A pretty good discussion on the difficulties of SEAD in Iran. I trust this channel because the guy who runs it, MOOCH, was assigned to the same ship I was on during the Gulf War. Meaning, I met him in a previous life, and therefore know he isn’t some Asian fake account.
Taxes
SovCits Enter the Discussion
There are the people (mostly women, and disproportionally black) who think arguing with the cops while demanding to speak with a supervisor will get them out of legal trouble.
Then there are the dumbasses who have taken the “don’t fight on the road, fight in court” advice to heart, and do some studying on the Internet. They don’t understand legal terminology, so they attempt to fake it by spouting a bunch of big words arranged into nonsensical phrases, using them as if they were the magic words in a spell that will make the bad consequences of their actions go away. Some of them even comment on this blog.
It’s tiresome and I can’t imagine how much restraint some of those in the courthouse have to put up with. Heck, I have problems dealing with it on this very blog. Let me illustrate:
Look, I make no bones about being more than disappointed with how our government does business. However, the things some of these outright morons come up with are simply incorrect and won’t work. They haven’t worked. No, you can’t get out of paying income taxes by casting a magic spell using vague Latin sounding phrases in court. Wesley Snipes tried using the 861 argument, and he went to prison for four years. He tried making the argument that he isn’t obligated to pay taxes. He has an outstanding $23 million tax bill. They have been fighting this in court since 2006. The IRS offered to settle it for $9.5 million, but Snipes refused.
This argument has been ruled frivolous in DOZENS of appellate cases. It just isn’t a thing. Proving that everything that comes up on this blog has been discussed already, I posted on this back in 2008. As I said then:
I agree that progressive income taxes are [morally and ethically] wrong. I agree that taking my money to give to someone else in a socialistic redistribution of wealth is the equivalent of armed robbery. I disagree that the tax code has such ludicrous loopholes.
I will not entertain any argument to the contrary in the comments to this post, unless that comment comes with a valid citation to an appellate case verifying your position. I am not going to turn this blog into a Sovereign citizen sounding board.
However, in the interest of fairness, anyone who wishes to set up their own blog to espouse those theories is perfectly welcome to do so. Just contact me, and I can set you up on this very server for the low, low price of $15 per month. The only rule I have for server space here is no porn. It takes up too much bandwidth and invites accusations of child porn and all of the scrutiny that comes with it.
Me
The Train
We woke up at our hotel in Barcelona and headed to the train station. Because we didn’t know what to expect, we arrived at the train station 45 minutes early. There wasn’t much of a waiting area, I guess Spaniards don’t arrive early very often. Still, the train station was clean and there was no graffiti. You did have to pass through airport style security, complete with X-rayed luggage. Then they had all of the passengers for the entire train line up cattle style, then pushed all of us into the train at once.
We soon boarded the train and it headed off to France. The train was nice, and since we paid for first class tickets, we got comfortable seats and were seated on the upper deck, surrounded by large windows.
It was a beautiful ride, and the GPS in my phone said we were moving along at 120 miles per hour for most of the trip. It seems like there was a castle about every half a mile or so.
We soon arrived in Paris and took a cab to the hotel. It was rather chilly outside, 46 degrees. There were low clouds that looked a lot like it was about to snow, but I know it was too warm for that. What this did mean for us, was that it would rain every single day we were there.
When we arrived at the hotel, my wife’s true genius at this sort of thing finally made sense. Some of you asked how we managed to turn time share presentations into a free stay, and this is how she did it. We always stay at Hilton hotels. Whenever you do that, you are always approached by someone who offers you 100,000 honors points (Hilton Honors is the company’s loyalty program) or more for listening to their pitch. My wife would say yes, and we would be roped in to a 3 hour time share pitch. Once, she even booked a stay at Myrtle Beach, for which she got even more points. Again, another time share spiel. All told, she earned (we earned) over 2 million points in less than two years.
When she was planning this trip, she found a nice hotel in Paris that was part of the Hilton system and cashed in half a million points for a 5 night stay. When I say this was a nice hotel, I mean when you walk into the lobby, they offer you canapes and champaign while you wait for them to check you in and get your bags to your room. The place was really nice. She was determined to make this trip memorable, because we have been together for twelve years and married for ten.
Once we were in our room, we went to dinner.
Looking at the wine list, I wanted a Riesling, and they wouldn’t only sell non-French wines by the bottle. The wine was 54 Euros for the bottle, and (French) Onion Soup was 15 Euros.
That price was a bit of a shock, but everything, and I do mean everything, in Europe was expensive. Gasoline was 2 Euro per liter, which works out to $8 per gallon. Still, a crock of onion soup costing $20 explains how they afford “free” healthcare, and also explains how Europeans stay so thin.
Dinner was duck confit, followed by a shared crepe for dessert.
In all, dinner was about 180 Euros- yeah. That’s $220 American dollars for dinner, even if you don’t count the wine, the dinner was more than $150.
We walked a block back to the hotel and arrived to find the bed had been turned down, and cans of spring water were left on each bedside table and some jazz was playing in the room. Oddly enough, the song was c’est si bon. Nice touch.
Uncategorized
Dammit
I know I promised no more complaining about taxes, but the Democrats ruined that less than 24 hours later by proposing a new tax credit for people claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This new credit would allow $5500 per child (up to 3 times) as a bonus for squirting out more crotch fruit than they can afford.
The credit will enable a woman with two kids to receive $16,000 as a tax refund without working or actually earning a dime.
All she would need to do is claim that she was babysitting and is now self reporting the $18000 she made. This amount would also qualify for Medicaid, WIC, $700 and month in food stamps, section 8 housing, a free cell phone, with the total benefits equal to $3,000 a month. Since her self employment tax would be taken out of her refund, she would earn credits to eventually collect social security as well.
No, better than tax free. This is a net income of $52,000 per year, without working a single hour. In order for a working person to earn that much, they would need to work 40 hours per week at more than $30 per hour.
It’s a farm system for making more little Democrats. In 18 years, you will greatly increase the number of little assholes who will vote for you to keep the money rolling in.
Communism
Do You See Where This is Headed?
They are “othering” the right so they can justify what they are about to do. Look, my wife and I made a quarter million last year. They already took more than a quarter of what I made through taxes, and that isn’t enough. It’s coming, and things are going to get ugly as hell.
I’ve been warning my readers for 6 years that this is a communist takeover in the making. I’ve been telling you to prep. They are coming. Trump was only a speedbump.
The Collapse
That’s Just Crazy Talk
Let me paraphrase:
People who own AR-15s think they are arming themselves against a possibly tyrannical government, and that’s just plain incorrect and makes them crazy to even think so. For that reason, I think we should send armed government agents to your house to confiscate them.
Of course, it is foolish to engage in an armed battle with the cops when they show up to your house to confiscate your guns. That’s letting the enemy dictate the time and place of the engagement.
Instead, fight them the way the left fought Charlie Kirk.
You know, with discussion and debate. What else did you think I meant?
Taxes
Last Time This Year, I Promise
Last rant for income taxes for the 2025 tax year. I finally filed my taxes this year. My wife and I made $17,000 more in 2025 than we did in 2024. Thanks to changes in our tax situation, we lost $28,000 in tax deductions and another $12,000 in credits thanks to changes in the tax law, with the result of us paying $20,900 more in taxes for 2025 than we did in 2024.
That’s right- we got a $17,000 raise, but wound up taking home $3,900 less. Thanks a lot to the government.
Meanwhile, there are millions here in the US who don’t work, don’t pay taxes, and still hate me for paying their bills…
Me
Barcelona: End of a Cruise
At this point, we are 16 days into our 21 day vacation, but this is debarkation day from the cruise. As we go through customs, there is a new twist. I’ve been to Europe before, but this time, they both take a picture for facial ID and take everyone’s fingerprints. As we traveled about Spain, I noticed African “migrants” in each town, blatantly breaking the law by their mere presence, and selling black market goods by laying them out on the sidewalk.
It seems the world is full of police powers and restrictions for everyone except illegal immigrants, happening everywhere and in every country, almost as if it were an international conspiracy. It’s shit like this that make me understand where the “one world government” theories come from.
We were spending the night here in Barcelona, so we checked in to the hotel then proceeded to walk around and do some sightseeing. This was a charming little book and stationery store near our hotel.
I love writing letters on parchment paper using fountain pens, but that is something almost no one does any more, and I wanted to go in to see what they had. What did they have? Four stories of fine paper, expensive, high-quality pens, and interesting paper goods like these book sized models:
This pen was on sale for more than $2000 Euros- that’s about $2500. I like fine pens, but not this much. A pen costing this much should come with a membership to the blowjob of the month club. If you’re getting screwed, might as well get some foreplay.
We weren’t especially hungry, so we decided for a light dinner. This is what we had:
Along with a few glasses of Sangria:
Off to bed, so we can take the train to Paris in the morning.
Medical News
The “There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch Act” — A Thought Experiment
Imagine Congress passes the “There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch Act” (TISFATLA). The law is simple and well-intentioned: No American should go hungry during the workday. Therefore, any restaurant that chooses to remain open between 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. must provide a nutritious lunch, defined as at least 500 calories of balanced food (protein, vegetables, whole grains, etc.) to anyone who walks in and requests it, without regard to their ability to pay, insurance status, or how many times they’ve eaten there that week.
Restaurants aren’t completely cornered. They can still raise prices on breakfast and dinner, seek government subsidies, reduce portion sizes, shorten hours, or even close during lunch. But they must serve first and ask questions later, or face steep fines (tens of thousands of dollars per violation) and possible loss of their operating license.
What Happens Next?
Immediate effects: Lines snake around the block. Demand surges because the price at the point of service is zero. Office workers, students, tourists, and predictably frequent diners treat the restaurant as their new daily cafeteria. A tiny fraction of “super-users” (maybe 1–2% of customers) begin consuming 10% or more of all free lunches. One motivated individual might rack up 20–30 meals a month. Why stop? It’s “free.”
Restaurants respond as any business would: they raise breakfast and dinner prices sharply to cover losses, cut quality, shrink portions, and reduce staff. Some simply stop serving lunch altogether, shrinking overall supply and making the remaining spots even more crowded. Wait times balloon to an hour or more. Working people who can’t stand in line during their short break go hungry—not because they lack money, but because the queue rations access.
The Government’s “Solution”: More Rules
Instead of admitting the law created perverse incentives, policymakers declare the problem is “greedy restaurants” exploiting loopholes. So Congress and regulators respond with layer after layer of new rules to “fix” the distortions:
- Restaurants must now document every free lunch with detailed nutritional logs, customer affidavits of need, and proof that the meal met exact caloric and macronutrient guidelines.
- They have to submit monthly reports to a new federal “Lunch Equity Commission” showing how many free meals were served, to whom, and at what cost.
- To prevent “abuse,” restaurants must implement a national “Lunch Eligibility Verification System” that cross-checks customers against a government database— but they still must serve first and verify later.
- New mandates require “culturally appropriate” options, allergy accommodations, and sustainability standards for ingredients.
Complying with this exploding regulatory thicket isn’t cheap. Restaurants now have to hire entire new departments of billing specialists, compliance officers, nutrition auditors, and paperwork clerks just to navigate the rules and avoid ruinous fines. These added administrative costs get passed on through even higher dinner prices, smaller portions, or reduced service quality. Some smaller restaurants simply give up and close.
The result? The original promise of “free lunch” has morphed into a vast, expensive bureaucracy that employs more people pushing paper than actually cooking food. Meanwhile, lunch lines remain long, quality has declined, dinner prices have skyrocketed, and fewer restaurants are willing to stay open during the mandated hours. Everyone begins complaining that the nation’s “restaurant system” is broken. Why, in Europe, people just walk in and buy lunch without waiting!
The EMTALA Parallel Is Striking
This cycle is not hypothetical, it’s exactly how EMTALA and the broader healthcare regulatory regime have evolved. A hospital shows up with a possible emergency? Screen and stabilize first, payment questions later. When uncompensated care piles up and emergency departments become overcrowded with frequent flyers (a small group of patients driving a wildly disproportionate share of visits and ambulance runs), the response isn’t to revisit the zero-price mandate. Instead, we get more rules: ever-stricter documentation, quality metrics, electronic health record mandates, billing codes, prior authorizations, and compliance layers.
Hospitals and physician groups respond by hiring armies of coders, billers, compliance staff, and administrators. U.S. healthcare now spends roughly 25–30% of total dollars on administrative overhead — far more than in most other countries. That bureaucracy doesn’t deliver care; it manages the distortions created by mandates, price controls, and third-party payment systems. The original goal of helping people in genuine need gets buried under mountains of paperwork, while costs keep rising and access problems (long waits, boarded patients, specialist shortages) persist.
The Deeper Lesson
When someone tries to use jury duty, court-appointed lawyers, or judges as justification for forcing doctors and hospitals to provide “free” healthcare, they’re missing (or ignoring) this dynamic. The justice system obligations are narrow constitutional protections against government abuse of its own punitive power. EMTALA-style mandates in medicine are open-ended entitlements that conscript private resources and then breed ever-more-complex regulation to manage the inevitable shortages and abuses.
There is no free lunch, just as there is no free healthcare. Every attempt to create one through mandates simply shifts the costs (to paying customers, taxpayers, or future patients) and grows a parasitic administrative class that feeds on the resulting complexity. The compassionate impulse to help the needy is better served by increasing real supply: more doctors, fewer barriers to entry, price transparency, and targeted aid, rather than layering on rules that make the system slower, more expensive, and less responsive to actual human needs.
The problem is one of intelligence. How do you create more doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel without lowering standards? Medicine (and advanced nursing) is cognitively demanding. It requires high fluid intelligence, strong working memory, pattern recognition, and the ability to integrate massive amounts of complex information under pressure. Multiple studies put the average IQ of physicians around 120–130 (roughly the 90th–98th percentile of the population). That’s not an accident or a gatekeeping artifact; it’s what the work demands. You can’t mass-produce doctors the way you can produce more Uber drivers or retail workers without either lowering standards or hitting the natural limits of the talent pool.
There are ways to increase the number of health care workers, and we can discuss that in a later post.
In case you are wondering, this post was written because of this guy:
Cops
Karen Fatigue
These were the most chilled out cops ever. I will certainly call out the cops when they are wrong. In this case, they handled this traffic stop in the most professional way.
This entire interaction was due to the US “the customer always gets their way” approach to customer service. These women have learned to just scream for a manager, who will come and kiss their ass, letting them have whatever they are demanding. That doesn’t work on police, and it shouldn’t. If you are on a traffic stop or are getting arrested, the only response people should get when demanding a supervisor is “No”
If you have a problem with your arrest or stop, fix it in court.