Yet another proud moment in our Special Relationship.
…and just so we all know who we’re talking about here, see these reference pics:
Tag: Evil Bastards
Unexpectedly
Looks like the People’s Soviet of New York is running out of other people’s money:
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday announced a dramatic drop in state income tax revenue of $2.8 billion, which he says will prompt him to revise his 2019-20 budget and reconsider spending on schools, health care and repairs to roads and bridges.
“At this point there is no doubt that the budget we put forward is not supported by the revenues,” Cuomo said at a State Capitol news conference. “It’s as serious as a heart attack.”
Cuomo said he’s not certain what areas might need to be cut, but said the biggest spending areas now are education, health care, infrastructure and another phase-in of a previously approved middle-class tax cut.
Of course, it’s not his fault or the fault of NY’s bloated social policies, benefits obligations and union payouts, oh no. Guess whose fault it really is?
Cuomo, a Democrat, blamed the shortfall on a federal tax plan backed by Republican President Donald Trump. Cuomo said the law’s cap on deductions for state and local taxes at $10,000 was to blame and suggested it is, anecdotally, triggering high-earners to leave New York.
Any time a politician has to resort to anecdotal data, then he’s the one to blame.
Mega Weapons
Apparently, the Russians have a new weapon:
The Russian Navy reportedly has a new weapon that can disrupt the eyesight of targets as well as make them hallucinate and vomit.
Oh yeah? Well, we have a couple of those too:
…except that common decency (and probably the Geneva Convention) would prevent us from using them — even against Russians.
Ummm Okay
From Racist-In-Chief Louis Farrakhan:
“But God has something else for us! Let me tell you what’s gonna happen. Yes, I’m after a separate state. A separate nation. In the ’60s, what was our cry, Rock? We weren’t saying we want to integrate, we were saying ‘It’s nation time!’ Black Power to do what? To integrate a lunch counter? Black Power to build a nation for 40 million — now near 50 million — Black people.”
Errrr Yer Reverendness… Black people already have their own nation. It’s called “Africa.” Here are some suggestions for you and the Nation of Islam:
Somalia (100% Muslim), Sudan (97% Muslim), Senegal (96% Muslim). Mali (95% Muslim), Burkina Faso (~60% Muslim), Chad (~60% Muslim), Djibouti (97% Muslim), Gambia (95% Muslim), Guinea (89% Muslim), Niger (98% Muslim), Sierra Leone (~90% Muslim).
Assuming that non-Muslim Black people who want their own country don’t want to live where your Muslim buddies can fuck them over, they can have their pick of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, e.g. Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Angola and Mozambique.
And no, you don’t get to turn some large part of the U.S. into some kind mega-Detroit. You can feel free to leave anytime you want, asshole, but I bet that ordinary Black people don’t want any part of that segregationist bullshit.
Beyond Redemption
When we moved from Chicago to north Texas back in 2002, I have to admit to some mixed feelings. On the one hand, there was conservatism, no gun-prohibition laws, non-intrusive state government, no union bullshit, no Communist representation in the U.S. House; and on the other hand: all the above.
But there was this, the dawn view from our apartment in Lakeview:
…and the view to the south (it was a 10th floor corner apartment):
…and let’s not forget the Chicago River (view of my office window, back when I worked downtown):
But time has passed, and now we have shit like this:
Deerfield Sen. Julie Morrison introduced Senate Bill 107 on Wednesday. It would prohibit a range of rifles, pistols and shotguns and require every such weapon in the state to be registered with the Illinois State Police. Owners would pay a $25 fee for that registration. A person found in possession of one of the prohibited weapons without registration could face a Class 3 felony, which carries a prison sentence of up to five years and a $25,000 fine.
In other words, you have to register your “illegal” rifle in order to be grandfathered into “forgiveness” of your “crime” — and in return the state of Illinois would promise, cross its heart, never to come and confiscate said rifle in the future.
Uhhhh, sure.
Now I am glad I left (and tossed my Illinois Firearm Owner ID — the hated FOID card — into the Mississippi River on my way down to Texas) — and not for the first time, either.
I could live with the freezing winters, I could even live with the Commie Bitch In The House (Jan Schakowsky). But as for the rest? Fuck that.
Uneasy Feeling
Well now, this little development gives me the Warm ‘N Fuzzies:
This would allow the IRS to meaningfully link tens of millions of tax returns, billions of information returns, and trillions of bank and credit card transactions, phone records and even social media posts. For example, if a U.S. citizen moves money from a Swiss bank to some other offshore bank, then uses credit or debit cards to spend the money in the U.S., Palantir’s software can link those transactions. It could also flag a person whose tax return shows relatively low annual income but whose social-media posts indicate something entirely different.
As Gummint is so fond of saying:
Me, I feel more like this:
…preparatory to this:
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to the range for a little AK-47 time.