Yesterday, Sarah, my Prosthetist, checked out George. She ordered a new part to stabilize his ankle, and I’ll have to go back when it comes in. I had to go to the bank, because I discovered over $100.00 was missing from my desk drawer. I know it was there on Saturday, and only one other person had been in the apartment since. So I need to get another shower aide. I’m disappointed, but not angry. Desperate people do desperate things, and the money I had lent her was used up. I’ll tell her tomorrow that it is her last day. I really needed to make the change anyway, because I have not had both weekly showers on time since January, when she moved out of the building, where I used to live. I need to deal with people who add stability to my life, not destabilize it.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:38 (average 6:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes:
From The New Yorker: The war of words between the two Democratic camps heated up over the weekend, as the Clinton campaign accused Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders of “blatantly attempting to win the Democratic nomination for President.”
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Clinton campaign spokesman Harland Dorrinson said that Sanders’s actions in the past few weeks “left little doubt as to what his true intentions are—namely, to be the Party’s nominee.”
“He’s been raising money, he’s been running in primaries, and, yes, he’s been winning caucuses,” the Clinton aide said. “It’s time for Bernie Sanders to come clean with the American people and admit what he’s really up to.”
“It’s deeply troubling that what appeared at first to be a purely symbolic candidacy has turned into something else entirely,” he said.
In an interview on CNN, Secretary Clinton said that she would not “take the bait” when she was asked whether she thought Sanders was trying to win the nomination, but she stopped short of disavowing the accusation.
Dang, Andy!! Does Bernie have chutzpah or what?!!? The Nerve!! How dare he try to win Hillary’s nomination!! 
From Daily Kos: Vox is calling for a boycott of using any paid TurboTax product. So am I. If you’ve already filed, don’t use them again. If you haven’t yet filed, I urge you to use a different service, like Jackon Hewitt or TaxSlayer. Or go to an independent accountant.
The reason, to put it bluntly, is that Intuit, the company that owns TurboTax, has teamed up with Grover Norquist to ensure that paying your taxes is as painful an ordeal as possible.
Intuit has spent over 13 million dollars to lobby AGAINST efforts to make taxes less complicated. After all, if taxes were made simple, then why would you need to shell out big bucks to use their convoluted system? (along with their ever-increasing fees.)
One such effort they oppose is so common-sense that even conservatives are having a hard time making the case against it. (But it’s not stopping them.) It’s called a "Simple Return." Essentially, the onus would be on the IRS, not you, for filling out the tax forms.
You see, the IRS gets all of the same forms in the mail that you do. They already know what you owe, so they would be required to send you a pre-filled out tax return telling you how much you owe (or, if you overpaid, how much you will get back). With one check of the box, you could either accept it, or simply say "No Thanks" and do the taxes yourself. It’s just an option.
I support Vox in this. I use TaxAct.
From Alternet: Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has declared April "Confederate Heritage Month," which has rightfully angered many residents in the state, “especially since the governor refuses to mention what the Civil War was really about—slavery,” The Young Turks co-host Ana Kasparian pointed out on Tuesday.
I guess that means Mississippi is now celebrating Republican Racism Month.
Cartoon:
10 Responses to “Open Thread–4/12.2016”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
4:17 I never did like marmalade.
4:34 (6:48) This one looks very familiar – and difficult. Likely too much sugar for a puddy tat, though.
New Yorker – Excellent characterization of the MSM treatment of the two campaigns.
DKos – I qualify for free filing with an IRS-referred provider. I've used a few, but have stuck with freetaxusa.com for the past few years. My return is so simple I generally have it done by the end of January, unless someone is late with a 1099, and then early February. Let me put it ihis way: if any of your Social Security (not disability, regular SS) is taxable, you are getting more than I am. And if you are getting enough Social Security that the taxable amount is greater than the standard deduction, you are getting A LOT more than I am. But of course if one is working and living on taxable income, I agree it's too complicated and reforem is needed. And filing for a non-profit is a nightmare. Been there, done that, had it for lunch, barfed it.
AlterNet – Barf indeed. Bring Back Slavery Month.
Cartoon – So, so sad. And the circumstances were not pretty, which is also saddening. We could certainly use his like again.
NYer: Andy is spot on, and saying what's been on my mind too…I think Bernie is trying to be the Party's nominee. lol.
DK: Good information, here. I think that my daughter used this product to do her taxes. I'm sending this to her, as an FYI. We have had an accountant do ours for over twenty years, the old fashioned way.
ANet: WOW! I see that Texas is in the mix too. And why did they hate the United States so much? Because they wanted to maintain their states’ rights to own people. “That’s what the Confederacy was all about: ‘Protect my state right to own slaves." Good Lord,what have we become?? So sad !!
Cartoon: Roosevelt's passing stunned the world. Churchill later described learning of FDR's death as comparable to having "been struck a physical blow." Stalin, too, was distressed to learn of FDR's passing. *millercenter.org
Glad to read that your prosthetist is making adjustments on George, and that you'll be able to get it back soon. I understand your disappointment about the missing money, didn't you just give her the AC unit from your apartment? You need consistency with your showers, and medical needs, and hopefully you will find another aide quickly. I'm still working through a head cold, I'm going back to bed. Hope that you have a good evening, take care, and Thanks, Tom.
I hope you find someone good–there are bonded services that do some prevetting for people many who need help use. Your Area Board agency folks probably have a list of these.
AB makes a great point–the media, the party and Clinton's campaign all failed to notice what the voters and people really want from the party and candidate.
Any business you choose to do business with should be vetted for their conflicts with your interests and I thank Vox for helping on this one.
Is Mississippi preparing to secede again?
FDR did amazing things for this country.
So sorry about the missing money. It hurts when someone betrays your trust. You are more forgiving than I would be.
The New Yorker: Too funny. Yes, most people thought his candidacy was merely symbolic, the last laugh is with Bernie.
Daily Kos: I wish I had known this two weeks ago. I have used TurboTax for several years, I won't do that again. I shared this article on Facebook. It is always all about the profit, and Norquist is not someone that I want to assist.
Alternet: I will never understand this need to celebrate the civil war. Respect for your ancestors, yes, but not for a way of life that enslaved other people. I had family who fought on both sides, two brothers, in fact from one family. The family story is that they lived amicably with each other when the war ended, I hope that is true.
Cartoon: No doubt they did celebrate his death. He actually helped the poor.
Puzzle — 3:36 I never was a fan of marmalade, but my father was.
The New Yorker — GO Bernie!!! That Harland Dorrinson sure does get around!
Daily Kos — I wonder if there is such shenanigans in Canada. I have used Turbo Tax for 7 years and really like it. But hey, no Grover Norquist here!
Alternet — "…the proclamation calls the month a chance to “gain insight from our mistakes and successes”… " — If after 150 years, Mississippi and the other secessionist states have not learned from mistakes made prior to the Civil War, they never will. Need proof? The fact that Mississippi has even declared a Confederate Heritage Month should be ample. Get over it already! The Confederacy was soundly defeated by April 1865!
Cartoon — I wonder . . . if we could get some viable DNA from his bones, could another FDR be grown?
Dislike TurboTax anyway… my 90 yr old mother is worried about posting a $20 dividend and there are those folks with their big bucks in the Cayman's paying no tax. Arrrghh
Love that Andy tho….he must be a hoot to live with!
After lending her money, giving her your A/C and having so much more patience with her than most of us would have had, I'm so sorry you've come to this with her, TomCat. You may not be angry, but it must have hurt to have your help and trust betrayed. I hope you will find a more dependable aid soon, one you can trust with helping you clean both yourself and your apartment and gives you the stability in your life you need. It angers me you have to go through all that again. Compared to that, getting used to a stabilized George will be peanuts.
TNY: LOL Andy is a master in turning the rude awakening of Hillary Clinton and her campaign team into something funny but ultimately true.
DK: I guess getting your tax return forms filled in correctly is still quite a hassle, and differing across states too. Our IRS has gone completely overboard the other way: as of this year you must check a filled in return form ON LINE with a secure password, add anything that is missing, correct mistakes and then electronically sign for the completion. It's doable if you're somewhat IT savvy and have nothing out of the ordinary, and most important of all: have a computer and the secure password. A lot of elderly people don't have that, and neither have the poor, so now their children or family have to do their tax returns for them or they have to get help elsewhere, which costs them a bundle if they are able to find it to start with. The digital era has come too soon and too quickly for many, and it was very poorly communicated on top of that.
Alternet: Gov. Bryant has declared a "Confederate Heritage Month" on the site of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans and not on the official website of the state of Mississippi. To me that would make it an unofficial and therefore meaningless statement, a month only to be celebrated by racists who regularly visit the SCV site. Those would be the only ones desperately clinging on to their Confederate Heritage. By posting his proclamation only there, Bryant has openly declared himself one of them. I think people have been impeached for less.
Cartoon: America could do with a number of FDR clones right now.
Thanks all!! Hugs!!
So sorry for your loss of stability in your helpers. That must've been really disheartening. I know when you depend on help and they do things like that, it really hurts the soul.
Sorry again for your loss. Take care of George! He needs TLC, too!!!