National
ICYMI: A big breakdown at the IRS
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot last Thursday. One of the things that always got me when I worked for the IRS (1980 – 1985) was that any scandal caused every single employee to be painted with a broad brush, even if those employees had nothing to do with it. That hasn’t … Continue reading
The IRS mess
As a former employee – I spent six years there in the early 1980s – I hate to see the IRS in a bad light. The organization takes more hits than it deserves, but this time, the hit is well deserved. No way the IRS should be targeting a specific group of entities. Others have … Continue reading
ICYMI: The end of tax-free sales online
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-PIlot Friday. The U.S. Senate is expected to take up the Marketplace Fairness Act today. Most expect it will pass. While the House of Representatives is another hurdle, I’ll go out on a limb and say that it will pass there, too. The states are hurting and … Continue reading
All eyes on Boston
What a horrible week! There are no words to express what the people of the Boston area have experienced this week. My thoughts and prayers are with them.
Battle over getting a slice of Federal employees health care dollars heats up
Kaiser Health Foundation wrote recently that two of the largest providers of health insurance to federal employees, retirees and dependents are in a battle to scoop as many people up as they can in an effort to increase profit, I am sure. Also, Obamacare is changing the way things are done, and insurers are ready … Continue reading
Tax filing day
“Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Today is the deadline for filing your 2012 federal income tax returns (unless you get an extension). The IRS website has these Free File options for the do-it-yourself folks out there. The Virginia return is not due until May 1st. If you … Continue reading
Video: Imagine a world without hate
This has to be one of the best videos making the rounds that I’ve seen in a long time.
AAAU publishes gender gap statistics by state
The American Association of University Women (AAAU) has published a set of statistics on the subject of the gender gap in pay in this country. The figure for Virginia (pdf) is 78 cents on the dollar. That’s $0.78 earned by a woman while a man earned a dollar. For doing the same work. The most … Continue reading
Finding that elusive line
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. One of the many things on my mind of late is why people behave the way they do. I’ve come to the conclusion that at least some of that behavior is rooted in the lack of ethics, a personal code that tells us what is … Continue reading
MLK Jr: 45 years later
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights icon, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As I was perusing my blog for earlier posts, I ran across this one I wrote five years ago. Truth be told, not much has happened in the interim, except the country has elected a black … Continue reading
Ridiculous
Two op-eds, reprinted in The Virginian-Pilot, crossed into the territory of the ridiculous.
A rapid and welcome shift in perceptions
My latest op-ed, title above, appeared in The Virginian-Pilot Thursday. The cartoon that accompanied the column couldn’t have been more perfect: marriage equality is coming, whether the Supremes like it or not. Maureen Dowd’s column, printed in today’s paper in the same middle space of the page, calls out the court for its reluctance to … Continue reading
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