suggests that they represent a watershed moment in the militarization of the South China Sea, in reality they are neither surprising nor particularly meaningful.”
How disasterous Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro could be removed from power.
The truth about the MiG-29. Longish but interesting piece. Turn out the Soviet super fighter was very good at basic fighter aircraft maneuvers, but had poor avionics that severely limited the pilot’s situational awareness.
Mass transit doesn’t actually save any energy. (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“Male feminism is a sort of disease.”
Joe Straus’ primary opponent Jeff Judson has a couple of major financial backers, including Alice Walton.
Beloved, innocent man shot down by Seattle police. And by “innocent” I mean “a convicted rapist with a gun, crack and heroin.”
“Turn down the fucking music.” “The more and more you attempt to compensate for the fact people have no social skills, making the music so loud conversation is impossible, the more and more intelligent and competent people you will drive away.” (Hat tip: Ed Driscoll at Instapundit.)
Soldier of Fortune magazine to cease publication.
Man makes video designed to show that SERPA holsters are safe, proves the opposite. (Hat tip: Tam via Dwight.)
Tweet 1: The bus is turning around. Tweet 2. The bus is on fire. Tweet 3. The bus exploded. (Hat tip: Moe Lane.)
The OSS World War II escape knife.
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Alice Walton, Antonin Scalia, Border Controls, China, Crime, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrats, Donald Trump, Germany, Guns, Hillary Clinton, IRS, Jason Villalba, Jeff Judson, Jihad, Joe Straus, Karl Rehn, LinkSwarm, Mark Steyn, Military, Seattle, Social Justice Warriors, South China Sea, Sweden, Ted Cruz, Venezuela, Woody Island, World War II
Posted in Border Control, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Economics, Elections, Foreign Policy, Guns, Military, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2016
I hope everyone else has had a happier New Year than I, since my father passed away after a long battle with cancer Sunday.
On the plus side, I saw the new Star Wars and the Texans made the playoffs. Doesn’t quite balance out, though…
Remember: It’s OK to rape 13-year olds as long as you’re a well-connected Democratic Party donor. Remember, this is the case that had Bill Clinton taking the Lolita Express to Pedophile Island.
“Nobody needed criminal convictions to drop Cosby – just multiple accusations of sexual assault and some out-of-court payouts. But multiple accusations of sexual assault, out-of-court payouts and the loss of his law license are apparently not enough to bar Bill Clinton from another eight years in the White House.”
Hillary Cliton’s many conflicts of interest:
At Hillary Clinton’s confirmation hearing for secretary of state, she promised she would take “extraordinary steps…to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
Later, more than two dozen companies and groups and one foreign government paid former President Bill Clinton a total of more than $8 million to give speeches around the time they also had matters before Mrs. Clinton’s State Department, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
Fifteen of them also donated a total of between $5 million and $15 million to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, the family’s charity, according to foundation disclosures.
Six things a Washington Post reporter found out following Ted Cruz around. “The majority of the undecided voters I have spoken with have said they were very impressed after hearing Cruz speak. Many of them said they were undecided coming into a rally and supported him when it was over.”
Obama to judicial branch: “Screw you, I’m going to give work permits to illegal aliens you’ve ordered deported.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“Unfortunately, 2016, the little of it that we have so far seen, is already beginning to look like another year of Grim Slide, of a world stumbling down a slippery slope to become less secure, less stable, and less free.”
People are forgetting what an awful festering hellhole the Soviet Union was.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have severed diplomatic relations over Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric, and Kuwait has recalled their ambassador from Tehran; don’t be surprised if the other Sunni nations follow suit. Good thing we have a Nobel Peace Prize winner in the White House…
Turkey’s Prime Minister: Hey, you know who was a model of effective leadership? Adolf Hitler.
Swiss General: Europe “On The Verge Of Civil War,” Citizens Must Arm Themselves.
Oslo police: “We Have Lost the City.”
It looks like Karachi, Basra, and Mogadishu all rolled into one. People sell drugs openly just next to the Gronland subway station.
It’s not Norway or Europe anymore, except when there is welfare money to be collected. The police have largely given up. Early in 2010 Aftenposten stated that there are sharia patrols in this area, and gay couples are assaulted and chased away.
Mass sexual assaults involving up to 1,000 Arab men on New Year’s Eve in Cologne.
“IRS Employee Whose Job Was Assisting Victims Of Identity Theft Charged In $1 Million Identity Theft Tax Fraud.” (Hat tip: Instapundit)
Rahm Emanuel’s failure in Chicago is emblematic of the blue model failure in America’s cities. “The city’s bloated pension obligations have already forced Emanuel to make severe education cuts. It will continue to force cuts in city services in various cities, making it harder and harder for mayors to govern, and increasing the antagonism among various constituencies.”
“Murder rates drop as concealed carry permits soar.” Plus this: “Between 2012 and 2014 the number of black permit holders increased from 10,389 to 17,594, according to the report.”
Mississippi Democratic City Councilman urges constituents to hurl rocks and bricks at the police.
Armed mother successfully defends home and children against three armed thugs. But gun-grabbers want to disarm her…
Bahamas resort project gives in to Chinese demands to secure more construction loans. Result: Bankruptcy.
Ben Carson’s campaign staff quits. There’s a reason president of the United States isn’t an entry-level job…
Former feminist now a pro-life activist who is disillusioned with feminism. (Hat tip: John C. Wright.)
Confessions of a social justice warrior white knight. “Their communities thrive on self loathing disguised as elitism…SJWs insist their goal is to make everyone equal, and for a long time I believed it, but their communities actually enforce factionalism and division.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Wendy Davis: Still digging.
Tags:2016 Election, 2016 Presidential Race, Bahamas, Ben Carson, Bill Clinton, Chicago, China, Cologne, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Europe, feminists, Foreign Policy, Germany, Guns, Hillary Clinton, Hitler, Iran, IRS, Islam, Jihad, Mississippi, Norway, Obama Scandals, pension crisis, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia, Social Justice Warriors, Soviet Union, Ted Cruz, Texas, Turkey, unions, Wendy Davis
Posted in Border Control, Communism, Crime, Democrats, Elections, Foreign Policy, Guns, Jihad, Obama Scandals, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, unions | No Comments »
Friday, October 30th, 2015
Right now Austin is enjoying our traditional “two weeks of flooding following three months of drought” fall. Enjoy a Friday LinkSwarm:
“In Iraq, Obama took a war that we had won at a considerable expense in lives and treasure, and threw it away for the callowest of political reasons. In Syria and Libya, he involved us in wars of choice without Congressional authorization, and proceeded to hand victories to the Islamists. Obama’s policy here has been a debacle of the first order, and the press wants to talk about Bush as a way of protecting him.”
Paul Ryan elected Speaker of the House. If Ryan decides to govern as an actual Republican, he could be a very effective Speaker…
The IRS has Stingray cell phone surveillance gear. Get ready for a whole new round of Tea Party audits…
Speaking of the IRS, the House of Representatives is justified in impeaching IRS chief John Koskinen.
At the most recent Republican Presidential debate, Sen. Marco Rubio said the H1-B visa program is badly in need of reform. One tiny problem: Sen. Rubio’s own H1-B bill doesn’t implement any of the reforms demanded by Presidential Candidate Rubio. “It does not require recruitment of American workers. It does not require employers to ‘pay more than you would pay someone else’…Rubio’s bill would provide Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and his comrades ‘a huge increase in the supply of lower-cost foreign guest workers so they can undercut and replace American workers.'” Indeed, Rubio’s bill “would triple the number of H1-B foreign workers admitted.” (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
Get ready for steep ObamaCare price hikes for 2016.
Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition is starting to come apart thanks to the refugee crisis.
Venezuela is selling gold to cover bond payments. (Hat tip: Commonsense and Wonder.)
Al-Shabaab Islamic militant group in Somalia pledge loyalty to the Islamic State.
The Islamic State schools ban: “math, music, philosophy, history, French and geography as incompatible with Islam.”
Not news: Journalist in Sweden gets stoned. News: The wrong kind of stoned.
Teacher’s hate Common Core. The only people that seem to love it are Washington bureaucrats and Jeb Bush…
Speaking of Jeb, He has not succeeded this year, and there is no particular reason to believe he will…Jeb just isn’t very good at this.”
“Even beyond the fact that Bush has spent almost a year and ended up among the statistical noise despite all of his organizational and financial advantages, this all but proved that he’s simply not a good enough candidate to run in the general election.”
Jeb Bush’s campaign also hasn’t knocked on any doors in Iowa.
Ben Carson’s campaign is working with other Republican Presidential campaigns to extract their debates from the liberal clutches of the MSM.”
How to fix the Republican debates: “First, cancel the rest of the debates. Instead, announce that the RNC will host the debates and pick the panel of questioners. Allow any news organization that wishes to broadcast it.”
A look at the Russian BMD-2 infantry fighting vehicle.
John Wiley Price trail delayed again.
Reminder: Most acts at SXSW don’t get paid.
Feminism is “a War Against Human Nature aimed at using the coercive power of government to bring about an androgynous ‘equality’ that ignores the actual differences between men and women. Feminism is a totalitarian movement to destroy civilization as we know it — and feminists say so themselves.”
Salon’s pro-pedophile agenda:
How to stamp out Cultural Marxism in a single generation.
Flash is dying. Netcraft confirms it…
Tags:Ben Carson, BMD-2, Bush43, Common Core, Cultural Marxism, debate, education, Facebook, feminism, George W. Bush, Germany, Glenn Reynolds, Iraq, IRS, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jeb Bush, John Koskinen, John Wiley Price, LinkSwarm, Marco Rubio, Media Watch, Military, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, pedophilia, Republicans, Robert Stacy McCain, Russia, Salon, Social Justice Warriors, Venezuela
Posted in Austin, Elections, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Media Watch, Military, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Texas | No Comments »
Thursday, January 15th, 2015
For those not up to speed on the EarthQuest saga, it was an attempt to build an “ecological theme park” northeast of Houston in Montgomery County. The fact that it was going to be built with a large dollop of taxpayer money via a special taxing district only enhanced the stench of Eu de Boondoggle EarthQuest gave off, as grandiose plans gave way to missed construction and funding dates, at least one bankruptcy filing and a complete halt to visible activity. It’s essentially been moribund since 2012.
Now from dedicated EarthQuest watcher Sopboxmom comes news that the IRS has revoked Institute EarthQuest’s tax-exempt status:
Exempt Organizations Select Check
Automatic Revocation of Exemption Information
The federal tax exemption of this organization was automatically revoked for its failure to file a Form 990-series return or notice for three consecutive years. The information listed below for each organization is historical; it is current as of the organization’s effective date of automatic revocation. The information is not necessarily current as of today’s date. Nor does this automatic revocation necessarily reflect the organization’s tax-exempt or non-exempt status. The organization may have applied to the IRS for recognition of exemption and been recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt after its effective date of automatic revocation. To check whether an organization is currently recognized by the IRS as tax-exempt, call Customer Account Services at (877) 829-5500 (toll-free number).
Revocation Date (effective date on which organization’s tax exemption was automatically revoked):
15-May-2014
Employer Identification Number (EIN):
26-2454184
Legal Name:
INSTITUTE EARTHQUEST
Doing Business As:
Mailing Address:
21575 US HIGHWAY 59 NORTH
NEW CANEY, TX 77357-8355
United States
Exemption Type:
501(c)(3)
Revocation Posting Date (date on which IRS posted notice of automatic revocation on IRS.gov):
15-Oct-2014
Exemption Reinstatement Date (effective date of tax exemption, determined by the IRS
after the organization’s exemption was automatically revoked and the organization applied for reinstatement of exemption.):
Finally, despite their zombie website, EarthQuest has ceased to be, and even nailing it back on the perch wouldn’t help.
More information here.
Tags:EarthQuest, Houston, IRS, Montgomery County, Texas, waste
Posted in Texas, Waste and Fraud | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 22nd, 2014
I had an entire set of stuff lined up for yesterday’s LinkSwarm, but in the rush of amnesty-related news I managed to forget to paste it into the right file. D’oh!
So enjoy your rare complimentary Weekend LinkSwarm!
“Support for ObamaCare continues to decline, with the law hitting a new low in approval.”
Among the many acts of Gruber: Scheming to remove insurance plan deductability by subterfuge (and without offsetting tax credits).
How do Democrats react to near-historic loses? By reelecting their entire leadership team.
“Democrats did lose the South, but they didn’t lose it because of the Civil Rights Act.”(Hat tip: Ann Althouse.)
Last year, illegal aliens were on pace to use $650 million in welfare benefits in L.A. County alone. And that was before Obama’s new amnesty.
Hillary Clinton seems to view Obama’s illegal alien “dreamers” as a permanent menial labor underclass as well.
30,000 of Lois Lerner’s IRS emails have been miraculously found. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Some Twitter liberals decided it was a swell idea to lie about Instapundit. There’s a technical term for these people: Morons.
Putin is increasingly yanking NATO’s chain.
GamerGate: “A new, radical and dangerously illiberal left which marinates in a hideous quagmire of resentment, smugness, vacuousness and contempt for free discussion.”
Tags:#GamerGate, amnesty, Border Controls, Democrats, feminism, Hiillary Clinton, Illegal Aliens, Instapundit, IRS, Jonathan Gruber, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, welfare, Welfare State
Posted in Border Control, Democrats, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Welfare State | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014
Given the John H. Bucy III’s campaigns strenuous denials that the $160,000 IRS tax lien was filed against their candidate, I thought I would further research the issue. It may be a case of a son being mistaken for his father, but I can’t say for sure without Bucy or his campaign answering some questions.
Let’s look at the deed history of 8609 Camelia Ln, Austin, Texas, 78759 via the Travis County Central Appraisal District web interface:
# Deed Date Type Description Grantor Grantee Deed Number
1 5/30/2014 WD WARRANTY DEED BUCY JOHN H II JARRETT-SIMMONS IRREVOCABLE TRUST 2014093500TR
2 5/30/2014 WD WARRANTY DEED REES BURKE BUCY JOHN H II 2014093499TR
3 8/29/2008 WD WARRANTY DEED WEST GEORGE MARC REES BURKE 2008165059TR
Some clarifications, given my modest research into the issue:
- Burke Rees was (is?) a real estate agent (also here, with a different company), but he shows up as the owner of the property.
- I confirmed over the telephone with Ress he did indeed lease the property to a John Bucy, but he didn’t know whether it was John Bucy II or John Bucy III.
- The house is sold to John H. Bucy II (not III) in 2014.
- John H. Bucy II is evidently a lawyer who “specializes in business law including formations, acquisitions, securities, employment and other contract issues.” Also: “Besides business practice, attorney John H. Bucy, II also represents clients in real estate matters, including the purchase and sale of undeveloped and commercial properties, finances related to real estate projects, and the negotiation of commercial leases.” His law office address is 6633 Hwy 290 East, Suite 208, Austin, Texas, 78723.
- There is only one employee listed by name at that record: “John H Bucy III” who is described as a “Principal.”
- I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that John H. Bucy II is, in fact, the father of John H. Bucy III.
- Note that the same day the house is sold to John H. Bucy II, the deed is then granted to “The Jarrett-Simmons Irrevocable Trust.”
- There’s not a lot of information on the Jarrett-Simmons Irrevocable Trust, except that: A.) It seems to be associated somehow with Paddington Property, LLC, B.) Their address is listed as “6633 E Highway 290, Austin, Texas, 78723,” and C.) The principal is one Bryan Jarrett.
- 6633 Hwy 290 East, Suite 104, Austin, Texas, 78723 is listed as the address for the Texas Charter School Academic and Athletic League, which lists “John Bucy” as founder and president; presumably that’s John H. Bucy III, as per his campaign website.
- John H. Bucy III’s official campaign filing address is the same address: 6633 Hwy 290 East, Suite 104, Austin, Texas, 78723.
- A John Bucy is listed as the owner of “6633 E HIGHWAY 290 STE 104 AUSTIN , TX 78723-1157.” An appraised value of “$4,744” suggests that he does not own the entire building, which seems to be a business condo.
- Bryan Jarrett seems to be involved with a number of enterprises run from that same 6633 Hwy 290 East address: Brant Management, Caretech International Inc., Complete Care Centers, Inc., Incolumus Inc., Texas Matrix Group, Mission Nursing Home Inc., Windcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Inc., and Plaza 290 Office Condominium Association (hmmm).
- In all these enterprises, he seems subordinate to an Anthony J. Langford.
- I note for the record that John H. Bucy III’s north Austin home he shares with his wife Molly is registered in the name of a Josh T. Brown of Santa Cruz, California.
- The house at 8609 Camelia Ln appears to be for sale (I say “appears” because you can never tell with real estate listings). The listed seller? Ellmaker Realty.
What all this amounts to:
John Bucy III appears to be the son of John Bucy II
John Bucy II did own the house where the lien said John Bucy III resided.
Both Bucys appear to work out of the same building, which just happens to be the same building the trust which bought the house in question also operates out of.
I can think of a dozen different scenarios which fit the facts in this case, so I don’t want to speculate on which might be the case here.
Yesterday I wrote the John Bucy III campaign, asking for clarification. I still haven’t heard back from them.
But the big question remains: Why was the IRS lean against John H. Bucy III against the house lived in, and later owned, by John H. Bucy II?
Finally, there is this set of court records for John H. Bucy II. I don’t know enough to decode the various charges listed. I merely include it for others to research.
Update: The Bucy campaign claims that the lien is indeed against John Bucy II, not John Bucy III.
Tags:2014 Election, Austin, Democrats, Elections, IRS, John Bucy, Tony Dale, Travis County, Williamson County
Posted in Austin, Democrats, Elections | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 18th, 2014
There’s so much news going on in the world that it’s hard to sit down and focus on one story to get a single blog post out of it when there’s another huge story coming down the pike. Iraq, Ukraine, the VA Scandal, the dog eating Lois Lerner’s emails (“Barack Obama has brought us Jimmy Carter’s economy and Richard Nixon’s excuses”); too damn much going on to focus on one thing. So here’s a LinkSwarm instead:
Barack Obama is not interested in war, but war is interested in Obama.
Obama golfs while the world burns. “Oh Lord, I was born a golfing man!/I get in a round whenever I can…”
Obama Administration admits that ObamaCare will cost people more for health care, even with the subsidies.
Russia cuts off natural gas supplies to Ukraine.
Russian tanks appear in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s top anti-corruption cop decides to take up flying.
One reason the IRS went after the Tea Party: Chuck Schumer asked them to.
“The Obama administration has reached levels of hitherto unknown incompetence.” (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
A majority of Americans do not believe that Obama is trustworthy. You don’t say.
Another day, another 48 people dead at the hands of Jihadists in Kenya. There are days when 48 people killed at a hotel would top the news…
The Obama Administration also released 12 Jihadists in Afghanistan.
Won’t someone please think about poor, impoverished Hillary Clinton?
The Obama Administration’s intentionally lax border control enforcement is letting letting Mexican gang members waltz into the country.
“Thousands of young, poor would-be immigrants—90,000 this year alone—have swarmed across the border, the logical fruition of the entire cynical approach of the Obama administration toward illegal immigration.”
Bill Gates wants to propagandize you into accepting illegal alien amnesty. Actually, what Gates and his high tech baron compatriots really want is more H1-B visas, but since that doesn’t help the Democratic Party as much as illegal alien amnesty, it gets rolled into the giant “comprehensive immigration reform” ball.
Should Obama have erased the IRS emails Nixon have erased the tapes?
Turning point in the Brat campaign: crashing a staged event to prove Cantor was lying about amnesty.
“Prostitutes more than double their earnings by moonlighting as currency traders” in Venezuela.
Argentina runs out of rope.
European cab drivers protest Uber by halting traffic. Result? Uber sees 850% increase in signups.
I’m going to boil this down to the essentials: Never open an account with a Georgia bank.
But maybe they need to seize your money to pay for all that food stamp fraud.
Does anyone really think West Virginia Democratic Senate candidate Natalie Tennant is any more “pro-coal” or “pro-gun” than Bart Stupak was “pro-life”?
Another year, another lefty writer caught plagiarizing the work of others. And not just any lefty writer, but a Pulitzer Prize winner to boot…
Chelsea Clinton got paid $600,000 by MSNBC. That worked out to $26,724 for each minute she was on the air. In other news, your betters in the overclass really don’t care what you think of the financial compensation one member of the class gives to another…
Millions in “urban redevelopment” money in Democratic-controlled Philadelphia ends up in certain people’s pockets with almost nothing to show for it. Try to contain your shock. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
South Carolina university professors: “How dare you make us teach the Constitution?”
Violence and subway strike in advance of Brazil’s World Cup.
New guidelines for ignoring due process in accusations of college campus sexual assault = Lawsuitapalooza!
Erick Erickson calls out Ted Cruz for not endorsing more conservatives.
Dwight does some gun geeking for you Smith & Wesson fans.
Dear anyone who’s ever self-published their own book: you’re a fascist Ayn Rand supporter, using your evil individualism to bypass the holy gatekeepers of traditional publishing.
And if you think that’s the stupidest left-wing essay you’ll read today, think again.
There was enough voter fraud in a Weslaco City Commissioner Race for the judge to order a new election. “Some of the disallowed ballots were cast by voters claiming Rivera’s childhood home as their address.” Note: Weslaco is down in the valley right next to Donna, Texas, which had its own voting scandal.
Doggies! (Patriotic doggies, no less.) (Hat tip: Ace of Spades HQ.)
“This harlot-sized ensemble will make you the envy of your trampish posse on your fraudulent wedding day.”
Tags:Argentina, Brazil, Chelsea Clinton, David Brat, Democrats, Eric Cantor, feminism, fraud, Georgia, Guns, Iraq, IRS, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Jihad, Military, MSNBC, Natalie Tennant, ObamaCare, Philadelphia, Richard M. Nixon, Russia, Snith & Wesson, South Carolina, Ted Cruz, Texas, Ukraine, Venezuela, Victor Davis Hanson, Weslaco, West Virginia
Posted in Border Control, Democrats, Foreign Policy, Jihad, Media Watch, Military, Obama Scandals, ObamaCare, Texas, Waste and Fraud | 1 Comment »
USA: Police in Portland (Oregon) responded very quickly to a traffic blockade of protestors. The wind has turned: Go Mr. President!
pic.twitter.com/lwTL0EYGML
Menswear Day 5 in Paris #pfw winter 2027/2018
@thombrowneofficial
soon on @france24 pic.twitter.com/eU2eMfB20o
