Jun 04

Hollywood celebs scramble to dodge taxes they themselves promoted

The miserable socialist state of Los Angeles, California recently imposed a measure to tax the city’s wealthiest residents for the supposed purpose of providing housing for the homeless. But “[e]ven before voters passed the measure,  bringing a 4% transfer tax on all property sales above $5 million and 5.5% on sales above $10 million in the city of L.A.,” according to the LA Times, many of the very pro-government extremists who promoted the measure were already plotting ways to get around the additional taxes.

Brad Pitt, for instance, sold his Hollywood Hills home for $39 million in the last days of March. By doing so, he avoided a $2.145-million tax bill.

Mark Wahlberg unloaded his Beverly Park mega-mansion for $55 million in February, saving $3.025 million in taxes by selling it before April 1.

Other big names whose real estate deals avoided the tax include Colin Farrell, who sold his Los Feliz villa to a YouTuber for $5.25 million in March, and “Big Bang Theory” star Simon Helberg, who hauled in $7.8 million for a 1930s Spanish Colonial-style retreat. The deal closed on March 31, the day before the tax took effect.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel sold his traditional-style home near Brentwood Country Club in February for $14.5 million, staggeringly shy of his original asking price of $25.9 million.

By selling before April, he saved roughly $800,000 he would have owed under ULA. In May, The Times reported that Emanuel has made around $347 million in total pay over the last five years and donated millions to charity.

“In the long term, if the accountants, attorneys and financial advisors employed by the rich can find ways to skirt the tax, revenue from the measure will be far shy of the $900 million annually that was originally projected,” according to the Times.

Jun 03

Most voters want budget cuts, prefer temporary government shutdown to more debt.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 54% of U.S. voters would prefer a partial government shutdown until Democrats and Republicans can agree to either cut spending or keep it at its current level.

These finding contradict the claims of the government classes that federal spending and debt limits must be increased. See here.

Feb 22

Efforts are underway to nationalize “news” in the U.S.

Every government that ever existed has sought to control and regulate “the news” about itself. Untold thousands have died on gallows or chained in dungeons for publishing or spreading news or information which governments didn’t like.

In the United States there has traditionally been greater freedom of speech and press than in other societies. But the increasing pro-government bias in news (often secretly paid for by government itself) has led to fewer and fewer Americans paying for news content. According to a 2022 report from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, the US loses newspapers “at a rate of two per week.”

A 2018 study from the University of North Carolina found 1,800 local newspapers had shuttered in the US since 2004.

Now there are efforts to turn “news” into a type of religion or charity, as in other countries.

Steven Waldman, co-founder of Report for America, said a new initiative, called Rebuild Local News, wanted to revitalize hundreds of local news outlets across America decimated by changes in the industry, shifts in the sector’s advertising revenue structure and more recently, the pandemic.

The Rebuild Local News coalition is pushing for a comprehensive list of tax credits to keep afloat local newsrooms, such as a tax refund for local news digital subscribers, payroll tax credits for hiring and retaining local reporters, and a tax credit for small businesses to advertise in local news outlets.

Waldman and his coalition estimate that it would bring in $3.5bn of relief to the local news economy via “philanthropy, businesses, consumers and the government”.

Feb 22

Reason is finally publishing some decent stories–about the Deep State’s drive to deplatform it.

Reason magazine is the monthly print magazine of “free minds and free markets.” Founded in 1968, the magazine became a mainstay of libertarian, anti-government thought, news and commentary.

But libertarian critics of Reason have long noted certain blind spots in Reason’s coverage. Reason never, ever delved into any “conspiracy theory” questions or analysis of deep-state agendas which might extend beyond conventional politics on display in mainstream news sources. Never did Reason question official narratives regarding climate change, the JFK assassination, 9/11, the 2020 election, or other taboo topics.

Reason’s “science” editor Ronald Bailey makes sure to never write about NOAA’s fabrication of temperature data, or the possibility that COVID-19 was just a strain of flu that was trumpeted by an orchestrated agenda to impose global digital ID mandates.

But it seems that the deep state’s social-credit agenda has caught up with Reason; and Reason is now threatened with serious consequences for simply offering any libertarian content. On February 14, Reason’s Robby Soave reported that a global disinformation spotting’ institution (one of dozens that seem to have suddenly popped up in the last 5 years) had labeled Reason one of the “ten riskiest online news outlets.”

And the alleged ‘disinfo tracker,’ is government funded. Specifically, the “Global Disinformation Index” (GDI), a British organization that “evaluates news outlets’ susceptibility to disinformation” with the aim of persuading online advertisers to blacklist dangerous publications,” is funded with millions of dollars from the U.S. State Department.

Robby Soave pointed out that GDI’s alleged criteria for identifying ‘disinformation’ is less than objective and contradictory. And every single one of the “riskiest online news outlets” share a common trait: they produce anti-government content. Thus, while the “index” purports to be a tool for evaluating the accuracy of news, it is actually a tool for deplatforming information sources which governments disagree with.

Feb 18

500,000 Californians flee within 2 years

California’s beautiful shores, mountains and landscapes have historically been naturally inviting to millions. But in recent decades, the State government has sought to transform the Golden State into a socialist utopia. California has some of the world’s highest taxes, and some of the most onerous business regulations.

During the 2020 COVID-19 panic, California government officials imposed some of the most extreme lockdowns and mandates found anywhere on earth. Schoolchildren are still not allowed to attend public schools unless they submit to injections of government-approved “vaccine” products.

More recently, the California legislature has discussed imposing extreme wealth taxes on millionaires and billionaires.

The result is that hundreds of thousands of the most creative and productive Californians have pulled their kids out of public schools and fled to freer states. This flight of productivity is cratering California’s tax revenues, and the state public pension funds will soon be in dire straights.

Stay tuned!

Feb 12

More than half of Americans prefer a government shutdown to increased spending

According to a January 2023 Rasmussen poll, 56% of U.S. voters prefer that the U.S. government shut down rather than raising the debt ceiling. See here.

Feb 12

100,000 nurses left the industry from 2020 to 2021

The Bronx. Jan. 16. America’s 3 million nurses were on the front lines of the alleged COVID-19 “pandemic” over the past three years. These nurses likely became the most naturally-immune segment of the population from the earliest months of the outbreak in 2020.

Then came December 2020, when the government and Big Pharma rolled out alleged mRNA “vaccines.” Soon President Biden issued executive orders mandating vast swaths of the industry must submit to experimental MRNA injections. Thousands more quit, were fired for refusing, or became injured from the shots.

Now it is reported that 100,000 nurses left the U.S. medical system between 2020 and 2021.

Dec 29

Brazil issues arrest warrants for comedians and journalists who criticized government

Rio De Janeiro. Dec. Many international observers report that Brazil is currently undergoing a communist-style takeover along the lines of Russia’s October Revolution in 1917 (just as many countries are currently undergoing communist-style takeovers). Elections have been rigged. Opponents of the government have fled or are in hiding. And now key officials have begun rounding up dissidents.

Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes–a close friend and ally of Brazil’s socialist president Lula–“continues to crack down on the pro-Bolsonaro opposition ahead of the scheduled communist takeover Jan. 1.” Moraes has issued arrest orders for vocal opposition speakers such as Indigenous Chief Serere Xavante, Pastor Fabiano Oliveira and federal deputies Carlos Von and Capitão Assumção on charges of “undemocratic acts.”

Justice Moraes blocked hundreds of anti-government posts on social media, seized bank accounts of dissidents, and issued numerous arrest warrants for critics of the government–without the authority of Brazil’s justice department.

But while Xavante, Oliveira and Assumcao have been rounded up, several other noteworthy dissidents have fled. Comedians Eustáquio and Fugazza “are now in hiding or on the run. They were seen at the protests outside the Presidential Alvorada Palace in Brasilía recently, where the Federal Police have been looking for them.”

Aug 05

US Postal Service FAILING TO DELIVER MAIL for weeks in parts of Washington

The US Postal Service enjoys every advantage in the market; yet it loses billions annually. It owns some of the most valuable and prestigious real estate in America, pays no state or federal property, income, or corporate tax, and has the power of eminent domain. And most significantly, the USPS has a government-enforced monopoly on its core functions.

Now the agency is UTTERLY FAILING to deliver mail. People in WA are reporting lost passports, ballots and other important mail.
The Postal Service claims it is suffering from a labor shortage. YET IT PAYS ITS EMPLOYEES TOO MUCH. Thousands of people apply for every opening. (In fact a few years ago the agency CAPPED applications because it received so many for each opening.)

Jul 23

The Covid regime: government officials live freely while nongovernment slaves submit to a hundred rules

A recent press conference by the White House press secretary revealed the stark distinction between government and nongovernment persons regarding the dreaded covid-19 germ. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked if the Biden Administration had sought to determine how President Biden contracted the alleged pandemic germ. Jean-Pierre responded “I don’t think that matters.”

Government officials like presidents or agency officials are able to work, socialize or isolate, at their choosing. Nongovernment individuals on the other hand, are subjected to wide-ranging “contact tracing” whereupon government health officials perform an exhaustive recounting of each subject’s footsteps, contacts, acquaintances, and work associations. “Health officials” can and do order entire jobsites and work stations shut down for weeks at a time if one worker “tests positive” for the dreaded virus.

Nongovernment individuals like Novak Djokovic, the world’s greatest tennis player, who recently won the Wimbledon tennis tournament in Britain, is BARRED FROM ENTRY into the United States, Australia, and other countries, merely because he chooses not to be injected with experimental covid shots. These laws give government-favoring athletes a tremendous advantage in tennis rankings. Yet government officials like Biden are able to dictate the terms of their own convalescence regarding the same disease.