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"So wait... you're laying off my son's teacher because this guy doesn't want to pay his taxes???!!!"

So the Denver Post has done us an extremely useful service today by highlighting just one of many ways that rich people in the United States get away with paying practically zero taxes. I think this could be useful because many of the rich people featured in the story happen to be Hollywood celebrities, who are often the bane of our conservative brethren on a great many issues. Let's take a look:

Actors, captains of industry, an Ivy League astrologer, sports figures, politicians, energy giants, schoolteachers from Pasadena, Calif. All these are also considered farmers or ranchers for tax purposes in Colorado. They have secured low property taxes through agricultural designations on land they own even though they personally have little or nothing to do with producing food — the reason state legislators originally created a low property-tax rate for the agriculture sector.

In some cases, the properties where they have second, third or fourth homes were traditional working ranches before they were sold to the wealthy and became what, in real-estate lingo, are termed "gentleman ranches" or "recreational ranches."

You can see where this is going, can't you? And once you get into the gory details, things get really ugly:

Actor Tom Cruise owns five parcels of land on a scenic mesa northwest of Telluride that has become an enclave of high-end vacation homes. Sheep graze around the mansions for brief periods each year, according to the assessor's office. Cruise pays just more than $400 in taxes for 248 acres for which he paid nearly $18 million between 1994 and 2002. He pays $11,380 in residential property taxes for the land where his $9.7 million home is located.

Yes, this is how poorly our tax systems across the country are designed: Tom Bleeping Cruise can get away with paying $400 a year in taxes for property that's worth around $18 million, all because he occasionally allows sheep to walk through it.

Want another ugly detail? Check out this one:

David Tresemer, an astrologer and Harvard-educated psychologist, owns 191 acres and four structures that are listed as farm buildings or residences in the foothills west of Boulder where he operates the StarHouse. It is advertised as a spiritual and cultural space for celebrations of the seasons, the lunar cycles and rituals from ancient and indigenous cultures.

He pays $11.48 in taxes for 38 of the vacant acres and $3,699 for the remainder of the land with the buildings.

OK, even if Ma and Pa Tea Party are still Tom Cruise fans, there ain't no way they're happy that a Harvard-educated astrologer is paying just over $11 in taxes for 38 vacant acres of land. And remember, these are only two examples that demonstrate how the rich and their accountants have completely gamed the tax code to their advantage. A more thorough audit of other rich people in other states would no doubt unveil countless other horrors.

Hey, have you got time for another one? Sure you do:

Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James own a 35-acre lot in the upscale West Meadows subdivision near Telluride. They purchased the land for $1.8 million in 1996 and pay $123 in property taxes on it annually because there is hay on it. They also own an $11 million home in the Mountain Village.

And:

Universal Faithists of Kosmon, which believes in a new-age bible purportedly channeled by a clairvoyant dentist in the late 1800s, purchased 40 acres of agricultural ground in Mesa County last summer. The land on the Grand Mesa includes a ranch house, so the tax is $1,503. The Faithists teach that human beings are going to evolve into the Kosmon Era, a time of worldwide peace and joy.

You get the idea. This is all happening as schools throughout Colorado are dramatically cutting spending and laying off teachers, and as one Colorado town dealt with its budget crunch by shutting off one-third of its streetlights.

This sort of stuff is pretty important. While Americans may grumble a lot about "big gubmint," they tend to like things such as street lamps and a functioning public education system. If we can no longer afford these things because the tax code thinks Tom Cruise is a cattle herder, then something is drastically wrong with the way we collect taxes in this country.

This is such bullshit. HarperCollins photoshopped the cigarette out of the Clement Hurd's hand in the "about the illustrator" picture in the 50th anniversary edition of the children's book Goodnight Moon, Worse still they bowdlerized an illustration by erasing an ashtray:

In the great green room, there is a telephone, and a red balloon, but no ashtray. "Goodnight Moon," the children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown, has gone smoke free.

In a newly revised edition of the book, which has lulled children to sleep for nearly 60 years, the publisher, HarperCollins, has digitally altered the photograph of Clement Hurd, the illustrator, to remove a cigarette from his hand. [NYT permalnk]

Don't smoke, kids. You might end up frozen in an incomprehensible pose for posterity.

--Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise

Digby has this on Roberts: "In case anyone is wondering if Roberts really is a partisan hack or not, Jeffrey Toobin's book "Too Close To Call" sheds some light on that subject:

The president's first two nominations to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia curcuit --- generally regarded as the stepping-stone to the Supreme Court --- went to Miguel Estrada and John G Roberts Jr., who had played important behind-the scenes roles in the Florida litigation."

By the way, it's a great book.

Untidy Lying Media Bastards

Sy Hersh tells us that the Bush administration made plans to covertly influence the outcome of the 2005 Iraqi election, attempting to win votes for specific candidates. Yes, I’m sure you’re all shocked.

Apparently Congress opposed this plan, so the White House had to do this covert action… uh, double ultra secret covertly. This just proves that either the Bush administration has never fucking cared about bringing democracy to Iraq, or that they define “democracy” much differently than the rest of us. Honestly, I think it’s both of the above.

Of course, the US has a long history of secretly supporting one candidate over another in foreign countries. And if that doesn’t work, overthrowing the opponent after he takes power. Or, destablizing the entire country, and then overthrowing the opponent. I once again recommend the book Killing Hope for examples.

Juan Cole reminds us of a long legacy of Western powers interfering in Middle Eastern democracy. To the point that I imagine many in the region think “democracy” means “the white people are gonna fuck with us again.”

Thou Shall Not Suck

Subject: An investigation that was supposed to look into the expenses of first-grade-teacher/plumbing-company-owner turned biologist/zoologist/anthropologist/paleontologist Connie Morris, who averaged $600 a day for a trip to Miami.

Hypothesis: The KBoE has lost it’s collective fucking mind.

Evidence: This is outstanding (use to view).
 
Remarks: You’ve got to read this:

Despite criticism of one member over her expenses during a Florida convention, a State Board of Education subcommittee decided Monday against proposing changes in board travel policies.
 
Board member Connie Morris, of St. Francis, was criticized last month because her trip in April to Miami for a six-day conference on magnet schools cost Kansas taxpayers nearly $3,600.
[emphasis added]

So what’s the problem?

But the subcommittee—whose three members include Morris—decided against recommending revisions to the full board, which was scheduled to take up the issue Tuesday. bugmenot to view).

Remarks: You’ve got to read this:

Despite criticism of one member over her expenses during a Florida convention, a State Board of Education subcommittee decided Monday against proposing changes in board travel policies.

Board member Connie Morris, of St. Francis, was criticized last month because her trip in April to Miami for a six-day conference on magnet schools cost Kansas taxpayers nearly $3,600.
[emphasis added]

So what’s the problem?

But the subcommittee—whose three members include Morris—decided against recommending revisions to the full board, which was scheduled to take up the issue Tuesday.
[emphasis again added]

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. The three-member (insert penis joke here) panel that looked into the expenses included Morris?? That’s like having a trial where the defendant is also one of the jurors.

“There has to be some latitude for different expenses in different parts of the country," said subcommittee Chairman Ken Willard, of Hutchinson, a conservative.

“Not guilty, ya honor!”
 
She averaged $600 a day! How much latitude are you going to give a person? Hell, I’ve had three meals in a 4-star restaurant, drained an entire mini-bar in a 5-star hotel, and STILL not been able to ring up that kind of bill. And we know she wouldn’t do that—according to her bio, she’s a born-again Christian. Of course, that sure does explain a lot.

[…]
Morris' expenses included $339 a night for a room at the hotel where the convention was held. She said no cheaper rooms at the hotel were available when she registered for the conference. She also wanted to avoid walking from another hotel to conference events.
[emphasis again added]

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. The three-member (insert penis joke here) panel that looked into the expenses included Morris?? That’s like having a trial where the defendant is also one of the jurors.

“There has to be some latitude for different expenses in different parts of the country," said subcommittee Chairman Ken Willard, of Hutchinson, a conservative.

“Not guilty, ya honor!”

She averaged $600 a day! How much latitude are you going to give a person? Hell, I’ve had three meals in a 4-star restaurant, drained an entire mini-bar in a 5-star hotel, and STILL not been able to ring up that kind of bill. And we know she wouldn’t do that—according to her bio, she’s a born-again Christian. Of course, that sure does explain a lot.

[…]
Morris' expenses included $339 a night for a room at the hotel where the convention was held. She said no cheaper rooms at the hotel were available when she registered for the conference. She also wanted to avoid walking from another hotel to conference events.

So she fleeced Kansas taxpayers because she: a.) didn’t get off her ass and book her room in time; and b.) didn’t want to walk across the street? After looking at her picture, my guess is that she could probably use the exercise.

She said little during Monday's meeting …

Apparently she’s not totally retarded …

… but in the past has suggested criticism of her is political and part of the board's ongoing dispute over how evolution is taught.

Actually, I think it has more to do with the fact that she ripped off the people of Kansas. Granted, what she did was not technically against the rules, but it sure as hell is ethically questionable. Although, that’s never stopped her before ...

Morris upset moderate board members last month with a newsletter to constituents describing evolution as "an age-old fairy tale" and criticizing other board members by name.

In other words, it’s okay for her to attack other board members, but when the tables are turned, it’s wrong.

So she fleeced Kansas taxpayers because she: a.) didn’t get off her ass and book her room in time; and b.) didn’t want to walk across the street? After looking at her picture, my guess is that she could probably use the exercise.

She said little during Monday's meeting …

Apparently she’s not totally retarded …

… but in the past has suggested criticism of her is political and part of the board's ongoing dispute over how evolution is taught.

Actually, I think it has more to do with the fact that she ripped off the people of Kansas. Granted, what she did was not technically against the rules, but it sure as hell is ethically questionable. Although, that’s never stopped her before ...

Morris upset moderate board members last month with a newsletter to constituents describing evolution as "an age-old fairy tale" and criticizing other board members by name.

In other words, it’s okay for her to attack other board members, but when the tables are turned, it’s wrong.

The subcommittee also was directed to review policies saying that board members are supposed to treat each other with courtesy and not let debates lapse into personal attacks. The subcommittee decided those policies already are clear.

Fucking hypocrites.
 
Conclusion: You would think that the Department of Education would want to teach kids good ethics by example. Of course, you’d be wrong.
 
Solution: Send the entire school board a copy of this.

Debunking Rove Spin         That Colored Fellas weblog

The subcommittee also was directed to review policies saying that board members are supposed to treat each other with courtesy and not let debates lapse into personal attacks. The subcommittee decided those policies already are clear.

Fucking hypocrites.

Conclusion: You would think that the Department of Education would want to teach kids good ethics by example. Of course, you’d be wrong.

Solution: Send the entire school board a copy of this.

Top 10 secrets revealed in Furhman's new book

Jesus General has the skinny on "OJ" Furman's- Terri Schiavo book

Also

The Moderate Voice has a piece on Arnold's: Biggest Political Battle

'Sadly, No!' nails Jonah Goldberg, the Doughy Pantload.

James Wolcot issues the ultimate Pantyload smack down and sums it up like this:

“Yes, but Jonah speaks fluent Simpsons, which is why he’s so popular with campus conservatives as he goes about entertaining and mentoring the maroons of tomorrow.”

The only reason Goldberg's travesty of history, Liberal Fascism, hit the bestseller list was that thousands of conservatives rushed out to their bookstores and their Amazon pages and bought up lots of copies. Otherwise, this lying mediocrity would be buried in the obscurity he deserves.

Are you going to let the conservative movement get away with supporting lunatics like that? Just a few other reasons out of a gazillion to support real authors...

And buy this book.

Alan Grayson emailed in some props for our new book "Over the Cliff," How the Election of Barack Obama Drove the American Right Insane.

Rep. Alan Grayson:

At their hugely popular website ‘Crooks and Liars,’ John Amato and David Neiwert have helped to expose the fact that there is no conservative party in America any more. They show that the right wingers are not conservatives, they are anarchists.

The only law the right wing believes in is the Law of the Jungle. No schools, no hospitals, no job programs, no nothing. Their idea of nirvana is Mogadishu. See it there, at ‘Crooks and Liars,’ and read it here.”

Only Alan Grayson can put something in perspective quite like that.

You can get more info about the book here and purchase it in all kinds of ways.

You can graba copy here too.

Via Brave New Conversations (FaceBook):

Here is the first of the Chat series -- Art, Space and Politics: Shepard Fairey asks Robbie Conal

Best known for his unapologetic in-your-face style of political street art, Robbie Conal is ready to take us on a new journey with his new book Not Your Typical Political Animal. But that doesn’t mean his ideas of creating art anywhere and everywhere have changed. In this chat with fellow artist and long time fan Shepard Fairey, he discusses the use of public space for art and challenges us all to take action.