One Nation Under Gun?
Posted on April 12, 2013 in Images
As if the gun debate weren’t enough of a hassle as it is–can you imagine if there were a passage in the Bible that could have been twisted into a pro-gun argument?
The Problem With Filing Taxes
Posted on April 12, 2013 in Articles
The Article: Filing Taxes: It Shouldn’t Be So Hard in The Economist.
The Text: IN 2010 a panel created by the White House estimated that American taxpayers spend 7.6 billion hours and some $140 billion a year keeping the IRS off their backs. According to the Washington Post over 80% of taxpayers use software or pay someone to file their taxes. The national taxpayer advocate, a sort-of in-house IRS watchdog, once said, “If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States.” But of course, it is an industry.
It is an industry made up of accountants and companies like H&R Block and Intuit, which makes the TurboTax software used by many Americans. And it is an industry that, according to ProPublica, has worked hard to keep the IRS from preparing your tax returns for you for free. Intuit, for example, has spent millions lobbying the federal government, opposing bills that would allow the IRS to send you pre-filled-in returns (the agency already has most of your relevant information) and supporting bills that would ban the practice.
Bernie Sanders On “Too Big To Fail”
Posted on April 11, 2013 in Videos
Finally, the argument is gaining serious clout in the Hill (we know that because, well, Wall Street is talking about it). Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Brad Sherman have recently released legislation that would force the Treasury Department to dismantle financial institutions that threaten the stability of the economy, and while our current congress will likely remain consistent in its catatonic state it’s sadly refreshing to see a politician representing the will of his constituents.
Chris Hedges On American Culture
Posted on April 11, 2013 in Quotes
The well-seasoned journalist Chris Hedges is one of the United States’ finest patriots. Ever-critical of the American political system and society at large, Hedges’ dystopian dissents force us to re-examine the seedy underpinnings of our culture: namely war, consumerism and religious fanaticism.
If you don’t have the time to pick up one of his books, take a peek at Hedges’ style with some of these quotes.
Russell Brand’s Life Without Drugs
Posted on April 11, 2013 in Articles
The Article: Russell Brand: Life Without Drugs by Russell Brand in The Guardian.
The Text: The last time I thought about taking heroin was yesterday. I had received “an inconvenient truth” from a beautiful woman. It wasn’t about climate change – I’m not that ecologically switched on – she told me she was pregnant and it wasn’t mine.
I had to take immediate action. I put Morrissey on in my car as an external conduit for the surging melancholy, and as I wound my way through the neurotic Hollywood hills, the narrow lanes and tight bends were a material echo of the synaptic tangle where my thoughts stalled and jammed.
Morrissey, as ever, conducted a symphony, within and without and the tidal misery burgeoned. I am becoming possessed. The part of me that experienced the negative data, the self, is becoming overwhelmed, I can no longer see where I end and the pain begins. So now I have a choice.
