December 21, 2017

Pentagon confirms U.S. ground operations in Yemen

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time "multiple ground operations" in Yemen, while noting that the Islamic State has doubled in size in the war-torn country, where an insurgency by Houthi rebels has allowed terrorist groups to seek haven.

"U.S. forces have conducted multiple ground operations and more than 120 strikes in 2017," said a statement from the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida.

The goal is to "disrupt the ability of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS-Yemen to use ungoverned spaces in Yemen as a hub for terrorist recruiting, training and base of operations to export terror worldwide."

Before Wednesday's statement, the extent of the U.S. counterterrorism operations in Yemen was unknown under the Trump administration, with only sporadic acknowledgement of U.S. military operations there. Unlike the campaign in Syria and Iraq against the Islamic State, the Defense Department did not provide regular updates on either air or ground operations in Yemen.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/pentagon-confirms-u-s-ground-operations-yemen-n831616

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Gee, lets get another war going in the Middle East.

December 20, 2017

The G.O.P. Tax Bill Is Unworkable

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-gop-tax-bill-is-unworkable?mbid=nl_Daily%20121917%20Nonsubs&CNDID=27161810&spMailingID=12596533&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODIwMTg3S0&spJobID=1301807259&spReportId=MTMwMTgwNzI1OQS2

With the House of Representatives set to pass the final version of the Republican tax bill on Tuesday, and a vote in the Senate expected later in the week, here is a prediction: no matter which party controls Congress after next year’s midterms, lawmakers will eventually be forced to revise this tax bill substantially. This legislation simply isn’t workable in the long run. Unless it is fixed, it could end up crippling the tax system.

<snip>

What isn’t yet fully appreciated is how porous and potentially unstable the rest of the tax code will be after the bill is passed. With a corporate rate of just twenty per cent, and a big new break for proprietors of unincorporated businesses and certain types of partnerships, the new code will contain enormous incentives for tax-driven restructurings, creative accounting, and outright fraud. Every tax adviser and scammer in the country will be looking for ways to reclassify regular salary income as favored types of business income. For tax accountants, the first step will be to see how many of their well-to-do clients could feasibly convert themselves into corporations. “Taxpayers will be able to shield their labor income from tax by simply setting up a corporation and having their income accrue in the form of corporate profits. .?.?. Income that would have been taxed at the high individual rates is instead taxed at the low corporate rate,” an updated report from a group of tax experts at New York University, the University of Chicago, and other places noted on Monday. Investment income is also taxed at the lower rate. “There is really no downside to this game,” the report said.

<snip>

In many instances, this sort of reorganization would be perfectly legal. In other cases, in which the rules are ambiguous, the I.R.S. would doubtless try to crack down. But the I.R.S. is reeling after years of budget restrictions—it has lost about a fifth of its workforce since 2010—and the scale of the problems introduced by this new tax bill could very quickly overwhelm the tax agency. The shortfall in tax revenues could be enormous.

Perhaps that is what Republicans want to happen. Undoubtedly, there are some in the Party who would like to see the tax base decimated, the I.R.S. crippled, and the federal government forced to slash spending on domestic programs, particularly entitlement programs. But, for anybody who believes in a properly functioning government, a rational, clearly defined tax system is essential. The Republican reform doesn’t meet that standard. In the words of the report, the “haphazard lines” that the legislation creates are “fundamentally unfair and inefficient,” and, taken as a whole, it represents “a substantial blow to the basic integrity of the income tax.” It won’t survive in its current form.

December 18, 2017

Confounds the Science - (Parody of) Sound of Silence

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Found at: https://parodyproject.com/

December 16, 2017

Santa's sleigh is pulled by female reindeer!

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https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/feminism/2017/12/science-proves-santa-s-sleigh-pulled-team-strong-powerful-underrated-women

Science proves Santa’s sleigh is pulled by a team of strong, powerful, underrated women

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen; Comet, and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen – but do you know that these most famous reindeer might actually be females?

Reindeer, sometimes called caribou, are a species of large deer that sport antlers – regardless of gender (unlike other deer species). According to the San Diego Zoo, male reindeer shed their antlers in early winter, while females won’t shed theirs until later in the spring after they give birth to calves.

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MALE REINDEER LOSE THEIR ANTLERS IN WINTER AND FEMALES DON'T THEREFORE SANTA'S SLEIGH IS ACTUALLY PULLED BY A TEAM OF STRONG, POWERFUL, UNDERRATED WOMEN!!!!! YOU GO, GIRLS!! I SEE YOU!!!

December 1, 2017

How The Federal Reserve Could Rain On Trumps Tax Cut Parade

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON ― Republicans say their tax overhaul bill will juice the economy, and most economists agree that cutting corporate taxes could boost growth, at least in the short term.

But one reason the boost won’t be as strong as Republicans might like is that the Federal Reserve would be expected to move to keep that growth in check.

<snip>

“If the tax cuts are deficit financed, that is going to juice the economy and it will overheat, significantly raising the odds of a recession early in the next decade,” Zandi told HuffPost.

<snip>

The Fed has a dual mandate to maximize employment and keep the rate of price growth stable, pursuing the latter goal by targeting a 2 percent inflation rate. If inflation show signs of exceeding the 2 percent threshold, the Fed could hit the brakes by raising an influential interest rate. An increase in the benchmark federal funds rate ― the rate banks charge one another for overnight lending ― would dampen economic growth by raising the cost of credit throughout the economy.

Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-federal-reserve-offset-tax-cuts_us_5a2076cae4b03350e0b55f99?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

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So just about any way you look at it there is no way that they will get the economic growth they are prattling on about.

Our country that has existed for 240 years is no more.