US Flag Manufacturer Doesn't Pay Taxes, Goes to Prison
US Flag Manufacturer Doesn't Pay Taxes, Goes to Prison
Ohio could lead the country in medical marijuana diagnoses, Columbus woman loses $250K on Kentucky Derby DQ, and more.
Well, the Columbus Blue Jackets blew a 2-1 series lead to the bastardly Bruins. Nothing worse than losing to Boston, but if you’re going to do it, it might as well be in hockey.
Apparently Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin don’t want to drink at Brother’s Bar anymore:
The duo spent their childhoods in Russia, so I forgive them for not knowing Columbus is the epicenter of America and no other city can match its history, culture, or nightlife.
Oh, well, bring on the dudes who want to be Blue Jackets! I look forward to cheering for them the next time they make the playoffs.
In other news, a small minority of Ohioans will head to the polls today to vote in local primaries. In Columbus, the Democratic overlords are asking us to vote for Issues 7 through 11. I didn’t switch my registration in time, and I’m not about to commit voter fraud to cast a ballot on mundane issues I haven’t researched.
FLAG RESPECTER DOESN’T LOVE AMERICA ENOUGH TO PAY TAXES
China manufactures most of the American flags sold in America. (Late-stage capitalism, etc. etc. etc.)
Today I learned the largest American manufacturer of USA flags resides in Canton. Unfortunately for the company I learned that information in an article about its owner going to prison for tax evasion.
From Ed Balint of cantonrep.com:
CANTON – The owner of a Canton company that makes American flags and supplies them to veteran organizations will spend two years in prison for failing to pay $162,000 in payroll taxes.
At a hearing in federal court Monday, Richard Spencer, 52, also was ordered to pay $197,040 in restitution. Spencer had previously pleaded guilty to failure to account for, collect and pay employment taxes.
Spencer owned and controlled RS Sewing on Clarendon Avenue SW, which manufactures American flags. Spencer oversaw production, source materials, paperwork and the company’s financial operations, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.
Spencer was sentenced by Judge Patricia Gaughan.
Spencer was right in the sweet spot to get nailed for tax evasion. Rich enough to accrue a six-figure debt to Uncle Sam but not rich enough to purchase a battery of lawyers to keep him out of prison.
Personally, I think we need to do away with the idea of flying (or manufacturing) a flag as a sign a patriotism. Show your tax returns or leave the country!
DEPRESSION COULD SOON BE WORTH A WEED PERSCRIPTION
Here’s a headline I didn’t expect to read: Ohio could soon lead the country in medical marijuana by becoming the first state to approve depression (along with four other ailments) as worthy of a medical marijuana subscription.
From Anne Saker of cincinnati.com:
CINCINNATI — More than half of Ohio’s population could become eligible for a medical marijuana card in June if the state approves five more ailments as qualifying conditions.
Among the proposed additions: depression and insomnia, which affect hundreds of thousands in the state.
An advisory committee for the state's medical board began studying whether medical marijuana could help the ailments in January. The three other conditions being considered are anxiety, autism spectrum disorder and opioid use disorder, a formal term used for opioid addiction.
Tiffany Carwile of Bryan, Ohio, has a 5-year-old son with autism. Last autumn, when the state allowed residents to suggest new qualifying conditions, Carwile prepared a 500-page document supporting medical marijuana for autism. She is the Ohio director of Mothers Advocating Medical Marijuana for Autism.
A four-member advisory committee will recommend any additions in a May 8th vote, and the full 12-member board will hold a final vote on June 12.
I don’t smoke weed anymore, but it’s nice if I ever chose to legally dabble in the Devil’s Lettuce I could schedule a visit with a doctor I can’t afford and show my Twitter feed as proof of my depression to purchase an ounce of weed at 250% markup from the black market.
KENTUCKY DERBY STEWARDS RUIN COLUMBUS WOMAN’S DREAMS
The Kentucky Derby, an annual advertisement for a 100% estate tax, happened this past weekend. Apparently the winning horse got disqualified for not following rules laid down by humans — an event President Normal Brain blamed on our politically correct culture.
The disqualification cost a Columbus couple a new house.
From Andrew Wolfson of courier-journal.com:
For Teresa Boissiere of Columbus, Ohio, the disqualification of Maximum Security was a costly blow — a $250,000 blow, to be precise.
As a finalist in the Rocket Mortgage Homestretch Sweepstakes, she was randomly matched with the horse that appeared to win the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby.
And for the next 15 minutes or so, she and her husband, Peter, thought they had won $250,000 to use as a down payment on a new house.
"We were really excited," said Boissiere, 62, a commercial writer who is about to retire. "I called my mom and told her about it."
Even when the inquiry sign went up, Boissiere figured it was just a question about the order of finish farther back in the pack.
This couple has obviously never gambled a day in their life, because the first lesson learned is to never count money before it lands in the bank account. Otherwise you’ve already made expenditures in your head and upgraded your lifestyle only to have it turn to ash in your mouth.
Oh, well, at least the Boissieres grew up in an era when houses cost $25,000. Winning another house via horse gambling would’ve been unfair.
HOUSE AND SENATE DISAGREE ON PATH TO LEGALIZED SPORTS BETTING
All it takes for purists in government to throw out their morals is for their state to start losing revenue to surrounding states.
West Virginia legalized gambling earlier this year and hasn’t fallen into a pit of fire, and Ohio will likely follow in its footsteps later this year.
The House and Senate just disagree on the path to get there.
From Dennis Biviano of spectrum1news.com:
Sponsors Dave Greenspan and Brigid Kelly are calling for the the Ohio Lottery Commission to be in charge and the revenue would go towards Ohio's schools and gambling addiction programs.
“Through the traditional brick and mortar that are in our bill, about $30 to $35 million a year from those facilities, with the addition of mobile and online, which our bill provides the opportunity to offer, we can see the numbers reach $60 to $100 million a year,” says Greenspan.
“It provides additional money for public education. And that's something that we talk about all the time at the Statehouse is that we really need to create a vehicle for our kids to have the best education no matter where they grow up,” says Representative Brigid Kelly.
…
The Senate plan also lays out a six-point-two-five percent tax on gross income from all wagers and calls for the money to be deposited into the state's General Revenue Fund.
However, their bill is placing control in the hands of the Ohio Casino Commission.
“We don't have to create a new infrastructure, we already have the casinos with the security, with the background checks. All that is already there, so I think it is better in that forum,” says [bill co-sponsor Senator Sean] O’Brien.
What I like about the House bill: It specifies where the generated revenue will go. It won’t mean every school in Ohio will be rebuilt in gold, but $60 to $100 million a year ain’t pocket change.
What I like about the Senate bill: The Casino Commission seems like the natural overseer of sports gambling. While there’s always luck involved in winning money on something you don’t control, there’s more skill to it than scratching off a lottery card or playing Keno.
Both bills agree bets can be placed at the state’s racinos and casinos and online through a mobile app, but there has been a push from bars, bowling alleys, convenience stores, and gas stations to allow them to take bets as well.
I don’t have a problem with any of that. If we’re going to let people gamble on an app from their couch, there’s no reason not to allow small businesses to take bets and maybe earn a few extra dollars in sales as well.
The one issue that will most likely be debated in coming months is where betting should be allowed.
Senator O’Brien says they hope to push a compromised bill through in the fall, which makes it seem like legal sports betting could arrive on our shores by 2020.
THIRD GRADERS HAVE SHITTY TASTE IN COOKIES
I’ve vowed to never become one of those olds who whinges about “kids these days,” but a third-grade class in Cincinnati is trying my patience after successfully lobbying for the generic sugar cookie to become the state’s official cookie.
From Jeremy Pelzer of cleveland.com:
State Reps. Brigid Kelly and Jessica Miranda say they introduced the bill at the request of a third-grade language arts class from All Saints School in Cincinnati.
Currently, at least two states -- Massachusetts and New Mexico -- have an official state cookie. In a letter to Kelly, the class laid out a historical argument for why Ohio lawmakers should give that designation to the sugar cookie.
“Long ago when pioneers were first coming to this area, they traded their goods for sugar, which was considered a treat,” the letter stated. “Consequently, enjoying a sugar cookie was thought of as having something special to eat.”
In addition, the class noted that there are many variations of sugar cookies, so “most everyone in our state has a favorite.”
It’s easy to say, “Oh, doesn’t the Legislature have bigger issues to tackle?” Of course they do, but the last thing we want from the jackals that just passed the nation’s strictest abortion ban is to take up some other legislation conjured in a right-wing think tank.
I’ll be damned if I sit on the sidelines and let a gang of children dictate what cookie represents my state. None of them can probably even operate an oven, let alone cook anything I’d want to eat. The sugar cookie? What is this, the 1960s?
Since chocolate and peanut butter are a proven winner for our state with the delectable Buckeye, it’s only proper to ratify the noble Peanut Butter Blossom as the state’s cookie. Anything less is a disgrace.
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