36 thoughts on “Taxes and Taxing Talk”

  1. the guardian:

    … in a debate against his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, Trump memorably answered the charge that he “didn’t pay any federal income tax” by saying: “That makes me smart.”

  2. Trump knew of tax fraud in his business, says prosecutor at NYC trial; Trump Organization blames ‘greedy’ CFO (yahoo.com)

    Donald Trump knew about Trump Organization executives’ tax-dodging schemes, a Manhattan prosecutor told a jury in a closing statement Thursday in the organization’s tax fraud trial.
    “Donald Trump knew exactly what was going on with his top executives,” said Manhattan Assistant DA Joshua Steinglass when he addressed jurors.
    Steinglass’ statement came near the end of the day’s court session. Later, after the jury left the courtroom for the evening, Trump Organization lawyer Alan Futerfas openly complained that Steinglass had invoked Trump himself in his closing argument.

    “I guess you all shouldn’t have opened the door,” Steinglass shot back.

    Steinglass argued that his remarks were appropriate since in their closing statements, defense lawyers said the ex-president knew nothing about the crimes central to the case, which the Trump Organization blames on its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
    Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan took Steinglass’ side. He gave prosecutors the green light to continue discussing what Trump knew of the alleged scheme when their summation resumes Friday.
    The judge noted that defense lawyers were the ones who brought up Trump in the first place, with Trump Corporation lawyer Susan Necheles claiming no one in the Trump family knew about the fraud.
    If Trump’s lawyers could bring up the ex-president’s name, then the prosecution could do so as well, the judge reasoned. “It’s only fair,” Merchan said.
    Earlier in his summation, Steinglass said Trump’s companies “cultivated a culture of fraud and deception” that allowed senior executives to line their pockets with untaxed perks. He said the executives deliberately concealed that income from tax authorities, and scapegoated their accountants when they were caught.
    “It’s not that the folks at the Trump corporation didn’t know what they were doing was illegal,” said Steinglass. “They just didn’t care.”
    [continues]

  3. click here for colbert’s monologue last night on other subjects.

    as to thread topic, here’s more from mojo show yesterday

    A Democratic-led House committee now has access to six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns after a multiyear court fight. Jen Psaki and Jim Messina discuss.

  5. Somebody, or some country, kicked sfb lite upside the head to get his attention.  West, nee ye, posted a swastik and Hebrew symbol together in a twet.  Got himself tossed from twit.  I am sure the billionaire was reminded that his toy would be banned in many European locations real speedy like if he allowed that to happen.  It is hard to get a frwnj site to spread your hate if it is not seen.

  6. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/tech/elon-musk-kanye-west-twitter-suspension/index.html

    On Alex Jones’ (he’s learned nothing and has no remorse) radio show, Ye said he likes OG Adolf, as his dinner partner Fuentes sat there beaming like an idiot. Ye and Fuentes don’t understand that Adolf wouldn’t have liked either of them. How does this fit into their so-called Christian narrative, when Jesus was Jewish? I hope secular Santa brings them a conscience, or at least a mirror.

  7. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/cnn-poll-georgia-senate-runoff-election/index.html

    “In the final undecided Senate contest of 2022, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia holds a narrow lead over Republican challenger Herschel Walker among those likely to vote in a runoff election Tuesday, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS.

    “There is also a wide age gap in the upcoming contest, with voters under 35 sharply behind Warnock (74% to 25%), while those 65 or older break in Walker’s favor by 26 points (63% to 37%). Younger White voters are far more closely divided than older White voters (52% Walker to 48% Warnock among White voters younger than 45, while 75% of White voters age 45 or older say they back Walker). Support for Warnock is about the same among younger and older Black voters.”

    So, old, white, Georgians who identify as Christian won’t vote for a black preacher, but will vote for a tRUMP-lovin’ hypocrite who is hypocrittin’ on the conservative side. Hmmm.

  9. Alex Jones is trying  to use bankruptcy to avoid paying the judgements against him
    Remember when the bankruptcy laws changed I don’t think he is going to be able to use that excuse.
    The best thing would be for God (someone’s god) to strike him dead.  He is an odious little man —
    I should think any Republican would be embarressed to be in the same party with this clown, Marjorie Tayor Green and the Boebarts.
     

  10. “I should think any Republican would be embarressed to be in the same party with this clown, Marjorie Tayor Green and the Boebarts.”

    KGC, but clowning seems to be their brand nowadays and the only way to become a player.  see david horsey cartoon confirming same. 
     

  11. more on MTG

    Michael Steele issues dire warning: ‘Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the most powerful Speaker of the House’ – Raw Story – Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism

    Donald Trump still controls the party, and is likely to win the GOP nomination for president in 2024, but Steele told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the party was fully in the thrall of an increasingly extreme base personified by Greene, was just re-elected to her second term in Congress.
    “The media and others still want to focus on the man and, you know, what he’s trying to do, what he’s trying to say — we’re past that,” Steele said. “I’m now looking at where the party leadership is trying to move itself, and the more telling thing for me was not the dinner that Donald Trump had with [Nick] Fuentes and Kanye [West]. It was the lack of response from political wannabes, who want to be president, the governor of Florida, which I still don’t think he’s put a statement out on that. The leadership of the party, ‘Oh, we don’t like antisemitism,’ without saying that the anti-Semitic former president is the case to be made against, and to draw that very bright line and say this is not who we are, nor is it who we want to be.”
    […]
    “That small fraction of the party still has political, financial and other sway and control over the leadership,” he said. “Marjorie Taylor Greene will be the most powerful Speaker of the House because she will have the opportunity to control what comes out of Kevin’s mouth around the things that matter to that small cadre.”
    Another panelist stopped him and asked whether he thought Greene would actually be the speaker, and said she might as well be.

  12. pogo, looks like a lot of others agree with you on the ruling including george calling it a brutal take down

    A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a judge’s order appointing a special master to review documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort should be dismissed. The Morning Joe panel discusses the ruling.

  13. As I said, McCarthy can be bullied and/or bought.  Democracy is not safe with the GQP seated in Congress.  

  16. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/donald-trump-january-6-rioters-support/index.html

    “Former President Donald Trump expressed support for the rioters behind the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol in a video played during a fundraiser Thursday that was hosted by the Patriot Freedom Project, a group that assists families of those charged in the riot.”

    The ~Patriot Freedom Project~ pffft

    If that isn’t New Speak, what is?

    I suppose the J6ers are banking on a pardon from Orange Adolph, Part Duh, Electric Boogaloo.

  17. I saw that Ian was the second largest insurance loss in US  history , Katrina is still the Queen. 
    The insurance boys are about leave this dance . 

  18. Gem of the week –
    Walker was musing about whether it was better to be a vampire or a werewolf . Obama last night admitted he considered the same question . 
     
    When he was seven. 
     
    The crowd roared. 

  20. So Prince William comes here with his  “Earth Shot Prizes”.
    What does big media  cover ?  Soap Opera, junk news , pictures  of them with a basketball. 
     
    Not one word about the 10 winners of these prizes . 
     

  22. OM – They have covered it; I posted some for you here the other day.  However, the big, wingding is tonight, so there should be more coverage tomorrow.

    And, although you may think it’s silky that they are covering her rented dress, she is making a statement. Fast fashion is a huge polluter, so if she can lead others to rewear what they have (which she does) or rent the runway (which is a growing way to do things), it pushes others with money to throw around to be less wasteful.

    https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a42028062/how-to-watch-2022-earthshot-prize/

    It will air online PBS…

    “On December 5, the Earthshot Prize will be streamable on PBS.org and the PBS app starting at 2 p.m. ET, and the PBS YouTube channel at 8 p.m. ET. It will also be available to watch on The Earthshot Prize YouTube channel.”

  23. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63829126

    “Who are the winners?

    Clean Our Air:
    Mukuru Clean Stoves, Kenya: Kenya’s Mukuru Clean Stoves is a female-founded business with mostly female staff. They produce stoves that are fired by processed biomass made from charcoal, wood and sugarcane instead of solid fuels, which can lead to air pollution and accidents that claim four million lives each year, the Earthshot Prize said.

    Protect and Restore Nature:
    Kheyti, India: In India, Kaushik Kappagantulu’s Greenhouse-in-a-Box helps small-hold farmers protect their crops from extreme weather and pests, in a country that has been severely impacted by climate change.

    Build a Waste-free World:
    Notpla, United Kingdom: A waste-free solution from the UK was also among the winners, where Pierre Paslier and Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez have been able to create natural, bio-degradable plastic made out of seaweed. The company made more than one million takeaway food boxes for the food delivery platform Just Eat this year.

    Revive Our Oceans:
    Australia: The Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia were chosen for a programme that has trained over 60 women in both traditional and digital ocean conservation methods.

    Fix Our Climate:
    44.01, Oman: In Oman, Talal Hasan’s project 44.01 promises to turn carbon dioxide into peridotite, a rock that is found in abundance both in Oman and globally, including the US, Europe and Asia. It offers a low-cost and safe alternative to traditional methods of storing carbon, which include burying it underground in disused oil wells.”

  24. I wonder if Prince William knows what the Biden administration just did in Texas?

    Biden administration quietly approves huge Texas oil export project

    “The Biden administration has approved plans to build the nation’s largest oil export terminal off the Gulf Coast of Texas, which would add 2 million barrels per day to the U.S. oil export capacity.”

    “They keep asking the oil industry to expand its production and build more refineries. And yet they are saying we need to phase out fossil fuels,” Coleman said. “What they’ve said seems contradictory.”

    “The Environmental Protection Agency issued its approval of the project last month — also without a public announcement — prompting Gulf Coast activists to stage a protest in Washington, D.C., that ended in four arrests last week.”

  26. Last month, my gasoline bill was $0 since I no longer have my 5-mile commute. Today, I put in half of a tank; regular was $2.79, but diesel was $4.79. 

  29. About those stoves   …………….
    That problem has been a large field for years . 
    I was following it some years ago. A simple ceramic device that burns anything  hotter, and therefore cleaner , while using less fuel.
    Complete combustion is the goal .  One that is a fiction , but every step in that direction is a win over cooking over cow dung with an open fire. 
    Oddly  these things are all about their shape. Small things really matter in their design. 
    If women are running the show it’s all good , they are breathing the smoke. 
     
    I still a think a small solar oven is the answer  to this problem. 
    No smoke , no search for fuel. 
    No money in this idea.  It’s a hard nut . 

  30. OM – I miss my grandparents and our cold house with no hot water or flush toilet.  I miss our tiny, Christmas tree (really just a twig of Douglas Fir) in an old, Folgers coffee can full of driveway gravel sitting in a desk my grandpa made. 

    It’s not the same, but for the first time in decades, I’m spending Christmas with relatives because I’m no longer chained to the office; I didn’t have kids, so it was assumed I would work the days before and after the holidays, so I didn’t travel home.  

    Now, “home” will be a few hundred miles Southeast of my childhood home, but it will probably be colder and more Christmasy than DFW.  It’s become a time for missing folks, so I also try to remember nice things like the one time of year we had chocolate-covered cherries, and that twig in an old coffee can. 
     

  31. OM – The woman who started working on the stoves did so because of an accident. These are, supposedly, less likely to go boom and cause burns.

    https://time.com/6238403/prince-william-earthshot-prize-winners-2022/

    “Mukuru Clean Stoves is a female-founded business, staffed mostly with women, which aims to bring cleaner-burning stoves to women in Kenya. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, more than 950 million people rely on heavily polluting wood and charcoal for cooking, a number estimated to grow to 1.67 billion by 2050.”

    “The startup was founded in 2017 by Charlot Magayi, who used to sell charcoal for fuel in Mukuru, one of Nairobi’s largest slums, and whose daughter was severely burnt by a charcoal stove, prompting a search for a better solution. According to the company, Mukuru’s stove emits 90% less pollution than cooking over an open fire, and 70% less pollution than using a traditional cookstove. Costing just $10, the stove is fueled by biomass created from charcoal, wood, and sugarcane; fuel expenses are also half that of traditional sources.”

  34. https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/middleeast/iran-climber-home-intl/index.html

    “The family home of Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi has been demolished, according to the pro-reform news outlet IranWire, after she rose to international prominence this fall for competing with her head uncovered.”

    “Footage obtained by CNN from IranWire shows a destroyed structure and medals on the ground.”

    “The video clip also shows Rekabi’s brother, Davood, crying. Davood Rekabi is a sport climber champion himself with ten gold medals to his name, according to IranWire.”

  35. I wonder if FedEx did a background check on their contract driver who abducted and killed a child in Texas this week?  

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