High Tax Democrat States Looking For Ways To Blunt Tax Law Or Something

By William Teach January 1, 2018 – 7:43 am

Democrats have lots of ideas: none of them really seem to revolve around lowering the tax rate for their citizens, nor anything else that has caused these Blue states, like NJ and NY, to lose residents, leading to a loss of federal Representatives

Democrats in High-Tax States Plot to Blunt Impact of New Tax Law

Democrats in high-cost, high-tax states are plotting ways to do what their states’ representatives in Congress could not: blunt the impact of the newly passed Republican tax overhaul.

Governors and legislative leaders in New York, California and other states are considering legal challenges to elements of the law that they say unfairly single out parts of the country. They are looking at ways of raising revenue that aren’t penalized by the new law. And they are considering changing their state tax codes to allow residents to take advantage of other federal tax breaks — in effect, restoring deductions that the tax law scaled back.

One proposal would replace state income taxes, which are no longer fully deductible under the new law, with payroll taxes on employers, which are deductible. Another idea would be to allow residents to replace their state income tax payments with tax-deductible charitable contributions to their state governments.

That last one is a doozy … and discussed way more in the article … since Democrats have been informed time ad nauseum that they are able to write checks to the IRS, since they love high taxes so much, yet, they don’t. So, that “charitable contribution” would be mandatory.

State leaders are still figuring out their response to the new law, and few have yet endorsed specific proposals. But they are moving quickly. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, recently said he expected to provide a more detailed plan when he presented his state budget in mid-January.

“They want to target us for certain provisions?” Mr. Cuomo asked at a recent news conference. “Well, let’s see if we can redesign our tax code to get out of the federal trap that they set.”

Suddenly, Democrats realize that perhaps Washington having so much darned power is not a good thing. Suddenly, they realize that Los Federales picking winners and losers is not a good thing. But, what they do not seem to realize is that they can, get this, lower their state tax rates. They can do things to reduce the tax burden on citizens, and do things which can reduce the overall cost of living. Lowering the tax rate isn’t even considered in this article. Surprise?

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Niagra Falls Freezes Over: Guess What’s To Blame?

By William Teach December 31, 2017 – 4:51 pm

It’s not the first time Niagra Falls has frozen over: in fact, there’s a picture going all the way back to 1890. And, in all fairness, those who are claiming there hasn’t been any global warming are incorrect. It’s the question of causation. Regardless, this is the garbage we get from the Cult of Climastrology

https://twitter.com/SonnyinScotland/status/947386533723738112

Read More »

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 31, 2017 – 1:00 pm

…is a world covered in water from Other People using hair dryers, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is The H2, with a post on a Happy New Year meme.

Doubleshot below the fold, with a second blog of the day, Proof Positive, with a post on 2018 predictions.

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Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup

By William Teach December 31, 2017 – 8:58 am

Happy Sunday! Another gorgeous day in America. The sun is shining, the geese are honking, and you’d best bundle up for the New Year. This pinup is by Gil Elvgren with a wee bit of help. A bit more risque then normal, but, then, we’re all adults here.

What’s happening in Ye Olde Blogosphere? The Fine 15

  1. The Deplorable Climate Science Blog laughs at Bill Nye proclaiming Blue climate Believer states will put economic sanctions on Red states
  2. 357 Magnum notes that bad guys have learned that Texans are still armed
  3. Bunkerville discusses the classified emails found on Carlos Danger’s laptop
  4. Chicks On The Right covers a crazy HuffPo resolution
  5. Creeping Sharia notes Germany having safe zones to protect women from refugee rapists
  6. Gay Patriot sums up 2017 in one image
  7. GeeeZ covers stories the major media forgot to cover
  8. The Geller Report notes yet another refugee gang rape in Sweden
  9. Moonbattery covers 10 examples of extreme moonbattery in 2017
  10. Neo-neocon notes the gifts that keep on giving: puppies and kittens
  11. Pacific Pundit notes the NY Times changing headlines to be more pro-Iranian regime
  12. Patterico, who knows something about swatting, discusses someone finally being killed by it
  13. Political Clown Parade notes CNN’s cray cray on the White Box Truck
  14. Powerline has the Covfefe year in pictures
  15. And last, but not least, Raised On Hoecakes has the year’s best news bloopers

As always, the full set of pinups can be seen in the Patriotic Pinup category, or over at my Gallery page. While we are on pinups, since it is that time of year, have you gotten your “Pinups for Vets” calendar yet? And don’t forget to check out what I declare to be our War on Women Rule 5 and linky luv posts and things that interest me

Don’t forget to check out all the other great material all the linked blogs have!

Anyone else have a link or hotty-fest going on? Let me know so I can add you to the list.

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NY Times: Trump Shouldn’t Stand Up For The Iranian Protesters

By William Teach December 31, 2017 – 7:38 am

Leave it to the NY Times, as written by Philip Gordon, to recommend that Trump keep quiet on the latest Iranian protests, because 1) the Times has Trump Derangement Syndrome, and 2) because Obama was a complete failure during the Iranian Green Uprising and the Arab Spring, and they don’t want Trump to make Obama look bad.

How Can Trump Help Iran’s Protesters?  Be Quiet.

As anti-government rallies gather momentum across Iran — taking outside analysts and the Iranian government alike by surprise — President Trump and his foreign policy advisers are likely asking what they can do to support the protesters.

Mr. Trump, after all, has said Iran is responsible for nearly all the problems of the Middle East, and accuses the country of spreading “death destruction and chaos all around the globe.” The president would no doubt love to announce that his tough approach has delivered results by undermining the repressive Iranian government, and that his predecessor’s more conciliatory approach failed.

Um, they have been a nation for Bad Things in the Middle East. Roadside bombs traced to Iran. A stated policy of wiping Israel off the map. Backing numerous terrorist groups. Fomenting problems in nations across the ME. Looking to build nuclear weapons, which Obama’s Iran deal will allow in less than a decade. Creating long range missiles to carry those nuclear weapons. The list goes on and on. Oh, and let’s not remember how the Islamist government gets everyone to chant “death to America”.

I, too, want to see the government in Tehran weakened, moderated or even removed. So let me offer Mr. Trump some unsolicited advice: Keep quiet and do nothing.

On Friday night and again on Saturday, Mr. Trump sent out tweets calling on the Iranian government to “respect their people’s rights” and warning that “The world is watching!” That’s more than enough. At this stage, we have little idea what these protests are really about or where they will lead. But we can be fairly certain that high-profile public support from the United States government will do more harm than good.

Obviously, Mr. Gordon keeps going on in this vein, including an attempt to protect Obama’s horrible not good Iran deal, so, let’s switch tracks a bit

(Daily Caller) While his predecessor was hesitant and perhaps overly cautious, President Donald Trump was quick to offer his support to Iranian protesters that are critical of the country’s leadership. (snip)

The ongoing protests are the largest public anti-government outcry in Iran since the 2009 Green Revolution, a response to a prevailing belief that former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had stolen the election. As violence erupted in the streets and authorities cracked down on Iranian citizens, the Obama administration was initially silent on the acts of a hostile Islamic regime. For the first two days, the president failed to respond.

Obama finally chimed in on the 3rd day, giving a tepid, mealy mouthed response

“I think it would be wrong for me to be silent about what we’ve seen on the television over the last few days,” he said, adding, “I would say to those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was. And they should know that the world is watching.”

It is “up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be,” Obama explained.

The former president was, however, careful to avoid stepping on the toes on the Iranian government. “We respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran.”

And it continued to be a tepid response, even as some protesters were asking from Obama and the U.S. to back them. Why? Because Obama wanted his negotiations, with no preconditions, with Iran.

(Weekly Standard) At this point, the evidence is irrefutable: The Obama administration got Iran wrong. So did the international foreign-policy establishment. So did the New York Times and nearly every major center-left media outlet in the United States and Europe.

In 2009, hundreds of thousands of Iranians protested a rigged election and the regime dispatched its thugs to crush the protest by assaulting, imprisoning, and in many cases murdering the protesters. The new president had campaigned on the need to “dialogue” with the regime and wanted to prove his foreign-policy prowess by securing a nuclear deal; so he responded with weak rhetorical criticisms and nothing more. A movement that might have blossomed into a democratic and peaceable Iran was instead crushed for the sake of an agreement—the 2015 nuclear deal—the Iranian government immediately began flouting.

Again, let’s not forget that Team Obama pretty much ignored the Arab Spring which followed the Green Uprising, until Egypt started having problems, and then Team Obama started backing the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamists in Egypt. Team O had no problem throwing an ally under the bus (though Mubarak wasn’t exactly a great person, let’s be clear), but, took a soft stance against the hardcore Iranian leaders.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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Surprise: Heavy Erie Snow Is Totally ‘Climate Change’

By William Teach December 30, 2017 – 2:59 pm

Here we go again, another Warmist missive which links Other People driving fossil fueled vehicles (like to get through massive snow storms, because a Chevy Volt ain’t going nowhere)

MASSIVE ERIE SNOW DUMP FACILITATED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
Snowpocalypse Brings Wild 2017 Weather to a Fitting End

Record-breaking snowfall in Pennsylvania earlier this week turns out to be another symptom of the earth heating up at record-breaking speeds, according to government scientists, while President Donald Trump thinks global warming could help eradicate the current cold snap.

(that tweet from Trump here)

The city of Erie was pummeled with 34 inches of snow on Christmas Day — an all-time daily snowfall record, beating the previous mark of 20 inches that had stood for over 60 years. Another 24.5 inches had fallen by Tuesday night, bringing the total since December 23 to more than 63 inches.

Why did so much snow fall?

Here it comes

“The Erie snow was driven by a lake-effect event,” said Jake Crouch, scientist at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. “It’s been fairly warm there and the lake was not yet frozen.”

Normally, when air this cold arrives, much of Lake Erie is frozen solid, so the cold air would pass across the lake surface without gathering up much moisture. This year, the air drew up moisture from the warmer water — which then fell as masses of snow.

“If the lake had been frozen” — as it usually is at this time of year — “this weather event wouldn’t have occurred,” said Crouch.

Obviously, before you were born and decided to take up the Evil habit of driving a fossil fueled vehicle to work and taking showers longer than 2 minutes, Erie never ever got lake effect snow.

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If All You See…

By William Teach December 30, 2017 – 1:00 pm

…is a world of rising seas and only rich people being able to afford champagne, made super enormous from climate change, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is Moonbattery, with a post on Paul Krugman and pink pussy hats.

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Town Prepares For ‘Climate Change’ By Spending Lots Of Money Doing Nothing

By William Teach December 30, 2017 – 11:20 am

Seventy one Massachusetts communities are taking part in a special state funded Hotcoldwetdry program. Here’s how one taking on this task

(Boston Globe) Weymouth is beginning to plan for climate change, using a state grant to study how the town is vulnerable and what it can do to protect itself.

“Weymouth has a lot to lose from climate change, both environmentally and economically,” Mayor Robert Hedlund said in a press release. “We need new tools and resources to prepare for, and recover from, the extreme weather patterns in our future.”

As a first step, the town will conduct what’s called a “comprehensive vulnerability assessment.”

Notice how the first step is to spend lots of money on studies and stuff, rather than the town giving up its own use of fossil fuels and going carbon neutral.

The next step will be specific proposals both to reduce the town’s risks and to respond to them — a process that will include a public hearing, with a deadline of June 2018.

You know what the outcome will be: the town will declare that it needs more money from the state and Los Federales to begin planning to Do Something. Meanwhile, they’ll all continue to drive around in their fossil fueled vehicles and fossil fueled boats.

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Trump To Dems: There Will Be No Clean DACA Bill

By William Teach December 30, 2017 – 7:26 am

Since Trump ended DACA and threw it over to Congress, which is where it belonged in the first place, rather than a presidential directive, which was extra-Constitutional and temporary, supporters of illegal alien “Dreamers” have been calling for a “clean” bill, meaning they want nothing in the bill other than legalizing, in some fashion, the Dreamers. They do not want border security, interior security, funding for a wall or ICE or the judges necessary to make the determination to deport illegals. Trump put that idea in its grave

(Politico) Democrats seeking a deal to protect so-called Dreamers from deportation must be prepared to agree to a package that includes several White House priorities, including a border wall and reforms to the U.S. immigration system, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Friday morning.

“The Democrats have been told, and fully understand, that there can be no DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border and an END to the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration etc. We must protect our Country at all cost!” Trump tweeted.

So, no “clean” bill. If the Democrats want anything, they’re going to have to compromise

Democrats have said they will not sign on to a bill next month to keep the government funded without a deal to protect Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and in many cases have no relationship to their country of birth.

Are Dems really willing to shut the government down over illegal aliens? If so, Trump should put those Barrycades around things Democrats love.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her Senate counterpart, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), are set to meet next Wednesday with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) at the White House, where the congressional leaders are expected to work on a DACA deal as part of negotiations to avert a government shutdown.

Well, we’ll see where this goes. Expect Trump to take a hard line to get many things related to stopping illegal immigration, and reducing the type of legal immigration that brings people who end up on government assistance, chain migration, no assimilation, people who hate the U.S., terrorists, and so forth.

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Anonymous Sources: Trump Being At Mar-A-Lago Creates Headaches For White House Staffers

By William Teach December 30, 2017 – 7:05 am

Here we go yet again: an article making claims that provides zero in the way of credible sources, meant to be a hit job on Trump. And the media wonders why he won, as they show their obvious bia

Trump’s respite at Mar-a-Lago creates headaches for White House staffers

When President Trump sat down with a reporter for a wide-ranging, 30-minute interview at his private golf club here Thursday, not a single aide or adviser was present at the table — and not a single aide or adviser knew about it in advance.

One would think the media was happy that POTUS would speak with reporters in such a manner, something that hearkens back to days of yore, where the president was a person of the people. If the Washington Post keeps this up, they could find news outlets with less press access.

The interview was enabled by Christopher Ruddy — a club member with a level of personal access to the president in Florida that rankles White House staffers. He invited New York Times reporter Michael Schmidt as his personal guest to lunch at Trump International Golf Club, sat near Trump’s regular table and brought the reporter over to meet the president, who was still in his golf clothes.

As word trickled back to the White House, advisers worked to reach the president, with Trump’s personal aide interrupting at one point to hand him a cellphone with White House communications director Hope Hicks on the line; she checked in on the interview from afar.

But others were out of the loop even after the Times story was posted online Thursday evening. One White House official, when asked about the president’s impromptu interview, was perplexed, wondering aloud, “What interview? Today?” Another frustrated aide called it “embarrassing.”

Did they? Who? What’s embarrassing is running yet another piece with zero named sources that readers can evaluate for credibility.

Mar-a-Lago — Trump’s manicured, gilded oceanfront retreat here — is the president’s “Winter White House,” the villa to which he escapes for rounds of golf and family time. But, to the chagrin of many aides, Mar-a-Lago also is the place where Trump is often his most unrestrained and unfettered, making it harder for his West Wing staffers to control his daily media diet and personal contacts as they now try to do in Washington.

What aides? Name them.

White House officials said they appreciate that time at Mar-a-Lago is a respite for Trump; it is a familiar and comfortable haven for him to recharge while surrounded by his family and friends. The president often gets less riled by the sorts of stray comments on cable news that, back in Washington, might prompt an angry tweet or rejoinder, one aide said. Mar-a-Lago is not necessarily a panacea for angry tweets — Trump has fired off a few agitated messages since arriving in Florida.

There’s not one named source in this hit piece. The only people mentioned are those few, like Roger Stone, who say things like

“Nobody tells Donald Trump where he can and cannot go,” Stone said. “The president is able to get a lot of information that is normally blocked from getting to him. . . . You don’t have the minders. There is no doubt that he makes more calls.”

And, like the few other names, they do not say aides are frustrated and stuff. How do we trust pieces like this? We don’t. There’s the old meme “pics or it didn’t happen.” Well, names or it didn’t happen.

Crossed at Right Wing News.

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