Tag: taxes

Even Hateful Protests Are Protected, Free Speech Group Reminds Congress

If you know the history of Israel, that the country was created after one-third of the world’s Jewish population was murdered by Nazis (it has yet to fully recover), it’s difficult to stomach protesters who often slip from supporting the Palestinian cause to gloating over Hamas’s terrorism and the prospect of destroying the Jewish state. There’s not a lot of good will in projecting “Glory to Our Martyrs” on buildings or chanting “from the river to the sea“—let alone explicit endorsements of the attack.

But even assholes have speech rights. That’s because all individuals have rights, however they use them, and because free expression only works if it’s available to everybody, not reserved as privilege for the “right” ideas. And, importantly, respecting free speech lets people show us who they are.

Unfortunately, political officials’ natural distaste for dissent can combine with honest revulsion at despicable sentiments to produce a reaction that would violate the right to free expression.

“Today, Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17) announced that the House passed two amendments he put forward to the House’s appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) to combat antisemitism on college campuses,” the New York Republican announced November 15. “His second LHHS amendment, rescinding federal funding for college campuses that give a platform to antisemitism hate, was adopted with broad, bipartisan support.”

One reaction to this is that the federal government shouldn’t be funding colleges to begin with. I agree. But so long as it is handing out cash, those funds shouldn’t be used to bypass legal protections for individual rights. And no, just deciding to reject federal money might not be enough; Hillsdale College did that to escape federal regulation and now faces efforts to subject the school to control just because it has tax-exempt status enjoyed by many institutions.

The only way to keep authoritarians from getting a foot in the door is to defend liberty as a principle.

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‘I’m sorry dude… I had to do that’: Horrifying moment cop shoots dead family’s beloved dog before grabbing it by the collar and tossing it on lawn

A New Mexico woman and her family have reached a settlement with the City of Texico after their beloved family dog Pepper was shot dead by the city’s police chief.

Beverly Bentley was at work on November 10, 2021, when Police Chief Douglas Bowman, a 16-year veteran of the force, paid her a visit to tell her that he shot her dog.

‘He said something about shooting my dog, and it took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about because he said he was being aggressive,’ Bentley said. ‘That dog is the least aggressive dog I have ever owned!’

The grim execution was caught on Ring video, where Bowman stood some distance away on the lawn, staring at the dog as it barked from the porch.

The officer glanced over his shoulder in both directions before pulling out his pistol and firing. Afterwards, he walked onto the porch and stood over Pepper’s body.

‘I’m sorry dude, but I had to do that,’ Bowman said.

Grabbing Pepper by the collar, he dragged the dog onto the lawn before retrieving a hose from the property and washing away its blood.

After seeing the footage of the incident, Bowman filed an incident report, writing that a man called the station saying ‘there is a damn dog that almost bit me.’

He arrived on the scene and saw Pepper, who matched the victim’s description, and said the dog began ‘barking and snarling.’

‘The victim then came up to me and told me that was the dog and that it had almost bit him and he was afraid the dog might bite someone else if something wasn’t done about him,’ Bowman wrote.

Pepper took off and Bowman trailed the dog to the home.

As Pepper allegedly continued to bark and snarl, Bowman wrote: ‘At this point, I did not want the dog to run away again and bite or harm someone. I made the decision to shoot the dog for my safety and the safety of anyone else in the community.’

Bentley insists that her beloved dog was not aggressive. 

‘That dog got me through a lot of hard times, and then all of a sudden, he was taken away,’ she said. ‘My mother was bedridden, and she would put her hand down, and he would let her pet him.’

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Biden Admin Pledges Billions to Address Climate Change, Promote ‘Gender Equity’ Overseas

The Biden administration said it is going to spend $3 billion to help less developed economies address the impact of climate change, including more than $400 million to advance “gender equity” in those countries.

The announcement comes as Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking on Saturday at the United Nations’ annual climate summit in Dubai, urged rich countries to “do more” to keep pace with an agenda of preventing the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“The U.S. is committed to expanding international climate finance,” the vice president said. “I am proud to announce a new $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries access capital to invest in resilience, clean energy, and nature-based solutions.”

The Green Climate Fund was created by the United Nations in 2010 with a goal to finance developing countries’ transition away from burning fossil fuels and building infrastructure to adapt to climate change. About 65 percent of the Fund’s current $13.5 portfolio comes from the public sector.

In 2014, the administration of former President Barack Obama pledged to put $3 billion into the Fund. Citing the unfair economic burden imposed on American taxpayers by climate goals dictated by the Paris Climate Agreement, President Donald Trump in 2017 ceased the implementation of several Obama-era commitments and, as a result, withheld the remaining $2 billion of the $3 billion pledge.

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New York Lawmakers Send Governor Bill To Allow Hemp Seeds In Food For Pets, Horses And Llamas

The New York legislature has sent a pair of bills to the governor that would allow hemp seeds to be included in animal feed for pets, horses and camelids such as llamas and alpacas.

About five months after the Assembly and Senate passed the legislation from Assemblymember Donna Lupardo (D) and Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D), the identical versions from each chamber were transmitted to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Wednesday.

The measures specify that industrial hemp seed that could be added to certain animal feed includes seed hulls and seed meal. Supporters say that the cannabis products could be a nutritious additive that’s high in protein and fiber.

“Industrial hemp produces a wide range of useful materials, including building materials, fibers that can be woven into clothing, chaff for animal bedding, and seeds that are available on grocery store shelves in items [like] granola, snack bars, and cookies,” a justification memo attached to the legislation says. “Industrial hemp is federally approved for each of these uses.”

“Only the seeds of the industrial hemp plant, including shell casings and seed meal resulting from processing hemp hearts for human consumption, would be authorized for use in animal feed,” it continues. “Studies indicate that industrial hemp seed provides a high protein, high fiber ingredient for animal consumption.”

The legislation, which is similar to measures that have been enacted in Montana and Pennsylvania, is backed by the National Hemp Association.

“Protecting industrial hemp production in New York will encourage greater production and research into the myriad uses of this plant, including as a renewable building material,” the text says. “It will also open the door for small, New York-based animal food processors to establish this marketplace before hemp seeds are authorized far use in commercial feed nationally.”

A fiscal note says that the legislation could ultimately increase tax revenue for the state because of “increased sales of New York hemp seed product and commercial feed.”

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Washington State Republican Party Files Formal Ethics Complaint Against WA Secretary of State Hobbs for Using Public Funds to Surveil and Censor Political Opposition

Today the Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) filed a formal ethics complaint with the Washington State Ethics Board against Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. A big thank you to WSRP Chairman Jim Walsh for initiating the complaint and attorney K. Garl Long, Long Law office, for writing and filing the complaint.

After the complaint was filed the WSRP issued a press release here.

Full Complaint, Exhibits, and Footnotes here:

Summary of Complaint: Secretary of State Hobbs (“Secretary Hobbs”) is using public funds to pay an offshore artificial intelligence company to surveil voters. Speech objectionable to Secretary Hobbs is “fact-checked,” reported as a “threat,” and suppressed. It is unethical and illegal to use public funds to aid Secretary Hobbs and/or his political party in suppressing opposition views. Such government censorship is a spreading cancer in our society.1

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Republicans accuse Biden of having ‘no shame’ as he cancels student debt for 813,000 people in ‘re-election ploy’ that will force taxpayers to saddle billions of dollars extra

The leading Republican opponent of student loan forgiveness on Wednesday slammed President Joe Biden‘s plan to cancel student debt for 813,000 people as a clear effort to buy his way to reelection next year.

Hundreds of thousands of former students will receive emails from the president in the coming days telling them that their debt has been forgiven.

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy posted the president’s message on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, including a request for beneficiaries to share the good news. 

‘Couldn’t make it any clearer that Biden’s ploy to force taxpayers who didn’t go to college to saddle hundreds of billions of someone else’s student debt is a ploy to gain political support for his reelection,’  wrote.

‘No shame.’

Biden’s move means he has forgiven a total of $127 billion for 3.5 million borrowers, despite the fact that his plan to cancel $400 billion in debt was rejected by the Supreme Court in June.

Aides and supporters see it as nothing but good news, with their social media feeds filling with details. 

Even Republicans who complained that it meant ordinary taxpayers were footing the bill kept largely quiet after the latest announcement. 

The email – making clear that the help has come from Biden – read: ‘Congratulations — your student loan has been forgiven because of actions my administration took to make sure you receive the relief you earned and deserve.’ 

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US Spends Billions On Overseas Wars, But Who Really Benefits?

Fears over incentivizing global conflicts are rising as the Biden administration requests more than $105 billion in supplemental security spending.

The administration says the money, primarily for Israel and Ukraine, will be good for the economy.

President Joe Biden has described the mammoth spending package as “a smart investment” that will “pay dividends” to U.S. security interests.

Likewise, Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien described the supplemental as “a very good bargain.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the money will “flow through our defense industrial base, creating American jobs in more than 30 states.”

Many are skeptical of the administration’s claims, however, and believe that the massive investment in the defense industry will squander the nation’s ability to adequately address social and infrastructure needs.

Presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy Jr. is among them.

“Creating jobs is a poor excuse for a foreign policy that wreaks mayhem around the world,” Mr. Kennedy told The Epoch Times in an email.

“If we want to increase employment in good manufacturing and construction jobs, instead of making weapons we should repair our infrastructure and manufacture products that actually serve human well-being.”

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NYPD PAID OUT $30 MILLION IN MISCONDUCT CASES BEFORE LITIGATION IN FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2023

THE NEW YORK Police Department has been making headlines for the huge settlements paid out by the city in misconduct cases. In the first half of 2023, New York City paid more than $50 million in lawsuits alleging misconduct by members of the NYPD. 

That figure is on track to exceed $100 million by the end of the year — but even that total doesn’t capture how much the city has to spend in cases where its cops are accused of everything from causing car accidents to beating innocent people.

The $100 million figure does not include lawsuits settled by the city prior to litigation, which reached $30 million in the first nine months of this year, according to data obtained from the office of the New York City Comptroller through a public records request. Pre-litigation settlements from July 2022 through September of this year totaled $50 million — meaning the city’s payouts in such suits since July 2022, including those settled after litigation, rose to a total of around $280 million.

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Internal Docs Show Biden Admin Waived Taxpayer Safeguards to Boost Offshore Wind Project

The Biden administration quietly granted a request from an energy firm developing an offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts to waive development fees designed to safeguard taxpayers, according to internal documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind that it had waived a financial assurance for decommissioning costs fee in a June 15, 2021, letter obtained by watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT). Federal statute mandates that developers pay that fee prior to construction on their lease, a potentially hefty fee designed to guarantee federal property is returned to its original state after a lessee departs its lease.

“At the same time the Department of the Interior was looking at forcing greater and more expensive bonding requirements on holders of long-standing oil and gas leases, they were relaxing these requirements on the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind energy producer, one that just coincidentally happened to be a client of their incoming #2,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain told Fox News Digital.

“If you want to talk about bad optics, I don’t see how they could be any worse than right here,” he said. “For an administration touting itself as the most ethical in history, this represents yet another incident in which Secretary Haaland’s Interior appears to have a tough time living up to that standard.”

Chamberlain noted that former Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beadreau, the second-highest ranked official at the Department of the Interior (DOI) which houses BOEM, had, according to his 2021 financial disclosure form, previously represented Vineyard Wind on legal matters while serving as a partner at the firm Latham & Watkins.

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AOC Ripped for Calling NYC Unaffordable for Working-Class

The New York Post editorial board ripped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., after she complained that New York City was too expensive for “working-class people.”

The board agreed that the lawmaker was right but pointed the blame at her for pushing the very policies that have made the city too expensive.

The editorial, published Tuesday, began by stating, “For once, AOC is right: ‘They can’t afford to live here anymore,’ she said Monday of working-class Gothamites. The thing is, it’s the policies that she and her progressive allies want more of that have made the city so expensive.”

Ocasio-Cortez made her comments during a town hall meeting this week, arguing that it wasn’t the rich who were feeling the heat of the expense but working-class people.

“The people who are moving out of the city are not by and large the wealthiest people. They’re the working class. They can’t afford to live here anymore,” she said, while making a pitch to tax the city’s rich more.

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