Are “Obama Phones” Real?
In a video that went viral this week, an alleged Obama supporter screams about her “Obama phone” at a rally in Ohio. She tells a reporter, “Keep Obama in president, you know! He gave us a phone, he’s gonna do more.”
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Can The New Mars Rover Save The U.S. Space Program?
Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon years before I was born. It was, at the time, the most extraordinary thing that many Americans had ever witnessed, broadcast on live TV in July 1969. The moment was infamously described by Armstrong as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” (you can listen to…
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IRS To Close Offices In Attempt To Cut Costs
With apologies to Norma Desmond: The IRS is big. It’s the offices that got small. The IRS has announced that it is making significant reductions in office space in an effort to cut costs over the next two years. The plan is to close 43 smaller offices and reduce space in larger facilities. The closures,…
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Defense Bill Covers A Lot of Ground Including Budget Increase, Same Sex Marriage Ban & Retitling Of Navy
So first, the good news: the U.S. ended April in the black. Yes, it was largely the result of tax revenues from Tax Day but still, black. The bad news: it won’t last long. We’re ramping up spending yet again. The latest culprit is H.R.4310, known as the Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year…
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What Do Taxpayers Pay The Secret Service For?
When the Secret Service scandal initially broke, I, like many taxpayers wondered, exactly, the Secret Service actually did beyond accompanying the President outside of the White House. In my stereotypical mind’s eye, they all looked like Clint Eastwood as Frank Horrigan in The Line of Fire, constantly searching for scary potential assassins that looked like…
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Treasury Department Email Is A Scam
You have to give spammers and schemers credit for trying. They just won’t give up! This morning, my inbox was chock full of versions of the following email, which has been making the rounds since 2010: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, 1500 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, DC 20220 Tel: +1-(202) 622-2000…
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Stirring the Pot: Could Legalizing Marijuana Save the Economy?
On April 2, One L. Goh allegedly went on a shooting spree inside Oikos University in Oakland, California, killing seven students. That same day, federal agents were otherwise occupied, raiding a business less than a half a mile away. That business, Oaksterdam University, is a medical marijuana training school in a location where it is…
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Post Office Gets It Wrong When It Comes To Tax Advice
I expect long lines at the post office tomorrow (even though tax returns aren’t due until Tuesday, April 17). Statistically, nearly a quarter of all returns are filed in the last week of tax season. And while a number of those returns will be e-filed, some of them will be popped in the post by…
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Suspicious Package At IRS Office In Philly
The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that there is a suspicious package at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) office in Philadelphia. The device consists of batteries, exposed wires, and orange powder. The bomb squad is investigating. The IRS facility at 30th and Market is a key IRS office in the northeast, accepting, among other things,…
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Social Security Direct Deposit Tax Email A Fraud
Yesterday, I was forwarded the following email, with a note asking me if I planned to comment on it: Hey you, here comes Chaka Fatta. Hopefully this will not pass, but if it does, we will have a 1% on all credit card charges. ON JANUARY 1, 2013, THE US GOVERNMENT IS REQUIRING EVERYONE TO…