COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

IRS takes single mother of two down for being too poor



Rachel Porcaro, 32, a single mother of two, spent more than a year fighting off an Internal Revenue Service demand that she pay the government $16,000 for failing to report sources of taxable income outside her hair dresser's salary on her 2006 and 2007 tax returns. What drove the IRS to that conclusion? The fact that, according to their statistics, Porcaro, who earned just under $19,000 in 2006, couldn't possibly afford to raise her children in Seattle on her salary alone.

"The tax compliance officer pulled out an Excel spreadsheet printout and said something to the effect of … (that) IRS data showed that it takes $36,000 to support a family of three in Seattle," said tax manager Dante J. Driver, an accountant who worked with Porcaro to appeal the IRS's claim. "It looked and smelled like she was getting audited for being too poor."

In August the two sides agreed that Porcaro would pay just $1,600 to the IRS instead of $16,000. Driver said she could have fought that $1,600 debt too -- a charge the agency levied because it alleged Porcaro wrongly filed as head of household on her taxes and should not have claimed tax deductions for supporting her sons. But the time and money it would have cost to keep the battle going, Driver said, wasn't worth it.

The agency, meanwhile, didn't stop with Porcaro. The same month Porcaro agreed to pay $1,600, the agency audited her parents. The IRS auditor pursuing Porcaro's case "flat out said she was looking into them because of me," Porcaro said. "It was just a vicious cycle." Among the records Robert Porcaro and his wife were asked to provide: blueprints of his Seattle home showing where his granchildren, Rachel Porcaro's children, live.

"It's just been a real nightmare," he said. "I got the sense that they had somebody in their grips that they were going to make an example of."

The 59-year-old said that, fortunately for him, the IRS's audit ultimately found that he didn't owe anything more. In fact, it was just the opposite: The audit determined that government owed Porcaro some $200. That was cold comfort to the Seattle man, however: His accounting fees totaled $2,000. Rachel Porcaro's accounting bill is even higher -- $8,000.



12 comments:

  1. Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 6:13 AM
    Subject: Air Tran 297

    FYI

    I, Gene Hackemack, received this email from my good friend Tedd Petruna, a diver at the NBL facility [Neutral Buoyancy Lab], at NASA Houston, whom I used to work with.
    Tedd happened to be on this same Flt. 297, Atlanta to Houston.
    In my opinion, the muslims are all getting very brave now, since they seem to feel they have one of their own in the White House...read Tedd's story below.
    Semper Fi

    Gene Hackemack

    PS...can you imagine, our own news media now are so politically correct that they are afraid to report that these were all Muslims...unbelievable.
    Thank God for people like Tedd Petruna.

    A. Gene Hackemack
    buttonbox01@ gmail.com
    Brenham, TX. 77833

    ____________ _________ _________ _________ ________

    From: Petruna, Tedd

    J. (JSC-DX12)[RAYTHEON TECHNICAL SERVICES COMPANY]

    Subject: Long story short....

    One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, November the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the 18th you may have seen a blurb where a

    AirTran flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before takeoff. It was on Fox News Channel.

    This was NOT what happened.

    I was in 1st class coming home. 11 Muslim men got on the plane in full attire. 2 sat in 1st class and the rest peppered themselves throughout the plane all the way to

    the back. As the plane taxied to the runway the stewardesses gave the safety spiel we are all so familiar with. At that time, one of the men got on his cell and

    called one of his companions in the back and proceeded to talk on the phone in Arabic very loudly and very aggressively. This took the 1st stewardess out of the

    picture for she repeatedly told the man that cell phones were not permitted at the time. He ignored her as if she was not there.

    The 2nd man who answered the phone did the same and this took out the 2nd stewardess. In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger Muslims, one in the back aisle, and

    one in front of him, window, began to show footage of a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it. Now..they are only permitted to do this

    prior to Jihad. If a Muslim man goes into a strip club, he has to view the woman via mirror with his back to her. (don't ask me..I don't make the rules, but I've studied)

    The 3rd stewardess informed them that they were not to have electronic devices on at this time. To which one of the men said "shut up infidel dog!" She went to take the camcorder and

    he began to scream in her face in Arabic. At that exact moment, all 11 of them got up and started to walk the cabin. This is where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say "I got your back." I grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said "you WILL go sit down or you

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will be thrown from this plane!" As I "led" him around me to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and his waist and headed out with him. I then grabbed the 2nd man and said, "You WILL do the same!" He protested but adrenaline was flowing now and he was going to go. As I escorted him forward the plane doors open and 3 TSA

    agents and 4 police officers entered. Me and my new Texan friend were told to cease and desist for they had this under control. I was happy to oblige actually.

    There was some commotion in the back, but within moments, all 11 were escorted off the plane. They then unloaded their luggage.

    We talked about the occurrence and were in disbelief that it had happen, when suddenly, the door open again and on walked all 11!! Stone faced, eyes front and robotic (the only way I can

    describe it). The stewardess from the back had been in tears and when she saw this, she was having NONE of it! Being that I was up front, I heard and saw the whole ordeal. She told the TSA agent there was NO WAY she was staying on the plane with these men. The agent told her they had searched them and were going to go through their luggage with a fine tooth

    comb and that they were allowed to proceed to Houston. The captain and co-captain came out and told the agent "we and our crew will not fly this plane!" After a word or two, the entire crew, luggage in tow, left the plane. 5 minutes later, the cabin door opened again and a whole new crew walked on.

    Again...this is where I had had enough!!! I got up and asked "What the hell is going on!?!?" I was told to take my seat. They were sorry for the delay and I would be home shortly. I said

    "I'm getting off this plane". The stewardess sternly told me that she could not allow me to get off. (now I'm mad!) I said "I am a grown man who bought this ticket, whose time is mine with a

    family at home and I am going through that door, or I'm going through that door with you under my arm!! But I am going through that door!!" And I heard a voice behind me say "so am I". Then everyone behind us started to get up and say the same. Within 2 minutes, I was walking off that plane where I was met with more agents who asked me to write a statement. I had 5

    hours to kill at this point so why the hell not. Due to the amount of people who got off that flight, it was cancelled. I was supposed to be in Houston at 6pm. I got here at 12:30am.

    Look up the date, Nov. 17, 2009, Flight #297, Atlanta to Houston.

    If this wasn't a dry run, I don't know what one is. The terrorists wanted to see how TSA would handle it, how the crew would handle it, and how the passengers would handle it.

    I'm telling this to you because I want you to know. The threat is real. I saw it with my own eyes.

    Tedd Petruna

    http://homelandsecurityus.com/ ?p=3312

    http://oldnfo.blogspot.com/2009/11/testing-testing.html

    http://lit4ever.org/revivalforum/index.php?topic=19331.0

    http://www.meetup.com/WeSurroundThemGathering/boards/thread/8165396

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stimulus Waste


    Your stimulus dollars at work:

    “Two hundred and seventeen billion dollars of this money is out the door and at least 15 percent of it is pure waste,” said Coburn…

    Half a million dollars went to Arizona State University to study the genetic makeup of ants to determine distinctive roles in ant colonies; $450,000 went to the University of Arizona to study the division of labor in ant colonies…

    “I had no idea that so much expertise concerning ants resided in the major universities of my state,” said McCain. “I say that with an element of pride, but I’m not sure it's deserving of these taxpayers’ dollars.”

    The senators also noted that researchers at Penn State University received $1.57 million to search for fossils in Argentina and that a liberal-leaning theater in Minnesota, In the Heart of the Beast, named after a famous quote by leftist leader Che Guevara, received $100,000 for socially conscious puppet shows…

    The National Institutes of Health got $219,000 in funds to study whether female college students are more likely to “hook up” after drinking alcohol…”


    Duh. Do you think?


    .

    ReplyDelete
  4. That was all over the news, and now I have to see it again here Sam!
    I'm a little sick of all the Muslim Bashing going on in this country.
    As 'Rat reminds us, they are all individuals no different than us, some easy going, some not so much, but on the whole, a fine lot, guided in their own way, by the Religion of Peace.

    We should be a lot more tolerant and less judgemental.
    PBUH

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  5. So 11 guys scare the pants of a whole bunch of folk, because they spoke Arabic and dressed funny.

    They had no weapons and committed no crime.

    Americans with a let's hide in the rain barrel mentality.

    That is the essence of this story

    What a shame.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A Miller caller told the story about his father-in-law, retired Air Force, 65 years old, who received his first social security check prior to losing his ten year fight against cancer.

    A few months later, his mom got a letter from the Govt saying she had to return the social security money, because her husband did not live through the entire month covered by the check!

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  7. I'm so upset about it, I'm thinking about becoming a Muslim myself, 'Rat!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sure as hell not going to let facts intrude on my judgement.

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  9. Those two ideas do not really seem to conflate, doug, but do what you need to do, to be happy.

    The 11 were searched and found to be unarmed and not dangerous by Federal law enforcement.

    The passengers were intimidated by their costumes. The author behaved like a pussy, getting off that plane.

    ReplyDelete
  10. The progressive income tax was originally un-Constitutional.

    That change brought to US by Republicans, progressive Republicans, back in the day.

    Rejoice, rejoice!

    ReplyDelete