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Thursday, February 18, 2010
ROGUE AMERICAN EDITORIALIST AND FORMER FBI ASSET http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_%28intelligence%29 REIGNED IN BY THE FEDS! PERSECUTORS SEEK TO TRY HIM UNTIL CONVICTION GAINED, NOT UNLIKE GOTTI JR.! SO MUCH FOR THE FIRST AMMENDMENT AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH!
Prosecutors ask to exclude ties to FBI in retrial of N.J. blogger accused of threatening judges
Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to ban right-wing blogger Hal Turner from revealing to a jury he was an FBI informant in a retrial for allegedly threatening three federal judges in Chicago, a report in NorthJersey.com said.
Prosecutors said allowing argument about his status as an informant would just distract the jury, but his defense said he was trained to make statements similar to the ones charged as a threat in the case, according to the report. A judge declared a mistrial last December in the case against the New Jersey blogger. Prosecutors had argued that Turner knew his Internet tirade, which insisted the judges "deserved to be killed," could provoke violence by members of his radical audience. The defense likened Turner to a "shock jock" and argued he was expressing an opinion protected by the First Amendment.
Prosecutors said allowing argument about his status as an informant would just distract the jury, but his defense said he was trained to make statements similar to the ones charged as a threat in the case, according to the report. A judge declared a mistrial last December in the case against the New Jersey blogger. Prosecutors had argued that Turner knew his Internet tirade, which insisted the judges "deserved to be killed," could provoke violence by members of his radical audience. The defense likened Turner to a "shock jock" and argued he was expressing an opinion protected by the First Amendment.
• Mistrial declared for N.J. blogger accused of threatening judges
• Jury hears closing arguments in case of N.J. blogger accused of threatening judges
• Lawyer for North Bergen blogger says client was trained by FBI to incite others
• N.J. website publisher is arrested in threatening to assault three federal judges
• Jury hears closing arguments in case of N.J. blogger accused of threatening judges
• Lawyer for North Bergen blogger says client was trained by FBI to incite others
• N.J. website publisher is arrested in threatening to assault three federal judges
Prosecutors want to bar North Bergen shock jock Hal Turner's role as informant in new trial
Federal prosecutors are seeking to bar ultra-right wing shock jock Hal Turner from revealing his longtime role as a FBI informant to a jury when he is retried next month for allegedly threatening three appeals court judges from Chicago.
Prosecutors want U.S. District Judge Donald Walter to preclude Turner’s lawyers from referring to his background as a confidential source for the FBI unless they plan to present evidence, which they contend “can only come from the testimony of the defendant himself.”
Otherwise, they say in motion papers, “allowing argument or questioning of the government’s witnesses about [Turner’s] status as an informant is nothing but an irrelevant sideshow designed to distract and confuse the jury.”
The North Bergen resident’s first trial ended in a mistrial Dec. 7 after the jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked.
Walter set March 1 as a new trial date for Turner, who faces a single count of unlawfully threatening three Chicago-based federal appeals judges after writing on his blog last June that they “deserved to be killed” for upholding a gun control ordinance.
Before the first trial, the government filed a similar motion arguing there was no evidence in Turner’s FBI file to support his “oft-repeated allegation that he had been ‘schooled’ by the FBI … to make statements similar to the one charged as a threat in this case, and that there were no FBI personnel who could or would testify that defendant was ever authorized to threaten any public official, let alone to do so on June 2 and June 3, 2009, two years after he had been terminated as an informant.”
Walter reserved decision before the first trial got underway in Brooklyn and Turner’s lawyers later argued he was a highly-regarded source who was entrusted to gather information on white supremacist movements at home and abroad, and was not guilty because the FBI taught him what he could and could not say.
When the government attempted to present evidence to rebut the defense’s claims, the judge ruled such evidence was inadmissible because Turner presented no evidence that he was trained to threaten public figures, prosecutors said in court papers.
The Record reported in November that Turner, 47, was recruited by FBI counter-terrorism agents in 2003 and paid thousands of dollars to travel to rallies, conferences and other meetings of the Aryan Nation, the National Alliance, and other ultra-right-wing groups. In 2005, Turner went to Brazil and reported on a possible $1 million donation by white supremacists there to their American counterparts.
The FBI ended its covert relationship with Turner in mid 2007 citing an inability to control what he said on the air or wrote on his blog, FBI records show. But, records show, Turner continued to supply tips and other information to the FBI and other agencies until only weeks before his arrest last June.
E-mail: sampson@northjersey.com
Otherwise, they say in motion papers, “allowing argument or questioning of the government’s witnesses about [Turner’s] status as an informant is nothing but an irrelevant sideshow designed to distract and confuse the jury.”
The North Bergen resident’s first trial ended in a mistrial Dec. 7 after the jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked.
Walter set March 1 as a new trial date for Turner, who faces a single count of unlawfully threatening three Chicago-based federal appeals judges after writing on his blog last June that they “deserved to be killed” for upholding a gun control ordinance.
Before the first trial, the government filed a similar motion arguing there was no evidence in Turner’s FBI file to support his “oft-repeated allegation that he had been ‘schooled’ by the FBI … to make statements similar to the one charged as a threat in this case, and that there were no FBI personnel who could or would testify that defendant was ever authorized to threaten any public official, let alone to do so on June 2 and June 3, 2009, two years after he had been terminated as an informant.”
Walter reserved decision before the first trial got underway in Brooklyn and Turner’s lawyers later argued he was a highly-regarded source who was entrusted to gather information on white supremacist movements at home and abroad, and was not guilty because the FBI taught him what he could and could not say.
When the government attempted to present evidence to rebut the defense’s claims, the judge ruled such evidence was inadmissible because Turner presented no evidence that he was trained to threaten public figures, prosecutors said in court papers.
The Record reported in November that Turner, 47, was recruited by FBI counter-terrorism agents in 2003 and paid thousands of dollars to travel to rallies, conferences and other meetings of the Aryan Nation, the National Alliance, and other ultra-right-wing groups. In 2005, Turner went to Brazil and reported on a possible $1 million donation by white supremacists there to their American counterparts.
The FBI ended its covert relationship with Turner in mid 2007 citing an inability to control what he said on the air or wrote on his blog, FBI records show. But, records show, Turner continued to supply tips and other information to the FBI and other agencies until only weeks before his arrest last June.
E-mail: sampson@northjersey.com
These Pricks Control The Oil Supply! Hey Baby! Who's Behind Those Foster Grant Burqas?
0 comments at 10:40 PM
Arab Envoy Finds Wife-to-Be Bearded behind Veil-Was Jewish Too!
DUBAI (AFP) – An Arab ambassador called off his wedding after discovering his wife-to-be, who had worn a face-covering veil whenever they met, was bearded and cross-eyed, the Gulf News reported Wednesday.
The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab, or face-covering veil, the paper said.
After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be, upon which he discovered she had facial hair and was cross-eyed, it said.
The ambassador told an Islamic Sharia court in the United Arab Emirates that he was tricked into the marriage as the woman's mother had shown his own mother pictures of her sister instead of her, the report said.
He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him 500,000 dirhams (136,000 dollars) for clothes, jewelry and other gifts he had bought for her.
The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador's demand for compensation.
The report did not identify the ambassador nor give any further details.
The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab, or face-covering veil, the paper said.
After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be, upon which he discovered she had facial hair and was cross-eyed, it said.
The ambassador told an Islamic Sharia court in the United Arab Emirates that he was tricked into the marriage as the woman's mother had shown his own mother pictures of her sister instead of her, the report said.
He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him 500,000 dirhams (136,000 dollars) for clothes, jewelry and other gifts he had bought for her.
The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador's demand for compensation.
The report did not identify the ambassador nor give any further details.
A top Italian food writer has been suspended indefinitely from the country’s version of the television programme Ready Steady Cook for recommending stewed cat to viewers as a “succulent dish”.
RAI, the public broadcasting network, said that it had dropped Beppe Bigazzi, 77, for offering the recipe on La Prova del Cuoco, which is broadcast at midday on the main channel. Its switchboard was inundated with complaints from viewers and animal rights groups. Bigazzi said that casserole of cat was a famous dish in his home region of Valdarno, Tuscany.
“I’ve eaten it myself and it’s a lot better than many other animals,” he told viewers. “Better than chicken, rabbit or pigeon.” He said that for optimum flavour the meat should be “soaked in spring water for three days” before being stewed.
Elisa Isoardi, the programme’s presenter — who has a cat called Othello — tried to steer Bigazzi off the subject. Reports said that during the commercial break she and the show’s producers tried to persuade him to apologise to viewers but he refused.
RAI, the public broadcasting network, said that it had dropped Beppe Bigazzi, 77, for offering the recipe on La Prova del Cuoco, which is broadcast at midday on the main channel. Its switchboard was inundated with complaints from viewers and animal rights groups. Bigazzi said that casserole of cat was a famous dish in his home region of Valdarno, Tuscany.
“I’ve eaten it myself and it’s a lot better than many other animals,” he told viewers. “Better than chicken, rabbit or pigeon.” He said that for optimum flavour the meat should be “soaked in spring water for three days” before being stewed.
Elisa Isoardi, the programme’s presenter — who has a cat called Othello — tried to steer Bigazzi off the subject. Reports said that during the commercial break she and the show’s producers tried to persuade him to apologise to viewers but he refused.
Carla Rocchi, the head of ENPA, the Italian society for the protection of animals, said that killing cats was illegal. Francesca Martini, the Deputy Health Minister, said it was “absolutely unheard of for a public service broadcaster to tell people how delicious cats are to eat”. She called for the producers to be investigated for criminal offences involving incitement to mistreat animals.
Bigazzi, a consumer affairs journalist and author of Cooking with Common Sense, has been one of the stars of La Prova del Cuoco for the past ten years. He is noted for his exuberant style and previously caused uproar by boiling lobsters live on the show. Yesterday he said that he had only been joking about the recipe, and he had been misunderstood.
He added: “Mind you, I wasn’t joking all that much. In the 1930s and 1940s, when I was a boy, people certainly did eat cat
in the countryside around Arezzo.” Food historians said that Italians in cities such as Vicenza devised cat recipes in times of economic hardship. Inhabitants of Vicenza are still nicknamed magnagati (cat eaters), and in some butchers’ shops rabbits are sold with their heads to assure buyers that they are not cats.
From pet to pot
• In his 1529 treatise on cookery, Ruperto de Nola recommended spit-roasting cat basted with garlic and olive oil. He wrote: “Take the garlic with oil mixed with good broth so that it is coarse, and pour it over the cat and you can eat it for it is a good dish”
• The Spanish expression pasar gato por liebre derives from the practice of hunters trying to sell skinned cats as hares. When butchered, the animals are supposed to look almost identical
• In 2007 Australians at a cooking contest in Alice Springs sought to curb the feral cat population by using them in a dish. One judge found the cat casserole so tough that she had to spit it out
• Last month legal experts in China responded to pressure from the country’s middle class and proposed a ban on eating cat and dog meat. Both are traditional Chinese dishes but if the law is passed people caught eating cats could face 15 days in prison
Sources: agencies, florilegium.org, statemaster.com
Bigazzi, a consumer affairs journalist and author of Cooking with Common Sense, has been one of the stars of La Prova del Cuoco for the past ten years. He is noted for his exuberant style and previously caused uproar by boiling lobsters live on the show. Yesterday he said that he had only been joking about the recipe, and he had been misunderstood.
He added: “Mind you, I wasn’t joking all that much. In the 1930s and 1940s, when I was a boy, people certainly did eat cat
in the countryside around Arezzo.” Food historians said that Italians in cities such as Vicenza devised cat recipes in times of economic hardship. Inhabitants of Vicenza are still nicknamed magnagati (cat eaters), and in some butchers’ shops rabbits are sold with their heads to assure buyers that they are not cats.
From pet to pot
• In his 1529 treatise on cookery, Ruperto de Nola recommended spit-roasting cat basted with garlic and olive oil. He wrote: “Take the garlic with oil mixed with good broth so that it is coarse, and pour it over the cat and you can eat it for it is a good dish”
• The Spanish expression pasar gato por liebre derives from the practice of hunters trying to sell skinned cats as hares. When butchered, the animals are supposed to look almost identical
• In 2007 Australians at a cooking contest in Alice Springs sought to curb the feral cat population by using them in a dish. One judge found the cat casserole so tough that she had to spit it out
• Last month legal experts in China responded to pressure from the country’s middle class and proposed a ban on eating cat and dog meat. Both are traditional Chinese dishes but if the law is passed people caught eating cats could face 15 days in prison
Sources: agencies, florilegium.org, statemaster.com
We'll All Be Psycho Tax Protestors When We Start Paying Back The Trillions Borrowed For Wars Based On Lies!
0 comments at 9:26 PM
CONGRESS AT THE MERCY OF THEIR CORPORATE MASTERS WHO FUND THEIR REELECTION CAMPAIGNS HAS BORROWED HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO SPEND ON "PROGRAMS" TO BAILOUT THE SUPER RICH AND TO FIGHT WARS BASED ON LIES TO THE FINANCIAL BENEFIT OF THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX. WAR4OIL CONTINUES AS THE HAWKS RAMP UP THEIR RHETORIC ABOUT NUKING IRAN. IRAN IS A SIGNATORY TO THE NUCLEAR NON PROLIFERATION TREATY AND ISRAEL IS NOT! IRAN IS IAEA COMPLIANT, ISRAEL IS NOT. IF YOU WANT $600 A BARREL OIL THEN SUPPORT AN ATTACK ON IRAN!
THE BILL HAS COME DUE FOR THE DEBT INCURRED BY CONGRESS, 80% OF WHICH IS THE RESPONSIBILTY OF REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED CONGRESSES. DEITY REAGAN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FIRST TRILLION DOLLAR DEBT THIS COUNTRY INCURRED AND BY THE TIME THE GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS THROUGH, THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION HAD SO DAMAGED THE ECONOMY, THAT THE COUNTRY IS STILL SHEDDING JOBS 14 MONTHS AFTER HE LEFT OFFICE. HANNITY AND LIMBAUGH WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE IT'S ALL OBAMA'S FAULT AND THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS, HOWEVER WE WERE LIED TO ABOUT 911, LIED TO ABOUT THE REASON FOR WAR WITH IRAQ AND LIED TO ABOUT THE FISCAL INSANITY OF AN UN-REGULATED WALL STREET AND BANKING SYSTEM THAT HAS PUSHED THIS COUNTRY TO THE BRINK OF ECONOMIC RUIN!
WHEN HARDWORKING, TAXPAYING CITIZENS ARE FORCED TO START REPAYING THIS BORROWED MONEY, [THERE IS NO RECOURSE OR ALTERNATIVE], AMERICANS, WILL BE TAXED AT HIGHER RATES THAN THE HIGHEST TAX STATES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION! THAT IS THE LEGACY OF HAVING OUR POLITICIANS AT THE MERCY OF THE RICH, AT THE CONTROL OF THE CORPORATIONS AND ALL THE MILITARY CONTRACTOR PARASITES WHO FEED OFF THE GOVERMENT TIT! IT WILL TAKE GENERATIONS TO PAY THIS MONEY BACK AND THE INTEREST PAID TO THE BANKERS WHO FINANCED THIS DEBT IS STAGGERING. THE COUNTRY IS INSOLVENT BUT THE CONGRESS BORROWS MORE, JUST TO PAY THE INTEREST ON THE DEBT! THIS PSYCHO TAXPAYER DIED BECAUSE HE WAS AN INDENTURED SERVANT OF THE IRS AND THE BANKERS WHO FUNDED THIS MASSIVE DEBT THAT WE MUST PAY BACK! THE REPUBLICANS HAVE TWO MANTRA'S;
1-PRO-LIFE
2-TAXCUTS
HOW THE F*** ARE YOU GOING TO CUT TAXES WHEN THE COUNTRY OWES-TRILLIONS?!
THESE PARTISAN BASTARDS IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OFFER NO NEW IDEAS OR SOLUTIONS AND SEEK ONLY TO DEMONIZE DEMOCRATS AND LOOK FOR DIRT TO SMEAR THEM WITH SCANDAL. THE CONGRESS IS IN GRIDLOCK BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS ARE SELL OUTS TO THE MONEYED INTERESTS AND THE IDEALOGUES IN THEIR HOME STATES.
PUT SUCCINCTLY, WE ARE F****D!
If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?” The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.
While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.
Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.
And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!
And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!
How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.
How did I get here?
My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.
The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.
That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.
Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.
My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.
The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.
That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.
Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.
On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age.
The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.
The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.
In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.
Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer... and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.
For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report
(http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).
SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.
(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.
Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.
(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.
Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.
During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.
After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.
Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.
Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.
Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.
By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.
To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.
So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.
When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.
This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.
When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.
This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.
I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.
As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.
I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.
I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.
I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.
The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_%28United_States%29
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_%28United_States%29
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