According to Governor Cuomo, about one hundredth of one percent of regulated tenants cheat by applying for School Tax Relief that they’re not entitled to. At about $700 per head, that amounts to a whopping $109,200 per year. On the other hand, Cuomo has raked in over $2 million from landlords, so it kind of evens out.
I remember a charming game we used to play called Nazi, where one kid would ask another “Vhere iz yor paperz pleez?” No matter what the victim’s answer, he would get smacked in response. We thought it was hilarious.
Customs and Border Patrol seems to use the same approach, but they’re playing for real. See, for example, Homeland Security Detained US Citizen Inside The US, Used Intercepted Emails To Quiz Her About Her Sex Life
Also see the website of the Identity Project: Papers, Please!.
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia recently called on American financial regulators to ban Bitcoins because of their use in a variety of crimes. In response, Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado wrote:
The exchange of dollar bills, including high denomination bills, is currently unregulated and has allowed users to participate in illicit activity, while also being highly subject to forgery, theft, and loss. For the reasons outlined below, I urge regulators to take immediate and appropriate action to limit the use of dollar bills.
Go, Jared!
Responding to senator’s bid to ban Bitcoin, congressman calls for cash ban | Ars Technica.
Teenager Rachel Canning left home because she didn’t like the rules her parents imposed on her. Now she’s suing to force her parents to give her financial support and money for college, in addition to paying for tuition at her private school.
Hey, Rachel: Bite Me!
Teen Sues Parents, Claiming They Owe Her Money For College : The Two-Way : NPR.
A vast hidden surveillance network runs across America, powered by the repo industry. “Spotter” cars, mounted with automated readers, are taking pictures of every license plate they pass and sending them to data consolidators. One firm in in Texas already has more than 1.8 billion plate scans from vehicles across the country.
Privacy is so very 20th century.
A vast hidden surveillance network runs across America, powered by the repo industry | BetaBoston.
The American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit Tuesday to tear down the Bladensburg Peace Cross, a 40-foot-tall cross-shape World War I memorial in Bladensburg, Md.
They claim that the memorial violates the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion. The cross honors the memory of 49 Prince George’s County residents who died serving the country. Dedicated in 1925, the monument stands in a median at the busy intersection between Baltimore Avenue and Annapolis Road. It is lit every night.
Steve Lowe is one of the plaintiffs in the case, who claims he is “upset” every time he drives by the cross, which is usually about once a month.
If Mr. Lowe gets “upset” when he sees a cross on a World War I memorial, he can Bite Me.
via Humanists suing to tear down cross-shaped World War I memorial – NY Daily News.