Owen | Boots & Sabers

Your Tax Cuts Are Set to Expire Next Year

by Owen | 0623, 1 Aug 2424 | Politics | 1 Comment

If Harris wins, there is no way in hell that your taxes will not go up.

On the line is the future of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which a Republican Congress passed and former President Donald Trump signed into law in 2017.

To avoid blowing too large of a hole in the federal budget at the time, Republicans scheduled many of the tax cuts to expire after 2025. That deadline has created a rare opportunity to reshape federal tax policy next year, and lawmakers in each party intend to be ready to wield whatever power voters give them in November.

Many of the expiring tax measures are ones that benefit middle-class Americans, including a larger standard deduction, lower marginal income tax rates and a more generous child tax credit.

[…]

The Biden administration has said it would seek to pay for extending tax cuts next year in part by raising the corporate tax rate, raising the highest marginal income rate, and making ultrawealthy Americans pay taxes on investment gains on assets they have not yet sold.

While Harris is expected to adopt the bulk of those ideas, Democrats on Capitol Hill have struggled with them. When Democrats last controlled both chambers of Congress, in 2021 and 2022, lawmakers rejected much of Biden’s tax agenda, making it uncertain where the party could land next year.

Venezuela Erupts After Fraudulent Election

by Owen | 0702, 30 Jul 2424 | Crime, Culture, Foreign Affairs | 2 Comments

I hate to say “I told you so,” but I did. You can’t oust communist at the ballot box. They don’t allow it.

Protests erupted in the Venezuelan capital the day after President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory.

The opposition has disputed Mr Maduro’s declaration as fraudulent, saying its candidate Edmundo González won convincingly with 73.2% of the vote.

[…]

A heavy military and police presence was on the streets of Caracas with the aim of trying to disperse protesters and prevent them from approaching the presidential palace.

Crowds of people chanted “freedom, freedom!” and called for the government to fall.

[…]

In a speech on Venezuelan state television, Mr Maduro said it is his “obligation to tell you the truth”.

“We are all under the obligation to listen the truth, to gear up with patience, calmness and strength because we are familiar with this movie and we know how to face these situations and how to defeat the violent.”

[…]

Mr Maduro has accused the opposition of calling for a coup by disputing the results. “This is not the first time we are facing what we are facing today,” he said.

“They are trying to impose in Venezuela a coup d’etat again of fascist and counter-revolutionary character.”

The Venezuelan attorney general warned that the blocking of roads or breaking any laws related to disturbances as part of protests would be met with the full force of the law.

Does that rhetoric look familiar? The claim to speaking the “truth” and labeling all opponents as liars? The claim that opposing an obviously fraudulent election is a “coup?” The rigorous enforcement of laws against political opponents while allies run wild? All of this after disarming average citizens in the name of “safety.” Only those ignorant of history don’t know what’s going on. This is the classic Communist playbook and we are seeing it here in America.

Biden Proposes to Usurp the Supreme Court

by Owen | 0717, 29 Jul 2424 | Law, Politics | 23 Comments

First, no, Joe Biden did not write this screed. They won’t tell us who did.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called for major changes to the Supreme Court on Monday, including a constitutional amendment that would limit immunity for presidents, impose term limits for justices and stipulate an enforceable code of ethics.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Biden said “no one is above the law.”

“Not the president of the United States,” he wrote. “Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one.”

[…]

Biden, who served as a U.S. Senator for 36 years, wrote that he had overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today.

Remember that Biden would not be proposing any of these things if the court were reliably issuing ruling that the liberals want. For 50 years, the court leaned Left and nobody proposed these kinds of things. Now that the court has tilted slightly right for less than a decade, liberals have decided that the court needs to be blown up.

Thankfully, none of this stands a chance of passing with a divided Congress and a lame duck President. It is curious that he would push it at all. Harris is the Leftist standard-bearer now. By tipping their hand that the Leftists want to radically usurp the power of the Supreme Court, does this help Harris? She will have to now offer her position on his reforms, right? Or is this a setup where Harris will come out against these “reforms” to make her look more moderate? Or is Biden just a bitter old man who wants to demonstrate that he still matters?

Curious…

Racial Segregation is All the Rage Again for Democratic Party

by Owen | 1930, 28 Jul 2424 | Culture, Politics | 2 Comments

This is disgusting on so many levels.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kamala Harris is using potential veep candidate Pete Buttigieg to woo “white dude’’ voters — “who need to be honest with ourselves and each other about the role we’ve played in our nation’s history.’’

Buttigieg, transportation secretary and one of Harris’s top supporters, will appear virtually at a Zoom event at 8 p.m. Monday with the group “White Dudes for Harris.”

[…]

The group does not say explicitly whether non-whites will be allowed to attend, and a Post request for comment was not immediately returned.

It is disgusting that, once again, the Democratic Party divides people by race and, interestingly, gender. They are perpetuating the racist trope that people should be treated according to racist stereotypes instead of as free-thinking individuals. It is racism to its core.

It is also disgusting that they have chosen to single out white men for struggle sessions. In the racist Democrats’ view, having white guys “be honest with ourselves and each other about the role we’ve played in our nation’s history” means that they must apologize and repent for crimes against women and other races. That is the only correct “honest” discussion allowed for white dudes. Any attempt to show pride or celebrate the positive contributions of white men in our nation’s history will be silenced as “dishonest.” That’s how this works. White men share the exclusive collective guilt of the nation and must atone for their sins. Collective guilt. Collective punishment. Not based on actual behavior, but assigned because of the color of their skin and for having a Y chromosome.

Racism and sexism are revolting.

Venezuelans Head to the Polls

by Owen | 1909, 28 Jul 2424 | Foreign Affairs | 0 Comments

I’ll spare you the suspense. Maduro will “win.”

Venezuelans have been going to the polls in what has been described as the biggest challenge to the governing socialist PSUV party since it came to power 25 years ago.

Nicolás Maduro – who has been president since the death of his mentor, Hugo Chávez, in 2013 – is running for a third consecutive term.

His main challenger is Edmundo González, a former diplomat who has the backing of a coalition of opposition parties.

Polls suggest Mr González has a wide lead over the incumbent, but as Mr Maduro’s 2018 re-election was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair, there are fears that the result of this election could be tampered with, should it not go Mr Maduro’s way.

Communists don’t suffer election losses. The elections are just for show. The only way to oust communism once it has taken power is with violence. Americans would do well to remember this.

Admitting the Truth

by Owen | 0805, 28 Jul 2424 | Politics | 0 Comments

It’s been less than a week and even the vaunted New York Times isn’t pretending that Biden wasn’t forced out.

Biden cares deeply about keeping former President Donald Trump out of the White House and therefore has reason to be invested in Harris’ success. He also knows that because, until he was forced to quit the race, he had insisted on running again despite concerns about his age, many will blame him for not ceding the stage earlier if Trump wins.

What does that say about our president? A week ago, he left the race and said it was his choice. He went on television, and while he did not give a reason for dropping out of the race, he indicated that it was his choice. His supporters have even tried to spin his dropping out as a noble act. Everything coming from the Biden camp is that it was his choice to step aside.

Yet, we all knew this to not be the case. There are various stories leaking about how the coup came about. But we all knew it from the start. We all knew that Biden would have never withdrawn of his own volition. And now the New York Times puts a throwaway statement to that effect in the middle of a story about Harris. Everyone – including the leftist media – knows that Biden was forced out.

Still, Biden continues to lie about it. Nobody believes him. Nobody. But he continues to lie and will not share the truth with the American people.

Why won’t he share the truth? Two reasons. First, ego and pride. Biden is not going to admit – even, perhaps, to himself – that he was forced to quit the race at the zenith of his ambition. Second, and more troubling, is because to admit that he was forced out is to admit that he is no longer effectively acting as president. He has the title. He sits in the chair. But he is not wielding the power. For if he were, then he could not have been forced from his chosen course.

The reason for Biden being forced out, whether it be due to dementia or because he was unlikely to win, is less important than the fact that Biden didn’t make the choice. He was forced to.

Revenge of the Cat Ladies

by Owen | 0834, 27 Jul 2424 | Culture, Politics | 0 Comments

This little manufactured controversy has been entertaining because it really struck a nerve.

Donald Trump’s vice-presidential candidate JD Vance has defended resurfaced comments in which he called Democratic politicians a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives”.

His remarks, made in 2021, have been roundly criticised this week, with Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston among those to have hit out at the 39-year-old Republican.

“Obviously it was a sarcastic comment. People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said,” Mr Vance told the conservative media personality Megyn Kelly on Friday.

“The substance of what I said, Megyn – I’m sorry, it’s true,” he added.

I listened to the extended interview. Vance was clearly being glib to make a point. But the point is valid. Liberals are generally less happy than conservatives. The studies showing this have been replicated for decades. With that misery, it is a common human reaction to want to lash out and make sure other people are as miserable as you. Think of how angry many liberals got when they saw people ignore Covid restrictions and having a good time. Or think of how angry liberals gets because Vance appreciates a good soft couch (see, we can poke fun at ourselves). Liberal ideology is not a “live and let live” ideology. It is a “everyone conform for the greater good” ideology.

By and large, most conservatives I know are generally happy people. Happy in their families. Happy in their faith. Happy in their homes. They mostly just want people to leave them alone. They get most worked up when the government or other people interfere with how they are trying to live their lives. Why are they happier? I think it is because generally their values are centered around God and family instead of government and society at large. It’s easy to look in your children’s faces and find joy. It is not so easy to look around at the mass of humanity and find that same joy.

Related, Vance has also shared the sentiment that people with children have a greater stake in the future of this country. This is correct and used to be understood. No, that does not mean that people without children are less American or cannot act in the best interests of the future of this nation, but it is different to have an esoteric or intellectual stake in something and to have your own children’s futures in the balance. It is the difference between the chicken and the hog at breakfast. One has a lot more skin in the game, so to speak.

For people who love to crow about nuanced and honest discussions, they sure pounce like J. B. Pritzker on a donut when they think it is to their political advantage.

DOJ Launders Money to Favored Pet

by Owen | 0738, 27 Jul 2424 | Politics | 0 Comments

Understand what happened here.

Former FBI agent Pete Strzok, who was fired from the bureau in 2018 after his disparaging text messages about Donald Trump were made public, has reached a settlement with the Justice Department over his claims that his privacy rights were violated, according to his lawyers.

According to Strzok’s lawyers, the U.S. government has agreed to pay Strzok $1.2 million.

Strzok sent his texts on a government device. It was the taxpayers’ device and he has no expectation of privacy for anything he does on it. This is long-established law and precedent. And he was fired because his activism and bias made his position as a fair and unbiased executor of the law was not tenable. Everything here was correct. He was going to lose this lawsuit.

But then the DOJ made him a millionaire with our money. Why? Because he’s a fellow traveler who continues to this day to attack Trump on behalf of the Revolution. This is a payoff. Pure and simple. With your money.

Netanyahu Meets With Biden and Harris Separately

by Owen | 0656, 26 Jul 2424 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 9 Comments

What is a foreign leader to think?

Vice President Kamala Harris — who is seeking to succeed Biden — met with Netanyahu later in the day and took the lead in addressing the public about their discussions.

She has been more outspoken than Biden about killed Palestinian civilians and called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid in, and later stressed the importance for Israel to avoid more civilian casualties in Gaza.

I ask the question sincerely. Now, Netanyahu is an old hand and knows the nuances of American politics very well. He’ll be fine. But it is extremely weird and unsettling for the President and the Vice President to meet separately for foreign heads of state and give different messages. How is a foreign leader to interpret that? Who is speaking for America? Who’s policy is in force?

It may seem obvious that it is the president’s, but is it? His brain is mush and he can’t effectively communicate. Biden clearly allowed his VP to meet separately. Is the foreign leader to interpret that as the meeting with the president was for show and the meeting with the VP was the real one? If Biden is already acting as the president in setting and leading America’s foreign policy, then was that power delegated from the president?

This is not normal. This is not right. We should not pretend that it is.

Republicans Get Out Early Defining Harris

by Owen | 0649, 26 Jul 2424 | Politics | 11 Comments

This is good to see. Republicans are out early to define Harris. What this doesn’t account for is the billions of dollars of free media that Harris is getting from a media that is covering for her as a fellow traveler in the struggle. But it’s still good to see the Republicans being active and smart. That’s rare.

Overall, Trump and his allies are outspending Harris’ team 25-to-1 on television and radio advertising — more than $68 million for Republicans compared to just $2.6 million for Democrats — in the period that began on Monday, the day after Biden stepped aside, through the end of August, according to an AP analysis of data compiled by the media tracking firm AdImpact.

The stunning disparity reflects actual spending for this week and reservations for subsequent weeks, which will almost certainly change in the coming days. But for now, the numbers highlight a dangerous imbalance for Democrats at the very moment that millions of voters are re-shaping their opinions of the vice president, who has spent much of the last four years in Biden’s shadow.

Alleged Sabotage Disrupts Rail Traffic Before Olympics

by Owen | 0640, 26 Jul 2424 | Crime, Foreign Affairs | 0 Comments

Olympics are going to be entertaining in many ways.

French rail company SNCF says 800,000 passengers have been affected by what the country’s Prime Minister Gabriel Attal described as “acts of sabotage”.

A series of fires caused the disruptions early on Friday morning, hours before the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Several high-speed TGV lines have been hit to the west, north and east of the capital and SNCF has warned the disruption could last for days. Eurostar has also warned customers of longer journey times and cancellations.

Airlines Look for Profit

by Owen | 0704, 25 Jul 2424 | Economy | 5 Comments

Airlines continue to feel the pressure of rising costs and a fickle consumer. There are two interesting moves in the news. The first is Southwest:

Earlier Thursday, Southwest announced that it will do away with its open seating plan and offer some seats on its Boeing aircraft that have extra legroom and add overnight flights, the biggest changes to its business model in its more than five decades of flying. The changes, which start next year, would make Southwest more like its network carrier rivals.

Open seating is a key differentiator and facilitates their boarding methodology too. They are abandoning this differentiator so that they can upsell better seating like other airlines do. Personally, I dislike open seating, but I know a lot of loyal Southwest fliers who swear by it. Will it work for Southwest or will they be just another airline? Time will tell.

Then there is American Airlines:

“We’ve used a lot of sticks. We’ve got to put some more carrots in place and make sure that our product is available wherever customers want to buy it,” Isom said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference on Wednesday.

American in February said it would limit some travel agency bookings from being eligible to earn AAdvantage frequent flyer miles. Isom said Wednesday that the airline would reverse that decision.

“That’s off,” Isom said. “We’re not doing that because it would create confusion and disruption for our end customer.”

After terrible earnings, American is backing off on a sales strategy to cut out travel agents and aggregator booking sites. The strategy pushed a lot of potential customers away who buy through those channels.

Personally, I am a Delta flier and most familiar with them. I’ve been a perennial platinum, occasionally diamond, flier for 20 years. The changes that Delta has made in recent years is making me fly with them less. The benefits for being a frequent flier are less attractive and harder to get. Meanwhile, their ticket prices are often higher. This has me shopping flights instead of just going with Delta. I know a number of other Delta fliers who are doing the same. If the experience is the same as any other airline, then why bother being loyal?

I don’t know what the answer is for airlines. They seem to have figured out the capacity/demand issue. I rarely see an empty plane anymore. The availability and quality of remote meeting technology has raised the bar for when business travel is necessary. Leisure travelers are very cost conscious. I expect that the only solution is further consolidation of the airline market and further erosion of routes until they reach reliable profitability. The result will be fewer flight options for consumers and an even worse travel experience.

FBI Director Spins Conspiracy Theories

by Owen | 0641, 25 Jul 2424 | Crime, Politics | 1 Comment

The FBI is utterly corrupt and needs to be stripped down to the lab and records and left as nothing more than a support agency for state and local law enforcement.

The FBI‘s director has cast doubt on whether Donald Trump was struck by a bullet during the attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania political rally.

Christopher Wray was updating Congress about the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler on Wednesday when he made the explosive statement.

‘With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,’ Wray said.

Biden Passes the Torch

by Owen | 1712, 24 Jul 2424 | Politics | 4 Comments

I’m not even going to comment on the story. The mixed metaphor in this headline from the AP made my eye twitch.

Biden passed that torch slowly, hanging on until the wheels finally came off

Hartford School Board Protects Girls

by Owen | 0652, 24 Jul 2424 | Crime, Education, Law, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

Good for them. We win back this country at the local level with work like this.

HARTFORD — The Hartford Union High School (HUHS) Board voted not to accept a revised definition of the term “sex” under Title IX on Monday night.

[…]

The current HUHS process regarding students wanting to use different pronouns or a different name would not change. The school would still contact the parents and set up a meeting or have conversations with the parents, and only the parents’ written permission would allow HUHS to address the student by that name or pronouns.

Chicago Politicians Brace for Wave of Illegals Ahead of DNC Convention

by Owen | 2057, 23 Jul 2424 | Politics | 0 Comments

Cry harder.

CHICAGO — Chicago is bracing for as many as 25,000 migrants to arrive by bus ahead of the Democratic National Convention, city leaders said Tuesday.

The high-end estimate from Deputy Mayor of Immigration Beatriz Ponce de León came as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration defended its policy of evicting migrants who stay in city shelters longer than 60 days. That removal policy could be much needed if Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott holds true on promises to send Chicago many more migrants in the next few weeks in order to try to make the migrant crisis a Democratic problem, she argued.

[…]

The “fully expected” surge would be in sharp contrast with the current migrant count. The number of people living in city migrant shelters has steadily declined for months — down from around 15,000 in December to 5,667 Monday — and costs have fallen too.

But leaders have long feared the possibility of a pre-DNC spike in buses and planes like the ones that have carried over 45,000 migrants to Chicago over the past two years. Those worries only grew last week when Abbott touted the effort at the Republican National Convention.

“Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border,” Abbott said.

Notice how proud they are of how the number of people in the shelters has decreased. Those people are not going home. They are going into the neighborhoods. They are taking jobs. They are putting their kids in schools. They are collecting welfare. They are increasing the demands for housing and services. They aren’t disappearing.

Wisconsin’s Government Schools Are Flush With Cash

by Owen | 2039, 23 Jul 2424 | Education, Politics - Wisconsin | 0 Comments

We keep spending and spending and the performance is stagnant to declining. After a minimum floor of spending is met, there is no positive correlation between school spending and educational outcomes.

(The Center Square) – Public schools in Wisconsin are spending nearly $1,000 more per-student than a decade ago, despite falling enrollment and flat test scores.

The latest spending information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction shows public schools in the state spent $17,697 per-student in 2022. That’s down from the $18,088 in 2020, but about $1,000 more than what schools were spending in 2011.

Will Flanders with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty say those are inflation-adjusted number and show most schools in Wisconsin have plenty of money to spend.

9 of 10 Fastest Growing Cities are in Texas

by Owen | 1710, 23 Jul 2424 | Culture | 1 Comment

Evil Republicans creating an environment that people want to live in.

And between 2020 and 2023, that seems to have been true of population growth.

Nine of the 10 U.S. cities and towns where populations grew at the fastest clip during that period are found in the Lone Star State, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data on places with populations of 20,000 or more at any point between April 2020 and July 2023.

Democrats Support Felon Foreign Agent in Senate

by Owen | 1703, 23 Jul 2424 | Crime, Politics | 0 Comments

The fact that this corrupt POS is allowed to keep his seat in the Senate and leave in a manner of his own choosing speaks volumes. However, I don’t think anyone is listening anymore.

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez will resign his office on Aug. 20 following the conviction in his federal corruption trial, according to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

Murphy, who will select an interim replacement, said Tuesday afternoon he has received Menendez’s resignation letter.

In the resignation letter to Murphy, obtained by ABC News, Menendez said he intends to appeal the verdict but does not want the “Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work.”

This is what Democrats support:

Sen. Bob Menendez was found guilty on all counts Tuesday in his federal corruption trial.

Federal prosecutors in New York alleged the New Jersey Democrat accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and more in exchange for the senator’s political clout. Three New Jersey businessmen who were also charged, along with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, were the alleged recipients. Two of those co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were also convicted of all counts they faced.

I’m Not Into Conspiracy Theories, But…

by Owen | 1635, 23 Jul 2424 | Crime, Politics | 1 Comment

Meh. It’s not an act of honor or worthy of respect if it is only done after being forced into it.

US Secret Service director Kim Cheatle has resigned after security failures surrounding an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

“As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” Ms Cheatle said in a resignation letter to agency staff on Tuesday.

She had faced calls from both Democrats and Republicans to step down after a contentious House committee hearing on Monday about the incident.

Lawmakers became increasingly frustrated when she refused to answer questions about the shooting at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania earlier this month.

For a few days after the assassination attempt on Trump, I took it for what it looked like. It was a loony, disaffected, young man – probably radicalized by toxic anti-Trump rhetoric – who acted out his hate trying to enter immortality. I don’t usually go for conspiracy theories – Occam’s Razor and whatnot.

But after the infuriating testimony of Cheatle, the missing recordings, the refusal to beef up Trump’s protection after repeated requests, the deliberately ignored perfect shooting platform, the encrypted comms, and more and more and more. I’m beginning to think there’s more to this.

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