Month: March 2019

If the winner goes with the cash option of $477 million, the IRS will get more than $100 million right off the bat.

Source: Winner of $768.4 million Powerball jackpot faces big tax bill

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Why isn’t it tax free?

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This week George Clooney called for a boycott of several hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei over the law being implemented that will punish anyone engaging in gay sex with death by stoning.

Source: Bill Maher: George Clooney Calling for Boycott of Sultan of Brunei’s Hotels Is ‘Chickensh*t Tokenism’

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Interesting that “the Left” is calling themselves out.

By extension, does this apply to “global warming / global kooling / climate change” too?

And all the other Left Wing “causes of outrage” de jour — gun “control”, sexism, racism, etc. etc.

I wonder?

“What do you call it when someone steals someone else’s money secretly? Theft. What do you call it when someone takes someone else’s money openly by force? Robbery. What do you call it when a politician takes someone else’s money in taxes and gives it to someone who is more likely to vote for him? Social justice.” — Thomas Sowell

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DonorsChoose and other crowdfunding sites are coming under scrutiny.

Source: DonorsChoose fundraising: Some school districts banning crowdfunding – Vox

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Doesn’t anyone see this as a problem with Gooferment Skrules?

Argh!

Separate Gooferment from “Education”!

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Our elite is not elite. Instead, it’s a bunch of bums who somehow got a little money and took the reins of power and are now shaking-down our great nation for every penny they can wring out of it. We owe them nothing – not respect, not gratitude and certainly not obedience.If you still wonder how we got Trump, just look around you. He’s a cry for help, a scream against the injustice we’re surrounded by. This injustice is poison to our country. This injustice is what makes republics fall apart, when the worthless ruling class pushes its contempt in the people’s collective face so hard and for so long that the population finally screams “The hell with this!”

Source: You’re A Sucker If You Don’t Believe The System Is Rigged | Zero Hedge

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“We, The Sheeple” are just sheep to be shorn.

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• These included that they create opportunities for themselves by having a strong social network
• They listen to their gut and act on intuition rather than overthinking a situation.
• Lucky people also tended to be confident of a bright future
• as well as resilient and able to learn from past mistakes.

Source: How to Control Your Luck

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A fresh-faced tech whiz used a sophisticated “SIM swapping” scheme to steal half a million dollars in 10 days from more than 50 people across the US — without ever leaving the comfort of his

Source: Tech whiz-turned-criminal stole $500K in 10 days: officials

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Here’s why your two factor authentication should NOT rely on your phone!

I use AUTHY instead.

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“Sorry” hardly seems to be enough… Will anyone be held accountable?

Source: Apologies To President Trump | Zero Hedge

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No.

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Yet as I wrote Sunday, the end of Mueller must not mean the end of investigating what happened in 2016. It was, after all, the Clinton-financed Russian dossier that formed the basis of the FBI investigation launched by the disgraced James Comey that summer.How did that happen? How did a partisan dirty trick result in an FBI probe of the other party’s presidential candidate?And how did so much classified information leak, including the names of Trump associates picked up incidentally on wiretaps? Who in the Obama White House broke the law?These and other questions deserve at least as much scrutiny as Clinton’s false claims. As Trump said Sunday, “This was an illegal takedown that failed. And hopefully, somebody’s going to be looking at the other side.”

Source: We should all be celebrating the collapse of Hillary’s big lie

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There certainly should be as much scrutiny of the HRC campaign.  And those in the BHO44 who helped her.

Argh!

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#1 One recent survey found that 74 percent of Americans don’t even know how many amendments are in the Bill of Rights.

Source: 18 Statistics That Prove That America Has Become An “Idiocracy” | Zero Hedge

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So sad.

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Whether it’s gun policy, immigration, energy or censorship, the left has found a method of imposing its will that’s far more efficient than dealing with the American system of government, designed as it was to contain the worst impulses of political radicals. Sick of these constitutional inconveniences, the far-left now intend to enact tyranny through the politically-motivated harassment of the private sector — and the private sector is seeming only too happy to oblige. Can conservatives be awakened from their laissez-faire, free market stupor in time to stop it?

Source: Bokhari: On Immigration, Guns, and Speech, Banks Act as a Shadow Government | Breitbart

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When will “We, The Sheeple” wake up that they are being herded?

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The definition of cowardice is a ‘lack of courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, pain.’ It’s excatly what American trophy-hunter Guy Gorney displayed when he killed a sleeping lion.

Source: PIERS MORGAN: Take ‘hunter’ Guy Gorney’s gun away and see how brave he is | Daily Mail Online

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I agree.

(Astonishing that we agree on anything?)

Make him be like the Zulu youth, who takes a short spear and a small reed shield to kill a lion.

Seems fairer.

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So while the telcos have defended their decision to censor a wide swath of material in order to shield people from dangerous information – and have encouraged social media platforms to commit to European-style information control, Kiwis and Australians will only get to know what the technocracy approves in order to ‘protect consumers.’

Source: The Final Level of Censorship is Here: The Banning of URLs

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Who “anointed” these corporations to “protect” us?

Argh!

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Twitter has admitted to shadowbanning a tweet by The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis in order to “keep people safe.”

Source: Tyler Durden: “Sorry citizen, some facts are just too dangerous for your own good”

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I’m not sure about what can be done about education. But the first step toward any solution is for the American people to be aware of academic fraud that occurs at every level of education.

Source: College Cheating Scandal, by Walter E.Williams | Creators Syndicate

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How about getting the Gooferment out of Gooferment Skrules?

Separation of Government and Education at all levels!

That’s the way to start.

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Bullying is a serious problem that can cause tragic results if measures are not taken to fight against it. According to PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, more than 1 out of 5 students report being bullied in the US, which is more than 20% of all students.

Source: Mom Shares Story About How Her 9-Year-Old Got Sweet Revenge On Her Bully

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When I was bullied in First Grade, my Mom said: “You stand up for yourself and take care of this.  However is up to you, but it’s YOUR PROBLEM, no one else’s.”

Hmmm, be careful what you tell a human being to do.  They just might surprise you.

Now everyone in Catholic School in that day and age had a “book bag”.  And, being a Catholic School, we always had heavy books to lug back and forth.  I think that the good Nuns and Brothers had, as an article of faith, that carrying a big heavy book would impart knowledge by osmosis.

Any way, I was friends with the only black child in my class.  Maybe that’s why I was singled out for all sorts of harassment. So the morning after my Mom’s “advice”, first thing, before we assembled in lines by class, I walked up to the biggest of my bullies and, without a word, swung my extra heavy book bag with all the oomph I could muster right “up the chute” to his crotch.  Naturally, he went down like a rag doll and started to puke.  One of the Brothers ran over and “arrested me” sending me to Brother Principal’s office. It was next to Sister Principal’s office. The Nuns coming by scowled, but more than one of the Brothers gave me a disapproving but wry grin.

My Mom was summoned.  She, obviously was expecting something, because she didn’t go to work early like she usually did.  So she arrives on scene and goes into the office with a bunch of Nuns and Brothers.  After, what seemed to be a long time, I was summoned in.  I thought I’d get expelled.

Brother Principal asked my if I was sorry for what I’d done.  My mouth, leading its own life, said: “Respectfully, Brother Principal, No.”  My Mom half smiled; the Brother who was my home room teacher, definitely grinned.  Brother Principal continued: “Well, this is very serious. Will you do it again?”  My mouth seized the opportunity: “Again, Brother Principal, with all do respect to you, my school, and my religious training, I can’t lie. Yes, I’ll do it as many times as I need to.  But, between us chickens (my maternal grandmother’s favorite phrase), I doubt that I’ll ever need to prove that I’m no push over for any size bully.”  Brother Principal was slightly taken back and said: “Well, with that reassurance, I’m inclined to let the matter drop..  Go to class and stay out of trouble.”

I felt ten feet tall.

Evidently, the bully was on “double secret probation” already, and after trip to the ER, a few days rest and home, he returned to school a week later.  By the next week, he’d been withdrawn from the school and transferred to another parish school miles away.

And, I never had anyone “mess” with me after that.

I guess my “heroic aura” — or people thought I was bat shit crazy — encompassed the school because my friends, including the black one, were also hassle-free.  In fact, the whole school was “bully free” for the three years I was at that school before we moved to the Bronx.

The lesson to me was like when first I heard that Rodney Dangerfield movie line from “Back to School” about the Dylan Thomas poem … “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”:

“Thornton, what does that poem mean to you?”

“It means… I don’t take shit from no one. I’m gonna pass this test. I’m stayin’ in school! Who’s next?”

I might be crazy but, I felt that way that day back in Catholic Grammar School.  In the zone.  (Whatever that is!)  Whenever I’m in that “zone”, I think back to my first time in it and know I can do anything I want to, anytime, as long as Im willing to accept the consequences.

I later found a quote that sums it up.

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” ― Robert A. Heinlein

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A site to promote the safer far-hand Dutch Reach habit to get out of your car. It prevents dooring ‘accidents’ / crashes that injure & kill bicyclists. You too are safer because you naturally turn & see on-coming traffic before and as you exit.

Source: Dutch Reach Project – A site to promote the Dutch far-hand habit to avoid dooring cyclists, or drivers or passengers from stepping into on-coming traffic.

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Seems like an easy enough change to make in our every day behavior?

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How a writing tool became the new default way to pass notes in class

Source: The Hottest Chat App for Teens Is Google Docs – The Atlantic

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A USC spokesman said Wednesday that students who applied for admission in the current cycle — which is underway for fall admits — and are tied to the scheme will be denied admission. That includes about half a dozen applicants.The school will also conduct a case-by-case review for current students and graduates who may have taken part in the scheme.

Source: Will children at center of college admissions scandal pay a price along with their parents? – Los Angeles Times

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“Children”?

While one or more individuals maybe be “innocent bystanders” in their parents’ actions, others were involved.  I don’t think that “innocent bystanders” should be penalized until them demonstrate that they can’t or won’t meet the standards. Those involved deserve anything they get.  Graduates are probably “untouchable”.

What a mess.

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A friend shared a story he heard recently, over eggs and toast at a local eatery. A citizen needed an MRI. He asked the price, and the regional hospital quoted him $1,500. He looked concerned, mentioned that was expensive, and the provider offered that the cash price was $500. Curiously, that $500 is exactly what his insurance plan would have him pay. For a lot of people, this looks like a wash.

Source: Commentary: Ask your health care provider for the cash price | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com

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A peek behind the curtain?

I’ve often thought that there’s a “big club” that I ain’t in to fleece the medical consumer.  Gooferment, Big Medicine, and Big Insurance are the conspiring club members.

Argh!

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Reverse mortgages are creeping into the conversation for retirement income options.

Source: How America’s Most Hated Home Loan Is Staging A Comeback

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Hmmm, “most hated”?

I’d reserve that for the sub-prime “no doc” mortgage that caused everyone much more pain!

No?

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