From Pine View Farm

August, 2014 archive

Just the Cost of Doing Business 0

Corporate America, where punishment is just another deductible expense

As Bank of America prepares for a possible multibillion-dollar settlement with the government, the deal is expected to share a feature common to similar settlements with other banks – a big portion that’s tax-deductible as a business expense.

(snip)

In similar deals recently struck by the Justice Department with large U.S. banks, portions of the overall settlement amounts were designated as penalties, which banks aren’t allowed to write off.

But by law, banks can write off portions of their settlements that aren’t considered fines or penalties, such as payments to states affected by their alleged misconduct.

That means billions of dollars in Bank of America’s expected settlement could be tax-deductible.

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Playing the Victim 0

Headlines:

In other news, George Smith points out that more and more caissons are rolling along.

Image via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.

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Email the Way It’s Meant To Be 0

I have lately been leaning my way around Mutt, a command line email client. It’s not my only email client–the one I use most is still Opera’s email client.

Mutt Inbox Interface

Mutt Inbox

I got there via a circuitous route. I want to improve my skills using vi and vim (“vi improved”). Vi or vim (sometimes both) are present in almost every Linux distribution and do not require a GUI to work.

Read more »

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QOTD 0

Josh Billings:

It’s not ignorance does so much damage; it’s knowing so darned much that ain’t so.

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On the Ground in Ferguson, Mo. 0

(Audio only. At times, the language gets emotional.)

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Football uber Alles 0

Check out the new “Missionary” formation.

It’s all the rage(rs) all the time.

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Pernicious Influences 0

Father:  These video games are dangerous for our children.  They need to be involved in something that doesn't glorify killing things.  (Hands son a rifle).  Like actually killing things!

Via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.

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If People Were Corporations . . . . 0

Catherine Rampell considers incorporating herself. A nugget:

According to Martin Sullivan, the chief economist at Tax Analysts, if individuals were treated like corporations, I could set up an affiliate called “Catherine Rampell Bermuda,” have it pay my college tuition and then declare that the affiliate owns the resulting degree. I could then tell the IRS that everything I earn above the average high school grad’s wage should be recorded as income in Bermuda, since it’s all derived from a Bermuda-based asset. Until I decide to repatriate those diploma-derived earnings, I’ve built myself a tax-free IRA.

Other goodies abound. On federal tax returns, individuals can deduct either the sales taxes they paid or their state income taxes, not both; for companies, these deductions are all-you-can-eat. If people were treated like companies, we could also start deducting the first dollar we spend on health care, rather than just the medical spending that exceeds 10 percent of our adjusted gross incomes.

Home-buying would also become more attractive. Right now there are limits to how much mortgage interest humans can deduct. But if you analogize your primary residence to a “corporate headquarters” and your vacation homes to “branch offices,” you can deduct the full interest on every McMansion you ever purchase.

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“A Good Walk Spoiled” 0

Heh.

Two golfers accused of fighting over the rules had assault charges dismissed after they refused to testify against one another.

State police say 63-year-old Roger Lee Harris and 42-year-old Bryan Bandes were playing with three others at the Springdale Golf Course near Uniontown in Fayette County on Aug. 3. That’s when they began arguing about rules involving “casual water” — or puddles — after it rained.

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Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0

Back over 300K.

Jobless claims climbed by 21,000 to 311,000 in the period ended Aug. 9, the highest in six weeks, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, increased to 295,750 from 293,750 in the prior week that was the lowest since 2006. Last week’s average is still well below the 318,700 mean so far this year.

Bloomberg’s “experts” were, predictably, wrong again. I don’t know why they even bother . . . .

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Two Sets of Rules 0

Bob Cesca:

. . . we can’t help but to contrast law enforcement’s reaction to protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, versus law enforcement’s reaction during the Bundy Ranch fiasco.

Read it.

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Spill Here, Spill Now 0

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“An Armed Societ Is a Polite Society” 0

Be polite after an accident.

According to Black Hawk Police Chief Stephen Cole, a motorcycle was hit by a car at approximately 10:15 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 119 and Richman Street.

“The driver of the motorcycle was thrown and suffered serious injuries. The motorcycle driver suffered a possible gunshot wound during the crash,” Cole said in a statement. “A gun was recovered at the scene and may have been in the possession of the motorcycle driver at the time of the crash.”

Police think the 60-year-old biker was packin’.

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QOTD 0

Blaise Pascal:

Not being able to fortify justice, they justified force.

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Stray Question 0

Am I the only person who finds Christian Mingle’s (no link–look it up yourself) ad campaign vaguely blasphemous?

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Fear Factor 0

Rekha Basu, because she writes for the Des Moines Register, pretty much had to attend the recent right-wing religious fest in Iowa.

She takes exception to its premises. A nugget:

But America is not a theocracy, so it’s alarming to see politicians, by attending and playing to the sponsors, play into the notion that worshiping Jesus should be a prerequisite for federal or state office. America also cannot base its Mideast policy on some biblical interpretation about Israel. Whatever our religious affiliation or lack of it, I’d guess most voters have better explanations for Sept. 11 or the Sandy Hook shootings than God’s revenge – and would like to practical, reason-based solutions from those seeking office.

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Medical Chart 0

Republican:  This chart on Obamacare confirms our worst fears.  It's working.

Via Job’s Anger.

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War and Mongers of War 0

Reg Henry reflects (emphasis added):

If only righteous violence could solve all problems, life would be much easier. But the dragon’s teeth keep being sowed and the violence keeps happening. You’d think we’d learn.

(snip)

But to blame this president (for Iraq–ed.) you must also blame his predecessor, He Who Must Not be Blamed (according to his apologists), for getting us into this sorry mess in the first place. Sooner or later this was bound to happen. From the moment of the U.S. invasion, the only uncertainty was the exact date of the eventual unraveling. Soon it will be Afghanistan’s turn.

Those who say we should stay in these countries have missed the point. A policy of never-ending occupation and war is not a feasible policy; it is an admission of policy failure.

Read the rest.

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“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0

The polite die young.

The death of a 7-year-old boy Sunday night is being considered an accidental shooting, according to Det. Chris Isom of the White County Sheriff’s Department.

Isom said he and two other members of the White County Sheriff’s Department responded to a residence in Cassville about 8:20 p.m. on Sunday to the report of a shooting of a 7-year-old, whose identity has not yet been revealed. Isom said they believe the boy had gotten ahold of a pistol.

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Vigorish 0

Via Funny or Die.

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