Tag: taxes

Staff at taxpayer-funded Colorado virus lab were bitten by Covid-infected HAMSTERS and disease-ridden bats in shocking spate of accidents, exclusive documents show

A taxpayer-funded Colorado lab that handles the world’s deadliest viruses has suffered a shocking number of accidents in recent years, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Bombshell documents show there were at least 50 incidents involving safety control lapses at Colorado State University between 2020 and 2023, including workers who were bitten by a Covid-infected hamster, splashed in the face with blood from mice with tuberculosis and scratched by rabies-infected cats.

The reports were never disclosed to the public despite occurring at the height of the Covid pandemic, which many officials, including the FBI, suspect was borne out of a similar lab accident in China.

Experts slammed what they called a ‘disturbing lack of transparency’ from the facility and warned it would only erode public trust in America’s public health institutions.

The documents, which include meeting minutes, emails and internal reports, were obtained by FOIA requests by the campaign group the White Coat Waste Project and shared exclusively with DailyMail.com.

They show a pattern of accidents between May 2020 and July 2023 involving disease-ridden cats, rodents and bats that were never announced publicly and that infected researchers.

Officials blamed the increase in accidents on the stress of the pandemic causing staff to ‘rush’ their work.

On two separate occasions in 2020, researchers working with hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 were bitten by the rodents and another contracted Zika virus after experimenting with infected mosquitoes.

An August 2022 report stated a researcher experimenting on a mouse infected with a highly infectious strain of tuberculosis was splashed in the face with contents of a syringe, which contained a solution and possibly the animal’s blood, while wearing only ‘eye protection.’

Multiple reports of bites and scratches by rabies-infected cats were discussed in the incident reports, and in late 2022, it was noted a bat infected with MERS-CoV had bitten a researcher while being put back in its cage.

Experts say the newly revealed documents raise serious safety concerns about the university’s plan to construct a new bat lab later this year.

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Staten Island’s ‘power couple’ District Attorney and top judge are accused of double dipping into taxpayer funds by collecting government salaries AND pensions at the same time

A Staten Island ‘power couple’ comprised of a district attorney and state Supreme Court justice have come under fire for discreetly filing for retirement while continuing to collect yearly salaries.

Michael McMahon, the district attorney of Richmond County, and Judith McMahon, a justice for the Supreme Court’s 13th Judicial District, are being paid six figures while collecting hefty government pensions, according to public records.

The husband-and-wife duo are suspected to be pulling in more than $600,000 in collective gross income.

DA McMahon covertly retired on December 30, 2023, according to a payroll notice independently verified by DailyMail.com.

However, he remained the borough’s chief prosecutor, with a subsequent payroll notice listing him as  ‘appointed’ from January 2 to January 19.

Public records show his yearly salary as $212,800, meaning his annual pension, which has not been disclosed, could be upwards of $127,000.

In a statement to the New York Post, a spokesperson for DA McMahon admitted that he retired last year and subsequently continued to serve as Staten Island’s highest-ranking law enforcement official.

‘After 30-plus years in public service to the people of New York, DA McMahon submitted his retirement papers at the end of 2023 but of course continues to serve as Richmond County District Attorney,’ the representative said.

‘It’s quite frankly a no-brainer for those in public service, as not retiring when you are eligible puts your family at risk to receive no pension at all if you were to die.’

The district attorney’s office declined to share the cost of his pension.

DA McMahon was officially sworn in for his third term on January 2 by none other than his wife. Photos from the ceremony show the pair beaming at each other.

The DA ran unopposed for re-election this past November, pitching himself as a ‘common-sense Democrat’ in a heavily red county.

‘He’s pretty universally beloved,’ a Staten Island Democratic operative told City & State last year. ‘It is fascinating though – you would think any Republican with a pulse could win.’

Justice McMahon retired even earlier than her husband, effective December 31, 2022, according to public records.

She receives a $210,900 annual salary while collecting a $122,916 pension.

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Michigan Offering Citizens $500 Per Month To House Illegal Immigrants

The state of Michigan is offering $500 per month to residents who agree to house illegal immigrants in their homes.

The so called ‘Newcomer Rental Subsidy‘ would provide the payment for up to a year for any homeowner willing to take part, equating to a total of $6000.

The state those says those eligible for the program include refugees, asylees, special immigration visa holders, victims of human trafficking, Cuban and Haitian entrants, Afghan nationals, and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees.

The program also states that illegals who have been processed as part of the ‘Family Reunification Parole Process’ from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia, individuals with a pending asylum application, and other immigrant individuals on a case-by-case basis are also eligible.

Basically anyone who crosses the border then.

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Cutting the Pentagon Down to Size

In an age when American presidents routinely boast of having the world’s finest military, where nearly trillion-dollar war budgets are now a new version of routine, let me bring up one vitally important but seldom mentioned fact: making major cuts to military spending would increase U.S. national security.

Why? Because real national security can neither be measured nor safeguarded solely by military power (especially the might of a military that hasn’t won a major war since 1945). Economic vitality matters so much more, as does the availability and affordability of health care, education, housing, and other crucial aspects of life unrelated to weaponry and war. Add to that the importance of a Congress responsive to the needs of the working poor, the hungry and the homeless among us. And don’t forget that the moral fabric of our nation should be based not on a military eternally ready to make war but on a determination to uphold international law and defend human rights. It’s high time for America to put aside its conveniently generic “rules-based order” anchored in imperial imperatives and face its real problems. A frank look in the mirror is what’s most needed here.

It should be simple really: national security is best advanced not by endlessly preparing for war, but by fostering peace. Yet, despite their all-too-loud disagreements, Washington’s politicians share a remarkably bipartisan consensus when it comes to genuflecting before and wildly overfunding the military-industrial complex. In truth, ever-rising military spending and yet more wars are a measure of how profoundly unhealthy our country actually is.

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Despite Supreme Court Ruling, States Are Still Confiscating People’s Homes

Horses taught Christine Searle the importance of being fair. Intelligent and innately honest creatures, horses know deceit when they see it. She wishes they could teach that principle to the state of Arizona.

The 70-year-old horse trainer and Arizona native is on the verge of losing her life’s savings over an unpaid $1,607.68 property tax bill.

“I owed them the money. And that’s what they should get—the money I owe them,” Ms. Searle told The Epoch Times.

“I don’t think that they should have the right to take all of it.”

Arizona is one of almost a dozen states that allow creditors to keep all the proceeds from sales of homes foreclosed due to unpaid taxes—known as tax lien sales, according to the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF).

A 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case out of Minnesota offers some hope to property owners in these situations, but only if a similar case is brought in their state. In the 2022 case, the justices ruled that Minnesota’s practice of keeping all the proceeds of a tax sale constitutes an illegal seizure of property.

“The taxpayer must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the unanimous decision.

But, under their current laws, 10 states and the District of Columbia have no means of returning the excess proceeds of a home sale; what Mountain States Legal Foundation lawyers representing Ms. Searle call “home equity theft.” The states include Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and South Dakota.

Ms. Searle hopes her case will be the one to set things right in Arizona.

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Government Funded Study Claims Shakespeare Made Theatre ‘Too White, Male And Cisgender’

A study funded by the British government to the tune of almost a million pounds claims that William Shakespeare, one of foremost the literary icons in history, has been disproportionately represented and has enabled “white, able-bodied, heterosexual, cisgender male narratives” to dominate theatre.

The study, by academics at the University of Roehampton, was funded by the government’s Arts and Humanities Research Council and essentially claims that Shakespeare is not diverse enough.

The Telegraph reports that the overseer of the study, Andy Kesson, complains that “masculinity and nationalism were crucial motivating factors in the rise of Shakespeare as the arbiter of literary greatness” adding that “[w]e need to be much, much more suspicious of Shakespeare’s place in contemporary theatre”.

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Nebraska Lawmakers Approve 100% Tax Rate For CBD And Hemp Products To Help Offset Property Taxes

A Nebraska legislative committee has given preliminary approval to a bill that would tax hemp and CBD products in the state at a whopping 100 percent rate.

The cannabis product tax hike is part of legislation designed to bring in more money to state coffers to offset property tax bills, according to an outline of the plan from Sen. Lou Ann Linehan (R), the legislation’s sponsor, that was posted by a Nebraska Public Media reporter.

The legislature’s Revenue Committee advanced the underlying measure, LB 388, on a 7–0 vote on Thursday, according to a report in the Nebraska Examiner. The state’s full unicameral legislature could take up the bill as soon as Tuesday.

“We are going to tax hemp and CBD at 100%,” Linehan’s document says, adding that, along with other reforms—including removing sales tax exemptions on soda, candy, pet services, advertising revenue over $1 billion and lottery tickets—the change is estimated to bring in $182 million in new revenue for the state.

The changes are not currently reflected in the bill’s language as available online, nor has any relevant amendment been posted to the bill page. Linehan, who also chairs the panel that approved the measure this week, did not immediately respond to emailed questions from Marijuana Moment.

Adam Morfeld, a former Nebraska state senator who co-chairs the advocacy group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, reacted to the proposal with shock.

“The Legislature is going to tax hemp and CBD at 100 percent!??” he posted on social media.

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Saber Rattling Toward Tragedy: The High Stakes of US-China Tensions

The confirmation of US Army Special Forces’ deployment to strategic locations in Taiwan is a harbinger of the United States inching closer to a precipice, one that overlooks a potential conflict with China—a scenario fraught with peril not just for the involved states but for global peace.

This development, while emblematic of the US’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense, inadvertently amplifies the saber rattling that has come to define US-China relations. The stakes of this brinkmanship are alarmingly high, risking a catastrophic conflict that serves no nation’s true interest, save for the military-industrial complex that stands to profit at the cost of countless innocent lives.

A Dangerous Game

The decision to station US Green Berets in Kinmen and Penghu, areas perilously close to mainland China, is not merely a strategic military maneuver but a bold political statement. It represents a significant escalation in the US’s show of support for Taiwan, a move that, while intended to deter Chinese aggression, equally serves to provoke it. This saber rattling—a display of military might under the guise of deterrence—edges us closer to a conflict that, once ignited, could spiral out of control, drawing in multiple global powers into a confrontation nobody wants.

The True Beneficiaries of Conflict

Amid these tensions, it’s crucial to ask: Who truly benefits from such brinkmanship? The sad answer lies in the military-industrial complex, a conglomerate of defense contractors and associated industries whose fortunes swell with the drums of war. For them, the escalation of tensions is not a harbinger of tragedy but an opportunity for profit, achieved at the expense of human lives and global stability. This stark reality underscores the need to scrutinize the motives behind our foreign policy decisions and question the narrative that military escalation equates to deterrence.

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Blumenthal And Murphy Want Federal Funding To Subsidize Construction Costs For Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective Known As A “Champion Of LGBTQIA+ Equity”

Congressman Matt Gaetz exposed Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy for wanting to give $156,000 in taxpayer dollars to subsidize a controversial health organization in Hartford.

The Hartford Gay & Lesbian Health Collective (HGLHC) describes itself as “a health center and champion of LGBTQIA+ equity” that “advocates for systemic solutions to the health care access barriers and health disparities experienced by sexual and gender minority groups.”

HGLHC aims to become the premier health and wellness center for the LGBTQIA+ community in Connecticut.

It currently provides medical services, dental services, support groups, and health education tailored primarily to LGBTQIA+ communities.

HGLHC has full and part-time staff, along with more than 100 volunteers who contribute thousands of hours annually to support the group’s efforts, which include organizing community and educational events.

For instance, HGLHC held an event called “Butt Stuff: Pleasure and Safety for Anal Play” last year.

The event targeted folks “having anal sex or any kind of anal play” in order to share health and safety information, as well as how to make “butt sex” an enjoyable experience. Attendees were entered into a drawing to win a free vibrator.

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2025 Department of Defense Budget Request Disarms America

The press release for the Department of Defense 2025 Budget Request told one story, a story replete with lofty, aspirational goals expressed in the usual abstract text of DOD budget requests.

Reading the text, one would think the Arsenal of Democracy 2.0 was in high gear.  On the other hand, the accompanying Comptroller submissions of the different Services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Space Force) that are the official numbers from DOD told a very different story.  The Service submissions do have a similar, flowery textual chapeau laid over the numbers that perhaps this time were serving as a second layer of distraction from the numbers.

The Comptroller numbers don’t lie, the topline number of the entire Department of Defense was flat, $849.8 Billion, only $7.8B more than 2024.  $7.8B is a lot, but it is budget dust in DOD world.

This is less than 1% growth in the DOD budget and taking inflation into account, the number is a significant shrinkage of the DOD topline.  The Comptroller numbers revealed that almost every important warfighting line item, the numbers of ships, airplanes, and missiles, went down.

The disconnect of the descriptive text from the numbers took a few days to sink in with most of the experts.  Professor James Holmes said simply, the “New Defense Budget Makes No Sense”.

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