I’ve been fighting the IRS over a stupid mistake made for over three years ago (my former mortgage company didn’t report my mortgage interest properly.) It involved several phone calls, several letters, and a lot of general bitching. Today, I finally got a check from them for $4100, based on a mortgage my partner an I held jointly that year. Never give up on these people (and the reps who answer your calls ARE people.) The IRS’ll rob you blind if you let them.
Archives for August 2008
Question
If all it takes to turn someone lesbian is a snappy hit record on the charts (with a bullet?), why don’t the fundies harness the power of music and make everyone straight?
Is it because Christian rock sucks?
Looking Out For the Little Guy
Big business is looking out for you:
At a time when scores of companies are freezing pensions for their workers, some are quietly converting their pension plans into resources to finance their executives’ retirement benefits and pay.
In recent years, companies from Intel Corp. to CenturyTel Inc. collectively have moved hundreds of millions of dollars of obligations for executive benefits into rank-and-file pension plans. This lets companies capture tax breaks intended for pensions of regular workers and use them to pay for executives’ supplemental benefits and compensation.
The practice has drawn scant notice. A close examination by The Wall Street Journal shows how it works and reveals that the maneuver, besides being a dubious use of tax law, risks harming regular workers. It can drain assets from pension plans and make them more likely to fail. Now, with the current bear market in stocks weakening many pension plans, this practice could put more in jeopardy.
I am sure Red State or Hot Air can convince us this is an act of patriotism. After all, defrauding your workers in order to get tax breaks that you can pass on to your executives just sounds patriotic, doesn’t it? And then when the shit fails, you can just pass it on to the taxpayers. I mean, it is a win all the way around, right?
As someone said to me when I im’d him this link, “That is so evil I almost have to admire it.”
The Obama Death List
Might grow by one:
While Bernie Mac remains in the hospital under treament for pneumonia, his rep slammed widespread media reports that the comedian is in very critical condition.
“Bernie Mac is still alive and being treated in a Chicago hospital for pneumonia and is expected to make a full recovery,” his rep, Danica Smith, told People.com. “We once again ask that the press respect his privacy and that of his family.”
Someone keep the Sadly, No! folks posted.
Attention, Obama Campaign
Apparently, we can save more oil by properly inflating tires than we can pump out of ANWR. That silly Barack. What is he thinking?
Additionally, has anyone asked McCain, in between making mocking references about tire gauges, how he voted on the TRANSPORTATION RECALL ENHANCEMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND DOCUMENTATION (TREAD) ACT (.pdf), in which the following is established:
SEC. 13. TIRE PRESSURE WARNING. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall complete a rulemaking for a regulation to require a warning system in new motor vehicles to indicate to the operator when a tire is significantly under inflated. Such requirement shall become effective not later than 2 years after the date of the completion of such rulemaking.
I mean, after all, here he is fighting former Senator Hollings to get the bill passed:
Mr. McCAIN. Let me just say that I will be here on the floor. If the two Senators who object from the other side of the aisle would like to come down, I would be glad to discuss their concerns. I would be glad to commit to holding hearings, along with Senator HOLLINGS, next year to try to perfect this bill.
I know my friend from South Carolina has serious concerns about the safe harbor aspect of this bill. I intend to work with him to tighten it up. I much would have preferred the bill pass through the Senate, let me tell you.
We inaugurated a little phrase called “straight talk” back when I was seeking another office. I will tell you, in straight talk, what this is all about. This is the trial lawyers against the automotive interests. Trial lawyers do not want it because they do not like the provisions. They want to be able to sue anybody for anything under any circumstances. And the automotive industry wants this thing killed, figuring that the publicity surrounding these accidents and these tragedies that are taking place will die out and they will be able to kill off this legislation next year.
Certainly in his grandstanding about trial lawyers and the Firestone tragedies, he had to know about the value of properly inflated tires that was reflected in this bill he worked so hard to pass. If I we pretend this is about charges of racism, will journalists like Jake Tapper pay attention?
*** Update ***
Apologies to Tapper, who actually has paid attention to it. Not that anyone else will.
Idiocracy, Revisited
Apparently I was not too far off the mark with the Idiocracy clip earlier this morning, as Steve Benen tells us what to expect this week:
Atrios asked this morning, “Does anyone understand why Obama suggesting that people keep their tires properly inflated is some sort of hilarious gaffe?”
I’ve been trying to figure out the same thing for days. As the Obama campaign kicks off “energy week” with a new contrast ad and a policy speech in Michigan, Time’s Mark Halperin reports, “McCain supporters in Michigan will distribute tire gauges at Obama’s energy speech in Lansing. The RNC will also deliver gauges reading ‘Obama’s energy plan’ to Washington newsrooms.”
As of this morning, it looks like far-right blogs have received their copies of the Republican script, too. RedState.org’s Erick Erickson is on message: “Inflating your tires and getting a regular tune-up sounds more like Obama’s plan for ego maintenance than it does for helping American families.” Ed Morrissey added, “…Obama refers to ‘big oil’ and the need to reduce our use of oil by 35% over the next twenty years. How do we get there? Keep inflating those tires, folks.”
The most depressing thing will be watching the bobbleheads discuss this at length as if somehow suggesting you take common sense steps to help fuel efficiency really is a gaffe.
Fighting Back
I guess Obama got the message:
I am sure the media will play this over and over and over again for free like they have all of McCain’s attack pieces.
*** Update ***
In before the trolls. No, I still do not like the concept of windfall profits taxes.