Tag: Politics

Being Punished for Good Intentions

There are times when good intentions go awry and somebody is harmed or their property is damaged. In such cases I understand that the person doing the harm should have to pay reparations to the person they harmed but I see no reason why a person with good intentions that harmed nobody should be punished. Sadly the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t see it that way and are looking to nail a man who was basically being nice:

Christian Lopez, 23, caught the ball and promptly handed it over to the Yankees without demanding any kind of payment, the Daily News reported. The Yankees rewarded him with suite seats for the rest of the season, plus a heap of autographed team memorabilia.

Mr. Lopez seems like a nice guy. He caught a baseball that is likely worth a lot of money to collectors and returned it to the team while asking for no payment in return. The team, being good hearted people whose livelihood is based on having happy fans, decided to reward Mr. Lopez for his nice act by giving him a lot of free stuff. Well the IRS sees all that free stuff as taxable income and are chomping at the bit to rend money from Mr. Lopez in the form of income tax:

That’s what could cost Lopez. According to The New York Times, the total value of the seats and loot could exceed $120,000. The IRS would consider that to be taxable income, several accountants told both newspapers.

Assholes. I also dislike how the author of this article refers to the stuff given to Mr. Lopez as loot. Loot implies that the goods were ill gotten. What the IRS are trying to get is loot as they’re trying to use force to steal money from Mr. Lopez. What Mr. Lopez received were goods given voluntarily by the team for an act that he did charitably.

This could end up in a court battle as items rules as gifts are non-taxable and what the team gave Mr. Lopez could be considered nothing but a gift (as he demanded no payment for returning the ball I don’t see how the team giving Mr. Lopez something could be anything else but a gift). Of course it will cost Mr. Lopez money to pay or fight the taxes so his only available option may to be refuse the gifts given to him. Isn’t it great when the government swoops in to punish those who do an act of charity? As they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

Things That Don’t Concern Us

I’ve never understood the desire of our politicians to involve the people and resources of this country in things that don’t concern us in the slightest. Libya is a perfect example, out of the blue we decided that Gaddafi was the so horrible that the United States had to start hurtling expensive missiles into the country. Now Hillary Clinton came on and said the United States has declared the Libyan rebels the legitimate government of their country:

The United States has recognised the Libyan opposition as the country’s “legitimate governing authority”.

That means billions of dollars of Libyan assets frozen in US banks could be released to the rebels.

First of all what right do we have to declare who is and isn’t the “legitimate” government of a country? We aren’t Libya and Libya has done nothing to provoke us yet we’re not declaring that the rebels are the legitimate government of Libya because we fucking say so.

I wonder what sweetheart deal we’ve made with the Libyan rebels. Do we have some kind of agreement with them that they’ll give use cheap oil once they are running the country? We obviously aren’t there for humanitarian reasons because if that’s what the United States was all about we’d be bombing the Hell out of Syria and Darfur. The United States government may claim humanitarian reasons for bombing Libya but that justification doesn’t hold water since there are other countries where far worse things are happening to civilian populations.

Maybe Gaddafi just holds enough wealth that we wanted to get it. It would make sense to make some excuse to freeze Gaddafi’s assets, claim some organization we can’t control is the legitimate government of Libya, then charge the rebels for our expenses in helping them which would involve transferring Gaddafi’s assets to United States coffers. The guy does have a shit ton of gold after all.

If the story about Gaddafi’s gold holdings is using metric tons (I’m not sure if a tonne is metric or if it’s a long ton) then Gaddafi holds 5,044,176.5517 ounces of gold. The price of gold as of this writing is $1588.57 and ounce meaning Gaddafi’s gold fortune is worth $8,013,027,544.734069. Fuck! In the terms of our debt that’s very small potatoes but combining that with Libya’s oil holdings would paint a rather sinister picture of why we’re there.

Personally if the United States government feels the need to steal money from my in the form of taxes I would like it if they would stop using so much of that money on bombing foreign countries.

Amendment to Defund Required Reporting of Multiple Long-Gun Sales

It appears as through some of our “representatives” have decided that the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) scheme to force firearm retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple long-gun sales isn’t a good idea. An amendment to the 2012 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill has been added that would defund the illegal scheme:

Today, during consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, pro-gun U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) offered an amendment to prohibit the use of funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Amendment was passed by a vote of 25-16.

The Rehberg Amendment, which was strongly supported by NRA, will defund the Justice Department’s controversial and illegal move requiring federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

As the National Rifle Association (NRA) points out, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have no legitimate claim to demanding multiple long-gun sales be reported:

It is important to note that under existing law, BATFE already has full access to every dealer’s firearm transaction records, either during a bona fide criminal investigation or simply to enforce compliance with record keeping requirements. This new reporting procedure would create a registry of owners of many of today’s most popular rifles–firearms owned by millions of Americans for self-defense, hunting and other lawful purposes. Most importantly, however, the BATFE has no legal authority to demand these reports.

They can already access firearms dealer records at will so why do dealers need to further report on their customers? The fact of the matter is the ATF was the organization that allowed guns to cross the border into Mexico. Many firearms dealers pleaded with the ATF to allow them to deny sales that appeared to the dealers suspicious but their pleading was met with a demand to permit the sale. Abolishing the ATF is the only correct response to “Operation Fast and Furious” as they were the culprits that allowed guns to illegal cross the American-Mexican border.

Then again this is par for the government’s course; they fuck up and then blame innocent bystanders.

Another Operation to Smuggle Guns Into Central America Possibly Uncovered

The isn’t even beginning to settle for “Operation Fast and Furious” and now another plan that may have resulted in guns being smuggled from the United States into Central America has been uncovered. “Representative” Gus Bilirakis has inquired with Attorney General Eric Holder on whether or not “Operation Castaway” may have resulted in guns being allowed to cross into Honduras:

Bilirakis expressed concern about reports that the strategy “may not have been limited to weapons trafficking to Mexico.”

He asked Holder and Melson whether “similar programs included the possible trafficking of arms to dangerous criminal gangs in Honduras with the knowledge of the ATF’s Tampa Field Division” and a Justice Department office, via Castaway.

Bilirakis’ letter specifically asked whether the Tampa division participated in a “gun walking” scheme allowing guns to go to Honduras. He also asked whether ATF or DOJ know if any of the firearms ended up in the hands of the “notorious” MS-13 gang — a violent gang spread across Central America, Mexico and the United States.

Obviously the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are denying that Castaway has any similarities to Fast and Furious but I found something interesting to note:

The lengthy court document states that the ATF noticed Crumpler’s numerous purchases in a national firearms database — it turned out he was later selling them at gun shows. According to the plea agreement, the ATF had an undercover agent buy from Crumpler and later observed the suspect at several gun shows in late 2009, selling to numerous buyers without a license. At one point, he told an undercover agent that he knew the firearms were making their way to Honduras.

Emphasis mine. I wonder what national database they’re talking about. According to United States law all records pertaining to National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS) checks must be destroyed if the person buying passes. This leads me to question what kind of information the federal government is maintaining on firearm purchases and how legal that information is under federal law (not that the federal government gives who shits about what is legal).

What will be interesting is whether or not the ATF allowed guns falling under the scope of Castaway to knowingly enter Honduras. Catching the ATF red-handed in two illegal operations certainly wouldn’t reflect highly on their agency.

Hit Them Where it Hurts

Some interesting news has finally developed as a result of the state government shutdown. This news perfectly demonstrates the folly of allowing the state to interfere with the free market. It seems that many bars in Minnesota are running out of beer because they were unable to renew their alcohol purchasing licenses before the shutdown:

Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes — a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown.

In the days leading up to the shutdown, thousands of outlets scrambled to renew their state-issued liquor purchasing cards. Many of them did not make it.

Now, with no end in sight to the shutdown, they face a summer of fast-dwindling alcohol supplies and a bottom line that looks increasingly bleak.

This is how you hurt somebody, take away their fun and entertainment. I highly doubt that the state didn’t realize a possibility such as this could occur. In their eyes taking away peoples’ liquor would be the perfect argument for the need of the state, and many people will believe it. In actuality this is the perfect argument against allowing the state to regulate every industry on the fucking planet.

I’ve talked about the dangers of having government hold a monopoly control on anything in the past and this situation demonstrates that. I believe this is only one real option here; liquor stores need to go out and just buy the alcohol they need to continue doing business.

This is known as civil disobedience and we as Americans should practice this artform far more often. Just think about it, if every bar in Minnesota just said, “Fuck it!” and purchased alcohol without a license (either from current distributors or liquor stores as private individuals if the distributors won’t play ball) what could the state do? If the state decided to enforce their liquor license laws during the shutdown the court system would be overloaded with bar owners who could make a very valid case about how not buying that liquor would destroy their business and thus their livelihood. It would be difficult, I believe, to get juries to find these bar owners guilty as most people understand there are times you have to do what you have to do in order to survive.

Another side-effect of enforcing the license requirement in such a scenario is the fact it would likely cost far more to collect the fines than the state would make on the fines. There are numerous ways you can take a simple $30.00 fine and cost the state thousands to collect it. It would make little monetary sense for the state to prosecute the bars that purchased alcohol without a valid license.

If ever bar simply ignored the liquor purchasing license requirement the only real option the state would have is to “forgive” the “transgression.” Whether or not the state chose “forgiveness” or prosecution the people of Minnesota would have a good demonstration of how meaningless these licensing laws are.

When the state makes your life hard or impossible then it’s time to make the state irrelevant. Requiring bars to purchase a license in order to purchase liquor server no purpose other than filling the state’s coffers with pilfered money. Minnesota, nay the United States, ill needs government bureaucrats looting productive private businesses. We the people should be willing to say, “Enough is enough!” Fuck those bean counting pencil-necked bureaucrats, they do nothing for us and much to harm us.

Oh Hell

My only response to the news I’m about to present is FUCK! Congressman Ron Paul has stated he wont run for re-election in 2012.

The reason I’m dismayed by this news is because Ron Paul is the only person on Capitol Hill that I respect (I’m slowing developing hearty respect for his kid, Rand, but it will take far more time for him to prove himself). Combining this with the fact that I don’t believe he’ll get the Republican nomination (the Republican party plays too many games in order to keep him off the presidential ticket) and I’m afraid the only good politician will be out of Washington come next election cycle.

Although Dr. Paul has been unable to turn the tide of government tyranny he at last presented a voice for the liberty movement. Without him at the Capitol debating the wrong of imperialism, the need to return to sound money, and the need for liberty as a whole the American people are left with nothing but authoritarian scum who wish nothing more than to rule us with an iron fist.

By Thor in Valhalla I hope I’m wrong about him not getting the nomination.

Government Doing What Government Does

Hear ye! Hear ye! The Department of Justice (DoJ) has decreed that all firearm dealers in states lying on the border to Mexico report multiple long-gun sales to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF):

The Obama administration implemented its most aggressive and controversial gun measure to date Monday when it ordered dealers in four Southwestern states to report multiple sales of semiautomatic rifles to the federal firearms bureau.

The rule, which had been opposed by the National Rifle Association and many members of Congress, takes effect immediately and is meant to stem gunrunning to violent Mexican drug gangs.

Let me get this straight, gun dealers are supposed to report multiple gun sales of long-guns to the ATF in order to stem the flow of guns from the United States into Mexico? But the ATF is the agency that was caught allowing firearms to be smuggled across the border. Doesn’t that create a conflict of interest?

Remember that these gun dealers were the ones who tried to report suspicious purchases to the ATF and, instead of being told to not make the sale, were order to make the sale. This is a classic example of the government creating a problem, declaring the problem to be caused by a fault of the people, and then moving in with new regulations claiming that is the only way to fix the problem.

Make no mistake, these guns were not let across the border due to a lack of gun laws. The gun dealers tried to stop the sales but where ordered by the ATF to make the sales. That is what the congressional hearing over “Operation Fast and Furious” is about. The ATF were caught because two border patrol agents were murdered using guns that the ATF allowed to be smuggled across the border. The proper response to this situation would be to abolish the ATF immediately.

But blaming one of its own agencies isn’t what the government is all about; it prefers to use tragedies it has cause to further increase it’s control over the populace.

I Like This Idea, It Should Be Expanded

Although I’ve heard little talk about it I’ve found an interesting bill that I believe promotes a good idea. The H.R. 2411, The Reduce America’s Debt Now Act of 2011, would put a new entry on W-4 forms that would allow employees to voluntarily deduct portions of their paycheck to pay off the national debt.

What I like about this act is the fact it’s voluntary. In fact I like this idea so much I think it should be expanded to the point where all taxation is made voluntary. Do you think the government is doing a good jobs at spending your hard-earned money? Great, you can fork over money to them in order to continue receiving their services. Do you believe the government has done a horrible job at spending your hard-earned money? Great, you can take your money and buy services from a private provider.

I also hope this bill passes because I have an ulterior motive. I’ve mentioned that my circle of friends includes people who always say they would happily pay more taxes. When I point them to the address they can send their checks to I never hear them talk about all the money they voluntarily sent the government. Putting this on the W-4 form would make it easier for my friends to be hypocrites and to me that’s funny.

Data Retention Law Will Backfire

There is legislation being proposed that would require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to retain data on what IP addresses have been assigned to whom for 18 months. Unfortunately for the government such data retention laws have been controversial so they’ve had to exploit the children loophole by naming the legislation, “The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011.”

Ars Technica has a very good opinion piece posted about how this legislation will backfire. Instead of using home connections to download illicit data people will simply go elsewhere.

There is no shortage of open wireless access points. Instead of downloading illicit data from a home connection you can connect to your neighbor’s wireless network, a businesses wireless network, or through an anonymizing service such as the Tor network. The legislation is entirely pointless and only puts a data storage burdun on ISPs.

The government simply wants access to information the public doesn’t believe access should be granted to. Just like every other time this situation occurs the government simply abuses the children loophope and then looks at any opposing their bill and acuses them of supporting child pornography. It’s kind of like naming the PATRIOT Act what it is then accusing anybody who opposes it to not being a patriot.

Larry Correia Brings On The Funny

I really love Larry Correnia’s blog because he has a way with words. It’s almost as though he is an author of some really awesome books or something. Obama warned that New York Times bestselling authors (who he implied are as rich as hedge fund managers) aren’t off the hook when it comes to paying their taxes. Larry finally spills the beans:

Now you know the truth. A secret cabal of bestselling writers has been sabotaging the US economy all this time. Sure, you may have thought that our situation was caused by stuff like out of control government spending, or onerous regulations, or our complete lack of coherent energy policy, or the devaluation of the dollar, or people/companies living beyond their means and then expecting the tax payers to bail them out, or entitlements that are mathematically impossible to pay, or employers being afraid to hire because of fear of ObamaCare and coming taxes, or the quadrupling of our debt over the last couple of years, but NO. That would be silly!

It has been because of us bestselling authors all along.

My favorite quote from his post though is this one:

Michael Crichton was presiding (he’s not really dead, he just didn’t want to fill out his 1040ES for that quarter’s royalties).

So there is hope for a third Jurassic Park! My day has been made and all is good in the world again.