Why Corporations Get Away With Hiding Cash in Bermuda and The Cayman Islands

Good Day World!

Donald Trump thinks he's a genius because he gamed the tax system and is not paying taxes. 

He's not alone however.

American corporations routinely stash cash overseas in two islands so they don't have to pay taxes. Like Trump, these corporations are gaming the federal tax system which needs to be changed.

Hiding money in a office box in Bermuda is a good way to avoid paying taxes if your a corporation, or even a rich individual. 

You may be wondering why Bermuda and the Caymans are so attractive to big corporations. For starters, according to a recent study  they have little in the way of a tax system.

The Securities and Exchange Commission requires publicly held corporations, to disclose how they interact with the federal tax system — how much they pay in U.S. taxes, how much they pay abroad, how much cash they hold abroad for tax purposes. 

But guess what? No one is enforcing these requirements or the corporations wouldn't do it. It's going to take a re-write of the Federal Tax Laws - and enforcement - to stop corporations from hiding money abroad to avoid paying taxes.

Right now, it's easier to stash corporate funds in these two islands than it is to get a library card, according to Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Meanwhile, the rest of America is paying taxes. That, my friend, is not right!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Could Hurricane Matthew Be The October Surprise Trump Needs?

                                                Good Day World!

Millions of Americans are on edge as Hurricane Matthew slams into Florida today. 

Lives, and votes are on the line.

I can't emphasis enough how important it is for the Obama administration to respond quickly to the state's expected needs. 

If there's any controversary about how relief efforts are handled, the Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump, will seize upon the chance to convince voters he could have done better.

With the election mere weeks away, Trump could use an October surprise as he's been sinking in the polls again since losing his first debate with Hillary Clinton.

Dire predictions spurred a mass exodus in Florida Wednesday as Gov. Rick Scott warned people not to stay there and try to ride the storm out. 

About 1.5 million Floridians all up and down the coast have been evacuated and 3,500 members of the National Guard have been activated.

Related:

How Hurricanes Have Disrupted and Defined Past Elections

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Need a Good Laugh, Or Two? Read On...

Good Day World!

Need a good laugh?

Read on...

A couple was going on vacation but his wife was on a business trip so he went to the destination first and his wife would meet him the next day.

When he got to the hotel he decided to send his wife a quick email.

Unfortunately, when typing her address, he mistyped a letter and his email was directed to an elderly preacher's wife whose husband had passed away the day before.

When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.

At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

"Dearest Wife, 
Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

P.S. Sure is hot down here.

(via http://academictips.org/blogs/funny-short-stories/)
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OLD SCHOOL BASKETBALL

I don't know if you noticed last season, but five NBA players were fined for having shorts that were too long..they went below their knees.

Does anyone remember the NBA in the 70's and 80's?

Basketball players used to play in Speedos and halter tops!
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ALONZO BODDEN ON POLITICALLY CORRECT COMEDY

"A joke is either funny or it's not funny. If I hear a funny joke, you know what I do? I laugh, that's what I do. I don't start a focus group to see who got hurt by the joke."

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Divided We Fall: Will America Survive This Election?

Good Day World!

America had a pretty good run for 240 years, but the noble experiment is exploding as we watch in horror.

The wealthy are moving to consolidate their power as a billionaire runs for the presidency. Visions of no taxes for the 'job-makers" are dancing in their greedy little heads.

Partisan politics have not only polarized our government into bowing before brands - no matter how corrupt and loathsome - but they have lost any veneer of civility in the election process.

The bar has been set so low by followers of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, that it's no longer safe to let your children follow the toxic campaign.

And it couldn't come in a worst time in our history.

Racial unrest has become a front-and-center topic. Immigration is a subject bitterly fought over. More have-nots are giving up hope for a better life.

Slithering to the top of the toxic brew in this election is the alt-right support for Donald Trump. Neo Nazi's and klansmen are crawling out from beneath their rocks and basking in the air of legitimacy Trump is giving them.

Read The Alt-Right Will Rise And Fall With Donald Trump

Will America survive this election? 

Time for me to walk on down the road...

It's Never Too Late To Start All Over Again

"It's never too late to start all over again
To love the people you caused pain
And help them learn your name
Oh no, not too late
It's never too late to start all over again."
-Steppenwolf

Good Day World!

Tuesday testimonial time.

I've had to start all over again a couple of times in my life. The first time was the transition from civilian (19 years-old/photo) to soldier. 

Coming back from Vietnam in 1970 was a jarring transition. From playing pickup basketball in gyms to humping through jungles full of enemies, my world spun like a top.

When I got back in "the world" I had to suddenly adjust from combat to being a civilian again. Hard times. I drifted for several years, roaming from job-to-job, from state-to-state, and from my nightly nightmares.

Long story short. I fell in love and got married. That was the start of a journey that took me back from the edge of sanity to college and a career as a journalist.

The story doesn't end there however.

After 20 years of working in newspapers and magazines, PTSD got the better of me. I could no longer work and descended back to the dark places in my brain that pulled me - screaming - back into the jungle.

It took over two decades to get to the place that I can now say is a good one. I can honestly say I've learned how to live with my PTSD. It'll never go away, but there are many things I can do to save my day.

That's it folks. I sincerely mean it when I say, It's never too late to start all over again.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Alarming Buzz On Bees: 7 Types Now On Endangered Species List

Good Day World!

Albert Einstein once prophetically remarked, "Mankind will not survive the honeybees' disappearance for more than four years."

Today, humans worldwide are facing the loss of the global honeybee population.

U.S. Adds 7 Types of Bees To The Endangered Species List For The First Time

The consequence of a dying bee population impacts us all at the highest levels on the food chain, posing an enormously grave threat to human survival.

Death and Extinction of the Bees

Think about it. There is no other single animal species that plays a more significant role in producing the fruits and vegetables that we all take for granted.

Here's Why All The Bees Are Dying

You don't see the subject of the rapidly declining worldwide bee population on the mainstream media very often. Perhaps some people don't want us to be concerned. I'm not sure.

It seems to me however, that the disappearing bee community should be a concern that we're ALL TALKING About.

What can you do to help?

Why We Need To Save The Bees + 10 Things You Can Do To Help

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Who Knew Frankentrump Would Turn On His Creators? A Film Buff?

                                        Good Day World!

It took decades for the Republican party to piece together their creation, Frankentrump.

Last year the GOP happily declared "It's alive! It's alive!" when Frankentrump walked over his competition in the primaries.

In an interesting case of life reflecting art, we see the Frankenstein monster and Donald Trump merge - created by conflicting forces - and become the embodiment of the grand spectacle the GOP hoped to stage in order to gain back the presidency.

Sociologists say many Americans are feeling they have little control over their lives.

Republicans have taken this sense of helplessness, and anger, and have used it for the last thirty years to tell their supporters that they should be angry about blacks, immigrants, big government, Muslims, terrorists, and a host of other issues that have nothing to do with the problems they face daily.

Frankentrump emerged fullblown from this steady indoctrination, becoming their leader. But the established Republicans that created him found that they couldn't control him.

The GOP found out, too late, that Frankentrump was never really their monster.

He was influenced by them, but belonged to the legions of angry under-educated white men waiting to create chaos.   

He knew interesting is preferable to informed or reasonable or lucid. That's why he goes off-script so often and riffs on stage like a stand-up comedian.

That approach didn't work out well however. That was evident during the First Presidential Debate with Hillary Clinton (9/26):

Analysis: Hillary Clinton's Studies for Debate With Donald Trump Pay Off

Donald Trump and the Perils of Little Preparation

A Fool's Folly: Donny T's Big Bad Night

Meanwhile establishment Republicans are hunkered down in their offices waiting. In shock. Waiting, and hoping that Frankentrump doesn't complete his mission of destruction if elected.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Everybody Quit One Day - Just Like That

Good Day World!

A movie came out in 2004 that you may not have heard of because it wasn't a box office hit.

I thought it was quite unique however.

It was called - A Day Without A Mexican.

The film was a satirical look at the consequences of all the Mexicans in the state of California suddenly disappearing.

Imagine the possibilities for humor and pathos?

I thought it would be interesting to look at a situation where everyone in America quit one day. 

Office workers, police, and restaurant workers all quitting.

Store managers walking out of Walmarts across the land. Pilots, traxi-drivers, bus drivers, and roller coaster operators all quitting.

The President and Congress all quitting. Aimless politicians talking to themselves on street corners because people have quit listening to them. 

Overnight. Just like that.

Bank guards and gang bangers quitting. Plumbers and electricians quitting. Park Rangers roaming listlessly after quitting.

Doctors and scientists quitting. Tree surgeons, professional football players, clowns, and actors quitting. Pastors and poets quitting.

For one day. 

Can you imagine the chaos? The deadly silence? The roar of no-accountability? 

Time for me to walk on down the road...

A Survival Guide To Living in an Age of Rage

"It looked as if a night of dark intent was coming, and not only a night, an age. Someone had better be prepared for rage..."
-Robert Frost

Good Day World!

We live in an age of rage.

Our anger is reflected in everything we do. 

Even the most common things, like driving a car, have been twisted into vehicles of road rage that kills hundreds of Americans every year.

For example: Take Florida native Gary Lynne Durham who served a decade behind bars for killing a man during a 2001 road rage incident. 

Ironically, Durham was recently killed in another traffic related dispute when he confronted another driver with a gun.

The rage keeps growing.

Rage incidents on airplanes have become a new problem for travelers in America and worldwide. The once friendly skies are not so friendly now.

So the question is, why are we seeing so many frequent outbursts ranging from an impolite gesture from another motorist to road rage that can lead, quite literally to death?

One explanation is given in this informative article:
Psychiatrists: Rage Comes From Accumulation

Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. I've watched, with dismay, our presidential election process become a conduit for hate and rage.

Raging rhetoric has stirred the flames of anger into something so ugly any sense of humanity has been squeezed out of most Americans by now.

In the end however, it's up to us to not let rage rob our senses, and make us do something we'll regret. We can't do anything about the next person, but we do have the option of keeping our own cool.

Related:

Age of Rage Survival Guide
Controlling Anger Before It Controls You

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Tell Me It Ain't So Pepe the Frog!

                                     Good Day World!

I love frogs. My family nickname is "Frog."

As a frog-lover who thinks Kermit the Frog should have run for president, I'm always looking out for frogs making headlines.

You can imagine my dismay when I heard that cartoon character turned Internet meme, Pepe the Frog, has been added to the Anti-Defamation League's database of hate symbols!

Pepe's good name was trampled on when websites 4chan, 8chan and Reddit spread his likeness around with memes promoting anti-Jewish, bigoted and offensive ideas.

In recent months, Pepe has been almost entirely co-opted by the white supremacists who call themselves the "alt right." They dressed Pepe up with swastikas and other symbols of anti-semitism and white supremacy.

Donald Trump, Pepe the frog, and white supremacists: an explainer

I think it's pretty damn low to drag frogs into politics, especially politics of hate. Real frogs have more sense than to hang around politicians - it makes them uneasy that there's another species more slimey than them!

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Fantasy World's Are Not Always Benign

Good Day World!

When it comes to football, I'm living in a fantasy world managing six NFL teams. 

When I'm focused on setting my teams line-ups, the real world slips away.

It's a great distraction from often ugly reality.

All fantasy worlds are not so benign however.

If you're a Donald Trump follower it means accepting his blatant lies and turning your head away from truth to get on the bandwagon.
The fantasyworld Trump proposes is a poorly formed vision that comes with an old slogan, Make America Great Again.

Trump offers no details on how he's going to accomplish this lofty-sounding goal. What exactly does it mean to Trump followers?

All their dreams are going to come true!

Hallelujah! The doors to fantasyland are going to be thrown wide-open and society as we know it will cease to exist. Everything they don't like will be fixed. 

If you're black, brown, or olive-skinned this fantasyland does not include you. Oh, the things Trump will do!

I think it's safe to say there's enough Americans that won't buy into Trumps fantasyworld on election day. 

Make sure to keep it real...and make sure you're registered to vote.

Related:

The Hilarious and Frightening Fantasy of Donald Trump's Foreign Policy

Time for me to walk on down the road...

The Internet and Smart Phones Are Responsible For Our Stressed Out Society

Good Day World!

Time to turn back the clock.

Before the Internet and smart phones, the world was a little simpler place.

The news cycle was slower. We didn't get the bad news instantly like we do now. In effect, we were less bombarded by negativity.

On bad news: It's what sells folks. Sorry, but it's true. The media plays to readership and apparently there's a lot of people who'll read a negative article before they'll look at a positive one.

Prior to the Internet and smart phones, most Americans were not locked into a 24-hour news cycle that not only shared every bad thing happening in America every moment, but the entire world too.

Today it's all about bad news on steroids.

Simple equation: the more bad news you hear the more likely it equals increased stress in your life.

As British novelist Richard Llewellyn once said, "Bad news has good legs."

I'll be real here for a moment: I know we can't turn back the clock, and that a lot of good things happen on the internet and smart phones.

Kinda like heaven and hell. You get 'em both.

The only solution - on an individual basis - is to stay off the internet and don't use a smart phone (there's actually simple phones that don't walk your dog or sing to you that you could get).

Can't change the world. But you can control how much stress you let into your life.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Clinton Totally Presential in Debate: Trump Caught Lying Again

Clinton exposed Trump's Temperment in tonight's presidential debate. 

Trump won't lose any current followers, but I highly doubt he's convinced anyone on the fence to jump into his cesspool of racial hatred and lies.

One thing is for sure, moderator Lester Holt pinned Trump down on the "birther issue" and that Trump supported the War in Iran before turning against it a year later.

If you were undecided who would you vote for after tonights debate?

Another question: Do Political Debates Matter? Here's the political science evidence. 

We'll get to see which is more important tonight: Monday Night Football, or the Presidential debates? I'm guessing the debate.

Terrorists Come In All Colors and Beliefs

Good Day World!

Fact: We live in a world where terrorists roam freely and create chaos every day.

In the USA when you hear a conversation about terrorists, it's almost exclusively referring to olive-skinned Muslim men.

 You'd think we didn't have any other terrorists on our shores.

But we do.

Consider: Last year there were 300 mass shootings in the United States and less than 1 percent of them were committed by Muslims.

Consider: Just one week before the December 2015 San Bernardino attacks, a white man named Robert Dear walked into a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs (with a radical Christian ideology according to his ex-wife's testimony) and killed several people in an act of mass murder.

But that was never called Radical Christian Terrorism in our mainstream media.

What about that 21-year old white supremacist named Dylann Roof who walked into an African-American Church and slaughtered nine innocent people? Wasn't that an act of terrorism?

To get a better idea of what I'm talking about read the LA Times article - Deadliest U.S. Mass Shootings, 1984-2016

With this reference you can see that whites are more likely to be involved in mass killings in the United States than any other race.

But we don't call them terrorists when they shoot up our schools and movie theatres. 

A terrorist is a terrorist. Domestic terrorism is a bigger problem in the USA today than Muslim terrorists are. Just look at the numbers given above in the article I referred too.

If you go by the facts, there's no reason the mainstream media shouldn't start labeling everyone who committes a terrorist act...a terrorist. White, black, brown, or olive-skinned.

It's time to change the narrative and get real.

Oh yeah...one last thing; we have 33,000 active gangs in America. Wouldn't you say they also indulge in terrorism?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Report on Political Whores: Another Tough Day For 'Lyin' Ted Cruz

Good Day World!

It's never been easy for "Lying Ted" Cruz.

He was once voted "The Most Punchable Face" in America."

Ted's smile is enough to scare kids straight it's so grotesque. That's because the only natural position for his jaw muscles are when he's lying about something.

Ted the Politician

Being a political puppet calls for complete cooperation with the party you sell you soul too.

Teddy however, has been a bad boy more than once. 

For example; there was that little incident of shutting the government down as a congressional freshman, with his Tea Party toadies in tow, back in 2013.

Establishment Republicans scowled but moved on.

It turns out that Donald Trump was right; "Lying Ted" is a loser. So much so, that he decided to endorse Trump for president the other day.

After having his family thrashed by Trump in the public arena, and disrupting the Republican National Convention by not endorsing Trump...Terrible Teddy did a backflip that would have made Simone Biles proud.

What could have made Ted the Cruz change his tune? 

One might as well ask "Where's Waldo?" 

The only thing you can be sure of is the little weasel is getting some kind of political "attaboy" for caving in and proving he has no ethics or morals.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

The 'Rat' is Out of the Bag: Trump 'Foreign Advisor' Page is a Putin Puppet

Good Day World!

The rat is out of the bag.

One of Donald Trump's "foreign advisors" has a direct line with senior Russian officials.

Amid recent warnings from the FBI that Russia has conducting cyber attacks against the National Democratic Party and even hacked a White House aide, Congress has called for a full-on investigation of Trump's foreign advisor.

The "rat, aka foreign advisor" is one of Trump's buddies; millionaire businessman, Page Carter, who has extensive Russian business interests. 

Multi-informed sources have reported Page's meetings with Putin puppets - and conversations about lifting economic sanctions against Russia if Trump is elected. 

Some of those Congressman who were briefed were "taken back" when they learned about Page's contacts in Moscow, viewing them as a possible back channel to the Russians that could undercut U.S. foreign policy, said a congressional source familiar with the briefings.

Intelligence reports about Page's talks with senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin were being "actively monitored and investigated," according to this article. 

People have been talking about a bromance between Trump and Putin for over a year now. Seems to me no one took the warnings of their mutual admiration seriously enough.

That's changing rapidly. American security agencies have flat-out stated the Russians are making an all-out effort to disrupt our election process.

The fact that Trump is a businessman above anything else is a legitmate concern when it comes to foreign negotiations because (bottom line) he's going to do what's best for his businesses.

There's no doubt Russia wants The Donald. There's no doubt Trump wants Russian business. His son said as much back in 2009.

There's no doubt in my mind that Trump is not only a traitor, but a very greedy man. I hope his followers finally draw the line (don't vote for him) when it comes to protecting America's interests against the enemy - Russia.

Patriotism anyone?

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Bombs Away: The Darnest Things People Do and Say Every Day

Good Day World!

Hello...I'm your captain on today's bombing mission. 

Please take all the necessary precautions before I open the bomb-bay door.

News Bombs away....

* Large scale data breech - Yahoo admits 500 million user accounts stolen! If you've been a user since 2014, you better update your account.

* Is there such a thing as a "routine child abuse case?" Allegations of child abuse made against Brad Pitt by wife Angelina Jolie have come out after divorce papers filed.

Bomb Quote for the Day:

"Why you'll never see a woman with a bomb in her shoe: we have too much respect for shoes." - Carolyn V. Hamilton

Bomb Shell for the Day:

There's already been eleven cases of bombs placed by terrorists in the USA thus far this year! Here's a complete history of terrorist attacks and related incidents in American history.

Here's the Stink Bomb video for the Day

Speaking of bombs...here's 25 Movies That Bombed but were actually great. 

For the record: 21st century jargon has turned the word "bomb" into something entirely different than what I grew up with. It now also means something is really great - or cool.

Time for me to walk on down the road...

Not Made in the USA: Why Chinese Boot-Makers Have Been Laughing All The Way To The Bank

Good Day World!

Corporations and corruption. The two are synonymous.

Photo: The style of boots I wore in Vietnam. Little did I know they were made in China!

There's so many major corporations ripping Americans off everyday I don't know where to start. Well...yes, I do. Here's today's example:

Indictment: Military Boots Made In China said 'Made In The USA' 

Ever since I tied up my first pair of jungle boots in Vietnam the Chinese have been making them for us. The irony doesn't escape me.

While the Chinese were providing arms and money to the North Vietnamese they also had a lucrative business arrangement with an American company to make combat boots on the sly - and just to rub salt in the wound - they were putting Made In The USA patches on them!

What do you think is going to happen to the five people involved with this scheme? They're all out on a 20,000 bail right now.

If past examples of corporate heads are anything to go by...not one of the bastards will go to prison - and, if they do, it'll be a crazy lenient sentence.

Related:

Why 'Made in USA' Labeling Is So Complicated

Time for me to walk on down the road...