Author: patd

Move over, Joe and Bernie, Rowfl was here first.

Wikipedia among other things of note, tells us that on this 20th day of February there was adopted in 1792 The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department signed by United States President George Washington.

Here’s to the USPS! Happy Birthday!

Former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe, who took over the bureau after President Trump fired James Comey, claims Donald Trump dismissed US intelligence on North Korea because Russian president Vladimir Putin had given him different advice. ‘The president said he did not believe that the North Koreans had the capability to hit us here with ballistic missiles in the United States … because President Putin had told him they did not,’ McCabe told CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday night.

Two months and counting, your yearly burden of supporting the government made twice as hard. First, the turmoil of the transformed form:

US News — The new cosmetic look of the 1040 form belies all the changes within. The redesign squishes what used to be 79 lines of information into just 22, on two half-sheets of paper.

But things did not get streamlined and simplified. All of those missing lines now correspond to six new numbered schedules and several worksheets. And that is in addition to the existing alphabetical schedules (A for itemizing deductions, B for interest and dividends, etc.)
[…]
Phyllis Jo Kubey, an enrolled agent in New York, has basically given up trying to process the changes visually. Her tax software even comes with a “1040 reconciliation worksheet,” which takes everything on this year’s tax form and makes it look like an old 1040.
“It’s easier for me to find things on the old form than to look at six different schedules,” Kubey said.
Kubey is especially concerned for senior citizens, who might be among the last of those who fill out the 1040 by hand.
“Can you imagine if you have been doing taxes every year of your life on paper, and then all the sudden you get this? I’d go nuts,” Kubey said.
For taxpayers who file electronically, the new form might not have that much of an impact. A professional tax preparer will take your information the same as always and deal with the changes for you.
DIY tax software will prompt you for the information needed in a similar manner to previous years, with just a few new questions.
It is when the results are printed out that most people will notice the difference.

Second, the thought of your hard-earned treasure going down the Trump administration hole.

Supporters, protesters prepare for President Trump’s rally in El Paso

Many locals questioned why Trump said the city was once one of the nation’s most dangerous cities, prompting a written response from El Paso’s Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar.
In her penned letter to the White House, Escobar asked the president to apologize to the residents of the city for the comments.
“These distortions about our vibrant community are harmful to our reputation and degrade our spirit,” Escobar wrote. “I urge you to treat this visit as your opportunity not only to correct the record and ensure that the misinformation you stated on the national stage is retracted but also an opportunity to apologize to El Pasoans for the disparagement of our community.”
Escobar is set to join Beto O’Rourke, a former Democratic congressman from Texas, who will join a 1-mile march past the president’s rally and give a speech across the street around the same time Trump plans to take the stage.
Trump’s rally comes just four days before the possibility of another government shutdown.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are also expected to attend.