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I have used Turbo Tax for years, ever since I discovered how H&R Block does taxes: They put some schlub that has no accounting or financial experience through a class on how to use their software, and then they simply ask what the computer tells them to, and fill in the blanks. Then they charge you a pile of money for it.
Problem is, they often screw it up. Case in point: My girlfriend. She has done her taxes at H&R Block for years. She was showing me her return, and I caught an error. We went through her taxes for the past three years, and they have caused her to pay nearly $4,000 more than she should have.
Now we are having to file amended returns. For 2010, she is past the three year limit on filing an amended return, so that money is gone.
We just finished her amended return for 2011, and the IRS owes her $1724, thanks to the wonderful morons at H&R Block.
Once her refund check comes in, we will have to refile her 2012 taxes as well.
What got me started was her complaining that H&R Block claims that they will file a 1040EZ for you for free, but then they charged her $85, because they had to file a 1040A in order to take advantage of a $71 credit that was available to her. The difference in her refund of $71 caused them to charge her an extra $85 in preparation fees, meaning a net loss of $14 to her. We began looking closer, and saw that they had missed quite a few deductions and credits, including education credits.

So I went last night to see Penn and Teller perform at Hard Rock Live, located at Universal Studios Orlando. Even though there was no advance warning on the tickets, there were magnetometers set up at the entrance, and they were searching everyone. I walked up to the security guard and asked him if there were somewhere that I could secure my weapon. He said that they did not even allow cops to carry weapons in the venue. He said that because they served alcohol inside, it was illegal to carry weapons.

I pointed out that he was wrong, that state law actually says that:

Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose (emphasis added)

Since the area was primarily devoted to concerts, and the sale of alcohol was incidental to that use, I think that the law is pretty clear there. But, hey, private property and all that, and not wanting to miss the show, I asked what to do, and was told to lock it in my car.

There are two problems with that: I had parked my car in valet parking, and there ARE notices everywhere, both in regular and valet parking, that say Universal Studios is not responsible for valuables left in parked  automobiles. I pointed this out, and he suggested that I rent a locker in a nearby kiosk. So, I walked the several hundred yards to the locker rentals, and rented a locker for $4.

This didn’t surprise me, as Universal is owned by NBC, who are hardly defenders of gun rights, but it did surprise me that Penn and Teller would allow this sort of behavior at a show.

In short, the magnetometers were BULLSHIT.

According the Officer Down Memorial Page, there were 126 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2012. That inflates things a bit, because 18 of them were police dogs.

8 police dogs died of heat exhaustion
2 K9s killed in transportation related incidents.
6 K9s were shot
1 died from a fall

 Let’s take a look at what happened to the 108 human cops, shall we?
Of those 108:

There were 42 officers killed in transportation incidents, 39% of those killed.
3 from aircraft, 35 in auto accidents, 5 were struck by vehicles as pedestrians.

16 of them (15%) died from medical problems, or from accidents:
2 were killed by unspecified “medical emergencies”
1 died from hepatitis C that he contracted in 1983
1 died from complications of a surgery to repair an on duty knee injury
2 cops were killed by falling from heights
1 died from injuries sustained in 2009 when he fell off of a horse
1 died from heat exhaustion
7 died from heart attacks
1 killed in a training accident when an instructor threw him and caused a head injury

Of the 17 cops killed by non-firearm assaults:
11 were run down by criminals
1 was killed with an assailant’s bare hands
5 were stabbed. All 5 were stabbed by jail or prison inmates.

Of the 43 firearm deaths:
1 was killed by her husband, using her own gun
1 was killed by an assailant who overpowered the officer and shot him with his own gun
2 were shot by other cops in cases of mistaken identity

2 were shot and killed when a prisoner that was in custody, was handcuffed in a patrol car, and had already been searched, produced a handgun and shot them.
1 was ambushed and killed in his driveway by a convicted felon that he had arrested many times over a 40 year career.
1 was shot in 1965 and died in 2012. Hard to say this death is due to being shot when you live another 48 years.
2 were ambushed by domestic terrorists while working off duty jobs in their patrol cars.

By weapon type
19 were shot by unknown firearms
18 with handguns
1 with a shotgun
3 with unknown type rifles
4 with so called “assault weapons”

So out of the 108 cops killed in 2012, there were 36 cops killed by assaults on the street by people that they came in contact with. The rest of the deaths were accidents, medical problems, being shot by other cops, by their spouses, and other incidents. It is a myth that cops have a job that is so dangerous as to require that they disarm and subjugate every citizen that they come into contact with for “officer safety.”

If they really cared about officer safety, they would take away their lights and sirens, and force them to drive at reasonable speeds. That would have saved the lives of the same number of officers, and not led to violating people’s rights and roughing them up.

A strong defense of the nation is important. Our military is hard at work, defending us from the enemy. They were recently seen drilling in the skies over Houston and Miami.

With the news that the president is shutting down NORAD radar surveillance in the southern US, while at the same time stepping up its monitoring of its own citizens, it appears as though the government doesn’t feel that the threat to its survival is an external one. Who is the enemy that our military is preparing to face?

This post is about the “Zero Aggression Principle” that many libertarians use as a litmus test. Many believe that it is ALWAYS wrong to initiate force against another. From the linked page:

“A libertarian is a person who believes that no one has the right, under any circumstances, to initiate force against another human being, or to advocate or delegate its initiation. Those who act consistently with this principle are libertarians, whether they realize it or not. Those who fail to act consistently with it are not libertarians, regardless of what they may claim.” 

I think that it must be nice to live in such a simple world. The first problem that I have with this idea is how you choose to define “force.” What if a person is shitting in your yard? Is he initiating force? Or would you be, if you physically remove him?

What about a petulant child the refuses to obey his parents? When the parents attempt to discipline the child, at what point is the discipline considered force? Confining him to a corner (timeout)? Spanking?

Then there is the case where a person is out of his mind. Can we, in good conscience, protect him from himself? For example, a drunk that is trying to sleep on railroad tracks. Are we initiating force when we remove him, even if he protests?

This is a problem that paramedics and other EMS workers have to face every day. I will give an example: A man that has been drinking is driving his motorcycle without a helmet. He lays it down, and slides under the back wheels of an automobile. There is a large area of skin missing from his forehead, and a large lump on the top of his head. He is staggering, and there is a large flap of loose flesh hanging torn from his arm. He is adamantly refusing a trip to the hospital. Is it initiating force to make him go? Yes. Is it wrong to force him? No.

You see a person who is drink is not capable of deciding for himself if he needs medical care. A person who has a head injury can be combative and adamant that he doesn’t want anyone touching him. In those cases, should we leave him there to die? If we do, the law says that his family can sue me.

In such a case, I would have no problem leaving a person there, if that is what the law requires. However, the law must also not hold the medical provider liable when the decision turns out to be a fatal one for the patient.

That is one of the basic flaws with that philosphy.

This is a bulletin from Valencia College in Orlando:

At approximately 9:20pm on
Wednesday, January 23, 2013, two female students were approached from behind by
a black male wearing jeans and hooded sweatshirt as they walked together to
their car.  The suspect called out to
them from behind saying “excuse me” a couple of times.  The students continued walking and didn’t
acknowledge him. The suspect grabbed one of the students by
her wrist,  and she immediately fell faint
on the ground.  The second student went
to her aid and was hit in the mouth.  We
believe the second student was hit in the mouth inadvertently as the first
student fell. The suspect walked away with no words or further contact.  There is no clear motive in this incident.

If you witnessed or have
any information regarding this case, please contact Campus Security at (407)
582-1000.  Information can also be given
anonymously using the “Silent Witness” form on the security web page at http://valenciacollege.edu/security/silentWitness.cfm

Remember these safety tips:

·        
Call Campus
Security at (407) 582-1000 if you’d like an escort to your car.

·        
Travel in the
company of others and use the “buddy” system whenever you can.

·        
Use your cell
phone and campus safety call boxes to call for assistance.

·        
If you see any
suspicious behavior, report it to Campus Security using the methods outlined
above.




In Florida, weapons are prohibited on college campuses. Instead, you must hope that the attacker decides not to hurt you. These women used the “buddy system” and it stopped nothing. Call boxes and cell phones only serve to let you call for help AFTER the attack is over. Welcome to defenseless victim zones, ladies.

I was told today by a gun banning liberal that any time a person mentions the US Constitution, the person doing the mentioning should concede that the argument is over, and they have lost. He claimed that any mention of the Constitution means that the logic of your argument cannot stand up to scrutiny, and one must fall upon an illogical appeal to authority that does not stand up. He claimed that this falls under the same category of using the Bible to support your argument.

I guess this is a variation of Godwin’s law.

I have carried a concealed weapon for 25 years, as a resident of four states. I always thought that it would be prudent to inform officers that I came in contact with that I was carrying a concealed weapon. Until 2001, that is.
That was the year that I was pulled over by an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Sergeant for running a stop sign. He told me to step out of the car, and I handed him my license, registration, and concealed weapons permit, and told him “Just so you don’t get nervous, I want to let you know that I am carrying a concealed weapon.” The conversation went like this:

Deputy Sergeant: (puts hand on gun) “You move and I will kill you where you stand. You wanna try me? I bet I’m faster.”
DM “I was just letting you know, so that you wouldn’t be nervous.”
DS “Do I look nervous to you, boy?”
DM “No.”
DS “I can’t believe that they let dumb assholes like you carry a gun.”
DM “What’s your problem?”
DS “You are. Please, make one move, so I can have an excuse.”

The rest of the conversation was just a productive. He didn’t even arrest me or write a ticket. Ever since, I no longer inform them, especially since Florida doesn’t have a duty to inform. It isn’t worth the risk of running into the wrong cop.