Today Michigan took a giant step towards freedom when the House passed the final Right to Work Bill. However, it was not without incident, as expected. Outside on the Capitol lawn Union “protesters” destroyed a large white tent with box cutters while shouting “scab” and “Walmart tent” and “get em” The tent was set up …
Verizon to use mics and cameras to spy on customers (video)
"When President Obama needed a business executive to come to his campaign defense, Jim Sinegal was there. The Costco co-founder, director and former CEO even made a prime-time speech at the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte. But now these people at the very top of the top 1% who preach about tax fairness voting to write themselves a huge dividend check to avoid the Obama tax increase they claim it is a public service to impose on middle-class Americans who work for 30 years and finally make $250,000 for a brief window in time." Continue reading →
"Let’s pretend we have a modest tax rate of 20 percent. Now imagine you are part of an industry with $200 million in profits and you want a special tax break. How much are you willing to pay to get that loophole? Well, with a 20 percent tax, the most you can save is $40 million. So how much would you spend on lobbyists, campaign contributions, etc, in order to get that loophole? One thing we can safely assume is that the industry would never spend more than $40 million. But let’s now assume you live in a world with 50 percent tax rates. Does that change the incentive for influence peddling in Washington? Of course it does." Continue reading →
"California State Controller John Chiang has announced that total state revenue for the month of November 2012 fell $806.8 million, or 10.8%, below budget. Voters thought they could hammer 'the rich' by passing Proposition 30 to create the highest state income tax in the nation. But it now appears that high income earners have already 'voted with their feet' by moving themselves and their businesses out of state, resulting in over $1 billion shortfall in corporate and income taxes last month and the beginning of a new financial crisis." Continue reading →
"Hopefully we’re all disgusted when insiders rig the system to rip off taxpayers. And I suspect you’re not surprised to see that the worst example on that list comes from California, which is in a race with Illinois to see which state can become the Greece of America. Well, the Golden State has a new über-bureaucrat. A state psychiatrist was paid $822,000, a highway patrol officer collected $484,000 in pay and pension benefits and 17 employees got checks of more than $200,000 for unused vacation and leave. Not bad for government work. So what is Governor Jerry Brown doing to fix the mess? As you might expect, he’s part of the problem." Continue reading →
"The rest of us are actually poorer. NYT reports that the median net worth of a member of Congress climbed 15 percent from 2004 to 2010, to $913,000; meanwhile, the median net worth for all Americans dropped 8 percent over that same period, to roughly $100,000. The lawmakers’ gains are even more noteworthy because over that same period the net worth of the richest 10 percent of Americans remained essentially flat, based on inflation-adjusted figures, says Slate. More regulations and more Wahington D.C.-based power centers result in many more wanting to influence congressmen, legally or illegally." Continue reading →
"The Pentagon, in a major expansion of its intelligence gathering activities, plans to assemble an espionage network rivaling the Central Intelligence Agency in size. Citing unnamed US officials, the Washington Post said that as part of the project, US military officials will send hundreds of additional spies overseas. They also plan to overhaul the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which has focused primarily during the past decade on activities related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the expansion is complete, the DIA is expected to have as many as 1,600 intelligence 'collectors' around the world." Continue reading →
"In April, Reichert, a K-9 officer who specializes in drug interdiction and seizures, was recognized as 'Officer of the Month' for what was described as his 'proactive and innovative philosophy of law enforcement.' His novel approach involves manufacturing evidence and lying under oath – a fact recognized in multiple federal court rulings and Reichert’s brief termination in 2009 after he was put on a roster of police officers considered unsuitable to testify in court. In a subsequent video deposition, Reichert has admitted to planting narcotics evidence on vehicles in motel parking lots near the interstate, supposedly as a training exercise." Continue reading →
"Frankie’s Sports Bar & Grill, owned by one Frank Schnarr, is thought to be the first of its kind anywhere in the U.S.: a bar that lets patrons toke up freely. Schnarr has set up the second floor of his bar as a private club called 'Friends of Frankies.' Interested patrons are charged a $10-a-year fee to access the lounge, where they can smoke marijuana freely. Schnarr was already in the headlines back in 2006, when he fought the state’s anti-smoking law and won. In the wake of Washington’s successful referendum to reform the state’s marijuana laws, he figured he would try to be the first again." Continue reading →